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Maryse's Book Blog

Following my heart, one book at a time...

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4 stars

Book Review – The Life You Stole by Jewel E. Ann

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The Life You Stole (The Life Series Book 2) <— If you haven’t read book #1 yet, skip this review altogether and go to my first review here so my (and our) emotions below don’t spoil stuff for ya!!! Good news? The duet is complete so if this sounds up your alley, you can devour it all in one shot, cliffhanger and all! 😀

<— You guys. This one did a number on me. It was dark and emotional and depressing and hardcore, and yet despite that… “ethereal” quality about it, it felt real. Which is probably why I needed a billion breaks from it while I was reading it. HOLY. MOLY. read more

Book Review – In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn

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In an Instant
FIRST OFF!!! GO IN BLIND – not even the synopsis – if you’re okay with (and even LOVE) INTENSE, good or bad SURPRISES!!! Even skip over my review altogether and just go read it for an unforgettable story. 😉

This was my selection in this month’s “Amazon First” read that I jumped on due to the recommendations and all of those incredible reviews. The enthusiasm for it, cinched it for me and because of that, I didn’t even read the reviews (or the synopsis). I knew it was a “women’s romance/thriller” and that was good enough for me. I wanted to go in blind, and had no clue what I was in for, and was delighted!! AND!! I got to buddy-read it with my book twin! read more

Book Review – Release by Aly Martinez

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Release: A Standalone Friends-to-Lovers Romance

Another fantastic love story by one of my favorite authors ever, ’cause boy can she deliver, when it comes to angst, backstory and super-steam as well as romance. Though… not without working for it first. 😉

This one came highly recommended by our crew shortly after its release <— see what I did there? Supposedly there was a twist and I am ALL for those!! Delightful (or not-so-delightful) book surprises are so fun to experience and freak out over. read more

My review of the BenQ e-Reading LED Desk Lamp that I use as my reading lamp

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BenQ e-Reading LED Desk Lamp with Swing Arm, Auto-Dimming and Hue Adjustment, No Screen Glare, Eye Care, Perfect for Designers, Engineers, Architects, Reading, Office – Silver

The lamp I received, in use. I tried to capture the two different lighting temperatures and various dimming but it’s not coming through in the photos.

Over the last few days I’ve been using this reading lamp (can also be used as a desk lamp) that I received from the BenQ company for review. And this thing is pretty great overall! It’s almost exactly what I needed (at least, by way of my needs for when I read a print book, vs. my Kindle). Almost, you ask? Well about 85% perfect (and I’ll get to that in a bit). read more

Book Review – Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

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Unspeakable Things

This is an “Amazon First Reads” that I chose recently (in fact, it only officially comes out in January, but I think Prime members can buy it now), and I was thrilled by the feedback I was getting on it, ’cause it sounded right up my psych-thriller/mystery alley!! P.S. It’s actually still available to be “purchased” for free, for Prime members if you haven’t selected one yet, this month.

Mona: Hey Maryse, have you chosen your Amazon Prime First Reads for December? I picked Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey. I was up until 1:30am reading it, fell asleep but woke back up about 3:30am thinking about the book so I picked it back up and finished it at 6:30am. read more