Tag: secrets

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#BookReview: The Last True Templar by Boyd Morrison and Beth Morrison

Middle Ages Mediterranean Adventure. One of the interesting things for me when reading this book is that David Wood released his book Baal just a couple of weeks before this one came out, and both books are rather similar at the highest of levels – in that both are adventure books touring the Mediterranean Sea region in search of lost treasures. Separated by a few hundred years and thus with completely different specifics as far as character motivations, transportation, weapons used, cultures, etc. And to be clear, with Beth Morrison – an apparently renowned Medieval period scholar – as coauthor here, the actual historical aspects – from the various factions involved to the different cultures of the various Italian cities to even exactly how different things worked and who would have what skillsets, are apparently spot-on, so best as I could tell anyway. Paired with her brother Boyd’s action story sensibilities, once again the two create a spectacular historical fiction tale that anyone interested in any modern action/ adventure tale can also love – and showing those who “only” read historical fiction that modern tales can also be just as great. Overall truly an outstanding book, and I hope these siblings can continue to work together for many more books to come. Very much recommended.

This review of The Last True Templar by Boyd Morrison and Beth Morrison was originally written on September 28, 2023.

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#BookReview: A Storm Of Infinite Beauty by Julianne Maclean

Earth Shattering Quakes Both Real And Metaphorical. This is an intriguing dual timeline tale that takes us through deep family secrets… and the 1964 Anchorage Alaska earthquake – still, 60 yrs later, one of the strongest ever recorded (since 1930) – that may or may not have helped hide some of them. It is a strong tale of privacy, pain, the desire to live the life of one’s choosing… and of normal people with the potential to be superstar celebrities… and superstar celebrities who just want to be normal people. It is a story of thinking you know a particular family member as well as anyone possibly can… and suddenly finding a revelation that you never saw coming. It is a tale that will make you feel like you are actively in the coastal woods of Nova Scotia… and the wilds of coastal Alaska. It is a tale that brings you front and center to the chaos of being in the midst of one of the strongest earthquakes humanity has ever actively recorded… and a tale that brings you front and center to the chaos of finding out that those you thought you knew best, you hardly actually knew at all. It is truly an excellent tale, and it is truly superbly told. Very much recommended.

This review of A Storm of Infinite Beauty by Julianne Maclean was originally written on September 23, 2023.

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#BlogTour: The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at another Hallmarkie type Christmas tale done exactly as fans of such tales expect. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan.

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

Solid Sarah Morgan Christmas Tale. For long time fans of Morgan or those who have never heard of her, know that this particular tale is *exactly* the type of tale she always tells for Christmas, at least in my few years’ experience reading her books. In this particular case, it is long time friends – each with their own secrets they’ve been hiding from the others – reuniting for Christmas at a small town bed and breakfast… that happens to have some needs of its own that these three friends just so happen to be particularly well suited to help with. You’ve got the Hallmarkie charm and at least one romance thread, you’ve got the female friends bonding even more, you’ve got the small Northeastern town at Christmas, complete with all the decorations and snow. You’ve got the slight flair for the dramatic, just to spice things up a bit. And overall you’ve got the great “cozy-read-by-the-fireplace-in-the-evening” feel that Morgan so often brings to the table so well. Again, nothing truly earth shattering here… but sometimes “not earth shattering” is exactly the kind of book you’re looking for. 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: The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan”

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#BookReview: Beneath The Surface by Kaira Rouda

Dark Family/ Business Drama. This is one of those books with a wildly atmospheric setting – a short sail on dad’s megayacht over to Catalina Island and back, during which storms both literal and personal envelop the entire family. If you need likeable characters or levity… there isn’t any modicum of that to be found here. This is dark, gets darker, and right when you think it can’t possibly get any darker… goes nearly as dark as it can without involving kids or genocide or some such. It is a story where yet again Tony Stark’s like about Nick Fury in The Avengers comes to bear: “his secrets have secrets”… and this is true of pretty well every single person on the boat, as we’ll find out by the end of this tale. This is absolutely one where your own feelings about dialog and situations may vary, but I for one didn’t see anything “objective-ish” wrong with them, so I’m not going to fault the tale or the author here. I’m simply noting I’ve seen that complaint in other reviews, and I could see where that argument could potentially be made, but I personally didn’t feel they were. Ultimately an interesting tale, one near perfect for a dark stormy night where you don’t want an actual horror-type tale, but you do what to have a minor sense of suspense and foreboding, perhaps with a nice wine or beer. Very much recommended.

