The Total Package

STEPHANIE EVANOVICH

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin, 2014.

How acquired: Via BookCrossing.

First line: Although smoking had been outlawed inside public establishments more than a decade ago, the bar still had leftover smog. 

My thoughts: Ok, so, I have a confession. I got this author mixed up with Janet Evanovich. I have a bunch of Janet's books in her series, the name of which had escaped me, and which I hadn't started reading yet, and when I saw this book offered up in a BookCrossing friend's post on FB, I thought it sounded good and would be a good introduction to Ms. Evanovich. It wasn't until I finished this book that I suddenly remembered her series was Stephanie Plum. And then I thought, wait, she named her main character after herself? And then I suddenly remembered that author is Janet, not Stephanie!

But I am sooooo glad I made that mistake because I LOVED this book! I was expecting light fluffy romance, which would've been great, I'm always down with that. I was not expecting to be 70 or so pages into the book and so far it was all about the hero battling his alcoholic demons. And the heroine nowhere in sight. But I zipped through half the book on a Saturday afternoon, and then last night I was up way too late finishing it. Yes, it was that good!

I'm often a little leery of secret baby plots. To empathize with the heroine there has to be really compelling motivation for her to keep the dad in the dark, and Ms. Evanovich pulled that off wonderfully here. I was completely on board with Dani's reasons, and understood completely why it took her so long to come clean. And I loved Tyson for sure.

I was excited to learn that two of the other couples in this book have already had their own books! I went straight to Book Mooch and found and requested both of them.

The Total Package. An apt title. Stephanie Evanovich has a new fan!



Goodreads synopsis: Heartthrob star quarterback Tyson Palmer has it all: a million-dollar arm, a winning season and the promise of a Superbowl ring. But more importantly, football’s biggest star is the ultimate comeback kid. After an addiction to painkillers nearly derailed his career, Tyson got sober and went from zero to hero in the eyes of the public.

But one person remains unconvinced: Dani Carr, a sports commentator with high ratings and following of her own. Dani can’t forgive Tyson’s transgressions or forget a single passionate night with him back in college. To make things worse, Tyson doesn’t realize that the bombshell with huge ratings is the cute co-ed whose heart he once broke.

But can a sports journalist trying to claw her way to the top and a quarterback who knows all about rock bottom make it to the Super Bowl without destroying each other? And what will happen when Tyson—riding high now that he’s revived his career—realizes he needs to make an even more important comeback with Dani? Can he use his million-dollar moves to get past her defenses—or will she sideline him for good?

Lethal Lies (Harlequin Romantic Suspense, No. 1830)

LARA LACOMBE

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin, 2014.

How acquired: Bought.

My thoughts: My first time reading this author, and I really enjoyed the book. Jillian is an ER doctor who is kidnapped from the hospital parking lot and forced to tend to the wounds of a young gang member. She's frightened much of the time, but dedicated to saving her patient, while also trying to find a way to escape. She's resourceful, and while her escape plan fails, she stays strong. Alex is an undercover agent who has been betrayed and is now on the run from not only the gang he infiltrated, but from the FBI.

I'm not generally a fan of quick romance, preferring to watch a relationship build up between the characters, but Ms. Lacombe wrote it very well here and it worked for me. The ending was a bit contrived, but certainly satisfying. A quick look through my book chart showed me that I have another of Ms. Lacombe's books, “Killer Season”, though since I recently moved and most of my books are still packed I've no idea where it is at the moment. But I look forward to it!


Goodreads synopsis: Putting her faith in someone who lies for a living isn't the safest thing Dr. Jillian Mahoney has ever done. But to stay alive, she has to believe the undercover agent—who's kidnapped her to prove his innocence—isn't a traitor to the FBI. And to help him, she must deny their intense attraction as they run from two vengeful killers.

Her captor, Alex Malcom, has lived a life of lies—some worse than others. Still, there's one truth he's reluctant to disclose to Jillian, the woman of his dreams. One that could stop their relationship cold.

The Killer You Know

A. M. TAYLOR

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, KillerReads, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, publication date 7/12/19.

