Tag: womensfiction

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#BookReview: Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine

I Thought I Was The Only One. It is no secret that my book reviews are in part confessionals, that is my entire schtick as a reviewer and literally the basis of my brand name. So here’s one I don’t talk about often, but which those who have known me since I was a kid are aware of – it actually caused a bit of drama a couple of times back then: The dream sequences that happen in this book? The ones that our lead character feels are so vivid and real, that they really could be glimpses into the future?

I’ve lived with those same types of dreams off and on for over forty years now. And no, it isn’t deja vu. It is pretty well exactly as Constantine describes here – so real and visceral that you *know* you’ve lived those very events before.

Except unlike our lead character – or in some ways perhaps exactly like her – I learned early on, from a couple of blunders that caused the drama I referenced above, to not (obviously) act on the dreams, but instead to prepare myself for the outcomes they warned me of so that I could at least be prepared if or when they happened.

So for me in particular, that part of this book was *phenomenal*. It was easily relatable to one of those aspects of my life that I virtually *never* talk about anymore, because as our lead character in the book learns, people – even those closest to you – rapidly begin to think you’re crazy when you so openly talk about it. (Which is one reason I’m not going into any real details about my own experiences, and indeed I can actively state that these types of dreams don’t happen nearly as often anymore as they did when I was younger. My overall life is also *dramatically* different than it was, and I suspect this plays a role.)

But that aspect is only roughly half this tale, the setup. And while a phenomenal setup, it *is* a rather slow one. It takes time for those less accustomed to these types of dreams to wrap your head around what is going on with this character, and Constantine gives you that kind of time. She needs to, because the later stages, where the action picks up and indeed becomes rather breathtaking, *need* you to understand that part of this character and believe it as much as she does.

Thus, when the action picks up, the dreams become less a part of the active story and more a part of what is informing the action sequences as they play out. At this point, it becomes a far more typical thriller, one of the exact type Constantine is known for and excels at, and it shows brilliantly here.

Overall truly a great thriller that shows a side of life that most likely aren’t as familiar with, and does so in a way that rings true to at least my own experiences with similar experiences in real life.

Very much recommended.

This review of Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine was originally written on June 30, 2025. (With apologies for the tardiness on this Advance Review Copy. Some major life events happened just before the release of this book that unfortunately delayed me reading it.)

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#BookReview: Friends Are Forever by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Strong “Finale”. I use “finale” in quotes in the title of this review because it seems we are getting a Christmas “epilogue” for this series later this year, at least per book site listings as I write this review nearly a week before this book publishes.

This noted, the story here absolutely reads like a genuine and strong finale of a series that has put its main characters through quite a lot… and has still more for them to go through. The laughs… and dusty rooms… are both timed and executed well, even as many of them seemingly come out of the blue – particularly the dusty rooms. Yet every aspect here remains perfectly true to who each of the main characters are, even as the situations they find themselves in through the course of this series finale are very unexpected.

Even as someone who first came to this series at Book 4, and thus missed the developments of the first three books, this really was very well done – one of the better finale/ wrap-ups/ send-offs I’ve seen done in a series finale in any medium, and certainly *far* superior to the various infamous finales over the years. No one is waking up and claiming it was all a dream here, y’all. 😉

Read the rest of the series before reading this book. But then make sure you have some tissues ready, because when those dusty rooms hit in this book – and yes, I said “rooms”, as in plural – they *really* hit, and you’re going to need them.

Fortunately each book in the series (at least those I’ve read) is at or under 200 pages, which makes them all fairly quick reads, even for busy parents (or others busy with whatever life you may lead).

