#BookReview: Renia's Diary: A Holocaust Journal by Renia Spiegel

Synopsis: The long-hidden diary of a young Polish woman's last days during the Holocaust, translated for the first time into English, with a foreword from American Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt.

Renia Spiegel was a young girl from an upper-middle class Jewish family living on an estate in Stawki, Poland, near what was at that time the border with Romania. In the summer of 1939, Renia and her sister Elizabeth (née Ariana) were visiting their grandparents in Przemysl, right before the Germans invaded Poland.

Like Anne Frank, Renia recorded her days in her beloved diary. She also filled it with beautiful original poetry. Her diary records how she grew up, fell in love, and was rounded up by the invading Nazis and forced to move to the ghetto in Przemsyl with all the other Jews. By luck, Renia's boyfriend Zygmund was able to find a tenement for Renia to hide in with his parents and took her out of the ghetto. This is all described in the Diary, as well as the tragedies that befell her family and her ultimate fate in 1942, as written in by Zygmund on the Diary's final page.

Renia's Diary is a significant historical and psychological document. The raw, yet beautiful account depicts Renia's angst over the horrors going on around her. It has been translated from the original Polish, with notes included by her surviving sister, Elizabeth Bellak.

#Cover for The Tin Man by @kailingow @XpressoTours

 

The Tin Man
Kailin Gow
(Inner Circle, #1)
Publication date: December 8th 2020
Genres: Dark Romantic Thriller and Suspense

I am known as the Tin Man, because I have no heart.
I have no qualms about doing the things that I do. I was sent to complete a mission which involved a young woman. She changed me, and that changed everything. Including who and what I am.

I was the Tin Man, and in order for me to live, for her to live, I must take them down. The Inner Circle, aka Oz.
Which means I must take down all the players in Oz, including the Lion, The Scarecrow, Dorothy, and the Wizard.
This is not the Wonderland you read about in fairy tales, but a dark bad place. Before you go, remember to bring an Ax.

**The Inner Circle Series is a Suspenseful Romance, which includes mature themes and scenes. TV-Mature.

#BookReview: I Will Be Okay by Bill Elenbark

Synopsis: The intensity of two boys’ feelings for each other threatens to be overwhelmed by family tensions that rip them apart before their relationship even starts. Mateo’s father is overly obsessed with his fifteen-year-old son’s baseball achievements to the exclusion of other interests (manga, indie rock music, and Stick—the boy from the “troubled” family down the street, the one with thirteen children of mixed races). 

Mateo’s mother comes from a sprawling Puerto Rican family that provides little privacy and complicated support as Mateo and his father clash over a baseball injury that jeopardizes his season. Down the street, Stick is dealing with the sudden loss of his father and living up to an image he believes his father saw in himself, one that wasn’t gay, which drives him to drink and do drugs beyond anything he and Mateo have experimented. They come together and fall apart. Like a mantra, Mateo repeats the words from one of the band’s songs whenever he gets hurt or afraid: I WILL BE OKAY. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work. 

#BookBlitz: The Novice by Ava Lohan @XpressoTours #Giveaway $50 Amazon gift card

The Novice
Ava Lohan
Publication date: October 13th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

I’m a novice about to take my vows. He’s the embodiment of sin—and the new owner of the convent that’s been my home for the past two years.

I shouldn’t want him. Yet from the moment he walks into Mother Superior’s office and threatens to turn Saint Clare into a luxury hotel, all I can think about are those lush lips, tight muscles, and perfect hair. That, and the devil’s bargain he proposes.

My body in exchange for the convent. For fourteen days, I’m to be with him at Lust, his exclusive sex club. Fourteen days obeying his every command.

Whatever I do, I can’t let myself fall in love with him. Because Kegan Anderson is a beast, and a beast can never love.

He can only destroy.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

He caught me admiring him and smiled. I swallowed hard, attempting to clear the knot that had formed in my throat. That smile could have belonged to the devil, persuading all the angels to fall from Heaven. He observed me with an air that reeked of ill intentions. He was bad company, like the guys my parents had prayed I wouldn’t bring home during high school. Despite his tailored clothing, he didn’t seem like the type of man any parent would want for their daughter. I remembered all too well the words he’d said to me that day, and I had the feeling he had continued down that sinful path.

There was something dark in him.

In his eyes.

“Yes.”

And in his voice.

I made the sign of the cross.

“You found her on your first try.” He ran his hands seductively through his hair, turning his gaze upon Mother Superior. “I have to give you credit. You did well.”

“Pleased to have satisfied your request, Mr. Anderson,” she replied, her tone revealing her contempt. “We don’t have many natural blondes at the convent.”

Perplexed, I looked at one, then the other. They stared at each other in silence. I understood less with every minute.

“Mother, what’s going on?”

I walked around the desk to face her, resisting the urge to pick up my veil and put it back on. The man’s eyes followed me in my sacred dress. I pretended it was just Mother Superior and me in the room. Although it was no easy task, I forced myself to ignore his presence.

