Tag: family

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#BookReview: Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan

Solid Slow Burn Romance. This is one of those romances where both people come into it with some pretty hefty emotional baggage – that each is very cognizant of their own and knows they need to work on, thus providing most of the actual drama here. Those looking for external drama/ suspense will only find the barest touch, deep in the text, and thus this may not be the book for you if that is something you *must* have.

For those looking for a more laid back “I’ve gone through hell and need to heal myself, but this person is extremely interesting” type romance, this is much closer to that kind of feel, and I think you’ll like it quite a bit. It *is* the third book in a series and possibly the finale of a trilogy, but it also works decently well as a standalone, so long as you don’t mind previous characters showing up and thus knowing that prior couples from other romance novels actually (shockingly! -note the dripping sarcasm there) wound up together.

The presence of a minor yet recurring (and somewhat essential, at least in the endgame) non-binary character is one of those things that some will actively buy the book specifically because it has this kind of character, and others will actively avoid this book for exactly the same reasons. You do you, no judgement at all here – unless you one star the book because of this character. That, I absolutely condemn you to some minor irritation for a day over. After all, I’ve now warned you about this, and you chose to read the book anyway.

Regardless of what you thought though, please do leave a review wherever you see this one after reading the book yourself. I’d love to hear what you think.

Oh, and a note about the “spice level”: Apparently Sullivan is known for closed-door romances, and this is exactly that. Things get a touch more interesting than basic kissing, so I think I’d rate this somewhere around a poblano pepper or so. It may cause some heart palpitations for some and yet be quite bland indeed for others, but for most it will work well enough to provide a solid flavor without being overwhelming.

Very much recommended.

This review of Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan was originally written on September 30, 2025.

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#BookReview: Deep Blue Lies by Gregg Dunnett

Perfect Blend Of Travel And Psychological Thriller. Quite simply, this book is amazing. It stumbles out of the gate perhaps a step or two first establishing Ava – and this could well have been a *me* problem here – but once we get to Greece (where the vast majority of the book takes place), it really opens up and becomes exactly what I said in the title here: a perfect blend of travel and psychological thriller.

The Greek island setting is used superbly and makes you wish you could be there… and the vivid descriptions make you think you are. (Which is awesome as fall turns to winter and we all long for our next summery vacation. :D) This is one of those books where the setting really does come into its own and really helps accentuate the story, and that is always awesome to see.

And the story itself… wow. There’s a lot going on here, and yet Dunnett manages to make this tale as much about self discovery as in solving the mystery of what the hell is going on on this island… and that is exactly what makes the book work as well as it does. The mystery/ suspense elements here are great on their own, but it really is the self discovery aspects that *really* make them pop, and when combined with the strong setting really set this book apart.

This book is perfect for readers new to Dunnett… and at least a worthy disctraction for his fans who are almost foaming at the mouth with excitement waiting for his next Detective Erica Sands thriller due to how the previous book – the last book Dunnett released before this one – left off. And yes, you should absolutely join us in reading that series too so that you can be as vocal as we are in demanding the next book there. Because I’m living proof that peer pressure on authors eventually gets you what you want… but that’s a whole other story. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of Deep Blue Lies by Gregg Dunnett was originally written on September 29, 2025.

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#BookReview: You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan

A Mullet Of Christmas Romance Not Even Until The Middle, Then Hockey Romance In The Back. In total, this book absolutely works. Now, it won’t be for the “clean” / “sweet” crowd – if the fucking cussing in Chapter 2 doesn’t throw you out, the habanero spice not much later will. But for those who don’t mind a dude that cusses like a … well, an athlete… and who *want* the spice… hey, this may be exactly what you’re after as a whole book.

Now, there are reasons I titled this book a “mullet” and I mention that it works “as a whole book”. And those reasons all center around the fact that it feels almost like a merger between a 140 ish page Christmas novella and a 180 ish page Hockey short novel, with enough of a merger that it works… but also because of what it actually is, isn’t going to be fully want many (either direction, Christmas or Hockey) really want.

