Shattered by Lisa Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was well written. The author did a great job portraying the characters and their personalities. It was fairly predictable. I have not read the second book in the series yet, but it would be worth checking out as well.
Reviewed @tmccroskey
Build-A-Book Workshop by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great do-it-yourself book if you are looking into publishing your work. It walks you through by asking questions and expanding upon them to ensure you understand. It was a bit much for me to process at once since I have never looked into publishing. However, for someone more experienced, I think it would be helpful.
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
Better Than Goodbye by Kinney Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Better Than Goodbye reminded me a typical Hallmark movie with its predictable ending, but you still find yourself reading fast ahead to follow this relationship. The characters were well developed, but I do feel that I would have been more connected to the characters if the story would have been from a first-person point of view, feeling those feelings as my own in a sense. With this being book 1 of this series, I am interested to see where this series leads next.
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
The Abduction of Sarah Tarbell: As Her Soul Remembers by Stuart Ledwith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was interesting. I generally don’t do as well with historical contexts, but it was interesting to read this story. The abduction scene was a bit intense and the book overall reminded me of a documentary. I am still a little confused as to whether or not this is a true story. However, overall the book had a smooth flow and unlike anything I have read before.
reviewed by @tmccroskey
Blessed: Academy of the Seraph by Brandi Elledge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After seeing many ads for this book, I knew I had to read it. I have always loved stories of archangels, fallen, and demis. I love how fast of a read this book was. It is one of those “just one more page” books that you never put down until you read the last page and are left begging for more from this author. I also loved how feisty the main character is. It makes you giggle at times, mainly the beginning, where the author describes a situation so vividly it’s as if you’re watching a scene instead of reading a story. I highly recommend this book.
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
The Widow: A Dark Romantic Fantasy by Naomi Valkyrie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading this book. At first, I was slightly surprised by how dark the book felt, but then it grew on me. The author used this dark feeling well making it easy to develop an empathy for the main character. Each character was well developed with their introduction. I liked how easy this book was to read. I was able to sit down and just get lost in the reading, without thinking. Before I knew it, this book was over. The varied sentence structure really helped me to stay focused. I like how the author changes the tone in this book. It is almost like you see the light and dark, which is a good play on real life with its ups and downs. I recommend checking this book out!
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
Grace’s Ghosts by Stephenie Wilson Peterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Grace’s Ghosts was an excellent fast read. I sat down with this book and completely finished it within 1.5 hours. While this book is targeted towards young teenagers (middle school), as an adult, I loved this book too! Grace’s character building was excellent. You immediately feel connected to her and feel her emotions as they occur, as if they were your own. This story has many twists that leave you shocked until the very end. I would love to follow Grace on another adventure soon!
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
The Labyrinthine Journey by Luciana Cavallaro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“The Labyrinthine Journey” was an interesting read. The most notable feature of this book, to me, is that it is an intense, high-action book. It is often hard to find a “good stopping point” for the night, due to the constant action (which let’s face it… no one is complaining about that). In the beginning, I was little lost since I did not read the first book in this series prior to this one. However, I will say the author did a good job “filling-in the blanks” as the story progressed. Given this, once I got into the flow of the story, I easily saw how this can be a stand-alone book. I originally suspected this to be a Percy Jackson twist, but to my surprise, it had a very unique plot to the reason for collecting the god-saving relics which Evan (the main character) was seeking. I have never been great at history, but from what I remember, it seems the author is well-learned on topics involving Ancient Greece and Greek mythology. I would recommend this book to any historical fiction fan.
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
Night Justice by India Kells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Night Justice was the first book I have read by India Kells. The pages flowed so fast that this easily became a one day read. I enjoyed how it was very original in its night-time vigilante theme, yet while reading it, you could see it playing in your head, like a scene from a DC comic. The romance inclusion was a perfect mix with the action and suspense. Since this is the first book in the series, I will be watching and waiting (slightly impatiently) for the next book.
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
Sunshine Kisses by Elaine Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sunshine Kisses is a fast-read romance novella. While this book is part of series, it can stand-alone with the same gripping emotional ties you would expect from any romance story. Once you start, it is difficult to put down and you will find yourself saying “Just one more chapter” over and over again. I found some transitions to seem rushed, but I also found myself reading faster and thinking about how fast life really is, especially for someone with a condition such as the main character’s, which may have been the authors intent.
This story follows a short time between two people, Crystal and Spencer, who have known each other for years, but never considered the option of more… until now. However, given Crystal’s current medical situation, she would prefer to keep her distance, despite what her losses may be in the field of love. The main question you will keep asking yourself is can love overcome fear? Read this story to find out more!
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
Arrows Tipped with Honey by Jean Gill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
While I could follow the story line as I began reading Arrows Tipped with Honey, I had so many questions about Mielitta’s character and what caused the current status at the beginning of the book. As a result, I quickly grabbed the first book (Queen of the Warrior Bees) in this series and dived into this world. I am glad I did. I found the character and “universe” development from the first book to provide a deeper appreciation and understanding of what was transpiring in Arrows Tipped with Honey. Throughout Arrows Tipped with Honey, the author did a superb job at developing the characters further and making them so complex that you feel you are right there with them in the midst of the action. While many questions you had from the first book are answered in this book, Arrows Tipped with Honey gives you many more questions and leaves you begging for another book to follow. You must grab Queen of the Warrior Bees (Book 1) and Arrows Tipped with Honey (Book 2) today (with a cup of coffee) and plan to not leave your reading spot for a long while.
Reviewed by @tmccroskey
Lucifer’s Emblem by Sarah Biglow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Lucifer’s Emblem is an amazing start to an exciting series adventure you will not be able to put down. As soon as you finish this book, you will be begging for the second book in the series. With the use of dual perspectives throughout the book, the characters become painted so vividly that it is as if you are watching a movie, rather than reading a book.
In this book, you will get to follow a daring adventure as a Fallen child, Zuri, daughter of Lucifer, and Archangel child, Miryam, daughter of Michael, attempt to work together to prevent an Apocalypse after Lucifer’s Emblem is stolen. However, given their differences, it proves difficult for Zuri to trust Miryam. Can Zuri trust Miryam in time to save the world from an apocalypse? Will Miryam believe in herself enough to accomplish this victory? These are only a couple basic questions you will continuously ask until the very last page.
