Tag Archives: review

September 25, 2016 · 5:00 am

The Christmas Lights by Rachael Kosinski (Book Review)

Historical Holiday Romance – Length: 96 pages 
 

“Where do Christmas lights come from?” 

The tiny bulbs of color that burn on a Christmas tree, or outside a house to shine in the night; does anyone really know where they originate? What if someone told you they weren’t intended for Christmas at all, but really for a miracle? That they were for love, a desperate idea, to light a boy’s way home? 

In that case, you must have some questions. What boy? What love? 

In that case, allow me to tell you a story.
 
 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
With the holidays quickly approaching, many of us (like myself) are on the look-out for a sweet Christmas story to get us in the mood for the impending festivities. In my humble opinion, “The Christmas Lights” had the makings to be included in Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas. 
 
Incase you are wondering why it had the goods to be turned into a tv movie, let me enlighten you about this novella.
 
We have a young man, with barely any money in the bank, with his heart set on marrying a young woman. Before Louis and Emmy can tie the knot, he needs to secure their future. In other words, they need money and now. He sets out on a journey to earn cash, which will have many high and low moments. 
 
As you would expect from a contender for the Hallmark Channel, all good things come to those who wait. 
 
Louis not only found success, but he also made invaluable friends along the way. 
 
One friend, Fabergé (yes, thee Fabergé) came to his rescue and ultimately changed his whole world. 
 
If this was a fairytale, Fabergé would be Louis’ Fairy Godfather.
 
Oh yes, Louis proved to be a very lucky, lucky man. 🙂
 
Now with all the positives, I must state why I gave The Christmas Lights a three. For me, I wanted to see more interactions between Louis and Emmy. I wanted to see their love blossom and grow, not just hit and miss moments through letters. If we had more showings of their love, besides the beginning and end, the score would’ve been easily a 4. Possibly a 4 1/2. 
 
Overall, I do think many people will enjoy this story while sipping on a mug of hot cocoa or apple cider. 
 
 
Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5
(highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤1/2
 
 
 
 
 
When she was little, Rachael Kosinski wanted to be a paleontologist, an Egyptologist, an astronaut, a Broadway actress, a nature photographer for National Geographic, and the next Jane Goodall. Instead of being a new link between man and chimp, or discovering a planet suitable for sustained human life, or maybe even winning renowned fame by stumbling across an undiscovered dinosaur, Rachael finally decided that, if she never became a writer, she would simply die. Several years later, she now possesses a quirky knowledge of world mythology, an addiction to coffee, and a penchant for making over-expressive faces at her laptop.
 
 
 
 

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

September 21, 2016 · 5:00 am

A Shackled Inheritance by Madeleine McDonald (Book Review)

 
517ibj8yvl 
 

Spinster Abigail Carrick faces a frugal existence in dour Scotland—until her father’s will reveals she has two unknown half-sisters. Free women of color, they will share her inheritance of a sugar plantation in the Caribbean. Against all advice, Abigail crosses the ocean to meet them. Fellow passenger Euan Sinclair offers her welcome encouragement. As their friendship deepens, the young lawyer is torn between attraction to Abigail and his loathing of slavery. His principles also clash with his duty, for his legal mission is delicate and he dare not fail. Fate throws the slave owner and the abolitionist together, on an island gripped by rumors of a slave revolt. When Euan meets Abigail’s family, will her alluring sister Desiree steal him from her?

 
 
images
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

Let me begin this review stating I give props to Madeleine for depicting the harshness and hardness of a slave’s life. To see anyone abused, mistreated in any decade, at any age, is unthinkable and deplorable. I can’t fathom how someone can treat another person so cruelly. Despicable! 
 
You know what else is despicable? A vast majority of the characters in A Shackled Inheritance. 
 
Euan: His behavior towards Abigail after he met Desiree, the sister, was piggish. He saw a beautiful woman and suddenly the woman he expressed having “more” with is pushed to the farthest reaches of his mind. Euan is a louse. 
 
