The Spite Game

by Anna Snoekstra

Amazon | B-A-M | Barnes & Noble

Paperback: 336 Pages

Publisher: MIRA; Original edition (November 1, 2018)

Everyone does bad things when no one is watching

Mercilessly bullied in high school, Ava knows she needs to put the past behind her and move on, but she can’t—not until she’s exacted precise, catastrophic revenge on the people who hurt her the most.

First, she watches Saanvi. Flawlessly chic and working hard at a top architectural firm, Saanvi has it all together on the surface. But everyone does bad things when they think no one is watching and Ava only wants what’s fair—to destroy Saanvi’s life the way her own was destroyed.

Next, she watches Cass. She’s there as Cass tries on wedding dresses, she’s there when Cass picks out a cake, she’s there when Cass betrays her fiancé. She’s the reason Cass’s entire future comes crashing down.

Finally, Ava watches Mel. Mel was always the ringleader and if anyone has to pay, it’s her. But one tiny slip up and Ava realizes the truth: Mel knows she’s being watched, and she’s ready to play Ava’s games to the bitter end.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

As far as the social strata went, we were barely in the equation. We were cooler than the kids with chronic acne who played cards in the back of the library, but not by much… I felt ready. I wanted to see the true potential of my life, to have fun and get drunk and kiss boys and skip school. I wanted to see what I was capable of. I was just waiting for my in.

 

There had been always been an ache in my chest. I hadn’t known it was there until now, when it was gone. I knew all I had to do was relax, not say or do the wrong thing, and every moment would be entirely perfect… As long as I didn’t muck it up, things would stay golden… I wanted to pause this moment, because I knew, inevitably, I’d somehow do something to ruin it.

 

I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about being normal, but I’ve always thought the best way to live is to embrace your crazy. I’ll tell you now it’s always a hell of a lot more fun.

 

I had worried so much about being a “psycho,” but maybe I shouldn’t have. I’d be happier if I was one, that was for sure. If I was a psycho, I’d do something to Mel. I’d get even. I’d been worrying so much that there was something terribly wrong with me. But maybe the thing that was wrong with me was the only thing that was right.

My Review:

 

As someone who was bullied in high school, I can honestly attest to the brilliance and keenly observant insights tucked into this author’s well-crafted tale. High school was over forty years ago for me, but the painful sting of personal humiliation remains ever so sharp, regardless of the massive amount of years and tons of dust in between.   I was absorbed by this emotive and cunningly written tale. The cleverly constructed narrative was laced with captivating and compelling characters and active with engaging, dynamic, and heart-squeezing scenarios. I required considerable motivation and enticement to put my Kindle down for those pesky chores like eating, sleeping, and adulting. I know it may not the politically correct or altruistic thing to confess, but I reveled in the ending with a glorious fist pump.

 

About Anna Snoekstra

Anna Snoekstra was born in Canberra, Australia to two civil servants. At the age of seventeen, she decided to avoid a full-time job and a steady wage to move to Melbourne and become a writer. She studied Creative Writing and Cinema at The University of Melbourne, followed by Screenwriting at RMIT University.

After finishing university, Anna wrote for independent films and fringe theatre and directed music videos. During this time, she worked as a Christmas elf, cheesemonger, a waitress, a barista, a nanny, a receptionist, a cinema attendant, and a film reviewer.

Connect with Anna

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

Fierce Grace

by Jess B. Moore

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU

 

Annabelle Dare is in a good place. She landed a sweet job, teaching at the quaint Fox River Elementary School. She has everything she needs: teaching music and sharing an apartment with her best friend. A simple life, she’s convinced, is all she needs.    

Asher Grace knows who he is and what he has to offer. Nothing. A poor boy from the wrong side of town, steelworker, with too much weight on his shoulders as he is trying to hold his family together. The best choice is avoiding too-sweet-for-her-own-good Annabelle at all costs.    

Annabelle falls in love with the way she comes to life with Asher. He awakens a hunger for life and love in her that she didn’t know she possessed.  

Asher must learn his worth beyond his upbringing and his past. Annabelle must learn to stoke the fire of life as it burns within her and learn how close she can get before the flames lick her. 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He was six-two to Kendra’s five-eleven and three-quarters. She didn’t claim six foot when we all knew it was closer to the truth.

