The Heron's Cry (Two Rivers #2) by Ann Cleeves

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Cleeves--New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows--returns with the extraordinary follow-up to The Long Call, in the Two Rivers series, soon to be a major TV series too.


North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft. 

Source: NetGalley; ARC kindly provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

You know, when I read The Long Call last year, I thought it was good and I liked DI Venn. It surprised me how often I'd think back to the story and in particular, DI Venn. I was drawn to his calmness, his ability to be still in the midst of chaos as he quietly turned things over in his mind while also managing detectives under him whose personalities differed from him. It's a quality I so wish I could master. The Heron's Cry was obviously going to land on my TBR pile. 

I think the greatest thrill about any Ann Cleeves novel is that she's able to pack in so much story. She seamlessly moves from character to character, inviting the reader into their private thoughts and drops all sorts of insightful, curious notes. I like her way of storytelling because whether or not those details are pertinent to the main mystery at hand, they're excellent for understanding the various personalities that populate the village or community the story is set in. With regards to DI Venn, she strikes a perfect balance between his professional and personal sides which he himself tries to keep as separate as possible. While he's often deliberate in his intentions and carries himself in a disciplined manner, Cleeves shows us his tender qualities, which are drawn out whenever he's around his husband, Jonathan. They're not showy displays of affection but simply more honest, more vulnerable interactions where Venn feels safest and allows for a more emotional connection. The first book in the series examined his strict religious upbringing and his continued struggle to make peace with it. The Heron's Call continues that line and also brings Venn closer to possibly reconciling with his religious mother. If not that, at least understanding her better.

In The Heron's Call, the victim, Dr. Yeo is an admired member of the community. Not only is he personally known to one of the detectives on Venn's team, a few of the suspects are as well. And some of them are even high profile. The personal and professional sides clash a bit amongst the detectives which for sure make conducting the investigation trickier. Dr. Yeo was working for an organization that advocates for patient rights and his latest casework involved the deaths of patients who had been suffering from depression. (As this is a sensitive subject and the investigation uncovers some troubling details I will leave a few content/trigger warnings at the end of this review.) 

I would say my only disappointment with The Heron's Cry was that I figured out the whodunnit a few chapters before the big reveal. It's weird because most often when I read mysteries, I like to try to guess at it and I'm generally wrong which is a good thing for me because I'd rather that twist or surprise, but in this case I wanted that question to carry me through the end. It didn't take away from Cleeve's marvelous writing or the suspense of the story, however, so I still say this reading experience is a win. Cleeve's writes the kind of mystery that I crave - thrilling, compassionate, deeply emotional and thoughtful. Fans of small village British mysteries will take to this one as well!

~ Bel

 

Content Warning

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 - depression; death of one of the previous patients by suicide; mention of online suicide chat forum; a separate group within that suicide forum that encourages taking action towards suicide

Battle Royal (Palace Insiders #1) by Lucy Patker

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Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits.

Ready…

Four years ago, Sylvie Fairchild charmed the world as a contestant on the hit baking show, Operation Cake. Her ingenious, colorful creations captivated viewers and intrigued all but one of the judges, Dominic De Vere, the hottest pastry chef in London. When her glittery unicorn cake went spectacularly sideways, Dominic was quick to vote her off the show. Since then, Sylvie has managed to use her fame to help fulfill her dream of opening a bakery, Sugar Fair. The toast of Instagram, Sugar Fair has captured the attention of the Operation Cake producers…and a princess.

Set…

Dominic is His Majesty the King’s favorite baker, the go-to for sweet-toothed A-List celebrities, and a veritable British institution. He’s brilliant, talented, hard-working. And an icy, starchy grouch. Learning that the irksome Sylvie will be joining him on the Operation Cake judging panel is enough to make the famously dour baker even more grim. Her fantastical baking is only slightly more troublesome than the fact that he can’t stop thinking about her pink-streaked hair and irrepressible dimple.

Match…

When Dominic and Sylvie learn they will be fighting for the once in a lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for the upcoming wedding of Princess Rose, the flour begins to fly as they’re both determined to come out on top.

The bride adores Sylvie’s quirky style. The palace wants Dominic’s classic perfection.

