The Missing by C.L. Taylor

Title: The Missing: A Novel
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Format: Paperback; 496 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (November 7, 2017)
ISBN-10: 006267353X
ISBN-13: 978-0062673534
Author's Website:  https://cltaylorauthor.com/
Notes: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



Six months ago fifteen year old Billy Wilkinson went missing in the dead of night. For six months his parents and his community have searched for him, but to no avail. For six months Billy's mom has held herself together, but soon finds herself unraveling losing herself--quite literally--as she sinks into depression and desperation. Blocks of time go missing and she starts to fear what happened in those lost hours. She blames herself for Billy's disappearance playing through all the mind games a desperate parent does wondering if she missed something--if she could have done something different. As the story unfolds and secrets are revealed she starts to wonder if maybe the answer of what happened to her son lies somewhere closer to home...

This was a hard read for me not because it was a bad book or poorly written (which it was not) but because in the past couple of years, two teens in our area have gone missing. I hadn't realized how hard their disappearances had affected me until I read this book. What Claire Wilkinson went through is every parent's nightmare and something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Of the two kids who went missing (both right around Billy's age) in our area we knew one of the families. Their son played little league with my mine and it hit a little too close to home. Both teens were found, but neither  lived to tell their tale.

Claire does everything a mom can do to find her son. We are dropped into the middle of her nightmare just as she's starting to lose her grip on reality. She starts losing chunks of time and waking up in places with no idea of how she got there. She starts acting irrationally, muscling her way into places she has no right to be. Her world, which had already started to crumble, soon starts crashing down around her and her family. In some ways the time lapses reminded me of those experienced by Rachel in the book  'Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins only Claire's aren't alcohol induced but rather stress induced, at least according to her doctor.

At first I thought the starting point of this book was rather odd, but then I realized we come into the story at the beginning of the end. The author starts each chapter with a text conversation between Billy and some mysterious individual. Slowly we see what led up to Billy's disappearance just as we see the clues that start to slowly unravel the mystery of it all. Two beginnings which lead up to one end. I rather like the way the author did this.

 Overall, I gave this one 3 out of 5 roses. Again, I must stress I probably would have given this one a higher rating had I read it at a different time in my life. It's kind of strange how what's happening in our own lives can effect our feelings for a book. The book was well written, held a fairly good pace, and had a huge twist at the end that I didn't see coming and would never have guessed. Just be aware that this an emotional roller coaster of a read. I definitely will pick up another book by the author. I liked her writing style.

Release Day Review of Shades of Memory (Diamond City Magic, #4) by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Title: Shades of Memory (The Diamond City Magic Novels)
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Diamond City Magic, #4
Format: Paperback; 272 pages
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (November 3, 2017)
ISBN-10: 1611948371
ISBN-13: 978-1611948370
Author's Website: http://www.dianapfrancis.com/
Notes: I received an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.


Most of Riley Hollis' life has been spent in the shadows--staying out of trouble, avoiding both the cops and the Tyet (magical mob) whenever humanly possible, and keeping under the radar. There are five major kinds of magic in the world: tracer, maker, binder, dreamer, traveller. Riley is a tracer. Everybody leaves a magical trail of sorts, like an indelible ribbon unrolling behind them. It isn’t actually on this plane, but in a sort of other dimension that only tracers like Riley can see. It fades pretty quick for most tracers, disappearing in a matter of hours or maybe a week or two if they are really strong. For Riley it never fades. She can even track those who have died. This makes her a highly sought after commodity by the Tyet who would love to use and control her skills.

Riley uses her talent to find missing children. Just months ago while working a case she caught the attention of Clay Price. Price was a cop with connections to Gregg Touray. Touray is one of the top Tyet bosses in the city. What Riley didn't realize at the time was that Price is Gregg Touray's brother. To complicate matters even more, she found herself undeniably attracted to Price and the feeling was mutual. Their relationship took off, but eventually her secrets were revealed in front of the biggest Tyet kingpins in Diamond City. Price then struck a bargain with his brother to put Riley under Gregg's protection. 

A lot can and has happened in a short period of time. As Riley realizes a major power struggle is about to go down in Diamond City, she has to figure out a way to keep herself and her family safe. Aligning herself with Touray is looking less and less like the right choice. Her decision on how to handle things will change everything...

This is the fourth book in the Diamond City Magic series. If you haven't read any of the previous books in the series, I strongly encourage you to do so. The books build on one another and if you skip one, you'll miss out on some of the finer nuances of the relationships between the characters, the intricacies of the world, and the complexities of Riley's current situation. Just be aware this series is highly addictive and it's hard to stop with just one. So you may want to set aside some time for yourself to read these. I devoured the series pretty quickly and can't wait for the next book to come out.

One of the things I like about this series is the relationship between Riley and Price. Being a cop and Touray's brother made Riley want absolutely nothing to do with him in the beginning. The attraction between them, however, once they actually got to know one another was intense. All of Price's instincts scream for him to protect Riley and put her somewhere safe where nothing can harm her, but over time he's come to the realization he has to let her spread her wings and fly. If he doesn't, he'll lose her--and that is something he never wants to have happen. In the time the two have known one another, Price has helped Riley grow as an individual and come into her own. This time Riley gets to return the favor.

This book is a real game changer. Riley must make some hard decisions and will need a little help from both her family and friends. Things in Diamond City are about to change in a big way and Riley will be in the middle of it all. Relationships will be tested, lives will be put on the line, and a new threat will enter into the fray making for a highly intense, compelling, and gripping read.   

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. I love this dynamic duo and the world Ms. Francis has created. The chemistry between Price and Riley is off the charts, and I love the way they banter back and forth. Price gives as good as he gets from Riley which keeps her on her toes. Be forewarned, however, that this one ends abruptly in a huge cliffhanger. Gah! (If you heard someone screaming loudly last night that was probably me shouting, "NOOOOOOoooooooo!" **smirk**) On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale this one earned a FAN rating--the temperature in the room seems to have suddenly gone up a couple of degrees and a fan would be nice. I highly recommend this series. This series is destined for my keeper shelf.

Order of the Diamond City Magic series:

The Rift Frequency (The Rift Uprising Trilogy #2) by Amy S. Foster

Title: The Rift Frequency (The Rift Uprising Trilogy)
Classification: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: The Rift Uprising Trilogy
Format: Hardcover; 368 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager (October 31, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0062443186
ISBN-13: 978-0062443182
Author's Website: http://amysfoster.com
Notes: I received and eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


Ryn Whittaker was a loyal Citadel who had trained for her position since the age of fourteen. She was the head of her own unit--beta team--until she realized all she believed and had been taught from an early age was a lie. After securing her base and debriefing all who work there, she and her fellow Citadel Levi are on a mission which will take them through the multiverse to find Ezra who holds the key to finding out exactly who the Roones are and what they want with Ryn's version of Earth. With the Quantum Operating Interdimensional Navigating System, QOINS for short, synchronized to find Ezra's quantum signature they set off. They know not what dangers they will encounter or how many jumps it will take to find Ezra, but God willing, they should end up in the same place. Hopefully sooner rather than later for time is of the essence.

This is the second book of The Rift Uprising Trilogy. In the first book we learned that an experiment into dark matter caused several gateways called Rifts to open around the Earth. Creatures and people crossed over into our world creating the need for the Rifts to be patrolled and guarded. Ryn is a seventeen year old Citadel, one of  several groups of children who were medically enhanced to make them into the perfect super soldiers. The enhancements were made with the help of a species known as Roones who passed through one of the Rifts shortly after they opened.

Ryn and Levi are attempting to travel through The Rift to find Ezra, whom Levi pushed through the Rift, and get some answers. He holds in his possession a computer with information on it from the Roones which they hope he can decode. They spend the majority of the novel jumping from one version of Earth to another looking for Ezra and information as to who the Roones are. As one would expect along the way they make friends, enemies, and allies. They also start finding answers and learning things that the Roones never wanted them to know. Things they find deeply disturbing.

While Ryn begins this adventure disliking Levi, things start to change as she finds herself constantly in situations which require the two to have each other's back. Keeping their distance from one another becomes, at times, impossible as going though The Rift sometimes throws them literally together. This creates dangerous situations for Ryn because of Levi's programming which causes violent reactions when he comes in contact with a person he finds himself attracted to.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. I liked the book, but frankly wish the whole love triangle going on had been toned down a notch. At this point I'm not sure I like either of Ryn's love interests. Maybe one of them will redeem themselves in the next novel? We'll have to wait and see. As for the main story line, it still has me hooked and was highly entertaining. There were plenty of twists, turns, action, and drama.  I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next and final book of the trilogy. I'm betting it's going to be something good.