 

I couldn’t recall his ever having said my name. Some combination of sleepiness and the dark of nighttime had me swooning over silly nonsense like the way my name sounded coming off his delectable lips. Modern women did not swoon. The word shouldn’t be in my vocabulary. Yet, there I sat, swooning.

 

The world blurred past us, but not so fast I couldn’t catch it. In no time I realized I was having fun. Shocking to my system as it was, I realized I enjoyed the ride. I was awake. Alive. When was the last time I was fully awake and alive in my life? I couldn’t remember. For the first time it didn’t seem like a good thing to expend so much time on being safe.

 

He offered me his hand and a smile… A smile that promised a lack of safety, only fire and a strong risk of getting burned.

 

Messing up the important things seems to be imprinted in my DNA.

 

My Review:

 

Jess B. Moore’s second verse was as good as the first. Fierce Grace features the same small-town southern community as her stunning debut Guilt of a Sparrow, but with a mostly new cast of players. I was fascinated, intrigued, and enamored with all of them.   Despite my typical tendency to eschew angsty reads, I don’t seem to mind hers, as Ms. Moore’s artful arrangements of words constitute a unique and special art form that is well tempered with humor and thoughtful insights. The writing was emotive, with captivating characters and intriguing and engaging storylines. My curiosity for one brother remained unquenched and left me with an itch for more. This will require further study and in-depth research of all future offerings from this incredibly talented scribe.

 

Author Bio 

Jess B. Moore is a writer of love stories.  When she’s not writing, she’s busy mothering her talented and stubborn children, reading obscene numbers of books, and knitting scarves she’ll likely never finish.   

Jess lives in small-town North Carolina with her bluegrass obsessed family.  She takes too many pictures of her cats, thinking the Internet loves them as much as she does.  She is a firm believer of swapping stories over coffee or wine, and that there should always be dark chocolate involved.   

Please leave a review to tell other readers what you thought.  Reviews are everything for writers! 

Look her up on social media @authorjessb – she’d be thrilled if you followed her on Twitter, overjoyed if you visited her on Facebook, and filled with glee if you liked her Instagram posts.  

Social Media Links –
Website:  https://jessbmoore.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authorjessb
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/authorjessb
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorjessb/

 

 

 You Were Always Mine

by Nicole Baart

Amazon | BAM | B&N

 384 Pages

 Atria Books (October 16, 2018)

The acclaimed author of Little Broken Things returns with another “race-to-the-finish family drama” (People) about a single mother who becomes embroiled in a mystery that threatens to tear apart what’s left of her family.

Jessica Chamberlain, newly separated and living with her two sons in a small Iowa town, can’t believe that a tragedy in another state could have anything to do with her. But when her phone rings one quiet morning, her world is shattered. As she tries to pick up the pieces and make sense of what went wrong, Jess begins to realize that a tragic death is just the beginning. Soon she is caught in a web of lies and half-truths—and she’s horrified to learn that everything leads back to her seven-year-old adopted son, Gabriel.

Years ago, Gabe’s birth mother requested a closed adoption and Jessica was more than happy to comply. But when her house is broken into and she discovers a clue that suggests her estranged husband was in close contact with Gabe’s biological mother, she vows to uncover the truth at any cost. A harrowing story of tenacious love and heartbreaking betrayal, You Were Always Mine is about the wars we wage to keep the ones we love close, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jodi Picoult.

“Tense, emotionally-charged, and at times frightening, You Were Always Mine opened my eyes to the dark side of adoption.  With characters that are true to life and a tremendous depth of knowledge into a shocking subject matter, this is Baart’s best book yet.  Completely engrossing!”–Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl

“Mothers everywhere will recognize and celebrate the fierce, imperfect strength of Jessica Chamberlain as she tries to parent her sons—one birthed and one adopted—in the wake of her estranged husband’s death. A startlingly authentic mix of suspense, grief, and family drama, You Were Always Mine reconstructs the pieces of a shattered life to reveal the darkness that destroyed it. You will never look at adoption the same way again.”–Mindy Mejia, author of Everything You Want Me To Be and Leave No Trace

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The night was black, the sky cast iron. It was hard and cold and jealous, swallowing up the glow of their headlights so that they had to squint at the dark road. At some point, they had passed from prairie to forest, and the starless sky above them had filled with the shadows of twisted branches. They were bare and peculiar, gnarled fingertips that seemed to reach for them. But when Jess turned her attention to the gloom, they were nothing more than wood and wind, hollow with the echo of silence.

