Category: Book Reviews

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Book Review: Love (Men of Inked: Southside #5) by Chelle Bliss

Love
(Men of Inked: Southside #5)

by Chelle Bliss

 

 Amazon / B&N / Apple / Google Play / Kobo

 

Angelo and Tilly never thought they’d find love again…but they’re about to say ‘I do’.

Finding love once is hard, but twice is almost impossible.
I’d almost given up, but then Tilly Carter walked into my life.
The sweet talkin’ Southern girl stole my heart.

With my future walking down the aisle, and my entire family by my side, it’s time to make her mine forever.

LOVE is the fifth book in the USA Today bestselling Men of Inked: Southside series and a continuation of Angelo & Tilly’s story from Hook.

Men of Inked: Southside

Book 1 – Maneuver
Book 2 – Flow
Book 3 – Hook
Book 4 – Hustle
Book 5 – Love

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“First stop is Gavin’s for some martinis, then we have tickets to a show,” Daphne says over her shoulder. “What kind of show?” My stomach flips a little because Daphne’s looking at me in such a way that I know she isn’t telling me everything. “It’s like the ballet.” “Like the ballet?” I ask flatly. She nods quickly and hooks her arm with mine, leading me toward the sleek black limo. “There’re men dancing.”

 

I feel like I’m stuck somewhere in the naughtiest Twilight Zone episode, where all my relatives are freaks, and I suddenly realize I am too.

 

“We grew up. Shit isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either,” Thomas says. “Have kids, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Biggest lie ever.”

 

“I’m not listening,” Gigi sings into her phone screen. “This is way too much information and oversharing from all of you, not to mention gross and the things nightmares of made of.”

It’s not all tight bodies, big tits, and hot guys. This is Florida. You have a better chance of seeing an old man with a beer gut wearing a Speedo on the beach than some hot young thing.

 

My Review:

 

I adore Chelle Bliss and her lively and close-knit Gallo clan, they are large, loud, and love each other hard. The men are gorgeous and bossy yet tender-hearted alpha males while the women are as feisty as they are lovely to look at. Written in my favorite dual POV, the smirk-worthy storylines were engaging, quickly paced, easy to follow, deliciously steamy, and laced together with highly amusing and irreverent levity.

 

Meet the Author

USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss currently lives in a small town near the Gulf of Mexico. She’s a full-time writer, time-waster extraordinaire, social media addict, and coffee fiend. She’s written over ten books and has two series available. She loves spending her free time with her boyfriend, 2 cats, and her hamster.

Before becoming a writer, Chelle taught high school history for over ten years. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and a bachelor’s in History. Although history is her first love, writing has become her dream job and she can’t imagine doing anything else.

http://chellebliss.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authorchellebliss1

http://chellebliss.com/newsletter/

https://twitter.com/ChelleBliss1

https://www.instagram.com/authorchellebliss/

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Book Review: The Cutting Room by Ashley Dyer

The Cutting Room

by Ashley Dyer

 

AmazonUS / UK / CA / AU

B&N / HarperCollins

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (June 18, 2019)

Detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver, introduced in the electrifying Splinter in the Blood, must stop a serial killer whose victims are the centerpiece of his macabre works of art.

While Britain is obsessed with the newest hit true-crime television show, Fact, or Fable? detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver are tormented by a fiendish flesh-and-blood killer on the loose.

Lured to a “crime scene” by a mysterious digital invitation, Ruth Lake is horrified by what she finds: a bizarre and gruesome tableau surrounded by a crowd of gawkers. The deadly work is the latest “art installation” designed by a diabolical criminal dubbed the Ferryman. Not only is this criminal cold-blooded; he’s a narcissistic exhibitionist desperate for an audience. He’s also clever at promoting his deadly handiwork. Exploiting England’s current true-crime craze, he uses social media to titillate and terrorize the public.

Ruth is joined in the investigation by her partner Greg Carver, who is slowly regaining his strength after a run-in with another sadistic criminal. But Greg can’t seem to shake the bewildering effects of the head wound that nearly ended him. Are the strange auras blurring his vision an annoying side effect of his injury, or could they be something more . . . a tool to help him see a person’s true nature?

