Iscariot by Tosca Lee

Have you ever wondered what Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, was like when he was a child? Have you ever wondered what his life was like before he met Jesus? Have you ever wondered what would cause a man that walked with the Son of God to betray Him? Author Tosca Lee explores all of those questions and so much more in ISCARIOT.

I have to admit I had put off reading this book for years. I was afraid that it would cast a sympathetic look at Judas and I was not interested in seeing him as a "regular" human being. Author Tosca Lee is a brilliant writer and I loved her book HAVAH the story of Eve. I should have known that I would like ISCARIOT. I loved the history that is included in the story. I loved reading about the unrest of the times. People were looking for a Messiah to come that would conquer the Roman oppression that they were under. ISCARIOT is fiction as the scriptures do not give us any insight into his life. But the author has researched her subject well and has done extensive research about the times. Did I end up feeling a bit sorry for Judas? Probably, but something I have been thinking about since reading the book was that if it wasn't Judas, then it would have been someone else. Jesus' purpose was to save people from our sins and that required the shedding of His perfect blood. The ultimate outcome would have been His death. Does that make what Judas did any less tragic? No! And there is where I will stop in order not to become preachy! If you are interested in Biblical fiction then definitely pick up Tosca Lee's books, they cause you to wonder what people like Judas were like before their Biblical account in history.

Dead-End Detective by Amanda Flower

This is the first book in the Piper and Porter Mystery series. Darby's partner Samantha has been murdered. Everything Darby had thought was going to happen in the event of one of their deaths has not happened. Samantha did not leave her share of the detective agency to Darby as the women had planned. Samantha left her share to her nephew Tate who is a wanderer. Whoever killed Samantha has set it up to frame Darby as the murderer. Will she be able to trust Tate to help her find the real killer before her ex-boyfriend throws her in jail?

I really enjoyed DEAD-END DETECTIVE, it had several twists and turns and also a plethora of suspects to choose from. I can see that this town is going to provide a lot of business for the Piper/Porter team of detectives. I don't think we are finished with the pushy resort owner, and I definitely see feisty Mrs. Berger and her cat Romy showcased in other stories as well. Darby and Tate make a good team, but I see a fly-in-the-ointment with Darby's ex, Austin. A fun and exciting first book in the series and I'm definitely looking forward to future cases!

Once Upon An...Irish Summer by Lisa T. Bergren

Fiona Burke is in Ireland to research and finish up her dissertation. She has no interest in a summer romance, but Rory O'Malley draws her from the moment she meets him. Rory is staying the summer on his grandfather's farm. Dealing with PTSD and a broken heart, Rory has closed his heart to anyone trying to get close. He has no intention of opening his heart to Fiona. But Fiona's enthusiasm for her dissertation subject is hard to ignore and soon Rory and Fiona find themselves enjoying each other's company as well as the hunt for information on one of Rory's ancestors.

I absolutely loved this book! The author has a way of making the reader feel like they are smack dab in the middle of the setting. I felt like I was seeing all of the sites that Fiona was as she visited. The countryside was vividly depicted as well as all of the ancient ruins. The romance between Rory and Fiona was sweet and their tenderness with each other was definitely sigh-worthy. A bit of treasure hunting, a bit of the dastardly villain, and a lot of romance and this book was an enjoyable get-away for a couple of days. I definitely recommend it.

Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flower

Fiona's parents are coming for a visit, her sister is totally enamored with Seth and Fiona is in the midst of helping get a Barley McFee concert set up for the village of Bellewick. When Fiona discovers Barley's body on his tour bus she knows that she must help her boyfriend Chief Inspector Neil Craig solve the murder. With suspects galore the case seems to be going nowhere. When Fiona's garden dies she then has that to worry about as well. With the garden dead does that mean that all of the magic is gone? Is there a possibility of Fiona being able to bring the garden back to life? What will happen to Fiona's visions now, and her job as the Keeper?

I love the setting of the Magic Garden series! Duncreigan, Scotland lends itself to such mystery and magical settings! I also love that a bit more is revealed about Fiona's parentage and connection to the garden. I found her mother a toss between an annoying character and a caring understanding woman. Fiona's sister Isla is annoying and beyond immature! Ugh! Her gushing over Seth made me want to hurl, but I think that was the intention. ha! I was impressed with this book in the series because I really was in the dark about "who-done-it" until the end. I'm liking Fiona and Neil's relationship, but would like a bit more interaction, to be able to see their relationship progress, but I think they are a good fit for each other. I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the next in the series!

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Years ago when the manuscript for this book was leaked I was able to read it. I was so disappointed at the time that Stephenie Meyer decided to not finish it. I understood her reasoning, but as a fan of the series it really made me mad. Now we finally have the completed manuscript. I was so excited to be able to finally read the entire story. I have mixed feelings about it. While I enjoyed reading about Edward's perspective on his and Bella's relationship I also found some things to be inconsistent with the original story. I thought the author was rather harsh with Rosalie's character. And I was definitely surprised with the idea that Edward couldn't hear Charlie's thoughts very well. But, since the original TWILIGHT was written from Bella's perspective and this is Edward's I guess things would be a bit different. It was interesting to see Jasper through Edward's eyes and very entertaining to see Emmett's thoughts. I think his character to me was the least different through Edward's eyes than the other characters. While the story pretty closely re-told TWILIGHT there were also inner dialogues that Edward had with himself and others that were interesting to this story. I did find that I got a bit bored with some of the story, but it was still enjoyable. While TWILIGHT will remain my favorite book of the series I am still happy that we were able to finally get Edward's complete perspective.