This review of Beneath The Surface by Kaira Rouda was originally written on September 3, 2023.

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#BookReview: Nobody Told Me by Kay Bratt

Controversial Real Life Bleeds Into Story. I fully cop to the title of this review being clickbait, but it is also 100% true. Yet again Bratt brings elements of real-world cases and her real-world life into this particular series, and in this particular case the most obvious direct real world connection is also one of the more controversial things Bratt has ever done in her actual life since I’ve been reading her books since 2018 or so. But revealing exactly where that moment is in the book and what the direct connection is to her real life would be a spoiler… so read this book and see if you can spot where it might be, then follow Bratt on her social media channels to see if you were right. Yes, I’m plugging both the book and the author here, because to be quite honest both are equally great – even if I personally 100% disagree with the choice made both in the book and in real life – but Bratt manages to tell both stories quite compellingly, and it is her books and her life. 😀

One word of caution though: This *is* Book 6 in a series, and in this case you really do need to read the prior books first to really have any real understanding of exactly where we are in this tale. Some more words of caution about the actual content: There is stalking, possible gaslighting, bullying, and a touch of animal neglect here (all on the part of the bad guys, to be sure), but Bratt manages to show these as exactly that – actions not to be condoned. Still, if those are absolute no-go issues for you for whatever reason, know that they’re here.

Overall though, this was yet another compelling entry in a series that manages to combine both police procedural and family drama elements quite well, all while showing off the merits and perils of both policing and small town life – which is something few other books I’ve ever read have done quite so well. Very much recommended.

This review of Nobody Told Me by Kay Bratt was originally written on August 10, 2023.

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#BookReview: North Of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

Bone-Chilling Survival With Lots Of Moving Parts. This is one of those excellent lost in the wilderness/ lost in the blizzard survival tales that also happens to be a chase tale that is actually a story about family and breaking generational problems. So clearly, there is a LOT going on here, and a LOT of moving parts. And the non-moving parts – the wilderness and to a lesser extent the blizzard – are given their own fair respect here as well, both in the area natives’ respect for them and in the out-of-towners’ disrespect. One of Brennan’s most complex stories I’ve yet come across after working a couple of her other series over the last few years, this is truly an excellent tale of a different type from her, with her usual excellent execution in all aspects of the story. You’re going to *feel* the impacts here, from the coldness of the wilderness – and the coldness of some of the characters. Which is great, for a summer release during several consecutive days of “Excessive Heat Warning” events. 😀 Very much recommended.

This review of North Of Nowhere by Allison Brennan was originally written on August 8, 2023.

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#BookReview: One Night by Georgina Cross

Solid “Locked In” Mystery Asks Serious Questions. This is one of those “everyone is trapped in the house, and everyone has secrets” kind of mysteries that classic mystery lovers will love, and newer mystery lovers that are all about the shock value/ twist… eh, your mileage may vary. I personally thought the ending was particularly well done and while not *overly* shocking in *who* was involved, was brilliantly executed in *why* they were involved. Which gets to the whole “asks serious questions” bit, as the “questions” indicated in the description… are *NOT* the only questions raised. This book has a lot of meat there for those who *want* a deeper psychological dive, particularly in probing their own consciences – but it also offers enough directly in the text that if all you want is a few hours of classic mystery escapism… that is all you have to take from this particular tale. Which is usually a sign of a particularly strong storyteller, when they can give both readers what they want in the same story. This was my first book from Cross, and most likely will not be my last. Very much recommended.

This review of One Night by Georgina Cross was originally written on August 1, 2023.

