Author: Kimberly

Posted on

Kimberly reviews The Girl She Wanted by K.L. Slater

TITLE: The Girl She Wanted
CHARACTERS: Alexa & Carrie
AUTHOR: K.L. Slater
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/22/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
What if my sister is unstable and everyone can see it but me? What was she really doing standing over Florence’s cot in the middle of the night?

Alexa has always looked up to her older sister Carrie. Carrie lives in Alexa’s family home, and adores her one-year-old niece Florence. Alexa doesn’t know how they would cope without her. So when Carrie is suspended from her job as a senior nurse, accused of the most terrible crime, Alexa reels in disbelief. Alexa knows how caring Carrie is, and as she watches Florence gurgling and cooing whenever Carrie is around, she knows her little girl is in safe hands.

Alexa’s husband doesn’t trust Carrie. He wants her out of the house, unable to ignore what people are saying about her. But when he suggests that Carrie could be a danger to their daughter, Alexa shuts him out. Nobody will ever come between her and her sister.

Then Florence is hurt while in Carrie’s care and Alexa at last starts to wonder. Alexa has always wanted to protect Carrie from the past they have hidden. But does Alexa know what Carrie wants? And will the secret that has kept the sisters together now destroy her little girl?

A completely gripping rollercoaster of a read about the darkness families hide behind closed doors. Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be hooked on The Girl She Wanted.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts If given the chance would you believe your own sister or your husband? And would you trust your sister with your precious child or trust your husband’s instinct and keep her far away?

I had a hard time getting into this book but once I did I enjoyed it. There was some suspense as to why Carrie was fired and did she really hurt the people she was nursing which I found interesting and kept me wanting to read to find out what really happened.

I also worried for the baby. The title led me to believe something was going to happen one way and that then it didn’t. So I kept waiting.

Interesting read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Kimberly reviews Don’t Look by Alexandra Ivy

TITLE: Don’t Look
SERIES #: Pike, Wisconsin #1
CHARACTERS: Lynne & Kir
AUTHOR: Alexandra Ivy
PUBLICATION DATE: 12/01/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
IF YOU’RE ON HIS LIST
A woman’s naked body is discovered, cold and pale as the surrounding snow–except for the crimson scarf around her neck. The weeks that follow bring more victims and evidence of a terrifying pattern. The killer has a list. And every woman on it will get what she deserves . . .

YOU’RE AS GOOD
Dr. Lynne Gale followed in her father’s footsteps to become a vet in Pike, Wisconsin. For years, she’s had little contact with Kir Jansen, son of the town’s late sheriff. Suddenly he’s back, insisting that Lynne’s in danger. She can’t believe anyone would target her, but someone is hunting the women of Pike, savoring every last moment.

AS DEAD
Kir hoped that his father’s frantic calls about a serial killer were just an old man’s delusions. But the body count doesn’t lie. In this quiet town, a monster stalks and kills. And soon, Lynne’s will be the last name on his list . . .
REVIEW:
Yay! A New series from Alexandra Ivy!!!

I love Ivy’s writing. I have loved her writing back to her paranormal and into the suspense genre. She, honestly, never disappoints me. And she didn’t this time either.

Ok, lets state the obvious and move from there… Yes, Kir and Lynne become amatuer detectives and somehow figure out what the cops can not. This is not new in the genre. So yes, that is obvious and unrealistic but we do not pick up these books to read realism.

Now Kir returns to town to bury his father. His dad knows there is a serial killer out there and he was getting letters from the killer. But Kir comes back and realizes that his dad was right. And Kir also meets Dr Lynne, a vet, and a romance blossoms.

Alexandra Ivy always writes great characters. I would want to be friends with Kir and Lynne. And I would certainly want them on my side if my death seemed suspicious. And their romance that comes from their time together is expected and wonderful.

