Devil In Winter Review

Title:  Devil In Winter
Series:  Wallflowers #3
Author:  Lisa Kleypas
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Release Date:  Feb. 28, 2006 (since reissued)
Purchase Link:  Amazon


My Rating:  4.5 Fabulous Hearts


Synopsis:

"I'm Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can't be celibate. Everyone knows that."

Desperate to escape her scheming relatives, Evangeline Jenner has sought the help of the most infamous scoundrel in London.

A marriage of convenience is the only solution.

No one would have ever paired the shy, stammering wallflower with the sinfully handsome viscount. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Evie is a woman of hidden strength—and Sebastian desires her more than any woman he's ever known.

Determined to win her husband's elusive heart, Evie dares to strike a bargain with the devil: If Sebastian can stay celibate for three months, she will allow him into her bed.

When Evie is threatened by a vengeful enemy from the past, Sebastian vows to do whatever it takes to protect his wife... even at the expense of his own life.

Together they will defy their perilous fate, for the sake of all-consuming love.

Review:
If anyone had told me I'd one day pull for the scum ball Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, (actually-some did!) after I finished reading It Happened One Autumn, I would have said "you're crazy"!  However, I stand here today eating my words after reading Devil In Winter.  Kleypas wove an amazing magic spell and transformed two misfits into an endearing couple, revealing a softer, more vulnerable side of both.  Evie's on the run from her maternal relatives because they've threatened her with a forced marriage to her own cousin in an effort to gain control of her fortune.  I found Evie to be shy and awkward. . . and yes, even forgettable, in previous books, as she struggled with an embarrassing stutter, but she displays a braver, more forward side in this book.  Evie steps outside her comfort zone and calls on the infamous rogue Lord St. Vincent in his home with a brazen offer he can't refuse - marry and protect her and her fortune is his.  Sebastian was an arrogant womanizer in previous books - a desperate man on the verge of losing everything.  While he's shocked by Evie's offer, he quickly realizes it's the answer to all his problems and thus their odd joining begins.  Watching Sebastian's interaction with Evie is a pure delight as his honesty and humor reveal a different man beneath the badboy facade.  Evie knows she's made a deal with the devil.  Will she live to regret it?

Nobody does Historical Romance better than Lisa Kleypas!  Nobody!  Her writing is always picturesque, flowing flawlessly as she manipulates scenes and breathes life into characters with depth, personality, and believable qualities.  The author's ability to take two characters who appear to be polar-opposites and bring them together in such a heated way that causes readers to pull for them is nothing short of amazing.  They don't always fall in love willingly, but fall they do.  The banter and sexual tension ramps up as the story unfolds as does the suspense and sense of urgency.  Series readers will love the support cast including characters from previous books.  Devil In Winter is a fantastic addition to the Wallflower series, and I highly recommend it to fans of historical romance.

My Rating:  4.5 Redeemable Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

The Grace Year Review

Title:  The Grace Year
Author:  Kim Liggett
Genre:  Y/A Thriller
Publisher:  Wednesday Books/MacMillan
Release Date:  Oct. 8, 2019
Purchase Link:  Amazon

My Rating:  All the Stars in Heaven!

*Many, many thanks to Wednesday Books for an arc of this book!

A speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power. Optioned by Universal and Elizabeth Banks to be a major motion picture!

“A visceral, darkly haunting fever dream of a novel and an absolute page-turner. Liggett’s deeply suspenseful book brilliantly explores the high cost of a misogynistic world that denies women power and does it with a heart-in-your-throat, action-driven story that’s equal parts horror-laden fairy tale, survival story, romance, and resistance manifesto. I couldn’t stop reading.” – Libba Bray, New York Times bestselling author

Synopsis:

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.

Review:

Wow! I'm speechless!  It's not often a book leaves me that way, but after reading the final page (several times over!) of The Grace Year, I sat in a trance-like state with tears trickling down my cheeks, trying to wrap my head around this story and message.  Hoping to sleep on it, I retired for the night only to toss and turn with scenes and characters from the story haunting my dreams.  I arose this morning restless - still trying to find a voice for the raw emotion this book evoked in me, but tell me . . . how do you review a book that gutted you?  How do I tell fellow readers that while this book may flay you wide open as it did me, read it anyway because a spark of hope will linger, catch flame, and spread like wildfire afterwards?  Well, this is me telling you:  Read this book!  It delivers a powerful message that everyone, most especially girls/women, needs to heed.  Together we rise, divided we fall...

I'm not going to spend a lot of time rehashing the plot line of The Grace Year.  You'll get the drift from the blurb and other reviews.  It's a highly atmospheric, visual read that crawled under my skin and transported me to the isolated camp alongside the grace girls.  I felt their anguish, fear, despair, horror, and yes - even the impending madness that descended upon them, seeping into their minds, urging them to give into their primal instincts.  In a desperate battle for survival, they hover within the stockade, fearing the horrors that threaten them from beyond - before turning their sights on each other.  

Liggett's brilliant rendering of this story creates tension, suspense, and apprehension page by page, scene after scene, and it took root inside me, squeezing my heart and making it difficult to breathe.  I had to step away from it briefly about halfway through, catch my breath, let my heart rate return to normal.  And then, I picked it back up and burned through the rest of the story until, as I mentioned at the start of this review, I sat speechless.

The Grace Year is raw, graphic, violent, at times horrifying, and yet it's a highly entertaining, compulsive, page-turning story of survival and unity and eternal hope.  It's a story that explores the many complex relationships between girls and women of all ages.  It's a fantastic, beautifully crafted story that pushed, shoved, and clawed  its way to the top of my Favorites List.  Read this book!

My Rating:  All the Stars in Heaven!

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

Runaway Love Story Review

Title:  Runaway Love Story
Author:  Sadira Stone
Publisher:  The Wild Rose Press
Release Date:  June 24, 2019
Purchase Link:  Amazon



My Rating:  3.5 Runaway Hearts


*Many thanks to the author & publisher for a copy of this book.



Synopsis:
She hates average...he's as average as they come.

High school history teacher Doug Garvey is trying to enjoy his last few weeks of summer vacation, but receiving his final divorce decree hits him harder than expected. After a brief fling fizzles, he fears love just isn't in the cards for him. If only he could find someone who's real, someone interested in something beyond herself…maybe a new running partner who can keep up with his more carnal appetite. When sexy, straight-talking Laurel runs across his path, he dares to hope again.

He's done with social-climbing posers...she's ambitious and has big dreams.

Fired from an art gallery, Laurel Jepsen shelves her pursuit of an art career in San Francisco to help her beloved great aunt Maxie move into assisted living. While out on a morning run, she's harassed by a group of teens until a tall, broad-shouldered hottie steps in, pretending to be her boyfriend with a kiss that makes her wish it were true. But she's only passing through, not looking for a relationship.

Their fierce chemistry burns up the sheets—and the couch, the shower, the forest—but falling in love would ruin everything. Laurel can't stay in Eugene, and he can't leave. Doug's only hope is to convince her the glittery life she's after could blind her to the opportunities already in her path.


Review:
I can't resist a sweet, low-angst romance - especially one with sizzling chemistry and a healthy side of humor! That's what you get with Stone's Runaway Love Story. Laurel Jepsen is a flighty, free-spirited wannabe artist with a plan to travel to San Francisco and pursue her art career . . . just as soon as she finishes helping her great-aunt move into an assisted living facility. She's not looking for a steady relationship and most certainly not love. Doug Garvey is a history teacher and running coach at the local high school, a down-to-earth man whose feet are solidly planted on the ground. He's been burned by love before and has resigned himself to going it alone. So what will happen when these two polar opposites cross paths?

Runaway Love Story is a low angst romance that dips below the surface and explores some weighty issues. Stone's descriptive style of writing brings the relatively simple plot and small town setting to life with authenticity. Support characters include Maxie, the flamboyant 90-year-old great aunt who is nothing less than delightful. Like Laurel, she's a free spirited artist who helps lighten the mood as she makes the transition into an assisted living facility. The chemistry between Laurel and Doug simmers and sizzles as they dance around one another. So can a free-spirited woman with a tendency to run away find happiness with a down-home man with deeply planted roots? I think you'll enjoy finding out! A fun beach read!

My Rating:  3.5 Runaway Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

What Rose Forgot Review

Title:  What Rose Forgot
Author:  Nevada Barr
Publisher:  Minotaur Books
Release Date:  Sept. 17, 2019
Purchase Link:  Amazon


My Rating:  4 Outrageous Hearts


*With special thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.



Synopsis:
In New York Times bestselling author Nevada Barr's gripping standalone, a grandmother in her sixties emerges from a mental fog to find she's trapped in her worst nightmare. 
Rose Dennis wakes up in a hospital gown, her brain in a fog, only to discover that she's been committed to an Alzheimer's Unit in a nursing home. With no memory of how she ended up in this position, Rose is sure that something is very wrong. When she overhears one of the administrators saying about her that she's "not making it through the week," Rose is convinced that if she's to survive, she has to get out of the nursing home. She avoids taking her medication, putting on a show for the aides, then stages her escape.

