Daughter of Deciet, by Carrie James Haynes

 

Daughter of Deceit

Author: Carrie James Haynes

Published By: N/A

Date Published: N/A

Genre: Historical Suspense

Pages: N/A

Recommended Age: Mature Adults

Read & Reviewed By:  Me

Rating: C/3

I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:

When Alyce Hythe was a child she was whisked away to the countryside to live in secrecy, shunned from society.  All of England says her deceased father was a notorious spy for America. She has now come back to London to prove her father’s innocent and hears strange voices sending warnings before attempts are taken on her life.

Lord Julian Casvelyn has suffered with the guilt since the death of his twin brother who was murdered by Alyce Hythe’s father, but after saving her from an attempt on her life he begins to suspect that there is more to the tale he was told about his brother’s murder.  Together they the search for the truth that was kept from them.

My Thoughts:

I found the book very intriguing.  I kept wondering whose voice that was calling her warning her to run or wake up before a tragedy happened. Right from the beginning, the reader wonders if she is clairvoyant. Plus, the mystery around why people want her dead when she hasn’t done a thing to another ling creature pulls you.  I also sensed a stronger connection between Alyce and Julian that the book just barely hints at it. 

I gave the Daughter of Deceit three stars and a grade of C. Carrie James Haynes has a creative way of plotting years of conspiracies that slowly found their way to the surface.  Haynes had me running for my life as well; figuratively of course. If you like a book full of suspense with a sprinkle of romance thrown in I recommend Daughter of Deceit.

Parents:

Language: Some swear words

Adult Content: a couple sex scenes

Violence: attempted murder

When Passion Rules, by Johanna Lindsey

 

Book Title: When Passion Rules

Author: Johanna Lindsey

Published By: Gallery

Date Published: June 14, 2011

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 388

Recommended Age: Mature adults

Read & Reviewed By: Me

Rating: A/5

  "Being called a 'wench' never sounded so sexy."-Theresa

 I borrowed this book from the library.

Summary:

Alana Farmer was raised by her uncle in London as part of high society. Then on her eighteenth birthday her uncle tells her he isn’t her uncle at all, or any other blood relation and she is actually a princess he kidnapped from the country of Lubinia.  She must now return to her country of birth and take her place next to her real father, the king.

Christoph Becker is the captain of the palace guards and was placed in charge of Alana because they suspect she is another fake in a long line of imposters.  Christoph keeps an extremely close eye on Alana as he investigates her story.

Theresa's Thoughts:

The characters Johanna Lindsey created was well developed, even down to the paid assassin, Rastibon, who had a change of heart and raised a princess as his own kin in a foreign land to protect her.  It was so believable that I even cried at the moment he had the change of heart.

The storyline was written in a way that it was a believable story, as in this could possibly happen somewhere at sometime. It would have been unbelievable if they believed Alana Farmer right away, because even in the real world you have to investigate everything.  

I gave When Passion Rules five stars and a grade of B, because I loved this book so much and I knew one day I would read it again.  This book pulled me in.  I cried at two spots in the book, at the point I mentioned above and at the last two pages of the book.  Lindsey had out done herself once again.  If you like romance with a twist of mystery and action this is the book for you.  I recommend When Passion Rules.

Parents:

Language: The use of ‘wench’

Adult Content: A few sex scenes

Violence: A couple of shoot outs

Unlocked, by Courtney Milan

 

Book Title: Unlocked

Author: Courtney Milan

Published By: Courtney Milan

Date Published: May 26, 2011
Genre: Historical romance, Novella

Pages: 111

Recommended Age: Adults

Read & Reviewed By: Me

Rating: C/3

I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:

Lady Elaine Warren has spent years being bullied and laughed at by the other members of the Ton since she was teenager and has resigned herself to being a spinster. Then her main tormenter Evan Carlton, Earl of Westfeld has returned to England.  He is the one who started her life of torment. This time she plans to fight back.

