No Apology Book Reviews - book reviews and author interviews

Review Roundup Winter 2025-2026 – Part 2

March 19, 2026

Another roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Winter 2025-2026. Beware of spoilers! Title: Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin Author: Nancy Springer Series: Enola Holmes #10 Much thanks to Nancy Springer, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love the Enola Holmes books and enjoyed this installment. Spent the day reading it, didn’t want to put it down. Enola’s voice is lively and entertaining, and …

Interview with Sandra Brown (Bloodlust)

March 13, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Bloodlust by Sandra Brown is a great romantic suspense story. Besides a mystery and a budding romance between the main characters, Brown delves into grief, loss, and the father as a single parent. The story opens with Mitch Haskell as a grieving detective who realizes his wife was murdered and did not commit suicide as others think. Roland Malone and the unidentified mastermind of the crime known only as Oz are behind the crime …

Interview with Shana Abé (A Crown of Stars)

March 6, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé is a tale of survival, courage, fate and love. Once readers take the journey with the main character, Rita, on the events leading up to the sinking of the Lusitania, and the events afterwards, the book is hard to put down. The historical importance of this act of war and its aftermath becomes even more powerful since it is told through the eyes of the survivors, so …

Interview with Maisey Yates (Outlaw Lake and Lonesome Ridge)

February 27, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Outlaw Lake and Lonesome Ridge by Maisey Yates continue the story of the Rustler Mountain series. Yates is at it again with her stories involving love, family dynamics, and personal growth. Her characters are strong and relatable rugged cowboys and cowgirls. These modern westerns take readers on a wild ride through Oregon where the feuds between family descendants of outlaws and lawmen are still very much alive. Outlaw Lake has Carson Wilder and Perry …

Bloodlust by Sandra Brown

February 26, 2026February 23, 2026

Title: Bloodlust Author: Sandra Brown Series: stand alone but shares characters with Blood Moon Much thanks to Sandra Brown, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I won’t lie, I was sucked in. Read this in about 24 hours. Brown knows how to keep the pace fast and the tension high. But if you’ve read Brown’s work before, you’ll find this is pretty much cut and paste. • …

Interview with Patricia Johns (Still Waters and An Amish Baby in Her Arms)

February 20, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Still Waters and An Amish Baby in Her Arms by Patricia Johns have gripping plots. The characters in the stories must navigate their Amish life with their desires and wishes. Still Waters has two of the female characters trying to navigate the Amish world versus the English world. Tabitha Schrock left the Amish faith because she wanted to become a veterinarian. Although she has no regrets about that choice, she decided to come back …

Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward

February 16, 2026February 14, 2026

Title: Crown of War and Shadow Author: J.R. Ward Series: Kingdoms of the Compass #1 Thank you to J.R. Ward, Tor, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve heard good things about J.R. Ward for years, saw she was hopping on the romantasy trend, and figured that’d be as good an introduction to her as any. But then I decided to try her famed vampire series (Black Dagger Brotherhood) before …

Interview with Ellie Curzon (The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans)

February 13, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans in The Runaway Evacuees series by Ellie Curzon, the pen name for Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell, are two books that have touching, heart-warming, and heartbreaking moments, with a tinge of humor. The setting of London during the Nazi blitz of WWII shows how Londoners faced fear, survival, loss, and horror, but also were courageous, kind, brave, and strong. Both books are historical fiction based on the …

Interview with Jenna Blum (Murder Your Darlings)

February 6, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum has the author venturing into the thriller genre. Formerly known for her historical novels, she still maintains some semblance by making her female lead, Simone “Sam” Vetiver, a historical novelist. This suspenseful novel had love, grief, and revenge. Readers meet Sam who is finishing up a book tour while searching for some ideas for her next plot. She then receives a fan letter from best-selling author William Corwyn …

Interview with Donna Everhart (Women of a Promiscuous Nature)

January 30, 2026

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart is a compelling and fascinating read. This historical fiction sheds light on a lesser-known subject of how women were wrongly imprisoned. There are vivid scenes and compelling characters who fought their injustice with determination. The story was told from multiple points of view: two of the girls, Ruth Foster and Stella Temple, as well as the Superintendent Dorothy Baker. This allows readers to get an understanding …