Tuesday Book Review on Sunday

Last day of the year, but not the end of my reviews

Five-star review of The Palace of Lost Memories (After the Rift Book 1) by C. J. Archer

Josie, the doctor’s daughter, isn’t allowed to become a doctor herself, but is the midwife for their small town. Soon after a palace is built mysteriously near the town and instantly inhabited, her father is called to treat a poisoned young noblewoman, the king’s favorite among those wanting to marry him. Throw in the handsome and mysterious captain of the guard, Hammer, and a palace full of scheming nobles and amnesiac palace staff and the mysteries increase. This is the first of a long series. I hope to read the rest. This has jumped to the top of my favorite Archer books. 

Tuesday Book Review on Thursday

Here's the next review to make up for the time I was away:

Four-star Review of Earth Alone (Earthrise Book 1) by Daniel Arenson

 This could have been another space opera about how humankind overcomes deadly aliens, but instead it’s about the training of reluctant recruits, all just out of high school, including Marco Emery. He dreams of writing a novel and becoming a librarian like his father and is called Poet by Addy, his best friend from home (Canada). I can’t put my finger on what kept me reading but now that I’m finished, I’ve already bought the sequel. This is a long series, so I expect the fight will last a long time against the aliens, called Scum for short since the name given them is so long. Going through basic training exercises with Marco and the other recruits and watching them become a cohesive group was more interesting than Marco pining of the girlfriend who dumped him to become an officer, or his budding romance with Leilani. There’s a long battle with the Scum for diehard fans of those things, but it’s the human aspects of this story that made it for me.

Tuesday Book Review

I've been away for several weeks, and have missed posting here. So over the last week of the year I'll post a few times. Here's the first:

Four-star Review of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge (Chefs of the Five Gods book 1) by Beth Cato

Chefs in this world are blessed with gifts; each of the five gods are connected in some way with food such as Selland with salt and Melissa with everything sweet. Adamantine Garland, called Ada, is a forty-something chef. She’s a former military leader, blessed with the ability to heal with herbs but trying to pass herself off as an ordinary cook until she learns that members of her former division were being killed off. Teenaged Princess Solenn of Braiz is in Verdania to marry the prince when her tongue awakens to the ability to sense poisons. Their paths are destined to intertwine. The plot, involving the procurement and use of substances with addictive mind and body-altering properties, is filled with characters who are introduced and made real and then all but forgotten. Still, I’m looking forward to reading the sequel when it becomes available.