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Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review of CXVI by Angie Smith

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http://amzn.to/2bSOPc2

 

CXVI

This is another book that sat on my kindle for a while but the moment I opened the pages I was hooked. Ms. Smith writes a believable mystery thriller which keeps you on the edge of your seat and explodes in more drama at the end.  DS Maria Barnes is not a cliche character, she very much holds her own with insights into a more complex character. Superintendent Greg Woods sees something in Barnes that her other colleagues don’t. He looks beyond her prickly, almost autistic nature and sees her potential. The relationship ( work/friendship) between them is lovely and natural, building throughout the story.
A series of deaths which first appear unrelated start to show the traits of a series of killing with one obvious link – the Roman Numerals. The more that  Woods and Barnes dig they find that the connection leads them to a rich and beautiful widow.
There are many threads woven into this tapestry of a book and not one of them was loose. 
This book is cleaver and exciting and well written.
The ending was not one I saw coming. I will be picking up books 2 & 3 in this trilogy.

 

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My review of “The Food Critic.” by R. E. Hargrave

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The Food Critic.jpg
This novelette was a delight to the senses. It was well written, the pacing was spot on and the characters likeable.
Serena gets more than she bargained for when she goes to a small diner to review the food there.
I read this in a couple of sittings, couldn’t wait to pick it up to read to the end. I will be reading more by this author.
Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

The Vintage Coat by Chris Turnbull

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The Vintage Coat
I bought the paperback copy of this book as the cover attracted me and having had this author recommended to me by a friend thought I would give it a go.
This is a time slip story about a man named Joe who is in a bit of a rut in the present day and on discovering an old coat in the charity shop where he works he gets whipped back in time to 1943.  In 1943 he develops a lovely friendship and falls in love.  The characters are well written and likeable. I felt a strong sense that I was actually reading about the 40’s which had clearly been well-researched.
The authors writing style is simple and not overly showy, a pleasure to read at all times. I kept the book as my bedtime reading and each night I couldn’t wait to slip back into Joe’s world both past and present.
The end has a lovely twist that I didn’t see coming.
Can’t wait to read more by this author who has a new fan.
Books

My Review of The Lake of Lilies by Julia Sutton

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Lake of Lilies

 

A thoroughly enjoyable read. The main character, Lisa Reynolds, is a likeable and believable woman who is a witness to a scene that ends in a murder which changes Lisa’s life.

There is a lot of description which keeps you on the edge of your seat as you wonder what might happen. It is a beautiful story of love and loss.

I wanted to keep reading, picking it up each day was a pleasure.

My only real issues were that there were too many speech tags that became distracting and slightly annoying but not enough to put me off reading. I think removing some of these could make the book stronger.

Without wanting to give anything away, I also felt that the resolution was a packaged a little too neatly. It was reminiscent of a 70’s or 80’s crime shows. I think it could have benefitted from a little more grit at this point.

Overall I loved immersing myself in this book and the lives of the characters. I look forward to seeing what this talented author writes next.

Books

My review of Retail Therapy – Colette Kebell

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This is a lovely, easy to read book which I devoured in almost one sitting. I loved the premise of the story, the overall flow of the story.

The characters from the start were likeable and believable. The friendship between Gigi & Ritchie is lovely “He’s also my sponsor. I’m on the path to recovery from spending too much on clothes.”

This book contains humour sprinkled throughout the book.

My only quibbles would be that the ending seemed rushed and I felt as though more development was needed around the character Johnny to justify what happened.  That was the only thing stopping me from giving this book 5 stars.

I am looking forward to moving onto Miss Kebell’s next book which luckily for me has already been written so I don’t have to wait long. I just need to remove a few from my TBR list already on my kindle.