In this royal battle, can there be room for two?

*Source: NetGalley; ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

You know anything that comes from Lucy Parker is going to be adorable. It's generally a safe bet. Battle Royal delivers on the sweetness and silliness but also gets real that it can be a bit disconcerting.

Sylvie has been doing well for herself since she was last on national tv and made a complete mess of things before she was booted off the show. Her bakery is a hit, her creations are phenomenal and now the show, Operation Cake wants her back as host. Sounds good but she'll have to judge alongside Dominic who was literally the recipient of her messy baking mishap on live tv. Their creative styles are drastically different, their approach to judging different, so what on earth could they have in common? How about the fact that their bakeries are down the same street from one another and that they're both asked to submit cake design proposals for an upcoming royal wedding. Soon these two enemies become cohorts of sorts on a mission to produce the best cake possible. Success for both of them would mean thriving businesses and a chance to gloat at the other.

As always, Parker writes some of the best zingers and ridiculous situations. Sylvie is one of the most disarming characters, full of love and ready to champion anyone. Dominic appears gruff on the outside but he's honestly a teddy bear on the inside. Sylvie brings that out. The two of them working together is unexpected but fun. 

The touching aspect of Battle Royal is the element of grief. It's pervasive throughout. All the main characters have suffered some sort of loss or abandonment, and their souls are deeply marked by it. It's this that has me thinking that Battle Royal isn't the typical rom-com that readers of Parker's are used to. It's still good and I enjoyed it but I think anyone dealing with grief should be aware that it is a general theme of this story. That and the notion of a found family. They've all had their hearts broken by family either through rejection or disappointment, but it's the ones that they've fostered and nurtured that's become what a family should ideally be. Not going to lie, this hit kind of hard because I understood it so well. 

I will read anything by Lucy Parker because her stories are always entertaining and touching. I think she pushes herself here to explore some complicatedAny fan of Great British Bake Off and romance in general will love this. Battle Royal appears to be a good start to a new series!

~ Bel

Uncharted (Survival Instincts #2) by Adriana Anders

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Hotshot pilot Leo Eddowes is afraid of nothing and no one. So when she's asked to evacuate a man from the wilds of Alaska, she doesn't hesitate. But with enemies in close pursuit and the weather turning sour, what should have been a simple mission quickly shifts to disaster.

And there's only one way out.

When Elias Thorne disappeared, he was America's most wanted. Now he's spent more than a decade in one of the most remote places on earth, guarding a dangerous secret. Leo's arrival, quickly followed by a team of expert hunters, leaves him no choice but to join forces with her—and run. Neither is prepared for their reluctant partnership to flare into something as wild and untamed as the frozen world around them...but as desperately cold days melt into scorchingly hot nights, Leo and Elias must learn to dig deep, trust in each other, and forge a bond as strong as the forces of nature.

Stranded together in a frozen wilderness,

There's nowhere left to run...

*Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

When you pick up Uncharted you need to sit down, buckle up and settle in because once the action starts it keeps going. There's barely enough time to take in an entire breath when the next thing happens and so on.

Uncharted continues the fight or flight tension of the first book. Once again people are after the deadly virus that was first discovered in Antarctica and there are many actors in this game. So many one's not sure who's on which side. Leo doesn't begin this adventure in the best way. The little Alaskan town she and her team have been hiding out in while searching for an elusive scientist is suddenly taken hostage by an armed group working for a nefarious organization. Not good when she's trying to get over a stomach bug. She manages to get out aided by a local who insists that she help her find her nephew and save him from the danger that's coming. Leo, who's a skilled pilot is still shot down and Elias, the guy she was sent by the local to look for, comes to her rescue. It's touch and go for a bit because she's badly injured, in and out of consciousness and that only slows down their escape. In her lucid moments she tries to figure out if Elias can be trusted and/or of he's the guy she and her team have been looking for. When the hunters get close, the chase is pretty much nonstop from there. And it only gets more harrowing in the rough Alaskan wilderness. 

