TBR Challenge: Lisa Sandlin - The Do-Right

1959. Delpha Wade killed a man who was raping her. Wanted to kill the other one too, but he got away. Now, after fourteen years in prison, she's out. It's 1973, and nobody's rushing to hire a parolee. Persistence and smarts land her a secretarial job with Tom Phelan, an ex-roughneck turned neophyte private eye. Together these two pry into the dark corners of Beaumont, a blue-collar, Cajun-influenced town dominated by Big Oil. A mysterious client plots mayhem against a small petrochemical company-why? Searching for a teenage boy, Phelan uncovers the weird lair of a serial killer. And Delpha -- on a weekend outing -- looks into the eyes of her rapist, the one who got away. The novel's conclusion is classic noir, full of surprise, excitement, and karmic justice. Sandlin's elegant prose, twisting through the dark thickets of human passion, allows Delpha to open her heart again to friendship, compassion, and sexuality.

Comment: It's July already and time for another TBR Challenge post. The theme for this month is "freedom!" and what came to mind right away was a story with someone gaining freedom, therefore when I realized that this book had a heroine who had just gotten out of prison.... ta-da!

In this book we meet heroine Delpha Wade, who has been in prison for 14 years for manslaughter. Delpha killed a man who had raped her and she just barely missed killing the other one, who had been the father of her rapist. Delpha paid her dues and now is out and she only wants to have  quiet life and for that she needs to have a job which, she is aware, will not be easy to get. Still, somehow, she finds herself getting two, helping with Jessie who is a n old lady in need of a carer for the nights and then becoming the secretary of private investigator Tom Phelan. Delpha is eager to prove her skills and her worth, in spite of her prison record, and she soon finds out that life in Beaumont, Texas, has people being connected in many situations....

It shouldn't be a thing for me to be this interested in protagonists who leave jail and then have to get a whole new life. Still, it seems this is, indeed, a theme I'm interested in and I confess that when I saw the blurb for this, although the labels mention historical fiction and mystery, my first reaction was to assume that Delpha might find love too and that this story would include some romance. 

Sadly for me, it wasn't exactly so and Delpha's journey is really more about her getting back her sense of freedom than anything else. The plot is also more focused on the protagonists solving the little mysteries they need to investigate and not as much on their personal lives. I get it even if it disappoints me a little, but then I've started to become a bit confused because there were plenty of tasks both Delpha and Tom had to do, and I thought this big amount of subjects seemed to be rather random.

Of course, we learn it isn't so and most of the cases they look into are somehow related, even if in a simple manner. We also get to see them deal with little things, in Tom's case, more cases and his personal relationships, and in Delpha's mostly with her other job. Somehow, even these things are connected but things got to a point where I felt lost. The biggest issue for me ended up being the writing style. It's very jarring, not always offering a linear sequence of events and sometimes I was thinking "what does this matter, why is this relevant now?" and many things were certainly too subtle for me to understand.

Thus, my issue with the writing style. This is the first book by this author that I have tried but I think the choice of writing things in the (I suppose) traditional style of the south in the early 1970s, with both expressions and references, made this a complicated task for me in terms of language. I did not understand some things nor how they would be perceived and I think my lack of knowledge was more because of the semantics and expressions than plot issues. It was sometimes frustrating how the characters would go from one scene doing something/thinking a certain idea and in the next paragraph the reference was already about something else.

Due to this, reading the book became like going through a task and it was not fun to get to know these characters as much as I imagined. All personal musings and experiences were shared in such a way that I don't feel compelled to want to know more besides what has been told in this book. I wanted Delpha to go through situations which would validate her past experiences so that she would feel her freedom as something even better than what she tells us. I wanted Tom to be more sensitive to what happened to her and for them to be more clearly a team.

