"Conspiracy of Lies" by Kathryn Gauci

Sarah’s mother Claire, suffers her second heart attack after apparently reading a newspaper clipping about the death of an elderly German man that someone had sent to her from France. Sarah wasn’t familiar with the Frenchman who had sent her mother the notice, nor the man who had passed away. She was certain though, that this was what had triggered her mother’s most recent heart attack.

After recovering and being released from the hospital, Claire decides that she would like to visit France and would like her daughter to accompany her on the trip. Surprisingly, it is not the usual places that most tourists wish to see, but rather she wishes to visit somewhere she hasn’t even spoken of in her daughter’s memory. And once there, Claire begins to tell her daughter the tale of her life during WWII, a story that she has never even mentioned before.

Claire’s tale is one of love and heartbreak. Claire had been in France before the war had truly started, and had spent a number of years working various other jobs before finding herself in a unique position and being recruited to work with the Resistance as an undercover agent against the Germans. It was something Sarah hadn’t been aware of as well as the start of an amazing tale of her mother’s strength and bravery during a time of great hardship and loss.

I enjoyed reading this story. There was enough detail and expressions in the various languages used in the area at that time to bring the readers truly into the story and make them feel almost a part of what was happening. There were a few small typos that I ran into here & there, but not enough to really disrupt the flow of the action.

The story told by Claire to her daughter draws both Sarah and the reader of the book in and makes them want to know what happened and how it will all end. It has the reader both wanting Claire to get the happy ending, while at the same praying for her to succeed in completing the mission she has been assigned. And all the while, it seems to be fairly clear that the two possible outcomes are likely to be completely at odds with one another.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to read this book and will definitely be looking forward to the chance to read other stories by Ms. Gauci. She tells a very entertaining historical fiction tale in this book, and I hope to read more of her books in the future.

"Ghostly Paws" by Leighann Dobbs

When the town librarian is killed early one morning, everyone in town is left stunned. No one could understand why anyone would want to kill sweet, harmless Livinia. And when Lavinia’s ghost starts appearing inside the bookstore to tell Willa that she needs her to find the murderer, what else can Willa do? No one else seems to be able to see or hear any of the ghosts in the town, and Willa just can’t say no.

Fortunately, Willa has the help of her cat Pandora, though having not had Pandora in her care for long, Willa is as yet unaware of just how much help Pandora can be in these ghostly matters. There is magic and mystery afoot in Mystic Notch, and with it comes the age old battle of good versus evil.

I enjoyed this story. It was a fun and interesting little mystery that I found very entertaining. And as a “cat mom” myself, I loved the interactions between the house cats, the feral cat colony and the people who think they are caring for the animals (though as is often the case when one is partnered with a cat, it is usually the cat that is truly in charge.)

I think anyone taking the time to read this tale will find it as fun and amusing as I did. It is a very quick read and quite entertaining. I will be looking up more books in this series to continue reading about Willa, Pandora, and the other residents of Mystic Notch again soon. You can count on that!

"In His Protection" by P.L. Harris

Melody Maddison is trying to solve a mystery. While going through her deceased mother’s belongings, she discovered a picture of her mother holding a newborn baby that was not Melody nor either of her older siblings. So who was this child and why had they never known about her?

When she begins asking questions about the baby, Melody starts receiving warnings to stop looking. And when she keeps investigating, those threats turn into attempts on her life. What is it that she has stumbled across that someone is willing to kill to keep from being discovered? Fortunately for Melody, Noah St. Reeve has taken it upon himself to keep her safe while they seek to learn the truth about her mother’s past.

The plot of this book grabbed my attention from the very beginning and held on until the end. I really wanted to know what would happen next as I read this tale. I do need to mention that there is one somewhat detailed sex scene in the book that is not really appropriate for younger readers.

The book itself could have used another round of editing/proofreading as there were more typos in the book than I would have liked to have seen while reading it. I discussed many of them with the author and she is attempting to have them corrected before final publication. If she is able to do so, I would rate this book one star higher on Amazon & Goodreads than I have currently given it. But make no mistake, this is a story that I do consider worth reading and did enjoy.

The story told by the author was well woven and very interesting. I enjoyed reading it and am interested in learning more of what is happening in Burrum Ridge as well as the secrets that everyone seems to be keeping from Melody’s family.

The teaser at the end of this book leading into book 2 in the series has also already captured my interest. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next book when it is released. If you enjoy a good romantic suspense tale, I would recommend giving this series a try.

"The Finest Choice" by Jean Rabe

Kalantha has run away from her brother Meven and the bishop yet again. She isn’t aware of it, but this act of defiance has managed to save her life. Had she done as was expected of her, she would never have arrived at the religious settlement to which she was being sent.

The bishop needs her dead if he is to retain control of her brother’s rule. Meven has unknowingly been controlled by the bishop and used as a pawn in his evil schemes for a long time, with the bishop working from behind the scenes to rule the country as he sees fit.

Kal has never been one to do simply as she has been told, and having had a taste of freedom, even though things have not been easy, she cannot simply roll over and give in. She feels a need to find out who has sent the assassin birds after her and why, and though finding such information is not easy, she keeps looking. Can she find her answers before they find her? And what will happen when she learns the truth of who is behind all the hardships and killing that has been stalking her family before it is too late?

