Just This Once (Blackhawk Security: Book 5) by Margaret Watson

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: July 31st, 2021

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

Series: Blackhawk Security

With One Breath—Book 1

Once Removed—Book 2 (review here)

Once Burned—Book 3 (review here)

Fool Me Once—Book 4 (review here)

Just This Once—Book 5

Purchase Links: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sierra Baker has no idea she’s in danger – until a frightening and unsettling traffic stop late one night. When Cody Parker shows up the next day and announces he’s her bodyguard, she’s even more terrified. Is Parker on the level? Or is this the shadowy stranger who stopped her car the night before?

Her partner Alex assures Sierra the danger is real – the Russian mob is after her. Parker has been sent to protect her. But she and Cody are oil and water. Complete opposites who agree on nothing. Except for their irresistible attraction to each other.

First Line:

Sierra’s shoulders relaxed as she turned her car onto the stretch of road winding through Iverson Woods Forest Preserve near Evanston.

just this once margaret watson

I have been in the mood to read contemporary romance lately. I had been reading some books with a heavy subject matter, and I needed something that was the opposite. So, when I got the invite to read/review Margaret Watson’s romances, I jumped on it. I have always enjoyed her book and figured that this book would be a perfect way to decompress. I was right!! I enjoyed reading Just This Once.

Just This Once is book 5 in the Blackhawk Security series. Readers can read this book as a standalone. But, I would highly recommend reading the previous four books to get the background behind some of the characters mentioned in the book.

Just This Once had an exciting plotline. The Russian bratva is targeting Sierra. They think she has the information that they were going after Alex (in book 4). Cody is a bodyguard for Blackhawk Security and was hired to guard Sierra until the threat was over. What they weren’t expecting was the instant attraction and heat between them. But secrets are being held, which could potentially kill Sierra and her family. Can Cody protect her from the bratva? And will he realize that what he and Sierra have is worth keeping?

I loved Sierra in this book. She was independent and knew what she wanted. She wasn’t afraid to challenge Cody on certain things. But she was also an enigma. I did get a little irritated with her past being such a secret. By the middle of the book, I was ready for her to spill the beans to Cody. But even when it was revealed, I was still left wondering what her parents did that made them targets. I am hoping that it will be shown in upcoming books. Other than that, I loved her!!

Cody was almost too alpha male for me. That was the only thing that I didn’t like about him. That and the fact that he called Sierra “bae” all the time. I hate that word and think it is ridiculous for teens/early 20’s to say it, but having a character who is in his 30’s saying it made me go, “Bleh.” I will say that he was a great bodyguard, trying to keep it professional. I loved seeing his struggle to keep his feelings for Sierra at bay while trying to protect her from the Russians.

The suspense angle of the book was terrific. That part of the plotline continued from book 4 with the bratva. Alex’s ex-husband did make a small appearance at the beginning of the book, and my thought process was “Freaking Jerry.” If you have read book 4, you understand why I thought that. I also liked that the author continued the minor plotline of the police mole, and I loved how she wrapped it up.

The romance was just as good. I will warn everyone that there is InstaLove involved. Sierra and Cody were together for a very intense week. They were being chased by the mob and were holed up in a safe house (not a SAFE house but a house that was fortified and secure). I wasn’t surprised that the romance moved that fast.

The chemistry between Sierra and Cody was unbelievable. I kept waiting for them to break down and have sex. But, surprisingly, they only had sex twice. I loved that the author did that, though. It kept my attention on their romance instead of me skimming the pages just to read the sex scenes.

The end of Just This Once was interesting. I wasn’t surprised at what happened after Cody caught the mole. Police close ranks around their own. I was also surprised at Sierra telling Cody her real name. I have to say; it didn’t fit her. Of course, they get their HEA, but I wondered about that for a couple of chapters.

I would recommend Just This Once to anyone over 21. There is graphic sex, language, and violence.

The Paradise Tree (Pirates and Puritans: Book 3) by R.A. Denny

Publisher: Mesmeringa Press

Date of Publication: March 10th, 2022

Series: Pirates and Puritans

The Alchemy Thief—Book 1 (review here)

The Sultan’s Court—Book 2 (review here)

The Paradise Tree—Book 3

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia, Time Travel

Purchase Links: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to Paradise. Daniel’s alchemy has hurtled them 112 years into the future where a mysterious tree-shaped structure rises into the Moroccan sky. Generations have passed, but a culture grounded in ancient Yoruba traditions has sprung up.

Peri must choose between trusting the friendly strangers she meets and following Ayoub, the terrorist-turned-pirate, into the unknown. She fights to keep her family together, but her faith is shaken. Nothing is as it seems.

Caught between two warring factions, the YUS with brain chips and the Natural Resistance Force, Peri must search within herself to discover what truly makes life worth living. How much is she willing to sacrifice for paradise?

First Line:

At the sound of the knock, Peri’s father was filled with both hope and dread.

the paradise tree by r.a. denny

I was surprised and excited when I got the invite to read/review The Paradise Tree. I wondered when the 3rd and final book would be published and was hoping that I would get the invite. I had also hyped this book up in my mind. Well, The Paradise Tree lived up to that hype. I loved reading it (even if it did scare me in some places).

