Category: Book Reviews

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Book Review: The Problem With Pretending by Emma Hart @EmmaHartAuthor

 

 

The Problem With Pretending
by Emma Hart

Amazon  / BB

From New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart comes a swoony, hilarious rom-com about what happens when you find yourself snowed in at a Scottish castle… with only one bed to share with your aristocratic fake boyfriend…

Literally, colliding with the hottest guy in the world and agreeing to be his date to his sister’s wedding? Done… for some reason.
Finding out he’s actually an aristocrat and will one day inherit an ancient Scottish dukedom and castle? Yep, that’s a surprise.
Sharing a bed with him at said castle because his family thinks I’m his girlfriend? Okay, I’m sure I’ll survive. Even if he does make my heart pitter-patter and my lady bits— uh, never mind.
Dealing with his family feud, his bridezilla sister, and his grandma’s gobby cockatiel who fancies himself the castle alarm system? It’s… well, it’s… something.
Oh, and a snowstorm, keeping my real identity a secret, trying to figure out where the heck I know the Glenroch family from, and why his mum keeps looking at me weirdly?
Yeah, that I’ll need some help with…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Amber slowly dragged her gaze from her phone screen to meet mine, and she was so stony-faced that if she stayed there much longer, she’d end up turning into a gargoyle and catapulting herself to live on the side of my father’s house.

“You’d be even more fabulous if you brought your mascara out of the spider-leg craze of two-thousand-and-seven, though.” She batted those spider-leg eyelashes at me. “I’m holding onto my youth.” “You’re seventy-six. I think your grip is slipping.”

“You’re not helping.” Grace prodded me in the shoulder. “Ah, see, you’ve mistaken me for someone who was trying to.”

When Granny heard it, she scoffed and said Gramps might have had her heart, but she also had a clitoris, and he was never very good at finding it. She had needs, and now he was dead, she could fulfil them without hurting his feelings.

“Granny,” Grace said. “There is no relationship.” “You say that, but you’re over here sucking his face like you’re in a desert and he’s the only cactus with any water around.”

“You wouldn’t buy a car without taking it for a test drive. I’m just test-driving potential boyfriends by taking them for a spin around the bedroom, that’s all.” I grinned. “A very effective way of weeding out the weak.”

My Review:

 

Picking up an Emma Hart book has become one of my favorite indulgences, her tales generally result in multiple instances of giggle-snorting during perusal. Her vividly drawn, vibrant, and quirky characters enamor, delight, and entertain me like no other and never fail to include razor-sharp banter, clever wit, and ridiculous discussions. I adored this couple and enjoyed their conundrums and navigation of each other as well as their complicated family issues.

 

About the Author

New York Times & USA Today bestselling author, Emma Hart, has written more than seventy romance novels in the last decade. She loves writing snarky, swoony romcoms with a side of chaos, occasionally venturing into romantic mysteries. Which are exactly the same as her romcoms, just with a dead body or two. That’s the reason for her questionable Internet history—at least that’s the story she’s sticking to.

She lives on a smallholding in North Wales with her husband and their two children, a clowder of very fluffy cats, one giant German Shepherd, and an undisclosed number of chickens and ducks. Don’t ask her to count them. She will not, thank you very much.

When she’s not writing or chasing ducks in her pajamas, you can find her creating cozy gaming content for her Youtube channel and live streaming on Twitch.

Find her online:

Amazon: https://emmahart.pub/books 

Youtube: https://emmahart.pub/youtube 

Twitch: https://emmahart.pub/twitch 

Facebook: https://emmahart.pub/Facebook 

Instagram: https://emmahart.pub/Instagram 

Tiktok: https://emmahart.pub/TikTok 

Twitter: https://emmahart.pub/Twitter 

Website: https://emmahart.pub/site 

 

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Book Review: Can’t Fight It (Lessons Learned #3) by Allie Winters @SmartyPantsRom

 

 Can’t Fight It
(Lessons Learned #3)
by Allie Winters

Amazon  / B&N / BB

Can’t Fight It, an all-new friends-to-lovers college romance from Allie Winters, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

Mousy bookworm. Psychology nerd. The kind of girl who constantly sticks her foot in her mouth.

