Category: Book Reviews

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Book Review, Giveaway: The Convalescent Corpse by Nicola Slade

The Convalescent Corpse

by Nicola Slade

 Amazon US / UK / AU / CA  

 

A story of Family, Rationing and Inconvenient Corpses.

Life in 1918 has brought loss and grief and hardship to the three Fyttleton sisters. Helped only by their grandmother (a failed society belle and expert poacher) and hindered by a difficult suffragette mother, as well as an unruly chicken-stealing dog and a house full of paying-guests, they now have to deal with the worrying news that their late – and unlamented – father may not be dead after all.  And on top of that, there’s a body in the ha-ha.

‘I love it. A delightfully unusual mystery with wonderful characterisation and historical detail.’ – LESLEY COOKMAN BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LIBBY SARJEANT MYSTERY SERIES

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… my elder sister Alix announced that she intended to become a nun. This was because she had diligently attended every party she could cajole her way into in the town, but still failed to attract a man willing to become the husband she so desperately wanted. The nun idea was speedily cast aside and instead she decided to volunteer as a nursing assistant at the convalescent home for officers at Groom Hall, the gloomy hunting lodge next door to us. Her reasoning was that a wounded officer, being unable to escape her attentions, might well be a good marital prospect provided his injuries were neither unsightly nor injurious to the married state.

 

I imagine the best I can hope for is a wounded young man who’ll think me an angel of mercy. I don’t care if he has a limb or two missing, as long as he has a handsome bank balance and thinks I’m wonderful.

 

Alix says the prospect of Mrs Mortimer as a mother-in-law renders him ineligible as a husband.

 

My Review:

 

This was quite an unusual collection of characters, each one was oddly entertaining and rather abhorrent; I couldn’t get enough of their smartly written and artfully portrayed peculiarities. I also learned quite a bit as I will confess to being rather sketchy on my WWI knowledge, while I am old – I’m not that old. The storylines were humorously engaging while also informative and continually prodded my curiosity; was it murder, who did it, was it a crime or a kindness? There were multiple suspects, each equally repellent and captivatingly depicted. I treasured this wily author’s pacing, character development, and humorous observations; she cunningly tucked in shrewd insights and colorful descriptions with levity cleverly woven throughout, although their food sounded absolutely dreadful, which was a boon to my diet efforts!   I do believe Nicola Slade has snared a new fangirl.

Author Bio 

Nicola Slade lives in Hampshire where she writes historical and contemporary mysteries and women’s fiction. While her three children were growing up she wrote stories for children and for women’s magazines before her first novel, Scuba Dancing, was published in 2005. Among other jobs, Nicola has been an antique dealer and a Brown Owl! She loves traveling and at one time, lived in Egypt for a year. The Convalescent Corpse is Nicola’s 9th novel. Nicola is also a member of a crime writers’ panel, The Deadly Dames https://www.facebook.com/DeadlyDames/

Social Media Links 

 www.nicolaslade.wordpress.com   www.nicolaslade.com

Twitter: @nicolasladeuk

https://www.facebook.com/nicolasladeuk/  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/nicola8703 (I have a board for each book)

Giveaway 

Win a paperback copy of The House of Ladywell

(Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

 

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Book Review: There’s Something About a Cowboy by Rich Amooi

 

There’s Something About a Cowboy

by Rich Amooi

 Amazon US / UK / AU / CA   

 

Rule #1: No Dating Cowboys.

A fake fiancé doesn’t count, right? Oh boy . . .

 

Amy Weaver is tired of her dad meddling in her love life. Fed up, she hires an actor to play the part of her fake cowboy fiancé when she goes home for her grandpa’s ninetieth birthday. Sure, Luke Jenkins has got looks, charm, and muscular legs, but this is business, pure and simple. Things are fine and dandy until she finds out he’s a real cowboy, not an actor. Now, she’s stuck between a rock and his chiseled jawline, falling faster than a sack of horseshoes. How the heck is Amy supposed to ignore the sparks between them and stick to her rule of not dating cowboys? All bets are off.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Those aren’t Wranglers,” Amy said, glancing at the tight jeans surrounding the man’s muscular legs. “That’s denim-colored Saran Wrap. I swear I can see his marble collection.”

 Sure, he’s some serious eye candy, no doubt, but you know I prefer the nerdy type. Give me a computer engineer and I’ll be naked before you can say hard disk.

 …”why don’t you bring me a piece of that delicious apple pie with some of that slow-Chernobyl vanilla ice cream.” “It’s slow-churned, nincompoop.”

 “Now, don’t you go joking around like that,” Grandpa Leo said. “You never know when I’m going to keel over from this old heart of mine. My A-orca is not what it used to be.” “Aorta.” “That, too.”

 He’s a master at sucking up to your father. Hear that slurping? That’s him again. The man could suck a Big Mac through a screen door.

 Not that Nathan was a horrible person, but they wanted different things. He wanted Amy to be a housewife, and she wanted him to go far, far away.

 I want to say thank you all for coming to my birthday. I’m so old I remember when the Dead Sea was just sick.

My Review:

I can always count on Rich Amooi to put a smile on my face; his stories are a sweet treat like a delightfully frothy confection. His characters were knowable and endearing while not always likable, but I honestly don’t know anyone who is – other than myself of course.   The storylines were engaging and pleasantly entertaining while the writing was cleverly observant, humorous, easy to follow, and held my interest throughout. His light romantic comedies are a welcome respite between heavier tomes and just good fun.

Author Bio:

Fun, Quirky Romantic Comedies from a Guy’s Perspective. Rich Amooi is a former radio personality who now writes romantic comedies full-time. He is happily married to a kiss monster imported from Spain. Rich believes in public displays of affection, silliness, infinite possibilities, donuts, gratitude, laughter, and happily ever after.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.richamooi

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichAmooi

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/richamooi

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Book Review: In This Ground by Beth Castrodale

In This Ground

by Beth Castrodale

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / 

B&N  / B-A-M

Paperback: 160 Pages

Publisher: Garland Press (September 18, 2018)

Just as his indie-rock band was poised to make it big, Ben Dirjery traded it all in for fatherhood and the stability of a job at Bolster Hill Cemetery. Now closing in on fifty, the former guitarist finds himself divorced and at loose ends, and still haunted by the tragic death of his former band’s lead singer, who is buried, literally, under Ben’s feet. Then Ben’s daughter begins questioning a past he has tried to bury. If he can face her questions, he might finally put to rest his guilt over his bandmate’s death, and bring music back into his life.

“Startlingly incongruous parts–graveyards, guitars, and mushrooms–come together in satisfying and unexpected ways. Sharp writing and an unconventional plot make for a darkly enjoyable read.”–Kirkus Reviews

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Cole tried to picture Ms. Gale drinking in a cemetery and didn’t come close. Though she looked younger than any other teacher in the school it was impossible to imagine her at seventeen—at least not the loud, stupid kind of seventeen. Her type of serious seemed elemental, the type you had from birth.

 Nature will have her way with all of us, son, no matter what tricks we try to pull. If you want someone to stay the same forever you better take a picture.

 

My Review:

 

This was one of the quirkiest, smartly written, and multi-layered tales I have ever read; I enjoyed it immensely. I wasn’t always in full comprehension of what was transpiring or where the story was taking me, but I certainly delighted in the unpredictability and capriciousness of this wily author’s route. The characters were an odd assortment of unconventional and unorthodox, and I was incurably curious about each and every one of them. Even the secondary characters were tantalizingly complex and thoughtfully constructed with peculiar foibles and compelling irregularities.

At the heart of the story was an existential and analytical gravedigger who had been an up and coming and talented musician in his youth, but had denied himself the pleasure of his first love of music for over twenty years.   Mix in family dramas, yarn bombing, mushroom hunting, art, covert cemetery gatherings, green burials and environmental concerns, cemetery maintenance, and prickly small-town bureaucrats; and I was amazed at the author’s agile artistry in creatively weaving all these wildly diverse threads together. This is one of those unusual tales where the extraordinary characters will periodically revisit and inhabit my cranium for quite some time.

