Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight (Stephanie Plum, #28)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Stephanie Plum #28
Publication Date: 11/2/21
Period: Contemporary – The Burg (Trenton), USA
Number of Pages: 320

Diesel is back and he and Stephanie are looking for the same criminal. If you haven’t already met Diesel in previous books (and even from his own series a while back), here is how Stephanie describes him. “Diesel is over six feet of hard muscle and bad attitude…” Diesel has some talents that are very hard to explain and works for an organization that is even harder to pin down. He just appears in Stephanie’s apartment in the middle of the night, and he wants to stay with her. OOPS – how will her long-term boyfriend Joe Morelli feel about that?

Stephanie and Lula go about their business as Bail Enforcement Agents working for Stephanie’s cousin Vinnie. Some people are just easier to track down than others – and some are easier to apprehend than others – and some just steal your heart when you hear their stories. One of their FTAs (Failure To Appear) is Melvin Schwartz who was arrested because he hacked into the evening news and replaced the broadcast with a porno film. As one of seven members of the hacker group known as Baked Potato, Melvin is in more trouble than he knows because his group hacked into the ultimate, primo, hacker’s servers and now he’s after them. What started out as a lark for the Baked Potatoes, turns deadly and will cost all of them their lives if Stephanie, Diesel, Morelli, Lula, and Ranger can’t stop the revenge of Oswald Wednesday who did not appreciate being hacked.

Oswald is a psychopath who loves pain and torture, so when he manages to identify the Baked Potatoes, he takes great delight in torturing them prior to killing them. Oswald is very rich, very shrewd, very sly, and has all the skills and tools he needs to identify, track down, and dispose of each of the people responsible for hacking his servers. Soon, Stephanie is in his cross-hairs as well because she has dared to cross him and hide the people for whom he is looking.

As always, the story is entertaining, witty, and very well written. I absolutely adore all of the supporting characters – especially Lula and Stephanie’s mother. I believe I’d like to move to the Berg after hearing Stephanie’s description. “While many parts of the country are struggling with changing ideologies, the Burg continues to march to the beat of its own drum, thumbing its nose at political correctness.”

I can definitely recommend this book because it provided several hours of smiles and breath-holding entertainment for me – and I hope it will for you as well. Happy Reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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How the Duke Saved Christmas by Anna Harrington

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Christmas, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

How the Duke Saved ChristmasBarbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Publication Date: 11/2/21
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 242

Oh! This was a warm, uplifting, romantic, and wonderful read. The writing is excellent, the story is well-told, and the characters are warm and loving. I absolutely adored the four children in the tale, and I think you will as well.

Sometimes, what someone might view as their unselfish act of love is really a selfish act born from their own despair and insecurity. When you, alone, make a decision that affects both of you, that is selfish because that takes away the other person’s choice. That is what we have in this story. Michael Stanton, Duke of Wakefield, and Lady Clara Marshall have known and loved each other all of their lives. Their lives were the stuff of fairy tales and they reveled in every minute of it. At least they did until two years ago when there was a horrendous phaeton accident that gravely injured Clara and took the life of the friend who was driving.

Left grossly scarred and unable to ever walk again, Clara breaks off her betrothal to Michael and becomes a recluse. She allows herself to wallow in self-pity, feel sorry for herself, and become totally dependent on others taking care of her. She never gave Michael a chance to agree or disagree with the breakup. No, she just decided it was in his self-interest and sent him a letter canceling their betrothal.

Clara hasn’t set eyes on Michael since the accident. She’s still desperately in love with him, but she knows he needs to marry someone who can give him the full life and family he deserves. As she and her brother Anthony are traveling north to Scotland for the Christmas holidays, a terrible snowstorm begins, temperatures drop, and the bridge they need to cross is damaged. Since they cannot stay in the carriage and all of the inns are full, Anthony decides to take Clara to Northbourne Park – Michael’s estate. Clara fights the decision but finally has no other choice.

Then, a wonderous Christmas miracle begins when Clara has to stay at Northbourne Park while Anthony continues north. You’ll totally fall in love with Michael as you see him unabashedly manipulate Clara into coming out into the world again. It is little by little, but she leaves her room more often and finds she can enjoy things again. Michael loves Clara as much as he ever has and he’ll do whatever he can to help her – even if it means she’ll decide to leave him again.

When you add Michael’s four precocious nieces and nephews into the mix along with Michael’s abiding love, you come up with a totally epic Christmas story. Your heart will swell as you see Clara grow and learn that her life can still be full and meaningful even if she can no longer walk.

If you are looking for a wonderful, heart-warming, romantic Christmas story, then this is just the book for you. I hope you will read it and love it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews