Book Review - Run Away by Harlan Coben

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Simon had a perfect life. He was a beloved father, husband, and a successful businessman. All of that changes when his daughter, Paige becomes addicted to drugs and is dating an abusive man. She made it clear that she wants to be left alone. However, Simon is having a hard time letting Paige go.

He searches everywhere for Paige during his spare time. One day, by chance, Simon spots her in Central Park playing the guitar for the money.  As Simon approaches his daughter, he is confronted by her abusive boyfriend which leads to a physical altercation. A few days later, Simon and Paige is a suspect in her boyfriend's murder.

A retired FBI agent turned private investigator, a hit man, and private financial advisor whose world will collide together when they have nothing in common. The novel had a few twists I didn't see coming. However, I am not sure how believable some parts of the story is. For example, the mother keeping her daughter's location a secret from her husband.  Overall, it was an interesting read and I will be interested in reading more works from the author.

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Book Review - Bachelor Remedy by Carol Ross + Giveaway

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Ally Mowak is the most unconventional woman Tag James has ever met. She is a former army medic with a training and a belief in using alternative medicine when possible. Tag James is a handsome transport pilot who is running for Senator with big goals to protect his city. However, the duo has conflicting ideas about medicine and love. Will Ally and Tag be able to put their differences aside?

I enjoyed the fact that this book had a character of Native American descent. However, I found myself rolling my eyes towards the end of the book. At first, I enjoyed that Ally was a confident, independent, and ambitious woman but with a gentle heart but I felt like the story made it seem that she could do no wrong and that she was always right. For example, she was acting forward with Tag during a portion of the book but that was acceptable but her rude behavior was quickly dismissed. I also didn't enjoy the fact that Tag had an issue about her age and her alternative medicine. Their fights seemed petty and didn't make much sense to me. At the end, I didn't like that Tag basically said nothing matters more than being with Ally. She mattered more than his friends and family or his ambitions even though Ally had taken a back seat to his life before. I feel that when a person gives up their entire self and only devotes themselves to one person is setting themselves up for disaster; regardless of how romantic it may sound to have someone be completely devoted to you. I did enjoy Carol's writing style and look forward to reading other books by her.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchanged for an honest opinion**

Bachelor Remedy

(Seasons of Alaska #5)

by Carol Ross

Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 384 pages

April 1st 2018 by Harlequin Superromance

She’s the most unconventional woman he’ll ever meet…

and the cure for a perennial bachelor?

Raised by her healer grandfather, former army medic Ally Mowak knows her alternative approach to traditional medicine puts her at odds with most of her Alaskan town. That includes Tag James, the rugged transport pilot with the sprawling family and political ambitions. Ally couldn’t be more wrong for the aspiring senator. Then why does everything feel so right when they’re together?

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About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Carol Ross grew up in small town America right between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains, in a place where you can go deep sea fishing in the morning and then hit the ski slopes the same afternoon. The daughter of what is now known as free range parents, she developed a love of the outdoors at a very early age. As a writer, Carol loves to breathe the life she has lived into the characters she creates, grateful for the “research material” that every questionable decision, adrenaline-charged misstep, and near-death experience has provided.

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Book Review - Last Stop in Brooklyn (A Mary Handley Mystery, #3) by Lawrence H. Levy

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It was the summer of 1894, and private investigator Mary Handley is bought at the far corner of Coney Island for what seemingly seems like an open and close infidelity case. While on the case, Mary is contacted by a convicted man's brother to reopen a murder case. A prostitute was killed in the same style as "the Jack the Ripper" in her hotel room with shoddy evidence pointing to the convicted man.

Thomas Byrnes, the head of detectives in NYC is sure he has the correct man. After all, he made proclamation of finding the killer in 36 hours and Detective Byrnes always gets the culprit. The deeper Mary digs the deeper she realizes the web of deception is. Will Mary be able to find the true killer before it is too late?

I was drawn to this book because I live fairly close to Coney Island. I actually have a lot of fun childhood memories of eating cotton candy and greasy pizza while being embraced by the salty air. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't much interesting facts about Coney Island as there was about the people who were in this book. The author did focus a lot of the racial tension and discrimination that took place during that time period, but if felt like that was more common knowledge and didn't have to keep being repeated. I found Mary and Harper enjoyably at times, but sometimes their barbs and conversations got annoying increasingly faster. However, it was an enjoyable read and I do look forward to reading other novels by the author.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - Christmas at Grey Sage by Phyllis Clark Nichols

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Maude and Silas deck out their adobe house with all the holiday trimmings that delight and thrill family and friends alike. Christmas at The Thornhills' Gray Sage Inn is always a day to remember until a tragic accident occurs. Now, Silas and Maude go on vacation during the holiday to escape the painful holiday memories. When Maude's best friend, Lily asks her to open the inn during the holidays for a group of eccentric travelers, she was hesitant to agree.

When the group of travelers arrives, they are surprised that Grey Sage Inn isn't decorated with Christmas decorations. After a snowstorm hits Santa Fe, the guests find themselves stranded and try to make the best out of the holiday as possible. Will Maude and Silas be able to heal and appreciate Christmas again?

The novel started with Maude's appreciation for Christmas; going into detail about her favorite decorations, traditions and moments. Then we get to meet the group of eccentric travelers and from there we find out why Silas and Maude don't celebrate Christmas anymore and the backstory of each traveler. I found the first few characters really boring and halfway towards the book, it finally picked up, but by then I was already over reading this book. It is a nice cozy reading novel for readers who loves Christmas stories, but this wasn't really my cup of tea.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert

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**May Contain Spoilers**

Lettie compared to herself to her "beautiful" friends always feeling like an outsider because she perceived she is lacking. She is short and on the chubbier side while her friends are richer, the other is beautiful or called each other best friends. However, she doesn't let her "shortcomings" hold her back and becomes a doctor like her father. Marco lived through a war that robbed him not only the love of his life but also his health. He moves to South Africa since he can no longer bare the winters in Italy. He becomes one of Lettie's first patients and their relationship grows as she tries to nurture him back to health. Will the duo be able to love again?

The cast of characters appeared in The Child of the River, but I didn't find it necessary to read the first book to enjoy this book.  While, I enjoyed the a book I felt like it wasn't as enjoyable as it could be. The book was divided into four "life" events and the first two spoke about Lettie's and Marco's lives before meeting each other. These chapters were filled with details and consistent in timing while the later chapters had just pertinent details and, sometimes, it was vague how much time passed between pages. For example, Lettie cries about over her beloved's friend's death, but they mentioned her parents' death in passing. I felt like when they were talking about Lettie's and Marco's soul mates, they spent a lot of time going into the story and building the ambience.

There were a few things that bothered me about the story. Lettie is portrayed as the chubby and lovable friend (I sometimes find her petty) and she gets jealous over her friends' happiness, money, beauty, relationships, and children. However, I am surprised she  never felt like a part of Macro's heart will always be with Rachel (his first love). She just loves him blindly even though she notices that he doesn't speak much about Rachel. Another thing is when she realizes that she is falling in love with De Wet again, why does she hesitate? She knows that he likes her and she likes him but plays this "Oh, I don't know" game, but craves his attention. After all this talk about crooked paths, shouldn't she know that her crooked path is leading her to De Wet especially, since she has been in love with him since childhood.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**