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Hi Everyone. Not a lot going on. Doing some blogging and a lot of reading. I have a list of books I am determined to finish this year…BUT I keep adding more to the list. I just can’t help myself. LOL It’s a good problem to have. Hubby is doing great with his rehab, since his hip replacement. I’m surprised how well he is doing. Here’s a fun video he made of us walking. We are both rehabbing and it’s looking good for my final surgery in December.
I will warn you to have some snacks handy. A Hush At Midnight made me hungry for chocolate. 🙂
Celebrity Chef Laura Harris has come back to Stenberg to visit her friend and mentor, Hattie Stenberg. She gets more than she bargained for as the threats mount and Hattie is murdered. Why? What could Laura have that anyone would possibly want?
Laura feels the police have tunnel vision, so she inserts herself into the investigation.
When she finds out she is to inherit Hattie’s fortune, she meets Hattie’s attorney, Brent Hill. Could there be romance in the air?
A Hush At Midnight is more than a cozy but less than a blood and guts thriller. There is plenty of mystery and danger to keep the pace of the novel rolling along. We also have plenty of suspects and I am constantly trying to rule out the innocent. I like trying to figure out what’s coming before the author has to tell me, but I like it even more when an author can keep me guessing.
4 Stars
Synopsis:
From the award-winning author of the ANNALISSE MYSTERY SERIES.
THE VISIT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Celebrity chef Laura Harris dwells on the horror of finding her mentor’s body in the groundskeeper’s disheveled bed—pillow and bedding half covering her open eyes—purple bruising around her mouth. A grisly snapshot in time revealing the Texas woman’s last moments during her attack. The elderly matriarch from the small town of Stenburg has left the physical world, and Laura is shattered.
She is catapulted headlong into the pursuit of a casual executioner, one bold enough to come and go from the crime scene with ease, dropping bizarre crumb trails designed to mock the deceased. But Laura herself doesn’t go unnoticed. As she digs deeper, she is followed and bombarded by warnings to leave the state.
When the victim’s attorney informs Laura that she’s to inherit the entire Stenburg fortune, the last act of kindness has made Laura the main person of interest in the investigation.
Message by message, Laura is methodically taunted by someone so deranged and driven they’ll do whatever it takes to dislodge Laura from Texas – permanently.
Book Details:
Genre: Amateur Sleuth/Mystery/Cozy Mystery Published by: Ewephoric Publishing Publication Date: October 1, 2024 Number of Pages: 368 ISBN: 979-8-9863409-6-8 Book Links:Amazon | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Author Bio:
Marlene M. Bell has never met a sheep she didn’t like. As a personal touch for her readers, they often find these wooly creatures visiting her international romantic mysteries and children’s books as characters or subject matter. Marlene is an accomplished artist and photographer who takes pride in entertaining fans on multiple levels of her creativity.
Marlene’s award-winning Annalisse series boasts Best Mystery honors for all installments including these: IP Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, Global Award Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters, the fourth mystery in the series.
She offers her children’s picture book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! written primarily for younger kids based on true events from the Bell’s East Texas sheep ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of belonging and unconditional love between a little girl and her lamb.
When I opened the pages to my wonderful book, I never anticipated the depth of the story. It’s not an overly long book, but it contained so much deliciousness, I couldn’t put it down. Amanda Siegrist writes clean romance and this time she has tossed in some ghosts and vampires to create The Third Time’s The Charm.
Kade’s first wife died in a car crash on a winter’s night. He was the driver. His second wife just happened to fall down the stairs of their home. How could the third time possible be a charm? We’ll have to solve the mystery of the deaths, plus the enigma that is Bailey.
Near the end of the book, Amanda had me worried terribly for Bailey. I thought I knew what was going to happen with her, but she had me second guessing myself. Good one, Amanda.
In comes the Ghostbusters, Mason and Mona. I quickly great to add them to my list of inquiries. I wanted to know their story, and it looks like I’m going to get it, in The Paranormal Chronicles, Volume I. Will I learn of Donnie and Joe? Will they get their own story? And Charly? She was a complete surprise for me. I was leery of her, suspicious of her motives for dropping in with goodies for Kade to sample. Like Bailey, I wanted to yell, “Don’t eat the pie….Don’t eat the cookies.”
