Author: Empress DJ

Empress DJ AKA Honolulubelle is a Rabid Reader, Unabashed Reviewer, and All-Purpose Goddess
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Book Review: Sea Glass Summer (Seashell Harbor #2) by Miranda Liasson  @mirandaliasson

Sea Glass Summer
(Seashell Harbor #2)
by Miranda Liasson

Amazon / B&N / GP / Apple / BB

 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10716626.Miranda_Liasson

A moving, uplifting novel about motherhood, starting over, and an unexpected summer romance…

Kit Blakemore is ready to live again. After her husband died while serving in the military, she was in a haze of grief. Now she wants to reclaim her former self—finish her degree and find a better career to provide for their sweet little boy, Oliver. To do that, she’ll need to sell her late husband’s dilapidated Victorian in Seashell Harbor. But first, Kit intends to give Ollie the kind of unforgettable seaside summer she had growing up, making lifelong memories and friendships.

Of course, nothing goes exactly as she planned. Ollie is struggling with his confidence, and frankly, so is Kit. But everything changes when her husband’s best friend, Alex de la Cruz, returns to town, offering to help her renovate. She doesn’t expect Alex to temporarily move in…or for him to bond with Ollie…or for her numb heart to begin thawing. Slowly he’s helping Kit and Ollie heal, and it scares her to death.

Kit swore she wouldn’t leave herself open to the pain of loss again. But if she’s going to teach her son to be brave and move forward, Kit must first face her own fears.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Well, I’m going to give you the advice I wish someone had given me. You can’t allow fear to call the shots. Because fear has a really loud voice, and it will always talk you out of things. And listening to it will make you feel better, for a while. But then time passes and you see that you’re still exactly where you were before— stuck. Except suddenly you find that you’re a lot older and still haven’t accomplished what you really want.

He tried to remember at what age the good sense to be embarrassed kicked in. Hopefully not at age five.

My Review:

 

I always enjoy picking up a book by this author. Her emotive word choices, perceptive observations, and descriptive storytelling have an easy fluidity that effortlessly draws me in with completely depicted scenes scrolling like a smooth movie reel behind my eyes. The cast of characters was varied, authentic, easily knowable, and endearingly fractured with grief while struggling to find themselves again. I adore this unique grouping of friends and am eager to see what happens in the next installment.

 

Author Bio:

Miranda Liasson loves to write stories about everyday people who find love despite themselves because there’s nothing like a great love story. And if there are a few laughs along the way, even better! She’s a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart winner and an Amazon bestselling author whose heartwarming and humorous small-town romances have won accolades such as the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and have been Harlequin Junkie and Night Owl Reviews Top Picks.

 

Connect with Miranda: 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | Newsletter | Bookbub | Pinterest | Blog

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Book Review: It Takes a Woman (Scorned Women’s Society, #4) by Piper Sheldon   @piper_sheldon @SmartyPantsRom

It Takes a Woman
(Scorned Women’s Society, #4)
by Piper Sheldon

Amazon  / B&N / BB

 

It Takes a Woman, an all new modern marriage of convenience romance from Piper Sheldon, is available now in Kindle Unlimited!

Just because she’s getting married doesn’t mean she’ll fall in love.

Unapologetic bombshell Gretchen LaRoe is happy to play matchmaker to everyone else content in knowing she once had true love. When the best friends of the Scorned Women’s Society take it upon themselves to interfere in Gretchen’s love life, they shouldn’t be shocked to learn Gretchen already has a plan of her own. A jaw-dropping plan.

Part-time Green Valley resident and work-a-holic Vincent Debono has been living in a fog since the loss of his wife. With the birth of his great-niece he can’t shake the feeling that he’s ready for change. After a secret kiss with the unforgettable redhead who already plagued his thoughts, Vincent decides to leap into a new adventure.

These two have made a commitment to each other but won’t let their hearts get involved. How hard can it be?

‘It Takes a Woman’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #4 in the Scorned Women’s Society series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I was unsettled. Like the time I saw my fourth-grade teacher wearing jean shorts at the Piggly Wiggly. How dare someone have a life outside the one they occupied in my head?

I was hit by the overwhelming reality of how fast time was moving. Not just moving but passing me by. It was like I was standing still, and life was blurring around me like a time-lapse camera.

My family always claimed we were from a long line of witchy women. Something about us attracted dangerous men. I suspected it was just my great rack.

I’m so full of sugar, I could sneeze cotton candy,

I would have smacked anybody else that said that to me. And yet… and yet. Wasn’t it interesting that our internal voices were the hardest to ignore?

My Review:

 

While I’d never want to live there, I have always enjoyed my virtual visitations to the uniquely quirky denizens of the oddly enticing Green Valley, Tennessee. They are highly unorthodox, and as amusingly entertaining as a small rural enclave could possibly be. The delightful series of the Scorned Women Society is a prime example of the clever comedic storytelling I’ve come to expect from Smartypants Romance. The smirk-worthy humor has bite, as do the insightfully written storylines and heart-squeezing inner musings. I’ve read and gobbled up each one and am content with the finale and how their saga was wrapped up, although I am more than a bit melancholy in bidding them farewell.

 

About the Author

Piper Sheldon writes Contemporary Romance and Paranormal Romance. Her books are a little funny, a lotta romantic, and with just a little twist of something more. She lives with her husband, toddler, and two needy dogs at home in the desert Southwest. She finds writing bios in the third person an extreme sport of awkwardness.

Find Piper Sheldon online

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2lAvr8A

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2kxkioK

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2kx2RVn

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2lxxV7H

Website: http://bit.ly/2kitH3H

Connect with Smartypants Romance

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Book Review: Before and After You (Leffersbee #2) by Hope Ellis @HopeEllisWrites @SmartyPantsRom

 

Before and After You
(Leffersbee #2)
by Hope Ellis 

Amazon  / B&N / GP / BB

Before and After You, an all-new heartfelt small-town romance from Hope Ellis is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

Leigh D’Alessandro is a fighter. She fought to escape her dysfunctional family, to end a soul-killing marriage, and to build a new life in a small Tennessee town. When the fate of the community hospital she works for is threatened, she’s primed and ready for battle. What she can’t fight any longer is her unshakable attraction to her best friend’s brother, who has a notorious reputation and triggers all her worst fears about trust and betrayal.

Walker Leffersbee is a lover. At least that’s the reputation he’s built in his hometown. Scion of a prosperous Tennessee banking family, he’s a known ladies’ man and a confirmed bachelor. His hands are full as he juggles competing demands from his family’s bank and his growing property renovation business. The last thing he needs is to give in to his long-standing craving for his sister’s headstrong and hot-tempered best friend. Especially because she’s the only one who knows the secret that threatens to upend his life.

When a home renovation project brings them too close for comfort, they both struggle to withstand the growing heat. As they grow closer helping each other navigate family minefields, Walker learns that love is not a four-letter word, and Leigh realizes that some battles are meant to be lost.

But Walker’s secret is the one thing that could keep them apart, unless they both decide to fight for the love they never looked for but now can’t live without.

‘Before and After You’ is a contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Leffersbee series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“What did you say you were doing here?” I prompted again, realizing with no small amount of uneasiness that we’d both been silently contemplating the other while I was absorbed in my thoughts. “Bitterly regretting that I left my crucifix and garlic at home,”

One day, you’ll understand the baffling blend of pride and fear that comes from raising your own son in this world.

I’d always joked that God had been bored the day he made Lucia and decided to dally long enough to sculpt the high cheekbones, cupid bow lips, and tip-tilted eyes that made her stunning.

‘You gonna be speechless after you find out what it’s like with a Southern gentleman… We do it different,” I informed her… She smirked. “What, does your dick wear a monocle like Mr. Peanut and talk like Deputy Dawg?”

This must be what the short road to hell felt like. Cozy and pleasant enough that you don’t care about the hot flames licking at your feet.

 

My Review:

 

This is my second time reading the cleverly amusing observational humor and insights of Ms. Ellis’s work and she has made a ride-or-die reader of me with her oddly compelling Leffersbees. I admire the complexity of her characters, even though I didn’t always like them or what they were doing. Her cast of characters was diverse, complicated, uncomfortably knowable and flawed, curiously irresistible, and authentically drawn. The story unfolded slowly and occasionally dragged, but I was invested, wriggling on the hook, and ensnared in the brutal betrayal of the unfolding family drama as well as the blossoming romance that was an inevitability with combustible sensuality that left me dehydrated and grabbing for libation. I’m beyond curious to see what she does with the remaining sibling who is truly unlikable.

About the Author

 

USA Today bestselling author Hope Ellis is a health outcomes researcher by day and writes romances featuring sexy nerds by night. She hopes to one day conquer her habit of compulsively binge-watching The Office.

Find Hope Ellis online

Facebookhttp://bit.ly/2PszyQ6

Twitter: http://bit.ly/3c6Awey

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2w6WttF

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2I2xDxK

Connect with Smartypants Romance

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2lzyduO

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

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK

Website: https://smartypantsromance.com/

Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/

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Book Review: Claiming Grace (Fox River Romance #7) by Jess B. Moore @authorjessb

Claiming Grace
(Fox River Romance #7)
by Jess B. Moore

Amazon  / BB

Kensie Lawson is a devoted daughter, a loyal sister, and a lover of animals. She spends her time knitting nerdy scarves, fostering furry friends, and reading romance novels. Painfully shy, highly anxious, and battling depression, Kensie has put her love life on the back burner. Not that she hasn’t noticed the hunky single father who frequents her family’s hardware store.

Hudson Grace is a young widower, a single father, and a stand-up guy. He divides his time between building his construction business, keeping tabs on his younger brothers, and raising his precocious daughter. Carrying too much on his broad shoulders, and determined to provide the best life he can for his family, Hudson has sacrificed having romantic relationships. Until he can’t ignore his growing interest in the compassionate and kind Kensie.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Not a morning person and forced to wake very early even during the summer, my half-asleep daughter… wisely told me once that if the sun hadn’t risen yet, it was too early to be awake, and I didn’t blame her for that logic.

We all had to learn that we see things through our own lens and that it isn’t always the most accurate image.

My Review:

 

I admire, covet, and adore Jess B. Moore’s perceptive and stealthily observant storytelling skills. Her original and endearingly quirky characters are so refreshingly real and knowable that I know their voices and hear them talking to each other in my head as I read. Her stories are a pleasure to fall into and easily fit together whether you have read the previous installments in the series or not. But I advise amassing the entire collection, they are all frankly divine and have that special sly touch that must be magic as her words somehow squeeze my heart while opening it up. I suspect the woman has a clandestine supply of pixie dust which she surreptitiously mixes into her ink pen.

Jess B. Moore is a writer of love stories.  When she’s not writing, she’s busy mothering her talented and stubborn children, reading obscene numbers of books, and knitting scarves she’ll likely never finish.   

Jess lives in small-town North Carolina with her bluegrass obsessed family.  She takes too many pictures of her cats, thinking the Internet loves them as much as she does.  She is a firm believer of swapping stories over coffee or wine, and that there should always be dark chocolate involved.   

Please leave a review to tell other readers what you thought.  Reviews are everything for writers! 

Look her up on social media @authorjessb – she’d be thrilled if you followed her on Twitter, overjoyed if you visited her on Facebook, and filled with glee if you liked her Instagram posts.  

 

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Book Review: The Second Time Around (Willow Bay #1) by Kelly Collins   @kcollinsauthor

The Second Time Around
(Willow Bay #1)
by Kelly Collins 

Amazon /  BB

 

Brie Watkins had loved two men in her life. One abandoned her at the altar twelve years ago, and the other died in the war. She is no stranger to loss, but she’s still learning how to move on. When her sick aunt asks her to come back to Willow Bay to help at the family resort, Brie says yes. After all, she’s a southern girl at heart, and a southern girl never turns her back on kin. Brie sells her beloved home, quits her job restoring historic properties, and goes back to the last place she wants to be, only to find her aunt healthy, The Brown Resort thriving, and the man who left her at the altar living next door, looking as handsome as ever. Why can’t life be fair?

Carpenter Carter Kessler left Willow Bay a dozen years ago and never looked back, but he never forgot his first love, Brie. He’s spent the rest of his life regretting his decision to leave her all those years ago. After his father’s death, he reluctantly returns to find his family’s resort a mess. But it is not a total disaster – Brie is next door and as beautiful as ever. He talks her into helping him refurbish The Kessler Resort, but first, she lays out the ground rules: they aren’t friends, they’ll never be lovers, and she’ll never stop hating him. As far as Carter is concerned, it’s a start.

But as summer heats up, so does their relationship. As they peel back the layers, what will they find hiding beneath the surface? Can what they started all those years ago be restored, or are some things better left buried in the past?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’ve got my regimen down. I wake up, get up, and grab my coffee, which I like with a little nip of whiskey. My sweet tea with a bit of Long Island, and my lemonade with a dab of vodka. At my age, they say it’s important to thin the blood.

What are you going to do about Margot? That girl is five dollars’ worth of ten-cent makeup.