Abigaai: I wasn’t too fond of her either. She, like Desiree, seemed too consumed with money.
 
Desiree: She was a vile, human being. 
 
Their 1/2 brother, Jericho, was no better. His only saving grace was his love and devotion to Rosie. Theirs, too. 
 
That poor, sweet child deserved more than what life dealt her. 
 
As you can surmise, this book was extremely difficult for me to read because it was absolutely depressing to read. 
 
At least it ended on a HEA so that’s something. 
 
 
Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5
(highest) 
Score: ❤1/2
 
GET YOUR PRINT  or KINDLE COPY TODAY!! 
 
 
 
 

 mad-w-hat-qb

Madeleine McDonald has been a voracious reader since childhood. Her early career took her to France, where she lived in the Dreyeckland, the three-cornered land where France meets Germany and Switzerland. Life on the border sparked an interest in the region’s history and tangled loyalties. Conflicted loyalties have been a theme running through her short stories and longer fiction.

Blog Link

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,

September 19, 2016 · 5:00 am

Claudia and the Lords of Peterborough by Adam Mann (Book Review)

 
 

Claudia immediately fell when she met good-looking William, the heir to the Earl of Peterborough, but several months later began to regret her childless marriage. Now widowed, she is forced to review her position and responsibilities, and is just about to move on when William’s younger brother, Benjamin, returns from a medical mission in Central Africa; turning her world upside down. She suddenly finds herself hooked again, but by this time Benjamin has inherited his father’s title, and if she marries him she will become the Countess. Can her heart take the chance on another whirlwind romance? Shire horses, Polo ponies, a Rottweiler puppy, and the Dowager Countess all contribute to make her decision easier.

 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
Based off the well-written blurb, I had a vastly different impression of the story I was about to read. Claudia and Ben only shared ONE KISS before she suddenly found herself enthralled with his brother, William. Ten years later, Ben returns home to claim his title of the new Earl and they give a relationship another try. 
 
For a setup like that, I expected more bumps in the road before marriage and a promise of future babies. Wouldn’t you? But no, there wasn’t any of that. Everyone was on board with their relationship. No hiccups whatsoever that she was once married to his (deceased) brother. 
 
I find that odd. Another thing I found odd was some of the wording and topics discussed or described. 
 
1.) “Could you put that inside me?” (referring to his penis)
2.)  The paragraph detailing the process of using a diaphragm. 
3.) Claudia informing Ben he couldn’t kiss her vagina because “There’s spermicide all over it.” That’s not sexy. The image Adam planted in my mind was just ewwwww. *shuddering* 
4.) I didn’t need the image of a “cervix excreting a slimy liquid” either. 
 
IMHO, I think this book could’ve benefited with more discussion on his time in the Congo and/or maybe the apparent adjustments he must’ve experienced when leaving the Médecins Sans Frontières, otherwise known as Doctors Without Borders. That would’ve captured and held my interest. That’s the story I think readers will crave. 
 
 Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5
(highest) 
score: ❤
 
 
ztswj5gp_400x400 
 
I’ve written twenty four romance books all based in parts of the world where I’ve lived and worked.  As a result four are in sub-Saharan Africa, ten are in South or East Asia, and only seven based in the UK. 
 
I’ve been married four times, my first wife died, the second divorced me, the third marriage was annulled as that wife had forgotten to get divorced, and thank goodness the fourth wife is fit and well. 
We have between us seven children and five grandchildren.  As a result I think that I know a bit about life and loving.
 
I’ve lived and worked in Vietnam since 1997, where I live in a provincial city with my wife, and we have constant stream of visitors from the families of our seven adult children. 
 

Contact links:
https://www.amazon.com/author/adammannauthor.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/adammannauthor.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AdamMannGPG

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as ,

September 17, 2016 · 5:00 am

The Guardian: Mended Souls, Book 1 by Jacquie Biggar (Book Review)

HOT NEW adventure romance. Spice up your summer with The Guardian

 

Can two lost souls stop a madman with the help of a sarcastic angel?


