Darlene's Digest

The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you like tv shows like Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy , or go all the way back to M.A.S.H and St. Elsewhere , you'll enjoy this debut novel. I happen to be quite fond of medical fiction that displays lots of (literal) blood and guts and involves flawed characters with moments of brilliance. This is a novel about 21st c. women juggling careers and family, about friendship, and ultimately, about betrayal and redemption. Zadie and Emma are BFF's with successful careers: Zadie as a pediatric cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon. They've survived together, weathering tragedy and love affairs, but now a secret from their past threatens to upend their world. There was so much I loved about this book! The brilliant cover, toddler Delaney's dialogue (I hope it's based on a real child and that she never loses her magical conversation quirks), the husbands, and most of all, t...

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn My rating: 5 of 5 stars I luuuuuurve Veronica Speedwell! Unabashedly sexual, going boldly where few Englishwomen dared, the equal of her enigmatic partner, she's the Victorian heroine I didn't know I needed! This third book is delightful with its Egyptian artifacts skulduggery, interesting characters and a glimpse at Stoker's troubled past. I loved it and I look forward to more Veronica in my reading future. I do recommend readers start with the first book and read them in sequence to get the full appreciation for Miss Speedwell and her no-holds-barred life. View all my reviews

Cherish Hard by Nalini Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars It was a refreshing change to read about a blue-collar hero and a rich heroine (even though she supports herself as a teacher), but what I really appreciated about this book was how well drawn the secondary characters were. Each person who appeared on the page seemed very real and not just a plot device, from the BFF to the siblings of the H&H. The New Zealand setting was also a nice change for a North American romance reader, confirming my desire to see the hunky Kiwis in their native habitat in my future travels.[g] View all my reviews

The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of the best historicals I've read this year. We were introduced to Lord Lockwood in Duran's debut novel and readers wanted to know his backstory. Why was he so mysterious? Why was he estranged from his wife? We get the story here and it takes a strong stomach to read the details of Liam's missing four years. What I loved about this book was the deep characterization. The motivations and goals were shaped by trauma and very real issues, not lame big misunderstandings. The resolution of dealing with the villain was especially elegant in its complexity and execution. Ms. Duran has been an autobuy for me from her first novel, and she brings her characters full circle with this latest effort. Her loyal readers will not be disappointed. View all my reviews

His Convenient Marchioness by Elizabeth Rolls My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed it. It was the kind of solid Regency I don't read enough these days, and I appreciated the older protagonists acting like the grown-ups they were. I especially enjoyed their being in love with their first spouses. This kind of "second chance at love" tale is harder to write than one where the protagonists have never been in love before and the author did a great job. There wasn't a lot of drama over big misunderstandings that could have been settled with one conversation, their self-doubts rang true and the problems were very real. Some of the secondary characters seemed just a touch over the top, but in general I not only was quite satisfied with this book, but I'm going to look for more in this series. View all my reviews

This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong My rating: 4 of 5 stars The latest Casey Duncan novel hits the ground running and doesn't let up. In fact, I highly recommend picking up the other two novels first, as this would be difficult to read as a stand-alone without knowing the characters. Life in the off-the-grid community of Rockton is becoming more and more difficult to maintain. Casey's a good cop with good instincts as a detective, but she's still answerable to the powerful Committee that dictates who is sent to the wilderness town. Now she has a suspected serial killer on her hands and plenty of push-back from the Rockton residents. It was a fast paced page turner of a read, but I found myself struggling to remember details about some of the characters introduced in previous work. That's no an indictment of the author, more a reflection on my poor memory skills, but it still kept the reading experience to be five star. V...

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was my pick on an overwhelmingly busy holiday weekend and it was exactly the getaway-between-covers I needed. A "meet cute" romance with two engaging characters with interesting lives, lots of food-love, great BFFs and some real-world issues for an interracial romance. Alexa and Drew seem made for each other in so many ways, though neither of them can see it initially. They're high-powered people with intense careers engaging in a long distance romance (with a lot of flight time.) I enjoyed them very much, and I liked that the author didn't shy away from Alexa reminding Drew to check his privilege. The only thing that kept if from five stars was the lack of communication. There wasn't a clear reason why Drew couldn't seem to maintain a long term relationship and both of them danced around their relationship issues too much for my taste. But the ending was sati...