Death on a Summer Morning - Betty Rowlands

Death on a Summer Morning: An absolutely gripping cozy mystery novel by Betty Rowlands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had been a little concerned that as these books progressed, Sukey's going against her boyfriend and the police, in general, to investigate on her own might get a little much. Surely someone can't just keep doing that. Fortunately, in this instalment at least, that little issue has been dealt with to some extent. While Sukey does get involved in her own investigations again in this book, it's really quite reluctantly and she does, on more than one occasion try to involve Jim with her thoughts and ideas.
I do enjoy these mysteries. Sukey is a very likeable character and I enjoy reading about her attempts to get to the bottom of various mysteries. This time she gets drawn in after the seemingly accidental death of a man, while his fiance and daughter won't accept that he wasn't murdered. Sukey manages to solve at least part of the mystery, but not get to the bottom of things completely. (Although I did this time.)
I'm looking forward to the next in this series. I am really enjoying them.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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Control Freak - Brianna Hale

Control Freak by Brianna Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Years ago I used to have a cartoon strip that I had cut out of the paper at school. It was about a girl who walked around on her head and couldn't find love, then she met a man who walked on his head too. I always liked the idea that although you might not be perfect for everyone, there's someone out there that's perfect for you. In many ways, that is the theme of this book.
I do feel as though I need to say a couple of things at the start. Firstly, while this is a book with a heavily sexual element, in fact, a heavy BDSM element (which should be no surprise if you look at the title and the cover) that's not really what it is all about. Often this type of book is pure escapism and fantasy, but that's not really the case here. Our lead female character, Lacey, is anorexic or recovering from anorexia. Much of the storyline focuses on her attempts to deal with the hold that it has over her and the way that it controls her life. Stian offers her a different type of control and structure that helps her to deal with her issues.
I am often quite sceptical about books where there is a huge age difference and seemingly a difference in power between the two characters, but I'm not sure that that is the case here. At the same time, I'm not totally sure that it isn't either. Stian does help Lacey with her demons, but he isn't there to cure her, they just are right for one another in many ways.
For me, much of this book raised as many questions as it answered and while I loved every second of it, I'm left thinking about it long after the close of the last chapter. I found it well written, gripping and ultimately hugely satisfying.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Wilderness Within - Emma Castle

A Wilderness Within by Emma Castle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For some reason, I've read quite a few the world is falling apart, dystopian future novels recently. This one is a little different, as society hasn't broken down simply because we're all greedy and evil and politicians are corrupt, but instead, an awful virus has wiped out a huge amount of people.
Our two heroes, Caroline and Lincoln, are survivors. Naturally immune to this hideous sickness and trying desperately to survive. While Lincoln has years of military training to fall back on and keep him alive, Caroline seems to have managed with little more than hope and the desire to stay alive. Once they meet, she gives Lincoln a reason to want to live and survive. She becomes his reason for keeping going.
While this is a romance in some ways it isn't a traditional romance. I don't think that is entirely down to the setting, although that plays a part. What makes a difference here is that it doesn't follow the well-trodden path of two people meet, something pulls them apart (often a misunderstanding) and then they get back together and live happily ever after. That's not to say that if romance is your thing you won't find plenty here to put a smile on your face, but rather that it's a refreshing change to have a romance where the love element is a major part of the story, but it isn't all to it. The relationship between the couple in many ways seems more natural and less contrived as can often happen in this kind of books.
I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was gripping and exciting as we followed Caroline and Lincoln in their attempts to survive and find their way to other survivors. While this is a book that tells the story of fear, the worst of human behaviour, loss and destruction it is also a book about hope, love and the best in humankind.

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Under the Skin - Zara West

Under the Skin
Zara West
Publication date: June 6th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Thriller

A billionaire bridge builder
A gifted thief
A ruthless criminal
Can he save her before it’s too late?

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Author Bio:
Zara West loves all things adventurous and heart-stopping as long as they lead to true love. Born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Zara spends winters in New York where the streets hum with life, summers in the Maritimes where the sea can be cruel, and the rest of the year anywhere inspiration for tales of suspense, mystery, and romance are plentiful.
An accomplished artist by training and passion, she brings a love of art to every book she writes. When not marooned on an island or chasing after Greek shepherds, Zara tends her organic herb garden, collects hats and cats, and whips up ethnic dishes for friends and family. Learn more at http://www.zarawestsuspense.com

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My Review 

There was a lot to like about this book. With its look at homelessness, illegal immigrants, the way that women who are vulnerable are treated and the like, there was a great deal to this story. While one part of our couple, Lena, is faced with being at the whim of all kinds of unpleasant people, struggling to keep her families head above water, Mic has been there but managed to escape.

This is the fourth in the series and having not read the other books, I haven't got any knowledge of the characters that pop in this book that featured in the previous stories. I don't know if those books dealt with such meaty topics as this, but it certainly added to the storyline here. I don't think that it was essential to have read the previous books, I don't think that my enjoyment was affected by having not read them.

On the whole, I enjoyed the storyline and the two main characters were likeable. Unfortunately, for me, I didn't really feel the chemistry between Mic and Lena. I'm not sure if the rest of things that happened actually caused that to be buried somehow, or if it was something else. Their relationship seemed to jump quite a bit for me and not in a totally believable way. It was a shame, as there was a great deal of potential here and I think that the homelessness aspect added a really interesting dimension to the story.

Overall, this was a good read. The plight of the homeless and illegal immigrants added an interesting and thought-provoking element to the book.

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Death at Ivy House - Betty Rowlands

Death at Ivy House: An utterly gripping English cozy mystery by Betty Rowlands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Five books into the Sukey Reynolds series and I'm really enjoying this scene of crime officer who spends a little too much time investigating things herself. Although unlike some amateur detectives, Sukey has a reason to be involved in the crimes that she investigates, really she shouldn't be looking into them the way that she does. Fortunately for us, the fact that she ignores that and does get involved makes for a good read.
Again with this book, we know a little bit more than Sukey and her detective boyfriend Jim do. If you haven't read any of this series, I should perhaps mention that while Sukey is romantically involved with the lead detective on most of the mysteries that she gets involved in, it isn't really with his blessing, or often even his knowledge. She does seem to have an uncanny knack for getting to the bottom of things.
This was an enjoyable read. The plot did have quite a few twists, turns and players which made me a little confused. I have to admit though, that despite having the extra knowledge to the detectives, I didn't guess who done it until it was revealed.
I'm loving this series and will be reading the next very shortly. If you're looking for a good detective story that itsn't too dark, but doesn't have that frothy rubbish that you often get with so-called 'cosy' mysteries, then this may well be one for you.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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She's a Spitfire - Chloe Liese

She’s a Spitfire
Chloe Liese
(Tough Love #2)
Publication date: June 24th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

One fiery-haired, sexy scientist finds her perfect complement in a dark and handsome soccer star. Opposites attract, and they’ve got chemistry that’s explosive—literally.
Physics calls it entropy. Philosophy calls it Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, eventually it will. Professionally and personally speaking, Zed’s familiar with the principle. After a decade of trying to alter the atomic makeup of the mafia from its nucleus, now he’s set on leaving The Life and pursuing his heart. Problem is, the sassy, hot-headed spitfire he can’t quit is meddling in his slow burn escape plan, and turning it into full-on combustion.
Not to mention, Nairne’s got a painful history she won’t talk about and more secrets than she has lab instruments—which is really saying something. In an ideal world, the bad boy footballer would follow the brainy beauty overseas and they’d live happily ever after. But Murphy’s Law is proven true, as Zed finds his world imploding and his escape plan foiled. These enemies turned lovers end up discovering how costly it can be to meet the right person at the wrong time.
A present he can’t escape.
A past she can’t forget.
A future they won’t stop fighting for.
They say all’s fair in love…and war.
Book Two in the Tough Love Series—an enemies to lovers, suspenseful romance, full of sexy Italians, feisty heroines, globe-trotting action, and an ending that’ll both satisfy you and leave you ready for more!

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Author Bio:
Chloe’s always been a sucker for a suspenseful steamy romance, ever since she managed to find the one saucy mystery series hiding in her high school’s prim little library. Nothing drives her crazier than a story that cranks up the heat, then closes the door on the reader’s face, so don’t read her books if you don’t want to know what actually happens when the lights fade to black…
When she’s not writing, Chloe’s busy reading books of all genres, rereading Harry Potter (which she can’t help but make her characters similarly obsessed over), and playing catch-up with her bad@$$ little girls. She’s also been known to scramble around the pitch for a pick-up soccer match and run along the river while dreaming up her next book.

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My Review 

This is the second book in the Tough Love trilogy, in some cases, you can read books that form part of a series as stand-alone stories but with these books, you really need to read He's A Brute first. 

This second book picks up from more or less where the first one left off. Since they first met, the relationship between Zed and Nairne has intensified. Not physically, it was pretty intense in that way, to begin with, but their feelings have grown and the idea of being a short term partnership is clearly not going to work any more.

I'm really enjoying reading about both Zed and Nairne. I like their relationship and the way that their characters complement one another. It does appear that they might be too headstrong and stubborn to work, but if anything, that's what makes them work so well.

There's a lot for them both to deal with in this book. I did wonder if it would leave anything for book three, although something that happened towards the end of this book set that up. I do like the way that Nairne's disability is portrayed and the way that she copes with it.

I'm interested to see what will happen next for this couple. I think they deserve their happily ever after, that I assume they are going to get.

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The Tracker - Leslie Georgeson

The Tracker by Leslie Georgeson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've changed my mind about five times about how many stars to give this book. The storyline kept me gripped and I really liked the characters. That would usually result in a good four stars, but, unfortunately, this time, there were a few things that stopped me from giving it.
As I started by saying, the storyline was certainly gripping and I was keen to know how it was going to play out. Set in what I assume is a future dystopia, this book has elements of sci-fi and the paranormal. The 'Dregs' are ex-soldiers who were engineered and experimented on in order to make them the ultimate soldiers, before being discarded once injured. They had been supposed to be killed, but escaped instead and are now on the run. This worked really well and all of the Dregs have something about them, which makes you want them to win through and get their freedom and happiness. The female lead, Jessica, is also interesting and likeable. She is a little too willing to fall into the cooking and cleaning for her man role, but she has something about her that makes her really quite likeable.
Unfortunately, where this book falls down a bit for me, is in the actual writing. On the whole, it isn't bad, but far too often there is too much telling and not nearly enough showing. Just a little more action, rather than telling us what people were feeling or thinking would have made the world of difference to the storyline. The other problem, which links to this in a way, was the repetition. Quite often we would be told what someone was worrying about, only to be told three, four and sometimes even more times, the same thing, just using different words. Some repetition helps to reinforce what the writer is trying to show us, but over and over again is unnecessary.
I did enjoy this book and feel a bit mean that I'm being quite critical, but sometimes a good book that has something small that detracts is much worse than a book that is awful from start to finish. I would be keen to read the other books in the series. Partly in the hope that the writing improves, but also because I do want to know what will happen to the other characters.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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