The last thing I am is the type to attract the intimidating, motorcycle-riding guy in the apartment next door. Especially when that mouth of mine gets me in trouble and he overhears me talk smack about him…

So no one’s more surprised than me when he shows up as a participant in the psych study I’m running on campus. Or when he generously offers me some much-needed self-defense lessons. Or when we grow closer than I thought possible. It turns out some people aren’t at all what they seem at first glance. They can actually be everything you never knew you wanted in a man.

The thing is, Austin Langford is so far out of my league, it’s laughable. Muscled boxers don’t go for nobodies like me. I need to forget about this one-sided attraction.

Even when it feels like I can’t fight it.

‘Can’t Fight It’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #3 in the Lessons Learned series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

She gives me a look like I’ve got about two working brain cells and one just gave out.

My Review:

 

I enjoyed this sweet and sexy romance, it was a slow burn until their chemistry sparked a volcanic eruption and they became a fire hazard. I adored this couple, a clever case of looks can be deceiving and never assume.

 

About the Author

Allie is the author of the Suncoast University series, the Bishop Brothers series, and the Lessons Learned series. She lives in sunny Florida with her husband, daughter, and two cats. A librarian by day, she spends her nights writing happily ever afters. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and all things Disney.

Find Allie Winters online

Website: http://bit.ly/357VYOr

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/389mnNO

Facebook: http://bit.ly/3b5KJdk

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3pOJNhB

Connect with Smartypants Romance

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Book Review: The Vinyl Frontier (Lessons Learned Book 4) by Lola West @romance_lola @SmartyPantsRom

The Vinyl Frontier
(Lessons Learned Book 4)
by Lola West

 

The Vinyl Frontier, all-new opposites attract college romance from USA Today bestselling author Lola West, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

What happens when an uptight preppy frat boy sets his sights on a punk rock princess? #superherolevelchaos

Zack Worthington’s life is a carefully curated performance. Controlled by his politician father, he stands on his mark and recites his lines. There’s no room for deviation, no time for comic books, and no patience for obscure Trekkie facts. He’s all business, polished to a shine–the sparkling jewel in his father’s crown.

Then one night, Zack lays eyes on a girl he can’t unsee…

Open-minded, self-sufficient, Deaf drummer, Molly Mills is working hard to find her rhythm in a competitive college music program. She’s driven to prove herself to nearly everyone, even while living off of packaged noodles and thrift-store clothing.

Watching her alone on the dance floor, punky, free, and wild, Zack told himself that opposites attract was totally not a real thing. But a couple days later when he realizes he’s the teaching assistant in her research methodologies class, he can’t ignore his instincts. He has to know her.

Only Molly isn’t interested in his platitudes and superficial chit-chat.

Suddenly, all bets are off because this buttoned-up, rule-following rich guy actually wants to be more than meets the eye…

‘The Vinyl Frontier’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #4 in the Lessons Learned series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She shook hands like she owned the earth. I envied the technique and shook hands with her any chance I got, trying to commit the feeling to memory.

This was not the kind of girl who stood next to you on the podium as you swore to uphold the law. This was the kind of girl who went with you to the county fair, screamed something profane from the top of the Ferris wheel, and licked the cotton candy off her fingers.

Sure, it might end in a blaze of heartbreak— but maybe every girl should date at least one totally inappropriate guy.

Thing was, I didn’t want dick pics. They weren’t sexy. Mostly they made me want to laugh. Penises, just hanging out without abs or heads, or personalities, looked kinda like the alien cousins of mole rats.

My Review:

 

I’m an old lady so I don’t often find myself reading New Adult stories, but since this is Smartypants I was all in. I am delighted to advise that this was an amusing, thoughtful, and perceptively written tale that informed of the differences between the non-hearing and hearing perspectives, and I loved that. I enjoyed the careful texturing and multi-layering of the characters as well as their snarky inner musings.

This was my introduction to the clever and insightful arrangements of words of Lola West, and I was an instant fan. I look forward to delving into more of her scribblings.

 

About the Author

Lola West writes short, sweet, smart, silly, sexy romances. With a Ph.D. in women’s studies and a flair for the dramatic, Lola likes to keep it real. Her loves are cotton candy, astronomy, kitten heels, and small-town hunks. Lola’s heroes make you swoon and her heroines talk back. Also, she believes that consent is always sexy, even in books.

