2 Bloggers 1 Series - Temptation Ridge

 

So once again Stormi and I are diving into the Virgin River series.  Even though we are taking our time with them, neither one of seems to be finding them boring so I'm hopeful maybe next year we can finish up.  I do know that as soon as I put one down, I'm always in the mood to pick the next one up.  So read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's  at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see what she thought as well.

TITLE: Temptation Ridge (Virgin Rive #6)

AUTHOR: Robyn Carr

PUBLISHER: Mira Books

PUBLISHING DATE: February 24, 2009

PAGES: 416

SOURCE: Library/Hoopla

FROM GOODREADS: At twenty-five, after five years as her mother's caregiver, it's time for Shelby to experience freedom and adventure. Time for travel, college and romance. But when she visits Virgin River, she runs into Luke Riordan, decidedly not whom she has in mind.

A handsome Blackhawk pilot, Luke exited the army after twenty years, four wars and having been shot out of the sky three times. At thirty-eight he's tough and jaded. His major was in one-night stands, with a minor in commitment avoidance.

Technically, these two are all wrong for one another. But sometimes what you want and what you need are two different things...two very good things.

MY THOUGHTS:  Just when I think there's no way the author can introduce characters I love as much as the previous ones, I'm proven wrong.  This book introduces up to Luke, who is entirely new on the scene, and Shelby, who we got pieces of during the last book.  Shelby has come to Virgin River to stay with her Uncle following her mother's death.  She put her life on hold for several years caring for her mother and is now ready to experience the world.  And to her, experiencing the world means experiencing Luke Riordan, a retired Blackhawk, who has arrived in town with lots of baggage.

I love how Carr shows us the development of relationship and admits when something starts out as pure lust rather than covering it up in insta-love.  And personally I've also fallen in love with the little town of Virgin River.  I could totally see myself settling down in such a place which if pretty darn scary if I say so myself.  This book also lets he visit some of our old favorite characters however I'd be remiss to say there just isn't enough Preacher in the book.  

I'd say it's says a lot when 6 books into the series and I'm still giving out such high ratings.  I can't wait to pick up the next one and I can't recommend this series enough.  I will warn you there's a pretty heavy death in this one and without spoiling things, let's just say I wasn't prepared.  However, Preacher is safe so I'm good to continue on!

RATING: 5 PAWS

2 Bloggers 1 Book - Faithless

 

YES!  I am still alive.  I'm so sorry to have went radio-silence on everyone but life kind of kicked my butt.  I am planning on a revamp and glorious return (well at least in my opinion) with the new year.  Just know that the family and pups are fine and I am still reading, but sort of just enjoying a hiatus and grabbing whatever my mood tells me. However, Stormi and I are still doing lots of reads together and we both couldn't wait to get our hands on the new Hunter Shea book.  So read on for my thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's @ @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! and read her review.

TITLE: Faithless

AUTHOR: Hunter Shea

PUBLISHER: Flame Tree Press

PUBLISHING DATE: October 26, 2021

PAGES: 256

SOURCE: Own Library

FROM GOODREADS: How do you survive hearing your family being brutally murdered over the phone? For Father Raul Figeuroa, all faith and hope are lost. Turning away from the priesthood behind, he retreats to his aunt's empty farmhouse in upstate New York, hoping to drink himself to oblivion. But he's not alone in the house. Something is trying to reach out to him. Or is he losing his grip on reality? When his childhood friend Felix comes to visit, things take a darker turn. The deeper they dig into the mystery, the closer they get to hell literally breaking loose.

MY THOUGHTS: I have to admit that in the beginning, I was starting to question if I would love this book as much as I hoped but in the end, Shea pulled and it and I can definitely put it on a "must recommend" list.  Especially for fans of movies like "The Exorcist."

Father Raul Figeuroa is on his way home one rainy night and speaking to his wife on the cell.  Suddenly he hears a commotion at the home and surmises that someone has broken into the residence.  Second by second he hears the brutal slaughter of his family with him only 5 miles from the residence.  What happens make Raul question all of his faith and life's work so he retreats to his Aunt Ida's rustic farm to contemplate what his life holds next and basically drink himself into a drunken stupor everyday.  He is befriended by a cat he names Bruiser - who I love by the way.  When Raul has finally hit bottom, his friend Felix shows up and offers to try to do what the police can't - find justice for Raul and his family.

Let me say this book kind of starts out slow and there is a hint of the unreliable narrator trope which rarely works for me.  But about 60%, this book takes a HUGE turn and at that point, I couldn't flip the pages fast enough.  Raul was a likable character and while Shea really drives the point home that the character has lost all hope, it's easy to understand why he is at that point.  And as  I eluded, Shea made me love a cat - don't tell my boys!

If you don't mind a slow introduction, then definitely pick up this latest horror release.  The ending was great and I'm still a huge fan on the Shea bandwagon (and is it scary that sentence just made me think of Annie Wilkes?)  

A minor note:  I do think this book needed better editing in a few places.  One one page Aunt Ida goes from not reading much except Reader's Digest to having a huge reading haven upstairs of rescued books.  And on another, Bruiser is in too places at once.  These were minor things and had this not been a buddy read where Stormi and I were discussing it on a regular basis, I might not even have caught them.  I'll still consider reading anything Flame Tree releases though.

RATING: 4 PAWS