The resolution of the several mysteries and how everything was related was done well enough. I think the bones of this story were great and the many elements were all intriguing on their own. I just didn't really appreciate how the story was told, even though it does seem the writing was competent.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Chad Beguelin - Showmance

Noah Adams’s career as a playwright is circling the drain, thanks to a scorching review of his first Broadway musical. So when a family emergency sends him back to his Podunk hometown of Plainview, Illinois, he figures he’ll hide out for a bit. But to Noah’s horror, his agent has secretly arranged for him to stage an amateur version of the career-ruining musical at the local community theater.
As if trying to work with a bunch of artless amateurs wasn’t enough, Noah runs into Luke, the jerk from his high school years, everywhere he goes. Luke somehow grew up to be beloved by everyone in town…and undeniably gorgeous. As rehearsals begin, Noah is surprised by his cast’s insights, the warmth of the town he’d dismissed, and the reality of what happened with Luke all those years ago. Just how much has Noah misjudged?

Comment: The June theme for the TBR Challenge post is "pride". Supposing any story featuring LGBT characters would be a good pick, I had no difficulty choosing something and this book was already part of my June plans.

In this story we meet Noah Adams, a young playwright whose musical is just about to premiere on Broadway but, sadly, it doesn't have the acceptance he imagined. Thinking his career is done and using the sudden news of his father's heart attack, he and his boyfriend Chase, who also happens to be his agent, travel to his hometown in Illinois where Noah hopes to regroup. In fact, this happens way more quickly than he thought, with his old friends from community theater wanting him to direct his play there, with just a few minor changes.... Is Noah ready to think about who he is as a playwright? Or about why he is the person he his with so many people accepting him even though his father doesn't? What about his old nemesis not being the bully he remembered?

I can't remember where I saw this book being recommended in such a way that I felt I would like to try it myself, but I must have, otherwise it might not have gotten on my radar. The theater world isn't one I gravitate towards in fiction, but I'm not against having plots about it, so I was invested enough in Noah succeeding in his rework to make it worth my time.

The overall plot isn't too complicated. Noah doesn't succeed in his big breakout but he has the chance to redo some of it at a smaller scale in his hometown. Yes, not as prestigious as a Broadway success, but it is a way for him to process some things from his past and to realize that in order to have a successful life doing something you love it is necessary to aim only one direction, although it must be a much harder prospect to imagine in real life.

The plot does touch pretty much all the cliches one can think of while Noah learns his lessons and finally looks at things from another perspective which is not only his. I think all the secondary characters played their roles well (pun intended!) and were entertaining for me to care about them, even if it was at a slight superficial level. In terms of development, both of plot and of secondary characters, I cannot say this was groundbreaking, but all the elements together made for a good story line.

However, my general appreciation of the story isn't that great when I focus on Noah as the protagonist, or on the romance. Noah is likable for the most part but I confess I became tired of how loud he was. I say in the sense that his brain is always on the go, he seems to be witty and sarcastic, clever and active all the time and I got easily distracted by how much attention I had to give to what was happening when Noah was constantly doing something or chatting with someone and thought crazy stuff most of the time. In the beginning I actually disliked him a little but as things progress, this seemed to become a softer element and towards the end I was more invested in his happiness.

When the story begins Noah is happily with Chase and while it seems there is some unbalance between them - Chase is more successful financially - I think the wording and the scenes' description used by the author made it look as if nothing was wrong. This is why I was confused when it also seemed that the romantic love interest was someone else, Luke, who went to school with Noah and now works for Noah's father. I thought that the only way this would work would be for Chase to be taken out of the picture and I think the method was clumsy and avoidable.

I think things would have been more interesting if Chase had not been there from the start and if the author had highlighted the antagonism between Luke and Noah in a different way. The way things are, when Noah starts to notice Luke's interest it seems too odd for what we had been told before and now the author had to find a way to make it obvious that Luke would be the better choice, romantically. I've found this whole thing to be poorly done.

Therefore, the story as a whole is not that bad, it does highlight some interesting themes and situations, mainly the relationship Noah has with his parents and how each one works on its own individual way. But the romance part didn't convince me... to make it even slightly less impressive, the final unrealistic plot choice to solve the distance between Noah making a name for himself in New York and Luke remaining in Illinois just brought the grade down too. So, this wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.

Grade: 5/10

TBR Challenge: Aimie K. Runyan - The Wandering Season

Veronica Stratton, a specialty food broker with a business on the cusp of brilliant success that would change the trajectory of her life, visits her parents in idyllic Estes Park for Christmas. She's fresh from a breakup with her longtime boyfriend, so she's eager to reconnect with her beloved family in the mountains and forget about her troubles for a few days. But with the holiday comes a DNA test from her younger sister that confirms her secret she's adopted. Having the truth out in the open leaves her feeling unmoored in ways she didn't anticipate.
With so much of her life in upheaval, Veronica is looking for an escape. Inspired by her best friend, she plans to go to Europe to see four of the places listed on her DNA ancestry report. She treks to County Mayo in Ireland; the Dordogne region of France; the countryside of Lombardy in Italy, and Copenhagen, Denmark. She hopes to learn about where her family lived while also making connections for her rapidly expanding business, but she finds that each stop brings her visions of her ancestors that raise more questions than they answer. And among those pressing questions is how charming Irish castle keeper Niall Callahan will fit into her visions for the future.

Comment: For the month of may, the TBR Challenge theme is "new beginnings" and I had initially chosen a book which I DNF'd. 

Since I still had time, I've managed to pick another one, out of the titles I had planned for this month, and this book by new author to me, Aimie K. Runyan, seemed a good fit too, since the heroine spends the book traveling to learn more about her roots and by the end of the story she has definitely embarked on a new beginning in her life. 

Veronica is doing well enough in her life but she has recently broken up with her boyfriend, which should have bothered her more than what actually did. Things change when her sister decides to bring a DNA kit and the results prove she had been adopted, something she already knew but which had not affected her relationship with her parents. Still, talking about this makes her curious to know more about where her ancestors came from and that is why she goes on a month trip to Ireland, Italy, France and Denmark. Since she loves working with food, this is the element she seeks first, but is there room for other good things to present themselves in her path too?

In general, I liked this story and was happy enough with the author's writing style (which is positive since there is another book by her I would like to try one day) but I will be honest and say I wasn't easily "immersed" in the story because what I thought the most was that this book was rather boring. 

Veronica has a business in which she provides help to restaurants or similar enterprises although everyone around her thinks she should have her own restaurant. She has never wanted this nor the responsibility since she knows how easy it is for such a dream to go wrong but that doesn't make her feel less successful. Her life has been one of privilege, with her family being well provided financially and emotionally. She has known she is adopted but that never interfered much with her vision of happiness or stability. I did like this, that she wasn't this poor victim or this frustrated villain of her circumstances.

Still, it wasn't truly challenging to read about someone who had it easier for the most part reacting so maturely even though i liked this. Thus, when Veronica is given the chance to travel during her low season at work, with all expanses paid by her father, well, good, but made the logistics seem too easy, too simple. I mean, I would not want a detailed description of every single thing she would do, but this did paint her in a privileged scenario that made me less eager to connect with her.

She then goes to find more about her roots, considering the areas mentioned in the DNA's results, which just happens to be areas out of big city centers. First stop is Ireland (I suppose the gorgeous cover of this book is inspired on that) and from the start, we are introduced to the love interest. I should say this isn't a romance, this is woman's fiction, but this element seemed cute and I did like Niall as a potential partner for Veronica, even more so when we see they share a lot, like their interest in cooking.

From then on, the other places also had their interest, except the place in Denmark which Veronica barely acknowledged, but what was a total fail in all these places was how they were linked to Veronica. I kind of expected more information about how were these places connected to her ancestors, what had happened for people to leave the countries but the explanation was very thin. The author chose to use a magical realism tool, making Veronica have visions of women who are her ancestors. I've found this to be a very poor choice because it seemed to be out of place for the rest of the novel, as if the pieces would not fit properly.

When Veronica finally understands more, connects the dots and has her eureka moment as why this experience mattered and what she might do with her life, I was already a little bored with all the superficial information and how it should be seen, without any character having been properly developed and without it being interesting to see them with more depth, which was lacking. Thus, everything was fine, well presented but not really challenging, not emotionally addictive.

