Tag: smalltown

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#BookReview: Teacher’s Pet by David Johnson

Best In Series For Making You Want To Explore The Author’s Other Works. With some of the other books in this series, the authors do a great job of referencing their other books, maybe even bringing in a character or two – or at least someone connected to them who can reference them in-story – to entice the reader of this series to explore their other books. It is very well done within the stories they are telling and doesn’t feel forced at all, just a casual “hey, there’s other stuff out there that may warrant exploration, if you’re into these characters” type of vibe.

Yeah… Johnson doesn’t go that route. He’s far more in your face about it – without being in your face about it at all. Instead, he brings in one of his major characters from some of his other work and gets you invested in this character’s story even within the context of the story he is telling here as part of Dragonfly Cove… and then tells you in the author’s note at the end “Oh yeah, if you want to see what actually happens with that character, well, this character just so happens to be the titular character in these other books I wrote”.

And yet the story here itself is at least as powerful as the one with that other character, here using a retiree set in her ways as our main character and telling a compelling story of an old “get off my lawn” curmudgeon (literally, in a couple of cases, telling people to leave her yard) who has very distinct thoughts about how things should be done learning to live again in a new situation. And, maybe, through the love and dedication of her puppy… maybe she just might fall in love again?

There are several subplots to this story that all show the complexities of elder life in various forms, which I know many readers are desperate for these days as seeming so few books deal in main characters of this particular age bracket – despite it being among the larger sets of the American population at the moment.

By far the longest book of this series at nearly 300 pages, this is also one of the most complex-yet-easy-to-read stories in the series as well.

Very much recommended.

This review of Teacher’s Pet by David Johnson was originally written on January 1, 2024.

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#BookReview: Unleashed Melody by Julie Carobini

Most Hallmarkie Book In Series. In a series built basically specifically for dog lovers who also enjoy women’s fiction/ romance type tales, this is perhaps the single most “Hallmark Movie” like book in the entire series – and it actually sticks out from the series because of it. More self contained than many of the other books in the series, it really works quite well as a corporate/ office type romance that happens to involve owning and running a boutique hotel in a small beach town. But it also has some of the “problems” (according to some) of many Hallmark movies – including the seeming inevitable third act drama. Still, the tale really is quite solid in itself, and as one of the shorter books in the series it *really* packs quite a bit of story into the few (sub 150) pages it has.

Very much recommended.

This review of Unleashed Melody by Julie Carobini was originally written on January 1, 2024.

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#BookReview: Coming Home To Heel by Jodi Allen Brice

More Evidence That Strong Stories Don’t Need High Page Counts. This entire series is testament to this, but this book in particular *really* is. There’s a lot going on here – grief from a somewhat recent loss of a mother and an even more recent loss of a marriage + the son is estranged due to how the marriage broke apart *and* a potential new romance already on the horizon… all of this in not quite 17o pages! And it all works incredibly well!

Indeed, this tale in particular is arguably at its strongest when Nora is using her newfound strength -yes, thanks in part to new puppy Charlie – to handle her divorce and her son’s issues around it.

Truly an excellent and short book, again, this entire series really is great for those who love dogs and who are at least somewhat interested in the women’s fiction/ romance genres who may be looking to start their 2025 reading strong- this will easily get you 9 books potentially on January 1, as I write most of these reviews, if you put an effort in. (Ok, so at that point you’re reading around 1100 pages in a day – which *is* daunting. But 150 ish pages/ day spread out over a couple of weeks? Nearly anyone can find that kind of time. :D)

Very much recommended.

This review of Coming Home To Heel by Jodi Allen Brice was originally written on January 1, 2025.

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#BookReview: Loyal & True by Ev Bishop

Crushing Grief Helped By Puppy Love. While the previous two books in this series – Hearts Unleashed and Back In The Pack – both dealt with grief, this is the first book that *really* makes you *feel* its power. Here, our main character starts out just a short period of time after tragically losing her much more vibrant sister… and now has to figure out how to achieve the dreams they were supposed to achieve together, alone.

Enter the power of Puppy Love.

When Leo maintains her commitment to pick up both of the dogs she and her sister were supposed to get from local dog breeder Leslie, suddenly she *has* to get out of bed – puppies aren’t so great about feeding themselves, and if you leave them cooped up in your bedroom with you… it is going to get very messy and stinky very rapidly.

Thus, just going through the motions of keeping her dogs fed and walked gets Leo moving more than she’d have liked… and begins her healing process.

Along the way Leo encounters more people in the community and with more interaction comes more healing… in its own time and manner.

Ultimately this is one of the more gray books of the series, but very powerful in its own right – particularly for those who are also experiencing such crushing grief. And hey, that’s the power of puppies, right there. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of Loyal & True by Ev Bishop was originally written on January 1, 2024.

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#BookReview: Back In The Pack by Barbara Hinske

Dog And Kid Damn Near Steal The Show. I’m not normally one to enjoy books where kids play outsized roles or steal scenes, but Hinske here absolutely makes it work to help elevate the adult storyline of a widower and father just trying to re-establish his life and help his daughter heal after the tragic loss of his wife/ her mother before the events of this tale. The interplay with both the overall Dragonfly Cove series/ community and specifically Marsha from Hearts Unleashed, the book immediately prior to this one in series order, is particularly well done, and here we actually get to see a pivotal scene from that book play out again here from a different perspective, which is always interesting. That two different authors were involved only shows just how skilled and talented both are as storytellers – and, likely, that both shared a strong editor as well. 😀

Yet another quick read at around 150 ish pages, Hinske too manages to pack quite a bit of story in such a small package. Really this entire series is a great boost for those looking to start their 2025 reading strong, particularly if you also happen to be a dog lover.

Very much recommended.

This review of Back In The Pack by Barbara Hinske was originally written on January 1, 2025.

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#BookReview: Pick Of The Litter by Kay Bratt, Tammy L. Grace, Barbara Hinske, Ev Bishop, Jodi Allen Brice, Julie Carobini, David Johnson, and Patricia Sands

Excellent Series Introduction For New Series Perfect For Dog Lovers. This is yet another of the multi-author series that have seemingly sprung up in the last few years, mostly in the romance and/ or women’s fiction realms, where multiple authors come together to offer up stories around some common McGuffin such as every book has to feature a cruise (2024’s Sail Away series, featuring many of these same authors) or every book has to feature a snowglobe in some manner (2019’s Snow Globe Christmas MM romance series) or any other common tie in. As in most cases, this introductory book is essentially the first chapters of all of the rest of the books, though this one also has a prologue and epilogue that extend its own story a touch, which actually leads directly into my next main point.

Having now read a few of these as I sit to write this particular review, I can tell you that what sets this particular series apart from all of its predecessors that I’ve read (a handful or so) is just how well everything is integrated. Every author gets their own dog(s) and their own characters and can tell their story their way, but other than slight differences in style one could almost see this entire series written by a singular author – that is how well the storytelling and editing through 4.5 books has been so far. If you know a bit about each particular author and their style and what is going on in their “real” (non-book) lives, you have a better sense of the distinctiveness of each voice, but otherwise the stories fit so seamlessly together, even when borrowing characters from other books, that it really is quite remarkable just how well everything fits together here.

And yes, as the McGuffin for this series is that all of our central characters are getting new puppies, this series really is perfect for dog lovers of all stripes (though to be clear, these are all Labradors in these books). Sorry, cat lovers. Maybe that will be the next project for these authors or perhaps a similar group. 🙂

Ultimately a great introduction to the series, and a very quick read at barely 100 pages to boot. Perfect for those times at the end of the year holidays / beginning of the year ramping things back up when maybe you don’t have as much time to read – or maybe you find yourself like me and trying to finish the back half of this series before it releases on Jan 1, 2025… *and* read 2.5 *other* books before the calendar flips over into 2025 in just over three more days! Eek!