In this utterly engrossing and thrilling tale of suspense, a pair of seasoned detectives face off against a wickedly smart and inventive psychopath in a tense, bloody game that leads to a shocking end.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

His smile somehow managed to convey both apology and mischief.

 

She was four foot ten and almost the same in circumference, she walked with a roll.

 

Drew Scanlon was what Carver, a London incomer, now recognized as a through-and-through Scouse scally. The type that could boast five generations of forebears who were also Scouse scallies, Liverpool born-and-dragged-up going back over a century. To qualify as a true scally, it was necessary to forswear aspiration as poncey and soft. Education was for snobs, steady jobs for knobheads. The trick was to never aspire to anything, do the minimum, and have enough street savvy to stay out of reach of the law.

  

My Review:

 

A cunning serial killer, who was likened to the mythological Ferryman, had Liverpool churning, and his clever use of social media had his popularity soaring and his followers swarming each fresh crime scene for his artistic yet gruesome exhibits featuring the mutilated organs of his victims or graphics/videos of their demise. This was a complex and compelling thriller and I couldn’t seem to gain traction on the mystery, as it was slippery, confounding, multi-textured, and complicated by unreliable and deceitful characters with closets full of their own dark secrets.

 

The writing was intricately detailed with unusual descriptions and shrewd observations that occasionally included unexpected hits of wry humor. The storylines were layer upon layer of baffling clues with the struggling police officers personal issues and agendas swirling and tainting the mix.   The tension mounted and never let up, even upon reaching the last page, which completed this story but left a few loose personal threads to keep us primed to continue with the next installment, which I for one will certainly be watching for.

 

My Brit Vocabulary List expanded with the additions of: Scouse – Liverpool dialect; stab vest – body armor in the US we would call them Kevlar or bulletproof vest; warrant card – Police ID; and scally – rascal or miscreant, usually jobless, uneducated, and prone to crime.

I was provided with a review copy of this chilling thriller by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
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About the Author

Ashley Dyer is a writing duo based in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Murphy is a Writing Fellow and Reading Round Lector for the Royal Literary Fund, a past chair of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and founder of Murder Squad. A CWA Short Story Dagger winner, she has been shortlisted for the First Blood critics’ award for crime fiction as well as the CWA Dagger in the Library. Under her own name she has published nine psychological suspense and police procedural novels.

Helen Pepper is a senior lecturer in policing at Teesside University. She has been an analyst, forensic scientist, scene of crime officer, CSI, and crime scene manager. She has coauthored, as well as contributed to, professional policing texts. Her expertise is in great demand with crime writers: she is a judge for the CWA’s Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction Award, and is a forensic consultant on both the Vera and Shetland TV series.

Find out more at their website, www.ashley-dyer.com.

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Book Review, Giveaway: 10-Code by Freya Barker

Title: 10- Code (Rock Point #4)
Author: Freya Barker
Genre: Romantic suspense
Release Date: June 17, 2019
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

As a forty-one-year-old mother of three boys, working two jobs, Marya Berger doesn’t have the time or energy to consider a relationship. Especially after a lifetime of poor choices in the romance department. But when the disappearance of a young boy strikes a little too close to home, and a younger man she’s tried to ignore offers his help, she doesn’t stand in the way.

Single father, Dylan Barnes, the junior member of the La Plata County FBI team at thirty-three, has his focus firmly on his job and his son, Max. He’s certainly not looking to complicate his life, when he finds himself at his son’s soccer game, sitting beside the spirited brunette he can’t get out of his mind. Fate, however, appears to have different plans.

When an unspeakable crime draws the attention of the FBI, Dylan finds himself torn between his job and his instinctive need to protect Marya and her boys.

Available in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON

 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I don’t have a thing for older women… I have a thing for you. You happen to be older, that’s all.

 

Okay, you need to stop being perfect. My heart can’t handle it.

