36 RIGHTEOUS MEN by Steven Pressfield

November 15, 2019

Click to purchase

A story based on the Hebrew legend of 36 Righteous men, whose hidden presence in the world keeps it from destruction. No one knows who these men are, but according to the legend, if they are ever all killed the world will be destroyed.

James Manning and Covina (Dewey) Duwai are detectives working for the New York City police department involved with a special unit handling special crimes. They are called to investigate a case of two men being murdered via the same method, and then it is discovered that two others were killed in Russia in a similar fashion. Investigating the cases, Manning and Dewey enter the Jewish community in New York in which the concept of 36 Righteous Men appears. If all of them, wherever they are, are killed then so the legend states the world comes to an end.

The novel is narrated by Dewey who becomes Manning’s helper and chronicles the events as investigations into these murders goes from New York to Israel and moves into an excavation site in the desert.

The book is a quick read, interesting enough to finish, but unfortunately, the premise behind it and what happens is more than a little far fetched. I’ve read other Steven Pressfield books and will pick up what he writes, but this one is far from his best.

11/19 Paul Lane

36 RIGHTEOUS MEN by Steven Pressfield. W. W. Norton & Company (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-1324002895. 360p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on 36 RIGHTEOUS MEN by Steven Pressfield | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN by Talia Hibbert

November 14, 2019

Click to purchase

The Brown Sisters, Book 1

From the publisher:

 

“Absolutely charming… a flawless balance of humor, heat, sweetness, and depth, and I loved every page.” – Helen Hoang, USA Today bestselling author of The Bride Test

 

Talia Hibbert, one of contemporary romance’s brightest new stars, delivers a witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who’s tired of being “boring” and recruits her mysterious, sexy neighbor to help her experience new things—perfect for fans of Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang!

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

Enjoy a drunken night out.

Ride a motorcycle.

Go camping.

Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.

Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.

And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

This is a British import and a wonderful read! I read the advance copy, an e-galley, on my Kindle. I’m telling you this because most of the time, I can’t see the cover of the book. Either it’s just plain white with the title and author in black text, or as in this case, it is the actual cover but small. At least until it is opened, but I started reading this on my phone (yes, I do that, especially when I’m waiting…in line, at a red light, to pay, whatever!) My point being, I never really looked at the cover so I didn’t realize that this was a book with a biracial couple until I was about halfway through it. That just seemed meaningful to me for some reason. I’m not going to analyze it but did want to mention it.

The push for diversity in romance has been strong, and we, the readers, are reaping the benefits. It is lovely to read about someone who looks like you or acts like you, and everyone should have that opportunity.

Chloe has fibromyalgia and other various ailments, most of which leave her in pain most of the time. She tires easily and takes a lot of medication to manage her pain. And she’s smart, book smart, but not necessarily people smart. She’s been hurt by the people who should never hurt her; her friends, and her fiance. Ex-fiance, and former friends. So she lives a somewhat lonely existence, save for her two sisters, and the rest of her family.

Red thinks she is gorgeous, but also stuck up. Snooty rich girl, like his former girlfriend. But as Chloe tries to accomplish her goals, she learns Red is not the scary, tattooed biker she assumed him to be. And Red learns that Chloe, while maybe from a family with money, is nothing like his ex. Of course, it takes most of the book for them to reach those conclusions, and there is a lot of fun, and some angst, along the way. And a lot of sex, too.

I loved these characters. I was completely immersed in their world, and could not put down this book. Happily, there is a sequel coming, centering around one of Chloe’s sisters. If it’s only half as good as this one, it will still be another terrific read. I loved this book!

11/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN by Talia Hibbert. Avon (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-0062941206. 384p.

Kindle

Audible

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

VAN OPS: THE LOST POWER by Avanti Centrae

November 13, 2019

Click to purchase

The present novel is indicated as Avanti Centrae’s first book in the series about a super-secret division of the CIA. This group is dedicated to investigating possible harmful activities of people or groups with an initiation into the past. Centrae begins the novel in Spain with the description of a battle fought in the year 1057 led by the King of Aragon and against an invading army of Moors. He captures a secret weapon first wrested by the conqueror Alexander the Great.

