Take Me Down

Take Me Down (Knight Brothers #3)- Carly Phillips
Amazon Digital Services
Release Date: June 11, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Parker Knight is merely existing.

Emily Stevens is trying to start over.

He didn’t plan to meet her.

She wasn’t looking for someone like him.

With Parker stranded in the small mountain town, his path collides with Emily's reigniting desires they'd both long forgotten. 

Opposites don’t merely attract … they combust.

Can two damaged people living in different worlds find a reason to stay together before their time runs out?

____________________________________________________

Parker Knight has merely been existing since the accidents that took his skiing career and his fiancée- working behind a desk at the family firm because he feels like he owes his brother and has no other plan.  When he gets stranded in a tiny mountain town in Colorado he finds more than just a bed and breakfast: he finds Emily Stevens.  Emily is going through the motions, putting her own plans on hold to try and help her father with a rundown B&B.  She's learned the hard way not to trust city slickers and instantly dislikes Parker on sight.  But spending time together might be just what each of them need.

Take Me Down is possibly one of the best Carly Phillips books I've read in awhile.  Both Parker and Emily really spoke to me as people who have either put their own lives on hold to help loved ones or who have stopped looking for what makes them happy because they worry they don't deserve happiness.  It doesn't take long for them to recognize in each other emotionally damaged kindred souls.  What was great (for me as a reader) was that they recognized that in themselves, not just each other.  Parker in particular was refreshingly emotionally honest with himself once on an enforced vacation. 

The chemistry between Parker and Emily was instant and exciting and fortunately they didn't fight it for too long.  Both go in thinking this is a brief vacation fling, but are surprised to discover deeper feelings and emotional connections. It was ironic that as open and honest as they were, communicating fears and pain that they never shared with anyone else, neither was willing to talk about the elephant in the room: if a city slicker and small town baker love each other, how do they make it work long-term?

A light, fun, emotional deep and satisfying, fast-paced read, Take Me Down will thrill long time Carly Phillips fans and be a great introduction for newcomers to a consistently delightful author!

I received and ARC of this book from BookSprout in exchange for an honest review

Ayesha At Last

Ayesha At Last- Uzma Jalaluddin
Berkley/Penguin Random House
Release Date: June 4, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead! 

Synopsis: Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn't want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid, who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and who dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.

When a surprise engagement is announced between Khalid and Hafsa, Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and the unsettling new gossip she hears about his family. Looking into the rumors, she finds she has to deal with not only what she discovers about Khalid, but also the truth she realizes about herself.

_______________________________________________________________

In this latest retelling of Jane Austen's classic Pride & Prejudice, Ayesha is trying to get her life on track  and balance a modern Muslim life with her extended family's pressure to marry traditionally.  Khalid is trying to balance his conservative beliefs and his overbearing mother's need to run everything with pressure from workplace friends and enemies to change who and what he is.  When they meet, Ayesha and Khalid are attracted, but also dislike each other.  Assumptions are made, identities are mistaken, and Ayesha and Khalid both have to face some uncomfortable truths before they can choose their paths forward.

 Ayesha is easily relatable and lovable. She is a woman who sees herself balancing between two worlds and cultures, modern and traditional, Eastern and Western.  She has dreams of traveling and writing poetry but is practical enough to get a job she doesn't like as a substitute teacher for the sake of her family.  Always compared to her spoiled and flighty younger cousin Hafsa, Ayesha is expected to do the right thing, be sensible, and no one in the family seems to wonder if she is ever lonely or regrets giving up her dreams.  Khalid is harder to get to know- both for us as the reader and for other characters.  He is quiet, lacks all social skills, and when he does speak he inevitable puts his foot in his mouth.  Instead of being the proud Darcy who knows himself and rules his world, Khalid has been shaped by his conservative, overbearing mother and his only act of rebellion seems to have been to stay in touch with his older sister after she is banished by their mother.  When he stops thinking and just acts he can be sweet and charming, and that is the man Ayesha slowly begins to fall for.  I really liked watching both characters slowly grow and try to find themselves, and there are some great moments of realization that happiness comes from figuring out who you are, and can't rely on anyone else.

Ayesha At Last introduces the reader to the colorful (and often chaotic) world of large Indian Muslim families. Nonstop descriptions of food, clothes, music and more engage all the senses and immerse the reader into this delightful book by debut author Uzma Jalaluddin.  It is full of humor, wit, and fun as well as facing serious issues of prejudice, family expectations, and balancing different cultures and traditions. Jalaluddin is a natural storyteller, and Ayesha rarely reads like a debut novel.  Surprisingly, the times it becomes most forced or clunky tend to be in scenes most reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice. Quotes (or near quotes) from Austen are stilted and tended to take me out of the rhythm of the book.  Sometimes it felt like Ayesha was trying to force too many things into it. But as a whole, Ayesha At Last is a wonderful story of self discovery, a sweet romance, and an emotional triumph.  Fans of Sonali Dev's Austen retelling Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, the crazy meddling families in Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians and Nalini Singh's Rebel Hard and charming romances in general will rejoice in Uzma Jalaluddin's Ayesha At Last.  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Wolf Rain

Wolf Rain (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 3)- Nalini Singh
Berkley/Penguin Group
Release Date: June 4, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Kidnapped as a young girl, her psychic powers harnessed by a madman, Memory lives a caged and isolated existence...until she comes face-to-face with a wolf. Labelled an empath by her bad-tempered rescuer, Memory knows that her 'gift' is nothing so bright. It is a terrible darkness that means she will always be hunted.

But Memory is free now and she intends to live. A certain growly wolf can just deal with it.

Alexei prefers to keep his packmates at bay, the bleak history of his family a constant reminder that mating, love, hope is not for him. But Memory, this defiant and fearless woman who stands toe-to-toe with him awakens the most primal part of his nature--and soon, he must make a choice: risk everything or lose Memory to a murderous darkness that wants to annihilate her from existence...

__________________________________________________________

The third book in Nalini Singh's Trinity series, Wolf Rain continues to explore life after the fall of Silence.  Humans, Changelings, and Psy are learning how to co-exist in this new world but are also learning more about the dark secrets kept under Silence, and some of what drove the ruling Psy to instigate Silence in the first place.  Many Psy have finally admitted that what it comes down to is: for every power there is a price.  As a whole, the psychic race wanted to see themselves as superior to humans and changelings, but weren't willing to admit there was a price that they needed to pay, or a balance that must be struck.  Ignoring the high rate of psychopaths and killers in their midst seemed like a small price to pay for control.  With the fall of Silence, those psychopaths have a harder time hiding from the rest of the world. 

Memory has been held prisoner by a psychopath since she was a child.  Discovered by SnowDancer Alexie, she must learn to control her Empathic abilities and become strong enough to save herself from the killer who wants to reclaim her.  Memory is a delightful character who, when given the chance, fully embraces her new life.  She may consider herself dark and damaged, but to the reader (and Alexie) she is soft, strong, and caring, light and sparkles.  She learns what makes her happy and she goes for it.  Alexie is a wolf who tries to hold himself apart from others, afraid his family's darkness has infected him as well.  He decided a long time ago to never mate, and when we meet him in the beginning of Wolf Rain he is grieving and in pain from losing his beloved big brother.  But his intentions can't stand up to Memory and he finds himself in love with her before he quite realizes what's happened. One thing he knows for sure- the killer hunting Memory is going to have to get through him to have her.

As usual, Singh does a wonderful job of blending a personal story with the story of the evolving world she has built.  Memory is an unusual E, and it takes a long time for anyone to figure out exactly what it is she can do.  She has to try and find her place in the post-Silence world, as an individual and also as an E trying to help her people.  Without humans, changelings, and strong empaths in the PsyNet, the Psy as a whole are in danger of extinction.  With the end of Ocean Light readers might be surprised that the next Trinity book doesn't follow the idea of bringing humans and Psy closer together- but don't worry, as always Singh has tricks up her sleeve to surprise and delight the reader and bring her characters (and world) together in unexpected but perfect ways.

Wolf Rain is a wonderful addition to the Psy/Changeling world, and will fill readers with all of the emotions they could want.  We get to see old friends from previous books and watch new bonds form.  Readers new to the series shouldn't have trouble figuring out what's going on, although having read at least Ocean Light and Silver Silence will help you appreciate some of the nuances.  I defy any first time reader who picks up Wolf Rain to not immediately fall in love and need to read all of SIngh's Pay/Changeling books- and then wait on the edge of their seat with the rest of us to discover where Singh will take us next! 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 

Endeavour

Endeavour: The Ship and the Attitude That Changed the World- Peter Moore
Farrar, Strauss & Giroux/MacMillan
Release Date: May 14, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: The Enlightenment was an age of endeavors, with Britain consumed by the impulse for grand projects undertaken at speed. Endeavour was also the name given to a collier bought by the Royal Navy in 1768. It was a commonplace coal-carrying vessel that no one could have guessed would go on to become the most significant ship in the chronicle of British exploration.

