Review: The Liar by Nora Roberts (Goodreads Author)

The Liar by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3,5 stars

I have been a fan of Nora Roberts since the first Mills & Boon’s book I read in the 80’s. She’s become my favorite romance author of all time and I actually have one bookcase, filled with over 200 NR books, in my bedroom “dedicated” to her. I have reread a lot of her books over and over again. What makes her books so special and unforgettable for me? The portrayal of her characters – they’re genuine, relatable and real life. Her female characters are independent, smart, and brave with an inner strength and at the same time have a soft and caring side as well. Her heroes are 100% real men. Sexy, protective, alpha but not in an overbearing and beyond controlling way, making them totally believable. The dialogue sparkles like diamonds.

Many of her books are set in small and often remote towns, and vividly described that you can see the pictures in your head.
To be honest, I have been slightly disappointed with some of her latest books, The Collector, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and Blood Magick https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... . So, I was really looking forward to her latest release, The Liar.

A short summary of the story plot. After the mysterious death of her husband, Shelby Foxworth discovers that she had been living a life filled with lies and deceit with a man who had been a liar and a cheat. Left with a huge amount of debt and alone with her little daughter, all her illusions shattered, she decides to return to her hometown and family and start a new life. But it’s not that easy to let go of your pass and she will need strength and courage to keep her daughter and family safe from the people who believe she knows more about her deceased husband’s affairs than she thinks.

Well, this book is certainly not one of my favorites. It was enjoyable but somehow just okay….no WOW factor for me! It could have been a WOW one, but there were a few things that missed the mark for me.

So, let me begin with the things I most enjoyed in this very sweet and cute love story with a bit of suspense thrown in that leaves you with a warm feeling as you turn the last page.

THE SETTING

Nora Roberts is the best at creating a small town setting and she does it incredibly well in this story that brings Rendezvous Ridge and its location, Smoky Mountains, Tennessee’s, to life.

You immediately have a picture in your head of a slow-paced, friendly town, where everyone knows everyone’s business and secrets, the everyday life of the community and their interaction with each other.
The writing is smooth and makes for easy reading.

THE MAIN CHARACTERS

SHELBY

What I liked about her was, that despite finding herself in a situation that would break most people, she pulls herself together and deals with it as best she can. She has an inner strength that surfaces again, after years of having her confidence and self-worth destroyed by her now dead husband. She has resilience and determination to turn her life around and make things work for her and her daughter.

She’s cautious and doesn’t do things rashly and without thought. She has her heart in the right place. The real Shelby is back. Loving, caring, talented and getting her confidence back. And even if she does “waffle” a bit sometimes and goes on and on about things….well, that’s her character!!

GRIFFIN LOTT

What’s not to love about this man!!!! He’s sexy, lovable, caring, and thoughtful and has a great swagger!!! And he’s totally determined that Shelby is the one for him. He never deviates from that thought……and no, he doesn’t go all uber alpha on her….he slowly breaks down her resistance in the most endearing and cute way. And, wait….he’s the perfect gentleman to boot….oh, and he has a home that I so would love to live in….together with him, naturally!!! And did I mention that he’s amazing with kids? His interaction with Callie, Shelby’s daughter is joyful and sweet and fabulous.

THE ROMANCE
Sweet and romantic. Not over steamy exactly. Although there are one or two scenes that were pretty hot…specially the one where Griffin seduces Shelby on the porch of his house!!! Sexy!!!

The development of their relationship was done really well…slowly growing from friendship to love made it more real and believable instead of it being an insta-love one.

“He’d said he was in love with her. And that just filled her up and emptied her out again. It made her want to shake, it made her want to weep. It made her want to hold onto him as if her life depended on it.”

SECONDARY CHARACTERS

I loved the characters in the story. Shelby’s family and how close they are with each other. Their love and support for one another. The local folks….the women who work with Shelby’s grandmother, Shelby’s best friend and her boyfriend, Matt…… endearing, relateable, lovable, funny and quirky………can I just say that my vote is……….

Callie………the most adorable, cute and delightful child. Yes, my heart melted for her…..open and enchanting…

And the two women I adored……Shelby’s mother and grandmother, Viola. Please, I want to be adopted by these two!!! The love between the three women is incredible and their interaction is the funniest and fabulous. The talk and situations that happen in Viola’s Day Spa had me smiling a lot. And when Shelby’s mother gives her a condom just before leaving home to spend the night with Griff was hilarious. This is so true!!!!!

Why 3,5 stars and not 4 stars?