How acquired: NetGalley for review.

First line: They find the body on a Sunday.

My thoughts: Browsing the “Read Now” books on NetGalley, the title and cover of this book caught my eye. Then when I saw that a podcast was part of the plot, I was really interested. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I particularly like true crime.

The book is narrated in first person POV by Olivia, whose twin brother Ethan is serving time for murder. A murder that Olivia is convinced he did not commit. That fateful night changed the entire trajectory of Olivia's life, resulting in her going to law school. Ten years later, she's working for a law firm, and still desperately advocating for her brother. Now a true crime podcast (similar to Serial, which I highly recommend) wants to feature her brother's case in it's new season.

The narrative switches with each chapter from “Now” to “Then”. On NetGalley the book is listed as “General Fiction (Adult)”, but it felt more like Young Adult to me. In “Now”, the podcasters, with Olivia's help, are going over everything they can get their hands on regarding the case, and interviewing Olivia, Ethan, and some of their former friends. In “Then”, we're not only in the past, but going backwards, so first we learn about the trial, then the police investigation, and finally the events of the night that led up to the murder. There's a twist right at the end, which I had already guessed halfway into the book.

I didn't really connect with Olivia, though maybe we aren't supposed to, given the piecemeal way she revealed information to us. And since she's narrating, we don't get to know any of the other characters very well. It may be all about getting Ethan freed, but it's also all about Olivia. The ending was a bit abrupt, I would've liked a little more resolution and felt I'd been left hanging. But overall, I enjoyed it well enough. If you have some time to while away, this is a good way to do so.

The Boss Next Door (Harlequin Heartwarming)

ROZ DENNY FOX

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin, 2013 (previously published as HAVING IT ALL).

How acquired: I think I got this book when I was subscribing to Harlequin's Reader Service.

First line: Sherry Campbell pirouetted in front of her sleepy roommate, seeking an opinion on her new appearance.

My thoughts: I can always count on Roz Denny Fox to deliver an enjoyable, amusing and heartwarming story that I zip through before I even realize how late I've sat up reading. Her characters are never one dimensional, including the children who are always integral to the plot and not just there. And she must research the crap out of everything, because I learned more than I ever thought I'd want to know about the process a college goes through when hiring a new dean. And if she just made all that up on the fly, then she is a very convincing writer.

I liked that the relationship between Sherry and Garrett built slowly and gradually, with both characters, but Sherry especially, continually denying her feeling and fighting them, not to mention fighting each other. There's lots of bickering between them, which I also really like. And the last chapter had me in tears.

I recommend reading ANYTHING YOU CAN DO... first, which is about Sherry's brother, Nolan. But while there are a few references back to happenings in that book, this one can still stand on it's own.

And then I recommend reading TROUBLE AT LONE SPUR, which has no relation to this book but is one of my favorites of the author's works.

Goodreads synopsis: Garrett Lock wants it all. He's a single father with a child he adores. He has a successful career. And now he wants a second chance at marriage, another shot at love—with Sherry Campbell.

Despite her desire for a family, Sherry doesn't believe that love and independence are compatible. But when Garrett becomes her boss—and her neighbor—she starts to question her assumptions, falling first for his eight-year-old son…and then for him.

Maybe with a bit of compromise and a lot of trust…you can have it all? 

Living Lies (Harbored Secrets, Book 1)

NATALIE WALTERS

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blog Tour Program, for review.

First line: Just let go.

My thoughts: Where do I start? I was sucked into this book from the first couple of pages. When Lane is standing on the edge of a dilapidated bridge, contemplating letting go. And Charlie, the new deputy in town, happens to come along. Not your typical meet cute!

Lane is not your typical romantic suspense book heroine either. Oh, she has lots of the qualities. Widowed, single mom, young son, doesn't date, runs a cafe in a small town. Not looking for a relationship, though for very different reasons than your average heroine. Typical qualities, but there is absolutely nothing cliché about her. Or about Charlie, who is closer to being a typical hero, but fleshed out very well. I was quite enamored of him almost immediately, and I was glad the book went back and forth between their POVs so we got inside his head and really got to know him.

