Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.
Stealing Lazarus’s miracle gifted him immortality. Combined with his natural ability of invading and controlling people’s minds this made him one of the most dangerous people on Earth.
But the miracle came with a price. His punishment was to be imprisoned within the walls of an ancient monastery and tormented by an invisible fire that burned his body perpetually. To escape the pain he retreated deep into his own mind.
There he discovers the truth of the universe and that only he can stop the coming Apocalypse.
I added Converstions In The Abyss by Michael Brookes to my TBR on 3.15.13. I love everything about the book, and, as I was writing this post, I realized it was the second book in The Third Path series. I do have the first one, also, The Cult Of Me, so I will start with that.
In Book I of The E Apocrypha, Lost & Found, by Alex Andre, I was introduced to the different factions and characters, so As & When, Book II was so much easier to follow. It’s filled with details, creating a world that that paints a picture with words. I loved it.
Aileen is abducted, but beware to those that think she is a damsel in distress. When Bo returns from his travels, he does not hesitate to go after her. She has two me who are in love with her and I thought I knew which she would choose. I like how Alex Andre dealt with it better than my version.
I lived in Rochester, New York, for some years and I love that her travels throughout New York were familiar to me. Danger followed her every step of the way, but Bo and Ajinder are not far behind.
So much action and it was unpredictable. It’s not an every day occurrence, that an author can surprise me, keeping me on my toes. I love that I could follow the characters, choosing which I would favor and which would meet a grisly end, waiting to see how right…or wrong…I was. I love the rebuilding of the world, after all technology has been wiped out. I love the ‘library’ they find and only a select few realize how valuable the books are.
There is definitely room for more of the story and I have my fingers crossed that Alex Andre hears his characters talking, is haunted in his dreams, saying we have more to say, so keep writing.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of As & When by Alex Andre.
4 Star
GOODREADS BLURB
They’ve messed with the wrong woman. Aileen’s got a city to run—its shady part, in any case. Abducted and whisked away from Locksville, she refuses to be a pawn in powerful players’ games. She most definitely is not a damsel in distress and needs no freakin knights in shining armor to come to her rescue. Alas, her best-laid escape plans misfire, landing her in even hotter waters far away from home. Aileen must find her footing in an unfamiliar, unforgiving society, fighting tooth and nail to survive.
Bo, Aileen’s sharp and grumpy advisor, would move mountains to find her, his limp and aversion to violence be damned to the Seven Hells! He wouldn’t trust anyone else with the impossible search for the most important person in his life.
Ajinder, executive protection specialist, won’t tolerate his principal being taken—by someone other than himself. He is no stranger to dispensing violence and doesn’t shy away from being on its receiving end. With his motivation stretching beyond pure professionalism, woe to those who question his skills and determination.
Will their grit, smarts, ruthless single-mindedness, and game-changing technology be enough to find Aileen before it’s too late?
As & When is Book 2 of The E Apocrypha. Meet familiar faces from Lost & Found. Return to Locksville, New Kowloon, The Station, as well as discover new corners of the world that had lost all technology.
Genre: Apoclyptic, Dystopian, Fiction
238 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2023
Series: The E Apocrypha, #2
ABOUT ALEX ANDREA (from Amazon)
Alex has lived on three continents, is fluent in three languages, suffers an unhealthy interest in linguistics, and never has enough time to get to all the books on his ever-growing To Read list.
He has always appreciated (and envied) select authors’ ability to string words into elegant sentences and tie those sentences into intricate plots.
The time has come for him to try his own hand in the craft.
I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR from All The Blog Names Are Taken. I love showcasing the books on Goodreads, my ereader and my bookshelves. The more exposure for authors and their books, the better….RIGHT?
COME ON….JOIN IN.
Previous Total: 1988
Currently Reading
Books Read
Books Added
I added one book because of a Goodreads Giveaway. Click the cover to enter. Check out my post HERE to get the latest news on story, It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.
I love an author that loves their research and Elena Taylor’s research shows in her writing. She lives her life surrounded by horses and dogs and her character, Sheriff Bet Rivers, will need to be a dog whisperer to win over Schweitzer, her father’s dog, a dog that picks her person.
