#BlogTour: The Sapphire Daughter by Soraya Lane

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an interesting and intriguing series continuation with great foreshadowing for a future story in the series. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Sapphire Daughter by Soraya Lane.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Solid And Interesting Series Continuation. This is one of the more interesting entries in this loosely coupled series (that can mostly be read as standalone, but characters from prior books are showing up with more frequency in each book along with at least some spoilers about their own stories) in that unlike so many romance novels out there – even within this series – our lead female here truly doesn’t actually need *anything* from the man who is about to rock her world. There is zero discussion of kids in this particular romance (yay for the child free! :D), so even that motivation for “needing a man” isn’t actually in the text at hand. Her job in particular is rare enough to be intriguing, even as someone who has some knowledge of that field.

Instead, this tale yet again combines both of Lane’s contemporary romance and historical fiction worlds (and yes, as such has a dual timeline), though the emphasis in this particular tale does lean more towards the contemporary romance rather than the historical one.

One of the more intriguing bits here is the continued foreshadowing of the tale that started the entire series – will Lane wait to *end* the series with that particular tale as well, or will we get it at some point in between? For now, only Lane knows. For the rest of us, it will be interesting seeing just where Lane takes this series next.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Cuban Daughter by Soraya Lane

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a second book in a very loosley connected series that proves to be even more powerful than the first. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Cuban Daughter by Soraya Lane.

Here’s what I said on Goodreads:

Second Verse More Powerful Than The First. This was the second book in this new trilogy where Lane combines both sides of her writing to phenomenal success. As Soraya M Lane, Lane generally writes compelling and seemingly realistic historical fiction. As Soraya Lane, Lane generally writes more contemporary romance, with all that said genre entails. With this series, Lane manages to execute on Digimon Frontier’s Susanoomon ultimate combined evolution and combine both sides of herself into one truly powerful writer. Both sides of this work just as well as any fan of either side of her writing would expect, and combine to breathtaking and heartbreaking result. Cuba comes alive in this tale in ways few American media really allow it to do, both in the historical side and in the contemporary side – which may be helped by the fact that Lane lives in New Zealand and this particular series is published by a British imprint? 🙂 Truly an excellent book, and one loosely coupled enough from its predecessor (who is only briefly alluded to near the beginning of this tale) that anyone can pick up either book in either order and not really miss anything or be spoiled of any details from the other book. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, social media, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Cuban Daughter by Soraya Lane”

#BookReview: The London Girls by Soraya M. Lane

Yet Another Realistic Fiction Of WWII. Lane does a tremendous amount of research for all of her WWII historical novels, then takes licenses where needed to tell the story she is trying to tell within that setting, and this tale is no different. Yet again Lane manages to bring a spotlight to a particularly deadly role in the war, that of the female motorcycle dispatch riders in the UK -where in the author’s note Lane reveals that of the 303 women killed in the line of duty (of 100,000 serving), roughly one third of them were these very riders.

And yet, even in this realism we also get a remarkable sense of who these characters are and some of their all-too-real motivations, as is also typical of a Lane tale. You’re going to fall in love with these women and their men, and that makes the tragedies of war all too real for the reader as well.

The only modicum of anything remotely negative here is likely at least parts of the epilogue, where Lane falls into tropes all too common in romance books (which this could *maybe* qualify as, as well?)… but here again, given the events of the years immediately after the war… even this particular thing is more real than not, and thus contributes to the very “mostly accurate” depiction Lane strives for and achieves.

Ultimately this tale does exactly what Lane set out to do – highlight these women most have never really known about, and tell tales of their lives that are all too plausible in every respect. Very much recommended.

This review of The London Girls by Soraya M. Lane was originally written on October 25, 2022.

#BlogTour: Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

For this blog tour we’re looking at Sarah Morgan’s seeming annual Christmas story, this time a Hallmarkie type tale set primarily in Scotland. For this blog tour we’re looking at Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Hallmark Scottish Christmas. Let’s be real here, this book is essentially a Hallmark Christmas movie set in Scotland. How you feel about the entire tale will likely be pretty close to how you feel about the sentence prior to this one in this review. There are three different romance tales at play here, between each of three siblings – Ross being the sacrificial lamb with a made up girlfriend to distract his parents from his sisters’ issues but who becomes all too real, Alice with an all too real fiancee, and Clemmie with plans of her own… who then has her own story from there. Along the way we also get to see the conflict between Ross and his dad, both of them successful businessmen who love to talk about anything *other* than business with each other. Ultimately, Morgan weaves her magic and makes all of this work quite well – if pretty much exactly within the Hallmarkie mold. Still, this is yet another solid hit for Morgan, and exactly how good of a hit really depends on exactly what the reader themselves feel about this type of story – Morgan’s bread and butter. I happened to think it worked quite well, and it is very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan”

#BlogTour: Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a fun and witty romantic comedy with heart – where the author seemingly read my review of her last book and corrected the issue in this one. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

The One Where The Author Seemingly Read My Review Of Her Last Book. I’ve now had the pleasure of working both of Bromley’s books as blog tours, and this book shows her progression as a writer and storyteller – she is able to make a book that is just as fun and witty as her debut, but add in some serious angst and drama to boot, and in turn morph this romantic comedy into a blend of romantic comedy and women’s fiction. But the most interesting facet of this book, for this reader looking back at his review of her last one, is my commentary on an unnecessary feature in that first book’s epilogue… which gets mirrored (to a degree) in this book’s epilogue. It seems that at minimum, Bromley was aware that this issue existed, and actively chose to go a different (and refreshing) route in the epilogue here. Oh, and this is one of those romantic comedies where the dog dang near steals every scene he is in, if not the entire dang show. Truly a fun and witty tale with heart, and very much recommended.

