Review: False Trust by Steve Shipley

Series: Blake Willis Thriller #1

Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Flame Level: 🔥🔥

Format: eBook

Story Snapshot:

Rare whisky heist. Missing wife. Corporate betrayal in Australian wine country. If you like your thrillers smooth with a smoky finish, pour yourself a glass and settle in.

My Thoughts:

As a bourbon enthusiast, I was immediately intrigued by the premise of a great whisky heist. I mean, how could I not be? It gave major Pappygate vibes, and honestly, that was my favorite aspect of the entire story.

I loved that we got a little peek into the aging process of whisky, but I was definitely hoping for more nerdy detail — filtering, proofing, barrel to bottle… give me the caramel nectar science! There were also quite a few references to wine, wineries, and Australia. While I can appreciate the vibe, I was left yearning for the warm familiarity of bourbon.

Audiobook Review: One Fell Sweep

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One Fell Sweep sees Dina and Sean reunited, and that made me very happy. It is clear this duo cares deeply about one another given the sacrifices each made in Sweep in Peace. I enjoy seeing them growing closer together as the series progresses, and deepening the bonds between them, the inn, and the community.

This installment Innkeeper Chronicles started off with a bang, and the rescue of Dina’s sister, Maud, from a vigilante alien planet. Having been married to a vampire, Maud has taken on vampiric characteristics and is quite the fighter and survivalist. I liked her immensely. In addition, Maud’s daughter, Helen, provided a necessary touch of softness and vulnerability for her otherwise fierce demeanor. Bringing these characters into the story also allowed us to see another side of Dina and her protective nature.

With the entry of new characters, we also saw the reappearance of Sean and Arland, which were further developed as secondary characters and love interests. Caledonia and Orro continued to provide comedic relief, but I also loved the banter between Maud and Arland as well.

As Maud is just getting settled back on Earth, the sisters are presented with an exceptionally tempting and dangerous offer to aid a hunted alien species in preserving their race. This will put Gertrude Hunt (the inn), Dina and her guests and family smack in the crosshairs of genocidal lunatics. The action in this story was stellar, and the victimization of the Hiru created an easy rally point for engagement by the entire cast to do the right and moral thing. I enjoyed the pace of this story and thought the ending wrapped up beautifully.



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Audiobook Review: Sweep in Peace

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Sweep in Peace is the second book in The Innkeeper Chronicles, featuring intergalactic innkeeper, Dina Demille and her snarly shihtzu, Beast. I really enjoyed this pair in the first audiobook, Clean Sweep, and Renee Raudman’s narration was superb. I tried this installment in the graphic audio version, which I had not experienced before. The sound effects gave the story added dimension and fun, but I did miss some of Renee’s southern accent for Dina.

In this story, to ensure the prosperity of her inn, Dina accepts a questionable offer from an intergalactic arbitrator, George. This agreement will require that Gertrude Hunt serve as a mediation point for alien factions warring on the planet Nexus. This will challenge Dina to feed large hordes, maintain peace among hothead military leaders, and keep all her guests safe against inside and outside threats.

One of my favorite aspects of this installment was the addition of Orro, the overly dramatic (former) red clever chef. Orro is a Quillonian, which I am having a hard time picturing but I imagine to be somewhat of a large hedgehog. His dramatic antics were a nice addition to Caledonia’s spry wit. The two of them add some comedic relief to the action points in the story and Dina’s reserved nature.

Although warring factions were residing within Gertrude Hunt, I found this installment to be lacking in the action/excitement that we experienced in the first book. There was more intrigue, but less fighting. It fell on Dina to discover the motivations of all the parties, including the “neutral” arbitrator. I think we will see a lot of machinations come along from George in the future, and I am looking forward to that. As a lawyer, I would have had more interest in the arbitration proceedings, but we were left somewhat on the periphery of those. So I would have preferred a peak into what was happening in the walled off room with the sect leadership.

This story did have some nice twists and turns, a little heartache, and the reappearance of a favorite secondary character. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and performance, just not quite as good as the first and third installments.

3.5 stars

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Audiobook Review: Clean Sweep

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I am just now getting around to the Innkeeper Chronicles, and I can’t believe I waited this long. I am doing this series in audio while I do some projects around the house, and this one sure made raking leaves less loathsome.

Dina Demille is the innkeeper of a bed-and-breakfast in a small Texas town. She has a crazy shih tzu, Beast, which could be perfectly portrayed by my Priss. She also knows bourbon, and the value and rarity of a bottle of Pappy 15. I could definitely hang with her, if I had some magical abilities or something. I would definitely stay at her inn. Dina was no nonsense, cared about her inn, her guests, and chose doing the right thing over rules or societal norms.

This series is a bit unique as it seems to be fantasy mixed with space opera. There are other planets, werewolves, vampires, and who knows what other goodies we will find as the story progresses. I liked the dimensional doors, and the backstory for the werewolves. I do hope we will see more of Sean and Arland, as the love interest for our heroine was left up in the air. But there was a little chemistry there with those two.

This story line has a big bad of questionable alienage and weird hunting creatures that are difficult to kill. We got lots of action and betrayal, but also quite a bit of world building. While we saw some of the wider-world being described, I am interested to learn more about this small town in Texas and just how ordinary or extraordinary it is.

I’m a huge fan of Ilona Andrews, so I am sure I will speed through this series now that I’ve started. Stay tuned for reviews of the later books.

4 stars / 1 flame.

