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review 2020-05-28 02:47
Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep
Bright Blaze of Magic (Black Blade) - Jennifer Estep

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I am so glad that I finally read this book! I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book near its release date but it fell through the cracks somehow. As more time passed, I realized that I would need to refresh my memory of the first two books in the trilogy before I could review the book properly so I put off reading it. I decided to push this book to the top of my list recently and it was a very good decision. I thoroughly enjoyed my re-read of the first two books in the trilogy and was eager to experience this book for the first time. I really had a good time with this one.

This is a trilogy that really needs to be read in order. Things have been building to the events in this book for the entire trilogy and I was excited to see how things would work out. Victor Draconi has been working towards a plan to eliminate the other Families and take control of everything himself. Lila and the other Sinclairs are aware of his plan and they are working to do whatever they can to stop him.

This story was exciting and there were a few scenes that were incredibly action-packed. There were a few scenes where I was really worried about how things would work out for this group of characters that I have grown to care for and some scenes that broke my heart. I loved the way that the monsters and magical abilities were such a vital part of the story. It was great to see Lila really become a trusted member of the Sinclair Family as they came together with the other Families to fight a common threat.

Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job with the narration once again. I looked forward to putting my headphones on and escaping into Lila's world for a few hours. I really felt like she brought this story to life. She did a fantastic job with all of the character voices and brought a lot of emotion into her reading. I believe that her narration added to my enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful trilogy set in a very interesting world. I had a great time going on this adventure with Lila, Devon, Felix, Oscar, and the rest of the characters. I cannot wait to read more of Jennifer Estep's work.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.

Initial Thoughts
I am so glad that I finally read this book! This was a battle that has been brewing for the entire series and I was excited to see the Sinclairs take on the Draconis. There was a lot of excitement and action in this book and some pretty intense scenes. I thought that the characters were at their best in this installment and there were some pretty emotional scenes. I listened to the audiobook and I thought that the narrator did a fabulous job bringing this story to life.

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review 2020-05-25 13:19
Undone by Shannon Richard
Undone - Shannon Richard
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I just loved this book! I have had this book for years but failed to take the time to read it until now and I must that I am a little mad at myself for not picking it up sooner. Once I started reading this story, I was hooked and did not want to put it down and found myself reaching for it every chance I had. I am so glad that I finally decided to give this one a try.

Things have not been going great for Paige. She has lost her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend in short order. As a result, she was forced to move back in with her parents who now live in the small town of Mirabelle, Florida. It has not been an easy transition and she feels like most of the town is against her. Her vehicle breaks down after a horrible interview and the town's handsome mechanic comes to her rescue.

Brendan has lived in Mirabelle all of his life and knows how hard some of the residents can be on new residents like Paige. He hasn't had things easy in his life but he has a great support system including his grandparents, his sister, and a great group of friends. He decides to help Paige out just a bit and he also plans to spend a little more time getting to know her.

I really liked Paige and Brendan. I thought that both of these characters felt very real, like someone I wouldn't be surprised to meet. They were fun together and I loved the chemistry between the pair. This was a pretty low drama story for much of the book and I really enjoyed just spending time with these two as they fell in love. There is some excitement before the book is over but I must say that I liked the parts of the book that just focused on these two getting to know each other. Paige and Brendan were not perfect and they made some mistakes but I think that helped them to feel more authentic. The secondary characters were very well developed and I appreciated what they brought to the story.

I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. I thought that this was a really well-done romance filled with wonderful characters and a lot of sparks. I would not hesitate to read more of this author's work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
I just loved this book and I am kind of mad at myself for not reading it sooner. Paige and Brendan were fantastic characters and they were so good together. The bulk of the story is rather drama free and I really enjoyed stepping back and watching Paige and Brendan fall for each other. Some drama does show up before the story draws to a close but I had a pretty good feeling that these two would find their happily ever after at that point.

 

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review 2020-05-23 00:22
Sweet Revenge by Rebecca Zanetti
Sweet Revenge - Rebecca Zanetti

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was really good! I have had a copy of this book to read for years but failed to actually start reading it until now. After reading the first book in the series recently, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I do feel like this series is best when read in order since some of the events from the first book come into play in this installment. Once I started reading this one, I hard a hard time putting it down and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Matt and Laney are the focus of this book. Matt is the oldest of his brothers and always tries to take care of everything. He needs to find the doctor that has the ability to save him and his brothers and he has it narrowed down to the small town of Charmed, Idaho. He gets a job working at the local bar owned by Laney and the pair have an instant connection. Before long, things in town get a lot more complicated than they ever imagined.

Matt and Laney were both great characters and I thought that they were great together. I thought that the chemistry between them was amazing. They did have a few communication issues at the start of the story but they eventually learned to work together very well. They were both incredibly capable people that were protective of the people that they cared about. It was really easy to cheer this pair on.

This story was really exciting. Matt's mission to find the doctor that could save them was interesting enough but there was some additional crime occurring in the small town that really added to the excitement. There were some revelations in the story that completely surprised me and a ton of action worked into the story. It was really easy to be hooked by this story.

