Category: 5-Stars

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Book Review: The Haunting of Hattie Hastings – Part Three by Audrey Davis

The Haunting of Hattie Hastings

 Part Three

by Audrey Davis

Goodreads

 Amazon US/ UK /  CA / AU

 

Nothing lasts forever … Gary’s time on earth seems to be coming to an end. His visits are less frequent and his visibility is fading fast. But he still has a mission to accomplish, which involves Hattie and her ability to pass on a heart-rending message.

Best friend Cat’s ex-husband is determined to prove that he deserves another chance, but do leopards really change their spots?

Times are tough for Hattie’s mother Rachel, but where there’s life, there’s hope …

Meanwhile, is there someone already in Hattie’s life who can help her move on when it’s finally time to say goodbye?

Get your tissues at the ready – both for laughter and tears – with the final installment of a trilogy that has been hailed ‘brilliant’, ‘hilarious’, and ‘a great feel-good read’.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Don’t think I haven’t noticed you ogling Mike next door when he’s mowing the lawn in those ridiculously tight shorts. Christ, if they were any tighter, his balls would be begging Amnesty International for freedom.

 

She was make-up free, her skin that enviable porcelain Hattie could only have dreamed of in her youth. Her teens had been plagued by spots, the hideous blighters regrouping during the night.

 

Can you take a few days off from the salon, or will the wrinkly clientele attack you with pitchforks and vats of serum?

 

‘Does my bum look big in this?’ Cat stretched around to check out her rear, encased in skin-tight faux leather trousers. ‘Bloody enormous. Like something you’d see wallowing in an African river,’ retorted Hattie…

 My Review:

 

I adored this cleverly amusing and delightfully saucy series; each installment left me with pages and pages of favorite quotes while whittling the list down to include in my review proved increasingly painful each time. Audrey Davis provided a humorous and creative vision of the afterlife, one which I certainly wouldn’t mind finding myself slotted into, even if I needed to fulfill the role of helpful specter before earning my spot within “The Next Realm” with bouncy castles and a bump up in class, comfort, and extra legroom. I reveled in her quirky characters and highly innovative and entertaining storylines. Ms. Davis’ lively wit and comedic stylings kept me smirking and snorting aloud and left my Brit Vocabulary List well padded. New additions from this volume include scuppered (ruined), telling porkies (lying), and Sod’s law (when things go bad, it is always in the worst possible way).

About Audrey Davis

Audrey Davis survived secondary school on the West coast of Scotland. Rubbish at science but not too bad at English, she originally wanted to be an actress but was persuaded that journalism was a safer option. Probably wise. She studied at Napier College in Edinburgh, the only place in Scotland at that time to offer a journalism course.

Her first foray into the hard-nosed newspaper world was as a junior reporter in Dumfriesshire. Duties included interviewing farmers about the prize-winning heifers to reporting on family tragedies. She persuaded her editor to let her launch an entertainment column which meant meeting the odd celebrity – or just the downright odd. From there, she moved to the loftier rank of senior reporter back in her home patch. Slightly more money, fewer farm animals but a higher crime rate. As Taggart would say: ‘There’s been a murrrrder!’

After a stint in London on a video magazine – yes, she is that old – Audrey moved to Singapore with her fiancé. She tried valiantly to embrace the stinking heat, humidity and lack of jobs, although she did work briefly on a magazine which was banned by the government for ‘artistic’ use of naked men’s bottoms.

Next on her adventures was a land Down Under where her main focus was raising Cost Centre One (aka firstborn) and coming to terms with the imminent arrival of Number Two. Still, she loved the Aussie way of life – BBQs, beaches and bring your own booze to restaurants – so it came as a blow when OH announced a move back to the UK. Not a job between them, the climate a possible deal breaker and an Exorcist-style vomiting infant on the flight home didn’t bode well …

Always a survivor, Audrey sought out similar-minded friends (i.e. slightly bonkers), got the children into a good school and thought about taking up writing again. Sadly, thinking about it was as far as she got, unless you count shopping lists. Then, hubby drops another bombshell. Switzerland. As in – it’s packing time again. Off to the land of cheese, chocolate, scarily efficient trains and a couple of teeny, tiny issues. Like driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and speaking a foreign language (French). The former was conquered fairly quickly (we’ll skip over the wall demolition in week two), the latter remains an ongoing battle of the hopeful against the hopeless. At least she provides amusement for the local workforce.

It wasn’t until 2016 that Audrey rediscovered her writing mojo with an online Writing Fiction course. From there, her first novel – A Clean Sweep – was born, although it took a bit longer than nine months from conception. A short, darker prequel – A Clean Break – followed, and in November 2017 she published the first in a novella trilogy, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One. Part Two is published on 21 March 2018, with the conclusion following in July. After which she might have a wee lie down …

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/audreydavisbooks

Twitter- https://twitter.com/audbyname

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Book Review: Bentley by Melanie Moreland

Bentley 

(Vested Interest #1)

by Melanie Moreland 

Goodreads

Amazon / B&N


Three young men meet in university and form a lifelong friendship.

Their pasts dictate the men they are, but their present shapes their future.

