Review of Christmas in Good Hope by Cindy Kirk

Christmas in Good Hope
A Good Hope Novel Book 1
By Cindy Kirk

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 302

Date Started: November 13, 2015
Date Finished: November 15, 2015

Synopsis:(From Amazon)51qtdZOxkGL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_
Ami and Beck would rather forget the past, but this Christmas of love is one to remember.

Amaryllis “Ami” Bloom’s cheerful smile greets everyone in Good Hope, Wisconsin. But her merry facade hides a dark secret she won’t ever forget. Still, she throws herself into celebrating Christmas—and convinces her handsome, and stubborn, new neighbor to join her.

Beckett Cross, however, is determined not to celebrate the holidays. He moved to Good Hope to leave behind reminders of how he’d had it all…and lost everything. But it’s hard to resist adorable Ami, the designated keeper of the small town’s holiday traditions, when she asks for help with the Twelve Nights celebrations. And Ami has a hard time resisting Beck’s soft Southern drawl and gentle eyes. Will a Christmas miracle give them a second chance at love and the hope to heal both of their hearts for good?

Review:
Usually I am apprehensive about reading books particularly designed for one time of year, but this book was positively delightful!  I received this book a month earlier than its release from kindle first, from being an Amazon prime member (it’s so worth it, even if just for the free book once a month!)  If you don’t have Amazon Prime, I would definitely ear mark this book for purchase next month.

Ami and Beck both have so much in their pasts that have hurt them, bothered them, and that they need to get over.  Although they both have their own shops to run and families they find themselves getting closer and closer.  They both need to heal, and need to move forward and make new memories.  One of the absolute best parts of this novel is that their jobs are a primary focus, and it gives the story more realism than many romance novels exhibit.  I would definitely eat at Blooms Bakery, and grab some grub at Muddy Boots.

This novel is sweet, deep, and will help get you in the Christmas spirit.  Go for it!  You won’t be disappointed.

61z2pEVrTtL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Cindy Kirk started writing after taking a class at a local community college. But her interest in the written word began years earlier when she was in her teens. At sixteen, she wrote in her diary: “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t be a writer.” When she returned to her first love—writing—she jumped feetfirst into book-length fiction. She loves reading and writing romance because she believes in the power of love and in happily ever after. An incurable romantic and an eternal optimist, Kirk loves seeing her characters grow and learn from their mistakes and, in the process, achieve a happy ending through the power of love. She and her high-school-sweetheart husband live in Nebraska with their two dogs.

You can find more books by Cindy at her Amazon page.

 

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Review of His Reluctant Bride by Sheena Morrish

His Reluctant Bride
By Sheena Morrish

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 179

Date Started: November 12, 2015
Date Finished: November 13, 2015

Synopsis:(From Amazon)23343260
Katy has been betrothed to Tariq since she was a young girl and has spent her whole life rebelling against it.

She moved as far away from her home country of Darlaya as she could and has dedicated her life to being independent. She thought that she had won her freedom. Until the day that Tariq showed up and showed her how wrong she was.

Now she is back in her homeland with a man she hates who insists they must marry and the worst part is that the more time she spends with him the more she finds herself falling for him.

Find out just how far Tariq will go to tame his reluctant bride.

Review:
Though this book did end up with three stars, I will say that it is a very low three.  The idea that this novel seems to present from the blurb on Amazon was enough to intrigue me into purchasing it, but that is as far as it goes.  There are far more questionable parts of this novel than there are pleasurable ones.  Blanket statements such as making love “in a rhythm as old as time” are both unimaginative and quickly pull one from the novel.  Though I can understand wanting to use fancy or uncommon words for things (I had been quite a fan of tresses instead of hair), the amount of times Katie plaited (aka braided) her hair was irritating, and was likely used to make it seem like she was doing something special.  There was a plethora of run on sentences and poor grammar, denoting that the book was poorly edited.  The most common and annoying lack of grammar was seen when talking of more than one mistress, in which case you would say mistresses, not mistress’s.

While I thought the overall idea of the novel was sound, the full product seems to be lacking.  Katie is supposed to be seen as an independent woman, yet caves in whenever Tariq kisses her.  Instead of talking to him and confronting him about her suspicions about Amber, she makes snide remarks without ever stating what she believes.  In the end, I am left with two questions relating to the content of this novel.  Did she ever go see her supposed friends Daniel and Gareth again, and pay them back for the money they lent her when she ran away to Paris?  Did she ever bother to tell Tariq she prefers Katie, not Catherine?

There are so many amazing books out there, and this is not one of them.  I suppose I was bound to buy a poor book being promoted by Amazon some day.  Definitely skip this.

Author Bio:
Sheena Morrish has no author biography up on Amazon, therefore there will not be one here.

 

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Review of UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale by Chanda Hahn

UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale
Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 1
By Chanda Hahn

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Number of Pages: 234

Date Started: November 10, 2015
Date Finished: November 11, 201513402447

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated; that is until she saves her crush’s life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her new found fame brings misfortune in the form of an old family curse come to light. For Mina is a descendant from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her its’ next fairy-tale victim. To break the fairy tale curse on her family and make these deadly occurrences stop, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.

Review:
The idea that this book series has is a wonderful one– a girl having to take on modern interpretations of the classic fairy tales.  The main characters have good characterization and it’s easy to empathize with them.  I loved the way that colours played into the novel!  I also love that Mina’s only real accomplice probably shouldn’t be working with her, given their differences.  I believe that there will be more to Mina’s little brother, Charlie, later on, and that he will play a pivotal role in the overall series.

The book did have some issues with blanket statements, such as stating that a girl laid claim to her boyfriend “as only a female high school student could.”  Another such statement being, “Brody was every girl’s dream guy.”  (Both of these examples are from Chapter 1)  There is a great little Harry Potter reference when Mina states she is “on cloud nine and three-quarters” in Chapter 7.  There were a few places that I thought could have used a better editing job, but overall, this was a good read.

It will be interesting to see where Hahn takes the books from here, and I look forward to learning more about Mina’s plight.

91AdQEkLXCL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Chanda Hahn is a NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY Bestselling Author. She uses her experience as a children’s pastor, children’s librarian and bookseller to write compelling and popular fiction for teens. She was born in Seattle, WA, grew up in Nebraska and currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their twin children.

Learn more about this author
visit her website www.ChandaHahn.com
Follower her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/chandahahnauthor
Follow her on twitter: www.twitter.com/chandahahn

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Cover art and public book readings: Oh my!

As of Monday the 5th I officially have my cover artist locked in!  I’m quite excited for what I believe will be an amazing image.  Please check out the amazing Terrazzo Creative Works.  While he has done some amazing things in the past, I’ve asked Leo to look into a completely new style for this cover, which I hope you’ll enjoy.

I’m also looking at doing my first public book reading, which is quite exciting in and of itself.  It will most likely be set for later this month, and there may be a chance of some participation giveaways.  Once there are more details to share, I will most definitely let you know.

Updates Complete!

I completed my back log of books read on kindle without reviews posted, which means that I am free!  Moreso, I am free enough to say that this update marks a transition from my old website book reviewing blog to my this page, which will now be linked on my Facebook page! A special thanks to all of those who have helped to create this website’s look and feel, and who have given feedback on the layout and appearance while it was still predominantly under construction.

The book I am currently reading, that I began on Monday, October 5, 2015, is the continuation of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Series, The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz.  I look forward to sharing my views on this once completed, and so far find it to have a fairly good set up.

If you have any books you would like to recommend or would like to comment on this website itself, please feel free to leave a message below.

Review of A Little Princess; being the whole story of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young People, Young Adult
Number of Pages: 2649781435142091_p0_v4_s260x420

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
At Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies, young Sara Crewe enjoys the friendship of her classmates and the staff–much to stern Miss Minchin’s disdain. When Sara is unexpectedly impoverished, she is forced to become a servant under Miss Minchin’s control. To escape her dreary life, Sara imagines herself a princess, and her experiences soon teach her that being a princess on the inside counts more than any outward expression of royalty.

Review:
I love this novel so much.  What’s wrong with being a princess?  Being a princess is hard work.  You have to remain poise and collected no matter what adversity strikes you.  You have to do what is good for all above what is good for yourself.  You must also be kind.  Are those not the attributes many like to see in not just women, but all people in society?  There is a great deal of difference between “princess” and “damsel in distress.”  Sara is an amazing character who, despite everything horrible going on around her, tries to remain strong and trustworthy for those who rely on her.And I still love the 1997 movie just as much, although there are some significant changes to what happens.  Most of the changes between the book and movie adaptation could have been done to make it easier to understand the complete story for a new generation, and to tell the story without having a three hour movie.

500px-Frances_BurnettAuthor Bio: (From Wikipedia)
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was an American-English writer of plays and prose fiction. She is best known for the three children’s novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

For more information, check out Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Wikipedia page.

 





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Review of Bewitching by Jill Barnett

Bewitching
By Jill Barnett

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 464

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)bewitching200
What’s a duke to do when a carefully selected bride rejects him rather than marry without love? He salvages his pride by marrying the next woman who falls into his arms. Joyous Fiona MacQuarrie bewitched the Duke of Belmore the moment she appeared from nowhere and knocked him over…literally. Joyous MacQuarrie is a Scottish witch whose powers of white magic are not always easy for her to control. When Alec’s pride makes him choose to marry her, Joy turns the life of the most serious and snobbish duke in England upside down. Too soon Alec finds his well ordered and controlled life a mess, because he married a witch–one who turns him to fire when he kisses her, who charms everyone around her, and threatens to destroy both their lives as scandal looms over her. Too late, Joy discovers she’s desperately in love and not even the strongest magic can seem to turn her into a proper duchess, or make her husband love her. Passion holds them spellbound in an irresistibly funny and tender tale of two opposite but lonely hearts.

Review:
Joyous was quite easy to relate to, as many of us have had things we have wanted to badly to be good at and yet fail, despite our best attempts.  Schooling is quite reflective of Joy’s trials, since many have a subject they simply cannot master, even if they are interested in it.  While necessary, I found the opening chapter of the novel tedious and a bit boring, though that could be seen as how life seemed for Joy as she tried to master her magic.  Once past the beginning I couldn’t help but become enthralled within the story, but I had to push myself over that hump to get into the meat of the tale.  Nothing is as it seems within the depths of Bewitching, and with great use of foreshadowing and hidden agendas, it is impossible not to fall bewitched yourself.

