Book Review: The Undertaker’s Daughter by Debra Webb

The Undertaker’s Daughter

by Debra Webb

Amazon  US / UK / AU CA / B&N

 

Dr. Rowan DuPont and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department are hunting a serial killer. All the victims have one thing in common–they could be Rowan’s twin, except her twin sister is dead.

Rowan grew up in a funeral home, surrounded by death, so her keen insights into homicide cases seldom fall short of the mark. Though growing up as the undertaker’s daughter made her acutely aware of life and all its frailties, she is only human. Will her one mistake in this shocking case be her last one?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

The circumstances of her birth and her childhood ensured that Rowan was intimately acquainted with death from the very beginning of her life. Her grandfather DuPont had died the day before she and Raven came into the world.   Edward insisted on taking a family photo before his father was buried. The twins were ensconced in the deceased DuPont’s lap, with their mother and father on either side. It was the way of things during her formative years. Living had always been far more mysterious and fearful to her than death.

 

My Review:

 

This was only my second time reading Ms. Webb’s enthralling arrangements of words and I am livid at myself for not noticing her genius sooner. I could not put this gripping tale down and thankfully it was a short yet highly eventful read that sets the stage for the series to come, one which I will undoubtedly be inhaling every well-chosen word as Ms. Webb’s intriguing hooks are deeply embedded in my gray matter.

 About The Author

Instagram: @DebraEWebb
Facebook: @DebraWebbAuthor
Debra Webb is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of more than 130 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil, the Colby Agency, and the Shades of Death series. With more than four million books sold in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood on a farm in Alabama. Visit Debra at www.DebraWebb.com
or write to her at PO Box 176, Madison, AL 35758.

Book Review: Pedalo Pandemonium (Scott Family Short Story, Book 4) by Amanda Paull

Pedalo Pandemonium

 (Scott Family Short Story, Book 4)

by Amanda Paull

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA  

Laura and Ben are still together, against all the odds. Laura’s Family the Scotts are adorable – but they wreak havoc wherever they go. The couple has survived first date silicon dog poo, Christmas mayhem, and even dodgy marshmallows.

Their future together may have looked doomed on more than one occasion, but here they are at the airport – eating bacon sandwiches and watching planes take off, as they wait to board their flight to Mallorca.

A whole week in an idyllic Spanish fishing village. Just the two of them. Away from their families and the usual chaos. Wonderful.

What could possibly go wrong…?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

She’d noticed that Ben had recently started calling Fenella, Mother, again in front of Laura. He seemed to have forgiven Laura for criticising him. Likening her wonderful boyfriend to Norman Bates in Psycho could have turned out to be the worst mistake of her life.

‘My brother has a pretty fierce wife.’ Ben gave Laura a wry smile. ‘Mother is no match for Millie.’ Laura felt uneasy. ‘Oh my. Ben, I really don’t think I could cope with ever meeting her.’ Ben laughed. ‘None of us can cope with Millie. Looks like a kitten, mauls like a tiger. My brother is a brave man.’

‘You looked quite stressed while you were chatting to your mam earlier,’ she said, trying not to laugh. ‘Shh, she’ll hear you and call me back,’ he said, looking around the room like a sniper and cackling.

Can you imagine being abandoned by your family?’ said Maureen, aghast. ‘Sometimes,’ said Laura.

 

 My Review:

 

This was a quick and amusing diversion with those meddlesome Scotts taking their intrusive natures on the road by inserting themselves in Laura and Ben’s Mallorcan vacation. Poor Ben, I think they would need to book an outer space mission to ever escape their parents’ interference. I picked up two new words for my Brit Word List with stotted – which is British for banged, and pedalo – British for paddle boat, something poor Ben will never want to ever see again.

 

About the Author

My name is Amanda Paull. Well, that’s my pen name, not my real one, which helps to keep my writing separate from my day job.

​I grew up in the North East of England and couldn’t wait to move away. However, after studying and then living both in England and abroad, I returned to the North East and wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else now.

​Going to Grammar school in the days when teachers wore black caps and gowns and walloped at will, wasn’t much fun for a shy, quiet child like myself. So, I just kept my head down, did my homework and tried to stay invisible.