The only problem is—how does she convince anyone that she's not actually demented? Her relatives were the ones to commit her, all the legal papers were drawn up, the authorities are on the side of the nursing home, and even she isn't sure she sounds completely sane. But any lingering doubt Rose herself might have had is erased when a would-be killer shows up in her house in the middle of the night. Now Rose knows that someone is determined to get rid of her.

With the help of her computer hacker/recluse sister Marion, thirteen-year old granddaughter Mel, and Mel's friend Royal, Rose begins to gather her strength and fight back—to find out who is after her and take back control of her own life. But someone out there is still determined to kill Rose, and they're holding all the cards.

Review:

What a hoot!  What Rose Forgot is an outrageous, rip-roaring good time!  I expected a dark, scary thriller and while there're certainly some spooky scenes, there are many more that are over-the-top, laugh out loud hilarious.  Rose awakens in a foggy, dream-like haze, surprised to find herself confined in the lock down section of a Alzheimer's elderly care facility.  As she struggles to clear her muddy mind and figure out what's going on, she overhears a conversation saying she won't last out the week.  She would know if she was "dying", wouldn't she?  Why can't she remember how she ended up committed to a place for people who have lost their memories - as well as most of their marbles?  Rose isn't crazy . . . or is she?  

The story that unfolds follows the antics of Rose as she escapes and begins a stint on the lam as an amateur sleuth, hiding out from unknown villains and participating in hand-to-hand combat with professional killers.  She's aided in her investigation by a great support team - her granddaughter Mel and her long distance sister Marion.  Rose is lovable, preposterous, flamboyant, and on-the-run from the law, nursing home, and most of her family as she follows the clues to solve the mystery of who wants her dead.  What follows is a comedy of errors - a story that borders on slapstick comedy while exploring some serious issues faced by aging seniors.  It touched my heart even as it tickled my funny bone.  I laughed loud and often as I read this book mostly in one sitting.  The story is paced to flow quickly from one hilarious scene to the next and while I figured out the bad "guy" before the big reveal near the end, it was an absolute hoot getting there.  A little old lady super-heroine wreaking havoc on the bad guys!  You've got to love it!  Well-written and delivered, I consider What Rose Forgot more of a funny, cozy mystery than a thriller, but no matter how you shelf it, it's a fantastic read!

My Rating:  4 Hilarious Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

IWSG: Where In The World . . .

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a website media business with affiliates to enhance our service to visitors. We are a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support. Visit IWSG to learn more about this great writing community!

  

IWSG posts the first Wednesday of every month. It's a great writer's resource that I'm sure you'll find well worth your time. Be sure to stop by and visit with other IWSG Members.  And join me in thanking this month's awesome co-hosts:   Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantine!

My apologies for missing last month's IWSG post, but my mind, heart, and body were otherwise engaged.  My only sister passed away suddenly near the end of July leaving my family and I devastated and in shock.  I'd like to thank those of you who reached out to me offering condolences.  Your kind words of sympathy were a comfort and inspiration to me.  Thank you.

IWSG Question of the Month:  If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

I feel like my answer to this question should be on an island in some exotic place far, far away. After all, isn't that the way most fairy tales start?  lol  In reality, I'd say anywhere Q.U.I.E.T.  My own office is perfect IF my family is otherwise engaged.  Seriously, I'm not one of those fortunate writers who can shut out the world and write anywhere - like a coffee shop, book store, restaurant, on a bus . . . Uh, no.  Way too many distractions for me.  My thoughts ramble all over the place in those situations.  I need sweet, blessed quiet to be productive when I

write.  The one place I can think of outside my own office is a small cabin nestled high on a mountaintop in our North Carolina Blue Ridge mountains.  Think breathtaking view, sounds of nature, front-porch swing and rockers, and a glass of your favorite beverage.  It's beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and oh-so-good for the soul!  Also conducive to my writing.  My family, of course, will have to stay at home. haha

So tell me - Where in the world would you choose to write?

29 Seconds Review

Title:  29 Seconds
Author:  T.M. Logan
Genre:  Suspense Thriller
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Release Date:  Sept. 10, 2019 (U.S.A.)
Purchase Link:  Amazon

My Rating:  4.5 Powerful Hearts


*With many thanks to St. Martin's Press for an arc of this book.


Synopsis:
Give me one name. One person. And I will make them disappear . . .

When Sarah rescues a young girl in trouble, she expects nothing in return. But her act of bravery puts a powerful and dangerous man in her debt. He lives by his own brutal code, and all debts must be repaid - in the only way he knows how.

