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Books For Review – Week of June 10th

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For Fox Sake
Fetish Alley, Book 1
Susan Mac Nicol
Boroughs Publishing Group
LGBTQIA, Romance

Contemporary M/M Romantic Suspense

The Places You’ll Go And The Things That You’ll See

Former SAS soldier, Clay Mortimer, the M in M&W Investigations, had thought he’d seen it all. But when his ex calls and asks for a favour Clay is intrigued, and then a bit surprised. He and his partner, Tate Williams, have a robust and imaginative sex life, but the things they see and learn in Fetish Alley take their understanding of human behaviour to the next level. Tate’s take is part kid in a candy store fascination, part shocked. At the end of the day, all good detective work requires an open mind and the skill to ferret out the truth. Still, the layers of deceit and avarice they encounter are more than par for the course, particularly from people who are not keen about outsiders to the world of Fetish Alley.

Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts
Charles Kowalski
Excalibur Books
Release Date: August 1, 2019
Middle Grade, Teens & YA

Japan, 1620: A mysterious shipwreck has left cabin boy Simon Grey stranded in an unfamiliar, dangerous land.

He hoped that a long sea voyage would provide some relief from his “gift” of seeing ghosts everywhere on land. Instead, he finds that his ability draws him into the shadowy world of yokai, the spirits and monsters that roam Japan by night. Together with the mysterious Oyuki, daughter of an English sailor-turned-samurai, Simon must earn the yokai’s trust and help, while staying one step ahead of the Shogun’s guards and an evil sorcerer determined to discover the “secret” of Simon’s powers.

As they struggle to stay alive and find a way home, Simon and Oyuki deal with friends and foes from both sides of the grave.

“Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts” is a gripping fantasy adventure that will appeal to fans of Percy Jackson and Young Samurai.

Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts will be available in print and ebook formats upon its release.

Mrs. Morris and the Ghost
by Traci Wilton
Kensington Books
Kensington
Mystery & Thrillers
Release Date: July 30, 2019

Charlene Morris knew Salem, Massachusetts had a spooky reputation. But when she decided to open her B&B there, she expected guests—not ghosts…

A grieving young widow, Charlene needed a new start—so she bought a historic mansion, sight unseen, and drove from Chicago to New England to start turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. On her first night in the house, she awakens to find a handsome man with startling blue eyes in her bedroom. Terror turns to utter disbelief when he politely introduces himself as Jack Strathmore—and explains that he used to live here—when he was alive. He firmly believes that someone pushed him down the stairs three years ago, and he won’t be able to leave until someone figures out who. If Charlene wants to get her business up and running in time for the Halloween tourist rush, and get this haunting houseguest out of the way, she’ll have to investigate. Though truth be told, this ghost is starting to grow on her . . .

Books For Review – Week of June 3rd

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His Final Girl
B Mine, Book 1
Brooklyn Ann
Boroughs Publishing Group
Horror, Romance

DON’T GO IN THE WOODS

Computer nerd, Wes Carpenter, dreads having to spend ten days at summer camp with the rest of his in-coming high school senior class. But when he meets strong-willed and confident farm girl, Linnea Langenkamp, everything about being away at camp improves immediately. When a malicious prank awakens an ancient evil, turning their summer romance into a bloodbath, Wes and Linnea pray they make it home alive while fighting for the survival of their classmates. With Wes’s ingenuity and Linnea’s knowledge of the forest, together they may be able to stop the killer, save the camp, and maybe even find their happily ever after on the way.

Dogs Still Know Best
Two Angels Guide Their Human Through Grief, Learning & Love
Angie Salisbury
Annibury Publishing
Nonfiction (Adult)

“Truly heartwarming and inspirational! Dogs Still Know Best is a story of love, loss, the long road to healing, and the anti-fragility of the human spirit” ~ Jedediah McClure, Best Selling Author, Myths of Christianity: A Five Thousand Year Journey To Find The Son Of God

A must-read for dog lovers and anyone who has loved – and lost – a beloved dog! In this touching sequel to Dogs Know Best: Two Dogs’ Training Guide For Humans, follow one woman’s very personal account of how two German Shorthaired Pointers sparked her spiritual journey, one that allowed her to open her heart, open her mind and in the process, receive amazing gifts, the biggest one of all being her new love, a sweet little Pointer puppy named Minnie. Along the way, there has been a lot of grief, a lot of learning and an infinite amount of love.

