Wild Things Never Die by Sally Andrew

Description from Amazon:

Tannie Maria is wrestling with a fear of the dark and Henrietta has PTSD. But this doesn’t stop the intrepid agony aunt – and her hen – from going undercover with Maria’s fiancé, Detective Henk Kannemeyer, to the Karoo Wilderness Reserve. Their mission: save the vetplantjies! At the luxury game lodge, they spy on guests and support the Anti-Poaching Unit in a battle against dangerous gangsters. Jessie attends the Succulent Symposium, which is tackling the poaching problem internationally.

Then, there is a murder ...

Our favourite Ladismith sleuths engage with some colourful suspects, including a barefoot artist, a botanist cowboy, a singing gardener, and a sangoma. Between solving murders, writing agony-aunt letters, eating spectacular food, and having spiritual epiphanies, Maria and Henk get fashion tips from a couturier and his Baroness.

But fashion is forgotten when their own lives are at stake.

 

Having read the previous four books in the series, I was looking forward to the saga continuing. However, this was the least favourite in the series for me. It had all the elements of undercover intrigue and a mystery, but it felt different from the others. Maybe the Irish accent in the series on TV keeps that actress in my head as I read, but Maria seems to be using a lot more Afrikaans phrases too often. Almost as though the author is saying the book is set in South Africa so here are words people use.

What I like about the book is that all the characters are important and that they are not just in there to further the story. Even though in this book some of the characters who had bigger roles previously play much smaller ones.

I did appreciate all the knowledge that the author imparted regarding plant poaching and the sterling work that people do to protect plants and animals, but Maria also took every opportunity to use a Latin name for a plant, and that also became confusing. The inclusion of the recipes at the back is always a bonus.

Overall, it was a good read, and I’ll definitely read the next, but it didn’t blow me away. It felt rather drawn out and in some places hard to believe, and there was just too much about Henrietta.

But I’ll keep rooting for Maria and the advice she gives in the newspaper!

The Familiar by Diana R. Bascarau

Description from Amazon:

Beth Clarke came to Los Angeles to become an actress.

Instead, she became a vampire’s familiar, managing Elias von Martyrom’s life, cleaning up after his parties, and waiting six years to be turned.

Then, one day, Elias’s most important guest is found dead.

Murdering another vampire is one of the few crimes the vampire world takes seriously. Elias is arrested, locked beneath the Council chambers, and scheduled for execution in one month.

Beth knows he didn’t do it.

Unfortunately, knowing and proving are two very different things.

With a bizarre list of suspects, an aristocratic vampire council, and a charming historian who keeps asking dangerous questions, Beth has one month to solve a murder she has absolutely no idea how to investigate.

And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she begins to wonder whether saving Elias is really the same thing as saving herself.

 

This sounded like an interesting angle on a vampire story as you never really get to “find out” what a familiar actually does. And it turned into less of this and more of a traumatic bonded story.

The rules that Elias has Beth following are ridiculous and the fact that she accepted them as she did, showed the level of abuse (yes I’ll describe it like that) she was willing to endure all to be turned one day as well as to be accepted by Elias.

Once the murder has occurred and Beth moves through the investigation she does, the book has me divided. For one thing, I admire her tenacity, but personally, I didn’t enjoy the victim she became. I understand that this is what the author was trying to show about Beth’s character, but I couldn’t connect with her decisions, and this made the story less enjoyable for me. I also figured out Damian’s part very early on, and even though he was eventually trying to throw her a lifeline, I understood the direction she took with him.

However, the ending was rather unfulfilling. I think I expected something huge to happen that would change what had been occurring through the years, but it was almost like saying you can’t win no matter how hard you try. And I know some have agreed with Beth’s final decision, but I just want to shake her and say why? I suppose that’s what makes everyone different.

Due to the editing mistakes, and while I appreciate what the author was trying to show in a different way, it just didn’t work for me in the way I wanted it to, so I give this three stars.

Thanks to Voracious Readers Only and the author for the ARC. 

Year One by Nora Roberts

Description from Amazon:

As this world ends, a new one begins.

With one drop of blood, the old world is gone for ever. And in its place, something extraordinary begins...

They call it The Doom - a deadly pandemic that starts on a cold New Year’s Eve in the Scottish countryside. There’s something mysterious about the virus and the way it spreads. As billions fall sick and die, some survivors find themselves invested with strange, unexpected abilities.