Sheriff Bet Rivers has come back to the small town of Collier after her father falls ill and calls her home. She comes from a long line of policeman. She hasn’t reached the 30 years old mark and has one foot out the door. Will Collier become her home? I hope so because I plan on making a return visit.
When she starts investigating the caves, I had shivers going up and down my spine. Better her than me, that’s for sure. You wouldn’t catch me going underground with a killer hanging around.
Long buried secrets will be exposed. A nightmare comes to life. On top of that, it’s an election year. Complex mysteries will need to be solved and Elena Taylor keeps the mystery alive until the last pages are read.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of All We Buried by Elena Taylor.
4 Star
GOODREADS BLURB
An amateur sheriff confronts the long-sleeping secrets of her small Washington State mountain town in this dark, twisty mystery for fans of Julia Keller and Sheena KamalInterim sheriff Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has always had one repeat a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into her hometown lake in Collier, Washington. For the longest time, she chalked it up to an overactive imagination as a kid. Then the report arrives. In the woods of the Cascade mountain range, right in her jurisdiction, a body floats to the surface of Lake Collier. When the body is extricated and revealed, no one can identify Jane Doe. But someone must know the woman, so why aren’t they coming forward?Bet has been sitting as the interim sheriff of this tiny town in the ill-fitting shoes of her late father and predecessor. With the nightmare on her heels, Bet decided to build a life for herself in Los Angeles, but now it’s time to confront the tragic history of Collier. The more she learns, the more Bet realizes she doesn’t know the townspeople of Collier as well as she thought, and nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
301 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
Series: Sheriff Bet Rivers #1
ABOUT ELENA TAYLOR
CREDIT MARK PERLSTEIN
Mystery writer, avid reader, animal mom.
Elena Taylor started out her storytelling career in the theater. She worked for several years as a playwright, director, designer, technician, and educator before becoming a novelist.
Elena has more than twenty years of teaching experience and now works one-on-one with writers as a manuscript consultant and writing coach.
She lives in North Bend, Washington, with her husband, two cats, and the greatest dog in the world. When she’s not writing, teaching writing, or talking about writing, she can be found at a nearby stables, playing with her horses.
To Purchase the 1st edition Hardcover from me, for $25 (S&H included), email me at sherryfundin69@netscape.net
MY REVIEW
Bruce Brown did a fantastic job of sharing the plight of farmers from coast to coast in the United States, even throwing in some bits about the UK. I do remember hearing some of this when I was younger, but never really understood how devastating their plight was. The farmers desperation and feelings of nothing left to lose caused them to do some tragic things, sometimes taking others with them as they left this world.
I own a hardcover of Lone Tree: A True Story Of Murder In America’s Heartland by Bruce Brown.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS (from cover)
On December 9, 1985, Iowa framer Dale Burrr killed his wife of four decades at close range with a shotgun, then administered the same fate to his banker and to his neighbor, and, as the police closed in, committed suicide. This seemingly sudden and bewildering homicidal outburst shocked the nation and shook much of the Midwest.
Through the story of the lives of these four people, Bruce Brown examines the major themes of the American farm crisis: the farming family, the crisis in farm debt, the transformation of the farming community, and the changing life of the farmer himself. Simultaneously, Brown located this contemporary story within and impeccable research historic context, beginning with the enclosures acts of thirteenth century Great Britain, through the panic of 1893, the great American Depression, and other periods of intense agricultural ferment.
Lone Tree is a story about America changing and about how people deal with change. It is a nuanced exploration of the fabric of our culture. It asks how to make sense of events that lead perfectly normal people to commit horrendously abnormal acts. The result is a work of journalism with all the impact and sheer narrative excitement of a novel, a story rich enough to be compared to the novels of Dreiser, the plays of Arthur Miller, an American tragedy compelling not only because of it inherent drama, but also because of the lesson we must draw from it or face forfeiting our futures.
ABOUT BRUCE BROWN
Bruce Brown is the author of Mountain in the Clouds. His articles and rviews appear in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Audubon, and elsewhere.He lived and works on a farm that his grandfather bought near the Canadian border in Washington State. He passed away in 1980.
