Highly Flawed Individual by T.C. Roberts

Archie was a man who loved women, many of them and extremely often… at least until Jezebel and a sexually transmitted disease. The two may have happened at about the same time, but one did not cause the other. Needing to refrain from having sex, caused Archie to come to realize that he was a sex addict, and that Jezebel was special. She was someone he could actually fall in love with and see himself being with for more than just sex.

This was an interesting story. I will admit that I began by not really liking Archie, but through the story, something almost shifted, and I began to feel some sympathy for him. But I am afraid that the ending left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied and once again beginning to dislike him. While he has improved and grown in many ways, I am not really sure I can feel any true sympathy for him. Part of me feels like he grew as a person as his actions at the end were, in his mind, meant to protect Jezebel, but the other part of me sees them as much more about protecting himself from his own previous poor decisions. I have a hard time feeling like he actually did learn his lesson and feel like he will wind up returning to his own previously poor behavior, and will likely end up in more trouble than he was attempting to escape from.

While the book ends suddenly at the event that led to the beginning of the story, I felt like I wanted just a bit more. (I had to go back and reread a bit of the beginning in order to remember what happens to him after the book ends. Sounds slightly confusing to try and explain doesn’t it?) I also need to warn you that there are some pretty descriptive sexual encounters throughout this book. 

It’s not a bad story. As I said, the character descriptions are vivid, and the character personalities do shine through quite clearly. I received a review copy of this book, but I don’t believe I was the intended target audience. I’ve heard this described as “lad-lit”, which might explain my luke-warm feelings about it. (Think “chick-lit” but targeted at men rather than women. So my being female may have colored my perceptions about the story somewhat.) I think that there are others who might enjoy it more than I did, particularly those who enjoy stories involving introspection and vivid descriptions, romance, and love vs lust stories. There is a lot of sex and a lot of sports and sports-related violence. There's also some instances involving what I perceive as male dominance posturing toward other males who are attracted to the same woman.

But for me, I felt like there was something more that I wanted from this story. I know that not all stories will have happy endings, but this one just left me feeling rather disappointed and unsatisfied. (Probably because as I mentioned above, I don’t feel like I was the target audience for this book.) Of course, if you really want to know why and what I’m talking about, you’ll have to read the book yourself to decide if you agree or disagree with my feelings about it.

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.

Curtsies and Conspiracies Written by Gail Carriger Narrated by Moira Quirk

At the end of her six month probationary period at Madamoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality, all the girls in her class are given individual tests to see how well they have been learning their lessons. These tests are particularly important given that while the students are being trained to be proper young women, they are also being trained in espionage, although this is something the headmistress is unaware of. Thus part of their training involves keeping the headmistress from learning about the more covert aspects of the girls’ education. But even the test itself comes with its own lessons for the girls to learn. And after this comes another surprise. The school, along with several young gentlemen from the Bunson’s school for boys, which is one of the best schools around for young men who wish to be known as evil geniuses, will all be traveling to London for a test involving travel in the Ethersphere. An exciting time for all involved.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and really enjoyed it. Once again, Sephronia and her friends find themselves in quite a bit of trouble. And they must put the skills they have been trained in thus far to use in an attempt to not only figure out who is behind a new danger, but to help rescue some their own from a kidnapping. But the question remains, who actually is the bigger threat, the Vampires, the Werewolves, the Flywaymen, or the Picklemen? And which one is behind the current danger that Sephronia and the others suddenly find themselves in the middle of. And of course, there is Monique’s London Society Debut Ball to attend.

This was a very fun story with quite a few twists and turns. And if you are familiar with some of the other series of books by Ms. Carriger, then you will likely recognize some familiar faces in this book, though I believe this series takes place before the others. Still, it was fun to be introduced to those characters in a new light, and this book does give the reader quite a bit of insight into many of the dramas that take place with the characters within the various series.

The narrator does a fantastic job with keeping each character distinct from each other so that the listener does not get confused as to who is speaking. And I found the steampunk novel as well as the characters themselves quite entertaining. If you’ve enjoyed any of Ms. Carrager’s other books, either read or listened to as an audiobook, then I believe you will also enjoy this book as well.

https://amzn.to/3WYV2qT (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/mqQ6Yd (Books2Read link to other Vendors)

Back to You by Richard Plourde

John Fisher thought he had it all: Money, a gorgeous girlfriend, fantastic life, expected to soon be given a partnership position at work, his life was pretty perfect. And then he was diagnosed with leukemia. His life was saved by an anonymous bone marrow donor, but after that, it seemed like everything fell apart. His girlfriend left him, he threw himself into his work, his attitude turned to being rude and no longer caring about other people, and his employer didn’t give him the promotion and instead forced him to take a six-month leave to find himself again, telling him to come back as the kind and caring person he used to be. Now, feeling quite lost and alone, he must find a way to put his life back together by facing his past.