  

My Review:

 

I have stated this numerous times but it is worth repeating, I adore Freya Baker. I’m sad to see this series come to an end as I enjoyed these admirable, hard-working, and uniquely compelling men and women of La Plata County. The intriguing books of this series were all standalone yet seamlessly interconnected. Each was tautly written with topical issues, realistic suspense, and real-world concerns while cast with relatable yet imperfect characters who were doing their best to survive and rise above their untenable situations. The storylines were well-constructed, smartly paced, and cleverly nuanced, and although the subject matter may give some pause, the crimes were not graphically depicted although the plotted heinous behavior toward children in 10-Code was distressing to even contemplate, yet unfortunately occurs all too often.

 

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.

All Available in Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON

AMAZON

AMAZON

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Book Review: Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe by Rosie Green

Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe

by Rosie Green

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

Wedding fever is in the air in the village of Sunnybrook. With Ellie and Zak’s Big Day on the horizon, the sun is shining brightly on the Little Duck Pond Cafe community. But when dark clouds begin to roll in from more than one direction, several close relationships look to be under threat. Will the wedding of the year actually take place at all?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Practically the only bonus of getting older is that you don’t give a flying fart about what other people think of you.

 

Now, what can I get you from the drinks machine to get your strength up? Coffee that’s bitter enough to hold a grudge for years? Or hot chocolate that’s so pale and uninteresting, it could do with a week on a beach in Benidorm?

  

My Review:

 

This was a busy, eventful, and rather tumultuous installment with a variety of stressful events and health issues for several different characters. The devious Ms. Green cunningly provides enough charm and interesting new storylines to feed and maintain our addiction to the series while also dangling several loose ends to keep us craving more. She has also added to my Brit Word List with oxters – an Old English and Scottish word for armpit. I adore obscure words.

About the Author

Rosie Green has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’. Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all, unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.​​Rosie’s brand new series of novellas is centered on life in a village café. Confetti at the Little Duck Pond Cafe will be the sixth in the series

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988

 

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Book Review: Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank

Queen Bee

by Dorothea Benton Frank

AmazonUS / UK / CA / AU

B&N / HarperCollins

Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: William Morrow (May 28, 2019)

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank’s Carolina Lowcountry in this evocative tale that returns at long last to her beloved Sullivan’s Island.

Beekeeper Holly McNee Kensen quietly lives in a world of her own on Sullivan’s Island, tending her hives and working at the local island library. Holly calls her mother The Queen Bee because she’s a demanding hulk of a woman. Her mother, a devoted hypochondriac, might be unaware that she’s quite ill but that doesn’t stop her from tormenting Holly. To escape the drama, Holly’s sister Leslie married and moved away, wanting little to do with island life. Holly’s escape is to submerge herself in the lives of the two young boys next door and their widowed father, Archie.

Her world is upended when the more flamboyant Leslie returns and both sisters, polar opposites, fixate on what’s happening in their neighbor’s home. Is Archie really in love with that awful ice queen of a woman? If Archie marries her, what will become of his little boys? Restless Leslie is desperate for validation after her imploded marriage, squandering her favors on any and all takers. Their mother ups her game in an uproarious and theatrical downward spiral. Scandalized Holly is talking to her honey bees a mile a minute, as though they’ll give her a solution to all the chaos. Maybe they will.

Queen Bee is a classic Lowcountry Tale—warm, wise and hilarious, it roars with humanity and a dropperful of whodunit added for good measure by an unseen hand. In her twentieth novel, Dorothea Benton Frank brings us back to her beloved island with an unforgettable story where the Lowcountry magic of the natural world collides with the beat of the human heart.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My mother sighed so hard then that the National Weather Service issued small craft warnings.

 

Cleopatra could not have put any more intention and effort into the seduction of Mark Antony. The only things I didn’t have were a CD of Barry White’s and a scented candle.

 

There are no more big choices at our age. You’ve made them. Now you have to wait for a promotion to do just what you’re doing, except more of it, for some stupid incremental raise. It’s a big fat snore.