What happens when these men meet the one person they are destined to be with? Can they fight their feelings and walk away? Or will they each succumb and learn the sweet agony of love?

Bentley

The leader of the group. He is uptight, formal, and cold. Rigid and set in his ways, always following the same path. Until the day, he stumbles upon her.
Emmy.
She brings with her spontaneity and light. The world she lives in is so different from his, yet he cannot control the draw to her. Nor can he explain the way she makes him feel.
Happy.
Protective.
Loved.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

My name isn’t Emmy… Winifred Windfall. That means, really, I’m Freddy Money.

 “Does he go with you everywhere?” I nodded, winking covertly at her. “He’s like a fungus I can’t get rid of.”

 We headed toward the counter, and I made a beeline for an older woman, thinking she’d be the safest bet. Except when she looked up, her frank appraisal made me hesitate. When she licked her lips, I felt Maddox’s yank on my arm. “Abort, abort,” he hissed. “Cougar.” Like a well-oiled machine, we veered to the right…

 Aiden, maybe you can teach me some of your karate skills. I bet I could take them if I tried. I don’t know if there is, like, a kidnapper network, but if word got out I wasn’t to be messed with, that would help keep them away.

My Review:

I adored each of these characters and am eager to delve into the rest of the series. The storylines were crisp, intriguing, cleverly amusing, and unfailingly entertaining. The character of Bentley was initially that of a frosty and arrogant businessman, but underneath he was a considerate and swoony teddy bear. I relished the easy banter and bawdy teasing among the group and was in awe at the deft and insightful handling of several rather heavy and vexing emotional issues.   Ms. Moreland’s smooth and engaging writing style held my interest, attention, and admiration from start to finish.

About the Author

New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them. 
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip. 
Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free-falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.
Melanie is represented by Flavia Viotti at Bookcase Literary Agency. For any questions regarding subsidiary or translation rights please contact her at flavia@bookcaseagency.com
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Book Review, Giveaway: Maddox by Melanie Moreland

Title: Maddox
Series: Vested Interest Series
Author: Melanie Moreland
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense 18+
Release Date: July 9, 2018
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“Every reader is going to tell you that Maddox is a dirty talker. He also likes control, but the one thing he can’t control is Dee’s heart.The joy of this story is the characters learning to trust one another with their hearts.” Mae Wood, author of Pig & Barley series

“There’s a new book boyfriend on the block and his name is Maddox. Hands off ladies, he is all MINE.” Eva LeNoir, author of UCC Saga series

“Right, let’s get one thing straight. Maddox = MINE. I mean, I claimed him way, back when, and now I’ve read his story, I’ve even more obsessed with him. Even more in love with him. Even more in love with this series, TBH.” B. Cranford, author of The Avenue series

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Brought up in chaos and fear, Maddox requires order and control to cope with life. He has his career and his two closest friends. That is all he needs. Until Dee enters his life. She brings forth feelings he has denied himself his entire life, threatening his control.
He wants to hold.
Keep.
Love.
Live.
 
Damaged by her past, Dee cannot admit her feelings for him, fighting him at every turn.
Is he strong enough for both of them?
Can he prove to her that they would be perfect together?
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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“I don’t date,” she insisted, stubborn as a child being told something they didn’t want to hear. I scrubbed my face. “I hate to break it to you, my lovely. We’ve been dating the past few months.” She sat up, clutching a pillow in front of her like a talisman. “We have not!” I sat up as well, grabbing her shoulders. “Listen to me. We’ve been having dinner, meeting with our friends, talking on the phone, texting. Having sex.” I dropped my voice. “Amazing, crazy sex. Neither of us is seeing anyone else… Whether you like it or not, we’re in an exclusive relationship.” She gaped at me, making me laugh.

 “If I have to beat you for this, Mad Dog, I will—but I’ll try to be gentle.” “Whatever,” I snorted. “I can take you, big man.” “You think so? I could snap you like a twig.” “I’ll throw a couple of lemon Danish at you and run. You’ll be so busy trying to catch them, I’ll be fine.”

 … he was such a pretentious asshole. He makes Bentley look like a laid-back hippie. The pole he has shoved up his backside must tickle his throat.

My Review:

This series has become one of my favorites to date – I’m intrigued by this endearing and bossy group of successful entrepreneurs who had met and became best friends during their college years. Each had suffered a traumatic past with no desire for a serious relationship, until one-by-one, the mighty fell, and I so enjoyed watching them tumble. The three friends, having each miraculously paired off, were assisting Bentley and Emmy in wedding preparations, with cleverly amusing results. The character of Maddox was happily settling into his first satisfying relationship when an unpleasant part of his past places everything he had worked for at risk and proved to be a sticky thorn to dislodge. Written from my favorite dual POV, the storylines were entertaining, amusing, and quite erotic. Maddox was a salacious and sensual read with breath-stealing scenes that left me gasping and seeking cool hydration. Clutch the pearls; this lascivious couple was scorching the sheets with reams of bawdy talk. I relished the humor, ease, and supportive nature of this colorful and vibrant collection of curiously alluring personalities, and eagerly anticipate equally entertaining tales of their expanding circle of friends and employees.

