Month: November 2015

The Bride Wore Dead by EM Kaplan

How does a Food Critic end up investigating a brides death? Josie Tucker, said Food Critic and lover of all foods, is asking herself the same question.
Just a tiny slip of a girl, Josie is in a funk. The paper is making cutbacks, she may or may not be hot for one of her best friends, and to top it off, her stomach has decided to stage war on itself. Suffice it to say Josie is having a bit of a bad run. Her doctor/friend wants her to go to his cousin’s spa in Arizona to try and find out why her stomach has rebelled.
When she is roped into being a last minute replacement for a bridesmaid by her friend Susan, she does it, but she’s not happy about it.

When the bride dies at the same spa as she was referred to, she is asked to do some amateur investigating. What she finds is a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone.

There are no punches pulled with the telling of what happened to the bride. I cried, I laughed and I completely fell in love with Josie Tucker.
I am definitely going back for more!

 

The Bride Wore Dead, A Josie Tucker Mystery (Josie Tucker Mysteries Book 1)

The Flames of Cyzicus: A Cassius Corbulo Short Story by Nick Brown

When it comes to Roman Historical Fiction, Nick Brown is the man! In The Flames of Cyzicus: A Cassius Corbulo short story we catch up with Corbulo who has received a promotion and has a lot going on. His responsibility is to prepare for a visit from a Legion of Rome.
Cassius thinks this should be a pretty simple assignment until in one night several granaries go up in flames. While this isn’t a major problem at first, things escalate and Cassius knows he has to get to the bottom of this and quickly.
Using his former training, he begins to delve into what is going on. He talks to the locals and eventually his path leads to Vulcan, the Roman God of Fire. What comes next is the really good stuff…and no I’m not spoiling it for you!
Nick Brown is a must read and I love it that he gave us this little story in between the big ones! You won’t be disappointed! Grab them all and have a great weekend meeting Mr. Brown and the magic he does so well.

 

The Flames of Cyzicus: A Cassius Corbulo short story (Agent of Rome, #1.5)

Her Sweetest Downfall by Rebecca Hamilton

As a fan of The Forever Girl series, this was the perfect companion book to give me a more in depth look at Ophelia. Her background and what drives her.
Fans of the paranormal and of The Forever Girl series will enjoy it very much. Although a part of the Forever Girl Series, this book holds its own as a great read. The author has done a really nice job of putting everything together.
When we meet Ophelia, she is trying to hide an odd tattoo that has shown up on her neck. She doesn’t know what it is or what it means. And with barely enough time to cover it, she is sent by her Mistress to deliver a message, through the woods. On the way she is saved and whisked off by a man she doesn’t know and isn’t sure if he is there to help her or kill her.
The things he tells her are hard for her to accept, but as we know, she does accept them and his love.
Ms. Hamilton has a wonderful way of telling a story and making us feel deeply for her characters. I look forward to much more from her!

 

Book Reviews

Last week I gave a few people copies of books that I had read and thought they would also love. Over the weekend I got many messages saying how much they loved the books.
When I asked them to go to Amazon and do a book review, the answers I got were mainly, “Oh I couldn’t do that. I don’t know how to write a review.”
I asked them, “Well, did you like the book? What was it about it that you liked? Was it well written? Did you enjoy the characters?” If you know the answers to those questions, then you can write a review. Why is this so important? Well, reviews are one thing that help an author push the book forward. This is most important when it’s a first book or an indie author who is doing double duty as a writer and probably has a full time job to support their family. Every review makes a difference and every author is grateful for each one.
Your review could be the reason someone takes a step out of their reading comfort zone, and introduces them to a new author, a new story or an entirely new genre.
So the next time you read something that makes you laugh, makes you cry or is that rare combination of entertainment and education, just go to Amazon or Goodreads and just use your own words to let the author and other readers what you thought about their work.
P