 

The Deputy led them inside the building, past the reception desk and down a long hallway into a waiting room that seemed poised for bad news.

 

Apparently grief and anger were secret lovers because Jess tipped into blind rage so quickly it left her teetering.

 

For a split second, Max’s tough boy facade cracked. It was a hairline fracture, but Jess could just glimpse the child beneath. Her Max was in there somewhere, the tow-headed little boy who used to sit on her lap with his head against her chest and tap out her heartbeats with his fingertips. “I can feel your heart, mama,” he used to say. “It’s singing to me.”

 

Jess had been dreaming. No, not a dream, a nightmare, and she remembered it in ribbons that seemed to float just outside her vision. When she thought she caught a glimpse, it was gone. But the feeling remained, the sense that something, someone was just behind her, reaching.

 

My Review:

 

This may well be the most superbly written book I have picked up all year. I was torn while reading. While I was fully invested in the heart squeezing mystery and eager and desirous of absorbing every clue and solving the murder; I was totally in awe of the depth, power, and beauty of the writing and noticed my pace had significantly slowed in order to savor all the lovely words and descriptive observations. Ms. Baart is a skilled and clever wordsmith; her brilliantly crafted story was thoughtfully written, highly evocative and profoundly poignant. I was enthralled and will be raving about this one for months. Pinky swear!

 

About Nicole Baart

Nicole Baart is the mother of five children from four different countries. The co-founder of a non-profit organization, One Body One Hope, she lives in a small town in Iowa. Her books have been featured in Southern Living, Country Woman, Book Page, Glam, Brit & Co., and on Yahoo Lifestyle, and her latest release, Little Broken Things, was a People Magazine Editor’s Pick. Nicole is the author of nine critically acclaimed novels, including You Were Always Mine (available 10/16/18 from Atria Books).

Connect with Nicole

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

A Christmas Date

by Camilla Isley

Amazon US  /   UK  /  Amazon Geo-linked  

iBooks  /  B&N  / Kobo / Google Play 

 

No one wants to be single at the holidays.

Even Little Miss Grinch, Nikki, a successful and independent woman, must face her bachelorette status at the most horrible time of the year.

December is her personal version of holly-jolly hell: a merry torture made of couples kissing at every corner, forced vacation days, and an inescapable family reunion.

And when her baby sister announces she’s engaged—to Paul, the man Nikki is secretly in love with—and that he’s spending the holidays with them, Christmas starts looking bluer than ever.

Nikki can’t possibly survive an entire week trapped home as the family’s spinster. But she has no time to meet men or to try the newest dating app, she’s too busy working as a video producer for an advertising agency.

So what’s a girl to do?

Nikki has the perfect solution: to hire a fake boyfriend.

Luckily, her job gives her access to an endless catalog of gorgeous actors to choose from.

But Nikki will soon discover that keeping business and pleasure from mixing isn’t so easy and that she might not be immune to a little mistletoe magic. Especially not when she picked out the perfect man as her Christmas date…

A fun, festive romantic comedy with lots of bad behavior and Christmas spirit. Like a creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows, you won’t want to put this deliciously hilarious novel down. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Sally Thorne, and Jo Watson.

First Comes Love is a series of interconnected romantic novels. However, each book in the series can be read as a standalone.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Oh, come on… You sleep in the candy shop every night, and you want me to believe you’ve never thought of tasting the candies?

 

If Diego was a real boyfriend, and not one paid to endure my family, I’d be dying of shame at their ill-concealed eagerness. Mom and Julia look like wolfhounds with the scent of a bone fresh in their nostrils.

 

“Your mom and your old crone of an aunt always complain you’re never going to find a man. But I told them how wrong they were, and bet Dora a pie you’d be married before forty, which is the new thirty.”… I’m not sure what makes me angrier: the fact that my mom openly discusses my dating life with the whole town; or that, apparently, the prize of my happiness is a pumpkin pie.