I am happy to see Ivy with a new series. I never miss her books and can’t wait to meet more of the people from Pike.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4 Hearts

Posted on

Kimberly reviews Silent Ridge by Gregg Olsen

TITLE: Silent Ridge (original title: Dark Falls)
SERIES #: Detective Megan Carpenter #3
CHARACTERS: Megan & Ronnie
AUTHOR: Gregg Olsen
PUBLICATION DATE: 12/04/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
They say your past can come back to haunt you. For Detective Megan Carpenter, her past might just come back to kill her.

Detective Megan Carpenter is no stranger to horrifying crime scenes, but when she arrives at the home of a woman whose body has been brutalized, Megan is shocked to discover that she knows the victim. Monique Delmont helped Megan when she was in danger years ago. And the killer has left a disturbing calling card… two laminated photographs of a sixteen-year-old high school girl – Megan.

Someone is taunting her in the worst way possible and Megan is convinced she knows who is responsible. She just has to find him.

With the help of her new partner, Deputy Ronnie Marsh, Megan begins to unravel the clues that will lead them to the killer including links to three female murder cases from nearly twenty years ago – one of which was Monique’s daughter.

But to protect those closest to her, Megan must continue to hide the dark truth of her past, even if that means lying to her team about her connection to Monique.

When two photographs of a teenage Megan are found at her boyfriend’s place in Snow Creek, she knows the killer is circling and ready to strike again.

Can she get to him before he finds her? And will she pay the ultimate price for trying to keep her terrifying past buried?

An addictive edge-of-your-seat crime thriller from the Number One, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon Chart bestselling author.

REVIEW:
When I requested this book from NetGalley it was titled Dark Falls but now it has been changed to Silent Ridge. Not sure of the reason for the change but I wanted to get that out of the way for those confused by the name change.

This is the third in the series and while I somehow missed book #2 having read the first in the series, Snow Creek, it was helpful to know the character already. I am not sure someone just coming into this series will appreciate the character as someone who has read one or both of the previous books.

I don’t know how I feel about this book. I mean I really like the writings of Olsen but I am already a little tired of Megan. I am not sure why everyone she encounters as a detective she has known before. And I am not sure I appreciate all the baggage she comes with. That being said she is a strong character who prevails above her past.

Will give the series more time to develop. And I hope we see a few more sides of Megan.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Winter Romance Wednesday! Kimberly reviews Christmas At Holiday House by RaeAnne Thayne

TITLE: Christmas At Holiday House
CHARACTERS: Abby & Ethan
AUTHOR: RaeAnne Thayne
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/06/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
In the town of Silver Bells, there’s always a feeling of Christmas in the air… Let love—and RaeAnne Thayne—melt your heart this holiday season!

This New Year will bring widowed nurse Abigail Powell a fresh start in a different city. Excited about the chance to create an unforgettable Christmas for her young son in picturesque Silver Bells, Colorado, Abby has been hired to take care of her dear friend’s recuperating grandmother. But sprightly senior Winnie insists she doesn’t need looking after. What she does need is help decorating her historic mansion, Holiday House, for a seasonal town fundraiser. Abby warms to the festive task, but she’ll have to contend with her own personal Grinch: Winnie’s prickly grandson, Ethan Lancaster.

Ethan Lancaster is good at a lot of things. Relationships surely aren’t one of them. His ex-fiancée convinced Ethan he was incapable of love, and he believes her…up until the moment he impulsively kisses Abby. What is it about this vibrant woman and her sweet son that knocks his world off-kilter? He knows they’re leaving town after Christmas. He just didn’t expect they’d be taking a little of his heart with them. But as he and Abby work together on the magical Holiday House through the record cold weather, visions of a different future dance in his head…one filled with warmth, love and a new beginning for them both.

REVIEW:
4.75 Hearts I love all of RaeAnne Thayne’s books but there is something special about the Holiday/Christmas novels that she writes and this one was simply one of the best yet.

