Book Reviews

The Widow

Posted on by The Novel Girl

The Widow cover

Author: Fiona Barton

Genre: Psych Thriller

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 336

 

Jean has people coming to talk to her from all directions. Everyone wants to know the truth, the truth about the crime that her husband was accused of committing. She has kept quiet up until this point, being the good wife. The wife who stands by her husband, no matter what, and defends him to everyone. The wife who does as her husband asks. Her husband is dead now, though, and Jean doesn’t have to keep her silence. She can say whatever she wants to say. What truth is she going to tell everyone, though?

This is a book that I was really looking forward to, from the time that I read the description and picked it up. Sadly, for me, it did not live up to my expectations. Told in alternating points of view, it gives the reader the story from the perspective of three different players: the widow, the reporter, and the detective. The characters could have been a bit better developed. They seemed to be lacking sound depth. The plot line was pretty good, and had great potential. I just had a hard time getting in to the story. It never quite grabbed me in the way that I want a psych thriller to. My expectations may have been a bit high going in to it, as it was compared to a couple of my favorite psych thrillers, but I was honestly ready for I to wrap up by the end. However, it has some great reviews on other sites, so don’t let me deter you if it sounds fantastic to you!

Knights of Stone: Calum (Highland Gargoyles, Book 5)

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Knights of Stone Calum cover

Author: Lisa Carlisle

Series: Highland Gargoyles

Genre: PNR

Pages: 185

 

Calum is the thrill-seeking lead singer of the Knights of Stone. While on a flight one night, he sees a dragon attacking a Pegasus who wandered too far from her herd, and jumps in to help. The Pegasus turns out to be a shifter named Arielle, and he decides that he must help her, no matter what. Their adventure finds them lost in another realm, wondering if they will ever make it home. It also finds them turning in to more than they thought that they would. Will Calum help her find her way home, or will he convince her to stay?

It was a lot of fun to return to the Isle of Stone, and hang out with the Gargoyles again. This time a dragon and a Pegasus were added to the mix! The wonderful world building continued, with added realms. The character development also continued, adding more of Calum, and Arielle to the group. This turned out to be a lovely love story, but it definitely had enough action to keep me interested and entertained. I love that these stories are all a part of the same world and series, but each can stand alone with no problem. I jumped from book one to book five with no issue. This is a great addition to the series, and I’ll enjoy going back and catching up with the others!

Magic and Mayhem: Secrets, Lies, and Meatballs (Spaghetti Romances, Book 2)

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Secrets lies and meatballs cover

Author: Jordan K. Rose

Series: Spaghetti Romances

Genre: PNR

 

According to her grandmother and her parents, The Meatball knows who Lena is supposed to marry, but Lena isn’t buying it. She has no interest in eating a meatball that has been simmering in what is, admittedly, delectable smelling gravy for thirty-three years! Especially is said meatball is supposed to make her fall in love with someone against her will. The issue: Someone stole her mate-ball, and ate it. Now she, and her magic, are going nuts. To make matters worse, family secrets have some to light that are seriously complicating matters for her. Is she willing to bend to the will of fate, and eat the meatball, to save those that she loves?

This is the second novella in the Spaghetti Romances series, which is a part of Magic and Mayhem Kindle Worlds. These novellas have been a great new series. They are laugh out loud funny, along with a great story. The characters are all great, and well developed, especially for the limited space to develop them in a novella. They all have their own quirky personalities, which allows the reader to identify with them and visualize them easily. The world building is well done, without any obvious holes. The story is well paced, so it doesn’t take too long to read it, but if you need to put it down it would be easy to pick back up where you left off. If you’re looking for a fun escape, try out this world of witches and shifters!

It’s out today, so check it out!

The Ship Beyond Time (The Girl from Everywhere, Book 2)

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Ship Beyond Time cover

Author: Heidi Heilig

Series: The Girl from Everywhere

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages: 464

 

This sequel to The Girl from Everywhere finds us once again aboard the ship Temptation, where it is now Nix’s turn to take the helm and try and change fate- this time the fate is her own and Kashmir’s. After everything that happened in Hawaii, the crew find themselves back in New York where Nix finds out that it has been seen that she is destined to lose her love. She can’t imagine her life without Kash, and is determined to find a way to change this destiny, when the possibility presents itself. Is it possible to change fate? What is she willing to give up to change time?

