Review: Fury

Fury by Celina Grace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Received an ARC from the Author for an honest review.
Read and liked the first 3 books in the series, read some of the others out of order, and have not yet read books 6 till 9.
What I said about the other books, too much romance, Kate being to insecure as to what she should do, I will not repeat that here. For me she should cut her losses, split from the man who does nothing for me and the story - and is not even a police-man anymore, being forced in early retirement (or fired?). The case is ok, but the book without the unnecessary parts (romance etc.) would have been 50% shorter, more like a novella. Will read one more, when it is published and then decide wether to stop reading these.
There are way better books / series, sorry to say, but my time is to short to read books I do not really like.


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Review: The Lost Causes

The Lost Causes by Jessica Koosed Etting
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read this review by Jennifer and wanted to buy the book, only to be informed, I alread bought it... So, I will try to read it soon.
(Added months later)
Has been sometime since I read this, sorry. Reminded me a little of Jennifer Lynn Barnes "Naturals"The Naturals .

Currently a single book, not sure wether is going to be series or not, so currently a standalone.
Recommended, not sure, wether 4 stars is a bit much, whatever.

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Review: The Lost Causes

The Lost Causes by Alyssa Embree Schwartz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read this review by Jennifer and wanted to buy the book, only to be informed, I alread bought it... So, I will try to read it soon.
(Added months later)
Has been sometime since I read this, sorry. Reminded me a little of Jennifer Lynn Barnes "Naturals".
(somehow inserting links only works after I saved once).
Currently a single book, not sure wether is going to be series or not, so currently a standalone.
Recommended, not sure, wether 4 stars is a bit much, whatever.

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Review: Don't Turn Around

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded to 3
Romance ok, but could have done without it, not sure, wether you would call that a love-triangle, also when the book ends, it is open who loves whom.
Could have done with more hacking, but what was there was ok, without details, so as not to give a blueprint for aspiring hacker-wannabes (I dare to count myself in that group, with a basic knowledge of Unix, bash, html and having learned more than 25 years ago Cobol85, Assembler and Modula 2).
Too expensive, should have cost helf that. Will try to read the next books in the series sometime, but with KU or if they are cheap!

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Review: The Lost Causes

The Lost Causes by Alyssa Embree Schwartz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Has been sometime since I read this, sorry. Reminded me a little of Jennifer Lynn Barnes "Naturals".
(somehow inserting links only works after I saved once).
Currently a single book, not sure wether is going to be series or not, so standalone.
Recommended, not sure, wether 4 stars is a bit much, whatever.



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Review: Ostfriesensünde

Ostfriesensünde by Klaus-Peter Wolf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(Review in German, as this is a German Book, not available in English)
Nachdem mir die vorigen Bände schon recht gut gefallen haben, wird in diesem Band die Geschichte um den Vater von Ann Kathrin gelöst und beendet (m.E.).
Ein Effekt, der mir bei einigen (wenigen) Autoren auch aufgefallen ist: die Bücher werden zunehmend besser, mit fortschreiten der Serie. Ob das so bleibt, muss sich zeigen.
Habe diesen Band, zusammen mit #05 und #06 wieder als (ebook) Sammelband gekauft. Einzeln finde ich die zu teuer.
Der 1. Band wurde verfilmt, und das bietet sich bei den anderen (vor allem diesen) auch an, darüber weiss ich aber nichts, habe nichts gefunden.
4.5 Sterne, aufgerundet auf 5 Sterne.
Empfehlung, aber kann nur als Serie gelesen werden, obwohl wie immer Sachen wiederholt werden, ist dies als Standalone nicht logisch sinnvoll zu lesen.