The Paradise Tree is the 3rd book in the Pirates and Puritans series. Readers cannot read this book as a standalone. If you read the books out of order, you will be confused. It will help if you read The Alchemy Thief and The Sultan’s Court to understand Ayoub, Peri, Mya, and Daniel’s backstory.

The Paradise Tree was an exciting book to read. It starts almost immediately after the events of The Sultan’s Court. Peri, Daniel, Mya, and Ayoub have traveled 112 years into the future. Thinking it would be a sanctuary from the people they escaped from in the present, they soon find the future is much more dangerous. The group is separated, Ayoub trekking to the distant mountains and meeting a woman connected with a group called the NRF, and the other three being picked up by a group called the YUS. The group soon finds itself in a struggle between oppression and freedom.

There are 3; sometimes 4, POVs in The Paradise Tree. The main POVs are Ayoub and Peri’s, with Daniel breaking in occasionally and Mya having a chapter or two to flush out more of the YUS’s plotline. The alternating POVs gave great insight into how each faction worked. It also provided insight into how each society was (if that makes sense). Usually, I wouldn’t say I like it when the book constantly switches back and forth between numerous people, but in this case, it worked.

Ayoub had some character growth in The Paradise Tree. Mainly, it centered around his relationships with Salima and her children. He morphed from only caring about himself to accepting responsibility for her and her children. He also came to terms with everything that had happened to him as a child. But, the biggest surprise was when he went to rescue Peri and Daniel. I didn’t think he would do it, to be honest. But seeing Mya and hearing about what was going on in The Paradise Tree spurred him on.

I felt a connection with Peri during her storyline. She was a middle-aged woman who was introduced to new technology. I laughed out loud during the scenes when she learned how to control (and talk) with her chip. The whole broadcasting of her thoughts to others was hilarious. I also got her wanting to see Daniel and Mya and her devastation when she wasn’t allowed.

Daniel was the real MVP of the book. He got what was going on fairly early in the book, and he actively found ways to get around the chip. I had a feeling what happened to him was going to happen around the middle of the book, but I was still surprised.

The secondary character added depth to The Paradise Tree. Each character, no matter how small, was essential to the plotline.

The science fiction angle of The Paradise Tree was well written. Time travel was mentioned throughout the book, along with ball lighting. The author did a great job of explaining how time travel was commonplace.

The dystopia angle of The Paradise Tree was scary. I had no issue imagining our society inventing a chip that would allow inner thought speaking and that monitored our bodily needs. I could also see plastic surgery as painless as described. I can also see egg harvesting and having genetically modified children happening. But the scariest thing to me was the split in society (one who wants total control and the other free will). That is part of what made the book so enjoyable to read.

The author did wrap up almost all of the storylines during this book, even from previous books. One storyline was left open, and I am curious to see if the author writes books about it. It was nice to see karma happen to the main bad guy in the first two books. I had a feeling who the Oba was when Busi had Peri in her rooms.

The end of The Paradise Tree was a little bittersweet. I can’t go into why I say that, but I did get teary eyes during the last couple of chapters of the book.

I would recommend The Paradise Tree to anyone over 21. There are violence and sexual themes. There is no language.

Hollow: a Love Life a Life by Jazalyn

Publisher:

Date of publication: December 19th, 2020

Genre: Poetry

Purchase Links: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

A ghost spirit of dark’s universe falls in love with a ghost spirit of light’s universe, and while they cannot meet, for they wander around separate realms and spacetimes, they live their love through a secret and sacred interaction.

First Line:

Love is great!

hollow: a Love like a life by jazalyn

Poetry isn’t exactly my favorite type of book to review. I find it hard to put my thoughts on the book to paper (or, in this case, screen). But, saying this, I have found myself honored to read and review Jazalyn’s poetry. She is a talented writer, and I look forward to her future work.

Hollow: A Love Like A Life was wonderfully written. It is the story of two opposite spirits (dark and light) who fall in love but can not be together.

The poems touched me. I got emotional reading them. I found myself rooting for each spirit and hoping that they got to see each other. I also understood what it was like to love like that, and honestly, it sucked.

I would recommend Hollow: a Love like a Life to anyone over 16. There is mild language.

Ashes in Venice: A Vengeance Thriller by Gojan Nikolich

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Date of Publication: March 3rd, 2022

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A heartless psychopath with size 16 shoes, nursing home hookers and an irreverent Las Vegas homicide detective with a gambling habit set the tone for this off-beat tale of revenge and retribution.

Blackjack addict Frank Savic is deeply in debt and facing family problems when he’s asked to delay his retirement to catch a vigilante killer who murders other murderers in a manner the veteran cop has never seen.

While dead bodies stack up in quick succession, the motorcycle-riding policeman also finds himself reluctantly involved with a desperate mother who will do anything to get justice for her dead son.

Savic, his investigation complicated by a suspected FBI coverup and a prison bribery scandal, is unaware that the murderer might be the solution to his own financial and domestic dilemma.