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Until one day, I was browsing my local bookstore for something new to read.
Studying a book jacket, I was distracted when a woman’s silhouette caught my attention. She was lissome and pretty, the sunlight catching her light red hair. She was reading the back of a book, her finger running over the spine. Something about her beckoned to me yet seemed familiar. With a grin, I realized it was Dee, and I approached her. “Find something good?”
She glanced at me, startled. I was close enough to see the flecks of brown in her wide green eyes. She smiled and slid the book back onto the shelf. “Not really.” She indicated the books I had in my hand. “I think you’ve had better luck.”
“You can borrow one if you like. I tend to buy in batches.”
She tilted her head, silently mouthing the titles. She looked up with a smile. “That would be lovely.”
“I was gonna grab a cup of coffee. Can I interest you in joining me?”
“I’d love to.”
Seated across from her, I realized it was the first time we’d ever been alone.
“You come here often?”
She shook her head with a wry grin. “Is that your best pick-up line, Maddox?”
I chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here until today.”
“I was in the office for a short while, then dropped in here. Usually I browse on my lunch hour.”
“That makes sense.”
Silence fell as we sipped our coffee, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I noticed she nibbled at the end of her thumb, and it struck me as odd. Given her stoic persona, I found it rather endearing.
And I found my thoughts strange. Endearing wasn’t a word I used often—if ever.
She met my gaze. “So, is it?”
“Is it what?”
“Is that your best pick-up line?”
I studied her as I drank my coffee. “I don’t typically do pick-up lines.”
She smirked. “I’m not surprised.”
“Sorry?”
“With that whole silver fox thing you’ve got going, I’m sure you don’t have to.”
I frowned. “Silver fox?”
“Maddox, the silver fox. Young, sexy, wealthy, plus that premature gray? I bet you beat them off with a stick.”
I shook my head, amused at her thoughts. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but no.”
“Really? I’m surprised.”
I sat back, crossing my legs, swinging one foot. “What about you, Deirdre? All prim and pretty. You drive the lawyers crazy at your firm?”
She laughed. “Dee. No one calls me Deirdre. It’s stuffy and formal.”
“No. It’s a lovely name for a lovely woman. It suits you. The lawyers you date don’t call you by your full name?”
She ignored my comment about her name. “I don’t date lawyers, or anyone else at my firm,” she stated firmly. “In fact, I don’t date.”
“Ever?”
She hesitated, then shook her head. “No. Love, romantic love, isn’t for me.”
I took in a deep breath and spoke. “Why is that?”
“It’s dangerous. It overwhelms and kills you.”
At my raised eyebrow, she continued.
“I’m not saying I don’t see people. I have…needs. But I don’t do romantic relationships. I’ve seen the way love destroys people.” She held up her hand before I could speak. “I know it works for some, but I’m not built that way.”
I drained my coffee, then leaned forward. “Neither am I.”
She widened her eyes. “Really?”
“Love equals power. The power to destroy. The ability to hurt and cause pain. The chaos it causes. That’s what love means to me. It destroys trust and leaves you weak.”
“You feel that way about everyone?”
“There are a few exceptions. And I will never break them for a woman.”
Our eyes met, silent understanding passing between us. The air shifted, and I felt our mutual desire grow. It stretched out, pushing tentatively against the boundaries we had erected. She propped her elbow on the table, lifting her thumb to her mouth. Her small teeth gnawed at the flesh. It was an innocent gesture, yet I found it provocative.
“I have needs too,” I murmured. Reaching over, I tugged her thumb from her mouth, inspecting it. From the roughness of the skin, and the fact that it was the second time she’d done it since we sat down, it was clearly a nervous habit for her. I slowly dragged my fingers across her palm, then laid her hand on the table.
Her breathing hitched. “I’m older than you are.”
“Three years,” I scoffed. “It’s nothing.”
“I’m serious. I don’t do relationships.”
“Nor do I.” I bent forward, lowering my voice. “May I be blunt with you?”
“I prefer blunt.”
“I find you incredibly attractive, Deirdre. Very sexy in your buttoned-up clothes and calm exterior. I’d like to see what happens when you’re naked and aroused.” I tilted my head, studying her. “Like now—are you aware in the past few minutes, your breathing picked up and your eyes darkened? You have the loveliest color across your cheeks. Even the tips of your ears are pink. I wonder how far down I could make you flush that way.”
Her color deepened, but she didn’t flinch. She shifted closer, our knees pressed together under the table. Her normally husky voice was even lower, turning me on. “You want honest?”
I nodded.
“I think you’re one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met, Maddox. I see how your toned body moves when you walk, and I imagine you moving in me. You use your hands a lot when you talk, and I want to feel them on my skin. Your muscles flex under your expensive suits, and I want to feel them tighten under my touch.” She ran her finger over her lips. “I want to taste you and watch you fall apart.”
“Then maybe we should go and explore each other.”
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New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them. 
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip. 
Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free-falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.
Melanie is represented by Flavia Viotti at Bookcase Literary Agency. For any questions regarding subsidiary or translation rights please contact her at flavia@bookcaseagency.com
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Book Review: BEGIN WITH YOU (Chaotic Love #1) by Claudia Burgoa

Today we are celebrating the release of the first title in Claudia Burgoa’s Chaotic Love duet! BEGIN WITH YOU is now live (99 cents till Monday!) and the second book in the set, BACK TO YOU, releases August 9th.