Veronica does have her new beginning in life, in how she sees herself, so I think this was a good element in the book, certainly well achieved. But it wasn't spectacular.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Amy T. Matthews - Someone Else's Bucket List

After the untimely death of her outgoing, hugely successful influencer sister, an introverted woman takes on the terrifying challenge of completing her sister’s bucket list as the world watches, in a bid to save her family—and others—from the crippling medical debt her cancer battle left behind.
My dying wish is for you to finish my bucket list. I refuse to die without knowing this list will be completed. And I refuse to die without knowing my family will be okay . . .
Jodie Boyd is a shy and anxious twenty-something, completely unsure what to do with her life. Her older sister, Bree, is an adventurous, globe-trotting, hugely successful Instagram influencer with more than a million followers. She’s the most alive person Jodie knows—up until Bree’s unfathomable, untimely death from Leukemia. The Boyds are devastated, not to mention overwhelmed with medical debt. But Bree thought of everything—and soon, Jodie is shocked by a new post on her sister’s Instagram feed.
The first of many Bree recorded in secret, the post foretells a jaw-dropping challenge for Jodie: to complete Bree’s very public bucket list. From “Fly over Antarctica,” to “Perform a walk-on cameo in a Broadway musical,” if Jodie does it—and keeps all Bree’s followers—a corporate sponsor will pay off the staggering medical debt. If she gains followers, the Boyds won’t be the only ones to benefit. It’s crazy. It’s terrifying. It’s impossible, immoral even, to refuse. So, despite the whole world watching, Jodie plunges in, never imagining that in death, her sister will teach her how to live, and that the last item on the list—“Fall in love”—may just prove to be the easiest.

Comment: Here we are for another TBR Challenge post. The days do fly by so quickly...

The theme for the month of April is "fool's errand" and I've decided on a book whose main character will finish the bucket list of her recently deceased sister, as a way to pay off the medical bills. I thought this idea to be a little crazy, especially since the tasks aren't easy to imagine being accomplished.

Jodie and her family have lost Bree, her older and adventurous sister. Bree has traveled all over the world and has seen incredible things and had it all posted on social media, making her a very famous influencer. However, cancer doesn't pick people and Bree fought but could not win this battle, meaning her family has been left with a huge debt to be paid. Knowing how this would affect her family, Bree still found the will to prepare things so that, with the help of a flying company, her sister could be sponsored to finish her bucket list and make some publicity about it, and the flying company would pay off what her family owes. The issue is that Jodie has never been an extrovert like her sister and some tasks seem unlikely to be met, such as falling in love, how can Jodie find someone in such a short amount of time?

In spite of the theme, I still had hopes this story would be a sweet story about sisterly love and doing things out of your comfort zone, with Jodie trying her best to finish the tasks and "discovering herself" at the same time. I was not counting on the fact the flying company being so active in Jodie's days... I thought the company would be a viewer like everyone else, and Jodie would need to do most things on her own, with them only facilitating the hard stuff, such as flying over Antartica of course. But no, this story went on to be way more about public exposure than what I imagined.

This is my first book by the author, so no expectation writing wise, and now I can say the style is accessible and pleasant which means that, in general the reading experience was a positive one. However, in my opinion, things drag. There are several passages and situations that happen in a repetitive pattern or include a lot of information/scenes that could have been edited. I think if this had happened, a few details would have been more poignant. For instance, the first three chapters describe Bree's illness and days while battling her disease, which was emotional, yes, but I kept thinking if we really had to have so many pages with something that not only was already established but that we knew how would end...

The bucket list idea seems very silly from a practical POV. It also makes the whole experience a little far fetched because there things in the list that cannot be achieved easily. Still, I had an idea the plot of this book would be for Jodi to find a way to do things on her own, even if that included the company paying her expense in going to the places or buying the "tools" necessary to do it. No, the reality is that someone from the company helps Jodie and deals with all those complicated details... I mean, OK, that should free Jodie to reach personal conclusions easier but the whole things turns into a circus.

