Oxblood by AnnaLisa Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oxblood is one of those books where I did not necessarily love everything that happened at the end, but, the author took a great risk and still wrote a great book. I received an early release copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Of course, I would be drawn to this book since it took place mostly in Italy. It is the story of Vic who receives a package from her brother who is studying abroad in Italy for a few months. The contents make her realize that her brother, Gil, is in trouble. When she does not receive her nightly email from him she gets on the first flight to Italy to look for her only living family that she knows. When she arrives at the last hotel she was able to trace him to she finds out that everything with Gil was not what she thought and she becomes involved in the same trouble in which Gil was involved and she meets Ian, the leader of a secret agent group called Rogue.

As much as I would like more on Italy, this is a thriller with a lot of action. It does a great job with characterization. Vic speaks and acts in a manner that the reader can understand why she might be called Vic instead of her full name of Victoria. You can imagine what Ian sounds like with his British accent. We do not spend a lot of time with her brother Gil, however, we do learn so much about him through Vic's eyes and memories. The reader can understand why they are so close and why Vic cannot stand by and wait for someone else to find and help her brother. But, she gets involved in something that is a lot more dangerous than she realizes.

If there were anything the book was lacking it would be that the book does not give much information on Italy, but, this is not a bad thing since it was not intended to be an armchair travel mystery. It does a great job of allowing the reader to see where each scene in the book happens, so it stages the scene very well. There is a great mystery and a lot of great fight scenes. The story line is plausible and Vic does not magically kick butt and suddenly know how to do the things that the agents can. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Dial Em For Murder by Marni Bates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dial Em for Murder was a great, action-packed YA thriller with a really good play on book names. I received an early release copy through Edwelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Emmy is a 16 year old high school student who is obsessed with becoming a romance book author. She daydreams about characters she creates and rewrites real life situations in how she can envision them in a romance novel. She has two best friends, Audrey and Ben, with whom she shares everything with, even her unstable home life. She lives with her mom and her string of live-in boyfriends that come and go quite often, to the point where sometimes she is more the adult than her mom.

Em is busy working on her most recent romance novel at a Starbucks and steps away from the borrowed machine where she is working to order a drink. Unfortunately, she witnesses a man walk off with her drink and being the gutsy girl she is marches over to ask for her drink back. This begins the start of Emmy's troubles. The man did not accidentally take the wrong drink. He is trying to get her attention to warn her about what is about to happen to her life. This leads to a crazy chain of events where Emmy is thrown into several life and death situations. To remain safe she begins attending a secure private academy a few hours from home where things do not go quite like she planned. But, she is one step closer to one of her goals in life, finding her father. Now I have to wonder one thing. How long do I have to wait for the next installment in this series?

Loving Roxie by G.G. Vandagriff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, it's Florence, Italy. Who wouldn't love to read a book based in Italy? I know that is what attracted me to it. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review from eBooks for Review. Roxie and her friend who has just lost her husband and is suffering another personal loss, Georgia, decide to go to Florence, Italy looking for healing when they have a particularly bad session at their group therapy meeting. They check into an awesome family owned B&B and meet some great people, Beta, the owner of the B&B and her son, Cosimo, and Stefano. It turns out that Roxie is also suffering from a personal loss. The problem is she is not quite able to name the loss. It's right at the tip of her memory but, she cannot reach it. Of course, the problem is she really does not want to reach the memory.

Stefano, a professor, and researcher at two universities in Italy. He and Roxie seem to have hit it off but, Roxie is not stable, but, Stefano is really interested. The reader is drawn into the ups and downs of Stefano trying to find a way to possibly build a life with Roxie, but, so many questions arise. Will Roxie go back to the US? Can she get through the trauma she has obviously suffered and let Stefano in so they can possibly be a couple?

One of the best parts of this book is the imagery of Florence, Siena, and the Tuscan countryside. I will be visiting all of these places in a couple of months and Loving Roxie just drew me in and made this book even better for me. There are some really heavy topics handled in the book, and the author handles it very well. The reader is able to still enjoy the beautiful parts of the book even with all of the dark topics that are handled. I am definitely interested in seeing more from this author.

