#BookReview: My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong

Synopsis: A novel about a Chinese-American teen who is thrust into the world of Beijing high society when she is sent away to spend the summer in China.

Iris Wang is having a bit of a rough start to her summer. In an attempt to snap her out of her funk, Iris’s parents send her away to visit family in Beijing, with the hopes that Iris will “reconnect with her culture” and “find herself.” Iris resents her parents’ high-handedness, but even she admits that this might be a good opportunity to hit the reset button.

Iris expects to eat a few dumplings, meet some of her family, and visit a tourist hotspot or two. What she doesn’t expect is to meet a handsome Mandarin-language tutor named Frank and to be swept up in the ridiculous, opulent world of Beijing’s wealthy elite, leading her to unexpected and extraordinary discoveries about her family, her future, and herself.

#BookReview: The Silence of Bones by June Hur @writerjunehur

Synopsis: I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak;
Ears, but I mustn't hear;
Eyes, but I mustn't see.

1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

June Hur's elegant and haunting debut The Silence of Bones is a bloody tale perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Renée Ahdieh.

#BookReview: Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent

Synopsis: In this gripping YA novel about social media bullying and half-truths, one girl's discovery of a dead baby in her high school locker room rocks an entire community. 

Nobody in Beckett's life seems to be telling the whole story. Her boyfriend Jake keeps hiding texts and might be cheating on her. Her father lied about losing his job before his shocking death. And everyone in school seems to be whispering about her and her family behind her back. 

But none of that compares to the day Beckett finds the body of a newborn baby in a gym bag-Jake's gym bag -on the floor of her high school locker room. As word leaks out, rumors that Beckett's the mother take off like wildfire in a town all too ready to believe the worst of her. And as the police investigation unfolds, she discovers that everyone has a secret to hide and the truth could alter everything she thought she knew.

#BookReview: The Names We Take by Trace Kerr

Synopsis: Never leave someone behind: it’s a promise easier made than kept, especially when seventeen-year-old Pip takes the headstrong twelve-year-old Iris under her protection in the wake of an earth-shattering plague. 

After an unspeakable tragedy, the duo must navigate the nearly unrecognizable remains of Spokane, facing roving slave traders, merciless gangs―and worse. Pip and Iris soon meet Fly, a stubborn and courageous older girl, and as the three grow closer and their circumstances grow more perilous, they must also grapple with their own identities in this cruel new world. Pip’s vow to never leave someone behind may have made survival more difficult for her, but this promise could also be the key to finding meaning in the ashes of what came before.

#BookBlitz: Someday Everything Will All Make Sense by @CLahines @RABTBookTours @BookBuzznet

 

Literary Fiction

Published: February 2019

Publisher: Adelaide Books

Someday Everything Will All Make Sense follows Luther van der Loon, an eccentric professor of early music, as he navigates the stages of grief after his mother chokes on a wonton. Luther institutes a personal injury suit against the takeout whose "sloppy methods" he blames for his mother's death. Slowly, and with the help of his girlfriend, Cecilia, he struggles toward resolution. Luther finds redemption in music as he plans the annual symposium for his early music colleagues.

#BookTour: Layla by @colleenhoover

Synopsis: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love.

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

Patriot by @HarleyW_Writer #blitz with @XpressoTours #Giveaway 2x winners for a Harley Wylde swag pack

Patriot
Harley Wylde
(Hades Abyss MC)
Published by: Changeling Press
Publication date: December 11th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

MaryAnne — I was sixteen when I learned a hard lesson. No, it wasn’t a lesson. It was worse. Kidnapped, tortured, abused in the worst of ways… I’d thought my life was over. Until the day my knight in shining armor came to save me. Patriot. Despite how scary he looks, he has to be the kindest man I’ve ever met. He not only rescues damsels in distress, but animals too. Under that hard exterior is a heart of gold. It doesn’t matter that he’s older than me. The more I get to know him, the harder I start to fall. But why would a man like him ever want someone like me? I’m dirty. Damaged. Broken beyond repair. Or am I? After all, Christmas is a time for miracles.

Patriot — From the moment I saw her, she’s had me wrapped around her finger. I’ve done my best to chase the fear and shadows from her eyes, show her she’s safe. I’ve taken out nearly every man who ever hurt her, even if she doesn’t know it. And the two who are still standing won’t be for long. I want to see her smile. Make her laugh. What better time than Christmas to prove to her life is worth living? I’ll make it the best she’s ever had!