Very much recommended.

This review of Pick Of The Litter by Kay Bratt, Tammy L. Grace, Barbara Hinske, Ev Bishop, Jodi Allen Brice, Julie Carobini, David Johnson, and Patricia Sands was originally written on December 28, 2024.

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#BookReview: Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan

Solid Small Town Romance With A Touch Of Spice. For those looking for Carolina Reaper level spice… this ain’t that. Yet it also isn’t a warm glass of milk. I’d say it hits around a habanero or so – spicy enough to zing the taste buds a bit, but also mild enough to excite those who generally prefer a warm glass of milk without giving them “the vapors”. 😉

On the actual romance side, well, there’s as much family drama going on here as romance, so your mileage will absolutely vary on that side. There’s a lot of drama to work through, though both halves of our couple wanted each other all those years ago… and that never really went away, despite our female lead marrying and having a kid with another dude in the meantime (one source of so much family drama).

Fans of small town insta love/ second chance Hallmarkie type romances will generally enjoy this one. Those looking for more spice or more glitz or more glamour or more action or some such… likely not as much.

Overall I thought this worked quite well for what it is, and I was quite happy with it as such.

Very much recommended.

This review of Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan was originally written on December 17, 2024.

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#BookReview: A Switch Before Christmas by Karen McQuestion

Solid Depression-Era Almost Dickensian Christmas Tale. This is one of those tales that effortlessly blends elements of A Christmas Carol, A Tale Of Two Cities, and The Parent Trap into a concoction uniquely its own and along the way shows two women in particular – and through them, many more people – the magic of Christmas as they see how “the other half” lives.

What McQuestion does particularly well is bringing a high degree of realism into this tale in all aspects – perhaps the only bits that feel weird to at least some in 2024 are when a particularly naive character walks into certain situations and actually comes out *without* being assaulted… but then, that is more on those types of readers as such assaults, while far more common than they should be (that they happen *at all* is too common, to be clear), are not the *actual* norm even in 2024. Far more common, however, are all the heartstrings being pulled – the young ones in the Girl’s Home nearly steal every scene they are in, and another encounter in a different situation later – one that starts out seeming like it could go very wrong, very fast, by 2024 standards – ultimately becomes one of the scenes where the room gets the dustiest while trying to read this book. In other words, put your 2024 assumptions in the other room while reading this book and simply enjoy the magic McQuestion creates here. You have my word that nothing actually damaging happens in this tale designed to be an uplifting Christmas story.

Overall a solid realistic, almost Dickensian, Christmas tale that at just under 200 pages is both an excellent read for those pressed for time when family and friends are gathered and you need some “me” time… or for those looking to finish out those annual reading challenges and need a short and quick book to help them meet those goals.

Very much recommended.

This review of A Switch Before Christmas by Karen McQuestion was originally written on December 17, 2024.

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#BookReview: As The Sun Rises by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Emotional And Visceral Series Conclusion. This is one of those books where you *feel* everything our main character feels. From the utter despair at the situation she finds herself in to the crash and crush of the white water rapids she thrusts herself into to try to escape the emotional turmoil… while telling herself that she’s just doing her job.

While this is *technically* a romance, the romance is absolutely more of a side story here to the family and friend relationships of our primary character – so those that want a more romance-centric tale may not like this one quite as much, but those who enjoy a solid women’s fiction with a touch of romance – still in the Hallmarkie type style, but with more focus on the friends than the boy, necessarily – you’re going to enjoy this book quite a bit.

I personally came into this book having not read any of the prior three… which is probably not the best for a series concluding book, but even there, it worked well with fully fleshed out characters and a story that was easy to follow even coming in so late. Still, I absolutely recommend starting with Book 1 for anyone not reading an Advance Review Copy, as I did.

Overall a solid and emotional tale that will pull your heartstrings and have your pulse pounding with adrenaline in alternating measures.

Very much recommended.

This review of As The Sun Rises by Kellie Coates Gilbert was originally written on December 12, 2024.

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#BookReview: So This Is Christmas by Kay Bratt

Yet Another Excellent Entry In Series. Seriously y’all, if you enjoy small towns and family drama, you’re going to love this entire series. So just go all the way back to Book 1, start there, and this one will be here when you get here.

Yet again with this series, Bratt bases the crime of the book on an all-too-real one, though as she notes in the author’s note, this particular one was *so* horrible that she just couldn’t bring herself to replicate certain elements of the real crime in her fictional world.

And that brings me to my one criticism of this particular book. Anyone that knows Bratt and follows her on social media, particularly her Facebook page, knows that she brings quite a bit of her own real world into her fiction, and there was one particular line that while meant as fiction and from a character’s perspective… there are just too many instances of the real world blending into the fictional for this line not to be addressed in my review, particularly since, as I told Bratt personally, I tend to call such bullshit lines out any *other* time I see them, and I do try my best to approach every book and every author in the same manner, *no matter what*. Indeed, the very line in question references by name and detail an all too real event that happened just months before publication of this book.

The particular line in question here is that “The gun laws in this State are a joke, and you know it. That’s why we’ve got tragedies like Apalachee High School – two kids and two teachers gunned down because *it’s easier to buy an AR-15 than it is to adopt a damn dog*.” (Emphasis mine).

As I told Bratt directly before sitting down to write this review – and I quote: “As someone who has both adopted a dog and bought a gun in the State of Georgia – the gun across State lines at a Georgia gun show while living in South Carolina, no less! – I can state without hesitation or equivocation that Bratt is 100% wrong about it being easier to buy a gun in the State than adopt a dog. For one, there are no background checks at all when adopting from a County-run animal shelter, while buying a gun anywhere in the United States requires a criminal background check to be completed before the gun can be purchased – yes, even if buying the gun at a gun show. Furthermore, while where I can take my dog is not legally restricted in any manner (though property owners certainly may decline to allow my dog on their property), where I can take my gun is heavily restricted, even in the State of Georgia.”

I also told her that I would also note here that this is absolutely one of those issues where your mileage may vary – you may agree that guns need to be more heavily regulated or you may not, you may think that pet adoption or pets generally need to be more heavily regulated or not – but the statement in the text was 100% wrong in the real State of Georgia, and I’ve personally experienced both sides of the statement and know of what I speak here. But hey, Bratt never specifically addresses these issues in her fictionalized Georgia, so even though it bears a striking resemblance to the real thing, as authors frequently note in the front pages of their fiction books “This work is fiction and not intended to represent any real person, place, or thing no matter how similar they may or may not be. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the fictional characters only and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions held by any real person, including the author.” So let’s give Bratt the benefit of the doubt here that she isn’t addressing the real State of Georgia in that particular line and move on. 🙂

Again, outside of that particular line, the book itself is perhaps even one of the stronger of the entire series – which is saying something, considering Bratt originally intended to end this series a few books ago, but fans keep demanding to come back to this world, and she keeps delivering. The drama in our central family is coming back up from unexpected and interesting places, there is more drama brewing in other areas well established earlier in the series yet which had cooled off in recent books, the crime of the book is particularly gnarly and the investigation is tight without being the frenetic sprint of the prior book…

It just all works truly, truly well, and again, makes this one of the stronger books in the series to date overall.

So again, go back to book 1 (assuming you’re new to the series) and get here – you’ll want to get here when you do, and this book will make you fall in love with the series all over again and want at least one more book from it. Which Bratt may or may not have news about in the Author’s Note. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of So This Is Christmas by Kay Bratt was originally written on December 11, 2024.