Now, some people can absolutely rock mullets and absolutely make them work. Here, I think Sullivan actually does a reasonable job of exactly that. maybe not quite a David Bowie mullet, but certainly a Billy Ray Cyrus Achy Breaky Heart mullet. (Which, to be clear, as a not-quite-10yo Son of the South in that era, *all* of my friends wanted to sport that particular mullet there for a minute.)

Basically, as long as you come into this book expecting a spicy romance more generally, I think you’re going to enjoy this book. If you come in expecting it to be 100% either one of its main components… you’re likely not going to enjoy it as much. I do think you’ll enjoy whichever component you’re here for, and based on the cover I expect that will be the Christmas “novella” that doesn’t quite hit the 50% mark of this text. But if Hockey romance isn’t your thing… that just-over-half won’t be *as* compelling to you.

All I ask here is that if this review makes you want to read this book, go in knowing what I’ve told you… and don’t 1 star or 2 star this tale because it has cussing or because it is a bit spicy or because it isn’t fully one trope or another. Judge it, as I have, on its totality, and still discuss in your review what issues you may have had with it. PLEASE discuss the cussing and the spice, if you enjoyed it or if you had a problem with it. Not everyone will see this review. But don’t 1 or 2 star the book just because of those things.

Overall, a solid enough mullet of a romance story, and I for one will be continuing to read Ms. Sullivan’s books to see where she goes next.

Recommended.

This review of You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan was originally written on September 24, 2025.

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#BookReview: Through Water And Stone by Karen Barnett

Solid Christian Romance Beautifully Displays Its National Park And Shows Dangers Of A Particular Modern Technology. This is Barnett’s latest “National Park” book, and once again it shows off its particular national park – in this case, Zion National Park, which I’ve only ever seen in the context of Fallout New Vegas’ Honest Hearts DLC (and which we thus *might* see in Fallout Season 2 on Amazon Prime?).

Yes, the dual timeline nature will throw some readers off, but this one works fairly well, with obvious time jumps even as at least a few characters are in both timelines.

Also, the whole “Christian Romance” thing. Yes, that means there is little more than kissing here, so if you’re one of those readers that *must* have sex scenes in your romance books… this isn’t that. But I’ve seen more and more people recently specifically asking for Christian books of late, and I already recommended this book directly to one *long* time friend in particular. (Hi, Katie!) (Katie is the elder daughter of my parents’ best friends – our parents are actually directly responsible for everyone meeting everyone, in a story I’ve never fully understood. Something about the guys knowing each other and the girls knowing each other and somehow everyone gets introduced. Over 45 yrs later, both couples are still together.)

This also means that you’re going to see a lot of references to God and prayer and such, though to be clear, this is about as truly non-denominational as anything within Christendom gets. So there won’t be any saints or discussions of baptism or the exact mechanism of salvation or any of that. Just more generic cultural level Christianity where people openly mention God and openly pray and aren’t ashamed of or insulted for doing either.

And yes, the (apparent) beauty of Zion National Park really does shine through here, along with some of its specific dangers playing key roles in the overall story. This is absolutely one of those books that will make you want to go to its real world place just to see for yourself just how well Barnett has captured its beauty in her words.

Finally, there is the danger. Not just in Zion itself, but in a particular modern technology. Revealing the tech would be a spoiler, but suffice it to say I’ve read (and reviewed, as I review all books I read) at least two other books dealing with the effects of this particular technology, including at least one other novel.

Overall quite a solid book generally and specifically within its genre, this is absolutely one fans of Christian Romance – or even romance or Christian readers who can at least tolerate the other half of the term “Christian Romance” – will enjoy.

Very much recommended.

This review of Through Water And Stone by Karen Barnett was originally written on September 23, 2025.

