Scintillating Summer Read: Bared to You

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

Reviewed by Cassandra, Collection Management Librarian

Bared to You, book 1 in the Crossfire series, is a steamy look into the lives of two very complicated characters. The heroine, Eva, meets hero Gideon at the office building which he owns and where she works. From the moment these two set eyes on each other, we enter a complex relationship between two damaged but lovable characters. Both have been victims of abuse, but they try to find their way to one another in the relationship.

There have been comparisons made between Bared to You and Fifty Shades of Grey. Although there are some common elements, such as a young, rich, dominant hero involved with a younger woman, but Bared to You is particularly good in letting us see the toll that abuse can have on people in different ways. I loved seeing the trust build between Eva and Gideon as they try to deal with the issue together.

The love scenes are scorching, but Sylvia Day also did a fantastic job with the mental drama the characters are involved in. Eva and Gideon are in a possessive, sometimes obsessive relationship that is not easy to balance. It is not always emotionally easy to read, but that is one of its strengths. The reader sympathizes with the characters and sometimes wants to shout at them for making self-destructive choices. Deeper in You is the next installment in the Crossfire series.

Scintillating Summer Read: Lucky in Love

Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis

Reviewed by Cassandra, Collection Management Librarian

Lucky in Love is the fourth book in the Lucky Harbor series and another funny, romantic, steamy story. Ty Garrison is a great alpha male - sexy, troubled, strong yet vulnerable - my idea of the perfect hero. Mallory Quinn is a wonderful heroine - compassionate, independent, smart - and she is troubled and vulnerable. I enjoyed the way their relationship developed, the way they had each other's backs, unconditionally, regardless of the situation. Their sexual chemistry is off the charts and their romance, not easily earned, but well deserved.

There are so many things to love about Jill Shalvis' stories, but what I've come to appreciate most is that, without fail, I can count on her to deliver something unique. How she delivers it is the true magic of her writing, but the fact that she does so, again and again, is what keeps me coming back for more.

Look out for more books in the series to be published throughout the summer.

Scintillating Summer Read: Thief of Shadows

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

Reviewed by Cassandra, Collection Management Librarian 

The fourth book in The Maiden Lane series, Thief of Shadows finally focuses on Winter Makepeace, the staid and respectable headmaster of the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children, located in London's most notorious slum and Isabel, Lady Beckinhall. Thief of Shadows has more action and danger coupled with mystery and villains to vanquish than the previous books in the series.

Isabel is as strong as heroines come in books. She's not the feistiest female or the boldest seductress we've seen, she's worse. She's an intelligent female with resources and courage. A perfect match for Winter, even if neither knows it.

The Innocents by Francesca Segal

The Innocents by Francesca Segal

It’s hard to set a novel of manners in current time; especially when it’s rare to keep close to the families in your neighborhood, never mind your own family.  That’s where the author’s choice of setting is brilliant.  She chooses a tight-knit Jewish community in North West London.  Here it’s not uncommon to keep in touch with all your elementary school classmates and know where they work, who they married and how many children they have, as well as the whole story of all their family members.  Drop into this community a man who has been dating the same woman since they were in middle school.  After twelve years of dating he has finally proposed and life is good.  Until his fiancée’s troubled and vivacious cousin returns from New York laden with scandal and capturing his eye.

The writing style evokes a time gone by while very much set in current times; a deep character study of a few individuals and how life affects them and they affect those around them by their choices.

Apparently the must-read classic of the summer is The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.  Many reviews say that this novel is a retelling of that work.  I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never read it!  But I just started The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty and the main character is reading Wharton’s book too.  I just may have to add a classic to my summer reading list.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Amy is gone.  Her husband Nick has no idea where she went.  When he calls the police they start investigating his home.  It doesn’t look good.  Then they start investigating him.  It really doesn’t look good.  But Nick knows he didn’t harm Amy.  So what happened to her?

I can’t reveal anything else.  I simply can’t.  I want you to enjoy the story.  If enjoy is the correct term…  I will give one piece of advice, if you find the first part of the book not so much to your liking; I’ve heard some say they felt it was slow going, trust me that you need to stick with it.  You don’t want to miss what happens next.

I’ve been a fan of Gillian Flynn since her first novel.  She is only getting better.  This is her third book, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for her fourth.

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress

This slim book is the story of how the world ends and what comes after.  Three stories intertwine to give the whole story.  The child abductions and store robberies that can be predicted by fancy algorithms but to which the purpose and the method is unknown.  The bacterial mutations and tectonic rumblings happening all over the world.  The survivors within the shell; an egg-shaped habitat created by the Tesslies that may be the last ditch attempt to save humanity.

If you want a quick read that makes you think you may enjoy this story.  Be forewarned, while this book asks a lot of questions it provides very little in the way of answers.

The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg

A young girl’s body is pulled up with a local fisherman’s lobster pots.  At first glance it appears to be an accidental drowning, but upon further examination it is determined that she was murdered.  Why would someone kill this child?  What was there to gain?  Interspersed with the modern crime story is the story of a local stonecutter and his ill-fated love affair.  What, if anything, do these two stories have in common?  The story is unfolded as the detectives learn more, clue by clue, layer by layer, so you feel as if you too are trying to understand the motivations behind an unfathomable crime.

I have become a rather big fan of translated mysteries, especially the Scandinavian ones.  Typically they occur in urban areas, but this mystery takes place in a smaller town with only four police officers running the local department.  Getting to see the way the police department works on an individual level reminded me of so many cop shows and small office politics.  It’s amazing how oceans can separate us but some things are the same everywhere.