Rumbles Of A Book Dragon

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE.  Hi, it's me back with another romance.  I know, I know.  I need to get off of this kick. Like I've said though, the muse takes you where the muse will take you.  Anyhoo, When I Found You by Brenda Novak was a new one for me, that is, it's the first book by this author I've ever read. Characters: Natasha Gray, the Amos Family (more prominently Mack, though his brothers Grady, Dylan, Aaron, and Rod are secondary characters.) Premise: A divorcee starts over in her old hometown and finds love. To be honest, I'm not sure where to start with this one.  It started out normally and then it went into soap opera territory.  Natasha Gray is starting her life over with her son Lucas after getting divorced from her husband Ace (yes, that's actually his name) and losing her pediatrician practice after discovering that the nurse she had hired had been harming patients in order to save them, resulting in a child's death (Munchausen's by Proxy)...

  TRIGGER WARNING: MISCARRIAGE. I know that I seem to be on a romance kick with this blog, but hey, I'm sure you all know how it feels when you're drawn to a certain genre.  And again, I bring you all another Cinderella-based tale with Cinderella Hired For His Revenge by Emmy Grayson (don't you just LOVE that name?  I DO).   Characters: Alexandra Moss (Nee Waldsworth), Grant Santos Premise: Lovers torn apart rekindle their romance. Alexandra's dream is to stand on her own two feet and make something of herself after her father, David Waldsworth was tried and convicted of stealing money from his investors, which there had been a lot of (I happened to loathe David Waldsworth and I'm glad he wasn't actually seen in the book, just mentioned).  As I'm sure you can imagine, this was a big shock to Alexandra as she and her stepbrother, Finn were left penniless, their own reputations in tatters.  Her business, the Flower Bell, isn't doing so great and she n...

TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT. Honestly, I was hesitant to add this to my blog because of the content, but at the same time, even though it's fiction, the author raises a great point about our society and I decided to go for it.  This is not a light and fluffy book by any means.  It covers a rape trial and it's heart wrenching.  I understand that this is a sensitive topic and it may be triggering for some.  If this is the case for you, turn back now.  Skip this one.  Characters: The town of Neapolis with the Moore and Blair families at the center. Premise: A podcaster covers a rape trial as it's happening and discovers a connection a similar case twenty-five years prior. Why do we as a society put all the burden of proof on the victim during a he said/she said rape case?  Why are we more inclined to believe in a man's innocence when he's an athlete of some sort and the hometown hero?  Why is a girl's word maligned when she's from "the wrong...

 We are returning to my childhood again.  This time, the Hardy Boys in The Twisted Claw (I kept having Are You Afraid Of The Dark? flashbacks with this one. 😄) by Franklin W. Dixon. Growing up, I read this series just as much as I read Nancy Drew and I loved them both.  If you're not familiar with the series, Fenton was a detective for the Bayport Police (a fictional town that was located somewhere close to New York City) before retiring from the force and becoming a private investigator.  His sons, Frank and Joe, picked up his knack for investigating and solving crimes/mysteries. Characters: Fenton, Frank, and Joe Hardy (with appearances by Aunt Gertrude, Chet and Iola Morton, and Fenton's pilot friend Sam Radley). Premise: The Hardys investigate when pieces of a specific collection go missing from various museums.  To be truthful, as much as I love them, the Hardy Boys (as well as Nancy Drew) tend to be formulatic (not an actual word, I know, just deal with i...

Okay, I'll admit, I have a fondness for romances, especially ones where the couple fights for their marriage/family, which was why I was first drawn to Back To Claim His Italian Heir. by Kate Hewitt.  From the story summary on the back, it looked like it was gonna be a fun read and it was , though honestly, I wasn't all that enamored with the story as a whole. Characters: Emma and Nico Santini. Premise: A couple learn to love and trust one another after an involuntary 3-month separation. Look, I did not expect the start of this story to be Nico interrupting Emma's marriage to another man.  In her defense, she thought Nico was dead because he had been in a plane crash and had been told that he was killed.  Turns out she's fourteen weeks pregnant.  I get it, she had a horrible childhood and wanted safety and security for the kiddo while Nico is furious that she's getting married.  Look, if I thought my spouse was trying to become a bigamist, I'd be miffed too. Tru...

Here we have one of my favorite book series: Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene in The E-Mail Mystery.   This was originally published in 1998 when the computer age was just starting and throughout the story I was CACKLING at the mentions of things that are now ancient but were once shiny and new: e-mail (for starters), Dial Up, floppy discs, not being able to use a phone and the computer at the same time because the computer was tied into the phone line.....the nostalgia was strong with this book. Okay, let's get down to our basics. Characters : Carson and Nancy Drew, Bess Marvin, and their suspects: Henry Yi, Byron Thomas, and Blaine Warner Premise : Nancy and Bess investigate when Carson's clients start settling out of court. For those who haven't been in the world of Nancy Drew before (and as a refresher for those who haven't visited this world in a while) Carson Drew is a prominent lawyer while his daughter, Nancy has made a name for herself solving mysteries alongside he...

Sanditon.  Originally written by Jane Austen, the novel itself was left unfinished and there have been numerous "continuations" of the novel.  This version is "continued" by Kate Riordan and is based on a series by Andrew Davies which as I understand, had three seasons, so along with spoilers for the book itself, I believe there are spoilers for the first season. Characters: Charlotte Heywood, The Parkers, the Denhams. Premise: A young woman is invited to the seaside as a resort is being built and gets tangled up in intrigue and a romance plot. I'm gonna confess, that as much as I love Jane Austen novels, she's always got a ton going on with lots of characters and I can't always keep them straight, so if this is a little disjointed, that's why.  Firstly, we're introduced to Charlotte Heywood, our heroine who looks at visiting Sanditon as a great adventure, and unexpectedly falls in love with a man named Sidney Parker, who is at Sanditon to help ...