​I used to love daydreaming and making up stories in my head, but I never thought about writing them down. In those days, the writing wasn’t an enjoyable pursuit, it was more of a time to tow the line and avoid being hit by a flying blackboard rubber. I was the type of pupil who would have been mortified to have ‘made’ a teacher launch one at me, so I would have shown respect by not ducking.

​A short career in teaching was a revelation, to put it mildly. After going back to University, I settled into my current post in the public sector, where I am very happy.

​It was Jim, a work colleague, who suggested around 12 years ago that I write a book. Apparently, my contribution to coffee break conversations always seemed to be either tragic or hilarious. But to me, it was just normal stuff. No-one would want to read about that.

​Then, a couple of years later, while sunbathing in Mallorca with my boyfriend, who is now my husband, and a glass of Cava, the idea of writing a humorous fiction novel came to me. I didn’t need to make it all up though as I had a plentiful supply of funny real-life snippets.

​To get started, I studied creative writing through the Open University, which fitted nicely around my job and, to my delight, was absolutely nothing like school. The Scott Family Short Stories started out as an assignment for this course. A Christmas Day Kerfuffle was the result of the fictional account of the first Christmas brunch my husband spent with my family. Of all the short stories, this one has more true snippets in it than the others. The taxi driver and bike box scene in Pedalo Pandemonium were pretty true to life, too. The driver looked different, but the airport to hotel transfer only required slight embellishment.

​​I also write Women’s Fiction. Pictures in the Sky was my debut novel, and I am currently writing my second, Painting Bananas.

Social Media Links –

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Apaullfiction

Website: https://www.amandapaull.co.uk/

 

Book Review, Giveaway: A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke

 

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A Summer to Remember

by Victoria Cooke

Amazon / B&N

 

Sam lives by the mantra that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

After the tragic loss of her husband, Sam built a new life around friends, her cat Coco and a career she loves. Fending off frequent set-ups and well-meaning advice to ‘move on’, Sam is resolutely happy being single.

But when Sam gets seconded to her firm’s Boston office for the summer, it is more than her career that is in for a shake-up. A spur of the moment decision to visit the idyllic beaches of Cape Cod could end up changing her life forever.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I try to ignore the fact he’s incredibly attractive, because beauty comes from within, and there’s a gargoyle residing inside him.

 

It’s as though his mother went to the gene-pool buffet when she was making him and had first dibs on all the good stuff.

 

‘You stand here.’ Absentmindedly, I place my hands on his shoulders to manoeuvre him, and the shock of their firmness and sheer size jolts me and I almost recoil. Touching a man is such uncharted territory for me. It’s been such a long time that I feel like I’ve reached out and grabbed a forbidden sculpture at the Louvre or something.

 

As much as I’d like to stay here forever, England is my home. I can’t just emigrate at the drop of a hat. Besides, don’t you need the blood of a fairy godmother, half a shooting star and the wispy hair of five baby pixies just to get a green card to live here in the States?

 

It can take people a lifetime to figure out what makes them happy. At least you’ve figured it out while your jowls are tight and you don’t have cataracts.

 

My Review:

 

I enjoyed Ms. Cooke’s wry wit and clever humor as well as many of her secondary characters and story threads, although I waffled in my opinion and enjoyment of this book during perusal as the main character of Samantha wasn’t as endearing to me as I would have preferred; I struggled with her selfishness and deceit. I was increasingly impatient for her to gain some self-awareness and pull on her big girl panties and was more than exasperated with her immature and avoidant behaviors by the time her epiphany finally came. But this is but one of my personal pet peeves; I probably need a trigger warning for extended angst.

Author Bio – Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and traveling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.

Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.

Social Media Links –

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16345710.Victoria_Cooke

https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaCookeAuthor/

https://twitter.com/VictoriaCooke10

https://www.instagram.com/victoriacookewriter/

Giveaway

 Win A Summer to Remember by Victoria Cooke and Chocolates (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –  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 dispatch or delivery of the prize.

 

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Book Review: Flame (Men of Inked – Heatwave #1) by Chelle Bliss

 

Flame

(Men of Inked: Heatwave #1) 

 

by USA Today bestselling author

Chelle Bliss.

 

Flame is book one in the Men of Inked: Heatwave series. 

Men of Inked: Heatwave features steamy romance, hot alphas, and strong heroines    
 

(**City & Suzy’s Daughter**)
Genre: Contemporary Romance /Romantic Suspense
 

TBR: menofinked.com/flame-tbr
 

AVAILABLE NOW!
ebook

Could you love a man surrounded by danger?
Gigi Gallo’s childhood was filled with the roar of a motorcycle and the hum of a tattoo gun. Fresh out of college, she’s about to start working at her family’s tattoo studio — Inked. But when she shows up the first day, she never expects to run into someone tall, dark, and totally sexy from her not-so-innocent past.
Pike Moore is a bossy biker with a cocky attitude and an even bigger ego. He came to Inked to start over. New town. New job. New roots. None of that included coming face-to-face with the hot chick who spent a week in his bed before she vanished without a trace.
But when Pike’s dark family history catches up with him, can he stop Gigi from being caught in the crossfire?
Flame is book one in the Men of Inked: Heatwave series by USA Today bestselling author Chelle Bliss. The Men of Inked: Heatwave series features steamy romance, hot heroes, and strong women.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The guy isn’t just hot, he’s Freaking Fine with capital Fs…

 

You’re a good kid. If I had a son, I’d want him to be just like you, Pike. Instead, I got a daughter because I’ve done bad shit in my life and the big guy found a way to pay me back.

 

I’ve also been around enough wrong women to know when I’ve found the right one.

 

“You out for a stroll?” he asks, confirming I am, in fact, moving too slow. But I have one speed, and it’s sloth.

 

“Auntie Fran, go easy on him,” Gigi says as the woman plasters her body against me, resting her head on my chest. “Shh. Don’t ruin this for me, girl. When you’re my age, there’re very few thrills left in life… Don’t ruin this for me,” Fran says again, her fingers digging into my pecs. “God, to be young again.”

 

My Review:

 

I can never get enough of these loving, loud, luminous, and living large Gallos. Chelle Bliss kicks off her new series with a bang – featuring the next generation of sassy and brassy troublemakers with a first installment that left me tapping my little foot and eager for the next one. The storylines were heaving with irreverent humor, family drama, and breath-stealing sensual steam as well as generous lashings of danger and suspense.   I inhaled this engaging tale with a steady smirk and a few gasps for good measure. Please, hurry with part two Ms. Bliss, before the little pea in my brain forgets all the deliciously juicy details.


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.

 

 

Book Review, Giveaway: Hit&Run (PASS Series Book 1) by Freya Barker

 

Title: Hit&Run (Pass Series #1)
Author: Freya Barker
Genre:
Contemporary Romance/ Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 16, 2019
Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

Returning home to Grand Junction would not have been Rosie Perkins’ first choice, but with her mother no longer able to take care of herself, it’s the only one she has. As is working the night shift at a local hotel to bring in a much-needed income.
Rosie juggles to keep all the pieces of her life together and has no room to add anything more. One morning after a long shift, when she witnesses a hotel guest crash into a dumpster, her careful control starts to unravel.
Security specialist, Jake Hutchinson, has his hands full protecting the arrogant lead actor of a movie being filmed in town. Since the production company and crew arrived at the hotel, the entitled star has been nothing but trouble.
The only thing that can improve his mood is the occasional nightly glimpse of the redheaded housekeeper.
Until he finds himself trapped between desire and duty.

AMAZON | APPLE BOOKS | NOOK | KOBO |

Tweet: Hit & Run (PASS Series, #1) by @freya_barker It’s a brand new series and you can #BuyItNow Here ➜ http://bit.ly/2YjqQoM #ContemporaryRomance #ContemporaryRomanceReads #RomanticSuspense #Romanticsuspensereaders #BAPpr @buoniamicipress

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Grant in a tent—I would give good money to see that. “Sweetheart,” he starts in complete diva mode, waving his hand up and down the front of his body. “See this six foot six frame of carefully honed muscle, coated in a rich coat of cocoa, polished and waxed to a perfect shine? This here body will not stuff itself in any sleeping bag, it does not fit in any tent, it is not intended for rough terrain, and it does not find the idea of peeing in a bush at all romantic.” He takes a deep drink of his beer, slams his empty bottle on the counter, and belches loudly, only adding to our hilarity, before he finishes. “This is a body designed for feather beds and the soft slide of twelve hundred thread-count, Egyptian cotton sheets. I’ll sleep in the wild when I’m dead.”

 

“With that scruff, he’s like catnip for soccer moms.” “Are you calling me a soccer mom?” she protests. “No. I’m calling him catnip.”