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Review: Take a Walk on the Dead Side

Take a Walk on the Dead Side by Jada Ryker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Got this for free, informed by a Book Raid Mail.
Blurb and title sounded interesting.
Possible DNF, too much side-remarks which do nothing to the story, but will try to get further. The characters are funny, could have done without the fart-machine, though, but ok, US humor (I am more on the German or UK side of funny things, being German).
Ok, so I read it, all of it, some in FF (skimmed).
In German I would say "Das war ein Griff ins Klo" (Sticking you hand in the toilet...).
Did not like the writing style, too much tell, not enough crime, not enough story.
There where two stories, one concluded at roughly 50%, so nice planning.
Two stars, the basic idea was ok, I really liked the cat - the real MC in the story. And Wikket's magical capabilities are not explained, just hinted at.
The romance, and the major crime was like a merry-go-round, but not very logical, also way too much romance for me, ok for a book which has chick-lit on the cover, this should be expected, so my fault. And I would have liked a logical, twisted crime-romance, but this was not for me.
Also, I will probably stay away from this author and never read something by her in the future.

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Review: Intrusion

Intrusion by Reece Hirsch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lent (like the first one) with Kindle Unlimited. One of the few books I hope will be good. Some authors I do not know, but the first book in this series was good, and I have already bought the third book (Surveillance) for a reasonable price.

A little too much info which is not needed (places, background info on history, people) and not enough hacking. The case, with all of its twists, even the surprise with the killer and the excursions into privacy law etc. where very good and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. What I also found very good, the moral of the MC after he had to defend himself - in this case, not as a vigilante nor planned, together with the PTSD also of Zoey his girlfriend, who has two people on her conscience.
But still, for me could have done with more hacking and more computer scenes, action and storyline was very good.
For laypersons computer things are explained, but as a retired IT-Helpdesk-slave I am not sure wether it is enough for all, I just hope so.
Recommended.


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Review: Lost Library

Lost Library by Kate Baray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Got this for free from a BookBub email info.
Liked the blurb and the cover.
Skimming through a few 2star reviews, this might have been updated, they say Lizzy kept the magic for 2 years without deciphering it? It was a much more reasonable 2 months, just checked again, before she gets approached by John.
As the reviews said, World-Building was bit much of an info-dump at times, I agree, but it was not as bad some other books I read.
A little too much self-doubt and too much thinking about romance cost this the 5th star for me. And could have done with a little bit more action early on or in the middle.
It gets better near the end with the settings in London and Prague.
Also, other reviews mentioned a cliff-hanger at the end, I do not see the ending as a cliff-hanger, more a finished book with open threads to lead into the next book. The different problems (kidnapping, magic, etc.) are solved and concluded.

So recommended and I just checked and bought not the next book but the Lost Library Omnibus 1-3 for the price of one ebook Lost Library Collection: Books 1-3- there are now 4 books, with a 5th to be published November 1st, 2018.

So, recommended 4 stars it is, a little sex, lots of romance, could have been a little less for me. Action later in the book, and I am more interested in the library, which also was not mentioned enough in this book, hopefully this will change with the next book(s).

(Update a few hours later:)
After looking into the Collection, I skimmed the final chapter (#45 instead of #50) and there was an Epilogue, then I looked at the beginning of chapter 2, and there was the mentioned "two years later" as the time-frame of checking the book. Read the Epilogue and then gave the ebook back to Amazon and bought the single issue ebook of #02 Spirited Legacy, even though I will pay more if I read on, but I wanted an updated version, not knowing wether I will get it or not. Will only buy the other ebooks when I read that one.

So just to be clear: the ebook Collection is cheap, but you get currently not updated versions, while with buying the single ebook issues at some higher price you get the chance for updated version, with the first (lost library) certainly updated as an ebook - which I was lucky to get for free, so at this point I have not spent too much money.