Karen White continues to do an amazing job with the narration of this series. I really like the quality of her voice and thought that she did a wonderful job with all of the character voices. I thought that she was able to bring a lot of emotion to the story. I had such a good time listening to this story and believe that her narration added to my enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to others. I put off reading this series for a number of years and am so glad that I finally have made it a priority. This book was filled with wonderful characters, intense action, and some incredibly romantic moments. I cannot wait to start reading the next book in the series.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Initial Thoughts
This was really good! I liked Matt and Laney were both great characters and they were really good together. The story had a lot of excitement and there were a few twists that I didn't see coming. I was able to guess a few things but for the most part, this story kept me guessing. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job with the reading of the story.

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review 2020-04-23 01:03
Whisper to Me by Nick Lake
Whisper to Me - Nick Lake

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I thought that this book was very well done. I have had this book in my review pile for years now but for some reason never picked it up. I decided to finally give it a try and went into the story rather blindly since the only thing that I remembered about the book was that it was a YA story. It turns out that this is a story about dealing with mental illness, grief, romance, and even a bit of a mystery. I am glad that I finally read this emotional story.

This is a rather long book at 544 pages and it tells a big story. I started reading this book as I went to bed and planned to read one chapter before setting it aside to go to sleep. This book is not broken up into chapters like I am used to seeing. The book is broken up into two sections but there are breaks within each of the sections. The story is told as if it were a letter that Cassie is writing to the boy she hopes will give her a second chance.

There is a lot that happens in this book. A lot of those things don't occur until the second half of the story so it would be a bit of a spoiler to discuss those plot points in this review but I did appreciate the way that many later events were foreshadowed in the first part of the book. The first part of the book focuses almost entirely on the evolution of Cassie's mental illness. She describes when the voices start and exactly what they make her do. I felt her anguish and couldn't imagine living with that kind of pain. She has quite the journey as she receives treatment for her condition.

The book also follows Cassie as she deals with moving forward in her life with her illness. We do learn more about her past and the trauma that may have played a part in the development of her condition. We also get to see Cassie making friends and even getting to know the boy that she is writing the letter to. I loved getting to see Cassie having some fun and experiencing some of those typical teenage milestones. The relationship between Cassie and her father wasn't perfect, not at all, but it felt genuine. They both have a lot of pain, and more than a few issues, and don't always know the best way to interact with each other.

I would recommend this book to others. This was quite the emotional journey and I thought that the mental health aspect of the story was very well done. I wouldn't hesitate to read more of Nick Lake's work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
This was good. I have had an ARC of this book for a very long time but failed to pick it up until now. I selected a book at random to read one evening and it ended up being this book. I found that my digital ARC was nearly unreadable due to poor formatting so I checked a digital copy out from my local library and didn't look back. I was surprised that the book really isn't broken up into chapters in the way that I am used to but there were some natural breaks for those times that I needed to focus on other things.

I really didn't remember what this book was about when I started reading it but was quickly drawn into Cassie's story. The book is written from Cassie's point of view and presented as a letter to a boy. The main focus of the story is Cassie's struggle with mental illness but it also touches on romance, friendships, and a mystery. I really felt for Cassie and hoped to see things go her way.

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review 2020-03-03 02:35
Damaged by Lisa Scottoline
Damaged - Lisa Scottoline

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was very good! This is the fourth book in the Rosato & DiNunzio but it reads as a stand-alone novel. This is one of those series where you can just jump in at any point. I have read a couple of the previous books in this series and consider myself a fan of Scottoline so I had a pretty good feeling that I would enjoy this one. I was pulled into this story from the start and was eager to see how things would work out. I am so glad that I decided to listen to this book.

The story opens with Mary taking on a new case. At the center of this case is a young boy named Patrick. Patrick is ten years old and lives with his grandfather, who means the world to him. Patrick has dyslexia and is not getting the services that he needs in order to be able to learn to read. He has also been accused of violence against a teacher's aide. Unfortunately, this is the beginning of the problems that Patrick will have to face.

Like Mary, I fell for Patrick pretty quickly. This little guy has not had things easy but he was still such a good attitude. He was frustrated with school but who could blame him. It was really hard not to like Patrick and his grandfather. Mary fought for them very hard and I loved her dedication to the case. I am not sure that most lawyers would go quite as far as Mary did but it did make the story interesting. This was a pretty complex case that seemed to get more involved as the story progressed. There were some pretty exciting moments and a few twists that I did not see coming.

Rebecca Lowman did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I think that this is the first time that I have had a chance to listen to this narrator's work and I really liked her work. She has a very pleasant voice that I found easy to listen to for hours at a time. I liked the voices that she used for the various characters and thought that she did a good job adding emotion to the story. I would not hesitate to listen to more of her work in the future.

I would recommend this book to others. I really enjoyed this story and thought that it was emotional at times. I felt bad for Patrick and Mary and wanted to see good things happen for them both. I look forward to reading more of Lisa Scottoline's work!

I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Initial Thoughts
This was very good. The book captured my interest right away and held on throughout the book. I was surprised by some of the twists that popped up along the way. I found it pretty easy to root for Mary, Patrick, and the other key players because they really were just good people. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job with the story.

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