The scene then shifts into the present time when Maddy Marshall and her twin brother Will Argones  attempt to visit their estranged father who has summoned them. They hear shots when approaching his house and in an ensuing attack both their father and Will’s wife who was with them are killed. Immediately after the battle is over Maddy, Will and a friend that appears on the scene are sent by their father via his will on a mission to find the lost secret weapons of Alexander. In the course of the action, they travel to Spain, then to Israel and then rapidly elsewhere. In Israel, they are forced to undergo testing which involves a contest of kill or be killed in order to continue. Why they submit to this trial and other dangerous tests is beyond me but does form part of the novel’s plot.

We learn that the hiding of the secret weapon the Spanish royal family of Ferdinand and Isabel were involved and many of their descendants were killed in the search for the secret weapon. Employing a good deal of literary license that certainly stretches the imagination Maddy, Will and their friend move forward in the search. The novel is a fast read though not by any means an all-nighter. It is something to pick up for the idea postulated and enjoyed on that basis.

11/19 Paul Lane

VAN OPS: THE LOST POWER by Avanti Centrae. Black Opal Books (November 9, 2019). ISBN 978-1644371596. 376p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on VAN OPS: THE LOST POWER by Avanti Centrae | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ISLAND OF LAST RESORTS by Mary Ellis

November 12, 2019

Click to purchase

Marked for Retribution series, Book 3

This is the third book featuring private detective Kate Weller and appears in its ending as if the author will turn to other material for her next novel.

Kate is working for the Nate Price Investigations team but has found the man she wants to marry, and the book opens as she travels to his home to meet his family. At the same time, the Investigators have been invited to spend a restful week on a private island owned by Julian Frazier, a friend of one of the agency’s wealthy clients. They can bring their significant others with them, and of course, Kate has already done so. Unfortunately, a restaurant owned by Eric’s family (her boyfriend) has a key employee who becomes injured, and Eric, with the help of Kate, has decided to wait the few days until the employee returns and then joins Nate Price’s team on the private island.

The Price group has arrived on the island and after a welcome, has been told by Julian that he would like them to play a game of solving a mystery. When they agree, they are advised that Julian’s wife was murdered several years earlier, with the murderer known but not convicted due to key evidence being disallowed by the court. Julian would like the group to find out who it was that paid for his wife’s murder and also the cover-up later. To help out he has paid very well for the individuals that were involved in the original investigation to come to the island and allow themselves to be interviewed by the Price group.

This very well done novel follows the game and investigations that Price’s group is involved with. In spicing up the book, the writing includes the reactions of everyone to the presence of a psychopath who intends to really involve all in the murders of four of those present. Kate and Eric do arrive several days after the others have gone to the island and are involved in a very satisfying ending. Questions are who are the psychopaths and what really happened to Julian’s wife causing her death.

11/19 Paul Lane

ISLAND OF LAST RESORTS by Mary Ellis. Severn House Publishers; First World Publication edition (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-0727889348. 224p.

Kindle

Comments Off on ISLAND OF LAST RESORTS by Mary Ellis | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

WE MET IN DECEMBER by Rosie Curtis

November 11, 2019

Click to purchase

From the publisher:

Following a year in the life of a twenty-something British woman who falls hard for her London flat mate, this clever, fun, and unforgettable romantic comedy is the perfect feel-good holiday read.

Two people. One house. A year that changes everything. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling, but grand, Notting Hill house-share with four virtual strangers. On her first night, Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor, at a Christmas dinner hosted by her landlord. They don’t kiss, but as far as Jess is concerned the connection is clear. She starts planning how they will knock down the wall between them to spend more time together.

But when Jess returns from a two-week Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else—beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams…and the woman of his. 

