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Hello world!

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Let’s talk about books. What type of book do you like to read? Do you stick to the same authors or are you willing to take a chance on something radically different from your norm? I have a cluster of authors that I gobble up the new books they put out like a binge eater…all in one sitting. And in between waiting for said authors to put out the next book, I have a group of “fill in” authors. And then there are the ones I read because I am so very curious about everything. It has been pointed out to me that my reading list is probably linked to Homeland Security but how can you have an opinion on anything if you haven’t fully researched it?

On my bookshelf you will find every James Patterson novel, every Laurell K. Hamilton, every Stuart Woods, Harlan Coben, Catherine Coulter, Iris Johansen, Anne Rice, Laura Childs, Tom Clancy, George R.R.Martin, Kim Harrison, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, Lisa Scottoline, Lisa Unger, Karin Slaughter, Don Winslow, Sara Blaedel along with all the classics. I don’t do romance books, no heaving bosoms or glistening abs for me.

Reading is a magical thing that can take you places you would never have access to in the living world. I love everything about books. The cover, the feel, and smell of the paper, it all has to come together for me.  Books are like a good friend who stays around.

So here we are going to be talking about books. What we’ve read, what we are reading and what we hope to read. I find it so interesting that two people can read the same book and have totally different takes on it. But that is the fun of books and imagination. Everyone is different and I am intrigued by those different opinions.

Stick around for some really good, new authors I have found and feel free to make suggestions and comments!  Join us on Facebook for free books, authors looking for reviewers and new releases and giveaways! On Twitter, @GaPirate  Email me at piratepatty@hotmail.com. Have your Marketing people or Publisher contact me for reviews.

the summer of lost and found by Mary Alice Monroe

The Summer of Lost and Found

From the Queen of the Beach Reads comes Ms. Monroe’s latest.

I love this Beach series. Maybe because Charleston is my ancestral home as well. All the names and places are familiar to me and I feel like I’m reading a letter from home.

The Rutledge family has always been a part of Charleston. The family has seen hard times and wonderful times. They have found love and lost it. But the one place they have always come to heal is the beach house from Grandma Lovie. It’s the one sure thing. So when Linnea needs a place to stay after Covid forces layoffs at the marine center, it’s to the cottage she goes.

Across the street Cara waits for David to return from London with little Hope by her side. When he returns he is already sick and must quarantine himself in his room while Hope goes to stay with Linnea. And who should also be in quarantine but John right next door.

Everyone is worried and afraid for their loved ones. Linnea’s boyfriend Gorden finally arrives from London and again goes into quarantine. Now both men she cares for are right next door. What’s a girl to do?

This book was written during Covid. We can all sympathize with the family as we are living it along with them.

But never fear, the ending had me in a puddle on the floor and yet feeling hopeful.

NetGalley Review/ May 11th, 2021 by Gallery Books

No, I’m not okay. But I will be.

It’s been a wild May and it is only week one!

OU Boy and I had decided I would take the Moderna vaccine and if I didn’t die then he would take it. I was so anxious the day before I almost chickened out but I need to leave the country soon and I have to have proof that I have had the shots.

Obviously the universe had other plans. We got there and I had my shot. Then Jennifer, our pharmacist told OU Boy she had one dose left as someone had chickened out. So he got stuck too.

For all the people in my life who told me how good they slept after the first shot and how painless it was? Screw you all.

From Saturday evening until Tuesday evening we couldn’t even move our arms. I was so glad I had mine in the left arm or I couldn’t have gone to the bathroom alone! We had fever, chills, PAIN. At one point I would have chopped the arm off. I had Covid last year. There was no PAIN. Granted it was six weeks of hell, but I recovered.

Wednesday dawned sunny and I had no more pain. Physical pain. As most of you know my mother left this earth on December 5th. May 5th is my birthday. This was the first time in my life I didn’t receive a card from my Momma. Plus that 5 a.m. text. So that set off the sobbing jag that lasted all day and night. I was already on the edge of a full-blown anxiety attack. As most of you already know it’s been almost five years since the great eye debacle (corneal transplant) and Monday my surgeon released me to a corneal specialist. I am finally stable. And what did I do? Pick up the phone to tell Momma.

It’s all these firsts that are gutting me. I am lucky I have three sisters and a brother who buoyed me up through texts, and lots of love. And OU Boy who took me to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant where they thought we were celebrating Cinco de Mayo. I’m French. We lost that minor battle, so no, it was Cinco de Patricia.

