Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: Stuck On You by Portia MacIntosh @rararesources @PortiaMacIntosh @BoldwoodBooks

Stuck On You
by Portia MacIntosh

 

Amazon / B&N / GP/

Could a post-it note really lead to love…?

Sadie doesn’t have time for finding love. She’s too busy as PA for famous artist Damian Banks. When she’s not arranging exhibitions, she’s organising his dry cleaning or dumping his never ending stream of girlfriends.

But when she strikes up an unusual friendship with her desk share buddy, she finds a confidante and a new potential love interest. Problem is, they’ve never actually met…

With Christmas just around the corner, can Sadie put herself first for a change and find what she’s been looking for all along?

The brand new romantic comedy from top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntosh. Perfect for fans of Sophie Ranald, Mhairi McFarlane and Zara Stoneley.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Break-ups must always be done in person, that’s just the way it is –they should probably make it the law, which might sound extreme, but I’m sure it would cut down on a whole host of angry follow-up crimes.

 

… she really is a Karen. A middle-aged boomer with a can-I-speak-to-the-manager haircut who has lots of opinions about lots of things but none of them feel all that well thought out

 

‘Good morning,’I say brightly as I walk through the main office. There are murmurs of greetings from the troops but, honestly, I could burst into flames and the most they would probably do is move their plants and crack a window. I will not miss this bunch of miseries at all.

 

I squeal in such a high pitch I’m sure only dogs and Mariah Carey can hear me.

 

My Review:

 

This was a delightful introduction to the highly engaging wit and lively humor of Portia MacIntosh, and I’m outraged at myself for not having noticed her cleverly amusing and winsome arrangements of words before. It was so enjoyable I want to read her entire listing while hoping for more of the same. Apparently she has been beavering away with seventeen delectable books to her credit while in the meantime, I have obviously been distracted by any manner of shiny objects or pounding sand.

Stuck On You was written from the first-person POV of Sadie, a frustrated PA who was secretly seeking greener pastures away from her tediously demanding celebrity boss.   This was pleasurable reading and I adored these quirky characters as much if not more than the entertaining storylines they inhabited. The writing style was wily and clever with keenly humorous insights, breezy inner musings, and snarky observations. I have a new author to fangirl and zoom to the top of my Favorites List.

 

About the Author

Portia MacIntosh is a bestselling romantic comedy author of 12 novels, including It’s Not You, It’s Them and Honeymoon For One. Previously a music journalist, Portia writes hilarious stories, drawing on her real life experiences.

Social Media Links –

Newsletter sign up: http://bit.ly/PortiaMacIntoshNewsletter

https://portiamacintosh.com/

https://www.facebook.com/macintoshportia

https://twitter.com/PortiaMacIntosh

http://instagram.com/portiamacintoshauthor

http://bookbub.com/authors/portia-macintosh

 

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Book Review: First Girl Gone (Charlotte Winters #1) by L.T. Vargus & Tim McBain,  #FirstGirlGone #LTVargus #TimMcBain @Bookouture #NetGalley

 

First Girl Gone
(Charlotte Winters #1)
by L.T. Vargus & Tim McBain 

 

Down the beach, she can just make out the rusting hulk of the Ferris wheel through the dawn mist. The hairs prickle on her neck as she drags her focus back to the chestnut hair fanned out in the shallow water at her feet, to the grains of sand decorating the beautiful girl’s white cheeks like freckles.

Detective Charlie Winters never thought she’d find herself back on Salem Island, but she’s forced home re-open the wound that never healed: her sister was abducted from the small town when they were teenagers. But now a family friend needs her help to find her missing daughter, Kara.

Searching Kara’s messy, poster-covered bedroom, Charlie finds more questions than answers. Did Kara run away, or was she snatched? She’s clearly been keeping secrets from her family—but don’t all teenagers?

