Book Reviews - No Apology Book Reviews

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones (No Spoilers)

November 4, 2019October 30, 2018

Title: Summoned to Thirteenth Grave Author: Darynda Jones Series: Charley Davidson #13 A hollow narrative with only humor and charismatic characters as its merits Edit 1/23/19 – Changed rating to two stars So, after reading the book again and giving it more thought while writing my spoiler review last week, I realized very little of this story makes sense. The plots are hollow, and ultimately, there’s no reason Charley couldn’t have snapped her fingers and fixed everything. As has been …

The Earl and the Enchantress by Paullett Golden

February 2, 2019October 14, 2018

Title: The Earl and the Enchantress Author: Paullett Golden Series: The Enchantresses #1 A solid, well-written debut with relatable characters Thank you to the author, who asked if I would like to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I liked this book quite a bit! I wouldn’t say I was utterly riveted, but I didn’t like having to stop reading, either. I had no major problems with it, but a few small things bothered me. Not enough …

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones

October 13, 2018

Title: Eleventh Grave in Moonlight Author: Darynda Jones Series: Charley Davidson #11 Too much plot and a little frustrating The eleventh Charley Davidson book is a good example of too much plot. The other books in the series have tread this line, but this is the first one I feel steps over it. While I love this book as much as I love all the others, I can still acknowledge that this novel was either a little too full of …

The Curse of Tenth Grave by Darynda Jones

October 13, 2018October 9, 2018

Title: The Curse of Tenth Grave Author: Darynda Jones Series: Charley Davidson #10 Had to dig deep for flaws To prepare for the release of Summoned to Thirteenth Grave in January, I started re-listening to the Grave series audiobooks a couple of months ago (Lorelei King is AMAZING). I got through Nine and needed a breather…then I received an invitation to participate in a blog tour for Thirteen beginning on Halloween, and part of the deal is to review one …

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

November 6, 2019October 7, 2018

Title: Sunshine Author: Robin McKinley Series: n/a Too much story, left with more questions than answers I wasn’t going to review this one, but it’s haunted me the last couple of days since I finished it. I don’t feel like I have closure on it, so maybe if I get my thoughts down on paper (as it were), I can get it out of my head. I really liked the story! It had SO MUCH potential! But it wasn’t well …

Healing Hearts by Sarah M. Eden

October 6, 2018October 3, 2018

Title: Healing Hearts Author: Sarah M. Eden Series: Savage Wells #2 Full of heart and endearing characters but could use more passion I would like to thank Sarah M. Eden, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a great book! It was the right degree of dramatic, it had heaps of heart, and all of the characters were endearing. Well, except the villain, of course, but I …

Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose

November 6, 2019September 29, 2018

Title: Edge of Darkness Author: Karen Rose Series: Cincinnati #4 A powerfully realistic and moving story Sweet Baby Jorge, I love Karen Rose. Her work continues to awe me. I don’t know if it’s her or her editor, but I almost never find any flaws in logic. Every plot point is methodically positioned and relevant and it all makes so much sense. And the level of detail, especially in police/FBI procedure—it simply astounds me. And the feels! I don’t know …

The Woman Left Behind by Linda Howard

November 5, 2019September 25, 2018

Title: The Woman Left Behind Author: Linda Howard Series: n/a Plot’s a tad messy, hero’s a stranger, heroine had her moments Goodreads says this is part of a series called Go-Team that includes Howard’s last novel, Troublemaker, but I haven’t seen this information anywhere else, e.g. Amazon or Fantastic Fiction; most notably, it’s listed on Howard’s own website as a standalone (since when does she have a website?). It’s certainly possible that these books are related somehow, but don’t worry …

The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor by Paula Quinn

November 20, 2019September 24, 2018

Title: The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor Author: Paula Quinn Series: Highland Heirs #3 The sweet love story of two endearing characters I wanted to read this book because—well, because it’s Paula Quinn; but I also wanted to familiarize myself with Abby and Daniel, as I suspect they’ll be involved with the next—and last, unfortunately—Highland Heirs novel, out this December. I enjoyed Abby and Daniel’s story very much. They had great chemistry and got along like friends, being pleasant to …

Dark Ride by Angela Smith

October 9, 2018July 14, 2018

Title: Dark Ride Author: Angela Smith Series: n/a A solid effort but needs work The author asked me to read and review her work, and I was happy to oblige. She provided me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. When Adrienne Fuller witnesses a horrific incident of vehicular homicide, she prays the perpetrators didn’t notice she’d witnessed the crime—but they did, and weren’t about to leave a loose end. Luckily for Adrienne, one of the perps …