This debut novel is so thoughtfully written that it’s hard to believe it’s a debut! From the beginning the other beings forth a plot that leads with and intelligence not often seen in debut books. The plot picks up speed from the first pages of the book and never lets up. The author’s plot line examines the twists and turns of the modern addiction crisis while also digging deep into the somewhat twisted legal system. Her characters are very complex and carry a true depth to them. I was delighted that a female war vet was used as the main character. Our females vets fight right along side our men and yet never get the deserved appreciation. It was an interesting and quick read.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-12-29 15:27:212021-12-29 15:27:21States of Grace (Grace Locke Mystery Series) by Mandy Miller – Review by: Jennifer Bartholomae
The human mind and its ability to control have always fascinated me. How it can convince you fantasy is reality. How it can shelter you from life-altering trauma. The author makes it clear that she is intrigued by these things as well as she walks us through a labyrinth of mental wormholes, all while creating a plot and cast of characters with an amazing amount of depth.
Our main character, Aria, is a psychiatrist, returning from a leave of absence provoked by the suicide of a client and the impending divorce from her husband. She’s also a psychiatric consultant for the police. She returns to the job by being brought into a case of a young woman found wandering the streets, naked and confused. As Aria begins to dig into this young woman’s case and psyche she is brought into a story of dark chaos and reveals more about her own mindset. Everything you think you know while reading this book – you don’t. It will leave you trying to untangle the question of who are you – really? An excellent psychological thriller, can’t wait to check out more of this author’s work.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-12-14 12:12:512021-12-14 12:12:51Black Canvas by Laura Rossi – Review by: Jennifer Bartholomae
This book is the continuation of Will and Tori’s story. This book continues the emotional rollercoaster ride that was started in book one. Will and Tori start out on the journey we all hoped would come to fruition after the first book, trying to build a life together post-cancer. The story carries the same depth and emotional wisdom that the first did and still draws together a truly compelling story that keeps you turning the pages to the very end.
I feel like some parts of the book lacked some grounding in reality, which I understand given that this is a fairytale scenario romance life. The author had shown such depth with her writing in the first book that I thought maybe she wouldn’t fade as far down the fairytale path as she did in this one. Let’s face it, no matter how much you love someone and what kind of situation you are in, you aren’t going to go from sick in the hospital to living together full-time without some bumps along the road. I would have appreciated seeing more conflict between Tori and Will as they settled in together, rather than the automatic perfection that the book drew.
Also, the sex scenes. I’m not a prude and I hate to harp on this because I know it is to be expected in a romance novel, I just felt it overtook the story at some points. We get it, they love each other and are happy to be together, but I felt like every two or three pages we were back in bed with them, or in the shower, or on the floor…the storyline was built well enough that readers could have gotten the message and been engaged until the very end without spending hours discussing all of their passion. Overall, I still liked the book and would be interested in reading more of the author’s work, this one, while just as well written and emotional, didn’t grab me the same way the first one did.
I’m always one for a good romance and this one felt like it followed the typical romance plotline BUT I felt like it also carried more substance than a lot of romance novels do with the addition of the illness. This is one of the few books I’ve read recently that really pulled me in and had me attached to the characters from the jump.
Tori works as a hospital psychologist and has taken up the duty of helping certain patients walk through their end-of-life journey. Though it isn’t easy to do, she holds the mission dear to her heart. Her friend Jenny who works in oncology brings her in on a case and she meets Will, a young man, who is dying of cancer and from his viewpoint has nothing left to live for. So much so that he has signed a DNR and managed to push all of his friends and family out of his world, in order to spare them the pain of watching him die. He keeps Tori at arms length at first but as she continues to work with him he begins to soften and she is able to help him understand that pushing people away is hurting him more than anyone else. As they work together they form a friendship and eventually a relationship.
