Tortured With Love by J T Hunter is my fourth true crime novel by him. That being said, the Lonely Hearts Killers is rated the fourth top ten crime duos in US history, according to Time Magazine. Whether it still holds that distinction in 2020, I do not know.
What turns a nurse supervisor at the Crippled Children”s Home into a killer? Tortured With Love strikes very close to home, seeing Martha Beck is from Pensacola, Florida.
Ray had a hard life. Family and friends felt like an accident he had changed his personality. It’ hard to care, seeing he embraced his new self and reveled in his hunt for women.
Evil can be found anywhere, including dating clubs. I don’t know about you, but it sure doesn’t surprise me. It seems like perverts have found a gold mine.
Tortured With Love is a perfect example of how someone can change so much, throwing their life away in the name of love. I have no sympathy or compassion for either one.
The Lonely Hearts Killers took place in the 1940s, so comparing them, and all that has come to pass since then, may make them seem tame.
Many records were lost or unavailable to J T Hunter, but he put together a story that is easy to read and I think leaves a lot to our imagination. They told so many stories, who knows where the truth lies.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Tortured With Love by J T Hunter.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
What is the price of passion? What is the power of love?
Meet Martha Beck, a young nurse dedicated to healing others, until her own hurting heart lured her down a darker path. Loneliness led her to Raymond Fernandez, but love led her all the way to the electric chair.
This is the tragic story of the Lonely Heart Killers.
ABOUT J T HUNTER
J.T. Hunter is an attorney with over fourteen years of experience
practicing law, including criminal law and appeals, and he has
significant training in criminal investigation techniques. He is also a
college professor in Florida where his teaching interests focus on the
intersection of criminal psychology, law, and literature.
Finding Lyla by Cate Beauman is the tenth book in the series and I am lovin’ every minute I spend with them. Each book can stand alone, but past characters make visits into current and future novels, so I recommend you begin at the beginning so you don’t miss anything.
Finding Lyla by Cate Beauman is the tenth book in the LA Bodyguard series and I have been lovin’ each and every one. It’s good to be back with the gang and watch as two characters find each other, adding to the Bodyguard family.
The men may be strong, but so are the women, each with their individual personalities that makes for a new storyline and romance that slowly develops, filled with difficulty. If it isn’t their own need to protect themselves, it is a bad guy trying to make their life hell.
Lyla struggled to enter the world, being delivered by Caesarean. When Cate Beauman described the delivery, her being tied down, I had flashbacks. My child was born in the ’70s and the times sure were different than they are now. I too was tied down, then gassed. Does not make for fond memories.
Her mother, Mina was the a prima ballerina in Russia, so when Lyla was born she was labeled as the Princess of Russia, expected to follow in her mother’s footsteps, which she did. She made a name for herself with her amazing talent and was now dancing for the Manhattan Ballet. Trouble arises when she returns to Russia during a turbulent and dangerous political climate. Her father is the US Ambassador to Russia, so she feels she has no choice.
Collin is a bodyguard with Ethan Cooke Security. When he is tasked with being Lyla’s bodyguard, he jumps at the chance. Just coming out of a bad relationship and a previous job, he doesn’t look forward to returning to an empty apartment.
I found myself laughing at their dialogue from the moment they met.
I immediately fell in love with the characters. They are beautiful, inside and out. I think you may find yourself enamored with them too.
WOW. The danger, intensity of the suspense, and sexual tension is off the charts. The political intrigue kept me on my toes and I’m glad Collin is well versed in survival. They will need it.
Lyla is naive in the ways of the world. She has devoted her life to ballet. She does have some wonderful friends, very little romantic experience, but ballet is her be all, end all.
Nail biting, edge of the seat, nonstop action that threatens lives across international lines. Brutal moments are tempered with sweet ones. Every time I think I am reaching the happy ever after, Cate Beauman delivers another blow.
Finding Lyla, even though I expected a LOT, delivered more than anticipated. That is why Cate Beauman is a master of her craft.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Finding Lyla by Cate Beauman
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Principal Dancer Lyla Markovik-Avery is always on the go. Grueling practices and endless performances rule her busy days—and things are about to get more hectic. Russia is rolling out the red carpet for their beloved star, despite the string of violent terrorist attacks that have rocked the nation.
Bodyguard Collin Michaels’ life is falling apart. His long-time relationship recently ended. He’s trying to start over, but that’s easier said than done. Luckily, Collin has a new assignment on the horizon: keeping a beautiful ballerina safe for the next three weeks.
