Monday, December 28, 2020

"Terrier Transgressions" by Molly Fitz

After working together to solve the question of who had murdered Octo-Cat's human, (Ethel), Angie became his caretaker. 


Now, a new associate has come to join the firm where Angie works as a paralegal. After accidentally discovering that she can talk to and understand what her cat is saying, Charles convinces them to help him prove the innocence of the man accused of murdering two people. He hopes that she and Octo-Cat can talk to the dead couple's yorkie to learn what really happened.


This is the second book in the Pet Whisperer P.I. series, and I am enjoying it so far. Ms. Fitz has given us a well-written tale that very easily holds a reader's interest. Anyone who has ever been owned by a cat will easily recognize and understand that we belong as much, if not more, to them than they do to us. 


I enjoyed watching the interactions between all the characters, but especially those between Angie and Octo-Cat as well as their interactions with Yum-Yum the Yorkie. The author has an excellent understanding of cat and dog behaviors as well as their good and bad tendencies/impulses. 


It is that understanding and the author's ability to effectively portray it that makes this book so interesting and enjoyable. I believe that anyone who has ever been owned by a cat or who has had a small dog in their family will find this book as interesting and entertaining as I did. I would definitely recommend giving this series a try.


Monday, December 21, 2020

"Configured" by Jenetta Penner

 Avlyn was preparing for her configuration day. She had spent most of her life just trying to appear average, trying not to stand out. She has never truly fit in with most other people, not even with the couple who had raised her since the time she was determined to be of a level 2 intelligence, rather than the level 1 family she had been born into.


I found this to be an interesting story to read given that our world appears to be in the middle of a pandemic that has the potential to cause as much devastation as the one referred to as having happened in this story's history.


I can easily see many of the things that happened in this book becoming possible if our path were to follow a similar direction and found it quite reasonable for the characters to make the choices they did throughout the story and enjoyed seeing where those choices led them. And I am very much looking forward to seeing where the author will take us in book 2 in this series. This is definitely a good choice for anyone who enjoys reading dystopian fiction.


Monday, December 14, 2020

"Pregnant Mail Order Bride and her Troubled Rancher" by Florence Linnington


Annabelle's abusive husband had died, leaving her penniless and prey for other predatory men like he had been. There was only one real option open to her… she became a mail order bride.


Brett was a rancher with a troubled past, who desperately needed help with cooking, cleaning, and all the other household chores that he just didn't have time for and wasn't very good at doing anyway. He needed help, and a mail order bride seemed the most practical solution.


I have always enjoyed Ms. Linnington's mail order bride stories. While much of the basic story lines are similar between the different books, her tales are full of many variations in the subplots and are always enjoyable, fun to read, and entertaining.


Her stories are heartwarming tales of how good things can come about no matter the adversity that the characters must face and overcome before they are able to find their happy ending together. Knowing that there will likely be a happy ending is one of the things that I, personally, enjoy the most about this series.


I believe that anyone who also enjoys a good mail order bride tale with an expected happy ending, as I do, will also enjoy this one.


Monday, December 7, 2020

"Phage: Deluge Book Two,"
by Kevin Partner and Mike Kraus

Those who have survived the flooding and the hardships that come with surviving in a world that seems to have become mostly lawless, need to decide what they will do next. Some are merely struggling to survive their new reality, while others are searching desperately for missing family members and hoping that they are still alive somewhere.


But there is a new difficulty that must also be faced, a mysterious illness is hitting almost everyone, some more strongly than others, and if they can't figure out what is causing it as well as finding a cure, very few may wind up surviving this plague.


Like the first book in this series, I enjoyed reading this one. The authors have done a fantastic job of creating and drawing us into a world where almost everything that can go wrong, has, and yet there are still hopes for survival and hope for the future. 


The book was well written & kept me wanting to find out what would happen next. Be warned though, like the last book, this one ends with a good number of questions still needing answers. And for that, the reader will need to continue on to book 3…. as I intend to do. (Yes, I am hooked and feel a need to see what happens next.)


If you enjoyed Book 1, I think you will also enjoy this book as well. I'd recommend giving it a try.


Dark Variations <br>by AJ Parnell

Vander is now an adult who is about to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. Alexander adopted him after the end of Making Monsters ...