 

“I tried calling: no answer. I left a message: nothing. Finally, I called your office—” He points a scathing look at Jake. “And threatened whoever was unfortunate enough to answer the phone, that I would sit on them, hold them down, and roll rubber bands through their chest hair until they’re as smooth as a baby’s butt— to get this damn address.”

 

For years I’d harbored the dream of a family, but eventually simply gave up even hoping. My fortieth birthday had been a come -to-Jesus moment when I felt I passed that invisible barrier between; it could still happen, and your ovaries now grow dust bunnies.

 

My Review:

 

With every new book she writes, I adore Freya Barker just a little more. She gives us everyday hard-working and well-seasoned heroes and heroines who have or are struggling with real-life issues and doing their best at jobs they may not enjoy but need to hold on to. Most of us have been there. And quite often doing those thankless jobs conflict with doing the right thing, which causes additional stress and dissatisfaction, lots of us have been there too.

 

Hit&Run broke ground for an action-packed new series with several busy, realistic, and compelling storylines and a full slate of uniquely interesting, likable, and relatable characters who labor away at relatively common jobs and are doing so with healthy servings of dignity as well as a side order of irreverent humor.   And of course, I must not forget to mention the supportive and sensual romance that blossoms amid of all this intriguing peril and chaos.

 

All of Ms. Barker’s thoughtfully written books that I have read have been remarkably self-contained standalone stories that seamlessly interconnect with the others in their series. I am already eager for the next installment.

 

Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; with characters who are perhaps less than perfect, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills, and their own slice of happy.
A recipient of the RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for best first book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya has not slowed down.
She continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

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Book Review: Silver Brewer (The Silver Foxes of Blue Ridge) by L.B. Dunbar 

Title: Silver Brewer: The Silver Foxes of Blue Ridge
Author: L.B. Dunbar 
Genre: Over 40 Romance Standalone

Release Date: September 12, 2019

Olivet Pierson needs his land. 

 

Name your price, Mr. Harrington. 

 

She has her reasons, and this muscular mountain of masculinity isn’t going to get in her way. However, her heart has a different plan after she accepts his crazy conditions: three nights up on the ridge.
George Harrington is a quiet, giant of a man.
No sale, Cricket.
He’s a war hero, a widower, and COO for the family brewing company, but his life lacks spontaneity. Then, she arrives, chirping away at him, roaming his body with those sky-blue eyes, and negotiating for something he won’t put a price on. Too bad his heart is immediately sold.
With the challenge accepted, this silver fox can no longer deny his desires for something a little different.
+++
Welcome to Blue Ridge where sexy silver foxes meet their match of feisty vixens.
The Harrington brothers are a spin-off from Second Chance, but don’t you worry, this over 40 romance can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

 

 
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PP’s Bookshelf – “Sexy. Emotional. Angsty. Real. Honest. Heartbreaking. Swoonworthy. Heartwarming.”

 

Bibliophile Chloe – “Ms. Dunbar doesn’t fail to amaze me with her writing of mature characters, still full of life, still wanting to find love and the holy hotness of the chemistry and smexy times!”

 

Cee Cee Houston – “L.B. Dunbar has found her niche. The over 40’s is definitely a trope she does extremely well.”

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Micro-penis? Poor guy.” “Wrong again. Poor me.”

 I’m content to have him kiss me like he is, like I’m the air he needs to breathe and the color in his wind.

 Hope is a dangerous emotion.

 I don’t think there needs to be a time limit on love or grief. Grief ends when you’re done. And love begins when you’re ready.

 

My Review:

 

She was his Cricket and forever chirping.

He was her Giant ax throwing, he-man, sex god, and part-time shampoo boy.

I always enjoy Ms. Dunbar’s clever and uniquely appealing character development as well as her use of witty banter and toe-curling sensual romance. This couple was a study of opposites and contradictions; which can be a good thing, although I found myself growing increasingly annoyed with the repetitive inner musings of angsty doubt and obtuse miscommunications.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it, there was far too much contrived conflict just for drama’s sake for my taste, but that’s just me, angst and flighty flip-flopping characters are never going to reside on my list of favorite things. But, in the plus column – he washed her hair, there were freezer fairies, and did I mention the breath-stealing and volcanically hot and erotic sex scenes? I thought I might have 😉

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“Before you try to steal my land, perhaps you should learn a thing or two about it.”

