Book 72, 2025
Jul. 18th, 2025 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jae
Mortar and Murder by Jennie BentleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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I finished my most recent book last night. It was Mortar and Murder by Jennie Bentley, and it’s part of her “Do-It-Yourself” series of cozy mysteries. The main character is Avery Baker, textile expert and home renovator.
Avery and her boyfriend Derek begin a new project: a 225 year-old house on nearby Rowanberry Island. It’s in rough shape, but Derek can see the potential it has, and Avery is up to the challenge. Their renovations are put on the back burner when the two of them discover a body floating in the water between the mainland and the island. The young woman had the name of local realtor, Irina, in her pocket. Irina claims not to know her, but Avery can’t help but be suspicious. Irina, a native of Ukraine, came to Maine under shady circumstances, and Avery begins to wonder if she’s somehow involved. When another body turns up in the harbor, the police are desperate for answers. After Irina goes missing, Avery is convinced that everything ties back to Rowanberry Island, and she’s determined to prove it.
A fast-paced and interesting story. It was published in 2011, but its themes are quite contemporary, including illegal immigration, ICE, and human trafficking. I wasn’t really getting a read on who the “bad guy” was, but then again, neither were the main characters. Lots of twists and turns in this one.
Favorite lines:
♦ “Shades of Scooby-Doo.”
♦ In my opinion, a perfectly clean house is a sign of a wasted life.
Good read, four stars.
Book 71, 2025
Jul. 13th, 2025 02:32 pmchez_jae
American Vampire by J.R. RainMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Last night I finished reading American Vampire by JR Rain. This is the third book in the “Vampire for Hire” series, starring newbie vampire, Samantha Moon.
Samantha is living life as best as she can, dealing with her vampirism while still being the best mother she can to her children and working as a private investigator. After years of exchanging candid IMs with someone she knows only as “Fang”, Sam gets the chance to meet him. He’s not what she expected, and the fact that he’s someone she already knew has knocked her for a loop. Sam does not have time to dwell on it, because she receives a mysterious phone call from a young child named Maddie—a girl who has been missing for months. Samantha is determined to find her before it’s too late. On top of everything else, her own child, Anthony, grows terribly sick. Sam fears he’s dying, and she’s faced with a terrible choice.
Nothing in this was predictable, which was both vexing and refreshing. I really felt for Sam, pulled in so many different directions and growing ever more desperate to save both Maddie and Anthony. Along the way, she taps known allies and makes some new ones. Action was fast and furious with barely any down time for Samantha. It made it difficult to set this aside.
Favorite lines:
♦ A relationship should add to your life, not take away from it.
♦ His toes, I saw, were extraordinarily long and hairy, too. He wiggled them at me when he saw me looking at them. They looked like ten frightened mice.
♦ “The guy you found dead in the meth house was murdered.” // “I’m shocked and outraged.”
Exciting and fast-paced. I wasn’t onboard with Fang’s real identity, nor his backstory, and I didn’t like the sad subplot of Anthony’s terminal illness. Nevertheless, a good read. Four stars.
Book 70, 2025
Jul. 10th, 2025 07:02 pmchez_jae
River of Dreams by Jenny LykinsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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I had so little of my “work” book left to read that I brought it home and finished it this evening. The book was River of Dreams by Jenny Lykins, and it’s a time-travel romance from the “Time Passages” line. Main character is Brianne Davis.
When Brianne’s friend, David, asks her to go to a séance with him, she never anticipated that he would be taken over by the spirit of a man who had lived in the 1830’s and loved Brianne then. Griffin claims that Brianne was once his beloved Amily, and he begs her to return to him. After a freak lightning storm catapults Brianne back in time and into Amily’s body, she must learn to navigate life without any of the familiar trappings of her modern world. And she must also come to grips with the fact that Griffin is already married...to Amily’s cousin Florence.
This was beautifully written—not funny, but poignant and evocative. Amily and Griffin are already falling in love, although neither of them will act on it out of love and respect for Florence. It was interesting to read about Brianne learning to make her way in this strange new world, pining both for Griffin and for the life she left behind. I found some things rather predictable, but other plot points were surprising. I finished the book wondering why the author chose to introduce a villainous character or two (or three!), when it seemed that the star-crossed romance was fraught enough without adding villainy to the mix. Characters were three-dimensional, and the plot advanced at a steady pace. I do have one burning question: What became of Amily while Brianne was in her body in the past? I thought perhaps they switched bodies, but no mention was ever made of that. Hm.
Favorite lines:
♦ Men. Someday scientists would discover that testosterone causes brain damage.
♦ “If you believe I could ever forget you, ever for one moment not want you, then you do not fathom the depth of my love for you.”
♦ “I think there’s some kind of chemical reaction that impairs the brain when testosterone mingles in the same air with silicone.”
Overall, a wonderful story of love transcending time. Four stars.
Book 69, 2025
Jul. 9th, 2025 09:35 pmchez_jae
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuistonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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I finished reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston last night. It’s a contemporary male/male romance, featuring Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the President of the United States, and Prince Henry, in line to inherit the throne.
When Alex and his family attend the royal wedding of Prince Philip, he can’t help but run into his rival, Prince Henry—literally. A minor scuffle between the two results in a ruined wedding cake and an international scandal. To smooth things over, both Alex’s and Henry’s “people” force them to spend more time together, making nice, and looking like best mates. Not wanting to ruin his mother’s chance for re-election, Alex reluctantly agrees. However, the more time he spends with Henry, the more he realizes that Henry is his perfect match. The two of them embark on a forbidden romance, knowing full well if they’re caught, the fallout will be epic but willing to take the chance.
Such a delightful, funny, heartfelt story. You can’t help but feel sad for Henry, who’s carrying the weight of centuries of tradition on his shoulders. Alex at least has a little more leeway. The way their romance unfolds, in stolen moments together, but mostly via phone calls and the email version of love letters, was charming to read, even as you knew it was going to blow up in their faces eventually. Characters were portrayed vividly and wonderfully, including secondary characters. I adored their sisters (June and Bea) as well as their BFFs (Nora and Pez). Secret Service and body guards were amazing characters, too. Story was told in third-person pov from Alex’s pov. I know I’ve said before that I prefer it when a book/story is in one character’s pov, but in this case I would have liked to get Henry’s perspective on things.
Favorite lines:
♦ “I want to be prepared for my first ever royal wedding.” // “You went to prom, didn’t you? Just picture that, only in hell, and you have to be really nice about it.”
♦ “Do either of y’all know what a viscount is?” // “I think it’s that thing when a vampire creates an army of crazed sex waifs and starts his own ruling body.”
♦ A picture of Henry’s dog wearing a Slytherin scarf (I don’t know WHO you think you’re kidding, you hufflepuff-ass bitch)
♦ “People don’t like women, but they like mothers and wives.”
♦ “You’ve been, like, Draco Malfoy-level obsessed with Henry for years.”
♦ “What in the rich-white-people-sex-dungeon hell?”
♦ “Remus John Lupin is gay as the day is long, and I won’t hear a word against it.”
♦ “Every time I see you, it takes a year off my life.”
♦ “Math has no authority here.”
♦ Have you ever had something go so horribly, horribly, unbelievably badly that you’d like to be loaded into a cannon and jettisoned into the merciless black maw of outer space?
♦ “I’m telling you right now, I will physically fight your grandmother myself if I have to, okay? And, like, she’s old. I know I can take her.” // “I wouldn’t be so cocky. She’s full of dark surprises.”
Wonderful story—thought-provoking, poignant, heart-wrenching, and uplifting. Five stars!
