Tag: fiction

The Nazi’s Daughter by Tim Murgatroyd

Title: The Nazi’s Daughter
Author: Tim Murgatroyd
Pub. Date: 31-May-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

The Nazi’s Daughter is set in present day New York City and 1943 Europe at the height of WWII. Elise Van Thoof-Noman is the daughter of a very powerful Dutch Nazi. She is a prima ballerina that has suffered a career ending tendon injury. After recuperating in Paris, Elise heads off to a remote island off the coast of Holland. Once there she meets Pieter Goedhart a school teacher and reluctant resistance fighter. They are drawn to each other, but Pieter must take care with Elise. She cannot find out about the people he is hiding from the Nazis in his attic. If she does, it could jeopardize both their lives and the lives of those he is hiding. Continue reading “The Nazi’s Daughter by Tim Murgatroyd”

Hannah’s Moon by John A. Heldt

Title: Hannah’s Moon
Author: John A. Heldt
Pub. Date: 8-Feb-2017
Rating: 5 Stars

Hannah’s Moon is the last book in the American Journey series. Do not worry if you have not read any of the other books in the series, because this one can be read as a stand-alone and you will not feel lost. In fact, I have only read one other in the series, September Sky, which is the first one. The entire series is based on a sci-fi, time travel theme. Expect also to get a little romance, suspense and WWII history with this one.

Claire Rasmussen wants nothing more than to have a child. After numerous attempts with the last one ending in a still birth she and Ron, her husband, decide to adopt. They soon discover that in 2017 this route is difficult and a very long process. Fortunately for them, a distant relative enters into the picture. Professor Bell, a relative of Claire’s, does have a solution and offers to send them back to 1945 where adoptions are much quicker and red tape a lot less. Continue reading “Hannah’s Moon by John A. Heldt”

The Gods Who Walk Among Us by Max Eastern

Title: The Gods Who Walk Among Us
Author: Max Eastern
Pub. Date: 14-Mar-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

The Gods Who Walk Among Us is a fast paced thriller. There is plenty of action, suspense and twists in this story to keep any reader sitting on the edge of their seat. This is Max Eastern’s debut novel and a thriller that will have you wanting more; therefore, thriller lovers should be on the lookout for more from this new author.

The story is set in New York City where Adam Azoulay is a washed up attorney working as a paparazzo trying to survive on a merger living selling celebrity photos. By chance, one evening he captures a brief video of an African warlord with an American celebrity of sorts. This draws the attention of a nonprofit looking to make a name for themselves by presenting an award to an elusive, but well known, human rights advocate. To date they have not been able to reach the recipient. They recruit Adam to track him down. Continue reading “The Gods Who Walk Among Us by Max Eastern”

The Heirs by Susan Rieger

Title: The Heirs
Author: Susan Rieger
Pub. Date: 23-May-2017
Rating: 4.5 Stars

The Heirs is an exceptional story about the complexities of family ties. The story starts with the death of the family patriarch, Rupert Falkes, a wealthy and prominent attorney in New York City.  He dies leaving behind a wife, Eleanor, and five sons. Six months after his death a woman comes forth and declares that she had two sons by Rupert. At first, the family dismisses the claim as a gold seeker looking for a way to make money. As the story progresses and more family secrets are revealed the truth is slowly uncovered but not before the whole family is pushed into turbulence.

The whole family is dysfunctional. Some of the characters I liked and some I didn’t. Eleanor’s character was the best by far mainly because she was the most believable. However, some of the sons lacked in development. They made stupid decisions, which all people make, I just never fully understood why and that detracted a little from the story. Nonetheless, it was not enough of a flaw to affect my overall rating of the book. Continue reading “The Heirs by Susan Rieger”

The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger

Title: The Singles Game
Author: Lauren Weisberger
Pub. Date: 12-Jul-2016
Rating: 4 Stars

When I was offered a copy of this book I jumped on it, for two reasons, I loved The Devil Wears Prada and the book meets task one on the 2017 Book Riot’s challenge. The theme of this book is buyer beware because sometimes you get more than you bargained for.