Lana, a New York chef, has the power to move things and people with her will. Fred can summon light in the darkness. Jonah, a paramedic, sees snatches of the future in those he touches. Katie gives birth to twins, and suspects that she has brought fresh magic into the world, along with new life.

But The Doom affects people differently. Along with the light, a dark and terrifying magic will also rise. As the remaining authorities round up the immune and the ‘Uncannies’ for testing, Lana, Katie and others flee New York in search of a safe haven. The old world is over, and Year One has begun.

 

I had not read Nora Roberts or her other penname, JD Robb, before, and with a tagline like this, I just had to read it.

The pandemic has an eerie COVID feeling to it, but it’s a lot more extreme and wipes a lot more people out. It also turns people feral. It’s as though there is a feeling of hatred unleashed, and those willing to embrace the hatred turn the landscape into a dystopian wasteland by stealing and killing and destroying. If you felt the desperation people experienced to stay alive in the movie The Purge, then this is what it’s like on another level. It does move from dystopian to more fantasy, but I had no problem with this.

I enjoyed the magical elements to the story, where the “Uncannies” have incredible abilities and many are just learning to use them. You have humans with simple abilities, while others have become faeries or elves. There are also those without abilities who are merely immune to the virus wiping everyone out. In some humans the abilities have turned dark, and this darkness fuels an evil that threatens to wipe out all that is good.

The survivors have banded together in groups, much like in The Stand, and in one particular group, some of the members may have something that will turn the tides in years to come. But the waiting might kill more people than the world can afford.

I loved the writing, and the tension and sections of happiness are well placed. The author has you thinking one thing at one stage, and then BAM! Something so unexpected happens so quickly I actually went back to read it again to see if I’d made a mistake. There are sections that do seem a little slow when concentrating on the babies or the cooking or the provisions, but I think these made the hills and valleys of the book interesting.

There are plenty of elements that have not been addressed like how the Raiders came together, what the deep dark is, and how the prophet is going to get involved, but I think this will be one of the bases for the full series.

I look forward to the rest!

Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent

Description from Amazon:

My husband did not mean to kill Annie Doyle, but the lying tramp deserved it.

On the surface, Lydia Fitzsimons’s life seems idyllic. Her husband, Andrew, is a prosperous, respected judge; they live in the spacious, comfortable, well-appointed house where she was raised. And she is utterly, obsessively devoted to her son, Laurence—her adored only child, her pride and joy.

But Andrew’s murder of Annie Doyle, accidental or not, sets into motion a dark downward spiral. It doesn’t take long for Laurence to suspect that something is very, very wrong in the Fitzsimons household—and he is determined to discover the truth.

This was a new author for me, and she sure knows how to craft a tale!

The story starts off with a bang, and what helps it along is that each section comes from a different POV, so we get to see the hows and the whys from multiple angles. The main event in the story comes to you early, so what the rest does is explain the peripherals and how people deal with it. Adding to the tension is not just the family that does the killing, but the family affected by it, and as the truths unfold, the layers reveal things buried even deeper throughout the years. With the book taking place in the 1980s in Dublin, the scenes and settings are all very real to the time period.

The author goes deep into the characters, and here they are not just people willing to do deeds, but actually willing to manipulate people emotionally, psychologically, and physically for the good of their own futures. Lydia is an especially creepy character in that she looks like the perfect old-money genteel woman on the outside, but her scheming in order to make sure that what she wants is paramount is diabolical. And the sad thing is that she believes that what she is doing is right.

You vacillate over whether Laurence is doing the right thing as you follow his decisions, starting with thinking he is a mommy’s boy, then cheering him on as he strikes out on his own, and then disliking him once more with later actions.

The tragedy lies in what people are willing to do for their own gain and using others they see as less than themselves.

The ending is like knowing an accident is coming but being unable to look away, and the simplicity of the actions to accomplish this makes you feel a little sick to your stomach. When you close the book, you are going to feel rather icky.

An Inheritance of Curses by Dee J Holmes

Description from Amazon:

The Four Houses of Magic—light-seeking fae, blood-fueled vampires, loyal werewolves, and power-driven witches—barely survived a century of conflict. Now they exist divided, bound by a single promise: never The Four shall meet.

That rule has just been broken.