Sign up for Claudia’s newsletter for exclusive news about the duet!

Begin with You by Claudia Burgoa

Chaotic Love, #1 – Available Now

Purchase for just 99 cents!

Amazon  |  Nook  |  iBooks  |  Kobo

Add the book to Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the outside, Abby’s life looks like a fairytale. 

Loving family, wealthy lifestyle, education at a prestigious university. The truth? She’s barely managing to survive. Few know the nightmare she lived before she was adopted. And no one knows the secret agony that still haunts her nightmares.

With a degree from Berkeley, she could have gone anywhere, but she’s back in Colorado. Not for a fresh start—fresh starts are only an illusion—but for Wes Ahern. Her protector, who throws around words like “therapy” and “talk to me.” Her brother in every way but blood. The one man she wishes could be so much more.

Maybe, just this once, she can stop running from her demons. 

But does she dare let Wes see inside the darkest closets of her pain…or will love be the biggest mistake of her life?

An inspirational and emotional contemporary romance Begin with You is a heartbreaking tale of fresh starts and old wounds. This jarring and dark novel will leave readers at the edge of their seats. This is part one of a duet, thus containing a cliffhanger that leads into the next installment. It contains references to childhood trauma, kidnapping, and PTSD.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Some people don’t have what it takes to be human, and she was one of them.

 Because sex is like bungee jumping. If you overthink it, you’ll never do it.

 My Review:

 

I don’t know what it is about Claudia Burgoa but despite my complete and total loathing of conflict and angst, I cannot resist her disquieting stories. She definitely has the word voodoo – and lots of it. Begin With You had me ensorcelled, captivated, and held hostage with compelling characters and a heart-squeezing and intriguing tale. But how vile, I’m am stamping my little foot while blue steam is blasting from every cranial orifice as this foreboding, dark, and twisted saga ended with a heinous cliffhanger and broke me. Once I’ve calmed down it’s off to the store to pick up supplies for a fetish doll and extra sharp pins to employ while impatiently awaiting the second half of this addictive duet.

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Back to You by Claudia Burgoa

Chaotic Love, #2 – Coming August 9

Pre-order Now!

Amazon (coming soon!)  |  Nook  |  iBooks  |  Kobo

Add the book to Goodreads

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:


Claudia is an award-winning, international bestselling author. She lives in Colorado working for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. And a wonderful husband who shares her love for all things geek. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.

 

AUTHOR LINKS:

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Book Review: Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone

Jane Doe

by Victoria Helen Stone

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

 

Lake Union Publishing (August 1, 2018)

A double life with a single purpose: revenge.

Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.

But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.

Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away.

Just as he did to her.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’ve been to church plenty of times. When you grow up in rural Oklahoma, there’s no avoiding it… We had no use for pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps Christianity. If there wasn’t a big potluck after services, what was the point of going? My mom always stayed late, putting on a show of helping clean up. I liked that part. There were lots of leftovers, and she usually smuggled out a couple of free serving bowls.

 

That first time I read about sociopaths, I felt filled up with a bright light that was equal parts terror and joy. Finally—finally!—I understood. It was scary to know the truth, yes, but not nearly as frightening as ignorance… later research at the county library assured me that most people like me don’t grow up to be killers. We lie and manipulate and take advantage, but usually that just makes us great at business. Yay for capitalism…

 

There are a lot of us. More than I even realized back then. Most of us are just trying to get through the day, like aliens living secretly among humans. And we’re great for the economy. It’s easy to turn a profit when you have no self-doubt.

 

The clerk is a pale young man who looks like he suffered a terrible haircut nine months ago and decided to never try again.

 

Everyone likes to be told they are right, because that means someone else is deliciously, fantastically wrong, and that is a joy that never gets old. I like it too.

 

Don’t believe the movies about us. Being a sociopath doesn’t automatically make someone a genius at killing. I’m learning on the job here.

 My Review:

 

Gird yourselves – this is going to be a full-on rave and I fear my anxiously eager yet well-manicured fingers may not be able to keep up. Jane Doe was a tasty treat! It was deliciously snarky, brilliantly written, expertly crafted, and savagely clever. I loved every fiendishly compelling word. It was wicked good, and I feel impotent and ineffectual, as I cannot mentally retrieve enough lofty adjectives and adverbs to do it justice.

I was immediately sucked into Jane’s cunning vortex and honestly, I didn’t want to leave as I took great pleasure in being a hitchhiker within her deviously sly cranium and being privy to her sardonic inner musings and razor-sharp insights while she ingeniously plotted the demise of her best friend’s tormenter. In deciding the best course of action for her vengeance, Jane debated and shuffled through various scenarios in determining her plan. I was gleefully cheering her on every step of the way and greatly relieved when she landed on the winning combination without bloodshed, yet was far more devastating. I had never read this author in either incarnation whether Victoria Helen Stone or Victoria Dahl, but she is my new favorite. I adore her. Fangirl down!