A little black matchbook hidden in a jewelry box is Charlie’s only lead, but the seedy nightclub it comes from proves to be nothing but a dangerous dead end. Until Charlie is approached by a second distraught mother whose daughter has also vanished.

Forced at every turn to relive the trauma she ran away from, Charlie’s blood runs cold when a girl’s body is discovered in the exact spot on the water’s edge where the last trace of her sister was found. It’s clear someone is taunting Charlie, but with other innocent girls’ lives at risk, she has no choice but to take the bait…

An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller that will leave you gasping for breath. Fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni, and Lisa Regan will need to sleep with the lights on!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

So… Misty Dawkins… She got fat… See? That’s why I’m never having kids… You pop out some crotch fruit, and your hips and thighs stay doughy until the end of time.

 

He’d lost so much weight, and the lack of hair and eyebrows only added to the frail appearance. He looked withered and gaunt. Like a tree that someone forgot to water.

 

His hulking figure looked, in this moment, very apelike. Between his oddly animal posture and the unkempt beard crawling so high on his cheeks, Charlie couldn’t help but think of him as a man about halfway through the transition to werewolf.

 

It strikes me that a lot of us live in a sort of echo chamber these days. We surround ourselves with people who agree with us on everything— politics, art, entertainment.

 

But you don’t know what it was like growing up next door to him. He was like Bart Simpson. One time, he melted a hole in one of my Barbie dolls with a magnifying glass.

 

My Review:

 

This was a ripper of a series opener; I will be camping out on the authors’ pages to make sure I don’t miss the subsequent installments. I am hooked, ensnared, addicted, and infatuated with these clever and conniving wordsmiths as well as their oddly appealing and unusual quirky characters.   I do loves me a kickass chick with clever snark, and this book had two.

The writing was easy to fall into with storylines that intrigued, beguiled, and taunted the little pea in my brain to immediately begin to conjure theories. I was so smug in believing I had easily solved the case with my initial suspect being the villain. But, nooooo. These wily authors had outmaneuvered me and I had fallen for their trickery. How have I not read these prolific scribblers before? They seem to be like potato chips as now that I’ve had a taste of their salty goodness, I must have more.

About the Author

L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain are the authors of the Violet Darger series and The Scattered and the Dead
series among others, which have collectively tallied over
a million downloads. Their book, Dead End Girl, peaked at #3 in the US Kindle charts an

d has remained in the top 10 in multiple sub-categories since it was published in 2017.  

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Book Review: A Witness to Murder (A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #3) by Verity Bright, @BrightVerity, @bookouture

A Witness to Murder
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery #3)
by Verity Bright

Amazon / B&N 

A medieval house, a dead body, and some rather suspicious chocolate fudge? Call for Lady Swift!

Autumn, 1920. Lady Eleanor Swift, accidental amateur detective, and retired explorer, is determined to take a break from investigating murders. So when a local politician dies suddenly at an elegant dinner party at Farrington Manor, she tries her hardest not to listen to the raft of rumors around the village that he might have been poisoned by the fudge. It’s the anniversary of the disappearance of her beloved parents and she’s promised herself not to get mixed up with any more mysteries. She isn’t sure they’d have approved.

But when she arrives home to discover that Mrs. Pitkin, the kindly cook from Farrington Manor, has been dismissed without wage or reference because the police consider her a suspect, Eleanor knows she needs to act. If there was a murder, then she needs to track down the culprit and clear Mrs. Pitkin’s name.

Accompanied by her faithful partner in crime, Gladstone the bulldog, who has the best nose for sniffing out bones in the country, Eleanor sets out to find the killer. And when another body turns up and she finds poisoned fudge in the victim’s house, Eleanor knows she’s on the right track. But can she sort the truth from the lies before she becomes a witness to another murder – this time rather closer to home?

An utterly charming cozy mystery! Warm and witty, fans of Agatha Christie, TE Kinsey, and LB Hathaway will be totally hooked.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

As we say in the valleys, everything you have in this world is just borrowed for a short time.

 

…have you seen a fish hooked out of water and hurled three miles inland? Because that would be me trying to make it in the murky world of politics. Bad smell and all.

 

‘…my thoughts are now burning like acid. Clifford, what would you call indigestion of the mind?’ ‘Cerebral dyspepsia, my lady?’

 

You, Lady Swift, are all class. Which class, I’m not honestly sure.

 

My Review:

 

I am totally enamored and fully ensconced in the vastly entertaining and intriguing cozy mystery setting of Verity Bright’s Lady Swift series. A Witness to Murder is number three in this refreshingly crisp series which I hope continues into perpetuity. Each book has been a relaxing and pleasurable perusal of wry humor, engaging storylines, and an endearing and oddly compelling cast of characters, and this one even more so. Lady Swift finds herself nose deep in an unofficial murder investigation while also attempting to campaign for local politics, both were unexpected activities which she finds to be surprisingly and dishearteningly perplexing and strewn with countless roadblocks.

Each delightful installment in this series seems to be even more elegantly written than the last and feel as well-crafted and aesthetically complete as a well-produced program of Masterpiece Theater with more than one curiosity teasing mystery to be solved, clever humor, and brain twitching thoughts and vernacular of the times. I adore Lady Swift and her ever observant and well-connected butler and am already fervently awaiting the arrival of her next adventure.

About the Author

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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: The Road to Delano by John DeSimone, @tlcbooktours, @rarebirdlit, @johndesimone1969.

The Road to Delano
by John DeSimone

Amazon / B & N  / Rare Bird Books / GP/ Apple 

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Rare Bird Books (March 10, 2020)

Jack Duncan is a high school senior whose dream is to play baseball in college and beyond, as far away from Delano as possible. He longs to escape the political turmoil surrounding the labor struggles of the striking fieldworkers that infests his small ag town. Ever since his father, a grape grower, died under suspicious circumstances ten years earlier, he’s had to be the sole emotional support of his mother, who has kept secrets from him about his father’s involvement in the ongoing labor strife.

With their property on the verge of a tax sale, Jack drives an old combine into town to sell it so he and his mother don’t become homeless. On the road, an old friend of his father’s shows up and hands him the police report indicating Jack’s father was murdered. Jack is compelled to dig deep to discover the entire truth, which throws him into the heart of the corruption endemic in the Central Valley. Everything he has dreamed of is at stake if he can’t control his impulse for revenge.

While Jack’s girlfriend, the intelligent and articulate Ella, warns him not to so anything to jeopardize their plans of moving to L.A., after graduation, Jack turns to his best friend, Adrian, a star player on the team, to help to save his mother’s land. When Jack’s efforts to rescue a stolen piece of farm equipment leaves Adrian, the son of a boycotting fieldworker who works closely with Cesar Chavez, in a catastrophic situation, Jack must bail his friend out of his dilemma before it ruins his future prospects. Jack uses his wits, his acumen at card-playing, and his boldness to raise the money to spring his friend, who has been transformed by his jail experience.

The Road to Delano is the path Jack, Ella, and Adrian must take to find their strength, their duty, their destiny.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Coach never yelled. He just stared at that empty space above a boy’s head as if he were wondering what kind of torture would produce one ounce of common sense in the teenager’s brain.

 

It’s one thing to be poor. It’s another thing to be forced into poverty by men who don’t care that we’re human beings.

 

He plays like a turkey before Thanksgiving.

 

My Review:

 

This was my introduction to John DeSimone and I found his storytelling to be absorbing and deeply insightful. He implanted me so thoroughly in his tale I felt the scorching heat as well as tasted the bitterness of the times in my mouth. I was vaguely aware of Cesar Chavez as a child of the ’70s, although as a white child, his name was not spoken reverently in my parents’ home and as was typical, so often paired with several unflattering slurs that I likely thought it was part of the man’s name.   Embarrassing true story, and it happened more than once.

The storylines were well-crafted, profoundly perceptive, distressingly realistic, and adroitly captured the tumultuousness of the period as well as the unfettered arrogance, assumed privilege, blatant corruption, and abuse of power enjoyed at all levels. I remember gaining that same sense of staggering epiphany and awareness of the unfairness and hypocritical inhumanity experienced by the teenaged characters as if waking up to the not so well kept secret as a naïve and poorly informed bumpkin, and marveling at how entire communities silently allowed it to not only continue but to flourish.

John DeSimone’s powerful and emotive word choices hit all the feels and a sharp punch to the gut while reminding me of that oh, so, uncomfortable time. I found myself deeply invested in this hauntingly unsettling tale and fearful for all the characters as I knew it wasn’t going to end well for anyone. And along the way, I was well-schooled on baseball, card-playing, and grape growing in the most interesting fashion.  Anyone who can get to me like that deserves far more than 5-Stars.

About the Author

John DeSimone is a published writer, novelist, and teacher. He’s been an adjunct professor and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. His recent co-authored books include Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan (Little A Publishers), and Courage to Say No by Dr. Raana Mahmood, about her struggles against sexual exploitation as a female physician in Karachi. His published novel Leonardo’s Chair published in 2005.

In 2012, he won a prestigious Norman Mailer Fellowship to complete his most recent historical novel, Road to Delano. His novels Leonardo’s Chair and No Ordinary Man have received critical recognition.

He works with select clients to write stories of inspiration and determination and with those who have a vital message to bring to the marketplace of ideas in well-written books.

Find out more about John at his website, and connect with him on Instagram.

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Book Review: Love at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea (The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea #5) by Jane Linfoot @janelinfoot @rararesources

 

Love at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea
(The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea #5)
by Jane Linfoot

St Aidan: a cozy Cornish village where friendships are made for life and it’s always cocktail hour somewhere…

‘A pure delight’ Debbie Johnson

Return to your favorite little wedding shop by the sea for love, laughter, and a romance to sweep you off your feet!

It’s the most romantic day of the year but the girls aren’t just gearing up for Valentine’s Day and a busy wedding season ahead, it’s also the 10 year anniversary of their beloved shop!

Jess is planning the party of the decade and with the champagne and cocktails flowing, sparks are going to fly…and not just from the fireworks display!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I know if Ben were the last guy in the world on a desert island, I’d actually have to make a boat and leave. And that’s saying a lot from me, who came bottom of the class in woodwork.

 

‘…we’re desperate for your input with the Faceplant side.’ Poppy stifles a smile. ‘That’s Jess’s affectionate name for Facebook.’

 

Once your eyes are open to the possibilities of super-hot, lukewarm doesn’t get a look in.

 

Nic’s young-at-heart Great Auntie Di was very grateful for the sewing kit in the emergency basket I had tucked away in the downstairs cloakroom. A few stitches and some safety pin reinforcement was all it took to make her look like an on-trend seventy-nine-year-old again, rather than a teenager on the pull.

 

It could have been worse, at least they weren’t playing naked Twister.

 

My Review:

 

Jane Linfoot has become one of my favorite people, she is certain to be my favorite person of the month, as I adored this book from beginning to end. The storylines were entertaining as well as insightfully observant and cleverly amusing while her character development was simply stellar. I reveled in their banter and thoughtfulness of each other. I admired Milla’s evolution and smirked at her propensity for creating a bit of chaos as she appears to be more than a bit of a Calamity Jane and destined to be plagued with funny little disasters, despite her best efforts and good intentions.   These were endearing and lovable people whom I would enjoy spending time with and knowing well. I look forward to delving into this series again and again for more antics and bridal adventures to keep Poppy’s busy eyebrow wagging.