A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Seriously amazing book! Kendra, an FBI agent who finds herself 200 years in the past, not in her own country, but, in England, in the countryside. A serial killer is at work and this is before Jack-the-Ripper and before there were organized police forces. No Scotland Yard! I actually did not request a copy of this from NetGalley because I did not think it would work for me. I don't read a lot of historical mysteries or romances. I was worried about the time travel piece of it, but, Julie McElwain does a great job with it. The characters were excellently developed. The mystery was exciting and progressed well and had a wonderful buildup that keeps the reader on edge. What really strikes me is that the brilliant FBI agent from 200 years in the future did not just show up and solve the crime and nail the perp because she was more advanced than the people she was surrounded by in the past. I would definitely buy the next book in this series and cannot wait for it to be released! Just a great book!

Gladly Beyond by Nichole Van
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a great story! I received a copy of Gladly Beyond for participation in the Ebooks for Review Program hosted by Inspired Kathy. Claire, Dante and one other art authenticator are invited to Florence, Italy to authenticate a drawing that might be Michaelangelo's work. The catch is that they are all competing to work for the owner at an amazing salary as a permanent authenticator. Unfortunately, Claire is being followed not only by her recent past but, also by a stalker. Claire is being haunted not only by the stalker, an unfortunate incident from her past but, also by her parents' past in the limelight.

Dante has a very interesting past and he also feels a huge amount of responsibility for his family as he and his twin provide major support for the family holdings through their family business. He and his two brothers have what hs been considered a curse, though they have managed to turn it in their favor. Dante and Claire have a connection which turns out to be a bigger connection than could have ever been predicted. This meeting is a catalyst for events that not even the most gifted psychic can predict, though, it appears that one gifted gypsy might just know what is coming.

Gladly Beyond is atmospheric, exciting, mysterious and does a great job with a bit of haunting. It cannot be clearly called a ghost story because it doesn't fit that title either. The mystery is very well written and provides a great twist in the end. The characters are well drawn and provocative. The methodology used to bring in the history of the drawing and each of the characters was innovative and draws the reader into the story. My most favorite part of this story is the great descriptions of Florence, Italy. I could literally picture each of the places and remember my visit to some of the landmarks mentioned in the story. I have already signed up for newsletters from the author so I can grab the next installment in this series when it is released.

Crowned for the Prince's Heir by Sharon Kendrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Harlequin reader really cannot go wrong with a Sharon Kendrick book. I received an early release copy via NetGalley in exchange for a review. Lisa is a clothing designer that has seen moderate success, but, things are slowing down when Luc, someone from her past walks into her shop. Luc is heading home to fulfill his duty as the governing prince of his nation and head into an arranged marriage, one Lisa was not aware of when they were previously involved. Luc decides to have one last night with Lisa but, they leave things in a very negative light. This is unfortunate because Lisa is pregnant and Luc's marriage to a neighboring Princess who he has been engaged to for a very long time is about to happen when he learns of her pregnancy. Luc decides he needs to claim his child and is not aware that Lisa will not be dropping everything to run into his arms. What ensues is a serious clashing of two headstrong people, both intending to get their way. This is a great modern royal romance that will not disappoint Harlequin fans.

The Sway by Ruby Knight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Sway was a great, action-packed novel with a bit of mystery and a lot of supernatural gifts. I received an e-Arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have a huge love of espionage and spy thrillers. The Sway starts out as a great YA spy thriller and morphs into a YA supernatural thriller. Julia, who has been in a special program for a black ops group under the government since she was 13 years old is given a strange assignment. She is assigned to get close to Cole and report on his activities so that the government can determine Cole's father's activities. She heads back to high school and is placed near Cole residentially and her job works out better than expected and in a way she never saw coming. His father Hank is more than he seems and it appears so is Cole and Julia.

Julia has no idea that she is also being watched by Cole and his group when she is in place for the mission. She is at a disadvantage because it turns out that The Sway have been watching Julia for a lot longer than she has been watching Cole. They know more about her than it seems she knows about herself and they intend to make her a part of their mission to save the world. Saving the world sounds a bit ominous but The Sway has their hands full against a group that is just as powerful as they are, but, The Sway has some members that no one could foresee. This is a great beginning to a great series and I look forward to following these books