Appointed by Fate (by Skye McNeil)

Romantic Suspense

Cameron is a mob soldier who has been sent to Iowa to sort out some rival gangsters. When he wakes up in a park with a knife and a gun and a dead body beside him he finds himself charged with murder and dragged into the legal system.

Joci was Cameron’s first love and now she is his lawyer. As the case progresses she finds herself drawn to him but with two other suitors in the wings and mobsters circling her life is both complicated and dangerous.


Have you ever read a good book that just didn’t work for you?

Appointed by Fate is that book for me. I know it’s good. It’s gritty Romantic Suspense. It’s a well written Courtroom drama. Honestly, it’s a great book for the right reader. I’m not that reader and all cards on the table I’ll explain why.

The main character has an intimate relationship with all three men in this book. I really don’t mind women or men who have multiple sexual partners, I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of erotic fiction. The very first review on this blog is The Siren by Tiffany Reisz. But books about sex and books about romance are very different things and I don’t want that in a romance novel.

So it’s a great book that went places that make me uncomfortable.

Many thanks to Skye McNeil for providing me with this Review Copy.

Yellow, Orange, Red – What it means. 

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (by Karina Van Glaser)

Young Readers / Young Adult

The Vanderbeekers live in an old three storey brownstone in Harlem, NY. Two weeks before Christmas they learn that their curmudgeonly landlord, The Beiderman (Mr Beiderman) won’t be renewing their lease and they will have to leave their beloved home.

Not only will they have to move, they might have to leave New York. The five Vanderbeeker children have just 11 days to convince him to let them stay.


The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is completely charming. It’s obviously written for young readers (10~13 years old) but I loved it and I’m not too far away from 50. Kids will love it, parents will love that their kids love it and it’s a great book for reluctant readers.  There isn’t really anything bad I can say about the book.  I’ll be buying a few copies for stocking stuffers.

5 Stars.