The first history of its kind, Peter Moore’s Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is a revealing and comprehensive account of the storied ship’s role in shaping the Western world. Endeavour famously carried James Cook on his first major voyage, charting for the first time New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia. Yet it was a ship with many lives: During the battles for control of New York in 1776, she witnessed the bloody birth of the republic. As well as carrying botanists, a Polynesian priest, and the remains of the first kangaroo to arrive in Britain, she transported Newcastle coal and Hessian soldiers. NASA ultimately named a space shuttle in her honor. But to others she would be a toxic symbol of imperialism.

Through careful research, Moore tells the story of one of history’s most important sailing ships, and in turn shines new light on the ambition and consequences of the Age of Enlightenment.

___________________________________________________________________

Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is the story behind the humble little ship that is best remembered as the ship that took Captain James Cook on his first major journey of exploration.  A humble collier (ship that carried coal), with many lives and many names, as Endeavour she circumnavigated the globe, survived coral reefs, and mapped New Zealand.

In his book, Peter Moore goes into carefully researched and detailed accounts of not only the building of Endeavour (first called (Earl of Pembroke) but also the Age of Enlightenment in which it was built and how that affected many of her crew: scientists and naturalists like Dr Solander and Joseph Banks (students of Carl Linnaeus) and Navy man James Cook himself.  While the bulk of the book is spent on Cook's voyage Moore also gives fascinating details behind Endeavour's final incarnation: as the Earl of Sandwich bringing Hessian troops across the Atlantic and serving as a prison galley off of Newport during the American Revolution. 

Quotes from letters, Navy lists, and journal entries bring each of Endeavour's incarnations into vivid life and Moore's detailed accounts do a fantastic job of making the reader feel as if they are a part of the crew, sharing the triumphs and terrors along with the sailors.  Moore also does an excellent job of recognizing Endeavour as the symbol for so many of imperialism and conquest, and he pulls no punches in acknowledging the death and destruction European explorers in general, and Endeavour in particular, brought to the Pacific Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.  

It did take me about a hundred pages to really get into Endeavour.  Moore begins his study of the ship from acorn on, including studies of the variety of oaks in England and which ones were considered best for ship building, the history of the little town of Whitby where Endeavour was first built, the lives of the men behind her design and construction, and even the Enlightenment-era thinking behind the term "endeavour" itself.  All of which was very interesting in small doses- but Moore reached virtually James Michener level details from beginning on for each of these subjects.  Once things got going and Endeavour was out to sea the book picked up pace.  Full of interesting facts on the science, philosophy, politics, and maritime history of the age, Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is an excellent read for history lovers, those interested in exploration, and maritime history.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Unhoneymooners

The Unhoneymooners- Christina Lauren
Gallery Books/Simon and Schuster
Release Date: May 14, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

_____________________________________________________________

Olive Torres is the unlucky twin, the pessimist, the one who looks for how it can all go wrong and plan accordingly. But she doesn't consider the possible downsides of her twin's wedding being funded exclusively through a series of free contest wins.  This means a lime green bridesmaid dress and a huge seafood buffet that she can't eat because she's allergic to shellfish.  What she also doesn't consider is: do you really want to eat free seafood? Halfway through the wedding toasts the answer to that is: no when the entire seafood eating wedding party gets violent food poisoning.  Ami wants Olive to pretend to be her and take the free Maui honeymoon, Ami's husband Dane says the same to his brother Ethan.  Is a free ten day trip to Maui worth pretending to be married to someone you hate?

