Book

Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) By: Penny Reid

truth-or-beard

Truth or Beard (Winston Brothers #1) By: Penny Reid

Plot:

Beards, brothers, and bikers! Oh my!

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level-headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life.

His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang, the Iron Order.

Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk?

Review:

I read this sample a while ago and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately the price of the ebook was outside of my normal price range, thankfully this went on sale a few weeks ago and I was able to pick it up.

Anyway, this book is set in a part of the US that I’ve lived in, which was fun. While I haven’t lived in a town quiet that small, it seemed pretty accurate.

I liked the Winston brothers a lot, Cletus was definitely my favorite. Duane was kind of boring, even though he was supposed to be kind of a daredevil. He was honestly like a normal man from that area, in my opinion.

I was concerned about Jessica at first. Scared that she would completely give up on her dreams, but that thankfully didn’t happen.

All in all, I liked the book, however I felt like it was kind of long. It took Duane too long to get past certain things and there was a lot of introspection that I could have done without. I liked the book and really liked the brothers, but I’m not in a rush to read the next in the series.

3.5/5

Witch for Hire (Witch for Hire #1) By: N.E. Conneely

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Witch for Hire (Witch for Hire #1) By: N.E. Conneely

Plot:

Most witches don’t work for police departments, but Michelle isn’t your average witch. She’s clanless, looking for a warlock who isn’t offended by her lack of family connections, and in danger of losing her job if she can’t find the escaped trolls before they start eating the local residents. Trolls, angry police, and misbehaving spells are the least of her problems. Statues attacking homeowners might be problematic for your average witch, but to Michelle it’s another day at the office. Her real concern is the wizard suddenly interested in dating her and an old elf set on pestering her. When her happy family is rocked by a long kept secret her stable life falls apart faster than she can pick up the pieces. And she still hasn’t found those trolls.
Review:

This was a pleasant surprise. I honestly can’t remember when I got this book, it’s been sitting on my kindle for a long time apparently.

First off, the world that was created was fleshed out and felt new and interesting. Well, maybe not new, but it wasn’t just your typical add supernatural elements and stir. The supernatural has always existed and humans at some point had been slaves. There was history and little things for each species, it was interesting and fresh for me.

Second, I really liked how the story progressed. You were basically just following Michelle around in her life with no indication that anything bigger might happen. It was fairly chill up until the end and even that wasn’t too balls to the wall. It was a nice change of pace from constant action in an urban fantasy, but it was by no means boring. Getting to see the world and all that was going on made things fun.

Those two points really made me enjoy the book. Michelle as a character isn’t anything amazing, but she has the possibility to grow on me. There were also a few other characters that I enjoyed, though, I hope the secrecy around her parents isn’t dragged out.

All in all, I’m excited to have found this book and I’m looking forward to the next.

4/5

Scared Witchless (Bless Your Witch #1) By: Amy Boyles

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Scared Witchless (Bless Your Witch #1) By: Amy Boyles

Plot:

A witch. A murder. A wedding dress?
Dylan Apel is having one heck of a summer. She knows her hand-made clothing is special, but magical? Discovering that she’s a witch is bad enough, but when Dylan realizes there are folks who’ll kill to possess her witchy powers— that’s enough to make a girl want to hide out in the back of her boutique. Only problem is, Queen Witch is in town, itchin’ to make sure Dylan learns to cast spells, and this witch won’t take no for an answer.

Dylan must learn fast—someone just killed her best client with a poisoned gown meant for Dylan. Was it the tall, mysterious hottie in black, who’s suddenly everywhere she goes? After all, the first thing Roman Bane says is he doesn’t like witches. Is he here to save her, or kill her?

Dylan is barely getting a handle on her new powers when she finds herself surrounded by witches bossing her this way and that, local police nosing about, and wary clients—death by clothing is not good for business. And the solstice is coming … a time when witch powers are at their peak. Can Dylan survive the chaos long enough to figure out her new life?

Review:

A while ago I was looking for a paranormal cozy and I kept picking up books that weren’t what I was looking for, this, finally, is exactly what I was trying to find. An interesting magic system and a nice cast of characters. I did think there could have been more development on the character front, there might have been too much focused on magic, but they did just discover they were witches. I found the grandmother to be more annoying than kooky or endearing. I also didn’t like how the romance ended, Dylan was being too insecure on that front and I’m concerned that might dominate too much in future books.

3.5/5

Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares #7) By: Lisa Shearin

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Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares #7) By: Lisa Shearin

Plot:

Name: Raine Benares
Race: Elf
Job: Seeker, bride, peace talks referee
Problem: Back-stabbing diplomats, bride-hating mother-in-law

You would think that after having successfully destroyed the Saghred (aka, a legendary soul-sucking rock) and sending an evil goblin demigod to the Lower Hells that I would get some time off to plan my wedding to my sexy paladin fiancé Mychael Eiliesor, right? Wrong. Not only do I have to brace for meeting Mychael’s parents and cope with my burgeoning new powers, but it seems there may be another calamity brewing.

After the recent change in goblin leadership, the new—thankfully non-psychotic—king is willing to participate in an elf/goblin/human peace treaty. The Isle of Mid is the site of these delicate negotiations, meaning all hands on deck for Mychael and his Conclave Guardians. When the head of elven intelligence (and my wedding guest) Duke Markus Sevelien is nearly assassinated upon his arrival, I suspect my mother-in-law will be the least of my concerns. Sabotaging these talks may be only the first salvo in a treacherous and deadly new apocalyptic plot!

Review:

There were four years in between when this book was published and the last one, so it’s been a while since I’ve read these characters. It’s kind of weird because from what I do remember the last book was supposed to be the last book so I’m not sure why this book was made.

As a reader there are series that I absolutely love and the idea of them ending causes an almost physical pain, but at the same time I’ve seen enough series run too long and suffer because of it and I’d much rather still love the series when it ends. Some characters and worlds will always have stories to tell, but sometimes you need to at least leave some characters alone and move on.

As an author I understand that it can be difficult to get readers to go with you to a new series, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. When you rely on one series for your entire income and the second one isn’t doing as well it can be tempting to go back to your cash cow. I don’t know Shearin so I don’t know if that’s what happened here, but I wonder.

Looking at a few reviews on Goodreads there were several people complaining about the ending on the previous book and the lack of closure so maybe this book is for them.

Anyway, Wedding Bells, Magic Spells was alright. Plenty of epic stuff going on, lots of governments in peril, it was just difficult to get back into caring about the characters since it’s been so long since I read them. Also it ended on a cliffhanger which means that there will be more books.

3/5

Lost Stars (Journey to Star Wars- The Force Awakens) By: Claudia Gray

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Lost Stars (Journey to Star Wars- The Force Awakens) By: Claudia Gray

Plot:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Eight years after the fall of the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire now reigns over the known galaxy. Resistance to the Empire has been all but silenced. Only a few courageous leaders such as Bail Organa of Alderaan still dare to openly oppose Emperor Palpatine.

After years of defiance, the many worlds at the edge of the Outer Rim have surrendered. With each planet’s conquest, the Empire’s might grows stronger.

The latest to fall under the Emperor’s control is the isolated mountain planet Jelucan, whose citizens hope for a more prosperous future even as the Imperial Starfleet gathers overhead…

Review:

Wow was not expecting this when I picked up a young adult Star Wars novel. I’d heard good things, but I still didn’t expect to have a book that so capably portrayed both sides of a conflict. Gray showed how two people raised on the same planet with different ideals could look at the same things and come to different conclusions. It didn’t make one better than the other either. Yes one ended up on the “right” side, but you could see clearly why the other was still on the “wrong” it was very well written.

From the start I suspected that the ending would be sad and when I got to the halfway point I thought it was pretty much guaranteed but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I wish there’d been a bit more, but the ending was touching.

Very happy with this book and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who’s a Star Wars fan, no matter what the age.

5/5