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Review: Soul Taken

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This installment of the Mercy Thompson series was a bit unexpected for me. This Harvester storyline was not something I envisioned, but I have to say that it fits in with the time of the year (near Halloween) quite well, complete with a pumpkin patch. It reminded me of an old school scary movie with a scythe-wielding maniac stealing souls around the Tri-Cities. (It’s a sickle!)

Review: Final Heir

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The Final Heir is the action-packed finale to the Jane Yellowrock series, and I am so sad that the saga is over. I want to go back and read it from the beginning! There were some chapters closed for Jane in this last book, some good closures and some sad. It seemed like the interaction between Jane and her mentor “in the smoke” at the beginning was super poignant, but then it didn’t feel resolved and I felt it like a gaping wound as I read.

Review: Smoke Bitten

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I got a bit behind on this series, so I’m binging the latest 3 books. It bothers my OCD that I don’t have time to go re-read the whole series (which I love) because I have forgotten some details in my absence. Like, I can remember who Wolfe (the vampy Wolfe) is or where he came from. And I like him. He’s just the right mischievous and dangerous element for the story. And, he makes me laugh.

Review: Ruby Fever

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Ruby Fever concludes the Catalina Baylor portion of the Hidden Legacy series, and much like the rest of this series, it did not disappoint. Ruby Fever was packed with action, magic, team work, family and drama. I moved to Houston around the inception of this series, so I have loved “growing” into my new residence along with this series, and seeing all the familiar areas and places mentioned. I can’t help but “look” for Nevada, Connor, Catalina and friends as I happen upon places like Buffalo Bayou, River Oaks, etc.

Review: Rogue's Possession

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Rogue’s Possession is the second book in the re-released series, Covenant of Thorns. Gwynn seems to have adjusted to her new life in Faery, but is still firmly ensconced as the battle sorceress for Lord Falcon’s war. I have to admit that I still don’t see the point to the war, but I think that is by design. I’m not sure the warring parties actually know the purpose of their war either. In any event, the pitched battles are entertaining and Gwynn usually finds a way to meet the terms of her deal without loss of human life. And I will never complain about mermaids, dragons and sea monsters in a book. 😜

Review: Gladiator

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I got on a bit of a space opera kick last month, so my friend thought I might like this sci-fi romance in audio to keep me occupied on my latest road trip. This one is not a space opera, but involves different aliens (animal and humanoid), kidnapping, intergalactic slavery, arena fights, and steamy chemistry!

Review: The Girl in the Mist

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I am woefully behind on my Kristen Ashley reading, and I was in a romantic suspense mood, so I decided on The Girl in the Mist for my roadtrip. In true KA fashion, she kept me engaged and entertained for the long drive.

Review: False Trust

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As a bourbon enthusiast, I was excited to see Steve was writing a story about a great whisky heist! It immediately brought to mind Pappygate and some other bourbon dramas. So there is no shame for me in saying that the whisky heist was my favorite aspect of the story. I was glad that some of the aging process was discussed, but I would have liked more detail on the filtering and proofing from barrel to bottle. There were many references to wine/wineries and Australia, neither of which are familiar to me, so I was yearning for that warm comfort that I find in the caramel nectar.

Review: Long Live the Soulless

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This is the end… of everything.

Binge complete! Long Live the Soulless it the culmination of the Dark Maji series, in which we have met mages, skeevs, raksasa, pirate queens, tree-dwelling warriors, and dark gods.

Review: For King and Corruption

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It’s 2:06a.m. and I am cursing Kel Carpenter because I immediately need to start the next book. OMG. Major cliffhanger ending. I. MUST. KNOW. WHAT. HAPPENS. NEXT!

Review: Twisted is the Crown

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Vengeance is Had…

With the 3rd book in the Dark Maji series, Twisted is the Crown, we see Quinn Darkova returning to her homeland of N’Skara. Although they return under the guise of seeking an alliance for House Fierte, Quinn has her own agenda.

Review: Blessed be the Wicked

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Political Intrigue and Pirate Queens!

The Dark Maji series continues with Blessed be the Wicked, where we follow Lord Fierte and his vassals into Tritol to seek an alliance with Imogen, the famous pirate queen of Ilvas. This installment is full of political intrigue, betrayal, and assassination attempts. Imogen and her House were not as cordial and welcoming to House Fierte, so Lazarus was forced to rely more on his vassals to gain what he sought.

Review: Fortune Favors the Cruel

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Fortune Favors the Cruel is a compelling start to the Dark Maji series. This book encompasses what I suspect to be the bulk of the world-building and overall plot trajectory. The world that has been created by Kel Carpenter is lush and darkly alluring. There are light, dark and gray maji, as well as mundane non-magical people. The landscape changes as our main characters traverse the realm, but the author brings each territory to life with just enough description to give you an idea and let your imagination fill in the rest.

Review: Eclipse the Moon

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This is the second book in Jessie Mihalik’s Starlight Shadows space opera series, featuring a band for former military from opposite sides of the war trying to save the universe by a future war between their people.

Review: Cackle

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This is a quirky read about Annie, who is 30 years old, newly single, a serial monogamist, needing validation and lacking self esteem. I felt bad for Annie at first, she's immersed in a relationship thinking marriage is on the horizon, only to be blindsided by the opposite. We've likely all been there, some of us more than once.

Review: Rogue's Pawn

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Rogue's Pawn is the first book ever written by Jeffe Kennedy, and is being re-released with some slight updates. As much as I love this author, I can't believe I hadn't actually read this series!