 

Leslie stayed home the night before Archie and Sharon were to be married, probably to give her liver a rest. I was pretty sure the Gentlemen of the Tap were holding a candlelight vigil at Dunleavy’s Pub, praying for her swift return.

 

The gates of hell opened wide when she croaked… I smell sulfur.

In the Lowcountry, we believed bad things happened in threes. Becoming the third wife of a man twice widowed was a terrifying prospect.

 

 My Review:

 

I smirked and wore a near constant grin as I gleefully perused this delightfully engaging book. It was a treasure chest overflowing with wry wit and slyly deployed levity. I adore Dorothea Benton Frank’s amusing and captivating Lowcountry stories, this is the sixth one I’ve read and I have cherished each and every one of them. Her writing style is comfortable and engaging, yet deceptively insightful and cleverly observant. But it is her unforgettable, uniquely drawn, and deliciously peculiar characters that seal the deal for me. I will eagerly await her next offering.  I was provided with a review copy of this divinely penned book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.  

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She resides in the New York area with her husband.

Find her on the web at www.dotfrank.com, or like her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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Book Review, Giveaway: Jersey Six by Jewel E. Ann

Jersey Six - BT banner.jpg

“Jewel E. Ann has once again crafted a flawless story that is utterly unique and unforgettable. Hands down my favorite book of 2019!”

— Aly Martinez, USA Today bestselling author

Jersey Six, an all-new “intriguing, gut-wrenching and raw” romantic suspense from Jewel E. Ann, is available now!

JerseySix-AmazonFINAL.jpg

How far would you go for revenge?

A hit-and-run accident leaves Jersey Six orphaned and homeless on the streets of Newark, shattering her dreams of school dances, pink nail polish, and a diploma.

Eight years later, a burn victim with amnesia wanders into Jersey’s barely-existent life. She resists his efforts to form a friendship until he reveals knowledge of the person responsible for derailing her future. Through their unusual friendship, she discovers a way to avenge the deaths of her foster parents.

All she has to do is destroy the world’s biggest rock star.

In the ultimate game of sex, lies, and manipulation, can Jersey discover the truth? Or will she be blinded by attraction, deceived by love, and destroyed by her past?

Jersey Six - AN

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EXNz3c

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

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2WIS8nR

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

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Sometimes … sometimes when you close your eyes, when darkness comforts you, the truth doesn’t matter because no one can see it.

 

My Review:

 

I am grappling for the appropriate words to describe this cleverly crafted and emotionally stunning book. It devastated me and turned me inside out and wouldn’t let go. I am rattled and in knots, yet I reveled in the totality of the experience.

 

The storylines were complicated and all kinds of twisted with tragedy and life-altering misery and were laced together with a cast of complex and deeply damaged characters who were not always likable but were extremely compelling. I was taut with tension and fully invested as I cringed, gasped, bit my cuticles, and gritted my teeth. It was worth the distress and every prickle of unease as the writing was ingeniously perceptive and packed a powerful punch. Jewel E. Ann has achieved a new level of sorcery – her word voodoo is without equal.

 

Excerpt:

“We ate at the hotel.” Her lips twisted to the side. “Mind if I stick some stuff in my bag for later?”

A tiny wrinkle formed between Ian’s eyes, just below the long sweep of his black bangs. “There will be lots of food available later too. But…” he shrugged, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees “…take whatever you want.”

Jersey glanced over her shoulder at the food and the three other men in the room. She decided to wait a little while before shoving as much as possible into her bag like a free-for-all. “Thanks.” Jersey returned her attention to Ian. “So … you’re a singer. Like … are you a big deal?”

Every word she spoke seemed to feed his level of happiness. “Well …” He rubbed his chin, twisting his lips. “We play music. People like to listen to our music. But no … it’s not a big deal. We’re not saving lives or anything like that.”

She eyed him with suspicion for a few seconds. That smile of his didn’t feel worthy of complete trust. “Um … what exactly do you need me to do? What’s my job? They already took Chris. Will that big, bearded guy come for me too?” Jersey couldn’t remember his name.

