Awaken Vanessa MacLellan Publication date: July 30th 2022 Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror
Balin stands between two great Powers. One will shatter his mind; the other will destroy his soul. Only one of them can save his people.
Fort Resonbirg, a Norse stronghold in the New World, is besieged by the evil sorcerer Ursulard the Dreamspinner. Though their fields are scorched and homes destroyed, the residents and refugees do not worry, because Fort Resonbirg is Awakened with the power to provide, protect, and grow. But not all is as it seems when a wall of impenetrable mist surrounds the fort, and within the mist hunts the dragon, Nidhogg. Nidhogg hungers for more than flesh and bone. It instills nightmares on its prey, feeding on fear and pain, inevitably taking lives.
Balin Tremore, a commoner bound for the militia but hoping to stay by his noble love’s side, never expected to amount to grand things. When the great power of Cradleweaving is awakened within him, Balin unknowingly becomes the one person with the power to pierce the wall of mist and banish the deadly beast within before it destroys them all—if he can master the new power in time. But to master the power, he must sacrifice much. The question is, will it be his position, his Lady, or his very soul?
The Mist meets Nightmare on Elm Street in this classic tale of personal sacrifice.
Vanessa MacLellan was born and raised in the farmlands of eastern Washington, works as an environmental engineer, and is an avid birder, naturalist and hiker living in Portland, Oregon.
**images are linked to Amazon (I am an affiliate)**
Hi Everyone. I missed the Sherry’s Shelves last week. Time seemed to get away from me. I was enjoying working outside, though it was pretty hot. I was shaded most of the time and it wasn’t high energy, just working in my sega garden.
Mr Wonderful is in the reflection from my sunglasses.Our reward for a job well done.
Woo Hoo. A new Pamela Crane novel, Little Does She Know, and I began reading almost as soon as it hit my Kindle. It has a preorder price of .99 and will be released on 6.21.22
Ginger Mallowan is a Material Girl…until her son disappears. It brings to mind my own memories of the 80s: upbeat music, disco dancing, the clothes, big hair (though mine was always long and straight).
Tara Christie is her next door neighbor, the keeper of secrets and her best friend, but a dead body and her missing husband may change all that.
We do start out with a Prologue: Reginald Bloodson, the reason Bloodson Bay, North Caroline, exists. He went from bliss to despair when he lost his wife during childbirth, leading him to madness. On the anniversary of the tragedy, the town feels the gloom. Could they be cursed?
1986: Ginger Mallowan’s 16 month old son, Cole, goes missing. Thirty six years later, Ginger pulls out an evidence storage box. She is too stubborn to let it go. The guilt eats at her. Her other son, Benny, grew up and I am not feeling too good about the man he has become. The town is struck with more murder and disappearances.
NOW, it is getting really good. When I read about Ginger going down the stairs anticipating a hand reaching between the slats and grabbing her ankle, I remember feeling the same way in my childhood home.
A Bloodson may always win, but a Mallowan never surrendered. And Ginger wouldn’t. I felt for her, especially the more I learned about her. I love both of these women, Ginger and Tara. They are strong. Tara saves horses doomed to be pet food. And then we have rich men, thinking the world is their personal playground. I think we will be hearing more about Tara in the next book.
Pamela Crane has so much depth to her characters, whether good or bad, victims or villains. Some dialogue had me fuming, wondering if I would be able to contain my feelings or let rage rule. Good luck trying to solve the mystery amongst all the lies and secrecy surrounding the characters.
Little Does She Know by Pamela Crane is filled with lies and deceit, loss and despair, love and forgiveness…And, yes, I do like a happy ever after, though I couldn’t resist the tease she supplies at the end leading to the next book in the If She Only Knew series.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Little Does She Know by Pamela Crane.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Would you destroy your best friend to save your husband…if he’s done the unspeakable?
Ginger Mallowan embodies everything the 1980s stand for, from big hair to power suits to “Material Girl”…until her son disappears during a beach walk one night. That’s the moment girls don’t want to have fun anymore, and the moment she starts hunting for answers.
Now Ginger’s hair is a bit flatter, her power suits packed into the attic, and her dance steps to Madonna lack the energy of better days. She hasn’t found—or forgotten—her missing son, and she’s only survived the grief thanks to her neighbor and keeper of secrets, Tara Christie.
Except for Ginger’s darkest secret of all…about what happened the night her son disappeared.
