And these two definitely weren't. These were two books that I was really looking forward to reading and both just fell flat for me.
Goodreads: A Cruise to Die For by Heather Graham
Blurb: Special Agent Chloe McMurray has been asked to do many things in the name of her job. Going undercover on a cruise ship leaving from her home port of Miami, however, is a new one. Not only that, but she’s tasked with posing as the wife of her federal counterpart, Special Agent Wesley Law. Their investigation? A string of murders and suicides across three states that seem unrelated, until they uncover a deadly technological connection. Every victim was an expert in technology and had some connection to Milestones, a megacorporation with ties to many industries...including the cruise industry.
Chloe and Wesley must successfully go undercover as tech employees on the ship hosting the ten-year anniversary of the Milestones cruise company. A tough ask when the two have never met before. They’ll infiltrate the technology events, investigate their fellow passengers and try to uncover what’s really going on.
However, danger is never far behind. Their killer can use tech to do the job without lifting a finger, and at sea, there’s no escape if their covers are blown.
My Thoughts: I really like Heather Graham's books generally. They're not fine literature but they're usually fun popcorn reads with great settings and creepy mysteries. I was excited about the cruise setting. The mystery was intriguing and while the premise for getting the 2 agents on the ship was a bit of a stretch I was fine with it. Unfortunately, when it came to the actual execution the book went off the rails. I've read a number of previous books by Graham and it is hard to believe this was written by the same author who wrote the Krewe of Hunters series. The repetition alone was hard to get through. If one character said that the ship was nice than ALL the characters had to repeat that the ship was nice and this happened with every single comment. Then for long periods of time nothing happened (except the food was great, the ship was nice, the main couple was so perfect, and weren't the classes fantastic repeated continuously). Then suddenly they figured out who the bad guy was with no real clues or investigation. There was also an excessive use of exclamation points to point it was distracting and I very rarely notice grammar issues. I finished this one, but I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't a review book. My Rating: Not For Me (1 Star)
Goodreads: The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne by Summer N. England
Blurb: All gardener Clara Thorne wants is to live "happily ever after" in her beloved town of Moss, magically growing herbs and vegetables and trying to write her book. But Fate has other plans when The Goddess unexpectedly bestows her with an impossible quest. Clara has one month to travel to the cursed and abandoned town of Dwindle and grow them a garden. If she fails, she will be banished.
Only Clara's magic doesn't work outside of Moss, a fact she has kept hidden for years. Worse, the Goddess has assigned the absurdly sexy, annoyingly cheerful Hesper Altanfall to keep her safe. All leather and crossbows, Hesper is as determined to protect Clara as she is full of secrets—but Clara would rather eat thorns than accept help. Nevertheless, the two can't help but grow closer as they make their way across enchanted woods, share one too many tavern beds, and work together to rebuild Dwindle one garden bed at a time.
Clara, however, refuses to give in to their blossoming romance. She’s had one too many losses, and Hesper might the one to break her beyond repair. But if Clara can find the key to opening her heart, she may just unearth the life and love she's always believed to be impossible.
My Thoughts: This was a bit of a journey for me. For the first 40% of the book, I was really not sure I would make it to the end. Nothing happened except for Clara whining, sobbing, weeping, and being covered in a number of dreadful things - mud, snot, tears, water, blood at some point, etc. Clara is probably one of my least favorite main characters ever. She's unpleasant and stubborn to the point of TSTL. Even when multiple people try to help her or are kind to her, she responds with either tears or rage. After about 40% Clara and Hesper finally started on their journey and the book became more readable and less of a slog (except for Clara's character. I was rooting for Hesper to drown her or leave her to the wolves). The last quarter of the book I actually enjoyed and while I wouldn't want to hang out with Clara I was no longer rooting for the demon wolves to take her out. I did enjoy the side characters in the last half of the book as well as the story itself. I would give the first half of the book 1 star and the second half 3 - 3.5 stars. I'm curious to see what this author does next. Based off the strength of the second half I'm curious to try another book by her. My Rating: 2 Stars (Just Okay)
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