The result is a dramatic shift in perspective about life, grief and embracing a new way of thinking. And with all three of her beloved Pointers by her side, every step of the journey is filled with love and support. In fact, there’s a whole cheering section along for the ride!

On the other side, love is everything.

A Readers’ Favorite 5-Star review recipient.

The Seekers
by Heather Graham
HARLEQUIN – MIRA (U.S. and Canada)
Mystery & Thrillers
Release Date: July 23, 2019

THE TRUTH IS SCARIER THAN FICTION

Keri Wolf has joined the crew of The Seekers, a show that searches for paranormal phenomena, as they explore a supposedly haunted old inn on the road between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The place is famous for its warm welcome—and infamous for being the site of an ax murder rampage in the 1920s. They’ve barely begun when a very real dead body is discovered in the basement. As a nonfiction author, Keri is supposed to be the rational one, but she can’t explain a terrifying apparition that seems to be both a threat and a warning.

Former detective Joe Dunhill knows what she’s going through—the strange gift of being able to see and talk to the dead is a struggle he shares. A new member of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters, he’s on the team investigating the disturbing death. The town is steeped in old-fashioned superstition, and the deeper Joe and Keri plunge into the dark secrets of the inn, the closer they get to a devastating truth. Will a bloody history be repeated? Or can the spirits of the past reach out to stop a killer?

Books For Review – Week of May 6th

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Change of Heart
A Seashell Cottage Book
Judith Keim
Wild Quail Publishing
Release Date Jun 11, 2019
Romance, Women’s Fiction

Emerson “Em” Jordan always wanted a Valentine’s Day wedding. But after being dumped by her boyfriend, she spends the holiday at Seashell Cottage on the Gulf Coast of Florida with Devin Gerard, a family friend who has no interest in her or any other woman and is instead concentrating on his pediatric medical practice and continuing medical missions in Costa Rica.

Em, who’s always wanted a large family, doesn’t mind his disinterest. At thirty-two, she’s decided she doesn’t need a husband to have a child or to adopt one. First, she’s going to fulfill her dream of setting up her own landscape design business in upstate New York and has promised to continue to help run her grandmother’s flower shop.

It isn’t until Em and Devin become friends that Em realizes she might want more than friendship from him. But with his work in Miami and Costa Rica and her busy life in New York, it’s out of the question until something happens that changes everything, even a couple of hearts.

Last Ticket to Paradise
Carol Ericson
Release Date: May 14, 2019
Romance

Sent to paradise to find her missing sister, she discovers a passion that burns hotter than hell… Georgette Lawson has always been the dull, practical twin…until she steps foot on the tropical island of Palumba. Desperately searching for her missing sister,

Georgette plays a dangerous game that results in whispered threats and dire warnings. One such warning comes from sexy Jake Kincaid, the main developer of the island. Now Georgette’s life…and heart are at risk.

Jake Kincaid overcame too many obstacles to allow the silly rumors of ritual sacrifice to destroy his island paradise. He wants uptight Georgette Lawson to abandon her search for her flighty twin and go home—until the danger to Georgette becomes all too real. His fight to save the island and expose its seamy underbelly becomes an even greater fight to save Georgette and and claim her as his own.

Seven Devils
City of Angels/Dead on Arrival
Steve McManus
Mystery & Thrillers

Los Angeles crime reporter Danny Kasho is working on the unsolved murders of two women when he gets a tip about a missing couple. The tip has one thing in common with his story, but to prove it Danny will have to jeopardize his career—and his life.

Ursula Ruda discovers a friend and fellow reporter is missing. Working with only a cryptic last text and a single clue to her location, Ursula follows her friend’s trail and finds a threat greater than anything she could have imagined.

