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Release date: April 4, 2017

Publisher: Ecco Books

Genre: Mystery/Thriller 

Blurb: 

A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the ‘ragdoll’.

Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter.

The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.

With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move? 

Review: 

This had one of the most explosive prologues I’ve ever read, it was amazing and really set the tone for the book. It always delights me when a book can shock me early on and this one surely did. After the prologue, you fast forward to four years later and are thrust right into a gruesome murder case with Wolf and team. A sadistic serial killer has fashioned a ragdoll together made of six different people and using six different body parts to create a creepy and shocking corpse. This is such a twisty plot the less you know the better, but with such a chilling premise and some really outstanding writing from Cole, this one is a winner. 

While this is a police procedural as you follow the case alongside Wolf, Baxter, Edmonds, and Simmons, the author did something unusual that I really appreciated. Cole didn’t spoon feed readers obvious details and explain unnecessary things, instead he took the approach that the reader is intelligent and allowed you to reach your own conclusions and work out the details on your own. This was clever and almost made me feel like I was actually part of the team. There were no long, drawn out recaps, you need to focus on what is being said in order to stay caught up. I had no problem with this and was completely focused and engrossed throughout. 

I haven’t fallen so hopelessly in love with a detective since Sirens and Wolf reminded me a bit of Aidan. His past is super complicated and though I feel I have a good sense of who he is, there is so much still to explore. Wolf has a dark, sardonic sense of humor, in fact the whole book has this trait which I love. This is intricately plotted and had some stunning twists that left me reeling, I changed my mind more times than I can count. I’m so happy this is the first in the series, especially after the way things ended, I HAVE to know what happens next. With fantastic characterization, a unique storyline, compelling situations and strong writing, Ragdoll has earned itself one of my spots on my best books of 2017 list already. (Yes, I know it’s only April, it’s THAT good) Cole is an exciting, impressive new voice in crime fiction and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next. 

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to James at Ecco Books for my review copy. 

About the Author: 

(Photo credit to Orion Books) 
At 33 years old, Daniel Cole has worked as a paramedic, an RSPCA officer and most recently for the RNLI, driven by an intrinsic need to save people or perhaps just a guilty conscience about the number of characters he kills off in his writing.
He has received a three-book publishing and television deal for his debut crime series which publishers and producers describe as “pulse-racing” and “exceptional”.
Daniel currently lives in sunny Bournemouth and can usually be found down the beach when he ought to be writing book two in the Nathan Wolfe series instead.
Ragdoll is his first novel.

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Release date: March 27, 2017

Publisher: Gallery/Pocket Books

Genre: NA Romance, Contemporary Romance

Blurb: 

In this charming, modern retelling of the classic Audrey Hepburn film Roman Holiday, a royal prince tries to escape his hectic and rigid life and ends up leading a young graduate student on a chase through the Eternal City.

Julia Costa is too busy trying to complete her PhD while also holding down a full-time job as a private tour guide in Rome to keep up with celebrity gossip. So when she crosses paths with a real, actual prince, she mistakes him for a client and takes him on a daylong tour of the city.

Intrigued by the idea of spending time with someone who obviously has no idea who he is, and delighted at the prospect of a day free of royal obligations, Niccolo La Torre, Crown Prince of Lazaretto, acts on impulse and assumes the role of Julia’s client. He swears to himself that he’ll return to his royal duties after only half a day…but he’s having the time of his life.

Until Julia presents him with the bill. Since he snuck out of the hotel without so much as a dime, he tries to escape, only to discover that she won’t let him out of her sight until he can pay her back. She’s determined to get her money…and perhaps more from the handsome stranger she’s fallen for.

Review: 

This was a really cute, if totally unrealistic read, but if you can set aside plausibility then it’s a whole lot of fun. Julia is trying to begin a new life and get out of debt in Rome and she’s good at her job as a tour guide. Nico is the crown prince of Lazaretto and when she doesn’t recognize him and mistakes him as one of her clients, he can’t resist the opportunity to have anonymity, even if it’s only for a few days. 

This one is full of standard tropes, instalove, the whole prince falling for an average girl, plenty of cliches. Had I read this as a teenager/young adult it probably would’ve been a five star read for me. It’s sassy, romantic, sexy, flirty and adventurous. But the practical, adult me had to crinkle my nose up in distaste at some of the over the top, unbelievable antics that happened. 

The writing flowed easily and despite my ambivalence about the stereotypical happenings, Wilson is a good writer. The love scenes went from romantic to hot and steamy, providing a little bit of everything for everyone. The ending was totally swoon worthy even if it was entirely impractical, but again, this IS a book about a girl falling in love with a crown prince after all. I would recommend this to younger readers who aren’t burned out on recycled tropes, but there are sex scenes so not too young. It could also appeal to a reader looking to escape from reality and who doesn’t mind the impossible actually being possible. 

Overall rating: 3/5

Thanks to Kathleen Zrelak at Goldberg McDuffie for my review copy. 

About the Author: 

Teri Wilson is a novelist for Harlequin Books and Gallery/Pocket Books. She is also a contributing writer at HelloGiggles.com and Teen Vogue covering books, pop culture, and more. Visit Teri at http://www.teriwilson.net or on Twitter @TeriWilsonauthr.