So many fabulous characters I can only hope they will all get to tell their stories.
It’s rare when a clean story can earn five stars from me, but Third Time’s The Charm by Amanda Siegrist kept on giving, right til the very last word was read.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From USA Today bestselling author Amanda Siegrist comes a new paranormal series that is going to be hauntingly suspenseful fun!
He’s not running this time…
Kade thought nothing could be worse than when his wife died in a car accident—especially because he’d been behind the wheel. To forget the pain, he moved on. Maybe too quickly. Now he’s the prime suspect in the death of his second wife. But they have nothing on him because he didn’t kill her.
Buying a house that needs more repairs than it’s worth seems like a good escape. When he meets Bailey, despite everything telling him to look away, guard his heart, he can’t help but fall under her charm. There’s just one problem. She’s a ghost. There can’t be any harm in loving a ghost, right? Nothing can hurt her, not even him. Except there’s another presence in the house. One that terrifies her.
Between contending with a pesky detective determined to peg him for murder, a ghost he’s falling in love with, and the mysterious accidents that keep happening to him at work, Kade fears he might be joining Bailey on the other side sooner rather than later.
Love! Gimme some love and heaps of romance. I have a sappy heart that just loves two people meeting, going through the cycles of a relationship, and ultimately, falling in love. Give me a good book like that and I’m a happy camper:)
I write contemporary and romantic suspense, but I am partial to suspense. I just love a good mystery.
Besides writing, I love baking, crafts, and baseball…oh, and meeting new people. *smiles*
I love ecothrillers like Bleeding Sea by K A Kirtland. They scare me, because I believe that is how we will be taken out. By ourselves. How much abuse can mother nature take before she becomes overwhelmed?
Bleeding Sea is an appropriate title, seeing the organism that is killing every living thing, including humans, is turning the sea blood red.
The normal things plague the research Diane is doing, greed, betrayal, lies and deceit.
At times I found myself leaning forward as if I could whisper in her ear, “The danger is right behind you.”
Could you imagine, laying on the ocean floor, knowing the clock is ticking and no one is coming to save you? Take a moment and think about it.
I love when the villain(s) aren’t always obvious, they sneak up on you. Diane, she just kept moving forward, doing what she feels is right and necessary. Sometimes even a good person can make a bad decision.
We have lots of characters and no matter how bad things got, there were still good things happening and good people trying to put things right.
I don’t feel my review did the book justice, but sometimes I just can’t find the words.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Bleeding Sea by K A Kirtland.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
“Is this how the world ends, not with a bang, but with an invasive species that destroys the planet’s most important ecosystem? If K.A. Kirtland’s Bleeding Sea doesn’t frighten you then you’re not paying attention.” –Daniel Burke, author of Red Screen
When a mysterious organism starts killing off the oceans, can an inexperienced scientist stop the deadly red tide from spreading?
Gulf of Mexico. Diane Nelson has finally achieved her childhood dream. A recent Ph.D. graduate delighting in the chance to work for her hero, the twenty-five-year-old marine biologist is determined to solve why algae are destroying all life in and above the sea. But when a shooting incident in her new lab leaves one man dead, the unnerved woman fears something more sinister could be at play.
Joining her boss and three labmates on an expedition to track down the organism’s origin, Diane struggles to know who to trust. But after she defies company orders and uncovers a shocking conspiracy, the naïve researcher’s future could depend on separating friend from foe…
Can she contain the source before her world turns bloodred?
Bleeding Sea is a slick and riveting eco-thriller. If you like complex characters, heart-wrenching drama, and thought-provoking themes, then you’ll love K.A. Kirtland’s powerfully dark tale.