The order of The Rift Uprising Trilogy:

The Rift Uprising (The Rift Uprising Trilogy #1) by Amy S. Foster

Title: The Rift Uprising: Book One of The Rift Uprising Trilogy
Classification: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: The Rift Uprising Trilogy (Book 1)
Format: Paperback; 416 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager; Reprint edition (July 4, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0062443135
ISBN-13: 978-0062443137
Author's Website: http://amysfoster.com
Notes: I read a copy from my local library.



In 2005 a laboratory in Livermore, California attempting to understand the properties of dark matter conducted an experiment that resulted in the opening of a doorway to the Multiverse. Scientists deemed this portal to other versions of our world "The Rift", and within hours 13 more Rifts opened up around the world. Fearing mass panic, the global leaders of the world united to form an alliance  called ARC--the Allied Rift Coalition. It was meant to keep the Rifts from public knowledge. Soon beings from other multiverses began coming through the portals and ARC dealt with them. Then a month after the experiment took place, a group of beings known as Roones, a highly evolved humanoid species, came through the Rift and promised to help ARC deal with the Rifts.

With technology far surpassing our own, they implanted soldiers with chips said to make them exponentially stronger, smarter, faster, and more agile, but each of the initial test subjects died. Their mature minds, it was believed, couldn't handle the change. Instead of scrapping the chips, ARC agreed to test the chips on younger subjects, and unbeknownst to their parents, a group of children were implanted. These implants met with success. These children, and others after them, grew up to become the guardians between our world and those of the Rifts. They police The Rifts perimeters and are called Citadels.

Ryn Whittaker is a Citadel who's been training since she was fourteen. Now seventeen, she's the head of her own unit--beta team. She's never really questioned what she's been told about the Rifts, the chips implanted in her and her fellow Citadels, or the rather violent way they deal with those who pass through the Rifts into her world--that is until she strikes an unlikely and forbidden friendship with a boy who crosses over from an Earth similar to ours. He makes her see things she never noticed or questioned before...

This is her story.

This is the first novel of a trilogy which deals with the multiverse. I absolutely gobbled up the story in one sitting. It kept a fairly fast pace, was action packed, and kept me highly entertained.

Ryn is a natural tactician who thinks quickly on her feet and doesn't make sentimental decisions. She, like all her fellow Citadels, is extremely smart, strong, and agile. She's also well liked and a natural born leader. When she encounters Ezra she begins to question many things and he helps her find the answers or as many as they can find.

Ezra comes from an alternate Earth, but one that is similar to ours. He's a genius and his insight opens Ryn's eyes to what is going on, and makes her questions things she otherwise wouldn't. While I feel I know Ryn, I'm not sure I know all there is to know about Ezra. So far we've only seen how he acts on Ryn's Earth and I'm curious if we'll see another side of him once he gets home to his own world.

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. I absolutely loved it. I liked the inner turmoil Ryn went through as she tries to comprehend that she may have been lied to in a thousand different ways over the years. I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the world Ms. Foster created. I look forward to finding out what happens next and how Ryn will deal with it all. This one's definitely going on my keeper shelf. Now I need to buy a copy. 

 

The order of The Rift Uprising Trilogy:

Early Review of Wilde in Love (The Wildes of Lindow Castle, #1) by Eloisa James

Title: Wilde in Love: The Wildes of Lindow Castle
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Wildes of Lindow Castle
Format: Paperback; 416 pages
Publisher: Avon (October 31, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0062389475
ISBN-13: 978-0062389473
Author's Website: http://www.eloisajames.com/ 
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I am also an Avon Addict which means I love the books that Avon publishes enough to volunteer to read as many ARCs and books as they can send my way. So you'll be seeing a lot of books reviewed by me from this publisher. Please note, however, that if I don't like a book, it will be truthfully reflected by a low rating.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Five years ago Lord Alaric Wilde set out to explore the world. Each time he encountered a new or exotic place he wrote about the experience. Unbeknownst to him, over the years, he amassed quite a following--mainly of the female persuasion. So when he finally decided to set sail for home he finds himself swarmed, followed, and propositioned by adoring woman of all ages and walks of life. Adored by all but one--Miss Willa Ffynche--the only one who seems to hold him spellbound.

Willa and her best friend, Lavinia, ruled the ton during this past Season by acting precisely as they had discerned young gentlemen wished them to. They portrayed themselves as young ladies with spirit but docility, spice yet innocence. They came out of the Season with several marriage proposals each, but  as of yet had accepted none. While not quite sure what she is looking for, Willa knows exactly what she's not, and a man who has beautiful woman falling all over him is certainly not the type of husband she wishes to strap herself to. Yet there is something about Lord Alaric which she finds she can't ignore. Dare she take a chance and go against her better judgment?

This is the first book in a new series by Eloisa James and after finishing it, I'm definitely looking forward to reading all the forthcoming stories. This is a lighthearted and charming read that sort of takes a page from the crazed fans of today. It certainly made me speculate as to what kind of individual would cause such a stir during the time period this story takes place, and I wonder how the fans of that era would act. Eloisa James chose for her main character a rakishly dashing young author whose adventures have been romanticized, embellished, and fabricated by some unknown individual in the form of a play entitled, 'Wilde in Love'. Something Lord Alaric Wilde claims never to have been.

Alaric is smart, charming, and has been deliberately staying away from home so as not to have to admit his eldest brother, Horatius, is gone. Horatius died several years ago, and staying away is Alaric's coping mechanism. He's finally decided he needs to face reality and return home. The problem is, his reality has changed drastically because of his fame. Hope of having a normal life may be gone forever.

Willa is a private individual who isn't impressed by Alaric's fame or books. In fact, she's one of the few who has never read one of his novels. She loves reading, but her tastes tend to sway towards nonfiction. While Alaric insists his books are not fiction, the bits and pieces Willa's heard make her believe otherwise. So from the start she hates the fact he stirs something in her that no other man has been able to.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. It was a very charming, funny, sexy, and lighthearted read with a touch of drama thrown in for good measure. I liked the silliness associated with the play (it reminded me a touch of that silly book often quoted in Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series), the slow seduction of Willa by Alaric, and the antics of all of those around them. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

Early Review of Killing Season (Killing Season #1-3) by Faye Kellerman

Title: Killing Season: A Thriller
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Format: Hardcover; 704 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (October 17, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0062465937
ISBN-13: 978-0062465931
Author's Website: http://fayekellerman.net/
Notes: I received and eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Three years ago the Vicksburg family experienced a loss no one should ever have to go through. They lost their oldest child, Ellen, to a brutal murder. Ellen was a pretty and popular girl whom everyone liked. She didn't do drugs, she didn't have a secret boyfriend, she got good grades, and stayed out of trouble. Her murder puzzled everyone. The family, understandably, took it hard, but her younger brother, by a year, Ben, perhaps took it the hardest. He vowed to find Ellen's killer and bring about justice. This is his story...

This is a serial read which means it's basically one book that is sold in three separate increments. I'm not a fan of serial reads because I once read one where the first two installments were awesome, but the last one made me hate the whole thing. Luckily, this is not that book. Also, the final and complete version, where all three sections are included, goes on sale this Tuesday. Yay!

I really enjoyed this story and hope it is the first of many involving Ben "Vicks" Vicksburg. I'd love for this to be the event which spurred him on to a career in crime fighting. Ben is a math whiz on a genius level who was enrolled in college calculus at the age of fourteen, the year his sister went missing. He has a knack for finding patterns and uses that skill to attempt to find his sister's killer. He feels that local law enforcement doesn't have enough resources to sufficiently dedicate to the finding his sister's murderer and he decides to take matters into his own hands. He does so by routinely combing through newspapers and searching the Internet for cases similar to his sister's attempting to find a link. He believes at least one other murder was committed by the person who killed his sister. That girl's body, however, has never been found and without some hard evidence linking the two cases detective Shanks, the officer assigned to Ellen's case, is unconvinced the two are related.

Since his sister's death, Ben, a once popular student, has become a recluse. He keeps to himself and spends his free time searching for clues to his sister's murderer. When he strikes up a friendship with Ro and confides in her what he's been up to for the past three years the two work together to solve the murder. Ro lost her sister to cancer around the same time Ben lost his and in some ways helping to solve Ben's sister's death is therapeutic for her. It's also beneficial for Ben because she slowly drags him out of his self imposed isolation.