But we made it through. But that second shot on the 29th I am already ancy about!

Hope everyone is well and doing their best to stay healthy.

xx P

THE GLORIOUS GUINNESS GIRLS by EMILY HOURICAN

Everyone has hear of the Guinness family but I’ve never known much about the girls. This clears all of that up and very well.

This was a book of truths and an imagined tale. The author has done her research and this was a joy to read.

These girls seemed to have it all. The money, the name, and all the tight restrictions of the time. Fliss isn’t one of them and yet she is. It is her story most of all and it was an emotional one.

With their mother indisposed with some vague ailment, Fliss is charged with chaperoning the girls. She sleeps with them and eats with them but she knows she is not one of them.

The girls led very interesting and tragic lives and it is all here in this captivating book.

The author writes beautifully and the energy jumps off the page. Very Well Done!

May 4. 2021 Grand Central Publishing

the newcomer by mary kay andrews

The Newcomer

In trouble and on the run…



Letty Carnahan is looking over her shoulder in a panic as she and her niece, Maya, run from New York to Florida. Things have gone terribly wrong and the worst- case scenario is now happening.

Letty’s sister, Tanya, is not exactly a paragon of truth and virtue. Hooking up with the slimiest of men. This time she chose the wrong guy. Oh, he looks good on paper, but is as scummy as they come. Tanya tells Letty that if anything happens to her, look at the husband. And then take this shoe of money and Maya and run.

When Letty turns up for her standard Sunday with Maya, what she finds is a body and a screaming child. What does she do? She runs. With no idea why she is going to some old motel in an old Southern Living article her sister included with the go-bag, she pushes forward until she finally reaches Treasure Island and The Murmuring Surf Motel.

Why is she here? What does this place have to do with Tanya? And why, oh why, does the motel manager’s son have to be a cop?

Ms. Andrews is the queen of the beach reads. This is one that had a bit of everything in it. Much like real life. The characters are so real and the story so compelling you may want to hit the road to find Treasure Island yourself.

Always a pleasure!

NetGalley/ May 4th, 2021 St. Martin’s Press



THE CURSE OF THE CHERRY PIE by AMY PATRICIA MEADE

The Curse of the Cherry Pie

A Tish Tarragon Mystery

We are back at Cookin’ the Books Cafe’ with literary caterer Tish Tarragon and Celestine, her baker of the most heavenly foods.

Celestine has entered the very uppity Virginia Commonwealth Bake-Off but at the last minute is unable to attend. Although Tish isn’t sure she can measure up to her baker, she will jump in and try and at least win the prize money to help her friend.

Her entries sound lovely. And her final entry will be a Frangipane Cherry Pie. Keeping her fingers crossed, she shows up on the first day only to find out the last two contestants who baked a cherry pie died.

The rivalries in the baking world are legendary and even though this isn’t the Great British Bake-Off, one of the contestants is acting like a Royal. The winner of last year is about the most out of touch and ridiculous baker ever. Looking more like June Cleaver than Julia Child, she has a facade that is about to crack like an egg.

And it looks as if someone is out to shut down Tish’s chances on day one. As the shenanlgans progress Tish may not live to see who wins!

Always a good tale with Tish!

NetGalley/ May 4, 2021 Severn House

FLAT WHITE by SANDRA BALZO (A Maggy Thorson Mystery)

Flat White

Coffee and romance – the perfect way to warm a freezing winter at Uncommon Grounds! Until Maggy Thorsen’s new barista’s beau turns up on the doorstep, bringing a deadly chill with him…

We are back in Wisconsin with Maggy and her partner Sarah at their coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds. Amy is taking a vacation so the ladies have asked their neighbor, Christy to fill in as barista. Between her cleaning obsession and her talking about her new beau, Barry, they could have probably done the job themselves.

Christy is an odd duck. Her last beau was in prison but this time she jumped into the online dating scene. And she believes her love life is about to improve vastly. The girls are skeptical at best until she lets them know that Barry is coming to town! To bring her a gift.

On the day he is due to show up, there is an awful snowstorm (remember this is Wisconsin) and while they may not have many customers, Harold has parked the snowplow at the top of the street and is in need of not coffee, but the bathroom. STAT!

Alas, the love of Christy’s life is about to be as dead as a doorknob. As Barry crosses over to the coffee shop, the snowplow suddenly roars to life, or is that the storm? Before you can breathe, Barry is flat and white. And Christy is in shock.

