Liar Liar

(Nicole Graves Mysteries #3)

by Nancy Boyarsky

Goodreads

Amazon / B&N

Nicole Graves finds herself in the crosshairs when she reluctantly agrees to babysit a witness in a high-profile rape trial. Mary Ellen Barnes is suing her university’s star quarterback for rape when the authorities won’t act. In the court of public opinion, Mary Ellen appears to be the quintessential, pious, good girl. But her lies and mysterious comings and goings lead Nicole to suspect that she’s not what she seems.

Read an Excerpt

Later, Nicole would ponder the truth and its elusive nature. She’d realize how many lies people would tell to protect themselves from it. And, worst of all, how many she herself would tell to get at it. She’d always considered herself a truthful person. Yet she’d find herself lying to others, to her fiancé, and even to herself.

She’d wonder if there was such a thing as the actual truth. Or was truth relative, the product of incomplete or faulty memories, or the limitations of the observer? How often was the truth tainted by what an individual wanted, or needed, to believe?

On this bright day in mid-March, Nicole stepped into the United Terminal at LAX and encountered a situation she could hardly believe. It was as if she’d slipped back in time to the previous year when the media was stalking her. This morning, they were massed in a corner of baggage claim. After the initial shock of seeing them, she noticed they weren’t looking in her direction, hadn’t noticed her at all. They were waiting for someone else, someone they expected to come down the escalator from the arrival gates.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

He was slightly built with a beaky nose and wire-rimmed glasses that gave him the look of a highly intelligent lizard.

What we call the SODDI defense… It’s an acronym. S.O.D.D.I. It stands for ‘Some other dude did it.’

My Review:

If ever I need a PI, I hope I find one as feisty and curious as Nicole Graves. I enjoyed this murder mystery, it wasn’t a heart-pounding thriller but it did hold my attention and interest throughout. The characters were well fleshed out and realistically flawed while everyone was of questionable veracity, even Nicole, as she was lying to her fiancé about her risk-taking and involvement in a case she promised not to take, just to keep the peace. The plot and writing style were easy to follow, well-paced, and adroitly crafted. The storylines and characters were appealing and enticing while the writing flowed smoothly with colorful details and descriptions that brought sharp visuals to mind. This was my first exposure to the series and Ms. Boyarsky’s work, and although this volume stood alone quite well, I enjoyed it enough to covet the previous installments, as Nicole’s past adventures were mentioned in passing.

About the Author:

Nancy Boyarsky is the bestselling author of the award-winning Nicole Graves Mysteries.
Before turning to mysteries, Nancy coauthored Backroom Politics, a New York Times notable book, with her husband, Bill Boyarsky. She has written several textbooks on the justice system as well as articles for publications including the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, and McCall’s. She also contributed to political anthologies, including In the Running, about women’s political campaigns. In addition to her writing career, she was communications director for political affairs for ARCO.

Liar Liar is the third Nicole Graves novel, following The Swap and The Bequest, each of which can be read as a stand-alone. Readers are invited to connect with Nancy through her website.

Website: http://www.nancyboyarsky.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9020987.Nancy_Boyarsky

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancyboyarsky

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Nancy Boyarsky will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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A second-chance, small town, stand-alone romance in A.L. Jackson’s Confessions of the Heart Series.

 Goodreads

Amazon  /Paperback  / Audible

Are you ready for my newest romance?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Pain radiated from him like the heat waves that held to the sticky, summer air.

Who said I wanted to hear all your dirty little secrets? You usually leave me feeling like I need to pour bleach into my ears.

I was pretty sure Faith’s mom swooned right there, while her father slit my throat with a metaphorical knife… I would have laughed if her father weren’t clearly stabbing me over and over in his mind.

My Review:

Holy sizzling sex scenes – clutch the pearls, I was gasping. More of You featured heavily emotive and intriguing storylines with intensely sexy and compelling characters. The atmosphere swirled with grief, uncertainty, despair, hostility, and anger. I struggled with so much turmoil and angst, angst, angsty angst, I was dreadfully weary with it! Yet – I could not stop reading as the well-crafted mystery and ever-looming elements of danger and suspense kept niggling at my curiosity; and toss in a naughty best friend and a precocious and adorable toddler for levity and heart-squeezes and I was hooked. The mystery surrounding a murder and subsequent threats to the widow was well-plotted and maddeningly paced. I am not quite sure how she does it, but time after time, A.L. Jackson’s agile and crafty word skills keep me glued to my Kindle despite my personal distaste for near constant emotional tension and upheaval. Although her dazzlingly alluring characters and provocative storylines certainly help tip the scales.

