The City of Lost Fortunes (A Crescent City Novel), by Bryan Camp ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Diversity, Mystery, New Orleans, Suspense, Urban Fantasy

Thanks to Edelweiss and John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: Available Now 

384 Pages

Synopsis :

The fate of New Orleans lies in the hands of a wayward grifter in this novel of gods, games, and monsters.

The post-Katrina New Orleans of  ‘The City of Lost Fortunes’, is a place haunted by its history and by the hurricane’s destruction, a place that is hoping to survive the rebuilding of its present long enough to ensure it has a future. Street magician Jude Dubuisson is likewise burdened by his past and by the consequences of the storm, because he has a secret: the magical ability to find lost things, a gift passed down to him by the father he has never known—-a father who just happens to be more than human.

Jude has been lying low since the storm, which caused so many things to be lost that it played havoc with his magic, and he is hiding from his own power, his divine former employer, and a debt owed to the Fortune god of New Orleans. But his six-year retirement ends abruptly when the Fortune god is murdered and Jude is drawn back into the world he tried so desperately to leave behind. A world full of magic, monsters, and miracles. A world where he must find out who is responsible for the Fortune god’s death, uncover the plot that threatens the city’s soul, and discover what his talent for lost things has been trying to show him: what it means to be his father’s son.

I have one word after reading City of Lost Fortunes: WONDROUS! I gobbled this up in two sittings, and the only reason why it took me that long is because my mean husband made me go to bed.

While I haven’t yet been to New Orleans, the city, people, and history have held a peculiar fascination for me since childhood. So, I was especially excited when I read the premise for this debut novel. Add in magic, mythology, and the supernatural, and my expectations went through the roof. 

There are several different mythologies mixed up in this book and one of the things I loved was how the author started each chapter with a short paragraph detailing how various mythologies describe a particular situation in their own way, but how they all share commonalities. With so many religions and myths being brought together this could have easily been a confusing mess, but Bryan Camp fuses everything together smoothly and efficiently. 

The large cast of diverse characters are brilliantly written and I already have several favorites. The hero, Jude, is someone you just can’t help fall in love with. He has many issues stemming from his dysfunctional childhood, the absence of his father, and the trauma of his “gift”. He’s made mistakes along the way but he also carries the weight of them and makes amends when he can. Jude winds up becoming a metaphor for New Orleans. The disruption of his magic ties directly into the destruction of the city, and as a reader you can’t help but feel these losses keenly. I have to be honest and say there’s a slight info dump in the beginning regarding Jude and his backstory, but I’m not taking any points off because it’s so minor and the rest of the book is so good, that it’s just not worth complaining about.

As marvelous as the supernatural and magical elements are, at its heart, this book pays tribute to the city of New Orleans and the resilience of its citizens. The descriptions of the music, food, architecture, and people bring the city to life and it literally becomes a character in its own right. In the afterward, Bryan Camp talks about how he began writing this in the back of his parents’ car as they were evacuating before Katrina hit. It’s worth reading because it gives you an additional sense of how much love was poured into this book. 

The City of Lost Fortunes is a literary feast for the mind and soul, and I cannot recommend it highly enough! If you’re a fan of  authors like Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Clive Barker, and Kevin Hearne, you need to read this ASAP! While I can’t wait for the sequel, I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that this is just the beginning of a long-running series.

 

 

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The Beloveds, by Maureen Lindley ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

336 Pages

Synopsis: Oh to be a Beloved—-one of those lucky people for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Everything falls into their laps without effort: happiness, beauty, good fortune, allure. 

Betty Stash is not a Beloved—-but her little sister, the delightful Gloria, is. She’s the one with the golden curls, and sunny disposition and captivating smile, the one whose best friend used to be Betty’s, the one whose husband should have been Betty’s. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Gloria inherits the family manse—-a vast, gorgeous pile of ancient stone, imposing timbers, and lush gardens—-that was never meant to be hers.

Losing what Betty considers her rightful inheritance is the final indignity. As she single-mindedly pursues her plan to see the estate returned to her in all its glory, her determined and increasingly unhinged behavior—-aided by poisonous mushrooms, talking walls, and a phantom dog—-escalates to the point of no return. ‘The Beloveds’ will have you wondering if there’s a length to which an envious sister won’t go.