This is one of those wonderful instances where the sequel was as good as, or possibly better than, the original book in the series. Heilig’s writing is rich and captivating. Her characters, even the secondary ones, all have great depth. The world building is absolutely phenomenal. I would say that it is even better in this installment than it was in the first. I loved that this book had some chapters told from Kash’s POV, so we got an even better look in to his mind and thoughts. Although I have always been a fan of the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genres, I have never been one to be caught up in anything involving time travel. This series, however, has grown to be one of my favorites. The only hesitation that I would have, is that this was originally slated to be a duology. The ending left it open to the possibility of further installments, though, if the author chooses to do so. I, for one, fervently hope that she does, because I would like to see the story go a bit further, and have some questions answered, before we call it the end.

 

Pasta Pinot & Murder: A Food & Wine Cozy Mystery (Willa Friday, Book 1)

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Pasta Pinot & Murder cover

Author: Jamie Lee Scott

Series: Willa Friday

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: LBB Company

Pages: 173

 

Willa Friday is owner and food blogger for “A Dish in Thyme”, and a food photographer. She, along with her ex-husband and their daughter, live on the vineyard owned by her ex-mother-in-law. She also rents her work space from her. Willa has just hired a new assistant to replace her daughter, who is leaving for college, and has begun training him when she is reminded that she is to meet the owner of another vineyard to get the details for an event that she is to do photography for. When she arrives at the vineyard, however, she finds the owner dead and her ex-mother-in-law the main suspect in the murder. Willa becomes involved in the investigation, and finds out more information about the local vineyard owners than she bargained for, putting her in the crosshairs.

This was a fun, quick read. The characters were all well developed, with room to develop them even further without it seeming forced. There was a good plot and storyline, that didn’t seem stale, as it can sometime seem with cozies. It’s peppered throughout with recipes, and food and wine pairings (looking forward to trying some of those!). This was definitely something original, which I always enjoy. There was a lot of fun snark and wit in the dialogue. If you have read Scott’s other work, you can hear her voice in this book, but there is no doubt that this is much lighter fare compared to her Gotcha series. I would have to day that this first installment, in what is set to be a new series, is a success.

 

 

This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare

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This is just my face cover

Author: Gabourey Sidibe

Genre: Memoir

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Pages: 256

 

Gabourey Sidibe got her big break starring in the title role as Precious in the film Precious, based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Since then, she has gone on to several other roles on television shows such as American Horror Story, and most recently, Empire. She certainly didn’t start out as a star, though. Gabby, as she is known to her fans, came from humble beginnings in Brooklyn. The daughter of a polygamous, African immigrant father and a mother who began as a teacher (and then went on to support her children by becoming a subway singer), Gabby sis not exactly have it easy growing up. Once on her own, it was not exactly any easier. Case in point: When she was discovered, Gabby was working at a phone sex talking company.

This memoir is, I think, the best one that I have read thus far this year. Sidibe is refreshingly honest, irreverent, hysterical, and says things that we would all like to say at times, but just can’t bring ourselves to. She doesn’t hold back when she talks about the “hard topics”, such as her relationship with her father, her family in Africa, being treated differently because of the way that she looks, weight, depression, anxiety, and more. There is something in there for everyone, and she makes you feel a little less alone while making you literally laugh out loud. Honestly, Gabourey is the kind of woman that every woman needs in her life. I want her to be my friend, too!

When Darkness Whispers

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When Darkness Whispers cover

Author: Lisa Carlisle

Genre: PNR/Military Romance/Mystery

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Pages: 288

 

Eva Montreaux is a Marine, but not a “normal” Marine. She is part of a program that creates biologically enhanced military personnel. She and her team, NEO 17 (comprised of several supernatural beings), have been sent to Okinawa on two missions. The first is to find out who or what has been serially killing the American troops stationed there. The second is a civil mission, to attempt to create peace amongst the locals and the troops, as there has been much animosity recently. While on patrol one night, Eva runs in to a group of Marines that know her from a deployment before her enhancement. The problem, her memory from that deployment is gone. A side effect of her treatments was amnesia, leaving large gaps in her memory, save for brief flashes of the past. One of those Marines is Gunny Marcos Delacruz. Eva doesn’t remember anything about him, except for his piercing eyes. When she brushes him off, because she can’t explain her memory loss, he seemed incredibly angry although Eva doesn’t understand why. As Eva struggles to reclaim her memory and uncover her past with Marcos, the murders keep piling up. With everything going on on the island, Eva must untangle her feelings and the secrets that Okinawa is harboring.