I hope you love Jace and Faith as much as I do. I’m so proud of this story, and am so thrilled to release it out into the world!

Connect with A.L.

A Wedding in Cornwall 

(Books 7—12)

by Laura Briggs

Goodreads  / Amazon 

The last six novellas in the UK bestselling series A WEDDING IN CORNWALL are now available in one collection! Join American event planner Julianne in her final set of adventures ‘across the pond’ in beautiful Cornwall. From celebrity sightings to a local talent show, from a charming village fete to a secret Cornish garden, there’s never a dull moment for Julianne and her Poldark-esque true love Matthew in the quaint village of Ceffylgwyn.

This collection contains A Romance in Cornwall, A Star in Cornwall, A Sewing Circle in Cornwall, A Talent Show in Cornwall, An American in Cornwall, and A Garden in Cornwall. Exclusive bonus materials include a sneak peek of the author’s all-new 2019 Cornish romance series!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Book 7 – A Romance in Cornwall

The catch in her voice gave her away. I couldn’t help but smile. It was proof how far Kitty had come that we hugged goodbye, a brief one, but a warm one. She was far from the prickly girl who had stormed out of my office two years ago, when I suggested she was a diamond in the rough, who would have died rather than admit how much she wanted that job at the manor.

I was thinking it could be fun to be a writer. All that money and loads of spare time when your book is finished. No more dusting knickknacks and cleaning drapes for me.

He’s a dishy one, as sweet as chocolate and as brainy as Sherlock. Many a heart was broken in the village when he finally fell in love. If I’d been ten years younger, I’d have chased him up the nearest tree in haste to catch him.

“She hasn’t been out in the daylight for two days now,” said Dovie, keeping her voice low in the Fisherman’s Rest. “Only comes out in the evenings. Like a vampire, she is. I’d no idea writers were like that.”

Book 8 – A Star in Cornwall

His glance landed on the fabric pieces in my hands, and the tangle of sewing supplies that appeared to be having a terrible brawl amongst themselves in my workbasket. 

How such a stupid argument could turn into such a personal philosophical dilemma was staggering my imagination at this point.

Your own head can be your worst enemy when you’ve let one little mistake become a chain reaction of them, after all.

I knew Michael was wrong. Never trust the opinion of somebody whose tattoos look like a Russian prisoner’s.

Book 10 – A Talent Show in Cornwall

Colin was the ‘serious musician’ type, who seemed in his own world while playing, as if the guitar and his body had melded together and every molecule of his being was focused on the mellow, complex riff serenading the mostly-unappreciative patrons of the bar. Excepting, of course, the female ones.

I call it shyness — but others tended to call it rudeness, since Nikki was ‘different’ and among the typical number of teenagers set apart by their peers to be socially ostracized and mocked. 

… he didn’t even have the decency to tell me first when he took the job on that drilling crew… I had to hear about it from Jenny Bryce’s niece, who looked proper smug about telling me … stupid little cow, crushing on someone like him. He’s ten years older than her.

Never a ‘congratulations, Kitty’ or ‘oh, joy, my daughter’s getting married’ just a ‘what’s all this about?” Like you caught me stealing sweets from the grocer’s jar.

I felt a sudden rush of indignation and anger that the sneer in their voices could make me see her that way, bringing me back to my school days of popularity versus obscurity. 

It was like a scene out of a movie — things that never happen to real people, those impetuous moments of passion that evade real life for ninety-nine percent of us. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rosie’s jaw drop, as mine was doing the same.