About Victoria Helen Stone

Victoria Helen Stone is the nom de plume for USA Today bestselling author Victoria Dahl. After publishing more than twenty-five novels, she is now taking a turn toward the darker side of genre fiction. Born and educated in the Midwest, she finished her first manuscript just after college. In 2016, the American Library Association awarded her the prestigious Reading List Award for outstanding genre fiction. Having escaped the plains of her youth, she now resides with her family in a small town high in the Rocky Mountains, where she enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, and not skiing (too dangerous).

Connect with Victoria

Website | Twitter

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: Unfinished Business (The David Trilogy #2) by S.C. Cunningham

 

Unfinished Business

The David Trilogy #2

by S.C. Cunningham

Goodreads

 Amazon USA / UK  / B&N

 

He loved being him… he got away with murder.

She loved being her… until she met him.

The steamy roller coaster ride of psychotic David’s obsession with his childhood sweetheart, a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humor and pulsating sex scenes.

With the help of her gutsy friends, fun-loving city girl Tara Warr is the only victim to survive David Howard’s death list. Whilst lounging in prison the hypnotic sexual tour de force enlists an eager recruit, seduces a prison warden and relocates to the sunnier climes of Mexico, a freedom short-lived when his charred remains are found in the fire of a plastic surgeon’s clinic. The police cease their search, finally Tara and her friends can relax, David is dead.

Laughter soon turns to fear when he communicates via Tara’s laptop that he is very much alive, knows their every move and is ready to finish what he started. He is among them, but who? He has a brand new face.

Tara has had enough, time to turn the tables and make him suffer. A woman unafraid of death is a dangerous thing. Has David finally met his match?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Swearing was so wonderfully satisfying. Why take the time to put drearily long, politically correct sentences together when the point could be made in one delicious succinct ‘bollocks!’

 Of course it’s real, you mare, he’s not playing Barbie and Ken, that’s Action Man down there, our very own killing machine.

 They gave her the hostile ‘do you know who we are?’ look, followed by aghast hand-on-hip staring and shaking of heads, as if she had just stolen their first born and worn the same dress. Eyes wide, jaws dropped, they didn’t move.

 ‘If I die I want red roses and a pint of Guinness on my coffin,’ mumbled Seb, his hands over his eyes. ‘I may be a tad thirsty where I’m goin.’ ‘Blue flowers for me… Don’t worry Seb, hell will have wicked bars and clubs, you’ll be fine. What music do you want?’ asked Tara.

 …‘there’s an old boy who brings his life-size doll with him, he leaves her in the passenger seat of the car… he would bring her in but she keeps sliding off the bar stool, he doesn’t want people thinkin she’s drunk… She’s very pretty, a bit of a surprised look on her face… nice clothes… her hair needs doing, I did offer, but he took offence… I think he thought I was trying to pull her… honestly, do I look like I ‘do’ women?’ he tutted, hand on aproned hip… ‘Plastic ones at that…honestly,’ Anton huffed…

 My Review:

 

I am enjoying this dark and twisted series far too much and continue to worry what that says about me. This story has me in knots and I am enthralled and intrigued by this ingeniously crafted, maddeningly paced, unpredictable, action-packed, tautly written, and salacious tale. Laced with betrayals, hidden agendas, secret identities, passionate and sensual love stories, and more scream-worthy twists and turns than a carnival ride.

The writing was nothing less than first-rate and I lived for this wily author’s cunning and clever lashings of wit and titillating humor. S. C. Cunningham is obviously an evil genius with serious word voodoo. Her characters were enigmatic, alluring, deeply flawed, and fascinating. Not one of them was who they seemed or without dark secrets of their own. David must have a magical wang as all his past lovers still find him highly desirable, despite his unsavory crimes, twisted behaviors, murderous intent, and previous attempts to kill them off.

I am now stamping my little foot in a pique over the heinous cliffhanger and totally conflicted in whom to root for as the ending turned everything upside down. I sincerely hope Ms. Cunningham is currently locked in her office while chained to her computer and banging out part three. I have but two words for her – please hurry!

 

About The Author  

British Author S C Cunningham (The Penance List, Unfinished Business and The Deal) creates psychological and paranormal thrillers with a skilled mix of fueled tension, dark humor, and pulsating sex scenes. Her works offer a fresh level of sincerity and authority, rare in fiction.

Cunningham writes what she knows. Abducted as a child, she survived; and every night for months afterward, she prayed to God, asking for a deal. This personal journey sparked the fuse behind the intriguing and riveting fictional world she portrays in The Deal, the first in the Fallen Angel Series. Twenty years later she crossed paths with a violent serial attacker, thus sowing the seed for her thrillers The Penance List and Unfinished Business part of The David Trilogy. She is currently working on Book III For My Sins.

An ex-model, British born of Irish roots, she married a rock musician and has worked in the exciting worlds of rock music, film, sports celebrity management and as a Crime Investigator for the Police – Wanted & Absconder Unit, Intelligence Analyst, Major Crime Team, Investigations Hub.

Having worked in the music to film industry, she writes with film in mind. The Penance List has been adapted to film screenplay.