I received a review copy of this book and enjoyed it. It was a very sweet tale of a man who had lost who he truly was inside. He had embraced vanity, pride, appearance and possessions, but lost something much more important, and this journey takes him back full circle. Confronting his past, his personal demons, discovering what he wants the future to hold, and how to find both himself, and his future. I found it to be an interesting contemporary tale of self-discovery. And though I saw the ending coming from early on, it was still an enjoyable tale of how they got there.

I believe that anyone who enjoys reading contemporary novels about lost love, found love, self-discovery, and facing one’s past will enjoy this book.

The following links will be posted in the comments on the Facebook page, as Facebook has started complaining that my adding links in the post itself violates community standards, but does apparently allow them to be posted in the comments. But on the Mom Kat Reads blog site itself, these links will remain here. (If you have not yet checked out the Facebook page for Mom Kat Reads, please feel free to do so as I include tea pairing suggestions with each review and often include other information on a variety of subjects/happenings in my life as well.)

https://amzn.to/4d9S8p4 (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/b6gkdA (Books2Read link for other vendors)

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.

Etiquette and EspionageWritten by Gail CarrigerNarrated by Moira Quirk

Sephronia Temmenick was the youngest daughter in a large family. Her eldest sister is about to have her “coming out” party to introduce her to the other noble families and which could make or break her chances for an advantageous marriage. However as Sephronia is still a rather wild and unruly girl who is more interested in climbing trees and other “unseemly” things (such as dismantling clocks) for a young lady, and who cannot even curtsy or show the proper manners, it is recommended by an older family friend that she be sent to Madame Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. What neither Sephronia nor her family are aware of is that this finishing school is not the normal finishing school that most assume it to be. Instead, while it does train the students in the usual things taught at a finishing school, it also trains the girls in covert espionage tactics. And Sephronia is a covert recruit, who until she arrives, is herself unaware that this is not a normal finishing school.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The story in this steampunk novel was very entertaining and the narrator did an excellent job of keeping the individual voices distinct from each other. I enjoyed listening to Sephronia’s exploits at her new school, and her discovering that there were advantages to knowing some of the things a “proper lady” was expected to know, and how to use those skills to her benefit, both personally and professionally.

And naturally, as can be expected when there is a large group of students gathered together, there are usually some bullies among them. And in this case, Sephronia seems to have started out by making an enemy out of one of the older girls, simply in the process of trying to save her from a group of villains attempting to kidnap her.

This book clearly ties into the world of both the Parasol Protectorate and Custard Protocal series, though it takes place in a time before either of them. So if you happen to have read any of the books in either series, some of the characters within this book may be somewhat familiar to you.

Overall, I did enjoy listening to this book and look forward to continuing on with this series.

https://amzn.to/3LLmYYU (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/31nLV6 (Books2Read link to other Vendors)

Heart of Night by Angelina Steffort

After watching the man she loves die, Anya is kidnapped by the traitorous crow faerie who had secretly allied with the flame faeries and is taking her to them, to eventually be sold to the King who originally gave her as a bride to the Crow King. It seems her life has now come full circle back to where she began, as he prisoner of the King who wants her to suffer for her father’s crimes. She is almost ready for it all to be over, for what is there left worth fighting for without Myron? But what she doesn’t know is that Myron is alive and hunting for her, determined to get her back. She is the love of his life, and the one who broke the curse that all crow faeries have lived under for centuries. He is not willing to give her up, but first he needs to find her and rescue her from whatever horrible fate is being planned for her,

I received a review copy of this and enjoyed it as much as I did the previous book in the series. I enjoyed the multiple twists that took place along the way. This story definitely tugs at the heartstrings quite a bit for a number of reasons that aren’t all related to only Anya and Myron, but I do not want to spoil any of the surprises in this book for you, and there are more than a few.

The roughest part about the ending of this book is the fact that it ends where fans of the series are left waiting desperately for the third book in this series to see what will happen next, and I can assure you that I will be waiting just as impatiently as everyone else for book three to be released. I do recommend reading book one in this series before this one as you may feel a bit lost if you try to jump right into the middle of the series. But I do think this series is worth reading if you’re looking for an entertaining, magical story that tugs at the heartstrings periodically along the way. 