Add a vengeful killer who seeks justice for his own unbearable loss and you have a teasing psychological thriller that blurs the line between good and evil and where surgical bone saws and spiders are just tools of the trade.

First Line:

Shirtless in the heat at night, Jasper Colt peeled his naked back from the filthy vinyl chair next to the open window.

ashes in venice by gojan nikolich

I went into reading Ashes in Venice thinking that this was going to be a standard psychological thriller where the cop and the killer do a cat and mouse chase, with the cop coming out on top in the end. I was very wrong about that. What I read was an intriguing thriller where I cheered the killer on and hoped the cop didn’t catch him. Weird, right? But I loved it!!

Ashes in Venice had an exciting plotline. Frank Savic is a Las Vegas cop who is weeks away from retirement when he is asked to postpone it to help with a serial killer case. Needing the money due to overwhelming debt, Frank agrees. As the body count rises, Frank’s personal life and investigation intertwine. Can Frank find the killer? What is the motive behind the killings? And what’s the deal with the spiders?!?

Ashes in Venice had a medium-paced plotline. I enjoyed that because it gave me time to process each chapter without feeling rushed into the next one. The plotline did pick up speed towards the end of the book (when everything was coming together).

What I liked the most about this book because the main character was morally grey. Take Frank, for instance. He was an old-school cop who didn’t think anything of roughing up a witness to get what he wanted. Towards the beginning of the book, there was one scene where he took a witness’s phone and threw it in a fridge. But, on the other hand, he was a doting husband trying to take care of his wife, who is in a nursing home and is suffering from dementia. I loved it!! Sometimes, I need a main character who isn’t good but isn’t bad, and Frank delivered that.

I also felt sympathy for the killer. He went through what is my worst nightmare (as a parent and wife). So, I understood why he started doing vigilante killing. Once his end game was revealed, I was rooting for him. I can say this with 100% honesty; I have never rooted for a killer not to get caught.

The last main character is William (aka Billy). He has been sentenced to life in jail for murdering the son of a secondary character. Billy is one of the vilest, disgusting characters I have ever read. He deserved everything that happened to him.

The secondary characters fleshed out the book and gave it an extra depth. I enjoyed the realistic portrayal of the nursing home that Frank’s wife was in. Having worked in one, I can testify that most of what is portrayed in the book is true.

I want to warn everyone that there is graphic violence and gore in the book. It didn’t bother me (I usually am not affected by stuff like that), but it might affect someone sensitive to that. There is also mention of rape and multiple child murders.

The thriller angle of the book was well written. I couldn’t get enough of it. The author kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering if Frank would catch the killer and what the motives were.

I felt the same way about the suspense angle of the book. As I mentioned above, I was kept at the edge of my seat the entire book.

The author amazingly wrote the end of Ashes in Venice. I loved how everything was wrapped up and finally understood why the book was titled the way it was. I will say that the scene with Billy and the spiders was one of the more gruesome and inventive ones that I have read. The end scenes were sad, and I wasn’t prepared for the final chapter.

I would recommend Ashes in Venice to anyone over 21. There is language, extreme violence, and extreme gore.

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: February 22nd 2022

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Time Travel, Thriller, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel is at stake.

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the time port makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

First Line:

Droplets of blood pat the blue carpet, turning from red to black as they soak into the fibers.

the paradox hotel by rob hart

It has been a while since I have read any science fiction. It’s not that I don’t like the genre (I do); it’s just that I haven’t found any that has caught my eye. Then I started seeing reviews for The Paradox Hotel, which interested me. I figured that I would read it when it was published. So, imagine my surprise (and delight) when I got an invite to review from the publisher.

The Paradox Hotel had an exciting plotline. January Cole is the head of security at The Paradox Hotel, an exclusive hotel where the mega-rich can travel back in time. Her job is to make sure that the guests don’t do anything to disrupt the timeline and to take care of any security threats. The bidders meet at The Paradox when the government decides to privatize time travel. But, as January discovers, someone is willing to do anything to swing the vote in their favor. Can January figure out who is behind the attacks and their motive?

The Paradox Hotel had a fast-moving plotline. The entire book takes place within a couple of days of the bidders arriving at the hotel. There was a slight lag in the middle of the book, but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t get past.

January was an unlikeable character in The Paradox Hotel. She was unlikable, reckless, and had a potty mouth. But, I had some sympathy for her. She had suffered an unimaginable loss in the recent past and had a traumatic childhood. I did feel bad for her because of those events, and they did help me understand why she was so unlikable. I wish I could say that I grew to like her during the book, but if I would be lying. She was a hot mess.

The author very well wrote the mystery angle of The Paradox Hotel. I couldn’t figure out who was behind the attacks or the why until the end of the book. There were so many red herrings and diverting plotlines that it made it impossible for me to pin down the exact person.

