Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: FIRST CUT by Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell

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FIRST CUT
by Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell

ISBN: 9781335008305

Publication Date: January 7, 2020

Publisher: Hanover Square Press

Wife and husband duo Dr. Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell first enthralled the book world with their runaway bestselling memoir Working Stiff—a fearless account of a young forensic pathologist’s “rookie season” as a NYC medical examiner. This winter, Dr. Melinek, now a prominent forensic pathologist in the Bay Area, once again joins forces with writer T.J. Mitchell to take their first stab at fiction. 

The result: FIRST CUT (Hanover Square Press; Hardcover; January 7, 2020; $26.99)—a gritty and compelling crime debut about a hard-nosed San Francisco medical examiner who uncovers a dangerous conspiracy connecting the seedy underbelly of the city’s nefarious opioid traffickers and its ever-shifting terrain of tech startups.

Dr. Jessie Teska has made a chilling discovery. A suspected overdose case contains hints of something more sinister: a drug lord’s attempt at a murderous cover up. As more bodies land on her autopsy table, Jessie uncovers a constellation of deaths that point to an elaborate network of powerful criminals—on both sides of the law—that will do anything to keep things buried. But autopsy means “see for yourself,” and Jessie Teska won’t stop until she’s seen it all—even if it means the next corpse on the slab could be her own.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Dr. Stone struck me as an overgrown nerd, brilliant and opinionated and completely unfiltered. I like nerds, and I’ve been told many times— many times— that I could use a stronger filter myself.

 

He speaks Bengali like I speak Polish— fluent in curse words, proverbs, and food.

 

People from happy families can’t comprehend what it’s like to live in a hostage situation with people who tell you they love you.

 

We don’t work in a justice system, Jessie. It’s a legal system. We take what we can get.

  

My Review:

 

This multi-layered tale was cunningly plotted, cleverly complicated, and shrewdly paced.   I suspected everyone, and for good reason, as each had their own hidden agendas and they were all actually up to something. While the storylines and characters were complex, I enjoyed the authors’ surprising wit and engaging and descriptive writing style. Their contributions meshed seamlessly and I never would have guessed it was a team effort.   The book was written in the first person POV of a newly hired medical examiner in San Francisco, a place I’ve never been and a vocation that gives me the willies to contemplate, yet I was as intrigued by the story as much as the oddly compelling characters and I was truly fascinated by her delightfully unusual living accommodations in a cable car house.

About the Authors
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Judy Melinek was an assistant medical examiner in San Francisco for nine years, and today works as a forensic pathologist in Oakland and as CEO of Pathology Expert Inc. She and T.J. Mitchell met as undergraduates at Harvard, after which she studied medicine and practiced pathology at UCLA. Her training in forensics at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner is the subject of their first book, the memoir Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner.

T.J. Mitchell is a writer with an English degree from Harvard and worked in the film industry before becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad. He is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner with his wife, Judy Melinek.

SOCIAL

TWITTER:

Judy: @drjudymelinek

TJ: @TJMitchellWS

FB: @DrWorkingStiff

Insta:

Judy: @drjudymelinek

Goodreads

Judy: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7382113.Judy_Melinek

TJ: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1899585.T_J_Mitchell

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Book Review: The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright by Beth Miller

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The Missing Letters of
Mrs Bright
by Beth Miller

Sometimes it takes losing something to see where you truly belong.

For the past twenty-nine years, Kay Bright’s days have had a familiar rhythm: she works in her husband’s stationery shop hoping to finally sell the legendary gold pen, cooks for her family, tries to remember to practice yoga, and every other month she writes to her best friend, Ursula. Kay could set her calendar by their letters: her heart lifts when the blue airmail envelope, addressed in Ursula’s slanting handwriting, falls gently onto the mat.But now Ursula has stopped writing and everything is a little bit worse.

Ursula is the only one who knows Kay’s deepest secret, something that happened decades ago that could tear Kay’s life apart today. She has always been the person Kay relies on.

Worried, Kay gets out her shoebox of Ursula’s letters and as she reads, her unease starts to grow. And then at ten o’clock in the morning, Kay walks out of her yellow front door with just a rucksack, leaving her wedding ring on the table…

This emotional and heart-warming novel is for anyone who knows it’s never too late to look for happiness. Fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will fall in love with this feel-good and moving story that shows you that the best friendships truly last forever.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

My rational brain pointed out that this was kind of irrational, and my irrational brain said, ‘Yeah, so?’

 

It was a folded piece of yellowing paper, and in my childish writing, with hearts dotting the i’s, I had written at the top: ‘Things to do by the time I am thirty.’ This was underlined twice in red biro. The date: 5 June 1982… Teenage Kay must have assumed she’d better get everything done by thirty; for afterwards, there’d be nothing but senility and the grave.

 

Once again, I’d have to amend my mental list of the top ten things I wished I’d never seen.

 

I looked at him, appraising him with an objective eye. There were always little things one didn’t like about one’s boyfriends. You tended to overlook them, prioritise other things as more important. Leon, for instance, had patches of awful acne on each cheek, and treated any mild suggestion that he speak to a pharmacist as an infringement of his human rights. Now, with Theo standing in front of me, fake-beaming, I realised that with his thin face and shifty eyes, he looked exactly like a weasel.

 

I had a bath and did all the woman -going-on-a-date things I hadn’t done for years… and had a little trim of the old lady-garden, not that I was planning to sleep with him, obviously not, he was clearly a café-lothario, but just in case… In case what? I heard Rose say. In case there was a freak accident that involved your pants coming off in public?

 

My Review:

 

This was my introduction to the stellar stylings of Beth Miller and I was an instant fan.   Forgive my exuberance and probable abuse of exclamation marks but I reveled in this book! The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright was thoughtfully written and gently chronicled and may be best suited for those of us more mature beauties on the other side of fifty, but being on that side of the age stick I found it flawless. The writing was as profoundly insightful and perceptive as it was cleverly entertaining. I was fully engaged from page one and adored Beth Miller’s witty prose, seamless writing style, enticing and quirky characters, and ample servings of clever levity that were skillfully woven in all the way through.   The storylines and writing were easy to follow and continually poked and prickled my curiosity. I was enjoying the tale so much I would have gleefully continued on for several hundred more pages. Beth Miller has a new fangirl and I have a new favorite author at the top of my list.

About the Author

I have been told that I write like a tall blonde, so that’s how I’d like you to picture me.

I’ve published three novels, with one more about to be born, in January 2020. I’ve also published two non-fiction books. I work as a book coach and creative writing tutor.

Before writing books, I did a lot of different jobs. I worked in schools, shops, offices, hospitals, students’ unions, basements, from home, in my car, and up a tree. OK, not up a tree. I’ve been a sexual health trainer, a journalist, a psychology lecturer, a Ph.D. student, a lousy alcohol counselor, and an inept audio-typist. I sold pens, bread, and condoms. Not in the same shop. I taught parents how to tell if their teenagers are taking drugs (clue: they act like teenagers), and taught teenagers how to put on condoms (clue: there won’t really be a cucumber). I taught rabbis how to tell if their teenagers are druggedly putting condoms on cucumbers.

Throughout this, I always wrote, and always drank a lot of tea. I’m now pretty much unbeatable at drinking tea.

Social Media Links:
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Book Review: Come Back for Me by Corinne Michaels

Come Back for Me
by Corinne Michaels

 

  

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♬ Audible ↠ https://geni.us/CMBFAudible

 

One night, eight years ago, she gave me peace.

No names.

No promises.

Just two broken people, desperate to quiet their pain and grief.

In the morning, she was gone and had taken my solace with her. I left for the military that day, vowing never to return to Pennsylvania.

When my father dies, I’m forced to go home to bury him. At least I’ll finally be rid of his farm, which is grown over and tangled with memories I’ve fought to forget.

And that’s when I find her. She’s even more beautiful than I remember and has the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen.

Years have passed, but my feelings are the same, and this time I refuse to let her go. They say you can’t bury the past, and they’re right. Because when long-ago secrets are exposed, rocking us both to the core, I have no choice but to watch her walk away again . . .

