Tag: romantic suspense

This Chick Read: Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade #1) by Christina Dodd

Dead Girl Running is a gripping, fascinating story about a woman who has run from her past and completely changed the direction of her life. She is now Kellen Adams, an assistant manager of a remote resort in the Pacific Northwest. When her predecessor’s body is found on the property she finds herself investigating the crime and drawing on all of her past and present talents to find the killer.

Kellen was such an interesting character! Through flashbacks we find out she had a different name and was in a bad relationship. When she left that persona behind she became Kellen Adams and through that change gained her strength and fought an internal battle to become a stronger person. Kellen went through some trauma where she lost a year of her life and as this mystery unravels, so does her memory. Through those flashbacks we saw her past, but I really enjoyed discovering who she is now.

Kellen’s head trauma caused her to become a little robotic. She see’s things almost android or computer like at times, listing off other characters attributes in bullet points that are unemotional and analytical. I know this is done on purpose so you can see her character grow and she does! She gets warmer, more emotional, and human as the novel rolls on. It took a little getting used to but once I did I was totally enmeshed in the story and really wanted to see this new persona that was emerging.

Dead Girl Running was a great start to this new series and for those of you who love Virtue Falls, they are only a few hours up the coast and you get a quick peek at a couple of characters to satisfy that fix. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given a free book by this author for my honest review and it was honest!

Dead Girl

Click this link to purchase!Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade Book 1)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Shiver by Suzanne Wright

Shiver is one of the most surprising novels I’ve read this year. The main character, Kensey Lyons, has one of the most original background stories I’ve read in a long while. When Kensey was a small child, her mother wrote to and married a serial killer on death row. Raised going to the prison to visit her step father, Kensey has mixed feelings about the man she loved as a child and the man she knows killed 30+ women. Working as a waitress in a bar owned by her godmother, Kensey retreats from reality by writing horror fiction under a pen name. When Blake buys out a silent owner and meets Kensey for the first time he makes a terrible impression. He insults her intelligence, calls her a drug addict and believes every lie her enemies have told him. He needs a long ladder to climb out of the big hole he dug when he realizes that he wants and has to have Kensey for his own. She’s not stupid, even though she’s incredibly attracted to him, she doesn’t want anything to do with him and makes his chase very difficult.

I have read a couple of Suzanne Wright’s Phoenix pack shifter series and really enjoy her style of writing. Blake reminds me of an Alpha in a pack. A bit he-man but cares for and wants to take care of his woman. Kensey is not your usual woman. She has a ton of baggage and is also being stalked by a man who thinks he is her step father’s son and wants her out of the way. A story that is just as much a mystery as a romance, Shiver is deftly written and I applaud the author for intermixing the two plots so well.

I found it really interesting being inside of Kensey’s head and watching/listening to her manage her feelings about her mother and step father. When she needs her step fathers insight into who may be stalking her, those scenes are very chilling, the flip between loving father and psychopath like a switch turning on and off. I have to admit, I favored the mystery plot line a bit more than the romance. Blake was a little controlling, although I did like how their relationship progressed to trust and love. They both had a lot of baggage and seemed to be a match made in heaven.

If you are looking for a dark and sexy novel then you must read Shiver. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Shiver

Click this link to purchase! Shiver

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Judgment Road (Torpedo Ink #1) by Christine Feehan

Anya Rafferty has taken a job as bartender in the bar owned by MC Club Torpedo Ink. She’s trying to fly under the radar, friendly but not flirtatious with the bikers and customers, but her beauty gets her noticed. Reaper is the enforcer for Torpedo Ink. His first job is to protect their President, Czar, but he can’t keep his eyes off Anya. He tries to scare her off but she’s broke and doesn’t have anywhere to go. When they go head to head their chemistry is fierce and against his better judgment he decides to make her his own.

I don’t normally read MC biker romances. I don’t have anything against them, they just aren’t my thing. However, when Christine Feehan writes well,her books are really, really good. This book had elements of greatness. Judgment Road and those bikers in Torpedo Ink had a background that was different and drew me in. Stolen when children in Russia, they were abused, trained, and raised to be assassins. When they escaped Russia they stayed together forming this club and using their skills to help others who have been victimized. I liked that theme, but wow, this was a pretty dark book. If you have triggers about rape, abuse, etc. this will be a difficult read. I don’t have those triggers and at times I cringed in horror.

