#BookReview: The Last Carolina Sister (Magnolia Sisters #3) by Michelle Major @michelle_major1

Synopsis: “Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber.”—Publishers Weekly

In Magnolia, North Carolina, love might be waiting right next door…

Meredith Ventner knows a wounded creature when she sees one. Though her temporary new neighbor may be—on the surface at least—a successful, drop-dead gorgeous doctor, she recognizes the deep hurt Ryan Sorensen is carrying, and it’s catnip to her soul. But even though Meredith is the youngest, scrappiest and single-est of Magnolia’s most famous sisters, she’s committed to expanding the animal shelter on her newly inherited farm. She can’t waste her energy on a man who’s only passing through town.

Ryan is hoping that after a month of small-town living he’ll be healed enough to return to his busy ER. His injured leg isn’t half as painful as his guilt from the tragedy he’s trying to forget. Yet somehow, helping feisty, tenderhearted Meredith care for her menagerie is making him question his career-first priorities. Here in this quirky small town another future is coming into view, but can he change his life, and open his heart, to claim it?

#CoverReveal for the Blood and Thorns Duet by Faith Summers @GiveMeBooksPR

Blood and Thorns Duet

Author: Faith Summers

Genre: Dark Mafia Romance

Cover Design: Cover Couture

MERCILESS VOWS

Cover Photo: Wander Aguiar

Releasing June 21

When I was sixteen a gypsy fortune teller told me my future held darkness and death.

She was right.

But what she didn’t tell me was the devil himself would rise from hell in the form of Lucca Dyshekov and take everything from me with a gun held to my head.

He’s the Bratva assassin they all call Merciless.

On our wedding day, he taught me real monsters aren’t the ones who hide in the dark.

They’re the ones who stare you in the face and steal your soul.

On a quest for revenge, he takes me and unearths secrets from the past that will cause a war.

When death lies on the horizon the enemy of my enemy becomes my friend.

In this instance he’s my husband.

The real question is when he finishes uncovering the truth, will he keep me or kill me.

#ReleaseBoost for Sunset by @AuthorKaciRose and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Sunset

Series: Chasing the Sun Duet #2

Author: Kaci Rose
Genre: Small Town Beach Romance

Release Date: May 13, 2021

BLURB

No matter what I’m not opening up my heart again, even if he’s great at warming my bed.

Jasper blew out of town taking my heart with him. He swore he’d never come back. Last I heard he was some famous chef in a big city.

Then I’m at the farmer’s market and there he is in vivid color. So, I do what any sane person would do, I throw a kiwi at him and leave.

Then a storm blows in washing out the only bridge off this island and now we are stuck together.

To make matters worse? My chef quits and the only option I have is to bring in Jasper per his mother’s suggestion.

Oh, and my best friend is in a fake relationship with a Hollywood Movie Star, and I just saw Jasper with his shirt off.

Plus our mayor working with some land developer and trying to turn our small town into a major tourist spot that will kill all the local businesses.

How did my life get here?

Can we put aside our differences long enough to work together?

Yes, we can.

I think the better question is can we stay out of bed long enough to stop them?

#SaleBlitz for Nothing But a Dare by @MollyOHareBooks and @GiveMeBooksPR

Title: Nothing But a Dare

Author: Molly O'Hare

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: September 16, 2019

BLURB

Nothing But a Dare is a second chance, enemies to lovers rom-com with a curvy, will punch you in the throat heroine, and a hero that will push every button she has for fun. Oh, and did I mention there's a cat that wears turtleneck sweaters?

After what could possibly be the world's worst morning, the last thing Abbie expected to see as she walked into her meeting was her childhood nemesis.

Hunter. Freaking. James.

The title of world's worst morning now seemed like an understatement.

When Abbie walked into the conference room looking like a complete mess, and still killed her presentation, Hunter knew he'd made the right decision signing on with WCM Advertising. He was there for one reason, and one reason only. Abbie was going to be his, even if he had to dare her every step of the way.