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I look through the window for the hundredth time. I keep checking to make sure she’s really there and that this isn’t some alternate reality I’ve created in my head. Right now, I trust nothing because I’m not really sure I’m alive and this isn’t limbo.

 

It’s as if I’ve been living in black-and-white but have just stepped into full color and the vividness of life around me is blinding.

 

Do you see that tree out there? … That’s where my brother convinced me that I was a descendant of Superman and that flying was in my blood. He also told me that he had a vial of kryptonite, and if I didn’t take my chances on the flying thing, I would die… and I broke my nose and two ribs.

 

“To me, my mother died a born again virgin.” He’s so stupid. “From what you’ve told me about your father’s undying love for her, I’m going to guess that isn’t true. Also, she had four boys in five years. That’s a lot of sex.” His face scrunches. “No, that’s one time each, and they never touched again.”

 

Do you know what else I’m afraid of?… The Tooth Fairy… She’s so creepy! Who comes into your room when you’re sleeping and takes teeth? If I could be anything cool, it wouldn’t be that.

 

 My Review:

 

Gasp, I checked Goodreads and this is the first time I have ever read a Corinne Michaels’ book – where have I been?!? I am chastising myself for my sloth as I’ve been missing out – Ms. Michaels definitely has the word voodoo. This emotive story hit all the feels and told an engaging, sweet, and heart-squeezing romance between lively hits of levity and scorching hot steam. I made the rookie mistake of reading in a public waiting room and had to shut my Kindle down and seek out ice water to avoid totally embarrassing myself with involuntary noises and ragged breathing.   Clutch the pearls! I adored these characters and hope I’m paying attention when the rest of the series hits the assembly line.

About the Author

Corinne Michaels is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller author. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun-loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife.

After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.

Connect with Corinne:

Facebook: https://bit.ly/1iwLh6y

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Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NVZmhv

Bookbub: https://bit.ly/2yc6rss

Website: http://corinnemichaels.com

Sign up for her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2wTY2rg

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Book Review: Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison

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Book Summary:

Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond. But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous.

In a world where appearances are everything, as long as students pretend to follow the rules, no one questions the cruelties of the secret societies or the dubious behavior of the privileged young women who expect to get away with murder. But when a popular student is found dead, the truth cannot be ignored. Rumors suggest she was struggling with a secret that drove her to suicide.

But look closely…because there are truths and there are lies, and then there is everything that really happened.

J.T. Ellison’s pulse-pounding new novel examines the tenuous bonds of friendship, the power of lies and the desperate lengths people will go to to protect their secrets.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Everyone lies. To themselves, to each other. It’s a way to belong, to be included. To look important.

 

I employ the only tool in my arsenal— silence. It only adds to the mystique. Who knew? I thought lies had power until I saw what silence could do.

My Review:

 

J.T. Ellison has mad word skills and is a master storyteller, her descriptive and emotive prose fully created each scene from the ground up with multiple textures, scents, sights, and sounds. I was sucked right in and fully present, sometimes, uncomfortably so.   While it wasn’t an edge of your seat thriller, I was deeply invested in this twisted and tense hybrid tale that was part YA, part Women’s Fiction, part suspense, part family drama.

 

The main character of Ash was always taut with tension and anxiously on edge for fear of discovery and I found myself often nibbling on my cuticles with the extremely poor posture of my shoulders in my ears while clutching my Kindle with a vise-like grip. This was a long, complex, and cunningly paced tale with multiple layers and interesting textures. The storylines were rather ingenious, shrewdly plotted, and expertly populated with a cast of diabolical and oddly intriguing characters of all ages. The most heinous was, of course, the teenaged girls, who were especially vile and vicious as only teenaged girls can be. Although, and I know from personal experience, rich and privileged teenaged girls are the absolute worst of the breed.

About the Author

Author Website

Twitter: @thrillerchick

Facebook: @JTEllison14

Instagram: @thrillerchick

Goodreads

BookBub 

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville’s premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

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Book Review: Crime and Periodicals (Green Valley Library #2) by Nora Everly

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Crime and Periodicals, an all-new sweet and swoony romance from Nora Everly, is available now!

 

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Crime and Periodicals
(Green Valley Library #2)
by Nora Everly

Download your copy today or available in Kindle Unlimited!

