Author Archives: GPL

Review: Beauty and the Clockwork Beast

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Beauty and the Clockwork Beast
by Nancy Campbell Allen
4 stars

When Lucy Pickett goes to stay at Blackwell Manor to care for her ill cousin Kate, she’s surprised to learn that her recently wed cousin may be cursed.  Women who marry into the Blackwell family tend to die mysterious deaths, including Kate’s brother-in-law’s late wife and sister.

Miles, the lord of the manor, is concerned for his new sister-in-law, but also has other issues to worry about.  Ghosts are haunting his guests, vampires have been reported nearby, and he has a dangerous secret of his own.  Not to mention his attraction to his most recent guest, Lucy.

Lucy and Miles work together to try to figure out what’s happening at Blackwell Manor and bring peace back to the family in this steampunk romance.  I haven’t read many steampunk titles before, and I really enjoyed this one.  There’s definitely a lot going on, which sounds a bit chaotic when describing the story, but Nancy Campbell Allen makes it all work together.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales.

Read-alikes

Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine

The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

The Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen

Review: The Boy

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The Boy
by Tami Hoag
4 stars

I resisted reading anything beforehand about Tami Hoag’s latest novel, The Boy, because I know I’ll love anything she writes. I was joyous when I reached the second chapter and realized Hoag was revisiting Annie Broussard, her heroine from one of my favorite books, A Thin Dark Line. I suggest reading that book first before The Boy so you can understand the relationships among town member’s better, but the mystery itself can be resolved without reading the first book.

The titular boy is KJ, who has been murdered. Broussard and the sheriff’s department are tasked with solving the bewildering crime as well as an attack that was perpetuated on his mother. I found this to be a rather “tame” storyline for a Hoag novel at first (I know that sounds bad), but, alas, Hoag brings up many twists and turns making The Boy a breathless ride through the closing chapters. Even better than the thrills and chills are Hoag’s cast of characters and their associated pathos. Highly recommended!

Read-alikes:

Deadline by Sandra Brow

Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben

Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child

 

 

Review: Under the Never Sky

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Under the Never Sky
by Veronica Rossi
4 stars

It’s the year of catching up! My reading goal for this year is to read books that I’ve intended to read or series that I’ve intended to finish, and so far I’m enjoying it! One of those reads was a New York Times bestseller back in 2012, the dystopian trilogy Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

The trilogy tells the story of life after Earth has been ravaged by Aether storms. Aria, a Dweller, has group up in a pod, where she has been sheltered from the world outside and lives a primarily virtual life (think virtual reality built into your eye). When she tries to reach her scientist mother who may be missing, a tragic event occurs and Aria is banished from her home into the terrifying outside world. There she meets Perry, a harsh, savage Outsider (and your next fictional boyfriend) who is trying to save his nephew from Dweller kidnappers. They agree to help each other find their loved ones and together trek across the wilderness.

Check out this oldie-but-goodie for a little scifi, romance, adventure, and a little everything in between. You’ll fall in love with the characters (Roar is my favorite) and definitely have a “book hangover” when you finish reading!

Read-alikes

Matched by Ally Condie

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Partials by Dan Wells

Review: The Cuckoo’s Calling

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The Cuckoo’s Calling
by Robert Galbraith
4 stars

I adore a good mystery that keeps me guessing and The Cuckoo’s Calling certainly does that. This novel follows Cormoran Strike, a former Royal Military Police Special Investigator turned Private Investigator, who is asked by a heartbroken brother to look into the widely publicized suicide his sister, a international supermodel who fell to her death a few months before. Broke and barely making ends meet Strike takes on seemingly open and shut case and soon embarks on a dark and twisting journey through the lives of the rich and famous.

Author Robert Galbraith is actually a pseudonym for JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. It is no wonder then that the character development and writing style is classically Rowling. If you are a fan of the movement and mystery of the Harry Potter series you will definitely enjoy Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series.

The Cuckoo’s Calling is the first in the Cormoran Strike series. The fourth in the series, Lethal White, was released in September 2018.

Read-alikes

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

The Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber