Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

Resistance Women
by Jennifer Chiaverini

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

 B&N / HarperCollins

Paperback: 640 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 4, 2020)

One of BookBub’s best historical novels of the year and Oprah magazine’s buzziest books of the month.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, an enthralling historical saga that recreates the danger, romance, and sacrifice of an era and brings to life one courageous, passionate American—Mildred Fish Harnack—and her circle of women friends who waged a clandestine battle against Hitler in Nazi Berlin.

After Wisconsin graduate student Mildred Fish marries brilliant German economist Arvid Harnack, she accompanies him to his German homeland, where a promising future awaits. In the thriving intellectual culture of 1930s Berlin, the newlyweds create a rich new life filled with love, friendships, and rewarding work—but the rise of a malevolent new political faction inexorably changes their fate.

As Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party wield violence and lies to seize power, Mildred, Arvid, and their friends resolve to resist. Mildred gathers intelligence for her American contacts, including Martha Dodd, the vivacious and very modern daughter of the US ambassador. Her German friends, aspiring author Greta Kuckoff and literature student Sara Weitz, risk their lives to collect information from journalists, military officers, and officials within the highest levels of the Nazi regime.

For years, Mildred’s network stealthily fights to bring down the Third Reich from within. But when Nazi radio operatives detect an errant Russian signal, the Harnack resistance cell is exposed, with fatal consequences.

Inspired by actual events, Resistance Women is an enthralling, unforgettable story of ordinary people determined to resist the rise of evil, sacrificing their own lives and liberty to fight injustice and defend the oppressed.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Darling, you must never become accustomed to the extraordinary and the outrageous. If you do, little by little you’ll learn to accept anything.

 

Scapegoating Jews – or Communists, Poles, women, immigrants – was the refuge of the lazy, envious, and unimaginative. It made the world an ugly hostile place to live in and did nothing to solve any actual problems. She would rather be solitary than count bigots as her friends.

 

I used to think the rise of the Nazis was about politics.   I don’t anymore… It’s something deeper, more sinister, going well beyond mere racial prejudice. The German people are desperately ill with some dread malady of the soul… Think of it. An entire nation has become infected with an ever-present hatred and fear, twisting and blighting all human relations.

 

She knew before the doctors confirmed it that she had lost the child. She imagined that she had felt the tiny soul leaving her, letting go with a gentle, wistful sigh as if to say it had already learned enough of the world to know it dared not linger.

 

 

My Review:

 

This six hundred page book was arduous reading but well worth the effort. It was an epic saga involving four vastly different women’s intersecting stories while living, struggling, and risking their lives to exist in Berlin during the 1930s and ’40s. The tale spanned almost two horrific decades of sadistic and insidious Nazi brutality and ingenious cruelty during Hitler’s unfettered rise and ruthless abuse of power leading up to and during WWII. Based on fact and embellished with fiction it was poignant, disheartening, heartbreaking, artfully written, intensely emotive, and effusively detailed with vibrant descriptions of each scene. It ruined me. The massive research and attention to detail was profoundly evident and deftly woven into the complex storylines in a remarkably cohesive and thoughtful manner. This was my first experience of the devastating and evocative skill set of Jennifer Chiaverini, I – am – in – awe.

About the Author

Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of several acclaimed historical novels and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin.

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

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Book Review: Last Day by Luanne Rice

 

Last Day
by Luanne Rice

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N 

From celebrated New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice comes a riveting story of a seaside community shaken by a violent crime and a tragic loss.

Years ago, Beth Lathrop and her sister Kate suffered what they thought would be the worst tragedy of their lives the night both the famous painting Moonlight and their mother were taken. The detective assigned to the case, Conor Reid, swore to protect the sisters from then on.

Beth moved on, throwing herself fully into the art world, running the family gallery, and raising a beautiful daughter with her husband Pete. Kate, instead, retreated into herself and took to the skies as a pilot, always on the run. When Beth is found strangled in her home, and Moonlight goes missing again, Detective Reid can’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

Reid immediately suspects Beth’s husband, whose affair is a poorly kept secret. He has an airtight alibi—but he also has a motive, and the evidence seems to point to him. Kate and Reid, along with the sisters’ closest childhood friends, struggle to make sense of Beth’s death, but they only find more questions: Who else would have wanted Beth dead? What’s the significance of Moonlight?

Twenty years ago, Reid vowed to protect Beth and Kate—and he’s failed. Now solving the case is turning into an obsession . . .

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He always thought of his first encounter with a homicide victim as two people meeting. An encounter every bit as important in death as it would have been in life, as revelatory as a conversation— in some ways more so.

 

She had the feeling she might fall off the world. Everything felt dangerous; she wasn’t sure her skin could hold her bones and blood and heart inside.

 

She was the crème brûlée of mothers: hard shell on the outside, total mush on the inside.

 

Every few weeks the morgue was called here to remove a body—mostly overdoses, some accidental and some suicides. The walls were soaked with the sadness of lonely people drinking themselves to death in their small rooms.

 

Surreptitiously, on the side Lulu couldn’t see, Scotty grabbed the roll of fat around her waist. The old commercial used to say if you could pinch more than an inch you needed to eat their cereal and get into shape. Scotty could pinch half a foot.

 

My Review:

 

Brilliantly conceived, cunningly plotted, diabolically crafted, shrewdly paced, and skillfully written. This book was da bomb! I was taut with tension with my shoulders in my ears and so sure I knew who had killed Beth, but, silly me, I was – so – very – wrong! This was my introduction to the skilled and breathtaking art form found in the wordcraft of Luanne Rice. I was enthralled, riveted, confounded, and ensorcelled. Ms. Rice was obviously gifted by the fairies of lexicon with mad skills. Her word voodoo is strong. I am her newest and most ardent fangirl.

About the Author

Luanne Rice is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-three novels including CLOUD NINE, BEACH GIRLS, and THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF SISTER. LAST DAY will be out in February 2020. Five of her books have been made into movies and mini-series, many have been New York Times bestsellers and two of her pieces have been featured in off-Broadway theatre productions. She lives on the Connecticut shoreline.

Connect with Luanne

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Book Review, Giveaway: Killing Them With Kindness by Andy Paulcroft

Killing Them With Kindness
by Andy Paulcroft

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

Deirdre Cossette is the self-appointed carer for the elderly on The Avenue and all of her friends have stories to tell. Margery, whose comfortable life was destroyed by a knock on the door. Stan, who made a mistake as a young footballer which cost him his friends and his self-respect. Marina, whose slim and stylish figure hides a terrible secret from the summer of Live Aid. And, Oliver and Archie, who have survived everything from post-war homophobia to a family tragedy – and they have done it together. Deirdre believes that everyone should have a choice. If they want to live on a diet of cakes, drink the alcoholic equivalent of a small hydrotherapy pool, or take on a toy boy lover in spite of a dodgy heart, Deirdre believes it is their right to do so. If they remember her in their wills afterward, that’s not her fault, is it? However, not everyone agrees with her. When disgruntled relatives from the present meet up with disgruntled ghosts from her past, Deirdre discovers the cost of being kind.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… the door opened and the reason behind the little car’s lethargy was revealed. An enormous woman unfurled herself from the interior in the manner of an elephant escaping from a phone box.

 

‘Oh, look at them.’ Deirdre sighed as she stared from the window. ‘They have the faces of two beautiful gondoliers, and yet their souls are more akin to a bad case of gonorrhoea.’

 

Godfrey tutted. ‘This is most unfortunate,’ he said, ‘I hoped you would be able to see sense without my legal team becoming involved.’ His ‘legal team’ was actually a solicitor with questionable qualifications and the rumour of a prison record. He operated from a cabin near the old gasworks in the town where they lived, but Godfrey thought that the terminology sounded grander. To actually employ a legal team would have cost money… To him, spending money was like performing karaoke. It was something that other people did while you favoured them with a pitying look and a snide remark.

 

While Deirdre loved people, she also liked her own privacy. She turned the neglected collection of old stones into her own version of a fairy tale cottage, camouflaged by trees and only stumbled upon by ramblers if they had a faulty GPS and no natural sense of direction.

 

My Review:

 

I adored every word of this wryly penned and cunningly crafted missive. Each page was shot through with brain-tickling levity and diabolically clever wit. I was staggered, mesmerized, thoroughly entertained, and completely awed to realize that is was only the author’s second book. I had reams of favorite quotes and nearly perished with the pain of whittling them down for this review. The writing was slyly amusing and engaging storytelling at its best as sharp and vivid visuals were conjured that stayed with me long after I had put my Kindle to rest.

