ARC Review: Separated

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Separated is the second book in Frances' In Midsummer series, and even though I have not yet read the first entry in the series (though I would like to), enough background was integrated into this second book that I felt I was able to follow along just fine.

This book is the continuation of the story of Rocky and Conner. Rocky is the sheriff of Midsummer, who is a single father to a young daughter named River. Conner is in Midsummer to create a social media presence for a small town in need of more tourists to keep afloat.

Conner and Rocky were drawn together in the first book, but Rocky pulled away, saying he didn't want a relationship. Rocky feels he has to focus solely on his town and his daughter, and that Conner will only leave anyway when his job is done.

At least this is what Rocky tells himself.

But River has already formed a bond with Conner, and Rocky can't stop thinking about him. When Conner starts receiving attention from a famous actor who has a house nearby, and then starts receiving death threats, Rocky can't deny how he feels anymore. He becomes extremely protective of Conner, and they have a very sweet scene where Rocky goes over to where Conner is staying simply to wrap him in his arms and make him feel safe so he can finally get some sleep.

Rocky and Conner make a great couple, and Rocky, Conner, and River make a very sweet family unit. I found myself very invested in all three of them. The small town setting really comes alive, and there are some good supporting characters. As the death threats escalate, they bring a lot of tension to the story and make Rocky's protective side really come out.

The only thing I found lacking was the solution to the mystery of the death threats. It was so out of left field that it just didn't give me that satisfied feeling I was hoping for. That said, the relationships kept this book as a read I really did enjoy, and I would like to read the other books in the series as they come out to continue to see these relationships develop.

ARC Review: I Killed Zoe Spanos

(Book mood board on left by me, book cover on right)

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Title: I Killed Zoe Spanos
Author: Kit Frick
Publication Date: June 30, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
Recommended If You Like: true crime podcasts (especially ones like Serial), books like Sadie, Are You Sleeping, and the Six Stories series, creepy Gothic houses, so many secrets

The Book:

Teenager Anna desperately needs a fresh start, and a nanny job in the Hamptons fits that need perfectly. But when she gets there, she discovers she looks exactly like a missing girl named Zoe, whose case is the subject of a local true crime podcast. While Anna's confusing memories and old friends try to pull her under, Zoe's body is found, and Anna is arrested-but is she confessing to a crime she didn't commit?

What I Liked:

This book was so good! I absolutely love a mystery and/or thriller centered around a fictional podcast (which would be one of the many reasons the Six Stories series is one of my all-time favorite series). It worked really well to have the podcast host be a teenager who lives in the town, who has a personal stake in solving the crime. Frick's story had so many twists and turns and reveals, and everything made sense looking back.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I wanted more of the podcast! There were some times when an episode was just casually referenced, and readers didn't get a transcript of it. I would have liked the book to include transcripts of all the episodes, and for there to be more (and longer) episodes in general.

So...?

I definitely recommend this book! Books are always a comfort for me, especially in times like these, and this was the perfect book to distract me. It's a thriller with substance, a young adult book adults can and should read (read more YA books!), and a story that will keep you hooked.

ARC Reviews: Only Love is Deathless, and Dragon Dilemna

In Only Love is Deathless, two men fall in love and fight a dragon (as well as an assortment of creepy otherworldly beasts).

In Dragon Dilemma, two men are in love, and one of them is a dragon (who can shift back and forth to his human form).

The story in Only Love is Deathless jumps into the action right away, with a prince coming to an agreement with a thief that they will get married, but it will be a fake marriage and only for a year. This will allow the prince's younger brother to marry his true love, because the rules of the land dictate that a younger member of royalty cannot marry until their older sibling does.

From the start, nothing goes as planned. The fake dragon the thief (who has magic) was supposed to conjure up so he and the prince could "meet" by dramatically battling the beast together, is actually a real one sent by someone unknown (but clearly evil), and the thief gets badly injured. Cue the prince and the thief pretty adorably falling in love with each other while the thief convalesces.

From there, the story essentially follows this format. Sweet love story, lots of battles with mythical creatures, a quest, and some highly dramatic tragedies. Just a note that there are quite a few explicit "strong sexual content" (as the movie rating system would say) scenes in this book. I know some people prefer to skip the erotica, so just a heads up there. The scenes start out well-written, demonstrating the love between the two characters, but then there are so many of those scenes, and they are written so similarly, that it just becomes very repetitive. Some variety in writing style would have helped there I think. But it's an enjoyable read with some sweet romance and a lot of page-turning drama, and flew by pretty quickly.

Dragon Dilemma is the third in a series, I have read the previous two. Dane, the extremely powerful son of a god, and Mercury, an extremely powerful dragon, are raising a group of dragon kits together (dragons can shift to human form). Dane and Mercury originally joined forces to stop a series of dangerous experiments being done on dragons, but quickly fell in love and are now a family with the younger dragons as their children.

In this entry in the series, Dane's mother, who is also extremely powerful, unexpectedly comes to visit, as do leaders of other supernatural territories. Someone is spreading lies and rumors in an attempt to cause dangerous conflict, which means readers get dramatic battles, mysteries, and protective family scenes.

This is a series I enjoy. It makes for fun, quick reading, with a good group of reoccurring characters. I would like to see more focus on Dane and Mercury's relationship, it is depicted as very strong, but we don't get a lot of scenes of just the two of them centered around their relationship and not around an ongoing emergency.