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#BookReview: And Then There Was You by Nancy Naigle

Slow Burn Hallmarkie Southern Romance. This is another of those books that almost seems destined for the small screen on the Hallmark Channel or one of its newer competitors. But here, the romance is *very* slow burn, taking nearly all of this books 350 or so pages to finally get the couple together – and even then, they barely kiss, much less anything else. So this is definetly more for the “sweet” and/ or “clean” crowd than the crowd that wants damn near erotica level sex in the first chapter. (You know what I mean, and you know who you are.) Cursing is next to non-existent here, and may even be completely non-existent – I certainly don’t remember any. Prayers, church attendance, mentions of God and Jesus… those are far more plentiful – and just as accurate to the Southern small mountain town setting as the broken families, abuse, and alcoholism that are also discussed, but which take place long before this book and are only discussed – not shown “on screen”.

Indeed, the bulk of the tale is a woman being conned… and then trying to re-establish her life after very nearly everything other than her breath is taken from her. Here, the book truly shines as the reader feels quite viscerally everything our lead is going through, as well as just how much the investigator assigned to her case wants to solve it for her. Naigle uses this structure to first get our lead to the point of being willing to move – and then to show the small town that will serve as the basis for the rest of this series (more on that momentarily) as an outsider would see it, for all its wonders and faults.

Really the only thing quite obviously missing here is an obvious second book, as this is listed as “number one” in a new series. As the series name is the same as the town name, clearly the town itself will be central to this series, and thus its establishment here is quite solid indeed. There’s just no real obvious “oh, this is who we’re tracking in the next book” set up. Or maybe I just missed it?

Overall a solid tale of its type, one that some will absolutely adore and others will find… the nearest window to throw it out of. Still, for what it is, truly a good tale, well told. Very much recommended.

This review of And Then There Was You by Nancy Naigle was originally written on June 8, 2023.

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#BlogTour: The Irish House by Ann O’Loughlin

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid tale of family taking care of each other. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Irish House by Ann O’Loughlin.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

A Grandmother’s Love. This is, ultimately, a tale of a grandmother’s loves – for her daughters, her granddaughters, and her home. O’Loughlin does an excellent job of making the grandmother feel like an active character, even though she is already dead in the very first scene, and indeed the grandmother winds up driving the narrative as much as anything else. Outside of the grandmother, this is a tale of one woman’s decisions as her life is thrown into chaos in more ways than one, and now she is tasked with repairing a house and her cousins… while also repairing what she can of her own life. It is a tale of learning and loving and the mistakes we make big and small and the love and understanding that gets us through them all. Written very conservatively without being preachy, this is one that the “sweet”/ “clean” crowd will like, and those that expect more cursing and/ or bedroom action in their women’s fiction/ romance blends may find a bit lacking. Overall a solid tale for what it was, this is absolutely one worthy of a few hours of your time. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Irish House by Ann O’Loughlin”

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#BookReview: Big Trouble On Sullivan’s Island by Susan M. Boyer

If Jimmy Buffett’s Secrets Had Secrets. Seriously, if you take the classic line from The Avengers where Tony Stark says about Nick Fury, “his secrets have secrets”, and add an equal part Jimmy Buffett coastal/ tropical “WTF” kind of vibe… this book is a pretty solid idea of what you would get there. Set primarily in and around the general Charleston, SC area, we also get a jaunt into the Upcountry around Greenville as well for a scene or two (while completely ignoring the Midlands area of South Carolina, around Columbia and Aiken, where I once lived for a few years).

But the mysteries (yes, there are actually several – the “secrets have secrets” I was referring to above) are compelling, and our heroine is both remarkable and remarkably flawed, making for a greatly relatable story even as the more fantastical elements of it play out.

Overall the book truly works well, particularly as a series starter. We get a complete tale with no obvious lingering threads, but in a way that the reader *wants* to come back to this world and see what happens next. Very much recommended.

This review of Big Trouble On Sullivan’s Island by Susan M. Boyer was originally written on April 11, 2023.