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

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/CrimePeriodicals

Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/2kx29rb

 

In Green Valley, Tennessee everybody knows everybody, but nobody knows Sabrina Logan.

Sabrina has been hiding in plain sight for years. Living her life inside of books, dutifully helping her family, and hoping no one will notice her. So far? Mission accomplished!

Yet when sexy—and distrustful—sheriff, Wyatt Monroe returns to town with his daughters, he definitely notices the quiet librarian everyone else overlooks. The single dad can’t seem to shake thoughts of shy Sabrina. Without quite understanding the impulse, Wyatt makes his mission finding her again, so he can . . . well, he’ll just have to reckon with that later.

What Wyatt discovers is a woman who trusts too easily, but who’s afraid to live. Trust doesn’t come easily to Wyatt. But living? That’s never been a problem.

And he’d sure like to show her how.

‘Crime and Periodicals’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book#2 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

GVL02-LIVE

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

By now I was pretty sure that every time I looked directly at him my IQ lowered because I could not think of one stinking word to say to him. I opened my mouth anyway though, just in case the flirt fairy decided to bless me with a witty anecdote or some charming repartee. Nope. That was a big fat nothing coming out of my mouth.

 

I was beginning to develop suspicions that he was as nice as he was hot. And that made him just like a unicorn. A total keeper.

 

I made myself laugh at the jokes, but it came out nervous and I probably sounded insane. I took a step back and braced myself… I shoved my glasses up the bridge of my nose and looked around. I tried to do it surreptitiously. But I was sure I had crazy eyes.

 

I would drop dead of embarrassment. I would be the first documented case. People would study it, and then I would come back to life and drop dead again.

 

This apple had fallen so far from the tree it was on another planet in another galaxy in an alternate universe made up of nothing but future romance novel heroes.

 

I sat there, panting like I’d just run a six-minute mile. My head was filled with images of fireworks and stars, planets realigning in the universe, that enormous Harvest Moon illuminating us from up above like it was there just for us, and the feeling that everything in my life had shifted into place so I could be right here at this moment—exactly where I needed to be.

 

My Review:

 

I adored every word of this cleverly penned tale – it was a total delight from beginning to end and meshed seamlessly with the beloved yet highly peculiar community created by the ingenious Penny Reid. Written in my favorite dual POV and filled with endearingly flawed and heart-squeezing characters, Harry Potter references, breath-stealing insights, and highly amusing observations; Ms. Everly’s writing sparkled brighter than the glitter aisle at Hobby Lobby. I was as enamored and besotted with the fatally shy yet MAC red lippy wearing Sabrina as I was with the thoughtful, kind, and gentle giant hot dad Wyatt. I frequently barked with laughter, giggle-snorted, and gleefully savored every well-chosen word and mourned a bit when hitting that perfectly satisfying HEA as I am greedy and wanted more.

Excerpt

 

“Wow, he can dance,” I observed.

I gasped when Wyatt’s hand on my waist slid up my side then up the underside of my arm to take my hand from his shoulder and link our fingers together. It was just like in Dirty Dancing, except I was facing him instead of away like in the movie. His grin grew a little bit wicked right before he used both of my hands to turn me. His front was now at my back with our arms crossed in front of us.

I felt his warm, hard body behind mine and I felt…way too much. Tingles covered every square inch of me. The air felt different against my skin; I was burning up.

His chin dipped low to rest on my shoulder. “Are you okay?” he whispered into my ear. His breath ruffled the hair against my neck, and I shivered.

“Yes,” I whispered. Then I nodded in case he didn’t hear me. I felt his stubbled jaw graze the side of my face and I began to experience heretofore unknown feelings. My perception of what was possible for my life shifted. My brain had disengaged, and I floated along on pure sensation.

We rocked side to side like that—closer than I’d ever been to anyone in my life. His chest rose and fell against my back as his arms tightened around me and he sighed against my hair. The last of my conscious thoughts dissolved and I succumbed to pure feeling. His body moving against mine became my world. His hands in mine kept me tethered, lest I float away on this cloud of sensation that was gradually becoming overwhelming.

