Phyl's 4 Recent Phaves

In no particular order, here are some VERY brief remarks about four recently-read books that I really enjoyed.

A Cold Dark Place by Toni Anderson. If you are squeamish or easily triggered by violence or sexual assault, this is NOT the book for you. But if you like well-written, suspenseful romantic suspense, I do recommend this one. The hero is a hired gun who steps in when the criminal justice system fails. The heroine chose a career in law enforcement specifically to try and find her twin sister who was kidnapped, and never found, when the girls were young. The conflicts were not forced, and very interesting moral questions were raised. To top it off, there was just enough romance.

The King's Man by Elizabeth Kingston. Twitter friend Jessica raved about the audio version of this book, narrated by the incomparable Nicholas Boulton. It's a medieval that features a hero whose life is not really his own (see the title) and a heroine who can fight and lead as well as any man. Unfortunately, to do so she needs to dress and act the part of a man. There's an arranged marriage, the treacherous waters of medieval politics, and adventure on the road. Both the hero and heroine have to come to grips with who they are as individuals and who they can be together. I had to drive with the windows up so I didn't miss a word (I hate to use the A/C)! But totally worth it. Thank you, Jessica.

What We Find by Robyn Carr. Carr begins a new series with this book, once again centered around a small community. Maggie and Cal wind up at Sullivan's Crossing for very different reasons, although essentially they both need emotional healing from recent events. This is a much richer book than many of Carr's recent Thunder Point or Virgin River books, some of which I DNF'd to be honest. I thought there was better character development here and I also thought that Maggie was one of the stronger heroines Carr has written. Maggie doesn't need to be rescued or taken care of; she needs time and space to deal with recent upheavals in her personal and professional life and to re-orient herself. In the end what develops in her relationship with Cal is a partnership, with plenty of give and take. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

Acute Reactions by Ruby Lang. This book was both funny and tender with an interesting set-up. Petra is fighting to establish a solo medical practice as an allergist when Ian comes in as a new patient. He wants allergy shots to he can be near his girlfriend's cat. They are immediately attracted to one another, but Petra could lose her medical license if she got involved with Ian. And Ian-- well, there's that aforementioned girlfriend. The story seemed to flow at just the right place. Petra and Ian have significant issues to overcome and I appreciate a story where we see the characters grow and change. I really cared for these two. Hard Knocks, the next book in the series, is already on my Kindle.

Comments

  1. Interesting picks, Phyl. The last two seem interesting and I'll give them a go some day....

    ReplyDelete

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