A Christmas Affair by Jodi Thomas

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, …

Continue reading

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones

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 …

Continue reading

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Title: The Broken Girls Author: Simone St. James Series: n/a A spooky, intelligent, character-driven thriller I would like to thank Simone St. James, Berkley/Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Idlewild Hall is a girls’ boarding school where the illegitimate, the mentally ill, and the troublemakers are swept under the rug. In 1950, four girls band together to survive the cold, dreadful place—and the ghost that uses their darkest …

Continue reading

Interview with Cynthia Eden (Before the Dawn)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Before the Dawn by Cynthia Eden is the second book of the “Killer Instinct” series; a psychological thriller intermingled with some romance. The premise of these novels is very unique in that they involve someone in law enforcement knowing a serial killer. An experimental FBI unit recruits Agents who have a personal connection to serial killers, knowing the murderers because they were friends, lovers, family, and their tormenters. The intensity begins from page one, …

Continue reading

Elise’s Review – Wired by Julie Garwood

Book Review by Elise Cooper Wired by Julie Garwood has the relationship dominant to the story. This novel has much more romance than suspense along with humorous scenes, a welcome relief from the tension of thrillers. The book features a computer nerd, Allison Trent who gives geeks a good name. She is beautiful, painfully shy, models on the side, and is not a phony; yet, relaxes by writing computer codes and working out puzzles. Determined to make a name for …

Continue reading

Interview with Sandra Brown (Seeing Red)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Seeing Red by Sandra Brown is an intriguing story about redemption and second chances intertwined within a “who done it” mystery. The complexity of the plot originates with the lies and deceit. Twenty-five years ago a bombing at the Dallas Hotel, the Pegasus, leaves 98 dead and 197 wounded. An iconic photo was taken of Major Franklin Trapper rescuing a little five-year-old girl from the building’s ruins. Although he was never the reluctant hero …

Continue reading

The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream by Christina Dodd

Title: The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream Author: Christina Dodd Series: Virtue Falls #4 Two well-written stories that don’t belong together I would like to thank Christina Dodd, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. From the very start of The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream, I was hooked, and I could not bear to stop reading for any reason, because I had to know what happened next. I had to …

Continue reading

Indigo Lake by Jodi Thomas

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 …

Continue reading

Seeing Red by Sandra Brown

Title: Seeing Red Author: Sandra Brown Series: n/a Not super exciting but still brilliant I would like to thank Sandra Brown, Grand Central Publishing/Hachette, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Twenty-five years ago, the nation was rocked by the tragic bombing of a prominent Dallas hotel. The culprit confessed and the case was quickly closed, but for John Trapper, the repercussions had only begun. As one of the few survivors of …

Continue reading

The Dream Keeper’s Daughter by Emily Colin

Title: The Dream Keeper’s Daughter Author: Emily Colin Series: n/a A frustrating mess with an identity crisis and unresolved plotlines I would like to thank Emily Colin, Ballantine Books/Random House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All that follows is only my opinion and how I personally perceived the book. *takes deep breath* I gave myself a day to calm down, because the first time I started to write this review, …

Continue reading