The premise was unusual and highly relevant and while it was exceedingly clever and brilliantly paced, the tale was extremely well-crafted and thoughtfully rendered while sneakily hitting all the feels multiple times.   I gasped, smirked, giggled-snorted, and gleefully laughed aloud in a manner that some might describe as cackling.   Andy Paulcroft is a true artist who paints with the most vibrant of words.

About the Author

Andy Paulcroft grew up in Weston-super-Mare, and his love of books started when he borrowed his sister’s copy of Five Run Away Together and exaggerated a minor illness in order to finish reading it. He has since worked as a chef in France, Switzerland, Corsica and the North Highlands of Scotland before settling as a catering manager at a boarding school in Dorset. After many years of writing two to three chapters of a book before discarding it, he finally published his first novel Postcards From Another Life – in December 2017. The wonderful feeling of completing a novel was only surpassed by receiving a positive reaction from people who had read it. He retired from catering and recently published his second novel Killing Them With Kindness. He is now working on his third book.

Follow Andy

@Andy.Paulcroft (Facebook Page)

https://twitter.com/AndyPaulcroft

Giveaway

Win a signed copy of Killing Them With Kindness (Open INT)

*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: Mercy House by Alena Dillon

Mercy House
by Alena Dillon

HarperCollins | Amazon | B & N

 384 pages
William Morrow Paperbacks (February 11, 2020)

“Never underestimate the power of a group of women. Fierce, thoughtful and dramatic—this is a story of true courage.” —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author

She would stop at nothing to protect the women under her care.

Inside a century-old row house in Brooklyn, renegade Sister Evelyn and her fellow nuns preside over a safe haven for the abused and abandoned. Gruff and indomitable on the surface, warm and wry underneath, little daunts Evelyn, until she receives word that Mercy House will be investigated by Bishop Hawkins, a man with whom she shares a dark history. In order to protect everything they’ve built, the nuns must conceal many of their methods, which are forbidden by the Catholic Church.

Evelyn will go to great lengths to defend all that she loves. She confronts a gang member, defies the church, challenges her own beliefs, and faces her past. She is bolstered by the other nuns and the vibrant, diverse residents of the shelter—Lucia, Mei-Li, Desiree, Esther, and Katrina—whose differences are outweighed by what unites them: they’ve all been broken by men but are determined to rebuild.

Amidst her fight, Evelyn discovers the extraordinary power of mercy and the grace it grants, not just to those who receive it, but to those strong enough to bestow it.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Ever since Evelyn entered the convent fifty years ago and was required to rise with the sun, she worshipped sleep like it was a false god.

 

She’d never been to Rome, she’d never met the current Pontiff, and she had virtually no desire to do so. Pope Benedict XVI wore red velvet capes with ermine fur trim. He commissioned his own cologne, which Evelyn called Pope-pourri. He was chauffeured around in a Mercedes… That lavish lifestyle bore little resemblance to her experience in Bedford-Stuyvesant…

 

She spread her lips into a smile so artificial it insulted her cheeks.

 

The evangelical minister Pat Robertson said Haitians are paying for their sins with that 7.0 magnitude quake. I am terrified that he is right. Sister Evelyn came downstairs in the middle of the night and found me in the living room rewatching clips of Pat Robertson,… “Don’t you listen to that giant-eared moron. He’s equal parts hate and insanity,” she said.

 

Desiree’s current johns were low-income, most surviving on government subsidies. She aspired to move up the ranks and become a high-class call girl, a corporate lady of the night, from streetwalker to Wall Street. You couldn’t claim Desiree wasn’t ambitious.

 

“I’m like a Cadillac. This ride is built for comfort.” Desiree swiveled her hips and then took a comically large bite of her sandwich. “More like a Lincoln Town Car. Room for the whole family,” Lucia said and slapped Desiree’s backside.

 

My Review:

 

My heart was seriously bruised and battered while reading this highly evocative and stunningly crafted tale of an elderly hard-working yet disillusioned nun. She had been repeatedly sexually abused by a priest as a novice and never told anyone, now fifty years later he was the Bishop who was sent to investigate and interrogate with the singular purpose of closing down her abused women’s shelter.   Oh, the irony. And I do loves me some clever irony. This was my first exposure to the brilliant wordcraft of Alena Dillon and I was quickly caught up in her mesmerizing and powerful word voodoo and sucked into a heart-squeezing vortex that transported me to a run-down dwelling with an angel knocker on Mercy Street in Brooklyn, New York. I inhabited that residence with an oddly and uniquely compelling hodgepodge of residents, each with a troubling and heartbreaking past as well as an equally challenging present.