I generally love anything British, but I didn’t love this book. I felt like I was wading through molasses to get to the end. It was slowwwww. That said, I did like the characters quite a bit, at least the two main characters. The rest were all sort of lumped in together, except for maybe Sophie, Jess’s best friend since childhood. And Jess’s grandma, I loved her.

The synopsis by the publisher doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. Jess moves into the house with a bargain-basement rent because the owner of the house is one of her best friends from “uni” (university,) as they say. Becky has inherited the house, and it is worth millions, as is explained many, many times.

What I did love about this book is that Jess and Alex often take walks around different London neighborhoods, so this book is part travelogue, and I think those pages are the best bits. I learned there is a neighborhood near Notting Hill called Paddington and neighboring that is Little Venice. Which I had never heard of, and neither had my husband – and he thought he had walked all of London when he was there many years ago. In a funny coincidence, my son’s in-laws are staying in London for several months in the Paddington neighborhood, and regularly visit the Starbucks that is in Little Venice! They sent me this picture (thanks, Nancy!) And why is there no word in English for that familial relationship? In Yiddish, they are my machatunim, which Slate questions as well.

Other quibbles – the cover, and the title, and even the synopsis make this seem like it is a Christmas book, which it is not. It is written sort of like a journal, with dates starting each chapter as they move through the year from December to December. It is mostly told from Jess’s viewpoint, but Alex has several chapters as well. I didn’t love that changing point of view, it seems a bit like cheating to me. The author wanted to make sure we understood that both Alex and Jess had feelings for one another even though they date/sleep with other people and don’t declare their feelings for one another until the end. Not really a spoiler since this is a romance, and that is a very common ploy. There is no explicit sex here, just implied (for lack of a better word,) and that didn’t affect me one way or another.

This was just an okay read for me. I did like the characters and the ending, it just took too long to get there.

11/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WE MET IN DECEMBER by Rosie Curtis. Berkley (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-1984806093. 352p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on WE MET IN DECEMBER by Rosie Curtis | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

SECRET SERVICE by Tom Bradby

November 10, 2019

Click to purchase

Kate Henderson is a senior MI6 officer who heads up the Russian desk for the British organization.  We meet her at a point where she is acting on a tip that the Russians have a high-level spy working at a level guaranteed that he or she will be privy to important information that could do enormous harm to Great Britain. Acting on the tip received, she is trying to get a young girl to take a job on the yacht that is indicated to be sailing with an important Russian official. If his talks are recorded, it would be possible to ascertain who the spy is in the British government. She uses the ploy with the girl she wants to go onboard the yacht that she and her sister, who are attempting to enter England as immigrants, would be guaranteed their residency.

Unfortunately, the girl’s identity is discovered, and she is murdered. Kate is galvanized into raising the level of the search for the mole in the government. At one point Kate herself is thought of as possibly being the mole along with several other people also suspected of being the spy.

The novel moves to cover her search and reactions of both herself and her assistants. Very well done and very engrossing. One of the features used by Bradby in bringing his characters to life is the descriptions of both Kate and her assistant’s private life. These become real people experiencing strains in their personal lives as well as the pressure of doing their jobs. Kate is married, has two children, a girl who is the complicated age of 15 going on 25 and who has encountered her first boyfriend. The boy’s demeanor is not to Kate nor her husband’s liking. There is also a son looking to find his direction in the world. Kate has the misfortune of having an overbearing mother that never misses the opportunity to downgrade her daughter. Her family is very important to her but so is her job, and the conflicts involved are well handled by the author.

The search for the mole is the crux of the matter, and the reader is kept appraised of the investigation into capturing him along with both the family and her job’s pressures. The ending is well done but would seem to rule out any further novels featuring Kate Henderson and her assistants on the MI6 Russian desk. On the other hand, the treatment by the author of this book would certainly indicate future books done as well as this one.

11/19 Paul Lane

SECRET SERVICE by Tom Bradby. Bantam Press; First Edition, First Printing edition (2019). ISBN 978-1787632035. 368p.

Audible

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE DUKE’S STOLEN BRIDE by Sophie Jordan

November 9, 2019

Click to purchase

The Rogue Files, Book 5

From the publisher:

From USA Today bestselling author Sophie Jordan comes a scandalously sensual romance in her beloved Rogue Files series.

“Deliciously sexy!”—Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author 

An urgent dilemma…

To save her impoverished family, Marian Langley will become a mistress. But she will not be just any mistress. Marian intends to become so skilled, so coveted, that she can set her own terms, retaining control over her body and her fate. Only one problem remains: finding a tutor…

A scandalous solution…

Other men deprive themselves of pleasure for propriety’s sake. Nathaniel, Duke of Warrington, would much rather be depraved. He slakes his desires with professionals who ask nothing of him but his coin. Marian’s proposal—that he train her without taking her virtue—is an intriguing diversion, until their lessons in seduction spin out of control.

And a most unlikely duchess…

When Marian is blackmailed into engagement by a man she despises, Nate impulsively steals her away. Though he never intended to take a wife, he can’t tolerate the idea of Marian forfeiting her freedom to another. But can he bear to give her what she demands—a real marriage?

Jordan writes fun, sexy books and her latest just proves it. This is a terrific series, and each book truly stands on its own.

To continue my questioning of the line between romance and erotica, this book has way more explicit sex than Down Too Deep, which is labeled as “romantic erotica.” The entire plot of this book is about sex. Marian asks the Duke to teach her how to become the best courtesan possible, and that involves lessons in how to seduce a man and the mechanics of sex as well.

Marian is a strong woman who has been left impoverished by the death of her father. She feels responsible for taking care of her younger siblings and is about to lose everything when she finds a way to save them. Is it a spoiler to say that she doesn’t become a courtesan after all? Probably not, because this is a romance so Marian and her Duke get their happily ever after, and that means marriage. I didn’t make up these rules, I’m just imparting them.

This is a really enjoyable read, as are all the books in this series. If you like to read in order, here you go (with links to my reviews, and yes, I’ve actually read them all, and in order!):

1. While the Duke was Sleeping
2. The Scandal of it All
3. The Duke Buys a Bride
4. This Scot of Mine
5. The Duke’s Stolen Bride

Enjoy!

11/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE DUKE’S STOLEN BRIDE by Sophie Jordan.  Avon (October 22, 2019).  ISBN 978-0062885432. 368p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on THE DUKE’S STOLEN BRIDE by Sophie Jordan | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

DOWN TOO DEEP by J. Daniels

November 8, 2019

Click to purchase

Dirty Deeds Series, Book 4

From the publisher:

Two single parents and three adorable kids are about to have a summer they’ll never forget in this sexy, heartwarming new novel of the New York Times bestselling series.
Following the sudden death of his wife, Nathan Bell spent nearly two years burying himself in work and neglecting his biggest responsibility: his daughter. Overcome with guilt, he wants to connect with little Marley, but he doesn’t know how to do it alone. And then Jenna Savage throws him a lifeline.
A single mom of twins, Jenna is more than capable of taking care of Nathan’s adorable two-year-old and wants to help Nathan however she can. As the days go by and her attraction to Nathan grows, she can’t help wondering what might happen if they became a family for real. And the closer everyone becomes, the more right it feels.
Falling in love forces Nathan to face his biggest fear, and when hearts — both big and little — are on the line, the only thing scarier than needing Jenna and her kids so much is losing them all.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. It is publicized as romantic erotica, and the cover has that sort of look to it, although the guy does have his shirt on. So I was the tiniest bit surprised when I got about halfway through it and realized that I really, really, liked this book and these characters, and they hadn’t even kissed yet.

I’m not sure how erotica is being defined these days but I tend to think of books like Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, Bared to You by Sylvia Day, or The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure. Sex from the beginning. Sex on almost every page. But this was sweet and fun, and yes eventually it did get sexy, but the sex definitely felt secondary to the plot. At least to me. Guess I’m curious what other people think. Where is the line between a sexy romance and romantic erotica? Or are they the same thing?