I think I understand the point, on how social media takes over one's life and what is there isn't always true or only shows things for value's sake and all that, but while I as reading, although the things Jodie accomplishes and the friendships/acquaintances she forms teach her something, it also kind of made the story feel less serious, considering it happens because someone died. The author does try to highlight this, but I think there were too many distractions for the subject to be taken as seriously as I think it merited.

Romance wise, I liked it where this went, but of course there was a third act problem that made everything seem melodramatic when it didn't have to be. Despite this, I liked what happened between Jodie and her intended and the lessons we were supposed to learn from this novel. I'm also aware of the flaws in this novel, the things that weren't done very correctly, but considering the premise, this is a contemporary fantasy and I could let go of reality to just enjoy reading.

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Rosanne Bittner- Sioux Splendor

Learning that an innocent Native American boy is to hang at the hands of vengeful miners, preacher's daughter Cynthia Wells sets out on the rescue and is amazed when the imprisoned Red Wolf turns out to be a handsome, full-grown man.

Comment: One more month has gone and here we are for another TBR Challenge post! The theme for March is "tropetastic!" and I suppose pretty much any choice would fit somehow, but I've decided to pick a book that would have a trope  - opposites attract - and a certain expectation to it, since it would feature protagonists from different cultures, a Native American and a white woman.

In this book, Cynthia Wells is a young 16 year old who is traveling with her parents and younger brother to the west, where things aren't as "civilized" as back East for her father is a preacher. Everything is a novelty here including the fact there are Indians around and they seem to be dangerous but this doesn't stop her from freeing one, Red Wolf, after seeing how he is treated and tortured. This action has consequences, which change her life and some time later she is kidnapped by other Indians and is taken to Red Wolf, someone very different from what others have said he was. They fall in love and learn to be a couple but the whites would not care that she is now happy and their lives among the Indian community are still in danger. Is there any hope for them to be together?

There will be some spoilers!

Well. This is my first book by the author, and I've gotten the paperback edition from an used books site, some years ago, when I was feeling in the mood for some stories featuring Native American characters. Years have passed, of course, but I thought this might be a good time to try this one, even though it is a book which was published in 1990 and surely this would mean situations/plot choices I'd feel annoyed at, but nothing like trying.

It wasn't great, no, for those reasons exactly. I wasn't as bothered by the racist and xenophobic allusions throughout the novel because I expected those, considering the fact this is an historical and that there's a note on the author's bio at the back claiming she is known for her historical accuracy. What I feel angry at is that, in spite of this, the text (and the characters at times) come across as insensitive, which might be correct for the time the story takes place (late 1800s) and the way of things when this was written (certainly late 80s for this to be published in 1990). Still, I kind of wanted the author to place herself above this, and to showcase compassion, and a little more empathy in how she would write.

Anyway, the plot is pretty much simple, Cynthia and Red Wolf meet when she helps him, there's attraction there but both think they will never see each other again, until she is kidnapped. It turns out that the man kidnapping her isn't the villain she assumes and she reunites with Red Wolf. Her way of seeing things and lifestyle does contrast immensely with what she now needs to do around the other Natives and their families but Cynthia is one of those heroines who adapts easily and their life gets on track.

They fall in love and the many things that should keep them apart don't really matter. Cynthia is ready to be Red Wolf's wife and at this point I felt the romance was more than done but then, we were half way through the book, certainly problems would appear yet... and they do. I think the author's writing style wasn't bad and there were passages/situations in which things were presented in a way that gave me food for thought. The dated aspects of the writing style and the inherent issues related to how one would write about these themes back them were glaring but until a certain point not truly abhorrent. I was not enjoying this exactly, but it wasn't distasteful either.

