Contemporary - No Apology Book Reviews

Mornings on Main by Jodi Thomas

November 13, 2019April 14, 2018

Title: Mornings on Main Author: Jodi Thomas Series: n/a mostly about theme but the story and characters grew on me Not gonna lie, I approached this book with reluctance. Another quilting/knitting/sewing mainstream wannabe literary novel? That trend started over a decade ago and largely died off two or three years ago. Another story about a small town with a quaint little B&B and a family dealing with a heartbreaking illness that’s slowly sucking the life out of the matriarch/patriarch? Another …

Spring Forward by Catherine Anderson

October 10, 2018January 12, 2018

Title: Spring Forward Author: Catherine Anderson Series: Mystic Creek #4 — Stars Boring, didn’t finish I really don’t like reviewing a book I didn’t finish, so I won’t rate it (except on Amazon I have to in order to leave a review, so I gave a neutral three), but I did want to share my thoughts on the third I did read. Anderson’s a great writer, mechanically, and it’s obvious she puts extra effort into her descriptions. Several times I …

Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright

October 9, 2018October 25, 2017

Title: Lies Jane Austen Told Me Author: Julie Wright Series: n/a Has its charms but is rather ridiculous I would like to thank Julie Wright, Shadow Mountain, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book had its moments but overall wasn’t impressive or unique. I did like that Blake wasn’t a superficial cookie-cutter villain. Well, not cookie-cutter, anyway. We didn’t get to know him much at all, so as a character …

A Christmas Affair by Jodi Thomas

October 9, 2018October 2, 2017

Title: A Christmas Affair Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #6.5 Rushed but well-meaning This was cute, if you don’t mind some cheese and purple prose. It’s so strange; I don’t remember associating Thomas with such fanciful dialogue before this year. Maybe my taste or perception has changed recently. I just couldn’t imagine real people saying some of those lines, and that sense of absurdity distances me from the story. Which might sound like an ironic paradox considering it’s fiction, …

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones

November 12, 2019September 23, 2017

Title: The Trouble with Twelfth Grave Author: Darynda Jones Series: Charley Davidson #12 supernatural Stephanie Plum at first, now so much more I would like to thank Darynda Jones, St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, and NetGalley for enticing me to check out this series by offering a free copy of First Grave on the Right and allowing me to read an ARC of The Trouble with Twelfth Grave in exchange for an honest review. Here’s a spoiler alert, though I imagine most …

Indigo Lake by Jodi Thomas

August 23, 2019July 19, 2017

Title: Indigo Lake Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #6 Not entirely bad but hardly satisfying To my astonishment, the leftover sense of disappointment I had from the last installment in the Ransom Canyon series, Wild Horse Springs, tempted me to not only skip reviewing this one, but to skip reading it at all. But my curiosity, a small sense of duty, and years of loving Thomas’ work combined into a force I couldn’t deny, so I read it. My …

Wired by Julie Garwood

October 10, 2018July 6, 2017

Title: Wired Author: Julie Garwood Series: Buchanan/FBI #13 Not the best Garwood I’ve read, but not a terrible book This book doesn’t seem to have been received very well. While the majority of its ratings are four- and five-stars—the percentages on Amazon and Goodreads are almost identical right now—the reviews are mixed. My personal opinion is that this is a good book, not a great one—but I have certainly read far, FAR worse. It’s been a few years since Garwood …

Phantom Pearl by Monica McCabe

October 10, 2018June 18, 2017

Title: Phantom Pearl Author: Monica McCabe Series: Jewel Intrigue #3 Wasn’t what I thought it would be I would like to thank Monica McCabe, Lyrical Press, and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t finish reading this book, and I’m not proud of it. I tried for two weeks to get myself to finish it, but for some reason I just couldn’t justify taking the time. My attention and interest …

The Ultimatum by Karen Robards

October 10, 2018June 14, 2017

Title: The Ultimatum Author: Karen Robards Series: The Guardian #1 The end is worth the beginning Publicly, Bianca St. Ives runs a successful security firm with her father. Privately, she’s part of her father’s team of thieves, stealing back money or other goods from the thieves that had stolen them first. The operation involving two hundred million dollars in a secret safe beneath the palace of an Arabic prince is merely par for the course—until Bianca discovers the money gone. …

Some Kind of Hero by Suzanne Brockmann

October 10, 2018June 12, 2017

Title: Some Kind of Hero Author: Suzanne Brockmann Series: Troubleshooters #17? Reluctant Heroes #2? Don’t think about it too hard… I would like to thank Suzanne Brockmann, Ballantine/Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Lieutenant Peter Greene’s daughter, Maddie, goes missing, and Shayla Whitman offers to help him find her. Over the next few days, they use every resource available to them to track her down, but Maddie …