The Beloveds left me with some mixed feelings. I love stories where the main character is twisted, and Betty is definitely someone with major issues. From her creepy obsession with her childhood home, Pitpits, to her pathological resentment of her sister Gloria which goes back to their childhood, she’s an unlikable narrator who only cares about one person: herself. She’s quite the complex personality who resents beautiful people, but loves beautiful things. The problem I ran into with her, was for the first half of the book, her complaints just seemed to drone on and on which I found tedious after awhile. 

The other problem I had was, that I found it unfathomable that no one, especially Betty’s sister Gloria and her husband Henry, never seemed to catch on to how dangerous she really was. Betty is highly intelligent, but she’s not very good at hiding her contempt and indifference toward others. And once she starts acting on her obsessions, I just expected them to catch on. I mean Gloria has a background in psychology but is absolutely clueless in regards to her sister’s mental health issues. 

In the second half of the book, the pace picks up considerably, as Betty goes further down the rabbit hole and begins to put her scheming into action, but I was disappointed in the anticlimactic ending.

The Beloveds had moments of intrigue and tension-filled suspense, but in the end, I was left wanting more from both the characters and the story. I am very much in the minority with my opinion though, as the book has received a majority of 4-5 star reviews on Goodreads. So, if you like contemporary fiction with a Gothic feel and stories narrated by twisted, unreliable characters, I still recommend this. 

 

Scourged (The Iron Druid Chronicles #9), by Kevin Hearne ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mythology, Suspense, Urban Fantasy

Thanks to Edelweiss and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 3rd, 2018

288 Pages

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns with the finale to his wildly popular action-adventure series, The Iron Druid Chronicles.

Two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan travels to Asgard and faces off against the Norse gods to try and prevent Ragnarok in the final battle for the fate of mankind.

I have to admit that Scourged wasn’t all I was hoping for, especially given that it’s the last book in the Iron Druid series. 

My first disappointment concerns Granuaile. I haven’t cared for the direction her story arc has taken in the last two or three books, and her decision making in this one just continued that. Owen however is brilliant as are the dogs and they all provide some much needed levity in this otherwise dark story.

The worst letdown though concerns Atticus and Ragnarok. Almost the entire series has been leading to this epic battle with the Norse gods, but there just wasn’t enough excitement and Atticus seemed to be missing his usual spark. The ending is bittersweet, but entirely in keeping with the events leading up to it.

Overall, Scourged had its positive moments and wasn’t a terrible read, but I wish it had maintained all of the exuberance and enchantment the earlier books. Judging the series in its entirety though, the Iron Druid is still one of my favorites and I’m sad to bid it adieu.

Hold Back the Dark (Bishop/Special Crimes Unit #18), by Kay Hooper ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Suspense, Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 3rd, 2018

352 Pages

Synopsis: Madness has taken hold of Prosperity, North Carolina. Residents are killing each other, as if in a dream, and waking up with no memory of the monstrous acts they’ve committed—-or why. As the death toll climbs, the local sheriff’s department is further rocked by a murder carried out by their own. Deputy Katie Cole knows that whatever monster is afoot is beyond her scope…

The Special Crimes Unit is called in for their specific brand of investigation. It will take all their training, all their experience, and every extra sense they can call on to get to the bottom of things in Prosperity. And as a dark pattern begins to emerge, even the most experienced and hardened SCU agents have to wonder if this is beyond their understanding.

I’ve been an avid of this series since the first book, Stealing Shadows was released in 2000 and one of the main reasons is because every time I pick up a new book in the series, I feel like I’m meeting up with old friends. Hold Back the Dark was no different. Although it seemed a little slower for things to start this time, that may have been because somehow I missed the two previous books. It didn’t take long for me to get sucked right back in to this dangerous world with the elite Special Crimes Unit and they’re civilian counterpart, Haven. The story is told in the third person by several agents, but this works really well as they’re all working the same case, and it actually lets you get to know them more. The only other criticism I have is that I thought the ending came together a little too quickly, but it tied up all the loose ends and set things up nicely for the next book.

The Bishop/Special Crime series is another one of my favorites and Hold Back the Dark did not disappoint. Although it’s a long running series, you could technically read this as a stand-alone. Kay Hooper always thoughtfully provides at the end of each book a list of the agents and what their psychic powers are and which books they’ve appeared in thus far. She also provides a glossary of the powers themselves. However, if you have time, I suggest you go back to the beginning because you’ll get to know each agent so much more personally and that truly adds to the overall mythology arc of the series, which, while it has a multilayered storyline and is action packed, is also very much character driven. I highly recommend Hold Back the Dark and the previous books to readers who love police procedurals, thrillers and suspense, with the occasional romance thrown in, and plenty of exciting paranormal powers.

