Sunday, February 12, 2023

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

 


Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb - 4.5 Stars - What a great foundational fantasty story to start this long series! 

#HobbEmotionalSupportGroup 1-800-HOBB-HALP🤣

As someone who doesn't read a ton of fantasy and continues to dip her toes in different types of fantasy reads, this book was a great foundational fantasy story to our world, characters and journey for our main character, Fitz. Told in first person, we follow a young boy, Fitz, at 6 years old through what I believe was 13 or 14 years old in this first book as he learns about his father/relations, is taken into an apprenceship to train and must embrace his new life on the road to beocming a royal assassin. He's learning about weaponry, scribing, courtly manners, how to kill, nobility etc. His life is tough throughout the story and you keep wondering is life going to get any better for poor ol' Fitz?! You grow to love him so much and continuosly root for him. We have a lot of political intrigue throughout the story too. The magic system in this is very interesting! I enjoyed learning about the telepathic magic / wit magic skills and look forward to seeing more of that evolve in other books. Also liked seeing Fitz and the Fool together. The Fool is such an interesting character to me!

Overall, really enjoyed this start to Fitz's journey and can't wait to continue on. Hobb knows how to get you SO INVESTED in her characters and you are LITERALLY going on this journey with them and feeling everything they are feeling. THE ENDING HAD ME IN TEARS AND I MUST CONTINUE ON SOOOOON!


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Friday, February 10, 2023

Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

 


Tribulation Force - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - 5 Stars - WOW WHAT A BOOK!

WOW. Book 2 after Left Behind was so good! We continue the story of Rayford, Buck, Bruce, Chloe as they formed the Tribulation Force to stand and fight the enemies of God during the 7 year tribulation after the rapture. THE ENDING was intense and just...WOW. Love how this story is unfolding and coming together. Love our characters. What a classic where there is never a dull moment.

We also really get to see great development between Rayford and his daughter Chloe. And then developments between Buck and Chloe in their relationship. Some of the way Chloe was acting with the miscommunication was annoying but still loved everything coming together in this story. Can't wait to dive into the next one.


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Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson



Barking up the Wrong Tree - Janice Thompson - 4 Stars - really enjoyed this!

Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson is book 3 in the Gone to the Dogs Christian Mystery series. I have really enjoyed each book in this series so far. Each has been 4 stars! In this book, we follow Veterinarian Kristin Keller who realizes the Atkinson family champion sheltie dog, Remington, has somehow been stolen and switched with another almost identical sheltie dog right under their noses! Everyone is shocked and they start working together to figure out who could have done this, any why? We also have a cute romance between Tyler and Kristin blooming, and I loved their chemistry together. Very sweet.

What I enjoy most about this series is how these stories just always feel like you’re coming back home to your family. As a southern girl, I love the charm for each town and how each character has sincere care for one another.

I also love how we have so many different avenues as to what could have happened to the dog in this story. You never know who to trust, as so many people had different motives for wanting to possibly take the dog or switch him out with another.

I also appreciate the faith aspects we get throughout the story as we see them mentioning church, prayers, God’s plan, considering their faith when making decisions, etc.

Overall, a fun, cute continuation to the Gone to the Dogs Series! If you love clean cozy mysteries, check this series out. Book 1 is Off the Chain by Janice Thompson. 😊 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy to honestly read and review.

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

 


The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - 3.5 Stars - Hilarious with a great group of characters! (Book 1 in The Thursday Murder Club Series)

I liked this mystery surrounding 4 hilarious, older characters who live in a upscale retirement village and work together to solve murder cases as part of the "Thursday Murder Club". This is sent in Kent, England during modern time. Things get wild really fast when some murders start happening at the retirement village and they start working to piece everything together.

I LAUGHED SO MUCH in this book! These characters are HILARIOUS! My only complaint with this book is I really struggled keeping all the characters straight and what what going on throughout the story. It was close to 4 stars but ultimately the pacing and multiple character shifts took me out of the story many times. I still recommend this if you like a good mystery. I would not call this a "cozy" mystery, more along the lines of true crime mystery then a cozy. It had a similar vibe as an Agatha Christie to me too!

Trigger warning- a few mentions of suicide. I seem to remember a few mentions of mild language but can't recall more than a couple.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4830321558
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DwpRJj
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

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Sunday, February 5, 2023

Turn to Me by Becky Wade

Turn to Me - Becky Wade - 5 Stars - Wonderful final book in the series!