“No.” Ian stood, pushing his elbows out from his shoulders, twisting side to side. “Tonight you are just going to watch the concert from backstage. Tomorrow night you’ll sell merchandise.”

“Drugs. You mean drugs, don’t you?”

Ian paused his stretching, letting his arms fall limp to his sides. “Merchandise—T-shirts, posters, keychains, phone cases, hats, guitar pics …”

“To who?”

“Fans.” Ian grinned. “Okay. I might have understated all of this to you … can you name a famous singer? Old or new. Doesn’t matter. Just a famous singer.”

“I had a foster parent who used to listen to Josh Groban.” Jersey gnashed her teeth, still feeling so much anger. Dena wasn’t just a foster parent; she was Jersey’s friend.

“Okay. Well, Josh has sold millions of records, and he’s a huge star in his genre of music. Thousands of people pack venues all over the world to see him sing live in concert. And they sell merchandise of his at those concerts.”

Jersey gazed unblinkingly at Ian as he scratched his jaw.

“Well, I sing a different genre of music, but I, too, travel the world, singing to sold-out concert venues, andI have people who sell my merchandise at these concerts.”

Jersey dropped her bag to her feet and planted her fists on her hips. “Listen, Coop. Stop talking down to me. I’m not an idiot. I know what a concert is. But earlier today you didn’t say what you did or what the job was you were offering. You bought a homeless person a hot dog and offered her a job. Of course, I’m going to think something sketchy might be involved.”

Tipping her chin up, she held her breath to puff out her chest, pretending the recent revelation of Ian Cooper being a famous singer didn’t faze her one bit. Inside, Jersey’s heart hammered into her ribcage, and her mind reeled trying to figure out the day’s events.

“Coop?” His lips twitched into a tiny grin.

“It’s short for Cooper.”

“Clearly.” Ian chuckled. “But my name is Ian. Everyone calls me Ian.”

“I busted the nose and jaw of a kid named Ian. He tried to stick his cock in my ass. I’ll call you Tom, Dick, or Harry, but I’m not calling you Ian because that makes me want to physically harm you.”

Ian’s eyebrows shot up his forehead as his head whipped back a few inches. “Coop it is.”

JEA-JS-ReleaseGiveaway

Enter Jewel’s giveaway for a signed paperback and swag!

https://www.jeweleann.com/jersey-six-giveaway

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.jpg

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: The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns

 The Woman in the White Kimono

by Ana Johns

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

 B&N / iBooks

Hardcover: 352 Pages

Publisher: Park Row; Original edition (May 28, 2019)

Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.

Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage to the son of her father’s business associate would secure her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man—an American sailor, a gaijin—and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.

America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation—one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori’s journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.

In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Each step I took brought me closer to my future and farther away from my family. It was a contrast of extremes in every sense, but I had somehow found my place between them. That was what Buddha called the middle way. The correct balance of life. I called it happy. A life with love is happy. A life for love is foolish. A life of if only is unbearable. In my seventy-eight years, I have had all three.

 

“Chase two hares and you will catch neither,” says Grandmother. This is but a single parable in her arsenal of many. She releases them like arrows, but instead of one, which breaks with ease, she slings ten to a bundle.

 

I should hurry, but I’m already late, and as Grandmother says, “If you are going to eat poison, you may as well clean your plate.” I kick the gravel, causing angry puffs of loose dirt to rise in protest.

 

When I first met Hajime in Yokosuka, his eyes charmed me. They captured light and sparkled like water absorbing the sun.

 

To pick the correct one is fate. To pick the wrong one is also fate. So, you must choose your love, and be prepared to love your choice.

 

Time is a stubborn creature that delights in goading you. When happy, it sprouts wings and flies. When waiting, it drags through thick mud with heavy feet.

 

My Review:

 

Ana Johns is a bewitching storyteller. Her expertly crafted tale mesmerized and gutted me while essentially holding me transfixed to my Kindle from start to finish. How is this astounding work her first novel?!?   I rarely cry but this poignantly written book moved me to tears several times and, okay, I will even confess to ugly cry sobbing. Any author who can perform such a rare fete deserves a ten-star rating.

 

The storylines were a well-researched blend of fact and fiction while cunningly related within brilliant and highly emotive narratives.   I instantly fell right into Ms. John’s cleverly woven story as if sucked into a vortex that zipped me back and forth from post-war 1950s Japan and present-day USA – and thankfully did so with without jetlag, confusion, or motion sickness. The characters were compellingly drawn, admirable, and strong – yet struggling with limited choices and truly miserable options. I was intrigued, horrified, staggered, captivated, completely invested, heartbroken, enthralled, and totally engaged by this powerful and transportive story. It is safe to say that Ana Johns has a newly minted fangirl.

About the Author

ANA JOHNS worked over twenty years in the creative arts field, as both a creative director and business owner, before turning her hand to fiction. Born and raised in metro Detroit, she now resides in Indianapolis with her family. The Woman in the White Kimono is her first novel.

Connect with Ana

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Book Review, Giveaway: To the Stars and Back by Camilla Isley

 

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To the Stars and Back

by Camilla Isley

Amazon  / B&N

When Hollywood’s sexiest bachelor meets the girl next door their relationship doesn’t follow the script…

On-screen, Christian Slade is America’s favorite heartthrob. Off-screen, letting romance into his life isn’t as easy. The women he dates all seem to want a piece of his glamorous life rather than his heart, and trust doesn’t come easy for him.

Then along comes Lana. A beautiful rocket scientist who’s also sweet, smart, sexy, and has absolutely no idea who he is. But what will happen when she finds out?

Will their worlds prove too far apart or could love really be like in the movies?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Two adults booking a room at the Peninsula? They’re not here to play Scrabble,” she hisses.

 

“I’m trying to find a silver lining,” Winter says. “If breaking up with Jonathan isn’t giving you the slightest chest pain, perhaps it isn’t all bad you broke up. I mean, he and my sister are two cockroaches who deserve to burn in hell forever, but maybe it was about time you took your relationship with John behind the barn and shot it.”

 

 My Review:

 

This was a fun and appealing read that was smartly written and I can boast it was also informative as well since the main character was a rocket scientist who taught me the little known fact that there is a scientific unit of measurement called a slug, which weighs 32.2 pounds.   And my mother always chided me for reading fiction – claiming it was a waste of time.

 

I adored these characters, they were easily accessible and highly likable and I wanted good things for them.   Penned in my favorite dual POV, the writing style was crisp and engaging, yet also perceptive and loaded with wry wit and clever touches such as naming identical twins Summer and Winter.   I easily fell into this tale from the very beginning and felt happily entertained and well pleased as I zipped through their star-crossed storylines.

About the Author

Camilla is an engineer turned writer after she quit her job to follow her husband on an adventure abroad.

She’s a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading—duh!—cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies—popcorn, please. She’s a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.

Social Media Links –

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/camillaisley

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14135080.Camilla_Isley

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/camilla-isley

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

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/camillaisley/

Giveaway

 Win a To The Stars and Back Tote Bag

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Book Review: Stiff Suit (Ponderosa Resort Romantic Comedies Book 5) by Tawna Fenske

Stiff Suit (Ponderosa Resort Romantic Comedies Book 5)

by Tawna Fenske

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N/ iBooks / Kobo / Google

James “Iceman” Bracelyn is wound tighter than a vintage Rolex. Besides his CEO role at Ponderosa Resort, he’s guardian of the family’s biggest secrets, including a doozy that keeps him up at night. Alone. In that big bed he’d rather not share, thank you very much. 

That’s fine with Lily Archer, who likes her flings flaming hot and fleeting. Her man-eater rep might be slightly exaggerated, but she’ll gladly dial it up to rescue James from himself—and a bottle of Glenlivet—at his brother’s wedding.

Intimacy’s the last thing either one wants, but it’s tough to dodge when they’re drawn together by the world’s drooliest dog, a TPing escapade gone wrong, and a good old-fashioned desktop hookup. That’s problematic for James, whose ability to hide the family’s riskiest secret is complicated by the secret’s refusal to get the hell out of his guest room.