The author just as well wrote the science fiction angle of The Paradox Hotel. I was fascinated by the premise that time travel could be normalized and used as a vacation (even if it was only for the super-rich). There were brief references to people traveling to Egypt (I will never be able to listen to Walk Like an Egyptian without remembering a specific scene in the book again). I also like that the author took a creative angle with people being Unstuck. In the book, Unstuck is someone who has traveled back in time one too many times. People who are Unstuck can see past, future, and current events. There are various levels of being Unstuck, with four being the highest. January is level 2 and takes medication to control it. If she doesn’t take the medication, she can see past, current, and future events. I was fascinated by that!!

I loved the representation that The Paradox Hotel had. There were gay and gender-neutral characters. I firmly believe that January’s girlfriend was trans (the scene where January sees Mena as a child).

The secondary characters were essential to The Paradox Hotel. Ruby, January’s AI assistant, was my favorite secondary character. It reminded me of Jiminy Cricket (being January’s conscience), and a big plus, it was as big of a wiseass as January.

I wouldn’t say I liked the end of The Paradox Hotel. It was the only part of the book that I didn’t like. The author did wrap up the storylines, but I was left feeling that there should have been more.

I would recommend The Paradox Hotel to anyone over 21. There is language, violence, and sexual situations.

City of the Dead (Alex Delaware: Book 37) by Jonathan Kellerman

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of Publication: February 8th 2022

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Suspense

Series: Alex Delaware

When the Bough Breaks—Book 1

Blood Test—Book 2

Over the Edge—Book 3

Silent Partner—Book 4

Time Bomb—Book 5

Private Eyes—Book 6

Devil’s Waltz—Book 7

Bad Love—Book 8

Self-Defense—Book 9

The Web—Book 10

The Clinic—Book 11

Survival of the Fittest—Book 12

Monster—Book 13

Dr. Death—Book 14

Flesh and Blood—Book 15

The Murder Book—Book 16

A Cold Heart—Book 17

Therapy—Book 18

Rage—Book 19

Gone—Book 20

Obsession—Book 21

Compulsion—Book 22

Bones—Book 23

Evidence—Book 24

Deception—Book 25

Mystery—Book 26

Victims—Book 27

Guilt—Book 28

Killer—Book 29

Motive—Book 30

Breakdown—Book 31

Heartbreak Hotel—Book 32

Night Moves—Book 33

The Wedding Guest—Book 34

The Museum of Desire—Book 35

Serpentine—Book 36

City of the Dead—Book 37

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The past comes back to haunt psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis when they investigate a grisly double homicide and uncover an even more unspeakable motive in this riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

Los Angeles is a city of sunlight, celebrity, and possibility. The L.A. often experienced by Homicide Lt. Detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware, is a city of the dead.

Early one morning, the two of them find themselves in a neighborhood of pretty houses, pretty cars, and pretty people. The scene they encounter is anything but. A naked young man lies dead in the street, the apparent victim of a collision with a moving van hurtling through suburbia in the darkness. But any thoughts of accidental death vanish when a blood trail leads to a nearby home.

Inside, a young woman lies butchered. The identity of the male victim and his role in the horror remain elusive, but that of the woman creates additional questions. And adding to the shock, Alex has met her while working a convoluted child custody case. Cordelia Gannett was a self-styled internet influencer who’d gotten into legal troubles by palming herself off as a psychologist. Even after promising to desist, she’s found a loophole and has continued her online career, aiming to amass clicks and ads by cyber-coaching and cyber-counseling people plagued with relationship issues.

But upon closer examination, Alex and Milo discover that her own relationships are troublesome, including a tortured family history and a dubious personal past. Has that come back to haunt her in the worst way? Is the mystery man out in the street collateral damage or will he turn out to be the key to solving a grisly double homicide? As the psychologist and the detective explore L.A.’s meanest streets, they peel back layer after layer of secrets and encounter a savage, psychologically twisted, almost unthinkable motive for violence and bloodshed.

This is classic Delaware: Alex, a man Milo has come to see as irreplaceable, at his most insightful and brilliant.

First Line:

Four fifty-three in the morning was too early for anything.

city of the dead by jonathan kellerman

When I got the email to review City of the Dead from the publisher, I decided to wait on it for a little bit. I have heard of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, and I might have read a couple of books from it (my memory is very fuzzy on that). But that wasn’t why I was iffy about reading this book. My main reason was that this is book 37 of that series, and I don’t particularly appreciate reading books out of order. I ultimately decided to read City of the Dead because I like books that combine psychology with criminal investigations. I prefer (as most people do) to read a series in order. That way, I get a feel for the characters (main and supporting). I am glad that I read it because it was an excellent book.

City of the Dead had an engaging storyline. A pair of movers, eager to deliver their load, is driving down a side street when they are hit by something. Thinking it was a dog, they pull over and discover that they were hit by a naked man who is dead and very unrecognizable. Alex is called to the scene to assess it from a psychologist’s point of view, and while he is there, it is discovered that the man was killed by the moving truck. Instead, a trail of blood leads to a house, where a more gruesome crime is. A young woman is found dead in her bedroom. Alex is shocked to realize that he knows this woman. She is known to him as an expert called into a custody case and exposed as a fraud. As Alex and his friend, Detective Milo, dig deeper into her murder case (and try to figure out who her naked friend was), the more convoluted the case gets. Who murdered Cordy? What was the motive?