But that vow of friendship is tested when Tara is jarred awake one night by a scream coming from next-door, where she finds Ginger standing over a dead body. Even stranger, Tara’s husband is nowhere to be found.
As the investigation shakes the town to its core, and Tara’s husband is charged with the murder, Tara must choose between proving her husband’s innocence or protecting Ginger’s past.
Little does she know they’re about to stumble down a twisty path that could destroy them all.
ABOUT PAMELA CRANE
PAMELA CRANE is a USA TODAY best-selling author and professional
juggler. Not one who can toss flaming torches in the air, but a juggler
of four kids, a writing addiction, and a horse rescuer. She lives on
the edge (her Arabian horse can tell you about their wild adventures
while trying to train him) and she writes on the edge…where her sanity
resides. Her thrillers unravel flawed women who aren’t always pretty.
In fact, her characters are rarely pretty, which makes them
interesting…and perfect for doing crazy things worth writing about.
When she’s not cleaning horse stalls or changing diapers, she’s
psychoanalyzing others.
I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR from All The Book Blog Names Are Taken.
It has helped me to keep track of my reading shelf as far as current
events and I also started doing a post for Books From The Backlog,
from Carole’s Random Life in Books,
to tidy up my shelves. I feel better about my out of control TBR and
have even knocked off a couple of those old ones that had been
hanging around for years.
COME ON….JOIN IN.
Previous Total: 2108
Currently Reading
Books Read
Books Added
I am keeping these on the post until the giveaways are over, just in case someone missed them.
The Right Kind of Unexpected Rayna York Publication date: June 18th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Tess hasn’t experienced many kindnesses in her eighteen years. When her boyfriend abandons her at a small-town gas station, it’s just one more crappy event to add to the pile. Without a car, money, or cell phone, her options are limited, and calling her parents isn’t one of them. So when the family that owns the business throws her a lifeline, she grabs hold. Because even the worst situations can have a silver lining, and this one is a town called Jasper Creek, a diner everyone calls Earl’s, and a young mechanic named Colten Reed.
Rayna York’s standalone novel gives readers the small-town romance they crave with enough feels to make the heart sing. It’s the perfect feel-good, summer romance.
I rush to the bathroom at the side of the building and lock the door behind me. I can’t deal with this anymore. I grip the sides of the pedestal sink and drop my head, breathing deep. In, out, in, out, fighting for calm.
Why? Why did I think this was a good idea?
Three days ago, Dax and I were on our way to a gallery opening when I mentioned I’d never been to Disney World. He said he hadn’t either. I commented on how it would be fun to jump in the car and go. High school graduation was over, my parents were in Europe, I didn’t have any plans for the summer, so the next afternoon we were on the road.
Bad idea.
Horrible.
The worst.
I lift my sunglasses to the top of my head and startle at the red-rimmed, brown-eyed zombie staring back at me. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since we left, and I forgot to take my makeup off last night, then Dax was in such a hurry this morning.
Maybe our relationship was always a mess. I don’t know. We’ve only been together for six months. In New York, Dax and I got along great. There were parties, restaurants, people, and places to fill our time. Now, without the distractions and being stuck together in mostly confined spaces, I realize we don’t have as much in common as I thought. But it’s more than that. He needs to be right about everything and nags me until I concede to his views. I never noticed him doing that before. There are a lot of things I didn’t notice before.
I use a little soap and water on a paper towel and clean the black smears from around my eyes. It cleans the makeup off perfectly, but the dark circles and puffiness remain. I slide a hair elastic from around my wrist and pull my brown mop of humid-induced frizz into a messy bun.
With a deep sigh, I slide my glasses back over my eyes and push the door open into the bright sunlight. I take in the beautiful field dotted with wildflowers behind the gas station, then close my eyes and lift my face to the sun, disregarding the intensity on my pale skin. I breathe in the fragrant smell of green that only a sweltering heat can produce.
It’s time to put an end to this impromptu adventure. It ceased being fun after the first five hours. And it’s my car, my time, my money. With renewed strength, I turn on my heels, ready to confront Dax and get my car keys back. I’m heading home with or without my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. I can drop him off at a bus station if he wants to continue the trip.
I round the corner of the building. Wait, what? Where is it?
I walk to the two ancient gas pumps and turn in a circle, taking in the white building with peeling paint, and everything else in the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radius, but the car is nowhere in sight. I walk to the other side of the building, thinking he might have parked in a different location while getting something from inside, but the car isn’t there either.
