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Monday, October 24, 2016

Review: Dark Water

Dark Water Dark Water by Robert Bryndza
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Had this one pre-ordered and was looking forward to it, and although I just started today I am already at 40%, and reading this just after Pulse: A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 10, I see the difference, why this will probably get 5 deserved stars, and the other got 3.5 rounded to 3: more mystery, page-turner, more suspense, better heroine (way better, and my kind of MC). Very little romance, and what is made of that, keeping it real. This book is way longer, but being a real page-turner with the case always taking more space, you do not feel it (one thing that did not bother me, with the other book, that was a fast read). The whole, cold Sunday (October 23d, 2016, with temperature outside 8 degrees Celsius/46 degrees Fahrenheit) I read till I finished the book with minutes to spare till Midnight. There was no dragging in the middle, as sometimes even by very good authors, where I could have stopped.

Comparing this to the other book, it is obvious for me, why I like this a lot more and gave 5 stars, oh well, I mentioned it above. There are a few short hints of sex-scenes, one explizit gay sex-scene, but nothing fetish or kinky (sadly). Also, even though the MC commits nearly the same mistake as the MC in Pulse, it does seem more real to me and also it plays out differently (so far, that may change). And the MC is not weak, rather stubborn and headstrong, one of the reasons she is advancing in the Police. Even her Sister plays a strong part here, with a nice turn during the final night in Erika's flat.
Also, with the tea-drinking, and the places and all, it does feel way more like the UK than the descriptions in Pulse, although the difference is minor.

The crime is rather twisted, with quite a few deaths, a few twists could be guessed, I did not, and some twists need the tell-all (Agatha Christie-like) in the end by one of the guilty parties, as not all facts are discovered by the police.

Highly recommended and can be read as a standalone, as Erika (the MC) has changed jobs, as was the ending of the book before, where she took her superior up on his offer to quit (minor spoiler if you have not read that one yet).

This author is on my lists for auto-email when a new book is published. New books in this series are an instant buy, and also, not too expensive. This is surely a book I will recommend to my family, but so far this is not available in our native German.


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Review: Dark Water

Dark Water Dark Water by Robert Bryndza
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Had this one pre-ordered and was looking forward to it, and although I just started today I am already at 40%, and reading this just after Pulse: A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 10, I see the difference, why this will probably get 5 deserved stars, and the other got 3.5 rounded to 3: more mystery, page-turner, more suspense, better heroine (way better, and my kind of MC). Very little romance, and what is made of that, keeping it real. This book is way longer, but does being a real page-turner with the case always taking more space, you do not feel it (one thing that did not bother me, with the other book, that was a fast read).

This was a page-turner, but long, although it did not feel like it. The whole, cold Sunday (October 23d, 2016) I read till I finished the book with minutes to spare till Midnight.

Comparing this to the other book, it is obvious for me, why I like this a lot more and gave 5 stars, oh well, I mentioned it above. There are a few short hints of sex-scenes, one explizit gay sex-scene, but nothing fetish or kinky (sadly). Also, even though the MC commits nearly the same mistake as the MC in Pulse, it does seem more real to me and also it plays out differently (so far, that may change). And the MC is not weak, rather stubborn and headstrong, one of the reasons she is advancing in the Police. Even her Sister plays a strong part here, with a nice turn during the final night in Erika's flat.
Also, with the tea-drinking, and the places and all, it does feel way more like the UK than the descriptions in Pulse, although the difference is minor.

The crime is rather twisted, with quite a few deaths, a few twists could be guessed, I did not, and some twists need the tell-all (Agatha Christie-like) in the end by one of the guilty parties, as not all facts are discovered by the police.

Highly recommended and can be read as a standalone, as Erika (the MC) has changed jobs, as was the ending of the book before, where she took her superior up on his offer to quit (minor spoiler if you have not read that one yet).

This author is on my lists for auto-email when a new book is published. New books in this series are an instant buy, and also, not too expensive. This is surely a book I will recommend to my family, but so far this is not available in our native German.


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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Review: Pulse: A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 10

Pulse: A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 10 Pulse: A Kate Redman Mystery: Book 10 by Celina Grace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Received an ARC from the Author for an honest review.
Read and liked the first 3 books in the series, but have not yet read books 4 till 9.
Interestingly from the start it feels like not a lot is missing (for me from the story), I wonder what happened in these books.
A bit too much romance and thinking about how to handle the situation between Kate and her lover (do not want to spoil it here, in case this is your first book with Kate Redman), but I am not too far, with the second body just found, so hopefully this will change.