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Review: Nemesis - Verkaufte Unschuld

Nemesis - Verkaufte Unschuld by Stefanie Ross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lent with KU, luckily I did not pay for it, wasted time anyway.
German book, so short review in German:
Nicht empfehlenswert, zu viel Aktion, nicht glaubwürdige Zusamenarbeit, zuviel Familie, zuviel alles.
Könnte 2 sterne vergeben, aber die Idee war ok, war nicht mein Stil, so 3 Sterne aber ausdrücklich nicht empfehlenswert! Werde keine Bücher von dieser Autorin mehr lesen.

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Review: Lost Library

Lost Library by Kate Baray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Got this for free from a BookBub email info.
Liked the blurb and the cover.
Skimming through a few 2star reviews, this might have been updated, they say Lizzy kept the magic for 2 years without deciphering it? It was a much more reasonable 2 months, just checked again, before she gets approached by John.
As the reviews said, World-Building was bit much of an info-dump at times, I agree, but it was not as bad some other books I read.
A little too much self-doubt and too much thinking about romance cost this the 5th star for me. And could have done with a little bit more action early on or in the middle.
It gets better near the end with the settings in London and Prague.
Also, other reviews mentioned a cliff-hanger at the end, I do not see the ending as a cliff-hanger, more a finished book with open threads to lead into the next book. The different problems (kidnapping, magic, etc.) are solved and concluded.

So recommended and I just checked and bought not the next book but the Lost Library Omnibus 1-3 for the price of one ebook Lost Library Collection: Books 1-3- there are now 4 books, with a 5th to be published November 1st, 2018.

So, recommended 4 stars it is, a little sex, lots of romance, could have been a little less for me. Action later in the book, and I am more interested in the library, which also was not mentioned enough in this book, hopefully this will change with the next book(s).

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Review: Was der Nebel verbirgt

Was der Nebel verbirgt by Maximilian Seese
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ausgeliehen mit KU.
Langweilig, Hauptfigur unglaubwürdig, die meisten Wendungen vorhersehbar, diejenigen, die ich nicht vorhergesehen habe, retten das Buch nicht. Genausowenig wie das Setting in UK.
Polizeiprozeduren waren teilweise gut, teilweise völlig neben der Spur (vor allem gegen Ende).
Viel Nebebeikram, der weggelassen werden könnte und nichts zur Geschichte, geschweige denn Spannung (welche Spannung?) beiträgt.
2 Sterne, weil mir keine Fehler aufgefallen sind. Keine Empfehlung. Hab versucht das in FF schnell zu durchblättern. Für KU ok, aber wenn ich das normal bezahlt hätte, hätte ich mich geärgert. Werde wohl kein Buch vom Autor mehr lesen.

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Review: Sturmflut: Ein Fall für Suna Lürssen

Sturmflut: Ein Fall für Suna Lürssen by Kerstin Wassermann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mit KU geliehen.
Nette Story, aber Auflösung am Ende durch einen der Schuldigen, nicht durch Ermittlungen, auch wenn vieles schon vermutet wurde. Ein wenig angedeutete Romanze, könnte auf eine Verbindung in den nächsten Büchern hinauslaufen, oder auch nicht, da die Personen ihre Wohnungen / Büros in unterschiedlichen Orten und Ländern haben.
Werde bei Gelegenheit weitere Bücher der Reihe lesen.
Realistische Beschreibung der Vorgehensweise bei den Ermittlungen, mit etwas Sylt lokal-kolorit.
Solide 3 Sterne, mit Empfehlung, liest sich schnell, gut für ein verregnetes Wochenende.

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Review: The Caller

The Caller by Chris Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trigger warning: torture, very bloody, detailed murders - but for a book about a serial-killer, that is expected, you get what you came for.

Got this cheap (promo price?) as an ebook and read the blurb which pointed to social media, stalking and a serial killer, so obviously a book for me, with the tech up-to-date.
Fast paced page-turner, which was just not worth 5 stars for me, as a lot of times the (short) chapters ended with a cliffhanger, but the next chapter was a different POV or scene. Not always, though.
This interchanging of scenes/pov's sometimes break the stream of reading for me, sometimes not.
A little romance, no sex.
Very gristly murders (expected), a few nice twists, and good ideas.