Hell, this was a long book!!! TMI!!! Too many pages of long descriptions of places, every little detail about the homes, the streets, the people………and I was a tad annoyed a few times when Shelby kept repeating to each person she sees about what she feels, and wants to do…blah blah blah!!!

Some parts were slow and dragged a bit.

The ending was very predictable! I kept waiting for the pop-up revelation, that I had a good idea of what it would be.

The bad guys were a bit OTT!!! They and their actions didn’t feel real to me.

The ending seemed rushed – it was over so fast…..everything resolved and rub your hands together….because….yes, of course there’s a happy ending!!! This is Nora Roberts….This is romance!

Okay, that’s me and my thoughts and feelings about The Liar. Now, I’m off to sleep and to dream about Rendezvous Ridge and my new friends….


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Review: Devious by Lisa Jackson (Goodreads Author)

Devious by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another chilling and terrifying read by Lisa Jackson.

Devious, the 7th book in her New Orleans Series, features once again, one of my favorite detectives, Reuben Montoya and his partner, Rick Bentz.

The story opens with the grisly and horrifying murder in a chapel, of a novice nun from St. Marguerite’s Convent. When Montoya and Bentz arrive at the crime scene, they discover that the murdered nun, Sister Camille, is not an unknown victim. Montoya had dated her during high school. There’s an added coincidence when Sister Lucia, who discover the body, had been Montoya’s brother’s girlfriend a few years ago. And even the person suspected of the murder, Father Frank O’Toole, had also been a school mate.

Valerie Renard, Camille’s sister is battling with her own problems and trying to deal with her soon to be ex-husband, who makes an unexpected appearance at her place on the night of her sister’s murder.

When more nuns from the convent are killed, Val begins to feel that these murders are connected St Elsinore Orphanage, where she and her sister had lived before being adopted when they were young children. The orphanage has closed and is on the verge of being torn down to make place for a new business.

As Montoya and Bentz search into the history of St Marguerites, they begin to think that the convent and especially the Mother Superior are keeping some very dark and disturbing and even terrifying secrets, which are connected to the orphanage.

The killer is sadistic and won’t stop killing until everyone connected to the orphanage is tortured and killed.

The settings of the convent and the orphanage are depict in such vividness……the convent with dark secrets where nothing seems to be what we think…the dark menace, their occupants and how one never knows the truth about them….

As Montoya and Brentz unravel the clues left behind by the killer, Val makes a decision one night to return to the shut orphanage in the hope of finding the truth about her and her sister’s adoption. Let me tell you that the scene where she’s taken, the basement of the orphanage, gave me the absolute creeps.

I was literally shaking and my heart was pumping like crazy…..the cat and mouse game between Val and the killer at the end was shocking and brutal.

Brilliantly written, a well-crafted and intricate plot, tension filled suspense and mystery, plots and twists that leave you guessing until the very end.

I love this series and hopefully we will get more of Montoya and Bentz soon.

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Review: Absolute Fear (New Orleans, #4) by Lisa Jackson (Goodreads Author)

Absolute Fear by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Absolute Fear, the 4th book in Lisa Jackson’s New Orleans Series, is a nail biting, terrifying, suspense filled story that leaves you shocked, surprised and chilled to the bone.

As with the previous book, Shiver, its set in New Orleans with Our Lady of Virtues, the abandoned mental asylum, playing an integral part in the story.

Eve Renner has suffered from amnesia since the night she found her friend murdered and the attempt on her life. She has a vague recollection of seeing her boyfriend at the place of the murder and believes he may be the killer.

Cole Dennis, sexy, smooth and successful attorney loses everything in his life when he’s arrested on suspicion for the murder and attempted murder. Released after not enough evidence to charge him, he’s not only almost destitute but more than angry towards Eve. Despite being advised by his lawyer to keep away from her, he decides that he needs to find out who set him up. Adding to his problems, after receiving a call from her father, he arrives at his house and discovers that he has been murdered in the same way as Eve’s friend was. A message written in blood slit throat and a number tattooed on his body.

Eve feels unsure about Cole being the killer and as they slowly begin to trust each other again, the killer strikes again, in the same way as the others before.

Everything that’s happening seems to point to Eve’s father, who had been the head psychiatrist at Our Lady of Virtues mental hospital and the doctor in charge of Faith Chastain, who had committed suicide 20 years ago.
Eve has recollections of the times she spent at the asylum as a child. She had seen and heard about the horrors that went on for a very long time.

