Category: Stone Barrington

4.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, Stone Barrington, TLC Book Tours, U-V-W

2014.26 REVIEW – Eyes on You by Kate White

Tara

Eyes on You
by Kate White

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 306
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: May 30 – June 5, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 26
Format:  Print
Source: TLC Book Tour
Series: None

Eyes on YouBlurb: After losing her on-air job two years ago, the television host Robin Trainer has fought her way back and is now hotter than ever. With her new show climbing in the ratings and her first book a bestseller; she’s being dubbed a media double threat.

But things begin to go wrong. Small incidents at first: a nasty note left in her purse; her photo shredded. But the obnoxious quickly becomes threatening when the foundation used by her makeup artist burns Robin’s face. It wasn’t an accident – someone deliberately doctored the product.

An adversary with a dark agenda wants to hurt Robin, and the clues point to someone she works with every day. While she frantically tries to put the pieces together and unmask this hidden foe, it becomes terrifyingly clear that the person responsible isn’t going to stop until Robin loses everything that matters to her … including her life.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free for review purposes in conjunction with a TLC Blog Tour, all opinions expressed below are my own.

I am ashamed to admit that I have never read a Kate White book before (although I do have The Sixes on my bookshelf). So I didn’t quite know what to expect of this author going into this book, but I did know that the description sounded really good and I was excited to read it.

Overall, I really liked this book. I kind of wish I had been able to take this one on my upcoming beach trip (but I had agreed to a review date prior to my vacation). I think this book would be a lot of fun to read while sitting by the ocean in a beach chair soaking up the sun!

I will happily admit that I had no idea who the bad guy was in this book until it was finally revealed. The twists and turns were a lot of fun. Robin’s sanity was questioned in my mind numerous times. I just had a lot of fun with this one. Sure, it could have been a little more complicated than it was, but I still really enjoyed it.

 

Highly recommended.

About the Author:

Kate WhiteKate White is recognized internationally as not only the veteran editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the bestselling women’s magazine in the world, but also as the critically acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction books. Few high-profile editors have successfully balanced the rigors of overseeing a major magazine title with a thriving and independent writing career.

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Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Find out more about Kate at her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

As always, I hope you will take the time to visit the other stops on the tour:

Tuesday, June 3rd: Jen’s Book Thoughts
Wednesday, June 4th: The Year in Books
Thursday, June 5th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Monday, June 9th: Tales of a Book Addict
Tuesday, June 10th: Drey’s Library
Wednesday, June 11th: A Bookworm’s World
Thursday, June 12th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Wednesday, June 18th: Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Thursday, June 19th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Tuesday, June 24th: Kritters Ramblings
Wednesday, June 25th: Jenn’s Bookshelves
Thursday, June 26th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, June 30th: BoundbyWords
Wednesday, July 2nd: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Monday, July 7th: Always With a Book

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3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, Stone Barrington

2014.25 REVIEW – The Kafka Society by Ron Felber

Tara

The Kafka Society
by Ron Felber

Copyright: 2014
Pages: 341
Rating: 3/5
Read: May 24 – May 29, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 25
Format:  Print
Source: Publicist
Series: Jack Madson #2

Blurb: After a night of clubbing, Jack has no memory of the past twenty-four hours. Who is the beautiful woman he discovers in his hotel room? How did a severed head get into the trunk of his Mustang convertible? Is he a murderer? Before he can answer these questions, Madson finds himself helping his former high school nemesis, Tom Dougherty – now chief the FBI’s East Coast Operations – get disentangled from a blackmail scheme. Nothing is quite what it seems. As his investigation progresses, Madson uncovers a criminal organization that specializes in the most monstrous of enterprises: global human trafficking, run from abandoned tunnels deep beneath the streets of New York City and directed by a coterie of intellectual thugs known as the Kafka Society. Once again, the reader follows Madson through a wealth of dangerous episodes and exotic pleasures before the exciting conclusion of this thrilling page-turner.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free for review purposes, all opinions expressed below are my own.

I had read and reviewed the first Jack Madson book, A Man of Indeterminate Value, last year. So when I was pitched this book, I was interested simply because I wanted to see what else Jack could possibly get himself into!

Overall, I have to say, I still do not like Jack Madson’s character. I don’t like all the booze, pills, sex and just overall stupidity that he finds himself in. He brings most of his troubles upon himself and he just seems to “prepare” himself with more drugs. I was also a little turned off by all the sex in this book. I don’t mind sex in books as a general rule, but the descriptions were very graphic and at times it felt more like erotica than a crime thriller. Just not my cup of tea.