About Beth Castrodale

Beth Castrodale has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. Her novels include Marion Hatley, a finalist for a Nilsen Prize for a First Novel from Southeast Missouri State University Press (published by Garland Press in 2017), and In This Ground (Garland Press, 2018). Beth’s stories have appeared in such journals as Printer’s Devil Review, The Writing Disorder, and the Mulberry Fork Review. Get a free copy of her novel Gold River when you sign up for her e-newsletter, at http://www.bethcastrodale.com/gold-river/.

Connect with Beth

Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

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Book Review: A Place Without You by Jewel E. Ann

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A Place Without You, an all-new emotional New Adult romance from Jewel E. Ann, is available now!

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The Law of Henna and Bodhi:

When love breaks, fall inward, fall together, and fall hard. Then let time pick up the pieces.

Everything feels temporary when you’ve experienced tragedy—until Henna Lane meets Bodhi at a music festival.

Young and spontaneous, they have a lust for seizing the moment, falling hard and fast.

When Bodhi is forced to leave without a goodbye, Henna thinks she’ll never get over him. But then she meets Mr. Malone, her sexy, new guidance counselor.

They are reckless.

They are forbidden.

When their secret is discovered, Henna has to choose between finishing school—banned from seeing Mr. Malone—or dropping out to follow her nomad dreams.

Henna chooses her dreams.

Over time, she learns that life is not a destination or a journey, some things are more than temporary, and the forbidden can never be ignored. But if she returns for him, will he still be hers?

A Place Without You is an emotional story of young love, shattered dreams, and impossible decisions.

APWY-ANSQ

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ApZXGR

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/APlaceWithoutYou

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2AHhTNT

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He eats one fry and hands me the last one. It’s oddly the most romantic thing a guy has ever done for me. The final french fry trumps a single red rose. At least, that’s how my mind works.

 

“Are you still flirting with me?” “Always. Even when our kids think it’s gross and we’re too old to flirt, I’m going to tease you with my sexiness.”

 

It’s hotter than a pot of Devil’s stew.

 

Do people really use paperweights? I always think of them as unsuspecting weapons in murder mysteries.

 

One of his eyes pops open, followed by the other. “Oh my God! You’re not dead.” I drop to my knees and rest my forehead on the arm of his chair, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. “Not today, young lady. But Christ … I hope the mortician does a better job of checking my pulse than you did. I don’t relish the idea of being burned or buried alive.”

 

I’m pretty sure you’re still my greatest memory.

 

My Review:

 

I am not a fan of the angst which made this tragic story a treacherous and somewhat arduous trek for me to journey through, yet the writing was stellar and the cleverly alluring characters were enticing, complicated, and so incredibly nuanced; I couldn’t give up. I had to read all the words. Even the ones that greatly annoyed me.

The storylines were shrewdly paced, and often heart-wrenching and multi-layered with complex issues and thought-provoking real-world dilemmas and obstacles that would be difficult for anyone to navigate, much less while in the throes of an epic love story. The writing was lushly descriptive, poignantly insightful, and relentlessly mined all the feels with panache. And oh, I have to mention the bone-melting sensuality… I may have been gasping… a few times.

I struggled in how to rate it overall which proved to be quite the predicament as there were sections I truly struggled with as well as the unfortunate deployment of my least favorite trope, yet the superior quality and thoughtfulness of the writing couldn’t be overlooked. While the HEA was hard won, it was well worth the effort and “quite the snack.”

Excerpt:

“Let’s eat before we leave. I’m sure there’s quite the spread downstairs.”

“Rich people breakfast?” I ask.

She furrows a brow for a few seconds. “Yes. I suppose so.” Rolling away, she swings her legs around and stands up, stretching like a cat.

“Do you eat rich people breakfast every morning?” My curiosity has been piqued.

After a long yawn, she cocks her head to the side, lips slightly twisted. “Shredded Wheat with cut-up banana and almond milk. Is that a rich person’s breakfast?”