But there’s only one thing I want under the tree this year… MaryAnne. She deserves better. I’m no angel. I’ve killed. Lied. Stolen. And worse. I tell myself repeatedly to keep my distance… until I can’t. One taste and I know I’ll never walk away. MaryAnne is mine! And if she won’t listen to me, then maybe my whacky parrot can convince her. If there’s one thing the African Grey excels at, it’s talking when he shouldn’t.

WARNING: Patriot contains scenes of graphic violence and sexual content, bad language, and abuse. But it also has a happily-ever-after, a tiny feline terror, the most patient dog on the planet, and a bird who always has to have the last word.

The Protector by @AOwenBooks #blitz with @XpressoTours #Giveaway $15 Amazon gift card

The Protector
Abigail Owen
(Fire’s Edge #4)
Published by: Entangled: Amara
Publication date: December 7th 2020
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

The cousin of the High King, Lyndi Chandali has lived with the constant threat of being pawned off as a political prize. A rare, female-born dragon like Lyndi can’t truly mate—not in the way it counts. Which is why she’s kept her distance from a certain sinfully delicious Beta. Instead, she’s built a life for herself giving orphaned dragons in the Americas a home.

As Beta of his team of enforcers, Levi Rowtag is a fighter first, last, and always. His job is to protect—his team, the shifters in his territory, and the stubborn woman hell-bent on fighting with him at every turn. He knows from the moment they first meet what she’ll never accept—they are destined to be mated.

But with the kings at war, the enemy is now coming for Lyndi. Worse, he’s coming for her orphans, too. He’ll have no choice but to defy his king and go rogue if he has any hope of protecting them all…and finally claiming his mate.

#BookReview: Blood, Metal, Bone by @authorlindsayc @HQstories

Synopsis: Her destiny was death. The shadows brought her back.

Wrongly accused of her brother’s murder, Sonara’s destiny was to die, sentenced to execution by her own mother. Punished and left for dead, the shadows have cursed her with a second life as a Shadowblood, cast out and hunted by society for her demon-like powers.

Now known as the Devil of the Deadlands, Sonara survives as a thief on the edge of society, fighting for survival on a quest to uncover what really happened to her brother and whether he is even dead at all…

Blood Metal Bone is the astounding new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lindsay Cummings. This is the perfect adrenaline-packed read for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, The Mandalorian and Sarah J Maas’ Throne of Glassseries.

#BookReview: The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by @amynoelleparks

Synopsis: Caleb has always assumed that when she was ready for romance, Evie would choose him. Because he is her best friend, and he loves her, and he has almost kissed her 17 times... 

Seventeen-year-old Evie Beckham has never been interested in dating. She's been fully occupied by her love of mathematics and her frequent battles with anxiety (and besides, she's always found the idea of kissing to be a little bit icky). But with the help of her best friend and her therapist, Evie's feeling braver. Maybe even brave enough to enter a prestigious physics competition and to say yes to the new boy who's been flirting with her. 

Caleb Covic knows Evie isn't ready for romance but assumes that when she is, she will choose him. So Caleb is horrified when he is forced to witness Evie's meet cute with a floppy-haired, mathematically gifted transfer student. Because Caleb knows the girl never falls for the funny best friend when there's a mysterious stranger around, he decides to use an online forum to capture Evie's interest. Now, he's got Evie wondering if it's possible to fall in love with a boy she's never met. 

Told in the alternating voices of Evie and Caleb, THE QUANTUM WEIRDNESS OF THE ALMOST KISS is a YA romantic comedy, sure to satisfy fans of Jenny Han, Rainbow Rowell and Stephanie Perkins. 

#BookReview: Ruthless Gods: A Novel (Something Dark and Holy #2) by Emily A. Duncan

Synopsis: Darkness never works alone...

Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who--and what--he’s become. 

As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.

#BookBlitz: Asteroidea by @StephanieASmit6 @RABTBookTours @BookBuzznet

 

Literary Fiction, Fiction

Published: November 2020

Publisher: Adelaide Books

ASTEROIDEA is about regeneration: personal, professional, cellular. Marine biologist Claire Holt is at a frustrating crossroads. Having spent her career experimenting on asteroidea, commonly called star-fish, and trying, without success, to transfer their regenerative capabilities to mammals, she’s grown frustrated and depressed. With her grants running dry, time running out, and her two grown daughters facing their own life changes, Claire feels defeated. To cope, she takes a journey back to her childhood home, only to discover several startling and destabilizing facts about her past. As she tries to handle the resulting intergenerational and emotional fall-out, a graduate student arrives at her lab with a newly discovered, promising species of asteroidea. Juggling emotional and familial upheaval, as well as this fresh direction for her research challenges Claire to re-engage in both her work and in life.