She realizes that if she wants to get her life back, she will have to return to that dark and lonely and abandoned place, where she will find the answers to the dim memories she has and the secrets and the rumors of the horrors that took place there. The one scene where Eve enters the asylum was pretty freaky. I could almost taste her fear, feel the sense of evil and horror of the place…..

Detective Montoya and his partner, Rick Bentz, are racing against time in trying to unravel the killer’s puzzling clues before he kills again. The stakes increase when they discover that the ritualistic murders are linked to both Eve and Montoya’s now fiancé, Abby Chastain and that everything leads to Faith Chastain and Eve’s father.

A calculating, evil and twisted killer labeled by the press as The Reviver, he’s bent on revenge and killing the person/s responsible for what happened to him many years ago. He’s determined to pay them pay for their sins.

What amazed me was that until the very end I had no clue who the killer and what the reason behind the murders
was. When everything is revealed……wow, I was more than shocked!!!!
But wait, not everything is revealed at the end of this book…….there’s so much more than what I thought I had finally being given the answers to all those questions….which tells me that more revelations about the Our Lady of Virtues mental hospital are still to come

Another intricate and engrossing story by Lisa Jackson.

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Review: Shiver (New Orleans #3) by Lisa Jackson (Goodreads Author)

Shiver by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shiver by Lisa Jackson is the 3rd novel in her New Orleans Series featuring Detectives Reuben Montoya and Rick Bentz.

Terrifying and shiveringly and grippingly suspense!! Edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride.

Reuben Montoya, the sexy and brooding detective that we met in the previous 2 books is faced with a series of murders, where the victims are killed in pairs and placed in a staged and grisly scene. At first, there seems to be no connection between the victims and no apparent motive. But when Montoya questions Abby Chastain, the ex-wife of one of the first victims, Luke Gierman, he has a feeling that there is a lot more about the case than she’s telling him. When the killings continue and escalate, he discovers that there is something about the victims and the crimes that have a connection to her.

Abby Chastain is determined to get her life back together. After a bitter divorce she has decided to leave New Orleans behind her. She’s also having to get closure on her mother’s mysterious suicide 20 years ago, which she had witnessed at the asylum where her mother had been placed. She has been haunted by her death and some of her memories of that terrible and tragic part of her life are slowly surfacing. She decides to return to the place of her mother’s suicide, Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital, now an abandoned and decaying building, soon to be demolished. Perhaps there’s something there that will spark her memories.

The setting of the old and derelict mental hospital was scary, dark and daunting. The vivid imagery of the place is beyond creepy!!!!

The scene where Abby finally faces the killer is so terrifying and chilling that I had Goosebumps…….the evil, cunning, sick and remorseless murderer gave me the chills.

I enjoyed the connection between Montoya and Abby but I would have liked a bit more romance.

The author has devised a superb plot full of unexpected and surprising twists, clever misleads and mysterious characters.
A story of the abuse and unethical practices to the mental patients, the clandestine behavior and how the nuns turned a blind eye to what was going on in the asylum such as rape, torture and even murder just to keep their secrets.

The ending is left with a kind of a cliffhanger, which will be revealed in the next book.

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Review: Lead (Stage Dive, #3) by Kylie Scott (Goodreads Author)

Lead by Kylie Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Okay, the secret is out!!!!

I AM A STAGE DIVE GROUPIE!!!!!!

I have an obsessive adoration for these sexy rockers since the time I read Lick, the 1st book in Kylie Scott’s sweet, sexy and funny rockstar romance series. I fell in love with David and Mal……Jimmy Ferris, the lead singer…wait, this guy was so not “nice” when I first met him………but, WOW!!!!! Was I surprised with his story, Lead, the 3rd book.
Never mind falling in love with Jimmy…….I freaking adored him!!!! This is a gorgeous man!!!
I know…..gushing and star-struck and a total crush on Jimmy! Yep, that’s me!!

THE STORYLINE

Jimmy Ferris, Stage Dive’s lead singer’s life has reached rock bottom. Overdosing on booze, drugs, sex…..He has been given an ultimatum…get your act together or you’re out!!! Out of rehab, he’s trying to keep clean and get back on track.

Lena Morrissey is fed up with most things in her life. She’s tired of dating shallow and stupid men and always falling for the wrong guy. She needs a new and fresh start and that could be the new job offer she has been given.
Her responsibility is to be a kind of sobriety companion/live-in assistant/babysitter to Jimmy Ferris….

Soon their working relationship begins to change into something more and we see how these two opposite characters work through all the drama and the emotional baggage they carry and have to overcome if they are ever to get together.

THE HERO & HEROINE

Jimmy FerrisHe’s gorgeous, sexy, talented, difficult, spoilt, always gets his way with anything he wants, vain and a loner who doesn’t allow anyone close to him.

But that’s how he deals with his inner demons.
Abandoned by his parents early in his life, he has closed off any feeling of emotions. He fights getting to close anyone, even those he loves. We see his vulnerability at Mal’s mother’s funeral. She was the person who saved and loved him and David, his brother, when the two were abandoned by their mother. She was a person he loved and her death left a huge hole in his life. The story he tells at her funeral was so heartbreaking and shows us the real Jimmy.

Lena MorrisseyThis is the kind of heroine I adore. She’s attractive and a bit “curvy” but is not obsessed with her looks, she’s cute, caring, funny, sassy, appealing and lovable but takes no shit from anyone. She says what she thinks and feels. I loved the scene where she tells Jimmy of her feelings about men in general…

She’s the kind of woman I could be really good friends with!! There would never be a dull moment in our lives!!! I loved her honesty….telling Jimmy that she’s fallen in love with him and is unsure how their situation will work with him not feeling the same. Boy that took courage!

THE RELATIONSHIP

What worked for me was how Jimmy and Lena’s relationship progressed and grew over time and not an insta-love one. We see the development and the changes from employee/employer to becoming friends to lovers. The sexual tension, the emotional connection and growing to trust each other slowly unfolds filled with the two discovering who they were…………

One of the funniest parts in the story is seeing Jimmy offering to help Lena get over him when he sees Lena reading a magazine article titled Guide to Getting Over Him.
He arranges blind dates for her and the results are a total laugh. Beyond hilarious. Their “debriefings” were a pleasure to read…..

And when the sexual tension becomes unbearable? More than sparks flying!!!

It’s hot, passionate, sexy, sizzling and with some naughty bits thrown in!!!

Lena was really the shining light in Jimmy’s life….she loved him, she cared for him even when Jimmy struggled with opening up to her. She knew he didn’t love her like she did him and that he loved her as a friend…..but regardless, she would not give up on him…

Lena was definitely my favorite character in this book, if not in the series. There was something about her that drew you to her. I know I’ve said it all before….but let me say it again…….she’s an AWESOME person. And thank heavens Jimmy finally opened his eyes and saw the person he wanted to spend his life with.

Watching Lena and Jimmy’s relationship grow and develop was great. I loved how it took time. It wasn’t rushed or instant. You saw the progression and the changes in both of them. They started at an, then became friends, then… the sparks started flying. And once they do… hot damn. Be prepared for some sexy times. Jimmy’s got a bit of a dirty mouth and their time together was a great combination of passionate and naughty.

CHARACTERS
The character development is fantastic. We have seen the changes, the conflicts and the growth that the band has gone through.

One of the things that I love about this series is how the author makes her characters feel so real. These are people who you could be friends with…yes, I know they’re rockstars but they seem like attainable people….like your next door neighbor, like one of your friends. Like…just NORMAL PEOPLE!!

How refreshing to see the kind of the women the band is with. Not the usual vacant and size 000 supermodels but women who are real, down to earth with no pretensions.

The interaction between the characters is nicely done with some of the most humorous banter.
Their connection, their love, their loyalty and their bond with each other is a joy to see.

The depiction of David and Jimmy’s mother was something else!!! What a character! One of those that I just love to hate. Another was Lena’s sister. Wow, talk about an insensitive and stupid woman!

And not forgetting Killer, the puppy!!

“Interesting. I'm going to tell you what I told Killer at puppy training today when he tried to mount a teacup poodle he'd only just met. If she means something to you, you gotta do the woo, son. You can't just be trying to stick it in.

THE WRITING

I love the author’s writing style and voice. It’s unique, smooth and flowing making it easy reading.
The dialogue is absolutely amazing. I could hear it in my mind….it felt as if I was listening in to the characters conversations.


AND FINALLY
If you love rock stars that are endearing, lovable and totally relatable…….READ THIS SERIES!!!!
I can’t wait to get stuck into Ben’s story next in book #4, Deep.

I leave you with this message….never mind that it may be a spoiler….of course everyone knows that in love and romance, this is true……..


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Review: Wild Cat (Leopard People, #8) by Christine Feehan (Goodreads Author)

Wild Cat by Christine Feehan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2,5 stars

WILD CAT is the 8th installment in Christine Feehan’s contemporary paranormal, erotic romance Leopard Series.

