Book Review: Murder at Blackwater Bend (A Stella and Lyndy Mystery #2)

Murder at Blackwater Bend

Clara McKenna

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

After the intrigues of their original meeting, Stella and Lyndy are expecting that the announcement of their betrothal and their subsequent marriage will be smooth sailing. But when they discover the body of a family friend floating in the river on an early morning fishing expedition, they can't help but be dragged into the mystery of it. 

I think that this and the first installment have been interesting enough, I love a good murder mystery. But I'm having trouble seeing how it can continue as a mystery series in the same sense as other detective novels of similar periods. We have no infrastructure for actual crime solving, they're really just both in the right place (or wrong depending on how you see it) at the right time. They're not making names for themselves as investigators and they're not really gaining any skills aside from the ability to look at bodies without throwing up. 

So while I didn't mind the mystery itself, I also spent the whole book wondering if we were going to see any real growth in the characters positions as actual detectives. It was a little disappointing for this to be another mystery based purely on their proximity rather than seeking it out or being sought out.

Book Review: Wolf Cursed (Lone Wolf #1)

 

Wolf Cursed

Heather Hildenbrand

Overall: 2/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 2/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

After watching her dad be murdered in front of her and being introduced to a town where everyone wishes she would leave, it's safe to say Ash isn't having a great week. If the last few years hadn't been hard enough, she finds out her dad had been lying to her about a lot more than an estranged brother. 

It was okay at the start, setting things up to be mildly interesting with that enemies-to-lovers plot line and everything. But it fell apart real fast when we threw in insta-love. I hate it when books just pretend that because the characters both have some fabricated trauma they can just be in love. It annoyed me and it also annoyed me that I was just invested enough to read through to the end. 

So it started out okay but it ended up just making me mad, mostly because of the romance but also because of general pacing issues. I'm not all that invested in the "cliffhanger" it left on either.

Book Review: Mortal Secrets (Realm Unleased: Red Angel #1)

 

Mortal Secrets

Isa Medina

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

She was found as an orphan, taken into a hunter society where she quickly rose to the top hunting demons. Until she quit. The organization that raised her was understandably upset and disappointed, but Ana had bigger issues. She had discovered she was the Red Angel, a reincarnated version of a weapon designed to suck the souls of basically anything- angel, human, or demon. Now, that closely guarded secret could be out in the open putting more than just her at risk. If Ana has any hope of shutting Pandora's Box she has to team up with an angel who once reviled her. And it's not exactly easy, basically everyone is after the same secrets as her and everyone is willing to step on her to do so. 

I didn't mind the plot that much. I thought that the whole idea of it was cool, albeit kind of confusing to imagine with the multiple pairs of wings and the souls carved into the wings and everything. I also wasn't much on board for the forced chemistry between Zel and Ana, he felt a bit outside of the normal conventions of these types of relationships because he was just so tuned out. I think he has potential but he needs to get on board with the humans. 

So yeah, it was pretty decent and I would read the next. Aside from a few hiccups in the plot progression I think it all felt pretty natural.

 

Book Review: Midnight Moon (Rebel Wolf #1)

 

Midnight Moon

Linsey Hall

Overall: 2/5

Plots and Themes: 2/5

Characters: 1/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Attention Grabbing: 2/5

When her father sold her out, Lyra had to figure out a way to live off the grid. When they find her, she'll do anything to protect herself. Even if it means stealing information and spying. But it's not all as it seems and she's soon thrust into a supernatural world she had no idea could have possibly existed. 

This book is boring. The author tells you what is happening while it's happening. I didn't feel emotionally connected to the characters in anyway and the whole plot was predictable. You expect a certain degree of predictability going in, but I was pretty disappointed even on that metric. 

Not much to say, it kept me interested enough to finish it out but only just barely. I wouldn't read the next book in the series cause nothing really got me invested.

 

Book Review: Love & Curse Making (Magical Dating Agency #1)

 

Love & Curse Making

Kelly St. Clare

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 4/5

Love & Curse Making is the first book in a new series by Kelly St. Clare where the supernaturals are descended from the gods. There's a whole supernatural society based on what generation you are, with certain lines being eliminated as others coveted their strengths or abilities. Cerys's line is one of those, the heart elementals being all but gone leaving only the less-powerful Cupids in their place. But Cerys is more powerful than a simple Cupid, and if anyone were to know she might end up just as drained and dead as her predecessors. 

I was close to DNFing at the start cause it felt kind of over-explained and weird. But I'm pretty glad that I kept reading cause it actually shaped up to be a pretty unique narrative. I love it when authors take something direct like gods and meld it into a world with unique powers, trials and tribulations. I think Cerys is a pretty decent protagonist with a great curse, not great for her but great in its irony. It also felt somehow nostalgic, I don't know why, but reminiscint of maybe Sabrina the Teenage Witch or older supernatural stuff. 

Overall, I enjoyed it and I'm satisfied with where things left off. It's leading nicely into the next book and I'll be eagerly waiting for it's release.

Book Review: United (Pack of Dawn and Destiny #2)

 

United

K.M. Shea

Overall: 4/5

Plots and Themes: 4/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 4/5

United is the second book in the Pack of Dawn and Destiny following Pip and Greyson. Pip is a hunter, but a hunter who was raised by adopted shifter parents. She has a unique outlook on life for it, and it puts her in danger with other supernaturals. Especially once her special abilities to boost others powers becomes known, an eventuality that the whole pack is trying to avoid. But when an outsider starts hurting the human residents of the area, Pip is pushed to the edges of her abilities trying to figure it all out. Meanwhile, Greyson is trying to get her to like him outside of their supernatural obligations, which she is still very much unaware of. 

I love the characters in this book. They're all so awkward, and I think that we're really figuring it all out right alongside them. I think that their romance is sweet and awkward, a great combination especially considering they're supposed to be these all powerful supernatural figures. I think that the mystery was a little obvious, I figured it out pretty early on, but I still think it was a good boss battle at the end. 

Definitely looking forward to the next book in this series and it can't come soon enough. I love the characters, the romance, and the world, and despite the small flaws and issues with the storytelling I think it's a great read.

 

Book Review: Bad Kitty (A Cat McKenzie Book #5)

 

Bad Kitty

Lauren Dawes

Overall: 2/5

Plots and Themes: 2/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Attention Grabbing: 2/5

This is the fifth book in the Cat McKenzie series, we're well into her universe and her arcs and we're just going from mystery to mystery at this point. Cat and Sawyer are closer to ever and trying to figure out the extent and limitations of their bond. We have the added confusion of a random interloper who has somehow bound himself to Cat's service and a crazy serial killer taking out billionaires. 

I think this is the last one I'll be finishing in this series. I've just kind of been overloaded at this point with the way that the author depicts Cat, I don't know if it's a complication of balancing a hard detective with a softer feminine personality or that the author actually wants us to see the protagonist as babyish. Either way, it was hard to read and combined with a kind of lackluster mystery I feel like the book has run its course. 

I've enjoyed the books to this point pretty well, but I think I'm going to need something more exciting to keep it going. There was no cliffhanger or anything that would motivate me to keep it going and I've kind of lost motivation.