Started the month looking forward to meeting my American family in Florida. The month ended locked down in France, plenty of time for reading and writing.
Dorelle’s Journey (The Cloud Lands Saga Book 1)
Hannah Steenbock
A nice tale of a warrior girl (Dorelle) and her fighting, talking and thinking dragon.
Dorelle is a Dragon Rider, Mashira is her dragon. They have a different concept of duty to the commander of the Wing they belong to. To save Mashira’s life they have to run. Then things get worse, safety or duty?
A nice read, nothing deep, no hidden messages but fun
4 Stars
Magical Miss Morgan
Michael Beyer
Miss Morgan is one of those teachers that inspire, that is until the Wee People from the Kingdom of Tellosia turn up. Then things go to pot!
Attempts at getting her sacked and physical threats. A conflict with her boyfriends daughter. And fairies.
The Norwall Pirates, are there to help of course, this is a Michael Bayer book! Even if their involvement is always positive!
Fun easy reading, with lots of little moral messages either hidden away or slapping you around the face.
4 Stars
The Imposter’s Inheritance (Glass and Steele Book 9)
C.J. Archer
Maybe this should be a Glass and Glass book … Miss Steele has been Mrs Glass for quite a while.
Matt and India become embroiled in the theft of a magical gold coronet and the machinations of Lord Coyle. There are plenty of suspects for the crime all with good alibis for the time of the crime. After a lot of investigation they manage to solve the crime … and Lord Coyle?
Nice writing lots of little sub-plots with well drawn minor characters to help keep you reading. I rather enjoyed this one
4 Stars
This Won’t End Well
by Camille Pagán
Spoiler alert … it did.
Written as a diary with e-mail correspondence between the characters this story is about a failing human, in a failing romance, part of a failed family. Annie Mercer loses her job after complaining of sexual harassment. Annie’s best friend becomes obsessed with selling health supplements, instead of being a pal in her hour of need. Her boyfriend hightails it to France when they should be wedding planning.
Enter a new neighbour, followed by a detective, a violent lover … or is it. Annie has a new interest in life … Even Annie’s depressed mother has a new interest in life.
The plot swings between obvious to rather silly as it goes along. The only character that you really get to know is the rather wobbly heroine, Annie. I am sure in real life the other people in the story have more depth than gets into the diary.
Fun but rather empty.
I’ll give it 3 Stars
The Harlech Beach Killings: A Snowdonia Murder Mystery Book 2
The Snowdonia Killings: A Snowdonia Murder Mystery Book 1
by Simon McCleave
DI Ruth Hunter, a refugee from the Metropolitan Police (a London cop) takes up a new job in Wales, or a fictional country that has Welsh named places randomly distributed (and sometimes randomly spelt) across the landscape.
Ruth is on the run from the horror of London crime and the loss of her lover, who got on a train and is never seen again, despite checking the CCTV at every station.
Her partner in crime solving is an alcoholic Detective Sergeant with a huge need for a vodka breakfast that no one has noticed …
Both stories are Murder whodunits that lay lots of false trails about and are fundamentally good stories, except our damaged twosome manage to destroy rather of innocent(ish) lives as they bark up the wrong trees.
In the second story Ruth has a new relationship … but I guess it is doomed as she is still in love with her missing partner.
Not impressed
2 Star pot boilers
THE SPICE MAN OF CASABLANCA (Tea and Scones at the Canal Side Cafe’ Book 1)
by Maggie Morley
Two interchangeable young girls go on a cruise. One pulls the Third Officer, the other the man from the British Consulate. How did the man from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office get involved? The Spice Man deals in other things.
Sadly there is little more to the plot. There are lots of changes of clothing, a plentiful descriptions of items on the menu and people who get introduced and disappear for ever.
Not Classified