Lucas Carmichael and Scott Anderson had it all, money, fame, and fortune. But one night’s stupid mistake takes everything they thought they cherished and dumps it upside down.
A car accident ends Lucas’ life and leaves Scott injured and bitter.
As the local ME, Tracy York, investigates the case, discrepancies begin to point to more than a simple drunk driving incident.
When threats are made to Tracy’s life can Scott and his guardian angel, Lucas, protect her, or will she become another casualty?

Excerpt:
 

Scott couldn’t believe he’d escaped from a hospital just a few hours before and now here he was, riding in the back of an ambulance. He was pretty sure it wasn’t SOP to transport a canine, even if it was extenuating circumstances. But the moment the paramedics had shown up, his companion had run roughshod over their objections. It was sort of sexy.

Tracy York.

He had a difficult time equating her as a medical examiner. She seemed too… young. Naïve. Cute.

That is until a person got close enough to read the deep green pools of her gaze. They spoke of suffering, those eyes. They made him ache inside. He wanted to hold her. Offer to help, even though his world was a screwed up mess.

Her thigh rubbed against his every time the ambulance changed lanes and was slowly driving him crazy. Every nerve strained closer, waiting for the next teasing friction of silk and jean meshing together and then apart.

The vehicle took a corner and she lost balance, threw out a hand to steady herself, and came dangerously close to finding out exactly what she was doing to him.

Scott grasped her forearm in his good hand and stopped her forward momentum. He froze, their lips a hairsbreadth apart. Her eyes grew large and he felt like the wolf at Red Riding Hood’s door. His heart skidded along his windpipe like it was an Olympic medal winning luge run. How had he thought her merely cute? She was gorgeous, with hair like the finest brandy and skin that rivalled any fairy tale heroine he’d ever read about. He leaned toward her, solely focused on tasting that lush, honey-sweet mouth.

And she frowned at him.

Just like that the noise came rushing back in, the creak of the van, the beep of machines, and the stifled snort of the paramedic who suddenly pretended to act busy. Tracy pulled her arm free. She ignored him to reach out and pet the mutt’s gnarled coat, and move a careful few inches down the bench.

Scott glared at the grinning paramedic and sat back, his head resting against the cool metal wall behind him. He couldn’t honestly remember the last time a woman turned him down. He was disappointed, but there was no denying the fact that the doc intrigued him. If she were anyone else he’d be tempted to pursue the matter. But she held his and Lucas’ reputation in her dainty little hands. He couldn’t afford to alienate her.

 
GET YOUR KINDLE OR PAPERBACK COPY TODAY!! 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 
They say the Lord works in mysterious ways and HE sure did in The Guardian. He partnered up Mike and Lucas who’s paths crossed one unfortunate night. A night filled with pain, heartache and lost lives. 
 
When Mike visited his family and relived his final moments before the impact, I admit I cried. I pictured myself as Jules, chanting “I love you” to my family because I needed them to know, had to let them know, because the inevitable was about to happen.  Even as I am typing this, I’m tearing up and I am not a huge crier. So before you read chapter 11, grab a tissue. Trust me, you’ll need it. 
 
For the rest of the story, I didn’t shed one tear. I did raise an eyebrow at a few passages. I’ll share those with you now. 
 
1.) When Scott took Tracy on a picnic, he brought and drank wine. You’d think a man who was still recovering from an accident, where he lost his best friend and sister, would abstain from any form of alcohol. There was more at play with the accident but I’m not divulging any secrets. Lets just say at this point and time, Scott thought the accident centered around alcohol. Case closed. 
 
2.) Angels curse? Ok Lucas and Mike are NEW ANGELS so maybe that’s why they didn’t censure themselves. Maybe cursing isn’t going against the heavenly rulebook. 
 
3.) Without giving out a spoiler, I will say I was shocked when a certain deceased individual could still get hurt/be knocked out. 
 