As Maggy tries to help Christy, things just get worse. A wife, a lying friend and secrets come out of the storm.

I love this series. Mainly because of Sarah! I tell you that woman has the smartest mouth, and I adore her! I went around telling everyone I knew about Flat White, just so I could tell them how the man died. Clever language and mysterious characters abound in this new mystery at Uncommon Grounds.

NetGalley/ May 4th, 2021 by Severn House Publishers



HAPPY MAY DAY!

Can you believe it’s May again? Things are so different everywhere. Here the mask mandates have expired.

The Governor signed into law that no one can get an abortion. Ever. He says he is pro-life. Aren’t we all? Next up should be Viagra taken down so those men couldn’t knock anyone up.

He also said we are now a Second Amendment Sanctuary State. What?? Does that mean if you can’t use a gun in your own state you can come here?

OU Boy and I discussed the Moderna vaccine and decided I would get it and if I didn’t die, he would get it.

Poor thing. We went this morning for mine and they had a cancellation so she gave him one too. He’s been throwing up since. My arm is really sore but I am alive.

It’s been good weather so I have been outside walking or running my 5 miles a day. Other than that it’s just been reading and reviewing.

I am reading The Glorious Guinness Girls right now. Interesting read.

Have a good weekend and welcome to May~

Mean and Shellfish by TAMAR MYERS

Mean and Shellfish (A Pennsylvania-Dutch mystery Book 22)

A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery

This is one of the funniest cozy series! And the laughs may come to an end before the festival!

Murder, wild shenanigans and visitors from afar may all take center stage at Hernia’s fourth Billy Goat Gruff Festival. It is after all the premier event of Hernia.

The festival has attracted visitors from all over the world and one of those would be Gabe’s sister, Miriam, who shows up from Australia and is staying at the inn.

While not as shocking as her only having one leg, murder is soon out doing that one. As if murder wasn’t enough for poor Magdalena, weird and off the charts odd things begin to happen as the festival kicks off. Magdalena needs to find a killer and quickly. And as she soon finds out the target may not be the festival after all.

This is such a funny, foody, quirky laugh out loud book. The characters are so memorable and I just never want the book to end.

NetGalley/Pub Date 04 May 2021   Cannongate Books/ Severn House

THIEF OF SOULS by BRIAN KLINGBORG

Thief of Souls: An Inspector Lu Fei Mystery (Inspector Lu Fei Series Book 1)
An Inspector Lu Fei Mystery #1

“On the night the young woman’s corpse is discovered, hollowed out like a birchbark canoe, Inspector Lu Fei sits alone in the Red Louts bar, determined to get gloriously drunk.”

Lu Fei has all the credentials of a top-notch Inspector and yet he is living in a small town in the north of China,where life isn’t very exciting. At least until the day a young woman is found dead, organs gone and something stuck in her mouth.

Such a high-profile murder is big news even in Beijing where the CID is taking over the case. The head of the CID has aspirations to be more than a cop and in China where there is so much political and economic instability, a murder of a girl isn’t top priority.

With little help from the CID, Fei will be digging into this bizarre case alone it looks like. There was so much going on here. Communist Party bigwigs, Corrupt politicians and business owners. China is very corrupt it seems.

But digging too far may leave the inspector in a lot of danger.

I liked the idea of this story more than the story.

NetGalley/ Pub Date: 04 May 2021 St. Martin’s/Minotaur

MURDER IN THE COOKBOOK NOOK by ELLERY ADAMS

Murder in the Cookbook Nook (Book Retreat Mystery 7)

A Book Retreat Mystery #7

Storyton Hall in Virginia is home to Jane, her boys her beloved Aunt and Uncle and this week to the cast and crew of a book -themed cook-off show.

The cooking tent is up and the six chefs have arrived along with host Mia and her entourage. Winning this competition would mean money and prestige for one chef.

What’s a baking show without a bit of drama? Contrived or not, the ratings will soar. All of the crew seem suspicious to me. And when one of the chefs is found in the beloved and probably priceless cookbook nook with part of an antique plate stuck in him, Jane and her staff turn in to investigators and get down to finding out who exactly these people are.

Someone wants to stop the show is Jane’s first thought. Until her lovely neck is on the block. Such excitement for a cooking show!

It’s always a pleasure to hang out with Jane and her crew.

This author also writes The Secret Book & Scone Society series which I love as well.

NetGalley Review/Pub Date: 27 Apr 2021  Kensington