Game on.

#BookTour: Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside by @StephHarWrites @RABTBookTours

 

Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction

Date Published: October 26, 2020

Publisher: Propertius Press

 

When an agoraphobic man develops a relationship with a vivacious grocery delivery woman, the order he prescribes to his apartment, and his world, begins to crumble around him. Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside explores the life of Wesley Yorstead, a thirty-three year old graphic novelist who suffers from a severe case of agoraphobia that has kept him shut inside for over five years. When he meets Happy Lafferty for the first time, delivering groceries on behalf of her father’s neighborhood market, Wesley can’t shake the inherent magnetism between them and seeks to get to know this young woman who invades his space—both physical and mental. As their relationship grows more intimate, the restrictions of his situation become an even greater obstacle. When Happy’s past comes back to haunt her, Wesley must decide if he can finally leave his apartment to help. A meditation on anxiety, fear, and human connection, Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside asks the reader to consider what our fears take away from our lives, and how we might overcome them.

#BookReview: Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go by Laurie James

Synopsis: Laurie James spent most of her life wondering what it means to belong; loneliness dictated the choices she made. She rarely shared this secret with others, however; it was always hidden behind a carefree and can-do attitude. When she’s in her mid-forties, Laurie’s mother has a heart attack and her husband’s lawyer delivers some shocking news. She suddenly finds herself sandwiched between caring for her parents, managing unruly caregivers, raising four teenage daughters, and trying to understand the choices of the husband she thought she knew. Laurie’s story is about one woman’s struggle to “do it all” while facing the reality that the “ideal life” and “perfect family” she believed could save her was slowly crumbling beneath her. Laurie tries everything to keep her family together―seeks therapy, practices yoga, rediscovers nature, develops strong female friends, and begins writing―but as she explores the layers of her life and heals her past, she realizes that she’s the only one who can create the life she wants and deserves. Sandwiched is a memoir about what it means to let go of the life you planned in order to find the life you belong to.

#BookReview: With Shield and Ink and Bone by Casey L. Bond

Synopsis: A hard-earned shield. 

Days before she is to take her place as a shield maiden, like her mother before her, two deaths alter the course of Liv’s future. One belonged to a witch who called her by name, the other a chieftain from the north. Vengeance for the chieftain’s death comes in a wild fury that burns her village and slaughters her family. Left for dead, Liv pleads to Skuld – norn and weaver of the future – to spare her. A deal is struck that will endow her with the dark magic needed to claim her vengeance. But this power comes at an unfathomable price…

Ink made from the ashes of loved ones. 

After his home is attacked, Calder races to warn neighboring villages of the threat. Little does he know he’s traveling into the path of fate that will lead him straight to Liv. Despite being broken, angry, and overwhelmed by power she cannot contain, it’s her willingness to defend others that draws Calder to her. 

Armor forged from the bones of those she held dear. 

Together, Liv and Calder discover they are two sides of the same sharpened blade. Rising from the heartache and fury in their pasts, they see a future together worth fighting for. With their strengths and hearts combined, can they become a force powerful enough to defeat the fleet of darkness coming for them? Or will the thread of fate that binds them unravel?

#BookReview: The Afterlife of the Party (Afterlife #1) by @MarPerez @EntangledTeen

Synopsis: The bestselling author of the Dead Is… series is back with a snarky, hilarious take on the vampire romance novel.

When my best friend Skyler told me about this party in the Hollywood Hills, I was less than enthused. As it turned out, my feelings were more than justified. That party ruined my life.

Tansy didn’t even want to go to the party. It’s hard enough living in one of your best friend’s shadows and secretly in love with your other best friend.

And now she’s leaving it a vampire.

Now her best friend Skyler is stuck on the road trip from hell, on tour as a groupie with a literal band of vamps. Tansy sets out with Vaughn, her other BFF turned maybe more, to save Skylar’s life and take down the band. But when they find themselves in the middle of a vampire war, will Tansy be able to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her friends?