That is exactly what happened to Charlotte “Charlie” Silver. After a devastating injury Charlie is not hearing the words she wants to from her coach. She is a driven young woman and being told she may not be able to play tennis on the same level again does not sit well with her. Therefore, she fires her longtime coach and hires Todd Feltner, a no nonsense coach, with a reputation of being ruthless on his players and expecting the same from them. Continue reading “The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger”

The Angel Alejandro by Alistair Cross

Title: The Angel Alejandro
Author: Alistair Cross
Pub Date: 25-Jan-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

At the core, The Angel Alejandro by Alistair Cross is about greed and lust and its effects when all restraints are removed. A true good versus evil story. The book is rather long (521 pages) and took longer than I thought to read. The reason for the slow read was not the speed of the plot, but I found myself totally absorbed in the story and wanted to go slower and savor all the details.

Alejandro is an angel that has been pulled into this world when Madison O’Riley fell from the roof of her home. He saved her life, yet he cannot remember who he is and strange things happen around him. He hears voices calling for help in his mind and when he responds to one such voice his powers are revealed to the entire world. There is an immediate media frenzy and everyone seems to want a piece of him, including another new comer in town, Gremory Jones. Continue reading “The Angel Alejandro by Alistair Cross”

Come Sundown by Nora Roberts

Title: Come Sundown
Author: Nora Roberts
Pub. Date: 30-May-2017
Rating: 4 Stars

Come Sundown is the story of the Bodine family and is part romance and part thriller. The story opens twenty-five years ago when Alice, the prodigal daughter, who ran off to California to become a movie star, is returning home. Just miles from her family home she is abducted by a stranger known only as “Sir”.

Skip forward to the present and Bodine Longbow, she is the fourth generation, now runs the Bodine resort which sits on a sprawling thirty thousand acre ranch in Montana. Vacationers and honeymooners alike come to the resort to experience the cowboy life and Bodine runs the show seamlessly with the help of a large staff. Continue reading “Come Sundown by Nora Roberts”

Fatal Option by Chris Beakey

Title: Fatal Option
Author: Chris Beakey
Pub. Date: 21-Feb-2017
Rating: 4.5

Fatal Option is about choices and consequences. How seemingly random decisions by various people can align into the perfect storm. This is exactly what happened to the Porters.

Stephen is still mourning his wife’s death and after an evening of drowning his sorrows in a bottle he receives a panicked call from his daughter. She was supposed to be spending the night at a friend’s house just a short distance from their home. However, she has lied and instead gone to a teacher’s home. Now she is scared and wants to leave, but her car has died and with a snowstorm raging outside she calls her father to rescue her. Continue reading “Fatal Option by Chris Beakey”

The Postman’s Fiancee by Denis Theriault

Title: The Postman’s Fiancee
Author: Denis Theriault
Pub Date: 6-Jun-2017
Rating: 4.5 Stars

The Postman’s Fiancée by Denis Theriault, is reminiscent of the movie While You Were Sleeping. In this story, Tania, a waitress in Montreal, falls in loves with one of her customers a postman by the name of Bilodo.  Unbeknownst to Tania, Bilodo has already fallen for his haiku pen pal in Guadeloupe, a young woman he has never meet.

As fate would have it, Bilodo loses his memory after an accident in which Tania saves his life. Seeing an opportunity, Tania decides that she will tell Bilodo they are engaged. She moves him into her apartment and fabricates a web of lies that she will never be able to extract herself from. Bilodo’s physician believes that his memory will eventually return. What will Tania do then? Continue reading “The Postman’s Fiancee by Denis Theriault”

The Beaumonts: The Kentucky Bourbon Series by Bobby Collins and Jimmy Star

Title: The Beaumonts: The Kentucky Bourbon Series
Authors: Bobby Collins & Jimmy Star
Pub Date: 5-Jan-2017
Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Beaumonts: The Kentucky Bourbon Series is the story of two rival Bourbon distilling families, the Beaumonts and the Taylors.  The families just became linked when Rickey Beaumont marries Donna Taylor. No one in either family even knew they were dating. Therefore, when Rickey and Donna arrive at the Beaumont estate it is quite a surprise.  Despite the shock, the Beaumont family welcomes Donna with open arms, the only exception being Cliff, Rickey’s older brother.

Rickey is not so fortune when the time comes to meet Donna’s father, Joe Taylor. Joe is livid and very vocal in expressing his displeasure over the marriage. He views it as the ultimate betrayal by Donna. He sees the Beaumonts as his enemy and declares that as long as Donna is married to one he will have nothing to do with her. Continue reading “The Beaumonts: The Kentucky Bourbon Series by Bobby Collins and Jimmy Star”