Collin finds comfort in Lyla’s easy friendship, but that all changes after a night out on the town. Simple feelings become complicated—something Collin can’t afford, especially when tragedy strikes and Collin realizes Lyla’s caught in the middle of a dangerous plot for revenge.
Collin and Lyla are forced to flee. They need to reach the border before it’s too late, but the odds are stacked against them in a country that wants them dead. With time running out, Collin formulates a risky plan that might be their only chance of making it out alive.
ABOUT CATE BEAUMAN
International
bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length,
action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County.
Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance
Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award,
Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star
books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers’ Favorite
International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the
Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown
Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the
silver medal for the 2014 Readers’ Favorite Awards.
Cate makes her home in North Carolina
with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack.
Currently Cate is working on Deceiving Bella, the eleventh novel in her
popular Bodyguards series.
Shatter is my second book that I have read by Charisse Moritz. Shakespeare Burning was her debut novel and it blew me away, so I eagerly started reading.
Tia is responsible for her six brothers and sisters, and now, seeing she ran him over, Taz. And he could sure use a friend. I feel a healthy respect and sympathy for Tia. Taz pulls at my heartstrings and I feel there is much more to learn about him. Tia loves to rescue those in need, whether human or critter.
Tia remembers good times with Taz, when they were much younger, Juvie had changed him. He was like a porcupine throwing up his quills when anyone tried to get close to him.
Tully, Tia’s little sister is so sweet. Her precious little girl voice and the things she says are priceless. Her interaction with Taz is amazing and Charisse was a master at showing it. She is full of ‘rainbows and happiness.’ What a wonderful yet simple description, as I fought for words to describe her, Charisse Moritz supplied them.
Tia and her brothers and sisters are on their own because of an automobile accident. Her father was seriously injured and her mother moved to be by his side. Her aunt is supposed to be with them, but she left right after she got there. Think about it. A high school senior girl is doing her best to play mother and father for her 5 brothers and sisters. Her heart is BIG and her compassion endless. Tia is the most positive character I have ever read. She never quit fighting for what she believed in. Despair, sure, but somehow she grasps HOPE and figures out a way.
The few who believe in Taz are amazing and I hope you meet them.
These wonderfully written characters go through so many emotions that I laughed, I worried, I fretted, I hoped, and I kept on reading. They were created in vivid, realistic detail that may make you want to wrap your arms around these youngsters and tell them everything will be all right.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shatter by Charisse Moritz.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
First day of senior year and Tia West just ran over a hot guy in the high school parking lot. In her defense, she’s a little preoccupied as the caretaker of five younger siblings, one dog, one cat, facing a mountain of bills and determined to keep her family together. The eternal optimist, she just needs to try harder, be better, take a deep breath and definitely shouldn’t bring home another stray dog or an angry, scary and scarred boy who is obviously in desperate need of a hug.
After a stint in juvie, Taz is back for senior year, and every minute is a struggle. His only defense is silence. Keeping quiet avoids the slaps, hits, threats and is as close to safe as he can manage. Until Tia West convinces him of possibilities he never knew existed. She fills every dark, empty space with a lightness he’s never experienced before, and the only way to keep her is by speaking up for himself. But his secrets are the kind that devastate and destroy.
ABOUT CHARISSE MORITZ (from Amazon)
Emily Award Finalist and Melody Of Love Award Finalist, Charisse Moritz divides her life between upstate NY and northern Florida. When not barricaded inside her writing cave or enjoying every possible minute with her husband and three kids, you’ll find her listening to 60’s music, singing off key and looking for new reads.
Her debut book, Shakespeare Burning was released in July 2019 and is available in digital and print.
P M Terrell is a prolific writer and a favorite of mine. A Struggle for Independence is a walk through the Ireland of yore. I am glad to have you joining us.
I am amazed at how much I love A Struggle for Independence. I love a lot of details and well researched novels, along with fictional characters that make me forget they are not real, but historical fiction never used to be high on my list. I want to thank P M Terrell for changing that and supplying me with many wonderful hours of reading.
Independence saw his carriage approaching and the entire atmosphere of the house, along with her mood, became oppressive. He entered the castle and spit out her name, Independence, with the disdain he felt for the country’s thought of freedom in 1916 Ireland.
Stratford, Independence’s husband, runs his household like a tyrant. I immediately despised him. Her marriage to him had been arranged and happiness was in short supply. She had her secret life and…one night opened her eyes and changed her life forever.
