This was my another “new to me” author that to be honest, took me way too long to get off of my TBR list……. but I can honestly say that it will not beThis was my another “new to me” author that to be honest, took me way too long to get off of my TBR list……. but I can honestly say that it will not be my last from Mr Kaplan.
From the premise of the book, I knew I was in for a wild ride and I was not disappointed. From start to finish, this book held my interest so well that I had a hard time putting it down and finished in one sitting.
The story has a little bit of everything. From jewelry heists, politics, drug cartels, and human trafficking, it leaves clues that end up causing our characters to travel to various countries in the search of the reason for the apparent suicide of a potential presidential candidate. The story line had a lot of moving parts and people that did not at first seem to fit the story, but as things began to unfold and characters began to cross paths, the plot unfurls to reveal a cliffhanging ending.
Mr Kaplan did a wonderful job of creating twists and turns that kept me guessing how it was all going to come together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Smugglers Lane Press publishing for giving me the opportunity to listen to and review this audio ARC. All thoughts and opinions above are mine and mine alone....more
This is a book series that I am kind of going backwards on. I actually started with the 20th book in this series (by mistake) before I realized that tThis is a book series that I am kind of going backwards on. I actually started with the 20th book in this series (by mistake) before I realized that this was even a series. To be fair, I REALLY enjoyed that book and was excited to go back to the beginning and start from book 1. To think, there are still 19 books to go!
One thing that was fairly obvious to me after reading this book is that Mr. Crais has definitely improved as a writer. The difference in writing skills with this book, and the book that I read first is stark. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book, but there is a difference in the style of writing.
We are introduced to Elvis Cole, Private Investigator. He ends up with a case where a wife hires Cole to find her missing husband and son. The wife is a very submissive wife, having been married for many, many years, in one of those marriages where the husband took care of everything. She is aware that he had a girlfriend on the side (he was some sort of Hollywood talent agent) and she seems to think that he ran off with the girlfriend but can't quite figure out why he took her son. The two of them have other children so only taking one doesn't exactly make sense.
Cole takes the case and we follow along as he investigates leads. One of the issues I had with this story in particular was the way it is thrown in there that Cole sleeps with 2 separate and different women (who happen to be close friends). One of the trysts happens at the most inopportune time. I seriously rolled my eyes and thought, "You HAVE to be kidding me!" Seriously WRONG time..... The reason I even bring it up was that it served no purpose. It felt like it was just thrown in there for word count. There were a few things like that - things that I'm sure he smoothed out in later books (like adding things for shock value).
The case itself was interesting. As usual, there is always more to the story. We also got to meet Joe Pike for the first time. I liked him just as much in this book. One thing that was a disappointment to me was the narration of Joe's voice by the narrator. Stay with me here. I listened to this on audio and for this book the narrator was Patrick Lawlor. Remember, I listened to book 20 first and in that book the narrator was Luke Daniels (starting to make sense?) Well, Luke Daniels did this thing that I thought was really weird in the beginning. He made Joe Pike sound very, very tough. I'm not even sure how he did it, but it was almost comical in the beginning. The funny thing was that not only did I get used to it but when I heard him speak in this book (book 1)......he sounded almost like a wimp. Weird, right? I'm not even sure if that makes sense other than to say that since Patrick Lawlor didn't make any distinction in Pike's voice that to me, it fell flat and didn't sound like the bada** Pike from my first book. I know, I know. Probably doesn't make sense, but just thought I'd throw that out there.
So now I'm doing it right and starting from the beginning of the series. I am looking forward to following Cole and Pike as they get into their mis-adventures. Can't wait. ...more
This was a very short novella that takes us through an interesting weekend when two people experience an unusual event. The maintenance people at theiThis was a very short novella that takes us through an interesting weekend when two people experience an unusual event. The maintenance people at their apartment building mistakenly take off the stairwell to their apartments (it was the wrong stairwell) on a Friday afternoon and they cannot rectify their mistake until at least Monday morning. They cannot leave their porch area all weekend because they can’t get to the ground.
As a result, the two neighbors end up meeting each other when they probably would never have had the reason to talk to each other. The two discover that they each have unique but compelling stories about "how" they got to where they are today and they end up becoming friends. This particular weekend ends up being almost a vacation from normal life.
Unfortunately, when a video of them goes viral, the part of real life that they had decided to avoid rears its ugly head.
I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the narration of Julia Whelan and Connor Crais. The characters were extremely easy to like and the story flowed in a way that pulled you along as you fell into the story.