I sit up, doing a bit of my own stretching, loving the way her gaze roams along my bare chest, her lips parting ever so slightly. “No. I think that’s a solid middle-class breakfast.”

“Middle. That’s average. Average is good, right?”

“There’s nothing average about you, Henna.” I stand, following her into the bedroom.

“I’m going to shower quickly, and by quickly I mean I need an hour. Do you have an hour?”

“To shower with you?” I try to play it cool, like I’m serious.

I’m a little serious.

The color leaves her face. “Oh, um …” She twists her fingers together, drawing her shoulders inward.

“I’m kidding.”

A little kidding.

Henna’s posture relaxes as her cheeks pink up again. “We could.” Her gaze darts around the room before landing on mine for two seconds only to wander around the room again.

“My clothes are at my hotel. I’ll shower there. I need to get going.”

A slow sigh deflates her chest as she tries on a smile that misses the confident mark by a few centimeters. “Okay.”

“But thanks for the offer.” I wink.

More color paints her cheeks, and it looks stunning on her. “I kinda sorta thought we’d have sex last night, but we didn’t, and that’s fine, but now I don’t know what comes next.”

Does that make me the world’s biggest idiot for not taking what she was planning on offering? Or does that make me a gentleman? I’ve already fucked her a hundred different ways in my head, so I’m going to shy away from the gentleman label.

“How about you put my number in your phone and I’ll call you later today? That feels like a good next, don’t you think?”

Henna nods and turns, walking toward the bedroom door. Digging through her purse, she retrieves her phone. When she pulls it out, a string of three condoms comes out with it. “Oh jeez.” Quickly snatching them off the floor, she shoves them back into her purse.

I don’t respond because I’m not sure what the correct response should be.

“I was conceived at Coachella.” She hands me her phone with the contact screen open, ready for my information.

Taking her phone, I give her an expectant look, but she withholds all elaboration.

“And by conceived, you mean physical conception, not merely an idea kind of conception?” I hand her phone back and give her mine.

“In the shadows behind a stage. I know more details than most people should actually know about the moment they were conceived.” She lifts a shoulder in a small shrug. “But Juni is my best friend. She’s the absolute coolest mom ever, and the story of how she met my dad is my favorite story ever.”

I nod as she keeps her chin tipped toward the screen to my phone. “Why is that?” I take my phone back when she holds it out to me.

“Yin Yang. Opposites. Laws of the universe.” She wears a satisfied smile. “My parents were temporary. I was permanent.” Holding out her arms, she inspects her henna tattoos as if seeing them for the first time. “My mom had henna tattoos on her body when she met my dad. Henna grows in intensity over a few days before fading to nothing. It’s magical and beautiful and then it’s gone. My parents say that about their love for each other. It grew quickly into something deep and intense, but over time it faded. Their love—like most everything in life—was temporary.”

“We’re temporary.”

Her empty stare shifts to meet my gaze and she nods. “Don’t sweat it. Everything is temporary. But today…” she walks into my chest, and my arms wrap around her as she looks up at me “…we should be at our brightest, our most intense.”

About Jewel:

Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.

With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.

After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.

When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.

JewelEAnn

Connect with Jewel:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjeweleann/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JewelE_Ann

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjeweleann/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jewel-e-ann

Stay up to date with Jewel by joining her mailing list:

http://www.jeweleann.com/free-booksubscribe/

http://www.jeweleann.com

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Book Review, Giveaway: Burning For Autumn (On Call Series #1) by Freya Barker

Title: Burning For Autumn (On Call Series #1)
Author: Freya Barker
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Cover Designer: Freya Barker
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

When Autumn McCoy accepted a temporary work contract in Durango, she thought it would be a safe way to add some spark to her existence. She may be getting more than she bargained for when she finds herself the target of impending danger. The outspoken forty-two-year-old isn’t prepared for that spark to ignite flames threatening to engulf every aspect of her life.