The Tarnished Son Domestic Suspense Setting – Wisconsin Independently Published ( July 23, 2024) Print length : 324 pages Digital ASIN : B0D4R8HM6S
“This is a nice, quiet town with good people. Things like that don’t happen around here.”
But they do.
In THE TARNISHED SON, a tourist’s death, an alluring young teacher, a father’s carnal desires, and a stepdaughter’s vendetta ultimately destroy a village dynasty.
The respected Clark family has governed Williams Bay since 1837. On a hot August day, seventeen-year-old Liam causes a tragic boating accident. What happens next—infidelity, drugs, theft, and more—deepens long-hidden cracks in the family’s façade, exposing their secrets and tarnishing their golden image.
Meet the family: William Sr., the grandfather who rules the family and the village with an iron fist Hank, the father who lets temptations lead him on a path of self-destruction Liam, the shining son who gets away with everything Rose, the stepdaughter who has had enough and pushes the whole house down
Grab some popcorn and watch the destruction unfold in Elizabeth McKenna’s unpredictable family drama!
About Elizabeth McKenna
Elizabeth McKenna’s love of books reaches back to her childhood, where her tastes ranged from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to Stephen King’s horror stories.
Her novels reflect her mercurial temperament and include romances, mysteries, and suspense. Some are “clean,” and some are “naughty,” so she has a book for your every mood.
Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband and Sidney, the rescue dog from Tennessee. When she isn’t writing, reading, or walking the dog that never tires, she’s sleeping.
I was watching TV the other day and saw a promotion for Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us movie. I first read a book of hers back in 2012. I had won a copy of Hopeless and she sent me signed copies of HOPELESS and SLAMMED. I have never been a huge romance fan, unless there is some blood and guts involved, but the quality of her writing made me open myself up to more romance novels. Good writing can make a good book no matter what the genre…for me…and blogging has opened my mind in ways I never anticipated.
As I created this post, I found a nice surprise on Goodreads. Colleen Hoover is having a Giveaway for a copy of It Ends With Us, so hop on over and sign up HERE.
Colleen has a lot of books, so I’ll just pass you the Amazon link and you can browse for yourself HERE.
International and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller, women’s fiction and paranormal romance.
I don’t like to be confined to one genre. If you put me in a box, I’ll claw my way out.
My social media username is @colleenhoover pretty much everywhere except my email, which is colleenhooverbooks@gmail.com
**images are linked to Amazon (I am an affiliate)**
Hi Everyone. We’ve had some sun and some rain and I have been reading and reviewing. I’m not up to much physical stuff, except for rehab. I have my fingers crossed for a good Saturday (I’m writing this on Thursday) and we can have a pool day with a couple of our friends. I’m working on a post about my hospitalization. It is the most traumatic thing I have ever had happen to me. A big bummer is…I’m losing a lot of hair. It doesn’t look good for the immediate future. I’m pulling out the hats and picking some favorites to keep handy. I thought of buying some, but I already have so many, so I don’t see the point. How about you? Are a hatter? 🙂
A
haunted tapestry. A cursed dynasty. Dark magic, and a supernatural
creature with an insatiable hunger.
Tapestry
Deadly Curiosities
Book 6
by Gail Z. Martin
Genre: Supernatural
Mystery Adventure
A
haunted tapestry. A cursed dynasty. Dark magic, and a supernatural
creature with an insatiable hunger.
Cassidy Kincaide and the Deadly
Curiosities crew get a call from a desperate real estate investor to
un-haunt a mansion that has belonged to a family of dark witches for
generations. Inside, a hidden chamber reveals a legacy of
supernatural power, a dangerous tapestry woven with malicious magic
and defiant ghosts that refuse to accept the house’s new ownership.
When the dust settles, the family’s witch and the djinn that has
influenced the dynasty’s fortunes for more than a century are
missing—and bent on vengeance.
A mysterious pop-up gallery
sells magical tapestries to Charleston’s art collectors, but good
luck quickly turns bad as the woven pieces permit the djinn to drain
and kill the owners. Meanwhile, Cassidy’s best friend, Teag Logan,
and his fiancé, Anthony Benton, finalize plans for their wedding,
dodging mama drama and supernatural setbacks.
