A quick little roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Spring 2023. Beware of spoilers!
Title: The Secret of Poppyridge Cove
Author: Rimmy London
Series: Seaside Inn Mystery/Poppyridge Cove Mystery #1**
When Scribd recommended this title, I thought, Oh cool! A little indie haunted house story! Yes, please! And omg, it’s a series! Scooooore!
Unfortunately, the story wasn’t what I wanted it to be. It’s actually a romance, and not a ghost story at all. Barely creepy.
When I realized Chase’s POV was going to be half of the book—which was all angsty inner monologue that went round and round in circles of self-doubt, from both him and Abby, with very little action—hence romance—I nearly quit it, but I wanted to see how it would end. And it ended okay, except for one twist that I cannot believe would ever be legal. I don’t know if that was the author trying to make a cliche less cliche, or if she thought that was the only way to give the characters the emotional empowerment they needed, but that development really pissed me off.
So while this book IS NOT the spooky ghost story it’s marketed and categorized as, it wasn’t bad as a romance. London conveyed Abby’s and Chase’s emotions very well, giving them both excellent arcs. She’s a great romance writer… if only she would realize it. I think I’ll skip the rest of the series and reread one of my favorite ghost stories (Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James) to counter my disappointment.
**The series has at least three different monikers. Goodreads calls it the Poppyridge Cove series, Amazon calls it the Creepy Cozy Mystery series, and the book cover says Seaside Inn Cozy Mystery series. There’s also an alternate cover that says Seaside Inn Mystery series. Instills confidence, doesn’t it?
Title: Deep Tide
Author: Laura Griffin
Series: Texas Murder Files #4
Thank you to Laura Griffin, Teri Clark Linden, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This was your pretty standard romantic suspense. No new ground tread.
Leyla, who recently started her own bakery-slash-restaurant? (could have used some clarification) on an island off the coast of Texas, finds herself inadvertently involved in contraband smuggling when one of her employees (coworkers? also could have used clarification) is found murdered in the alley behind her shop.
Sean is an undercover federal agent investigating said contraband smuggling. He doesn’t expect to be attracted to Leyla but finds himself falling deeper by the day.
Leyla wants to help investigate but that puts her in danger, which Sean and her macho bros, who are naturally all some kind of law enforcement agents, can’t stand. Lots of posturing and blame gaming over Leyla while she rolls her eyes and does what she wants because it’s 2023. She and Sean don’t want to get involved but can’t resist, then they pout when they can’t figure out how to make it work, then do finally make it work. HEA, applause.
Yep, pretty standard.
Not necessarily a bad book; if you like romantic suspense or Laura Griffin’s other work, you’ll probably like this one. Personally I found it rather tedious, though, a bit cookie-cutter, and the characters weren’t charismatic or relatable enough to alleviate that tedium.
Teri Clark Linden did a great job narrating, except one thing–the voice she gave Leyla. It was annoying. Nothing against the accent; I think it was how she pitched Leyla’s voice that grated on me.
Title: A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality
Author: Kate Khavari
Series: Saffron Everleigh #2
Thank you to Kate Khavari, Jodie Harris, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Despite all the hullabaloo surrounding the first Saffron Everleigh book, I didn’t find it all that unique or captivating. I enjoyed it, though, and looked forward to this second installment.
To my dismay, it introduces a love triangle. I personally find love triangles to be unnecessary manufactured drama; two people can produce adequate drama, thanks very much. Jealousy is not attractive, especially if not handled well, and especially because it often goes hand-in-hand with entitlement and/or selfishness, and I’m afraid it besmirched Alex’s character for me. I didn’t particularly like Lee, either, so now I don’t want Saffron with either of them, unless they can demonstrate an impressive development of maturity. Sigh.
The mystery was interesting, but I’m afraid Lee’s presence often detracted. Overall, I enjoyed the book well enough to look forward to the next one, though not with much eagerness.
Jodie Harris did an excellent job narrating.
Title: A Crown of Ivy and Glass
Author: Claire Legrand
Series: Middlemist Trilogy #1
Much thanks to Claire Legrand, Evelyn Rose, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Sigh. DNF 14%. I’m sorry, I try not to quit NetGalley books, but once in a while I just can’t stand the thought of spending my time listening to more of a book I don’t like. Especially when it’s a significant time commitment! 14% doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a long book, over 21 hours, so 14% is nearly 3 hours of listening. I figure if I haven’t gotten into a book after listening to 3 hours of it, I’m not going to.
What was so bad about it? The story was boring, at least to that point, and the MC was unlikable. Legrand did her damnedest to make Gemma sympathetic, but unfortunately the execution was more in the way of pathetic. She was a woe-is-me, poor little rich girl type, vain, snobby, self-centered, arrogant. She’d been dealt a rough hand in some aspects, sure, but not in others; instead of appreciating those others and having a good attitude, though, she dwelt on the rough and had a bad attitude. Is a glass-half-empty outlook perhaps more realistic? Sure, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend 21+ hours listening to it. She also lacked charisma. Just not a good MC.
Then the story itself didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. They went to visit her sister, and when the alarms sounded I thought, Oooo a battle! That’s why we started here. But no. No battle. Just some verbal abuse and talk about mystical stuff I didn’t understand, then home to throw a boring party. Nothing was happening, Gemma was getting on my nerves, I failed to believe that Talon guy could actually be interested in her, and I gave up. Damn it.
Nothing against the narrator, I thought she did well enough with the material she had.
Title: A Novel Disguise
Author: Samantha Larsen
Series: Lady Librarian Mystery #1
Thanks so much to Samantha Larsen, Marni Penning, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this novel! It has its cliche Mrs. Doubtfire moments—such as needing to be somewhere as oneself as well as in disguise at the same time—but that’s inherent in such a plot. Also I couldn’t predict whodunit, which always makes for a more entertaining mystery.
I found Tiffany likeable and sympathetic, though the name “Tiffany” didn’t seem to suit her. The incidents in which the love interest, Mr. Lathrop, kept “saving” her were adorable to me, but I can imagine some readers rolling their eyes. Tiffany’s a bit older than the average MC, but I didn’t mind; it added an interesting layer to her character.
I don’t know if I’d have enjoyed this book as much if it had been narrated by someone else. Marni Penning did such a wonderful job injecting energy and charisma into words that might have otherwise fallen flat. That’s not to say the writing was bad, more that a lesser narrator could easily have made it sound boring. Penning consistently voiced characters differently; some of the voices, such as the judge’s perhaps, could grate on some readers, but I appreciated them.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, and if Larsen continues it as a series, I’ll gladly follow along.
Title: Greymist Fair
Author: Francesca Zappia
Series: n/a
Title: The Last Drop of Hemlock
Author: Katharine Schellman
Series: Nightingale Mysteries #2
Thank you to Katharine Schellman, Sara Young, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.
I got the first book, Last Call at the Nightingale, from the library and listened to it a few months ago, but it didn’t make much of an impression considering I remember nothing about it. But I like Schellman’s other series, the Lily Adler mysteries, so I decided to give this second installment a go despite the first book.
The verdict? It was okay. It held my attention and I liked most of the characters well enough, though I didn’t care for the love triangle among Viv, Honor, and Leo, not because I’m against same-sexness, but because I really didn’t like Honor. She’s super wishy washy, I don’t trust her. She also oozes self-preservation, and I’m convinced she would break Viv’s heart. I’m not sure Leo’s a truly safe bet, either, but at least Viv knows where she stands with him. He’s not standoffish and wary.
The blossoming relationship between Flo and Daniel was adorable, I’m behind that 100%. And I found it really relatable that Viv was jealous; well, I’m not sure she was so much jealous as scared. If Flo and Daniel were to marry, it would mean a significant change to Viv’s life.
The mystery was intriguing. I remained suspicious of Alma but didn’t see the ultimate truth coming. The whole blackmailing-by-note premise actually reminded me of Sarah Eden’s Dread Penny Society series. I think it was in the Merchant and the Rogue that people were being blackmailed and horrible things happening if they didn’t do as they were told. In general it’s hardly a new scheme, I suppose.
Unfortunately, I don’t think roaring 20s/prohibition era New York is my cup of tea. Neither is the nightclub scene. So while the characters and the mystery appealed, the setting watered down my enjoyment. It’s not a bad book, just not entirely to my taste.
Sara Young was an excellent narrator.
Title: Identity
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: n/a
Thank you to Nora Roberts, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I actually quite enjoyed this novel. Roberts’s titles have been hit or miss for me the last several years, but this was more or less a hit. She still spends way too much time describing interior and exterior design, and of course her heroine, Morgan, has to share in her love of gardening and home renovation, but at least Morgan wasn’t obsessed with exercise and healthy eating.
Morgan was likeable and relatable. Her mother and grandmother were a hoot, and I liked the Jamesons, though they were rather unbelievably kind, generous, selfless, and reasonable. Miles was an okay hero, though I didn’t feel much chemistry between him and Morgan. Their relationship wasn’t well developed at all, it seemed like they talked a bit and next thing you know they’re shagging the daylights out of each other. The story tried to explain he was standoffish because he was her boss and whatnot, which is good, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not an instant fix for an undeveloped romance. Roberts was just too busy adding flowers to cocktails to work on development, I guess.
The villain was one-dimensional, mustache-twirling evil, but Roberts did a good job making things worse and worse for him and building tension throughout the book. It really sucks that the climax, then, was so anticlimactic. Very quick and predictable, I felt no danger whatsoever. Felt like Roberts thought, “Okay, let’s get this asshole out of the way so I can write the wedding.” I will say, though, that what the villain was doing, the whole identity-stealing, hack-into-every-aspect-of-your-life thing—that was terrifying. There had to be a better way to utilize that in the climax, hacking into the security systems or something.
Overall, it was a typical Roberts novel, though her more annoying writing habits were leashed. The MC was great, the romance lukewarm, the villain defeated with a shrug. The stand out was Howl—what a silly puppy. I love it when pets are given personality.
I really liked Deep Tide and Identity as well.