Buried under the weight of responsibilities, all interim Chief of Police, Keith Blackfoot, wants is to get back to good old-fashioned detecting. He gets his chance when an encounter with a feisty redhead seems to incite a wave of arson cases. Although a visit from friend and firefighter, Roman “Chief” Proudfit, provides some direction, he’s left to battle an invisible menace fueling fires that could leave his town—and his heart—in ashes.

Kindle Unlimited

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Daylight is not my friend. Every freckle, frown line, wrinkle, and blemish stands out like a beacon on my face, screaming ‘well past expiration date.’

 

Didn’t think I’d live to see the day… The most committed bachelor of La Plata County, brought to his knees by a ballsy redhead.

 

“You remind me of my Ana, she was a redhead like you and could cook like a saint, fight like the devil, and love like a sinner.” His watery blue eyes sparkle. Ten minutes later, when I’m putting away the last of the dishes, I’m still smiling at his words. To love like that, still so strong even after death rips you apart, is tragically beautiful.

 

… he makes my soul sing.

 

Trial run with the new babysitter… A seventeen-year-old neighbor with purple hair, combat boots, and enough metal in her face to set off security detectors from fifty feet, but she came highly recommended. I just hope my new flat-screen TV will still be there when I get back.

 

My Review:

 

In just a handful of years, Freya Barker has the Romantic Suspense genre well mastered. Her tales are easy to follow yet captivating; cleverly detailed and populated with quirky and endearing characters; deftly constructed with engaging and entertaining storylines; and well-balanced with wry and acerbic levity, sensual sizzle, and tension building intrigue that keeps my curiosity primed. So it is easy to see why she has continuously resided near the top of my Favorite Authors List since I initially fell into her work by picking up Slim to None on a freebie day. Her lovely words are now an instant one-click purchase at any price.

Freya Barker inspires with her stories about ‘real’ people, perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy.

She is the author of the Cedar Tree and Portland, ME Series, the Northern Lights Collection and the Rock Point Series. She is also co-author of the SnapShot Series.

To see Freya’s complete backlist, or to find out what is coming down the pipe, visit freyabarker.com.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info

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Book Review: Brunch at Bittersweet Café (Supper Club #2) by Carla Laureano

Brunch at Bittersweet Café 

(Supper Club #2)

by Carla Laureano

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

B&N / Tyndale / B-A-M

 

From the RITA Award-winning author of Five Days in Skye comes a sweet, romantic treat that will leave you hungry for more.

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country—an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-café in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

cade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She was the one who had wiped Melody’s tears and kissed her scrapes and taught her all the things a young girl should know and quite a few things she shouldn’t. But that was her grandmother.

I would call it an enthusiastic hobby, not an obsession.

Pete negotiated the extra stop with the driver in rapid, confident Spanish. Justin only caught a handful of words—he’d naively studied German in high school and college, which so far had only come in handy for reading labels on imported beer.

“I’m actually thinking I might be too dumb to date you.” That pensive expression disappeared in a flash, and she laughed. “Don’t worry. I still waste afternoons watching cat videos on YouTube.”

I think you’ll like Florida. I think if I were going to move away from Denver, that’s where I would go. Be one of those old men driving a golf cart to the grocery store in checkered pants and a paddy hat.

 

My Review:

 

Justin and Melody met by accident during a snowstorm in Denver and started a relationship knowing there would be an expiration date as Justin had plans in the works to invest in a new business venture and move to Florida. The storylines were entertaining and laced with humorous banter and oodles of mouth water food that quickly derailed my New Year’s diet efforts.   Curses, I may have gained a pound or five during my perusal with all those tantalizing mentions of crusty European breads and desserts. I learned a lot of different things reading this book, I learned a considerable amount about baking and flying (the two professions of the main characters), I had no idea people tubed in snow, and I also picked up a new word that I had never heard before, Rochambeau, which is another name used for the game of Rock Paper Scissors. I will toss out the caution that this was a genre hybrid of Women’s Fiction, Family Drama, and Christian Romance. It was tame enough for my elderly mother’s book club and didn’t get uncomfortably preachy for me until the last 10% of the book, although that is probably just me as I tend to grow restless with dogma, whereas regular church attendees would be more at ease.

About the Author

Website 

Goodreads

Amazon

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

Connect with Carla

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Book Review: Fatal Invasion (Fatal #13) by Marie Force

Fatal Invasion (Fatal #13)

by Marie Force

Amazon | B-A-M | Barnes & Noble

 

SYNOPSIS:

First the fire, then the heat…

A brutal home invasion. Two small traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eyewitnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career.

While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. Months of unbearable grief and despair come to a head in an unimaginable way that threatens Gonzo’s status with the department and his relationship with his fiancée, Christina.

With trouble both at the precinct and on the case, Sam struggles to keep her priorities straight at home and at work while trying not to lose her heart to her latest crime victims.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

All eyes turned to an older, stern-looking woman, who looked like she’d been sucking on a particularly sour kosher dill for the last five years.

 

“I have to play nice with him and ‘work together.’ Ever since elementary school I’ve gotten marked down in the ‘plays well with others’ category.” “A problem that has dogged you well into adulthood…”

 

Dr. Anderson returned with Sam’s discharge paperwork. “I had this made for you,” he said, handing her a card that had a hole punched in it… GW E.R. Frequent Flier.

 

My Review:

 

I haven’t read all thirteen books in this series but I have greatly enjoyed all of the action-packed volumes I have completed. I adore this power couple, comprised of a Metro Homicide Police Lieutenant and Vice-President of the US. They enjoy a sexy and ultra-supportive relationship of mutual respect with clever banter and sizzling chemistry. The storylines were clever, intriguing, fast-paced, well-crafted, and unpredictable.

About Marie Force

Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. In 2019, her new historical Gilded series from Kensington Books will debut with Duchess By Deception.

All together, her books have sold 7 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list 29 times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction.

Her goals in life are simple–to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.

Join Marie’s mailing list on her website at marieforce.com for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area.

Connect with Marie

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

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Book Review: Bittersweet Brooklyn by Thelma Adams

 Bittersweet Brooklyn

by Thelma Adams

Amazon / B&N

In turn-of-the-century New York, a mobster rises—and his favorite sister struggles between loyalty and life itself. How far will she go when he commits murder?

After midnight, Thelma Lorber enters her brother Abie’s hangout under the Williamsburg Bridge, finding Jewish mobster Louis “Pretty” Amberg in a puddle of blood on the kitchen floor. She could flee. Instead, in the dark hours of that October 1935 night before the dawn of Murder, Inc., she remains beside the fierce, funny brother who has nurtured and protected her since childhood. There are many kinds of love a woman can feel for a man, but few compare to that of the baby sister for her older brother. For Thelma, a wild widow tethered to a young son, Abie is the center of her world. But that love is about to undo everything she holds dear…

Flipping the familiar script of The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and The Godfather, Bittersweet Brooklyn explores the shattering impact of mob violence on the women expected to mop up the mess. Winding its way over decades, this haunting family saga plunges readers into a dangerous past—revealed through the perspective of a forgotten yet vibrant woman.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

His response to those who disliked or disrespected him was schmuck. It was his favorite Yiddish word in a language that contained more bendy terms for shaming and cursing than the Eskimos had for snow.

 

There’s nothing wrong with those gams, little sister. You got the magic leg. You step off a curb and shake it, and the Prince of Wales is going to stop his carriage.

 

It aggravated her that Annie could nurture Julius, Adele, and Eli and, with a swivel of her head, spew dragon fire toward Thelma.

 

Vulnerability had been a dangerous condition around Annie and Mama as they carped on the physiques of the people strolling past, laughing at this one’s little pecker visible in swim trunks too small, that one’s jiggling fat rolls as she lunged for a rogue rubber ball. Meeskait, they’d pronounce, little ugly one. What a tuchus, they’d say and point at someone with a seat that could fill a subway car. And yet, the pair hadn’t been bathing beauties, either: the walrus and the sea lion. Mama covered in a floral muumuu and Annie squeezed like a sausage into a swimsuit one size too small, revealing back fat that she didn’t notice from the front, impressed by her own cleavage.

 

My Review:

 

I marveled at the sublime storytelling and writing quality, even though the story was taut with tension and full of heartbreaking scenes and emotive insights that gutted me as I read, I couldn’t seem to put it down. I passionately despised the useless mother and heinous sister – they were atrocious creatures, yet expertly crafted.   Every character was well-nuanced, cunningly detailed, and compellingly complex. The storylines were intriguing, shrewdly paced, and hit all the feels with occasional lashings of clever levity that had me laughing aloud.   Thelma Adams’s word voodoo is strong; I was appalled, riveted, mesmerized, and totally engaged. She turned me inside out with this one – yet I regret nothing.

About the Author

Goodreads 

Thelma Adams is the author of the best selling historical novel The Last Woman Standing and Playdate, which Oprah magazine described as “a witty debut novel.” In addition to her fiction work, Adams is a prominent American film critic and an outspoken voice in the Hollywood community. She has been the in-house film critic for Us Weekly and The New York Post and has written essays, celebrity profiles and reviews for Yahoo! Movies, The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Parade, Marie Claire and The Huffington Post. Adams studied history at the University of California, Berkeley, where she was valedictorian, and received her MFA from Columbia University. She lives in upstate New York with her family.

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Book Review: Next In Line by Amy Daws

Now Live-couple

What happens when the cute mountain man you made out within an ice fishing shack turns out to be your brother’s best friend?

A whole lot of awkward, that’s what.

NOW LIVE! 

Maggie’s mind is reeling when she discovers the guy she became tangled up with at Marv’s Bait & Tackle isn’t a stranger like she thought.

The big snag: Sam and Maggie’s chemistry is hot enough to melt ice, which makes keeping their secret far more difficult than either expected.

Especially when one of them decides they want this arrangement to be more than just a catch and release.

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Review

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

An older gentleman shoulders past me with his clear plastic tub, ready to collect his bait as though it’s the body of Christ being passed out by the pope himself. Several other men press up against my back, all anxiously awaiting their turn because finally…ice fishing season has begun.

 

Girls…my darling grandchildren clearly don’t need to watch you two have a catfight, so please, sit down and eat your feelings like normal mothers.

 

Why not make him your last fling before the ring?

 

The guy has zero sexual chemistry. He’s like an amoeba or something. Aren’t those the single cell animals that just have sex with themselves?

 

I keep thinking about what Maggie would be rambling about if she were out here. She’d probably ask about when fish sleep, and where they sleep, and if they sleep with their families, or if they’re just swimming along and all of a sudden blackout only to wake up the next day and discover they’ve lost their entire family.

 

“I was getting bait for a guy in here the other day, and he said I looked like a great master baiter. I said, I’ve only been working here a couple of months, and I didn’t even know being a master baiter was a thing.”… Marv’s face twists up in confusion. “I’ve heard of Promaster fishermen. But not master baiters. Surely, I’m a master baiter. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”… “You’re clearly a great master baiter,” Maggie replies with wide eyes. “But I wonder how much practice it’ll take for me to become one?”

 

My Review:

 

I quickly fell into the vortex of this smartly written and brightly amusing tale and was instantly besotted with the quirky and endearing characters. I smirked and giggle-snorted my way through this delightfully humorous story. I savored each and every perfectly chosen and magically arranged word, although they were most often this side of naughty with frequent f-bombs since it is surely a well-known fact that the highly talented scribbler known as Amy Daws brings the heat of a Scottish Bonnet pepper and clearly excels at cleverly bawdy humor. I want all her lovely words and had a difficult time paring my favorite quotes down to the massive list I included in this review due to the fact that I had highlighted several reams worth of her witty levity. Wait With Me and Next In Line were two of my favorite reads of the year, so it seems quite fitting that I close out 2018 with this rave review.

