Thursday, February 22, 2024
Review: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was provided both the print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
I absolutely loved this. It is told in mixed media format in alternating chapters told from Lucy's point of view and through a podcast episode from Ben's eyes as the story unfolds. I think the audiobook was really well done and is a great way to enjoy books delivered in this format. The narrators are excellent. January Lavoy is amazing in this with all the various characters she does and Will Damron does a great job with his role as Ben. Similar books/audio performances in this format are Sadie, The Night Swim, and Dark Corners with the story unfolding in real time as well as via a podcast. If you liked those I think you really enjoy this, and I recommend them if you end up liking this book.
Lucy doesn't remember what happened on the night her best friend was murdered. Naturally everyone in her small town thinks she did it when there weren't any other suspects. Tired of the gossip and accusations, Lucy moved away to start over. When Ben Owens begins investigating Savvy's murder for his popular podcast, word gets out about Lucy's involvement and her life is once again turned upside down. She returns home to celebrate her hilarious grandmother's birthday and ends up meeting with the handsome podcaster. Ben convinces her to reconnect with old friends and places in an attempt to figure out what really happened that night and set the record straight despite years of avoiding those exact things. As Ben's podcast gains momentum, Lucy begins to understand that there is so much more that happened that night that what she's forgotten.
Tintera does an amazing job crafting this story. I was hooked from the beginning. Lucy is a bit of a sarcastic, no-nonsense character. She has developed a think skin and makes jokes to deal with the constant accusations and harassment. The story unfolds, her demeanor makes sense. While I enjoyed Lucy's chapters as she revisits her old stomping ground and works with Ben to figure out what happened, I was always so anxious for the podcast chapters to find out what Ben had uncovered about the case. Those chapters drove where the storyline was going to go next and kept things exciting and kept the pace moving. This had great pacing by the way. I had a hard time putting this down once I started. I could have done without the romance subplot. I don't think it really added anything to the book, but it didn't detract either.
If you are looking for a fast paced thriller, look no further. This is out March 5, 2024 and is going to be a huge hit!
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Review: The Butcher of the Forest by Preemee Mohamed
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Tuesday, February 20, 2024
RELEASE BLITZ: Nothing But It All by Adriana Locke
What can mend a marriage in trouble? Two meddling kids, one grandfather, and a mischievous puppy.
Nothing But It All by Adriana Locke is now live!
From USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke comes a warm and romantic novel about a marriage in trouble, two conspiring kids, and the meaning of long-lasting love.
After twenty years, the cracks in Lauren Reed’s marriage are showing. She and her husband, Jack, feel more like roommates than a loving couple. What they have in common are two wonderful teenagers, Michael and Maddie, and the same wistful question: When did it all go wrong? Now that Lauren’s decided to get on with her life—alone—divorce is inevitable.
Not to the kids. They aren’t giving up so easily.
Michael and Maddie have conspired with their grandfather to bring everyone together for a vacation in the family’s favorite summer getaway, a rustic lakeside cabin in Story Brook, Ohio. Awkward? Yep. A little deceptive? Sure. But as far as traps go, Lauren and Jack agree—the meddlers couldn’t have set one that was more scenic or filled with so many bittersweet memories.
This trip is going to be life-changing for the whole family. Fourteen days of hope, heartbreak, and unexpected possibilities—like maybe falling in love all over again.
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://bit.ly/44Wv6Nk
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/NothingButItAll
Audible: https://adbl.co/3OLLSK6
Narrated by: Amy Hall & Ryan Duncan
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3RjQt8p
Meet Adriana
USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best—big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.
She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.
Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.
Connect with Adriana
Website: www.adrianalocke.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke
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Monday, February 19, 2024
Review: The Bad Ones: A Novel by Melissa Albert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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Friday, February 16, 2024
Blog Tour: The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Schillace with Review and Excerpt
About the Book
An abandoned English manor. A peculiar missing portrait. A cozy, deviously clever murder mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.Jo Jones has always had a little trouble fitting in. As a neurodivergent, hyperlexic book editor and divorced New Yorker transplanted into the English countryside, Jo doesn’t know what stands out more: her Americanisms or her autism.