Theresa's Thoughts:

I liked how Courtney Milan made it known that the epidemic of bullying was happening back in the Victorian era and it is nothing new.   I really liked the Milan did not have Elaine fall right into Evan’s arms when he confesses his TRUE feelings for her, because what person who has been tormented like she has and suffered emotional distress would fall in love with her the person caused her misery just because he announced to the Ton why he was mean to her in the first place?

What bothered me was that it was short and without an actual storyline with some substance to it, but I think to myself what if Milan was only trying to set a moral to the story about bullying? Then in that case I had to overlook the fact no one had a deep secret they were trying to hide and no one was being kidnapped.  For that I gave Unlocked three stars and a grade of C.  If you like romance and short stories with a moral behind them I recommend Unlocked.

Parents:

Language: None

Adult Content: Sexual Content, Bullying

Violence: None

Breakfast with the Pope. by Susan Vigilante

 

Breakfast with the Pope

Author: Susan Vigilante

Published By: Richard Vigilante Books  

Date Published: November 17, 2010

Genre: Christian Non-fiction, Memoirs

Pages: 256

Recommended Age: Adults

Read & Reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/4

 "A Christian Eat Pray Love" inside flap

I borrowed this book from the library

Summary:

Susan Vigilante is a Catholic wife who is also a struggling writer and is trying to get pregnant.  Being one of the few Catholic women who follow the Church’s laws, she refuses to get pregnant in vitro or any other medically enhanced way.  She seeks the promise of God’s love through personal relationships with the people in her life and takes a pilgrimage to Rome, where she happens to find herself having breakfast with Pope John Paul II.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed reading Susan Vigilante’s book.  My heart went out her.  I understood her desire for wanting a baby as I want kids of my own some day.  What I didn’t understand was why she wouldn’t allow doctors help her and husband?  Being a Christian myself and part of the large percentage of Christian women who do not let the Church dictate what I do with my body, I would have sought all the medical help I could.  I believe God gave the doctors the knowledge for us to use and I will use it for all it’s worth.

I also didn’t like how her friends turned on her when she decided to write a book about her journey.  The book didn’t show them in a bad light until they demanded she did not write the book.  I found that it to be selfish of them to tell Vigilante not to share her memoirs...and un-Christian. 

But besides that, I loved reading her story and the path she took in finding the peace in herself she sought.  I gave Breakfast with the Pope four stars and a grade of B because it was well written and easy to read.  If you like memoirs like Eat, Pray and Love I recommend Breakfast with the Pope.

Parents:

Language: Clean language

Adult Content: None

Violence: None

Wild Heart, by Lori Brighton

 

Book Title: Wild Heart

Author: Lori Brighton

Published By: Zebra

Date Published: November 1, 2009

Genre: Romance

Pages: 408

Recommended Age: Mature Adults

Read & Reviewed By: Me

Rating: C/3

I borrowed this book from the library.

Summary:

Leo Roberts has returned home after being missing and presumed dead most of his life.  He is next in line for earldom.  Ella Finch was hired to teach him the ways of the English ton because he is believed to be uncultured and a feral child grown into a man. Someone wants both Leo and Ella dead.  It seems both of their mysterious pasts are entwined somehow, but how?

My Thoughts:

Lori Brighton did a fine job on her debut book and the characters were well done.  I just got frustrated with Ella’s character at times.  Leo comes to her defense many times when his cousin Henry is attacking her, but she doesn’t stand up for him when Henry is trying to let others believe that Leo is attacking him for no other reason other than he is insane.  She never opens her mouth and tells people that Leo was coming to her defense against Harry. If I was Leo, after the first incident, I wouldn’t come to her rescue again.

I also couldn’t understand this backdrop of a secret society that wanted to use Ella’s Finch to gain some sort of power with some god.  It was confusing.  For these reasons, I give Wild Heart three stars and a grade of C.  I also couldn't lose my self into the story and the characters.  I liked it, but I did not really like or even love it.  Having read another book of Brighton’s I know she could do better.   If you love romance with a bit of mystery, I recommend Wild Heart.

