Cool Shade by Theresa Weir 2/5 Stars

From Amazon.com

This well-loved classic won the RITA for romantic suspense.

Jobless, flat broke and itching for some new scenery, disc jockey Maddie Smith figures a trip to Nebraska to see what's going on with her flaky, estranged sister is as good a plan as any. It seems that after a brief encounter with sexy reclusive Eddie Berlin, baby sister vanished without a trace.


My thoughts

I did not enjoy reading Cool Shade. In all fairness to the author Theresa Weir, I am not a romance novel lover. I enjoy suspense, but Cool Shade had too much romance and too much explicit sex for my taste. I'm not a prude, but for me, when the sex is that explicit, it looses a lot of its appeal.

Cool Shade won the RITA award for romantic suspense for a reason. The writing was good, the characters complex. I did have a couple of problems with the story line however. I don't want to write a spoiler, so I won't go into detail, but I felt there were a couple of incidences that were totally unbelievable and out of character.

While I didn’t enjoy Cool Shade, I am sure there are plenty of romance lovers out there that will enjoy this novel very much.

Cornerstone by Misty Provencher 5/5 star review

From the back cover:

Seventeen-year-old Nalena Maxwell, known as The Waste at her school, has received a sign to join an ancient community. She'd know that, if it wasn't the wrong dang sign. But Garrett Reese, one of the school's most popular athletes and a boy with eyes as clean as Jesus, knows exactly what Nalena is and he knows about all the family skeletons that are about to come crashing into her life...

My thoughts:

Cornerstone is the best YA novel I have read in a long time. Every character in Cornerstone has a unique voice, which is a difficult task to accomplish. All of the characters really come alive, and the relationships between the characters give this novel something very special. I loved everything about Cornerstone. The story was fascinating and had just the right amount of action, romance, and just plain fun. It made me laugh, and it made me cry. I could not ask for more in a novel than that. I am now a Misty Provencher fan and am looking forward to reading more of her novels.

44 Book 2 by Jools Sinclair - 3/5 Star Review

Amazon.com Description


When she was 17, Abby Craig died. But after falling through the ice on a frozen mountain lake and having no vital signs for 44 minutes, she somehow came back to life.
It’s taken two years to recover from her accident. And while most of what she lost at the bottom of that dark lake has returned, some things haven’t.
Although she is no longer haunted by visions of a serial killer, Abby still sees what others can’t. But she is blind to the darkness closing in all around her…

My thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, 44, so I was very much looking forward to reading 44 Book 2. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. The characters were still great and the writing just as good as in the first one, but unfortunately book 2 did not resolve anything. I understand a series is supposed to leave you wanting more, but to not resolve anything at all makes me feel ripped off. For writing and characterization, I would give 44 Book 2 a 4 star review, but because it left me so empty at the end, I can only give it 3 stars.

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand - 4/5 Star Review

Description from Amazon.com


Alex Kosmitoras's life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival--an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to "see" the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

My thoughts

Farsighted was very different than any other YA paranormal novel I have ever read. The characters, especially Alex, were really well developed. You could almost swear some of these teens actually attended your high school, and Alex’s gift seemed so natural, I sometimes forgot this was supposed to be a paranormal story. There was plenty of action and suspense, and a romance that was not overdone. Farsighted was everything I hoped it would be with one exception; I wish it had been longer.

44 by Jools Sinclair - 4/5 Star Review

Amazon description

Last year after falling through the ice, seventeen-year-old Abby Craig woke up from death.

But she woke into a world she barely recognizes. She can’t see colors, memories have been erased, and her friends all hate her. And then there’s Jesse, who she loves, but who refuses to forgive her the one mistake she made long ago.

Just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, the visions begin. In them, she sees a faceless serial killer roaming the streets. While the police believe that there have been a lot of accidents in town lately, Abby knows differently. And she soon realizes that it’s up to her to find him.

But to stop him, she’ll have to confront more than just the killer. She’ll have to face something else that was lost in those dark waters. The truth.

In the tradition of Amanda Hocking, 44 is a thrilling paranormal romance mystery novel that keeps readers at the edge of their seats and glued to the very end. The ending will haunt you forever.


My Thoughts

44 was a very good read. It had great character development, suspense, and romance, everything you could ask for in a novel. I loved the relationship between the two sisters and Abbey's relationship with Jesse. 44 kept me turning the pages and even made me cry (not easy to do). I found it very difficult to stop thinking about this book, and as promised, I think the end will haunt me forever. I can't believe this was a free Kindle book!

Entangled - by Barbara E. Brink

Description from Amazon.com

One lost summer is time best left forgotten... When Minneapolis divorce attorney, Billie Fredrickson, inherits her uncle's small California winery, she has no intention of actually moving to the west coast and starting a new life. Her only thought is to get it off her hands as quickly as possible. But her return to the winery after an absence of twenty years opens up more than the reading of her uncle's will. Childhood memories, long-buried, begin to surface, prompting more questions than anyone is able or willing to answer. A late night prowler, a break-in at the winery, and an unearthed box of shocking photographs is someone's way of pulling the Welcome mat out from under Billie's feet, but it only makes her dig her heels in deeper. More secrets lie buried beneath Fredrickson Winery's innocent facade and Billie intends to get to the root. But disturbing the past lays bare the skeletons of others, including her mother's. Can she live with the consequences of full disclosure or will she run home where everyone is Minnesota Nice?

My rating - 4/5 Stars

Entangled was a very enjoyable read filled with suspense, very interesting relationships, and a great location. Brink painted the scenes at Fredrickson Winery with such clarity, I could feel the earth beneath my feet, inhale the heady scent of grapes, and almost taste the wine. The next time I am in California, I won’t be able to stop myself from searching for this small family winery.

As much as I loved the descriptions in Entangled, I loved the characters even more. Billie, the protagonist, was especially well developed. She was definitely flawed and more than a little rough around the edges. By the end of the story you learned exactly why she was flawed and the rough edges became much softer. Another one of my favorite characters in this book was Davy, the little boy. His character added much humor to the story. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.