Tag Archives: murder

2015 Book #27 – The Vintner’s Daughter by Kristen Harnisch

Posted in #ReadingMyLibrary Reading Challenge, 2015, Book reviews, Fiction, Historical fiction, Reading Challenges by

91RlN2kmnQL

Title: The Vintner’s Daughter
Author: Kristen Harnisch
Date finished: 4/5/15
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication Date: August 15, 2014
Pages in book: 355
Stand alone or series: Rumored to be the first of a future series on winemaking through the centuries

Blurb from the cover:

Loire Valley, 1895. When seventeen-year-old Sara Thibault’s father is killed in a mudslide, her mother sells their vineyard to a rival family whose eldest son marries Sara’s sister, Lydia. But a violent tragedy compels Sara and her sister to flee to New York, forcing Sara to put aside her dream to follow in her father’s footsteps as a master winemaker. Meanwhile, Philippe Lemieux has arrived in California with the ambition of owning the largest vineyard in Napa by 1900. When he receives word of his brother’s death in France, he resolves to bring the killer to justice. Sara has travelled to California in hopes of making her own way in the winemaking world. When she encounters Philippe in a Napa vineyard, they are instantly drawn to one another, but Sara knows he is the one man who could return her family’s vineyard to her, or send her straight to the guillotine. This riveting tale of betrayal, retribution, love, and redemption, Kristen Harnisch’s debut novel immerses readers in the rich vineyard culture of both the Old and New Worlds, the burgeoning cities of late nineteenth-century America and a spirited heroine’s fight to determine her destiny.

My rating: 4.75 stars out of a scale of 5
My review: This book will count for the challenge I am participating in for April, the #ReadingMyLibrary reading challenge. I saw this book at the Bristol Library and thought it might be interesting. I have found over the past few years that I have a fascination with wine, I have taken a number classes to learn more about the different kinds of grapes and the winemaking process. So I picked this book up due to it  being about wine. It turned out to be just fantastic. It was very well-paced, I can honestly day I wasn’t bored once. It had everything you could like in a novel; murder, love, family, death, new birth. This book is rumored to be the first in a series about winemaking throughout the last century, and I honestly just can not wait for this author to publish her next novel. This book was so good, I was hooked on the story pretty much from the beginning and I couldn’t let go. The characters came alive for me and I would get so engrossed in the story that I would have trouble dragging my mind back to reality. The descriptions of the rolling hillsides of Napa as well as the description of the Saint Martin vineyard in France (Loire Valley) was just beautiful. Very good novel.

The bottom line:  LOVED this book! Love love love, can’t wait for her to publish her next one. I can not say enough good things about this book.

Link to author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #21 – I Adored a Lord by Katharine Ashe

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Prince Catchers, Reading Challenges, TBR Pile Reading Challenge (Roof Beam Reader) by

51j1Rd8DLDL

Title: I Adored a Lord
Author: Katharine Ashe
Date finished: 3/24/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: July 29, 2014
Pages in book: 356
Stand alone or series: #2 in the Price Catchers series

Blurb from the cover:

Three very different sisters beguile society with their beauty and charm, but only one of them must fulfill a prophecy: marry a prince. Who is the mystery Prince Charming, and which sister will be his bride?
All that clever, passionate Ravenna Caulfield wants is to stay far away from high society’s mean girls.
All that handsome, heroic Lord Vitor Courtenay wants is to dash from dangerous adventure to adventure.
Now, snowbound in a castle with a bevy of the ton’s scheming maidens all competing for a prince’s hand in marriage, Ravenna’s worst nightmare has come true.
Now, playing babysitter to his spoiled prince of a half-brother and potential brides, Vitor is champing at the bit to be gone.
When a stolen kiss in a stable leads to a corpse in a suit of armor, a canine kidnapping, and any number of scandalous liaisons, Ravenna and Vitor find themselves wrapped in a mystery they’re perfectly paired to solve. But as for the mysteries of love and sex, Vitor’s not about to let Ravenna escape until he’s gotten what he desires . . .

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my TBR Pile Reading Challenge, marking off #8 on my list. Many of my thoughts on this book are similar to the first book in the series. There was a lot going on in this book all at once, and while it was easier to follow than the first book it was still nonetheless slightly difficult to follow the train of thought. There are references made early on that are confusing instead of subtly intriguing and made it hard to follow the choppy thoughts of the hero and heroine. The story line had a lot of promise and was interesting but,same as the last novel, this book alternated between being too detailed/slow-paced and too fast-paced. I liked the heroine of this book better than the last, she wasn’t quite as wishy-washy. She still didn’t seem to value herself very much though, while I understand it makes sense for that time period, I hate to think that the heroine believed she wasn’t a good match for the hero just because of her birth. Other than that she had a good amount of backbone though, which I like to see in novel’s heroine.

