Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - Shakespeare’s Counselor by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Julia Gibson

 




Shakespeare’s Counselor by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Julia Gibson

#5 Lily Bard

Mystery

Publisher:  Recorded Books

Published:  11.13.09

Time: 7 hours 50 minutes

Rating:  4 stars

Format: audio

Source:  library

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis: 

Cleaning lady and karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Doing her best to cope with her terrifying memories, she decides to join a therapy group in her adopted hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas. As it turns out, the group members' feelings aren't the only things that need sorting out, as they assemble for a session only to find a woman dead, left on display as some kind of twisted message.

Lily soon finds herself embroiled in the murder and its aftermath. Some of her own terrible secrets have been dredged up, and she may not be able to rest until she can untangle the 'who' and the 'why' of this shocking crime. But can she do so before the killer strikes again - and before her own nightmares send her over the edge?

 

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh

 




Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh

#10 Bree Taggert

Romantic Suspense

Publisher:  Montlake

Published:  9.16.25

Pages: 312

Rating: 5 stars

Format: eARC

Source:  NetGalley

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: Goodreads

 

GoodReads Synopsis:

In the wake of a woman’s savage murder, the suspects and motives are only mounting for Sheriff Bree Taggert in a twisting novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

In a quiet suburban neighborhood in upstate New York, single mom Kelly Gibson is slain in her home—the victim of a rage killing. Right away, Sheriff Bree Taggert has three persons of interest: an angry soon-to-be ex-husband, a furtive rebound boyfriend, and an obsessive neighbor.

But as Bree and investigator Matt Flynn work together to narrow the field, there’s a shocking twist in the case: a second woman is murdered in the same brutal fashion.

While investigating, Bree is attacked and left for dead. When another woman is kidnapped, Bree and Matt must act quickly to unravel the deceptions in Kelly’s life and death and find a killer before someone else dies.

 

Monday, October 6, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews- Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy by Martha Wells

 




Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy by Martha Wells

#2.5 The Murderbot Diaries

Sci-Fi

Publisher:  Tor Books

Published:  7.11.25

Pages:  34

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: ebook

Source:  purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover...

 

Friday, September 26, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Eva Kaminski

 





The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Eva Kaminski

#3 Gunnie Rose

Post-Apocalyptic Thriller, Alternate History

Publisher:  Recorded Books

Published:  2.23.21

Time:  7 hours 52 minutes

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: Audio

Source:  Library borrow

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

Picking up right where A Longer Fall left off, this thrilling third installment follows Lizbeth Rose as she takes on one of her most dangerous missions yet: rescuing her estranged partner, Prince Eli, from the Holy Russian Empire. Once in San Diego, Lizbeth is going to have to rely upon her sister Felicia, and her growing Grigori powers to navigate her way through this strange new world of royalty and deception in order to get Eli freed from jail where he's being held for murder.

Russian Cage continues to ramp up the momentum with more of everything Harris' readers adore her for with romance, intrigue, and a deep dive into the mysterious Holy Russian Empire.

#1 'New York Times' best-selling author Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and Midnight, Texas trilogy) continues to ramp up the momentum with more of everything Harris' readers adore her for with romance, intrigue and a deep dive into the mysterious Holy Russian Empire in the much loved Gunnie Rose series.

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin




Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

#4 Jacqueline Kirby

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Published:  8.5.08

Time: 12 hours 42 minutes

Rating: 4 stars

Format: Audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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Goodreads Synopsis:

She may be a bestselling author, but ex-librarian Jacqueline Kirby's views on the publishing biz aren't fit to print. In fact, she's thinking of trading celebrity for serenity and a house far away from fiendish editors and demented fans when her agent whispers the only words that could ever make her stay: Naked in the Ice.

Seven years ago, this blockbuster skyrocketed Katleen Darcy to instant fame. Now the author's heirs are looking for a writer to pen the sequel. It's an opportunity no novelist in her right mind would pass up, and there's no doubting Jacqueline's sanity...until she starts digging through the missing woman's papers - and her past. Until she gets mixed up with Kathleen's enigmatic lover. Until a series of nasty accidents convince her much too late that someone wants to bring Jacqueline's story -and her life - to a premature end.

 

Friday, September 12, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - Shakespeare’s Trollop by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Julia Gibson

 




Shakespeare’s Trollop by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Julia Gibson

#4 Lily Bard

Mystery

Publisher:  Recorded Books

Published:  11.24.09

Time:  6 hours  54 minutes

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: audio

Source:  library

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis: 

Welcome back to Shakespeare - a charming Arkansas town with endless back roads, an eclectic mix of residents, and a dollop of noir. Featuring cleaning woman/karate expert Lily Bard, Charlaine Harris's series puts a unique spin on the traditional cozy to create mysteries that "work on every level. The writing and plotting are first rate [and] Lily is appealing in her own prickly way" --Washington Times

In the latest installment, Lily discovers lifelong Shakespeare resident Deedra Dean murdered inside a car parked in a woodsy area outside town. Determined not to get involved, Lily wants to leave the police work to Sheriff Marta Schuster and her team of deputies, and concentrate on cleaning, high kicks, and her boyfriend Jack's impending visit. But when Deedra's notoriously promiscuous lifestyle provides an extensive list of suspects but very few clues, Lily has no choice but to resume the role of amateur detective and join the investigation.

In this fourth book in Charlaine Harris's highly acclaimed and darkly compelling series, Lily Bard delivers a hard-hitting mix of Southern charm and street smarts, a combination so alluring that long-time readers and newcomers will be dying to visit Shakespeare again.

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - Flint by Louis L’Amour, narrated by MacLeod Andrews



 



Flint by Louis L’Amour, narrated by MacLeod Andrews

Historical Fiction, Western

Publisher:  Penguin Random House Audio

Published:  4.25.23

Time:  6 hours 38 minutes

Rating: 5 stars

Format: Audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

A classic western from a #1 New York Times bestselling author and read by an Audie Award–winning narrator: Flint left the American west to escape a bloody past — but the east held danger too. Now, incurable illness sends him back to New Mexico — where his plans for a quiet end are disrupted by threats to a local rancher.

He left the West at the age of seventeen, leaving behind a rootless past and a bloody trail of violence. In the East he became one of the wealthiest financiers in America—and one of the most feared and hated.

Now, suffering from incurable cancer, he has come back to New Mexico to die alone. But when an all-out range war erupts, Flint chooses to help Nancy Kerrigan, a local rancher. A cold-eyed speculator is setting up the land swindle of a lifetime, and Buckdun, a notorious assassin, is there to back his play.

Flint alone can help Nancy save her ranch…with his cash, his connections—and his gun. He still has his legendary will to fight. All he needs is time, and that’s fast running out….