 

 “…that doesn’t justify her calling me fat and old. She’s so petty.” “I don’t remember Julia calling you fat or old.” “But she did, in female code language.” “You girls have a secret language?” “All gals do; it’s Bitchenglish.”

 

My Review:

 

My first exposure to the witty comedic style of Camilla Isley and I am an instant fangirl. I smirked my way through this lively and clever tale that sure, it has been done before, but this version was much more fun. While they may have been adults, sleeping in their childhood beds seemed to harken them back to their surly teen and childish whining behaviors. The characters were competitive, stressed to a toxic level, and nearing the obnoxious register on the pettiness scale with life-long sibling rivalries reaching a scalding level. But what family holiday gathering isn’t complete without several meltdowns and a messy food skirmish? It’s not even Halloween yet and I’m already in the Christmas spirit and dreaming of the heavily laden table – bring on the pie.

 

 

Author Bio –

Camilla is an engineer turned writer after she quit her job to follow her husband on an adventure abroad.

She’s a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading—duh!—cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies—popcorn, please. She’s a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.

Social Media Links –

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/camillaisley

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14135080.Camilla_Isley

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/camilla-isley

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

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/camillaisley/

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m a noble kinda guy… My sisters used to joke that I have a lousy sense of direction because my brain’s entire navigational system is made up of moral compass.

 

One second I’m standing there talking with him about the finer points of sunset dining, and the next second I’m polishing his tonsils with my tongue. I don’t know what happened.

 

I laugh at the idea of my mother having a job. “She marries rich men with commitment issues, then takes them to the cleaners when they cheat.”

 

I hold my breath like a teenager watching his first skin flick, praying someone doesn’t show up and change the channel.

 

My Review:

 

Going by the title and cover shot you would expect this book to be corny erotica – wrong. It was actually a cleverly amusing and sweet romance with thoughtful and sensitive storylines and some extra fun and spicy bits as a bonus. I adored these endearing and smirk-worthy characters.   Written in my favorite dual POV, I was enamored and fully engaged from start to finish. I dove into the series at book three with no difficulties following the plot, although I covet more time with the other characters and am scheming to find a time machine or just possibly revamp my calendar to include extra days so I can read the earlier installments, as well as every other book this crafty wordsmith has cranked out. But I’m greedy like that when I stumble upon treasure. I wants them all!

 

Goodreads

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners

by Gretchen Anthony

Amazon | Books-A-Million | B & N

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Park Row; Original edition (October 16, 2018)

A formidable matriarch learns the hard way that no family is perfect in this witty, sparkling debut novel

Dearest loved ones, far and near—evergreen tidings from the Baumgartners!

Violet Baumgartner has opened her annual holiday letter the same way for the past three decades. And this year she’s going to throw her husband, Ed, a truly perfect retirement party, one worthy of memorializing in her upcoming letter. But the event becomes a disaster when, in front of two hundred guests, Violet learns her daughter Cerise has been keeping a shocking secret from her, shattering Violet’s carefully constructed world.

In an epic battle of wills, Violet goes to increasing lengths to wrest back control of her family, infuriating Cerise and snaring their family and friends in a very un-Midwestern, un-Baumgartner gyre of dramatics. And there will be no explaining away the consequences in this year’s Baumgartner holiday letter…

Full of humor, emotion and surprises at every turn, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners brings to life a remarkable cast of quirky, deeply human characters who must learn to adapt to the unconventional, or else risk losing one another. This is the story of a family falling to pieces—and the unexpected way they put it all back together.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Barb was steeped in the classics, but the only literary references Cerise knew came from the mandatory hours spent next to her mother watching Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. All that time invested and the only things she had to show for it were a decent British accent and a canny ability to let her thoughts wander behind open eyes.

 

If the Hesse family were birds, we’d be California condors… No, members of the vulture family and nearly extinct.

 

He watched as his soon-to-be-former boss, a toad of a guy who kept his dermatologist busy with retinol treatments and mole removal, straightened the pin tethering his Dolce & Gabbana tie to his Burberry shirt… I hope you croak, Richard wanted to say. I hear that’s what toads do.

