Re: Books Read 2017
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 1:06 pm
Finished Man of War by M. R. Forbes
In the year 2280 Earth was invaded by aliens with impenetrable armor and plasma weapons. Cities were incinerated. Military scattered and destroyed. Only ONE starship made it through the alien blockade, the colony ship Magellan, and made it away from Earth. Equipped with then experimental quantum slipstream drive, the ship made it to a different star system and was able to build 4 domes, but the 20K survivors can't do much. Still Earth was never forgotten. In the subsequent fifty-two years periodic recon flights made it to Earth to pick up any broadcasts from the resistance left on Earth. Not all of them made it back. Then one message changed everything. The remaining commander of the Resistance on Earth was about to give up, when a team around the remainder of Mexico City made an amazing discovery... that can give Earth a fighting chance, even as the colony was ready to pull up stakes to find a planet elsewhere away from the war. Now an old crippled general, his hotshot pilot son, and a ground pounder on Earth had to make the ultimate gamble and mutiny... They have to steal the old colony ship Magellan, fly to Earth, get the discovery away from Earth so it can be studied... even if it mean sacrificing the entire resistance cell of hundreds, with no weapons other than their own ingenuity.
Actually quite good for a scifi yarn, the enemy was not as invincible as first thought, and characters are quite deep for typical military scifi stories. 7 out of 8. It sorta ends on a cliffhanger to setup for the next book though.
-----
Finished It's in His Heart by Shelly Alexander FREE on Prime Reading
Ella Dennings just wanted to get away to her late husband Bradley's Red River Valley cabin. He had died a long painful death due to cancer, and to partly escape she had taken to erotic romance writing, and wrote novels where she hoped what she'll do with her husband should he recover. The first two were major hits that she no longer had to teach. Her car skidded in the mud and stuck in a ditch. She had to walk to cabin with her beloved bulldog Winston in a raging rainstorm, already muddy from several falls, only to find the cabin was occupied... by her late husband's best friend, Cooper. Cooper was hiding from the public having been falsely accused by an ex of sexual impropriety and had to sell his old home to cover his legal fees for the court battle. He had nowhere to go except the cabin, and the last thing he wanted was to spend time with his (dead) best friend's widow that he was also very much attracted to, even if Ella was willing to move on from Bradley. When Ella's secret came to light and rocked the small town, will it doom Cooper's chances in court? Or be his ultimate salvation?
Fun read, and the darkest hour was pretty dark, but somehow the ending felt like it just dragged on a bit too long. 6 out of 8.
-----
Finished The Paramedic's Rescue by Patty Blount FREE on Amazon
Kara Larsen is a single mom in a financial planning/consulting firm and barely works half-time to make sure she can spend a lot of time with her 18-month child Nadia and be ready for every contingency, even went as far as getting certified in infant and child CPR, which bring her to meet FDNY paramedic Reid Bennett the instructor, with his own heavy baggage regarding a daughter that didn't get to grow up. When Reid found Nadia wandering the department store and her mom's total panic, Reid had a complete meltdown and lectured Kara in the department store with harsh words, which brought out both indignation (Doesn't he realize single mom is difficult?) and fear of failure (My mom never had trouble...) When baby Nadia had breathing problems and some limbs had turned blue, 911 was called and Reid was among the first responders. Kara knew that Reid is handsome, but she can't get involved with any one, not after Nadia's father basically left town after learning she's pregnant, leaving her doubtful of herself, her looks, her... everything. But Reid kept appearing near her, and he's so good with Nadia. He suggested a Montessori school for Nadia, which both solved Kara's sleep problem and made her sad that she wasn't the supermom she believed she should be. When Kara's ex Steve reappeared with the news that he disappeared because of a heart condition and should not father children, Kara panicked again... and Reid had to confront his own demons and losses before he could love Kara...
Surprisingly deep characterization for a short novel (less than 200 pages) invoking 9/11 a lot (Kara's mother died in the Twin towers) and potential and actual loss of children are enough to tear any family apart. For a moment I thought Steve was going to at least not be a complete douchebag when he explained why he ran, then his subsequent behavior quickly disproved that. 6.5 out of 8
-----
Finished Forever Dreams by Leanna Morgan FREE on Amazon
Gracie Donnelly is visiting Montana from New Zealand to visit a ranch, but her real mission is to locate her birth father, who was a cowboy that got her mom pregnant while on an international tour. And the ranch owner Trent McKenzie knew Gracie is trouble, all 5 foot 2 of her, the moment she stepped on his ranch. Trent can never trust a woman again when his first wife thoroughly broke his heart, but the more he got to know Gracie, the deeper in love he fell. But the main thing she is searching for may be the thing that will send her away...
Somehow this book FEELS much longer than it is as there was a LOT of push-pull between the pair, and the darkest hour was pretty darn dark alright, but the grand gesture somehow doesn't quite feel grand enough. 5 out of 8.
