You wanted to see the posts in the 1 star category. Here there are.
Showing posts with label 1 star. Show all posts

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Review: Hard Road by J.B. Turner

Title: Hard Road
Series: Jon Reznick
Author: J.B. Turner
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: August 16, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ASIN: B01DYC10NG

Jon Reznick is a “ghost”: a black-ops specialist who takes his orders from shadowy handlers, and his salary from the US government. Still mourning the loss of his beloved wife on 9/11, he’s dispatched to carry out a high-level hit. Reznick knows only that it must look like suicide. It’s textbook.

But the target is not the man Reznick expected. The whole setup is wrong. In an instant the operation is compromised, and Reznick is on the run with the man he was sent to kill. A man wanted by the FBI, and by a mysterious terrorist organization hell-bent on bringing the United States to its knees. FBI Assistant Director Martha Meyerstein is determined to track him down, and to intercept whatever it is Reznick was sent to do.

When Reznick’s young daughter becomes a pawn in the game, he has to use more than his military training to stay one step ahead of those responsible. Meanwhile, he is the only person who knows the true extent of the threat to national security—and has the stealth and determination to stop it.


My rating:

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Review: Bitter Roots by C.J. Carmichael

Title: Bitter Roots
Series: Bitter Roots Mysteries
Author: C.J. Carmichael
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: April 25, 2017
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ASIN: B01N7WS2JG

Dispatcher Zak Waller prefers working behind the scenes in the Sheriff’s Office of Lost Trail, Montana, but when a newcomer to the sparely populated town is brutally murdered—and the Sheriff is quick to pin the death on an unknown outsider—Zak starts his own private sleuthing.

On the surface Lost Trail is a picture-perfect western town, offering a simple way of life revolving around the local ranches and ski hill, but Zak knows the truth behind the façade. When his old school friend Tiff Masterson, whose family owns a local Christmas tree farm, moves back to town, the two of them join forces to get to the truth about the murder.


My rating:

Friday, February 2, 2018

Review: Secrets of the Dead by Kylie Brant

Title: Secrets of the Dead
Series: Mindhunters
Author: Kylie Brant
Read copy: eBook
Published: June 30, 2015
Publisher: Cedar River Press
ISBN: 099066077X
ISBN-13: 9780990660774

Eve Larrison has a unique gift: as a hyper-polyglot she speaks over sixty languages. She’s uniquely qualified to assist in an attempted kidnapping case that has international overtones. But this assignment is exceptional. The target of the abduction is Royce Raiker, stepson of the head of The Mindhunters. And she’ll be going into deep cover with Declan Gallagher—as his “wife". She never suspected that the pretend marriage would be the toughest part of the assignment.

Declan knows he can ill-afford distractions on this assignment, and Eve Larrison provides one hell of a distraction.They realize that Royce will never be safe until the people who targeted him are brought to justice. But as Declan and Eve infiltrate the group responsible, it quickly becomes apparent that to solve the case they’ll need to unravel the mystery of the boy’s birth. The only ones who knew those secrets are dead. And digging into the old mystery has them both marked for the same fate...


My rating:

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Review: Scene of the Crime: Bachelor Moon by Carla Cassidy

Title: Scene of the Crime: Bachelor Moon
Series: Scene of the Crime
Author: Carla Cassidy
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: February 1, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
ASIN: B004JF6DDA

FBI profiler Sam Connelly had come to Daniella Butler's remote Louisiana bed-and-breakfast to escape the consuming horrors of his job—and the dark demons he fears lurk in his own soul. But finding a dead body on her property changes everything. There's no room in his life—in his heart—for a family. Or so he thinks, until a killer's threat places his irresistible innkeeper and her young daughter under his protection. Now, as the obsessed psychopath inches closer to possessing Daniella, Sam must call upon his elite skills to track his target and keep the beautiful blonde and her child safe. Defending them becomes his greatest challenge. Losing them is not even an option.

My rating:

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Review: Scene of the Crime: Bridgewater, Texas by Carla Cassidy

Title: Scene of the Crime: Bridgewater, Texas
Series: Scene of the Crime
Author: Carla Cassidy
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: November 24, 2009
Publisher: Harlequin
ASIN: B002WEPENK

When Sheriff Matt Buchanan discovers FBI profiler Jenna Taylor snooping around his crime scene, he isn't pleased. The last thing he needs is the FBI meddling. But Jenna is determined to find her best friend's murderer, and she won't be bullied out of town. Then the madman strikes again. His calling card? A red rose.

Realizing they're dealing with a serial killer, Matt accepts Jenna's help. But when Jenna becomes the madman's target, the danger—and their unrelenting attraction--is imminent. Will Jenna find safety in Matt's arms—or will the next rose she receives be her last?


My rating:

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Review: Brazen Virtue by Nora Roberts

Title: Brazen Virtue
Series: D.C. Detectives
Author: Nora Roberts
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: December 8, 2010
Publisher: Bantam
ASIN: B004DEPGJO

After a demanding book tour, superstar mystery novelist Grace McCabe decides to visit her sister, Kathleen, who’s embroiled in a custody battle after a bitter divorce. Arriving in D.C., Grace is shocked to find Kathleen living in a run-down neighborhood and, hoping to afford a hotshot lawyer, supplementing her meager teacher’s salary by moonlighting as a phone sex operator.

According to Kathleen, Fantasy, Inc., guarantees its employees ironclad anonymity. But Grace has her doubts—which are confirmed one horrifying cherry-blossom-scented night when one of Fantasy, Inc.’s operators is murdered. As Grace is drawn to help solve the crime, her life turns into a scene from one of her own books. Yet as one of her biggest fans, investigator Ed Jackson, warns her: This isn’t fiction. Real people die—and Grace could be next. For she’s setting a trap for a killer more twisted than anything she could imagine. And not even Ed may be able to protect her from a rendezvous with lust and death.


My rating:

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Review: Christmas in Venice (or The Italian's Christmas Bride) by Joanne Walsh

Title: Christmas in Venice (or The Italian's Christmas Bride)
Series: Christmas Around the World
Author: Joanne Walsh
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ASIN: B00OZSED88

Let it snow...?

Wasn’t she supposed to dream of a white Christmas? Right now, Ashlynne wishes the blizzards, ice and fog that have left her stranded in Venice would melt away. She’s facing a dreary holiday stuck at the airport—and she’s also run into her ex-husband.

Lorenzo di Grechi insists Ashlynne stay with him at his sumptuous palazzo apartment. He’s also promising her Christmas Venetian-style: eating, drinking, and visiting the seasonal markets and musical concerts that make the city so enchanting at this time of year.

She thought she’d moved on: laid the ghosts of their marriage which had ended so sadly and badly to rest, along with how passionately she’d loved him. But the sexual attraction between them is still as potent as ever, and he seems to have changed for the better, forcing her to question her belief that he’d cheated on her at a time when she’d needed him most.

Is this just some sort of Christmas magic at work? Or a real chance to forgive and rediscover her love for Lorenzo?


My rating:

Review: Christmas with the Laird by Scarlet Wilson

Title: Christmas with the Laird
Series: Christmas Around the World
Author: Scarlet Wilson
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ASIN: B00OZQONHQ

It's official—for Juliette Connolly Christmas is a bust and she's definitely not in the spirit of Christmas. She's been dumped by her boyfriend and replaced by a younger model. Then a clause in her contract means she and a mysterious colleague have to work over Christmas. But there's much more to Andrew Campbell than meets the eye. Especially when it turns out he's the Scottish Laird of the haunted house they're filming in.

And it seems like there's magic in the air in the remote snow-filled setting. The local village contains a cast of Christmas characters and even though the boiler in the drafty house is broken the temperature is definitely rising.

Maybe Andrew and Juliette are about to be sprinkled with a little Christmas fairy dust?


My rating:

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Review: A Yorkshire Christmas by Kate Hewitt

Title: A Yorkshire Christmas
Series: Christmas Around the World
Author: Kate Hewitt
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ASIN: B00OZQOINK

Wealthy New York City girl Claire Lindell isn’t looking for a Christmas miracle or happiness when she abruptly decides to hole up for the holiday at her godmother’s cottage in a little Yorkshire village, and lick her wounds from a near disastrous romantic decision.

After her car skids into a snow bank, Claire may have accidentally found her perfect Christmas and the family and love she’s craved when she offers Noah Bradford of Ayesgill Farm help to push the back end of one of his sheep out of the icy mud, even if she’s going to ruin a brand new pair of Prada boots during the rescue.

What’s a little leather when love’s on the line?


My rating:

Friday, December 22, 2017

Review: Redemption by C.J. Barry

Title: Redemption
Series: Soul
Author: C.J. Barry
Read copy: eBook
Published: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Forever Yours
ISBN: 1455577499
ISBN-13: 9781455577491

Reya Sinclair is a Redeemer of Souls. Her mission is to give Earth’s most depraved sinners a shot at redemption just before they are slated to die. Her own redemption is on the line as she fulfills her duties, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake. It’s all going perfectly well until one detective takes notice, possibly bringing her salvation to a halt.

Thane Driscoll is a good cop who’s seen too many bad guys get away, including the man who murdered his father. He exacts his own style of justice, even if it costs him his humanity. A string of mysterious deaths leads him to a woman who’s not quite human and might hold the key to finding his father’s killer.

When death and shadows descend, New York City becomes a battleground for the forces of light and dark. As the body count rises and sparks fly between them, Reya and Thane race to uncover a terrible truth. Can one man hell-bent on revenge and one woman determined to save her eternal soul be enough to keep the planet from spiraling into darkness?


My rating:

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Review: Goodness and Light (or A Match Made at Christmas) by Patty Blount

Title: Goodness and Light (or A Match Made at Christmas)
Series: Christmas in New York
Author: Patty Blount
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: November 9, 2014
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ASIN: B00PG3NOFE

Thirteen years ago, two teens met on the ramp to Ground Zero, on a cold and snowy day, strangers bonding in a moment of grief. The boy pressed a crystal snowflake ornament into the girl’s hand and disappeared into the crowd, unaware that his simple act of kindness saved her from the guilt that threatened to consume her.

Since losing her mom, Elena Larsen hasn’t set foot in New York City—until now. Agreeing to help her sister prepare for her baby’s birth seems like a good way to spend Christmas and Elena vows not to let the monstrous guilt that weighs on her heart ruin everything. But those plans go awry when she meets Lucas Adair, a man whose own grief and guilt just might rival her own.

When Elena discovers Lucas is the boy who gave her that crystal snowflake all those years ago, she can’t accept it as the sign Lucas believes it to be. For her, it means only one thing—even beyond the grave, her mother can never forgive Elena for breaking her heart.

For Lucas, New York is hallowed ground that he can never leave. He spends his days working in the Financial District and his evenings volunteering and it’s almost enough to help him forget what he did. Lucas knows better than to make plans with a woman who will soon be leaving, yet can’t help himself. There’s something about Elena that pulls him in. He doesn’t put much faith in signs but even he starts to believe Elena is his absolution. Now, he only has to convince her.


My rating:

Monday, December 18, 2017

Review: Christmas Light by Jolyse Barnett

Title: Christmas Light
Series: Christmas in New York
Author: Jolyse Barnett
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: November 9, 2014
Publisher: Tule Publishing
ASIN: B00PG4T6UU

Adirondack girl-in-transition Jade Engel comes home to recharge after ending a career she never truly wanted, but soon realizes she’s in danger of also being swept off her feet by the boy-next-door, her former best friend, Ben Stephens. If only he’d stop kissing her every time she falls into his arms.

Everything local celebrity Ben Stephens ever wanted is in Starling. Then Jade comes home after an eternity away and sends his simple world into a tailspin. He’s determined to pursue her—the one girl who got away. But when their friends-with-benefits arrangement blows up in their faces, will they have the courage to put their pasts to rest in order to forge a future together?


My rating:

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Review: Origin by Dan Brown

Title: Origin
Series: Robert Langdon
Author: Dan Brown
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Doubleday
ASIN: B01LY7FD0D

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to attend a major announcement—the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever.” The evening’s host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdon’s first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough...one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.

As the event begins, Langdon and several hundred guests find themselves captivated by an utterly original presentation, which Langdon realizes will be far more controversial than he ever imagined. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch’s precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Reeling and facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao. With him is Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director who worked with Kirsch to stage the provocative event. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.

Navigating the dark corridors of hidden history and extreme religion, Langdon and Vidal must evade a tormented enemy whose all-knowing power seems to emanate from Spain’s Royal Palace itself...and who will stop at nothing to silence Edmond Kirsch. On a trail marked by modern art and enigmatic symbols, Langdon and Vidal uncover clues that ultimately bring them face-to-face with Kirsch’s shocking discovery...and the breathtaking truth that has long eluded us.


My rating:

Sunday, September 3, 2017

Review: White Face by Edgar Wallace

Title: White Face
Series: Detective Sgt. (Insp.) Elk
Author: Edgar Wallace
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: June 4, 2016
Publisher: Amazon
ASIN: B01GM6HWG0

Tidal Basin was the toughest, poorest, lowest section of London, and somewhere in it's dark alleys lurked the Devil of Tidal Basin, terrifying the inhabitants, puzzling the police.

What connection had the Devil with White Face, the lone bandit who roamed London unmolested? Superintendent Mason, one of the Yard's Big Five wanted to know, and what Superintendent Mason wanted to know he generally found out. Criminals knew him as "Sympathetic" Mason, because of his curious methods of cross-examination.

But not until Janice Harmon fell in love with a man who had written her from South Africa did the tangled skeins of international crime, murder and mystery begin to sort themselves out—and the strange story of a cold blooded killer come out into the light at last.


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Sunday, August 27, 2017

Review: Irish Rose by Nora Roberts

Title: Irish Rose
Series: Irish Legacy
Author: Nora Roberts
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: July 10, 2012
Publisher: InterMix
ASIN: B007K3D6UG

On a horse-buying trip to Ireland, Burke Logan has his head turned from business by small-town Irish lass Erin McKinnon. Desperate to see more of the world, Erin accepts his offer of a bookkeeping job at his horse farm. And as Erin makes the most of her new life in Maryland, she can’t ignore the growing attraction between her and Burke, even though he’s holding himself back from her—and the truth about his past...

My rating:

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Review: On the Chase by Katie Ruggle

Title: On the Chase
Series: Rocky Mountain K9 Unit
Author: Katie Ruggle
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ASIN: B01ND1K3M6

After witnessing a horrifying crime, Kaylee is forced to flee to a small Colorado mountain town and take on a new identity. There she becomes Grace, a dog kennel worker trying to avoid the dangerously attractive K-9 Officer Hugh Murdoch.

When an accident leaves Hugh and his K-9 partner, Lexi, on desk duty, both are anxious for Hugh to heal. Until then, the highlight of his day is teasing the beautiful but mysterious new kennel employee. Their simmering attraction fuels a passionate kiss—interrupted by a sniper’s bullet. With targets on both of their backs, Grace and Hugh will do whatever it takes to stay alive…not realizing the most dangerous threat of all is hiding right in front of their noses.


My rating:

Monday, July 17, 2017

Review: No Turning Back by Kaylea Cross

Title: No Turning Back
Series: Suspense
Author: Kaylea Cross
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: January 16, 2014
Publisher: Kaylea Cross
ASIN: B00HX9VNYS

CIA communications expert Samarra Wallace is on the run from a faceless enemy when she learns terrorists have kidnapped and threatened to execute her cousin. She will do whatever it takes to free her, including breaking cover to contact the former teammate she is dangerously attracted to. Now all she has to do is convince him she's not working for the bad guys.

Former Army Ranger Ben Sinclair isn't sure he can trust Sam, but he can't turn her away. Lives are at stake and she may be the only way to capture the terrorist mastermind his team is hunting. Despite his reservations, he finds himself falling for her. But when Sam's innocence is questioned again during a botched operation in the remote mountains of Afghanistan, the team pays a terrible price for trusting her. In the wake of that staggering betrayal Ben must decide if she's the innocent woman he fell in love with, or if she's a traitor who'd set them up to die.


My rating:

Monday, July 3, 2017

Review: Absolute Trust by Piper J. Drake

Title: Absolute Trust
Series: True Heroes
Author: Piper J. Drake
Read copy: eBook (Kindle
Published: December 20, 2016
Publisher: Forever
ASIN: B01LLYSA82


LOVE IS THE GREATEST RISK OF ALL

After multiple tours of duty, Brandon Forte returns to his hometown on a personal mission: to open a facility for military service dogs like Haydn, a German shepherd who's seen his share of combat and loss. It also brings him back to Sophie Kim, a beacon of light in his life...and the one woman he can't have. But Forte's success means he's made enemies in high places. Enemies who are now after Sophie...

When Forte enlisted and left without saying goodbye, Sophie did her best to move on. But with her first love back in town, looking sexier than ever, she's constantly reminded of what they could have had. Then after he risks himself for her, Sophie realizes she'll have to put her life in the hands of the man who broke her heart, knowing the danger—and the sparks between them- could consume them both.


My rating:

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Review: Dangerous Waters & Dark Waters by Toni Anderson

Title: Dangerou Waters
Series: Barkley Sound
Author: Toni Anderson
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: November 20, 2012
Publisher: Montlake Romance
ASIN: B008AJ776I

Known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, Barkley Sound is notorious for surging swells with the power to pull helpless victims into its merciless abyss...

Sergeant Holly Rudd arrives in the coastal community of Bamfield after local divers discover a body with a knife jutting from its chest in the waters of Barkley Sound. As she investigates the crime, Holly soon realizes the sleepy town is rife with secrets. But what unsettles her most is the residents’ insistence that she bears a striking resemblance to the victim of a murder from three decades earlier. She shrugs off the uncanny likeness as a coincidence. But her simmering attraction to Finn Carver, one of the divers who discovered the corpse, isn’t so easy to ignore.

Finn, a former Special Forces soldier, knows it’s best to keep his distance from Holly. Yet it isn’t long before they both give in to the consuming desire they share. And as the danger escalates, Finn and Holly must rely on each other to thwart the plans of a cold-blooded killer who’s intent on keeping the past buried.


My rating:

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Review: A Simple Case of Seduction by Adele Clee

Title: A Simple Case of Seduction
Author: Adele Clee

Read copy: eBook
Published: May 22, 2017
Publisher: Adele Clee
ISBN: 0995570523
ISBN-13: 9780995570528

From the back streets of London to grand country estates, theirs is a journey of self-discovery, a breathtaking story of love and redemption.

Nothing is simple when it comes to seduction.

Daniel Thorpe has made a point of avoiding Daphne Chambers ever since she refused his proposal of marriage. But three years have passed, and as experienced enquiry agents solving crimes against the aristocracy, their paths were destined to cross.

Chasing criminals is no job for a lady. But the woman is too stubborn to take his advice. Is it any wonder she finds herself the victim of a silent stalker, one happy to hide and wait in the shadows?

Daniel was surprised when she accepted his offer of help, more surprised to find that one passionate kiss in a carriage brings all the old feelings flooding back.


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