But do be warned that there is violence in this story. Several of the characters are tortured at times throughout the book, though the worst of it is behind the scenes. It is pretty obvious that it happens, and the after-effects of it aren’t hidden from the readers. Still, for most, I think you will probably enjoy this book. Especially if you have enjoyed any of the other books in this world/setting. Recommended.

https://amzn.to/3SgI7xL (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/mByXLO (Books2Read link to other vendors)

Mannigan: A speck of Light by L Ross Coulter

Will has just been released from incarceration after a very long time. While he was there, most of his organs had been harvested, and the doctors have told him that he has very little time left. He is bitter and angry with the world, for when his wife was judged not worth the cost of fighting her cancer, she  was left to suffer and die. After that, things fell apart for him and left him with nothing save his anger and bitterness toward the world. That was what had led to his becoming incarcerated in a modern facility, where those who survive long enough to be released rarely live more than a week or two beyond their release, usually dying alone and in a great deal of pain. But the doctor who oversees his final days, believes that he can offer him a chance for something more. A life that won’t end, as a part of a group called Legion.

I received a review copy of this book, and when I began reading this story, I thought it was primarily a dystopian novel, though it also seems to be a bit of a story about humanity. But it does also paint a very bleak future for mankind. Will was a very angry and bitter man, and achieving an inability to die or be killed doesn't seem to change that throughout the book. While he does still possess some kindness, especially towards those who are also suffering for various reasons, he still wants his revenge on those in charge who had allowed his wife to be declared not worth saving, and who had used his body to save others who were deemed worthy without his permission while incarcerated.

I must warn readers that this book does contain a great deal of violence. It paints a very dark picture of the future, and while I don’t want to spoil the ending, from what I can see, the only real sign of hope for the world comes at the end of the book, and even in that moment, I am uncertain as to whether it truly is a hopeful ending or not. And that possibility, I find a bit of a depressing thought, because either possibility is equally possible in my mind. But it is clearly something meant for readers to decide for themselves.

It was interesting, but I’m not entirely sure if anyone actually grew or changed in any positive way or not. I don’t know what we were supposed to learn from what Will went through, though I have a few ideas. I believe that perhaps this book was trying to teach a lesson about what the future may hold that comes with an implied warning about repeating the mistakes others have made rather than learning from them.. And honestly, I think that for me, not being able to decide whether the ending was meant to be positive or negative is what disturbs me the most. I’m not sure if that was the point of the story, but this one just didn’t really resonate with me for some reason, though it has stuck with me. (There is more that I would like to say about the ending, but I am trying to avoid spoilers for those who decide to read this book for themselves. As I said, it does make you think about quite a few things.)

If you’re looking for a book that will truly make you think about the ending, then you will likely enjoy this one. It may paint a somewhat bleak picture for the future, but it also does seem to show that despite everything, hope always survives. For despite all the bad things that happen to quite a few people, most of them still manage to be kind and have hope, even Will.

I'm engaged to Mothman by Paige Lavoie

Heather and Moth are very happy with the life they are building in their cabin in the woods. But when a portal suddenly opens and takes them back to Moth's home in the Faerie realm, will he still want to remain in a cramped cabin with Heather? Or will he want to stay in his home realm and become the king he was once meant to be?

I enjoyed reading this book. I have visited both the Mothman statue and the Mothman Museum, so naturally both this book and the previous one in the series. (If you haven't yet read it, I highly recommend reading I'm in Love with Mothman before reading this one.) You'll likely be a bit confused about a few things if you haven't.)

Moth is a very interesting character with quite a few surprising layers to him, but his family history is quite a lot for a girl born in the human lands. And honestly, I believe that Heather is even more fascinating. She has Hashimoto's Disease, making their time in the Faerie lands a bit of a challenge without her medication, and is also a former social media influencer. So if anyone can win over Moth’s family, it should be her … even if she isn’t royalty herself. And this is not the only difficulty she and Moth will have to face. But are they capable of facing those challenges together, or will it drive them apart.

If you like fantasy stories involving a variety of creatures, multiple realms, and stories that tug at your heartstrings, then you will likely enjoy this book. I know that I did, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series. I’d recommend giving this fun series a try.

https://amzn.to/4bktdNK (Amazon Link)

https://books2read.com/u/3n9d8e (Books2Go link to other vendors)

https://4horsemenpublications.com/product/im-engaged-to-mothman-mothman-in-love-2/ (link to book on publisher's website)

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.