I had never felt anything like this. I never even thought feelings like this were possible in real life. In romance novels, sure. But to feel such contentment laced with giddiness right now was something I had not expected. Before I could succumb to the spreading tingles and dwindling brain power and embarrass myself, he raised our arms up high and twirled me around and around underneath them. I giggled and squealed. Apparently, I was that girl—a squealy, laughing, girly girl. But maybe we were all that girl in the right circumstance.

He was right. I did not need to know how to slow dance when I was with him. We danced close; so close his knee was between my legs. I delighted at the feel of his soft, warm skin when he placed one of my hands on the back of his neck. He moved his free hand low on my waist, hooking his thumb in my belt loop to guide me in slow, small circles over our spot on the dance floor, then back and forth using his hands to push me out and pull me back into his body. He coaxed me where I needed to go. I felt weightless and graceful.

The whole bar and everyone in it disappeared until it was just us dancing together, bathed in the moonlight filtering in through the high windows, and the little lights—so much like stars—illuminating the dance floor with their tiny rays. As the song ended, he spun me out and then back up against his body to dip me low with his arm wrapped tight around my waist. He grinned down at me with those gorgeous lips and beautiful chocolate brown eyes and I—I would never forget this moment—not ever.

About Nora Everly

Nora Everly is a lifelong bookworm. She started reading the good stuff once she grew tall enough to sneak the romance novels off the top of her mother’s bookshelf and it has been non-stop ever since.

Once upon a time she was a substitute teacher and an educational assistant. Now she’s a writer and stay at home mom to two small humans and one fat cat.

Nora lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and her overactive imagination.

Connect with Nora Everly

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

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

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2kx2f21

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

Website: https://www.noraeverly.com/

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Book Review: The Last Witch of North Berwick House by T.J. Podger

The Last Witch of North Berwick House
by T.J. Podger

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA

When Adrian Carter followed his wife, Agnes, to their dream home in North Berwick he had no idea it was to be the start of a truly terrifying journey.

Every old house has its folklore and stories so he was told. He hadn’t expected those stories to be true. As a horror writer, Adrian had a terrific imagination, but even he could not envisage what was to come.

Tracie Podger, a multi-genre author, wrote this ghostly tale initially as part of an anthology. But she just couldn’t keep it short enough so released The Last Witch as a novella.

Witches and ghosts, dunking stools, and old houses combine in this entertaining tale of the goings-on at North Berwick House. 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Adrian had discovered that back in King James VI’s day, North Berwick had been the site of one of the countries largest witch hunts. Somewhere between seventy and two hundred witches had been executed. That figure had astounded him. He was amazed there was that many residents back in the fifteen hundreds, let alone witches.

 

My Review:

 

I don’t often read this genre but I made an exception for one of my favorite authors who had the notion to dabble with something new. This novella was expertly paced and had me transfixed to my Kindle while the creepiness factor steadily ratcheted up. I was squirming, and for good measure, not only was it creepy but given Tracie Podger’s skillful handling, it was hot as hell. Oh my, clutch the pearls! My brain and my gusset were both on fire.

 

About the Author

 

Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She’s a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor with a passion for writing. Tracie has been fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She likes getting up close and personal with sharks.

Tracie writes in various genres, Contemporary Romance but likes to explore relationships that are not always easy and there isn’t always a happy ending, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, and Erotic Romance. She likes to have her books feel real with realistic timelines and with strong women who don’t run because the going gets tough. Sex is important between loving people, therefore all her books contain graphic scenes. However, the character’s relationship is more important.

If you would like to know more, please feel free to contact her, she would love to hear from you.

Social Media Links

Facebook    Twitter    Amazon    Instagram

Website    Facebook Reader Group

Facebook Book Club

 

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Book Review: Meet Me On Love Lane (Hopeless Romantics #2) by Nina Bocci

Meet Me On Love Lane
(Hopeless Romantics #2)
by Nina Bocci

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

B&N / BAM 

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Gallery Books (December 10, 2019)

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of On the Corner of Love and Hate comes a romantic comedy about a woman who grudgingly returns home to small-town Pennsylvania, only to find herself falling in love—not only with the town, but with two of its citizens. 

