Be My Brayshaw (Brayshaw High #4) by Meagan Brandy

Book Description:

Published: June 2, 2020

Format: Audio/Audible

Stars: 4

Cross one, cross all.”

That’s the Brayshaw way.

She should have realized this before sliding into our world with secrets too big to bury.
She didn’t and now the target is on her back.

The day her lies came crashing down, I should have forced her out.
Instead, I locked her in, and with the promise I would never be hers.

I resisted, fought against us.
I caved.

I tasted what became my newfound favorite flavor and fell hard for the little liar.

But then the depth of her treachery reveals itself, and with it a reminder.

Our town is a twisted place, and with truth comes trouble.

In the blink of an eye, my world is split at its core, and I’m faced with an impossible decision, one that leads to a single outcome…

Betrayal.–
This is Captain Brayshaws book and the fourth book in the Brayshaw series.

Review –

Be My Brayshaw picks up right where Reign of Brayshaw left off and was honestly full speed ahead the entire time. Every twist and turn was mind-blowing, and just when I was like okay, things are going to happen this way, it was like a bomb would drop and what I thought was going to happen didn’t. Like I said EPIC.

I don’t know what it is about the Brayshaw men, but I can’t get enough of them. I loved that we got to see Raven and Maddoc living their lives they were destined to live. And Royce, ugh I love him and his sense of humor cracks me up! The relationship that Captain, Royce, and Maddoc have is honestly so beautiful. No questions asked if one of them needs the other, they’re there. They’re there even if they aren’t needed to speak just to be in silence. That silent support was amazing. And getting to see them work together again AMAZING!

Don’t even get me started on Victoria. I LOVE HER. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of Victoria but seeing her with Zoey was a highlight for me. Her love for Zoey,(Captain’s child with another girl) was evident from start to finish, and the things you learn about Victoria in this book will shock you, but in the best way. Her past is one I never expected, but she is a kick butt heroine and it’s awesome to finally get her story. All in all, this book deserves all of the praise and is one of my all-time favorite books now.

The world of Brayshaw is one that I cannot get enough of, and I swear that every book is even better than the previous. While I absolutely LOVED Raven and Maddoc’s story, I have been looking  forward to Captain’s. The quietest of the Brayshaw’s, there was always something about Captain that I needed more of and Meagan delivered in an EPIC way.

Another fantastic win for author Meagan Brandy!

 

Victim 2117 (Department Q #8)by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Book Description:

Published: March 3, 2020

Format: Audio/OverDrive

Stars: 4

In the heart-pounding next installment of the New York Timesand #1 internationally bestselling Department Q series, a terrifying international investigation reveals the complex backstory of one of the department’s own–the enigmatic Assad.

The newspaper refers to her only as Victim 2117–the two thousand one hundred and seventeenth refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea. But to three people, the unnamed victim is so much more, and her death sets off a chain of events that throws Department Q, Copenhagen’s cold cases division led by Detective Carl M�rck, into a deeply dangerous–and deeply personal–case: a case that not only reveals dark secrets about the past, but has deadly implications for the future.

For troubled Danish teen Alex, whose identity is hidden behind his computer screen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses in real life. For Ghallib, one the most brutal tormentors from Abu Ghraib, Saddam Hussein’s infamous prison, murdering Victim 2117 was the first step in a terrorist plot years in the making. And for Department Q’s Assad, Victim 2117 is a link to his buried past–and a clue that the family he assumed was long dead may still be alive.

With the help of the Department Q squad–Carl, Rose, and Gordon–Assad must finally confront painful memories from his years in Syria and Afghanistan in order to hunt down Ghallib. But with the clock ticking down to Alex’s first kill and Ghallib’s devastating attack, the thinly spread Department Q will need to stay one step ahead of their most lethal adversary yet if they are to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

Review –

“When down-at-the-heels freelance reporter Joan Aiguader first gets a look at the 2117th refugee to die at the Barcelona shore while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, he’s inspired by the dead woman to put aside thoughts of his own suicide and cover her death. The story turns out to be much bigger than he thinks, for Victim 2117 has been stabbed to death, not drowned, and Joan’s laughably incomplete reportage gets him put under strict orders to dig up the rest of the story within two weeks. For Hafez el-Assad, of Department Q, Victim 2117 means much more. He recognizes her from Joan’s picture as Lely Kababi, the woman who sheltered his family years ago and became a second mother to them. Deeply shaken by her murder, Assad is finally moved to share with DI Carl Mørck, the head of Department Q, some crucial details about his past, from his links to Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison to his real name, Zaid al-Asadi, so that they can take steps against the plot Assad is certain is unfolding. For Abdul Azim, the terrorist now known as Ghaalib, Victim 2117 marks the first step in an epic plot of revenge against the West in general and Assad in particular. And for Alexander, an obsessive video game player, Victim 2117 is the trigger that informs him that once he’s claimed his 2117th victory in “Kill Sublime,” it’ll be time to murder his parents and then go out into the streets of Copenhagen and continue the carnage. Only a wizard could sustain all these plotlines and manage the shifting connections among them, and Adler-Olsen (The Scarred Woman, 2017, etc.) delivers inconsistently on their extravagant promise. But readers hooked by Assad’s fatal tango with Ghaalib or the news that Mørck, now 53, is about to become a father again will keep reading compulsively and do their best to shift gears with the grimly multifoliate story.

Adler-Olsen supplies everything you could possibly want from a thriller and much, much more.” Kirkus Reviews

This was by far, the most action packed, action driven of the series so far. Loved it!!

The Heart Keeper by Alex Dahl

Book Description:

Published: July 19, 2016

Format: Audio/OverDrive

Stars:4

Critically acclaimed author Alex Dahl explores how love can turn darkly sinister when a desperate mother looks to reconnect with her lost daughter in this riveting Norwegian set psychological suspense novel.

Two mothers. Two daughters. One heart.

When Alison’s beloved daughter Amalie drowns, her world turns impenetrably dark. Alison tries to hold it together throughout the bleak Fall, but in the darkest days of the Norwegian Winter she completely falls apart.

In another family, Amalie’s passing is a new beginning. After years of severe health problems, young Kaia receives a new heart on the morning after Amalie drowns. Her mother Iselin has struggled to raise Kaia on her own and now things are finally looking up. She’s even made an affluent new friend who’s taken a special interest in her and her daughter.

Alison knows she shouldn’t interfere, but really, she’s just trying to help Iselin and Kaia. She can give them the life they never had, and by staying close to them, she can still be with her daughter. Kaia is just like her, and surely, something of Amalie must live on in her. As her grief transforms into a terrifying obsession, Alison won’t let anything stop her from getting back what she has lost.

Review –

Told by two suffering mothers, this sad, wild, alarming tale from Norwegian author Dahl is all too plausible and predictable.

Alison and her husband are grieving over the drowning of their five-year-old daughter, Amelie. Alison is close to losing it, despite therapy and her heavy use of pills and alcohol. Meanwhile, Iselin, a single welfare mother, has waged a seven-year battle caring for her daughter, Kaia, who was born with a life-threatening heart problem. Then Kaia receives a new heart from a girl who drowned. As she begins to blossom into a happy, active child, Iselin’s burdens lift. When Alison hears about the phenomenon of cellular memory whereby organ recipients can take on characteristics of donors, she becomes obsessed with finding the bearer of Amelie’s heart. On learning it’s Kaia, she quickly insinuates herself into Kaia and Iselin’s life, as best friend, benefactor—and keen observer of Kaia’s emerging Amelie-isms. To Alison it’s clear: Kaia is more her child than Iselin’s, and she alone deserves the girl. This psychological thriller may also be a horror story, but one that feels natural—if utterly unhinged. 

It’s an emotional tale and it may happen to an extent more than we know, because I’m sure the newspapers/media doesn’t alert the world every time a heart recipient  is stalked by the family of a donor. Very thought provoking.

 

Laces (Boys of Hawthorne Asylum #1) by Tempi Lark

BookDescription:

Published: January 21, 2021

Format: Kindle

Stars: 4

Welcome to Hawthorne Asylum.

Welcome to hell.

This place isn’t run by the doctors who make you talk or the orderlies who force you to swallow your pills.

It belongs to them, to the Infamous Four.

Tabloids, talk shows, documentaries—their faces have been plastered everywhere. Not because of their impressive rap sheets, but because of how they look.

And when I arrive, they take notice. Especially their king: Lincoln “Laces” Caster.

He’s dark and disturbed.

He’s controlling and possessive.

The exact kind of boy I should stay away from if I want to clear my name and get out of here.

* This is an upper-YA bully romance not intended for readers under seventeen. This book may contain triggers for some readers.

Review –

Gambrielle witnessed something horrific done by her stepfather and no one believes her because he is a prominent DA. There is a trial and she is sent to Hawthorne Asylum by a judge.

There is meets Laces aka Lincoln Caster, who on the surface is BIG TIME CRAZY. he spends most of his day sketching drawings of women naked, dead and worse. His two friends Reyes and Thorne are CRAZY in their own right too.

Laces has the staff, especially a certain nurse, under his thumb and gets most of the things he wants, sex, alcohol etc. But, he also wants Gambrielle and she wants nothing to do with him.

Her abusive stepfather, Joe, has been abusing Gambrielle and her sister Elizabeth since they were very young and their mother did nothing to stop him because he gave her a big house and money to spend. Elizabeth is dead and it’s Gambrielle’s goal to prove that her stepfather killed her.

There is a way to get a day pass and she is bound and determined to get to Elizabeth’s room and find her journal hoping some answers will be found.

The ending is a complete jaw-dropping CLIFFHANGER and the next book won’t be released for a while and I cold hav screamed when I found that out. I want to know what happens next NOW !!!!!!

Fantastic read full of teen angst, deception,cruelty,bullying,darkness and hope, but there are also moments of sweetness and humor.

 

One by One by Ruth Ware

Book Description:

Published: september 8, 2020

Format: Audio/OverDrive

Stars: 4

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

Review –

“By the numbers, the streaming app Snoop is devastatingly successful, and the company is on the cusp of a major buyout—if the shareholders vote to take this route. The founders, Topher and Eva, are torn, and the other three shareholders are being courted to choose sides. Most of the pressure falls on Liz, an awkward outlier when compared with the glamorous, beautiful people who head up the company. Though she doesn’t work directly for Snoop anymore, Liz is included in the leadership retreat: It’s her and eight other board members at a lush, remote French ski chalet for a little powder, a little pampering, and a little back-channel business. Erin and Danny, the caretakers of the chalet, notice tension among the members of the Snoop group from the beginning, but overall it seems like just another wealthy, entitled corporate gathering. The weather on top of the mountain grows increasingly dangerous, and when nine people go out to ski and only eight return, fear and suspicion begin to grow. Then there’s an avalanche, and the chalet is cut off from contact with the outside world. Soon, another group member dies, apparently poisoned, and then another is murdered because of something she saw. The survivors must split up to search for help before there’s no one left. Alternating chapters between Liz’s and Erin’s points of view, Ware does what she does best: Gives us a familiar locked-door mystery setup and lets the tension and suspicion marinate until they reach fever pitch. Another win for Ware and her adaptations of classic mystery traditions.

The solution is maddeningly simple but the construction, simply masterful.” Kirkus Reviews

I loved the book but the Snoop app thingie got on my nerves. Why I don’t know for sure, but every time is was mentioned it was like nails on a chalkboard. As for figuring out the identity of the killer, it could have only been one of two people, and finally the reader was made certain who the culprit was.  All in all, a very enjoyable read.

 

 

Washed in Blood (Heaven’s Guardians MC #1) by Ashley Lane

Book Description:

Published: June 29, 2019

Format: Kindle

Stars: 5

Blinded by anger, the man who had sworn to protect me,
shot me in a fit of rage when I was only sixteen years old.

He thought he killed me.
But my job wasn’t finished yet.

My days are spent as President of the Heavens Guardians MC.
Nights are spent searching for the scum of the earth.

Rapists, Murderers, Pedophiles.
They all answer to me.

I thought I’d seen it all.
Thought my heart couldn’t be any darker.
Thought I knew exactly how far I was willing to go.

Then a battered and broken woman was found behind our clubhouse,
and I realized, I’ve never had a clue about the monster that lurks within.

They may call me Priest,
but I’d sell my soul to the devil before I let anything take her away from me.

Review –

Priest/Kingston was murdered at the age of sixteen while defending his innocent girlfriend, but it wasn’t his time as according to the angel Azreal, he still had a purpose.  (I know that sounds like a paranormal premise, but it isn’t). Twenty years later, he is the president of a vigilante-type MC club.  I absolutely adored Priest.  He is strong, intelligent, and loves fiercely.  He has a great sense of loyalty towards his fellow MC brothers and has dedicated his life towards serving justice against those who prey on others.  When he encounters Willow, he feels a sense of calm when near her, but he also feels deep-seated protectiveness towards her.  I loved how caring and loving he was towards her.

Willow is a heroine whose story is sure to pull at your heartstrings.  She is only twenty years-old and has already led a long and difficult life. Even having endured so much in her short life, she never stops fighting.  She is a survivor and continues to persevere even when it seems like she will never be able to stop running.  Trust is hard to come by, but she starts to feel safe with Priest. 

I loved watching Priest and Willow’s relationship develop.  The author did a great job in making the reader feel that undeniable connection between them.  There are moments of tenderness between them as well as some pretty hot sex scenes.  The secondary characters are also well developed and I  enjoyed learning about the dark pasts of each of the MC members.

Washed In Blood is not for the faint of heart.  It is a book full of action and suspense.  It is fast-paced and will leave you flipping the pages to find out what happens, but also dreading the moment the book ends because it is that good. There are scenes of violence and abuse (not between the hero and heroine).  This is the debut novel by this author and I am thoroughly impressed with her style and quality of writing as well as the intricate plot.  I loved the characters and how this book is not your typical MC romance. 

Near the end I was brought to tears and that has NEVER happened to me before while reading or listening to a MC contemporary romance. This author is fantastic. 

 

The Most Dangerous Things by Laura Lippman

Book Description:

Published: August 23, 2011

Format: Audio/OverDrive

Stars: 3 1/2

Some secrets can’t be kept….

Years ago, they were all the best of friends. But as time passed and circumstances changed, they grew apart, became adults with families of their own, and began to forget about the past — and the terrible lie they all shared. But now Gordon, the youngest and wildest of the five, has died and the others are thrown together for the first time in years.

And then the revelations start.

Could their long-ago lie be the reason for their troubles today? Is it more dangerous to admit to what they’ve done or is it the strain of keeping the secret that is beginning to wear on them and everyone close to them? Each one of these old friends has to wonder if their secret has been discovered — and if someone within the circle is out to destroy them.

Review –

“Childhood friends, long since splintered off, uneasily reunite after the death of one of their own in Edgar-winner Lippman’s superbly unsettling tale of the consequences of long-buried secrets. Gordon “Go-Go” Halloran drives his car into a wall after a night of drinking, even though he’s been on the road to sobriety. On the brink of divorce, Gwen Robison returns home to care for her aging father and learns of Go-Go’s death from his older brother, Sean. With the eldest Halloran brother, Tim, and a scruffy, nature-loving neighborhood girl, Mickey Wickham, the five had come together in the spring of 1977. The group broke apart after a violent encounter in the woods, an event that was never spoken of again, but permeates each of their lives. Lippman (I’d Know You Anywhere) cleanly shifts between the past, following the band of kids through their adventures in the woods of their Baltimore suburb, and the present when Go-Go’s death draws them back together. Her series lead, Tess Monaghan, makes a brief appearance, but this stand-alone belongs to the children, their memories, and everything dangerous that lives in the woods.” Publishers Weekly

Although a pleasant listen it was not the author’s best work.

 

The Address by Fiona Davis

Book Description:

Published: August 1, 2017

Format: Audio/OverDrive

Stars: 5

After a failed apprenticeship, working her way up to head housekeeper of a posh London hotel is more than Sara Smythe ever thought she’d make of herself. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility—no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America, where a person can rise above one’s station. The opportunity to be the female manager of The Dakota, which promises to be the greatest apartment house in the world. And the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else…and is living in The Dakota with his wife and three young children.

Review –

The author tells two, eventually intertwining, stories that take place a hundred years apart.

In 1884, Sara Smythe is head housekeeper at London’s Langham Hotel when she accepts an offer to work at the brand new Dakota Apartments, in the wilds of Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The very notion of upper-class families living in shared space had been considered gauche, but the Dakota—a “communal living experiment,” as one of the characters puts it—becomes a showpiece for affluent families who can’t afford a Fifth Avenue mansion.

In 1985, New York City interior designer Bailey Camden has just been sprung from rehab only to learn that her former employer doesn’t want her back. She gets a commission from her friend Melinda (a sort of relation—but that’s a long story), who owns an apartment in the Dakota. Unfortunately, Melinda’s renovation ideas are painfully out of step with the Gilded Age grandeur of the building.

Back in the 1880s, Sara gets involved with married architect Theodore Camden and winds up in an insane asylum on Blackwell Island (now Roosevelt) Island. The real-life pioneering reporter Nellie Bly engineers her release, and Sara finds out the real truth of her incarceration  and the lies told to her about the baby born  while in the lunatic asylum.She later returns to the Dakota only to be accused of a grisly crime.(no spoilers). 

Bailey, meanwhile, stumbles across some strange artifacts at the Dakota that will link her, inextricably, to Sara. Though her characters lack depth, the author does a good job showing how tough it could be for women in the 19th century. At the same time, the historical facts about old New York and the Dakota’s beginnings are fun to read.

A fantastic read combining historical fiction and a crime fiction melodrama.

7th Circle (Hades #1) by Tate James

Book Description:

Published: January 8, 2021

Format: Kindle

Stars: 4

Five years ago, I masterminded the infamous massacre of the Tri-state Timberwolves.

The streets outside the Wolves HQ ran red with the blood of the old guard, and not one of those members loyal to my father were spared mercy. Not a single one.

I let the media twist and distort the story. My new recruits eagerly proved themselves in spreading false news, in covering our tracks. To the general public, the Tri-State Timberwolves were extinct.

But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. We changed, we grew, we evolved and came out stronger than ever. Now, I live, eat, sleep and breathe Timberwolves. I’ll do anything to keep my empire safe and thriving. To keep the people depending on me safe.

So, what do I do, when it’s my own weakness that places us all in danger? When I let sex cloud my judgment, and my people pay the price?

Simple. Kill the distractions.

I’m called Hades for a reason, after all.

Review –

7th Circle is the first of a new series set in Shadow Grove. Several characters cross over from the Madison Kate series but it is not necessary to read MK’s story first. Hades is a contemporary new adult reverse harem series, which means the leading lady has several love interests and never has to choose in order to find her HEA.

I think love the character, Hades, more than MK is that’s possible. I also enjoy the fact that her harem has no connection to each other. Even though they know who they are, they recognize the want for her. It’s fun to see the dynamics and one is older and one is younger which will make everything more interesting .

We’ve gotten to know Cass a bit in the Madison Kate series an saw a different side of him. He is still struggling. Zed is slowing showing his want for Hades. He is the best friend and second, the person Hades trust the most. The fact that he’s a man wh*re is well known. I really think they see each other wanting her, but they did not take into account Hades wanting the new kid, Lucas.

This, first book, has Hades and Lucas’s relationship development, which I find clever, because that is the catalyst that makes the other two act on their feelings.

Of course, a lot more goes on in this book besides hooking up and hot and steamy sex scenes. There is the whole TriState Wolves/Copper Wolves/Silver Wolves or whatever thing, and I think we (the reader) could have used more background on the massacre .Then there is the fact that a stalker is after Hades for whatever reason and it seems a bit similar to the stalker in the MK series, but it works.

While I only gave it 4 stars I will definitely be reading the next installment.

Sidenote – If you want to know just why the book is called 7th Circle, you will have to read the book. It’s not what you think!

 

The Villain (Boston Belles #2) by L.J. Shen

Book Description:

Published: December 16, 2020

Format: Kindle

Stars: 5

From #1 Amazon and USA Today Bestseller L.J. Shen comes an arranged marriage romance novel with teeth and claws.

Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit.
Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth.
To the media, he is The Villain.
To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life.
Now I need him to do me another, small solid.
Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into.
What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway?
Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors.
The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom.
Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy.
To play, to mold, to break.
Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail.
Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death.
He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games.
He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.

Review –

Cillian and Persephone are nothing short of magnificent together! Their banter and connection are combustible and jump right off the pages. The fiery heat and attraction between them is only rivaled by the unparalleled emotional depth of these characters. Persephone is the Queen that Cillian never knew that he needed but always wanted. She is the air he needs to live and breathe and has always been the only thing to make him feel the beating of his own heart. I love everything about them both and applaud Shen once again for drafting characters that seep into our hearts and souls and never find their way out.

This is the second in the Boston Belles series and I will definitely go back and read the first!

This story is HOT!