Superhighway by Alex Fayman

Superhighway is the thing we computer geeks/hackers call a dream come true. What a wild ride, zipping through the internet with Alex Fine.
When we meet Alex he is about to leave the orphanage he has lived in since the day the good Ms. Jenkins had received him as a newborn. Not knowing his parents, even his real name, if he has one.
Alex is a handsome and brilliant teenager ready to head off to college when things take a turn he could have never seen coming. The orphanage gets a computer lab. Late one night working alone in the lab, looking at hot cars and beaches, like a normal teenage boy, his monitor goes blank. Checking the power cord he finds it plugged in, so he unplugs the internet cable, intending to plug it back in, but all of a sudden he is actually in the internet. Zipping at amazing speeds, he tries to figure out what happened to him. He sees a red light, heads toward it and Poof he is on a beach looking at the same view he was last looking at on the computer back at the orphanage. And not in L.A. but Hawaii.
As we watch Alex try to come to terms with what is happening to him, we also watch him struggle with his conscience. With all of the information on the internet, he can instantly change peoples lives and fortunes. What would you do with access to the FBI,CIA and every bank in the world? I personally like what Alex did.
The age old question of just because you can do something, should you? But this is Science Fiction, so Alex and the rest of us must suspend reality and just go with the story.
Does he screw up? Of course, he’s a teenager. But he is a moral, human, and kind person and while his methods may be a bit in the gray area, his intentions are good.
One day he meets two other people like him in the net. He follows them home and meets someone who not only knows what he is doing, he also knows about Alex’s parents.
Will his quest for revenge end badly? You’ll have to read the book for that answer.
This book is one you will want to read in one sitting. And when you are done you’ll probably ask exactly what I did. Is the movie out yet???
Mr. Fayman has given us an excellent story and I hope Alex Fine will be around a long time in print and in film.

superhighway

Ghost Light by LeeAnne Hansen

Ghosts, mysteries, intrigue and romance. Fiona has found a little family in her acting troupe. Each one has a distinct personality. And all of them have their own agendas. Celebrating their latest success on the stage at the local pub, they are approached by an odd man with an even odder request. They are asked to leave on a train headed to a desolate part of Scotland. Fiona’s crush, Patrick, gets his own letter and is none too happy about it. He knows this place and hasn’t been back in years. And he does not want to go now. However, they do go and Fiona is hoping this will be her opportunity to seduce Patrick. Something about this place, this theater, has all of them acting oddly. I thought I wanted it to end one way and ending up loving how it didn’t!

You know you have a winner when you keep repeating WHAT? in every chapter! Ms. Hansen definitely knows how to write ghost stories.

Ghost Light

The Girl In Between by Laekan Zea Kemp

I think I’ll start this review with what I said after the last page. NOOOO! I was attracted to the title of this book and to be honest I was intrigued by the author’s name. After just coming off some serious political reads, I needed something just for me. What I got was Bryn, a teenager, who lives with KLS, which causes her to “sleep” for days, weeks, and even longer.
But Bryn is not your typical KLS patient. When she sleeps, she goes to an alternate world, made up of all of her memories. This isn’t a dream, it is all real and she is the only person there. That is until a boy washes up on her beach with no memory of how he got there or who he is.
Bryn is determined to find out who and where he is. Trying to fit that in with her clinical trials, family drama, and her more frequent episodes of sleeping.

When her doctor calls her in to meet with a specialist from Germany about new trials, she finds out there is more to this doctor than meets the eye and with the help of her friends she finds out what that is.
In the meantime, in the in between, the boy is starting to remember and it isn’t good. Bryn must find him, his body and bring him back to the land of the living and nothing is going to stop her.

The best books are the ones that leave you wanting more and I am definitely getting more. Today! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Bryn next!

thegirlinbetween

The One with the Most Followers Must Win!

Today I am just going to say this. I don’t really care if you agree or not.  If you are on Twitter or Instagram or even Facebook now, you are probably familiar with the radiohead, twitter jukebox and any other number of sites that guarantee you thousands of followers who will push your book, agenda, you, or whatever you want.

I find this offensive, and just cheap. It floods my feeds which I hate. Trust me, if I believe in you and/or your work, I will happily put your name out there all by my own little self. But if you have joined one of those services, you will be deleted.

I don’t need thousands of followers who don’t even know me or what I do and probably haven’t read your work anyway! It’s just a contest to see who can have the most followers on any social media site.

Whoever dies with the most followers doesn’t win. Your work should speak for you, the rest is just annoying drivel.

Thanks and have a warm day!

Wild Irish Heart (Mystic Cove #1) by Tricia O’Malley

Another author recommended this book to me and I’m forever grateful. Being Irish and Scottish, everything in this book spoke to me. My own healing Grandmother and the strong pull of the water. I don’t usually read Romance books, but this was a bit more than that. When Keelin leaves Boston and her Science background to go to Ireland and try to understand the legacy she has been left by her dead grandmother, who as soon as Keelin arrives finds out Grandma isn’t dead quite yet.
I really loved this book. I will definitely read the rest of the Mystic Cove series. I read quite a few books about ancient history and religion, political thrillers for work. It’s nice to settle in with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea and lose yourself in Ms. O’Malley’s world for a while.

Wild Irish Heart (Mystic Cove, #1)