Friday Fives - Mini Reviews for Books I've Read Recently

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. This week I'm sharing 5 quick reviews for books I've read recently.

1.  All the Colors of Night by Jayne Ann Krentz - This was lots of fun in a bonkers supernatural kind of way.  Sierra and North are an interesting couple who have their own powers and appreciate the skills that each other have.  This is a fast paced paranormal romantic suspense with main characters that work really well as a team.  The trip to Fogg Lake and the tie in to the Arcane Society was lots of fun and it ended on a teaser that has me really looking forward to the next book. My Rating: Really Liked It

2.  Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman - I am really enjoying this series.  In this book Lily has had a little space from the first murder investigation but quickly gets pulled into another.  To complicate matters a bit Lily's father has made a surprise appearance and it is easy to tell why their relationship is strained and distant.  I enjoyed seeing the side characters from the first book - Ophelia, Bowstreet Runner Simon Page, and Captain Jack Hartley.  There's also a few new characters and a potential love interest.  The mystery resolved in a satisfying way and I'm looking forward to reading Lily's net adventure.  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

3.  Devlin's Light by Mariah Stewart - I have a complicated history with this author.  Some of her books I've absolutely loved and others that were just not for me.  Unfortunately, this one was one of the latter.  I went in expecting a romantic suspense and ended up listening to a book that couldn't seem to make up its mind what it was.  I feel like the author really wanted to write a women's fiction story about a woman who lost her brother and finds herself trying to pick up the pieces and try and build a new life with her niece and the people in her hometown.  Unfortunately for her, her publisher insisted on a romantic suspense and both aspects of the story suffered and ended up with an ending that was so incredibly obvious it felt tedious getting there for one part of the story and the ending for the other part bordered on ridiculous.  My Rating: Not For Me

4.  Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas -  This is a bit dated and heavy on the alpha male main character.  Honestly, for quite a lot of the book Grant Morgan is hard to like.  His attitude towards Vivian is vindictive and a bit degrading.  What saves the book is that it isn't the way he treats her when he is around her and he keeps forgetting his original attitude.  As well, Vivian herself saves it.  She's kind and sweet and intelligent.  As well she demands an apology for someone else when certain facts come to light and makes Grant stick to it.  This is a solid take on an amnesia story and one I enjoyed even if it isn't one of my favorite Kleypas romances.  My Rating: Liked It!

5.  Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty - I had seen that the reviews on this book were kind of mixed so I wasn't sure what to expect going in but I ended up really enjoying it.  It's a bit twisty with complicated family dynamics and secrets on top of secrets.  How these secrets and the identity and motive of a previous house guest contribute to the disappearance of family matriarch, Joy Delaney, is revealed as the book goes on.  The book digs into the competitive history of the Delaney kids, the marriage of Joy and Stan and how tennis affected it all.  The book kept me hooked from beginning to end and I really enjoyed getting to know these complicated characters and figuring out just who the mysterious house guest just happened to be.  I listened to the audio narrated by Caroline Lee and it was a compelling delight.  My Rating: Really Liked It!