Expected publication September 19, 2024 by Black Rose Writing
ABOUT K A KIRTLAND
A Note From the Publisher
With a Master of Science degree in Marine Biology and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Environmental Health Sciences, K.A. Kirtland turned her love of writing and passion for life sciences into a page-turning eco-thriller. As a graduate student, she participated in research expeditions on the Gulf of Mexico and on the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic. Her first publication was in the Antarctic Journal of the United States-1994 Review, and the main findings of her master’s thesis was published in the South Florida newspaper, Sun Sentinel. She works as a public health professional in Atlanta, Georgia and has published numerous journal articles. She has three wonderful children and a seven-foot Brazilian rainbow boa named Samara.
Most mothers-to-be spend their pregnancy leafing through baby names and shopping for nursery furniture. Minka Avery spends hers trying to hunt down a murderer on the open seas.
Minka’s promotion to Orlando PD’s homicide department has some bumps at first, including her growing baby bump. Just as she and her partner begin to hit their stride, Logan Baris’s suspicious death baffles them. The investigation leads the detectives to believe he had a hand in a shady operation, but the cruise ship worker’s troubles seem to voyage into the ocean blues with him.
After they meet up with some dead ends on land, Minka convinces her partner and his wife to join her and her husband to embark on a covert investigation on the ship. Will they be able to uncover whatever scheme is underway on the vessel? Or will the choppy waves of personal drama make it run ashore?
About Karina Bartow
Karina Bartow grew up and still lives in Northern Ohio. Though born with Cerebral Palsy, she’s never allowed her disability to define her. Rather, she’s used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined not to let them stand in the way of the life they want. Her works include
Husband in Hiding, Forgetting My Way Back to You, Brother of Interest, Wrong Line, Right Connection, and Accidental Allies. She may only be able to type with one hand, but she writes with her whole heart!
I am a fan of M O Mack, so any time I see a book available, I grab it. She’s Got The Time is her latest in the Suite 45 series, about assassins. I do love assassins, and M O Mack gives them a different twist, a fresh glimpse into their lives.
Emily had no idea what she was getting into when she took the job answering phones for a pest company. It wasn’t long until she learned the truth. Now, she’s face to face with Charge, wondering what is really going on. I’m with her. Does he care about her? Will her throw her to the wolves? It sure looks like it to both of us. Guess we shall see.
The action is fast paced keeping me involved and alert for the next bullet to come our way. Of course we have the good guys and the bad guys….or are they bad guys and those not quite as bad. And where do they fit on the scale?
Emily is locked up for a crime she didn’t commit, in one of the worst prisons in the country, and the cartel has a ten million dollar bounty on her head.
The romance…well…we’ll see about it. And it didn’t go the way I thought it would. Not the normal white knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress.
The ending…I’m still deciding whether I like it or not. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but maybe the author has something in store for us and this is just leading up to some danger in the next story. After all, I don’t think they can just walk away and have a happy ever after…at least not yet.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of She’s Got The Time by M O Mack.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From author M.O. Mack comes the third heart-stopping thriller in the Suite #45 series, SHE’S GOT THE TIME.
SENTENCED FOR A CRIME SHE ONLY WISHED SHE’D COMMITTED…
Emily has made some pretty tough choices in order to survive. Some she regrets. Others, well, not so much.
Running from her corrupt FBI husband, for example? No regrets. Ending up working for a group of hit men? Big regrets.
On the bright side, the group only kills bad guys. On the not-so-bright side, the biggest cartel south of the border wants the group dead, and she’s number two on their list.
Emily’s biggest regret, however? Growing feelings for Charge, her hit man boss.
Because when the feds arrest her for the murder of her ex, Emily knows she’s been set up, and all signs point to Charge.
Why would he do this to her? The prison is filled with vicious criminals, and there’s a price on her head. Ten million dollars.
Can she find a way out before her time is up? Because she’d really love some sweet revenge.
First published August 29, 2024 by Paper & Silver, Inc
Series: The Suite 45, #3
ABOUT M O MACK (Mimi Jean Pamfiloff)
Obviously, M.O. Mack is a cover. Don’t bother looking for the author’s true identity. He/she must remain secret due to the sensitive information written in his/her stories…
Okay, most of all that is total rubbish! M.O. is a full-time author from the great state of Arizona, who loves making stuff up and hates a slow story. The faster the better! Most days, M.O. tries to avoid the news (too violent) so it doesn’t interfere with writing funny, but quasi-violent stories.
MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.
Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.
She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.
A #1 New York Times bestseller • TV series in development at MGM Amazon Studios with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society • Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 • Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 • Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 • NPR “Books We Love” 2023 • Audible Best Books of 2023 • Hudson Book of the Year • Google Play Best Books of 2023 • Indigo Best Books of 2023 • Waterstones Book of the Year finalist • Goodreads Choice Award Winner • Newsweek Staffers’ Favorite Books of 2023 • Paste Magazine’s Best Books of 2023 (from Amazon)
Hold onto your seat, because Fourth Wing is sure to have you flying high.
Normally I am a patient person, but waiting for Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros had me checking my library app repeatedly. Now, that I have read it, I am checking every day for the second book in the series, Iron Flame, and am not being the least bit patient. I need it NOW.
At first I thought, “This is a great book and Book II would be the one to blow me away.” Due to the length of Fourth Wing, 650 pages, Rebecca had me overwhelmed with emotions. The characters jumped off the pages and the dragons had me flying high. I didn’t want to stop reading. Even though I am a fast reader, it took me a couple of days to read it.
I know they are working on a TV series, and I feel I will end up disappointed, because they’ll probably try and force me to buy an app to watch it. We shall see. I thing the Empryean series will be like Twilight and Lucifer. A series I will binge watch over and over again.
Romance, friendship, and battles…all will be tested.
If you are thinking of buying Fourth Wing, you might as well buy the whole series. Once you get attached to the characters, they won’t quit talking atcha.
Fourth Wing is amazing and sure to be one of my favorites of the year.
5 Star
GOODREADS BLURB
Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders…
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
Genre: Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
517 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2023 by Piatkus
Series: Empyread, Book I
ABOUT REBECCA YARROS
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Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.
Want to know about Rebecca’s next release? Check her out online at www.rebeccayarros.com.
I’m not sure how long it is free, so grab it now by clicking on the cover. Earth Shot is the first book in the series. I fell in love with his Class Heroes series and he is off to a good start with the Seconds To Midnight series.
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?
Secrets, secrets, secrets. We all know that secrets rarely stay secret. Secrets eat a person’s soul, giving them no respite from the guilt that weighs heavily on one’s shoulders. In Blood Stain everything comes to a head and lives are tested. Not all will survive.
Karina and LiAnn begin Blood Stain on a happy note. They are co owners of Magnolia House and have found someone to share their lives with. Knowing Ashley Fontainne, I figure they better enjoy it, because something wicked this way comes.
The Magnolia House story has been told and the secrets have been laid to rest. I sure didn’t see it ending the way it did but I love it. The characters can rest in peace, both those alive and those who are no longer with us.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Blood Stain by Ashley Fontainne.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Karina and LiAnn settle into their new lives, each enjoying their roles as co-owners of The Magnolia House and as newlyweds to the men of their dreams, all while spending quality time with their elderly family members.
The worries about the mob are over, and fears about testifying against the devilish owner of Jubilee Retirement Corporation are a fleeting memory, so they concentrate on making the lives of their elderly charges as fulfilling and satisfying as possible, guarding the secrets of some of the residents as if their own.
Unfortunately, sins of the past won’t remain buried, and when they resurface, reputations aren’t the only things in danger.
When a new resident moves in with secrets of his own, he brings along well-kept mysteries of the sordid past of Hot Springs, dating back centuries, but that isn’t their only problem. Someone from their past is determined to bring misery into their lives. LiAnn and Karina find themselves embroiled in a myriad of tragedies, including murder.
Genre: Fiction, Mystery,
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2024 RMSW Press
Series: The Magnolia Series, Book III
ABOUT ASHLEY FONTAINNE
Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne enjoys stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters lurking within each of us. She writes in numerous genres including mystery, suspense, horror, sci-fi and sometimes poetry.
Ashley lives in Arkansas with her husband and is the proud mother of one son and grateful daughter of co-author, Lillian Hansen. To learn more about her books please visit https://ashleyfontainne.net/
