A Round of Quickie Reviews…

Still working on catching up with all of these random reads, hopefully I will eventually get there. 😊

To Catch a Bad Guy by Marie Astor

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

To Catch a Bad Guy by Marie Astor is the first book in the Janet Maple mystery series. In this first book of the series Janet has just begun a new job at a top investment firm when she finds her new employers aren’t quite following the law. Another new hire at the firm is the cute Dean Snider who works in the IT dept, Dean however is undercover investigating the firm. This book wasn’t too bad overall, the flow could have used some work as the various characters were introduced and switched POVs in the beginning but once settled in it was an interesting story that I would rate at 3.5 stars.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

Last Call by Nancy Stopper

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Last Call by Nancy Stopper is a companion novella to the contemporary romance Oak Grove series. Carla Daniels is working as a bartender in a local bar when John “Butch” Daniels comes in after returning to town. Carla has sworn off bikers after her ex treated her bad so she is wary of the new guy until she finds he didn’t admit to the truth, that he is really doctor. This one is just one of those that didn’t seem to be for me from the start, just couldn’t find myself really caring about this couple when reading and was thankful it was a short read.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

 

BeSwitched by Molly Snow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

BeSwitched by Molly Snow is the first book of the young adult paranormal fantasy series by the same name. In this series opener Surla is a black cat who has been the familiar to a witch for years and years and does not like her master. Surla decides to leave but according to a curse she will switch places with the first lonely soul to cross her path and unfortunately for young Cathy Phillips that happens to be her and now Surla is living her life. Kind of a cute story overall but as we all know body swapping is not a new idea even if it is with a witches cat so while I enjoyed this one it will probably be forgettable in the long run.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

 

The Abducted: The Beginning- Book 0 by Roger Hayden

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Abducted: The Beginning- Book 0 by Roger Hayden is the beginning to a new police thriller series. This one is novella length and in that short time we have a couple of kids get abducted. The officer involved in the first, Miriam, leaves the force only to come back during the second to catch the kidnapper/murderer. As with most stories at this length the book lacks a lot of depth since it squeezes in so much in such a short time keeping the action going. It’s not a bad start but you don’t really get time to get overly invested either.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

 

Candy Store by Bella Andre

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Candy Store by Bella Andre is a contemporary romance novella that did have it’s steamier moments. Callie Moore owns a candy store and is in danger of losing her business. When she attends a wedding she meets Tobey Danville and ends up hooking up with him only to find later that he is the man she is to meet with over saving her business. This wasn’t really bad if you like a quick insta-love type of romance so normally I would give a story like this 3 stars but I’m knocking off a half for the eeww factor for Callie’s customers with the romps in the fridge and kitchen of the candy business so 2.5 stars.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

 

Animal Cracker by Andi Brown

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Animal Cracker by Andi Brown is a chick lit read in which a group of ladies get revenge on their boss. Diane begins working at the Animal Protection Organization and soon finds her new boss is not the most liked man around. With the help of some friends Diane and the girls get revenge and the recognition they deserve. As cute as this one sounds the execution just didn’t work for me at all. I would compare the story to something like 9-5 with these ladies going for revenge but while it was supposed to be funny most of it fell short leaving me to wish I’d just spent the time watching the old classic.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

90 Miles to Freedom by K.C. Hilton

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

90 Miles to Freedom by K.C. Hilton is a kind of odd mystery/suspense read that seemed to touch on a bit of fantasy. Readers start off meeting this family of four with the youngest brother graduating high school but as the parents leave for graduation their car explodes. It then shows how the oldest son had been using his boat to bring illegal refugees in from Cuba. As weird as this story was I actually kind of liked it anyway. Could have used a bit more to it since it’s so short and perhaps better editing but overall I’d give it 3.5 stars.

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   Goodreads  /   Amazon

Déjà Date by Susan Hatler

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Déjà Date by Susan Hatler is actually the ninth book in the contemporary romance Better Date than Never series. While it’s a part of a series this one can be read fine as a standalone without reading others in the series. In this one Melinda Morgan is between jobs when she walks into the bakery she used to work at and always loved only to find the owner looking for a new manager. Melinda offers to help when she finds his health is bad and falling into the old routine she considers making an offer. Meanwhile, Nate Carter, the owner’s son is back in town and looking to rekindle the past with Melinda. A rather cute read overall with all that it involved. I did get a little frustrated with Melinda not waning to admit she wanted to buy the bakery but still rooted her on to make her dream happen.

Find this book online: 

   Goodreads  /   Amazon