KREGEL; AMAZON

I'm up bright and early and on a Sunday morning to write a review for the romance novel Underestimating Miss Cecilia by Carolyn Miller, which I just reading yesterday. That's right, I read the entire 352 page novel yesterday afternoon, despite the fact it was a difficult for me to read thanks to my allergies and dry eyes. I just received the title a few weeks ago for the Kregel Publications book tour, and, I guess you can say time slipped away from me pretty quickly as I almost forgot I had to review the book by August 4th, which is today.

I used to read (and review) a lot of romance novels but after a while I gotten a bit burned out on them and this has resulted in me reading a wide variety of genres this year. The only reason why I signed up to review Underestimating Miss Cecilia (the second novel in Regency Brides: Daughters of Aynsley series) is because I've previously read a few other titles by author Carolyn Miller. She's a good writer and I figured I would like her newest novel.

What's the book about?

It's set in the early 19th Century England and centers around Cecilia Hatherleigh, a young woman who has always had her eyes on the earl's son, Edward "Ned" Amherest. The only problem is Edward has never had the same affections for Cecilia. He's always treated her more like a sister than a possible future wife. Despite her intelligence, she's is seen as nothing more that the second daughter of Lord Aynsley in the eyes of many, including Ned.

Circumstances occur that leads Ned to make a few major decisions in his life, which includes resurrecting his legal career and looking for a wife. He's also determined to help the poor and suffering people living on the streets of England. His quest to help other leads him to spend more time with Cecilia. Remember, this is a romance novel, so you can take a guess at what happens next.

Final Thoughts

AMAZON

Like many (and many) other readers, I was eager to read Thomas Harris's newest novel Cari Mora ($29; Grand Central Publishing). Mr. Harris wrote two of the best thrillers ever published - Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, which introduced the world to the serial killer Hannibal Lector. The author has written three other books: Black Sunday, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising. All of this novels have been adapted into feature films. A television series, Hannibal, was inspired by the "Hannibal Lector" novels and aired on NBC for three seasons.

Cari Mora is the author's first new title in thirteen years. The plot centers around half a ton of gold that's buried beneath a mansion located on the Miami Beach. Cari Mora is the current caretaker, an immigrant with a deadly past. Due to being on the Temporary Protected Status, she can't leave Miami and spends most of her days working a variety of odd jobs.

A psychopathic hit-man, Hans-Peter, is one of several men who are hired to find the treasure and the only person standing in their way is Cari. At first glance she looks like an easy target for Han, but she's a survivor and won't let anyone bully her.

AMAZON

Though it's only July, this summer has been a bit too long for me for already. Typically, I read many (and I mean dozens) of books during the summer, but that isn't the case this year, as the titles I have read have been at least 450 + pages. So, basically, there haven't been very many short reads for me.

However, last month, I did have time to read a shorter book, titled Treasure Hunter: All-American Adventure written by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein with illustrations by Juliana Neufeld.

"All-American Adventure" happens to be the sixth installment in the Treasure Hunters children's book series which is published Jimmy Patterson (James Patterson's imprint at Little, Brown, and Company). The series is told from the point-of-view of Bickford "Bick" Kidd, who is supposed to be writing the story while his twin sister, Rebecca "Beck" Kidd, is handling the illustrations. They have two older siblings, Tommy and Storm. They travel around the world with their archaeologist parents, where they get tangled up in some sort of adventure.

The sixth entry has the Kidd kids stuck in Washington D.C. and bored out of their minds while their parents are working on a project at the Smithsonian. To keep the kids out of trouble, their parents get a babysitter for them - Uncle Richie. (Their great-uncle to be precise.)

What starts out as a simple day of visiting tourist attractions quickly turns into an all-new Kidd's adventure that takes them across the USA in the attempt to unravel a conspiracy involving fake Bill of Rights documents.

Final Thoughts

Amazon

For the last ten weeks, I've spent my Saturday night watching the second (and final) season of AMC's The Son starring Pierce Brosnan, which is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer. The first season (or the first 10 episodes) aired in 2017. I didn't start watching the series until several seeks after it premiered on On Demand. I was addicted to the series after the first episode. It's a shame that AMC didn't have faith in the series and cancelled it several months for the second season began. I bet the two year gap between seasons didn't help much.

Before I had finished watching the first season in 2017, I bought the novel by Philipp Meyer, which is nearly 600 pages with small lettering. Like many other titles, I had intended on reading the book right away, but that didn't occur. Actually, the book was put up and I just forgot about it until final season of the series started, this is when I remembered I owned a copy. Considering the page length, I figured it would take me at least two weeks to read the novel, but I ended up reading the book fairly quickly.

The novel is mostly told in three different point-of-views - Colonel Eli McCullough, Peter McCullough, and Jeanne Anne McCullough. Now I say "mostly" because are there are two others included towards the latter of the novel but I'm not going to mention the names here, as it would give away the twist.

Colonel Eli McCullough's story book begins in 1936 when he was 100-years-old and the rest of his story is told in flashbacks beginning when he was a 13-year-old in 1849 living in Texas with his mother, brother, and sister. Comanches attack their home, they rape and murder his mother and sister, and capture him and his older brother, who later dies. Eli is adopted by the Kotsoteka Comanches and is named Tiehteti. While living with the Comanches, Toshaway (the Indian who kidnapped him) becomes his new father. At first, he is treated cruelly by the other tribe members, but eventually he earns their respect. He spends three years with the Comanches until fate leads him on a different path to become a cattle baron and oil king.

Peter is the son of Eli McCullough and Madeline Black and his story is told from journal entries dating from 1915 to 1917. During these years, his father and sons murdered the neighboring Garcia family in cold blood, took their land, and buried their bodies in a mass grave. There was only one survivor - Maria Garcia, an ex-flame. Peter will do anything to protect her, even if it means leaving his wife, Sally, and their sons behind.

Jeanne Anne is the granddaughter of Peter and Sally. Though she never met her grandfather, she has found memories of her great-grandfather, the "Colonel." Despite being the only daughter out of four children, Jeanne become the inheritor of the family's cattle and oil business. Her story is told through flashbacks beginning when she was ten-year-old up until the year 2012 when her family's past comes to haunt her.

 

Final Thoughts

If you're a diehard trekker or just a casual Star Trek fan, then you've probably read at least one tie-in novel.

The first Star Trek tie-ins were episode novelizations of the original series were written by James Blish and published by Bantam Books from 1967 to 1978. James Blish also wrote the very first original Star Trek novel, Spock Must Die!, which was published in 1970. Bantam Books continued to publish Star Trek titles until 1991.

From 1974 to 2006, Ballantine Books (and Del Rey) published the Star Trek Log book series by Alan Dean Foster, novelizations of the short-lived Star Trek animated series.

From 1979 to 2017, all Star Trek tie-in novels, anthologies, and novelizations were published by Pocket Books (an imprint of  Simon & Schuster). The books are now published by Gallery Books, which is also an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

AMAZON

The newest Star Trek novel "The Captain's Oath" written by Christopher L. Bennett was published at the end of May and marked the first new story of "The Original Series" since 2016.

"The Captain's Oath" is a prequel spanning several years - 2261 - 2265. The prologue begins in 2265 on the very first day James T. Kirk is given command of the U.S.S. Enterprise and meets Mr. Spock. The novel jumps back and forth to tell how and why Kirk was given the U.S.S. Enterprise.

In the years 2261 to 2264, we see Kirk taking over the captain's chair of the U.S.S. Sacagawea and his brief stint overseeing the Starfleet archaeological station in Eagle's Landing. From early battles with the Klingons, encountering mysterious sphere ships, to saving endangered civilizations, Kirk learns the discipline he'll need to become a great captain.

Final Thoughts