If you have a couple of hours to spare - this is a wonderful way to spend them....more
It had been a while since I had read an Emily Henry book, and I couldn't remember if I liked her as an author. I went into this book without reading tIt had been a while since I had read an Emily Henry book, and I couldn't remember if I liked her as an author. I went into this book without reading the summary, so I really had no expectations going in. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the book.
It ended up being a Julia Whelan weekend for me because I wound up listening to two books that were narrated by her in just 2 days (the other being The Fall Risk). I actually really like Ms. Whelan's narration. She is the narrator for at least 3 series that I REALLY enjoy right off the top of my head, so whenever I see her name (or hear the beginning of a book and realize that it is her voice) I think there is something subconsciously that puts me in a more receptive mood. Weird, right?
So, about this book. The story introduces us to two writers. The FMC -January Andrews- is a romance (she prefers calling it Woman's Fiction) writer who has been a fairly successful published author. She has had a very sunny outlook on most everything around her for most of her life until this past year when her world imploded. Everything that she thought she believed in is now up for debate. Things she felt were rock solid, like her parents' marriage and her own 6-year relationship. She now realizes that nothing was as it seemed. How can she write a "Happily Ever After" book when that is the thing that no longer exists for her?
We then get to meet MMC Augustus Everett. He is January's exact opposite. While she had the positive outlook on life, Gus prepared for the eventual fallout. While January wrote happy books, Gus wrote long sad stories that while the storyline itself may have come to a conclusion, it was not a conclusion that would fall into the "happy" category. His books fell into the "Literary Fiction" category, or at least they fell into a more "serious" category.
To top things off, they knew each other in college before they were published authors. From January's perspective, Gus was an arrogant and condescending man who made her feel small and who criticized her writing skills in their creative writing class. To make things worse, she was also unhappily very attracted to him.
In this year when January's life falls apart, she is left with no choice but to move from New York city to a townhome that her father left her when he died. The circumstances being what they are - that is the LAST place she wants to be, but she is too broke to have any other choice. Wouldn't you know it - guess who happens to live in the adjoining townhome.....with the adjoining balcony?
Yep. None other than Gus Everett.
Gus' life isn't all roses either. He is experiencing an awful case of writer's block on a story that he has spent over 5 years researching. It isn't easy to write the American novel after all.
Our story starts from there. These two people who knew each other many years ago are brought back together and both realize that many things have happened to each of them in the interim and neither is the person that they were. After a slow start, they begin talking and come up with a really crazy idea. Since January can't write anything happy and Gus thinks writing romance is easy, they decide to have a contest and switch. She will write a literary novel and Gus will write romance.
They agree to help each other out - since they are each their own subject matter experts - and the winner is going to write the forward and book recommendation of the winning book. They come up with a schedule of writing during the week with weekends being designated as research days. January takes him places that can serve as "meet cutes" and Gus takes her on interviews with people who share their devastating experiences in the subject that he was writing about. Great idea, right?
Well, no more summary because the book takes off from there. Little by little we are given the back story on both of their lives and what led to the circumstances that they find themselves in. It was a very intriguing storyline and I found myself completely invested in their stories. I liked both of the characters and while I liked Gus a little bit more at first, January grew on me.
There were some pretty crazy and interesting secondary characters that added flavor to the story as well. They were pretty well developed and for the characters living with them in their small town in Michigan, it added to the ambience of the story. I will say that I really enjoyed getting the information on Gus and his history - that was majorly worth it (and somewhat unexpected).
This was a stand alone book with a satisfying HEA. Definitely worth an afternoon (or couple of afternoons) to dive into their world....more
This is the second book in a series that Brandon Sanderson wrote for his wife. They are not part of the Cosmere, and are written purely for enjoyment.This is the second book in a series that Brandon Sanderson wrote for his wife. They are not part of the Cosmere, and are written purely for enjoyment. I listened to this one on audio, but in the Author Foreword, Sanderson mentions that there is art in the printed version that was worth looking at - he supposedly gave the manuscript to an artist friend of him and told him to, "Have fun with it" or something like that. Soooo, I went and got the print version and alternated between reading and listening. Honestly, though, there are some books where the art makes a HUGE difference, both in the enjoyment and in the understanding of the story. In this particular book, that is NOT the case.
This book deals with the concept of different dimensions. Apparently in the near future, it is discovered that there are many, many different dimensions and one company in particular is in the business of selling the various dimensions out as commodities. Yes, you read that right. "-For the small price of $xxx, you too can be the proud owner of your very own dimension."
Unfortunately, in this story, our MMC awakens in one of these new dimensions with absolutely NO memory of 1) how he got there and 2) who the heck he is. We spend the book finding out these answers along with him.