“You are here as part of an agreement.” Mother Superior finally looked at me. “Mr. Anderson’s grandfather passed away, and now he has inherited the property the convent stands on.”

I couldn’t understand what any of that had to do with me.

Mother Superior took some documents out from a drawer. “Mr. Anderson intends to sell the property at an exorbitant price that the convent simply cannot afford to pay. We cannot save it, Sister Rose.”

“I was thinking of building a luxury hotel. That is, unless…” The man, whose first name I still didn’t know, lit a cigarette, leaving me petrified. Mother Superior flinched, but she remained silent, not wishing to respond to his clear challenge of her authority. Resting her chin in her hands, she glared at him in disgust.

“You’re going to hell, Kegan Anderson.”

Kegan. His name was Kegan.

He took Mother Superior’s words as a compliment. He laughed. A low, sensual laugh.

“Oh, I’m sure of it, Sister.”

Author Bio:

Ava Lohan loves to write sexy, romantic stories. When she is not busy putting her characters in compromising situations, Ava reads about bad boys, goes out, and indulges in wild shopping sprees and marathons of movies and TV shows. Above all, though, she creates sizzling new book boyfriends for her upcoming novels.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

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#BookReview: The Rose Court (The Unchosen Series #2) by Kristin J Dawson

Synopsis: The old order crumbles. 

New battle lines are drawn. 

With enemies at the gate, the last thing Dacia needs is a contender for the crown. 

Nicoleta Aurelian’s official coronation is fast approaching, but she’s having doubts about being recognized as Empress of Dacia. As a scholar’s daughter, she has little understanding of the machinations of the Rose Court, let alone the political skills needed to run a kingdom. 

With the nobility abandoning her, a possible traitor in her inner circle, and the surrounding kingdoms alert to any weaknesses, Nikka must consider her every move. Her desperate gambit to end the Lilac Plague may have saved Dacia, but without the sickness to keep rivals at bay, it also made her kingdom vulnerable to invasion. And her attempts to improve the lives of the most vulnerable put the entire kingdom at risk of economic collapse. 

Between Auripo’s war-like future queen, the powerful and ambitious Theracian Emperor, and the magical Norte, it’s impossible to know who to trust. Nikka must rely on old allies and her instincts to keep Dacia safe from threats within and without. But what if that means handing over the crown to the mysterious heir of Odon? 

Who would you choose, when every alliance means making an enemy? The sequel to The Lilac Plague, with ancient magic, thorny political intrigue, mystery, and romance will leave you clamoring for the final book in The Unchosen trilogy.

#ReleaseBlitz: Uphill and Into the Wind by @davidreedwriter @RABTBookTours @PublishingAcorn #Giveaway

Non Fiction / Memoir

Date to be Published: 10/15/20

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

It's 1973. Our nation is torn apart by the Vietnam War, and the massacre of unarmed students at Kent State. The Vice President has resigned for bribery and tax evasion. The President is being investigated for engaging in criminal activity.

At twenty-three, David Reed has become embittered by political strife and corruption. Disenchanted with his future, he wants out. Along with new friends, Rusty and Susie, David leaves everything he knows to cross the United States with little more than his bicycle and a camera.

The trio gets more than they bargain for, with menacing animals, extreme weather, and astonishing encounters.

Uphill and Into the Wind recounts an odyssey that spans 5420 miles on bicycles. It chronicles the sudden and surprising glories of nature, the raw beauty of the land, and the majesty of the mountains. But that is just the start. Through it all, the three are changed forever, in ways they did not expect, by their long journey into the unknown.

#BookReview: Back Home at Firefly Lake (Firefly Lake #3) by @JenGilroy1 @ForeverRomance

About the Book:

A heartwarming small-town romance that will make you believe in love and second chances.

She has a million reasons to leave. 
Can he give her the one she needs to stay?


Cat McGuire's return to Firefly Lake is turning into much more than she bargained for. Sure, she missed the crisp pine-scented air and the comfort of having her family around her. But being home makes her feel less like the successful single mom she is--and more like the awkward teen who never fit in. It doesn't help that hockey-pro Luc Simard is back in town, too. Luc was her childhood crush, the hometown hero who never noticed her, and yet somehow he still makes her heart skip a beat.


Luc's homecoming has been bittersweet. He's lost his wife and his career, but there's no better place to start over than Firefly Lake. Coaching the local kids' hockey team makes him feel alive again, and he thinks his life is complete--until Cat arrives. The shy girl he always wanted to protect is now the gorgeous woman who's stealing his heart and making him believe in second chances. But how can he convince Cat that Firefly Lake is where she truly belongs?

In the tradition of New York Times bestselling authors Susan Wiggs and RaeAnne Thayne comes an emotional story about finding love in the most unexpected of places from Jen Gilroy.