Lane has secrets. No spoiler, since it's right there on the back cover copy, “dangerously depressed after the death of her husband”. Another character, a veteran, suffers from pretty severe PTSD. And Charlie is also a veteran, having recently returned to civilian life, so he's got a few issues of his own. I felt the author handled all of it beautifully, especially Charlie's reaction when he learns about Lane's depression.

Lane's little boy is adorable but not cloying, and I loved some of the scenes with her sister and seeing them become closer. Her parents were a bit misguided and career/society focused. I half expected Charlie to pull a nobody-puts-baby-in-a-corner at some point. But all's well that ends well.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, though from what I read about the author she did already have a lot of writing experience. She's definitely good at it, and I can't wait for Deputy Frost's book to come out!

Goodreads synopsis: In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past. 

Wooing Cadie McCaffrey

BETHANY TURNER

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blog Tour Program

First line: Four years ago, on my thirtieth birthday, I had two very important realizations.

My thoughts: Part of what drew me to wanting to read this book was the line in the synopsis about Will using wooing tactics from Cadie’s favorite romantic comedies. That actually ended up just being a small part of the overall story though. But I still really enjoyed this rom-com of a book! Sometimes when two characters in a romance novel are torn apart because of the Big Misunderstanding it’s frustrating to the point of cliché. I want to yell at them to just talk to each other! But here that plot point worked very well. Cadie is a great character, and I could totally sympathize with her feelings about her relationship with Will. Well, my younger self could, as I was in a similar situation many many years ago. And I loved Will. A bit hapless and clueless but charming and devoted. The friendships they had with their coworkers and the boss were amusing and touching. My only complaint is that in the beginning the narrative jumping around in time was a little jarring and sometimes confused me a bit, though if I hadn’t been in the middle of a sudden house moving and had trouble finding time to sit and read for more than twenty or thirty minutes at once, it may not have felt that way, and I did like the engaging writing.

Synopsis: After four years with her boyfriend, Cadie McCaffrey is thinking of ending things. Convinced Will doesn't love her in the "forever" way she loves him, Cadie believes it's time for her to let him go before life passes her by. When a misunderstanding leads to a mistake, leaving her hurt, disappointed, and full of regret, she finally sends him packing.

But for Will, the end of their relationship is only the beginning of his quest to figure out how to be the man Cadie wanted him to be. With the dubious guidance of his former pro-athlete work friends and tactics drawn from Cadie's favorite romantic comedies, Will attempts to win her back. It's a foolproof plan. What could possibly go wrong?

Bethany Turner is back with more of the heart and humor readers love. Anyone who enjoys a good romance or binges romantic comedies on Netflix will devour this delightful story.

Desire's Captive (Harlequin Presents No. 609)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT SOME MAY CONSIDER SPOILERS.

PENNY JORDAN

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin Books, 1983.

How acquired: Who knows. I registered it on BookCrossing in 2003 after retrieving some boxes of books that my husband had put in the attic when we moved into our house some seven or eight years previously.

First line: 'Saffron, my dear, you look wonderful – so like your mother!'

My thoughts: So many conflicting emotions. Saffron meets Nico, is entranced by him, he seems entranced by her. He takes her on a picnic. Next thing she knows three more people show up and she's taken hostage at gunpoint. And Nico is the leader of the gang of kidnappers.

So despite the kidnapping, and the ruthless way he treated her while she was held captive, I knew Nico was the hero. No other man is mentioned in the synopsis on the back cover. So he had to be. But I just couldn't see how. For the entire book I just couldn't figure out he could possibly redeem himself and not end up in jail. Because obviously if he repented for his deeds and went to jail in the end, there wouldn't be an HEA. Unless the book jumped forward to his release. But that just didn't seem plausible. If one of the other men had lured her to the remote area where she was kidnapped, then I could easily assume right off the bat that Nico was working with the kidnappers in an undercover capacity. Perfectly plausible. But he engineered the kidnapping.

Of course it all works out in the end. But after learning the truth, the whole truth, I was outraged on Saffron's behalf. Outraged that her father had allowed Nico to kidnap her. Outraged that Saffron seemed to harbor no anger at her father for allowing her to be put in that situation. In my head I wrote an epilogue in which, after the initial joy of being reunited with Nico and learning he was actually one of the good guys had worn off, Saffron would vent her anger on both Nico and her father. Oh, she'd still marry Nico, of course. But she would hold their actions over both their heads for awhile and make them both grovel for her forgiveness.

Whew. Ok. Now that I got that out of the way. I read the majority for this book in one day. I liked Saffron. She was strong. She was frightened but defiant. She was attracted to Nico and hated him for it. She was shrewd in her observations of Olivia, the female kidnapper who was jealous of her and the hold she seemed to have over Nico. And of course I liked Nico as well. I mean, I knew the anger he often took out on Saffron wasn't out of meanness, it was for show around the other members of the gang, and it was his own defense against the feelings he felt for her.

Ugh. I'm not a hundred percent sure I even liked the book. No, that's a lie. I did like it. But I'm not proud of that.

Goodreads synopsis: Her worst fears had come true. Being kidnapped by political terrorists was the realization of Saffron Wykeham's worst nightmares. And to be taken to an isolated primitive farmhouse and subjected to the volatile dangerous temperaments of her captors was worse than she ever could have imagined. For Nico Doranti, the man she loved, the one man to whom her whole being responded, had manipulated her descent into hell. Though calculating and callous, he was her only hope for escape-and for future happiness.

Touch of Smoke

KARISSA LAUREL

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Red Adept Publishing, 2019.

How acquired: Received from the author for review.

First line: The day I left Evansville, I twisted my rearview mirror until it reflected the ceiling of my daddy's '61 Apache and not the road behind me.

My thoughts: Isn't that cover gorgeous?

The paranormal aspect of this romance unfolded very slowly, and I loved the way that happened. Rikki has returned home to Evansville after being away three years. Arriving in town, she's greeted with a little hostility and a lot of hurt from her friends and family over the way she took off. She's here to face her demons and get some answers about the death of her best friend. The narrative jumps back and forth between the present and the past. We follow Rikki apprehensively greeting her mother, her friends, and her former love, Owen, who she blames for Mina's death. In between those chapters, we go back three years and follow Rikki as she first meets and falls for Owen. There are hints about the paranormal aspect sprinkled throughout the two narratives, and we gradually learn more about Owen and his abilities. And when it's finally revealed just exactly what Owen is, or rather why Owen is the way he is, it was quite a departure from the usual paranormal tropes.

Owen is also former military, which ticks one of my boxes, and I was quickly enamored with him. And I really liked Rikki as well. Watching their relationship slowly develop was fun.

“I'm named after my dad.”

"Was he hoping for a boy?”

I balled a fist. “Were you hoping for a fat lip?”

Along with a little humor there's a bit of brooding and plenty of angst without dipping into depressive.

But the ending threw me a little. The narrative is in first person POV from Rikki, and the logical part of my brain couldn't understand how Rikki could be telling us the story at the point. Unless there will be a sequel or a second book. We don't necessarily get an HEA, but there is the possibility of one so that didn't bother me.

Overall, I enjoyed this romance from a new to me author. Her other books, based on the synopses I read, sound a little intriguing but not something I would normally choose to read, not being a big fan of mythology, but I liked her writing here well enough that if I come across them I'm very likely now to pick them up. And I do hope that there will be another book about Rikki and Owen, or at least set in their world. I'd gladly read about Luke next.

Goodreads synopsis: Three years ago, Rikki Albemarle watched her best friend die at the hands of a supernatural evil. Certain she was slated to be the next victim, Rikki fled her small Smoky Mountain hometown, vowing to never come back. Plagued by nightmares and knowing she's the only one who believes Mina's death was no accident, Rikki returns with hopes of finding answers and holding the killer accountable.

Rikki is convinced the key to unlocking the secret of Mina's death lies with Owen Amir, the alluring young army vet who once claimed her heart. But the deeper Rikki digs into Owen's past, the more she's torn between the urgings of her heart and her memories of him on the night Mina died.

After falling further into the rabbit hole, Rikki lands at the feet of an ancient and powerful evil determined to finish what it started years before. To survive, she'll have to make a decision: believe Owen is the monster she always feared he might be or trust him enough to stay and fight for a second chance at love.

Precious Cargo: My Year Driving the Kids on School Bus 3077

CRAIG DAVIDSON

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Knopf Canada, 2016.

How acquired: Via Bookcrossing.

First line: I trudged across a field against a late-September wind that flattened my jacket against my chest.

My thoughts: Broke after some early success as a writer, Craig Davidson was desperate for any job that could provide some income. He had just applied for, and not gotten, a Lunch Supervisor position, when he found a flyer for bus drivers wanted. He called, and wound up driving a “short bus” with six special needs children.

I was a bit astounded at how easily he was hired to drive a school bus. I guess I just assumed that the drivers who pilot our kids around go through a rigorous screening process first. Of course, this is in Canada, and I live in the States (and in the interest of full disclosure, my kids only rode a bus for a few days of one semester and hated it so much I drove them after that), but maybe it's also that easy here.

It took me a little bit to get into the book. I guess I just wasn't that interested in the author's life before he began driving the bus. And at first the occasional excerpts from the “unpublished novel” irritated me and seemed pointless. But once Craig started his training it began to pick up for me, and as time went by the excerpts began to make more sense story wise.

And once the actual driving begins and Craig meets his charges, I was pretty riveted. I won't go into detail about each child and the challenges they faced, but his descriptions of them were vivid and thoughtful. As he gets to know the kids better, driving the bus becomes more than a job and his relationship with them becomes more than just being their bus driver. So it kind of puzzled me that when the school year ended, he just quit being a bus driver, and never really said why or what he was moving on to. Though I guess it started out as just a means to an end, to generate some income so he could afford to continue writing.

Regardless, this little peek into the lives of five extraordinary kids and their bus driver is heartwarming and feel good.

Goodreads synopsis: With his last novel, Cataract City, Craig Davidson established himself as one of our most talented novelists. But in his early thirties, before writing that novel and before his previous work, Rust and Bone, was made into an Oscar-nominated film, Davidson experienced a period of poverty, apparent failure and despair. In this new work of intimate, riveting and timely non-fiction, based loosely on a National Magazine Award-winning article he published in The Walrus, Davidson tells the story of one year in his life--a year during which he came to a new, mature understanding of his own life and his connection to others. Or, as Davidson would say, he became an adult.    
                                                                    
One morning in 2008, desperate and impoverished and living in a one-room basement apartment while trying unsuccessfully to write, Davidson plucked a flyer out of his mailbox that read, "Bus Drivers Wanted." That was the first step towards an unlikely new career: driving a school bus full of special-needs kids for a year. Armed only with a sense of humour akin to that of his charges, a creative approach to the challenge of driving a large, awkward vehicle while corralling a rowdy gang of kids, and surprising but unsentimental reserves of empathy, Davidson takes us along for the ride. He shows us how his evolving relationship with the kids on that bus, each of them struggling physically as well as emotionally and socially, slowly but surely changed his life along with the lives of the "precious cargo" in his care. This is the extraordinary story of that year and those relationships. It is also a moving, important and universal story about how we see and treat people with special needs in our society. 

The Poet Recusant (The Poet Series, Book Two)

STEPHANIE JO HARRIS

Stats for my copy: Paperback, Gatekeeper Press, 2018.

How acquired: Received from the publicist for review.

First line: Father Daniel shuffled across the kitchen to the note on the counter.

My thoughts: This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book. As with the first book, the writing was a bit stilted, a bit simplistic. In the first book I grew accustomed to it fairly quickly and stopped noticing it as much, but this time around it became a little tedious. Part of that may have been the plot. While Jack and Rebecca are vacationing in Italy, Rebecca is kidnapped by a mafia boss who is angry at Jack for refusing to do a job for him. He assures Jack of Rebecca's safe return once he finishes that job. We, and Rebecca, assume that job involves killing someone, but I never knew who, or else I missed that somewhere along the way. For most of the book, Jack is driving or walking around the city, spying on Don Dantori's men and trying to figure out where Rebecca is being held, while she is sitting on a couch in the Don's office, her wrists bound, and either being ignored or being toyed with. It all just dragged on and on and on. There are chapters that backtrack and show Jack staying with Father Daniel during that year before he finally sought out Rebecca, and I actually liked those parts of the story the best. Especially how Sister Bernadette was slowly won over by Jack and how devoted he was to the priest. Some of the scenes with Rebecca and the Don or his men also kept my interest, particularly her interactions with Harvey, who she and I both wanted to punch.

That's not to say I didn't like the book, because I did, but not nearly as much as the first book. And if there is a third book, I will definitely want to read it.

Also, I had to look up the word “recusant”, so in case, like me, you didn't know what it means, Google dictionary says “a person who refuses to submit to an authority or to comply with a regulation”. I like that.

Goodreads synopsis: “Rebecca?”

Jack walked to the bathroom and looked around. Scrawled onto the back of the bathroom door in soft pink lipstick were two things; ‘PD’ and a heart. Rebecca was gone.

He could tell by the room there had been no fight. She would go willingly with the police. Probably even quickly, hoping they would be gone before he returned. Expecting them, understanding why they were there, and seeing no cause to disagree she would have complied.

Except it wasn’t the police. It couldn’t be. The police would have waited for him.

Whoever had taken Rebecca wanted her alone; wanted her away from him. That meant only two possibilities; leverage or … punishment.

Jack Shelley returns in the second ruthless installment of The Poet Series by Stephanie Harris; and he’s been invited to kneel at the throne of the King.

Relentless and unforgiving, Recusant will leave readers decidedly uncomfortable, and begging for the next installment in the series.

Into the Jungle

ERICA FERENCIK

Stats for my copy: egalley, Simon & Schuster, 2019.

How acquired: Received from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

My thoughts: I loved THE RIVER AT NIGHT, by this same author, so much that when I saw this on NetGalley I immediately requested it without even bothering to read the synopsis.

This book could be subtitled Everything You Never Thought You Wanted to Know About the Amazon Jungle. Talk about harsh living. I can't imagine I would last even a week in the conditions that Lily and Omar lived in.

Omar is a native Amazonian. Lily is an American who has recently aged out of the foster care system and is living in Bolivia, working in a hostel for room and board with two other young girls. She has a meet cute with Omar one night and falls in love. When tragedy strikes the small village of Ayachero, where Omar is from, Lily travels home with him. She's not particularly welcomed by most of the villagers. Omar's mother in particular does not care for her at all.

From there we get an eye-opening look at daily life in the jungle, where a majority of a person's time is spent just surviving. The descriptions of the jungle and the myriad plants and creatures found there are evocative. Lily is an incredibly strong protagonist. Growing up in the foster care system hardened her, but Omar gets past all her defenses and sweeps her into a quick moving romance. You know it had to be true love if she's happy making a home in a remote village where the heat can be oppressive and the work is never ending. 

I very much liked both Lily and Omar. Told in first person POV, we get to know Lily very well. It's a great character study, with plenty of action thrown in. The secondary characters, seen through Lily's eyes, are also well written, from villagers to missionaries to evil poachers to an amusing river pilot named For God's Sake. They are all quite vivid.

And then along with all the hardships to overcome there's heart breaking tragedy. I can't imagine wanting to ever visit the Amazon, but I am quite interested in reading more about life there. I look forward to whatever Ms. Ferencik comes up with next!

Goodreads synopsis: Lily Bushwold thought she’d found the antidote to endless foster care and group homes: a teaching job in Cochabamba, Bolivia. As soon as she could steal enough cash for the plane, she was on it.

When the gig falls through and Lily stays in Bolivia, she finds bonding with other broke, rudderless girls at the local hostel isn’t the life she wants either. Tired of hustling and already world-weary, crazy love finds her in the form she least expected: Omar, a savvy, handsome local man who’d abandoned his life as a hunter in Ayachero—a remote jungle village—to try his hand at city life.

When Omar learns that a jaguar has killed his four-year-old nephew in Ayachero, he gives Lily a choice: Stay alone in the unforgiving city, or travel to the last in a string of ever-more-isolated river towns in the jungles of Bolivia. Thirty-foot anaconda? Puppy-sized spiders? Vengeful shamans with unspeakable powers? Love-struck Lily is oblivious. She follows Omar to this ruthless new world of lawless poachers, bullheaded missionaries, and desperate indigenous tribes driven to the brink of extinction. To survive, Lily must navigate the jungle--its wonders as well as its terrors—using only her wits and resilience.

The Poet (The Poet Series, Book One)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT SOME MAY CONSIDER SPOILERS.

STEPHANIE JO HARRIS

Stats for my copy: Paperback, Gatekeeper Press, 2018.

How acquired: Received from the Publicist for review.

My thoughts: I occasionally get emails from some random author or publicist or the like, offering a book for review. I used to accept every request, but some of those books I ended up DNFing. They're often independently published, not always well written, and I would think to myself uh huh, there's a reason emails are being sent out to try to drum up some interest. But some of those books do sound interesting, such as this one and it's sequel. And the publicist was offering hard copies over digital, which I so much prefer. So I took a chance and accepted the offer.

I was a bit smitten as soon as I opened the package that came in the mail. They aren't the standard mass market size, being a bit larger, but smaller than the standard trade paperback. I liked the size, and the feel of the cover, but initially I set them aside to finish the book I was already in the middle of. I finally picked up this one, the first book, two nights ago.

The writing felt a little stilted, a little mechanical, almost a little distant from it's subject matter. Almost too much narration of each character's movements. But it only took a couple of chapters to start getting into the particular rhythm. One thing that really helps me connect with a character is likability. Wait, two things. And relatability. If I really like a character, and can relate to him or her, I enjoy his or her story more. I didn't relate to Rebecca at all, and while she seemed nice enough I still felt a little distanced from her. We're told quite a bit about her without really getting inside her head. Same with Jack, but with him it seemed more inevitable. As if the author intended me to feel that way about him. Of course, Jack brought up conflicting feelings. Is he a good guy? Is a bad guy, a villain? Can he be both? And then we meet William, and it didn't take much of a leap to figure out who he really was.

All that, and yet the book is imminently readable. 206 pages, which I read in two sittings. The night I first picked it up, I literally read a hundred pages before going to sleep. And then I finished it the next night.

Rebecca meets Jack at a resort, where she is spending her vacation. Alone, because her long time boyfriend bailed on the trip. She's having some quality “me time”, and thinking about their non-relationship. She meets Jack on her last night there, and is quickly drawn to him while being just a little nervous and frightened of him. But before things go very far, he has to leave for awhile. And then all hell breaks loose as men with guns take Rebecca and her fellow vacationers hostage.

It gets a bit violent. At one point Rebecca is in pretty serious danger, fighting for her life, and Jack is skulking around outside, and I kept thinking he was going to burst in and save her at the last moment, but he didn't. She saved herself, and it was freaking awesome. They did meet up shortly after, and he took care of her, took control, cleaned and bandaged her wounds. A johnny-come-lately hero, who did get a second chance to rescue her before the night was over.

Akin to classic film noir, this book was compelling and unputdownable, and I need to end this review so I can go start reading the second book.

Goodreads synopsis: When Rebecca Paige decides to vacation alone at an established resort in the woods, it's a welcome break from her position as the administrator of a psychiatric hospital. Little does she know, the Poet is also visiting this peaceful hideaway, and his motivation is far more sinister.

On the last day of her trip, Rebecca has an unusual encounter with Jack Shelley, the man in the cabin next door. After he leaves, men with guns suddenly descend on the resort and take Rebecca and the other guests hostage. Rebecca is accustomed to dangerous situations at work, but can that help her escape multiple-armed assailants?

Who are these men? What do they want? How are they connected to the man next door?

Who is the Poet?