Social Media Links –

Website – http://www.sccunningham.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/SCCunningham8

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pg/sccunningham8/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/siobhancunningham8/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sccunningham/

Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+SCCunninghamAuthor

Amazon Author Page USA – https://www.amazon.com/S-C-Cunningham/e/B002L3ZC2U/

Amazon Author Page UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-C-Cunningham/e/B002L3ZC2U/

 

Giveaway 

Win a signed copy of Unfinished Business

(Open Internationally)

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

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Book Review: What Blooms from Dust by James Markert

 What Blooms from Dust

by James Markert

 

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Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 26, 2018)

Just as Jeremiah Goodbye is set to meet his fate in the electric chair, a tornado tears down the prison walls, and he is given a second chance at life. With the flip of a coin, he decides to return to his hometown of Nowhere, Oklahoma, to settle the score with his twin brother Josiah. But upon his escape, he enters a world he doesn’t recognize—one that has been overtaken by the Dust Bowl. And the gift he once relied on to guide him is as unrecognizable as the path back to Nowhere.

After one jolt in Old Sparky, Jeremiah sees things more clearly and begins to question the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murders he was accused of. On his journey home, he accidentally rescues a young boy who follows him the rest of the way, and the pair arrive at their destination where they are greeted by fearful townspeople. When the Black Sunday storm hits the very next day, the residents of Nowhere finally begin to let the past few years of hardship bury them under the weight of all that dust.

Unlikely heroes, Jeremiah and his new companion, Peter Cotton, try to protect the townspeople from themselves, but Jeremiah must face his nightmares and free himself from the guilt of flipping the coin on those men who died.

Filled with mystery and magic, What Blooms from Dust is the story of finding hope in the midst of darkness and discovering the beauty of unexpected kindness.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Wilmington said he felt a duster coming every morning. He liked to hedge his bets and say he told you so.

 

Least when I talk I don’t look like a mouse nibblin’ on cheese…

 

Back when you had hair on your head and a stomach that fit in your pants. How do you continue gaining weight when the rest of us can’t seem to keep it?

 

Your mother died too young, Jeremiah. Death ain’t picky when it comes to things like that. It takes you when it takes you and then leaves you to cope without the least bit of instructions on how you’re supposed to do it.

 

There’s signs up everywhere in California… They say No Okies Allowed. They don’t want us. Nobody wants us. We’re no different from the Indians and the Blacks and the Mexicans… They put us on the same signs. The same signs.

 

My Review:

 

“Health, wealth, and opportunity,” were the promises on a brochure depicting a lovely town with paved roads and a wholesome and established community which had lured a train filled with hopeful new residents, all eager to see their new investment of homes and property, only to find themselves in the middle of nowhere, in a field in the Oklahoma panhandle in 1920s. Swindled and fleeced. They settled there anyway and ironically named their newly established town, Nowhere, Oklahoma. I love irony and Mr. Markert used it cleverly throughout his intricately woven storylines and brilliantly paced and engrossing tale.

Masterfully crafted are the words that kept turning over in my mind as I read this evocative and superbly written book. It was quite stunning. Mr. Markert’s cunning use of detail and striking descriptions plucked at all senses while sharp visuals danced through my gray matter. I became so engrossed in the story I grew hot and thirsty when they were parched; I could almost hear the wind and smell/taste/feel the grit of the relentless dust that permeated every scene. Their despair and exhaustion wafted across the pages. I also felt low-energy as they grew increasingly listless and despondent.   But in addition to all that was the eeriness of the sixth sense and unexplainable good/evil type forces at play.   I was fully invested in this startling and peculiar family drama from beginning to end and despite the arduousness of the tale; I was well pleased and fully satisfied with the journey.

 

About James Markert

James Markert lives with his wife and two children in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a history degree from the University of Louisville and won an IPPY Award for The Requiem Rose, which was later published as A White Wind Blew, a story of redemption in a 1929 tuberculosis sanatorium, where a faith-tested doctor uses music therapy to heal the patients. The Angels’ Share is his second novel, and he is currently working on his next historical, All Things Bright and Strange. James is also a USPTA tennis pro, and has coached dozens of kids who’ve gone on to play college tennis in top conferences like the BIG 10, the Big East, and the ACC..

Connect with James

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Book Review: Whiskey Sharp: Torn by Lauren Dane

 Whiskey Sharp: Torn

by Lauren Dane

 

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Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: HQN (June 26, 2018)

Sometimes what you find isn’t what you were searching for

Beau Petty has been searching his whole life. Searching for a place that fills all the empty spaces in him. Searching for a way to tame the restlessness. Searching for answers to the secret he’s never stopped trying to solve. What he wasn’t searching for was a woman to claim all of him, but when Cora Silvera walks back into his life, he’s ready to search out all the ways he can make her his.

Cora has spent her life as the family nurturer, taking care of others. But now she’s ready to pass that job on to someone else. It’s time to make some changes and live for herself. It’s in that moment that her former teenage crush reappears and the draw and the heat of their instant connection is like nothing either of them has experienced. He craves being around her. She accepts him, dark corners and all.