City of the Dead is book 37 in the Alex Delaware series. Thankfully, readers can read this book as a stand-alone. I suggest that the reader at least read the blurbs or reviews of the previous 36 books. That way, you can get a good feel for the characters and any secondary characters in the book.

City of the Dead did have a medium-paced plotline. I was a little surprised by the pacing. I did think it was going to be a bit faster than it was. Any books that I have read that mix this genre has been faster. But weirdly, it did work for me. I was able to take some time, digest what the author was throwing at me, and try to form who killed Cordy.

I liked Alex. I think he was pretty chill for being involved in a murder investigation. But, he is on call for the police department, and he does get called to do this type of work all the time, so he could afford to be chill. I also liked how he handled his clients and soon-to-be clients. That one scene with the slimy lawyer cracked me up mainly because he hit the nail on the head with his assessment of him. Talk about a steel backbone with the parents and gentleness with the kids.

The author very well wrote the mystery angle of City of the Dead. The author did a great job of drawing me in from the beginning and making me work on who killed Cordy and her friend. I had thought I had it figured out around the middle of the book. Then, a twist made me go “WHAT” and drop that person from my internal list like a hot potato.

The author did a great job of keeping the plotline on course with the book. The secondary characters that the author introduced didn’t take over the book. A couple of times, the book referenced events that happened in previous books that made me go “huh?” but they were few and far between.

I loved the twist in the plotline. It threw me for a loop when I realized I was wrong about who the killer was. After the twist, the author leaked the why and how very slowly and built up to a memorable end. He was able to tie everything that happened in the book (the killings) and add a few extras that surprised me.

The end of City of the Dead did make me a little sad. Mainly because I did wonder about the child involved and how everything was going to affect her. Alex did give some excellent advice, but still. I still wonder. But, reading this book has also made me want to read the previous 36 books. I do plan on reading them at some point in my life.

I would recommend City of the Dead to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and graphic murder scenes.

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal

Publisher: Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books

Date of publication: February 1st 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea.

But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her.

In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?

Moving from the pleasure gardens of Victorian London to the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea, Circus of Wonders is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility.

First Line:

It begins with an advertisement, nailed to an oak tree.

Circus of wonders by elizabeth macneal

It is not every day that a book about English circuses in the late 1860s comes across my email. When I read the blurb for Circus of Wonders, it immediately caught my attention. I am glad that I read this book, even if it made me uncomfortable in places.

Circus of Wonders had an exciting storyline. Nell is a nineteen-year-old girl living in a village on the coast of England. Nell is an outcast because she is covered in brown birthmarks, including a big one that covers the side of her face. Because of that, she keeps to her cottage. Her everyday life is mundane, packing flowers dipped in sugar and shipping them to London. But then the circus comes to town, and Nell’s life is turned upside down. Sold by her father to Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders, Nell finds love and fame. But, Jasper (the circus owner) is jealous that her fame goes beyond his and vows to take her down. Will Nell be able to hold onto her values and her love? Or will she be left in worse straits than when she joined the circus?

Circus of Wonders had a medium-paced storyline that did pick up steam in places. The pacing of the book did it justice. It was a nice, steady pace from beginning to end. It took me around two days to finish Circus of Wonders.

Nell was powerful in this book. She went from this meek, timid girl afraid to show her face to a powerful woman who wasn’t scared to fight for what she wanted. Her character’s growth throughout the book was terrific.

I wasn’t that big of a fan of Toby. I didn’t see what Nell saw in him except that he was safe because he was so big? He was also abnormally close to Jasper, his brother. It creeped me out how close they were. I did like that his character did show some growth during the book. By the end, he was becoming his own person. I wish he had made the right choice (if you read the book, you know what I mean). He would have been so much happier.

I was not too fond of Jasper. He was overconfident, took too many risks, and was cruel. You don’t see how evil he was until his chapters when he was in the Crimean War. After those chapters, his cruelness was more apparent. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked how he treated Toby. From the beginning, he used Toby’s secret to keep him around and constantly reminded him about it. He disgusted me with how he treated his “attractions” (the animals and humans).

I did like the look into how circus life was in the 1860s. I liked the peek behind the big top that the author gave me. I wasn’t surprised at what she described when talking about the human attractions. They were treated as subhuman, like monsters (as Queen Victoria and her Ladies in Waiting described Nell). I like that they showed how everyone became a family unit and protected their own. Even when Brunette ran, they didn’t tell Jasper until he discovered she was gone.

The romance between Nell and Toby seemed a little forced to me. It didn’t do anything for me. I also wasn’t surprised by how it ended. I called it when they first met (not even when they had sex when they first met). Toby was too damaged, and Nell, well, she was a force to be reckoned with.

The end of Circus of Wonders was “blah” to me. I wish that the storyline with Jasper went the way I thought it would. I also wish that Toby had made a different choice when it came to Nell. I liked that the author went 11 years into the future to show where everyone ended up. It was interesting how the tables had flipped. And I loved that dreams were realized!!