This is the second book of Carlisle’s that I have read, and it just reminded me that I really need to read more of her work. This was a great outing for her! It was a PNR read, but the “romance” part of the story was not the primary focus of the book. It was more focused on the mysteries- who is murdering American troops, and what is the connection between Eva and Marcos that she can’t remember. The descriptiveness of the setting was great, and made it easy to visualize. The character development was wonderful, for the main characters. It may have been a little bit lacking in the secondary characters, but certainly not enough to take away from the story. It was very well paced, and thoroughly enjoyable. I truly hope that we get watch Eva and Marcos’ story develop.

 

The Crown’s Fate (Crown’s Game book 2) *Spoilers, if you haven’t read The Crown’s Game yet!!*

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Crown's Fate cover

Author: Evelyn Skye

Series: Crown’s Fate

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 417

 

The Crown’s Game ended, at the order of Pasha, but no one is particularly happy with the outcome. Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but she is only at Pasha’s right hand because she is forced to be. Pasha has lost his best friend (and brother) and the girl that he loves, at his own orders to end the Game. Nikolai survived, after sacrificing himself to save Vika, but only just. He is surviving as a shadow in one of his own dream lands. When he finally finds a way out of that dream, he is a much darker version of himself, a Shadow Prince. He is set against Pasha for what he has done, and wants to have Vika at his side, but he will fight against them both, if he must, to obtain the power and revenge that he seeks. Meanwhile, there are still uprisings, and those who wish to overthrow the Crown, as Pasha Coronation Ceremony draws near. The three of them may tear Russia, and each other, apart before this game comes to an end.

This sequel to The Crown’s Game was wonderful! It took on a much darker tone (as was set at towards the end of the previous novel) than its predecessor, but was still fast paced, and a very quick read for me (I didn’t want to put it down). I honestly, at several different points, found myself unsure of whom I was rooting for, because I came to care for these characters. Skye truly makes you feel for each of her characters, and their internal struggles. The wonderful character building and descriptiveness of the writing continued in to this novel. The prose was, again, really lovely to read. I am now an Evelyn Skye fan, and look forward to her next work.

The Crown’s Game

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Crown's Game cover

Author: Evelyn Skye

Series: Crown’s Game

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 416

 

Vika can summon lightening, rain, wind, snow, and ice. She can change and turn these elements in to whatever she needs them to be at the time. Nikolai can conjure clothing out of bunches of material, see through walls, and build bridges out of raw materials. They are enchanters, and each of them have been trained since they were very young to be the imperial enchanter to the tsar. There is only one problem, there can only be one. There was only ever supposed to be one. It has only happened a handful of times in Russian history, that there have been two. With uprisings happening across the country, and wars being threatened, the tsar needs his enchanter, so he does what he has to do in order to get it: He begins the Crown’s Game. The Game pits the enchanters against one another in a competition where only one will come out alive. One will either kill the other to win, or the game will kill the loser. Can either one of them really kill the other, though?

I waited a while to read this one, and I really wish that I hadn’t. I will admit that I have never really been a huge fan of any type of historical novel, but this one grabbed me from the beginning, and sucked me right in to the Game! I never would have believed that this was Skye’s debut novel, had I not been told. It certainly did not feel like one. The characters were all very well rounded, and fleshed out. The world building was phenomenal. I could see the enchantments as they were being performed and/or described. The romance was there, but it was not the only/primary focus of the novel. The only good thing about my waiting so long to read it is that I didn’t have to wait very long to get the sequel in to my hot little hands!

Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe

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Spaceman cover

Author: Mike Massimino

Genre: Memoir/Biography

Publisher: Crown Archetype

Pages: 336

 

Mike Massimino, or “Mass” as he is known to many, had a childhood dream: to be an astronaut. He wanted to go to space. He grew up on Long Island, when that wasn’t really a popular dream to have where he was from. Nevertheless, he worked hard and made his way to Columbia and MIT. He then proceeded to fail his first PhD exam, and be repeatedly rejected by the astronaut program. This is where that New York grit came in to play. He didn’t give up, became an astronaut, went to space, and wrote us his riveting memoir about it all.

            I absolutely loved this book! It was so interesting to learn about his journey to becoming an astronaut, and then his time working with NASA. He answered so many questions, and I learned so much from this memoir. I did listen to this book on audio, and I definitely think that this should be listened to (even if you read it in print first)! Massimino’s tone and inflection really made it all the more enjoyable. This is a must read, if you are a fan of science, space exploration, or just great memoirs!