 

The storylines were gripping and taut with tension, frustration, disheartening circumstances, despair, and eye-opening revelations. I was continually struck by the quality and perceptiveness of the writing, which was staggeringly emotive, skillfully assembled, and laced with insightful observations and descriptions of the various types of pain – body, mental, emotional, and of the psyche. I grew to appreciate each of these complicated women, especially the mouthy ones. And going forward, I will never look at a can of Lysol the same way ever again.

I was provided with a review copy of the poignant book by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

Alena Dillon’s work has appeared in Slice Magazine, The Rumpus, and Seventh Wave, among others. She earned her MFA from Fairfield University. Mercy House is her debut novel. She lives on the north shore of Boston with her husband, son, and their black labrador, Penny.

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

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: Erotic Fiction? by Hannah Lynn

Erotic Fiction?
by Hannah Lynn

 

There’s nothing sexy about her humdrum life as a mum. But is her husband’s crazy scheme a bit too exciting?


Sarah’s mind-numbing housewife’s existence is turning her brain to mush. With her third bun in the oven, this British mum is drowning under a mountain of playdates, bills, and head lice checks. But her man’s get-rich-quick idea of writing steamy
novels aren’t her ideal way to dial up life’s passion.


Drew desperately wants a break from Sarah’s whinging. And if that means researching how to write racy books all by himself, then he’ll make the sacrifice. But as he finally warms Sarah up to the sultry side hustle, their R-rated private project
gets publicly exposed…


With an office scandal brewing, it’s only a matter of time before gawking workers and a perfectly nosy PTA president turn them into social pariahs.


Can Sarah and Drew earn some extra income from sizzling lit without falling prey to stiff gossip?


Erotic Fiction is a charming comedy for fans of humorous fiction. If you like sweet
love stories, endearing characters, and dry British humor, then you’ll adore Kindle Storyteller Award Winner Hannah Lynn’s delightful tale.


Buy Erotic Fiction to slip into something a little more lovable today!

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

All the underwear she owned that could have been considered even remotely sexy was now either ripped or stained or just so small that pulling them on was likely to cut off the circulation to somewhere.

 

‘Mind Birthing?’ ‘Uh-huh.’ Nelly drank her tea with her eyebrows raised. ‘You know, it’s one of those hippy things. Birth isn’t painful. It’s just a manifestation of all the love we are squeezing out of our vagina type bullshit.’ ‘That does sound like bullshit.’ ‘But it’s free.’ Sarah’s head cocked with interest.

 

My Review:

 

This fun and sassy tale kept me smirking, which combined with an occasional bark of irrepressible gleeful laughter that was escaping my mouth while in a public waiting room led to a total stranger inquiring as to the title.   Um, should I have been embarrassed to call up a title such as Erotic Fiction? Nope, not this girl. Although I did take pity and clarified it was the actual title of a humorous story and not the genre when she blanched and blinked.

 

The engaging storylines were entertaining and relatable with highly amusing inner musings, snarky observations, and comical scenarios from the POV of an exhausted married couple living through the less than glamorous aspects of childrearing and family life while ensconced in a tiny sticky house with small tenacious children who tend to bring home pestilence from their school mates as well as cause an ever-increasing level of credit card fatigue and school activity fees as insurmountable as the national debt.

 

This was my first time reading the beguiling scribblings of Hannah Lynn and I adored her crisp and savvy style and reveled in her wry wit with unbridled delight.   Her secondary characters were as deftly written and just as much fun to read as her primary protagonists. I am besotted with her irreverent and clever humor and have added her entire listing to my wish list.

About the Author

Hannah Lynn is an award-winning novelist. Publishing her first book, Amendments – a dark, dystopian speculative fiction novel, in 2015, she has since gone on to write the multi-award-winning The Afterlife of Walter Augustus – a contemporary fiction novel with a supernatural twist, Fiona and the Whale – a thought-provoking romantic comedy and the delightfully funny and poignant Peas and Carrots series.