Best Seller, by Susan May ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Book Publishing, Supernatural, Thriller

I’d like to thank Susan May for sending me an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

462 Pages

Synopsis: JEALOUSY IS A GREEN-EYED MONSTER AND HIS NAME IS WILLIAM BARNES.

A girl with power over luck. An obsessed author consumed with envy. Two nemeses drawn down a path from which only one will return.

After witnessing her mother’s brutal murder, ten-year-old Nem’s life seems destined for tragedy. Then she discovers an old journal which holds an incredible secret. Nem now possesses the ability to control the fortunes of others. It is said that luck is probability taken personally, and she’s about to get personal with her own brand of justice.

Decades later, the literary world hails William Barnes’ debut as a masterpiece. His best seller success, though, doesn’t survive his next two books. Readers abandon him, his publisher cancels his contract, and his agent isn’t returning his calls. 

Meanwhile his undeserving protégé, Orelia Mason, enjoys a meteoric rise in the charts, coinciding suspiciously with his fall. So William embarks on a plan to win back the life he’s certain she’s stolen. If people die along the way, well that’s their problem. He’ll discover though, that’s battling fate when luck is not on your side can be a deadly game. 

This is A Star is Born meets A Portrait of Dorian Gray and the consequences are not pretty. In fact they’re darn well bloody.

From the internationally best selling author readers call the new Stephen King, comes a dark and twisted tale of jealousy, revenge, and a very special power.

I first saw Best Seller reviewed over on Carrie’s blog at http://carriesbookreviews.com After reading her 5 star, stellar review, I knew I had to try to get my hands on this, and at her suggestion, reached out to the author on Goodreads. I was thrilled when Susan May graciously sent me an ebook and I’m even more delighted to say that the book is everything that Carrie said it was.

The story alternates between Nem’s and William’s POVs, and while right up until the halfway point, I had pretty much made up my mind who was the protagonist and who was the antagonist, everything wound up being completely upended much to my surprise.

The plot itself is creatively ingenious and manages to perfectly meld the real world difficulties of becoming a bestselling author (and remaining one), with a fantastic supernatural addition. Thanks to plenty of twists and turns which happen right up until the shocking end, the pace was breathtakingly fast which had me finishing the almost 500 page book in two sittings. 

Best Seller is a fun and exciting read from beginning to end, and I HIGHLY recommend it! This is the first book I’ve read by Susan May, but it certainly won’t be my last!

Glimpse, by Jonathan Maberry ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Addiction, Adult Fiction, Horror, Supernatural

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 27th, 2018

352 Pages

Synopsis: How far would you be willing to go to save those you love?

Rain is a young woman trying to rebuild herself after years of drug addiction and abuse. Ten years ago, at the age of sixteen, she gave up her baby after the father , her first love, dies in Iraq. Now, three years clean and on the way to a job interview, Rain borrows a pair of reading glasses from an old lady on a Brooklyn train. The lenses are cracked and through the crack she catches a glimpse of a little boy running and screaming. The boy looks so much like Rain’s dead lover. Like their son must look like now.

Rain realizes that the glasses give her quick glimpses of her lost son Dylan, who needs her to find him. Dylan is important to our damaged, hopeless world. But he’s in terrible trouble because evil creatures—-the Shadow People—-are trying to corrupt and destroy him. If Dylan dies, then hope dies. 

But how does a recovering junkie fight supernatural monsters? And how far will one woman go to saver her lost son?

One of my favorite horror trilogies is Jonathan Maberry’s Pine Deep, and I also have quite enjoyed his long running Joe Ledger series. So when I saw the standalone novel Glimpse, I was quite excited. After finishing it last night, I don’t think it’s one of his best novels, but I’m still glad I read it.

Part of the problem is that this is a horror story, but it takes quite awhile for things to get going. I don’t mind slow burning plots most of the time, but in this case it just seemed to take too long for the excitement to build. 

Another issue for me was with these two characters, Gay Bob and Straight Bob. I’m not sure why Maberry chose to bestow upon them these unfortunate monikers, but it was annoying and distracting and I know other reviewers have commented on this as well, so I know it’s not just me.

There were parts of the book I loved. Rain, the main character is complex yet entirely empathetic, especially when more of her background is revealed. She’s coping with guilt, grief, memory loss and trying to recover from drug addiction, so when she’s first introduced she’s in a very fragile state. Yet she’s determined and doesn’t run from this supernatural fight. And Monk, the tattooed, psychic private investigator, Rain teams up with, in my opinion deserves a series of his own. And then there’s the bogeyman of the story who is such a nasty piece of work that most of the characters won’t even use his name. He was a fantastic villain. 

