Publication Date: Available Now from Mulholland Books.

Source: Bookbridgr

These are edge-of-your-seat tales: A prison guard must protect an inmate being tried for heinous crimes. A father and son set out to rescue a young couple trapped during a wildfire. An ex-con trying to make good as a security guard stumbles onto a burglary plot. A young father must submit to blackmail to protect the fragile life he’s built.

One of my New Year Resolutions this year was to return to my once avid love of short stories – this seemed like a good place to begin and I’d say that was a brilliant choice on my part. Hey modesty ain’t my thing.

Every  story to be found in this collection is, without exception, absolutely compelling and beautifully written…the book travelled around with me and every time there was coffee there was a story.  They all have a dark side, a deliciously enticing yet grounded prose that draws you into the lives of a bunch of eclectic people and situations and gives you a snapshot of a particular moment that changes them.

I loved them all, would not give anything away by describing each one in detail, but have to give an honourable mention to “Sweet Nothing” and “Must Come Down” my favouritesof the bunch. There is a whole lot of heart here, quite a bit of soul and they will give you pause for thought on many occasions as some of the characters you meet make decisions you want to yell at them for. I DID yell at them sometimes. It will suck you in.

Terrific stuff. Really captivating. Lets have some more please.

Happy Reading Folks!

The human thing is all an act. He can turn it on and off like that. What he is inside is a monster, a shark, something soulless and ravenous.

When i first started reading this I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I haven't read many books about Mexican drug cartels and drug lords so I didn't know if this was going to appeal to me. While it does mention the drug cartels and has a drug lord prominently in it, this book is more about Luz's journey to escape the clutches of her drug lord husband and reunite with her young daughter. This book is really about a mother's love for her daughter and the actions she will take to be reunited with her.

I really liked Luz right from the beginning and hoped that she would be able to get away from Ronaldo and get her baby girl back. With all that Luz has been through I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She strikes up an unlikely partnership with Kevin Malone, a man who at first seems to just be drinking life away because he can. Once you realize why Malone is the way he is you can't help but be heartbroken for him. Luz and Malone really make this book worth reading.

The book switches point-of-view between a few characters. I really did not like the two other main characters besides Luz and Malone. One is a corrupt border cop, Thacker, and the other is a former henchman of Ronaldo's being forced into trying to find Luz, Jerónimo. Thacker was a disgusting jerk and there was just nothing redeeming about him. Jerónimo was forced into this situation and must do it to protect his family but I like Luz and hated what he was doing to her that I just couldn't like Jerónimo at all. I have to say that even though I didn't like them, Thacker and Jerónimo definitely made the story interesting.

I was mostly happy with where each of the main characters were at the end, but I felt like some didn't deserve what they got and some needed to be punished. Overall this was a good read with complex characters and some great action. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read Angel Baby.