lilysreviews

Blurb: Join Becca Flannigan and Nick Ciotti as they promise to love, honor and cherish each other in front of their family and friends…and her baby bump! The blushing bride-to-be is carrying double duty—twins—from one passionate night with a mysterious bad boy. When Becca lands in the hospital, who should treat her but Nick? He's the new doc in town, but his bedside manner is all too familiar…

Becca and Nick begin to bond, but can Dr. Delicious leave his painful past behind him to create a family of his own? Add in Becca's worries about her own future, and you've got one apprehensive engagement! With a little Christmas magic for the bride and groom, this may be the happiest-ever-after in Celebration!

Review: His Texas Christmas Bride is a good story and a very nice addition to Ms. Thompson's Celebrations, Inc. series.

Becca Flanigan and Nick Ciotti meet again three months after a memorable night spent together...and she is carrying his children. Nick has a past that leaves him very unsure about having a family. Becca has worries of her own. Could the two of them have a mutual meeting of the minds to go forward toward a brighter future?

The book was a great read and makes for a wonderful holiday story. The characters move the story along as they work through their issues - together and alone.

Received from author for an honest reviews.

Blurb: The Courtesan is an astonishing tale inspired by the real life of a woman who lived and loved in the extraordinary twilight decades of the Qing dynasty. To this day, Sai Jinhua is a legend in her native land of China, and this is her story, told the way it might have been.

The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father’s summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature. Will the private ritual that is her father’s legacy and the wise friendship of the crippled brothel maid be enough to sustain her?

When an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, she enters the close world of his jealous first wife. Yet it is Jinhua who accompanies him--as Emissary to the foreign devil nations of Prussia, Austro-Hungary, and Russia--on an exotic journey to Vienna. As he struggles to play his part in China's early, blundering diplomatic engagement with the western world, Jinhua’s eyes and heart are opened to the irresistible possibilities of a place that is mesmerizing and strange, where she will struggle against the constraints of tradition and her husband’s authority and seek to find “Great Love.”

Sai Jinhua is an altered woman when she returns to a changed and changing China, where a dangerous clash of cultures pits East against West. The moment arrives when Jinhua’s western sympathies will threaten not only her own survival, but the survival of those who are most dear to her.

A book that shines a small light on the large history of China’s relationship with the West, The Courtesan is a novel that distills, with the economy of a poem, a woman’s journey of untold miles to discern what is real and abiding.

Review: From protected child to a brothel's money tee to concubine of a scholar to traveling to Prussia with the then emissary and back to China, Alexandra Curry's The Courtesan is a sweeping tale of a girl who is transformed into a woman during a troubled period in China's history.

It is a story of finding friendship during the most trying of times, of sacrificing yourself and sometimes - inadvertently - others, and of finding redemption. It is also a journey to find what is real and what is not, how truth may come too late, and how patience can be projected even if the opposite is felt.

I enjoyed reading The Courtesan very much. Ms. Curry's writing brings the characters and time period alive for the reader (or at least for this reader). The books is complete in and of itself. However, I would have liked to know more about what happened to Sai Jinchua after her return to Suzhou with the boy. The author's note was also very much appreciated for the character's historical context.

(Blurb and image (c)Penguin Random House)

Blurb: Gaspar is a lonely, little ghost who is lactose intolerant and lives in a vacant house. When the house is sold and Mr. and Mrs. Stone move in with their two young boys, he is thrilled to finally have a family.

He tries and tries to get their attention but gives up and goes to bed when he realizes they can’t see him. Before he falls asleep, however, Gaspar learns that good things can come when you least expect them. And sometimes, wishes really do come true.

Review: Neat story for children about a lactose intolerant ghost that no one could see.

Then he "meets" the new family that has moved into the house he haunts. After trying to get the family to see him, the only one who can see him is Hayden (the youngest family member).

Nice story about making new friends in the unlikeliest of ways.

(Image and blurb (c)Teresa Burrell)

Blurb: USA Today bestselling author Cathy Clamp reboots the Sazi universe in Forbidden, a tightly-paced, high-tension urban fantasy thriller.

Ten years have passed since the war that destroyed the Sazi Council and inflicted a horrible “cure” on thousands of Sazi, robbing them of their ability to shapeshift.

Luna Lake, isolated in Washington State, started as a refugee camp for Sazi orphans. Now it’s a small town and those refugees are young adults, chafing at the limits set by their still-fearful guardians.

There’s reason to fear: Sazi children are being kidnapped. Claire, a red wolf shifter, is sent to investigate. Held prisoner by the Snakes during childhood, Claire is distrusted by those who call Luna Lake home.

Before the war, Alek was part of a wolf pack in Chicago. In Luna Lake he was adopted by a parliament of Owls, defying Sazi tradition. The kidnappings are a painful reminder that his little sister disappeared a decade ago.

When Claire and Alek meet, sparks fly–but the desperate race to find the missing children forces them to set aside their mutual attraction and focus on the future of their people.

Review: It has been a long while since I had read a Sazi book and I was fortunate enough to have received an ARC to read from Ms. Clamp for an honest review. Reading this book made me realize how much I had enjoyed reading the series and I am glad to have the opportunity.

Reading the book, I have to say that I found little fault with it.

I like the town setting of Luna Lake and everything about it. I enjoyed the characters - the good and the bad, but especially Alek and how he interacts with the others. The storyline - the threads, the pacing, the looking into things - was intriguing and enjoyable.

What I believe I enjoyed the most about Forbidden was how everything tied in together.

Wonderful read and I look forward to more books in the series.

(Image and blurb (c)Cathy Clamp)



Forbidden may be bought here.

Blurb: The Taskforce is used to being the hunter, but this time they’re the hunted.

Intent on embroiling the US in a quagmire that will sap its economy and drain its legitimacy, Russia passes a potential weapon of mass destruction to Boko Haram, an extreme Islamic sect in Nigeria. The Russian FSB believes the weapon, a relic of the Cold War, has deteriorated and is no longer effective, but they are wrong. Boko Haram has the means for mass destruction, which will be set loose upon a multitude of unsuspecting innocents on one of the world’s grandest stages.

Trying to solve the riddle of who might be stalking them, Pike Logan and the Taskforce have no idea what’s been set in motion; but there’s another secret from the Cold War buried in the Russian FSB, and exposing it will mean the difference between life and death—not only for Pike and his partner, Jennifer, but for perhaps millions more around the globe.

Review: Days of Rage is another fast-paced thriller with a very relevant storyline in today's world.

The blending of fiction with real-world "what could be" possibilities is riveting. So are the characters (TaskForce, FSB, Boko Haram) and how they work, react, and change throughout the book.

This is only the second book I had read by Mr. Taylor, but will definitely look for others to catch-up on as well as those that will be published in the future.

Received from publisher for review.

(Cover image and blurb (c)Brad Taylor)

Blurb: Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are used to putting their lives at risk—and in The Polaris Protocol it’s Jennifer’s brother and countless more innocents who face unfathomable violence and bloodshed.

Pike and Jennifer are in Turkmenistan with the Taskforce—a top-secret antiterrorist unit that operates outside US law—when Jennifer gets a call from her brother, Jack. Working on an investigative report into the Mexican drug cartels, Jack Cahill has unknowingly gotten caught between two rival groups. His desperate call to his sister is his last before he’s kidnapped.

In their efforts to rescue Jack, Pike and Jennifer uncover a plot much more insidious than illegal drug trafficking—the cartel that put a target on Jack’s back has discovered a GPS hack with the power to effectively debilitate the United States. The hack allows a user to send false GPS signals, making it possible to manipulate everything from traffic signals and banking wire transfers to cruise missiles, but only while the system’s loophole remains in place.

With the GPS hack about to be exploited and Jack’s life at stake, Jennifer and Pike must find a way to infiltrate the cartel’s inner circle and eliminate the impending threat. The price of failure, for both the Taskforce and the country, is higher than ever.

Review: Drug cartels, control of GPS signals, and a TaskForce member's kidnapped brother - and that is mostly the beginning.

The Polaris Protocol is a fast-paced, edge of the seat read. There are parts of the book that do not make for easy reading (cartel methods, for example), but they give the story a certain authenticity it might not otherwise have had.

The plot revolving around GPS signals and how they could be (mis-)used by less than savory people was nicely done.

Great recommended read and I look forward to reading more of Mr. Taylor's books.

Originally received as an Advanced Reader's Copy from publisher for review.

(Cover image and blurb (c)Brad Taylor)

Blurb: Single father Danny Goodman would do anything — anything — to protect his teenaged daughter, Abby, from more unhappiness after her mother’s death. Struggling to keep her at the private school she loves, he accepts a favor from an unexpected benefactor: Thomas Galvin, father of Abby’s best friend and one of the wealthiest men in Boston. Galvin offers Danny a loan that would be enough to pay Abby’s tuition and relieve some of Danny’s other financial pressures, and Danny can’t help but be charmed by Galvin’s generosity and kindness.

Danny’s new friend, however, turns out to have some dangerous enemies — including some Federal investigators who think Danny’s in a perfect position to collect evidence against Galvin. The moment Galvin’s loan hits Danny’s account, Danny finds himself trapped into a dangerous undercover assignment that will put both his life and his daughter’s at risk. Danny tells one lie after another to hide more and more secrets, weaving a net that will ultimately require a desperate plan of action.

Review: I received the book from the publisher for review.

Not having read Joseph Finder before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I was surprised - in a good way. What drew me to the book (aside from a good storyline) is that it had quite a few twists and turns throughout. I also found myself liking the characters - all of them to a greater or lesser degree. Dan Goodman and Tom Galvin especially.

Aside from the above, what I really liked about the book were the themes that I found when reading it - family, the ties that bind, what we do for those we love, things not always being what they seemed, and trying to do what is right.

Enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more of Mr. Finder's works.

(Cover image and blurb (c)Joseph Finder)

Blurb: No one was aware of the storm's sudden force.

Not the Hurricane Hunter crew trapped in its center. Not the family marooned on a resort island while searching for their missing teen. A deadly Category Five hurricane has never hit the Georgia coast in modern times.

Until now.

St. Simons Island, Georgia, has never been hit by a Category 5 hurricane.

Until now.

No one predicted the storm's sudden force. A crippled Air Force recon plane, trapped in the eye of a violent hurricane. An outspoken tropical weather forecaster, fired from his network TV job before he can issue a warning: the storm is changing course and intensifying. A desperate family searching for a runaway daughter on Georgia's posh St. Simons Island, cut off from escape as the hurricane roars toward them. A marriage on the rocks; an unrequited sexual attraction; a May-December romance. All will be swept up by the monster storm.

Get ready for a white-knuckle adventure.

Review: I had originally received this from the publisher as a review copy, but had laid it aside, and it took me a good long while to come to reading it. Having it read it, I wish I had read it sooner.

While, living in Florida as I do, I can't say that hurricanes are a good thing, Mr. Bernard's writing is. He tells a great story and knows his way around invoking an image or three.

I liked all of the characters in the book - even the ones who weren't entirely likable - and how things changed for them throughout the book. Their growth and changing perspectives as the fictional (for this book) Hurricane Janet approached landfall really stood out for me.

I think that, overall, I liked the blend of weather science presented, the behind the scenes "stuff" of how information is gathered, what information is presented (and when it is), and the themes throughout the book (pushing through against the odds with the knowledge of right based on experience, realization of when to let go, tipping points, new relationships, etc.) are what made Eyewall great.

(Book cover and blurb (c)Belle Books)

Blurb: The New Conservative Woman Speak Out

Popular political news commentator Scottie Nell Hughes tackles the myth of the weak and meek conservative American woman with a fighting spirit that refuses to be intimidated by the mainstream media.

The media and many politicians have defined today’s American woman as a bra-burning liberal who sees men as competitors and children as burdens. According to them, women want federal bureaucrats to run our schools. They need churches to pay for prescriptions that violate religious faith. They trust big government and mistrust our military, and they care more about obscure endangered species than endangered American jobs. Any woman who defies these stereotypes is marginalized and ignored— particularly if her outlook is bold, strong, conservative, and Christian. Scottie Hughes emphatically rejects those stereotypes—and with a ROAR, refuses to be ignored. She describes the strength of the new conservative woman in everyday life and politics, from her deep faith and spirituality to her love for family and children to her independence and refusal to participate in a manufactured war against men.

Review: Ms. Hughes speaks her mind in Roar. While she is diplomatic, she is not shy about voicing her opinions on a variety of topics. Throughout the book, Ms. Hughes shares her background and her views with a fair sprinkling of humor.

While I can't say that I agree with all of her views, her presentation leaves the reader (or at least me) with the feeling that the disagreement is a good thing if done in a respectful, intelligent, and well-thought out manner.

Very good read.

(Received from publisher for review. Blurb and cover (c)Worthy Publishing.)