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#BookReview: Don’t Say A Word by Allison Brennan

Solid Second Stage. The easiest way to describe this series, for those who haven’t read the first book, is to imagine the TV show Blue Bloods… but instead the family is Hispanic and lives in Phoenix. If you’re even vaguely familiar with that show (and to be clear, I’ve never watched a single episode of it, just seen several ads and a few clips over the years), that gives you a reasonably solid idea of what to expect in general with this series.

In this installment in particular, we get what appears at first glance to be just an accidental overdose… except, well, it comes to the Angelharts’ attention and Margot in particular smells a rat.

Over the course of 400+ pages, Brennan never really lets the story drag at all. There is enough mystery and danger here to carry the tension, and enough familial interaction to give the tale depth, heart, and even a touch of humor at times.

This noted, the 21 Jump Street (both movie and, at least according to my understanding – the show came out when I was still a young kid – the show) parallels are so obvious here in this particular mystery that Brennan actively leans into them, openly having her characters talk about the show at a point or two.

Overall this really is a solid second outing for these characters, and it will be interesting to see what Brennan comes up with for them next.

Very much recommended.

This review of Don’t Say A Word by Allison Brennan was originally written on September 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: Life And Death And Giants by Ron Rindo

The Dust In The Room Slowly Builds Up. This is one of those books where the first half in particular is rather slow… but you can feel the room getting slightly dustier the entire time you’re reading the book. By the end, the room will be quite dusty indeed and it will be difficult to read due to the water your eyes are producing to try to protect themselves from the dust.

Truly an amazing tale well told, with great respect to the Amish community it uses as part of its base and also of rural America it uses as most of the rest of the base of the tale.

This is the story of how one life can impact so many people, of how one community can both shape and be shaped by one extraordinary person… and how even small rural communities cope with the secrets in their midst.

This is one of those tales that will give you hope. That will restore your faith in humanity… and maybe even higher. One where you’re going to laugh. You’re going to cry. You’re going to stare into the void in wonder and amazement. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a degree of peace.

Very much recommended.

This review of Life And Death And Giants by Ron Rindo was originally written on September 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: Before We Say Goodbye by Boo Walker

Quite Possibly Walker’s Best Yet. I’ve been reading Walker’s books for several years now, finding him with An Unfinished Journey, which was apparently his next book after the Red Mountain saga. Because of my own reading schedule – 90% of which, including Unfinished Journey and every other book from Walker I’ve read, including this one, is Advance Review Copy based – I haven’t had a chance to go back and read that saga yet.

With this book… I *really* need to. Not because I needed it in order to understand this book, quite the opposite. This book is *so* compelling and *so* well told that it really makes you feel for Mr. Otis Till and all that he has gone through – stuff that apparently is largely history by the beginning of the Red Mountain books, as this is his “origin” story and apparently he is a key player in the rest of the saga.

Told in a dual timeline manner with a touch of the supernatural/ magical realism, this is one of those books that uses those components well enough that even people who claim to not like any book that uses them – and yes, I’ve seen some of those types of readers over the years – shouldn’t have any difficulty with this book and indeed, I would even go so far as to say that if you allow yourself to miss this book because of your own hangups on those types of issues, you’re doing yourself a great disservice and missing out on a truly terrific book.

This is one of those tales that so very many men can relate to – the same type of story that made The Greatest Showman so truly spectacular. A man struggling to attain his life’s desires, finding it… and finding what really matters after all. Many of us have either been there or are somewhere along that path and can identify all too well with these desires, and Walker captures that struggle across the decades *perfectly*.

And yet there is more than enough here for female readers as well, as we see how Till first meets the love of his life and how she shapes the life they lead together across all the years they have left together… and then some.

Those looking for ghost pepper level spice won’t find that here, but also those looking for no more spice than a warm glass of milk may get quite red in the cheeks at times, or perhaps even get the vapors. There is nothing here that I would hesitate at all to put in front of a mid-teen or so, though it is likely a bit much for those younger than that. (To be fair, it is also one that those younger than that won’t be able to relate to as much either, but most any adult should be able to relate all too well to.)

