Spies and Drama

Lord and Lady Spy (Lord and Lady Spy #1) by Shana Galen

Summary: Let the games begin...

No Man Can Outsmart Him...

Lord Adrian Smythe may appear a perfectly boring gentleman, but he leads a thrilling life as one of England's most preeminent spies, an identity so clandestine even his wife is unaware of it. But he isn't the only one with secrets...

She's Been Outsmarting Him For Years...

Now that the Napoleonic wars have come to an end, daring secret agent Lady Sophia Smythe can hardly bear the thought of returning home to her tedious husband. Until she discovers in the dark of night that he's not who she thinks he is after all.

Review: An entertaining although somewhat cheesy tale about two spies who don’t know about the other.

Adrian and Sophia do seem to both be very good spies and they didn’t know about the other so I guess it goes to show you that people don’t always look too closely at what’s right under their noses. As a fellow reviewer mentioned on Goodreads, this book could have been easily told without the spy part of the story. It could have been a story of two emotionally estranged people finally learning to love and trust one another. I feel that would have made for a better story as long as it was written well.

One aspect of the spy part is that Sophia was actually a competent spy and didn’t rely on her man to do all the work as is too often the case with women that are supposedly good swordswomen, but can’t save themselves (I see that a lot in medieval romances). Although Adrian is a bit jerky at first with his women can’t be spies, men can do things better, and I won’t let you put yourself in danger, he does finally accept that Sophia is competent. I did dislike the constant bickering between them though.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy romance that has either: spies, he said she said, or a woman capable of being dangerous.

Now She's Pretty

Dancing with the Duke (Landing a Lord 0.5) by Suzanna Medeiros

Summary: She's loved him for years...Charlotte Grant can't remember a time when she didn't love her best friend's older brother.

He's never noticed her...
The Duke of Clarington hadn't spared a thought for his sister's friend in years.

Their situations are about to be reversed...
It is the beginning of a new Season and Clarington intends to stay away from all the young ladies and eager mamas hoping to ensnare a duke. But that plan falls into tatters when his mother sponsors his sister's friend and enlists him to dance with her at Almack's. The beautiful vixen he meets that night bears little resemblance to the shy, gangly girl who used to follow him around. Now, instead of avoiding Charlotte, he finds himself frustrated when she seems to notice everyone but him.

Review: A novella about a plain girl growing up to be beautiful and the man she has always “loved” falling for her.

I didn’t like the premise of this novella to be honest. Charlotte had a childhood crush (I can’t call it love) on her friend’s brother for many years. Alex had always thought her to be annoying and hasn’t seen her for years. Now that she is beautiful, he’s instantly in love with her. But what else is there? A childhood crush and a lust for a person’s beauty do not make a lasting relationship. There was nothing between them. I got annoyed with their giant misunderstandings.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that like lust based romances.

Tragic Lives

The Angry Woman Suite by Lee Fullbright

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: Secrets and lies suffuse generations of one Pennsylvania family, creating a vicious cycle of cruelty in this historical novel that spans the early 1900s to the 1960s. Raised in a crumbling New England mansion by four women with personalities as split as a cracked mirror, young Francis Grayson has an obsessive need to fix them all. There's his mother, distant and beautiful Magdalene; his disfigured, suffocating Aunt Stella; his odious grandmother; and the bane of his existence, his abusive and delusional Aunt Lothian. For years, Francis plays a tricky game of duck and cover with the women, turning to music to stay sane. He finds a friend and mentor in Aidan Madsen, schoolmaster, local Revolutionary War historian, musician and keeper of the Grayson women's darkest secrets. In a skillful move by Fullbright, those secrets are revealed through the viewpoints of three different people-Aidan, Francis and Francis'stepdaughter, Elyse-adding layers of eloquent complexity to a story as powerful as it is troubling.

Review: A story of tragic lives, lies, abuse, depression, and deceit told through the eyes of three people.

The story of the Grayson family and those they are closed involved with is a tragic one. There is so much death, deceit, secrets, abuse, and fear. Everyone is flawed, some much more than others. The stories of each person: Francis, Aidan, and Elyse each take their own viewpoint and are told in different times. Each viewpoint added something to the overarching storyline although most of it is bad or depressing (the events, not the story writing). It does take a little bit to bring the three stories together, but when it does, it's certainly eventful.

The person I felt most sorry for was Elyse. She didn't do anything wrong to deserve her stepfather's abuse although she seems to be the most sane person in the whole story. I did feel a little sympathy for Francis because of what he had been through, but it doesn't excuse his actions. Aidan was a person who never wanted to see the truth and focused heavily on the past. I was amazed by the mental illness and sheer amount of personal denial and deceit that ran through the family.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy stories about tragic families.

And Again

Welcome to Sarnia by Jan Musil

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Summary: Foundation book for a planned series Science Fiction Epic Series.In their desire to expand Terrans decided that the risks involved in capturing and colonizing the planet known as Sarnia were well worth incurring.

A mere forty years on they lost that gamble. Big time.

136 years later, many things have changed. Some never do.

Review: A science fiction novel that takes place in a world where everyone has to explain their thoughts and actions to everyone, even if it’s only in their own thoughts.

I liked science fiction that takes place on different planets, especially multiple planets. Welcome to Sarnia only takes place on one planet, but it has some history and a good set up with plenty of opportunity for drama (four races on one planet). There were a large number of characters and I did have trouble keeping track of all of them. The characters themselves were pretty decent, but what I couldn’t stand was how every thought or action was explained in great, unnecessary detail. I felt like I was reading info dumps for so much of the book. I also got annoyed by the constant repetition. The author must have described a character’s lilting voice at least five times in a few pages. I get it.