Turn to Me by Becky Wade is the 3rd and final book in the Misty River Series and I LOVED IT SO MUCH! 5 stars! Ya’ll, this series is one of my favorites of all time. Top tier Christian Romance stories full of love, faith, heartbreak, redemption, grace, humor and real life characters you can relate to with real life problems.

In this final installment, we follow Luke Dempsey and Finley Sutherland. Luke is the last of the Miracle 5 that has always distanced himself from the rest of the group. He was recently released from prison after serving time for felony theft and promised a fellow inmate and friend, which happens to be Finley’s father, right before he passed away, that he would help piece together the clues for a treasure hunt for his daughter. Finley’s father was worried others will be searching for the treasure so he trusts Luke to protect Finley as he helps her find this missing treasure.

Finley is the owner of an animal rescue center and accepts Luke’s help for the treasure hunt. What Luke doesn’t know is Finley is secretly working to help him along the way with his own emotions, healing and forgiveness for his past.

Luke and Finley were a delight to see together from their first meeting, I loved them so much ya’ll! Their relationship was so real, raw and beautiful. They made me laugh the entire time together and had the BEST banter! Both of them have been through some VERY hard times in life and it was beautiful to see them work through their troubles together, helping one another along the way – discussing faith, forgiveness, growth, etc.

There were times when the mystery portion dragged, but I still think this is a 5 star read as the ending was PERFECT as we truly got to see Luke’s rough exterior start to shed and open up as we saw how much he cared for Finley and would do anything for her. It was also nice to see Ben finally get his happy ending as well.

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Saturday, February 4, 2023

The Cairo Curse by Pepper Basham

 


The Cairo Curse - Pepper Basham - 4.5 Stars - If you love Agatha Christie, Clue, The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Cozy Mysteries and a romance with the best chemistry – LOOK NO FURTHER! (Book 2 in the Fredrick and Grace Mystery Series)

The Cairo Curse by Pepper Basham is the perfect fun, wild and exciting sequel to The Mistletoe Countess that will keep you on the edge of your seat the ENTIRE time! Again, I know I will enjoy anything Pepper writes because it’s ALWAYS a good story that transport you exactly where our characters are!

While The Mistletoe Countess is still my favorite, The Cairo Curse was such a wonderful follow up of Grace and Freddie back at their mystery solving game – this time they’ve taken a detour from their honeymoon to Egypt ready to explore the pyramids, tombs, mummies, artifacts and so much more – when all of a sudden, their trip soon takes a dangerous turn with murders happening left and right. Suspects start to mount up and Grace and Freddie attempt to solve the mysterious happenings in Egypt!

The characters truly make this story ya’ll. Grace and Frederick are the BEST couple. They have great faith in God, respect and honor each other and I love how realistic they are together in their romance.

While I did get a smidge slowed down in some of the Egyptian details as I am not familiar with it, I love all of the research, time and details Pepper put into explaining the setting and history! It was a setting that truly came to life off the page and I LOVED seeing that.

This story will captivate you from the first chapter and is full of adventure, faith, love, great characters, vivid setting and an exciting ending! You will laugh and be filled with joy as your follow Grace and Freddie on this mysterious journey in Cairo! SO much fun y’all! So many humorous scenes where you just laugh and smile and ya’ll – that’s more of what we need in this world! JUST LOVE.

Highly recommended! Thank you to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy to honestly read and review. I did pre-order my own physical copy of course because they just look PERFECT together on my shelf! If you haven’t read The Mistletoe Countess, please pick it up so you can experience all the joy from Grace and Freddie that I have! 😊

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Thursday, February 2, 2023

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

 


Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne - 4 Stars - Fun adventures with Phileas!

What a fun adventure! I loved following Phileas Fogg around the world in 80 days! He was so kind and kept moving on his journey, no matter what life threw at him. I did get bogged down sometimes but overall enjoyed it and it makes you want to travel the world! I want to watch an adaptation now, because I think it would be so much fun to see this travel story come to life! I listened to the Jim Dale audiobook narration and it was amazing. Jim Dale can narrate so well! I feel like the characters really make this story! The whole plot of the story is Phileas Fogg has wagered 20,000 pounds (and his honor) to go around the world in 80 days. He says it can be done so he sets out to do just that. So many people doubt him but he plans to make this happen, no matter what. It's also a beautiful ending, that last page was so beautiful to read. This book had me laughing and just pulling for Phileas the entire time!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5315186606
Amazon: https://amzn.to/46HsrcJ
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

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