The Pleasure House by @kitty_thomas #blitz with @XpressoTours #Giveaway 9 surprise signed books by Kitty Thomas and a $50 gift card

The Pleasure House
Kitty Thomas
Publication date: December 2nd 2020
Genres: Adult, Dark Romance, Romance

The Pleasure House is Kitty Thomas’s COMPLETE 5 book pleasure house series. (A $25 value!), All five books from the pleasure house series are included: Guilty Pleasures, Broken Dolls, Surrender, Pretty Lies, and Twisted Fates.

“Kitty Thomas is a one-click author for me!” -Anna Zaires, NYT Bestselling author of Twist Me

Guilty Pleasures:

She was a bored housewife until she was taken and trained for the pleasure of the highest bidder.

Vivian Delaney leads a life of privilege, but behind closed doors she feels isolated and trapped in a gilded cage. Unable to achieve sexual pleasure with her husband, she finds herself in the capable hands of Anton, a massage therapist intent on awakening her to her full sexual potential. By any means necessary.

Broken Dolls:

Mina Calloway always finds herself in the hands of the wrong master: Gentle at first, then brutally sadistic and abusive. She no longer believes it’s possible to find a man who will be gentle with her. After seeing a kink-friendly therapist for months, the doctor makes her an illicit offer she isn’t yet smart enough to refuse: “Let me find you a good master.”

Brian Sloan is a borderline sociopath with a dark and brutal past. Only taking his sadistic urges out on the women at a submissive training house allows him to sleep through the night. When Brian sees Mina, she should be ripe for the picking, but her damage is too similar to his own. Can he fight past his demons to protect the one person he considers worth saving?

Surrender:

Julie wants Gabe Griffin like fish want water, but what she wants is sweet domestic bliss and a white picket fence. What Gabe wants is to put a collar around Julie’s throat and train her in the finer points of being his slave.

At first too innocent, then too broken, can Julie ever surrender to the man intent on claiming her?

Pretty Lies:

“She told pretty lies to the wrong man and now she must give herself to him to save her sister’s life”

As a phone sex operator, Annette Waincott knows how to tease to get what she wants. That is, until she teases the wrong man at a club, claiming kinky fantasies she doesn’t really have. It must have been too much vodka and his tantalizing Russian accent. Too bad he believes her.

When the Russian accidentally kidnaps her twin sister as part of an ill-fated sex game, things quickly get real. In a desperate bid to free her twin, Annette offers herself to him in trade. He both terrifies and excites her, but she knows she can never trust him. The things he wants will push her to her limits and beyond. And this time, she can’t tell pretty lies and run away.

Twisted Fates:

When Lindsay Smith brought her to the house, it was to train and sell her. They both knew it. She’d agreed to this arrangement. She wanted to belong to someone. But Lindsay wanted her to be his.

Three days into her stay at the pleasure house, Shannon Foster’s life is forever destroyed by a sociopathic monster. Lindsay saved her life that day, but the scars bind her to the house without a future.

Now, eight years later, Lindsay saves her once again, only this time he’s playing for keeps.

A Shattering Glimpse by @NjpWriter #blitz with @XpressoTours #Giveaway $20 Amazon gift card

A Shattering Glimpse
Nicole Putter
Publication date: December 10th 2020
Genres: Adult, Romance, Thriller

The dreams: For years, Claire Baxter has been haunted by ceaseless dreams of an FBI Agent.

The dilemma: She has no idea who he is or if he even exists.

The death: Right before she’s set to graduate from college, a dream reveals him dying in a brutal explosion.

One touch and not-so-normal Portland girl, Claire Baxter, can get a glimpse of your nearby future. She considers nothing about her clairvoyance a gift, it’s a curse, to say the least. Her parents raised her with the rule that she is to keep the secret at all cost, leaving little room for relationships of any kind. As if the burden isn’t enough, FBI agent Byron Black becomes the phantom of a series of sinister dreams.

The night before her final college exam, she has another dream, except in this one, he dies in a nuclear explosion. Does he exist? Will she find him? If so, can she save the countless lives affected by a blast that can crush steel like it’s a piece of paper, or… is this something her lost, psychic mind conjured up?

