Kristen's Book Jungle: April 2021

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Riptide

In Michaela Thompson's Riptide, the second installment in the Florida Panhandle Mystery series, this tale in the Florida Keys is so captivating and twisted like a riptide in the ocean. It all started when a diver was killed on the dock and an old lady was knocked unconscious at the same. That's when Isabel Anders receives a phone call that her Aunt Merriam was in the hospital and in a coma. She didn't have a real good family connection with her. So she flies down to Cape St. Elmo in the Florida Keys. Her aunt's place was in bad shape. While she tends to her aunt's needs, she gets down to the root of the mystery of who knocked her aunt down and what happened to her father years ago when he disappeared from her. When her ex-boyfriend from the past, Harry Mercer, resurfaced in the past, that's when she connects both mysteries that her family have been all caught up into a tangled mess. The closer to Isabel closing in on the truth of the buried treasure, the more in peril she would be, when she would discover how sinister evil can be deeply rooted below the surface.

This is an intriguing and compelling mystery that deals with buried treasure and family secrets that would keep you guessing. I cared for Isabel on how her relationship with her aunt Merriam was estranged and strained before this untimely accident had happened to her. I loved her quest for knowledge and truth and what it might mean for her and her family overall. I liked Kimmie Dee and didn't trust Ted or Harry one bit. I loved the Cape St. Elmo location and the gripping scenic settings in the Florida Keys for this sunken treasure hunt-themed mystery. The theme of the story is that your past will have a way on sneaking up on you.

If you love capers that deal with buried treasure hunts in and out of the ocean with non-stop drama, plenty of action, lots of suspense, and full of twisted turns, Riptide is the one for you.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Bed, Breakfast and Bones

In Carolyn Dean's Bed, Breakfast and Bones, the first installment in the Ravenwood Cove Culinary cozy mystery series, this debut is so intriguing and compelling to be hooked on the first page. Amanda Graham had just inherited her late aunt and uncle's Ravenwood Inn in Ravenwood Cove, Oregon. It haven't been used in years and remained dormant and broken down in despair. When she has plans to restore it to its rightful glory, it would take a lot of hard work. But she ran into some obstacles along the way like a greedy-happy mayor who wants the small town to be purely residential and stood in her way. But she made her friends and a potential love interest with the local detective as they helped her get settled and work on refining the hotel. But the root of all evil was who left a dead body buried in the ground near the hotel. As she asked questions to who done it and why, she brings herself closer to the danger of knowing the truth in a life-and-death situation for Amanda in the end.

This was a delightful culinary cozy debut that'll keep you entertained and hooked from the start. I cared for Amanda on how she discovered a dead body on her property and dealt with many obstacles who stood along from fixing and opening her family's legendary bed and breakfast. I did find James was a bit charming and cared deeply for Amanda. I loved the Ravenwood Cove location for a small town in Oregon by the beach. It had idyllic and picturesque scenic settings from Ravenwood to Likely and beyond to keep you enchanted. The theme of the story is that being greed can get the best of you.

If you love great culinary cozies with delicious recipes to make yourself with non-stop action, plenty of drama, and sparks of intrigue, you'll fall in love with this cozy in no time. So check out Bed, Breakfast and Bones today!

Friday, April 16, 2021

Rescuing Harmony Ranch

In Jennie Marts's Rescuing Harmony Ranch, this contemporary romance is so swoon-worthy and romantic. When Jocelyn Stone received a call that her aunt got hurt in an accident, she left NYC and headed to her hometown of Harmony Creek, Colorado. After a ten-year absence, she returned home to heartache and bittersweet memories when she ran into her old love, Mack Talbot, a bearded blacksmith who worked on the historic living ranch. With Jocelyn's grandmother sidelined with an ankle injury, she told them about the plight on the ranch: it needs money to be saved to pay the debt. So Jocelyn and Mack team up to figure out how to save it: she's a modern world tech savvy and he's old-fashioned and not too familiar with social media. While she worked hard for a much-earned promotion as a marketing exec, she dealt with the heartache and made new memories with Mack to come up with some fundraising ways to come up with the money. And after they came up short after the festival ends, they needed to come up with a new plan as the same time Jocelyn has to take care of business and follow her heart. In the end, she had a hard decision to make when it was more than her old family ranch that needs to be saving with a happy ending.