But all that said, I still kept reading the book! So obviously it wasn’t that bad. I really wanted to know what happened in the end. I wanted to know if Jack would figure it all out in time. And really, I liked the ending. It’s actually made me quite curious to see what Mr. Felber has planned next for Jack Madson.

So while I would say that this book has a few bad characteristics to it, overall, it’s a compelling read, and I will be on the lookout for the 3rd Jack Madson book.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Edelweiss, Fiction, Lucy Black, M, RATING, Read in 2014, Review Book, SERIES, Stone Barrington

2014.24 REVIEW – Someone You Know by Brian McGilloway

Tara

Someone You Know
by Brian McGilloway

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 337
Rating: 4/5
Read: May 20 – May 23, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 24
Format:  E-Book
Source: Edelweiss via publicist contact
Series: Lucy Black #2

Someone You KnowBlurb: Just before Christmas, the body of a sixteen-year-old girl is found along the train tracks on the outskirts of a small town. As Detective Lucy Black investigates the teenager’s tragic last hours in search of clues to her death, she realizes that some of the victim’s friends may have been her most dangerous enemies-and that whoever killed her is ready to kill again. Haunted by the memory of a case gone wrong, and taunted by a killer on the loose, Lucy finds herself pitted against a lethal opponent hiding in plain sight.

Review: I received a copy of this book for free via Edelweiss for review purposes, all opinions expressed below are my own.

I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the first Lucy Black book, Little Girl Lost, back in January. I really enjoyed that one and was excited to see this second book available for request.

Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed Lucy’s character. I just like her. And in this particular installment, she does some things that probably are not the smartest things to do. I actually couldn’t help but wonder if she purposely put herself in bad situations; did she want to get herself hurt or killed? At the end of the book it is assumed she does something (it’s alluded to, but never mentioned explicitly that she did it) and I think that was really telling about her character. I think it opened up a lot more as to who she really and truly is and where she will go from here.

The storyline itself was interesting. The missing girls storyline, while not very original, had some good twists and turns along the way, felt fresh and believable. The writing was very good. The other characters were well-developed. And I’m really rooting for Tom Fleming to come out of the mess he’s found himself in.

This is the second in a series, and I’m not sure I would advise anyone to read this one before reading Little Girl Lost. There’s a lot of stuff going on that really wouldn’t make much sense without the background information that book 1 provides.

Overall, another great book that has left me wanting more Lucy Black!!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2014, READING CHALLENGES 2014, SERIES, Stone Barrington, U-V-W

2014.23 REVIEW – New York Dead by Stuart Woods

Tara

New York Dead
by Stuart Woods

Copyright: 1991
Pages: 324
Rating: 4/5
Read: May 17 – May 19, 2014
Challenge: TBR Pile Challenge
Yearly count: 23
Format:  Print
Source: Personal Copy (PBS)
Series: Stone Barrington #1

New York DeadBlurb: Everyone is always telling Stone Barrington that he’s too smart to be a cop, but it’s pure luck that places him on the streets in the dead of night, just in time to witness the horrifying incident that turns his life inside out.

Suddenly he is on the front page of every New York newspaper, and his life is hopelessly entwined in the increasingly shocking life (and perhaps death) of Sasha Nijinsky, the country’s hottest and most beautiful television anchorwoman.

No matter where he turns, the case is waiting for him, haunting his nights and turning his days into a living hell. Stone finds himself caught in a perilous web of unspeakable crimes, dangerous friends, and sexual depravity that has throughout it one common thread: Sasha.

Review: I have six review books stacked up and waiting for me. I had just come off of reading 2 review books back to back and was itching to read a TBR book. I was hoping that I would choose wisely and pick something that wouldn’t take long to knock out. I had no idea my choice would be a home run!

This book caught me from the very first page and I devoured it in about 48 hours. I have no idea why on earth it has taken me this long to discover Stone Barrington. But I liked him. And I’m looking forward to meeting him some more in the future (good thing, there’s only a gazillion Barrington books already published).

I found the storyline in this one to be very well written. There were a lot of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. There were some predictable spots as well, though. But all in all it really balanced itself out to be a really enjoyable read. The characters were all well-developed. And not all of them are as nice as they appear. While I will say that I wasn’t necessarily shocked at the ending itself, I wasn’t entirely ready for part of it.

Can I just say that while it’s nice to be a book blogger and read the latest and greatest books out there, sometimes it’s nice to read a 23-year-old book and find a gem where you least expect it.

Overall, definitely a great first book to a series that I hope I continue to enjoy in the future.