Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

Mid-Summer #Bookreviews- When Did We Lose Sylvia? by Vera Day, In the Likely Event @Rebecca Yarros, Kari’s Reckoning @DWallacePeach


Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

I love scrolling through photos and dreaming of places I might go. This picture makes me feel exhilaration and promise. She may be alone for now, but the future is waiting and she’s ready to chase them wherever they lead.

Last week on the news, an eighty-year-old woman overcame her fear of heights to go ziplining. And though she was trembling in the interview, her pride and the thrill of the experience shone from every pore- so inspiring.

This week I have reviews from authors who inspire me, both through their books and their lives. Click the covers to learn more about these amazing writers.

The posts on this site may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase using a link.

Betty volunteers to teach a summer poetry class to restless Tulip teens. Soon, the kids are expressing themselves in stellar stanzas and heart-rending rhymes. But what was supposed to be a summer of ministering to the teens becomes a season of sleuthing when one of Bettyโ€™s students, the spooky Sylvia, goes missing.

Famous poet Betty Bell offers to teach a summer class to troubled high school students and soon realizes she’s out of her depth. When a misfit teen goes missing, Betty is worried and starts her own investigation against the local deputy’s wishes.

An adventurous trip to the girl’s home with her kooky friend Flora turns up a dead body and another missing person- her grandfather.

Scattered on the outskirts of Tulip were ranches, windswept and dotted with cow
patties, and clapboard farmhouses, weather-worn and love-strengthened.

Day, Vera. When Did We Lose Sylvia? (A Tulip Texas Cozy Mystery Book 1) (p. 17). Gordian Books, a division of Winged Publications. Kindle Edition.

Desert sunshine works as an atmospheric backdrop to this murder mystery threaded with humor and strong relationships. The author has created a quirky, page-turning mystery with a middle-aged female sleuth and her unconventional friends.

I’m looking forward to more Betty Bell mysteries!

Vera Day

Vera Day is an avid reader and a joyful writer. After decades coasting along as a lukewarm Christian, and after a few more years of writing in a secular genre under a different pen name, she experienced a series of events that can only be described as epiphanicโ€ฆ in the God sense, not the light bulb sense, though that also applies.

Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy canโ€™t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now.

Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River.

Their lives change.

Izzy is scared to fly. She knows all the stats and if there was any other way for her to get across the country to her family in time for Thanksgiving, she would take it. Unfortunately, there is no choice, so flying it is. Good thing there’s a hottie in the next seat willing to take her mind off the speeding runway.

Nate is on his first flight. He’s on his way to boot camp, an escape from the domestic abuse his old man doles out on a regular basis. But then he meets a young woman onboard who makes him smile and feel something other than the deep-seated anger he’s carried for so long. He’d like to get to know her better, their instant connection is one he’d like to explore- if only.

But then the plane’s wing shears off and they crash.

This is the story of two lost souls and the way fate unites them over and over again against impossible odds.

He kissed me like there was no one watching, and nothing waiting for us on the other side of tomorrow.
โ€œYou know the best part of not defining this?โ€
โ€œMy begrudging freedom?โ€ I muttered.
He laughed. โ€œNo. The possibilities, Izzy. Thatโ€™s what we are. Possibility.โ€

Yarros, Rebecca. In the Likely Event (pp. 127-128). Montlake. Kindle Edition.

I love the complexity of these characters. They both have something to prove to themselves, and yet, there’s this attraction drawing them together. Nate doesn’t want to tie Izzy down with promises he can’t keep, and Izzy wants Nate to find the peace he needs to be with her.

It’s by turns heart-breaking, romantic, and dramatic. This is a definite must-read!

Rebecca Yarros

Rebecca is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over fifteen novels, and is always ready to bring on the emotions. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writerโ€™s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward from her Flight and Glory series.

She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for twenty-one years. Sheโ€™s the mother of six children, and is currently surviving the teenage years with two of her four hockey-playing sons. When sheโ€™s not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time. She lives in Colorado with her family, their stubborn English bulldog, feisty chinchilla, and Maine Coon cat who rules them all. Having fostered then adopted their youngest daughter, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October.

The epic adventure concludes as the Shiplord vies for what he desiresโ€”the throne of Ellegeance. Their power in jeopardy, influencers surrender their oaths, their loyalties fractured. Rose, a child of untrained and reckless talent, once again becomes a pawn in the quest for control.

Kari’s Reckoning is the fourth in an action-adventure fantasy series with correlations to our world that’s hard to ignore.

The Cull Tar intensify their plot to rule Ellegeance, forcing the influencers to bend to their will or die. Catling’s loyalties lie with her queen though she doesn’t always agree with her choices. But when the Cull Tarr overlord tries to force the queen into a marriage of convenience, she ends her life rather than submit to his will, leaving Ellegeance ripe for the picking.

Catling cares little who rules until she learns her daughter has been kidnapped as a pawn in their twisted game. Desperate to find her daughter and make the overlord pay, Catling, her childhood friend, Whitt, and her influencer friends, track the path taken by the Cull Tarr while the war spreads through the tier cities.