About the Author

I write fun, flirty fiction, with feisty heroines, and lots of heart. Writing is fab because I get to wear pretty shoes instead of wellies. I live in a cottage up a mountain road in Derbyshire, where my family and pets are kind enough to ignore the domestic chaos. Happily, we’re within walking distance of a supermarket. I love hearts, flowers, happy endings, all things vintage, most things french. When I’m not on facebook, and can’t find an excuse for shopping, I’ll be walking, or gardening. On days when I want to be really scared, I ride a tandem.

Social Media Links – Follow Jane on Twitter @janelinfoot, or find her on her Author Page on Facebook. She’s also on Instagram, and has lots of Pinterest boards relating to her novels.

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Book Review: One Left Alive (Detective Morgan Brookes #1) by Helen Phifer

 

One Left Alive
(Detective Morgan Brookes #1)
by Helen Phifer

Amazon / B&N / Apple / GP/ Kobo

 She knelt down by the side of the first girl. She had to force herself to breathe as she lifted the soft white cloth covering the girl’s beautiful face…

When the body of a woman is found hanging from a tree in her front garden, rookie Detective Morgan Brookes is first on the scene. But Olivia Potter is past saving. And when her husband and daughters cannot be traced, Morgan knows there is more to this tragedy. And then she finds them. Lying huddled together in the dark basement, each of their faces covered with a small cotton cloth, their bodies cold to the touch.But as Morgan kneels beside the family, she realizes that one of the girls is still breathing. As she holds Bronte’s fragile hand in hers, begging her to hold on, she vows to find out who has done this.

Every day Morgan wakes at 4.25 a.m., her old insomnia now mixed with a new fixation on the case. But every clue about the murdered family leads to a dead end. Until, trawling through old files, she discovers a link to a cold case from years ago. Another family was murdered in this house, and the killer was never caught.

When Morgan returns to the scene of the crime to discover more about this forgotten case, she finds another body. With Bronte still unconscious in the hospital, Morgan must act fast to solve this case and lay two families to rest, before the killer returns for the girl left alive…

A chilling and gripping crime thriller that will have fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, and Patricia Gibney glued to the page.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She remembered what it was like to be a teenager all too well; you never accepted anything an adult offered. God, was that what she was now: an adult? It was strange to think that she was probably only five or six years older than him, yet here she was trying to solve the murder of his girlfriend’s family.

 

If you ask me, she was already dead when they did that. Awful thing to do, vile. It’s like killing her twice; once wasn’t enough so they did it all over again.

 

What had her life come to getting relationship advice from a doctor who only worked with dead people?… ‘I have to go; I’m not used to being around so many living souls, it’s not good for my chakras.’

 

‘It’s not like on the television, is it?’ Amy spat crumbs of brownie all over herself, almost choking on the laughter which erupted. ‘No, it definitely is not. We don’t manage to solve the crimes in an hour.’

 

My Review:

 

 

An excellent start to a new series, and I plan to be following every one of their riveting cases if they are all as absorbing and well-crafted as this one. I’m rather new to police procedurals but I enjoyed the deft storytelling and complex characters on both sides of the law. The case was cannily layered and well-nuanced with compelling side stories and welcome hits of humor and humanity to balance the emotional tone.   I respected these people as well as their process and look forward to solving more conundrums with them, as well as seeing how well they rub along together in future endeavors.

About the Author

Helen Phifer lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children.

Helen has always loved writing and reading. Her love of horror films and novels is legendary. Helen adores reading books which make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Unable to find enough scary stories to read she decided to write her own.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Helenphifer1

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

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/helenphifer1

Website:     https://www.helenphifer.com

 

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Book Review: The Country Escape by Jane Lovering

 

The Country Escape
by Jane Lovering

Amazon US / UK /  B&N / Google

Welcome to the idyllic country retreat of Christmas Steepleton, and let Jane Lovering whisk you away with the most heart-warming, romantic and comforting read of the year.

Leaving London and her ex-husband Luc behind, Katie and her 14-year-old daughter Poppy move into their very own, very ramshackle cottage near the village of Christmas Steepleton on the Dorset coast. 