Anya and Reaper were kind of typical of a biker and his babe. He was totally Alpha and she was sassy and sweet. There was a ton of smoking hot sex (a little too much at times) but they had a lot of past trauma to get over, on both their sides to get to their happily ever after. Anya was on the run from a group that wanted her dead and without giving away the story, Torpedo Ink ended up saving women who were brutalized by this same group. I wish Judgment Road was a little less sex and a lot more of that story because it was a really good romantic suspense tale and got me totally hooked. If Reaper hadn’t had trauma in his own background that he and Anya worked through with sex, passages that were important, I would’ve skimmed a lot more than I did.

This series is an offshoot of the Sea Haven series, if any of you are fans. Viktor (Czar) and his wife Bythe were the last book in that series. There is a mystical element to the Torpedo Ink members, just as there was in the Sea Haven series, with each biker having a trait that was kind of magical and mysterious. This magical element gave the series a little boost into the unreal, but made it a lot more fun to read.

Judgment Road was a pretty dark, grueling start to this series, but there were some other members that I found pretty fascinating. I think I’ll need to keep an eye out for the next one, but am hopeful it will be a little lighter read. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Judgment Road Click this link to purchase! Judgment Road (Torpedo Ink) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Survive the Night (Rocky Mountain K9 Unit #3) by Katie Ruggle

Survive the Night is the third installment in the Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series and Sarah is my favorite heroine of the three. Sister to a wanna be mob boss she has been locked behind doors and abused for her whole life. That may sound like Sarah would be a victim but she has a bit of steel in her spine. After escaping her brother she moves in with Jules and Grace (heroines from books one and two)and starts to practice what she has been internally preaching…she wants to live a normal life. When she sets eyes on K9 cop Otto she isn’t scared by his size, she is captured by his sweetness watching as he rescues animals and rehabilitates them with a soft touch.

Of course, this is a Katie Ruggle novel so you know trouble is coming and Sarah needs to gear up for a fight. Sure enough, when her brother tracks her down it affects Grace too as their reasons for being in Monroe are tied together. There are some great action scenes that really drive the story. Sarah, separated from her friends when the trouble starts does not hide until its all over. She takes the bull by the horns and seeks out her friends showing she has spunk and is a fighter even after being beaten down for years.

If there was one thing missing for me it was with Otto. He was a big sweet lug who loved animals and took in strays. He was pretty one dimensional and I would’ve liked to have made more of a connection with him. After all he was in the previous two novels, unlike Sarah so I should’ve felt more for him than I did. His purpose was to be there to help save the day and win his girl. He got to do both in a very satisfying way. I enjoyed reading this book on an overcast Saturday afternoon and it hit the spot. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase! Survive the Night (Rocky Mountain K9 Unit) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment

This Chick Read: Secrets in Death (In Death #45) by J. D. Robb

Forty-Five books into the In Death series and I am again surprised at J. D. Robb’s (or Nora Roberts) talent to write a mystery that is unique.  Secrets in Death starts off running as a gossip columnist is murdered in a trendy bar and literally drops dead in Eve’s arms. Lieutenant Eve Dallas doesn’t like trendy bars or restaurants, even if her billionaire husband Roarke happens to own them. A death makes the place so much more interesting!

Once again Eve and her team dive deep into this murder, developing different scenario’s while trying to find the killer. What makes this novel unique is that this victim is well known and while investigating, they find out some of her deep dark secrets that strike a little too close to home.

This novel started off fast because of the immediate death but it slowed down tremendously during the investigation. I do love all of the characters in these novels, but I got the feeling #45 was just a place holder, a book that was required to be written because the author was under contract. It lacked some of the camaraderie and fun dialog that previous In Death novels provided. I’m ready for a little more growth from Eve than I have gotten in the last couple of novels. A new step in the relationship? Kill off one of her team? Something! This wasn’t a bad book, but when you have 44 others to compare it to, it came up short for me.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Secrets in Death Click on this link to purchase! Secrets in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel (In Death, Book 45) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Death Below Stairs (A Below Stairs mystery) by Jennifer Ashley

Kat Holloway has taken a new post as Cook for Lord Rankin an eccentric gentleman, when her kitchen maid turns up murdered in her pantry. With the help of sometime deliveryman Daniel McAdam Kat investigates and finds herself embroiled in a treasonous plot against the crown. Death Below Stairs while providing an entertaining mystery, also unveils aspects of the working class in historical London that gives the novel depth and heart.

This novel was set up previously in a novella, A Soupcon of Poison, which I immediately read upon finishing Death Below Stairs. Kat was not necessarily happy to see Daniel show up on Lord Rankin’s doorstep, this time disguised as a gentleman. When the maid turned up dead, Kat begrudgingly turned to Daniel for help, implying something had happened in their past that put him in the doghouse. The fact that Daniel was a chameleon, changing roles in her life, created a mystery within the mystery, giving their relationship a little tension adding depth to the danger of the mystery.

If you like light mysteries, Death Below Stairs will be right up your alley. As a heroine, Kat is very easy to like, and the light romance between she and Daniel added an element of romantic suspense to the already mysterious plot. An added bonus is you won’t have a long wait for the next mystery, as it comes out in July. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given a copy of this ARC for my honest review and it was honest!

Death Below Stairs Click the link to purchase! Death Below Stairs (A Below Stairs Mystery) Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: An Uncommon Honeymoon (Librarian and Spy Escapade #3) by Susan Mann

While on their honeymoon, spies, Quinn and James are asked to go undercover at a party to see if they can gather information on a human trafficking suspect. While undercover, Quinn meets two of the kidnapped children and her heart strings are tugged. She is determined to stop this ring and save these kids, with the help of her husband and fellow spy, James. As with her other novels, Susan Mann brings a human element into what could’ve been a rather mundane romantic story line. Human trafficking is a real issue and here in the state of Tennessee (where I live), you see posters in bathrooms and rest stops. I thought the balance of such a serious subject matter was relieved by the lighthearted romance between Quinn and James.

This is the third novel featuring these two main characters and we know them pretty well. Quinn’s skills are in her knowledge and researching skills. James is the more physical spy of the two, although that structure seems to have changed with An Uncommon Honeymoon. In the past Quinn seemed to know everything, spouting interesting facts and tidbits, but the Russian setting seemed to throw her off her stride, although her confidence in her budding spy skills was strong. She was firing a gun and kicking Russian butt like she’d been doing it for years.

The Indian setting was one of the things I liked best about A Covert Affair, and I missed that librarian curiosity that Quinn portrayed previously. She was more spy-ish than librarian-ish in this novel, which seemed a bit out of character. The romance between Quinn and James sizzled, as it should with newlyweds, and this novel had a lot more sexy scenes than the previous two books. Am I interested in reading and learning more about Quinn and James? I think I am, although I believe this author needs to share the growth more evenly over those two characters. Unless she wants to write a novel where Quinn becomes James’ boss?

I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

❤️❤️❤️❣️

An Uncommon Honeymoon

Click this link to purchase! An Uncommon Honeymoon (Librarian/Spy Escapade)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Obsession Falls (Virtue Falls #2) by Christina Dodd

What would you do if you saw a little boy in danger from two men? I’d like to think I’d step in, but then what if they turned on me? Taylor Summers has to make this decision when she see’s a boy being pulled out of the trunk of a car and his would be killers talking about his murder. She does the unselfish and puts his life before her own and distracts the killers so he can escape. Unfortunately this action completely changes her life. She is convicted in the press of kidnapping the boy and then dying in a car explosion. Her identity gone, her previous life dissolved, she goes on the run from the killers.

Taylor was amazing. As a little girl her father taught her some survival skills, but she took those memories and actually lived in the wild for a few months. When she lands in Virtue Falls, she starts a fresh new life, until the kidnapper finds her and she has to learn a new set of skills to outsmart him.