From drought-stricken LA to the snowbound mountains of Northern California where a reclusive self-help guru is gathering his followers, Danny and Ursula chase separate tragedies that could dovetail with disaster.

Books For Review – Week of April 29th

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Mini Style Guide
An Introduction to Good Writing and Manuscript Presentation
Denise O’Hagan
Black Quill Press
Nonfiction (Adult), Self-Help

An easy-to-use guide for writers, editors and students

The Mini Style Guide covers the fundamentals of good writing and explains how to present a manuscript for publication. It is written in a direct and accessible manner suitable for all ages and backgrounds, and assumes no prior knowledge of the writing trade or the publishing industry. Explanations are accompanied by ‘real life’ examples, and each chapter opens with a humorous quotation.

The book consists of three parts.

Part 1 covers the essence of good writing, both factual and non-factual. It covers the principles of Plain English; words that are often misused or misspelled; and common grammatical and punctuation errors. Differences between Australian, British and American English are explored; inclusive writing is defined; and copyright law as it applies to writers is clarified.

Part 2 explains the technicalities of how to present a manuscript. It examines the advantages and disadvantages of working exclusively on computer and working partly on hard copy; outlines the structure of a manuscript and the order of its various components; and explains how to compile a contents page to reflect the heading hierarchy. It explains how to treat quotations, lists, abbreviations and numbers; offers advice on presenting illustrations, tables, charts and graphs; and discusses bibliographical material and indexes.

Part 3 explores possible publishing avenues; that is, commercial publishers, literary agents and self-publishing. It defines the role of each; explains which one is best suited to which type of writing; and includes advice on how to write a synopsis, select sample chapters and draft a covering letter.

The Appendix contains templates of standard forms and letters that can be photocopied and tailored to suit individual needs.

Booking the Crook
by Laurie Cass
Berkley Publishing Group
Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date July 2,2019

It’s all paws on deck as a librarian and her rescue cat track down a killer in the newest book in the national bestselling Bookmobile Cat mystery series.

Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat, Eddie, cruise around lovely Chilson, Michigan delivering happiness and good reads in their bookmobile. But the feisty librarian is worried that the bookmobile’s future could be uncertain when a new library board chair arrives and doesn’t seem too friendly to her pet project.

Still, she has to put her personal worries aside when she and Eddie are out on their regular route and one of their favorite customers doesn’t turn up to collect her books. Minnie, at Eddie’s prodding, checks on the woman and finds her lying dead in her snow-covered driveway. Now it’s up to Minnie and her friends–feline and otherwise–to find the perpetrator and give them their due.

Window on the Bay
by Debbie Macomber
Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
Romance , Women’s Fiction
Release Date: July 16, 2019

When a single mom becomes an “empty nester,” she spreads her wings to rediscover herself—and her passions—in this heartwarming novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.

Jenna Boltz’s life is at a crossroads. After a messy divorce nearly twenty years ago, she raised her two children on her own, juggling motherhood with her beloved job as a Seattle intensive-care nurse. Now that Paul and Allie have gone to college and moved out, Jenna can’t help but wonder what her future holds.

Her best friend, Maureen, is excited for Jenna’s newfound independence. Now is the perfect time to finally book the trip to Paris they’ve been dreaming of since their college days. But when it comes to life’s other great adventure—dating—Jenna still isn’t sure she’s ready to let love in . . . until an unexpected encounter begins to change her mind.

When Jenna’s elderly mother breaks her hip, Dr. Rowan Lancaster saves the day. Despite his silent, stoic exterior, Rowan is immediately smitten with Jenna. And even though Jenna is hesitant about becoming involved with another surgeon, she has to admit that she’s more than a little intrigued. But when Jenna’s children approach her with shocking news, she realizes that she needs to have faith in love and embrace the unexpected—before the life she has always dreamed of passes her by.