After losing her job, her mother, and her marriage all in one year, she couldn’t be happier to take possession of a possibly haunted (and clearly unwanted) family estate in North Yorkshire. But when the body of the moody town groundskeeper turns up on her rug with three bullets in his back, Jo finds herself in potential danger—and she’s also a potential suspect. At the same time, a peculiar family portrait vanishes from a secret room in the manor, bearing a strange connection to both the dead body and Jo’s mysterious family history.
With the aid of a Welsh antiques dealer, the morose local detective, and the Irish innkeeper’s wife, Jo embarks on a mission to clear herself of blame and find the missing painting, unearthing a slew of secrets about the town—and herself—along the way. And she’ll have to do it all before the killer strikes again…
“Compulsively readable….This cozy mystery offers humor and heart along with expertly crafted plot and a refreshingly unique voice.” --Bust Magazine, Ellia Bisker
“Twisty, engaging, and thoroughly unexpected.” –DEANNA RAYBOURN, New York Times bestselling author of KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE
“The intricate plot and memorable local characters here are a delight.” –BOOKLIST
Buy Links:
BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-framed-women-of-ardemore-house-a-netherleigh-mystery-original-brandy-schillace/20016470?ean=9781335014030
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-framed-women-of-ardemore-house-brandy-schillace/1143600531
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335014039/keywords=mystery%20books?tag=harpercollinsus-20
Books A Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335014030?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&
Review
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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About the Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bschillace
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BSchillace
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b_schillace/
Book’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/netherleigh/
Peculiar Book Club Podcast, Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub
Excerpt
The Framed Women of Ardemore House
CHAPTER ONE
The house was enormous. Jo didn’t know enough about local architecture to date it, but the walls stretched up in the damp air, big and dark and lichen flecked. Windows had been boarded up; they wept black mildew creases over sandstone sills. Staring through the car window, Jo dropped her eyes down to the stairs, flanked by columns where Jo imagined regal statues might have stood. Or ought to have stood.
“It’s…a castle,” she whispered.
“It is most certainly not a castle,” said Rupert Selkirk, solicitor of Selkirk and Associates, in the driver’s seat beside her. “Not even the largest house in Abington.”
Solicitor. Jo rolled the word around in her mouth. She’d pocket it for later rumination; it was nice to have a word for chewing on. It suggested antique leather chairs and brass lampstands, felt safer than divorce lawyer, and didn’t trigger the same sort of gut gripe. Rupert looked exactly as a solicitor ought to, with a high forehead, disappearing hairline, and two very bushy eyebrows. He also drove a puddle-green sedan with the steering wheel on the wrong side of Jo’s expectations. She wondered if the sense of dislocation would fade with the jet lag. It hadn’t exactly improved her first impressions. She forgot to introduce herself, forgot the handshake, stared in absolute stunned silence at the landscape as they drove.
Online pictures had suggested something endlessly green, but the reality was wet and ragged, browned out from the end of winter and laced at the edges with naked tree branches. Jo squinted into the distance, taking in the brackish heath, then trees, then fog. A cluster of trees appeared, lanky pin oaks and a few copper beeches. A crumbling dry-stone wall snaked away from decayed posts; no fence, but the remnants of one. She let her eyes wander its length to a dark smudge of woodland and black bark dotted with lichen. The rest of the hill loomed treeless, stark, and scarred by eruptions of additional stone. Moors, she thought. Endless and rolling with dry heather and wet peat.
Jo had pressed herself to the glass, ignoring the steam prints she made. She hadn’t brought much with her—certainly not her books. But Wuthering Heights might have been a good choice. Relaxation breathing had never been much use to her; whenever she consciously thought about autonomic responses, they went all wrong. So she mentally recited the opening lines of the novel as the car grumbled to a halt in the shadow of Ardemore House. As for Rupert, he was repeating himself.
“—Not a castle. The house is wider than it is deep, mostly to take advantage of the south-facing aspect.” Seeing the blank look on Jo’s face, he tried again. “In England, south-facing gardens get the most sun. That’s where you’ll find the Ardemore Gardens. They were the highlight of the property, once. Overgrown now, I’m afraid.” Rupert swept his hand across the horizon as if bisecting it. “Everything east of here is rented for grazing livestock. There is also, as you know, the cottage. It helps defray the tax burden.”
Tax burden. She might want to hold on to those words, too.
“Emery Lane, my assistant, will be drawing up papers while we walk the property,” he said. Jo was starting to run out of processing space, internally. She felt a hiccup of emotion and press-ganged it into a smile.