By the time you get to the end of this one, you’ll be satisfied with where Gilbert leaves these characters… but you’re also going to welcome that epilogue currently scheduled to release in late October 2025. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of Friends Are Forever by Kellie Coates Gilbert was originally written on June 23, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Complex Story of Generational Trauma. This is one of those tales that reads a touch slow – so be prepared for that – but which ultimately succeeds in having quite an emotional impact due to just how much force it lands with. When, to bring a bit of physics into the equation here, Force is mass multiplied by acceleration, a slow acceleration of a sufficiently sized mass can hit with the same impact as a much faster, yet smaller, object. This book’s ultimate mass, all that has happened to each of these characters and all they have gone through as a result of these events, is truly rather substantial. In the end, you’re going to see clearly just how these characters became all that they did… even as you may not quite get all the answers you may want as a reader, or perhaps things ultimately play out a touch differently here than you may want in “real life”. Regardless, this book stays true to its story as Clark chooses to craft it, and she truly did a particularly great job yet again.

Yes, there is praise for both AOC and Kamala Harris within this text, so there will be some who love it for that alone and others who wish to defenestrate it for that alone, but I can also state that other than one character actively praising an event that is current for that character, the AOC/ Kamala lines in particular are one-offs and not truly central to the story.

Of at least slightly more concern, perhaps still not enough to deduct a star, yet enough to note in the review, is that this *is* yet another book where most straight males are written as antagonists and vile and evil – and yes, combined with the AOC/ Kamala line… again, could be divisive. But while annoying, it also works within the context of this tale as told, and is actually at least used well to enhance the impact of the overall story. Along these lines, there *is* also a gay married couple present, so do with that as you will. Again, I know some will love this and others will want to defenestrate the book over it, so you do you. I for one thought these characters were, again, worked into the story quite well and didn’t seem as forced as I’ve seen these types of characters be in other tales by other authors, so it was neither here nor there for me.

Ultimately there is enough in this tale that various people won’t like it for various side reasons. Read the book anyway for the actual main storyline… and maybe be prepared for the room to get quite dusty at a couple of points in particular.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark was originally written on June 2, 2025.

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#BlogTour: The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a thinking person’s thriller. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle.

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

Thinking Person’s Thriller In Directions Perhaps Belle Didn’t Intend. This is one of those kinds of books that I really like because it tells a kickass suspense/ thriller tale, and if that’s all you want… there you go. But *just* below the surface, it also makes some points that in all honesty, knowing Belle for several years now and seeing several of her political posts on social media… I honestly don’t think she meant to make.

As a surface level thriller, this tale works quite well with both of its leads being American expats who find themselves connected to one part of Amsterdam’s diamond trade when all hell begins to break loose. Even at this surface level, the amount of intrigue and suspense Belle manages to layer into this barely over 300 page tale is rather astonishing, really. Lesser authors likely wouldn’t have been able to quite pull this off as effectively as she does, with the various corporate and familial relationships, motivations, and quandries happening side by side and sometimes directly overlapping… whether or not anyone or everyone involved knows it is happening.

On the deeper level, Belle makes clear that she does not like American gun culture, despite having lived in Atlanta for at least some time – the major metro area I grew up just outside of, where my grandfather was, so it was claimed, the most decorated WWII vet in his metro Atlanta County at the time of his death… *because of his comfort and use of guns before and during that war*. And while there are many who may be tempted to defenestrate the book over this, don’t. She doesn’t actually get preachy at any point about it, though various “Americans and their guns” comments are made more than once and by more than one character. Which is perhaps fitting given the Dutch setting of the novel.

But it actually goes well beyond this, getting subversive to many real-world political positions, because one major subplot revolves around a particular technology which I’m intentionally being obtuse about in this review so as to avoid spoilers. Yet in showing just how easy this particular technology is to use, and even making a point at least as much as “Americans and their guns” that using this tech itself isn’t actually illegal even though possessing the results of the tech very much is, Belle actively destroys every single argument about owning the result of this tech while also making it clear that bans against the possession of the results of this tech are actively elitist and classist, as this tech isn’t exactly dirt cheap. (Though it *is*, seemingly, more common than this particular book shows.)

Thus, this thriller featuring several complex characters of nationalities on both sides of the Atlantic works both with one’s brain in “just entertain me” mode *and* in “I want something to ponder after reading this book” mode, while still retaining its primary purpose of more straightforward entertainment.

Which is always a nice to see.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle”

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#BookReview: Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers

You Think You Know Me. I fully cop to being one of those people that avoids my hometown in my adult life (other than visiting family members who continue to live there) specifically because high school was hell and I don’t care to catch up with pretty well anyone from that era of my life. (To be fair, the feeling is largely mutual. :D)

So for me, a group of former HS friends deciding to catch up by spending a weekend together to celebrate the upcoming 40th birthday of one of them is… weird.

And yet… Danvers absolutely makes the idea work. The first part of the tale is largely “establishing shots”, with each of our four friends introducing themselves and where they currently are in life as they begin to travel to the meeting point on Cape Cod. This section is admittedly slow… but then, so is this section in many of the best thriller/ horror/ disaster movies or stories.

Once everyone begins catching up, the action begins to pick up – including a scene that reminded me of a long ago college Service Spring Break incident, but to reveal that tale here would get into spoiler territory for the book. Hell, I didn’t even connect it until I began writing that last sentence. 😉 From here, the tale goes less introspective and, eventually, more into “what the hell is going on” / “who can we trust” territory, with a fair amount of exploration of the common theme of “who we are on social media isn’t always who we are in real life” that has been explored so much over the last decade. While Danvers doesn’t really add much to that particular discourse with this tale, she does use it to add a touch of depth to her own story.

I will note that the mystery, once it arrives, was perhaps given away a touch too early with one particular detail that one of the characters revealed in her opening monologue. So for those that just cannot stand solving the mystery before the author reveals it… well… “you think you know me”. In other words… there may yet be more to this tale…

The epilogue in particular offers a stinger that takes this seeming one-off tale and offers the possibility that it could in fact become a series, which those of you who pick this book up with the “Book 1” on its title would already know. (I had received an Advance Review Copy of the text months before publication, though I only read the book about 2 weeks before due to other ARC commitments.)

Ultimately, this actually has a blend of the approaches used in say the “Widows” series by Kimberly Belle, Cate Holahan, Layne Fargo, and Vanessa Lillie – where each author seemingly takes one of four widows and they combine to craft an intriguing and rompy series – and the meta-publishing discussions of say Romantic Friction by Lori Gold – among others – and yet still manages to be fairly uniquely its own thing even with those similarities. It will be interesting to see where Danvers takes this budding series and how long she intends to have it run.

Very much recommended.

This review of Lie In The Tide by Holly Danvers was originally written on May 20, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Girls Of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris

Poetic And Compelling. Usually, if a book uses a lot of flowery language and descriptions, it tends to bog the book down quite heavily. Here, McMorris actually manages to flip that script and use such poetic prose to *lift* material that is otherwise quite heavy indeed.

The entire book is essentially about the perils faced by both Chinese immigrants and indeed poor people generally on the US West Coast at the nadir of the 19th century, and McMorris does a wonderful job of transporting the reader to that place and time throughout the book.

The dual timeline yet single character approach is rare and useful here in creating tension in the reader, and yes, the timelines do eventually converge.

Overall a rare look at an often glossed over or even outright ignored period of American history, and McMorris manages to pluck it out of relative obscurity and tell a powerful tale set in all of that era’s realities – both good and bad.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Girls Of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris was originally written on May 19, 2025.

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#BlogTour: What’s Mine Is Yours by Leah Mercer

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a twisty tale that packs a lot of story into its short-ish package. For this blog tour, we’re looking at What’s Mine Is Yours by Leah Mercer.

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

Twisty Tale Packs A Lot Of Action Into Its Short-Ish Package. This is one of those sub-300 page books that is going to feel like it *has* to be longer than it is… in all the best ways. For all that happens here, you’re going to be thinking this book is probably 100 or more pages longer than it actually is… and you’re not even going to notice until you get to the end, look down, and question your sense of reality when you see the actual page number.

