Review: Lichgates by S.M. Boyce

Lichgates by S.M. Boyce

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When a young distraught young woman finds herself in another dimension her life is forever changed. As long as she becomes what this new reality wants from her.

It was an interesting read but the minute it became like epic fantasy I became bored with it and nearly stopped reading. For those who love those ancient stories, this will be quite pleasing. But I only liked it when the modern woman who has now lost her parents finds herself back and forth in time. I thought it interesting to watch a modern woman adjust to old ways but when the story veers off to the inhabitant of that world, YAWN! Thank goodness it went back to the main character it became more interesting again.

Maybe others will like it better.

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Review: Out of the Past by Glenda Poulter

Out of the Past by Glenda Poulter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Do you like ghost stories? Well, here’s one with a little different take on the theme. Of course, it involves the south and the old homes found there, and the antiques. Made me wish I was actually there.

I don’t have a fear of ghosts. I feel I have seen, and even felt a couple in my days. No biggie. They are just folks with left-over things to do. So the angst and sorrow the main character shows is far too repetitive. I suppose that was to build some suspense. But I just wanted to see where the story went and get off of a poor woman in distress of apparitions and dreams.

The story kept me interested and I wanted to see how it all would work out. The thing about ghosts stories is that they are stories within stories. In this case, the antique dealers, who happen to be gay, and of the present, seek out the possessed things and places of the past. Once the stories start emerging I really grew to love all the characters and the place itself.

So if you want to go seek out the past and see what the south has to offer, check this book out.

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Review: Five Minutes in Heaven by Lisa Alther

Five Minutes in Heaven by Lisa Alther

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a ride! Not exactly rollercoaster, but not merry-go-round either. From the beginning, I like the main character, Jude. She is one who doesn’t belong in the world, but finds her way, anyway. She is flawed and confused, with good reasons. I wanted to root for her to win each of her obstacles.

From Tennessee to New York to France and back, Jude struggles with her demons, longing for love to return to her as pure as she put it out. Rarely does it find her. Mostly because of her own insecurities and lack of role-models, love floats out as a fantasy. Never to be achieved.

I picked this version of the book up from Amazon, Kindle Unlimited (which is in fact limited, as you can only have ten ‘checked out’ at a time). I kind of wished I had the Audible version or the Whispersync to go along, but I managed okay without.

My biggest complaint is the French. Not the people. Just the use of the language with no definitions available to the reader. If you only took Latin, Spanish and German in your language classes, French isn’t a language you even have books for. At least that’s how it is in my house. So I had to ignore the language and hoped to get the gist. I hate when authors do that to the reader. It stinks of a superiority to the reader. It wasn’t necessary. If you are conveying a story to the reader. and most of the book is in English, why not continue in that language in the last third of the book?

And the ending? Wish I had been given a grown up, matured, version of Jude when she comes home at last! The last part ended in the same way, that the other two sections had ended. Wondering what next. Still, it was worth the read.

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The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series was so much fun that I wish I could go back and read it again, right now! I miss the characters and the wonderful voice of Jennifer Ikeda. This series is best read with the narration. The experience is over the top!

Anyone who knows me knows I am not into vampires. Okay, I watched Vampire Diary for a while but it was because of the witch more than anything else. So had this not started with A Discovery of Witches, and had my cousin not recommended it, I might not have gotten into this series. And the witches sure do kick b*** in this series, so I wasn’t let down.

Even writing this is giving me a sense of remorse that it is over. Gosh, what a sentimental mush brain, huh? But how else can I tell you how good this series is?

I do have a complaint about the whispersync of this book. For some reason, it would skip over the bottom of each paragraph. But that didn’t stop me. I just signed onto my Audible and played the story from there and read it on my tablet. Yeah, I had to turn pages, but I hardly noticed as the story moved me forward.

I noticed that there were the slightest threads left undone. Nothing drastic, but it had me hoping there would be more to this series. Oh, and the last couple chapters felt rather anticlimactic, but I wasn’t complaining. It just gave me more time with the family. This was the perfect read for the Halloween season, but it would hold its own over any other set of days too.