 

I stare up at him as his expression turns virile. 

 

“I know this piece of property could earn you millions.” I look beyond him, taking in the small bit of landscape I can see around his broad hips and crossed arms.
“I told you, I don’t want the money.” He scoffs. “I’m talking about dirt under your toes. Wind in your face. Stars in your eyes.” His eyes nearly dance as though he has undisclosed information he’s waiting to share with me, and strangely, I want to know his secret. And though dirt under my toes doesn’t sound pleasant, it doesn’t sound terrible either.
Still.

 

Tell me. Tell me all your wisdom and woes. I swallow with the intensity of his glare and rub a hand down the thigh of my jeans.

 

“Okay, so I’m not Pocahontas. How would I learn?” My voice cracks, sounding meek. Teach me, Yoda.
“From the land.” He pauses. His crossed arms bulge before me and lift with the heave of his frustrated inhale. What would those arms feel like around me?
“And your land will just teach me?” Oh God. Did my voice just drop? Did I exaggerate your land, implying something other than the greenery around us? Damn Marcus and his damnable innuendos, but if this man means I can hike his landscape, I volunteer as tribute. “How?”
“Camping.”
“What?” I stammer. My mouth falls open.
“Camping. Three nights of roughing it and then I’ll think about your proposition. You break before that and no deal.”

 

 
My proposition? Did I proposition him? Can he see the images racing through my mind? I want to do all kinds of things to him, starting with the body part closest to me. My heart races, and my sweaty palms…sweat more. My breath catches.

 

 

 

Anything whispers through my mind along with the song “Colors of the Wind.”

 

My eyes narrow. My heart thuds to a screeching halt.

 

This is crazy.

 

But I slowly rise, pressing up on my thigh as I stand. I come to my full height, which doesn’t quite match his, but with the help of the two step difference, I’m close. My gaze meets his fiery eyes. There’s one thing this man needs to learn about me. I like nothing more than to prove others wrong.
“Challenge accepted.”

 

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L.B. Dunbar loves the sweeter things in life: cookies, Coca-Cola, and romance. Her reading journey began with a deep love of fairy tales and alpha males. She loves a deep belly laugh and a strong hug. Occasionally, she has the energy of a Jack Russell terrier. Accused—yes, that’s the correct word—of having an overactive imagination, to her benefit, such an imagination works well. Author of over two dozen novels, she’s created sexy rom-coms for the over 40; intrigue on an island; MMA chaos; rock star mayhem, and sweet small-town romance. In addition, she earned a title as the “myth and legend lady” for her modernizations of mythology as elda lore. Her other duties in life include mother to four children and wife to the one and only.

 

 

 


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Book Review: The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul

The Lost Daughter

by Gill Paul

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU  

B&N HarperCollins

Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (August 27, 2019)

If you loved I Am Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon you won’t want to miss this novel about her sister, Grand Duchess Maria. What really happened to this lost Romanov daughter? A new novel perfect for anyone curious about Anastasia, Maria, and the other lost Romanov daughters, by the author of The Secret Wife.

1918: Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the fallen Tsar Nicholas II, lives with her family in suffocating isolation, a far cry from their once-glittering royal household. Her days are a combination of endless boredom and paralyzing fear; her only respite are clandestine flirtations with a few of the guards imprisoning the family—never realizing her innocent actions could mean the difference between life and death

1973: When Val Doyle hears her father’s end-of-life confession, “I didn’t want to kill her,” she’s stunned. So, she begins a search for the truth—about his words and her past. The clues she discovers are baffling—a jewel-encrusted box that won’t open and a camera with its film intact. What she finds out pulls Val into one of the world’s greatest mysteries—what truly happened to the Grand Duchess Maria?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The minutes crawled interminably, so slow she suspected the clock had been tampered with in order to torture them.

That evening, she explained to Nicole that a judge had decided she did not have to visit her daddy anymore. “OK.” Nicole nodded, quite happy with this. “Will I get a new daddy now? What do we have to do? Should we apply somewhere?”

If you can help someone without harming anyone else, then why on earth wouldn’t you do it?

