Novella November Continues...

This week, I have added four more novella's to my Novella November challenge. Two in the cozy mystery genre and two more suspense stories a bit on the darker side.

I started my weekend with the cozy mysteries. First, The Mutt and the Matchmaker, which I think is my favorite of the four books read this week.  It's a sweet little mystery with a bit of humor and some furry friends to add to the appeal.  It was fun and ended on a happy note.  There are two more books in this series but they aren't novellas so I will add them to my TBR list for future reading. The second book, The Saint Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre was also fun and had some humor to it but for some reason, I just didn't connect to the characters or feel invested in the plot.  It was enjoyable, but just didn't quite keep my attention as the first book did.

The two darker books were quite engaging.  I began with The Man on the Bench, which I thought was going to be a straight forward murder mystery.  Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story was very much like one Stephen King or John Saul might write.  It had just a bit of fantasy to it but wasn't overdone. I really liked it and read it in one sitting.  I highly recommend it.  Finally, Blackwater Lake was a murder mystery where a man finds out that his parents had quite a sordid past and investigates a murder they might have been involved in.  I did figure out the ending before it happened but the author kept me guessing for a while. Also worth the read if you are looking for a quick murder mystery.

I have one week left and several novellas left on my list. Hopefully the holiday weekend will give me some added reading time so I can get to them all.  Click on any of the photos above to see the books on Amazon.

                                                                                                                                       

Review: Enchanted Revenge

Enchanted Revenge by Teresa M. Jones was kindly given to me in exchange for an honest review. 

Normally, while I enjoy YA fantasy, I'm not usually attracted to books that revolve around the Fae.  I often find they spend too much time on details about the setting and characters. I did however, like the teaser for this book when it was sent to me and it didn't seem overly intricate so I decided to give it a try. 

Synopsis from Amazon:
When seventeen year old Lily finds her parents brutally murdered, leaving her broken and alone, she is determined to bring justice to the fairies responsible. Her quest leads her to infiltrate The Empyrean, the land of the Fae where terrifying creatures lurk in every shadow. But with a political rebellion mounting, bloody battles and foreign enemies stand in her way. Alec, a mysterious fairy keeping his own secrets, gradually becomes her guide and dear friend in the unfamiliar world, and restores her faith in love. Disturbing secrets about her parent’s true identity are revealed, causing her to be more involved with the devastating fairy war than she can afford. Her vengeful mission becomes compromised and her growing romance with Alec wavers. She must conquer her fear of the unknown, ignore her grief, and overcome her growing list of enemies if she is to succeed in avenging her parents’ death. Or ever make it out alive. 

I'm quite glad that I gave this book a chance.  I knew as soon as I read the first chapter that it would be the kind of book I would want to finish in only a couple of sittings. Hence, the iPad began to travel with me wherever I went for a couple of days so that I could read during any free moments I could spare.  The opening of the book is a bit brutal but this is part of what makes it hard to put down. It grabbed me right from the beginning. Lily, the main character, is portrayed well.  Her role as a girl whose parents were brutally murdered is believable.  I felt connected to her emotions as she moved between anguish, fury, hopelessness, and fear while she tried to cope with her drastically changing world.  Her companion and supporter, Alec, helps her to deal with what is happening to her as she searches for the Fae who killed her family.  They make a great team and his story is as tragic as hers.  They compliment each other nicely.  The setting was lovely and not overwhelming to the senses.  I enjoyed reading about the cities and villages and hearing the history of the world and the fears about what would befall it in the future if no one stood up to save it. I also liked that the romance between the two main characters isn't always at the forefront of the story and the characters are flawed and not cookie cutter perfect in appearance or actions. They are on a mission and have no qualms about what needs to be done to avenge their loved ones. There is some violence but I think this added a nice edge to the story. I'm really looking forward to the next book and also hoping that the characters get to stay together in the story since they have already experienced so much loss.  A girl can hope!


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