“Papers?”
“For you to sign. To take over the property as your inheritance.”
The smile failed. Better say something like yes, good. Quite. Exactly the thing. But Rupert got there first, offering her a hand out of the passenger seat.
“Your mother always spoke very warmly of you, by the way. I was very sorry to hear of her passing.”
At these words, Jo quietly abandoned her pursuit of professionalism.
“Y-yeah. I got the card. Thanks.”
Rupert was still looking at her. She could tell, but wasn’t about to look back. She took in the house, instead, this not-castle that rose straight out of bracken and into a cloud bank.
“I want to go inside,” she said. Rupert joined her across the weedy lawn.
“I thought we would see the cottage first. It’s at least habitable.”
He didn’t seem to understand; Jo was standing in front of Wuthering Heights, and no, she did not want to go poke around a cottage. Not yet.
“Inside,” she said. “Please.” Rupert sighed.
“All right. But have proper expectations. This property has been vacant for a century, at least since at least 1908.”
Now in front of the door, Jo furrowed her brow as Rupert hunted for the right key. That was a surprise, actually. And it didn’t make sense.
“But you said my uncle Aiden had the property? In your email—”
“Ah, but he did not live on-site. Had a flat in York, and—” Rupert stopped abruptly and stumbled back. Jo followed his gaze to see a pair of bright eyes peering back at them through the glass.
“Jesus!”
“Tut, now.” Rupert waved his hand airily. “That’s only Sid Randles, caretaker.”
A moment later, and the man himself opened the door. Lean, lanky, all arms, legs, and a shock of red hair. Attractive in the way of highwaymen and pirates, he was either a very well-kept forty-something, or thirty gone to seed. He was also blocking the way.
“Here’s a surprise,” he said. “This the American, then?”
“Yes. Sid Randles, meet Josephine Black,” Rupert offered.
“Jones,” Jo corrected. “It’s Jo Jones now. I mean, again.” Jo faltered slightly, then dutifully stuck her hand out. Sid tucked an industrial-grade flashlight under his arm and gave her a shake, then squeezed her palm.
“Sounds like an alias,” he said.
“Jo Jones was an American Jazz drummer of the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948,” Jo said, then puckered her lips as if that would bring the words back. Sid eyed her a minute, then let out a yelp of laughter, and not very kindly.
“Ms. Jones would like a tour. Sid, will you do the honors, please?” Rupert checked his wristwatch. “I need to take this call and there’s no signal inside.” He turned away, and Sid grinned at Jo, one crooked canine slipping over his lip like a storybook fox.
“There’s no electricity,” he said.
“I figured that’s why you have the flashlight,” Jo said, pointing. Imagining him as Reynard from the French fables had done wonders for her confidence. She could almost imagine the swish of his irritated tail.
“Fine, fine. Come on in.” He backed into the hall. “Hope you don’t mind the smell.”
It would be hard to miss it. A puff of musty air assaulted Jo’s nostrils on entering—a wet, rotten odor. The windows were boarded, and in the slanted peek-a-boo light she could just make out the ghost of a table, a phantom of chairs in the foyer. Sid swept the light across the hall from a dust-webbed staircase to a grand room that opened off their left.
“You’ll want to pay respects to the Lord and Lady,” he said, then marched her through the pocket doors. The smell was stronger in here, sharper and more tangible. Then, her heart leapt; she’d caught a glimpse of distant book spines.
“It’s a library?” she asked.
“Yeah. A rotten one.” Sid played the flashlight beam along the mantel of a marble fireplace. “But up there, see ’em? That would be Lord William Ardemore. And his wife, Gwen, of course.”
The portraits were too large, and the beam of the light too small, but she could make out a frowning man with deep set eyes and a woman with a rosebud mouth, who might have suitably graced a Victorian cookie tin. Family members she had never known.
“Damned odd, those two.” Sid flicked the light between them. “Just up and vanished from the place.”
Jo sucked a breath. Did everyone know more about them than she did?
“What do you mean? Vanished how?”
“I mean just that.” He played the light against his own face, campfire style. “Just up sticks and gone. Fired everybody, too, didn’t they? Oh, they’d been toast of the town, like.” He did an awful falsetto: “Jobs for the big garden and big bloody house. Then poof. Like they were running from something.”
