Book Review: Last Hit by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

At my job, we have a type of project that is easy enough that I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks while I work on it. This time around, I chose to listen to this audiobook. It kept me riveted and engaged, but when things got hot in the book, I felt a little nervous listening to it in the office. Talk about some heat.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A sheltered young woman leaves her home to live on her own and becomes involved with a mysterious Ukrainian who has ties with a dangerous Russian mafia group. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Immersive Entertainment
Though my first audiobook was fun but not magical, and I have to say…I loved this one. I loved that the readers used a Russian accent when reading from Nikolai’s point of view. I also enjoyed the fact that there were two people reading, one for each character’s point of view.

Living Under a Rock
Daisy is really naive. Really, really naive. But it works in this book because she’s been extremely sheltered and so is weirdly awkward. Her father has kept her under his thumb for years, having turned paranoid and agoraphobic after the murder of his wife. But Daisy wants more, and so after some sneaky planning, she manages to run away to live in an apartment with a roommate. Because I could understand why she had no social skills, her awkwardness and the fact that she was clueless about many things weren’t as annoying as they might have been otherwise.

Keeping Tabs
Nikolai starts out a little creepy, but he’s so endearing that I didn’t actually care that he was peeping on Daisy. He’s an assassin and part of a Russian bratva, but he’s also damaged from his youth. So when he actually has feelings for Daisy, it’s classically trope-ish and really romantic. He wants to protect her, she wants her independence, and this brings some great conflict.

Of course Nikolai doesn’t tell her he’s a killer for hire, and his secrets start to get a little out of hand. But he tries to maintain normalcy by taking her out on dates and buying her nice things…things she doesn’t want him to buy because they cost so much, of course. But he does it anyway. He’s also there to rescue her in a few situations, so props for some damsel in distress situations that make sense considering Daisy’s lack of world experience.

Sex & Violence
This is a darker romance, dealing with mafia and murder and heroines in danger. I loved this blend and thought it was well balanced. There was suspense in the fact that I knew at some point Nikolai’s profession would get Daisy into trouble. It was just a matter of it actually happening. Then when it did, I got all worked up waiting for Nikolai to figure it out and go save her. There are some dark themes. While Daisy isn’t raped, another character is, and there is quite a bit of violence.

The Romance Factor
I got the same heart feels from this one that I get from a really great book I’ve read visually. Nikolai’s desire to protect Daisy is amazingly sweet, and Daisy’s worry that everything she says or does is wrong is kind of adorable. I know, it sounds like  it could get really annoying, but it’s not. 5/5

The Steam Factor
While the sex doesn’t overpower the plot, the sexy times are definitely tantalizing. Daisy’s a virgin at the beginning, but it doesn’t seem to take long for her to jump on the dirty talk/dirty times train. 5/5

Final Thoughts
This was a great story with narrators that I really enjoyed. When it comes to audiobooks, the voices reading the story play a huge part in the experience. I’m going to listen to this whole series, including the book I’d already read (which I loved, so it won’t be a chore to enjoy it again). This one is written by 2 authors I like, and I feel that when they collaborate, romantic magic is made.

Goodreads Review: Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

I finished this book during my recent trip up north to the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop for some hardcore yarn shopping and friend time. You know it’s a good weekend when you get to chill with cool people, buy a ton of yarn, and finish a good book. This one reminds me of my mom, but only because it reminds me of Val McDermid’s crime novels, and my mom got me hooked on those. I think she’ll really enjoy this one. My mom, I mean. Not Val McDermid. Though maybe Val will enjoy it too. The book comes out on June 2, 2015, so put in a request at your local library. 

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Mystery/crime drama isn’t my first choice of genre, but the premise of Eeny Meeny intrigued me, so I requested it and am so glad I got approved.

It starts with a young couple, then a pair of work associates, then a mother and daughter – people are disappearing in twos. Days later, one of them emerges, starved and sick. During their captivity, the victims are given a gun and a choice: shoot the other and be set free or die a slow, painful death from starvation. It falls to Helen Grace and her team to solve the mystery and apprehend the criminal. Pretty straightforward, right?

There were a lot of things that made this book enjoyable for me. I tend to give simplified plot synopses anyway, but in this case I’m doing so because I don’t want to give too much away. However, the writing and plot were solid. The author details the captivity of the victims in horrific detail (some of that detail made me uncomfortable, which raises its “awesome” factor) but not so much that the story drags. It keeps its pace with the main plot and the side plots of which there are a few, all of which intertwine through the main story with ease.

The characters were great. Helen Grace is a strong female character, but she’s also strongly damaged and comes with some painful quirks. The side characters, while taking a backseat to Grace and those involved in the crimes, are given their own personalities and lives that emerge throughout the book. By the end, I had a sense that I knew them, was involved with them, and even shattered with the ones who get dealt the trauma. My investment in this group was worth it…the payoff at the end of the book is good and sets things up for more in this series.

The writing was strong and the story well-paced. There were only two things I took issue with. The first was in the formatting more than the writing. There were no breaks when the scene shifted, so it was sometimes hard to easily discern when the setting and characters had changed. However, I think that was more an ARC format problem than a problem with the author’s presentation.

The second thing was the weirdly added romantic/sexual aspect to the story. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and I had to go back to make sure I hadn’t missed a chapter or two leading up to when it starts. As someone who loves a good romance and tends to prefer romantic interludes in all the books I read, I actually didn’t feel like this one was needed. It seemed a little forced and out of place, though not jarring enough to throw the whole story off.

If you like crime novels, definitely give this one a try. It reminded me of Val McDermid’s novels, and that’s a good comparison. Helen Grace could be the new favorite read of gritty/graphic crime lovers.

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Book Review: The Burning (by Jane Casey)

If you’ve ever seen “Wire in the Blood” or read the book series the show was based on, the Maeve Kerrigan series reminds me of those. Granted, I’ve only read this one, but I kept going back to those. Having said that, this one stood on its own as an entertaining novel, so while there are similarities, don’t let those dictate your decision to read…or not to read…this. 

The Burning by Jane Casey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Someone recommended the Maeve Kerrigan series to me awhile back, but I already had a long reading list. So when this one came available for me on NetGalley, I only realized after I started it that it was the series a fellow reader had said was good.

In this first book of the series, Maeve Kerrigan is trying to find a serial killer dubbed The Burning Man, so named because he sets his victims on fire when he’s done with them. But something seems weird in the latest murder. Though it matches the MO of the killer, Kerrigan believes the circumstances are different. She sets out to solve the mystery behind the murder of a young woman with a strange drug problem, a possessive ex-boyfriend, and an idolizing best friend.

Though it takes extra effort for me to pick up a mystery/crime drama, I’m planning on reading more books in this series. I really enjoyed this story. The writing was good and not dense with legal jargon. I enjoyed the way the author told the story, using the points of view from several different characters in different chapters.

I solved the mystery quickly, but that didn’t mean the read wasn’t fun. It was still a good book that kept me engaged through to the reveal. I also enjoyed many of the side characters, and I’m interested to see how relationships develop in later books. This reminded me of a lighter version of the books that inspired the “Wire in the Blood” series, and while there wasn’t a great deal of gratuitous violence, there was enough disturbing imagery to deliver some reader chills.

I’m giving this four stars since the mystery was apparent and because I think there’s definitely room for the author to grow with the characters. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series.

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