April reads

April was another slow month for me. Looks like 10 books were read. Some were good, some were disappointments, none knocked me on my ass, even though I gave a 5 to Hunger Games.

OK, now I'm caught up. And thinking I could use another week off work.

Trouble Me by Laura Moore
3.5 stars
This is the 3rd book in the Rosewood trilogy, and like the others, I liked it. For some reason, the fixation on the horse talk (and education) bothered me more in this one than the others. I also wondered how on earth Jade didn't recognize Rob, since only 5 years had passed. It bothered me throughout the entire book. But it was a nice story of redemption (the heroine) and I would read another from Moore.

The Scarred Heir by Denise Patrick
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book. I especially liked the hero. With interesting twists and turns around a case of mistaken identity. The part that really knocked it down for me was the entire switching places piece by Max's brother (and potential villain). It seemed a huge far stretch to go to cover up a family secret, and one that could be so easily debunked, I wondered how he got away with it. But the love story was lovely and saved the book for me.

Caught in the Act by Jill Sorenson
3.5 stars
I don't know how Sorenson takes undesirable characters and makes them sympathetic, but she does it. And while I felt very wary at the idea of the heroine blatantly and illegally smuggling someone over the border, I imagine this is not unusual in any way. But I wondered how on earth Sorenson would reconcile a border agent looking past this. And to her credit, Adam had a very hard time with it. There's always an interesting secondary romance, and I found myself even more interested in the outcome of that than with the main romance. I am definitely looking forward to the next book, which I would hope chronicles that story.

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
5 stars
OK, I get the hype surrounding this. It was great. I originally downloaded it as a way to get my son to finish it to get outside reading credit in his English class. I challenged him that I could finish it before him (he had about 70 pages to go at the time). He beat me, but not by much, because I couldn't put it down. And interestingly, I bought Catching Fire, but have very little desire to read it. Wonder why that is.

Twisted (Tracers, #5) by Laura Griffin
4 stars
Another great book in the Tracers series by Laura Griffin. I originally gave it 5 stars, but thinking back, I had a very hard time getting over the fact that a rookie detective was allowed to come in and basically take over the biggest case on the docket. But I really love the way Griffin writes suspense, and I liked the world-weary Mark a lot.

When She Wasn't Looking by HelenKay Dimon
4 stars
I liked the smart characters, the romance while incredibly fast was great, and I adore Dimon's writing style, her voice, and the fact that her heroes come across as real. They are exhausted, they get hurt, and they manage to rely on their women, knowing that they are also super smart & capable. Read the full review here.

True Devotion (Uncommon Heroes #1) by Dee Henderson
A generous 3 stars
While I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, this was way heavy on the praying and God talk. Don't get me wrong, it's a Christian publisher and an author who writes only inspys, and I knew what I was getting into. I found that if I skipped completely over the pages and pages of prayer, I liked the story and the characters. I wish this had been just a little more understated, because then I'd read more of the series, but unfortunately, I had a hard time believing that everyone Kelly met (including a "random" teenage boy) had the same views and strength of conviction as she did. This book does what it advertises, so it doesn't seem fair to grade it down, but I hated being conked over the head with the Jesus talk. For a look at a book that does this oh so right, I recommend this.

Callum (The Cursed Clan, #1) by Melissa Schroeder
4 stars
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, though I do love Schroeder's work. It seemed like it was to be a historical, but ended up being a bit of a paranormal instead. One that sucked me right in. And I can't wait to find out what happens to the rest of Callum's family and how the curse gets broken.

Of Noble Birth by Brenda Novak
3.5 stars
This is Novak's first published book (I believe). I liked it a lot. I liked both the characters and the plot. And felt sad at the vengeance that drives some people - (mini-spoiler) I thought there might be redemption for Nathaniel's brother, but it was not to be. I enjoyed it, but have to admit, that Novak writes a better thriller than historical. I have to wonder if she ever thinks of writing another. I'd read it in a second.

Where All the Dead Lie (Taylor Jackson, #7) by JT Ellison
4 stars
Read for SBTB RITA review-a-thon. Will link to it from here when that review goes up. Though I will say that I enjoyed it tremendously.