Heir to a brutal legacy, witch Rose LeFey is determined to confront her aunt and prove she’s finished with blood magic. Instead, she finds the basement full of prisoners: a sarcastic vampire staked to a table; a beautiful, defiant fae princess in an iron cage; and an insanely attractive werewolf chained to the wall.

He’s massive, covered in fur, and furious at being held captive.

She can’t look away—even if she should.

Contact between the Houses is strictly forbidden. But Rose can’t leave any of them at her aunt’s mercy.

Except the werewolf is a trap. As soon as Rose touches him, a mate-bond snaps between them. Curses. She walked right into a spell designed to tear apart her self control—and drive her straight into her aunt’s clutches. Her aunt has unleashed war on the magical Houses and humans alike—and she wants Rose’s magic at her side.

Hex that.

To stop her, Rose must risk everything and strike a bargain with the former captives. Tricky, as the vampire wants revenge, the fae to save her mother’s life, and the werewolf to protect his pack at all costs.

Yet working together might not be enough. Not when the true threat might be Rose’s deadly powers and her growing desire to make the false-bond real.

 

I was in the mood for a bit of urban fantasy and found this on my kindle. Contrary to what a lot of reviewers are saying, I rather enjoyed it!

From the offset you can feel how the story is going to be told and it is true to an urban fantasy book. When Rose reaches the basement, you are actually thrown into a conundrum trying to work out who is telling the truth and who she will save.

I think this is one of those books where you don’t need to take it apart for the story or writing but just read it in the spirit it was intended. Especially the false-mate bond between Rose and Dar and how extreme and repetitive it is.

What the author does well is not give each character equal weight, so we only get a glimpse into Sebastian (I enjoyed him!) while moving through others’ stories a lot more. I’m hoping these will be equalled out in further books. The story itself and the fight against dark magic is intense, with many of the scenes being so action filled you want to turn the pages as quickly as you can. But then there were scenes that felt repeated, especially with the bond and the werewolves and trust issues. Some scenes definitely bordered on the “is this age appropriate for everyone?” steamy!

What constantly stopped my reading, though, was the POV jumps with no clear break as to who was speaking. The problem with the sections was that some could not even be regarded as full sections as they were thoughts broken into another, and an omniscient narrator would not have worked here. And typos... far too many.

I did like that the story ended without ending. There was some form of resolution, but it’s not over and yet does not finish on a cliffhanger. It’s a “turn your brain off” kind of read, and sometimes that’s just what you need!

I'll Smile More When You're Dead by Sarah K. Stephens

Description from Amazon:

IT TOOK HER 10 MINUTES TO LOVE HIM...
AND 10 YEARS TO KILL HIM.

Another gripping thriller from the author of It Was Always You, The Girl in the Fire, and The Good Life, I’ll Smile More When You’re Dead will keep you guessing until the final twist!

When Lauren Hearst discovered her book club was special—as in, they-can-rid-the-world-of-terrible-men-without-leaving-the-couch special—she brought a bottle of Pinot Grigio and a list. But when their group of vigilante feminists choose Lauren’s brother-in-law as their next target, she realizes her book club might be more about causing trauma than healing it.

Professor Lauren Hearst is getting by just fine, thank you very much—if you call being addicted to sleeping pills, avoiding your twin sister’s husband because you’re in love with him, and bottling up an indeterminate rage ‘fine’. When fellow academic Sybil Fellcourt invites her to join her book club, Lauren considers it a good opportunity to expand her horizons. What she doesn’t realize is these women chose her for a reason—and that they’re not a book club. As violent men on campus start dying from supposed suicides, Lauren realizes Sybil and her fellow book club members have a collective power born of their own traumas. A power they believe Lauren also possesses, given her past. As the book club’s goals become more destructive and Lauren considers leaving them behind, Sybil discloses their next target: Lauren’s brother-in-law, Arne. The man Lauren has secretly loved for ten years. As she sets out to exonerate him from Sybil’s accusations, Lauren uncovers secrets long hidden in her town, her family, and her own mind. When it becomes clear Arne isn’t the man she thought he was, she must decide whether she’ll let her newfound power transform her life or destroy it.

 

The premise sounded very interesting, and while the idea of collective powers manifesting physically isn’t entirely new, it was used here in a fresh way. It also pulls you in two directions. Punishing wrongdoers can seem like the right thing to do, but the way they went about it—and the fact that they took on the roles of judge and executioner themselves—felt wrong.