Marlene Perez is the author of paranormal and urban fantasy books, including the best-selling DEAD IS series for teens. The first book in the series, DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK, was named an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers as well as an ALA Popular Paperback. The first three books in the series have been optioned by Disney for television. She lives in Orange County, California with her husband and children. www.marleneperez.com.

#BookReview: A Dog's Courage (A Dog's Way Home #2) by W. Bruce Cameron

Synopsis: #1 New York Times bestselling author W. Bruce Cameron once again captures the bravery and determination of a very good dog in the gripping sequel to A Dog’s Way Home, the acclaimed novel that inspired the hit movie! 

Bella was once a lost dog, but now she lives happily with her people, Lucas and Olivia, only occasionally recalling the hardships in her past. Then a weekend camping trip turns into a harrowing struggle for survival when the Rocky Mountains are engulfed by the biggest wildfire in American history. The raging inferno separates Bella from her people and she is lost once more.

Alone in the wilderness, Bella unexpectedly finds herself responsible for the safety of two defenseless mountain lion cubs. Now she’s torn between two equally urgent goals. More than anything, she wants to find her way home to Lucas and Olivia, but not if it means abandoning her new family to danger. And danger abounds, from predators hunting them to the flames threatening at every turn.

Can Bella ever get back to where she truly belongs?

A Dog’s Courage is more than a fast-paced adventure, more than a devoted dog’s struggle to survive, it’s a story asking that we believe in our dogs as much as they believe in us.

#BookReview: Shining Sea by @mimicross

Synopsis: Falling in love shouldn’t feel like drowning.

Seventeen-year-old Arion Rush has always played the obedient sidekick to her older sister’s flashy femme fatale—until a mysterious boating accident leaves Lilah a silent, traumatized stranger. As her sister awaits medical treatment with her mother, Arion and her father head to his hometown in Maine to prepare a new life for them all. Surrounded by the vast Atlantic, she finds solace in songwriting, her only solid ground.

Unexpectedly, Arion blossoms in the tiny coastal town. Friends flock to her, and Logan Delaine, a volatile heartthrob, seems downright smitten. But it’s Bo Summers—a solitary surfer, as alluring as he is aloof—that Arion can’t shake. Meanwhile, Lilah’s worsening condition, a string of local fatalities, and Arion’s own recent brushes with death seem ominously linked…to Bo’s otherworldly family. As Arion’s feelings for Bo intensify and his affections turn possessive, she must make a choice. How will Arion learn to listen to her own voice when Bo’s siren song won’t stop ringing in her ears?

#BookReview: Crow (Faeries of Oz #2) by @Literarydust @AmberR_Duell

Synopsis: Reva spent the last twenty years in her own purgatory, first as the Wicked Witch of the West, then banished to eternity in darkness. Now that she’s returned from oblivion, Reva’s out for blood. The Northern Witch, Locasta, destroyed Reva’s life out of jealousy over Crow. But Reva’s love for him is gone, replaced only with the desire for revenge.

Crow wasted years trying to distract his mind after the Wicked Witch—his true love—was vanquished. He’d thought Reva was lost forever until magic brought her back, though their reunion was anything but happy. Reva hates him now as much as she loved him then. He can’t blame her—his former lover cursed them both and stole their daughter away. But he’s more determined than ever to earn Reva’s forgiveness.

When Reva leaves for the North, intent on destroying Locasta, Crow refuses to lose her to the same magic twice. He joins her on the journey, and, as much as Reva loathes him, she knows it’s for the best. Traveling is too dangerous on her own, but spending so much time together isn’t exactly safe for their hearts either. Hidden away in her castle, the Northern Witch waits to curse Reva and Crow once more. This time they need to put an end to Locasta, or suffer the consequences of the curse forever.

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa!