Do read it! I think you’ll enjoy it, too!

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Review: Shadow Burns by S.M. Reine

Shadow Burns by S.M. Reine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit that this is not my favorite novel or series written by Sara Reine. First of all, I don’t like that the main character is a hunky good looking guy. I prefer strong female leads.

But the redeeming characteristics for Cesar, the MC, are his self knowledge. He is able to make fun of his own faults while being perfectly honest about his abilities. AND even better, his sense of humor is tops! I spent many moments laughing out loud. That is a good thing in a book full of blood and gore. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that he is a fan of Firefly and Dead Like Me! I did find those things endearing.

BUT my least favorite thing was the ending that makes me wait until the next book comes out. Grrr! At least it wasn’t a cliffhanger! AND the next book is centered on a female lead. Yay! I can’t wait!

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Review: Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another quick read. The only reason it took me so long was because it was a bit too intense to read before bed.I must admit that even as distressing as the story became, there was enough humor to offset it.

This will not go down as my favorite S.M. Reine series. I like the others that are with female leads. Riley is so sweet and strong. Elise was a tough cookie and even though she ended up a demon, she always fought for what was good. Cesar is mostly boring to me. And the worst part of the story is that the women in this series are mostly arm-candy.

All that said, the story itself is engaging. I want to know what is going to happen next. And since this one is set in Reno-Tahoe area, I felt quite involved. AND I look forward to the next book in the series, Hotter Than Helltown.

Keep cranking them out, Sarah! Your books are always unique and fun.

By the way, this was a free read for honest review.

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Review: Witch Hunt

Witch Hunt by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a nice short book. I thought it would be at least as long as Ms. Reine’s other books. But maybe that is just my own interpretation. Maybe it was as long and was just was a fast read? It was fun. Witch Hunt doesn’t align with my goal of reading about strong fem characters written by strong fem writers. In fact, I was a little disturbed by the ‘hunk’ male with ‘arm-candy’ females. One scene made me happy. To prevent a spoiler, I will only say the word: boils.

Now once I got past the MC being a guy, I found the story fun. At times it felt like the old detective movies. There were a couple lines I had to stop and read aloud to my husband. One of those I actually highlighted in my Kindle. Since I finished this early last night I started the next in the series that I was given for review. (I think the same might be said for this book?) Whereas Witch Hunt was located in Los Angeles, the next is in Reno. In both cases, I felt a part of the scene as I have personal experience with these areas.

One thing I can say for all of S. M. Reine’s work is it is exciting and keeps you engaged. As I have said of other books she has written, please go through the books in order starting with Six Summer Moons and then through each series in order (GoodReads has them listed on her page very well.) Although this book could do well on its own, Having acquaintence of the places and people of the other books adds depth to the read.

Once again, great job, Sara!

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Review: Grannies, Guns and Ghosts

Grannies, Guns and Ghosts by Madison Johns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though I am giving this book a separate review, I am actually reading the boxed set with books one through three. I want the credit toward my reading goal of individual books while having the convenience…

That went nowhere. On to the actual review.

Ghosts. Really? Sigh. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I won’t get into it. This was a shorter book than the first one, maybe a novella rather than a novel. I was glad. This book felt less put together than the first. Editing is badly needed.

What did I like? I like Agnes and Eleanor. Those crazy ladies are fun even though they get into more trouble than they solve. There is a lot of humor in spite of the story being about murders. I am so glad someone has taken the time to write stories about senior womyn. For that reason alone I plan to read all these Senior Snoopers.

In fact… I’m off to read the next book.

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Review: Viktoria

Viktoria by Kim Dallmeier
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know what to think about this book. There were promising threads of plot I wanted to see pursued but instead the story seemed to stay wrapped up in relationship angst. In many ways I found it depressing.

The parts about spirits/ghosts I found interesting. The part about the pagan/spiritualist school was interesting. Now maybe these threads will be caught up into the next book in the series–there is a next book, isn’t there?

Now that I am writing this I see that I do want to see what happens next. Guess I will have to look up book two.

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