Mom Kat Reads

Monday, May 5, 2025

Timeless
Written by Gail Carriger
Narrated by Emily Gray

A member of the Kingair werewolf pack has gone missing after being sent to investigate the advancing plague of humanness that is happening in Egypt, where werewolves and vampires in an increasing area are rendered completely mortal/human while within its borders. Alexia, her husband Connell, and their daughter Prudence have been summoned by the oldest of the vampire queens to visit the Alexandria Hive. And such a summons cannot be ignored. At the same time, it gives them the perfect opportunity to investigate what is happening in Egypt.

I listened to the audiobook version of the story and greatly enjoyed it. There is a lot going on in multiple plotlines within this book, with the narrator doing an excellent job of differentiating the character voices so that there is no confusion as to who is supposed to be speaking. The story was entertaining and held my interest throughout. The twists and turns taken, along with the outcomes of those decisions will keep you wanting to know what happens next.

I believe that anyone who enjoyed the previous books in the series, whether reading or listening to them, will enjoy this story. It was a great ending for this series and left me looking forward to reading the series about Alexia and Connell's daughter Prudence. This is a fun series that is easily enjoyed as either an audiobook or a physical book. And either way, this series always keeps me coming back to enjoy other books by this author, whether in this same series or in another. I do, however, recommend either reading or listening to the previous books in this series before beginning this one if you don't wish to feel a bit lost when reading this one.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Monday, April 28, 2025

Amish Mayhem
by Samantha Price

When Cherish went searching through her mothers personal things in order to determine if Wilma had given her husband Levi ownership of the apple orchard, she never expected to find her father's will. So far as the Baker children knew, her father had not left one. Now it seems that he did, but that Wilma had chosen to ignore his wishes by keeping the orchard rather than it becoming Florence's as he had intended.

Not knowing what to do about it, Cherish takes the will to show it to Florence and Carter. But what will Florence decide to do now that she knows that her father had intended for the orchard to be hers? Will she seek to own it or let it go to Levi & Wilma?

I enjoyed reading this book. As with the previous books in this series, it is a very quick read and can be easily finished within about a day or two. It did contain more family drama than many of the previous books in the series, but that also makes it even more interesting than if it hadn't had the emotional turmoil that accompanies any family drama. It definitely has me wanting to keep reading this series to see what happens next, especially after the very large shock at the end of this book.

I believe that anyone who has read the previous books in the series or who enjoys Amish romance books as well as of the other books by Samantha Price will enjoy this book.

Monday, April 21, 2025

A Vampire Named Allison
by Nick Savage

Allison has been having a rough time. Many of her friends and family have been murdered, and her boyfriend Connor is being framed for the most recent murder. Connor has gone into hiding while he seeks to find a way to prove that he wasn’t guilty. It doesn’t help that Allison’s best friend Scarlet was among those killed, though in her case, it’s a bit more complicated than just her having been murdered And that is only some of what is happening in this book.

I read a review copy of this book and really enjoyed it. This is a complex fantasy series with what I feel is a rather unique approach to paranormal entities such as werewolves, vampires, and fairies. This book does deal with quite a few serious subjects, such as murder, loneliness, feelings of abandonment, depression, alcohol abuse, and suicide. So please be aware of them should such subjects be triggering for you.

There is a lot going on in this book, and while many of these themes are on the dark side, there are happy moments as well. Overall, I found the story to be entertaining, happy at some times, depressing at others, but there were good reasons behind everything that happens in this story, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series to see what will happen next.

This book did end on a rather upsetting cliffhanger, and we’ll unfortunately have to wait on the release of the next book before we learn the aftereffects and fallout from that character’s actions. Looking back, the signs for what takes place were there but it was so unexpected that I didn’t truly see the signs until the event took place. Unfortunately, I can’t go into any further detail about it without including some major spoilers. And as much as I want to talk about it, I do not want to give away anything important. I will say that if you are at all invested in these characters, the ending of this book is going to hit you where it hurts.

If you like complex fantasy novels that are loosely based on real world issues, stories about supernatural creatures, and books that are highly emotionally charged then you will want to read this book, especially if you have read the previous books in this series. If you have not yet read the previous books, I would strongly suggest that you read the previous books in this series first as you are likely to feel a bit lost and confused on a number of things if you haven't. Recommended.

Monday, April 14, 2025

An Indian Mail Order Bride
by Florence Livington

Wicapawakan’s father promised her as a wife to another indian on their reservation. Unfortunately, her father doesn’t believe the stories told about the man’s violent nature and believes he would never harm his daughter. But he’s wrong. Wicapawakan chooses to escape this arranged marriage and runs away in the middle of the night, keeping moving from one place to another, never staying anywhere for too long. She places an advertisement in the Matrimonial Times hoping to find a safe haven where even if her would-be husband finds her, she will already be married to someone else and will be safe.

Harve, the man who responds to her letter and offers to marry her, doesn’t realize that he was writing to an Indian woman, and while he wants to help protect her, he knows that his extended family are unlikely to accept a marriage to a native american woman. They were expecting him to choose a woman of high social standing to be his wife. And a native american woman does not, in his mother’s eyes, meet that standard.

I read a review copy of this interesting mail order bride novel. I enjoyed the story, as I have all of Ms. Linnington’s other books. This one had some interesting twists and turns, most of them I expected, though there were some surprises. One of the themes in this book seems to be how if someone looks different than you, then you shouldn’t be with that person. And though this seems to be how the two main characters were raised to believe, as they get to know each other, they come to realize that while there are differences between them, as there are between any two people, those differences did not make either of them better or worse than the other. And of course, another theme seems to be that in the end, love conquers all.