Other than those three things, I rather enjoyed this book. I’m pleased to see Jacquie didn’t have the Lord appear only at the start of the book. Those who believe in HIM, hope HE watches out for us, guides us every day, will be delighted the number of times the Lord “appears” and his words of guidance. He was basically Lucas’ conscience, pointing him on the right path which is exactly what I expected of HIM to do.  
 
I should make note of one more thing, this book does end on a CLIFFHANGER and one I think will have you anticipating book 2. 
 
 
Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5
(highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤1/2
 
GET YOUR KINDLE OR PAPERBACK COPY TODAY!! 
Goodreads Link
 


Jacquie writes Romantic Suspense with tough, alpha males who know what they want, until they’re gob-smacked by heroines who are strong, contemporary women willing to show them that what they really need is love.
She has been blessed with a long, happy marriage and enjoys writing romance novels that end with happy-ever-afters.
Jacquie lives in paradise along the west coast of Canada with her family and loves reading, writing, and flower gardening. She swears she can’t function without coffee, preferably at the beach with her sweetheart. 🙂
 
Follow Jacquie’s website below – if you check out her giveaways page you’ll find tons of great prizes every month!

 
Facebook Street Team:

9 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

September 15, 2016 · 5:00 am

Wild Goose Chase by Jan Romes (Book Review)

 
51pyk1n2fhl-_sx311_bo1204203200_
Olivia Pence has been a word-nerd and all-around geek forever, which didn’t exactly win her a ton of friends growing up. It did, however, snag the attention of a like-minded geek, Dezz Casey. Instead of becoming fast friends, Dezz became a competitive thorn. The rivalry continued through grade school, high school, college, and now as co-workers for Brilliance magazine. The most annoying thing – Dezz went from being a homely dork to six-feet-three-inches of hotness that infuriates Olivia to the point of madness. Their boss has had her fill of the chaos and orders a two-week cooling-off period where they’re to travel (separately) and find serendipitous situations to write about. Will the time away fix their work issues and their hearts? Or will it amount to a wild goose chase that drives them farther apart?
 
KINDLE PURCHASE LINK
PRINT LINK
 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
Olivia and I had so much in common it was hard not to connect with the character. She was a germaphobe, OCD, named her car, writer, and a geek. It was like Jan was writing about me, in my younger years. Even Olivia not realizing Dezz’s flirtatious banter was legit hit a cord with me. 
 
Dezz, oh sweet Dezz. I can’t believe he waited and pinned for Olivia for 23 years. It took him until the age of 28 for him to finally make a play. Of course, Olivia didn’t believe his flirtiness was real because of their competitive relationship and how they goaded each other, often. 
 
All it took for her to really see him for HIM was liquor. Not the healthiest way to start a relationship, but I digress. 
 
Of course, once her eyes were open to the wonderfulness of Dezz, he still didn’t get his lady. Actually, she continued to hurt him, unintentionally.
 
However, through a mugging, flying underwear, toilet mishap, and much more, they did get their HEA. 
 
Oh I should note, Jan, even though it wasn’t my phone that landed in the public restroom, I still went and sanitized my hands. TWICE!! 
 
Even though I loved the humor, I had to give it a 3.5 rating. Why, you may ask?
 
Two reasons: A.) She’s 28, turned 29 and “intact”. It’s appearing too often in books lately and seemed unrealistic.  B.) In chapter 9, he claimed, “I don’t have sex with women I don’t love.” He wasn’t a virgin so who did he love before and why wasn’t that tidbit touched on before or after their near sexual encounter?  
 
Besides those two hiccups for me,  it was a fun – flirty – and fabulous read! 
 
 
Heart Rating System
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)  
Score: ❤❤❤1/2
 
KINDLE PURCHASE LINK
PRINT LINK
 
 

Jan Romes is a hopeless romantic who grew up in northwest Ohio with eight zany siblings. Married to her high school sweetheart for more years than seems possible, she is also a proud mom, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She likes to read all genres, writes witty contemporary romance and women’s fiction, enjoys finding new ways to stay fit and gardens even though she doesn’t claim to have a green thumb.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,