My Review:

 

This was my first experience of being immersed in Gill Paul’s epic storytelling and I am beyond impressed. The Lost Daughter was beautifully written, lushly descriptive, and heartbreakingly realistic.   Her emotive writing was taut with tension and pulled me right inside her characters’ various storylines. I felt my chest tighten as if I were fleeing with them and racing for escape while in danger of capture. The book spanned 90 years with an intriguing and enthralling fusion of fact and fiction. The story hit all the feels and I was enthralled, educated, and horrified yet highly entertained by Ms. Paul’s absorbing and well-crafted tale.

I was provided with a review copy of this sweeping tale by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins. 

About the Author

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specializing in relatively recent history. She has written two novels about the last Russian royal family: The Secret Wife, published in 2016, which tells the story of cavalry officer Dmitri Malama and Grand Duchess Tatiana, the second daughter of Russia’s last tsar; and The Lost Daughter, published in October 2018, that tells of the attachment Grand Duchess Maria formed with a guard in the house in Ekaterinburg where the family was held from April to July 1918.

Gill’s other novels include Another Woman’s Husband, about links you may not have been aware of between Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor, and Diana, Princess of Wales; Women and Children First, about a young steward who works on the TitanicThe Affair, set in Rome in 1961–62 as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton fall in love while making Cleopatra; and No Place for a Lady, about two Victorian sisters who travel out to the Crimean War of 1854–56 and face challenges beyond anything they could have imagined.

Find out more about Gill at her website, and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.

Book Review: Always the One (A Beloved Duet #2) by Kelly Collins

 Always the One 

(A Beloved Duet #2)

by Kelly Collins

 

Amazon  US / UK / AU / CA 

She watched him walk away. Now he’s back. Will he stay to fulfill her dreams?

Physical therapist and karaoke queen Aidy Smith would love to be in a relationship, but in the small town of Beloved, Colorado, it seems all the best ones are taken. The truth is, even if there were single men to choose from, the only one Aidy wants is the one who left years ago. When Jace Johnson comes back to town, Aidy’s heart comes to life again. But how long will he stay?

Jace Johnson had a tough life. He lost his parents when he was thirteen, but with the love of his devoted aunt and a talent for football he thrived. As a fullback for the New Jersey Knights, he has just about everything he could want until a car accident injures his daughter Maddie. Now he finds himself back in Beloved seeking the help of Aunt Sharon’s physical therapist who to his surprise, turns out to be Aidy Smith, his high school tutor. Without her help, he would have never graduated. Can she be the answer to his prayers again?

Football is all Jace knows. Beloved is where Aidy belongs. Will he give it all up for a second chance at love?

Find out in Always the One…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m going to be a cat lady for the rest of my life… It’s going to be me and Clawsome until I’m old and gray.

 

He was my client’s pool guy. I mean hello, he used pool metaphors for foreplay talk… I don’t have it in me to go into the dirty details but just think. He talked nonstop about his hose and how he liked certain strokes better than others, and if I wanted to jump into the deep end with him, he knew rescue breathing.

 

And the word fetish is a special word and shouldn’t be used more than once in a lifetime. You’ve used your quota.

 

I named our son Jack Russell. Who names their son after a breed of dog known to be stubborn?

 

My Review:

 

This was a sweet and fun small-town second chance romance with a lively bit of sizzle and snap. I always enjoy Kelly Collin’s uniquely appealing characters and amusing and witty observations and insights. Aidy fantasized taking a run at her oblivious high school crush ten years later – but was startled out of her secret stalking efforts when he returned to his hometown of Beloved to visit his aunt and carried in a small child from his car ~ needle scratch. Aidy was a quirky karaoke queen/physical therapist/town gossip.   Jace had been her first crush and the man she seemed to measure men against.

 

Jace was stunned to notice that Aidy was no longer the nerdy nondescript classmate who used to tutor him after school. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was also kind and patient with his family, and kind of perfect, so perfect he developed a yellow tinge and made me want to smack him with my kindle – repeatedly. Luckily for Jace, Aidy was more forgiving and less vindictive than I am. 😉

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS  

 

  Goodreads  / Website  / Amazon /

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.

Book Review: The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter

The Last Widow

by Karin Slaughter

 

Amazon  US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N / HarperCollins

 Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (August 20, 2019)

New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter brings back Will Trent and Sara Lintonin this superb and timely thriller full of devious twists, disturbing secrets, and shocking surprises you won’t see coming

A mysterious kidnapping on a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. The authorities are desperate to save the doctor who’s been vanished into thin air.