 

Parents:

Language: Some swear words but mostly in Italian

Adult Content: Lots of sexual content, erotic

Violence: Some violence

Colby's Child, by Patricia Waters

 

Book Title: Colby’s Child

Author: Patricia Waters

Published By: Goodreads

Date Published:  May 10, 2011

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 283

Recommended Age: Adult

Read & reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/4

I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:

Jenny MacDonald is left a widow shortly before she is to give birth to her fist child. Left alone in a small gold mining town that is populated by minors and dance-hall girls, she feels she has no choice but to marry Jason Colby’ the man who built the town and whom she suspects of shooting her husband. He also has as many secrets as her late husband had .  She believes it's a price she has to pay until she gets her gold mine and she can return east and live with her brother.

Growing up with a mother who hated his existence, Jason can’t help but respect Jenny because of her motherly ways and becomes a good father to her daughter.  Believing he is not worthy of being loved and having a family of his own he tries to keeps his distance from Jenny. 

Theresa's Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book very much.  I love stories where two people are forced to marry when they can’t stand each and eventually fall in love.  Patricia Waters did a good job of creating the characters.  There were moments I wanted slap some sense into Jenny and ask her how she could marry someone she didn’t know anything about, not once but twice?  Then I would want to turn and give Jason a hug, telling him has worth, not to let believe his slutty mom’s words. 

I disliked how the townspeople turned on him just by one man’s bad words.  After all he had done for the town; they judged him guilty without a trial. It just was not right.

I gave this book four stars and a grade of a B because of the emotions it evoked in me.  If you want a feel good book that actually pulls you and gets you emotionally involved with the characters, I recommend Colby’s Child.

Parents:

Language: some foul language, not much

Adult Content: Two sex scenes, Adult Subject Matter, Heavy topics

Violence: None

Suffer the Children, by John Saul

 

 

Book Title: Suffer the Child

Author: John Saul

Published By: Dell

Date Published: 1977

Genre:Horror

Pages: 378

Recommended Age: adults

Read & reviewed By: Me

Rating: A/5

 "A book that would keep you up at night...until the last page"--Theresa

I own this book.

Summary:

One hundred years ago in Port Arbello a young girl is murdered.  Today,  the children of Port Arbello are disappearing.  It seems an evil history has come back to haunt the town.  The one child who may know what is going on has been scared speechless.

Theresa's Thoughts:

I came across this book at a used book store while I was in high school.  The name John Saul was new to me, but the story on the back of the book intrigued me.  So I gave the clerk $2.00 and walked out of the store with a new book and a new favorite author.

I still own this book and will never part with it.  I hope to one day meet John Saul and ask him to sign it.  It’s my favorite horror book and the most cherish book in my book collection (right along with my Little House and Anne of Green Gables books, of course).

I gave this book 5 stars and a grade of an A because I have read this book three times since I bought it and I never grow tired of it. The first time I read it I was up all night reading it; I couldn’t put it down.  The ending took me by complete surprise. I would have never have guessed who or what was causing the terror that had a hold of Port Arbello.  If you love horror books I would recommend all of John Saul’s books, but especially Suffer the Children.  

Parents:

Language: Some cuss language

Adult Content: No sex

Violence: None.  Just Psychological terror

The Highwayman, by Doreen Owens Malek

Book Title: The Highwayman

Author: Doreen Owens Malek

Published By: Harper Monogram

Date Published: April 38, 1993

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Recommended Age: Adults

Read & Reviewed By: Me

Rating: C/3

 "The Luck of the Irish was on the side of these two Romeo and Juliets." ---Theresa

I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:

Not wanting to be shipped off to a convent to live with nuns, Lady Alexandra Cummings disguises herself as a boy and follows her ambitious uncle to Ireland and to Inverary Castle.  While there she is kidnapped by ruggedly handsome Irish rebel Kevin Burke and spends month under him and falls and love.  Her uncle gets her back, and to save his reputation he does everything in his power to keep Alex and Kevin apart.