#BookReview: The Place Beyond Her Dreams by Oby Aligwekwe

Synopsis: At the sudden death of her grandfather, Ona’s pain drives her to mystical Luenah—a place of infinite possibilities. There, she discovers she is an Eri, chosen to accomplish a special purpose on earth, and is handed a box in exchange for what she desires the most.

Burdened by her quest, Ona learns that dreams carry a hefty price, and no one is who they seem. As evil looms, she must unmask the villain and save the one she loves, even at the risk of losing everything she holds dear.

Set against the backdrop of two warring towns, The Place Beyond Her Dreams delivers life lessons using a powerful fable. This coming-of-age fantasy takes the reader on the path to self-discovery and demonstrates the transformation one must go through to realize and eventually occupy their purpose.

#BookTour: Royal Spy (Fate of Eyrinthia #2) by @HeatherFrost

Synopsis: A DECOY recruited to be a spy.
A PRINCE compelled to become an assassin.
A SERJAH pressured by an unwanted crown.
A WORLD covered in shadows.

Mere months ago, Clare was just a kitchen maid. Now, she is a decoy for Princess Serene and a novice spy, caught in the royal family's web of secrets. While journeying to Mortise to finalize the princess’s betrothal to Serjah Desfan, Clare lives for the stolen moments she has with Bennick, the bodyguard who is quickly claiming her heart. But when a notorious assassin is hired to kill her, Clare’s life and the alliance hang in the balance.

In Ryden, Grayson prepares to leave for Mortise with his brother, Liam. Their orders are to ignite a war between their enemies, and Grayson has been tasked with assassinating Princess Serene. It may cost his soul, but he is ready to comply, as long as he gets something in return: freedom for Mia, the girl he loves. But the more time he spends with his brother, the more he begins to wonder if Liam is what Grayson wishes he had the courage to be . . . a traitor.

Desfan feels trapped. By his disapproving council, his impending marriage to a stranger, and the imminent arrival of enemy princes who may not want the peace they profess. When a dangerous drug threatens his people, Desfan jumps at the chance to rely on his swords instead of politics. But his investigation uncovers more than he bargained for--a plot that may destroy Mortise from within.

Eyrinthia hovers on the edge of war. Spies. Rebels. Traitors. All must choose a side.

#BookReview: Hour of the Witch by @chrisbohjalian

Synopsis: A young Puritan woman--faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul--plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive historical thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.

Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary's hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary--a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony--soon finds herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary's garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows. A twisting, tightly plotted thriller from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying novel of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.

#BookReview: Six Weeks to Live by @cemckenzie1

Synopsis: A gripping psychological suspense novel about a woman diagnosed with cancer who sets out to discover if someone poisoned her before her time is up

Jennifer Barnes never expected the shocking news she received at a routine doctor’s appointment: she has a terminal brain tumor—and only six weeks left to live.

While stunned by the diagnosis, the forty-eight-year-old mother decides to spend what little time she has left with her family—her adult triplets and twin grandsons—close by her side. But when she realizes she was possibly poisoned a year earlier, she’s determined to discover who might have tried to get rid of her before she’s gone for good.

Separated from her husband and with a contentious divorce in progress, Jennifer focuses her suspicions on her soon-to-be ex. Meanwhile, her daughters are each processing the news differently. Calm medical student Emily is there for whatever Jennifer needs. Moody scientist Aline, who keeps her mother at arm’s length, nonetheless agrees to help with the investigation. Even imprudent Miranda, who has recently had to move back home, is being unusually solicitous.

But with her daughters doubting her campaign against their father, Jennifer can’t help but wonder if the poisoning is all in her head—or if there’s someone else who wanted her dead.

#BookReview: Before I Saw You Emily Houghton

Synopsis: For fans of Close Enough to Touch and Me Before You comes a poignant and moving novel about two patients who fall in love as they recover from traumatic injuries in the same hospital ward…all without seeing each other.