And speaking of questioning reality, this is absolutely one of those ultra twisty psychological thrillers where both the characters – and you, the reader – will be questioning all that you know (possibly even in your own “real” life) by the end.

I’ve read several of Mercer’s books now, and this is absolutely both a solid look at her style (for new readers) and quite easily among the best she’s done to date (for readers who have been around a while and already get excited when they see her name on a book). Either newbie or established fan, this one is one that will likely gain her far more fans than it loses. (Let’s face it, *no* book is for everyone, and there *will* eventually be – wrong – reviews that claim this book is lacking in some aspect. Some people are idiots, and you just have to move on. 😉 (And yes, I fully acknowledge that some consider *me* to be an idiot, but I also doubt those people are reading this review. :D) )

There will be at least some who don’t want to read it for the simple reason of its basic premise, which largely hinges on mothers’ fears, even years after the baby is born, which is respectable. As a childfree married dude, I *fully* get this, particularly given the book’s release date between UK Mother’s Day and US Mother’s Day. For these types, I think the book is strong enough and doesn’t really dive into too many problematic issues within the childfree community that I think many of us can still enjoy this book as much as I have, but again, from this angle (and similar), I absolutely get deciding that this book maybe isn’t for you. Just please, I beg you – you’ve now been warned about this in this very review, so PLEASE don’t DNF / 1* this book because of these issues. Just skip it entirely. You. Have. Been. Warned. 🙂

Overall truly an excellent tale superbly told, and great for when you maybe don’t have as much time as you’d LIKE to read, but still don’t want to read a sub-200 page book either (even though there are many at that length that are also awesome, fwiw).

Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: What’s Mine Is Yours by Leah Mercer”

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#BlogTour: Romantic Friction by Lori Gold

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book with a deep dive into “inside baseball” of publishing wrapped in a crime caper. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Romantic Friction by Lori Gold.

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

Likely To Be Controversial In Booklandia. Straight up, in making plausible arguments *for* the use of AI in writing, this is going to be a book that will prove quite controversial in booklandia – one area of society that tends to be the most extremist in terms of being absolutely anti-AI, even moreso than visual artists. Even as the book *also* makes strong arguments *against* the use of AI in writing… and ultimately sides with that position, as it is the position of our lead character.

Additionally, in serving as a fairly direct and in-your-face expose and commentary about the publishing industry more broadly, this book is likely to stir up quite a bit of controversy on these topics that already get some discussion in particular circles, with this book perhaps widening those circles and introducing new people to these discussions. Will anything actually get resolved? Unlikely, mostly because humanity rarely actually solves any problems – even among the more objective/ scientific variety. But more people will be talking about them, and assuming at least a few of them reference that they saw the discussion in this book, Gold will likely garner at least some extra attention herself.

Outside of these two factors, the tale itself ultimately becomes a bit of a bumbling crime saga, with the various characters being both so brash and so stupid in some ways that it plays quite well comedically… so I *hope* that is what Gold was after there. These scenes, as objectively serious as they are, involving a major crime, wind up providing the levity that the heavy handed discussions of the “inside baseball” of publishing and the more general use of AI within booklandia so desperately need in order to lighten the overall book at least enough to be a pleasant enough read.

Ultimately this is likely a book that will play better for those interested in the heavier discussions herein than with those just looking for some level of escape – particularly those of us who are already “in the industry” to some flavor (yes, I include even myself here, as a book blogger / book “influencer” (according to some authors, though I still despise the term myself) / Head Librarian at Goodreads alternative Hardcover.app). Still, an interesting book regardless, with commentary from perspectives even authors themselves may not have had coming into this book.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Romantic Friction by Lori Gold”

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#BookReview: Other People’s Summers by Sarah Morgan

Another Solid Sarah Morgan Book. Long time fans of Morgan know what to expect with her non-Christmas books (nearly the same thing as with her Christmas books, but generally in a more “Summery” location and without the magic of Christmas playing a role). For those new to Morgan, this is actually a solid enough representation of her style to welcome you in.