Then, there's a plot change and Cynthia is taken from Red Wolf after a terrible attack of the whites on the settlement where Cynthia and the others were living. This led to her going back to her family and to need to re adapt to living among "her kind" once more, for her family forces her to go back East, but this time she had another issue to deal with, for she is pregnant and her child will clearly not be like her. I did like that, in this part of the novel, Cynthia seemed to have gained self assurance in who she was and in her feelings, she never renegaded Red Wolf, she loved her child and she proudly assumed him among others.

Years go by and then the story was going towards its end, so now Cynthia is older, more mature and all that and she assumes Red Wolf forgot her so she decides to marry so that she can try to have more children and "move on". At this point, I was certainly rooting for this heroine and when she marries a seemingly good man, running for some political thing, I thought how would the author deal with this, an incredibly dramatic scene in which she sees Red Wolf and her husband martyrs himself so that she can live her eternal love in happiness? Well, the author disappointed me here, very, very badly. Things don't work out between Cynthia and her husband because they don't have a good sex life.

Years in which they are both miserable and why? Well, her husband is actually gay and of course this would not have been easy to accept  and much less to process. But I was still so, so disappointed that Cynthia reacts poorly when she finds out, that the husband is made to seem to "battle a demon" and that when they talk, she is disgusted while keeping his secret at the same time, as if this is the epitome of a good heart! Arghh! How this annoyed me... I mean, I understand the dual setting for this story, the historical content and the 1990 publishing date but.... so, so disappointing.

Anyway, Red Wolf comes back to the picture, they find each other again and get their HEA while the poor husband gives her a divorce which she graciously accepts to be known was caused by her adultery, then he becomes an afterthought and all ends well. There wasn't that much content about Native American culture, only the necessary references here and there, and most things weren't that far out, but... I still finished the book feeling like this was terribly unfair. I was leaning towards a 3 stars grade overall, but the last part really brought it down for me. Oh well.

Grade: 4/10

TBR Challenge: Candice Proctor - Night in Eden

Born wild and free in a comfortable house overlooking the storm-battered cliffs of Cornwall, Bryony Wentworth’s life is shattered when she is accused of killing her husband. Transported as a convict to Botany Bay in 1808, Bryony finds herself in a harsh, unfamiliar land, where almost everything she once held dear—home, freedom, and children—has been taken from her. All she has left are her self-respect and inner strength, and a powerful will to survive.
Assigned to a former cavalry captain with a motherless infant son and a sprawling estate on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, Bryony finds herself facing a life that is simultaneously wild, frightening, and filled with temptation. Captain Hayden St John, the powerful landowner to whom Bryony is given, is a hard man haunted by loss and the ghosts of the past. Yet as he finds himself inexorably drawn to this proud, defiant woman, Hayden slowly comes to realize that she might well prove to be his last chance at salvation.
Set against the ruggedly beautiful landscape of colonial Australia and filled with the memorable characters for which Candice Proctor has become famous, this is a poignant, spellbinding tale of suppressed desire and raw passion, of suffering and triumph and the indomitable spirit of the heart.

Comment: It's time for the TBR Challenge post of February, whose theme is "vintage". What immediately came to mind was a story that would have been published years ago. Should 1997 be considered vintage already? For me it certainly feels like it, since I was a 12 then and while my mental age remains stuck as if I'm still 16, when I was 12 I was still playing with dolls and such so a book from this year certainly feels like it's vintage. Plus, I imagined that it would easily feature a writing style often seen back then, as I have sen in books from the same period.

In this story we meet Bryony Wentworth, a woman accused of killing her husband and, in 1808, her fate was being taken to the penal colony in Australia. She had to leave her small daughter behind and endure a pregnancy on board, which resulted in her baby dying. To make everything worse, life for the convicted women in Australia was not fair, and she is taken to Hayden St John's estate, to be a wet nurse for his son. At first, Bryony can't help but hate everything about her situation, a situation that changes because she ends up bonding with this innocent baby and, after a while, even his father. But her past and situation can't be changed that easily, even if Hayden seems to reciprocate her feelings... is there any hope for a happy life for them?