#CoverReveal: The Problem at Wisteria Gardens (A Pekin Dewlap Mystery, #3) by #PamelaMcCord @RABTBookTours @PublishingAcorn #Giveaway

 

A Pekin Dewlap Mystery

Middle Grade Mystery

Date Published: 3/9/21

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

The ghost haunting Wisteria Gardens Antiques appears to be a charming and loving mother who can’t stand the thought of being separated from her son.

But appearances can be deceiving.

The Ghosties are moved by her expression of devotion, until they discover the truth. Her attachment to the real world has nothing to do with love.

As the teen ghost hunters struggle with the case, Althea’s determination to stay threatens their very lives. Will Pekin, Scout, and Amber convince the ghost to move on before it's too late?

#BookReview: It Sounded Better in My Head by @NinaKenwood

Synopsis: From debut author Nina Kenwood comes a tender, funny, and compulsively readable novel about first love and its confusions, and all of the awkwardness of teen romance.

When her parents announce their impending divorce, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting, or at least mildly upset. Then Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, hook up, leaving her feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. She’d always imagined she would end up with Zach one day―in the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining, and meaningful looks. Now everything has changed, and nothing is quite making sense. Until an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further.

It Sounded Better in My Head is a compulsively readable love letter to teenage romance in all of its awkward glory, perfect for fans To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Emergency Contact.

#BookReview: We Are the Wildcats by @siobhanvivian

Synopsis: A toxic coach finds himself outplayed by the high school girls on his team in this deeply suspenseful novel, which unspools over twenty-four hours through six diverse perspectives.

Tomorrow, the Wildcat varsity field hockey squad will play the first game of their new season. But at tonight’s team sleepover, the girls are all about forging the bonds of trust, loyalty, and friendship necessary to win. 

Everything hinges on the midnight initiation ceremony—a beloved tradition and the only facet of being a Wildcat that the girls control. Until now.

Coach—a handsome former college player revered and feared in equal measure—changes the plan and spins his team on a new adventure. One where they take a rival team’s mascot for a joyride, crash a party in their pajamas, break into the high school for the perfect picture.

But as the girls slip out of their comfort zone, so do some long-held secrets. And just how far they’re willing to go for their team takes them all—especially Coach—by surprise.

A testament to the strength and resilience of modern teenage girls, We Are the Wildcats will have readers cheering.

#BookReview: Miss You Love You Hate You Bye by Abby Sher

Synopsis: Zoe and Hank (short for Hannah) have been inseparable since they met in elementary school. The leader of the pack, Zoe is effortlessly popular while Hank hides comfortably in her shadow. But when Zoe's parents unexpectedly divorce, Zoe's perfect facade starts cracking little by little. Sinking under the weight of her broken family, Zoe develops an eating disorder. Now she must rely on Hank for help.

Hank struggles to help Zoe; after all, she is used to agreeing, not leading. How can she help her best friend get better before it's too late?

Written partially in letters from Zoe and mostly in narrative from Hank's perspective, Miss You Love You Hate You Bye is a poignant and eye-opening novel about friendship, mental health, and learning to put yourself first.

Little Hood and Her Wolf by Janie Marie #blitz with @XpressoTours #Giveaway $10 Amazon gift card @janiemarie1617

Little Hood and Her Wolf
Janie Marie
(The Big Bad Wolf Trilogy, #2)
Publication date: December 8th 2020
Genres: Coming of Age, Fairy Tales, Young Adult

Kylie knew Logan Grimm came with a price. She just had no idea that the price was being told what to do by the most dangerous residents of Blackwoods.

She should run and survive, but Logan’s sweet words and even sweeter kisses keep her where she is. 

Right where the Big Bad Wolf lies in wait.

#BookBlitz: Journey to Hope by @juneaconverse #Giveaway @RABTBookTours

 

Book 2 of The Hope Trilogy

Women’s Fiction

Date Published: August 22, 2020

Publisher: Heart Ally Books

When you lose everyone and everything you love, can you ever live again? Or love again?

An unimaginable trauma. A future that seems impossible. When your world shatters, how do you put it back together?

When Matt Nelson found Kathleen on the beach, she’d been hiding behind a scarf and sunglasses for three years. She couldn’t hide her loneliness, and he couldn’t turn away. But when her flashbacks start, they’re both unprepared for the repercussions and the depth of her emotional suffering.

Kathleen agrees to return to intensive trauma recovery at The Charlotte Center, where the sounds and the smells and the images from that terrible night await her, demanding she confront her demons.

The world of PTSD recovery is fraught with terror and pain for both Kathleen and Matt. Will their love prove strong enough to survive the agonizing and arduous journey? Can Kathleen move beyond her anger and learn to live again?