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Amy Daws is an Amazon Top 25 bestselling author of sexy, contemporary romance novels. She enjoys writing love stories that take place in America, as well as across the pond in England; especially about those footy-playing Harris Brothers of hers. When Amy is not writing in a tire shop waiting room, she’s watching Gilmore Girls, or singing karaoke in the living room with her daughter while Daddy smiles awkwardly from a distance.
For more of Amy’s work, visit: http://www.amydawsauthor.com

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Book Review: So Then There Were None: a Tale of Ten Little Bridesmaids (The Flower Shop Mystery Series Book 5) by Annie Adams

So Then There Were None: a Tale of Ten Little Bridesmaids 

The Flower Shop Mystery – Book 5

by Annie Adams 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

 

When she said she’d rather die than be a bridesmaid, she didn’t mean it literally…

Reluctant bridesmaid Quincy McKay hopes this island wedding breezes by in a hurry. But when the couple announces a murder mystery game, the amateur sleuth is willing to take her time to earn the prize money. She thinks the cash is as good as hers until one evening’s sinister turn makes it impossible to tell the difference between entertainment and cold-blooded murder…

With few friends among the wedding party, Quincy can’t help but label everyone a suspect. As the bridesmaids disappear one-by-one, it’s only a matter of time until the ruthless game calls her number.

Will Quincy unravel the plot before she perishes in paradise?

So Then There Were None: A Tale of Ten Little Bridesmaids is a thrilling standalone in The Flower Shop Mystery Series of cozy mysteries. If you like lots of laughs, hair-raising plots, and twists that keep you guessing, then you’ll love Annie Adams’ delightful homage to an Agatha Christie classic.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I didn’t have bosoms to speak of. At least, no one I knew ever spoke of them, probably because they weren’t that easy to detect with the naked human eye.

 

I followed the direction of his gaze to see what had caused his eyes to become the size of dinner plates. And I’m sure mine had done the same, because we were about to be surrounded by mountains. Mountains of flesh in this case, which bulged out the sides of tiny, taut triangles of fabric, held together by strings that must have been made from the same material as the suspension cables from the Golden Gate Bridge for all the load the tiny strands were supporting. The “Ees,” had all donned bikinis and not much of anything else… I glanced at Alex, who pretended to look in the opposite direction as the flesh-fest. “It’s okay, you don’t have to pretend,” I said. I lowered my voice. “I can’t expect you to be super-human. Although I think a large percentage of their bodies might not actually be human anymore.”

 

Her steps were measured, almost prancing. I looked back at Alex to see if he noticed too. I realized she was trying to tiptoe, so as not to draw any attention. Since that portion of the room was carpeted, there was no point to her sneaky walk and she just ended up looking like a character in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

 

I couldn’t move. It wasn’t because I had hurt myself—seriously, that is. I was definitely experiencing some physical pain. But I was frozen, due to the most overwhelming embarrassment I had ever experienced in my life. This beat out wetting my pants in front of the entire elementary school and their parents at a Christmas choir performance, getting pulled over by Alex’s colleague in my underwear, and walking into a window, that I thought was an open sliding glass door, in front of an entire wedding party and having it all caught on film in their wedding video.

 

K.C. volunteered the information that she knew how to lash together a primitive raft using planks from the shed and everybody’s underwear tied together in case things escalated.

 

My Review:

 

This book started as a serialized story with ten installments and was cleverly combined into a long yet fast-paced cozy mystery novel. As there were ten bridesmaids and assorted friends and resort workers, there was a rather large cast of characters to keep up with, yet it didn’t prove a hardship as each was uniquely obnoxious and well fleshed out with intriguing and colorful details. The plot was active and action-packed and the pace was nearly nonstop as, after all, there were ten bridesmaids to kill off. I adore Annie Adam’s wry humor and clever wit; she kept me smirking even though the writing was tame enough for my elderly mother’s book club.

 

About the Author

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Website

Annie Adams is the author of THE FINAL ARRANGEMENT, book one in The Flower Shop Mystery series. She lives with her husband, two giant dogs, and two too giant cats in Northern Utah at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. When not writing she can be found arranging flowers or delivering them in her own Zombie Delivery Van.