It is a very sweet romantic story given the state of the patient and, while it has its moments, keeps the over-the-top lustfulness to a minimum which was refreshing to me. The book is ended with a cliffhanger good enough that I immediately bought the second book. The book is well written and well researched and has a very good grasp on the cycle that dying patients and their loved ones go through in the end. I was drawn in by the characters and kept turning pages because of the great storyline. I would recommend this book.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-11-20 16:34:162021-11-20 16:34:16Come Back Tomorrow (Embrace Tomorrow Duet Book 1) by Amy Argent – Review by: Jennifer Bartholomae
Urban fantasy is not a genre I really read, I’ve tried a few but they just didn’t appeal. However, after reading the synopsis of this book I thought I’d give it a try. I ended up really enjoying this book. It brought all of the elements of a novel from other genres that I would love with a little fantasy twist. The world-building was seamless and the characters are so well written that you got sucked into the story. You come to a point where you find yourself considering why it would be so odd if this were actually happening in our world.
Dahlia Nite is the kind of female character that I love -snarky, strong, smart, and she can handle herself. She does what needs to be done to catch the bad guy, even if it isn’t completely legal.
The story starts off when we first meet Dahlia in her natural world of dragons and shapeshifters. Things come to pass that cause Dahlia to flee her home, landing her in our world. The bulk of this story is written in the modern-day, urban world, though we do run into characters from her homeland along the way, just enough to complicate things for Dahlia.
Dahlia works as an arson consultant with the local police, after all even a shape-shifting half-dragon needs a job to survive in our world. The police are working on several cases of supposed “spontaneous combustions” that have everyone on edge. Dahlia knows it’s someone from her land but that’s all she truly knows, and she isn’t really looking to explain all of that to the police.
This book includes more than one murder and more than a bit of psychopathy, which is what I like. The storyline includes a lot of complication and messiness that keeps you guessing. Even for those who don’t think they really care for fantasy or urban fantasy; this is a good one to try out because it might just change your mind.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-11-19 17:53:272021-11-19 17:53:27Nite Fire: Flash Point by C. L. Schneider – Review by: Jennifer Bartholomae
Lauren Besoner, who we met in Racine’s first book “Silent Gavel” has declined full-time employment as court reporter for the new judge, her ex-husband. She now finds herself freelance court reporting and having to hustle to make ends meet. She picks up a job that looks to provide some steady income for a while, unfortunately, it’s because her little town of Crawford, Wyoming is experiencing the biggest murder trial it has encountered in years. As Lauren works through the trial, she can’t shake the feeling that the wrong person is on trial so, as is Lauren’s nature, she starts to hunt for clues to find out who the real murderer might be. This journey leads her down a path of intrigue, suspense, and thrill that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat through the very last page.
Merissa Racine hits it out of the park again! She has done a fabulous job of creating a believable cast of characters that you immediately want to know more about and who keep you on your toes throughout the book. Her storytelling is excellent in that it is very easy to imagine what Crawford looks and feels like. She makes her main character, Lauren, so believable and relatable that you find yourself cheering for her and worrying about her throughout the book. She does a fantastic job of keeping the pace of the story and building just the right amount of suspense to keep you guessing. I enjoyed reading her first book and this one did not disappoint either. I am looking forward to seeing where she takes Lauren and the Crawford crew next.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-10-21 07:30:202023-08-05 15:23:01Shadows of Doubt by Merissa Racine – Review by: Jennifer Bartholomae
A.J. Ullman delivers in this crime-based suspense novel. He takes the interesting perspective of someone who works within the justice system ending up on the wrong side of the law. Cady, our main character, is a successful attorney vying for partnership at her law firm. She believes the partnership is firmly in her grasp when one evening she walks into a life-or-death situation and must defend herself, to the demise of the other person. From then on, we see Cady’s story unravel, and understand how her past also plays into her current story.
The book is very socially relevant at the time being, looking into things like the Black Lives Matter movement and the discourse around white privilege. While I found it interesting that the author was bringing current social matters into his writing, in some ways I feel that it was pushed a little too hard. The cultural mix within the book and juxtaposition of characters seemed forced in some aspects. Overall, this book held my attention and kept me turning the pages. The characters and the storyline were well crafted, and I will be looking to read more of Mr. Ullman’s books in the future.
Lauren Besoner, court stenographer, starts her day as she would any other, but she runs into a little problem. When she stops by to pick the judge up for a short, case-related road trip she finds the judge dead in her home. Suddenly Lauren moves from court stenographer to number one suspect. She uses her own knowledge of the law, as well as a vibrant cast of human and canine characters to figure out who really killed the judge and proclaim her innocence.
Racine did a great job with this book. I was hooked from page one and found it hard to put down. Her depiction of small-town life and small-town people was vibrant and accurate. She painted a visual that was easy for the reader to pick up and carry through the story. She did a great job of making sure the story line was varied enough to keep the reader questioning who the real killer was, I at least didn’t see any huge red flags that pointed to any one character early on. I am a big animal lover, so I really enjoyed her characterization of the two canine characters in the story.
This was an easy-read, intriguing mystery that kept me coming back for more. “Silent Gavel” wasn’t overly gruesome and carried just enough humor, romance, and mystery to make it a fantastic book for anyone who loves the mystery/suspense genre.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-10-01 08:43:272021-10-02 06:47:23Silent Gavel: For fans of mystery and suspense (A Crawford Mystery Book 1) by: Merissa Racine – Review by Jennifer Bartholomae
“Potager Plot” is Vikki Walton’s newest cozy mystery. This book follows Anne and a lively cast of townspeople as they try to unearth who killed the gardening club president, Billie. The author offers a wide array of characters and circumstances that could lead almost any of the townspeople to be Billie’s killer. Everyone has a secret, it seems. The book kept true to the idea of cozy, lighthearted mysteries. Yes, someone does get killed but we aren’t subjected to the gruesome details or play-by-plays that other mysteries sometimes give us. There is a little romance, but again, Watson keeps from delving too far into the details. I feel like the book speaks more to the nature of friendship and small-town life than it does anything. It is a very light, easy read, with enough intrigue to keep you turning the pages. For me, I think there may have been a few too many characters to keep up with. Throughout the book I had to keep referring to the cast list in the front to remember who each character was and what part they played. While Walton doesn’t go into the deep details of some themes in the book, I feel like she goes into a little too much detail in some spaces. Detail, that if left out, wouldn’t affect the story and that I found distracting in some instances or found myself trying to figure out where it fit into the plotline. Overall, a light, easy read with a dollop of suspense.
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-09-14 10:59:122021-09-16 08:45:20Potager Plot (A Backyard Farming Series Book 5) by Vikki Walton – Review by: Jennifer Bartholomae
“Written in the Stars” is the second book in Angela Christina Archer’s Mothers and Daughters Collection. In this book we follow, Betty, an unwed and pregnant teenage girl in the 1950s. At that time teen unwed moms were sent to homes for wayward girls to finish out their pregnancies and put their babies up for adoption – whether they wanted to or not. Then they could return home to their families and life could go on as normal. Or at least that’s the idea. We follow Betty’s story as well as that of a grown-up Marlena, her daughter, through the journey of discovering she is adopted and all the emotional entanglement that brings. The story is written in flashback sequences and from the viewpoint of both Betty and Marlena. Both characters are well developed, though in a lot of instances I feel like Betty has more depth to her story than Marlena. It was interesting to be able to see the situation from two viewpoints, but I honestly would have liked to have seen Charlie’s viewpoint written in as well. I think it would be interesting to hear the viewpoint of an unwed teenage father and what goes on in their minds in a situation like this. We do find out some of Charlie’s viewpoint toward the end of the book, but it is a very small excerpt. I think the beginning of Marlena’s story could have been positioned a little differently because I felt like that first transition between viewpoints was a bit clunky. Overall, the storyline held my attention enough for me to keep picking it back up every time I had an opportunity. I am not generally a huge fan of books with a lot of flashback but this was written well enough that it didn’t get confusing. If you are looking for a sweet love story based on the enduring power of love, this would be a great one to pick up!
https://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.png00Jennifer Bartholomaehttps://itsybitsybookbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IBBB_2020_logo_sq.pngJennifer Bartholomae2021-08-31 07:38:092021-08-31 09:49:16Written in the Stars (Mothers and Daughters Collection) by Angela Christina Archer – Review by Jennifer Bartholomae
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States of Grace by Mandy Miller