This was a blast to read! I needed a change of pace and this was definitely it. It's suspenseful and thrilling, and when Leo and Elias decide they can trust each other, it only becomes more intense. A lot of their attraction and chemistry comes from the situation they find themselves in, but they also make sense. They compliment each other beautifully in terms of attitude and grit. Elias has been hiding out in the wilderness for so long that he needs for someone to be able to handle that, too. Leo has just as much grit as he does. The big surprise for me was how much I ended up liking a certain hunter - Ash. His role in everything is not exactly clear but boy, oh boy, does he have the stealthy bad boy vibe down. Combined with an English accent and he is freaking sexy to me. I must know more about this mysterious operative. 

Uncharted is ceaseless high-octane fun with tender and steamy interludes thrown in. There's also a a dog (Bo), and who doesn't love a human's best friend that's in on the adventure and looking out for them? I had an awesome time reading this and I'm excited for more to come!

~ Bel

Southern Playboy (North Carolina Highlands #4) by Jessica Peterson

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Hiring the woman who wrecked me to nanny the kid I just found out I have is a dumb idea. Getting naked with her in the back of my truck is even dumber.

But old habits die hard.

Amelia Fox was my high school sweetheart, the girl who broke my heart and nearly ended my football career nine years ago. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other, much less make a comeback.

But I did come back. And I’m not about to let go of everything I fought for just because my world is imploding again.

When I find out I’m the father of a two-year-old boy, I’m ready to start my final season in the pros. It’s my last chance to nab the championship I promised my dad I’d win before he died.

Enter Amelia: teacher, toddler whisperer, and—oh yeah—my ex-girlfriend. We haven’t spoken in almost a decade, but I’m desperate, and she’s looking for a job.

I need to focus, which means I need help with this kid. Which means I need her.

The arrangement works until one night of bad decisions and great sex threatens to ruin everything.

Can we make it work this time around?

Or is she just another bad habit I need to break before she breaks me?

Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

The North Carolina Highlands series has become like comfort food because you keep returning to a familiar place with familiar faces. Getting to know each Beauregard sibling has been a blast and I have to say, Rhett Beauregard might just be my favorite right now.

Rhett's still playing football professionally and has only recently started feeling ambivalence towards the sport to which he's devoted his entire life. At his brother's engagement party he sees his first love, Amelia. The reunion goes sort of well i.e. things gets awkward. Though the blast from the past is a little much for his drunken mind to take in, the memories that come back are welcomed. But Rhett's life takes an unexpected turn when he learns that he is the father of a two year-old and that he now has sole custody of the child. Unsure of what to do and how, he reaches out to Amelia for help. As a preschool teacher, she's well equipped to handle a toddler and teach him how to be a father. Since Amelia's job situation kind of blew up in her face, she agrees to become a nanny for his child on the condition that they adhere to strictly professional interactions and nothing more. But we already know that's going to be hard. Mutual attraction aside, Rhett's family has always been kind and welcoming to Amelia. Where her family unit contains only her and her hippie grandmother (she is a character, by the way!), Rhett's family is the large, loud, loving brood has a lot of love to go around. So there's no way they can avoid any overlapping.

This felt like a very mature story with Rhett's impressive response to being a father and taking on the responsibility immediately. This guy was meant to be family man. His existential crisis comes from his conflicting desires to end his football career successfully or extend it for the promise of more lucrative opportunities that would mean financial security for his son. He's been guided by his need to fulfill a promise to his father but now with his son, Liam in the picture, he's begun to adjust his mindset.

I do feel the need to bring up a couple of trigger warnings. One, there is brief mention of Amelia's mother passing away from cancer. Two, there is second brief mention of cancer during a quick conversation between Rhett and his trainer about Rhett's health. It comes about because he's been tired during training lately (duh, he's a dad now and up all night with a kid!) and the trainer gets in to hysterics and assumes it's cancer. When I came across it, I don't know ... it just came off as flippant and unnecessary. Yes, I'm sensitive to it at the moment but that was my honest, immediate reaction to it.

Other than that, Southern Playboy is a sweet, sexy, endearing read about establishing connection, and in Rhett and Amelia's case, re-establishing it. It's also about connecting back to what makes them individually happy in the first place. The story's hard to put down and Rhett just makes my day!

~ Bel