Part of him trying to puzzle out answers lies in a handbook that he supposedly brought with him - hence the name - The Frugal Wizard's Handbook. Sadly though, it seems to have kind of "blown up" upon entry. At least the pages are still there....sort of....they were just kind of floating all over the place, out of order, and missing some crucial information.
We travel along in a foreign land, with strange people and even stranger customs, as our MMC - who we learn is John West - begins to put the pieces together. John quickly endears himself to the reader (and by reader, I mean me) and I found myself rooting for him as he seemed to devolve from thinking he was this amazing hero, to realizing that he was nothing of the sort in his life before this. This is a story about second chances and realizing that it is never too late to become the person that you would like to be.
There is also a lot of dry humor in this story. John THINKS he is really funny, and for the most part he is....just not everyone gets his form of humor.
As usual with Mr. Sanderson, there is a bigger over arching storyline that John seems to have dropped himself right into the middle of. There is the requisite "Bad guy" (well, actually several of them), the "supposed" friends, and a couple of gods that he meets along the way. There is even a romantic interest :)
All in all, I enjoyed this. It was a fun, quick and easy read/listen that wraps itself up nicely. I think that there is only one more book in the Secret Projects library and I will be caught up. These books have been fun - different...but each has been whimsy in its own way and worth the read. ...more
What a great surprise! This was my definite win of the week.
I'm not really sure how I ended up with this ARC because I did not even realize that thisWhat a great surprise! This was my definite win of the week.
I'm not really sure how I ended up with this ARC because I did not even realize that this was part of a series, and to top that....I had absolutely NO CLUE that this was the 20th book in that series. So much for my rule of NOT reading books out of order. Thank goodness that I didn't know that beforehand......
This book may be the 20th book in this series, but it was perfectly fine for me - a first time reader - to fall completely into the story. At no time did I feel like there was an entire back story that I was clueless about. The story unfolded in a way that I felt perfectly comfortable meeting and getting to know the main characters of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
The story is told in a fast moving way that doesn't give the reader too much time to stay focused on any particular area. Cole - a private detective - takes on a case from a popular social media influencer who is a famous baker. She is loved by millions but can't get over the fact that her father went missing when she was 13 years old. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of his disappearance, she wants Cole to try one more time to find out what happened to him.
Cole starts going back over the case, but he finds one lead that everyone else missed. Once Cole starts down this road, things start moving even faster. There are multiple storylines going on at the same time and Cole ends up asking for help from his best friend and silent partner Joe Pike.
I liked both of the characters. They are each completely unique and very likeable and I found myself rooting for them immediately. The tension builds and builds until the very end when it all erupts into a HUGE climax. Did I figure everything out first? Partially. But there was WAY more that I didn't figure out and THAT surprised me. For me, that doesn't happen as often as I would like.
So, definitely a huge win. I listened to this on audio and another positive for me was that it was narrated by Luke Daniels. He is and has been one of my favorite narrators and this was no exception. The first thing I did when I finished this book was go and find Book 1. Looks like I'm going to be reading a few Cole and Pike books in the near future :)
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing / Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this audio ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book comes out for publication on January 14, 2025....more
This is the second book in this duology that has us continuing on as we follow a human - Brie's -adventure in the Fae realm. In the first book, we metThis is the second book in this duology that has us continuing on as we follow a human - Brie's -adventure in the Fae realm. In the first book, we met Abriella (Brie) and the two Prince's (Unseelie and Seelie) that seemed to be paying quite a bit of attention to her. At the end of that book, we discover the REAL reason everyone was trying to win her favor. Needless to say, she is feeling very betrayed.
As we begin this book, Brie THINKS she understands everyone's motives and makes a serious choice. Unfortunately, it is only then that she discovers that she was VERY wrong in thinking she knew everything. Things take off from there.
I enjoyed this book, even though it severely annoyed me at times. To me, it felt like she was just accepting of her choice, even though it felt WRONG to everyone. With that being said, the storyline itself was interesting. The realms are unbalanced and can't stay like that. Things are starting to fall apart as the three of them try to figure out a way to make things work. There is also quite a bit of betrayal going on.
All in all, I enjoyed the series. Truth be told, I am a sucker for a HEA. ...more
This is the first book in a new series from au author that I have only previously seen in the romance genre. My interest was piqued to see wh3.5 Stars
This is the first book in a new series from au author that I have only previously seen in the romance genre. My interest was piqued to see what she had in store in this new genre (to be honest, she might have many, many books already out in this genre, but it is MY first time reading anything other than romance from her).
So, for this being the first book in the series, we are introduced to Abriella (Brie) who is a human living in a world where the Fae exist, though they are in a different realm. To me, this book was not very clear in the beginning because it pretty much throws us into this world expecting us to already know certain things, before we are actually told about them. What do I mean by that? Well, our FMC Brie is apparently a FANTASTIC thief, she breaks into some HUGE vault in the very first pages of the book, but only steals a small amount of money. How much? She doesn't even know. Then on the way home she stops by a friend's house and realizes that this friend's daughter had signed a "life contract" with the Fae and if she didn't pay a certain amount of money by the next day, she was going to be sold or I guess have her contract come due. How much money did she owe? Well, 8000 something or other, but just enough for Brie to have that amount and give it to her to buy out her contract. Did she then have enough to pay her rent or whatever it was that was originally due that she broke into the vault for? No. So...she is a fantastic thief, yet she still works her hands to the bone to scrub toilets and clean houses while continuing to keep going deeper and deeper in debt trying to keep her and her little sister alive. Odd...? And then she and her sister live in the basement of her aunt's house, yet are going deeper and deeper in debt due to the extortion from her aunt. So her aunt is like the evil stepmother - but I guess it is an evil aunt where the cousins are wealthy and have lots but the two girls in the basement do not (?) All of this occurs in the very first couple of chapters- so while it tries to set up this new and bleak world, it is still pretty confusing.
THEN, the story begins when the evil aunt SELLS the little sister to the King of the Fae (why? not really sure, but that seems a bit cruel). I forgot to mention that our FMC can not stand the Fae. Apparently, her mother fell in love with a Fae male and left her two daughters 9 years ago, (hence, the evil aunt) so Brie has an intense hatred for anything Fae.
She also has a deep friendship with a neighbor - an apprentice mage - named Sebastian who when she realizes what happened to her sister and decides to go rushing off to Fairie to save her, well, it just so happens that the friend is, you guessed it...a Fae. And not just a Fae...the Seelie Prince Ronan.
Then, this becomes a love triangle when for...reasons...she then starts having daily visits with another Fae - the Unseelie Prince Finn, who is training her to use the magic that she all of a sudden discovers that she has.
So.....for a while I wasn't sure if I was going to continue on with this book, but truthfully, it did get better as things moved along. There was a lack of depth or dimension with the characters and our FMC is unabashedly a Mary Sue. I mean, there are two princes falling for her, she has this magic that is so very unique and even though the Seelie Prince is having what is basically a "Bachelor" competition at his palace with 12 girls vying for his hand, he is, of course, in love with our FMC. Who is - of course - racked with feelings of guilt for betraying him by going to his enemy's camp daily to train......
In the end, there is betrayal. Lots and lots of betrayal. even though our brilliant FMC thought she was on top of all of the reasons the two princes had for trying to get close to her, even she did not understand the depth of the deception. But was it really? Were any of them honest?
Well, I've got to continue on to book 2 to see what is going to happen next. I will say that my level of investment and interest got much bigger near the end of this book. Lots of unexpected drama that I was definitely not expecting :)...more
I'm breaking my cardinal rule about reading a series out of order, but my excuse is going to be the fact that I am being awarded these audio ARC's outI'm breaking my cardinal rule about reading a series out of order, but my excuse is going to be the fact that I am being awarded these audio ARC's out of order. What's a girl to do?
So, this is the second book in this series (I guess the next book I'll read is the first book, since I've read #3, and then #2.....) Anyway. In this book K-9 handler Maya Thompson and her dog Juniper are already working for the Forest Service in the small Colorado town and she has met and is in the process of "getting close" with Sheriff's Deputy Josh Colton. Josh is a deputy under Maya's grandfather, who is the Sheriff of their small town.
We learn that Maya's mother was murdered when she was 4 years old and then 20 years later, her grandmother died. It was staged to look like a suicide, yet during the investigation, it was discovered that the same gun was used in both of the deaths- both mother and daughter. Maya and Josh have been looking into the deaths - on the side, and are determined to see if they can re-open these cold cases.
A strange thing occurs when a casual friend of Maya's is murdered and her body is found on federal forest land. When they finally locate the victims apartment and go to investigate - they discover an entire wall of photographs and information detailing every aspect of Maya's life. A multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency task force is needed when prints and DNA come back with one suspect linking everything - the murders in Maya's family and this new murder. The name that comes back is an ex-cop who is wanted for several killings. What in the world does he want with Maya? And how were Maya's mother and grandmother connected?
