Review: When We Found Home by Susan Mallery

I struggled with the rating I wanted to give this book. In the end I would say I give it 3.5 stars. I did like the book but had a few issues with it. Let me say that I love the premise - which is three people discovering that they are half siblings at different points in their lives. Keira, the 12 year old who was abandoned by her mother and left in foster care, Callie, who is 26 and struggling to find her way in a sometimes unforgiving world after making a mistake and being punished harshly and Malcolm who is 34 and part owner of Alberto's Alfresco. They share a father who is now dead and had lacked decency and responsibility while alive. The journey the three siblings took to become a family who trust and love one another was my favorite part of the book. They share a grandfather - Alberto - whom I wish had a larger role in the book. I really thought he might have more to do with bringing the three together as a family unit but other than finding the girls (Malcolm already lived with him) he didn't.

There were also two romances in the book and while good - they just weren't my favorite. Delaney and Malcolm started off so funny and charming and with a lot of potential. However, I never felt like I was actually experiencing them fall in love. I liked Delaney at first then she got really whiny and annoying. She definitely had some hardships in her life (like everyone else) but I never did understand why she clung to them for as long as she did. And the resolution of said hardship was rushed. I felt Malcolm had the most growth in the book - along with Keira who came a long way in feeling like she was accepted and finally had a family. In fact, I wish that some of the story had been told from her POV.

I did like Callie and Santiago's relationship minus the instant love part. That's my own personal thing, though, I believe someone can feel an instant attraction and perhaps a sense of possible connection but I think love takes time, knowledge of the person, shared experiences and trust.

Overall, I like the book and feel fortunate to have been able to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Susan Mallery writes with humor and emotion which I appreciate and those qualities saved this book for me. 

Review: The President's Henchman by Joseph Flynn

I posted this review on GoodReads also.

I LOVED this book! It was recommended to me by a friend and I'm so glad I read it! It's the first in a series and I've already got the second book ready to go.

Jim McGill is the husband to the first female president of the United States. As a retired Chief of Police he isn't interested in being idle during his wife's years as president. He goes to work as a Private Investigator in Washington D.C. - much to the annoyance of the head of the Secret Service.

This book is full of twists and turns - both politically and personally - but it is thoroughly entertaining. McGill and Patti (his wife and the president) have their plates full adjusting to their new lives but they handle it with class, intelligence and a smidge of under-handedness but done for all the right reasons.

There is a large cast of characters in this book but Flynn does a good job making all of them believable and fleshed out. The story lines were tied up in a satisfactory way by the end of the book. And there was a cliffhanger that made me want to immediately buy the second book in the series. I look forward to continuing on this fictional journey of McGill's and Patti's.

Review: Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts

I LOVE this book! This is an instant favorite for me. This is a seriously intense book in parts because it deals with a shooting and all sorts of aftermath related to the shooting. I admit that I had some reluctance about reading this book for that very fact. However, I feel Nora Roberts did an outstanding job in the way she wrote about such a sensitive - and unfortunately, an all-too-real - topic. I admire that she addressed not only the victims of the shooting but how those who lived through it lived their lives afterward. 

This is a romantic suspense so the main male and female protagonists obviously meet and fall in love but in my opinion that was a somewhat secondary story line. I wasn't bothered by this because I felt it was so important to see how Reed and Simone grew after the shooting - and how they dealt with it.

I did cry while reading this book, more than once. I got angry while reading it, also more than once. However, I laughed, cheered, sighed a lot and overall believed in the power of good over evil. Oh, and I adore CiCi! She is Simone's grandma and their relationship is AMAZING! Truthfully, I think it's worth it to read this book for their relationship alone!

I posted this review on my GoodReads page, as well.

Review: Shot in the Dark by Cleo Coyle

Clare Cosi is back in the seventeenth installment of the popular Coffehouse Mystery series. Shot in the Dark finds Clare and some of her baristas dealing with a full house of people who have met through a popular dating app called Cinder. However, things go very wrong when gun shots are fired and a young woman is found with a gun pointed at a rather vile guy she met through the app.

Soon, Clare, her ex-husband, the Village Blend baristas, Mike Quinn - Clare's fiance', her daughter Joy and even Madame and her new beau are lost in the world of tech, dating apps, possible tampering, a new drug on the streets and oh yeah, another dead body. With the usual wit, style and delicious recipes that make you crave coffee and pastries Cleo Coyle has yet another hit with Shot in the Dark.

I was provided an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in return for an honest review. The book will be released on April 17, 2018

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations. 

I love this book so much! It made me laugh, cry and sigh a number of times. It came highly recommended and lived up to its hype. I will warn anyone who reads it to have a box of Kleenex handy, though. This book seriously tugs at the emotions.

THis book is a 5 Star read for me!