And as always, you can expect that no matter the difficulties the characters face, there will be a happy ending for the characters. If you enjoy sweet romances with some inherent difficulties, mail order bride stories, any of Ms. Linnington’s other books, then you will likely enjoy this book as well.

Monday, April 7, 2025

Midnight in Istanbul
by Kathryn Gauci

During WWII, resistance operatives were working in Turkey, Greece, and in other locations in the world in an effort to defeat the Nazis and end the horrific deaths happening in the concentration camps. In Turkey, an OSS agent, Caldwell Bey, receives a message to meet a man in secret. The identity of the other party isn’t known, but clearly the man knows that Caldwell is working with the resistance. But when he arrives, no one is there to meet him, and a man has been murdered. But the question remains, who was murdered and which side was the murderer on. Was Caldwell the intended victim? Has the resistance been compromised?

I received a review copy of this book, and while I did enjoy the story, I do have to admit that it was not one of my favorites by this author. To me, it felt too disconnected from the rest of the war, and I kept wondering who had committed the murder and why. And while we do learn the identity of the dead man, I’m not entirely certain how it all tied in together.

There is a great deal of the local culture and the wartime atmosphere shown in this book. We see the relationship of Caldwell and another member of the resistance while he is on assignment. A fair amount of the story does involve the relationship between the two of them and their differing assignments while in Turkey.

I kept waiting for something that tied the whole thing together in my mind, and while I did truly enjoy the story, when it ended I felt like I must have missed something important. Perhaps the point of this one was to focus on the daily lives of those in the resistance, but the fact that I’m still not certain if I missed something important or not has left me confused. I normally truly enjoy the books by this author, but honestly, this one left me wanting something more. I’m just not entirely certain what.

But as always, one of the most interesting parts of Ms. Gauci’s books for me involves what we learn after the end of the story. It is the part of the book where she fills us in on the historical research that she completed in order to write this story. We get to learn about what life was like in Turkey during the war. It was a country that claimed neutrality during the war, but in which members of both sides of the war played a part. So when you read this book, be sure to read the information at the end of the story. As always, I think it is one of the best parts of Ms. Gauci’s stories.

Monday, March 31, 2025

Future unfolds
by J.L. Yarrow

Hunter Coburn has found himself jumping through time to the past, present, and future through seemingly random jumps that he has no control over. Each time, he has found himself traveling with a woman from the future named Kristin. The two of them are doing everything they can to stop a cataclysmic war from destroying the planet & spreading to other worlds. Each time they time jump, they encounter other time travelers who are working to make sure “The Purge” as it is being called, does happen.

I read an Advance Review Copy of this book, and it is a very complex, but interesting story with quite a bit happening. And reading it has the possibility of getting a little confusing at times if the reader isn’t paying attention as to when in time the characters happen to be. Fortunately, the authors do a good job of making it as clear as possible for the reader to keep track of the current time period that is being focused on, though be sure to pay closer attention as you get to the end of the book, as that is where the biggest potential for confusion might occur.

And while this book doesn’t complete the story (there will be a book three), we do gain quite a bit of insight into what is happening, though I’m still uncertain as to what the original event that began it all was. But I’m also fairly certain that is something we will finally learn in the next book. And I have to say, at this point I am more than a little curious as to how the authors are going to wrap up this story.

So if you’re looking for an intricate and complex tale involving time travel as well as people both trying to save the planet as well as others seeking to destroy it, then you’ll want to give this series a try. Time travel is a funny thing, and those attempting to change an outcome must be careful about unintended results of their actions. Because as the characters in this book do see at times, those unintended consequences can have far reaching effects. But also adds the question of whether or not those eventual outcomes were pre-determined the moment the very first time traveler began their journey?

Monday, March 24, 2025

Sky High
by Christy J. Breedlove

Four nearly-adult teenagers have decided to escape from a very restrictive and controlling society that has lived in an extremely tall building ever since the world’s cities were destroyed when a natural disaster caused by climate change destroyed nearly everything. Those living in Sky City have no freedom or real choice in anything about their lives. Resources are limited and everyone works extensively with no ability to simply decide to leave. It is not allowed. When these four escape, City Security is sent to bring them back by any means necessary … whether they want to return or not.

I read a review copy of this story and enjoyed the twists and turns that the plot took. The escape that the four young people chose to make was well thought out. From the timing of their escape, what to take with them, and where they were attempting to escape to. They knew someone would be sent after them, and so took every possible precaution to keep their escape hidden and hard to track. It was an intelligent and well thought out storyline. I enjoyed the twists and turns that the four young adults and their pursuers encountered along the way. It showed not only why the four escapees were not simply allowed to leave, but that their journey toward freedom was a very difficult one with both expected and unexpected obstacles along the way.

I liked that we saw how and why these four young adults were determined to make their way from an authoritarian society to one that they hoped, but could not be certain, remained more of a democratic republic, despite the difficulties that their current world faced. It showed not just that the freedom to choose the course of their lives is important, but that they were willing to risk everything for the chance to live the type of life they wanted, no matter what it might cost them in the end. And yes, there was a very real possibility that they would die or be killed before they could reach their desired destination, if it still even existed.

The story kept me interested and entertained throughout. There were unexpected occurrences that added another layer to the story. But you'll have to read it yourself if you want to learn whether or not the four young people manage to find what they were seeking, or if they get caught and dragged back to the city they were fleeing.

If you enjoy young adult post-apocalyptic stories, then I believe you will enjoy this book. It has some interesting twists throughout that I believe readers will enjoy. I know I did.