Once the story gets going, we are on a journey filled with action and twists and turns. In the middle of all of this we get to watch Maya and Juniper continue to try to stay ahead of danger. Juniper is a wonderful secondary character herself. She is definitely a talented working K9, but she also has a funny and unique personality that shows itself throughout the book.
As I mentioned before, there are several twists and turns and one of the twists was a surprise I did not see coming.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book will be out for publication on February 4, 2025.
I remember thinking that the first book in this series was a huge and pleasant surprise for me. I ended up really liking it and made a no4.25 Stars ⭐️
I remember thinking that the first book in this series was a huge and pleasant surprise for me. I ended up really liking it and made a notation to be on the lookout for the next book when it came out.
This book takes place not too long after the end of the first book and starts off with our fierce Witch Hunter Gideon Sharpe traveling to the continent to try to assassinate the infamous "Crimson Moth" Rune Winters, a witch who had him fooled - well, probably a better way to say this was to say she made him feel like a fool because he fell in love with her before discovering who she was. Then, the silly man turned her over to be "purged" (yes, that DOES mean to be killed) Definitely not his finest moment. Needless to say, she escapes, but there is a horrible, horrible consequence because of this action that impacts both of them.
When he catches up with her at the beginning of this book, she is in the middle of another "plan." She is engaged to the Prince. Of course, she doesn't love him, doesn't even really like him, but she is working under (evil) Cressida to try to help her get her kingdom back. Long story....Anyway, that's how the two of them fall back into each other's spheres.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Yes, there was a ton of back and forth between the two of them. "I hate you", "no I hate you more"....So much that at times I wanted to bang their heads into a wall. (Just kiss already!!) But, it was still done in a way that continued to build and build the tension in the storyline so that at times I had no idea how they were going to get out of certain circumstances.
I could honestly feel Gideon's mental struggle and his anguish to do the right thing. And Rune, well, she was just one impulsive decision after another. Cring worthy at times, but it certainly made for some breath holding at times.
Not going to go into any spoilers but I can honestly say that I had no earthly idea how in the world there was going to be ANY chance at a HEA. I could not figure out how the author was going to get there. But...get there she did. And in a way that made for a fun, dramatic climax that also took a couple of years off my life :) ...more
Man, I'm trying to be as positive as possible but boy has this been a difficult week. When Audible had its huge sale a while ago, I got a bun2.5 Stars
Man, I'm trying to be as positive as possible but boy has this been a difficult week. When Audible had its huge sale a while ago, I got a bunch of audio books at 85% off with the hope that I could find some new authors that I liked. I've been on a journey of looking for good K9 storylines, so that was one of the genres that I was able to get several books from. I had high hopes....
There were several things that I had a problem with in this book. As I mentioned before, I've been reading several books in this genre and this book had probably the most issues out of any I've read so far. What kind of issues? Where to start?
First of all - While I loved Renegade as a dog, the author was so off on the behaviors and training - well, even the temperament for him to be any kind of service or K9 partner dog. Ren snarled at people all the time, lunged at people he didn't like, and had difficulty listening to commands. These dogs are so incredibly smart, but when they are working, they are working. They do not "go off" and run after rabbits. Yes, Renegade was still in training, but - well, there is just too much to go into. I did love him as a dog. He LOVED his owner and tried his hardest to protect her. THAT is wonderful.
Probably the thing that made me the maddest was that Renegade is injured defending his handler/owner. He is hit in the skull with the butt of a gun several times (I think it was FIVE times) resulting in a cracked skull and a brain bleed. Then, maybe 3 or 4 days later, he is out again with his owner and she puts him in the middle of a tense situation where he is struggling to get off the lead, and lunging at a suspect. Then eventually she gives the command for him to go after a suspect and take him down. REALLY? HE HAD A CRACKED SKULL!!!
And don't even get me started with the police procedurals and the lack of knowledge from the main LEO's in this case. There is one situation where they have one of the main characters in the town jail, then his sister gets his lawyer on the phone. Over the speaker phone, the lawyer (this is the suspect's lawyer, a criminal defense attorney) tells the Sheriff that the suspect is free to go. Seriously? This is just one of many, MANY, instances where I was pulled out of the story due to the lack of consistency, the lack of knowledge or the outright illegal events occurring.
Yes, the story was "cute", but it felt like it was written for a younger audience. The "romance" was hard to take seriously for several reasons, but I think I'm going to stop there.
If you have a couple of hours and need a very easy to listen to story with a completed story arc, this could fit in a pinch. It was short - I think about 5 hours of listening time on audio.
Will I continue with this series? No. I think I'm going to stop here....more