Instead of "swap", the author uses "swop", never read that before, googled it, as I thought this was an error, and wanted to report it (it is not, the word is used in the same manner and context as swap, I am German, and my english education is heavy on UK, which I prefer, even though most english books I read are in US-english, so pardon my french).
A completely real error is in chapter 64, using a wrong name when a person calls out (in the ebook I own it is currently "Jeffery" when he calls for him, but the person is named "Michael" and I see no reason for the name Jeffery and the name is not used in other parts of the book. Will report that (Kindle), so it can be corrected.

So, imho writing is bit uneven, there might be other places, but still it was good enough.
In catching the killer, one of the detectives (the MC) breaks a few rules and it was the often (too often) case of going after killer alone and getting in a situation where the MC could have been killed. Too obvious that never happens, yawn, so too predictable. One should kill the MC once every other book imho, just to keep the reader guessing.

Recommended 4stars, but as have read one other novel and a short novella from this author, I think, this is one of the better ones (or the author is getting better with each book). Might read other books from this series depending on price (or if I can lend it with KU). Can be read as a standalone, as I did.

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Review: The Caller

The Caller by Chris Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trigger warning: torture, very bloody, detailed murders - but for a book about a serial-killer, that is expected, you get what you came for.

Got this cheap (promo price?) as an ebook and read the blurb which pointed to social media, staling and a serial killer, so obviously a book for me, with the tech up-to-date.
Fast paced page-turner, which was just not worth 5 stars for me, as a lot of times the (short) chapters ended with a cliffhanger, but the next chapter was a different POV or scene. Not always, though.
This interchanging of scenes/pov's sometimes break the stream of reading for me, sometimes not.
A little romance, no sex.
Very gristly murders (expected), a few nice twists, and good ideas.

Instead of "swap", the author uses "swop", never read that before, googled it, as I thought this was an error, and wanted to report it (it is not, the word is used in the same manner and context as swap, I am German, and my english education is heavy on UK, which I prefer, even though most english books I read are in US-english, so pardon my french).
A completely real error is in chapter 64, using a wrong name when a person calls out (in the ebook I own it is currently "Jeffery" when he calls for him, but the person is named "Michael" and I see no reason for the name Jeffery and the name is not used in other parts of the book. Will report that (Kindle), so it can be corrected.

So, imho writing is bit uneven, there might be other places, but still it was good enough.
In catching the killer, one of the detectives (the MC) breaks a few rules and it was the often (too often) case of going after killer alone and getting in a situation where the MC could have been killed. Too obvious that never happens, yawn, so too predictable. One should kill the MC once every other book imho, just to keep the reader guessing.

Recommended 4stars, but as have read one other novel and a short novella from this author, I think, this is one of the better ones (or the author is getting better with each book). Might read other books from this series depending on price (or if I can lend it with KU). Can be read as a standalone, as I did.

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Review: Alex, Approximately

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

No Triggers, imho, so no Trigger Warnings!
YA Romance, sex talked of, a little mentioned, but rather tame.
Felt too long, and as it was big on romance, not really a book for me. A few scenes where suspenseful, but the main story began to drag for me, I think about 60% into the book, too late to DNF, although the ending was as expected. One real problem was well handled (gun), but the problem of the female MC did not really grab me.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3, as it is it was too long and not interesting enough for me. Would have worked for me with 20-30% less pages, or a few other problems.
What saved it, was the wording and use of language, the movie references. This exceptionally well written, a big notch above usual YA romance fare and/or some indie-self-published ones, imho. As it was very hot, I tended to rate it harder, with colder weather I might have rounded up to 4.
As it is, I stand by it, recommended 3star, but am not sure, wether I will read a book by this author again. Have not followed the author anywhere, as I tend to do with other books ( authoralarms, Amazon.de / .com follow this author etc. ).

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