Harvest Cottage has been unloved for many years, so the job of bringing it back to life is a slow and expensive one. So, with funds running low, Katie jumps at the chance when a film company asks to use the cottage as a location.  But even as things are looking up, as harvest time passes and autumn chill starts to bite, the prospect of a cold winter in the country is daunting.

Some light relief comes from new friend Gabriel, so different from Katie’s exuberant but arrogant ex Luc. Will their friendship blossom into something more romantic, or will the reality of a tough country winter send her and Poppy scurrying back to the comforts of town? 

Let Jane Lovering spirit you away to the perfect country escape, far away from the bustle of the city. Just right for fans of Emma Burstall, Fern Britton and Kate Forster.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… living with a fourteen-year-old gave a whole new insight into exactly how phoney people could be, although teenagers weren’t truly ‘people’ yet, more ‘humans in training ’.

 

… there’s not much of a dating pool round here. More of a puddle!

 

You’re the first woman to make me feel that I haven’t wasted my life making quilts and learning to crochet rather than strutting bare-chested down the street with power tools strapped to my body.

 

The other two men were just standing staring at Gabriel as though he’d suddenly ripped his clothes off to display Jean-Claude van Damme under his coat… Karen’s mouth fell open and the cocktail cherry dropped out.

 

I never knew bullies kept on being bullies when they were grown up… I thought you grew out of being a shithead like you grow out of wanting a fringe and sucking your thumb.

 

They looked a bit shocked and I realised that this was Poppy’s first exposure to a properly poorly person. My mother, despite her aches, pains and general incessant complaints, was fit and well and her grand -mère had the air of one who had had herself embalmed at the age of seventy to save time later.

 

My Review:

 

While continuing with my adoration of Jane Lovering (and I am totally enamored now), I giggle-snorted and smirked my way through this highly amusing tale, and will be honest and say I also barked a few times at the keen visuals and humorous imagery this talented wordsmith painted with her clever arrangements of words. Her crafty wordplay and impressive vocabulary skills rival Webster’s, although I believe he had a lot of help in amassing his.

The storylines were fresh and engaging and populated with an interesting mix of uniquely peculiar yet oddly intriguing characters, as well as a profoundly obnoxious teen named Poppy who was greatly annoying and had me wanting to glue her lips together.   Poppy could be the poster child for birth control and the prime example of why many Brits send their offspring to boarding school. But of course, I was a total delight at age fourteen.

About the Author

Jane Lovering is the bestselling and award-winning romantic comedy writer who won the RNA Novel of the Year Award in 2012 with Please Don’t Stop the Music. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.

Social Media Links –

Twitter Profile: @janelovering

Facebook Profile: Jane Lovering Author

Website URL: www.janelovering.co.uk

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jane-lovering

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Book Review: When I Was You by Amber Garza

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When I Was You
by Amber Garza 

Publication Date: August 25, 2020

Publisher: MIRA Books

 

YOU meets FATAL ATTRACTION in this up-all-night psychological thriller about a lonely empty-nester’s growing obsession with a young mother who shares her name.

It all begins on an ordinary fall morning, when Kelly Medina gets a call from her son’s pediatrician to confirm her upcoming “well-baby” appointment. It’s a cruel mistake; her son left for college a year ago, and Kelly has never felt so alone. The receptionist quickly apologizes: there’s another mother in town named Kelly Medina, and she must have gotten their numbers switched.

But Kelly can’t stop thinking about the woman who shares her name. Lives in her same town. Has a son she can still hold, and her whole life ahead of her. She can’t help looking for her: at the grocery store, at the gym, on social media. When Kelly just happens to bump into the single mother outside that pediatrician’s office, it’s simple curiosity getting the better of her.

Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose, taking care of this young woman and her adorable baby boy. But that friendship quickly turns to obsession, and when one Kelly disappears, well, the other one may know why.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Lola was my best friend growing up. She had strawberry blond hair, and a smattering of freckles across her nose and pale cheeks. Her scent was a mixture of roses and popcorn, sweet and salty to match her personality. She was fun, adventurous and followed me around for years like my shadow. She was the best friend I’d ever had, which is sad because she was imaginary.

 

I shook my head. What was wrong with me? I was seriously trying to justify this? This wasn’t me. I’d never done anything like this in my life. Well, I mean, except that one time… But that was different. Completely different. Besides, I hadn’t been in my right mind then. I couldn’t use that same excuse tonight.

 

My insides were jelly. A part of me felt like I might unravel, becoming nothing more than a scattered mess on the floor.

 

My Review:

 

I don’t normally enjoy books with unreliable narrators and/or serious mental health issues, but this one was truly extraordinary and expertly done with cunning and clever craft.   What a wily minx Amber Garza has proven herself to be! Hours later, my shoulders are still in my ears from the ever-ratcheting tension as I clutched my Kindle in a death grip lest someone dare snatch it from me and disturb my perusal.

I was enthralled, engrossed, ensnared, appalled, riveted, and transfixed by this devilishly clever and twisted tale.   The little pea in my brain was on fire and popping like a jumping bean with continuously evolving theories. And while I had succeeded in narrowing much of it down – as I am such as suspicious cynic – my paltry gray matter could never have generated or shaped such a complex web or even approach her agile and compelling prose. Sigh. It was brilliant!

About the Author

Amber Garza has had a passion for the written word since she was a child making books out of notebook paper and staples. Her hobbies include reading and singing. Coffee and wine are her drinks of choice (not necessarily in that order). She writes while blaring music and talks about her characters like they’re real people. She lives with her husband and two kids in Folsom, California, which is—no joke—home to another Amber Garza.

Author Website: http://www.ambergarza.com/

TWITTER: @ambermg1

FB: @ambergarzaauthor

Insta: @ambergarzaauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5582891.Amber_Garza

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Book Review: And So It Begins (Stephanie King #1) by Rachel Abbott

 

And So It Begins
(Stephanie King #1)
by Rachel Abbott 

Amazon  / B&N

‘A truly compelling, twisty, enthralling and satisfying read… Absolutely AMAZING!’ Angela Marsons, #1 bestselling author of Silent Scream

When I met Mark, I knew I had to make him mine. Thoughtful and sensitive, Mark lived in the most breath-taking house I’d ever seen – all glass and perched on the clifftop, with mesmerizing views across the waves below. It was where his first wife had died tragically, but it would be our promising new start.

When our gorgeous daughter Lulu was born, our perfect life was complete. But then I started having accidents at home. A broken hand… a black eye… Mark’s sister thought I was doing it for attention, but she had no idea how scared I was of who I had become.

If I told you what my life with Mark has turned into, I doubt you would believe it. But I need you to listen because you’re the only hope Lulu and I have left. And if I can make you see the truth, then maybe there’s a chance I can save my precious daughter…

A book so twisty you won’t be able to put it down. From the four-million-copy bestselling author, And So It Begins is an absolutely gripping read for fans of The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I think we’ve both given up pretending we can be friends. We have reached a point at which we manage to say all the right words to each other, but they are hollow – the fancy wrapping paper around an empty box.

 

There was something about the way she had related the story of her accident to Cleo that hadn’t rung true, and for just seconds Cleo had experienced a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as if she was being dropped from a great height.

 

 My Review:

 

This is a prime example of how a thriller should be written – it was perfectly sublime! The premise was unique and original with cunningly crafted and shrewdly paced storylines. I fell right into this riveting tale while my beloved Kindle thrummed with tension.   The narrative vibrated with intrigue that wafted off the compelling and complex characters. There were so many well-nuanced and grinding secrets. I was on edge with unsure footing, waffling back and forth in my theories, and hissing at every interruption to my perusal.   It was divine and my first exposure to the exceptionally agile and insightful storytelling of Rachel Abbott.   I have but two words to sum up my final thoughts on the experience – MORE, please!