The bottom line:  I liked this book better than the first in the series but I still wasn’t thrilled with it. There’s one more in the trilogy though so I’m going to read it, I’m guessing she marries that Tali guy and turns out he’s some kind of prince even though he’s an orphan.

Link to author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #15 – I Married the Duke by Katharine Ashe

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Historical Romance, Prince Catchers, Reading Challenges by

51vxrAklGyL

Title: I Married the Duke
Author: Katharine Ashe
Date finished: 2/27/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Pages in book: 363
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Price Catchers series

Blurb from the cover:

On the way to marry a prince in a castle, a lady should never: 1. Bribe an infuriatingly arrogant and undeniably irresistible ship captain, 2. Let him kiss her senseless on a beach, 3. Battle thieves at his side, and 4. Exchange wedding vows with him, even under the direst circumstances.
But daring, determined Arabella Caulfield isn’t just any lady. And Luc Westfall is no typical ship captain. He’s the new Duke of Lycombe, and to defeat a plot that could destroy his family he must have an heir. Now he knows just the woman for the job…and he’s not above seduction to turn this would-be princess into a duchess.

My rating: 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Start a New Series” square. This book had an awful lot going on. A scarred, pirate, soon-to-be duke who needs to help a governess crsos to France for a new job where she’ll meet a prince that maybe she’ll marry and instead she almost gets raped (that part was pretty awful and scary) and then the pirate dies (or not really) and then he appears at the duke’s chateau in France where the governess just happens to be. And then the pirate ends up being blind and she leaves him at the altar and oh my goodness. I could barely keep up at some points, but was pretty bored at other points. It actually made for an emotionally confusing read. I think that the plot line of this book had real promise but there was just too much thrown in there for plot twists.
And to be honest, I couldn’t stand the heroine for most of the book. During the day she keeps pushing the hero away and rejecting him, thinking he doesn’t really love her and they shouldn’t have gotten married while he was dying on a beach, but then as soon as he comes in her room at night she’s like “take me,” Ugh it was so aggravating. I know that men and women have communication issues but the hero and heroine in this book had maybe 2 meaningful conversations. They couldn’t ever seem to actually talk to each other about how they were feeling. I don’t know where the relationship was but I missed it. There were parts of the book that I liked but overall I think it was frustrating. Hopefully the next book in the series is a little less frustrating.

The bottom line:  This was far from my favorite. I’m going to stick with the series though, I want to find out who marries the prince.

Link to author website
Link to Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday (6): Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick

Posted in "Waiting On" Wednesday, Book memes, For the love of books by

New WoW

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

91tUbyt1PcL._SL1500_

Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick

Release date: April 21, 2015

Blurb from the cover (Amazon):

The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest women in Ursula Kern’s employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end—and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes.
Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. Nevertheless, he seems sensible enough to Ursula, though she does find herself unnerved by his self-possession and unreadable green-gold eyes…
If this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the dark side of polite society. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer—and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well…

Why am I waiting? 

I’m a big Amanda Quick / Jayne Ann Krentz / Jayne Castle fan. I’ve read many of her books under the various pen names and have liked the majority. And I think the description of the books sounds interesting!

Link to author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #9 – Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Buchanan/Renard/MacKenna series (FBI), Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

41RSXTAA6WL

Title: Heartbreaker
Author: Julie Garwood
Date finished: 2/2/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: July 1, 2000
Pages in book: 423
Stand alone or series: Buchanan / Renard / MacKenna series Book 1

Blurb from the cover:

In the still shadows of the confessional, the penitent kneels and makes a bone-chilling disclosure: “Bless me father, for I will sin….” Slowly, tauntingly, the man describes his murderous past — how he stalked his victim, worked his way into her life, and then took that life in a violent rage — and his plan to kill again. Only this time, he has raised the stakes in his twisted game, daring authorities to catch him if they can. This time, he has revealed the name of his next intended victim. “I’m a heartbreaker. And I do so love a challenge….” Agent Nick Buchanan has come face-to-face with society’s worst monsters and depraved minds in his work for one of the FBI’s most elite units. He’s about to take a much needed vacation from his high-stress job when he’s called on to stop the killer who has mockingly confessed to the deadly crime he’s to commit. Nick can’t refuse –for this time the threat has hit close to home. The intended victim is his best friend’s sister. Soon he is caught up in an intricate chase with one of the most devious psychopaths of his career — in a case that suddenly, unexpectedly, pulls him in like no other. Laurant Madden found a home and a sense of security when she moved into the small Iowa town of Holy Oaks — but her contented life is shaken to the core as a cagey predator closes in on her. Her brother, Tom, insists that she turn to the only man he trusts to help her: Nick Buchanan. As an electrifying attraction grows between Laurant and Nick, so does the danger — and one false move will cost both of them everything that matters.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “over 400 pages” square. This series is one that I enjoyed reading in the past and I have decided to re-read through the series. I liked the story line in this book a lot, there were just enough twists and turns to keep you interested without making it seem like a farce. The characters felt a little bit outdated and honestly didn’t really seem that well matched. I liked the murder mystery piece of this one more than the romance piece. Mystery plot line was thrilling.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book. I like the overall series as well.

