Book Critic
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Review: Quickies by Ollie Levy (Short Story Collection)
In this collection we meet a wide variety of people from all walks of life….some are married, single, engaged…..some have high flyer careers, and some are average Joe’s, but they all have one thing in common….they all love a good quickie. Why fuss with a marathon love making session when a quickie will get the job done? That’s the question that Ollie Levy explores in her series of short stories appropriately titled Quickies. What I loved about this collection was each randevú was short and sweet. There wasn’t a lot of back story and the characters literally got right down to business. It made for a fast and steamy read. It wasn’t overly graphic…
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Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Will Traynor has everything going for him–he’s rich, good looking, powerful, adventurous, cultured, vibrant, and successful. Until one day, a tragic accident takes all of that away leaving him with nothing but memories of a previous life. Will is now a quadriplegic who must rely on others to fulfill his basic needs. Naturally he is depressed and hates that his once fulfilling, active life is now nothing but a series of doctor appointments and catheter changes. He simply wants to die. After the accident, Will moved from his posh London residence to his parents house near Stortfold Castle in the English country side. He is miserable. Louisa “Lou” Clark has…
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Review: The Lady of Secrets (The Dark Queen Saga #6) by Susan Carroll
In Edinburgh 1591, Maidred Brody is being executed. Found guilty of being a witch, she is sentenced to die by fire along side another well known witch names Tamsin Rivers. Everyone in town has turned out to watch the execution, including the king himself, James I. Maidred’s brother, Robert Brody, plans on appealing to the king and begging his sister’s pardon. When James refuses, Robert watches unable to do anything but watch her die. At that moment he vows his revenge on King James….someone will answer for this miscarriage of justice. As the witches burn, Tamsin Rivers calls out a curse on the House of Stuart forever striking fear in…
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Review: The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift
When Ella Appleby’s employer turns up dead, she knows what will be come of her….she will be out in the cold without a second thought unless she thinks of something quick. Ella wakes her sister, Sadie, and together the loot her employers mansion and head for the glitz and glamour of 17th century London. But when they arrive, they are met with anything but opportunity. Work is hard to find and the sisters are forced to take any employment they can get. Luckily they both find work at a wig shop and are able to rent a small room. Though their loggings and income are meager, Sadie is simply happy…
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Review: Summerset Abbey (Summerset Abbey #1) by T.J. Brown
It is the dawning of a new era and the world is changing. The ridged confines of the Victorian and Edwardian eras are on their way out as England ushers in the modern age. The Buxton sisters and their adopted ward have just lost their father and are struggling with their grief. The eldest daughter, Rowena, is faced with the burden of providing for her younger, sickly sister Victoria and their ward Prudence. She is entirely overwhelmed and doesn’t know if she is suited for the task ahead of her but she is willing to try. Before the funeral is at a end, their uncle, the Earl of Summerset and his…
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Review: My Heart’s Desire by Andrea Kane
Lady Alexandria Cassell feels trapped. Her whole life promises to be a series of balls, entertaining, and perpetual boredom if she remains in London for the Season to find a suitable husband. So she does what any sensible girl would do in her situation….she runs like hell. Alexandria finds a ship leaving London bound for Canada where her father lives. She stows away on board, but little does she know what adventures await her on the high seas. Itching to put as many leagues between himself and London, Captain Drake Barrett sets sail when he discovers Alexandria hidden away in his cabin. Though he knows he should turn the ship around…
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Review: Bittersweet Seraphim (Seraphim #2) by Debra Anastasia
Hell can’t seem to keep Satan Jack in….so now it’s earth’s turn to try. What could possibly be worse than being the keeper of Hell? How about being stuck on earth as a human without the angel he loves? Satan Jack had been the keeper of Hell for years and he’s good at what he does. He keeps things running in an orderly fashion….eternity as he knows it is good. He likes Hell. But that was before he met Emma, an angel trying to save the kidnapped God. When Jack meets Emma, all bets are off…Hell doesn’t stand a chance at keeping Jack so long as Emma is part of…
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Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
This book takes fatal attraction to a whole new level. Nick and Amy Dunne have been married for five years when suddenly she’s gone…..no explanation, no note, nothing. She is simply gone. Nick does what any sane man would do when his wife ends up missing….he calls the police. When the police come out, they quickly notice that things aren’t adding up. There are signs of a struggle and there are holes in Nick’s story and timeline. Suddenly Nick finds himself as the prime suspect in Amy’s disappearance. The evidence is pretty damning and in the court of public opinion….he’s more than guilty of the disappearance if not murder. But…
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Review: The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen
High on the cliff tops of Cornwall, the distant sounds of a pianoforte can be heard echoing through Ebbington Manor late at night. Emma Smallwood and her father have come to Ebbington Manor as live in tutors for Sir Giles Weston and his family. Emma and her father ran a small boarding school where the two eldest Weston boys, Henry and Phillip, attended in their youth. Emma doesn’t harbor much affection for the eldest brother, Henry. All she remembers of Henry was that he was a bully who always played pranks on her when he was at the school. As for Phillip, Emma remembers him as a kind hearted, friendly…
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Review: Stabs at Happiness by Todd Grimson (Short Story Collection)
These are the stories of societies taboo outcasts. The characters that polite society would rather ignore. Degenerative and hopeless, these characters help set the tone and paint this collection of short stories the darkest black. Many of the characters in this collection are drug users/dealers, prostitutes, killers, and transvestites…..but they all have something in common, they are all looking for a little bit of happiness and hope in their own hopeless lives. Author Todd Grimson effortlessly blends powerful storytelling with gritty prose to create a new provocative approach to contemporary literature. Grimson’s style has been described as esoteric, and I would agree….I think his style would appeal to a limited audience, however it…