Tag: lake

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#BookReview: Too Close To Home by Seraphina Nova Glass

Solid Summer Escapism. You know those summer movies where you just want to be entertained, so you turn your brain off a bit and just go for the ride?

Do that here, and you’re going to have a *blast*. (Literally, in the case of this tale, as it opens with a car bomb in a small lake town.)

Featuring a small yet interwoven cast and a multi-POV storytelling mechanic, this is one of those tales that uses everything it has to craft a tale that will worm its way into your brain as you’re reading it and won’t let you go… but also isn’t going to be the most memorable book out there once you dive into the next escapist book. The twists and turns and action are all solid, don’t get me wrong. They’re just also a bit plain. Which isn’t a bad thing – plain and expected is *great* for escapist fiction. Again, you don’t *want* your brain working too hard with this particular type of tale.

Overall a fun lake escape with a few thrills and chills, some great vibes, and a few solid enough hooks to keep you reading even as this may be a touch long for some readers (north of 350 pages). Still, stick with it and you will absolutely be rewarded here.

Very much recommended.

This review of Too Close To Home by Seraphina Nova Glass was originally written on December 18, 2025.

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#BookReview: Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn

If Toby Keith Joined The American Pie Crew And Had Lunch With Nicholas Sparks, You’d Get Something Close To This Book. Seriously. One, no matter what the RWA/ RNA types claim, Sparks writes romance novels. Tragedy is a perfectly valid end to a romance, and sometimes the romance is ever more powerful/ memorable *because* it ended in tragedy. And now that we’ve inserted a “controversy creates cash” flashpoint into this review… 😉

Seriously, the Keith and Sparks connections here are primarily due to the background of our male lead, a former soldier now returning home to take over his parents’ business as they attempt to retire. It is this part of the tale that adds some extra emotional heft that Sparks and Keith were so excellent with, particularly as it relates to soldiers, in their stories. Indeed, there are absolutely times where Keith’s “American Soldier” begins to sound almost audibly in at least this reader’s head while reading this book.

Outside of our male lead though, this book is one that highlights that northern Michigan/ upper Wisconsin lake resort vibe that American Pie used so well in a couple of their movies to great extent, though mostly showing it from a more local perspective than the summer party crowd. We get some meta commentary on the perils of online “fame”, and we get a LOT of laughs – which is where the American Pie connection really comes to bear. Not in the titular joke from that series, but there are absolutely some comedic bits that will take readers “of a certain age” (re: those who were older teens/ younger 20s when the first couple of American Pie movies came out) back to that era.

Overall a largely fun romcom with some truly serious elements, though seemingly lighter in tone than many “Hallmarkie” movies despite having elements that are more serious than are generally found in that set. So an interesting combination, and one that Hahn works to great effect here.

Very much recommended.

This review of Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn was originally written on November 1, 2024.

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#BookReview: Small Town Girl by Sarah Banks

Small Town Shenanigans. This is a great example of one of those small town tales where everyone has secrets, and, to quote Tony Stark in The Avengers: their “secrets have secrets”. So when a murder happens as our hero here is trying to rebuild her life and save her career… of *course* she has to investigate it herself. Because, you know, secrets. But along the way we really do see the inner workings of very small towns quite well, and Banks also manages to keep enough of the romance there to balance out just how dark and creepy this town can feel at times. A definite break from this author’s norm (she is working under a new pseudonym here), but a solid effort in this particular type of space and one that manages to up the creepy factor while adding in quite a bit of tension and apprehension not generally found in her other works. Very much recommended.

This review of Small Town Girl by Sarah Banks was originally written on January 4, 2023.

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#BookReview: My Husband’s Lover by Jess Ryder

Solid Mystery/ Suspense. This is an interesting tale told mostly from the perspective of a wife whose husband had informed her (before the events of this book) that he had had an affair – and now she’s trying to pick up the pieces of her life. The other perspective we (sporadically) get is mysterious… until it outs itself in a rather shocking twist. Ryder here manages to convey the isolation of her environment well – isolation that this American didn’t realize was possible at all on that particular island across the pond. And she uses this isolation well to both increase the sense of danger and to convey the emotions swirling around her central characters. Truly a solid read within its genre, and very much recommended.

This review of My Husband’s Lover by Jess Ryder was originally written on October 13, 2022.

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#BlogTour: The Summer Of No Attachments by Lori Foster

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a light hearted Southern romance that has a remarkable number of attachments for a book titled “The Summer of No Attachments”. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Summer of No Attachments by Lori Foster.

First, here’s what I had to say about the book on Goodreads:

Record Scratch. There’s… a remarkable amount of attachments here for a book titled “The Summer of No Attachments”. #ijs 😀

But seriously, this is one of those feel good, not even quite Hallmarkie (since it doesn’t really even have any even pushover “big threat”) Southern romance tales. Yes, there are a lot of heavy elements here – mom abandons son, drug use (off screen), abuse (also mostly off screen), #MeToo moments (also off screen), etc – but there is also quite a bit of lighthearted banter and romance. And puppies! And an old cat! This is apparently book 2 of a series, but it totally works as a standalone, as the people from Book 1 barely show up at all – making this one of those barely connected tangential “series” that share the same world and even town, but don’t heavily feature in each others’ tales.

Overall truly a light and refreshing read, despite its occasional heft, and great for a relaxing summer read, or a relaxing read at any point in the year really. Very much recommended.

Below the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the publisher’s information, including a description, author bio, and various links!
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Summer Of No Attachments by Lori Foster”