Christine Feehan is one of my favorite PNR romance authors and I have read all her series, and whilst I like her Leopard Series, her Carpathian Series is still my favorite.

Having met Elijah Lospostos in previous books I was looking forward to his book.. Sadly, I was rather sad after I finished reading his story.
In fact, I was more than unhappy with Elijah and his character….never mind that he was domineering and aggressive towards his colleagues and friends but how he behaved towards the heroine, Siena Arnotto, was beyond not acceptable.

I get that the men in this series are portrayed as dominant and controlling, but no way can one condone or excuse the manner in which he treated Siena, in the beginning, when she’s asked by her grandfather to deliver a present to Elijah, who believes that she’s part of a plan to kill him…..His actions………..he forceful and violently takes her virginity, tears her clothes, grabs her by her long hair, pulls her out his front door, calling her a whore and a slut, that she’s the worst f….k he’s ever had, shuts the door on her, leaving her almost naked on the doorstep!!!!

The violence continues….Siena returns home and gets beaten very badly by one of her grandfather’s henchmen, who threatens to kill her if she doesn’t marry him. Her grandfather does nothing.
This all happens to this poor woman in the first two or three chapters.

She escapes from the family wine estate after her grandfather is murderer and fearing for her life, goes to Jake Bannacone, who has a security company, wanting to hire someone to protect her. Well, surprise, surprise. Elijah works for the company and he offers to be her bodyguard. Are you kidding me???? Siena can’t face him and runs off and is kidnapped by Paolo, her grandfather’s guard and the one who had beaten almost to death the day before. What other horrible things must this poor woman have to endure?
Well, she’s again violently attacked by Paolo and Elijah and his men just barely get to her on time.

Okay, let me keep it short here…..she’s taken to Elijah’s home where he can better protect her. She wants nothing to do with him.
So, does he apologize? Are you kidding!!! No way…..he just TELLS her that she HAS to forgive him….because he’s had a terrible life so far….and wait for this….and that he’s always loved her since he met her all those years ago. How she’s the only woman for him…his true mate! Is that groveling????? Pleeeeez…..He knows what he did to her was wrong…but she just has to deal with it!!!!! She has to do everything he tells her to do. He’s the boss!!!

Okay!!!! Caveman moments much!!!

And Siena….she’s always loved him and no other man has come close to him in her heart. She thaws and gives in and forgives him. Hell, Elijah is some lucky male!!! Me, I would have him on his knees, crawling on the floor, begging for forgiveness!! But this is Elijah….he’s a male, she’s a female, and it’s a man’s duty to care and protect his woman. All she has to do is follow his orders. If he wants something or tells her something..he HAS THE LAST WORD!!

What I liked about Siena – she may listen to his in charge/control tirade but she‘s not going to lie down and just submit to his demands. Loved the way she turned things around when Elijah tried to keep her in the dark about the situation with the leopard people and their power struggles.

Actually, I did rather like Siena. And the best part about her….how she deals with Elijah!!!!

She’s gone through a lot of bad stuff in her life but it hasn’t made her hard. A life filled with loneliness, no friends to chat with. I liked her openness, her caring and loving nature…..and she’s totally cute.
One of my favorite parts in this book was the time Siena wanted to surprise Elijah but cooking his favorite dish…..okay, so she can’t cook but anyone can make a dish using a recipe!!! Well, not really!!! Burning hands and face, steaming eyes as she inhales the chilies that she’s trying to cook!!!
It put a smile on my face!!!!

Now, I haven’t mentioned the sex!!!! So much sex!!!! More sex pages than plot pages!!!!

Elijah and Siena have a lot of sex!!!! Every chanced they get!!! A knock at their bedroom door informing him that there’s someone who wants to meet with him downstairs……….quick, let’s have a hot and speedy go together before I go to the meeting!!!!

Look, I like steam and hotness in a story….but when sex scenes pop up every couple of pages…….let’s say that I did skim a few, well maybe a lot of the sex scenes which were becoming a bit more repetitive and tedious.

The secondary characters making an appearance have become familiar….Jake and Emma and their kids, Eli and Cat, Joaquin and Tomas Estrada, Drake Donovan, Evan and Joshua Tregre, who I am sure is going to play a huge part in the future. The new and interesting character introduced in this story is Alonzo, Siena’s former bodyguard and who sees himself as her protector.

I like the world the author has created and developed, and how the leopard people’s struggle to continue existing in the human and with each other. The character development since the 1st book in the series is really good.

This was not one of my fav’s in this series. It was more like an OK!!!

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