This is a so beautiful and a wonderful new, refreshing contemporary romance to read. It's so moving and heartfelt and perfect for Hallmark--would love to see this as a 2021 movie to be made like for June or September! I instantly cared for Jocelyn on her homecoming had tugged my heart when she reunited with Mack and brainstormed to save her grandmother's ranch in the nick of time. Who can resist a bearded blacksmith? Mack is a charmer and never gave up on Jocelyn and the love they've made, past and present. And Savage stole the scenes a couple dozen times. I loved the Harmony Creek location in Colorado-it's perfectly idyllic and had charming scenic locations to sweep up off your feet in this historical little town. The themes are home is where you heart is and to shoot for the stars.

If you love Hallmark movies all-year-long and love a romantic love story with some much compassion, lots of swoon-worthy moments, non-stop action, and plenty of romantic drama, Rescuing Harmony Ranch is right for you.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

No Holding Back

In Lori Foster's No Holding Back, this contemporary romance is hot, sexy, and and plenty of suspense like a romantic suspense/thriller-instilled into it. For Trucker Star Parsons who goes by the name of Sterling, she's a woman on a mission to take down a sex trafficker named Mattox. She was once a victim and wanted to save women from that precarious plight. But there was one problem, a bartender named Cade McKenzie she met in the bar, who stood in his way. It's been his life's mission to bring down the same person with his family. They both had strong backgrounds with rough upbringings. And when they joined forces to take down Mattox, they bettered the odds to win this fight. But the passion and the heat between them is smoking hot when they can't stop resisting each other. Together, they prepare to fight the good fight until they face off against him and later pledge their heart's desires to each other.

This was another fantastic contemporary romance with a romantic suspense feel to it. I feel for Sterling (Star) and how she came up strong to right the wrongs. She didn't want anyone to suffer like she did and became an ultimate heroine for us to root far. Cade is so steamy and smoking hot and the perfect guy for her. They both share some many things and have a lot going on for them too--justice will be served for each other. I loved the Aspen Creek background in Colorado and the intense scenic settings inside and outside Cade's family home and the bar he owns. It pulled me in and took me in for a long ride.

If you love heart-stopping romances with plenty of smoldering suspense, lots of romantic drama, plenty of non-stop action, you'll be in for a wild ride in No Holding Back.

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Wrong Alibi

In Christina Dodd's Wrong Alibi, this thrilling new novel will keep you in suspense and send you chills all over in this captivating new romance story. At eighteen, Evelyn "Evie" Jones landed a new job in Rockin, Alaska, a small town located near Anchorage and Denali, though she had a Juvy record. She was ready for a fresh start and had a bumpy ride to her new beginning when she worked for Donald White, a quiet man who hired her to his "dirty work" for him as he kept to himself. When he later strangely disappears, she's charged with a brutal double murder. No one believes her and sent to prison. But fate intervened when her prison van flipped over in the mudslide, almost killing her in the process and later presumed dead. Guess again! Under a new name and a new face, she works at a local Fishing camp for ten years and longed to see her sister and her mother again. But she waited for the right moment and time to resurface from the ashes... when she discovered him under a new name. Meanwhile, Zone Jameson learns about his wife and son's murders and vows vengeance to go after Evelyn Jones. And when he's free from his imprisonment, he's hell-bent on it. As they two meet, they both have a common enemy they wish to see dead. But the chemistry between them fired red-hot embers and sparks on a lonely night. The closer they kept an eye on the prize, they learn who was also responsible and make ends meet with justice for a bittersweet climax.

This was a compelling and fascinating new novel from Christina Dodd. This red-hot romantic thriller was explosive and intense through and through. I cared for Evelyn Jones (aka Petie) and how she fought her plight and came out strong and kicking like a phoenix rising from the ashes. All she wanted was to go home to see her family and had some obstacles to make that reunion remotely impossible. I did feel bad for Zone who had a grueling plot from being a prisoner in a foreign country to discover his family is gone from a brutal and grisly double murder. I did love how they meshed and worked together to find each other and won in the end. I loved the sleepy small town of Rockin and all of its alluring charm including the fishing camp--Evie's self-imposed exile for a decade--for the startling location to host plenty of mesmerizing scenic settings. The theme of this story is that we're innocent into proven guilty in our fight for justice and bittersweet revenge.

If you love heart-stopping action-packed suspense, plenty of drama, and lots of twisted turns to keep you hanging on every page's edge, check out Wrong Alibi today. Buckle up! It's going to be a bumpy and wild ride.

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I hope you enjoy my blogging adventures and go for a wild ride in my reading. Take a vine to swing into the forest of thrillers, mysteries, cozies, etc. Please feel free to introduce yourself.

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Lights Out Tonight

by Mary Jane Clark

tagged: own, 2016, and currently-reading