Author website: http://juliegarwood.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heartbreaker-Julie-Garwood/dp/0671032992/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1422996587

2014 – Book #100

Posted in Book reviews, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense by

91A3I4bVDRL._SL1500_

The hundredth book I read in 2014 was Long Time Coming by Edie Claire. This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Stephanie Gorman. I finished this book on 11/9/14. This was the first book I’ve read by this author. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Joy Hudson, who after 18 years away returns home to Wharton, Kentucky to care for her father and mother, both of which are not in the best of health anymore. Joy left home a long time ago and never looked back, too scarred by traumatic events that occurred at the end of her senior year to think of Wharton as home.

When Joy returns to Wharton though she is forced to face a variety of issues that she had up until then successfully avoided. Like why she feels so guilty about her best friend’s death in high school. And why she’s scared of Jeff Bradford (her best friend’s high school boyfriend) and how he makes her feel, even now eighteen years later.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I was interested in the story line and liked the mixture of paranormal and suspense in the plot. I thought that the characters could’ve been developed a tad bit more and had more depth. As much as we delved into Joy’s psyche I found her character to be a bit flat I guess. Other than that I liked the story well enough. Though I wouldn’t consider it one of my favorites, it was interesting and also free on Amazon Kindle!

Link to author website: http://www.edieclaire.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Coming-Edie-Claire-ebook/dp/B004RJ7Y8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415646021&sr=8-1&keywords=long+time+coming

2014 – Book #96

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Paranormal comedy, Reading Challenges, Spooky series reading challenge, Undead series (Betsy Taylor) by

51XTls9cyeL

As part of my October spooky series reading challenge, the ninty-sixth book I read in 2014 was Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson. This is the seventh book in her Undead series about vampire queen Betsy Taylor. This is the series I will be focusing on this month for my Spooky Series reading challenge for the month of October. I finished this book on 10/25/14. I rated this book 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book picks up about two months after where the sixth book left off. Betsy and Sinclair are settling into their lives as newlyweds. One night Garrett arrives and says that he’s been feeding the other Fiends his blood because he’s been feeling sorry for them. Apparently because they’ve been feeding on his blood though (which also contains the devil’s daughter’s blood and Queen Betsy’s blood) they became slowly aware of their surroundings and their predicament.

And apparently they’re very mad at Betsy. Like murder-on-the-mind kind of mad. And the Fiends are all on their way to the mansion to kill Betsy, following Garrett home to figure out where it was that Betsy lived. Normally Betsy and Sinclair would stay and fight but they don’t want to endanger the lives of Jessica and Marc (their human roommates) so they escape through the underground tunnels, since apparently there is an access in the basement of their house. So they hide out for a little bit while they get the whole story from Garrett. The Fiends really want to kill Betsy and they will bulldoze whoever gets in their way, as Marc finds out later in the story.

While all this is happening, Nick has also enlisted the help of Betsy to assist him in finding a serial killer. Apparently someone has been cleaning up the streets and killing all the bad guys that there isn’t enough evidence against to prosecute. Nick seems to think that it is possibly a rogue cop doing the killings. When Jess finds out that Nick is using Betsy in such a way though, she is beyond mad. And when Nick finds out that Jess won’t go stay somewhere else for a few days while this Field thing gets sorted out, Nick is beyond mad too.

I’ll say pretty much the same thing I said for the first book here, overall obviously I love this book or else I wouldn’t be re-reading the whole series. I can’t say enough good things about this book and this series. I very much liked this book, it was suspenseful and thrilling and I loved the plot twist at the end that connects the two story lines. Love this series, I can’t wait to get started on the next one! And I am very excited to see what happens in the new book in the series (lucky #13) that I haven’t read yet!

Link to author website: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Undead-Unworthy-Queen-Betsy-Book/dp/0425221628/ref=tmm_hrd_title_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414262920&sr=1-1

Gone Girl Movie!!

Posted in Books made into movies, For the love of books by

MV5BMTk0MDQ3MzAzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzU1NzE3MjE@._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_

So last week I went to see the Gone Girl movie that came out based on the book and I have to say, it was SUCH a great movie! Movies many time will miss parts of a book that readers find essential, mostly because it is just impossible to include everything from an almost 400 page book into a movie that’s approximately 2 hours. Luckily the magic movie makers for this film only left out really 2 non-essential plot items (the Desi’s mother gets involved at the end and that Tanner Bolt’s wife gets involved in prepping Nick for the interview) that I’m pretty sure they skipped only to avoid introducing more characters into an already full screenplay.