Lauren’s past is laid out well, and the incident that forms the basis of her anger sets the scene for many of the decisions she makes. I liked the glimpses into her childhood, particularly her relationship with her twin sister and their mom using the fact that they were twins to help pay the bills, followed later by their involvement in studies. It created an interesting foundation, and yet we find out how much of it was manipulated.

None of the characters are quite who you initially think they are, and my feelings about them changed throughout the book, which I enjoyed.

I did find it very odd, however, that Lauren kept jumping to the conclusion that women she had only just met were sexually interested in her. The first time it happened it felt strange, and when something similar happened again, it almost felt as though the author had tried the idea once and then hurriedly decided to use it again because it turned out not to be true. Neither interaction felt particularly real to me.

The pacing also became too frenetic at times. There were sections I wanted to settle into and enjoy, but things kept happening so quickly that some scenes didn’t have the detail or breathing room needed to round them off properly. Characters repeatedly told Lauren that they would explain things later, and after a while the repetition became frustrating. Although explanations eventually came, it often felt as though Lauren was being brushed off—and, by extension, so was the reader.

I also found it frustrating that Lauren’s twin, Claudia, so often seemed to know that things were about to happen before they did. Twins are often portrayed as having an almost magical connection, but for me this was pushed a little too far.

There are some very dark aspects of human nature explored in the book, though, and I thought the author did a good job of shining a light on them.

Unfortunately, there were also quite a few typos and editing issues that let the book down. These ranged from missing commas before direct address, missing quotation marks, to ellipses being broken across lines, inconsistent use of “ok” and “okay,” and words such as “breaks” being used instead of “brakes.” There were also unnecessary hyphens in words or phrases such as “follow-me” and “pick-up,” and occasionally even missing spaces between words. Individually these may seem like small things, but together they interrupt the flow of the reading experience.

Overall, this was a mixed bag for me. There were parts I genuinely enjoyed and others that worked less well. It was clearly a tricky story to bring together at the end, and at times events seemed to have to be manipulated into place to make everything fit. That said, the story ultimately ended the way I felt it should.

I received this prerelease from the author as an arc read.

Live Bait by PJ Tracy

Description from Amazon:

When elderly Morey Gilbert is found, lying dead in the grass by his wife, Lily, it’s a tragedy, but it shouldn’t have been a shock - old people die. But when she finds a bullet hole in his skull, the blood washed away by heavy rain, sadness turns to fear. It looks like an execution...

Soon a whole city is fearful as new victims are found, killed with the same cold precision. All elderly. All apparently blameless.

Detectives Gino and Magozzi, race to uncover a connection and their best hope of doing so may be Grace McBride, beautiful, damaged survivor of an earlier killing spree. And the answers, it seems, are buried in a terrible past.

 

I enjoyed the first book so thought I’d continue with this second one, but I must say I didn’t find it as good as the previous one. Considering it is the second book in the Monkeewrench series, it felt like they didn’t feature as much as a group in this. The premise sounds promising – elderly people being murdered with no obvious connection. Until the Nazi camp tattoos they have that link them somehow.

 Morey’s son-in-law, Marty, watched his own wife get killed in front of him without being able to stop it from happening. He has spiralled into a trap of alcohol and is ready to kill himself. Luckily, he is prevented just before this happens, only to find out his father-in-law, who is apparently the saint of all saints, has been murdered. Marty must choose whether to spiral further or rise up and help the detectives solve why the murders occurred and who did it.

Magozzi is still besotted with Grace, and Grace is softening ever so slightly towards him. But she has news for him that could change the dynamic of their relationship. The Monkeewrench group have set off to apply their new programming skills elsewhere, but Grace is able to use part of their genius programming to help the case, so they are only touched on briefly. However, yet again, Annie is spoken of as fat and obese and can turn heads wherever she goes. It’s just too many times!

As the detectives delve deeper into Morey’s son – a rather unhinged personal injury lawyer – it turns out he may know more than he is letting on. And the connection isn’t just about these bodies, but extends around the globe.

The idea behind the killings was not new and I felt you’d really have to buy into this just as a story without thinking about the improbabilities of pulling this off. As usual, there is a twist at the end and some of the next book that takes up space.

It wasn’t bad... just not as good as the first and put me off reading on in the series.