Books For Review – Week of April 22nd

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The Winter Loon
Lori Henriksen
Cougar Creek Books
Women’s Fiction

In the shadow of the Great Depression, long before historical changes leading toward LGBTQ advocacy and equality, eighteen-year-old Ruth Thompson defies her family’s expectations to marry Duke, her long-time sweetheart. Instead, she joins a rodeo circuit in order to earn money for college and comes of age in the male-dominated culture of rodeo competition.

Ruth returns home to Minnesota a prize-winning competitor and resumes her familiar relationship with Duke. Once at college she grows increasingly restless in her role as sorority girl with Duke as her escort for all social occasions. Her safe existence is upended when she meets confident and free-spirited Gisela and then further unravels when the two women fall in love.

The lives of Ruth, Gisela, and Duke entwine while Ruth embarks on a journey of self-discovery, full of dangerous social repercussions that takes her from Minnesota to the Pacific Ocean of California. As WWII escalates, each of them faces a test of their fortitude as all three must come to grips with redemption, forgiveness, the meaning of family and how to honor their authentic truth during this perilous time in history.

Both heart wrenching and uplifting, The Winter Loon honors the strength and spirit of all those who struggle with social persecution because of who they love and how they define family whether it is their own flesh and blood kinfolk and/or those nearest and dearest to their heart.

The Scopas Factor
Vincent Panettiere
BookBaby
Mystery & Thrillers

A Hmong “story cloth,” a Revolutionary War battle flag, forged Picassos and a Russian drug dealer—finding the link between these disparate elements is the challenge Mike Hegan faces in The Scopas Factor, the latest mystery from Vincent Panettiere.After his last investigation ends tragically, Detective Mike Hegan returns to Chicago from St. Kitts, hoping to put everything behind him. But his girlfriend, Diana, has other plans, and although he has no interest in the job opportunity she presents him—in a small northern California town, no less—he wants to please her. Upon his arrival in Weedley, he’s caught up in a kidnapping and two murders. A visit to Diana’s family in San Francisco only serves to deepen the mystery, as her father might be the link to a gang of antiquities thieves that might have something to do with the crimes in Weedley. And when Diana’s father disappears, Hegan takes off for Antibes in southern France, where he discovers that the mystery has only just begun.

Lady No Says Yes
A Scandal Sheet Novel
by Jess Michaels
The Passionate Pen
Historical Fiction , Romance
Release Date May 7, 2019

Stunning heiress Sophie is known in Society as Lady No because she’s spent the past few years refusing the advances of every suitor. But when her beloved aunt challenges her to say yes for just one Season, she can’t refuse.

Rowan Sinclair has just had his inheritance stripped and is in dire straights. When he discovers Sophie’s secret reason for suddenly saying yes, he knows he can use it to his advantage, even if he doesn’t feel good about it.

Their unexpected connection quickly turns passionate and grows into something deeper than either ever could have expected. But can Sophie overcome her reasons for saying no in the first place? And when she finds out the truth about his courtship, will she ever forgive him?

Books for Review – Week of April 15th

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Girls of Yellow
Orest Stelmach
Penwood
Mystery & Thrillers

Imagine a world where modern governments failed their citizens and long-simmering conflicts escalated into global war. Imagine if its survivors migrated toward those who share the same faith. Imagine the continents are ruled by religions.

When the mysterious death of a teenage girl triggers memories of a similar childhood event, police Detective Sami Ali becomes consumed with solving her murder. Persecuted by the shame of his past, Ali will stop at nothing to find the killer, even if his investigation puts his wife and daughter at risk.

As he follows the clues, Ali collides with another lost soul – a foreign spy. Elise De Jong’s official mission in Eurabia involves the acquisition of a priceless item that could shift the balance of power among the theocracies. But she also has a personal objective – to find her last living relative, the little sister whom she hasn’t seen since her birth.

To succeed in their missions, Elise and Ali must find common ground despite their religious differences, for they can depend only on each other.

Ellie’s Rules
Cassie O’Brien
Totally Bound Publishing
Release Date May 14, 2019
Erotica

We play by your rules, Ellie. Not mine.”