Independence’s growth and development were a joy to read about. The trials and tribulations she goes through during war torn Ireland are frightening, disturbing, and all too familiar. It’s easy to visualize the unrest and reasons for it. Hungry, homeless, nothing to lose, cornered like a cat up a tree, pursued, enslaved, treated as a possession…not surprising they rose up and bit back…harshly. A reminder that history repeats itself.
P M Terrell’s historical novels spring to life with vivid characters and descriptions of the countryside. She is an artist, using words instead of paints to create her masterpieces. Her ability to merge fact and fiction makes reading about history an awesome adventure into the past.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Struggle for Independence by P M Terrell.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It is 1916 Ireland, and Independence Mather has settled into a routine in an arranged and loveless marriage when she meets architect Nicky Bowers. She falls in love with the charming and attentive Irishman, but Nicky holds secrets. When she discovers he is an Irish rebel on the eve of the Easter Rising, events propel her into the midst of the rebellion. From Dublin’s GPO to Saint Stephen’s Green, she races to discover whether he is yet alive or he is one of those cut down by seasoned British forces arriving to put down the rebellion. At a crossroads in her life and in Ireland’s history, she must make a decision that will change her life forever: she can remain the wife of a British loyalist, or she can risk losing everything to be with the man she loves.
Set against the sweeping vistas of Ireland from Dublin to the Wicklow Mountains, terrell brings alive a tumultuous time in Ireland’s history, interweaving historical events and the people that gave their lives to ensure Ireland’s independence.
ABOUT P M TERRELL
p.m.terrell
is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning,
internationally acclaimed author of more than 21 books in four genres:
contemporary suspense, historical adventure/suspense, computer how-to
and non-fiction.
Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence, themes that have carried forward to her contemporary suspense.
She has been a full-time author since
2002. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book
Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a
national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. The Tempest
Murders was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards,
cross-genre category.
Her historical suspense, River Passage,
was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so
historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville
Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
She is also the co-founder of The Book
‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of
the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She
is the organizer and chairperson of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual
event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase
literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the
literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org. She is also the founder of The Novel Business, mentoring authors in the business end and selling of books.
She sits on the board of the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library. She has also served on the boards of Robeson County Arts Council, Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.
I found Kathryn Meyer Griffith through blogging and once I started reading her work, I never looked back. Be sure and check out all my reviews below and don’t forget to read this one. It’s another fun trip to Spookie town.
Oh man, it’s good to be back with Abigail, Frank, Myrtle and the gang in Spookie Town. Not only do we have a murder mystery, but we have a little bit of the supernatural going on. Is it good or bad? I’ll leave that for you to find out for yourself.
Myrtle is an eccentric (?) who sees ghosts and I love how she pops in and out of Abigail and Frank’s life. Abigail and Frank are a couple, but they have yet to make that final decision, to live together. Abigail has two children that she took in when they were orphaned. You can find the details out in All Things Slip Away and it is a wonderful story.
Abigail got up in the morning and as soon as she stepped outside felt something…was in the air…and it didn’t feel good. Myrtle comes to Abigail with a request. Will she help her neighbor, who is being haunted by a ghost? Bumps in the night doesn’t begin to describe what she is going through.
They are not ghost whisperers, ghost busters, or ghost hunters, but they will get to the bottom of the mystery of the burglaries, hauntings, missing people, and dead bodies. Just because they are older and quickly dismissed by the small town police, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening and someone must step in before something else happens.
Are the police just inept, lazy and useless, or are they part of the problem? That is one of the things I love about small towns, the unique, fun, and interesting characters that add as much to the story as the mystery we are here to solve.
BUT, also in a small town:
“You’re one of us. Remember I told you, we take care of our own in Spookie. That’s what we do.”
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Ghosts Beneath Us by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Someone is terrorizing the elderly in a certain neighborhood in Spookie and vandalizing their homes. As usual, Abigail Sutton, a freelance artist, and her boyfriend Frank Lester, a retired homicide detective, are called in to help find out who’s doing these awful acts. The two seem to have an uncanny knack for unraveling mysteries and getting to the bottom of such strange happenings. Some of the old people think it’s ghosts in their basements, in their homes, doing these destructive deeds but Frank doesn’t believe in ghosts; while Abigail isn’t so sure. Then the old folks begin to disappear one by one or to die suspiciously and Frank thinks there’s a sinister plan behind the crimes and is determined to uncover who or what is responsible. In the end, they, with a little help from their friend eccentric old Myrtle, must solve the mystery or more of the old ones in town might end up dead. Sequel to Scraps of Paper (Spookie Town Murder Mystery #1) and All Things Slip Away (Spookie Town Murder Mystery #2)
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer
for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short
stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback
horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on
to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance,
thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her
thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart
of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II:
Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic
horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town
Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery),
Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us
(4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th
Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie
Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies
Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice
Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman
in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection,
Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story,
Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their
Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising,
Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars,
Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical
short story Christmas Magic 1959.
I am so happy to be back in the RV with Walt and Betty and this time we will be hiking the trails and solving a mystery in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.
I love the play on their name Rollin…pronounced as if saying rolling down the road.
Betty is the Jessica Fletcher of the RV world.
Their son had died and Betty could not let it go. She needed to know why. Had to have answers, but there were none. They sold everything, bought an RV and began to travel. Maybe that is why she is persistent in her need to know what’s going on right under her nose, like the dead man and two missing people.
I do like that the characters talk about their surroundings, the weather, and the people they meet. They love to people watch, trying to guess what was going on in their lives. They talk about RVs and what it means to be a permanent traveler. It lends an air of authenticity and reality making it easy to put myself in their shoes. She even throws some history in the mix.
The Superstition Mountains were given their name because the Pima and Apache Tribes were superstitious about the mountains and the settlers gave them their name. It is also the home of the Lost Dutchman’s mine.
Could there be a hidden gold mine with riches waiting to be discovered? Does that explain the brief flashes of light Betty has seen?
If you are looking for an easy reading cozy mystery with some travel and local history of the locations the characters visit, meeting some interesting people and solving crime, this is a series for you. Each book stands alone and takes place in a different state in the US.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Superstition Victim by Ellen Behrens.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A rustic campground in the shadows of Arizona’s Superstition Mountains is anything but peaceful for Walt and Betty Rollin, full-time RVers hoping for tranquil hiking and a good deal on a new RV. What they find instead are secrets buried deeper than the Lost Dutchman’s legendary treasure… secrets so valuable someone is willing to kill to keep them. Local law enforcement seems unable to help, leaving Walt and Betty to do all they can–no matter what it takes.
This is the third installment in the Rollin RV Mystery series which RVers and non-RVers alike have called “page-turning,” “engrossing,” and their favorite way to stay up past bedtime.
ABOUT ELLEN BEHRENS
Ellen
Behrens’ short stories, articles, essays, and reviews have been widely
published. Her published books include the novels “Pea Body,” “None But
the Dead and Dying” and the short story collection “Road Tales: Short
Stories About Full-Time RVing.” She is former fiction editor of
Mid-American Review and the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual
Artist Fellowship. She and her husband have been living the
“full-timer” RV lifestyle since 2009.
I have read other books about the Lost City, so I am eager to see D V Berkom’s spin on it. I do love traipsing through the jungle, with danger lurking, looking for lost treasure.
Martin is concerned about keeping the discovery quiet and the location secret, to protect it from those who would endanger the site and the people who live around it. Nancy, his daughter, is more interested in academic pursuits, wanting to share it with the world, which opens them up to those who want it for themselves.
She drank the Kool-Aid.
Enter Leine Basso…a kickass ex-assassin that takes name and leaves no prisoners. She is pulled from her comfy cozy bed, where she was nestled with Santa, her detective boyfriend, in Los Angeles and on her way to the jungle deep in the heart of the Amazon.
The head bad guy betrays anyone and everyone to get what he wants and I hope and pray he gets a healthy dose of Karma.
I am loving Shadow of the Jaguar and the Indiana Jones vibe I’m picking up. We have action and adventure, loyalty and betrayal, treasure found, and lives lost.
I love books that add the ecological aspects that would accompany a discovery such as this, including theft, clear cutting, eco terrorism and things that would damage the jungle and the people who live there. To me it adds a realistic aspect to the fiction.
The pacing flowed smoothly, making it easy to read on, totally captivated by the characters, trying to figure out who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. I was worried and I wonder…could a good guy do a bad thing and still be a good guy?
I love that D V Berkom has Leine and her daughter on the adventure together. They both work for SHEN, which is an organization that deals with human traffickers and there is never a dull moment. They are well equipped to handle whatever gets thrown at them and it is a pleasure to be along for the ride.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shadow of the Jaguar by D V Berkom
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Leine Basso is back in Shadow of the Jaguar, an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning action-adventure thriller.