A devastating explosion

One month later, the serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast—followed by another, seconds later.  One of Atlanta’s busiest and most important neighborhoods has been bombed—the location of Emory University, two major hospitals, the FBI headquarters, and the CDC.

A diabolical enemy

Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene—and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre—putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Money. That was the real obstacle… She would never forget the look on Jeffrey’s face the first time he’d seen the balance in her trading account. Sara had actually heard the squeaking groan of his testicles retracting into his body. It had taken a hell of a lot of suction to get them back out again.

 

Sara had explained the science behind these mood changes. During the stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding and childhood, a woman’s brain was flooded with hormones that altered the gray matter in the regions involved in social processes, heightening the mother’s empathy and bonding them closely to their child. Which was a damn good thing, because if another human being treated you the way a toddler did—threw food in your face, questioned your every move, unraveled all of the aluminum foil off the roll, yelled at the silverware, made you clean shit off their ass, peed in your bed, peed in your car, peed on you while you were cleaning up their pee, demanded that you repeat everything at least sixteen times and then screeched at you for talking too much—then you would probably kill them.

 

Tinder was a no-go. The guys who didn’t look married looked like they should be chained to a bench outside of a courtroom. She’d tried Match.com but not one of the losers that she was even remotely attracted to could pass a background check. Which said more about the type of men Faith was attracted to than internet dating sites.

 

Her parenting skills fell somewhere between Charlotte’s Web and Lord of the Flies. Jeremy still teased her about the note she’d once left in his lunch box: The bread is stale. This is what happens when you don’t close the bag.

 

Don’t mess with the US Government. They won two wars and can print their own money.

 

Dash was a stupid man’s idea of how a smart man sounded.

My Review:

 

This book was gripping and all-consuming yet it took me twice as long to read, as I had to put it down, take deep breaths, and walk away from it now and then. Not because it was bad, but because it was diabolically brilliant and absorbing, I was sucked right into this complex and fiendish vortex and helplessly engrossed in the chaos. The plot was complex and skillfully crafted while the writing was ingeniously textured and scorched my brain matter while it squeezed my heart and lungs.

This contemptible and monstrous scenario could very well happen, which was intensely disturbing to me as it was heinously realistic.   The ever-escalating and highly disturbing climate of arrogance, hate, manipulation, and perversion of information being generated from our current national embarrassments at the top does seem to be empowering the most twisted of the vile and disenfranchised. Karin Slaughter is devilishly clever and a masterful wordsmith. She scared me silly.

I was provided with a review copy of this enthralling thriller by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.

About Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her eighteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, Karin Slaughter lives in Atlanta. Her standalone novels The Good Daughter and Cop Town are in development for film and television.

Find out more about Karin at her website and connect with her on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

 

Book Review: Handle With Care by Helena Hunting

HWC - BT banner

“Lincoln and Wren had me flipping through the pages frantically, begging for more. Their chemistry was explosive, their love story both hilarious and tender.”- L.J. Shen, USA Today bestselling author

Handle With Care, an all-new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting is available now!

 

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Handle With Care

by Helena Hunting 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VGJ83p

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

HE WANTS TO LOSE CONTROL.

Between his parents’ messed up marriage and his narcissistic younger brother, Lincoln Moorehead has spent the majority of his life avoiding his family. After the death of his father, Lincoln finds himself in the middle of the drama. To top it all off, he’s been named CEO of Moorehead Media, much to his brother’s chagrin. But Lincoln’s bad attitude softens when he meets the no-nonsense, gorgeous woman who has been given the task of transforming him from the gruff, wilderness guy to a suave businessman

SHE’S TRYING TO HOLD IT TOGETHER.

Wren Sterling has been working double-time to keep the indiscretions at Moorehead Media at bay, so when she’s presented with a new contract, with new responsibilities and additional incentives, she agrees. Working with the reclusive oldest son of a ridiculously entitled family is worth the hassle if it means she’s that much closer to pursuing her own dreams. What Wren doesn’t expect is to find herself attracted to him, or for it to be mutual. And she certainly doesn’t expect to fall for Lincoln. But when a shocking new Moorehead scandal comes to light, she’s forced to choose between her own family and the broody, cynical CEO.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Do not sass me, Lincoln Alexander Moorehead. And do not call me G-mom in front of the goddamn staff. How am I going to keep my battle-ax reputation with you shouting nicknames that make me sound like a second-rate rap star?

 

I don’t know what kind of karmic bomb your parents managed to set off when they created your brother.

 

I’m startled out of my thoughts when my brother jumps up and shouts a bunch of profane nonsense, hands flailing like he’s trying to swim on land, or approximate the chicken dance while on an LSD trip… He keeps jabbing his finger at me, as if he’s engaged in a finger sword fight.

 

Gwendolyn’s expression is slightly pinched— which is saying something because most of her face usually doesn’t move.

 

Dear sweet baby Jesus riding a unicorn.

 

He wasn’t faithful to my mother, and maybe I can understand that, since she has the warmth of a corpse…

 

My Review:

 

I am stunned and truthfully mortified to report that this was my first Helena Hunting experience… where have I been? The woman is a prolific and clever wordsmith and has a backlist a mile long – I am so ashamed of myself ~ hangs head… But now that I am in the know I plan to make amends for my slothful and inattentive ways and greedily latch on to as many of her skillful arrangements of words as possible. I am totally enamored with her wit, observantly descriptive writing style, and irreverent humor.

 

Handle With Care was written in my favorite dual POV with sparkling levity, titillating family scandals, smoldering sensual scenes, vile yet quirky villains that I loved to despise, and a plethora of enticing and intriguing primary and secondary characters. I adored every well-placed word and smirked my way through this absorbing and refreshingly entertaining tale. Sigh, I enjoyed these characters so much I am more than a bit reluctant to let them go, but at least I now have a new favorite author to fangirl.

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Excerpt:

“You have a suit fitting tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning? I have lots of suits; I’ll make one of those work.”

“Are they like the ones you wore to the funeral?” I ask.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, they may have fit you five years ago, but they certainly don’t fit you now. I’ll text you the details and add them to your personal calendar.”

“You can’t do that without my cell number.” His smugness would be grating if I wasn’t two steps ahead of him.

I flash a fake smile. “I already have all of your personal details, Lincoln. Right down to your shoe size. And you can’t be late like you were this morning, so it might be a good idea to avoid the scotch tonight so you’re less bear and more human. You’ll need to use these things called manners. I can email you a refresher on what those are, should you need it.”

“Sarcasm is a weapon of the weak.”

My ears are on fire as he heads for the door. Jerk. I was being witty, not sarcastic. “Thanks so much for offering to help clean up the mess you made.” I turn to address the crinkled papers scattered on the floor.

It’s common courtesy to offer assistance if you’re the one who made the damn mess. Even Armstrong, who is the most epic of douches, has some manners. Usually he’ll try to look up a skirt or down a shirt while he’s being polite, but it’s better than this.

I turn to retrieve the papers when two things happen, a power surge ramps up the box fans—it happens at least twice a day, and at the same time Lincoln pulls the door open again. The simultaneous actions create a vortex of air inside my office, and my skirt flutters into the air. Like I’m Marilyn Monroe and I’ve stepped onto one of those subway grates. The fabric rises quickly, and a breeze hits me right between the legs, which is the exact moment I remember that I’m not wearing panties. Because they were covered in the coffee Armstrong spilled in my lap.

I drop the papers and battle the fabric back down. It’s fruitless, though, the wind tunnel whirls through the room like Dorothy’s freaking tornado, and the back of my dress goes up. I meet Lincoln’s gaze from across the small room. All it takes is a second of eye contact before those ridiculously blue eyes pull me in, and weird, inappropriate things start happening to my body. It’s irritating as hell. I don’t even like this guy, but my body seems as if it hasn’t gotten the same memo as the rest of me. Even more aggravating is the realization that based on his expression, he totally caught an eyeful of cooch.

Lincoln stands frozen at the door, eyes wide and fixed on my crotch, mouth hanging open.

“Close the damn door!” My voice is siren high. And loud.

“Right. Yes. I’m going. Now.” He steps out of my office, pulling the door closed behind him.

My dress settles around my knees. “Dammit.” I drop into my chair, which is probably what I should’ve done as soon as the wind tunnel started, but clearly I’d been too panicked to think straight.

On the upside, I went to see my waxer last week, so he’s seen my girl bits when they’re looking their finest.

On the downside, my project for the next six months has seen my naked girl bits.

 

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.

 

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Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/
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