The characters are (mostly) fleshed out well enough, particularly our various female characters, and they’re all flawed enough in those real world kind of ways to make them relatable to most of us to some degree or another without being so flawed as to be caricatures. The men… could probably have been better fleshed out, but meh, that can be said of most of Morgan’s books. At least with Morgan you’re never going to get a man shown as utterly irredeemable… even as he may not be the *best* man around. (And yes, amongst our men in this book, there is absolutely one that is… not so great, let’s say… among a few that are much better.)

The conflict here is tense enough to drive the plot and provide for at least some Hallmarkie level drama without being such that anyone’s pulse will really raise at all. For those looking for “spice”… not exactly Morgan’s style, and this is no different This, as with most of Morgan’s books (at least in my few years reading many of them now), is about as “spicy” as a warm glass of milk… even with the super hot actress and the adultery discussed herein.

One interesting thing for me in particular is that I’m currently playing Atomfall, which was released just weeks before this book, on my XBox, and both happen to be set in the same general region – the UK’s Lake Country – yet tell *very* different tales. (Atomfall being an alt-history in the style of the Fallout games, but based on a real life nuclear accident in this region back in the 1950s.) So it truly was quite interesting seeing the region from such different perspectives. 🙂

Very much recommended.

This review of Other People’s Summers by Sarah Morgan was originally written on May 1, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve

More Women’s Fiction Than Science Fiction. Seven years ago, in 2018’s The Space Between, Meserve managed to take a quasi-science/ science fiction concept of a NASA scientist discovering an asteroid behind the sun and spin an electric missing person tale around it – and did so quite well.

Here, she again delves into the “science fiction” element… without ever writing a convincing science fiction book. Yes, it has elements of scifi – the main thrust of the plot is that it is now possible to “time travel” into your own memories and there is now tech to do exactly this. But that is where the science fiction begins and ends here, and other than a (brief) realistic look at the price of such groundbreaking tech and how it would spread to even remotely common use, there really isn’t an actual “scifi” bent to this particular tale.

Now, if one approaches this from more of a “women’s fiction” tale with a few nods to scifi… it actually works a LOT better and is actually quite a strong story… that just needed those nods to scifi to make it work. As a women’s fiction tale of a mother devastated over her son’s death and another mother devastated over something she did that can never be forgiven, both seeking to understand what happened and both desperate to have even a few more minutes of their lives before said events… this is a truly compelling tale.

Meserve manages to weave all four central characters’ stories together seamlessly, though the fact that all use the same tenses and even the same verbal stylings *can* make it a bit hard to distinguish which character you’re reading, particularly in the beginning bits of a hand-off. And still, you can almost see TV/ film producer Meserve – her “day job” when she’s not writing – thinking of camera angles to show viewers certain elements of certain scenes that the characters themselves won’t necessarily realize at the time. Which is actually a cool effect that she brings to the page quite effectively.

Overall I think opinions will likely be divided on this tale based on which side of it you give more weight, which is why I’m trying to caution you in this review. If you come into this book expecting a science fiction book… if you’re familiar with/ enjoy science fiction before this book, you’re going to be disappointed at the science fiction within it. If you’re coming from a more women’s fiction world and perhaps this is (somehow) your first brush with scifi… the scifi may well work for you here. On the other hand, if you’re coming into this book expecting more of a women’s fiction tale with scifi elements to make it work… congratulations, that is *exactly* what you’ve found.

If you’re more of that first more scifi-oriented crowd that is perhaps looking to branch out but need something somewhat close to your scifi preference in order to take a baby step outside of that space to just test the waters… this really is a strong women’s fiction tale that will allow you to do just that, and you’ll likely find something you genuinely enjoy here. So take the chance.

Either way, maybe you think *I’m* the idiot here and that I have no clue what I’m talking about regarding this book. PLEASE, read the book, write your own review – and feel free to call me out as the idiot you think I am, should you feel the need. 🙂

Very much recommended.

This review of The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve was originally written on April 8, 2025.