Abby is brought to town to help with her best friend’s grandmother. She feels this will give her son a festival holiday and she is slowly pulled into the town and the wonderful people she comes across. Ethan is one of those people and sparks fly but neither Abby nor Ethan are sure that they are ready for or even can love.

The city of Silver Bells makes you want to climb through the book and head there for the holidays. Thayne has a way of pulling you into her stories with the meeting of the first character.

Another worthy read to get into the Holiday/Christmas spirit.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Kimberly reviews Deadly Games by Steve Frech

TITLE: Deadly Games
CHARACTERS: Clay & Genevieve
AUTHOR: Steve Frech
PUBLICATION DATE: 12/04/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
I know everything about you.
I know your name, your birthday, your kids’ names, where you live, where you work. I know when you get that big promotion, or when you argue with your spouse.
You tell me all this because I’m your bartender.
But someone knows everything about me too. Someone knows all my secrets and they’re using them against me. They’re setting me up.
The police think I murdered Emily Parker. To prove my innocence I need to find the real killer.
I need to beat him at his own game.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is one of those books that I just do not know how to rate. I liked it and yet I didn’t.

I really liked the characters. I found them very detailed and seemed as though if they were real I might go to the bar and meet up with them. I liked Clay and Genevieve a lot.

BUT… I really wasn’t overly impressed with the story. I found the story to be a bit draggy in some parts and quite a bit obvious. I had the murderer pretty much narrowed down to two and then once I decided “who-dun-it” I was right. And honestly I prefer to be surprised.

Maybe if I didn’t read as much as I do I would have enjoyed it more but it just seemed all too familiar of a story.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Kimberly reviews Haunting in Old Tailem by Janice Tremayne

TITLE: Haunting In Old Tailem
SERIES #: Haunting Clarisse #3
CHARACTERS: Clarisse
AUTHOR: Janice Tremayne
PUBLICATION DATE: 12/01/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
An Australian Ghost town. A resident demon and a local Shaman. A confrontation with evil awaits.

Clarisse realizes that running from evil is not a bad idea until you figure out you can’t hide. When some ghosts get tired of hanging around, they latch onto you. At the centre of the war on evil is a historic Church that carries dark secrets within its walls. After she meets with the local Shaman, Clarisse discovers secrets with evil consequences by digging too deep into the town’s past. When matters become complicated, she visits a circus of young performers on the outskirts of town triggering unexpected paranormal events and unleashing memories of a one-hundred-year curse. After being caught in the crossfire of a battle for evil supremacy, Clarisse confronts Little Charlie as he rallies the town’s ghosts into an impeccable evil stronghold.

Can the local Shaman and townsfolk rally in her quest to defeat the evil incarnate or will the town succumb to Little Charlie and his evil crew?

Haunting in Old Tailem is the third book of the Haunting Clarisse Series. If you like spine-tingling, chilling, creepy and spooky supernatural thrillers, then you will love this story by 2020 USA Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards Finalist in Supernatural Fiction, Janice Tremayne.

Pick up your copy today and follow Clarisse through her battles with evil!

★ This book can be read as a stand-alone

REVIEW:
First the synopsis says that this can be read as a stand alone. But I think having not read the first two I missed out on something. I feel I didn’t have a good feel for the characters even after getting to know them in this book.

Clarisse is a clairvoyant who goes to Australia to work with Henry but a spooky church in the town becomes more of the focus than the work Henry needs to do. Soon it becomes clear that this is not just ghost haunting but way more. Like Satan and his henchmen attracting legions to do is bidding. Including children who visit the town.