Marybeth gave her a critical look. “Your ass cheeks are like two communion wafers in a paper sack, sweetie. If no one shook the bag, we wouldn’t know they were there.”

A woman sitting on the edge of the dock gasped, then punched the man sitting beside her in the arm. “Turn around, Hank. That’s how it’s done. You don’t pop open a beer can and say, ’Let’s get hitched.’” Hank made a face and shrugged. “You said yes anyway.” She shouldered him. “That’s because I didn’t have other plans that weekend.”

 

My Review:

 

I adored this! While I revel in and will never tire of her Aspen Cove series, I am delightedly impatient with anticipation for more of this new one as well. This installment was an excellent commencement for a new set of tales.

Kelly Collins just keeps honing her stellar storytelling skills, the premise was original, the pace was perfectly smooth, and the story threads were amusing, authentic, and easy to fall into with an endearingly flawed cast of characters that entertained as well as beguiled.

I was quickly enamored with Willow Bay and believe my favorite character is going to be the bird-loving Cricket, and I’ll just leave the type of bird as a smirk-worthy surprise for now.

 

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

 

  Goodreads  / Website  / Amazon/  Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

International bestselling author of over 30 novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.

 

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Book Review: Killer Smile (Assassins in Love #3) by Tawna Fenske  @tawnafenske

Killer Smile
(Assassins in Love #3)
by Tawna Fenske

Amazon / B&N / GP/ Apple / BB

He’s a covert operator. A killer built by the U.S. Army. He’s tasked with taking out his dream girl—and not on a date.

Targeting Nicole should be simple, since she hates his guts. Sebastian The Dentist—yes, a real freakin’ dentist, don’t make it scary—has wanted Nic since they first locked horns. He’s not sure why they’re enemies, but he knows there’s more to the sweet daycare owner than crayons and cardigans. But discovering her secrets lands them both in danger they’ll dodge only by working together.

Between awkward wedding dates and puppies with no personal space, Sebastian and Nic get closer. They’re also close to discovering if Nic’s dead associate may not be so dead.

If Sebastian can stop her from hating him long enough to eliminate the threat, they might just fall in love. But only Nic can stop him from hating himself.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Not his fault he’s got a gigolo brain, a stripper body, and a Boy Scout smile.

It’s official. She’s a loser who gets turned on by dental products. There’s probably porn about this.

“Chimbo?” “It’s penis slang in Colombia. Weirdly enough, it means ‘fake’ in Paraguay and ‘worn out’ in Venezuela.” Nic gives him a sweet smile. “All phallic words, if you think about it.”

He was thinking of growing old together. Of the pair of them sharing smiles and secrets and maybe gun mounts on their walkers.

My Review:

 

If a fun and beloved series has to be concluded, this is the way to do it. The busy storylines were active in all directions while engaging, amusing, surprisingly twisty, and delightfully unpredictable with generous helpings of smirk-worthy snark. I was pleasantly surprised at the multiple layers, clever texturing, and unexpected complexity of the characters, they were not who I was expecting them to be. Tawna Fenske is a wily one, and I revel in her easy-to-fall-into and humorously entertaining style, highly enjoyable storylines, and unfailingly quirky and appealing characters.

About the Author 

Website 
Amazon
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter 
Instagram

 

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: It Takes a Villa (It Takes a Villa #1) by Kilby Blades @entangled_publishing @KilbyBlades

It Takes a Villa (It Takes a Villa #1) by Kilby Blades

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

    For the reasonable price of $1, Natalie Malone just bought herself an abandoned villa on the Amalfi Coast. With a detailed spreadsheet and an ancient key, she’s arrived in Italy ready to renovate–and only six months to do it. Which seemed reasonable until architect Pietro Indelicato began critically watching her every move… .  

My Rating:

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

Betrayal was never accidental. It was always a choice.

Pietro’s charm was universal— not something meant specifically for, or uniquely affecting, her. Natalie had seen toddlers swoon in his presence.

That’s why I came to Italy. To live in a beautiful little town with quirky but lovable people, great weather, and delicious food. Jorge gave me a rundown on the merits of naked beekeeping last week. Between him and Signora Carlota, I’m exceeding my goal.

She had once thought kissing straightforward— formulaic— then she experienced what Pietro could do with his tongue. Natalie was torn between wanting to be jealous of all the practice that had left him with skills like that and wanting to write personal thank-you notes to every woman who had contributed to his technique.

