NORTH OF NOWHERE by Allison Brennan

Minotaur Books
August 8^th, 2023
978-1250164421
Thriller, Contemporary, New Release
E-ARC
Reviewed by Dawn Roberto (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher via Netgalley

4 Hearts

 

For five years, Boyd McIntyre has kept Kristen and Ryan McIntyre safe from their father and their family, hiding, moving from place to place and teaching the kids how to survive on their own in the wilderness in case the inevitable happens and Boyd is no longer there to keep them safe. But the time has come as their father and his henchmen have finally found them and this time Boyd is determined to keep the kids safe no matter what but with enemies after them, their aunt Ruby is determined to help find the kids and keep them as safe as possible even as she goes against her crime family as well as their plans for the kids. With nowhere to turn, Kristen and Ryan have to stay alive in the wilderness even as they grieve the loss of their protector while staying ahead of the people bent on capturing them no matter what.

NORTH OF NOWHERE by Allison Brennan is an action-packed adventure from start to finish as Kristen and Ryan’s crime boss father finally catches up with them and now with their protector dead and kids on the run, it’s a race against the clock as the bad guys known and unknown chase after them and they are determined to capture them once and for all. Allison Brennan delivers a wild ride from start to finish and it’s a story I was so caught up in that I lost track of time until I finished the book at three in the morning. This is one book that can read as a standalone story and delivers characters that will keep you glued to the pages, from a crime family that is determined to tie up loose ends, an aunt who got out of that family and is determined to find the kids and keep them safe and a cast of secondary characters that will leave you breathless. I love this author’s books and she is an auto-buy no matter what she writes and NORTH OF NOWHERE is one adrenaline race against the clock with twists I sure didn’t see coming until the end of the book.

NORTH OF NOWHERE is about Kristen and Ryan McIntyre, whose father and his family run a crime family filled with bad people, corrupt police/politicians, etc. and more in California. Ryan and Kristen have been on the run for five years, moving repeatedly, learning to survive and stay safe with their protector, Boyd McIntyre and the game finally ends as they face their greatest test when their family finally finds them. These characters had me gripping the kindle in anticipation as the race to find the kids ramps up halfway through the book and even more players come aboard the pages. I was thrilled to see that I had no problem keeping the cast of characters straight to the end of the book. I can attest this book had me on the edge of my seat till the very end of the book. There were a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and the ending was satisfying in all ways.

 

Allison Brennan is a talented storyteller who delivers a great thriller to lose yourself this summer. If you haven’t read this author before, then you can start with this one then tries her other books. I can’t wait to see where she goes next in her writing and what she comes up with story wise. I highly recommend NORTH OF NOWHERE if you enjoy action packed books filled with good and bad guys, captivating characters, and a setting that’s lush and wonderfully described.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.

 

HOW MUCH I NEED by Marie Force

Series; Miami Nights Book 5
TJP, Inc
April 11^th, 2023
78-1958035030
Contemporary Romance
E-book

Reviewed by Dawn Roberto (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Author

5 Hearts

 

Milo Giordino is recovering from being shot in the hospital when he finds himself falling for his sweet and sexy nurse, Gianna and soon he can’t wait for when she comes on duty while he is in the hospital. With Gianna, he finds a woman who is sweet, makes him laugh and just keeps a smile on his face. While watching his siblings and cousins fall in love and find their own happy ever after, Milo yearns for his own special someone and he thinks he found it in Gianna, but he has uphill battle for her heart even as he falls even more in love with the pretty nurse.

Gianna has had it rough with her parents dying in an accident which had her in charge of her younger brothers, a fiancé who destroyed her heart and soul and now that she finds herself falling for her patient, she can’t help but fall for his large family even as they bring her into their world with open hearts and arms. But Gianna is determined to stand on her own…even if it means giving up on a second chance at love with Milo and breaks her heart in the process.

HOW MUCH I NEED is a great book to end (for now I hope) in Marie Force’s Miami Nights series. With Milo finally getting his own romance and ever after seeing his siblings and cousins fall in love with some amazing people, he finds himself falling for his pretty nurse after getting shot by mistake and having major surgery. With the large Giordano family giving the readers much laughter, love and more amid this series and Milo and Gianna finding their road to happy ever after is paved with speed bumps right and left, the reader is taken on a wild ride that will tie up lots of loose ends in the series and we get a catch up with everyone we have grown to love since book one, How Much I Feel. Marie Force is a wonderful storyteller and is an autobuys for me regardless of the book/series. Her storytelling is on par with the big-name authors (Susan Mallery, Nora Roberts, etc.) and her characters are so multidimensional and the reader cannot help but fall in love with them all. I know I can honestly say I am really, really hoping she comes back to this amazing series in the future as I know I am not the only one who would love to see what’s up with the family and all the characters.