Author Bio:
Rayna York grew up with hippie parents that liked to adventure. Where change was the norm, books were her constant—a way to escape. As an adult, many careers came and went, but writing has always been her passion. Everything I knew to be true is her first published novel.
I picked up The Witch and the Gentleman by J R Rain on an Amazon free day. The series is in Kindle Unlimited. There are five books, but I don’t know if it is the complete series
I loved, loved, loved The Witch and the Gentleman by J R Rain. It took me totally by surprise…and did I say I loved, loved, loved it.
Allison is a rare psychic, able to see, feel and hear, remote viewing, and she is also a source of blood for what she knew was a very powerful vampire…and friend. She wasn’t supposed to take clients outside of the 911 Psychic Hotline, but Peter Laurie..she felt something and threw caution to the wind. I love her friend, Samantha, a very nice, sweet vampire.
The one legged sea bird. The bee.
Love, love, love it.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Allison Lopez is not your everyday Psychic Hotline operator. She’s a real psychic with real abilities that seem to grow daily, thanks to her close association with an immortal friend. Now, as her abilities continue to grow, Allison meets a very strange woman who reveals a starling secret to her. Life, for Allison Lopez, is about to get even stranger… and more fantastic.
And when she gets a phone call from a distraught father seeking answers to his daughter’s murder, Allison finds herself in unfamiliar territory: looking for a cold-blooded killer. It will take all of Allison’s abilities, both old and new, to catch an animal who preys on the innocent. And as the case unfolds, Allison is about to discover that not all is as it seems and life still has a few tricks up its sleeve.
Monterey King Claire Marti (California Suits, #3) Publication date: June 16th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
When former Army Major Cameron Taylor comes home a hero from his deployment in the Middle East his scars run deep – both physically and emotionally. But he’s starting over, running a luxury hotel with his best friends. And Lucy Goodwin, apparently…his high school sweetheart who he’s never quite managed to forget.
There’s only one reason Lucy’s been engaged – and walked away – three times and now he’s standing right in front of her. Cameron Taylor is the man she’s never stopped loving, even when he left her “for her own good” all those years ago. There was nothing good about it, that’s for sure. Just like there’d be nothing good about trying to break down Cameron’s walls now. But that doesn’t mean she’s not tempted to try…
***Monterey King is the third book in award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Claire Marti’s spin off contemporary romance series, California Suits. The series will follow the adventures of five best friends who are opening a string of luxury boutique hotels from La Jolla to Monterey to Beverly Hills as each one finds true love…usually where he least expects it. Each book is a standalone.
But sharing the conference table with the hotel’s Managing Director, Cameron Taylor, who she hadn’t set eyes on since he’d dumped her thirteen years ago? Yeah, that explained why her pulse pounded in her temples like the massive surf crashing on the nearby Monterey shore. She paused in front of the closed conference room door, taking a moment to gather her composure.
“The door isn’t locked.” An unmistakable voice rasped from beside her.
She spun around and her throat tightened the moment her eyes locked with Cameron Taylor’s arctic blue gaze.
How could someone look so familiar yet like a stranger? Lucy studied his lean, angular face. His strong, slightly crooked nose was the same, as was the determined squareness of his jawline. Small lines fanned out from his arresting eyes and grooves bracketed his chiseled mouth, which was pressed into a firm line. His posture was ramrod straight––even more rigid after a dozen years serving overseas in the Army.
“Cam.” How many times had she imagined what she’d say if she ever saw him again? How many impassioned speeches had she rehearsed before moving on with her life?
He inclined his head. “Hi, Lucy.” His crisp tone was as remote as his stony expression. The voice of an acquaintance––not the man she’d shared the love of a lifetime with until he’d broken her heart.
Through impeccable self-control, if she did say so herself, she forced her lips to curve upward. “So… how are you?” Awkward, but it was the best she had to offer. She hadn’t expected to encounter him one-on-one, at least not yet.
“Fine, but we should go in. Ryan and Charlie are waiting.” Cam reached for the mahogany wooden door’s carved brass handle at the same time she did.
His long, blunt fingers brushed hers. A flash of heat sparked up her arm and she snatched her hand back. Muscle memory? Of course, Mr. Poker Face didn’t flinch as he pushed the large door open.