The tension escalates right from page one and doesn’t let up until the very end.

She shook her head. โ€œI knew Lelaine for a long time too. In the beginning, I thought of her as my queen and my trap, but each year, she became all the more my friend.โ€ She gazed at him, her eyes intense. โ€œMy hope for Rose propels me forward now, but Iโ€™ll tell you what kept me alive before, through all the despair.โ€ He met her eyes. โ€œWhat?โ€
โ€œRevenge.โ€

Peach, D. Wallace. Kari’s Reckoning (The Rose Shield Book 4) (p. 66). D. Wallace Peach. Kindle Edition.

The author is a magician when it comes to complex characters and atmospheric settings.

The rain had stopped, but a torn and tumultuous dawn hung low over the tier city, and the mist rolled in from the sea, coating the world in shades of white wool.

Peach, D. Wallace. Kari’s Reckoning (The Rose Shield Book 4) (p. 207). D. Wallace Peach. Kindle Edition.

The Goddess plays a large part in the outcome of the war. Whitt feels her presence. A voice he can’t ignore after his time with the Farlanders. He knows the kari are right; they must change their ways if there is to be a world for future generations. But is peace possible?

Another must-read series from the queen of fantasy!

D. Wallace Peach

A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked.

In addition to fantasy books, Peachโ€™s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. Sheโ€™s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.

Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregonโ€™s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.

For book descriptions, excerpts, maps, and behind the scenes info, please visit http://dwallacepeachbooks.com.

For her blog on all things writing, please visit http://mythsofthemirror.com.

So proud of my grandson!

I had to look up what it meant though, lol

49 Replies to “Mid-Summer #Bookreviews- When Did We Lose Sylvia? by Vera Day, In the Likely Event @Rebecca Yarros, Kari’s Reckoning @DWallacePeach”

  1. Congrats to your grandson! (Yeah, I didn’t know what rangatiratanga meant either.)

    Oh cool, THANK YOU so much for reading and reviewing When Did We Lose Sylvia?! It was a blast to write. I’m in the editing phase of book two.

    In the Likely Event sounds fantastic, and of course Diana (D. Wallace Peach) writes beautifully, like you said, lovely atmospheric passages.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. That is the coolest word! Congratulations to your (obviously wonderful) grandson. ๐Ÿฅฐ๐ŸŽ‰
    Great reviews. I know Diana’s writing is superb and I keep seeing Vera’s book around. It sounds like a fun read!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Huge congrats to your grandson. I would have had to look that word up too. I enjoyed Vera’s book too and you remind me I need to get back to Diana’s series! Hugs xo

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Jacqui. He’s doing great, which makes his grandparents happy ๐Ÿ™‚
      Incomparable is the perfect description for Diana. Vera is working on the second in this series- can’t wait.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You’re right about Diana’s books. Are your ear’s ringing, Diana? ๐Ÿ˜‰ I’ve lost so much reading time this year, Jacquie. Summer has been weird. For one thing, I made an unexpected move again when an apartment downstairs became available. I wasted no time telling that flight of stairs good-bye. Happy reading.

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Being a grandmother is a gifted role, and when one of our pride and joys gets an award — it sends us over the top. My heartfelt congrats to your grandson — and to YOU, Jacquie. And thank you for sharing the wonderful reviews. โค๏ธ

    Like

  15. Thank you so much for the wonderful review, Jacquie. You gave me such a lift while life is feeling frazzled. You make all the work of writing those books worthwhile. Huge hugs for that.

    And thanks for the great review of Vera’s book (of which there seem to be many), and for introducing me to Rebecca and her book.

    And huge congrats to your grandson. Wow. What an honor and what a wonderful thing it says about him as a human being. I can only imagine your pride. โค โค โค

    Liked by 1 person

  16. I love the image you chose at the beginning of the post. Her future is waiting for sure. What a proud grandma you are! Your grandson did very well to receive this wonderful award. Thank you for sharing your fantastic reviews of these three books. Congratulations to Vera, Diana, and Rebecca.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I love hearing about the elderly accomplishing things “meant” for the young. I once met a 67 year-old who ran his first 100 mile marathon. Congratulations to these fine authors. “When Did We Lose Sylvia?” looks like a fun read and Diana truly is a magician with words. The excerpt describing the rain is a perfect example. Also, congratulations to your Grandson. He has a servant’s heart!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Jacquie, wow! A feast of wonderful books and congratulations to all the writers!

    Vera’s sounds like a terrific first in the series and promises so much more to come!

    Your review of Rebecca’s book has me on the edge of my seat and I’m hooked – just not one to read on a plane!

    Finally, Diana is a truly gifted writer and you summed it up perfectly with:

    ‘The author is a magician when it comes to complex characters and atmospheric settings.’

    I’ve got her latest book on my Kindle and am looking forward to reading it this summer. I know I’m in for a treat. Happy Reading! ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ˜€

    Liked by 1 person

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