BOOK REVIEW: POINT OF NO RETURN BY TIFFANY SNOW

Title: Point of No Return

Author: Tiffany Snow

Genre: Romantic suspense

Published on: May 20, 2014 by Montlake Romance

Kathleen Turner wasn't expecting to fall in love when she came to Indianapolis a year ago, much less with two very different men. And not just any men. Brothers.

Blane Kirk, former SEAL turned attorney, is every woman’s dream man. A playboy who changes women as often as he changes his tie, trying to hold on to Blane could only break Kathleen's heart.

Commitment is a foreign word to Kade Dennon, assassin-for-hire and genius hacker, and safety is non-existent. A future with Kade would surely end in disaster—for both of them.

Past betrayals come to a head and the choice Kathleen makes could sign her death warrant. Everything’s at stake as Blane, Kade, and Kathleen reach the Point of No Return.  

Finally, the last book in the Kathleen Turner series is here. The previous one ended with a sort of edge-of-your-seat moment. Kade did something to save his brother, Blane, and it didn’t end too well. Fortunately, everyone is safe…for now. Kathleen’s been spending so much time with Kade now. She’s made her choice almost clear: Kade is the man she is in love with. Because of this, Blane’s been a little cold toward her. He’s not happy about losing Kathleen yet again. Whether they’ll get along ever again is a big question.

Kathleen is still reluctant to come between Blane and Kade. She feels she can’t be part of their lives without keeping them driven apart. When something unexpected happens, Kade chooses to stay with Kathleen no matter what. He is determined to change his life for her. Kathleen is joyful over this, and it seems like they’re finally getting their HEA. Of course, things can never be easy. For reasons unknown, Kade and Kathleen are driven apart yet again. And this time, it seems like it’s permanent. This leads a disillusioned Kathleen to flee to her hometown. The only person she lets know about her location is Alisha, Kathleen’s new friend and next-door neighbor.

BOOK REVIEW: A STRANGE MACHINE BY DAN RIX

Title: A Strange Machine
Author: Dan Rix
Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: December 4, 2014, self-published

She’s dead.

Samantha, her wavy caramel-colored hair, her little Bambi eyes, her angel face…dead.

I killed her.

Sure, I didn’t crush her skull and bash her brains in. The telephone pole did that. The drugs did that. The other car’s high beams did that.

But I killed her.

She had just said I love you. She said she missed me. She was coming to spend the night. She was high. She asked for a ride.

I was lazy.

But what if there was a way to save her? What if there was a way to send back a warning? What if there was a way to undo it all? The crash. Us. Falling in love. All the way back to the beginning.

What if there was a machine? 

Well-researched sci-fi is a joy to read for me. Part of the reason is that I find futuristic tech fascinating. A Strange Machine deals with a certain awesome invention. The main character is Cory Holland, an egocentric genius teen who attends Lakeside Upper. If that name sounds familiar, yes, it’s the same private school that Bill Gates went to. It’s got prestigious STEM courses. Cory is good at virtually anything, especially programming. He hacks into the school’s system to get the hottest girls signed up into his Advanced Physics class. Cory is about to start his senior year, and he wants it to be perfect.

Another of the main protagonists is Iris Strasser. She’s a competitive overachiever whose life’s mission is to beat Cory in the classroom. Iris usually ends up matching his scores, though. For Cory, excelling at school is effortless. Iris needs to work hard just to keep up with Cory. She’s also going into her senior year. Iris wants it to be different, so she changes her style drastically. She used to wear baggy, awful-looking outfits. Now Iris is switching to clothes that show her figure and letting her hair down. Iris isn’t ugly, but she didn’t turn guys’ heads either.

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN IT'S REAL BY ERIN WATT

Title: When It's Real
Author: Erin Watt
Genre: Romance

Published on: May 30, 2017 by Harlequin Teen

Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths. 

There's nothing ordinary about Oakley. This bad-boy pop star's got Grammy Awards, millions of fangirls and a reputation as a restless, too-charming troublemaker. But with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley needs to show the world he's settling down—and who better to help him than Vaughn, a part-time waitress trying to help her family get by? The very definition of ordinary. 

Posing as his girlfriend, Vaughn will overhaul Oakley's image from troublemaker to serious artist. In return for enough money to put her brothers through college, she can endure outlandish Hollywood parties and carefully orchestrated Twitter exchanges. She'll fool the paparazzi and the groupies. She might even start fooling herself a little. 

Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there's no telling what your heart will do…

This book ended up being something totally different from what I expected. The synopsis made me think When It’s Real would be soap-operay, kind of like a rom-com guilty pleasure. Well, the book is a romance but not a comedy or soap opera. It’s more of a New Adult romance. The protagonists are Vaughn Bennet and Oakley Ford. The former is an average girl from LA. She lives with three siblings—their parents died in an accident years ago. Vaughn and her family are strapped for cash. She had to graduate from high school early so she could work and help keep her family afloat. Vaughn doesn’t know what she wants in life, anyway.

In contrast, Oakley Ford has known he wanted to sing since he was a kid. At nineteen, he’s a wildly successful pop heartthrob. The fame’s got to Oakley’s head a bit. He knows he’s a big deal and has become a big partier. Oakley’s had a creative block lately, though. Seeking to help him (and clean his reputation), his manager Jim Tolson cooks up a plan. He wants Oakley to date an ordinary girl, knowing it’ll make him seem more down-to-earth and relatable. Oakley feels like refusing…until renowned music producer Donovan King makes an irresistible offer. He’ll produce Oakley’s next album if the latter proves he can settle down and do music for the craft rather than money and fame.

BOOK REVIEW: BLINDSIDED BY CLYDE PHILLIPS

Title: Blindsided

Author: Clyde Phillips

Genre: Mystery, police procedural

Published on: August 13, 2013 by Thomas & Mercer (first edition: March 1, 2000)

Homicide inspector Jane Candiotti's personal life is taking a turn for the better: still single and nearing 40, she's about to set up housekeeping with her partner on the force, Kenny Marks. Her future at the San Francisco Police Department is looking good too, until Skip Lacey, a former cop who's fallen on hard times, turns up dead in a railway yard, his eyes brutally gouged out. The killer's got a big score to settle, as well as a talent for turning up in the strangest places, like the funeral of Jane's father. He also has a sharpshooter's eye and a deadly aim: bent on revenge for a 15-year-old miscarriage of justice, he picks off six more cops, all in Jane's precinct.

In this second outing after the Hitchcockian Fall from Grace, which also starred Candiotti and Marks, Phillips telegraphs the killer's identity early on, but that doesn't keep the suspense from mounting. This gripping police procedural has a wallop of a denouement that will come as a surprise to most readers. The action is well paced, the characters sympathetically drawn, and the love story adds a nice touch without sinking into sentimentality.

The first book in this series left me wowed, so I was eager to find out what’s next for the protagonists. They are Inspector Jane Candiotti of the SFPD, and her partner Kenny Marks. Fall from Grace ended on sort of a bleak note. Jane went through a huge disappointment that almost cost her her life. Now, she and Kenny are closer than ever. Jane’s starting to realize that he’s the man she loves after all.

It’s been almost a year since the events of the previous book. Blindsided starts by introducing the main villain, whose identity is revealed right away: Jacques Carpenter. He’s an ex-con who got released due to good behavior. Now, Jacques intends to exact revenge on those who he feels have messed up his life. His first kill doesn’t make much of an impact. Jane and Kenny all but dismiss it, thinking the victim just pissed someone off. The brutality of the kill leaves a huge impression on them, though.