Beau thinks Cora’s had enough drama in her life. He wants to protect her from the secrets of his past, even if it means holding back the last pieces of himself. But Cora is no pushover and she means to claim all those pieces.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Beau’s had quite the colorful life. I mean. Wow. Also the modeling shots alone might have made me pregnant.

 Naked, he’s like one of those magical things you’re not supposed to look at directly or you get ensorcelled.

 I guess I need to make an honest man out of you or people might think you were easy… You must really love me to want my crazy mixing up with your crazy. You do realize we might have just bred the Kwisatz Haderach, right?

 People take pictures of you. You’re not just a pretty surfing tourist. You’re Beau Petty. And so some video of you giving me the business would end up online and everyone would savage my thighs…

 Rachel snatched the dog from her sister and Cora decided not to inform them that Beau had fed Jezzy an entire can of those gross sausages that smelled like dog food. Cute though Jezzy was, she also farted like a demon, and then pretended it wasn’t her.

My Review:

 

This book was a delight, I’ve never read this author before but look forward to further indulging myself with her magical combinations of words. Silly me, I jumped into a series with book three, and while it probably would have deepened my enjoyment and understanding of the secondary characters, it was not necessary to have read the previous books as Whiskey Sharp: Torn had strong legs, like mighty oaks, and was more than capable of standing alone.   However, I am greedy and want to read the two earlier books as well as anything else this staggeringly talented wordsmith has scribbled.

The characters were multi-layered, alluring, and captivating while adorned with fascinating and complicated histories. The storylines were engaging, unique, intriguing, and laced with levity, zinging banter, bawdy wit, and clever humor.   The copious meals that were prepared and enjoyed tantalized and tortured this salivating dieter, as they sounded as drool-worthy as the lascivious and bootylicious sensual scenes.

This was my favorite type of story as the featured couple enjoyed a refreshingly sweet, sensual, and profoundly nurturing and supportive relationship that was relatively conflict-free. And I absolutely loved this couple; they were adorable and precious, perfectly matched, irresistible, and off-the-charts passionate together. They were totally smitten and besotted and good to and for each other. I reveled in the ease, thoughtfulness, and care they took with each other, as well as their ability to scorch the sheets and singe the ceiling tiles. I have to adore a sweet and sexy man who can inventively cook in every room in the house.

 

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About Lauren Dane

The story goes like this – While on pregnancy bed rest, Lauren Dane had plenty of down time so her husband took her comments about “giving that writing thing a serious go” to heart and brought home a secondhand laptop. She wrote her first book on it before it gave up the ghost. Even better, she sold that book and never looked back.

Today Lauren is a New York Times bestselling author of over fifty novels and novellas across several genres.

Connect with Lauren

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Book Review, Giveaway: When We Found Home by Susan Mallery

When We Found Home

by Susan Mallery

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Hardcover: 432 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (July 10, 2018)

 

Life is meant to be savored, but that’s not easy with no family, limited prospects and a past you’d rather not talk about. Still, Callie Smith doesn’t know how to feel when she discovers she has a brother and a sister–Malcolm, who grew up with affection, wealth and privilege, and Keira, a streetwise twelve-year-old. Callie doesn’t love being alone, but at least it’s safe. Despite her trepidation, she moves into the grand family home with her siblings and grandfather on the shores of Lake Washington, hoping just maybe this will be the start of a whole new life.

But starting over can be messy. Callie and Keira fit in with each other, but not with their posh new lifestyle, leaving Malcolm feeling like the odd man out in his own home. He was clever enough to turn a sleepy Seattle mail-order food catalog into an online gourmet powerhouse, yet he can’t figure out how to help his new sisters feel secure. Becoming a family will take patience, humor, a little bit of wine and a whole lot of love. But love isn’t Malcolm’s strong suit…until a beautiful barista teaches him that an open heart, like the family table, can always make room for more.

In this emotional, funny and heartfelt story, Susan Mallery masterfully explores the definition of a modern family—blended by surprise, not by choice—and how those complicated relationships can add unexpected richness to life.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He gave her a smile that would have melted a frozen planet.

 

She agreed with generous —he was that. As for kind, well, he was growing on her. Like the famous Seattle moss, she thought with a smile.

 

I’d offer to let you borrow one of mine, but you’re what, twenty pounds lighter, two inches shorter and yet you have bigger boobs. Why do I like you?

 

We’re going to deal with our heartaches the way God intended— with liquor, sugar, a movie and people we love.

 

You did everything right. And when you screw up, I promise to be just as gracious.

 

My Review:

 

I always look forward to reading Susan Mallery’s books, as her stories have never failed to please or satisfy. She is top shelf entertainment with engaging storylines full of feels, a full slate of endearingly lovable yet vulnerable and flawed characters, clever humor, witty banter, and sharply honed repartee. When We Found Home was well paced and adroitly plotted while equally balanced with levity and heart-squeezes. I was engaged and invested from beginning to end. The characters experience new love, second chances, discover and develop vital family connections, solve a mystery, and even save a precious kitten. Sigh, it was nirvana.