Acceptable Risk by Lynette Eason

Sarah Denning is an investigative journalist in the Army. She's been kidnapped in the middle east and Gavin Black has been asked to go in and rescue her. Now stateside Sarah is recuperating from her harrowing experience and thrown into more danger.

When Sarah starts investigating her brothers suicide and also a patient she met in the hospital she is once again thrown into danger. Her father has hired Gavin to protect her but there is no way she can know this. The General and Sarah are not on speaking terms, in fact Sarah has done everything she can to distance herself from him and his influence. What will she do when she finds out that Gavin has been hired by the man she despises?

Fast paced, exciting, suspenseful. I loved every bit of it! Sarah was strong-willed to the point of being too reckless, but Gavin was able to protect her without stepping too much on her toes and her will. I liked Gavin as the hero, he was strong but also smart enough to not be too dictatorial to Sarah as her father was. I liked that Sarah was able to mature by the end and see a different side of her father. A very satisfying read that had me sitting for a few minutes calming my heart by the end!

Minutes To Die by Susan Sleeman

When Agent Kiley Dawson is meeting with one of her CI's the girl is killed. Kiley is determined to find out who and why her informant was killed. Before her informant died she was able to tell Kiley that what was coming to the US was way more significant than 9/11 and millions of lives were in danger. Kiley requests to be lead on the case so that she can be the one that finds her informants killer.

ICE Agent Evan Bowers is looking into a suspicious container that has come into the port. What he finds is an elaborate set-up that harbors no good! When Agent Kiley and her team arrive they quickly realize that their cases are overlapping. Kiley and Evan used to work together until Evan allowed someone to kill their partner Olin. Kiley has never forgiven Evan and she isn't happy to be working with him now. But for the greater good they must put their past behind them and help each other before it is too late.

I love the RED team in this series. They respect each other and they are elite so they are good at what they do. And they are able to make things happen! I especially liked Kiley and Evan's relationship. It was rocky at first, but then they were able to work through some things and acknowledge the attraction they had for each other. As always the danger was nail-biting! The author always writes realistically and in this case she wrote about terrorism that truly would be more devastating than 9/11. My heart was racing and my stress level was definitely up there with the team as they raced against time to stop this devastating act of violence.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

No one has power over you unless you give it to them. You are in control of your life and your choices. Decide your own future.

I love the details that the author places in her stories. Here is one example:

The process is called phenotyping, Philips explained. Basically, DNA can now be used to provide physical characteristics that are compiled in a composite sketch. There have been great results in locating suspects this way.

Seriously, how cool is that? A sketch from DNA! Who knew?

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series where hopefully the team is able to wrap up the case of The Montgomery Three, a case that has haunted them for several years.

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

DESCRIPTION:(From Netgalley)

A tale as old as time is made new in Ashley Poston's fresh, geeky retelling of Beauty and the Beast.
 
Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills.
 
On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he's forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read.
 
When Rosie and Vance’s paths collide and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself working to repay the debt. And while most Starfield superfans would jump at the chance to work in close proximity to the Vance Reigns, Rosie has discovered something about Vance: he’s a jerk, and she can’t stand him. The feeling is mutual. 
 
But as Vance and Rosie begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

WHAT I LIKED:

I enjoy a good fairytale retelling. I enjoyed that aspect of the book. I enjoyed how Rosie and Vance's relationship developed. How she tamed the beast and how they became friends.

 I also enjoyed Rosie's friends. They had her back when things got sticky. I loved the way they were willing to give up their own enjoyment in order to comfort and console their friend. 

Garrett, the Gaston nemesis was perfect! Such a jerk! 

And Rosie's dad was entertaining and kind of a fun guy. 

WHAT I DISLIKED:

It seemed like the author was quite bent on getting in all of the politically correct sexual orientations that are present. Rosie's dad is bi-sexual. Even Vance has dabbled in relationships with same sex partners. And then there is Rosie's friend Quinn. I have to admit this character confused me the most at first. The character was constantly referred to as "them, they, they're, etc. etc." and I couldn't figure out at first if there were two of them! At first I thought well maybe this is a "space" book where Quinn is an android of some kind and they have 2 heads, or 2 personalities. Then finally Quinn was referred to as "nonbinary" now, I had no clue what that meant at first. I lead a pretty sheltered life. But it finally dawned on me that Quinn has not chosen whether to be a male or a female or has chosen to be neither. Ooookkkkkaaaaayyyyy...and that's all I'm going to say about that. I also found a couple of times that both Rosie and Vance's "ah-ha" moments where they had inner dialogue in their heads was kind of boring and had me thinking to myself(inside my head!), "blah blah blah blah blah!" 

WRAP UP:

For the most part I enjoyed this book. Unfortunately it wasn't my favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but it had interesting characters and an endearing ending. 

**Thanks to Netgalley for my copy of the book. All opinions are my own**