Below the jump, an excerpt followed by the “publisher details” – description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley”

#FallIntoChristmasRomance #BlogTour: The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a more-realistic-than-Hallmark Christmas Romance. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Would It Be Christmas Without Family Drama? This book has a LOT going on, and yes, it does in fact more blend the women’s fiction and romance genres than play strictly by either one. (Though it *does* meet all of the “qualifications” for either even according to the strictest interpretations of the “rules” I am aware of, for those that care about such trivialities.) Your *basic* plot threads are these: married couple with problems working to reconcile, forced proximity romance, best friend issues between the two women in the aforementioned couples, long lost family/ traumatic secrets. Which in 350 ish pages is a LOT to work through, but Morgan does it well and never drags too much at any given point. The Lapland scenery is described beautifully (at least as I’ve seen the region on such shows as The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals on Netflix, this American has never been further North than New Hampshire), and the cold and isolation provide some amazing (and “traditionally” – for northerners) “Christmassy” vibes. This story is a bit more serious and complex than a usual Hallmark Christmas movie, and doesn’t rely as heavily on “Christmas Magic”, but instead serves as a more realistic take on a Christmas Romance – which is needed in the overly saturated market. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, social media links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#FallIntoChristmasRomance #BlogTour: The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan”

#BookReview: An Unexpected Distraction by Catherine Bybee

Organic Romance – In A Romance Book???? Let’s face it, so many times in a romance book, the romance feels at least somewhat contrived. “Oh, you’re *really* going to go completely against your established character for this person you just randomly met?” kind of stuff. This isn’t the case here. Instead, Bybee crafts one of the more genuinely organic romances I’ve ever seen in a romance book… while still having her lead female kick ass and take names later. Fans of the Richter books largely know what you’re getting into here, and while this *does* work as a standalone, there *are* a lot of established external characters and backstories that you’re going to want to know up front. Thus, while you don’t have to go *all* the way back to its actual origins a couple of series ago, I absolutely recommend at minimum starting with Richter #1 and working your way to this book. But if you do… you’re going to want to get here anyway. 🙂 Very much recommended.

This review of An Unexpected Distraction by Catherine Bybee was originally written on November 7, 2021.

Featured New Release Of The Week: The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

This week we’re looking at a book that is far more twisted than even the river it is set on. This week we’re looking at The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

More Twisted Than The London River It Takes Place On. This is one of those hyper-twisted books where for much of the tale, you think you’re getting one thing… only for it to flip, then flip again, then again and again and again. Told mostly in two eras, the days immediately after a particular person goes missing and the year prior to that event, this is a tale of intrigue and, let’s be quite honest, quite deplorable characters. Seriously, if you are the type that has to “like” the characters or at least one of them… well, there really isn’t much of that to go around here. These characters are all horrible in some way or another, though hey, perhaps that is life. Overall a compelling story with an ending you won’t believe. Very much recommended.

#BookReview: The Street Party by Claire Seeber

Balanced Yet Contrived. This is a story where you almost feel like it is more of a 4*, but there is nothing *really* there from a more objective standpoint that I try to rate on to justify the reduction. Yes, it could use better separation of its various narrators’ voices, rather than just the one word at the top of the chapter with their name. Yes, at times it feels that so many situations are thrown in just because the author was hoping some bookstagrammer would hashtag that situation and help market the book based on it. Yes, talking to cops without an attorney present is so GLARINGLY stupid and cringeworthy. *PARTICULARLY* for minorities. And yet, even with all of this, the story ultimately works. Not as a “thriller”, mind you, but more as a women’s fiction/ suspense character study. As a thriller… well, the book spends the first half setting up the titular Party, about 10-15% on the actual Party, and then the back part of the book dealing with the aftermath. It has the requisite secrets, lies, backstabbing, and comeuppance, and ultimately it really does tell a fairly balanced tale from a few different perspectives, but it just never quite feels as satisfying/ mind bending as many readers in this space typically look for. And yet, again, nothing truly “this is objectively wrong/ bad” here to really hang a star reduction on. Thus, 5* and recommended.

This review of The Street Party by Claire Seeber was originally written on April 29, 2021.

#BookReview: Razia by Abda Khan

I’m Still Unsettled About This Book. As I write this review, I finished reading this book just a few minutes ago before eating supper with my wife while watching How I Met Your Mother, as is our norm. And while the book is definetly worthy of the 5 stars I decided to give it, my mind hasn’t really set on a way to review it, hence this more stream-of-consciousness review. On the one hand, the ending was at least somewhat predictable in type if not in particulars, particularly after an event about 2/3 into the book, and the time jumps without any level of overt date reference were a bit jarring, but detectable within the context of the events described. But at the end of the day, this was a very detailed look at modern Pakistani life in particular, which is something I had never seen before – and that alone to me warranted the 5 stars, for the education it gave me while telling a solid story. I guess I’m torn more because of how the overall tale turned out, which I really can’t get into too much without going into spoiler territory. For so long the book was going in one direction and was a solid effort in that direction, and then the book abruptly shifts into a completely different direction and yet there too is reasonably solid, and the two different direction do indeed come together in the end. But read the book for yourself and decide for yourself. It is a truly worthy read.

This review of Razia by Abda Khan was originally published on July 8, 2019.