Charlotte Bishop is out of options in New York City. Fired, broke, and blacklisted by her former boss, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Hope Lake, PA to lick her wounds. Although she’s expecting to find a miserable place with nothing to do, she is pleasantly surprised to discover it is bustling and thriving.

She’s only supposed to be in Hope Lake temporarily until she can earn enough money to move back to New York. She’s not supposed to reconnect with her childhood friends or her beloved grandmother. She’s not supposed to find her dream job running the local florist shop. And she’s definitely not supposed to fall for not one but two of Hope Lake’s golden boys: one the beloved high school English teacher, the other the charming town doctor.

With a heart torn between two men and two cities, what’s a girl to do?

A perfect blend of humor and heart, Meet Me on Love Lane is the second in a new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Nina Bocci that is sure to charm fans of Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Staring down at him, I could see that he was very well-built, clearly a runner, but I knew he must do more than that. Football? Was there a sport where you needed to be even beefier than that? Something where you tore trees from their roots and tossed them?

 

His shorts hit a spot on his leg that highlighted calves that looked like he had sewn a softball into each. I admired him for a beat. On a scale of one to ten, what were the chances of hooking up with a guy after you’ve hit him in the business? Probably slim to none, with slim out of town.

 

“I’m so happy to see you again. I heard you were here and baked cookies for you! Just like I used to do when you were little,” she explained. I looked down at her empty hands, confused. “Oh, I ate them. And then my dog, Whiskey, well, he got the rest. I’ll make more tomorrow.”

 

I get these brief flashes, but it’s like my brain won’t let the memory train fully back into the station…

 

I’ll have you know I’m like Santa. I always make my list and check it twice.

 

My Review:

 

In continuing my total infatuation with the gifted wordsmith Nina Bocci I gleefully picked up and perused Meet Me on Love Lane, which only further convinced me that I must amass and read all of her clever arrangements of words. All. Of. Them. I adore her endearingly flawed characters, snappy banter, snarky humor, and sassy wit. Her writing style was velvety smooth, unfailingly engaging, hit all the senses, and was so effortless to read it felt as if I were watching a movie. Somewhere on the first page, I was off like Dorothy to OZ, having been instantly sucked into a whirlwind vortex, and, honestly, I was enjoying myself so much I was unwilling to pull myself back out and only did so under duress – while deeply resenting the interruption.   Nina Bocci has a rabid fangirl on her hands, and I have a new favorite author.

 

About the Author

Nina Bocci is a USA TODAY bestselling novelist who loves reading and writing about swoony, relatable heroes and smart, witty heroines. If it’s set in a small town, even better. You can always find her chatting on social media about her massive, crazy Italian family, and her favorite person in the world, her son.

Connect with Nina

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Book Review: On the Corner of Love and Hate (Hopeless Romantics #1) by Nina Bocci 

On the Corner of Love and Hate
(Hopeless Romantics #1)
by Nina Bocci 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU 

B&N / BAM

For fans of Christina Lauren and Lauren Layne comes a delightfully sassy and sexy romance about a campaign manager who reluctantly works with the local Lothario to help revamp his image for the upcoming mayoral elections, only to discover that he’s hiding something that can turn both their lives upside down.

What’s a campaign manager’s worst nightmare? A smooth-talking charmer who’s never met a scandal that he didn’t like.

When Emmanuelle Peroni’s father—and mayor of her town—asks her to help rehab Cooper Endicott’s image, she’s horrified. Cooper drives her crazy in every way possible. But he’s also her father’s protégé, and she can’t say no to him without him finding out the reason why: Cooper and her have a messy past. So Emmanuelle reluctantly launches her father’s grand plan to get this Casanova someone to settle down with and help him lose his lothario reputation.

Cooper Endicott wanted to run for Mayor, but he never wanted the drama that went with it. Now that he’s on the political hamster wheel, the other candidates are digging up everything from his past. Even though he’s doing all the right things, his colorful love life is the sticking point for many of the conservative voters. He wants to win, badly, and he knows that if he wants any chance of getting a vote from the female population, he needs to change his image. The only problem? He might just be falling in love with the one person he promised not to pursue: the Mayor’s off-limits daughter.

A perfect blend of humor and heart, On the Corner of Love and Hate is the first in a new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Nina Bocci.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Dating is like shopping the clearance racks: you sift through a lot of pretty yet questionable items in the hope of lucking out and finding that one perfect outfit. The same could be said about the men I’d been with lately.

 

EMMA THOUGHT: For a hopeless romantic, you’re awfully hopeless.

 

Anytime I was alone with him, which was why I actively avoided it, I was transported back to that eleven-year-old girl who realized that the belly flutters she got when he walked in wasn’t a lactose allergy but her first full-blown crush. At twenty-eight, those feelings didn’t remain, but the reminder of what they felt like did.

 

Kirby Rogers reminded me of how movies in the seventies depicted used-car salesmen: swarmy, cocky, and dressed in a suit that was too big, as if he were trying to fill the loose fabric with fake confidence. Plus he had a ridiculous comb-over that you could probably spot from space.

 

Henry was one of those guys men wanted to try to arm wrestle and women just straight-up wanted, but he was content with being everyone’s friend.

 

I saw the girlfriend with him the other night at dinner— that girl can freeze ice on her backside. Why is she so serious?

 

My Review:

 

This was wicked funny I fell right into this observantly amusing and insightfully written tale which was shot through with clever wit and snarky levity. I loved it, adored it, reveled in it, smirked my way through it, and am now totally enamored with the talented Nina Bocci.

About the Author

Nina Bocci is a USA TODAY bestselling novelist who loves reading and writing about swoony, relatable heroes and smart, witty heroines. If it’s set in a small town, even better. You can always find her chatting on social media about her massive, crazy Italian family, and her favorite person in the world, her son.

 

Connect with Nina

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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Book Review: The Kill Club by Wendy Heard

 The Kill Club
by Wendy Heard

 

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological 

368 pages

A haunting thriller about a woman who attempts to save her brother’s life by making a dangerous pact with a network of vigilantes who’ve been hunting down the predators of Los Angeles.

Jazz can’t let her younger brother die.Their foster mother Carol has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin’s life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time.

Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her, people the law has failed. They’ve formed an underground network of “helpers,” each agreeing to murder the abuser of another. They’re taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles—dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they’ll take care of Carol for good.

All she has to do is kill a stranger.

Jazz soon learns there’s more to fear than getting caught carrying out her assignment. The leader of the club has a zero-tolerance policy for mistakes.

And the punishment for disobeying orders is death.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“Okay,” I say, and in that one word is contained an ocean of acceptance. This is where I am. This is what I’m doing.

I think about what the reporter said, that the people who have been killed have had records of stalking, domestic violence. It actually sounds like the voice on the phone is who they say they are. They invented a serial killer. The police are searching LA for a murderer that doesn’t exist.

I don’t know how I feel about this, morally. Is it bad to kill someone like Carol? Does she deserve the death sentence? Do I have any feelings about her being dead? … I remember the guy I saw die at Villains. I heard him scream. It’s definitely not painless. But then I remember Carol with her baseball bat crunching through my bones like glass, and I think, Good.

How is she so put-together at six in the morning? When I work early shifts at Trader Joe’s, I look like an orphan in a Christmas movie.

 

My Review:

 

This book was devilishly clever and fiendishly addictive, I was taut with tension and unable to put my Kindle down without deeply resenting the intrusion to my reading. The main character of Jasmine was deeply flawed and horribly unlucky, and though well-intentioned she was a total screw up in every arena. I cringed for her while simultaneously wanting to give her a smack to the back of the head. The storylines were highly active, heartbreaking, twisted, brutal, gripping, and fraught with tension with unexpected and greatly welcomed glints of snarky levity and sharply edged wit. This was my first exposure to the cunning storytelling of Wendy Heard and I was an instant fangirl, I greedily want to amass all her clever words.

About the Author

Facebook: @wendydheard

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Wendy Heard, author of Hunting Annabelle, was born in San Francisco and has lived most of her life in Los Angeles. When not writing, she can be found hiking the Griffith Park trails, taking the Metro and then questioning this decision, and haunting local bookstores.

