Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

  This was a quick paced thriller set on a small island in the Baltic Sea near Sweden.  The novel is set in two different time periods.  First in 2012, four friends traveled to Isle Blind to reconnect, never dreaming that it will be their last time alive.  Then in 2022, the island now has a yoga retreat and is open for the first time for a bachelorette party.  Tessa is a true crime podcaster who has recently lost her podcast due to an unfortunate and tragic incident.  The bachelorette party is her chance to be with her old friends but more importantly it could be a chance for her to learn more about the four murders dubbed the Nacka Four in 2012. This could be her opportunity to restart her podcast.  However once on the island her doubts begin to grow as she feels that things are not right.  Then one of her friends goes missing and Tessa fears the worst.  Will she make it off the island alive or will history repeat itself? I really enjoyed th...

Tricks of Fortune is the second novel in the Katie True series and it offered up another great mystery.  Katie was saved by a police officer when she was a baby.  The story catapulted both of them into small town fame.  Now Lieutenant Matthew Peterson has been murdered and Katie's friend Gina is the prime suspect. Katie once again teams up with Jaime to figure out what really happened.   This novel dug a little deeper into Katie's past and how she got into Tarot cards.  The reader also learned a little more about her past family.  I also want to mention that even though this is a series, one could read this novel and enjoy the story without having read the first one.  I did enjoy the first novel a little more than this one but I thought this was a solid mystery.  There were hints of romance and many layers to the story.  There were good action packed moments. The author also did a great job with the mystery as it took me awhile to put al...

  Everyone has heard about Henry VIII's reign and all of the drama that surrounded it but few know about one of his closest advisers, Thomas Wolsey. This story transports the reader to the late Middle Ages as we learn about an intelligent and ambitious man who had the ear of some of the most powerful men in England.   I really enjoyed the first part of this novel and learning about Thomas's childhood.  It was interesting to see that social mobility was possible in the Middle Ages.  His adult life was much more complicated and filled with many highs and lows.  I think many readers will enjoy seeing this story from Thomas's perspective.  Henry the VIII's story is so well known as well as what we think about each of his wives.  To read it from Thomas's point of view was really a fresh take on the entire story.  I found myself actually disliking Anne and wanting things to work out for Thomas.  It takes an amazing author to be able to pull th...

Kelley Armstrong can write a strong novel in any genre.  This is the second romance that I have read by this author and it was another winner.  This one was set in Vancouver and between a writer and a professional hockey player. Gemma had a crush on Mason in high school but he turned out to be a massive jerk.  Fast forward twenty years later and Gemma has become a published author using Mason as inspiration for her alpha male lead in her first novel. Mason is a  professional hockey player nearing the end of his career and has recently gotten bad publicity after he failed to support his teammate.  Gemma and Mason are set up on a TV show and it ends up helping both of their careers.  They decide to go out again to help their careers and sparks begin to fly. Everything should work out perfectly except there is more to both of their stories.  This was a really cute contemporary romance.  It was easy to get lost in the story and I really liked both cha...