A lost civilization. A woman’s abduction. The promise of unimaginable treasure.
Deep in the heart of the Amazon, an expedition finds evidence of a fabled lost city of gold. It isn’t long before a ruthless drug trafficker learns of the possible find and kidnaps an expedition member, threatening to kill her and the rest of the expedition unless he’s given the coordinates to the city.
Former assassin Leine Basso and her daughter are called in to rescue the kidnapped woman, who also happens to be a good friend’s niece. But in the jungle, danger lurks at every turn, and nothing is as it seems…
ABOUT D V BERKOM
DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two
popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of
creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong
addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing
to find the female equivalent within those pages.
Raised in the Midwest, she received her
BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly
moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves
(and several years) later, she now lives just outside of Seattle,
Washington with the love of her life, Mark, an ex-chef-turned
contractor, and writes every chance she gets.
For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.
Britney King has done it again in her psychological thriller, The Book Doctor. The Prologue smacked me in the face, made me duck and cover, and had me rapidly turning the pages to find out what in the hell is going on.
George is a writer with a book deadline months past due and a wife with severe mental issues and the story takes off. It quickly becomes a twisted mess and I’m wondering what is going on with Liam. And his wife? My head is spinning.
George is living in hell.
A terrifying look into the life of a mentally disturbed woman and the man who cares for and keeps both of them safe. An impossible task, I believe.
Great job, Britney. You had me til the end and what a wild ride it was. I went down the path you led me and walked into crazy town. You had me questioning the characters actions, feeling something was a little bit off, and I never saw the ending coming.
I love books with serial killers and this led me down a murky path. The pacing kept me turning the pages, having to know what comes next. I can highly recommend every book of hers I have read.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Book Doctor by Britney King.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From the bestselling author of The Social Affair and HER comes a riveting new thriller about a writer desperate to make a comeback who realizes that success may cost more than he can afford to pay when a stranger arrives at his door.
George is bitter. As he should be. Once a household name, George is dying to make a comeback, and death may be the only option left to get the public’s attention. Ask anyone, his life is unraveling at the seams. Meanwhile, his new apprentice is everything he is not.
The enigmatic man his publisher sends to help is young and ambitious, with looks that could kill, and possibly do.
When George discovers that his apprentice’s talent extends beyond fixing broken plots, that his winning formula may, in fact, be a result of making the crimes in his novels come to life, George has to ask himself how much he is willing to overlook to achieve mainstream success.
Perfectly paced, The Book Doctor is an electrifying psychological thriller about a life’s work, obsession, and the dangerous places ambition can take you. Full of enough tension and twists to make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.
ABOUT BRITNEY KING
Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes
psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
Currently, she’s writing three series and several standalone
novels.
The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have
known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy,
dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on
revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female,
and Basic Instinct.
The Water Series follows the shady love story of an
unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been
compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
Around The Bend is a heart-pounding standalone, which traces the
journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks
to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to
keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about
unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and
apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it
has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless
couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For
fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel
explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is
reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me.
Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this
gig. You can find Britney online here:
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her
mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb
into your browser.
I was soooo excited when I won a fabulous signed hardcover for Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton and a paperback copy with a pile of goodies for Colel by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.
Kira Jane Buxton has definitely delivered on this original, unique glimpse into her zombie world where animals are the saviors and humans are the ones in need of saving. They can’t do it as individuals, it takes a murder to save a village. Hollow Kingdom is filled with every emotion I can think of, terror and fear, sadness and happiness, lost and found, tears and smiles, despair and hope.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.
S.T.,
a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with
his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle’s wild crows (those
idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.
Then
Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like
something isn’t quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies–from
beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim’s loyal but
dim-witted dog, Dennis–fail to cure Big Jim’s debilitating malady. S.T.
is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into
a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he
discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local
wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming
Seattle. Humanity’s extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one
determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the
world around him comes from his TV-watching education.
Hollow Kingdom
is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the
apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow
can become a hero.
As soon as I opened the cover I began laughing and never quit. Colel is naive in the romance department, and when she meets the one…what to do… Especially seeing she is the Mistress of the Bees…and they aren’t liking him at all, and…he’s allergic. Delightfully sexy romp with evil gods and goddesses, vampires, mermaids, humans….and so much more.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a Standalone, Romantic Comedy a la Paranormal…
COLEL(Book #5, The Immortal Matchmakers, Inc. Series).