Jo was watching carefully for signs of a joke. There didn’t appear to be any, so then she waited for him to carry on. Except he didn’t. She studied him for a few silent seconds, until he gave another bark of laughter.
“Nothin’ to say about that, eh? Well, the old Lord and Lady are the least of your worries, anyhow. There’s a hole in the roof upstairs, an honest to God hole. Between you and me? Be cheaper to pull the house down than to fix it up.”
Jo pursed her lips so hard she felt teeth.
“I just got it! I can’t tear it down!”
Sid only shrugged at her outburst.
“Fair, I guess. But what do you plan to do with it, then? Look around.”
Jo did not, in fact, have an answer to that. Sid apparently meant it rhetorically, anyway, since he was now herding her toward the door.
“To the cottage,” he said. “Come on.”
Excerpted from The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Schillace. Copyright © 2024 by Brandy Schillace. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A., a division of HarperCollins
Review: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Thursday, February 15, 2024
COVER REVEAL: Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young
Samantha Young has revealed the gorgeous cover for Skies Over Caledonia!
Releasing: May 9, 2024
Cover Design: Hang Le
Photography: Wander Aguiar
He’s a down-to-earth highland farmer. She’s the rebellious daughter of Hollywood royalty. They might seem like they’re from different worlds, but that won’t stop them from engaging in a marriage of convenience…
It’s been five years since Jared McCulloch’s grandfather Collum passed away and he inherited his farm in the Scottish Highlands. After his grandad saved him from his past life, Jared is determined to honor Collum’s legacy. But not only has a series of bad luck put him in danger of losing the farm, his estranged father is disputing the will. In a desperate situation, Jared realizes he’ll do just about anything to save the land.
Even marrying Allegra Howard, a woman he’s avoided at all costs.
A woman who tempts him beyond reason.
There’s only one place that makes Allegra Howard feel safe; one place that feeds her artist’s soul. Allegra wants to settle down in Scotland and expand her business. But there’s a hitch: immigration intends to return her to US soil.
Panicked, Allegra finds the one person just as desperate as she is. The same person she’s lusted after for years. In exchange for marrying her, she’ll invest financially in Jared McCulloch’s farm.
However, living together only forces them to acknowledge their searing mutual attraction. And with it comes an undeniable emotional connection Jared’s not sure he’s ready for.
Yet, blurring the lines of their arrangement is the least of his concerns when someone begins terrorizing the farm.
Allegra and Jared came together to save what matters most and now that might just be each other. And unless they can figure out which of their pasts has returned to torment them, they could lose their chance at a real future together...
Pre-order your copy today!
Amazon: https://bit.ly/41wg1C5
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/SkiesOverCaledonia
Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3NAJQvv
Meet Samantha
Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She's been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.
She resides in Scotland.
Connect with Samantha
Website: http://authorsamanthayoung.com
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSamanthaYoung/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1520019958258238/
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Saturday, February 10, 2024
Review: A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was provided and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. The narrator was wonderful and really brought the characters and story to life.
This is told from the perspectives of Arthie, Flick, and Jin who all play parts in this YA fantasy heist novel. There are also some very important side characters that play a part in their group as they navigate the underbelly of vampire politics and polite society. By day Arthie and Jin run a tea house, by night it turns into a haven for vampires. At any time a of day Arthie is always collecting secrets that she can use to her advantage at a later date. When their establishment is threatened and they are soon to be without a place to call home, Arthie and Jin devise a plan to steal valuable information that will upset the ruling powers. To do so, Arthie must put together a crew to make the heist go smoothly, but she doesn't trust everyone in the crew and must stay 2 steps ahead of everyone. I loved Arthie, and the King Arthur aspect of her character. I can't wait for more of her in book 2. All the characters bring something to the table that make you want to get to know them more.
This has everything you want from a good novel. It has action, twists and turns, betrayal, and a hint of romance. Some of the twists you see coming and they are pretty obvious, while others are a little more subtle and you don't quite see them coming. Each of the characters has their own motivations and growth arc which is very well done.
This ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, but the audiobook contains a lovely interview with the author and her husband. I'm not sure if it is included in the print version, but it was really enjoyable to hear about her writing process, why she chose to tell the book from 3 POVs, and her love of tea. Their interaction was really enjoyable and they play off of one another so nicely. It is full of spoilers so you will want to have read the book first before listening or reading the interview. I loved hearing her discuss about why she chose to do certain things with certain characters and while she doesn't give much away for book two, she gives hope that all will be answered in the next book.