I was really looking for a ghost story but got more of a horror flick. Seems that the read is either dull or action packed. There is no in between. I have to say that once I was reading it I was fine with continuing but I was not jumping up to grab the book after having set it down.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Kimberly reviews He Will Get You by Charlie Gallagher

TITLE: He Will Get You
SERIES #: Maddie Ives #5
CHARACTERS: Maddie Ives
AUTHOR: Charlie Gallagher
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/10/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A KILLER WHO LOVES TO WATCH THE RESULTS OF THE HAVOC HE WREAKS
DETECTIVE MADDIE IVES FACES HER WORST NIGHTMARE.
Lance Askew is a career serial killer. He lives for it.
THE FIRST VICTIM
Alice Oxley runs her own café. An older man has become a regular over the last month. He likes to people watch. He doesn’t say much.
When he does speak. It comes from nowhere, he waits until she is very close: ”Your son is dead. I killed him.”
Her boyfriend is dead too. He says he left them under the photo on the stairs, the one where they’re all smiling together.
He drinks in her reaction then breaks the spell: “Go!” he rasps.
She runs home to see what he has done.
THE SECOND VICTIM
Michelle Rice pushes open her garden gate. It makes a squealing sound – it always has. It is how Lance Askew knows she’s home. He can barely contain himself. He is waiting for her.
Soon she will see what he has done.
A THIRD VICTIM IS IDENTIFIED.
Another family are about to have their lives ruined.
Maddie Ives and Harry Blaker are the detectives who must stop this killer. And he is far from finished.
ONE OF THEIR OWN IS THE NEXT TARGET

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is the 5th in the series but I have not read any so I could tell that I was missing something in the background of the characters but that did not take away from the suspense. But it did take a way a bit from the characters.

This story is a bit different. We actually know “who-dun-it” but we are not exactly sure the motive. And Lance Askew is a sick man. He likes to watch the mayhem he causes. He wants to see the devastated family. He wants the cops to keep looking for him while he enjoys his game. He was almost cringe-worthy.

I had a bit of a hard time with the murders. I like a good suspense book but have never been into the gore, I guess you could say and this book really kind of has that. There is so much detail I sometimes skipped over the details of the murder. The psychological side was a bit unnerving but intense which left me wanting to know why.

I think you need to be into the genre to enjoy it.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Kelly reviews Harrow The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

TITLE: Harrow the Ninth
SERIES #: The Locked Tomb #2
CHARACTERS: Harrowhawk Nonagesimus
AUTHOR: Tamsyn Muir
NARRATOR: Moira Quirk
RUN TIME: 19 Hours & 51 Minutes
PUBLICATION DATE: August 4, 2020
ORDER LINKS: Audible | Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to the sensational, USA Today best-selling novel Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor’s haunted space station.
She answered the Emperor’s call.
She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.
In victory, her world has turned to ash.
After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman’s shoulders.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath — but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her.
Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor’s Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?

REVIEW:
4.5 Hearts
#1 These book covers are EPIC!! I need to find a good way to display them on my bookshelves!!!!!
#2 This book is all over the place! You need to make sure that you are paying attention to what is happening or you may find yourself lost.
#3 OMG!! Did…. Is that…… WOW!!! Okay this is good.
#4 What the heck?
So those were my thoughts as I read/listened to Harrow the Ninth! Tamsyn Muir is an excellent storyteller even when I am super confused and have no clue what is happening. There is always a method behind her madness and chaos.
I thoroughly enjoyed Harrow the Ninth. But I must tell you that you do need to read Gideon the Ninth first.
Moira Quirk does another amazing job bringing all these crazy complexed characters to life! I really enjoyed having her read this story to me.
I am super excited for the final installment in this trilogy. I have a feeling the Alecto the Ninth is going to be beyond epic!!!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Edelweiss & Tor Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

4 Hearts

Posted on

Winter Romance Wednesday! Kimberly reviews Candy Cane Crime by Amanda Flower

TITLE: Candy Cane Crime
SERIES #: Amish Candy Shop Mystery #5.5
CHARACTERS: Charlotte & Luke
AUTHOR: Amanda Flower
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/06/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A candy-striped caper . . .

