Book Notes: November 3, 2021 - Contemporary Romance

 I have a couple of collections to share with you today. One of them I enjoy enough to keep reading the rest of the stories in the collection. The other, not quite so much. I explain in the reviews, so I'll get right to it.

Book Review: Shooting Star Canyon Box Set (books 1-3) by Sierra Gamble

Shooting Star Canyon Boxed Set: Books 1-3 by Sierra Gamble
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Tough Read for Me

I only read the first story in this collection. While the plot was interesting, the characters were relatable in some ways, the faith element was strong and appropriate, and the story moved me to tears at one point, there were some problems. Some of the figures of speech didn't really match the actions they referred to. Other figures of speech were used incorrectly. There were lots of sentences in which verbs switched from past to present tense. I just got tired of sifting through it all. That's not to say I'll never read the other two books in this 3-volume collection, but I'm putting it down for now. If the author ran these through a quality editing program, most (if not all) the issues I have with the book would be cleared up. I do hope that happens because the stories have excellent potential.

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Book Review: Texas Boudreau Brotherhood books 1-3 by Kathy Ivan

 

Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Books 1 - 3 by Kathy Ivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Solid 3.5 Star Collection

I'd read the first book in this clean contemporary romance collection before and enjoyed it. When the set showed up in an email newsletter, I went ahead and grabbed it. The stories are good, but there were some typos and a couple of areas in which the characters seem overly dramatic. Also, in the third book, there are one or two minor curse words. This didn't detract from the story so much as it seemed strange after having none in the previous two.
If you enjoy clean, contemporary romance wity a little mystery and action in the mix, then check this out.

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A little more about this series, there are some instances where the author seems to think guns solve all problems. I'm also not sure how much research this author has completed on the topic and technical specs of guns. There were a few reviews on book one of this collection which mentioned the author not knowing the difference between two very different types of gun. Believe me, it matters because those details make a huge difference in the believability of a story. I almost didn't read the story because of one of those reviews. I'm a forgiving sort, though, and can get over some of those things as this is a /fiction/ book but I'm going to be honest on my review and it will affect the star rating.

The author's portrayal of guns in these books, this seeming mentality, quite frankly, scares me. I totally support 2nd amendment rights but there are things people need to know which seem to have been tossed to the wayside. Guns do not solve all problems. Guns do not make a person stronger or more mature. They're tools plain and simple. And like any tool, when misused, bad things happen. Take some time. Learn the details. Then write the story. And above all, at least create your public servants with the proper viewpoint on firearms and a full knowledge of the one they're carrying.

(Also, I'm not discussing politics on this blog...or any blog, so if you post political comments in the comment section, I'm going to remove them.)

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you see something in these reviews which will spark your interest. Sometimes I get books with iffy reviews just to see how my own viewpoint will differ from other reviewers. Do any of you do that, too?

I hope you'll come by again on Friday to see how my progress in this year's NaNoWriMo event is going. That's right! It started Monday. I'm happy to say I'm staying above the line so far. I hope and pray it stays that way. I think this particular book is going to be shorter than my others, but we'll see. I do seem to spill over the chapters I initially set for myself. 

Until next time...