Review: Layla – Colleen Hoover

SYNOPSIS: When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them. – via Goodreads

So I haven’t read enough Colleen Hoover books to only think “romance” when I pick up one of her books. I’ve read a few, and they’ve all been quite different. I went into this relatively blind – I just picked a Hoover book. I then realised there was a paranormal aspect to it, and that piqued my interest.

However, this never really materialised into anything major or more for me. It probably didn’t help that I didn’t really like Leeds much at all. And I felt that there was more that could have been done about fleshing him, Layla, and Willow out. We basically just get his internal monologue and I did find him quite… selfish. And he made some of the most insanely questionable choices, which made it impossible for me to like him.

Anyway, the story is relatively quick to read, is interesting enough to keep you reading and engaged, though the big twist was not the most inspired, but it was handled alright. I liked this well enough but certainly didn’t love it. There are better paranormal reads out there, but this was enough to show me that I’m perfectly alright picking up the occasional Hoover novel, and that she can write more than just romance.

Review: The Guilty Die Twice – Don Hartshorn

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

SYNOPSIS: Two attorney brothers. Two bullet-riddled corpses. Two sides to the story.

Ten years ago, a capital murder case in the heart of Texas split the Lynch family in two. Now, estranged lawyer brothers Travis and Jake Lynch find themselves on opposing sides of the courtroom in a high-profile, grisly double murder case—with another accused criminal’s life on the line. Conscience-stricken Travis left his high-powered law firm to become a public defender, while bullish Jake rose to become District Attorney. The case pits brother against brother in a contest of wits, wills, and legal savvy that will shake the justice system to its core: both Lynches are convinced they’re in the right, but the truth turns out to be more complicated—and deadly—than either could have possibly imagined. A drug deal double-cross turns lethal, leaving two corpses and one victim paralyzed for life. The victim never saw the gunman, but he knows one name: Sam Park. Travis defended Sam’s brother years before, and his heart won’t let him turn down the case, even knowing it’ll bring him face-to-face with Jake after ten years of cold silence. Jake, meanwhile, runs afoul of the Austin political machine and needs a high-profile conviction to win a tough upcoming election. And Sam, the star witness and prime suspect, won’t talk—not to Travis, and certainly not to the high-and-mighty DA—and time is running out. Can these feuding brothers put aside a decade of enmity in the name of true justice? Or will the truth of what really happened that bloody night go to the grave with Sam Park? – via Amazon

So. The Guilty Die Twice had me convinced to give it a try based on the synopsis. I do quite enjoy a legal thriller, so I was all for it. Also, the case being carried out by two brothers on opposing sides seemed like it could be interesting.

The story is split between the past and the present, and again between the two brothers. However, I found that the pacing of the book was excruciatingly slow, especially for such a short read. I also never connected with the characters. Shirley came across as a cold hearted woman, Jake was toxically angry, Travis was stubbornly all for throwing everything away to help the downtrodden, Christine was a bloodthirsty reporter, and Velasquez was just a vapid, unconvincing phoney. Then there was Sam, and he is just a grade A piece of work.

So it was difficult having no characters I liked or could root for. I also found the setup for the story to be quite confusing initially as there were a ton of characters to try and keep track of. Later you do make sense of it all, and there is a decent story buried under it all. The book obviously has a lot to say about the death penalty, which is interesting to read.

The Guilty Die Twice is a short book, but it does feel slow. It features a lot of childish characters and focuses on a heavy issue. It’s not nearly as thrilling as I was hoping, but it wasn’t an awful read. It kept me reading, though not obsessed. People that enjoy legal thrillers will likely enjoy this.

Review: Buried Deep – T.R. Ragan

Jessie Cole #4

SYNOPSIS: Two missing persons. One apparent suicide. Three cases pushing PI Jessie Cole and crime reporter Ben Morrison closer to the edge.

Lacey Geiger could be a very rich woman. If Jessie Cole can find her. The beneficiary of a sizable estate, Lacey vanished years ago after escaping an abusive childhood and is veiled now behind a new identity. Jessie has two weeks to find her. It’s enough time to discover that Lacey is hiding from so much more than anyone realized. But she isn’t the only one with secrets. And Jessie’s not the only one searching for the truth.

A concerned daughter has asked for help finding her mother—a woman said to have been murdered thirty years ago. And Jessie’s colleague Ben, an amnesiac still struggling with the bloody memories of a shattered life, is nearer to piecing together a very dark picture. Especially when someone he detests is found dead, hanging from a tree by a riverbank.

Now as the mysteries, puzzles, and lies of three investigations are unearthed, Jessie and Ben will risk everything to bring all that is hidden into the light. – via Goodreads

So another quick and easy read, that has a decent story, so it is not too light, but also not too heavy to go through, either. I really enjoy the Jessie Cole books, where I never really did the Lizzie Gardner books.

Ben Morrison painted to be a very complex character, and while he is, he is not too intense. The romance between Colin and Jessie is sometimes really flat, in the sense that it is not really anything, but Ragan keeps bringing it up to humanise Jessie or something? I don’t know.

Zee is also still an interesting character. She definitely has mental health issues, and they are explored, but again not in depth. I think Ragan likes to touch on subjects, but never gets too involved with anything, so the read always feels lighter.

The one issue there is with these books is that they don’t really have anything that sets them apart from each other, defining them. I look at how I read these two one after another, and thoroughly enjoyed them, but neither stood out on its own. They blur together, though I liked them well enough.

Review: Run – Blake Crouch

SYNOPSIS: 5 D A Y S A G O
A rash of bizarre murders swept the country…
Senseless. Brutal. Seemingly unconnected.
A cop walked into a nursing home and unloaded his weapons on elderly and staff alike.
A mass of school shootings.
Prison riots of unprecedented brutality.
Mind-boggling acts of violence in every state.

4 D A Y S A G O
The murders increased ten-fold…

3 D A Y S A G O
The President addressed the nation and begged for calm and peace…

2 D A Y S A G O
The killers began to mobilize…

Y E S T E R D A Y
All the power went out…

T O N I G H T
They’re reading the names of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. You are listening over the battery-powered radio on your kitchen table, and they’ve just read yours.

Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don’t know why, but you don’t have time to think about that any more.

You only have time to….

R U N – via Goodreads

Yep, this one just wasn’t really my cup of tea. It just… got really old and repetitive quickly. As is typical of a Blake Crouch novel, you are dumped smack into the middle of things and it sure as hell doesn’t slow down as you keep going.

Run starts quick enough, and you read for ages before you even get to a place where you sort of understand that the family is being hunted down and that it has something to do with some night time astral viewing of sorts, and that is pretty much all you get. The running away gets repetitive after awhile, as survival is the name of the game, which is all good and well, but it has been done much better in the Wayward Pines novels by Crouch, for instance.

I also feel that while the violence makes its way onto the pages, you are never truly afraid for the characters, and it comes across as rushed and underplayed, except for one specific scene (which, horrific as it was, was also rushed through).

I don’t really have an awful lot to say about this, as there is not much to say other than it is an okay, if slightly unimaginative survival horror. If you are looking for a quick filler book that does not need too much investment and is something you will burn through super fast, Run would be the pick for that.

Review: Almost Dead – T.R. Ragan

Lizzy Gardner #5

SYNOPSIS: Life for private investigator Lizzy Gardner will never be the same. It’s been three weeks since her fiancé, Jared, was shot on what was supposed to be their wedding day. He’s in a coma now, and Lizzy is being forced to make a decision she might not be able to live with.

But a string of deaths has forced her to get back to work. While they appear to be unrelated accidents at first glance, a closer look shows they all have something in common. More than a decade earlier, the victims were all members of the Ambassador Club at a Sacramento high school: a posh posse that bullied other students, one of whom remains tormented years later. – via Goodreads

Well, here we are with yet another Lizzy Gardner book, and man, what a kick in the teeth. The first two were such meh reads, and then three and four were much better and quite interesting. Obsessed ended with quite a cliffhanger, and I was interested to see how Ragan would tackle the issue that she presented. The way she went? Sucky. So sucky.

We have regressed to super bad – the book is not good. At all. Instead of being edgy with the whole botched/ruined wedding thing and instead of using this book for extreme character growth/introspection and to pack and emotional punch of note, Ragan blabs around in circles and goes nowhere, and the book is even more unrealistic than others in the series. The cases being investigated by her, Kitally and Hayley are so silly and there is nothing compelling about this book.

There are so many issues that could legitimately be explored in this book, like losing a loved one, respecting another person, dedication, support, domestic abuse, all of those things, and instead this book hobbles along in the most insipid manner possible. The villain dragged back for this? I barely remembered him from the first book. In fact, I barely remember anything about why Lizzy is the way she is, other than that she was kidnapped and held for some time. Like, how bad is it that the main protagonist we have been following for five books now is beyond lacklustre and mediocre? What?

The best way to summarise Almost Dead is extremely bland and boring. What a wasted opportunity that was set up. The book had no heart, and it had so much to work with, too. This series is so hit and miss – and more miss than anything, with only two semi-decent entries so far. The Jessie Cole book started with a bigger bang, and I am thinking that, if Ragan continues that series the way she started it, she will definitely have me sold, because Lizzy Gardner and her band of misfits is really irritating me more than entertaining me.