I was quite curious to see how this plot would develop. I mean, I had some expectations on what possible scenes would be included, considering the premise, but I wondered how the author would deal with the obvious triggers such a plot would lead to, even more so when this is a romance. It's funny, but the "vintage" aspect means that while certain things have always been problematic, many still sounded romantic under certain light. Our contemporary perception changes things, of course.

The story actually starts once Bryony arrives at Botany Bay and is taken to the female prison, which is basically a place where they work like slaves, are mistreated and the men can even pick them to become their servants, and not only for home tasks. Bryony is horrified, just like all the others, but she is "lucky" to be taken by Hayden St John, a widowed man with a baby son who needs a wet nurse. Since Bryony lost her own child, she is the perfect choice, and this also will be the starting point for the establishment of their relationship.

Of course, Hayden isn't like other men and while he feels lust for his new servant, he doesn't act on it and is even amazed and sort of seduced by her defiance and resilience in surviving and enduring all the terrible things she has been going through. The idea is that we, the reader, should feel glad he is not like other men, and that the base for their romance is his acknowledgment of her personality and attributes beyond the psychical. I have read other books with this unbalance and difference in power, so I can say that it doesn't feel "as bad" here, but the point remains: she had no choice. I think this is what really makes this vintage to me because even though I see this, I still wanted to see how the relationship would progress.

Things go on a slow burn for them. There are several situations which would would lead to sex if this were to be an erotica or a careless story, but the author took time to set up the sensation things are taking time to happen and that they are getting used to their thoughts and feelings about one another. Clearly, the point is to highlight how "right" they are supposed to be and to a certain extend, this pays off, which along with the increase of sexual tension, makes the romantic idea of this feel stronger. Analysis aside, though, there were cute and sweet moments among all the more negative details.

As the plot advances, Bryony and Hayden need to deal with several things, some of them related to the secondary characters and what happens to them. Some things were really sad to consider, since some were certainly based on very likely real life situations, but then a surprise is introduced closer to the end and I was not really expecting it, although statistically speaking, bearing in mind the "laws of romance", it was not that out of the possibilities, and I feel this kind of  downgraded things for me. I think the need to create conflict really was unnecessary here, but obviously all worked out.

All things considered, this story was interesting to follow, I liked the psychology of the characters' attitude and personality and, if I had read this years ago I probably would love it even more. I think I can put aside my contemporary notions a bit, and simply appreciate the fantasy of what this tale implies, but yes, it's not that easy to just ignore what feels out of place...

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: JR Ward - Claimed

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project - and becomes a target.
One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?
As the stakes get higher and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, while others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love...or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

Comment: One more year of the TBR Challenge begins!

For the month of January the theme is "still here", which didn't make me think of anything specific at first, but then I remembered I could pick something that still lingers in the pile but that I haven't been in the mood for. With the challenge's prompt, I went for this book by JR Ward, the first of a spin off series which would feature werewolves, thus quite a transition from her usual vampires.

Lydia Susi is a behavior biologist who feels deeply for the safekeeping of wolves and she tries to do her best at the preserve she works for, even though things have been weird lately. To make it worse, there's a hotel chain wanting to do something near the preserve, which Lydia is very vocally against, and this makes her a target. Then, Daniel Joseph arrives, looking for a job and she instinctively trusts him, but everything starts to go wrong, especially when it concerns her boss and the veterinarian, who both seem to be involved in something shady. With Daniel's help,c an Lydia discover what has been happening and what big secrets the others were hiding?

Back in 2005, I've discovered the BDB series by this author and I admit, I was obsessed with the books, the characters, the world, for a few years. I have several books in hardcover when I usually wait for paperbacks. I was a goner for that world and there was a time I felt this author could do no wrong. Well, time goes by and nowadays, while I still appreciate her work, I no longer feel the obsession (obviously others came along).

This said, I was hoping this book would be an interesting take on werewolves or, at least, in something different from the BDB series - whose latest books I haven't read and, honestly, I don't feel I want to -  because if there is one big criticism I ignored but now frustrates me immensely is that the author doesn't let the deserved HEAs rest. Always some issue now needs to be addressed and I don't feel her method works, not anymore. I'm saying this because Xhex and John Matthew from the BDB series have some cameo appearances here, well and a few others, but mainly these, and while thankfully their relationship is as strong, there's some news for Xhex that seem troublesome. I wonder... why? Why having to add this to this new story... it's all so... avoidable.

Anyway, back to the Claimed plot, I had some expectations, and I was particularly eager to see the author develop a werewolf story, but the beginning was quite unassuming and was clearly the author's style, but... where were the werewolves references and characters? There was nothing in the book until the end in which one could say, oh this is definitely a werewolf story. I have learned in the meantime that this is actually the first of a continuous trilogy featuring the same main characters, and not three stories in the same world with different couples, as the author has done in the past.

Well, disappointment. I'm not certain of what to say about this but even putting aside the lack of werewolf content, the story didn't grab me completely, and I admit I've skimmed a few pages here and there to keep going. I kept thinking to myself, a few years ago I would have not done such a thing while reading a book by this author...but the truth is that the plot was slow, somewhat dense and when I got to the end I actually thought this story was, well, unnecessary. Also, there is a certain reveal which seemed to come out of nowhere, I mean, why, how, and no explanation, only apparent fact. I feel this tactic of spring up such a thing at the end without any hint/context/ allusion to anything about it before was incredibly irritating.

I never really saw the reason for why this story had to happen, why it had to make sense... not even the "romance" between Lydia and Daniel convinced me. I was especially annoyed at this when we get to the end, because two things happen, or better, two things are revealed and it's so... urghh, that I truly lost interest and patience in thinking I'd read more with these characters. Adding to this, the preserve vs hotel sub plot was also not very captivating, and I've finished the novel frustrated with several things.

Therefore, why not a lower grade... well, I still feel some pull towards this author's style and way of story telling and I did like some passages and sequences. I also liked the BDB characters showing up even though it felt they didn't have to, and I think the author is still quite skilled in taking things to a seemingly impossible situation and then twisting it around to make things appealing. But did this book work out perfectly for me? No, not really.

I might return to the author one day, who knows, I still have a couple of books by her in the pile but while they are still here, I don't think they are as enthralling as others by her used to be. This book just didn't seem to have enough charisma, and while it was still competently organized and structured, it failed to truly convince me of what the main characters were going through and of what they meant for one another. It is what it is... everyone changes.

Grade: 5/10

TBR Challenge 2026 Sign-Up

One more year beginning and, with it, a new TBR Challenge, hosted by Wendy, the SuperLibrarian!

I'm certainly going to do it again!

Here is the information page: https://wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com/p/tbrchallenge-2026.html

And here are this years' themes:

January 21 - Still Here (a series you've been neglecting, a book by a favorite author you've been saving for a rainy day, unrequited love, second chance or reunion romance etc.)

February 18 - Vintage (Old School, genre classic, etc.)

March 18 - Tropetastic! (Let your trope freak flag fly!)

April 15 - Fool's Errand (some sort of harebrained/desperate/Hail Mary kind of motivation for one of the main characters, fake relationship/engagement etc.)

May 20 - New Beginnings (Starting over, first book in a series, characters coming off divorce / bad relationship etc.)

June 17 - Pride (LGBTQ+, prideful main character etc.)

July 15 - Freedom! (main character escaping "something," books set during period of political change - pick a war, suffrage, Civil Rights Movement etc.)

August 19 - Backlist Banger (book that's been in your TBR a long time, backlist title by favorite and/or prolific author etc.)

September 16 - Lush Life (some definitions of lush = luxuriant, thriving, prosperous, savory, drunkard, curvaceous. Run with it folks!)

October 21 - The Hunt (thriller, romantic suspense, Gothic, paranormal, fantasy etc.)

November 18 - Wrath (revenge, vengeance, a struggle of some sort, angry characters)

December 16 - Wild Card (unpredictable characters, random "free pick" from your TBR etc.)

Good luck if you are participating!

Join, if you are thinking about it!

Happy reading!

Oh, and the image belongs to Wendy ;)