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Release date: March 29, 2017

Publisher: Penn Publishing 

Blurb: 

Mark Montgomery cares about two things—getting laid and getting paid. He’s cocky, confident, sexy-as-sin, and counting down the last few months of college before he can begin his professional baseball career. But there are things Mark must do to survive until his big payday, questionable activities that could get him killed.

He doesn’t want to rope anyone into his mess, especially not Olivia Ford, the woman he takes home from the club, a sexy lawyer who turns out to be his Law and Ethics professor. Their new relationship changes everything. But Mark won’t take no for an answer. Olivia can fight him all she wants, but Mark is the one who will be teaching her a lesson. In her classroom. Bent over her office desk. On the hood of his car.

Mark is more than a dirty talker who’s good in bed and can throw a ball, but what he does on the side is the one thing that could tear them apart and expose their forbidden relationship to the world. 

Review: 

If you’ve been following me for more than the past couple of months then you’ve probably seen me raving about a Jillian Quinn book before. If not you can check out my reviews for Corrupt Me and Parker. While I was excited when Jill told she was releasing her third book, I was also a bit hesitant when she told me it was about a taboo romance between a professor and her student, but I’m confident enough in her writing ability by now that I wanted to read it anyway, and I really glad I did! For someone who’s prudish when it comes to books, I really enjoyed this one. 

Mark is a cocky baseball player with a wicked sense of humor, he’s a perpetual ladies man and has never had a serious relationship. Olivia is about to start her first semester teaching law at Mark’s college, and though she knows she shouldn’t act on her feelings, she can’t help herself. This was one racy, sexy, spicy read that I devoured in a few hours! 

I feel like Jill has really found her groove as a writer, she has a signature style nailed down and I’m pretty confident that I could spot one of her books without seeing her name on the cover. This is told from both Mark and Olivia’s point of view and I always love seeing both sides of the same story. Mark first appeared in Corrupt Me so it was cool to get a deeper look at who he is. Several characters from her other books also make a cameo, including Luca, Izzie, Parker, Coach, Hunter and Silvia. That’s always fun, especially when it actually adds something to the plot (it totally did here) instead of just throwing them in for the hell of it. 

For a book packed full of steamy sex scenes it still managed to have quite a lot of depth to it, which always makes me happy. It’s a totally guilty pleasure read, it kind of reminded me of a Nigel May book, just a little bit shorter. This is the start of a new series called the City of Sinners and is based in Philly again. I can’t wait to see what Jill comes up with next and am so happy that she writes so fast, she’s impressive! 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy. 

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Release date: April 1, 2017

Publisher: Lake Union 

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Blurb: 

In this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life.

It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light. Over dinner of lamb tagine, his wife, Sophie, would share news about chorus rehearsals for the upcoming holiday concert, and their teenage daughter, Lucy, would chatter about French club and field hockey. Only Lucy never came home. Her body was found, days later, in the woods.

The Eastern Seaboard town of Port Fortune used to be Will’s comfort. Now, there’s no safe harbor for him. Not even when Father Gervase asks Will to paint portraits of saints for the new cathedral. Using the townspeople as models, Will sees in each face only a mask of the darkness of evil. And he just might be painting his daughter’s killer.

As Will navigates his rage and heartbreak, Sophie tries to move on; Father Gervase becomes an unexpected ally; and Rain, Lucy’s best friend, shrouds herself in a near-silent fugue. Their paths collide in a series of inextricably linked, dark, dangerous moments that could lead to their undoing…or to their redemption.

Review: 

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one but I assumed that it would be a standard mystery, especially as it focuses on the death of a teenaged girl named Lucy. We’ve all read plenty of books about a young woman being murdered, but this book was different than most, very special. It wasn’t a fast paced thriller, though you don’t find out who killed Lucy until the end, but rather a dark mystery that read like literary fiction. 

This is told from from three perspectives; Will, Lucy’s grieving father, Father Gervase and Rain, Lucy’s best friend. Will’s portions are told in the first person and Father Gervase and Rain’s are in the third, and while I think this would normally irritate me, here if added an intimate quality to Will’s sections. The bulk of the story is told starting seven months after Lucy’s death and he is deep in the throes of grief. He is enraged and can only focus on justice. He vows that once her killer is apprehended he will kill him, plain and simple. Before she died he was a mild mannered artist so to say this is a huge change of character for him is putting it lightly. His wife, Sophie has taken a different approach in coping with her grief and is determined to make a difference. She’s involved in spreading awareness about the senseless murders of children and has found a fairly healthy outlet for her pain and grief. They have lost each other in the process, and it’s really easy to understand how this could happen, it was utterly heartbreaking. 

There’s an elegance and a poetic quality to LeClaire’s writing style, it was hypnotic at times. Instead of focusing primarily on the mystery of who killed Lucy, it is a look into the way people handle grief. Will is so bitter and angry, Sophia channels her pain into something positive, Rain shuts down almost completely and begins to self harm, and Father Gervase deals with the ramifications on his congregation. This was an intensive look at a town reeling from a deep loss but it had such a luminous feel to it as well, it was really exquisite. 

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to Ashley at Lake Union for my review copy.