41xswK+IwUL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)


Check out Jill Barnett’s Amazon page.







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Review of A Witch’s Concern by N. E. Conneely

A Witch’s Concern
Book 4 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 237

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)25010389
Michelle has been figuring out what her life is like now that the demon has been killed, and Sylvia and Varro are dead. Even the clans of witches trying to attract her to their way of life have backed off and given her a chance to grieve. Her relationship with Elron is stronger than ever, but there are things left unsaid.

On the way to her parents’ wedding, the delicate calm she’d been living in is broken. Witches are out for her blood, her family is caught in the crossfire, and friendships are threatened. Work doesn’t let up either, and she partners up with Elron to deal with magic gone wild. Michelle finds that her problems are larger than one clan of witches, and is forced to choose between the people she holds dear and the way of life she loves.

This is the fourth book in a series, following A Witch’s Trial. It is a standalone novel, however, your reading experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve read the previous books.

Review:
After such an odd and life changing ending as seen in A Witch’s Trial which I reviewed I absolutely had to know what came next for Elron and Michelle.  The progress they have made from disliking each other is astounding, and I was quite glad, because it was something I had wanted to see from the first book in the series.  This book held a lot of questions for me, namely about why Elron and Michelle are choosing to stay so distanced.  I am hoping that this question will be answered in the future, so I will not get into detail about what, in particular, I kept expecting to see.  While this novel had the same issues as the previous ones, this time part of the descriptions actually mattered, which made me quite pleased.  Certain locations that are frequently referenced also had major impacts on the story, with important plot points happening there.

Unfortunately, while there was a lot about this novel that is different from previous ones, the plot itself seemed more of a run off from the end of the previous book, and not powerful enough or gripping enough to have been made into a whole novel on its own.  While the page count was around the same as the last couple of books, I felt as if the story as a whole was more of a novella than a novel.  I loved the ending, and look forward to reading more in the future, but I wish that some of the happenings that seemed like side events were more important in this novel (though it is evident they will be important plot points in books to come).

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of A Witch’s Trial by N. E. Conneely

A Witch’s Trial
Book 3 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 236

Season Read: Fall

 81z+OWT3CLL
Synopsis:(From Amazon)
When Michelle pulls an old book out of a fire, she finds answers and heartbreak. The book confirms that a demon walks the land, though according to legend they were all dead. Now, she needs to rediscover the secrets to killing demons before her loved ones fall victim.
Elron’s budding relationship with Michelle suffers a blow when his mate returns. While he struggles with love and guilt, it becomes clear that not everyone gets their happily-ever-after.

This is the third book in a series, following Witch for Hire and A Witch’s Path. Your reading experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve read the previous books.

Review:
Once I read the 2nd book in A Witch’s Path series, titled, A Witch’s Path which I reviewed I wanted more, immediately.  So I went forth and purchased this third book and began to read.  While not everyone gets their happily ever after, how they have to go about preserving the future is likely not something anyone but Conneely could have dreamt up.  Though A Witch’s Trial suffers from some of the same issues as the previous novel (too much detail/description of unimportant things), the story itself is gripping, and has some great foreshadowing throughout.  The further we continue into Michelle’s world, the more we get to understand her relationships, which makes her even more human.  A Witch’s Trial is a great read, which will have you quickly buying book four to continue the adventure.

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Thank you! 

Review of A Witch’s Path by N. E. Conneely

A Witch’s Path
Book 2 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 240

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)21570552
After a near death experience, Michelle has vowed to do her job, magical assistance for the police, and leave the heroics to someone else. Besides, life should be settling down for her since the trolls have been captured and the sorceress was neutralized. Unfortunately, the power behind the sorceress wants her dead, Elron starts acting funny, a magical creature wreaks havoc on a town, and there’s trouble with the werewolves. As if that wasn’t enough, the clans have started to notice her power and she has more reasons than ever to fear the clans.

Things go from bad to worse when Michelle’s best friend is abducted, and she must decide between her friend and her vow to stay out of dangerous situations.

A Witch’s Path is the sequel to Witch for Hire and continues the story of Michelle and Elron.

Review:
Wasn’t really sure what I felt like reading, but I suddenly remembered that Witch for Hire had a sequel/was the beginning of a series, so I bought A Witch’s Path and decided to read on.  Oh my goodness!  While there are some lulls in the novel, predominantly over description that is simply unnecessary, and some grammatical/editing errors, this series is a gem!  I absolutely adore the characters and find them easy to relate to (though I forget what colour Michelle’s hair is, perhaps because her friend Amber’s hair is always described in such detail).  Although I had a slight hunch over one of the big bad evils to emerge, it floored me when I found out exactly who it was.  Definitely not a novel to be missed!

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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If you like this review, and the writing style of this quirky reviewer, please consider visiting and liking my Facebook author page: Lizzy March.

Thank you!