While I did not always understand what was going on (it was hard to tell when it from an alien’s point of view as compared to a human), I did enjoy the intrigue about the alien races and individual characters. Everyone’s certainly out for something. I liked that women were viewed as capable and were warriors along with the men. The main conflict, a taryn, was a conflict that might not mean much on a larger scale or even a global scale, but it certainly meant a lot to the humans. I wasn’t quite sure what a tayrn was, but it will be interesting to learn more about that along with the Sarnians. Perhaps future books will be better since the world has already been set up in this one.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy science fiction stories that take place on other planets.

Alone Among Millions

Last Man Standing by Keith Taylor

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Summary: Paul McQueen is a global celebrity. The only man to survive the zombie outbreak of Bangkok, he's been making the rounds of the morning talk shows and newscasts.

Three months later he's a depressed, suicidal alcoholic. His wife and friends are dead, and it's time to tell the real story about what happened in the city. Why has he been lying all these months? What does the military junta have to hide? What could possibly be worse than the terror of the undead?

Review: A creepy tale of the true beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

This is a short story so it’s quick to read, but it certainly packs a punch. The zombies are really very horrible. They are much more dangerous than the standard horror zombie. I am sure Bangkok is already an incredibly crowded city, but it was even worse during a festival. Being caught in the crowd during a zombie outbreak is the worst place to be. I am amazed that Paul McQueen managed to survive although he does lose everything. I really felt for Paul. I can’t imagine going through what he did and not winding up at least a little messed up.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of zombie stories.

Under the Surface

The Whitechapel Gambit by Marcin Wrona

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: When the Haversham sun grinds to a halt before dawn, Daniel (or David) Squeak expects that he and his fellow sunwell workers are in for an awful day. What he doesn't expect is that a furious foreman will be the very least of his problems. One gear turns another, and Squeak finds himself injured, sacked from the only work he's ever known, and afraid for his very life.

The mysterious Sir Nicholas offers Squeak a way out of his predicament, but this knight is no saint. As Sir Nicholas slides around the pawns and bishops of a decades-old plot, it's Squeak who finds himself in motion: from sunwell to manor, from soot-stained Haversham to wealthy Rawlish, and even to the deadly jungles of the surface.

Workhouse lads are resourceful. Everybody knows that. But the bloody alleys of Haversham are not nearly as dangerous as the glittering avenues of King's Court.

Review: A tale of murder, mystery, and intrigue set in an incredible steampunk setting.

I was quite amazed when I learned that Squeak lived on the inside of earth. The people there don’t seem to live too far below the surface, but it’s still incredible that they managed to have whole cities and factories. There were even mushroom forests and lizards that pulled carriages (although they had their tails cut off, which made me sad). It never does really explain why people went to live underground nor did I learn much about the surface, its people, and its culture. I would love to know the mechanics of living under the surface.


There certainly is a lot of intrigue in this book. Sometimes the intrigue can get a bit much and I did get a little confused at times. Squeak gets rescued by Sir Nicholas and gets caught up in a plot that spans decades. Part of the book focuses on Squeak as a child and then it suddenly jumps to Sir Daniel (Squeak as an adult) and his quest to free his friend. Though it kept switching back and forth, with such a large gap of time I found myself to be missing crucial information (although a lot got explained later). I would have liked some in-between.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy steampunk.

Culture Clash

Indian Maidens Bust Loose by Vidya Samson

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: Nisha Desai is a young Indian woman who pines for romance in a country where love is in the same class as malaria, and where mates are selected using a calculator.

Normally deluged with ghastly suitors of her father's choosing, she suddenly finds herself on the short list for a bride-seeing tour by a rich and handsome nephew of a neighbor. This is the stuff of which dreams are made.

A nightmare materializes when a very un-Indian ruffian moves in next door, complete with beard and obnoxious Harley motorcycle. He might play the bad boy in one of Nisha's beloved romance novels, but in real life, he terrifies her.

So she tries to ignore the thundering engine of the bike while anxiously awaiting the arrival of Prince Charming--or at least, Prince Rich.

But arriving first are a long-lost black-sheep American aunt and her trouble-magnet teenage daughters. The aunt proves to be a New Age space case, while the cousins’ appetite for disasters threatens to level the city of Ahmedabad. In short order, the demented cousins instigate an elopement, a public protest, and a riot that gets Nisha thrown in jail.

Nisha’s family comes to the conclusion that while East and West may meet, sometimes they shouldn't. The guests are seen as an invading force, equipped with weapons of mass corruption.

While Nisha wonders how she can hide her now corroded reputation from the dream suitor's family, insanity marches on. Nisha's father adopts a pet cow and convinces half the city it's the reincarnation of a Hindu deity. The two families are finally united in a common goal: to bilk thousands. The result is Madison Avenue's idea of a religious experience, which is not a controllable situation.

Indian Maidens Bust Loose is a hilarious romantic comedy set in the land of cows, curry, and the Kama Sutra.

Review: A humorous and sometimes bittersweet tale of a young woman living in India and the culture clash that occurs when cousins come to visit.

As an American with a European heritage, I know little about India or its culture (they do make delicious food though). It was certainly interesting to read a book told from the point of view of someone living in another country, in a different culture. There are certainly some differences and Nisha does have some different values than someone in America might. Despite any cultural differences, Nisha is a very likeable character and someone easy to relate to.

The cousins from America create havoc. Their culture clash is the basis for this book. It was incredible all the trouble that Amber and Lauren could get up to. I must admit to not being a big fan of Amber (and sometimes not a fan of Lauren either), but I grew to like them at least a little. Nisha’s world does really get turned upside down and a large part of it is due to the cousins. It really was tragic to see how Nisha’s mother had suffered throughout her marriage and I was glad when she was finally able to find her happiness. I was also quite glad that Nisha got her happy ending.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy books about other cultures.