Time for Surprises (The Solvik Series Book 4) by Mette Barfelt

I picked this book up as it was by a Norwegian writer set in Norway. I wasn't disappointed in the descriptions of the beautiful scenery or the characters in the book. But the whole book felt a bit disjointed and the romance and humour where in the wrong places. I think a lot went wrong in translation here. This is part 4 in a series, but it stands alone and not having read the other books was not a problem. I gave it 3 stars.

 

Time for surprises is a very apt title for this gentle romance set in Norway. It starts with a family inheriting a hotel from their father. Miranda our main character is set to run the operation as per her father’s wishes, as her husband, Vidar, gets the lowly job of janitor. The sisters Miranda, Isabel, Jasmine, brother Tony and recently revealed half-sister Celine are forced to work together. The fact that they are all very different characters adds to the tension. There is a lot to get on with and the disasters and mishaps follow quickly. There are good characters here and they are quite well developed. My issue was mostly with the tone of the book, the translation from Norwegian might be a factor. There was humour and romance there but at somewhat inappropriate moments; for instance a fat policeman having a rather slapstick moment before a rather grisly discovery. I would like to read more of this writer as her character development is good, maybe a more out and out romance would suit me better.

Ula (Born of Shadows Book 1) by J.R. Erickson

Fantasy is a great genre for authors, even though it isn't my favourite genre to read, I did chose it to write 'Language in the Blood'. Reality sometimes doesn't allow you to take the story to where you want. I can see that J.R.Erickson had great fun creating her baddies the vepars; a sort of vampiric demon and giving her Abby awesome powers. It worked mostly and I enjoyed this book. 4 Stars.

I rather liked this book as it had plenty of action and pace. It is the first in an already 5 book series, so I didn’t mind the slightly abrupt ending as the author has put the first chapter of the next book in at the end as a taster. We have been introduced to a myriad of characters which we probably get to know better in the next book. This book is all about Abby and her growth, not just as a young woman finding her way in the world, but also the growth of Abby the inexperienced witch.  I thought that was nicely done as we first meet Abby, a rather mousy girl that rather runs away than stand up to her overbearing mother and boyfriend. Hiding out in her aunt’s lake house she finds that she isn’t alone and Sebastian is also hiding there to get away from some demons. A grisly discovery and some other forces, throw them together on an exhilarating and terrifying adventure. Well written if somewhat over done with flowery metaphors.  My attention was kept from beginning to end and had a few edge of my seat moments. Wouldn’t mind reading the next one.