Milo is the nice guy, the boring one according to past girlfriends and he despaired on finding his own love even as he was thrilled as his siblings fell in love and found their perfect mates. Now after waking up in the hospital and being told what happened, his days pass in slow motion until his pretty nurse Gianna comes on duty then he finds himself brightening up even as he makes her laugh and want to know more about her and why her eyes held such shadows of pain. Milo is one of my favorite characters in this series. The youngest kid, the ‘nice guy’ who always seemed to finish last. His personality shines through in his book, HOW MUCH I NEED, and the reader will fall for him and Gianna right from the start. Gianna has no shield from Milo as he storms her well meaning defenses and she finds herself falling for her patient even as she resists until she succumbs to Milo’s charms as well as his family’s welcome. But Gianna has issues, and they get triggered even as she wants to believe that love with Milo will not sour. Can Milo show Gianna that the strength of love can be a more wonderful thing than the second time around, only if you trust yourself and the person, you’re with one hundred percent? I love Gianna and love her with Milo a lot. He gives her space, is generally interested in her, her past and why she is the way she is. This made me happy to see it as a realistic approach to romance that I sometimes don’t see in romance books at times. Its not all chemistry and sex, it’s about respect of the other person, their feelings and giving them space to figure out what they need and want. The entire cast of characters deliver in this final book as Milo’s family gives advice to him and Gianna, as Gianna wrestles with her heart and as Milo finds himself on tenterhooks as he waits for Gianna to come back to him. Ms. Force delivers a wonderful finale in HOW MUCH I NEED with her trademark style, full of romance, friendship, and family as well as some steamy sex to keep things interesting.

HOW MUCH I NEED is more than a boy meets girl, falls in love and lives happily ever after. Its about two people who need to find their way to one another even as things conspire to toss roadblocks periodically (as life tends to do) and the reader will fall in love with Milo and Gianna even as the ending itself ties up loose storylines from past books and the reader finds themselves longing to meet this wild and wonderful cast of characters. If you haven’t read this series, then I highly recommend you start with book one, How Much I Feel, and make sure to settle in because you will not want to put these books down. Kudos to Marie Force for giving the reader a satisfying final book in a series set in steamy Miami and the little Havana area of the city. I can’t wait to see where this author goes next in her writing journey and hope you can grab any of this author’s books.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.

 

 

CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff

 

 

Park Row Books
February 7^th, 2023
978-0778334293
E-ARC
Reviewed by Dawn Roberto
Obtained by Publisher via Netgalley

3 Hearts

 It’s 1942, Germany is rolling into countries and taking them over as World War II rages on. The Nazis are everywhere and when Hannah Martel has to escape Germany due to the death of her fiancé and her work in the resistance, she finds herself on a ship that’s turned away from port and with nowhere to go, she sends a desperate letter to her cousin Lily in Brussels. With her cousin Lily vouching for her, Hannah tries to keep her head down and make arrangements to get out of Europe as fast as she can but there’s no safe way to escape as she’s drawn back into the world of the resistance again in Brussels. Bu danger looms and as her work with the Sapphire line continues, Hannah finds she put her cousin Lily and her family in danger even as she desperately tries to help in anyway she can for the resistance. But what happens when Lily and her family are arrested and scheduled to be deported to Auschwitz, how far will Hannah go to rescue her cousin? How much will Hannah sacrifice to save the only family she has left?

 CODE NAME SAPPHIRE is a story set around some true events and stories of sacrifice and bravery that happened during that time in Brussels, Belgium. This was an author I haven’t really read before and found that her characters were interesting if a bit one note at times. The characters felt a little flat at times and one note. Lily in particular had me wondering if there was a redeeming quality about her so I could like her a little and Hannah fell far below some other characters that felt a bit more interesting (especially Micheline as head of the Sapphire line in Brussels) and wished there was more about her than some of the others. The story alternates between Lily, Hannah and Micheline throughout the book and it was a cohesive storyline that didn’t veer to far off the track especially when you go back and forth between the three women. The author does a good job in capturing the desolation, the austerity and hopelessness that many during that time had felt under Nazi Germany rule and the bravado of those who fought back against them. CODE NAME SAPPHIRE isn’t the best historical fiction set in World War II I have read but its one that was just unique in the setting that kept my attention until the end. The writing flows and though people who read this will find they know the outcome of what happened to those imprisoned by the Germans, it was still an interesting story to be told. I just wish the author focused more on the resistance in Belgium more and centered the story along that instead of two main characters I felt were boring, in my opinion. If you enjoy the glimpse into what was going on with the many who were under German rule during World War II then you might find this book a bit more to your liking than I did at times. I may try a different book of this author’s to see if it fits to more what I enjoy when I read stories set around this world war and Holocaust.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.