Christmas is coming all too quickly for Harvest, Ohio’s famous chocolatier, Bailey King. Thanks to her new cable TV show, her shop has more candy orders than she can handle this holiday season. Fortunately, her beloved Cousin Charlotte is happy to take the Candy Cane Exchange off Bailey’s to-do list. After all, Charlotte has come to Harvest from her conservative home district to find her future outside of her family’s influence. What better way than by taking on the English task of pairing the sweet notes everyone is exchanging with a peppermint treat, just in time for Christmas Eve delivery? But when Charlotte discovers some of those delicious missives are for her, suddenly she’s staking out the festive postbox, hoping to catch her secret admirer in his intriguing tracks . . .

When Charlotte sees something underhanded going on beneath the merrymaking, she enlists the help of Sheriff Deputy Luke Little to find out if her unknown correspondent is none other than the town’s biggest suspect. And the surprising truth about her suitor’s identity has her contemplating leaving her Amish roots behind forever . . .

REVIEW:
Ok I will be honest, I grabbed this book because of the adorable pig on the cover. I mean it’s a piglet!! But I am really glad I did.

The story is very sweet. The “mystery” isn’t a who-dun-it type mystery. This is part of the Amish Candy Shop series so there is a sweet romance but nothing that goes too far beyond the sweetness of the candy shop.

Sweet story wrapped around the holiday.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Posted on

Kelly reviews The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

TITLE: The Haunting of Hill House
AUTHORS: Shirley Jackson
NARRATOR: Laura Miller
RUN TIME: 7 Hours & 27 Minutes
PUBLICATION DATE: Originally Published in 1959
ORDER LINKS: Audible | Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts Hill House has sat empty for many years and many have said that it should be burned to the ground.
Let me start by saying the book is WAY different then the tv series. Some of the characters are the same and a few events are the same but other than that way, way different. So if you are planning to read this based on the TV series you have been warned.
The book dives into the past more and some events that lead to Hill House being haunted. But even with that the story is a little slow to start. It takes a bit for the story to really pick up steam and get to the good parts. But I can see why this has been a fan favorite for so many years. I am glad that I picked up the original version to see what inspired the TV series (which I loved).
Disclaimer:
I purchased this audiobook from Audible.com and this review is my own opinion and not a paid review.


Posted on

Kelly reviews The Bright And Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill

TITLE: The Bright and Breaking Sea
SERIES: Captain Kit Brightling #1
CHARACTERS: Kit Brightling & Rian Grant
AUTHORS: Chloe Neill
NARRATOR: Danielle Cohen
RUN TIME: 10 Hours & 55 Minutes
PUBLICATION DATE: November 17, 2020
ORDER LINKS: Audible | Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Chloe Neill brings her trademark wit and wild sense of adventure to a stunning seafaring fantasy starring a dauntless heroine in a world of magic and treachery.
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles’ Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte’s fleet. Her ship is small, but she’s fast–in part because of Kit’s magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for.
Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn’t know him or his motives–and she’s dealt with one too many members of the Beau Monde. But Kit has her orders, and the queen has commanded they journey to a dangerous pirate quay and rescue a spy who’s been gathering intelligence on the exiled emperor of Gallia.
Kit can lead her ship and clever crew on her own, but with the fate of queen and country at stake, Kit and Rian must learn to trust each other, or else the Isles will fall.

REVIEW:
Pirates, magic and mayhem..
Such a wonderful start to a new series for Chloe Neill. The Bright and Breaking Sea follow Captain Kit Brightling and her crew. Captain Brightling is tasked with saving a member of the Crown. The task includes sharing the leader role with Viscount Rian Grant. The success of the mission will depend on how well these two can and will work together.
I listened to The Bright and Breaking Sea on Audio. Danielle Cohen is a new narrator to me. I thought she did a wonderful job narrating this book. I will say that there was a time or two when she said a word that caught me off guard. But only because that is not how I pronounce them. But I had to remind myself that this story takes place in New London.
I am very much looking forward to the next adventure in the Kit Brightling series! If you are looking for an adventure romance who’s main character is awesome I would suggest picking up this book.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Tantor Audio in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

4 Hearts