You can learn more about Lola by visiting lolawestromance.com and find a FREE READ or you can find her hanging out all over the internet.

Find Lola online

Follow Lola on Instagram

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Hang with Lola in the private Facebook group: Sugary Sweet & Lots of Heat

Connect with Smartypants Romance

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Book Review: Bear With Me Now by Katie Shepard @YTCShepard @BerkleyRomance

Bear With Me Now
by Katie Shepard

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

After being hospitalized for panic attacks two years after his mother’s death, charitable foundation executive Teagan van Zijl is dragged by his sister to a wilderness therapy retreat in Montana. Lost in the woods, Teagan nearly gets eaten by a bear but is saved by an angel in muddy hiking boots—the program’s handywoman, Darcy Albano, that is. After spending the summer with Darcy, Teagan realizes he doesn’t want to return to New York without her. He hires Darcy as his sober companion—a position he doesn’t actually need filled and for which Darcy is completely unqualified—hoping she can help him figure out how to move forward. But once they get to the city, all Teagan can think of is how to confess the truth while keeping her in his life.

Darcy Albano thought she was going to work as a wilderness guide when she was hired on the camp staff, but ended up a handywoman instead—only the latest screwing-over she’s endured since her ex stole her car and her parents ruined her credit score. But Teagan van Zijl is the silver lining she didn’t expect to appear—clearly going through something but willing to commit to Darcy’s unique brand of wilderness education as the cure for what ails him. They form an unlikely bond based on the unexpected support they provide each other. Darcy never imagined staying in the city, but with Teagan’s unshakeable belief in her abilities, anything seems possible.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He had a dimple in his left cheek, and the lopsidedness of his mouth made it appear that he was holding half a smile in reserve rather than fully committing to the expression.

Teagan is not a horny mistake. I am not going to lay his pipe, even though I totally could, and that would probably fix all his substance abuse issues, add five years to his life, and show him the very face of God. No. I’m helping him. Therapeutically.

She should have said something, Darcy decided. Next time she’d make a scene. She didn’t really mind making a scene, and she sensed that the women at this event would consider it a tragedy if the entire evening passed and nobody made a scene. It might as well be Darcy.

So she twined her arms around his neck and turned her face up to his. “If this is talking, I can’t wait to see you argue,” she said.

You’re that first cup of coffee that gets me out of bed in the morning. You’re the song on my playlist for the drive home. You’re every good thing that I promise myself to get through the day.

My Review:

 

I enjoyed this tale, the characters were all of the total mess variety, yet authentically complicated while tickling my gray matter to know more about them. The storylines and writing style were lively and humorous with perceptive descriptions and situations that put vivid images behind my eyes and a frequent grin on my face.

 

I write love stories. I write about people whose jagged edges happen to match up with someone else’s. I write love stories because I wanted to make happy endings for people who are afraid they won’t get them.

I studied Soviet history and worked in human rights law before burning way, way out and achieving professional tranquility as a simple country bankruptcy lawyer. It’s just as exciting as it sounds!

I live in Texas with my husband, kids, and elderly rescue cat, but am often found hiking in the mountains of Montana or the virtual woods of Thedas.

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Book Review: Dough You Love Me? (Donner Bakery #2) by Stacy Travis

 

Dough You Love Me?
(Donner Bakery #2)
by Stacy Travis

Amazon  / B&N / BB

Dough You Love Me?, an all-new second chance small-town romance from Stacy Travis, is LIVE in Kindle Unlimited!

The first rule when returning to your hometown after storming out of sight is: don’t fall for the guy who broke your heart.

Julia Browne should know better than to kiss where she bakes. She’s built a bread empire in California, and only plans to stay in Green Valley long enough to sell the family house.

She certainly won’t spend any more time with Shane Meadows than she has to…and she will not let him draw her in with his soft blue eyes or level her with his handsome smirk of a grin.

The last thing she wants is a temporary gig at Donner Bakery, baking sourdough side-by-side with Shane and clashing with his ego. And he thinks the sassy baker should take her fancy bread and return where she came from.

But that’s before they take a series of wrong turns on a road trip to look at wheat, leaving them stranded for the night. Out on the open road, neither of them can escape the sizzling attraction and old feelings that feel a lot more real this time around.

But life is complicated, and Julia’s life in California might derail their second chance at love. Will they wake up and smell the sourdough?

They say you should leave the past in the past, but what if it’s the winning recipe for love?

‘Dough You Love Me?’ is a full-length contemporary romance, that can be read as a standalone, and is book #2 in the Donner Bakery series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You sound like a rusty tin can rolling down a road full of potholes.

Combining misery with sweet tea didn’t seem fair to the tea.

I anticipated it with the enthusiasm of a painful dental procedure without anesthesia.

If there was an atom of my being that didn’t already find him to be the sexiest man I’d ever encountered, that voice split it in two like a nuclear bomb.

My Review:

 

Another adorable entry to the Smartypants Romance collection and my introduction to the clever scribblings of Stacy Travis – double win for me. I was well entertained, highly amused, and educated with a new word – symbrachydactyly. Make that a triple win for me.

I’m looking forward to more from this scribe.

 

About the Author

Stacy Travis writes charming, spicy romance about bookish, sassy women and the hot alphas who fall for them.

Writing makes her infinitely happy, but that might be the coffee talking.

She’s worked as a journalist, camp counselor, TV writer, SAT tutor, corporate finance researcher, education technology editor, and non-fiction author. When she’s not on a deadline, she’s in running shoes complaining that all roads seem to go uphill. Or on the couch with a margarita. Or fangirling at a soccer game.

She’s never met a dog she didn’t want to hug. And if you have no plans for Thanksgiving, she’ll probably invite you to dinner.

Stacy lives in Los Angeles with her very tall sons and a poorly-trained rescue dog who hoards socks. And she’s serious about the Thanksgiving thing.

Find Stacy online

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

Reader Group: https://bit.ly/2B1psS4fbgroup

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

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stacytravisauthor

 

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Book Review: The Sickness by Britney King  @britneyking_

The Sickness 
by Britney King

 

 

Best-selling author Britney King returns with an adrenaline-fueled thriller about an unlikely array of characters and their heart-pounding plunge into the dizzying depths of madness.

March 2020: Stranded on a remote cruise ship as the pandemic ravages the world, 753 desperate passengers find themselves in a perilous situation. With no hope of docking in sight and dwindling supplies, each must fight their inner demons to survive. Among them are an eclectic mix of people—a father desperately searching for a way to save his daughter’s future, an artist running from a broken past, and a hacker looking to make one last score. But what they didn’t count on is the mysterious cult convention taking place on board.

With enough resources at stake to change or end lives, suspicion and fear quickly build. When bodies begin to drop, they question—is it the virus? Or is it one of them?

Don’t miss this spine-tingling psychological thriller that takes readers on a white-knuckle ride to uncover the truth and find out who—if any—will make it off the ship alive.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I close my eyes for a moment and will the darkness to take me. I don’t want to die like this, but I don’t want to live this way either.

Once again, I am reminded that wealthy doesn’t mean intelligent. Quite the opposite, I assure you. The thing about rich people is that they must be wowed. They’ll do a lot of stupid things in search of something new, something different.

Stupidity seems to be contagious on this ship, and I decide I would rather not catch it.

As we continue our stealthy advance, I can’t help but reflect on the absurdity of our situation. Here we are, a motley group of passengers, armed with little more than kitchen utensils, attempting to overthrow a murderous cult on a luxury cruise liner. It would almost be hilarious if it weren’t so terrifying.

My Review:

 

Britney King is a wily one! I need a spa day and a vat of wine to recover from her latest missive. This story was intense, rather brutal, and filled with the prickliest of travel complications. Ms. King is such a crafty scribbler, she continued to ratchet up the tension until my shoulders were in my ears and my stomach was a boiling cauldron, yet I didn’t dare put my Kindle down as I didn’t want to leave the characters in such peril.

I was ensnared, enmeshed, and invested in their plight despite their slim chance at rescue. But she has ruined me for sailing. I may never take to the sea again, which is quite unfortunate as I live on a tropical island…

About the Author

.

Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes psychological, domestic, and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this gig. You can find Britney online here: 
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her mailing list at  bit.ly/britneykingweb
Happy reading.
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Book Review: Covert in Cairo (A Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery #2) by Kelly Oliver  @KellyOliverBook

Covert in Cairo
(A Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery #2)
by Kelly Oliver

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

Cairo. December 1917.

Following a tip-off from notorious spy Fredrick Fredricks, Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane of British Intelligence find themselves in the hustle and bustle of Egypt. But ancient mummies aren’t the only bodies buried in the tombs of Cairo.

When a young French archeologist is found dead in a tomb in the desert with his head bashed in, and an undercover British agent goes missing, the threat moves closer to home.

As they dig deeper, soon Fiona and Kitty uncover a treasure trove of suspects, including competing excavators, jealous husbands, secret lovers, and belligerent spies! Fiona wonders if the notorious Fredrick Fredricks could be behind the murders? Or is the plot even more sinister?

One thing is clear – If Fiona and Kitty can’t catch the killer, they might end up sharing a sarcophagus with Nefertiti.

With humor as dry as the Arabian desert, and pacing as fast as a spitting camel, Fiona and Kitty are back in another sparkling adventure, this time in WW1 Egypt.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Clifford fancied himself a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Sir Lancelot.

I’d learned from experience that mustache and trousers opened many doors closed to corsets and skirts— although sometimes skirts had advantages too. If novelist Robert Hichens was to be believed, the real secrets of Egypt lay behind the closed harem doors, accessible only to women and eunuchs.

Clifford could talk a donkey into giving up its tail.

My Review:

 

This has been a fun yet brain-teasing series to follow as the mysteries and clues are well-plotted, active, and adventurous. The main character is a highly determined and cynical file clerk who is itching to become a full-fledged spy although she is tethered to an unlikely team consisting of a gentlemanly and rather gullible agent who is rather adorable, and a spiky young woman who presents as a giggly school girl with a cute dog but underneath is a steely young woman who can kick butt and “foot fight.” Their current assignment has them on a cruise ship then traipsing through Egypt, riding camels and donkeys, and meeting up with Laurence of Arabia and other notable archaeologists who are plundering the desert. I enjoyed their amusing adventures and was kept guessing as to which of several villains was behind the murders they kept stumbling upon.

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent’s surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

 

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Book Review: If This Is Love by Jewel E. Ann @JewelE_Ann @valentine_pr_

If This Is Love by Jewel E. Ann is now live! 

He’s mine … don’t ever forget that.

Milo lives in the barn, a cowboy through and through.
I live in a castle, but I’m not a princess.

When the only person who loves me dies, Milo’s there.
As I get older, I no longer look at Milo like a big brother. I look at him like the man God made just for me.

With the first glimpse of freedom from my pathetic excuse for a father, I imagine a future with Milo. I dream of the day when we won’t have to hide our feelings.

But Milo has a secret. He is not free.
The man I love is marrying the woman I hate.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Why do she and Jolene wear heels all the damn time? I hope they have mangled toes and bunions the size of mushrooms.

She’s getting older with pointy bones like an over-sharpened pencil that I don’t want to break. And she always smells like apricots. I don’t know why. She just always has.

Don’t look back, Indie. Didn’t you hear me? It’s a slow death. Look forward. Chase something better.

There isn’t anything more humiliating than that. It’s like eating someone’s whole birthday cake while the candles are still lit.

My Review:

 

I adore Jewel E. Ann, even though she is prone to breaking my heart. And although I can always count on her to put it back together, a bit of tender ache remains. Her writing is absorbing, well-paced, and heart-rendingly perceptive. Her villains are vile and her heroes tend to be flawed and stuck in difficult situations yet hard-working and well-intentioned. Her current tale is another original but true to her unique and compelling style of storytelling.

 

 

 Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today best-selling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role-modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romances. 

 

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Book Review: Every Shade Of Winter (Winterville Book 5) by Carrie Elks   @CarrieElks

Every Shade Of Winter
(Winterville Book 5)
by Carrie Elks

 

 

Amazon / B&N  / BB

 

A runaway bride, a gruff mountain man who doesn’t do relationships, and a complication that rocks them both…


Every woman in town has a crush on North Winter. Every woman except Amber Stone, that is.

The muscled tree surgeon is her best friend. Her co-worker. Her shoulder to cry on. And everybody knows you don’t mess up a friendship with desire.

