Book Review: "The Recovery Agent" by Janet Evanovich

Janet Evanovich's The Recovery Agent takes you on a search for priceless treasure in the South American jungle and it is a fun, sexy romp.

True confession: I’ve never read any of Evanovich’s mystery series featuring Stephanie Plum. I’ve always meant to and I have heard they’re fun, but there are so many of them it’s a little intimidating to jump right in. But when I was offered the chance to read the first book in her new series, I jumped at it.

If you’re missing something, Gabriela Rose can find it. Whether it’s a family heirloom, money, even a person, she’s willing to brave any terrain, and kick ass if she needs to, in order to recover that asset. She’s comfortable around weapons, too—and how can you not love a recovery agent whose role model is Scrooge McDuck?

Her latest mission is to recover the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. She’s not even sure this treasure exists, but her grandmother insists it does (a ghost told her so), and Gabriela's family needs it to save their homes and their small South Carolina town. But first she needs to recover the treasure map, which is supposedly buried underneath a house in the Caribbean which she used to own—a house that now belongs to her ex-husband, Rafer.

When they find the treasure map, Rafer insists that he accompany Gabs (she hates when he calls her that) to the Peruvian jungle. He drives her crazy—they can’t keep from getting under each other’s skin—but he’s a perfect match for her. And she’ll need all the help she can get, to brave treacherous terrain, possible dangerous legends, and an evil drug lord willing to kill anyone who stands in the way of his getting the Ring of Solomon.

If you like Raiders of the Lost Ark, National Treasure, and other treasure hunt-type stories, this is a fun romp. Gabriela and Rafer have excellent chemistry, and there’s humor and suspense to boot. I flew through this!

Thanks so much to Atria Books for the complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!

The Recovery Agent publishes 3/22.

Book Review: "A Spindle Splintered" by Alix E. Harrow

Are you up for a feminist, subversive retelling of Sleeping Beauty? I’m all in for Alix Harrow's A Spindle Splintered.

⁣ ⁣ “Sleeping Beauty is pretty much the worst fairy tale, any way you slice it. It’s aimless and amoral and chauvinist as shit.”⁣

⁣ Zinnia Gray is turning 21. She’s dying of something called General Roseville Malady, a disease about which little is known except that no one has lived past the age of 21. Zinnia has always been obsessed with fairy tales and, because of her illness, was able to graduate high school early and attend college, where she studied in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology.⁣

⁣ For what is expected to be her last birthday, her best friend Charm goes all out, throwing her a Sleeping Beauty-themed party in an abandoned tower, complete with spinning wheel. Of course, Zinnia pricks her finger, but instead of falling asleep (or dying), she finds herself in another world, a modern traveler in a fairy tale kingdom of sorts, where another cursed princess is in need of her help.⁣

⁣ This was so freaking creative, fun, poignant, and beautifully done. I love retellings and this one really just hooked me completely. My understanding is that this is the start of a series of novellas Harrow will write and I’m here for them.⁣

⁣ This is a definite Bookstagram made me do it (or more specifically, my friend Deedi made me do it), and I’m so grateful!!⁣

Book Review: "Destiny" by D.D. Larsen

The first book in D.D. Larsen's Academy series, Destiny, is a sexy, mysterious combination of romance, family secrets, and some magical elements.

At age 18, Jamie fled her small Colorado hometown, feeling stifled and needing to make a fresh start. She cut all ties to her friends, figuring it was easier that way than feeling the pull of home. After college she landed a job with a top biotech company and started to pursue her dreams.

Now, seven years later, her career has fallen apart and her last romantic relationship crashed and burned as well, so she decides it’s time to go home. While it’s good to see her parents, she quickly finds out it’s hard work to rebuild relationships with people you’ve neglected for so long.

Not long after her return home, she meets Wren, a ruggedly handsome park ranger with whom she feels an immediate, intense connection. He always seems to be around when she is in need of help, but otherwise he’s brooding and pushing Jamie away.

Meanwhile, people in her town are reportedly seeing wolves for the first time, and everyone is worried. And in a few cases, some creatures are harming people. Are the wolves to blame? Why does Jamie keep having dreams in which wolves appear, even one where she is a wolf? Is she safe, or is she in danger?

Little by little, Jamie realizes her town—and her family—is full of secrets, secrets of epic and almost magical proportions. She is drawn into a world she had never imagined, one that will change her life and her destiny.

This was a really fascinating read, with a brooding Twilight-esque vibe, although I don’t mean that in a negative way. Destiny had an interesting mix of romance and fantasy and even a little bit of the paranormal, and this was so compulsively readable. Can’t wait for Book 2 of the series!!

Kate Rock Book Tours and D.D. Larsen invited me on the tour for the book and provided me a complimentary advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Destiny publishes 4/20!!

Book Review: "Daughters of the Lake" by Wendy Webb

"Some stories, especially peculiar, hidden ones involving murder and mystery, have a way of bubbling to the surface, especially when wrongs need to be righted. They make themselves heard despite efforts to keep them silent. All in the proper time. And now was the proper time."

Kate's life is in total upheaval. Her marriage is over, since she discovered her husband had cheated on her, and as if that weren't enough, they had worked together, so she had no desire to go back to her job. With nowhere else to turn, she retreats to her parents' home on Lake Superior, in an effort to pull herself and her life together.

Being home with her parents soothes her, but she can't seem to explain the weird dreams she's having, where she is actually someone else—another woman, in fact—as she sees the woman's face instead of hers, hears her voice, even interacts with the woman's husband. When one quiet day in her hometown a body washes up on the shore of the lake, Kate is absolutely shocked to discover it's the body of the woman from her dreams. And inexplicably, Kate is the one who realizes that there was an infant snuggled close to the woman's body, but she doesn't understand how she could have known that.

Once she is able to (mostly) convince the local police she shouldn't be considered a suspect in these murders, Kate is desperate to figure out the identity of the woman, and why she is appearing in her dreams. The deeper she delves into this mystery, the stranger things become, and when she goes to visit her cousin, who runs an inn in the historic house her grandmother once lived in, she makes even more shocking discoveries—which inexplicably are taking both a physical and a mental toll on her.

Who was the woman that died? What happened to her? How can anyone explain the physical and emotional ways this mystery seems to be manifesting itself in Kate? Are these merely reactions to Kate's own emotional stress, or are there actual spirits that are trying to help her—or hinder her—from uncovering the truth? It's going to take the help of Kate's cousin Simon as well as a handsome police detective to get to the bottom of this, and save Kate from possible danger.

I'm being a little vague in my description of the plot because I went into this book knowing nothing and I think it really enhanced my enjoyment of the story. I thought Daughters of the Lake was a great read—a little bit bizarre, a little bit gothic, a little bit melodramatic, and utterly compelling. I wondered how Wendy Webb would pull everything off, and it certainly required some suspension of disbelief, but it didn't detract from the appeal of this story.

I've never read anything by Webb before, and in fact simply stumbled over the book on Amazon the other night, but I was totally impressed and enjoyed this from start to finish. Apparently she's been called the "Queen of the Northern Gothic," and I absolutely loved the setting of this book, so I'll have to check some of her other books out. She's a terrific storyteller, one who knows how to ratchet up suspense while drawing you in completely to her characters.

This is partly a mystery, partly a love story, partly a novel about the secrets that families and towns keep hidden. I could totally see this as a fun and campy movie-of-the-week or something like this, but it's a completely enjoyable read to boot.

Amazon First Reads and Lake Union Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!