WARNING: This
book contains foul language, gratuitous sex against a truck,
outrageously rude immortal warriors in leather pants, snow, pigheaded
gods, a sexually frustrated goddess, a very hot and hunky florist guy
with a bad attitude and a big secret, Brutus bubble baths, a sneaky
invisible unicorn, unrequited love, bees, bees, and more bees, and
chocolates.
SOMETIMES LOVE BITES AND SOMETIMES IT STINGS.
Colel,
the Goddess of Bees, has been looking for Mr. Right for over seventy
thousand years. So when she meets the hunky owner of a small-town flower
shop and explodes with flutters and tingles, she’s almost certain that
he’s the one.
Only two problems: her tiny black-and-yellow army
suddenly won’t let her anywhere near him, and…is that a freaking
epinephrine pen in the fridge? “Dear gods! He’s allergic to bees? Say it
isn’t so.”
If simply dating the guy will kill him, how will she ever know for sure if he’s really the one?
Colel has a solution, but it’s drastic. Even for her. And what if he says no?
I am a huge fan of Michael F Stewart and was excited when I got my hands on Heart Sister, an amazing story that is a perfect example of The Butterfly Effect in Chaos Theory.
The wonderful cover for Heart Sister definitely fits the story inside.
I love the cover and it definitely relates to the book and means so much more after reading Heart Sister by Michael F Stewart. Michael speaks from the heart in this fabulous story of a young boy that searches for the people that received his sister’s organs.
The characters are fully developed, richly detailed and I love how Michael F Stewart shows them growing and changing. Emmitt steals the show. It’s not awful enough that he lost his sister, but he lost his twin sister.
The movie that Emmitt is making was a different take on the story than I expected, but a wonderful way to tell the tale. Anything more, you will want to learn for yourself.
My heart goes out to him. I love him. He is doing everything for his mother, to pull her out of her paralyzing depression, but so much happens and many lives are changed. His sister gave them life, he helps them live it.
The butterfly effect is an idea that is more commonly used in chaos theory. it shows that a small change can make much bigger changes happen; that one small incident can have a big impact in the future. The ripple in the pond….
I cannot say enough about this novel, which is inspired by Micheal F Stewart’s own life.
Heart Sister has it all…fun and games, grief and misery, laughs and tears..and the way Michael presented it was heartbreakingly and heartwarmingly wonderful.
Even though Heart Sister is aimed at middle grade, to me, Michael F Stewart’s novels are excellent for all ages. He sends a subtle message that I hear loud and clear.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Heart Sister by Michael F Stewart.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
After Emmitt’s twin sister, Minnie, dies in an accident, his world goes sideways. He’s lost his best friend and it feels like his family is falling apart without her. But Minnie was an organ donor and Emmitt soon receives an anonymous thank you letter from one of the transplant recipients. Inspiration strikes, and he decides to try and put his sister back together, in spirit. He’s going to track down each organ recipient and film them to show his parents Minnie’s selfless act and help them move on. But when each recipient falls short of his expectations and the star of his film, the girl who received his sister’s heart, refuses to meet him, Emmitt has to turn to extreme measures to find her. What he doesn’t know is that his “heart sister” is hiding an agonizing secret, one that could push Emmitt to the breaking point.
ABOUT MICHEL F STEWART
Michael F. Stewart is winner of both the
2015 Claymore Award and the 2014 inaugural Creation of Stories Award
for best YA novel at the Toronto International Book Fair.
He likes to combine storytelling with technology and pioneered
interactive storytelling with Scholastic Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand’s, anti-cyberbullying program Bully For You. In addition to his
award winning Assured Destruction series, he has authored four graphic
novels with Oxford University Press Canada’s Boldprint series.
Publications of nonfiction titles on Corruption and Children’s Rights
are published by Scholastic and early readers are out with Pearson
Education.
For adults, Michael has written THE SAND
DRAGON a horror about a revenant prehistoric vampire set in the tar
sands, HURAKAN a Mayan themed thriller which pits the Maya against the
MS-13 with a New York family stuck in the middle, 24 BONES an urban
fantasy which draws from Egyptian myth, and THE TERMINALS–a covert
government unit which solves crimes in this realm by investigating them
in the next.
Herder of four daughters, Michael lives
to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s first Writer
in Residence. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit
his website at www.michaelfstewart.com or connect via Twitter
@MichaelFStewart.
![A Struggle for Independence by [p.m. terrell]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51xtggGImNL.jpg)