Review: The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

Will Trent #10

SYNOPSIS: Atlanta, Georgia. Present day. A young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead. The police investigate but the trail goes cold. Until a chance assignment takes GBI investigator Will Trent to the state penitentiary, and to a prisoner who says he recognizes the MO. The attack looks identical to the one he was accused of eight years earlier. The prisoner’s always insisted that he was innocent, and now he’s sure he has proof. The killer is still out there.

As Will digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the original case in order to reach the truth. Yet nearly a decade has passed—time for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear. And now he needs medical examiner Sara Linton to help him hunt down a ruthless murderer. But when the past and present collide, everything Will values is at stake… – via Goodreads

Okay so I get ridiculously excited when I see Karin Slaughter is releasing a new book. Every time. I have been reading her books for around 12-13 years now, ever since I stumbled upon her first two books that someone was trying to bin. I read anything I could get my hands on, and they were new books from an unknown author in a genre I loved. I did not know what I was about to embark on was an absolute obsession. #noregrets

I was beyond stoked to see that we would be reading about Jeffrey Tolliver again. I am a fan of his, and I adore being able to go back to some original favourites. I love how the past and the present intermingle so effortlessly here. Reading in the present and flipping back to the past also brought up so much pain and suffering. All the angst, the worry, the fear, the heartbreak!

The Silent Wife is an excellent read. The relationships, as always, are nuanced and detailed and so real (I mean, we have been with these characters for over a decade). It’s awesome how Slaughter manages to keep things fresh, even this long on in a series. The book is twisty and genuinely scary at times, and it is so ridiculously exciting from page one.

So we return to Will Trent (also a huge fan) and Sara Linton and their fresh, icky case. Lena Adams makes a return as well, and it reminded me once again what an absolute nuisance that woman was. Ugh, what a character as well! Anyway, reading about the case and the developments hand in hand with the past is a tough one. I mean, I love Sara and Will together, and that she really does try to be so much more with him than she was with Jeffrey, and it did feel like cheating returning to Jeffrey, but man, it all works perfectly. I know, a love story, but really, Slaughter always works the romance in so naturally. What an emotional roller coaster! I NEED MORE!

All in all, The Silent Wife is yet another excellent piece of work from Karin Slaughter. The story is emotional and drags you right along for the ride, and is totally heart-stopping at times. I loved every minute of it and tried to drag the experience on for as long as possible – ask Natasha, I even did two hours of gardening (gardening!) to ensure I didn’t just tear through it super fast). As always, I highly recommend Slaughter’s work – it’s gory, dark, gritty, violent as hell and super intense, carried by very human characters and relationships throughout. Engaging read!

Review: Thirteen – Steve Cavanagh

Eddie Flynn #4

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. 

SYNOPSIS: They were Hollywood’s hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.

This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.

All the evidence points to Robert’s guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie’s mind.

What if there’s more than one actor in the courtroom?

What if the killer isn’t on trial? What if the killer is on the jury? – via Goodreads

You know, this book impressed me because I really didn’t expect much from it at all. I did not know that it was a part of a series because it didn’t read like it was. Sure, references are made which will likely make way more sense if you have read the other books in the series, but did not stand out as an issue while reading, like you were missing something. Mentions of past actions or characters, etc. just felt like musings in the book, or indicators of how certain things came together, and it is rare that a book in a series can be read so successfully as a standalone.

Okay, now that I have marvelled the ability of the novel as a standalone, let’s get to the story itself. It was quite an interesting one, though it does require you suspend reality altogether, otherwise you are going to have a bad time. The pacing is super fast, and the book barrels along, which makes for an entertaining and fast read. The plot is constantly twisting and turning (albeit predictably at times), it is still fun. There are also quite a few characters to like in here.

It was pretty cool to read about this crazypants killer, but the reality of the killer did not quite live up to my expectations completely, but then again, maybe that is just due to the “suspend belief” thing. I found Thirteen to be quite a solid book for the story it tells. I liked it enough that I would happily check out other books in the series at some point. I would definitely recommend Thirteen if you are looking for a fast paced, crazy thriller, as it will definitely deliver on those fronts.

Review: The Obsession – Nora Roberts

SYNOPSIS: Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.  – via Goodreads

Well, well, well. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and picked it up at random while in Isle of Man forever and six days ago – the book shop had it super cheap and I felt like something to read, and grabbed it. I didn’t expect much – Roberts churns out relatively standard books, but every now and then she gets one that really just works for me. This was one of those.