 

My Review:

 

I loved this book from the start and was soon smirking as I relished the smartly written and clever humor, which quickly led to giggle-snorting and then on to full-on laughing aloud, which occurred several times before I finished. I adored the full slate of fascinatingly quirky and odd characters, but the winner, by far, of the most expertly crafted and deftly depicted character sweepstakes was the petty, shallow, and highly manipulative Violet. Violet was a meddlesome helicopter parent who was ridiculously intrusive, arrogant, judgmental, and an exacting perfectionist with everything she did, whether it was controlling the various committees she spearheaded or in keeping her home surgically clean. Violet’s to-do list was never-ending as she was constantly scheming and often had several going at once, although in her rationalizations it was always for the betterment of her family; her inner musings were comedic gold and highly entertaining. The storylines were ingenious and highly eventful while the writing was laced with insightful observations and packed with lip twitching levity. I couldn’t put my Kindle down, as I couldn’t wait to see what outrageous situation would pop-up next. I was stunned and awed to realize this was the author’s debut; it was a delight to read and a treasure to have discovered. Gretchen Anthony is definitely one to watch and has a new fangirl.

This was chosen for my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info

 

About Gretchen Anthony

Gretchen Anthony is a Minnesota-based writer and humorist whose work has been featured on scarymommy.com, medium.com and thewritelife.com. She’s also spent decades as a ghostwriter and has written for some of the best personal brands in the United States, from CEOs to doctors and start-up superstars to BBQ pros. Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners is her first novel.

Connect with Gretchen

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Love Blooms When You Least Expect It…

Juliet Shakespeare is done with love. With a growing floristry business and an adorable daughter to raise, life after separating from her husband is complicated enough.

But when handsome single father, Ryan Sutherland, arrives in town, everything changes. As much as she tries to distract herself, Juliet can’t help but be drawn to the easy-going Romeo next door and the way he makes her feel.

Photographer Ryan is only back in his hometown for a few months so there’s no point falling for someone he’ll just have to say goodbye to. But he didn’t account for Juliet – the intriguing and beautiful, red-haired woman next door. And in her, he might just have found everything he ever wanted . . .

A gorgeous Shakespeare Sisters romance from the bestselling author of Fix You.

 

UK Buy Links

Amazon UK | iBooks UK | Kobo UK | WHSmith

US Buy Links

Amazon US | iBooks | Kobo | Nook  

Advance Praise for By Virtue Fall

This story is amazing, beautiful, intense, sweet & loving. So need more of this series..’ – Teresa, Goodreads Reviewer, Five Stars

‘Carrie Elks is an excellent story-teller.’ – Steph N, Goodreads Reviewer, Five Stars

‘Oh wow Elks has written another book that has blown me away.’ – Donna, Goodreads Reviewer, Five Stars

‘What a blissful read.’ – Shelley, Goodreads Reviewer, Five Stars

‘An outstanding read.’ – Evonne, Goodreads Reviewer, Five Stars

‘Carrie Elks has a way with her words that takes me into another world and leaves me breathless.’ – Melanie Moreland, New York Times Bestselling Author

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Miss Mason had been a Kindergarten teacher for more than twenty years. Everything in her classroom was ruled by bathroom breaks.

 

The denim clung to him like it couldn’t bear to let go.

 

Funny how she’d bristled at that nickname when he’d first used it. Now she loved it. It was like a little secret only the two of them knew. She wanted to cover it in bubble wrap and keep it safe, protect it from the harsh winds of the outside world. Because right then everything felt fragile. Like a wisp of smoke blowing on the wind.

 

…there’s nothing worse than running away, only to find your troubles bought a ticket and decided to travel right along with you.

 

My Review:

 

This was my first exposure to Carrie Elks and I am greatly disappointed in myself, how have I not noticed this deftly gifted wordsmith before now? Snap! Reading her entertaining arrangements of words was a total pleasure. Her storylines were relatable, insightful, amusing, vibrantly detailed, and populated with lovable and clever characters. By Virtue Fall was book four of a series featuring a family known as the Shakespeare Sisters, yet it was quite capable of standing on its own as it possessed strong tango dancing legs. However, there is nothing else in this world I would rather read right now than the previous three installments as well as every other book, novella, and short story on her backlist. Carrie Elks has a new fangirl.

This was chosen as a  Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info

About the Author

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.

Twitter – CarrieElks

Facebook – CarrieElksAuthor

Goodreads – 7266211.Carrie_Elks

Website