Alice Gunnersley and Alfie Mack sleep just a few feet apart from one another. They talk for hours every day. And they’ve never seen each other face-to-face.

After being in terrible accidents, the two now share the same ward as long-term residents of St. Francis’s Hospital. Although they don’t get off to the best start, the close quarters (and Alfie’s persistence to befriend everyone he meets) brings them closer together. Pretty soon no one can make Alice laugh as hard as Alfie does, and Alfie feels like he’s finally found a true confidante in Alice. Between their late night talks and inside jokes, something more than friendship begins to slowly blossom between them.

But as their conditions improve and the end of their stay draws closer, Alfie and Alice are forced to decide whether it’s worth continuing a relationship with someone who’s seen all of the worst parts of you, but never seen your actual face.

A tender novel of healing and hope, Before I Saw You reminds us that connections can be found even in the most unexpected of places—and that love is almost always blind.

#BookReview: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Synopsis: Vern - seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised - flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world.

But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.

To understand her metamorphosis and to protect her small family, Vern has to face the past, and more troublingly, the future - outside the woods. Finding the truth will mean uncovering the secrets of the compound she fled but also the violent history in America that produced it.

#BookReview: The Second Bell by Gabriela Houston

Synopsis: In a world which believes her to be a monster, a young striga fights to harness the power of her second heart, while her mother sacrifices everything to stop her...

In an isolated mountain community, sometimes a child is born with two hearts. This child is called a striga and is considered a demon who must be abandoned on the edge of the forest. The child's mother must then decide to leave with her infant, or stay and try to forget.

Nineteen year-old striga, Salka, and her mother, Miriat, made the choice to leave and live a life of deprivation and squalor in an isolated village. The striga tribe share the human belief that to follow the impulses of their other hearts is dangerous, inviting unspoken horrors and bringing ruin onto them all.

Salka, a headstrong and independent young woman, finds herself in a life threatening situation that forces her to explore the depths of her true nature and test the bonds between mother and child...

#BookReview: It Had to Be You by @georgialouclark

Synopsis: The author of the novel The Bucket List returns with a witty and heartfelt romantic comedy featuring a wedding planner, her unexpected business partner, and their coworkers in a series of linked love stories—perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Casey McQuiston.

For the past twenty years, Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn have run In Love in New York, Brooklyn’s beloved wedding-planning business. When Eliot dies unexpectedly, he even more unexpectedly leaves half of the business to his younger, blonder girlfriend, Savannah. Liv and Savannah are not a match made in heaven, to say the least. But what starts as a personal and professional nightmare transforms into something even savvy, cynical Liv Goldenhorn couldn’t begin to imagine.

It Had to Be You cleverly unites Liv, Savannah, and couples as diverse and unique as New York City itself, in a joyous Love-Actually-style braided narrative. The result is a smart, modern love story that truly speaks to our times. Second chances, secret romance, and steamy soul mates are front and center in this sexy, tender, and utterly charming rom-com.

#BookReview: Chains Carried on Wings (Clydian Chronicles, #1) by @marina_erving

Synopsis: Saig had always lived on the edge of acceptance. Unlike a proper daughter of the head family, she longed for the freedom of the open woods over the confinement of her home. It was enough to drive away the two people who should, by rights, have been her closest companions. 

But her perfect, responsible cousin Auris--destined to be the city's headwoman and resentful of Saig's inability to conform--would never be her friend again. 

And her surly cousin Trei--aware of how his foreign ancestry undermined his own standing in society--would always look at her as a reminder of their shared differences. 

Until a series of mysterious disappearances forces all three of the cousins onto the same side. Driven to protect their city and prove themselves, they join the effort to hunt down the perpetrators. What they find is a trap designed to bring their society crashing down, and the power to reshape their city's future. There's just one problem--the three of them have always bitterly disagreed on what that future should look like.