Title: My Name Is Venus Black Author: Heather Lloyd Pub. Date: 27-Feb-2018 Rating: 4 Stars
My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd is a thought provoking story of how a young girl commits a horrible crime and yet in so many ways is innocent. The story is told from two points of view. First and foremost Venus and then secondary by Tessa. At the heart, the story is about family, love and forgiveness.
Venus Black is just thirteen when she is convicted of killing her stepfather. She escapes being tried as an adult – barely. She is sent to a juvenile correction facility to serve her six year sentence. Her brother Leo, a high functioning, autistic child, is kidnapped just days after the crime. He is never found. Once Venus serves her time and is released, she wants two things. First, to start over with a new identity. Second, to find her brother. Continue reading “My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd”
Title: The Girl in Times Square Author: Paullina Simons Pub. Date: 30-Jun-2004 Rating: 4.7 Stars
I am so in love with Paullina Simons’s writing. She captured me with The Bronze Horseman, and I have been a fan ever since. The Girl in Times Square just solidifies my admiration of her work. It is one of the most heart wrenching stories I have read.
Lily Quinn is twenty-four and still in college since she lacks a few credits to graduate. Lily just can’t seem to get her life together. Her boyfriend has moved out of their tiny apartment she shares with her friend Amy and now she has to pay his portion of rent. She can barely afford her share. Feeling like she is drifting, she lets her grandmother talk her into visiting her mother in Hawaii. Continue reading “The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons”
Title: The Queen of the Night Author: Alexander Chee Pub. Date: 2-Jan-2016 Rating: 3 Stars
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee is one of those books that I should have fell in love with from the opening pages. From the synopsis it sounded to me like most everything I love about historical fiction. Sadly, I was disappointed.
Lilliet Berne is a famous Paris opera singer with a checked past. She has survived untold hardships to arrive at the place she is today. There are only a few people who know the whole truth of who Lilliet really is, a sum total of four, and it seems one of them is out to expose her. She knows this because a new opera has been written just for her, the crowning glory for an opera singer, and her life is the story. All her secrets will be exposed to the world. Continue reading “The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee”
Title: Sometimes I Lie Author: Alice Feeney Pub. Date: 13-Mar-2018 Rating: 5 Stars
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney is a chilling debut novel that you will not put down until the last sentence is devoured. This psychological thriller is in the vain of Gone Girl and is sure to keep you awake long after you have finished reading. Definitely one of the best this year.
At this point I usually give a synopsis of the plot; however, this time it is impossible to without some sort of spoiler and I hate spoilers. Believe me, this book is too good and you will be thanking me after you read it. Instead I am just giving you the blurb from the book. Continue reading “Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney”
Title: House of Shadows Author: Nicola Cornick Pub. Date: 17-Oct-2017 Rating: 5 Stars
House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick is a wonderful, fictional story that has been skillfully woven into and around English history. The story line was rather complex as the reader is actually following three separate time lines, one in the 17th century, the 19th and the present.
The story opens on the death bed of Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, as she implorers William Craven, the First Earl of Craven her faithful and devoted cavalier, to destroy a pearl and a jeweled mirror that she believed had wrought havoc in her family. The story then leaps forward to the present when Holly gets a call in the middle of the night from her niece saying her father, Holly’s brother, is missing. Continue reading “House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick”
Title: The Tourist Author: Robert Dickinson Pub. Date: 18-Oct-2016 Rating: 2 Stars
The Tourist by Robert Dickinson is a time travel novel that left me wanting. I did manage to get to the end, but it was a struggle at times. The tidbits of information that were supposed to move the plot along were few and far between and ambiguous at best. I love books that make me think and put all the puzzle pieces together in order to have that climatic moment where I can sigh with relief because I get it. That did not happen for me with this book. There were too many puzzle pieces missing for me to get a complete picture. Therefore, I was left wanting in the end.
Then to make matters worse the plot jumps around in time, to various places and different people. Making it more difficult to keep up with what was going on and whose time line I was reading about. I especially did not care for the use of second person for one of the characters. I have read other books were that technique worked well. Its use here turned murky waters to muddy. Continue reading “The Tourist by Robert Dickinson”
Title: All the King’s Soliders Author: John Anthony Miller Pub Date: 17-Feb-2017 Rating: 5 Stars
All the King’s Soldiers is set in 1940 Lisbon shortly after the German invasion of France. There is a large network of spies, of multiple nationalities, in and around Lisbon, given that Portugal has decided to remain neutral.
The story opens with the murder of Taylor Hartridge, a British spy, in a small town just outside of Lisbon. It is thought he was killed for the contents of his safe. It is believed the safe contained the German invasion plans for Great Britain, a very valuable commodity and definitely one to kill for. Continue reading “All the King’s Soliders by John Anthony Miller”
Dandelion Dead, by Chrystle Fiedler, is the fourth book in the Natural Remedies series. Even though this is the fourth book in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone book. Ms. Fiedler did an excellent job of giving the reader enough background information on the characters so you do not miss out on anything happening in the story.
Willow McQuade wears many hats, owner of Nature’s Way Market and Café, holistic doctor, animal rescuer and part time sleuth. It all starts when Willow is catering an event for Pure, a local winery, run by her ex-boyfriend Simon. All is going well, at least on the surface, until during the party the body of Amy Lord is found and it is discovered that she died from ingesting poison hemlock. Amy is the sister-in-law to Simon’s business partner David. The leading suspect in the case is Willow’s assistant Lily and the police are convinced they have their killer since Amy had both motive, opportunity and the knowledge of poisonous plants.
With the police refusing to look for another suspect, the trio of Willow, Simon and Willow’s boyfriend Jackson team up to put their amateur sleuth skills to work. What they uncover is a tangled web of lies, jealousy and deceit. They suspect that David was the real target and not Amy. As they try to unravel the mystery of Amy’s death there are additional attempts on David’s life confirming their theory and spurring them on to discover who the real killer is.
There are several interesting twists that made the story very compelling. The back stories of the characters were very thoughtful done and gave the story a real believability. The pace of the story was good and I particularly liked how all the lives of the characters were intertwined. All in all, this book is a great cozy mystery. I really loved all the herbal lore and remedies in the story. The author’s love of herbs and holistic remedies really shows in this book.
Anyone who loves mysteries is bound to fall in love with this one. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.