About the Author

 

Rachel Abbott was born just outside Manchester, England, and spent most of her working life as the Managing Director of an interactive media company. After her company was sold in 2000, she fulfilled a lifelong ambition of buying and restoring a property in Italy. She now splits her time between homes in Italy and Alderney, where she writes full time and has just completed her sixth novel.

Author Social Media Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachelAbbott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelAbbott1Writer/

Website: https://www.rachel-abbott.com/

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Book Review: Fragments of Light by Michele Phoenix

Fragments of Light
by Michele Phoenix

Amazon / B&N / GP/ Apple

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An impossible decision in the chaos of D-Day. Ripples that cascade seventy-five years into the present. And two lives transformed by the tenuous resolve to reach out of the darkness toward fragments of light.

Cancer stole everything from Ceelie—her peace of mind, her self-image, perhaps even her twenty-three-year marriage to her college sweetheart, Nate. Without the support of Darlene, her quirky elderly friend, she may not have been able to endure so much loss.

So when Darlene’s prognosis turns dire, Ceelie can’t refuse her seemingly impossible request—to find a WWII paratrooper named Cal, the father who disappeared when Darlene was an infant, leaving a lifetime of desolation in his wake.

The search that begins in the farmlands of Missouri eventually leads Ceelie to a small town in Normandy, where she uncovers the harrowing tale of the hero who dropped off-target into occupied France.

Alternating between Cal’s D-Day rescue by two young French sisters and Ceelie’s present-day journey through trial and heartbreak, Fragments of Light poses a timeless question: When life becomes unbearable, will you press toward the light or let the darkness win?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Every year—every year—I tell myself that it’s just a routine check… and that millions of women go through this without anything bad coming of it, but still … I sit in this room that’s clearly designed for optimism and calm, and it’s all I can do not to write an obituary in my mind.

 

Truly good men are as rare as rocking horse poo

 

“He’s not much of a talker, but he sure looks out for people.” A sad sort of envy hummed somewhere in the back of my mind. “You’re a very fortunate woman,” I said. “I know that now.” She laughed. “Didn’t always, mind you. But all these years later, when the frustrating stuff has settled into normal, it’s easier to see the treasure in the trash.”

 

“Pulled a Casper.” When I looked at her in confusion, she added, “Ghosted you. But not in a friendly way.”

 

When I was little and things would frustrate me, she’d tell me to give time the time it needs.

 

My Review:

 

This was an intensely emotive and heartrending tale that intertwined two narrations until they slowly and thoughtfully merged near the conclusion. The writing was staggeringly insightful and bruised my heart but I fell right into the shifting sands and curiously evocative and compelling nuances of both timelines, one a harrowing period in history and life-altering experiences for a young GI during WWII, and the other a distressing and devastating turn of events for a cancer survivor in modern times. Connected by a gossamer-thin thread being the vibrantly colorful and spirited character of Darlene, who was the relative of one and friend to the other, and who happened to be my favorite above all others. She was a colorful and spry little septuagenarian dynamo and what I aspire to be at any age.

Terrible things happened to good people in both soul-stirring narratives and I was engaged in their tale and as eager as the characters to unravel several maddening dead-end mysteries as well as the complicated connubial questions and issues in the current timeline.   Their issues were often painfully raw, keenly plotted, and shrewdly paced while keeping the curiosity primed.   Michele Phoenix is an agile and deft storyteller.

About the Author

Born in France to a Canadian father and an American mother, Michèle Phoenix is a consultant, writer, and speaker with a heart for Third Culture Kids. She taught for 20 years at Black Forest Academy (Germany) before launching her own advocacy venture under Global Outreach Mission. Michèle travels globally to consult and teach on topics related to this unique people group. She loves good conversations, mischievous students, Marvel movies and paths to healing.

 

Connect with Michele

Website | Twitter