At 60% now, Kindle shows 40min. remaining reading time. Still too much thinking about romance by Kate, boring. Not enough suspense, it is as I feared in my review of the second or third book, quality sinks below 3.5, so far this might get 3 stars, still recommended, but meh, not too sure about this series, I still regret not having read the 6 books in between this one and the third. Now I am not too sure, wether that will be worth-while.
In this book Kate is unsure when she has to present (not even defend most of the time!) her gut-guesses. This is not my kind of independent heroine and together with the way too long romance-love-story which I can do without and no sex-scenes to speak of, and a second Drama-Queen (or rather -King) hinted at, this reads more like fluffy romance with a bit crime thrown in. If that is what you want, ok, I want a suspenseful, twisty, realistic, crime, preferably with a strong female MC. While Kate is not really whiney, she comes across as more unsure than in the first books, and instead she should have grown more confident and less dependent on her boss.

And also, again, I do not really feel like it is set in the UK most of the time, ok, some expressions are un-american, but then, I am not too sure, they are even used in the UK anymore (if ever). Just a feeling, maybe others feel different.

Just finished the book, and with a few twists at the end, which where a nice surprise, still too much romance, and I would have liked more deaths and more gruesome details.

At least no vigilantie-killings. And nicely shown and done: actions or in this case - something not done - have consequences and rightly so. But the ending smells just too neat, even with the final consequence (will not spoil it here) for the police.

For me this is an unsure 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 for too much romance. A fast ok read - if you want that, and I will probably at some point read the 6 books up to this one, but am not sure, wether an 11th one is warranted, for me I guess not.


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Friday, October 21, 2016

Review: Crimson Frost

Crimson Frost Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Interesting turn with the romance in the end, just my kind of book.
Also not too much romance, good fight scenes, as with the other books.
The developing character of Gwen, the MC, is believable, not too whiney and not too unsure, at least not the whole time, although she tends to struggle with her decisions - making her more humane in my eyes. She does not kill easily and is not easily killed, but if need be she does not shy away from self-sacrifice.
Highly recommended and for me the best yet in the series, which I will certainly read till it ends.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Review: Halloween Frost

Halloween Frost Halloween Frost by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nice fluffy, but too short. Should have been given away for free, as I paid for it, 50 ct. (Euro) would have been ok, I paid three times as much, knowing what I did (and buying other books at the same time).

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Monday, October 17, 2016

Review: Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If I remember right, this was compared to one of my favorite books by an author I read for the first time (and I think a debut?): The Unbecoming of Maya Dryer. And I see why, although for me what comes to mind are two other books (one I did not finish yet). These are both taking place in a mental institution, as does this one: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and Red Orc's Rage.
All highly recommended (even though I did yet finish "... Rose Garden").
Farmer's "Red Orc's Rage" has a similar concept like this one, I do not count that as a spoiler, at least I hope not, or that most will not know both. Farmer will probably be read after reading the first 5 books in the "Word of tiers"-series, without knowledge of that, it might seem overly weird.

So, how about reviewing this one without spoiling anything?
A bit short, but there is a sequel, which I have already bought, when I bought this one.
The female MC struggles with a bad thing that happened, leading to her own mother calling the police and getting her committed into an insane asylum. All this takes place in Canada, although regrettably (I like to look up places on Google Earth) some of it is made up.

Alison (the heroine) reveals on the first page that she has killed someone. This sets the stage for her twisted journey inside the Asylum, given drugs, questioned by police and her doctor, bullied by inmates and constantly thinking about what happened and what to reveal and what to do.
Another doctor, Faraday (sic!), helps her and diagnoses her conditions. Just then you think, it might get in a romance direction, the story takes a left exit and reveals how much Alison (and the reader) does not know, I have not guessed most twists, so thats a plus.

Another twist, and then - the ending, which is ok for me, open enough for a sequel, rather realistic (for me, others may think different).
Although I do not see too many similarities to Mara Dryer, this is good, not totally 5 stars, but 4 highly recommended and I will surely read the next book after taking a breather with something different. As a trilogy it could be as earth-shattering as Mara Dryer, but I think it was planned for two books, with the second book taking another turn, if I guess right.