This really is perfect for fans of Six of Crows. This also has the same sort of found family vibe, but the characters are vastly different. I loved it and I can't wait for book 2! This is my first book from the author though I can quickly see her becoming a favorite! It was so refreshing to pick up such a fun book with a unique take on the heist and political intrigue aspects.
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Thursday, February 8, 2024
Release Blitz: Rebel Romeo by Katana Collins
Holden didn’t set out to betray me… but that’s just what he did.
Twice.
Rebel Romeo, an all-new enemies to lovers, second chance romance, and the second book in the Shattered Hearts series from USA Today bestselling author Katana Collins is now available!
They say history repeats itself. Same Holden. Same me. Same heartbreak and betrayal. Only this time, I’m not the same shattered college freshman who runs away from a fight broken-hearted. I’m not going to fall on my knife, like Juliet.
This time, I stay. And I fight.
It’s bad enough that my director is my first love and the guy broke my heart. But now his most recent ex-girlfriend, the stunning Tony-Award winning actress, Missy Howl, is my producer on the show.
I have one more chance to prove to everyone that I deserve this lead role on Broadway. Everything’s on the line: my career, my apartment... and my heart.
I know falling for Holden again would be nothing short of a tragedy, but I can’t help the spark of hope that maybe we can rewrite the script for ourselves. But when it comes to star-crossed lovers, Shakespeare said it best himself: “These violent delights have violent ends.”
Start reading today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/rebelromeo
Add Rebel Romeo to Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/rebelromeo
For more information about Katana Collins and her books, visit her website:
https://katanacollins.com
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Review: Rebel Romeo by Katana Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Literally Yours PR, all opinions are my own.
This picks up where Broken Romeo leaves off, so you really can't read this as a standalone. You may also want to start with Shattered Juliet as that has some extra info that will lead into the story that picks up in this book.
Kate has finally gotten a part in a show that might be her big break on the Broadway scene, the only catch is her ex is the director. Kate has everything to lose, and she feels like she is reliving the play they were in together in college. The story is told from Kate's perspective in the present, and Holden's perspective 5 years in the past during her freshman year and his senior year. Just like in their college days, the current production appears to be mirroring the same antics. Holden has nothing to lose, and Kate is being used as a pawn for others gain and amusement. Holden's politician of a father has been meddling in both the current production, and there are hints that he meddled in their college performance as well leaving Kate betrayed and embarrassed. There are quite a few players that don't want to see Kate and Holden succeed as a happy couple, and quite a few more that don't want to see Kate become the successful actress and performer that she has always dreamed of becoming. Unfortunately tragedy has struck and she is forced to choose her personal life over her career, and she isn't sure who she can trust Holden when she needs someone in her corner.
As I mentioned this is told in alternating POVs and alternating timelines. As Holden's POV progresses toward the final act, we get closer and closer to finding out what really happened to the production of Remy and Julie that they were rehearsing for in college and the betrayal that split them apart so catastrophically. In Kate's POV, there are quite a few characters that want to rip her to shreds and upend everything she has worked so hard to achieve. As she and Holden finally begin to reconcile there are several people willing to stand in the way of their happiness. I am anxious to find out if the show will go on or if our leading lady completely breaks after the final reveal. There are still so many unanswered questions, but I don't think this story will end in complete tragedy.
This book has quite a few heavy moments and some very emotional ones. Kate is forced to face her emotions and vulnerability, while Holden is forced to face his own actions and motivations. There is a lot of angst in this installment, caused by a lot of obstacles placed in the way of our star crossed lovers. There are quite a few supporting players, some good and some villainous.
Like Broken Romeo, this does leave off with another major cliffhanger. When I first started this series I thought it was a duology, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually a trilogy. I got to about the 80% mark and realized there was no way things were going to wrap up in a satisfying way in the remaining chapters. When I got to the final pages I realized there had to be another book because Katana would not do this to us, and indeed there is another book. Ruined Juliet is out in April and Forbidden Romeo the conclusion to the is out in July. I cannot wait to find out what happened 5 years ago between Kate and Holden and what is going to happen present day. With all of these actors around it is sure to be nothing less than dramatic.
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