Maybe that’s why she doesn’t see him as a potential lover until she runs away from her cheating fiancé on their wedding day, and into his strong, safe arms.

For the past ten years, North has been Amber’s friend and protector. But now he’s imagining himself as something more.

He may not be great at relationships – or showing his emotions, for that matter – but for her he’s willing to try.

Then Amber discovers a secret. One that will change the way North looks at her if he finds out.

He’s always been the one person she can confide in. Her safe harbor in a storm.

But now she’s afraid she could lose him for good…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m pregnant and I’m riled up and I peed myself in the middle of Winterville Square. Nobody told me that pregnancy would be one long loss of dignity. I’ve had more men look at my private parts in the past few months than I ever had interested in them during college.

Why can’t humans just lay eggs? I could put it in an incubator and not have to worry about looking like an elephant whenever I put on clothes.

Remember the mean girls at school? … They grew up and got meaner.

My Review:

 

I adored this couple and enjoyed this installment, even though pregnancy is one of my least favorite troupes. The writing and storylines were lively and amusingly witty as well as insightful. Like all the women of every age in Winterville, I fell in love with North Winter.

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

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Book Review: Panther Gap by James A. McLaughlin 

Panther Gap
by James A. McLaughlin

 

Amazon  / B&N  / GP / BB

The thrilling follow-up to the Edgar Award–winning Bearskin, about two siblings on the verge of inheriting millions but who discover dark secrets in their family’s past.

Siblings Bowman and Summer were raised by their father and two uncles on a remote Colorado ranch. They react differently to his radical teachings and the confusion of adolescence. As young adults, they become estranged but are brought back together in their thirties by the prospect of an illegal and potentially dangerous inheritance from their grandfather. They must ultimately reconcile with each other and their past in order to defeat ruthless criminal forces trying to extort the inheritance.

Set in the rugged American West and populated by drug cartels, shadowy domestic terrorists, and nefarious business interests, Panther Gap shows James McLaughlin’s talents in full gorgeous environmental writing, a white-knuckle thriller plot, and characters dealing with legacy, identity, and their own place in the world.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He glanced at the fifth of Maker’s Mark propped up in the passenger seat, reached for it, had himself a snort. That’s how he described it to himself: a snort. It sounded vaguely cowboy, decidedly western. When he drank alone he sometimes entertained himself via self-mocking role-play.

The harsh malignance— the venom— in the man’s voice took Sam aback. This was worse somehow than the message. Live, he didn’t sound like an actor pretending to be a criminal in a movie, which was Sam’s only reference. He sounded like a person who habitually hurt other people, who liked doing it, whose life had been defined by his willingness and ability to hurt others. The vast majority of people weren’t like that. Certainly no one Sam had ever known was like that. He felt childish and naïve, stripped naked, even over the phone.

Sam’s butterflies had been slowly morphing into nauseous abdominal pit bulls…

Summer liked the museums. She said they were like funnels concentrating human endeavor and knowledge in one place where you could soak up a lot at once.

Darwin was unsure whether to believe him, didn’t want to believe him, but kind of did believe him and disliked the implications.

My Review:

 

This was a thoughtfully written and complicated tale with multiple timelines and multiple plotlines that slowly converged. The intense storylines were well populated with bizarre, oddly unique, complex, and well-textured characters that often weren’t all that likable yet tugged at my curiosity.

I was deeply invested and intrigued by the storytelling and deeply perceptive and absorbing writing style that slotted me into each scene, so much so that I often had the urge to bathe while the characters were camping for extended periods or living rough.

I was planning to give a 5-star rating until I came to the last chapter and an ending that has left me quite aggrieved. But I know I am rather ridiculous about such things.

 

About the Author

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James A. McLaughlin is the author of Bearskin, published by Ecco/HarperCollins in 2018, and winner of the 2019 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. In May 2018, McLaughlin was named one of 4 Writers to Watch This Summer by the New York Times. Bearskin has been included in Amazon’s Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2018 and Southern Living’s Best Southern Books of the Year 2018, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, a July 2018 Indie Next pick, and a Publishers Weekly Summer Reads staff pick.

McLaughlin grew up in the mountains of Virginia and now lives in the mountains of Utah.