I would recommend Circus of Wonders to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, nongraphic sex scenes, and no language.

The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Ray

Date of publication: February 1st, 2022

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | iTunes | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A mysterious plague that causes random bouts of violence is sweeping the nation. Now three generations of women must navigate their chilling new reality in this moving exploration of identity, cycles of abuse, and hope.

Chelsea Martin appears to be the perfect housewife: married to her high school sweetheart, the mother of two daughters, keeper of an immaculate home.

But Chelsea’s husband has turned their home into a prison; he has been abusing her for years, cutting off her independence, autonomy, and support. She has nowhere to turn, not even to her narcissistic mother, Patricia, who is more concerned with maintaining the appearance of an ideal family than she is with her daughter’s actual well-being. And Chelsea is worried that her daughters will be trapped just as she is–until a mysterious illness sweeps the nation.

Known as The Violence, this illness causes the infected to experience sudden, explosive bouts of animalistic rage and attack anyone in their path. But for Chelsea, the chaos and confusion the virus causes is an opportunity–and inspires a plan to liberate herself from her abuser.

First Line:

The first recorded incidence of the Violence occurred as Ruth Belmont of Land O’Lakes, Florida, was putting a tub of mayonnaise in her cart at a warehouse store on Tuesday, April 15th, 2025.

the violence by delilah s dawson

When I read the blurb for The Violence, I was instantly intrigued. But, I was also a little hesitant to read it. I was intrigued by the last few books that I did not like. So, keeping that in mind, I dove into The Violence. To say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I loved this book!!

The Violence is a dystopia set in 2025 Florida. In this world, we have learned to live with COVID and adapted our lives around it. Life has gotten back to normal when news reports start talking about people randomly attacking and killing people. These random attacks soon become commonplace, and a new pandemic is announced. As with the COVID pandemic, its seriousness is downplayed until it is out of control.

The Violence centers around three people and follows them from the pandemic’s start to the end. Chelsea is a stay-at-home mother trapped in an abusive marriage. She dreams of getting out and saving her girls but can’t because her husband would destroy her. So, when The Violence starts, Chelsea uses that to her advantage. Ella is Chelsea’s seventeen-year-old daughter who has witnessed her mother’s abuse for years. She is caught up in an abusive relationship herself but breaks it off when her abuser is caught on camera (and in a public place) beating on her. Patricia is Chelsea’s narcissist mother. She is more concerned with maintaining appearances than helping her daughter and granddaughters escape their abuser. The Violence brings them together unexpectedly, but it also tears them apart. With Chelsea on the run, Ella looking for her, it is up to Patricia to keep Brooklyn safe. But who will keep Patricia safe? And will Chelsea ever get free from her ex? Will Ella find her mother before her father does? What happens when everything comes to a head?

The Violence had a lightening fast storyline. I had zero issues keeping up with how fast the storyline went. Surprisingly, there is no lag. This story didn’t stop. Put it this way, I read it in one night; that’s how fast it went.

Before I get deeper into the review, I want to give everyone a trigger warning heads-up. This book is graphically violent (hence the title). The author doesn’t hold any punches when infected people storm (when they blackout and kill people). She also doesn’t hold back during the abuse scenes. At the beginning of the book, there is a forward explaining why she wrote those scenes the way she did. But still didn’t prepare me for how graphic those scenes were. There is also scenes of verbal abuse (Patricia remembering calling toddler Chelsea stupid stuck out to me), sexual abuse (Chelsea getting raped by David), emotional abuse (Hayden telling Ella he was going to kill himself if she didn’t respond to his text), and animal abuse (David kicking the family dog every time he saw him and that awful scene when Chelsea blacked out). Those examples are only scratching the surface of this book. So read with caution if any of these triggers you.

I loved and pitied Chelsea. I hate to say it, but the way her mother treated her growing up paved the way for her to be in an abusive relationship with David. My heart broke for her during those first few scenes when David choked her. The author made me feel the horror and desperation she went through. I did think she was genius for her plan to get David taken away, and Ella’s 911 call only cemented it. But it was a short-lived plan, and she was getting threatened by David’s friends (one a lawyer and one a cop). When she ended up getting The Violence, she did what any mother would do, she shut herself away, and when she got word that her ex was coming home, she ran to her mother. But, it was what happened after she left the girls at her mother’s. I was equally shouting “Yas girl” and cringing at what she was doing. The name Florida Woman will forever be associated with her.

My heart broke for Ella. She was such a broken child, and I wanted to spirit her away from her family. She had no safe space for her to decompress. Instead, she went from school (where her friends and abusive boyfriend were) to home, where she had to worry about her father potentially killing her mother. She also was tasked with keeping her 5-year-old sister safe and away from her father at night. That meant locking herself and Brooklyn in her room at night. But, that all changed when her father was arrested, and her mother got The Violence. Ella became Brooklyn’s parent. I didn’t blame her for getting angry when Chelsea decided (after finding out that David was getting out of jail) to move them to Patricia’s. I also didn’t blame her for leaving to find Chelsea because Patricia was awful. It showed how much she had grown. But, it was when she stumbled upon the RV and got hooked up with the scientists that she started to blossom. She became that strong, independent girl that she should have been from the start.

