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Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Category Archives: Book Reviews – Fiction


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Kernels of Consummate in ‘The Coronation’?

The Coronation

By Justin Newland

Matador, 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Via: ZooLoo’s Book Tours

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Step into 18th century Prussia and meet a land-owning family, its matriarch, and their community as they navigate politics, faith, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, treachery, and romance as the Seven Years’ War with Russia and Austria rages.

Select Characters:

Countess Marion von Adler of East Prussia.

The Countess could really use some Excedrin Migraine or a CAT SCAN. Her hubby Gottfried is off fighting the war, leaving Marion to run the estate – when she’s not down with a splitting headache. And what’s up with her visions of eagles?

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Will His Secret Destroy All in ‘The One You’re With’?

The One You’re With

By Laura K. Denton

Thomas Nelson, 2021

Genre: Clean Romance/Christian Fiction

Via: Library

“Edie was a mother, and mothers had certain codes, just like doctors. Do no harm. Put others first. Help when needed. And always love – even when it’s hard. Even when it flies in the face of everything you feel.”

The One You’re With is a love story. Only it’s probably not the kind you may be thinking of.  In fact, it’s anything but a frothy “beach read.” This book is sturdy and substantive. It’s about love. Loyalty. Sacrifice and selflessness. Sticking with it and standing firm, even when the chips are down. It’s about choices and consequences. Mistakes. Grace. And most of all, second chances.

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Why Is THIS Book ‘Bouillabaisse’?

Recursion

By David J. Harrison

The Book Guild, 2021

Genre: Thriller/Sci Fi

“Well,” sniffs Her Momness. “That’s four hours out of my life I’ll never be able to get back.”

She recently bowed out of a “book blog tour” on this lemon. As in, chucked it across the room. She calls it “Taking out the garbage.” (Mom’s just funny that way.)

And “garbage” is exactly what this book is. We tried to give it a fair chance. Like, “Olly olly oxen free !” But 66% in, Mom was doneski. Outta here! Gag me! Clean-up on aisle nine!

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Sparkling Fiction Shines in ‘What Remains True’

What Remains True

By Nancy Naigle

Waterbrook/Multnomah, 2022

Genre: Fiction/romance

Via: Waterbrook Launch Team

 

Kimber the Magnificent here. Mom’s doing it again. That smiley, sparkly-eye thing.  And there’s not even a single T-bone in sight. But there is a new book and a new author she wants to tell you about. Cuz they’re two of her new faves. So take it away Mom!

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Electrifying New YA Novel DISCOVERS Dazzle

Kimber yukking it up with her BFF, Xenia. Is it dinnertime yet?

Discovery of the Five Senses: The Urban Boys

By K.N. Smith

Via: Author Request

Genre: Young Adult/Light Fantasy/ Action and Adventure

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

***

Before we jump into this review, Kimber wants to make one thing perfectly clear: She is not happy about Her Momness forgetting dinner because she was so absorbed in this book, she forgot what time it was.

Not that we’ve got that out of the way…

Basic Plot

The fate of humanity hangs in the balance as five high school friends battle evil with their unusual gifts and abilities. Meanwhile, there’s a reason the nearby “forbidden preserve” is forbidden. You so do not want to go there.

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Female Fighter Ace Flies High in ‘The Legend of Lilia’

The Legend of Lilia

A novel based on a true story

By Christopher P. Redwine, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Via: Reedsy/Discovery

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Hey Mom!” quoth I, Kimber the Magnificent. “How do you spell ‘fas-cin-a-ting?” (“Quoth.” Isn’t that a great word? I stole it from Mom. Don’t tell anyone, okay?)

“Why?” quoth Mom. (There’s that great word again.)

“I need it to help with the review of that cool book you just read. The historical novel about the world’s first female ace fighter pilot.”

“You mean, The Legend of Lilia?”

“That’s it!” Says I. Mom tells me it goes kinda like this:

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‘The Secrets Left Behind’ Will Leave You Breathless

The Secrets Left Behind : An emotional and evocative tale spanning three decades. by [Antoinette Tyrrell]The Secrets Left Behind

By Antoinette Tyrrell

Spellbound Books, 2022

Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction/Women’s Fiction

Via: Zooloo’s Book Tours

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“If only I’d known and now it’s too late.”

– Kate Millington

This is a story about four women. At first blush, they’re as different as night and day. But there’s more to the story as revealed in this masterful blend of history, mystery, tragedy, regret, and redemption.

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Cozy Up With ‘Death at the Abbey’

Death at the Abbey

A Kipper Cottage Mystery

By Jan Durham

Published by: Inkubator Books, 2022

Genre: General Fiction/Murder Mystery & Thrillers

Via: Book Blog Tour

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A medieval religious artifact. A budding romance.  A middled-age widow and amateur sleuth who wonders if there’s a connection between two murders, and why? And who might benefit from a religious relic with healing properties?

Liz McLuckie’s husband died five years ago. Working through her grief, she’s neck-deep in renovating two dilapidated old cottages in Whitby on the North Yorkshire Coast. Out walking her faithful bull terrier, Nelson, at a cliffside Benedictine Abbey one morning, Liz stumbles upon a dead body. She later discovers that a break-in occurred at the church the same night as the body showed up. Coincidence or not?

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Adventure Abounds in ‘The Aging Machine’

The Aging Machine

By Paul Robert Schreyer, 2021

Genre: Young Adult Action/Adventure

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of us started reading this book with a big bowl of marble fudge ice cream with extra hot fudge sauce. And raspberries. Mom added peanut butter to make up for any nutritional deficiencies in the berries. This book moved along so briskly, she kept having to refill. To “keep her energy up,” dontcha know. (Insert eye roll here.)

Anyway, I, Kimber the Magnificent, will let Her Momness tell you more about The Aging Machine:

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‘Songbird’ Hits High Notes

Songbird

By Gail Meath

 

Via: Reedsy/Discovery

Genre: Historical Romance/Cozy Mystery

Summary: A gung-ho gumshoe and his canine partner team up with a beautiful Broadway star to track a serial killer. But people connected to the theater keep winding up dead. Is Laura next? Can Jax and Ace crack the case before the killer strikes again?

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Hey Mom!” says I, Kimber the Magnificent. You gotta get a load of this “cozy mystery” thingy. (No idea what that means. But it sounds yummy!)

“What’s up, Kim?” says Mom.

“This Songbird book? It stars Ace the German shepherd. His human sidekick is Private Detective Jax Diamond. I’m goin’ with the dog, okay? Whaddya think?”

Here’s our review:

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