He offers Sarah a way to solve a desperate situation with her intolerable boss. A once-in-a-lifetime deal that will make all her problems disappear.

No consequences. No comeback. No chance of being found out.

All it takes is a 29 second phone call.

Because everyone has a name to give. Don't they?

Review:
29 Seconds is a taut, beautifully crafted thriller that begs the question:  Is there anything you wouldn't do if your back was pressed against the wall and you were on the verge of losing everything?  Dr. Sarah Haywood is a temporary research assistant in line for a permanent position at Queen Anne University.  By all rights, Sarah should get the upcoming department promotion as she has put in her time and paid her dues.  Unfortunately, her fate is in the hands of her immediate supervisor Professor Hawthorne - an influential, devious sexual predator who's made it crystal clear the only way Sarah will get a promotion is to submit to his sexual demands.  Hawthorne is one of the untouchables as he's earned his crown in the workplace good-old-boy's club.  The man is a snake whose sordid reputation is so well-known among women co-workers that they've developed a list of rules for surviving his unwanted advances.  Rule #1 - Never, ever be alone with him. Through Sarah's point of view, readers see a desperate woman who has reached the end of her rope as she faces a life-altering decision.  One that sorely tests her convictions and morals after an unexpected event results in her being thrown a lifeline - a one time chance to be rid of Hawthorne for good.  A short window of opportunity has opened, but it means making a deal with the devil.  Are the unexpected consequences worth the price?  

29 Seconds is a taut, fast-paced thriller with sharp curves that will keep you on your toes.  I quickly became totally engrossed in this story that tackles the never-ending issue of sexual harassment of employees in the workplace by an influential superior.  The torrid pace and menacing tone had my heart racing as I burned through pages to uncover the outcome.  Logan masterfully manipulates these characters into stressful situations and then charges them with finding their own way out, painting an all-too-real picture of survival of the fittest in a toxic workplace where upper management turns a blind eye to a manipulative, abusive sexual predator.  By way of a twisted, tightly woven plot line, the author explores morals and facing the consequences of ones actions.  His interspersed descriptive passages of Sarah's everyday home life with her two girls clearly defines what's at stake for Sarah as readers are afforded an opportunity to understand what she has to lose should she fail. I devoured this book and thought I was prepared for the ending, but Hello!  Logan still managed to surprise me in the end!  Brilliantly written and delivered, 29 Seconds is a fantastic story that fans of suspense thrillers will love!

My Rating:  4.5 Powerful Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥

The Long Call Review

Title:  The Long Call
Series:  The Two Rivers, #1
Author:  Ann Cleeves
Genre:  Mystery/Suspense
Publisher:  Minotaur Books
Release Date:  Sept. 3, 2019
Purchase Link:  Amazon


My Rating:  3 Diverse Hearts


*With many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.


Synopsis:
From Ann Cleeves—bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the first in a gripping new series.

“Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.”—Louise Penny

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.From Ann Cleeves—bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the first in a gripping new series.

“Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.”—Louise Penny

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on  his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.

Review:
The Long Call is an atmospheric, character-driven murder mystery set in North Devon.  Cleeves has an obvious gift for setting a scene with the tone and mood drawing both characters and readers into the story.  Like any good police investigation, this story is slow to develop with evidence and clues being gathered and accessed by an array of unique characters.  I applaud the author's sensitive yet straight-forward inclusion of several social issues including religion and the social injustice and abuse often demonstrated toward the disabled, mentally impaired, and gays.  

DI Matthew Venn is a complex, smart, introspective, married gay man who, as the story opens, is standing outside a church watching his father's funeral.  He has been estranged from his family ever since he was banished from the evangelical church years ago.  As he slips away, a phone call draws him to a nearby beach where a body has been discovered.  Venn has no idea that his past and present will soon collide in a major way. While Venn is a highly efficient detective, he also clearly has self-confidence issues making for a unique if somewhat puzzling character and somehow, I never fully connected to him.  

As the story unfolds, readers are introduced to a rather large support cast including Venn's husband Jonathan who is head of The Woodyard, a center for disabled adults.  Clues will soon tie the murder to this center as well as to some of its residents leaving readers to unravel the mystery as they work through the multiple plot lines and many lies and secrets people will do anything to keep hidden.  Red herrings are plentiful as this story slowly unfolds through twists and turns until near the end when the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, and the author ties it all together.  While the story moved a bit too slow for me, The Long Call will appeal to murder mystery fans who enjoy a slow moving case that's character driven - one in which they can follow the clues to solve the crime.  A well-written, highly atmospheric police procedural that tackles some tough issues.

My Rating:  3 Diverse Hearts

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