The book opens with a bang, and it is one intense read, little Naomi following her cuckoo dad, discovering horrors that nobody, let alone a child, should see, and having her life crumble. It was intense, then it skips on to present day. I was so afraid that this would take the route of The Witness – solid intro and then just down the drain, luckily for me, it did not.

I am maybe not the biggest fan of the romance here – because it is super rushed and awfully sudden, like absolutely no tension developed between Naomi and Xander. I also got irritated about “he took her mouth”. I swear, that phrase repeated consistently throughout the book, and gave me a frisson of irritation every time it happened. That being said, I found the story enjoyable and I was hooked. The book barrels along, too, so there is not a lot of filler jammed into it. I also liked the characters in this one, which is what kept me going. Especially Seth and Harry, what a lovely pair!

Now, this book certainly doesn’t reinvent the genre, and is predictable to boot in terms of the villain, but it is a great, fun, light read and that is exactly what I was looking for.

Review: The Dark Portal – Robin Jarvis

The Deptford Mice #1

SYNOPSIS: In the sewers of Deptford, there lurks a dark presence that fills the tunnels with fear. The rats worship it in the blackness and name it “Jupiter, Lord of All.” Into this twilight realm wanders a small and frightened mouse-the unwitting trigger of a chain of events that hurtles the Deptford mice into a world of heroic adventure and terror.  – via Goodreads

I read these books when I was a kid – and I mean a little rugrat. I recently saw this pop up while I was something totally unrelated on Amazon, and decided it was time to give it a shot again. Why not? How would it stack up after all these years? It was quiet a dark, fun adventure when I was a kid.

Well, let’s just say that this is perfect for the target group – kids. Definitely. Okay, a little darker than most kids books, but that worked, too. I feel that the writing was a little stiff in places, and I especially found the characters to be flat and lacking (most of them, anyway), and the author didn’t really build atmosphere and let you get into it. Like, as a kid this is not bad, the books barrels along and it has a fantasy aspect to it, and enemy, an adventure, all that, but when you get older, you want more spine in your book, you want a more solid story and characters that have more depth.

It’s not a bad read, but it just felt disjointed. Also, an editor needs to look at this. Spelling issues, layout issues, and so many problems with punctuation it was actually a chore at times to not completely lose my cool. I don’t know when last I read something that was this poorly edited! While the characters are flat, you can enjoy some of them sometimes, though it is fleeting. I could still see the characters in my mind as I did when I was younger, so that was pretty cool.

It also frustrated me that the book always felt like it was starting, it never felt like it was actually going anywhere, like it had developed into anything. The conclusion felt super rushed. Like I was reading and then it was suddenly over, and came across as messy. There was no sense of danger, no epiphany, no closure. It was just suddenly happening and then conveniently it was all over. I found it interesting to read about the landmarks in the book and actually have been to some of the places.

Anyway, there is not really much to say about The Dark Portal. It’s very good for the audience that it is intended for (speaking from experience, I really enjoyed these as a kid), but it does not hold up wonderfully for adults, to be honest. I had some nostalgia when reading, but it is not like reading Potter or Dr Seuss or anything like that from my youth. A decent read,  but not something I will be going over again.

Review: Sea Witch – Sarah Henning

Sea Witch #1

SYNOPSIS: Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain. – via Goodreads

So I recently read this after I convinced my colleague to purchase a Kindle for herself and she read a few books I recommended, and then branched out on her own to select a book for herself. That book was this, and she told me to give it a squizz, and naturally I decided to do so because that’s how it works – you recommend, and you take recommendations.

So she told me this was a retelling of The Little Mermaid, and after A Curse So Dark and Lonely, I am willing to give these retellings a shot because I quite enjoyed that. It’s crazy, I saw The Little Mermaid so many times when I was a child, and yet reading this I could hardly remember any of the movie and the story, just the broad strokes. So this wasn’t a bad read. It wasn’t a great read, either. It was simply an easy, quick read. Not one of the characters surprised me, and I never felt a real sense of urgency, or attraction, or tension, or anything. But it was a decent little time filler.

The story floats between the present and four years before, and between different characters, but the way the writer chose to present these scene changes was not my favourite thing, such as the raven haired girl did this, the blonde girl did that, the prince saw whatever – they have names and we know them. Use them. This is not generating intrigue or a sense of magic, it’s just annoying. I understand what the writer was going for with this book, I just wish it was darker, especially seeing as we are dealing with a variation of Ursula’s story, and not Ariel in the purest sense.

All being said, I liked it well enough and can recommend it for people who like the re-imagining of classics, I don’t know that I will be continuing with this series. I wanted darker and grittier, and this just didn’t really give me all that I had been hoping for, but it was an alright book to keep me in the swing of reading.