Sporty and fiercely ambitious, Ellie McAllister has rules to protect her career. Mark Walker would like her to break them.

Ellie has a deeper need to achieve success than mere ambition and that precludes any open admission that she’s in a relationship with Mark, no matter that he’s the man to whom no other compares, in or out of bed, until…

Christmas looms on the horizon and Ellie receives a job offer that will allow her relationship with Mark to become public knowledge. Mark appears delighted when she tells him the news but Ellie’s jealousy surfaces when a beautiful rival walks into the bar and claims Mark’s attention.

Ellie must return to her parents’ village home for Christmas and face the demons that traumatized her past and Mark is in hot pursuit to prove to her that she’s the one he loves.

American Witch
American Witch: Book 1
by Thea Harrison
Romance , Sci Fi & Fantasy
Release Date April 29, 2019

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Thea Harrison comes the first in a new spellbinding trilogy…

Power can change a person…

For months Molly Sullivan endures the inexplicable: electrical surges, car breakdowns, visions. She even wonders if she might be the cause… and wonders if she might be crazy. Then she discovers her husband has cheated on her. Again. Now Molly realizes she is a newly awakening witch and a woman pushed over the edge.

Revenge can shape a person…

Josiah Mason is a Powerful witch and the leader of a secret coven with a shared goal: to destroy an ancient enemy who has ruined many lives. Josiah lost years to this man, and his sole focus is revenge. He’s prepared for every contingency—except encountering a beautiful new witch who understands nothing of the immense Power building within her or the attraction she wields over him.

Danger can bring them together…

When divorcing her husband, Molly uncovers a dangerous secret he’s willing to kill to protect. She turns to Josiah for help, and they discover a connection between Molly’s husband and Josiah’s enemy. As they work together, a spark ignites between them that threatens to become an inferno. But Molly is done compromising herself for any man, and Josiah’s mission is his top priority. And the enemy is cunning, cruel, and drawing ever closer.

As the danger escalates, so does the tension between them. Is a lasting relationship possible? Will either of them live long enough to try?

Books for Review – Week of April 8th

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Home To Kentucky
The McCoys: Before The Feud, Book Two
Thomas A. McCoy
Western Presse Publishing
Pub Date Feb 14, 2019
Historical Fiction

A treacherous journey. Wagons packed with gold. Will the McCoys outrun a group of lawmen or swing from the gallows?

Kansas, 1865. Wiley McCoy can’t wait to return home. He counts down the days until his family can stop laying low and return to Kentucky with the rightfully plundered valuables they took back for the South. But crossing the open prairie with four wagons full of gold may bring Wiley a lethal set of new problems.

With desperate outlaws and opportunistic deserters at every turn, Wiley and the other McCoys must watch their backs to survive. But they never expected their greatest enemy to come in the form of ten brilliant Pinkerton detectives…

Can Wiley make it home before the lawmen slip a rope around his neck?

Home to Kentucky is the second book in The McCoys: Before the Feud saga of historical Western novels. If you like determined heroes, realistic Southern settings, and quests for justice, then you’ll love Thomas A. McCoy’s treacherous wagon ride.

The Determined Lord Hadleigh
by Virginia Heath
HARLEQUIN – Romance
Release Date: Jul 01, 2019
Historical/Regency Fiction

He’s got iron control…

But she might be his undoing!

Part of The King’s Elite: Haunted by Penny Penhurst’s courage on the witness stand, meticulous barrister Lord Hadleigh offers her a housekeeper position at his estate. Despite trying to stay detached, Hadleigh is charmed by her small child and surprised by how much he yearns for this proud woman! Can he break through his own—and Penny’s—barriers to prove he’s a man she can trust…and love?

Living Lies
by Natalie Walters
Revell
Christian Mystery, Suspense
Release Date May 21, 2019

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name–but no one knows your secret. At least that’s what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton’s newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she’ll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Debut novelist Natalie Walters pulls you to the edge of your seat on the first page and keeps you there until the last in this riveting story that will have you believing no one is defined by their past.