While she freely moves between genres, her novels are recognizable for their character-driven stories and wonderfully vivid description.

She is currently working on a YA Vampire series and a reimaging of a classic Greek myth.

Born in 1984, Hannah grew up in the Cotswolds, UK. After graduating from university, she has spent twelve years as a teacher of physics, first in the UK and then around Asia and Europe. It was during this time, inspired by the imaginations of the young people she taught, she began writing short stories for children, and later adult fiction. Now as a teacher, writer, wife, and mother, she is currently living in Jordan.

Social Media Links –

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HannahLynnAuthor/
Twitter @HMLynnauthor
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13830772.Hannah_M_Lynn
Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/hannah-lynn

Giveaway

Your chance to win one of two $25 Amazon Gift Cards

Facebook link: http://gvwy.io/v3x06gs

*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: Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life? by Kristen Bailey

Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life?
by Kristen Bailey

Amazon /B&N/ Kobo/ Apple/ GP 

It’s normal for your washing machine to get more action than you, right?

I wake up, bleary-eyed. It’s been two years, six months and three hours since I last shaved my legs, and the llama-patterned knickers I’m wearing have seen better days.

We have seven minutes before the kids wake up, and my husband shuffles closer. ‘Ouch,’ he says, a piece of Lego sticking into his back.

Then, a light comes on in the landing. Small footsteps creep down the stairs. A little voice screams, ‘IS SOMEONE COMING TO MAKE BREAKFAST?!’

All hope of having some ‘alone time’ is replaced with wondering if we’ve run out of Cheerios, thinking about the overflowing laundry, and remembering that I forgot to take out the recycling. Again.

Just a typical Monday morning for the Morton family…

Except today, when I go downstairs in my dressing gown, I find something. Something belonging to my husband. Something that definitely wasn’t in the wedding vows. And it’s either going to make us… or break us.

An utterly hilarious and unmissable novel for anyone who has ever felt like they spend more time washing the dishes than getting lucky. Fans of Why Mummy Drinks and The Unmumsy Mum, and rom-coms by Sophie Ranald and Sophie Kinsella, will ugly laugh at this gloriously funny and relatable read.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Nothing is more sobering than looking at yourself in your underwear under a fluorescent bathroom glow. My stomach looks like a collapsed cake. My thighs look like rolled pork joints. I poke at them to see if I can carve out a thigh gap… I look down. Jesus, where are my boobs and stomach going? It’s like they’re trying to flee from me in different directions – gravity is not my friend.

 

I have a Morton brother either side of me: my brother-in-law to my left, to my right my husband, who keeps adjusting the tartan gown to protect my modesty… ‘Careful there, Meggers. Don’t need the whole world seeing your growler…’ I laugh hysterically at the mention of the word and do a lion impression.

 

She told people I had implants put in me arse. Who the heck wants their bum to look bigger?

 

‘There’s no such thing as heaven,’ Eve informs me. ‘ He’s just dust now and his dog ghost lives in the hills and will gallop around and sleep in the bushes scaring the squirrels.’

 

 My Review:

 

I smirked, giggle-snorted, and barked with gleeful mirth throughout this cleverly penned and superbly crafted tale. This was my first exposure to the beguilingly wondrous wit of Kristen Bailey and I became a rabid fangirl halfway through page one.   Her engaging writing style was crisp, rib-tickling, rife with smart edgy banter and humorous innuendo, and called up delightfully amusing visuals that danced behind my eyes.   I am greedy for all her past and future words and have added her name to the top of my List Of Favorite Cool Beings.

About the Author

Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love, and family.

You can find out more about her on Twitter (@mrsbaileywrites), Instagram (@kristenbaileywrites) and Facebook.

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Book Review: Baby I’m Yours (Angel Sands #5) by Carrie Elks

.
Title: Baby I’m Yours (Angel Sands #5)
Author: Carrie Elks
Genre: Small Town, Accidental Pregnancy Romance
Release Date: Feb 12, 2020
Cover Designer: Najla Qamber

Two tiny lines that change everything…

Doctor James Tanner is gorgeous, successful and decisively single.

He’s also a widower with a broken heart.

When he meets a beautiful woman on a fateful night out, their chemistry shocks him to the core.

Harper Hayes is irresistible.

With her pink-tipped hair and tantalizing smile, she makes him forget all his pain.

One night together won’t hurt, will it?

One night to get her out of his system.

Then he’ll leave in the morning without a backward glance.

But actions have consequences, and this one will change their lives forever.

And when Harper sees those two little lines she knows exactly what that means.

Now she just needs to find her baby’s father.

What a shame she doesn’t even know his name…

 





Excerpt

“I’m sorry I walked out that night,” he said when he closed the break room door behind them. “I don’t usually do that kind of thing.”

“Walk out after a night of amazing sex?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I meant having the amazing sex in the first place. But yeah, I don’t usually walk out without a word either.” He shook his head. “It was an asshole thing to do. The least I could have done was taken you to breakfast.”

“Don’t worry. Breakfast was included with the room. And it isn’t your midnight ghosting I wanted to talk about.”

“It isn’t?”

“Nope.” She glanced at the door, as if to make extra sure it was closed. “Look, this is embarrassing and not at all how I imagined spending my day. I’d assumed I’d never see you again, and I was okay with that. Or as okay as you can be after waking up to an empty bed.” She took a deep breath. “So anyway, the thing is, I didn’t give you an STD that night, but you did give me something.”

“You think I gave you an STD?” He shook his head. “I couldn’t have.” She was the first person he’d had sex with in three years. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”

“I haven’t.” She pulled her lip between her teeth, her gaze meeting his. “It wasn’t an STD you gave me, James. It was a few extra sperm; I’m pregnant.”

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It was as though reality had run into the room and slapped him hard in the face.

 

Is that a pager? … I didn’t know anybody still used those; I thought they disappeared with rotary phones and conscription.

 

“I’m never going to have this baby,” Ember told her, gritting her teeth. “I’ll be the only pregnant woman carrying around a teenager in her stomach. They’ll put me on TV shows as a medical miracle.” “I should record this,” Ally said, unable to bite down a grin. “Then next time you think about getting pregnant I’ll bring it out and show you. It’ll be better than any contraceptive.”

 

You of all people should know it’s not where you’ve come from that matters, but where you’re going.

 

“And for the record, fairytales suck. You ever read a real one? Not the Disney version, but as they were originally written? In Cinderella, the ugly stepsisters chop off their feet and have their eyes pecked out. The Little Mermaid gets left by the prince and pines for him forever in the ocean.” Ember grimaced. “Seriously, don’t ever aim for the fairytale.”

  

My Review:

 

Pregnancy is one of my least favorite tropes, but I didn’t seem to mind this one as the engaging storylines were cleverly amusing, well-paced, insightfully written, and plumbed all the feels. While I haven’t read them all, I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I’ve ever picked up from this perceptive wordsmith. So, of course, being the greedy book hoarder that I am, I now covet them all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Elks Headshot

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

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Book Review: The Third to Die by Allison Brennan

The Third to Die: A Novel
by Allison Brennan

Amazon / B&N / Apple/ Google / B-A-M

New York Times bestselling author and gifted storyteller Allison Brennan’s new standalone thriller features a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer.

Brennan’s novel will launch a book-a-year series featuring a fabulous cast of recurring characters. It’s the story of a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer, and the bond they forge in this crucible sets the stage for the future books in the series.

Detective Kara Quinn is visiting her hometown of Liberty Lake, Washington, after being placed on administrative leave by the LAPD, when she comes upon the mutilated body of a young nurse during an early morning jog. The manner of death is clearly ritualistic; she calls it in. Meanwhile back in DC, special agent in charge Mattias Costa is meticulously staffing his newly-minted Mobile Response Team. One of his first recruits is the brilliant FBI forensic psychologist Catherine Jones. When word reaches Matt that the Washington state murder appears to be the work of the Triple Killer–it will be the first case for the MRT. Jones has done the only profile on this serial killer, but she is reluctant to join the unit, still shaken by the death of her sister a year ago under circumstances for which she holds herself responsible. But only she holds the key to understanding the killer’s obsessive pattern–three murder victims, three deep slashes a piece, each three days apart, each series beginning on a March 3rd–3/3, then a three-year hiatus before he strikes again.

This time they have a chance to stop him before he claims another victim strikes, but only if they can figure out who he is and where he is hiding.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Six months… Six months and the triplets start kindergarten.” She looked at her FitBit. “Five months, twenty-six days.”… Kara was still hung up on triplets. She’d definitely shoot herself. Or never have sex again.

 

Small town cop with a small town girlfriend and a small town life. Kara almost felt sorry for him. Like he still believed in Santa Claus and she was going to burst his bubble.

 

My Review:

 

This was quite a complicated and multifaceted tale with a full cast of compelling, intriguing, and complex characters. I quickly fell into this brilliantly contrived, tautly written, and brain-tickling vortex that alternated between the killer and those doggedly working to find him and end his spree.

The storylines packed a visceral punch and were cunningly crafted, quickly paced, and occasionally cringe-worthy. I was rabid to know all the deets about everybody and everything, and even when I knew who the killer was and why – I was still rabid to know how it would resolve. Basically, I was rabid and close to hissing at any interruption of my perusal. Pity my poor little husband.

Despite her prolific body of work, this was my first exposure to the shrewd and haunting storytelling and profoundly insightful character development of Allison Brennan. I was an instant fangirl, although I wouldn’t want to get too close as I would imagine her interior life may be a bit scary to inhabit.

About the Author

Goodreads

Amazon
Website

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Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, has had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids. Allison and her family live in Arizona..

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Book Review: For Love or Money by Clodagh Murphy

For Love or Money
by Clodagh Murphy

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA  

B&N / Apple / Kobo

Lesley has always fancied herself as an amateur sleuth, a sort of modern-day Miss Marple without the support stockings.

So when Al wants to hire her to investigate his elderly uncle’s young fiancée, she jumps at the chance. It doesn’t hurt that the job will involve posing as Al’s girlfriend and joining his glitzy, star-studded family on holiday in Nice.

Stella still can’t quite believe she’s engaged to legendary actor Sir Peter Bradshaw. She accepted what she thought was a deathbed proposal. Now she has a living, breathing fiancé and a wedding to plan.

First, though, she has to get through a holiday in the South of France with Peter’s extended family, who all seem convinced she’s a gold-digger with her sights set on the family fortune.

As Lesley bonds with Stella over shopping trips and bottles of rosé, she thinks she has it all figured out. After all, it’s no great mystery why a young woman would marry a fabulously wealthy seventy-two-year-old with a heart condition, is it? It’s an old story.

And Al may be the nicest boyfriend she’s ever had (even if he is fake), but Lesley believes in instant attraction and there’s just no spark … no matter how fit he looks in his swimming trunks. So there’s no chance he’s going to grow on her.

But people have a way of surprising you, as she’s about to discover …

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘How do I know this isn’t all an elaborate ploy because you have designs on my wotsit?’ ‘I can assure you your wotsit will be perfectly safe. It won’t even know I’m there.’

 

‘I’m irresistible to women. Can’t you tell?’ Then suddenly his grin vanished and he shot her an intense intimate look that went straight to her groin. ‘Don’t you smoulder at me,’ she said crossly, feeling herself flush. Damn him! ‘Worked, though, didn’t it?’ He grinned happily… ‘Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be gay?’ she huffed, feeling flustered.

 

Out on the terrace, Scott was engrossed in a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey. Lesley hoped he wasn’t looking there for insights into the female mind… ‘Don’t believe everything you read,’ Lesley said with a sniff. ‘Most women would still prefer a little spontaneity over a twenty-page contract. When it comes to sex, contracts aren’t the things you want to be lengthy.’

 

I have no desire to be twenty again. I think it suits me being a wise old owl. I’ve grown out of my looks and into my personality.

 

 My Review:

 

This was my first exposure to the effervescent and refreshing zing of Clodagh Murphy’s clever arrangements of words and I was an instant fangirl of this skilled and entertaining and raconteur. I was immediately captivated by the crisp and clever levity and flippant and acerbic wit that was liberally sprinkled on each page.   It was delightfully effortless reading that kept me smirking and giggle-snorting throughout perusal.   Dialogs were often peppered with smartly honed rapid-fire banter and sassy quips, while the canny storylines and magnetic characters were decidedly outside the box. And I couldn’t get enough.

 

Every character magically came alive on the page and they were diverse and immensely varied in nature, yet the vast majority were appealingly nonconformists and mischievous in some way. I was beguiled and besotted with this oddly endearing collection of audacious and irresistible individuals and their peculiar family dynamics. More, please!

 

About the Author

Clodagh Murphy lives in Dublin, Ireland and writes funny, sexy romantic comedies. She always dreamed of being a novelist, and after more jobs, than she cares to (or can) remember, she now writes full-time. For more information about her books or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website at http://clodaghmurphy.com/.

Social Media Links  

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClodaghMMurphy

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/clodagh-murphy

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

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

 

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Book Review: The Hollows (The Kinship Series #2) by Jess Montgomery

The Hollows
(The Kinship Series #2)
by Jess Montgomery
Hardcover: 352 pages
 Minotaur Books (January 14, 2020)

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N 

 

Jess Montgomery showcases her skills as a storyteller in The Hollows: a powerful, big-hearted and exquisitely written follow-up to her highly acclaimed debut The Widows.

Ohio, 1926: For many years, the railroad track in Moonvale Tunnel has been used as a shortcut through the Appalachian hills. When an elderly woman is killed walking along the tracks, the brakeman tells tales of seeing a ghostly female figure dressed all in white.

Newly elected Sheriff Lily Ross is called on to the case to dispel the myths. With the help of her friends Marvena Whitcomb and Hildy Cooper, Lily follows the woman’s trail to The Hollows–a notorious asylum–and they begin to expose dark secrets long-hidden by time and the mountains.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Since her husband’s death, Lily has found that the absences of ordinary, predictable sounds— Daniel shaving in the washroom, Daniel humming, Daniel sitting on the edge of their bed to pull on his boots and then clunking his feet on the floor— are more noticeable than the sounds themselves ever were.

 

She’d also blushed then, redness rising up her chest and creeping over the top of her high-necked dress collar, as she realized for the first time in years… she was regarding a man and feeling surprisingly delicious tingles dance over her skin.

 

Marvena’s hand shakes as she points to something on the floor. A hooded cape, sewn from rough white cotton. The pointed hood has buttonholes to attach a face covering, with slits cut for eyes. Lily recoils, more startled by this than by the snake from moments ago.

 

Lily’s gaze hardens as she looks up at Abe, the tallest man she’s ever met, and so slender it’s hard to imagine he takes any joy in eating… his exaggerated Adam’s apple as still as a stone lodged in his throat, his chin and jawline shaved so smoothly as to suggest that even stubble is too scared to brush his face.

 

You’re sad, Lily. It’s been more’n a year, the length of time people give for mourning, but there’s no clock running on sorrow.

 

My Review:

 

I was quickly pulled into this quagmire of a tale by the mesmerizing storytelling quality, insightful observations, and perceptiveness of the writing. It was highly descriptive, swirling with atmosphere, and taut with raw emotions that were close to the surface as well as deeply buried – primarily frustration and grief. I was so deeply engaged I found myself holding tension in my body and clenching my teeth as I read. The main characters were deeply flawed women who were attempting to solve an intriguing murder in a small village that was, “inaccessible by automobile. Folks can get in and out only by train, mule, or foot,” all while struggling with their own personal issues and societal limitations of the 1920s. They were constantly on edge, physically and emotionally exhausted, hungry, anxious, frustrated and thwarted at every turn, yet striving to do their best and taking great personal risks. I cringed for them as I sucked down copious amounts of wine while they labored to untangle several complicated subplots to ultimately merge their diverse storylines.   This intensely complex book was ingeniously and cunningly contrived and well worth the effort.

 

I will admit my ignorance, I had no idea there was such a group as the WKKK— the Women of the Ku Klux Klan. I should not have been surprised, but I was, and profoundly so.   These not so secret groups were found all across the nation in the 1920s and were not just wives and daughters attending events with their families, but “an auxiliary women’s group, born of the KKK,” which had spun off from the suffrage movement and incorporated the tenets of prohibition and all the arrogance, antagonistic warfare, and bigotry of the KKK toward any person or group that was not white or Protestant.   Yikes. Those women sound like the worst type of insufferable battleaxes. Gasp – I hope none of them would fall out of my own family tree, which in retrospect would not seem all that unlikely as there appears to be an overabundance of diseased branches. 😉

About the Author

JESS MONTGOMERY is the Literary Life columnist for the Dayton Daily News and Executive Director of the renowned Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Based on early chapters of The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual artist’s grant for literary arts and the John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus. She lives in her native state of Ohio.

 

Connect with Jess

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