My Thoughts:

This was the first time I read a book set in the 1500s, and I enjoyed it.  Usually the farthest back in history I would read would be the 1700s so this was a refreshing look.

Malek developed the characters quite well and I liked how the queen was portrayed.  She was a selfish and spoiled woman, yet you can see the stress she was under having to rule such a vast territory and she tried to do what was right.

As for Alex’s uncle, he made me sick.  He keeps talking about doing his duty to his niece, but he only did his duty for appearances sake.  He was only concerned with moving up in the ranks of the Queen’s court. He would never have tried to get Alex back when she was first kidnapped by Kevin and his men if it wasn’t for his associates saying it would work towards their cause. Appalling!

I gave The Highwayman three stars and a grade of C because although I liked the book something was lacking.  I never felt that “Oh my Gosh” feeling when they got in a tough spot, and some situations were predictable in what the outcome would be.  If you are looking for a good romance to read on those sunny beach days I recommend The Highwayman.

Parents:

Language: none

Adult Content: Sex scenes

Violence: none.

Surrender the Wind, by Rita Gerlach

 

Book Title: Surrender the Wind

Author: Rita Gerlach

Published By: Abingdon Press

Date Published:  August 1, 2009

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction, Mystery

Pages: 382

Recommended Age: Adult

Rad and Reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/ 4 

I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:

A young Patriot veteran of the Revolutionary War, Seth Braxton receives a letter from his grandfather’s lawyer stating he has inherited his grandfather Benjamin Braxton’s estate in England. With only intending to stay in England long enough to sell off everything and return back to Virginia with his little sister; he arrives to learn that his sister is a widow with a two year old toddler who has been kidnapped. He stays to help bring his nephew home and solve the mystery of who kidnapped his nephew and why. He also finds himself falling in love with his sister’s best friend and re-awaking an old enemy who is set on revenge.

My Thoughts:

I don’t usually read Christian novels because I don’t believe they are quite realistic.  I being a Christian myself and attend church every week, I know people do not quote bible verses to one another and talk about God’s Will on a daily basis, but I thought I would give this book a chance. It seemed like it had some substance to it.

While I was reading it seemed to have the impression of The Hound of the Baskervilles and I kept expecting Sherlock Homes to show up on the scene, but all we got was a lazy police officer who wanted to claim everything as an accident.  I say that it had the atmosphere of The Hound of the Baskervilles because it always seemed to be dark or raining, or both.  It added to the aura of the mystery.

Most of the characters were well developed and had depth, one was even functionally deranged.  The reader doesn’t realize how unbalanced the person is until the end. The one thing I found fault with was that I believe Seth’s sister and her new beau needed to have more depth to their characters since it was her son who was kidnapped and he beau was Seth’s friend and helped Seth at every turn.  Seth’s sister was treated as back ground characters when you would think I mother would be more involved in finding her son’s kidnapper, and her beau was treated more as a secondary character, but he’s character had no substance other than a friend to Seth and the beau of Seth’s sister.  I would have liked to know more about them two.

I gave Surrender the Wind four stars and a grade of B, because my first instinct was to give it a lower rating and grade, but only because of all the unrealistic religious talk.  Then I thought if I took all that out what grade would I give it?  That’s when I decided on the four stars and the grade of B.  It was a fantastic read that kept the reader intrigued to the end. Rita Gerlach is a superb story teller.  If you like Christian historical fiction, or just a good mystery with the aura of The Hound of the Baskervilles I recommend Surrender the Wind.

Parents:

Language: Very clean language, biblical language

Adult Content: None

Violence: a couple of dead bodies and a fire but not in detailed words.  

To Seduce an Earl, by Lori Brighton

 

Book Title: To Seduce an Earl

Author: Lori Brighton

Published By:

Genre: Historical Romance

Date Published: July 25, 2011

Pages: 287

Recommended Age: Mature Adults

Read and reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/4

 "[...]Fans of Johanna Lindsey will enjoy this work, which furthers the idea that self-publishing is not something to scoff at." — Library Journal (via Goodreads)

 I received this book from Amazon.  It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they were giving away on a particular day.

Summary:

Twenty-something year old Alex was raised against his will in a brothel that is aimed at pleasing women  since he was 13 years old.  Grace, being a lover of books and treasure hunting, was sent to this brothel by her step-brother, believing she was going to a hotel to retrieve a rare book from a gentleman. When she realizes where she is at and the trick that was played on her she ran from Alex’s room angry and embarrassed.

Alex can’t stop thinking of Grace and the one kiss they shared before she pushed him away, and Grace can’t stop thinking of Alex and how he made her feel.  When she realizes that the Earl she wants to marry won’t pay any attention to her because she is too innocent and wants a woman who isn’t afraid to flirt and be forward, she thinks of Alex and asks him to teach her how to kiss and flirt. With the mystery surrounding why Alex is being held prisoner and forced to sell his services to women and the true reason why her step-brother had sent her to the house of ill repute comes to the surface the two fall in love.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book because it kept me intrigued.  Not only was it a romance book but it had a lot of drama and action.  I didn’t like that Alex’s favorite word was the F-Bomb, but considering the lifestyle he has lived it wouldn’t be realistic if had a pristine clean demeanor.  I also didn’t like the way his father asked him to never come back around after they found each other, stating that Alex would ruin his little brother’s reputation, but I must consider the era and how back then one person’s action reflected on the whole family.

I gave this book four stars and a grade of B because I loved how the storyline flowed and pulled me in.  What got me to download this book onto my Kindle DX in the first place was the story line about a male prostitute in a brothel geared toward pleasing woman.  I never knew such a place existed for the women of that era.  Also, when the author, Lori Brighton was compared to Johanna Lindsey I had to read the book for myself as I do love the work of Lindsey. Now that I read a book by Brighton I can see that she is very talented in her story-telling of that particular era and I can’t wait to read another one of her books.

Language: Some swear words, derogatory terms, F-Bomb is dropped a lot

Adult Content: Sexual Content Adult Subject Matter

Violence: Some fist fighting and one gun fight

The Other Wes Moore' by Wes Moore

 

Book Title: The Other Wes Moore

Author: Wes Moore

Published By: Spiegel & Grau

Date Published: April 27, 2010

Genre: Autobiography/Biography, Non-Fiction

Pages: 233

Recommended Age: Young Adults, Adults

Read and  Reviewed By: Me

Rating: C/3

I borrowed this book from the library.

Summary:

Two boys with the same name are born within blocks of each other.  One grew up to be an honored veteran that works in the White House, while the other is serving a life sentence for murder.

My Thoughts:

I liked the way Wes Moore told his story and the story of the other Wes Moore. The way Moore told the two stories made the book flow nicely.

 I personally think the other Wes’s mother should be ashamed of herself by being more concern with how young she still looked and about going to the clubs to pick up a new boyfriend than being with her two boys. It made me dislike her right from the start. I believed that played a lot in the direction her sons took. 

They had no true guidance or decent role models, but at the same Wes should be hold accountable for his own actions. He knew right from wrong and yet he still chose the immoral path. His brother Tony disgusts me with his lack of remorse, which makes me wonder if he even has a conscience.

I liked Moore’s mother because she was so determined that he get on the right tracked that she begged for donations to send him to a good military school when she saw the path he was heading down. She risked her pride to save her son from the path he was. That’s love.

I gave this book three stars and a grade of C because I liked this book, but it did nothing for me. It did not move me emotionally in any way.  This is not the type of book a usually read, but I picked up because he is a fellow Phi Theta Kappa member and who support one another.  I did like that in the epilogue Mr. Moore told us what had become of the key players in both of the boys’ lives. It tied up many close ends.

If you like to read non-fiction and biographies or autobiographies then I recommend reading The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

Parents:

Language: Some swear words

Adult Content: lots of drug use and selling of drugs, Adult Subject Matter, Heavy topics

Violence: gang violence, shoot outs.