In the year 2280 Earth was invaded by aliens with impenetrable armor and plasma weapons. Cities were incinerated. Military scattered and destroyed. Only ONE starship made it through the alien blockade, the colony ship Magellan, and made it away from Earth. Equipped with then experimental quantum slipstream drive, the ship made it to a different star system and was able to build 4 domes, but the 20K survivors can't do much. Still Earth was never forgotten. In the subsequent fifty-two years periodic recon flights made it to Earth to pick up any broadcasts from the resistance left on Earth. Not all of them made it back. Then one message changed everything. The remaining commander of the Resistance on Earth was about to give up, when a team around the remainder of Mexico City made an amazing discovery... that can give Earth a fighting chance, even as the colony was ready to pull up stakes to find a planet elsewhere away from the war. Now an old crippled general, his hotshot pilot son, and a ground pounder on Earth had to make the ultimate gamble and mutiny... They have to steal the old colony ship Magellan, fly to Earth, get the discovery away from Earth so it can be studied... even if it mean sacrificing the entire resistance cell of hundreds, with no weapons other than their own ingenuity.
Actually quite good for a scifi yarn, the enemy was not as invincible as first thought, and characters are quite deep for typical military scifi stories. 7 out of 8. It sorta ends on a cliffhanger to setup for the next book though.
-----
Finished It's in His Heart by Shelly Alexander FREE on Prime Reading
Ella Dennings just wanted to get away to her late husband Bradley's Red River Valley cabin. He had died a long painful death due to cancer, and to partly escape she had taken to erotic romance writing, and wrote novels where she hoped what she'll do with her husband should he recover. The first two were major hits that she no longer had to teach. Her car skidded in the mud and stuck in a ditch. She had to walk to cabin with her beloved bulldog Winston in a raging rainstorm, already muddy from several falls, only to find the cabin was occupied... by her late husband's best friend, Cooper. Cooper was hiding from the public having been falsely accused by an ex of sexual impropriety and had to sell his old home to cover his legal fees for the court battle. He had nowhere to go except the cabin, and the last thing he wanted was to spend time with his (dead) best friend's widow that he was also very much attracted to, even if Ella was willing to move on from Bradley. When Ella's secret came to light and rocked the small town, will it doom Cooper's chances in court? Or be his ultimate salvation?
Fun read, and the darkest hour was pretty dark, but somehow the ending felt like it just dragged on a bit too long. 6 out of 8.
-----
Finished The Paramedic's Rescue by Patty Blount FREE on Amazon
Kara Larsen is a single mom in a financial planning/consulting firm and barely works half-time to make sure she can spend a lot of time with her 18-month child Nadia and be ready for every contingency, even went as far as getting certified in infant and child CPR, which bring her to meet FDNY paramedic Reid Bennett the instructor, with his own heavy baggage regarding a daughter that didn't get to grow up. When Reid found Nadia wandering the department store and her mom's total panic, Reid had a complete meltdown and lectured Kara in the department store with harsh words, which brought out both indignation (Doesn't he realize single mom is difficult?) and fear of failure (My mom never had trouble...) When baby Nadia had breathing problems and some limbs had turned blue, 911 was called and Reid was among the first responders. Kara knew that Reid is handsome, but she can't get involved with any one, not after Nadia's father basically left town after learning she's pregnant, leaving her doubtful of herself, her looks, her... everything. But Reid kept appearing near her, and he's so good with Nadia. He suggested a Montessori school for Nadia, which both solved Kara's sleep problem and made her sad that she wasn't the supermom she believed she should be. When Kara's ex Steve reappeared with the news that he disappeared because of a heart condition and should not father children, Kara panicked again... and Reid had to confront his own demons and losses before he could love Kara...
Surprisingly deep characterization for a short novel (less than 200 pages) invoking 9/11 a lot (Kara's mother died in the Twin towers) and potential and actual loss of children are enough to tear any family apart. For a moment I thought Steve was going to at least not be a complete douchebag when he explained why he ran, then his subsequent behavior quickly disproved that. 6.5 out of 8
-----
Finished Forever Dreams by Leanna Morgan FREE on Amazon
Gracie Donnelly is visiting Montana from New Zealand to visit a ranch, but her real mission is to locate her birth father, who was a cowboy that got her mom pregnant while on an international tour. And the ranch owner Trent McKenzie knew Gracie is trouble, all 5 foot 2 of her, the moment she stepped on his ranch. Trent can never trust a woman again when his first wife thoroughly broke his heart, but the more he got to know Gracie, the deeper in love he fell. But the main thing she is searching for may be the thing that will send her away...
Somehow this book FEELS much longer than it is as there was a LOT of push-pull between the pair, and the darkest hour was pretty darn dark alright, but the grand gesture somehow doesn't quite feel grand enough. 5 out of 8.