Hope in Hot Chocolate

The HOPE in HOT CHOCOLATE

Poppy Creek Novel

RACHEL BLOOME

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

CHOCOLATE is a typical romance - boy and girl do not initially like each other's lifestyle or philosophy. Sadie makes chocolate candies and loves the process.  Landon is a wealthy young man who is an anti-sugar crusader for personal and business reasons - his mother is ill, and he is starting a new sugar-free food venture.

He is opening a business next door to Sadie's shop. They compete in a town food fair and must share a booth directed by the mayor. 

The battles begin and end unusually. It is meant to be.

Each story stands alone in this Poppy Creek series, as this cute one does. The banter between Sadie and Landon is well-written and sometimes funny.

In one sitting, a romance lover will read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SKqypu

MELUSINE

MELUSINE

Book two of

The Heirs of Anarchy

 

G. LAWRENCE

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

"It mattered not my birth, experience, or my intelligence. What mattered was that I was less than them because I was a woman, not a man." Matilda, Lady of the English, 1135 AD. The Lady's Journey continues from Book One, which I read in 2020.

G. Lawrence's prose flows with these little nuggets throughout this novel of King Henry the First Daughter's battle to be Queen of England. In her mid-twenties, her father directs her to marry a newly knighted fifteen-year-old for political reasons - she is property, and her son is heir.

Matilda's fictional words include historical drama. Her psychological development moves into philosophy, which is sometimes wordy.

The novel is long but worth the historical adventure read.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3SQ5wXy

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder

Can't Judge a Book by Its Murder

A Main Street Book Club Mystery

Amy Lillard

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

I have read many cozy mysteries, and this one hit some of the right buttons. However, the Book Club concept members will not continue in my readings.

Arlo owns a bookstore and receives a call that a man died in front of her establishment. The man committed suicide, or was it murdered, says the local police.

Chloe, Arlo's friend and partner in the bookstore, is arrested - all clues lead to her being the killer, says the police chief. Arlo and the club members go about investigating the crime.

Small-town relations go amuck and conflict with the dead man's wife and assistant. These quarrels and investigations lead to a tongue slip, revealing the unlikely killer to Arlo.

Ms. Lillard's writing is good, but I needed a timeline I could follow. Also, the characters of the book club needed more depth for Book #1 in the series.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/49nGbdf

Great Delusion

THE GREAT DELUSION

Liberal Dreams and

International Realities

JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

Mr. Mearsheimer gives a clear and fluid explanation of Liberalism, Nationalism, and Realism in this thesis on how countries use them to place themself in the world hierarchy. The United States has been promoting liberal homogeny for years as its foreign policy, and it's not working.

Mearsheimer's arguments against liberal foreign policies are compelling. Reality needs to change how a unipolar power like the United States involves itself in other countries' business, which is how I read his hypothesis.

This dissertation goes into multipolar examples, which include China's and Russia's participation in global power struggles. The reader can decide whether the status quo of the United States's spreading liberal homogeny should remain.

Lastly, Obama and Trump bucked the foreign elites on the matter, but Hilary Clinton and Biden followed the elites' playbook. Obama gave in. Trump is still fighting for Nationalism in the country and Realism in foreign policy.

John J. Mearsheimer has written an engrossing description of how the modern-day political world evolves. GREAT DELUSION is a vital read you should notice if you care about the USA.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3OFQzVR

 

AMNESIA on NANTUCKET

AMNESIA on NANTUCKET

TARYN DANIELS

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Melanie and Adam go on their honeymoon to Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Pleasant is their love feast until Melanie has a life-changing accident that sends her mind back five years.

Who is this man, Adam? She asks this and many other questions that she cannot answer without faith and love. The story between them goes back and forth with little twists and turns of humor.

When Melanie comes to terms with her fate, the story turns for the best. AMNESTIA is a cute love story.

 

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3O9pvh8

Madame Pommery

MADAME POMMERY:

Creator of Brut Champagne

Rebecca Rosenberg

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

Ms. Rosenberg does an excellent job of using facts and fiction to bring a remarkable woman to life. Pommery crossed into a world in the 1850s that few had - male domination in war, peace, and wine development.

The male world placed conflict after conflict before Pommery, but she found the strength to reach her vision. Ultimately, her beliefs and desire to produce the Brut brand, a dryer, less sweet champagne, succeeded.

This story, written by Rebecca Rosenberg, is inspiring and well-developed. The twists and turns keep the pages moving.

I recommend it to everyone, especially young college and high-school-age women.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/48NdjL2

Poppy Perkins in BOOKED for MURDER

BOOKED for MURDER

Jasmine Webb

 

Review by Author Roy Murry

 

This is a Poppy Perkins Mystery book #1, where we learn the background story for her next adventures. Her famous legal family has disowned her, and she learns something about her best friend. A man dies after Poppy fights with him, and she loses her job in a donut shop.

The video of Poppy fighting with the man went viral, and the police believe this was the motive. In walks Ophelia to save the day, she and Poppy begin their investigation.

The duo's search goes around in circles, looking into the victim's background until one gets an epiphany. The finality leads to many changes in Poppy's life, which is the pull-in to read book #2.

MURDER was a fun read with extended conversations, which the lady readers will enjoy.

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3TLJTbO