I ended up giving this story 4 out of 5 roses. I enjoyed watching Ben and Ro slowly unravel the mystery behind his sister's death. I loved the underlying layers that needed to be delicately peeled back before everything could fall into place. I liked the suspense, twists, turns, roadblocks, and moments of 'Eureka!' when certain things were finally figured out. The only thing I didn't like was how the relationship between Ben and Ro quickly and rather epically spiraled downward at one point. I don't want to get into specifics, but it took away a little of the magic of the book for me. I really liked Ben and his dedication to his sister, and would truly hate to see this character get left behind never to be seen again. I implore the author to consider making him a permanent character in a series either as the lead detective or as a secondary character considered to be an expert in some field of criminology. I can't recall ever seeing a series begin with what inspired someone to become who they are later in life. I think this would be a unique and fun way to do so. It definitely would endear me to the character and get me hooked.

Early Review of The Tiger’s Daughter (Their Bright Ascendency #1) by K. Arsenault Rivera

Title: The Tiger's Daughter
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Their Bright Ascendency (Book 1)
Format: Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (October 3, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0765392534
ISBN-13: 978-0765392534
Author's Website: http://karsenaultrivera.com/
Notes: I received an eARC loan of the book in exchange for an honest review.



For years the Hokkaran empire has been encroached upon by invading demons. Qorin warrior, Barsalayaa Shefali, and empress, O-Shizuka may be the empire's only hope for survival. Born a month apart, they are rumored to be descended from the gods, and fated to be friends due to an Omen which presented itself in the form of two pine needles which rested upon each of the girls' forehead between their eyes shortly after their births. Their mothers were fierce warriors who bridged the gap between their cultures with their friendship. Shelfali and O-Shizuka's skills in warfare are believed to rival or surpass those of their mothers'.

This is their story as written in a love letter from one woman to the other.

The world that Ms. Rivera portrays is rich, beautiful, dangerous, and deadly. The tales told within were wonderful. The characters were interesting, diverse, and formidable. I probably would have loved the book if not for two very big things.

Firstly, I hated the letter format. This was a HUGE book with probably less than 1, at most, 2% of it written outside of this one huge letter. The first and last chapters and one, possibly two, other places jumped out of letter format to put us in the present time period that the book is set in. This, in my humble opinion, was a mistake because it keeps the reader from engaging with the story. It keeps us as outsiders looking in. There were several points where this drove me completely bonkers, and I had to disengage myself from the book. I just couldn't take it any more. We only get a one dimensional view and that just didn't work for me. There were letters written within the main letter which I'm guessing was the author's way of trying to get around the one dimensional viewpoint, but for me it was too much.

Secondly, I don't care what type of romance a book has, but if you are making the center of the book a love letter then you really need to kick infidelity to the curb. If you don't it isn't love because, in my humble opinion, unless you mistakenly think someone is dead, there was an official break-up, or the like, there's really no excuse. Especially when the transgressor isn't sorry and tries to justify it. Granted, there was an eight year separation, but for me you've automatically issued the kiss of death. So as a romance, at least for me, this one failed. Luckily, the main genre for this novel is fantasy. In fact, I didn't realize this one had a lesbian love story in it until about the forty percent mark. At that point there's really no mistaking it because a love scene is reminisced about. So while this one fails, in my humble opinion, as a love story, the fantasy portion is pretty enjoyable.

I really liked Shelfali, and how she had the ability to see the demons when no one else could. I felt her frustration at trying to convince others who did not believe in her ability that she had it, especially when it manifested at such an early age. The demons seemed like a more conscious version of zombies who could infect those around them if they came in contact with their blood. I particularly loved the tale of Shefali and O-Shizuka slaying a tiger at the tender age of eight and earning their names. Yet after all the tales and stories about these two friends, I didn't particularly care for O-Shizuka. Perhaps this is another result of the book's narrative for I really didn't feel I knew her.

Overall, I'm giving this one 2 1/2 out of 5 roses. I keep going back and forth between giving it 2 or 3 roses, but a 2 seems too low while a 3 seems too high. The author has a truly wonderful and creative imagination. I really liked the tales told within the letter, but this was a really long letter, and the second person narrative didn't draw me in. I don't mind stories with letters inside them, but making almost the whole book into a letter sadly didn't work for me.