 

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Book Review: Why She Ran by Geraldine Hogan

Why She Ran
by Geraldine Hogan

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU

B&N / Apple / Kobo / GP

 

‘Rachel. They must have made a mistake. A mother would know?’ She let her words pour into the emptiness of the kitchen. She began to shiver. ‘I can’t feel anything,’ she said softly and rocked back and forth, as if she was a huge child, seeking solace in the simple gesture.

When young, pretty nurse Rachel McDermott is found murdered in the harsh lights of the hospital kitchen where she works, her mother can’t accept the news, and the small Irish town of Corbally reels in disbelief. Rushing to the scene, Detective Iris Locke vows to find the sick killer, whatever it takes.

The last person to see Rachel alive was her close friend, sixteen-year-old Eleanor Marshall, a troubled teenager, estranged from her family. Eleanor was spotted fleeing the kitchen where Rachel’s body was found and becomes the main suspect. Iris has a search party combing the endless woods near the Comeragh mountains where they believe she is hiding. But Iris is consumed with worry for the vulnerable girl and can’t shake a prickly disquiet that Eleanor shouldn’t be a suspect.

Eleanor’s sister agrees but a day later, when she is found dead in the area Eleanor is hiding, things don’t look good for the runaway teen. Iris can’t see Eleanor, who still sleeps with her childhood teddy bear, as someone who would kill her little sister and her best friend, but all the evidence seems to point that way.

Sleep-deprived and desperate to find the truth, Iris takes a closer look into Rachel’s background and discovers that she was keeping strange, shadowy company the night before she died. Convinced that Eleanor is in terrible danger, Iris sets out to find her, in the icy-cold woods, alone. But what if somebody else makes their way through the darkness and reaches Iris and Eleanor first?

This gripping mystery thriller is perfect for fans of Carol Wyer, Robert Dugoni and LJ Ross.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Even the way Pardy pecked her way around her food got right under Iris’s skin. Never trust a woman who doesn’t enjoy her food, or a woman who wants sergeant stripes so badly she’d walk over anyone to get them. Jo Pardy ate like a mouse, rationing it out in tiny bites, a speck here, a crumb there; at times almost bovine-like back chewing went on, and sometimes it was all Iris could do to stop herself force-feeding the girl a half a dozen biscuits at once just to get it over with.

 

He’d only searched for it half-heartedly, after all, where Slattery came from, real men didn’t wear jewellery –apart from the Bishop, but then since he wore robes that resembled an old woman’s dress, he was hardly the most obvious male role model.

 

I think Kit Marshall would sell his granny for a bunch of hydrangeas so he could come up smelling of flowers, that’s all.’

 

The words floated for a second or two in the air between them, like soft bubbles, perfect, honest. They’d never fit back in their box again.

 

Maureen was just sixty, but she was an old-fashioned sixty, with tweed skirts and a fondness for headscarves, knotted into submission between her first and second chin.

 

She’s as mad as a bag of weasels.

  My Review:

 

I was once again in awe not only of her Ms. Hogan’s oddly compelling plot and storylines, but also of her wily character development and captivating storytelling. Her evocative word choices and unique, keenly honed, and striking arrangements of words and ancillary details sparked sharp and smoothly calibrated visuals to scroll through my gray matter. The little pea in my brain must have been smoking and was definitely singed while working through this well-crafted, multi-layered, and complex tale that slowly and slyly unraveled with an unpredictable ending I never saw coming.

 

I admire and covet Ms. Hogan’s word skills and craftiness as much as I adore her oddly enticing, deeply flawed, strong, complicated, peculiarly intriguing and irresistible characters – who were so well developed and vividly described they virtually leapt from the page. I eagerly anticipate delving into more engaging and suspenseful tales from this talented scribe.

About the author

Geraldine Hogan was born in Ireland. She gained an Honors Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree in Training and Management from University College, Galway. She is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of four contemporary fiction novels under the pen name Faith Hogan.
Silent Night is her first crime novel, her second is due out in December 2019.
She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children, and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker, and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!

 

You can find out more about Geraldine here:
Facebook
Twitter @gerhogan
https://www.instagram.com/faithhoganauthor/