Truly quite likely Walker at his absolute best to date, this is one that both makes me want to go back and read the Red Mountain Saga… and hope that there are more books in this particular series forthcoming.

Very much recommended.

This review of Before We Say Goodbye by Boo Walker was originally written on August 28, 2025.

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#BookReview: Our Perfect Family by Nicola Marsh

Lots Of Moving Parts Combine For One Explosive Thriller. This is one of those books where you know from Page 1 that little is going to actually be as it seems… and yet Marsh is going to keep you guessing and keep the reveals coming all the way until almost literally the very last words of this just-shy-of-300 page tale.

This is one where pretty well every character has some dark secret they are trying to protect, which is where most of the tension throughout the text comes to bear. Everyone thinks they know everyone and everyone thinks this is a titular “perfect family”, except we know as readers that this is far from what is actually going on.

This does all happen in Australia, and apparently the narrators thus use Australian accents in their reading. I actually explicitly chose an Australian voice on my Text To Speech reader for this book because of the setting and Marsh herself being Australian, and it absolutely worked well for me.

There is also quite a bit of teen/ new adult drama to be had here, including one scene in particular that while some may find distasteful also is and has been far too common. Marsh actually plays the scene well both in what she chooses to actively show – and not – and in how she shows its impact throughout our “perfect” family, which drives a large portion of the narrative here.

Overall truly a fun, twisty family suspense/ thriller with oh so much going on on so many different levels, this really is a great end of summer/ start of the new school year read, and is thus fairly well positioned for its print release on the day after US Labor Day, when even Yankee schools start back. Southern US schools have generally been back for at least a few weeks already by this point, and indeed all of my nephew and nieces started school nearly a full month before the Kindle edition release of this book.)

Very much recommended.

This review of Our Perfect Family by Nicola Marsh was originally written on August 25, 2025.

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#BlogTour: All The Ways You Save Me by Melissa Wiesner

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a strong, emotional romance that packs quite a punch. For this blog tour, we’re looking at All The Ways You Save Me by Melissa Wiesner.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / TheStoryGraph) and YouTube:

Strong Tale Packs A Punch – And Leaves Enough Left For An Exciting Followup. This is one of those books that packs *such* an emotional weight that I think the best comparison I can make goes back nearly a decade now – to Laurie Breton’s Coming Home, which I read circa 2017 or so and was the first book I ever used the term “tour de force” to describe.

This one doesn’t hit *quite* as hard as that one, but it’ll still land a few haymakers. Maybe Mike Tyson vs George Foreman when both were in their primes. In other words, “mere mortal”, prepare for an emotional beatdown with this book… in the best possible ways.

Seriously, this has “summer romance that can go so much further” written *all* over it, and thus its release window – just before Labor Day in the US, after at least some kids (including my nieces and nephew) have started back to school already but right there as college Fall Semester is starting up and summer is coming to a close – is damn near perfect for exactly this story. Even now literally 20 yrs post college and having been married for the vast majority of that time (18 yrs this Fall vs graduating 20 yrs ago this past May), I don’t know, for some reason this season of the year just evokes those kinds of emotions for me, and always has.

There isn’t really any comedy here, so the levity is more in the fact that we’re not in the middle of an emotional scene and are thus riding the swell to the next one (ha! a surfing metaphor, in a book that *does* include some surfing!). And yet the book works perfectly well *because* of this, rather than in spite of the lack of comedy. Not all tales need to be romcoms, and this one in particular is well served by keeping the comedy out. It allows the emotions to have the heft and also the breathing room they need to really work well.

Some may argue that in at least one somewhere between jalapeno and habanero scene that “they’re only 17!!!!”. A valid point, in that exact scene. But it also reflects *reality* going back essentially as long as humanity itself, and that scene helps give the overall tale the weight it needs for what happens later in the timeline. (I don’t remember where this exact scene is in the actual storytelling.) If you’re going to 1 or 2 star this book over that scene, it really says more about you than Wiesner, her storytelling abilities, or this tale in particular, and now that I’ve told you the scene is there, it really is on you, the reader of my review, to just avoid this book if that truly is a dealbreaker for you. I’ll tell you right now you’re depriving yourself of one of the more emotional romance tales I’ve read in my life – maybe even beating out Nicholas Sparks on the emotional side – but that is completely on you, and you do what you need to do. Just don’t be unfair to this book when I specifically made you aware of the existence of this issue here. 😀

Overall, again, truly one of the more emotional and thus stronger overall romances I’ve read in quite some time, and even though it leaves a few threads unanswered, it does so in ways that make it clear that they will be explored in Book 2… which I am very excited to get in my hands ASAP. Per Wiesner herself on social media gearing up for the release of this book, that one is titled All The Ways You Break Me and releases in February 2026 – roughly six months from now. I tell you now that unless Bookouture (the publisher) or Wiesner prevent me from doing so, I will be reviewing that book and on its blog tour as well. I *wish* it were already in my hands. And you’re very likely going to say that last sentence yourself if you read this book near release date, as hopefully you see this review in time to do. 🙂

Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: All The Ways You Save Me by Melissa Wiesner”

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#BookReview: Good Grief by Sara Goodman Confino

Appropriately Weighty Look At Life After Loss. This historical fiction novel set in 1960s era Maryland – which plays a role in both some of the story and in some of the things that happen herein, and thus why it is worth mentioning – really does a rather terrific job of giving an appropriate amount of weight to moving on after the death of a spouse. It has its moments of comedy, as all life should, but it is far from a comedy book. It has its moments of utter despair, as life truly does, but it isn’t a super heavy book either.

Instead, Confino finds that near perfect balance between the two and uses both to show how life sucks at times – but there is also hope and joy to be found. There is peace. Moving on is *so* hard – but it *is* doable, and ultimately must be done.

As seems common across Confino’s books (now having read this one and 2024’s Behind Every Good Man), bigotry towards Jews in that era and their experiences coming out of not just Germany but also Russia and Eastern Europe in the years not-then-distant, do in fact play a role here, and Confino does an excellent job making these situations realistic without going into preachy territory. Similarly, once again this book is a celebration of all things Jewish as they relate to the time and place at hand in all its shades of good and not so great, from celebrating various cultural practices to discussions of the then-still-happening creation of suburbia and its implications for this specific cultural community.

But ultimately the true heart of this tale is family – a very specifically and intentionally Jewish family, yet still a family that anyone can relate to on that level. And it absolutely works. Most adults are going to have living parents that sometimes exasperate them. They’re going to have at least one in-law that can sometimes be difficult or meddling. (For what its worth, I got particularly lucky there. Seriously, my mother in law is damn near a saint, and my father in law is a fellow tech geek that I can nerd out with about tech any time. 🙂 ) They’re going to have kids that have their own lives and needs and wants – and grandparents that spoil them and have their own attitudes about how said kids should be raised. They’re going to have friends and pets and neighbors and people they know by sight because they’re always in the school pick up line or the grocery store or what have you at the same time. They’re going to have work colleagues that are amazing and work colleagues that are… let’s go with “not so amazing” ;). And all of this is here, making this book have that much more life and making it feel that much more real.

And when we get into the endgame here… well, it aint “Avengers! Assemble.”, but instead hits more along the lines of “My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I *am* the President.”. (An ancient reference and yet a damn fine movie with several excellent points in its climactic speech even ignoring the more explicitly partisan and plot based points.) In other words, you may be tempted to cheer out loud. I encourage you to do so, even in a library. If the librarian shushes you, tell them that this reviewer told them to shush, that this book needed that at that moment and that more importantly, you needed to do it in that moment. And yet, in the end, for all the bombast and comedy, it really is the quieter moments that really make this book everything that it is.

Very much recommended.

This review of Good Grief by Sara Goodman Confino was originally written on August 16, 2025.