The Unhoneymooners is a fast paced comedy that hits the ground running with Ami's wedding and shows right off all the differences between the twins. Ami is organized, Olive goes with things as they need to happen; Ami is focused on winning things for free, Olive prefers not to wear a hideous bridesmaid dress just because it is free.  Olive believes she has bad luck- crazy things always happen to her instead of others, she was laid off two months ago and still hasn't gotten a new job, and now she's paired with Ethan Thomas in the wedding party.  She's convinced Ethan hates her, which is a problem since he's her new brother-in-law.  The two bicker and snark at each other constantly.  But neither are willing to turn down a free trip to Maui just because they have to pretend to be married. The fake honeymoon is like the wedding: a comedy of errors and a series of problems that end up showing Olive and Ethan that whatever they feel for each other, it isn't hate.  But can they keep the vacation romance going when they're home and surrounded by real life?

This was my first book by Christina Lauren, but certainly won't be my last. It was laugh out loud hysterical (don't read this book in public!), touchingly sweet and romantic, and heartbreakingly sad all in turns.  Even assuming Olive and Ethan will get over the fight at the end, you hurt for Olive having to go through it- although I was also super proud of Olive for pointing out to Ethan during his big gesture apology that he had hurt her and that wasn't something a ridiculously romantic moment could fix, and equally happy with Ethan for agreeing with her. Both of them grow throughout the book and are surprised by it, which I liked, and even the secondary characters like Ami and Dane had enough character and depth to make them real and impactful (which not all authors can/will do).  

A bit of a Pride and Prejudice comedy of errors, The Unhoneymooners is sweet and sassy, fun and funny, and an absolute must read!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Pride, Prejudice, & Other Flavors

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors- Somali Dev
William Morrow/Harper Collins
Release Date: May 7, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: It is a truth universally acknowledged that only in an overachieving Indian American family can a genius daughter be considered a black sheep.

Dr. Trisha Raje is San Francisco’s most acclaimed neurosurgeon. But that’s not enough for the Rajes, her influential immigrant family who’s achieved power by making its own non-negotiable rules:

·       Never trust an outsider

·       Never do anything to jeopardize your brother’s political aspirations

·       And never, ever, defy your family

Trisha is guilty of breaking all three rules. But now she has a chance to redeem herself. So long as she doesn’t repeat old mistakes.

Up-and-coming chef DJ Caine has known people like Trisha before, people who judge him by his rough beginnings and place pedigree above character. He needs the lucrative job the Rajes offer, but he values his pride too much to indulge Trisha’s arrogance. And then he discovers that she’s the only surgeon who can save his sister’s life.

As the two clash, their assumptions crumble like the spun sugar on one of DJ’s stunning desserts. But before a future can be savored there’s a past to be reckoned with...

A family trying to build home in a new land.

A man who has never felt at home anywhere.

And a choice to be made between the two.

_____________________________________________________________

Loosely based on Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice, Somali Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors centers around Dr. Trisha Raje, a talented neurosurgeon from a powerful Indian family, and DJ Caine, a chef specializing in Indian/French fusion foods who dropped everything and moved to California when he discovered his little sister had a terminal diagnosis of a brain tumor.  When Trisha says she can operate on Emma and save her life- but not her sight- DJ should be thrilled.  And he is. Except he hates the arrogant and privileged Dr. Raje, Emma refuses to have the surgery, and the only way he can earn enough to pay the bills is by catering a series of major events- for Trisha's family.  Both have pasts they need to deal with if they can have futures, but pain from the past doesn't let go easily.

Perhaps even more than Austen's original, a fitting alternative title for this book could be First Impressions.  Trisha makes a poor first impression on DJ without even realizing it, and everything she does after that only makes her worse in his eyes.  As is typical for doctors, Trisha is proud of how good she is at her work- occasionally almost to the point of arrogance.  It especially seems that way because while she's great with brains, she's not as good with people.  She claims to have emotional blindness, and never really feels comfortable interacting with anyone on a social level. What she really seems to have is a lack of confidence in herself for anything outside of her work.  Having trusted her roommate in college only to have that roommate harm Trisha's older brother means she's less likely to trust her judgment when it comes to people.  She has spent her entire life since then making herself pay for her mistake, and mourning the fact that it destroyed her relationship with her family.

DJ Caine is a loving older brother and a genius in the kitchen.  He knows the value of family- and little sister Emma is all the family he has left.  He also knows the importance of good impressions and getting along with others no matter how he feels.  DJ prides himself on his calm and friendly attitude when inside he's a mass of anger and unresolved issues from a hard childhood, and carries a chip on his shoulder the size of a continent but doesn't seem to be aware of it.  One poor encounter with Trisha and he allows all his anger and frustration to focus on her: a woman he sees as arrogant, entitled, and oblivious to others in her perfect ivory tower with her perfect family and no problems ever.

I found Trisha and DJ to be characters I sympathized with but at the same time couldn't always like.  DJ in particular I had a hard time liking for his harsh and judgmental attitude towards Trisha, although he seems to give everyone else plenty of chances.  Both characters were compelling, and complicated, but sometimes Dev's writing of them seemed inconsistent. For example, Trisha's comment that DJ overheard is one that jarringly doesn't sound at all like her, and she never remembers saying it so we never find out what she was thinking when she said it.  The secondary characters felt, for the most part, rather 2-dimensional.  They were there to make things complicated for the main characters and occasionally impart words of wisdom, but felt uneven to me.  Trisha's family claims they understand her and her awkwardness with people, but then never seem to take that into consideration when dealing with her.  It's hard to tell if they say and do things to make her feel bad because that's how she interprets them or because that's what is happening. 

Even when I wasn't always sure I liked the characters, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors was a book I had a hard time putting down.  Fast-paced and complicated, Somali Dev mixes together flavors of a variety of cultures and individuals to create a compelling, vibrant story.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Tightrope

Tightrope- Amanda Quick
Berkley Publishing
Release Date: May 7, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but things are not going well. After spending her entire inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns too late that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered by his robot invention during a sold-out demonstration, rumors circulate that the curse is real. 

In the chaotic aftermath of the spectacle, Amalie watches as a stranger from the audience disappears behind the curtain. When Matthias Jones reappears, he is slipping a gun into a concealed holster. It looks like the gossip that is swirling around him is true—Matthias evidently does have connections to the criminal underworld. 

Matthias is on the trail of a groundbreaking prototype cipher machine. He suspects that Pickwell stole the device and planned to sell it. But now Pickwell is dead and the machine has vanished. When Matthias’s investigation leads him to Amalie’s front door, the attraction between them is intense, but she knows it is also dangerous. Amalie and Matthias must decide if they can trust each other and the passion that binds them, because time is running out.

_________________________________________________________________

Tightrope is the third book in Amanda Quick's new 1930s historical series (The Other Lady Vanishes, The Girl Who Knew Too Much), set in the glamorous small town of Burning Cove. Like many of Burning Cove's residents, Amalie is trying to reinvent herself.  She survived attempted murder by a serial killer and is ready for the quiet life of an innkeeper.  All she has to work with is her aunt Hazel and the steely determination to make her new venture successful.  When possible mobster Matthias Jones shows up to investigate the murder of her first (and only) guest, Amalie sees nothing but trouble unless the case gets solved quickly, so she makes sure to be part of the investigation.  Matthias (long-time readers of Quick will cheer to see a return of the Jones family) may be trained as an engineer but his particular talent is in knowing the truth when he hears it- making him ideal in discovering the truth behind the murder.  Sadly, being a human lie detector can make romantic relationships awkward to say the least.  He's shocked when Amalie doesn't seem bothered by his talent, and knows he needs to see where the attraction between them can lead.

Matthias is a great addition to the Jones family tree, and Quick's heroes in general.  He's intelligent, cynical, conspiracy-minded, a great liar, and knows a good thing when he sees one.  I thought it was sweet that he also shows a bit more vulnerability than others, or maybe Amalie just sees that vulnerability more.  Amalie is a quietly strong and brave woman willing to start over as many times as she needs to and to fight for what is hers.  She and Matthias are a great fit, even if it takes them a little while to figure it out.  I also enjoyed seeing more of reputed mob boss Luther Pell in Tightrope. As a secondary character he's been growing throughout the series and gets to have some truly shining moments here- as well as turning some of the reader's preconceived ideas on their heads!

The plot is a complicated mix of spies, government secrets, revenge, and greed that Quick weaves together into a seamless and intricate whole with even more than her usual storytelling talent.  Snappy dialogue, sharp wits, and quirky characters may be Quick's stock in trade, but Tightrope felt to me like  Quick is becoming even more comfortable in her new era of 1930s golden-age glamor. Tightly written and delightfully complex, Tightrope will thrill Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz fans and the beautiful art deco cover will hopefully entice a new group of readers to the wonderful world of Burning Cove.