To me, Glimpse was reminiscent of Stephen King’s Dr. Sleep and Joe Hill’s NOS4RT2, so if you’re a fan of these, you may want to try this. Despite the few issues I had with it, there was still a good part of the book I enjoyed. The story is complex and the characters are memorable and although it’s technically a standalone, I could see it being developed into a series and if that did happen, I’d definitely keep reading. 

 

After Anna, by Lisa Scottoline ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Legal Thriller, Mystery

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 10th, 2018

352 Pages

Synopsis: Nobody cuts deeper than family…

Noah Alderman, a doctor and a widower, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie, and for the first time in a long time he and his son are happy. But their lives are turned upside down when Maggie’s daughter Anna moves in with them. Anna is a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble that is brewing. Events take a deadly turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused of the crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her only daughter, but the realization that her daughter’s murder was at the hands of a husband she loves. New information sends Maggie searching for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she ever could have imagined. 

Lisa Scottoline is known for her breathless, fast-paced plots, and After Anna is another fine example of this. However, I did have a few issues with this story and I don’t think this was one of the author’s best. 

While I love evil teenage girls, to have one who wrongfully accuses an innocent of man of sexual assault made me uncomfortable given the current social climate. Of course cases like this happen, but I don’t think now is the right time to include that as part of a plot, given the #timesup and #metoo movements and our misogynistic assaulter-in-chief.

The other problem I had was with the somewhat awkward dialogue. With the exception of Noah’s young son Caleb, the characters don’t always come off as believable or relatable and the stilted way they speak doesn’t help. Noah is also just way too perfect to be realistic, and while Maggie is a sympathetic character, the way she puts all her trust in this teenager who she’s never met whose actions are highly suspicious, and immediately believes her accusations over the denials of the husband she adores, didn’t make sense.

A good chunk of the book is spent in the courtroom, so if you’re a fan of legal thrillers, as I am, I think you’ll enjoy this. There’s an unnecessary prison subplot though that I felt added nothing to the main narrative. The last quarter of the book turned into a crusade and the entire resolution resided with the villain voluntarily coming clean. The speed in which everything was tied up at the end, wasn’t believable and left several gaping plot holes.

I’m a fan of Lisa Scottoline, so although I don’t think After Anna is one of her best novels, it won’t stop me from reading her future books. There are many reviewers on Goodreads who enjoyed this more than I did, so I’d encourage you to check out their reviews as well if you’re mulling over whether to try this.

 

 

 

The Bad Daughter, by Joy Fielding ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Families, Mystery

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review review.

Release Date: Available Now

368 Pages

Synopsis: What first appears to be a random home invasion reveals a family’s dark secrets in this domestic ticking-clock suspense from the New York Times bestselling author of See Jane Run.

A hostile relationship with her sister and a complicated past with her father’s second wife have kept Robin estranged from her family for many years. But when her father’s new family is attacked in their house, with her father, his wife, and young daughter in critical condition in the hospital, she returns home to await their fate and hopefully mend fences. It looks like a robbery gone awry, but as Robin spends more time with her family members, she learns they all have their secrets—-and one of those secrets may have put them all in horrible danger.

Joy fielding has been one of my favorite authors in the genres of mystery, suspense, and thrillers, but I have to admit that despite the exciting sounding premise, The Bad Daughter was disappointing for me. 

The pace was much slower than what I’ve come to expect from this prolific author. It’s a domestic drama (which most of her books are), with a mystery thrown in, but not much of the suspense that I’ve come to expect from her. None of the characters are well developed, but the one who annoyed me the most was Robin. She was entirely too bland and passive for me, and I was unable to connect with her despite her suffering from panic and anxiety attacks. The majority of the story focuses on Robin’s dysfunctional relationship with her one-dimensional angry and aggressive sister Melanie. I would have liked a couple of the secondary characters to have been given bigger roles, especially Blake who was the sole voice of reason, but alas, it never happened. 

To me, the villain was fairly obvious early on, and I couldn’t believe no one guessed who it was, particularly Robin, as she’s a therapist. There’s some weak reasoning provided to try to explain this, but I just didn’t buy it so the ending turned out to be anticlimactic for me.

While The Bad Daughter wasn’t my favorite novel by Joy Fielding, she’s been a bestselling author for over four decades, so I’m by no means giving up on her. I’m already looking forward to her next novel. 

 

Moonbreaker (Secret Histories #11) by, Simon Green ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Ace for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: My name is Eddie Drood, aka Shaman Bond, the very secret agent. And I am a dead man walking.

I’ve been poisoned by Dr. DOA. There is no cure, no treatment, no chance of a last-minute miracle. So all that is left to me and my love, Molly Metcalf, is to track down my killer and stop him before he can murder anyone else.

So whether that means fighting a secret army on another world; or searching for a forgotten weapon in the Museum of Unattached Oddities; or facing off against Grendel Rex, the Unforgiven God, in the hidden heart of the Moon, for the terrible secret that is Moonbreaker…I will do whatever it takes, while I still can. Because the game isn’t over till I say it’s over–and I still have one last card to play.

Moonbreaker is another fantastic entry in the long-running Secret Histories series. If you don’t remember my reviews on previous books, this series is a magical and science fiction play on James Bond. As always I caution you that if you haven’t read the previous books you need to start at the beginning, or as what’s happened to Eddie on occasion, you may become hopelessly lost on another world or in another dimension.

Whenever a series goes on this long, there’s a danger of monotony setting in due to a lack of fresh ideas. But this isn’t the case here. Simon Green is an author who continually amazes me with his seemingly boundless imagination. The Secret Histories books are constantly fun, roller-coaster thrill rides filled with plenty of humor, snark, and sass amidst all the bloody mayhem. Each book begins with a new danger that undoubtedly will not only wipe out Eddie and the intimidating and scary Drood family, but quite possibly the world, yet Eddie, with the able assistance of his enemy turned true love, wild witch Molly Metcalf, always manages to save the day. You would think this would get old but it doesn’t. This is due to the way Green effortlessly creates new creatures, villains, magics, and science. And the powerful Drood family who has been around for millennia, has no shortage of enemies, even Eddie, who’s the moral one of the family. 

Picking up where the previous book, Dr. DOA left off, Eddie is slowly dying from a seemingly incurable poison that not even his powerful family can decipher. Even his soulmate the magic of his soulmate Molly comes up short. For the first time, it seems like this could be curtains for Eddie, who up until now, has seemed to have more lives than a cat. I was actually nervous going into this because honestly, this time I just didn’t see anyway out for him. But, in the end, and yes this is a spoiler, he perseveres. Just like all his other perilous adventures, it’s not quick or tidy, but he lives on to fight another day, although not before making my own heart stop a few times. 

I honestly cannot convey how much I LOVE this series and Moonbreaker once again proves why. If  you’re new to this series and you love exciting science fiction and fantasy mixed with tongue-in-cheek humor, you simply have to try these books. Do it for me! Please! I 100% guarantee you will not regret it. I’m both looking forward to and dreading the finale of the series, Night Fall, which is due out on 6/12/18. It looks to join with Green’s other popular series, the Nightside, so this should be the mother of all endings. I’m prepared to have a box of tissues handy because I know I’m going to have a downright impossible time letting go of Eddie, Molly, and even the those insufferable, yet likable quirky Droods.

 

 

 

 

Her Last Secret, by Barbara Copperthwaite ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

382 Pages

Synopsis: There are some secrets you can never tell.

The last thing to go through Dominique Thomas’s head was the image of her teenage daughter’s face and her heart lifted. Then the shot rang out.

They were the perfect family. Successful businessman Ben Thomas and his wife Dominique live an enviable life, along with their beautiful children; teenager Ruby and quirky younger daughter, Mouse.

But when Ruby’s diary is discovered, revealing her rage at the world around her, police are forced to look closer at home for the key to this tragedy.

Each family member harboured their own dark truths—but has keeping their secrets pushed Ruby to the edge of sanity? Or are there darker forces at work?

I’m sorry guys, but this is going to be another short review. The good news though, is that I loved Her Last Secret. While there have been plenty of books about seemingly picture perfect families who are hiding deep dark secrets behind their closed doors, Barbara Copperthwaite gives this theme her own exciting spin. From the shocking opening scene, the tension keeps building right up to the surprising conclusion. It’s a character-driven story that kept me completely captivated, questioning not only who did it, but why. This is the third book I’ve read by Barbara Copperthwaite and she hasn’t disappointed me yet.  I highly recommend Her Last Secret to fans of slow burning psychological suspense with untrustworthy characters and plenty of drama.