Author Bio –

Laura Briggs is the author of several lighthearted romance novels and novellas, including the bestselling Amazon UK series A Wedding in Cornwall. She has a fondness for vintage-style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern-day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family, caring for her pets, going to movies and plays, and trying new restaurants.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaperDollWrites

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

Website: https://paperdollwrites.blogspot.com/

Giveaway to Win A Wedding in Cornwall 

3 different prizes (Open Internationally)

1^st Name Drawn will win – A paperback copy of the anthology to be shipped to the winner by the author via Amazon

2^nd Name Drawn will win – A digital/eBook copy of the anthology to be sent via email

3^rd Name Drawn will win – A Smashwords coupon code good for a free download of 1 ‘Surprise eBook’ from the Cornwall series of novellas

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Evie’s Little Black Book

by Hannah Pearl 

Goodreads

Amazon US / UK  

Is hunting down every man you’ve kissed the answer to finding Mr. Right?

When Evie is invited to the wedding of the guy she’d fancied throughout her teens, it’s the final straw. What’s wrong with her and why can’t she keep a man? 

In between consoling herself with ice cream and chocolate, and sobbing her heart out to her cousin Chamaine, Evie has a brainwave – and it all centers around her ‘little black book’ (well, more floral patterned notebook really) – which contains the details of every man she’s ever kissed or dated. Perhaps the cure for her disastrous love life has been nestled within its pages all along … 

Does Evie’s little black book really hold the answers, or will she learn that exes are exes for a reason? 

My Rating:  

Favorite Quotes:

‘What you need next,’ she declared, ‘is new underwear. I always feel better when I’m wearing really sexy knickers.’ She pulled the top of her pants up over her trousers to show me. I could see what looked like a piece of leopard print string, and I presumed her taste in underwear was a little skimpier than mine. An elderly gentleman on the next table choked on his tea.

‘I like a lot of different types of women.’ That was an understatement. I suspected that Matt and George had very few types of women they didn’t like. ‘But you know what I find most attractive of all in women?’ he asked me. I shook my head, wondering whether he’d be offended if I’d answered with my first response of a vagina and a pulse.

If you want people to notice you, you have to show them that you have something worth noticing.

I wasn’t a pretty crier. My nose was running and I was taking big, heaving gulps of air every few seconds to power the tears. Jake walked to the cupboard, opened it and handed me a huge bar of Dairy Milk. ‘I’m sure Bea won’t mind you raiding her stash,’ he said. ‘This seems like an emergency.’

My Review:

This was a slow moving yet thoughtful and often humorous read that chronicled a woman’s efforts to examine her past to recoup and repair her tattered identity by reaching back to examine what had transpired during and after her previous crushes, attractions, and relationships with men. Much of the narrative is interior as she works through her memories and observations of the past while also dealing with the present and meeting new and more interesting people while learning to trust again. The writing was insightful and observant with frequent lashings of slyly amusing dry wit.

Ms. Pearl had obviously done her research and compiled the easiest and clearest representation of how an intelligent woman would allow herself to be treated in such a heinous and dastardly manner. She nimbly captured the subtleness and myriad nuances of how a woman could gradually be stripped of her identity and self-confidence and allow and even expect mistreatment and subjugation. Evie wasn’t merely trying to understand what went wrong with her previous relationships, she was trying to find who she had been as she had lost herself and no longer trusted her own judgment, and rightly so, she had been decimated. And thanks to Ms. Pearl, my Brit Vocab List now includes stonking – which Mr. Google tells me is something remarkably large or exciting, I like that.   In an effort to utilize a fraction of my newly acquired knowledge I will close this review with a small sampling of what I have gleaned from my sloney and swot reading list… Bloody Nora, I’m not telling porkies when I say my personally culled Brit list is mahoosive and stonking.

Author Bio –

Hannah Pearl was born in East London. She is married with two children and now lives in Cambridge.

She has previously worked as a Criminology researcher at a university in Leicester, as a Development Worker with various charities and even pulled a few pints in her time.

In 2015 she was struck down by Labrynthitis, which left her feeling dizzy and virtually housebound. She has since been diagnosed with ME. Reading has allowed Hannah to escape from the reality of feeling ill. She read upwards of three hundred books during the first year of her illness. When her burgeoning ereader addiction grew to be too expensive, she decided to have a go at writing. In 2017 she won Simon and Schuster’s Books and the City #heatseeker short story competition, in partnership with Heat magazine, for her short story The Last Good Day.

Hannah is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.

Blog – dizzygirlwrites.wordpress.com 

Twitter – https://twitter.com/HannahPearl_1

Giveaway

 Win 2 x set of floral notebook, pen, book locket necklace and chocolate (Open Internationally)

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway