RoroblusMumReadsReviews/Rants

* A touching, but not soppy, read with Barbara Elsborg's usual tugs on my heart; with a couple of guys brought together by fate - or maybe a higher power; with an organic mystery element that's seen through with devastating consequences. But remember, it's a BE tale, so it all works out 😃 I've never read a BE book that I've not enjoyed, and this is one of her most organic-feeling. It starts with a punch for both River and Newt - River's blow is devastating in how he may never regain control of his body, voice, mind and agency, and Newt's is devastating in how his life and future are taken away from him by betrayal by family, by people who should've loved and protected him. The two don't know of each other's existence until a good deed to a stranger results in Newt being offered a job in River's life. The tale is perhaps a bit slower than some of BE's, but that makes it more realistic as we see River's physical and mental struggles. T...

4* Brutal, sadly all too believable in the orange twat's 2026 USA. Decent storyline; decent, strong females; horrible, racist, hypocritical bandwagon rednecks who're most likely MAGAs. This book has gone there. It's fiction based on today's USA that's gone backwards in so many ways, bringing out the worst in people who've become emboldened because of that orange twat who's just a mouthpiece for all things horrible, shameful, racist, jealous, wrong and countless other negative adjectives. It's a sad reflection that makes me grateful to be a Brit, although we have a good few twats of our own who're giving Reform acceleration, frighteningly and sadly. But, we at least have backbone and we have courts that will hold people to task. It's a tale of a Black female judge who's respected by many; hated by many more who're racist, Caucasian, barely disguised MAGAs, including her peers. In one scene where she overhears how her peers describe her, in...

3.5* A decent storyline that thankfully is pretty much trope-free, although you do need to suspend disbelief a bit. This is a cute, romantic and if you can get over the prince-pauper thing - to use this purely as a comparison between the leads' backgrounds and upbringing - the tale works. Adan is sweet and family orientated, and he's got working-class parents who've sacrificed a lot for him. I loved that when he hit the big time, he insisted that they both retire. Nils didn't have a stick up his royal arse, which helped, but that was the bit that required suspension of disbelief, because who in 2026 isn't friends with Google? It didn't seem believable that no one clocked who he was.  The tale was plausible, giving them an organic reason to meet, but that both embraced being bi so easily and quickly felt a bit 'hmm...yeah...' Nils was more believable than Adan, so that's where the tale lost 1* for me. Too much immediate acceptance, not a worry about w...

5* Most probably a guy's book, but who cares when it's this perfectly executed, no pun intended. I'm not sure how many Mason Sharpe books there are, but despite not reading them all, I've never felt lost.  This one doesn't require you to have read any of the previous books. Tbh, I can't remember any, despite getting into this series in late 2024. So, Sharpe's minding his own business but stops for a hitchhiker, who's suddenly giving him vibes that cause his spine to itch. It's not so much the guy's answers but how he holds himself. Then, there's a shootout and a manhunt that takes Sharpe and Shane Hagan on a journey info mafioso NYC and up against cops, the FBI, the bad guys who keep coming, a crooked accountant and his lawyer who has the power to save Shane and his family. Were it not such a serious tale, I could just see Hannibal from The A-Team saying 'I love it when a plan comes together'. This has it all. 2 guys and a gal with ba...

3.5* Suspend disbelief a bit and this isn't too bad a read. Reminiscent of Norman Norman tales. This book jumps a fair bit from the 4th novella in this series. Nolan has been under investigation by 'internal affairs'/UK equivalent, has been cleared but has been demoted as a scapegoat. According to him. And, the female boss, Chalmers, I think, who took over from DCI James, apparently turned into a psychopath, although nothing is given in evidence or remotely touched on. I think the tale takes place some 20 years after the novella ends, and Cormac is on his early 40s.  So the crime/s and baddie/s in this book, especially with the supposed senior UK political connection need to be taken with a pinch of salt. A rather big one. It's happening in rural UK and a police force composed Cormac, his boss DI Carver and DS Aconna/'O'Connor' - whose name is used as a reason for a slightly didactic lesson in diversity and inclusion - are the ones tasked in taking these m...

4*. Decent introduction to this author, though the Clare-Al relationship isn't believable. I'm new to this author, and if the book's one in a series, that wasn't obvious and I wasn't lost.  Clare could've had her cop-other-half's job when Al took a job that'd keep him away from home 4 nights a week. Promotion for them both, but she preferred to keep her hand in, rather than go for management. So, she's overworking, has only their dog Benji for company, and there's not even a text or WhatsApp convo with Al for several chapters, making me wonder if he's dead and she's living in a world of her making. But nope, he's real and when he's home, they don't really have any time together as she's always working or being called out. Even Benji has a surrogate family who're actually his sitters.  The tale itself is decent but the personal relationships are too clunky, too obvious, too 'tries to create intrigue but doesn't ...