When Cassidy and her allies go
after the witch and the djinn, they find themselves targeted by magic
that can bend perception and reshape reality. The psychic pain caused
by the cursed tapestries fuels the power of the djinn and the dark
witch, setting up a showdown with the Alliance for the soul of
Charleston.
Can they stop the witch, defeat
the djinn, destroy the tapestries, and still make it to the wedding
on time?
A dark
witch dynasty. A malicious, immortal undersea place-spirit. Eternal
guardians who wagered their souls to protect Charleston.
Omens of impending disaster
have the city on edge. Tremors warn of earthquake risk, while a
potentially catastrophic storm gathers strength over the ocean and
heads for land.
A last-man-standing promise
among elderly veterans creates a dangerous inheritance involving an
imprisoned, wish-granting goblin. A sea captain and a swashbuckler
worked blood magic to protect Charleston from an ancient evil with a
spell that bound their souls and their descendants to the task, but
danger looms as its power fades. The head of a witch family wants
artifacts and secrets—and he’ll do anything to get them.
Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles
and Folly, an antique and curio store where her touch magic helps get
cursed and haunted objects out of the wrong hands. More than once,
she and her allies have saved the world from supernatural threats.
The clock is ticking for
Cassidy and her friends to stop the dark warlock, capture the goblin
and restore the guardian spell before a malevolent ancient entity
takes its vengeance on Charleston and the coast. It’s going to take
all the magic, courage and quick thinking they can muster—and for
once, that might not be enough.
Legacy is an action-packed
urban fantasy paranormal thrill ride full of dark magic, infernal
creatures, goblins and demigods, haunted places, pirate ghosts, found
family, witch dynasties, loyal friends, Voudon spirits, secret
history and plenty of adventure.
Stolen magic. Infernal creatures. A cursed heir to a warlock
dynasty. Supernatural suspense.
Caribbean ghosts terrorize
Charleston and rack up a body count. Then Beckford Pendlewood, the
heir to a powerful family of dark warlocks, shows up raving about a
bound demon locked in a lost box and begs sanctuary.
Cassidy Kincaide can read the
history of objects by touching them. She and her allies use magic and
paranormal abilities to keep Charleston and the world safe from
supernatural threats.
Can Cassidy and her friends find the
demon box, stop the killer ghosts, and break the Pendlewood curse
before Beckford’s murderous cousins and the vengeful demon destroy
them all?
Inheritance is an action-packed
thrill ride full of dark magic, infernal creatures, demons and
demigods, haunted places, found family, witch dynasty politics, loyal
friends, Caribbean ghosts, secret history and plenty of adventure!
Book Four in the Deadly
Curiosities series.
“This story starts out right
in the thick of it with loads of action, and doesn’t let up until
the final pages.”—Drops of Ink on Inheritance
Zombies
rise in Charleston cemeteries, dead men fall from the sky, and the
whole city succumbs to the “grouch flu.”
Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles and Folly in Charleston, an antiques
and curios shop with a secret history of ridding the city of cursed
objects and keeping the world safe from supernatural
threats.Cassidy’s magic can read the history of an object with a
single touch. Her best friend Teag is a Weaver witch, and her boss,
Sorren, is a 600 year-old vampire.
Now a vengeful dark
witch is gunning for Teag and planning to unleash an ancient horror.
Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren—and
all their supernatural allies—will need magic, cunning, and the
help of a Viking demi-goddess to survive the battle with a malicious
Weaver-witch and an ancient Norse warlock to keep Charleston—and
the whole East Coast—from becoming the prey of the Master of the
Hunt.
Tangled Web is an action-packed
thrill ride full of magic, restless ghosts, infernal creatures,
haunted places, found family, vampire politics, old Norse magic, Wild
Hunt, loyal friends, secret history and plenty of adventure!
Book Three in the Deadly
Curiosities series.
“There are plenty of spooks
and magic to keep the action fresh. From page one to the big finale,
the plot gallops along at a good pace.”—Cats Luv Coffee on
Tangled Web
Sorren has spent centuries
shutting down the plans of powerful immortals, dark warlocks, fallen
angels, and supernatural creatures. He’s a vampire working with
paranormal allies to protect a world that doesn’t know the dangers
that prowl the shadows. Now an enemy from his past is picking off
everyone Sorren cares about, destroying his sanctuaries, and making
it clear that Sorren will be the final target of a magic-fueled
vendetta.
Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles &
Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antique and curio shop with a
dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching
them and along with her Weaver witch friend Teag, Sorren, and their
allies, they get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the
world safe from supernatural threats.
The clock is ticking. Old power
stirs, the kind that hasn’t been seen in centuries, waking from
slumber and hungry for vengeance.
This sort of evil can’t be
destroyed—but it can be contained, and that’s what Sorren and his
allies did long ago. Now, the evil has returned, even stronger and
craftier than before. Cassidy, Teag, and Trifles and Folly are in the
crosshairs against an unknown enemy with strong magic and significant
resources and to win they’ll have to put their lives—and souls—on
the line. Can they help Sorren fight a deathless foe from centuries
past, or will they see everything they love go down in flames?
Vendetta is an action-packed
thrill ride full of magic, restless ghosts, infernal creatures,
haunted places, found family, cursed paintings, old Norse magic,
demigods, vampire politics, fallen angels, loyal friends, secret
history, and plenty of adventure!
Welcome to Trifles & Folly,
a store with a secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide’s psychic gift
lets her know the history and magic of an object by touching it.
Cassidy and her friends—including Weaver witch Teag and her vampire
business partner Sorren—save the world from vengeful ghosts, dark
magic, hidden monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
When a trip to a haunted hotel
unearths a statue steeped in malevolent power, and a string of
murders leads to the abandoned old Navy yard, Cassidy, Teag, and
Sorren discover a diabolical plot to unleash a supernatural onslaught
on their city.
It’s time for Cassidy and her
team to handle the “deadly curiosities” before it’s too late.
Deadly Curiosities is an
action-packed thrill ride full of magic, restless ghosts, infernal
creatures, haunted places, dangerous curios, found family, loyal
friends, secret history, and plenty of adventure!
Gail
Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy, steampunk and more for
Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and
Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and
the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include
Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle,
the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria.
Together
with Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of Iron & Blood, Storm
& Fury (both Steampunk/alternate history), the Spells Salt and
Steel comedic horror series, the Roaring Twenties monster hunter Joe
Mack Shadow Council series, and the Wasteland Marshals near-future
post-apocalyptic series. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM
paranormal romance, with the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail,
Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow series. Gail is also a
con-runner for ConTinual, the online, ongoing multi-genre convention
that never ends.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by James Patterson and Confessions Of The Dead is an example why. He puts his name on all kinds of books and I am curious how much input he has in the writing. Either way, Confessions Of The Dead peaked my interest and I was not disappointed.
The crime rate in Hollows Bend, New Hampshire was zero….until she came.
Confessions Of The Dead by James Patterson and J D Barker was action packed and unpredictable. The cast of characters covered the gamut and their actions were unpredictable, more often than not culminating in a brutal ending. The ending of the book was as unpredictable as the characters actions. All in all, I would highly recommend the horror filled book.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Confessions Of The Dead by James Patterson & J D Barker.
4 Stars
GOODREADS
In this chilling mystery from a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a small New England town is hit with a wave of crimes after the arrival of a mysterious stranger who brings more questions than answers.
Hollows Bend, New Hampshire, is a picture-perfect New England town where weekend tourists flock to see fall leaves and eat breakfast at the Stairway Diner. The crime rate—zero–is a point of pride for Sheriff Ellie Pritchett.
The day the stranger shows up is when the trouble starts. The sheriff and her deputy investigate the mysterious teenage girl. None of the locals can place her. She can’t—or won’t¾answer any questions. She won’t even tell them her name.
While the girl is in protective custody, the officers are called to multiple crime scenes leading them closer and closer to a lake outside of town that doesn’t appear on any map…
Genre: Fiction, Horror
457 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 9, 2024 by Grand Central Publishing
ABOUT JAMES PATTERSON
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster Eruption. He has told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
J.D. Barker is the New York Times and international best-selling author of numerous novels, including DRACUL and THE FOURTH MONKEY. His latest, A CALLER’S GAME, released February 22. He is currently collaborating with James Patterson. His books have been translated into two dozen languages, sold in more than 150 countries, and optioned for both film and television. Barker resides in coastal New Hampshire with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.