Other than that the movie followed the book almost to a T. I loved it. The whole movie I was sitting there thinking, this is exactly like the book, its just so perfect. And I have to say, I don’t think they could’ve picked a better actor for the role of Nick. Ben Affleck was just superb in the role of an arrogant and slightly creepy jerk. Really all the casting was so well done, Amy’s role was perfect and Margo’s was very good and Desi’s role was well cast too. I don’t think I could’ve asked for a more well-suited cast.

Anyone who read this book and at least somewhat liked it, I would definitely recommend seeing the movie! Just a warning though a few of the scenes are pretty graphic (sex and violence). Nothing too crazy, though I have to say the scene towards the end involves a lot of blood so if you’re squeamish I would close your eyes for that one. I thought it was a great movie though and a pretty much perfect adaptation of the book.

Link to trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi78622489/imdb/embed?autoplay=false&width=480

Link to my review for the Gone Girl book: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/2014-book-78/

Link to Gone Girl movie IMDB site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/

2014 – Book #87

Posted in Book reviews, Romantic suspense by

51teSFEPCWL

The eighty-seventh book I read in 2014 was Mean Streak by Sandra Brown. I finished this book on 9/30/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about Dr. Emory Charbonneau, pediatrician and marathon runner who decides to complete a training run up in the mountains of North Carolina. While in the midst of her run, she is knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

Emory wakes up in a stranger’s cabin. She has no memory of how he got there. And the man staring back at her looks far from gentle. Worried about why this strange man has brought her to his cabin, she shrinks back at first. However, after the stranger proves again and again that he won’t hurt her, she begins to relax around him. As he nurses her back to health, he tries to ignore the sparks that start to fly between them.

The thing that scares Emory the most is that this mystery man won’t tell her anything about himself, even his name. What is she supposed to tell her husband when this strange man finally returns her to her normal life? Does she even really want to return to her normal life? And then a crisis comes up and Emory and the mystery guy end up having to work together to help someone in need.

Overall I liked this book a lot. This wasn’t my favorite book of hers but the plot was interesting, it was well paced, and was even a little scary in the beginning, a good thriller novel. My only complaint is that the plot was a tad predictable. I usually can’t figure out this author’s plot twists but this one I did see coming a little bit. Was still great and I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website: http://sandrabrown.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mean-Streak-Sandra-Brown/dp/1455581127/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1412207014&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #85

Posted in Book reviews, Books made into movies, Fiction by

41Jm-dyKVuL

The eighty-fifth book I read in 2014 was Serena by Ron Rash. I finished this book on 9/19/14. I rated this book 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. I decided to read this book because the movie adaptation is coming out at the end of this year (Nov 27) starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. I just love everything Jennifer Lawrence is in, she is an amazing actress and she plays her parts very well. She plays the crazy parts especially well, and I know she’s just going to do an amazing job with the role of Serena.

This book is about George and Serena Pemberton, a newlywed couple who plan to run a timber empire together in North Carolina. George was at the camp long enough before he met Serena to father an illegitimate child. Serena and George share an intense relationship that leaves no room for anyone else, and George, while acknowledging the child is his, does not do anything to care for the mother or the child, and in fact does the opposite in killing the mother’s father. When Serena loses her own baby and learns she will never again be able to bear children, she decides that she will kill the illegitimate child and the mother for being able to give her husband what she can not.

Serena appears to have been unraveling up to this point, but when she learns that George might be protecting his son and the boy’s mother, George and Serena’s intense and passionate marriage begins to crumble and becomes intensely deadly. This book is set in 1929 in the North Carolina mountains. The description of the work done by the timber company along with their day to day lives adds a sufficiently depressing backdrop to the dark place that is Serena’s mind. There is no room for any errors or doubt in her world, she lives in a universe of black and white, no grey area allowed.

Overall this was a very dark novel. There were parts I found depressing, and to be honest within the first 10 pages there’s a description of someone getting gutted in a knife fight that is just gruesome. Other than that though, it was an extremely interesting book and I can’t wait to see Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of Serena. She plays such a great crazy person and as I was reading the novel I could just see her in the role. I also really enjoyed the discussion of life during the Depression and the timber worker’s point of view as well as Rachel’s (George’s illegitimate son’s mother). I would definitely recommend this novel to someone who is looking for a good Depression-era novel or to anyone who is planning to see the movie when it comes out!!

Link to movie’s IMDB website (trailer can be found here): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247690/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Link to Wikipedia website on author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Rash

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Serena-Novel-P-S-Ron-Rash/dp/0061470848/ref=sr_1_1?

ie=UTF8&qid=1411175435&sr=8-1&keywords=ron+rash