I was not too fond of Patricia. OMG, I wanted to go into the book and strangle her at points. She was one of the more awful people that I have ever read. The way she ignored Chelsea’s bruises and how she talked to Chelsea was horrible. Everything was about appearances to her. But, as her backstory was revealed, I did start to feel sorry for her. Her abusive childhood and rape (which resulted in Chelsea) shaped her. She modeled the only behavior that she knew, verbal and emotional abuse. When she took in Ella and Brooklyn, I could see cracks in her facade. And when she was left to care for Brooklyn, those cracks became bigger and bigger. Her character growth and transformation was one of the more surprising ones I read. I loved how she ended up.

Brooklyn was adorable. I was so surprised that she wasn’t more traumatized. I mean, she witnessed her father almost killing her mother. She was uprooted from her house and lived with her grandmother, who was distant and cold. Then, Ella, her protector, leaves. Instead of acting out, having tantrums, or regressing, she remained normal. The only sign the author gave that she had been traumatized was the nightmares she had while sleeping in Patricia’s closet. My heart (and Patricia’s) broke when I realized who she was talking about and what. But other than that, there was nothing.

The secondary characters did round out the book. They all added an extra depth that the book needed.

The horror angle was well written. As I mentioned above, there was a lot of gore and violence associated with this book. The author got in-depth with the gore. I did think certain scenes could have been toned down, but then they wouldn’t have had the punch that they did.

The mystery angle was also very well written. I couldn’t figure out what would happen next in the book. After a certain point, I couldn’t figure out if everyone would come together and when.

The end of The Violence was, well, violent. I will not say much about it except that David got what was coming to him. I also liked the epilogue, showing where everyone was. It gave me hope for all the characters.

I would recommend The Violence for anyone over 21. There is graphic violence, language, and graphic accounts of sexual assault.

I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin

Book Cover

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Date of Publication: March 15th, 2022

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lyrical and haunting, Hannah Capin’s I Am Margaret Moore is a paranormal thriller that tests the hold of sisterhood and truth.

I am a girl. I am a monster, too.

Each summer the girls of Deck Five come back to Marshall Naval School. They sail on jewel-blue waters; they march on green drill fields; they earn sunburns and honors. They push until they break apart and heal again, stronger.

Each summer Margaret and Rose and Flor and Nisreen come back to the place where they are girls, safe away from the world: sisters bound by something more than blood.

But this summer everything has changed. Girls are missing and a boy is dead. It’s because of Margaret Moore, the boys say. It’s because of what happened that night in the storm.

Margaret’s friends vanish one by one, swallowed up into the lies she has told about what happened between her and a boy with the world at his feet. Can she unravel the secrets of this summer and last, or will she be pulled under by the place she once called home?

First Line:

It is summer again and we are alive.

i am margaret moore by hannah capin

When I got the email from NetGalley that I Am Margaret Moore was available to “Read Now,” I jumped on it. I had this book on my TBR since I saw that Hannah Capin was publishing it. I had loved Foul is Fair and had high expectations for this book. Well, I Am Margaret Moore fell short of my high expectations.

I Am Margaret Moore is the story of Margaret and her friends. The summer before, Margaret was involved in a scandal with another camper and was sent away. This summer, she was going to move past the drama and enjoy her summer. But things don’t go the way she wants. Her friends want the truth about what happened last summer, and Margaret isn’t telling them. Because if she tells the truth, she’s afraid no one will believe her. What happened that night?

I will be very blunt; I wasn’t a fan of how the author wrote this book. There are no chapters. Instead, once a scene ended, some headers separated them (example: The Girls with paragraphs describing Margaret’s friends). I get why the author chose to write the book she did, but I like cut-and-dry chapters.

The flow of I Am Margaret Moore was choppy, and the timeline jumped around a lot. I couldn’t tell if I was in the past or present. Again, I get why the author did this, but for me, it didn’t work.

I wasn’t too sure about how I felt about Margaret. During the first half of the book, I couldn’t connect with her at all. But, by the second half of the book, I did start to like and pity her. Yes, pity. She had so much happened to her in a short amount of time.

Margaret’s friends were the true backbone of the book. They were determined to find out what happened to Margaret. That led to disciplinary action from the naval school, but that didn’t deter them.

There are a couple of twists in the plot that I saw coming. I guessed the first one right away, and once certain events happened in the second half of the book, I figured that out too.

I wasn’t a fan of the end of I Am Margaret Moore. Again, it was choppy, with events playing out of order—the choppiness and the fact that the HEA seemed thrown on as an afterthought.

I would recommend I Am Margaret Moore to anyone over the age of 16. There is implied sex, some kissing scenes, mild language, and mild violence.

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 18th, 2022

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy, Supernatural, Feminism

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | Google Play | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A biting novel from an electrifying new voice, Such a Pretty Smile is a heart-stopping tour-de-force about powerful women, angry men, and all the ways in which girls fight against the forces that try to silence them.

There’s something out there that’s killing. Known only as The Cur, he leaves no traces, save for the torn bodies of girls, on the verge of becoming women, who are known as trouble-makers; those who refuse to conform, to know their place. Girls who don’t know when to shut up.

2019: Thirteen-year-old Lila Sawyer has secrets she can’t share with anyone. Not the school psychologist she’s seeing. Not her father, who has a new wife, and a new baby. And not her mother—the infamous Caroline Sawyer, a unique artist whose eerie sculptures, made from bent twigs and crimped leaves, have made her a local celebrity. But soon Lila feels haunted from within, terrorized by a delicious evil that shows her how to find her voice—until she is punished for using it.

2004: Caroline Sawyer hears dogs everywhere. Snarling, barking, teeth snapping that no one else seems to notice. At first, she blames the phantom sounds on her insomnia and her acute stress in caring for her ailing father. But then the delusions begin to take shape—both in her waking hours, and in the violent, visceral sculptures she creates while in a trance-like state. Her fiancé is convinced she needs help. Her new psychiatrist waves her “problem” away with pills. But Caroline’s past is a dark cellar, filled with repressed memories and a lurking horror that the men around her can’t understand.

As past demons become a present threat, both Caroline and Lila must chase the source of this unrelenting, oppressive power to its malignant core. Brilliantly paced, unsettling to the bone, and unapologetically fierce, Such a Pretty Smile is a powerful allegory for what it can mean to be a woman, and an untamed rallying cry for anyone ever told to sit down, shut up, and smile pretty.

There was blood in the water–a dull pink bloom–the morning Lila Sawyer heard about the first missing girl.

such a pretty smile by kristi demeester

I am going to be the odd one out with this book. Why? Well, I didn’t care for it. I know (ducking rotten tomatoes and hearing boos echoing across all the platforms I post to), it is not the popular opinion. I wanted to like this book and was pretty excited to read it after all the favorable reviews. Then I read it, and it fell flat for me.

Such a Pretty Smile did have an exciting storyline. The book centers around Lila and her mother, Caroline. In the 2019 storyline, Lila is a teenager dealing with a lot in her life. Her mother has a reputation for creating creepy statues made out of materials she found on her walks. Her father is distant, focusing more on her newborn sister, born premature and with a severe health complication. She is also dealing with peer pressure, a frenemy who alternately bullies and befriends her and questions her sexuality. To top it off, Lila has heard dogs bark, and there is a voice in her head telling her to do things that she usually wouldn’t do. Meanwhile, brutalized bodies of young girls are being found around the Atlanta area.

In the 2004 timeline, Caroline is under an immense about of pressure. Her father is in hospice, and she is drowning under the bills associated with it. Caroline takes a job teaching private art lessons to a homeschooled teenager to make ends meet. But, things are happening to Caroline that she can’t understand. She hears dogs barking nonstop, and she is having delusions. When she talks to her psychiatrist about that, she gets drugged, but that doesn’t stop it. Everything comes to a head when she finds out about her past, which ties directly to the current murders.

When Lila finds out about Caroline’s past, the storylines meet and she runs back to New Orleans to investigate Jazzland. What happens will send shockwaves in everyone’s lives and change them forever.

I did feel bad for Lila. She was smothered by her mother and ignored by her father. On top of that, she dealt with bullying and figured out her sexuality. She was a pressure cooker and was about to blow. Honestly, I was surprised that she waited as long as she did to freak out on Macy, her father, and her stepmother. I did wonder (when she started hearing the dogs barking) if her stress was manifesting. But it wasn’t until she was in the car (sweating her butt off) that I understood what was happening to her was paranormal.

I also felt bad for Caroline. She had a lot on her plate in 2004. She was solely responsible for her dying father’s medical/hospice bills. She was trying to get through art school and launch her career. She had to deal with a fiance who didn’t support her in anything. So, when she started hearing dogs barking and seeing things, she figured that it was because of stress. I wish that she could have had a break in that storyline. But it went from one thing to another when her father told her that she was kidnapped when she was a child. It was then that everything amped up. Her descent into mental illness and how the male figures in her life treated her were awful.

The horror angle of Such a Pretty Smile was well written, but it didn’t do anything for me. I was waiting for some epic battle or at least The Cur getting what it deserved. It didn’t happen. Instead, there was a rail against men and how women were expected to confirm (which we are, and yes, it is unfair). I felt a little let down when the author explained everything at the end of the book. I was left feeling meh.

I did like the solid feminist stance that the book took. But, I did feel that it was a bit much in places—one of the things that made me “meh” about Such a Pretty Smile.

I did enjoy the ending and seeing how Lila ended up after the events of Jazzland. I am glad that she met with people who understood what she went through. I also wondered, with how the final paragraphs were worded, if there was going to be a sequel. Maybe The Cur will get what is coming to it.

I would recommend Such a Pretty Smile to anyone over 21. There is sex, violence, and language.