Can Iceman keep his frigid shell intact while falling for the hottest science geek sex goddess he’s ever met, or will the ticking time bomb blow it all to smithereens?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

When footsteps click closer, I freeze like a pervert shoplifting in a porn shop.

 

Come to think of it, there’s not much warmth in the whole Bracelyn family tree. Just endless rows of icicle-covered branches.

 

Things are so far from what I expected that I can’t even remember my expectations anymore.

 

James Bracelyn is sealed up tighter than a clam with lockjaw.

 

My Review:

 

I have enjoyed every book in this cleverly amusing series that I’ve had the chance to pick up. I adored these characters, they were smart and endearing and given to smirk-worthy banter and wordplay that snapped with irreverent levity and sizzle while their storylines were engaging and quickly paced with a few extra spicy bits and unexpected twists. All of which were expertly combined to result in an entertaining, effortless, and pleasurable reading experience that left me smiling with satisfaction and looking forward to the next installment.

 

About the Author    

Website 

Amazon

Goodreads

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

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Book Review: Summer Season on the Seafront by Katie Ginger

Summer Season on the Seafront

by Katie Ginger

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

The Greenley Players are back practicing their Shakespeare and, as usual, things aren’t going to plan.

Sarah Powell is fed up with her sad single status and when her estranged father walks back into her life things get even worse. Can dishy doctor Finn MacDonald mend her broken heart and help her figure things out?

TV star, Nate Hardy’s career is going from strength to strength until his performance is interrupted and he has to flee the West End to hide away in Greenley. Will he ever get his career back on track or will Sarah and the rest of Greenley’s madcap residents capture his heart forever?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Sarah sent Lottie the SOS message. For her and Lottie, SOS meant Sort of Scared. Which she was, on several fronts. Dean’s capacity for consuming Chinese food verged on the terrifying and knowing that if the date continued he may well expect a kiss at some point filled Sarah with the sort of fear she hadn’t experienced since watching Chucky as a kid.

 

Today had been hotter than Satan’s underpants.

 

Sarah hid behind her menu for a moment to regain her composure thinking about something completely un-sexy like Donald Trump… She popped her head back up and stopped picturing Trump ’s strange wig-like hair and Oompa Loompa face.

 

He had a nice mouth and she’d always imagined his kisses would be soft and gentle, and not like having a sink plunger attached to her face, which she had, unfortunately, experienced before.

 

My Review:

 

This was a fun and witty rom-com with a few heart-squeezing issues and a side order of stubbornness. I enjoyed Ms. Ginger’s crisp writing style, it was brightly entertaining and easy to follow yet pleasantly engaging and wryly amusing.   Her characters were endearingly quirky and humorously detailed. This was my first exposure to the author, who was quickly added to my new favorites list. And it has been a while since I’ve had an addition to my Brit Word List and Ms. Ginger has provided me with dustman – which is a garbage collector, and squiffy – which is slightly drunk (and oh, so, fun to say).

About The Author

KATIE GINGER lives in the South East of England, by the sea, and apart from holidays to very hot places where you can sit by a pool and drink cocktails as big your head, she wouldn’t really want to be anywhere else. Summer Season on the Seafront is Katie’s second novel. Her debut novel The Little Theatre on the Seafront was shortlisted for the Katie Fforde Debut Novel of the Year award. She is also the author of some cozy mystery short stories. Katie loves making her characters either fall in love, or killing them off – it depends on her mood!

When she’s not writing, Katie spends her time drinking gin, or with her husband, trying to keep alive her two children: Ellie, who believes everything in life should be done as a musical number from a West End show; and Sam, who is basically a monkey with a boy’s face. And there’s also their adorable King Charles Spaniel, Wotsit (yes, he is named after the crisps!).

For more about Katie, you can visit her website: www.keginger.com, find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KatieGAuthor, or follow her on Twitter: @KatieGAuthor