Bright light flooded the conference room and bathed the expansive space in a golden glow. Lucy blinked. January on the Monterey coastline wasn’t celebrated for clear blue skies, but the cloudy gray morning had cleared, and rays of sunshine exposed the rugged Pacific coastline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Author Bio:
Claire Marti is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling author of swoonworthy Contemporary Romance novels set in Southern California, including the Pacific Vista Ranch series and the spin-off California Suits series. She lives in San Diego with her husband, silly dog, and two clever cats.
Claire started writing stories as soon as she was old enough to pick up pencil and paper. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature, Claire was sidetracked by other careers, including practicing law, selling software for legal publishers, and managing a non-profit animal rescue for a Hollywood actress.
When Claire’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga. You can find her sixty+ online classes on the international website www.yogadownload.com. A breast cancer survivor, Claire is a sought-after speaker on the power of yoga and meditation. She’s been published in numerous magazines with articles on wellness and is the author of a memoir, Come Ride with Me Along the Big C, on her experience beating breast cancer.
Claire loves to hear from readers!
Reach out via email or sign up for her newsletter at www.clairemarti.com
She had dreamed of being a ballerina…until the fire that changed her life forever.
Three concussions in one year. It’s a good thing Naomi is hard headed. LOL Her shoulder was injured twice in the same year. Now, she can add being shot to that equation. No matter what, Naomi has to stay in motion.
Naomi and Sam had been childhood friends. As they grew up, he wanted more, but never pressed her. She was the one taking car of people, not them taking care of her. She is a member of Sam’s private security firm, Zeeke’s Private Investigations and Personal security, tough as nails, a warrior. She does get tired and it would be nice if she could relax, let someone take care of her for a change. Let’s see if Jane Blythe can make that happen. 🙂
How could her life get any worse? Being stalked. People around her are also in danger.
Jane Blythe shares her characters souls, their sense of failure, their guilt from something that was beyond their control. Ruth, her sister, lost herself to drugs, unable to kick the habit no matter how hard she tried guilt took her back to it. Naomi felt she had failed the family too, that she had to be tough, to be perfect.
The mystery, suspense and pacing builds, making it hard to stop for even a minute. I know it’s fiction, but sometimes it’s so easy to forget that, everything seems so real.
Though Little Ballerina is the end of the Candella Sisters Heroes series, Jane Blythe will keep us updated in the new Storybook Murders Trilogy.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Little Ballerina by Jane Blythe.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Sharing her dark secrets is the only way to save her life.
Naomi Candella has watched both her sisters find love in the last year but she knows there’s no happy ever after in her future. When an injury leaves her vulnerable and someone leaves a photo of her at a crime scene, her friend and boss steps in to play bodyguard. Problem is Sam is the one person who has the power to make her want what she cannot have, and having him staying in her home might just be the final straw that breaks her.
Samuel Zeeke has known Naomi since they were kids, she’s strong, tough, smart, everything he could want in a woman, but she also has walls as high as the heavens built around her. He’ll keep her safe, he’ll push her to give up her secrets to save her life, but he can’t push her into giving him a chance.
He doesn’t do soft or gentle, but for Naomi he’ll try, he’d do anything to keep her safe, but his best efforts might not be enough.
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
USA Today bestselling author Jane Blythe writes action-packed
romantic suspense and military romance featuring protective heroes and
heroines who are survivors. One of Jane’s most popular series includes
Saving SEALs, part of Susan Stoker’s OPERATION ALPHA world! Writing in
that world alongside authors such as Janie Crouch and Riley Edwards has
been a blast, and she looks forward to bringing more books to this
genre, both within and outside of Stoker’s world. When Jane isn’t
binge-reading she’s counting down to Christmas and adding to her 200+
teddy bear collection!
Join us for this tour from June 14 to July 8, 2022!
Book Details:
Book Title: THE ELEGANT EMU (a Harmony Adventure) by Karen M. Bobos Category: Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7), 40 pages Genre: Children’s Picture Book, Fairy Tale Publisher: Bobos Babes, Ltd. Release date: June 2022 Content Rating: G for everyone.
Book Description:
The magical sisters are enrolled in an etiquette class when their manners are not fit for the king and queen of the enchanted land of Harmony. Can Elizabeth the Emu help the royal sisters?
In the beautiful and peaceful land of Harmony, three magical sisters, the Bobos Babes, uproot the kingdom’s tranquility with some
not-so-polite actions -nose-picking, belching, and other noisy…expulsions. Their parents, the King and Queen, enroll the
sisters in the elegant Elizabeth the Emu’s etiquette class where they learn manners and other ways to self-improve like being on time,
politeness, and proper personal hygiene.
Elizabeth the Emu explains to Angel Scarlet, Princess Daphne, and Fairy Cora that having proper etiquette is more than good manners, it’s about being kind and courteous. And for the sisters? Well, let’s just say that they will be needing more than one lesson from Elizabeth the Emu’s etiquette class.
Karen M. Bobos is the multi-award-winning author of the Adventures in Harmony series, which was created in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. While living in a city of unrest, her family left Chicago to stay with her mother in Northwest Indiana for several months. She and her husband were determined to keep life filled with wonder and magic for their three daughters, Scarlett (6), Daphne (5), and Cora (3). The Adventures in Harmony series was created to entertain her daughters during their stay at Gigi’s home and is filled with characters from the sisters’ world. Everyone deserves to escape to a land filled with love and adventure where creatures co-exist and happiness awaits.
I’m Not In Love Mia Kerick (Don’t Let Go, #1) Publication date: June 13th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
I’m not in love…
I’m not in love…
I will never let myself fall in love with Tristan Wilder.
And maybe if I tell myself this a thousand times, I’ll believe it.
Having lost his parents to a tragic accident when he was nine-years old, wealthy hotel heir Remi (Julian Remington III) refuses to form intimate emotional bonds, fearing a repeat of the crushing loss that destroyed his childhood. This means no deep friendships, no heartfelt family ties, and God forbid should he ever fall in love… Well, it’s safe to say that will never happen.
However, as a senior at the top art college in Garner City—his last year of freedom before he’s required to take his place at the top of the Remington family empire—Remi freely explores sexual intimacy with “distractingly” beautiful men. And he does so with great enthusiasm—how better to distract himself from the temptation to experience tender human connection?
Remi’s plans for emotional isolation are shook up when he meets Tristan Wilder, a nude model for his life drawing class. Stunningly beautiful from head to toe—and inside his heart, as well—Tristan struggles to scrape together enough money to support his twin sister, Tara, and her three young children. Like Remi, “Uncle Tris” is unwilling to enter a romantic relationship—his responsibility to his family is all-consuming. As the men take a chance on casual friendship, Remi comes to admire Tristan’s devotion to his family. And with Remi’s surprisingly doting attention to Tara’s children, he works his way into Tristan’s heart.
Tristan is finally all in, but can commitment phobic Remi lower his walls enough to allow Tristan—and the entire Wilder family—into his heart?
Pressing
my forehead to the cool glass, I peek through a slivered opening in the dark
curtains and see the backs of about a dozen scattered artists, all standing
behind metal easels, adding volume to nearly finished drawings. The room is
dim, and a tall studio lamp is directed toward the far wall. In the brilliant
glow, a graceful male form in a sensual pose is draped across a pile of pillows
on the floor. The single source of light casts stark shadows over his body’s
hills and valleys.
Tristan
lies on his stomach, chest pressed flat on a blanket covering the cushions, ass
lifted erotically, and legs curled gently beneath him. Arms thrust forward
enough to cradle his head in them, much of his face hidden by his shaggy,
golden mane.
The
sight is exquisite—too much so to find proper descriptive words. For this
reason, I give up the search and focus on what I want… because tonight is the
night.
I’ve
waited two weeks to seduce this man. Now that there’s no longer a conflict of
interest at school, there’s nothing to stop me from acting on my desire.
Surprisingly, I’ve never waited more than a day—at most two—to make my move on
a man I desire. And I don’t hold to the three-date rule—wine and dine him three
times, and he’s fair game to fuck. In fact, I’ve rarely had three dates with
the same man.
My
transactional “love life”—in and out with no complications—has never presented
a problem. I don’t hide what I want from the guys I associate with. I’m an open
book about hookups being hookups. Sexual intimacy is the goal, in and of
itself—and the men I date are rarely left disillusioned. With me, they seek
simple hookups, as well.
“No
complications” is the law I live by—life experience has taught me that heavy
emotional involvement is a one-way street to heartbreak. I’m usually very
upfront about this but have been less so with Tristan; I choose not to analyze
the reasons.
Author Bio:
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children–all named after saints–and five nonpedigreed cats–all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.
Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.
My themes I always write about:
Sweetness. Unconventional love, tortured/damaged heroes- only love can save them.
Mia Kerick focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men within the boundaries of blossoming, supportive relationships. She believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. And Mia’s stories are centered around a certain theme: even heroes can be sweet. Sweet, but not completely innocent.
