Mini Reviews : The Lieutenant and The Beauty

Rapture In Death (#4)

Trigger Warning - Child Abuse/Sexual Assault

Could suicide with a smile possibly be murder ?

When newlywed Lieutenant Eve Dallas runs across a case of bizarre suicides her instincts says it's murder,  but as she falls into the world of technology and psychology she realizes the person she can't trust is herself.

For starters this book just has a lot of things I don't want in my fiction. The first strike being an Asian character (who thankfully doesn't show up again) being described with  "yellow" skin and "almond shaped eyes" it just felt. . . bleh to me. Also I don't think this is really a spoiler but I totally could have done without the hero sexually assaulting the heroine while under mind control. . . Just no. Also, I'm pretty sure every one of my In Death reviews is going to have a PC rant on it, so yeah..

Anywho, this is what I call the sci-fi book in the series because Robb goes deep into her own world building and makes use of fictional science to propel the story and honestly it's not Robb's strong suit. I just couldn't  buy into Robb's brand of science fiction. If you're half paying attention you can figure out what the deal is especially if you know the formula. In other series news, uniformed officer Peabody working as  Eve's aide has becomes #official and it's great seeing them work together. Even ignoring the squicky parts this is probably the book I would totally skip. The pay-off just isn't there. ★★

Beauty and The Balcksmith

I thought the reason I liked the Spindle Cove novel A Lady by Midnight was because of Carolyn Morris' audiobook performance, but there is something so comfortable and likable about Dare's world of Spindle Cove. The Beauty and the Blacksmith is a novella about Diana Highwood. Diana is the most beautiful and respectable of the  Highwood sisters. Everyone just knows she will marry well especially her pushy match-making mother.  Diana isn't sure if marrying for money is for her-- especially since she is infatuated with Aaron Dawes, the local blacksmith.

What I really liked about this is there were no dukes or ballrooms to be seen. Yes, the clash of class was in the background but at the end of the day it's a story where a woman from the gentry  tries to  find a way to her HEA with small town craftsman. I seriously wanted a whole book on them. Dare has a great way of bringing the final chapters to an end that (generally) gets the whole town involved in a a slightly wacky way.

I haven't read the whole Spindle Cove series but I think it helps to have read at least one of the first three Spindle Cove books to fully appreciate the novella.★★★★