She didn’t think she’d ever felt so many different emotions at once. Pietro appealed to her sense of freedom, to her sense of humor, and even to her sense of logic. He knew how to get at her from anywhere.

 

My Review:

  This was an entertaining and relatable read with generous sprinkles of humor, a slowly developing new romance, gasp-worthy sensuality, observant insights, family drama, DIY renovations, gorgeous Italian sightseeing, and an interesting mystery. The writing had a smooth and easy-to-follow flow with taunting tidbits that teased my curiosity and kept me reading when the clock argued otherwise. The angst and contrived conflict levels were low, which is exactly how I like it. This was my second time reading her work and I find I enjoy Ms. Blade’s engaging writing style and liberal injections of humorous descriptions and amusing observations, which are some of the excellent reasons why she has been added to my list of favorites.  
 

About the Author

Kilby Blades is a USA Today bestselling author of Romance and Women’s Fiction. During her fifteen-year career as a digital marketing executive, she moonlighted as a journalist, freelanced as a food, wine, and travel writer, and lived it up as an entertainment columnist. She has lived in five countries, visited more than twenty-five, and spends part of her year in her happy place in the Andes Mountains. Kilby is a feminist, an oenophile, a cinephile, a social-justice fighter, and above all else, a glutton for a good story.  
Find Kilby Blades online

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kilbybladesauthor 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kilbyblades

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kilby-Blades/e/B01N4770M0

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kilbyblades

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kilby-blades

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

 
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 Book Review: The Gin Sisters’ Promise by Faith Hogan  @GerHogan  @Aria_Fiction @HoZ_Books

The Gin Sisters’ Promise
by Faith Hogan

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

Three estranged sisters. Six months to come back together.

When Georgie, Iris, and Nola’s mother died and their father disappeared into his grief, the sisters made a pact: they would always be there for one another, no matter what.

Now, decades later, they haven’t spoken for years and can barely stand to be in the same room. As his health declines, their father comes up with a plan to bring them back to one another. In his will, he states that before they can claim their inheritance, they must spend six months living together in their childhood home in the village of Ballycove, Ireland, and try to repair their broken relationships.

As the months progress, old resentments boil over, new secrets threaten to come out and each sister must decide what matters more: their pride, or their family. Can they overcome their past and find a way to love each other once more?

Bestselling Irish writer Faith Hogan’s The Gin Sisters’ Promise is an emotional, uplifting story about forgiveness, second chances, and the importance of family, for fans of Sheila O’Flanagan, Heidi Swain, and Liz Fenwick.

My Rating:

 

Favorite Quotes:

 

The cry that emitted from Nola came as gasping gulps, as if she was going under, smothering in the cold waters of despair. She was far too small for her feet to touch the bottom of her grief, far too young to navigate these treacherous waters.

Georgie had two left feet and a voice to put the crows out of business.

She almost felt as if she was somehow outside herself, looking in at a snapshot of time that wasn’t quite real. She was out of kilter with everything around her, so she almost felt as if she might lose her balance just standing still.

Catherine smiled at Myles and although she looked like a harmless old pensioner, Iris could almost hear the soundtrack to Jaws gearing up from the far corner of the room.

 

My Review:

 

Faith Hogan is one of my all-time favorite authors, her thoughtful and emotive writing resonates with me despite the differences in our cultures and the oceans between us. I always look forward to reading her work. Her characters tend to be complicated, deeply flawed, and unfailingly real while also endearing in their authentic and original storylines and insights. I adore her observant and brilliantly paced storytelling and know I’m going to be in for a heart-squeezing and keenly perceptive tale when I pick up my Kindle to dive in.

The disaffected sisters were an annoying bunch of testy siblings full of long-festering resentments with each putting up a front while hiding their secrets, failures, and personal miseries from the group. I wanted to give each one a pop to the back of the head and a pinch or two, while at the same time I was invested in their story and hoping for better futures for all three.

In addition to an evocative, satisfying, and involving read, I also picked up a new addition to my Irish word list with boxty, which is a potato pancake and sounds delish.

 

 

 About the Author

 


Faith Hogan is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of five contemporary fiction novels. Her books have been featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads, and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown-up women’s fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel-good, and inspiring.

She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children, and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker, and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!

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Book Review: The French for Murder (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #10) by Verity Bright  @BrightVerity  @Bookouture 

The French for Murder
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #10)
by Verity Bright

 

Amazon  / B&N / BB

A grand villa, croissants for breakfast, and a dead body in the wine cellar… Lady Swift can’t seem to take a vacation from murder!

Summer 1923. Lady Eleanor Swift is finally persuaded by her butler, Clifford, to take a villa in the south of France for the season. She plans to do what a glamorous lady abroad should: long lunches on the balcony followed by lazy afternoons lounging by the pool. Even Gladstone the bulldog is looking forward to a daily paddle in the ocean.

But when Clifford examines the wine cellar, he discovers there are no decent reds but there is a very dead body. The victim is famous American movie star, Rex Armstrong. Poor Rex seems to have been stabbed with a sword from the film set. So how did he end up in Eleanor’s villa?

Before Eleanor even has time to change out of her traveling suit, her beloved butler is arrested for the crime. At sea without her right-hand man, Eleanor must gather her wits if she’s to outsmart a murderer and save Clifford.

Attending a glitzy party at the luxurious Hotel Azure with the film’s cast and crew so she can question her main suspects, Eleanor overhears the director having a most unsettling telephone call that throws all her theories out of the water. Can Eleanor unmask the true killer before her time abroad is cut murderously short?

A gripping historical murder mystery full of charm and intrigue, set in the beautiful French Riviera. Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey, and Lee Strauss will adore The French for Murder.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

But there was nothing achieved on an empty stomach what couldn’t have been done twice as well and in half the time as on a full one.

Tis the most beautiful view any of us have ever seen. If Polly’s eyes get any wider, I think they’ll fall out and roll down the hill into the sea.

 

My Review:

 

The talented writing duo that comprises Verity Bright never disappoints as their tales are unfailingly crisp, creative, and comedic, and capture my interest with unpredictable plot twists and conundrums. They have unlimited tricks up their sleeves as well as a smooth and pleasant writing style that keeps a grin on my face while tickling my curiosity with an unabiding need to solve their mysteries as well as learn more about the oddly compelling characters themselves. I certainly didn’t see this one coming and had reached all the wrong conclusions. I am avidly looking forward to their next caper.

About the Author

.
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humor, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.

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Book Review: Checking You Out (Green Valley Library, #10) by Ann Whynot

Checking You Out
(Green Valley Library, #10)
by Ann Whynot 

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Lois Washington is at the end of her rope. Struggling as a single mother in an apartment the size of a closet is not the New York City adventure she dreamed of in her starry-eyed youth. When her job goes on the chopping block, she is ready for a major life change. Joining her best friend in Tennessee to become the newest employee at the Green Valley Public Library isn’t exactly where she thought life would take her, but she feels up for the challenge. Only this relocation comes with more than she bargained for.

Norman Grant has had a string of online dating disasters back in Florida. Dealing with chronic pain, he’s concluded that finding a woman who is understanding about his war wounds just isn’t in the cards. That is, until he becomes quite taken with the single mother who’s also a new arrival in Green Valley. The catch? Things are not quite what they seem.

When the past and present collide, Norman and Lois must face painful reminders from their youth. Now, at twenty-seven, Norman’s about to find out just how deeply the wounds he left behind cut.

‘Checking You Out’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #10 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I had to stop the train my thoughts were on right the hell now or I would be going places I couldn’t handle, especially at this moment. I had this tendency to do what, according to Dr. Google— the only doctor I could afford for myself, most of the time— was called indulging in apocalyptic thinking. Once I got started, I could be thinking about a glass half empty and end up picturing the glass exploding, sending shards flying everywhere and blinding a pack of nuns.

Lois and Max shared a look, like they were communicating telepathically as I’ve often thought female best friends could do through some kind of sorcery…

My Review:

 

This was a fun and lively second chance romance/small-town/southern read that covered a lot of ground with common and uncommon issues, disabilities, and foibles that make navigating our world a bit trickier for some. Their challenges were well-integrated and smoothly featured with thoughtful insights as well as clever and amusing humor within comfortable and easy-to-follow storylines. The characters were easily accessible, endearing, admirable, and the type of well-intentioned and hard-working people I’d like to know and have in my life. The writing style and story threads scrolled smoothly through my gray matter and were well-paced, engaging, and entertaining. I am enjoying this series as well as this author’s work and am eager to pick up the next offering.

About Ann Whynot

Ann Whynot has been writing stories since she was five, and always dreamed of one day being a published author. She is a voracious reader and book collector, and used bookstores are her kryptonite. She also is passionate about video games, crafting, baking, laughing, and travel. She lives with her family, dog, and two cats on the Canadian east coast, and is inspired by both the forest and sea.

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