I very much enjoyed reading this story, though I do wish it had gone through another round or two of editing before publication. Although the story was amazing, there were more typos than I am used to seeing in this author’s books.

I am planning on continuing to read this series as I really want to know how it will end. There are plots within plots in this story and I am very interested in seeing how it will all come together in the end.

“Arthur Rex: In Principio ” by J.A. Cummings

Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with the legends and stories of King Arthur. But this version has a quite unique perspective on the boy who will one day become King.

Arthur was left by the druid Merlin to be raised and protected within Sir Ector’s household. With no idea who his birth parents were, Sir Ector’s family is the only one he has ever known, and even Sir Ector did not know who Arthur truly was. He only saw him as a child who was to be raised with his own family.

I do need to include for those reading this book a trigger warning as well as warning that this is not a book meant for younger readers. At one point, a young Arthur is brutally beaten after unsuccessfully attempting to stop the rape of another boy. At this point in history, rape of either sex was unfortunately a fairly common practice as those who were strong enough to take what they wanted often did so without concern for anyone but themselves.

Seeing his friend suffer through being raped sets the stage for Arthur’s future sense of how everyone should be treated, no matter who they are or what their station in life is meant to be.

I found this a fascinating story with a very original look into how the young Arthur will grow to become the great King Arthur of legend. It was well written and catches the reader’s interest from the very beginning. And while I did catch a few typos as I read, overall I felt that the book was well edited with excellent writing that made it quite difficult to put down.

All of the characters one expects to find in an Arthurian tale are there: the Ladies of the Lake, Merlin, the many Knights we have come to recognize as part of this story, and even the beginnings of those who will likely play a much bigger role in the next book in this series.

If you enjoy a good Arthurian tale, this is one you won’t want to miss. While it does contain a few scenes that are a bit graphic in their content, those scenes do fit with the nature of how life was at that point in history and are critical to showing how a young Arthur develops and grows into the man he is destined to become. Without them, it would not have been as clear as to why he believes so completely in what is right or wrong, despite how those around him seem to see things differently. I will definitely be waiting to see where the author takes this story next when book 2 in the series is released. Recommended.

"The Guardian" by Sara Mack Audible version read by Sarah L. Colton

Emma has just lost the love of her life and is facing the nearly impossible task of learning to continue living without him. They had known each other for almost their entire lives. To have lost him in a car accident so suddenly, how could she be expected to go on? Her depression was so severe that her parents were at a loss as to how to help her recover and managed to bring home her closest friend to try and help her work though it.

Then Emma starts hearing James speaking to her. Was she going crazy? Was she imagining his voice simply because she missed him so? Or was there something more going on? Could he actually be talking to her? And if so, how?

Overall I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. It was well written and and the narrator did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life for her listeners. Each of the voices was unique and distinct enough to not confuse any of the characters with another. And as much of this story dealt with Emma trying to recover from a tragedy, her emotions were so clearly rendered that parts of the tale made me want to cry for her pain. I do, however, need to offer a trigger warning to those listening to this tale as at one point in the story there is a rather violent attempted rape that takes place.

There is a slight problem with the chapter numbers. While the chapters do continue in the correct order, when listing them at the beginning of each subsequent chapter, the book goes from Chapter 8, to Chapter 7, and then continued counting up from there. The listed chapter numbers continued through in the correct order and number. It was only in the narration of the numbers where they were incorrectly listed.

I believe this is a story worth listening to. It has definitely sparked an interest with me to learn more about the rest of the trilogy as well. I will have to look for the next book in the series to find out how Emma continues on her road to recovering from the loss of her true love, as well as to wanting to learn more of what comes of his journey as while may have died, he is not completely gone from her life. Recommended.

"The Girl and the Clockwork Cat" by Nikki McCormack

Maeko is often referred to as a “street rat.” She lives on the streets of London, stealing and doing whatever else she must in order to survive. It is not an easy life and it often seems that everyone is against those who seem to have no other way to survive.

Yes, there are workhouses, orphanages, and jail cells where most street kids wind up spending a lot of time, but these are usually worse options than the streets themselves and are rarely somewhere anyone would choose to willingly go. The local police force, or “Literati,” seem to take a particular dislike to the “street rats” and are far too often rather violent when arresting them and taking them to one of their holding facilities.

When Maeko escapes being caught by the authorities after a botched robbery attempt, she soon finds herself in possession of a cat with a mechanical leg and in the middle of a mystery involving a number of murders that seem to be following both the cat and searching for the man who had created it. She is drawn into the hunt for the missing man and soon finds herself as one of those being hunted. Her life is soon as much in danger as that of the man so many are searching for.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book. The descriptions of what Maeko went through on a daily basis to keep herself fed, sheltered, and free of the Literati and other dangers made sense. When you need to do just about anything to keep yourself alive, you put up with a lot more horrific circumstances than you might otherwise be willing to tolerate. Maeko often had to do just that and worse.

This was the first book in a trilogy, and I am very much looking forward to continuing on with this series and finding out what further trouble Maeko will have to survive while on London’s streets. Recommended.