 

Giveaway

 

 

The Taste of Seattle Gift Bag includes:

An “I [Heart] Happy Books” tote bag

Starbucks Pike’s Place ground coffee

Seattle Chocolates gift set (3 truffle jars)

Cucina Fresca marinara sauce

Sahale Snacks (6 packs)

Maury Island Farms jam (2 jars)

 

This is a tour-wide giveaway. There will only be one winner.

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About Susan Mallery

#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives-family, friendship, romance. She’s known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages.  Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

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Book Review: The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan

The Summer List

by Amy Mason Doan

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Graydon House (June 26, 2018)

In the tradition of Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters, The Summer List is a tender yet tantalizing novel about two friends, the summer night they fell apart, and the scavenger hunt that reunites them decades later—until the clues expose a breathtaking secret that just might shatter them once and for all.

Laura and Casey were once inseparable: as they floated on their backs in the sunlit lake, as they dreamed about the future under starry skies, and as they teamed up for the wild scavenger hunts in their small California lakeside town. Until one summer night, when a shocking betrayal sent Laura running through the pines, down the dock, and into a new life, leaving Casey and a first love in her wake.

But the past is impossible to escape, and now, after seventeen years away, Laura is pulled home and into a reunion with Casey she can’t resist—one last scavenger hunt. With a twist: this time, the list of clues leads to the settings of their most cherished summer memories. From glistening Jade Cove to the vintage skating rink, each step they take becomes a bittersweet reminder of the friendship they once shared. But just as the game brings Laura and Casey back together, the clues unravel a stunning secret that threatens to tear them apart…

Mesmerizing and unforgettable, Amy Mason Doan’s The Summer List is about losing and recapturing the person who understands you best—and the unbreakable bonds of girlhood.

“This accomplished debut novel from Doan cleverly blends a coming-of-age tale, the story of a long-simmering mystery, and a thoughtful study of relationships between childhood friends…. With lovable characters and a scenic small town, Doan’s pleasant mix of mystery and high school nostalgia will please readers who grew up with the novels of Judy Blume.”-Publishers Weekly

“A trip down memory lane becomes a hunt for long-buried secrets in Amy Mason Doan’s gripping and poignant debut about the bond between two compelling outsiders. The Summer List is an evocative tale of family, first love, and the unique and lasting gift of a friendship formed in girlhood.”-Meg Donohue, USA Today bestselling author

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I had a journal my dad gave me when I was seven, a puffy pink thing with A Girl’s First Diary on the cover in gold script. I hid it inside a hollowed-out copy of Silas Marner on my bottom bookshelf, and concealed the key in a mint tin in my third best church purse.

 

 I could take the most direct route to the exit—hurdle over the blue-carpeted half wall in front of us and run straight across the crowded rink. I’d shove aside toddlers, the gang of tough-looking older women zooming past in matching black satin jackets that said Hell on Wheelz, whoever. But I was an adult now so I only smiled harder.

 

“You can tell my age in our high school pictures by the thickness of my eyeshadow.” Like figuring out a tree’s age by the rings in the trunk.

 

Soggy heart. I’d read that on some blog. The not-so-technical name for when you get tipsy and accidentally tell the truth.

 

Women’s Studies 201. Sophomore year… Modern religion is an institution created by men to police women’s sexuality. Discuss. Oh, the hands that had shot up that day. Not mine, though. I’d kept my own hands, twisting and fidgeting, in my lap, too overcome by the bell-like simplicity of the professor’s statement, too angry at how long the world had waited to articulate it to me clearly, to speak. By the end of the fifty-minute class my palms were wet.

My Review:

 

This cunningly paced and well-crafted book resonated for me like the thrum of a well-struck tuning fork.   It sucked me right in and held my rapt attention as I felt I knew and understood these endearingly flawed characters inside and out. Cleverly and deftly narrated by two women over three timelines, I never felt confused or lost but held suspended in an eager and avid state of curiosity. I was engaged, engrossed, and intrigued by the characters, their history, and the prickly unfolding story of their present.

I over-identified with the character of Laura at every age, but I took great pleasure in her clever stealth and ingenious efforts to carve out a modicum of privacy for herself, away from her stridently religious mother’s stifling control. Laura devised secret hiding places for her diary and prized possessions and an intricate level of subterfuge was required for even the smallest acts of rebellion such as using lip gloss, eating pizza, and having a true friend in the real world who would not meet her judgmental mother’s stringent expectations. I wanted to fist pump when Laura finally spoke up.

I was frequently awed by this intensely talented author’s insightful and deft handling of the characters thoughts and observances, as well as their understanding or misunderstandings of the unusual events at various ages and levels of assimilation.   The storylines were unique, beguiling, and captivating as were each and every one of the characters. I now need to sleep for a week as I had a hard time putting this one down. The writing was extraordinary, intricate, and arresting. I was more than satisfied by the ending but would have happily read another 384 more pages. Amy Mason Doan has crazy good word voodoo.

 

 

About Amy Mason Doan

AMY MASON DOAN earned a BA in English from UC Berkeley and an MA in journalism from Stanford University and has written for The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle, and Forbes, among other publications. She grew up in Danville, California, and now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter. The Summer List is her first novel.

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Connect with Amy

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