Whatever kind of label the publisher wants to give this book, I give it my own label: sweet & sexy. I am going to hunt down the earlier books in this series.

11/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

DOWN TOO DEEP by J. Daniels. Berkley (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-1984806093. 352p.

Kindle

Audible

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ACCOMPLICE by Joseph Kanon

November 7, 2019

Click to purchase

During the Second World War, Adolf Hitler found that he could rally the German army as well as the people by selecting scapegoats to blame for the poor economic conditions the country found itself in. He was able to sell the country on the need to go to war and at the same time began the persecution of the groups that were selected as scapegoats. Among these were Jews and Gypsies. Hitler began the mass extermination of his scapegoats by sending them to concentration camps where many were killed in gas ovens as one means of destroying those groups. Both guards and supervisory personnel easily fell into the positions of both condoning the killing as well as rationalizing their own part in the murders by stating that they acted under orders from above.

The Accomplice is a hard-hitting novel telling the story of the finding of one of the medical doctors that had tortured men, women, and children to death in the name of approved experiments.  Dr Otto Schramm was head of “experiments” at the Auschwitz camp in Poland and managed to elude capture when the war ended.  Seventeen years after the war ended it was thought that Schramm had been killed in an auto accident and searches for him ended. But one of the foremost Nazi hunters, Max Weill, sees him walking on the streets of Hamburg and wants to go after him. Unfortunately Max is a sick man and possibly due to the excitement of the sighting suffers a heart attack and passes away. But not before he charges Aaron Wiley his nephew that is visiting from the US to continue the search. Aaron is an employee of the CIA but basically one working strictly at a desk. Knowing that Max’s wife, Aaron’s aunt was killed by Schramm he takes some vacation from the CIA and begins to chase him.

The main section of the novel is taken up with the chase.  Schramm had fled to Argentina and Aaron goes to Buenos Aires to look for him.  A most interesting situation develops when Schramm’s daughter is found, and Aaron meets her to obtain information about her father.

The two meet, and a love affair develops with the obvious question can Aaron take her father prisoner and bring him to justice to stand trial for his wartime crimes in the face of his feelings for his daughter?

The chase after Schramm and the very conflicting emotions of the people involved provide an excellent read pulling the readers into the plot with the changing feelings of the period shortly after WWII. This is not a story that can easily be forgotten with the emotions generated by the novel staying fresh for quite a while.

11/19 Paul Lane

THE ACCOMPLICE by Joseph Kanon. Atria Books (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-1501121425. 336p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on THE ACCOMPLICE by Joseph Kanon | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

PASSPORT TO DEATH by Yigal Zur

November 6, 2019

Click to purchase

A Dotan Naor Thriller, Book 2

Yigal Zur is not a first-time author and has published several successful novels in the past. I truly wonder what happened to this book. It reads like someone was in a great hurry to finish something before a deadline or the person translating from Hebrew into English was the one in a hurry.

The plot of the novel finds Dotan Naor, an Israeli private detective, in Tel Aviv, when he is called by his partner to fly to Bangkok and find a missing girl. Dotan jumps on a plane with no information about who he is looking for but is handed two passports by the taxi driver that picks him up at the Bangkok airport, one of which is for Sigal Bardon, the girl he is looking for.

Dotan runs helter-skelter all around Bankok, gets beat up, visits a prison to interview someone that may know where Sigal is, and runs into an old friend (now enemy) of his. Reuven was with him in Shin Bet. Due to something that happened back then, and each blaming the other, they were both dismissed from the organization. Looks like Reuven engineered the entire trip and the hunt for Sigal as a means of bringing Dotan to meet with him in Bangkok.

No surprise ending and far from an all-nighter, the novel has the saving grace of supplying a portrait of Bangkok based upon the author’s visits there.

11/19 Paul Lane

PASSPORT TO DEATH by Yigal Zur. Oceanview Publishing; None edition (November 5, 2019). ISBN 978-1608093649.

Kindle

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »