Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

End of Eternity by Loretta Lost My rating: 3 of 5 stars Walking in on your husband’s lifeless, post suicide body swaying in the breeze of the open door is bad enough, but pregnant Carmen now has to deal with both the funeral and her sister’s car accident on the same day - as well as take care of her father while he deals with her sister’s crash as well. Can she navigate the stress as well as the obvious attempts of the men in her life to soothe a grieving widow? I was intrigued by the idea of an inner monologue for someone experiencing life that included suicide, pregnancy and potential fatal car crash of someone she loved, but quickly found myself disenchanted with Carmen’s character. I honestly thought she was well written and well developed, just not someone I could relate to, personally. While I could not predict how I would react in the same circumstance, I just had a hard time processing the obvious lust and inappropriate relations with what seemed like any man who wasn’t ...

Van Laven Chronicles: Shadow Reign by Tyler Chase My rating: 4 of 5 stars Vaush has successfully been installed as the empress, and Comron could not be more proud, even if they still have to keep their relationship under wraps for now. He is frantically trying to economically bolster the image of his own House, Nethic, so that Vaush won’t have to pretend to court other houses for a marriage of convenience, and so far he has done a bang up job as her financial guru. But can Comron continue to hide his newfound gifts of the Murkdahl and use them for the common good, rather than the revenge he so desperately wants to enact? And can they put that aside to address the bigger threat of the Kurukaii? Book 2 in the Van Laven Chronicles, Shadow Reign is the highly anticipated sequel to the Throne of Novoxos, and it delivers a fantastic continuation of the story. I loved the character development of Comron and Vaush, and honestly I loved some of the economic underpinnings and explanation ...

High Hopes by Sue Lilley My rating: 4 of 5 stars Grace had always been unlucky in love, although successful in many other areas of her life. When her ex-husband moved to New York for a year she took solace at Penrowan, the home of her two best college friends. The problem is she also brings with her a secret that could tear Sam and Dixie’s marriage apart. Will she be able to tell them about the baby she placed for adoption all those years ago? As I work for an adoption agency ( www.agiftofhopeadoptions.com ) stories from the birth parent perspective, especially search and reunion stories, always intrigue me. Adoption in general is much more open than it used to be, often with children growing up knowing who their birth parents are and where they are, but that is recent enough that there are still lots of birth parents and adoptees who have not reconnected. What I liked about this story was the whole family coming together around the idea of being there for the adoptee, despite t...

Tiago by Reily Garrett My rating: 3 of 5 stars Brielle has just witnessed the brutal mother of her mother, and received cryptic instructions from her right before she died. Brielle and her mom have always loved traveling the Amazon together, but why is it so critical for her to go now? How is her destiny wrapped up in the jungle? And who is the strange, glowing protector she finds there? I have read other Reily Garrett books before, and while those were YA this is definitely a more adult romance, including sex. Disclaimer aside, if you like supernatural/paranormal romance this book fits well with Garrett’s succinct but deliberate style that unfolds a story into an adventure. Like her other books, I actually thought the book could have used a little bit more leading and tension rather than such a quick resolution, but it was still a great quick read, perfect for a beach book or surviving the airport. View all my reviews Please note, while there may be affiliate links or paymen...

Sated by Truth Devour My rating: 3 of 5 stars In the third book by Truth Devour, Sated, heroine Talia Jacobs finds herself face to face with her childhood friend and seeming soul mate, Bodhi. He is the one she has unconsciously sought her whole life, and he is finally within arm’s reach. He seems to recognize their bond too, until he doesn’t. Will Talia fight for their love, or regress into herself, as is her nature? Will they be able to finally, really connect, or is Talia doomed to live a life as only half of a whole? Sated picks up immediately where Unrequited left off at the masquerade. It is pretty clear that Talia’s life is about to take a drastic turn from her previous path, and I was disappointed to see her lose her internal monologue to some degree. One of the strengths of the writing was the ability to “see” Talia work through her emotions to find herself, and while there is still quite a bit of this in Sated it is diminished, somewhat, with a lot more description of ...

GLORY DOGS Forged Through Glory by DeZré Storm My rating: 3 of 5 stars After years of successfully flying under the radar, Yoland “Kitten” Sleek is not happy about being discovered. Her deal is being honored, but she was not expecting the surge of pheremones from a Helion like Dog. As it turns out, most of Dog Team Four has a secret agenda, but will her secret be the key or the undoing? I love sci-fi, and the actual sci-fi plot was interesting and unraveled well. Storm’s descriptive imagery is artfully written, and really helps the reader engage with the story. I also found the concept of modified humans well executed and would love to see more of that back story. I expected the sexual tension, but I felt like the amount ended up detracting from the rest of the story; or perhaps I’m just an unusually fulfilled sci-fi nerd and didn’t need that fantasy aspect. Perhaps it’s needed to set the stage for the rest of the series and it won’t be as big a plot point in th series as a whol...

Severed Threads by Kaylin McFarren My rating: 4 of 5 stars The first book in the Threads series, Severed Threads introduces us to unlucky Chase Cohen, a salvager who spends his time underwater treasure hunting, and Rachel Lyons, the daughter of a salvager who is determined not to rekindle a relationship with Chase, as she holds him responsible for her father’s untimely death. However, when Rachel is forced to help her brother get out of the clutches of criminals, she and Chase team up to find fabled treasure Heart of the Dragon, hidden somewhere in the wreck of the Wan Li, a legendary Chinese ghost ship, and a gamble as to whether it actually exists or not. In Severed Threads, author Kaylin McFarren does an excellent job of setting up a back story both of the fabled treasure ship and its supposed curse of Mae Li, the unrequited mistress of a sea captain, as well as the spark between Rachel and Chase. She weaves in many secondary characters well, but the focus of the story is cl...

Buried Threads by Kaylin McFarren My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rachel and Chase keep a blooming love alive while on an underwater Japanese treasure hunt. Buried Threads follows the pair during the second installment of the Threads series, where they run into the Yakuza, a soul-seeking monk, a greedy treasure hunter, a conniving Geisha, and a weird prophecy they are destined to fulfill. While the second book in a series, I read this first and had no trouble with continuity. There is some basic history of Rachel and Chase revealed during conversation, but their relationship blossoms during this book in a way that makes sense even without the first book. It is definitely a thriller, complete with sex, swordfights, and supernatural battle. I really enjoyed the writing and plot development, and while there were a lot of characters to keep track of there was some character development that didn’t hinge completely on plot twists. The sex scenes were a little much for me but that’s never bee...

The Jewel Box by The Jewel Box by C. Michelle McCarty My rating: 3 of 5 stars The Jewel Box is a novel based on the memories of main character, Cherie. It is largely composed of her fond recollections of her string of lovers and positive associations with a topless club called the Jewel Box where she was once a waitress in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It was at the Jewel Box that she met the love of her life, although their relationship was rather rocky with a lot of off again/on again drama. Cherie is something of a tormented soul, always looking for the one silver bullet that will fix her life. The author’s talent lies in her character creation and ability to write complex characters. However, I will admit this gets a bit tedious at times, as she describes the string of dancers at the topless club in sort of mindless succession, and that translated to some of Cherie’s lovers as well. All of the characters she described were funny and quirky, but there were so many (both danc...