BookLoverAmanda

Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawhon - 3.5 Stars Very interesting and fascinating short story, historical fiction/mystery -- lots of information on forensic science investigations. A fictionalized story based on Frances Glessner Lee's studies - she was an American forensic scientist and very influential in developing the science of forensics in the United States. In this story, Frances is 67 years old in 1945, as a new Harvard instructor with 6 male students. She creates a crime scene and gives them 90 minutes to sold a real-life murder mystery. I enjoyed this overall and while it kept my interest, it just wasn't my absolute favorite. She certainly teaches these men to think outside the box though. I still need to know the answer to who committed the crime though LOL. Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3P4yH73 *Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

Fallen Grace - Sadeqa Johnson - 5 Stars Wow, this short historical fiction story had me in tears by the end. I must read this author's other works. A single mother, named Bubbles, in segregated Virginia pushes back when her family sent her away after she finds herself pregnant, intending to give the baby up and have her return so she doesn't shame their family. Her father is a Southern Baptist minister so they don't want anyone to know about this. Bubble stands strong and decides to keep her baby and escapes from the home she was sent to with her daughter. She decides to use her talent of singing to make money after leaving but where she ends up - she stands strong in courage for her own daughter. Beautiful ending. What an emotional punch in such a short story. My favorite so far of this collection. Bubbles is a character from the story House of Eve by this author. I have not read that one yet, but from other reviews, this can be read independently from that story without s...

  Fires to Come by Asha Lemmie - 3 Stars Set in the early twentieth century New York City, Carlotta, abandoned as an infant, is now black adopted daughter of an Italian Mafia Don and her family situation is tough. Her oldest brother refuses to have anything to do with her and she has never quite fit in with her neighborhood. Carlotta has to decide where she belongs - no matter the price that must be paid.  Overall, this short historical fiction story was a bit disjointed for me and I didn't love the betrayals that happened in the way it was explained for her influence in her decisions. Even though her treatment does make you think the betrayals are justified, I still didn't love how it was expressed in this story. I liked the writing and would try other books by the author possibly in the future, but yeah, overall it was just OK and I wasn't blown away by the actual story. I liked the scenes with Carlotta and her mother most of all. *Content - language, 1 use of GD that I r...

  Amelia's Shadow - Marie Benedict - 4 Stars Short story about Ruth Nichols who is friends with Amelia Earhart as they both try to make records in flights together. During this time in history, it was hard to stand out and do something like this. They are great friends in their work. Everyone knows the end of Amelia’s story and that is shown here. In such a short story, this author brings emotion as she usually does in her books. I’ve read another of her works and have enjoyed her storytelling. This is a great short story to read to get a good sampling of her writing if you have never read her books before. I could have easily read an entire book like this by her. 4/5 stars Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3P3yilo *Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

  The Forgotten Chapter - Pam Jenoff - 4 Stars - Short Story  Really enjoyed this one, it makes me want to pick up more by this author. Historical fiction short story and you know when you want more to a short story that it's a good one indeed! Pam packed so much in these short pages of history and romance! Set in 1943 London, Paige Miller, a worker at the fabled department store Selfridges falls in love with Danny, an american soldier who comes by the books counter every day to see her. As they fall in love, she finds out he holds a secret that could change the course of the war and their lives. We see how Paige's decisions impact history in that moment - this had some sad moments but was also very impactful so I want to read more by Pam for sure! *There was one closed door - fade to black scene here but nothing was not described. Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3IiQKmk *Amazon links are affiliate links and a commission may be earned on items purchased from these links.

  Rosie and the Dreamboat - Sally Thorne - 3 Stars This was a cute concept - Rosie goes with her sister to an exclusive spa day and gets stuck in a floatation tank when a handsome fireman comes in to rescue her from it. She is having a panic attack inside because of a past experience when she was locked into a trunk by bullies but this guy - Leo - keeps her calm while they work to get her out and it was cute and funny banter in a short story. I didn't love the language though - a bit much for me. Several F/S words and 2 GD. Short story about 1 hour audiobook and 44 pages.

 Lights Out by Natalie Walters - 5 Stars  WOW - what a WILD ride ya'll! A great start to a romantic suspense series! This one is more fast paced, action packed suspense with a dab of a great second chance romance included and I can not WAIIIITTT to see how book 2 goes! The end of this with the romance though was TOP TIER! I am such a suspense girl now and this one is SO unique where we see this awesome team (the SNAP or Strategic Neutralization and Protection Agency) work together to combat terrorism and cyber crime - something I normally don't read about. Loved it so much because it really kept me on edge where I "NEEDED TO KNOW ALLLL THE THINGS" and getting to see everything from behind the scenes was so interesting to me!  This follows Brynn and Jack, who have quite the history together. They haven't seen each other in years and now all of a sudden they have to work together to bring down a missing spy. Jack doesn't trust Brynn for past reasons but they mak...