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Review: Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If I remember right, this was compared to one of my favorite books by an author I read for the first time (and I think a debut?): The Unbecoming of Maya Dryer. And I see why, although for me what comes to mind are two other books (one I did not finish yet). These are both taking place in a mental institution, as does this one: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and Red Orc's Rage.
All highly recommended (even though I did yet finish "... Rose Garden").
Farmer's "Red Orc's Rage" has a similar concept like this one, I do not count that as a spoiler, at least I hope not, or that most will not know both. Farmer will probably read after the first 5 books in the "Word of tiers"-series, without knowledge of that, it might seem overly weird.

So, how about reviewing this one without spoiling anything?
A bit short, but there is a sequel, which I have already bought, when I bought this one.
The female MC struggles with a bad thing that happened, leading to her own mother calling the police and getting her committed into an insane asylum. All this takes place in Canada, although regrettably (I like to look up places on Google Earth) some of it is made up.

Alison (the heroine) reveals on the first page that she has killed someone. This sets the stage for her twisted journey inside the Asylum, given drugs, questioned by police and her doctor, bullied by inmates and constantly thinking about what happened and what to reveal and what to do.
Another doctor, Faraday (sic!), helps her and diagnoses her conditions. Just then you think, it might get in a romance direction, the story takes a left exit and reveals how much Alison (and the reader) does not know, I have not guessed most twists, so thats a plus.

Another twist, and then - the ending, which is ok for me, open enough for a sequel, rather realistic (for me, others may think different).
Although I do not see too many similarities to Mara Dryer, this is good, not totally 5 stars, but 4 highly recommended and I will surely read the next book after taking a breather with something different. As a trilogy it could be as earth-shattering as Mara Dryer, but I think it was planned for two books, with the second book taking another turn, if I guess right.

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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Review: Ein MORDs-Team - Band 13: Die fünfte Dynastie

Ein MORDs-Team - Band 13: Die fünfte Dynastie Ein MORDs-Team - Band 13: Die fünfte Dynastie by Andreas Suchanek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Warning: this is the 13th of a serial, rather short, so only 4 stars, but worth-while.
Recommended but you should have read the 12 books before, as a standalone this will not work.


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Review: Böses Netz: Steiners vierter Fall

Böses Netz: Steiners vierter Fall Böses Netz: Steiners vierter Fall by Martin Olden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Got an email from lesen.net on a day this was offered for free, so I got it.
This is a German crime series (probably not available in english translation), which takes a major turn at the end in this book, the fourth. Have another one (the 6th) from this series, might buy the fifth, but not the first/second one if I have to pay the regular price for it, they are not expensive, but still too much imho.
Can be read as a standalone.

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Review: Pop Goes the Weasel

Pop Goes the Weasel Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Top notch, dark, highly recommended.

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Review: Zorn - Tod und Regen: Thriller

Zorn -  Tod und Regen: Thriller Zorn - Tod und Regen: Thriller by Stephan Ludwig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stumbled across this as it was filmed for a TV-Movie in Germany.
Ok read, but brutal and bloddy. This TV-Movie is with Katrin Bauerfeind (a redhead), and not as brutal or bloody, and story was a little changed.
Will read the other books in the series and try to watch all TV-movies when they show up.
Not available in translation, I think, sorry for that.


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Review: Firespell

Firespell Firespell by Chloe Neill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More like 3.5 star, rounded to 4.
Nice fluffy read about paranormal life in a Chicago Boarding School.
Lily is feeling like the odd-one-out after being sent by her parents to this fancy, expensive school when her parents take a sabbatical in Germany, for studies of philosophical documents.
The usual snobby group of fashion-cheerleaders-leaders prank her and force her to take sides between them or her newly found friend Scout, one other odd-one-out.
Mild suspense (could have been more), as it develops as nearly expected.
When I read this review I think, 4 stars are not really warranted, I should have round down to 3.
Whatever.
A little romance, but luckily no love-triangle, no sex, no drugs, no insta-love. So, very tame.
Feels a bit like Hex Hall, and Born at Midnight - so if you like it, you know what to expect.
Still like it, recommended it, if you like this stuff, and will certainly read the next book in this series.



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