This was a great second novel in the Virtue Falls series. Half of the book took place before Taylor arrives in Virtue Falls but when she does, our favorite characters from the first book become a part of the plot and we get to see where their lives are now. That’s always fun because sometimes you just don’t want to let good characters go. Obsession Falls was action packed, our heroine took charge of her own life and made it work for her, and there’s even a bit of a love interest for her, although that was the weakest part of the plot. She was strong enough to get through everything on her own so it kind of annoyed me when a man tried to take charge and “save” her. Luckily it annoyed Taylor too! This book can be read as a stand alone, but Virtue Falls was a fun book to read if you want to start at the beginning.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click HERE for my review of Virtue Falls.


Click link to purchase! Obsession Falls: A Novel (The Virtue Falls Series)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

 

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream (Virtue Falls #4) by Christina Dodd

Finally, we get Kateri’s story! A constant presence in the other Virtue Falls novels, Kateri, now the Sheriff of Virtue Falls, is chasing after a violent fugitive as well as trying to catch a killer. Virtue Falls may be a charming resort town, but it has a pretty violent past. The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is the fourth book in the series, each of which are wonderful romantic thrillers, and this one is no different. Kateri’s childhood friend moves back to town under an assumed name, just as the violence hits. Is it a coincidence??

Merida, Kateri’s friend who has moved back, has eagerly left her last ten years behind. She is mute and had been the wife of a domineering elderly man who controlled her every action.  Caught in that unhappy marriage through horrific circumstance, she had bottled up her plans for revenge against the man she thinks put her there. When she comes face to face with him in Virtue Falls amidst what seems to be a serial killer in action, she is forced to face her feelings sooner than she had planned.

This novel had so many twists and turns! Kateri, still dealing with her past injuries from the tsunami that hit in the first book, has finally semi recovered and finds herself back in a leadership role in town. Her search for a killer while dealing with her feelings for two men mess with her head and certainly adds tension to an already tension filled book! I also liked Merida’s character from the start. She is not the victim she appears and actually has a strong core that has gotten her through some really difficult times. Her story is twisted and fascinating and lends an air of dark mystery to an already action packed start to the book.

Virtue Falls is filled with some zany and interesting characters and even though its been awhile since I read one of these novels, it was easy to jump right in and remember why I keep picking up the books in this series. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review and it was honest.


Click link to purchase! The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream: A Novel (The Virtue Falls Series)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads5 Comments

This Chick Read: On the Chase ( Rocky Mountain K9 Unit #2) by Katie Ruggle

I fell in serious like with Hugh Murdoch in Run to Ground, the first novel in the Rocky Mountain K9 Unit series. Hugh was the seriously needed comic relief from a rather brooding hero, Theo, so I was totally jazzed to read his story. His love interest Kaylee, see’s a crime that she may not survive witnessing. Using a familiar mysterious benefactor, she ends up the new roommate to Jules and her siblings in Hugh’s hometown. After Jules’ brush with danger the K9 unit that both Theo and Hugh belong are immediately suspicious of Kaylee, now renamed Grace. She and Hugh butt heads while he tries to figure out her story. Then as with all of Katie Ruggles books, hi-jinks ensue.

I was thrilled with Grace and Hugh’s chemistry, energy and witty repartee, something I thought Run to Ground had lacked. Hugh, the king of one liners was always good for a quick smile, but now we get to see the man behind the mask and I really liked what I saw. Hugh hides his emotions by cracking those jokes, yet that mask drops when his new lady looks to be in danger. Grace had what Jules lacked, a spine. Although to cut Jules a little slack, Grace is only looking out for herself and didn’t have to worry about any younger siblings. Grace has sass, and even though seriously scared about what she ran from, she never lacked a quick comeback and managed to keep her head on straight.

The two of them together were a fun read, and the energetic plot helped move those pages along. I was worried after Run to Ground’s lackluster start but I think Ms. Ruggle has found her romantic suspense legs again.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

❤️❤️❤️❤️


Click link to purchase! On the Chase (Rocky Mountain K9 Unit)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads