Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share some songs we’ve been enjoying lately! If you would like to play, and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below HERE
Hi Everyone. It’s been a quiet week, with sun and rain. The typical Florida weather. We are having a lot of trouble with our grass. I had a couple of health problems over the past three years, so it has not received much attention. Now that Mr Wonderful is no longer working, I have the help I need. Soooo….let’s get outside.
Stay safe and wear a mask..
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In this harrowing Caribbean noir murder mystery, we meet Private Investigator Boise Montague, a man on the brink who is trying to get his life together after his wife died. He has returned to his childhood home and he’s started a private investigator firm of one. Since returning, his drinking has accelerated and he needs clients desperately before the life insurance money dries up.
Enter Junior Bacon, grandson of Francine Bacon of the Bacon sugar and rum empire. Granny’s gone missing and Junior wants Boise to figure out what happened.
As Boise delves into the mystery of the missing matriarch, a reporter associated with her winds up dead in his new office, dramatically raising the stakes. Now Boise must contend with questions from the police, the newspaper president, and the reporter’s widow.
As Boise investigates he uncovers surprising truths about a woman seeking redemption, a family on the brink, and why no matter how hard we try, the past can sometimes never be fixed.
In the end, Boise must not only confront a killer, but the island’s dark history and his own inner demons.
“Boise Montague, intrepid St. Thomas, V.I. private investigator, returns in SWEET PARADISE. Talented author Gene Desrochers delivers a suspense-filled tale overflowing with duplicitous characters and greed-driven agendas in lushly authentic Caribbean environs. A mature generation is determined to hold tight to the empire that provides them with every luxury, while the next generation attempts to fulfill its dreams … Others will compromise all that is decent. And Boise Montague will do what he does best as he separates the winners from the losers and the innocent from the guilty. A 5-star read.”
–Laura Taylor – 6-Time Romantic Times Award Winner
“Boise is back! Gene Desrochers returns his readers to the island paradise of St. Thomas. You’ll feel the warm tropical breeze as Private Investigator Boise Montague must discover [what happened to] the matriarch of a wealthy island rum producer. The deeper he digs, the closer he gets to his own mortality. Wandering and sometimes stumbling through his investigation, Boise learns about family secrets—and they could kill him. Outstanding writing and the vivid setting will keep you transfixed.”
–R. D. Kardon, award-winning author of Flygirl and Angel Flight
Book Details:
Genre: Murder Mystery
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication Date: April 6th 2021
Number of Pages: 299
ISBN: 9781952112379
Series: Boise Montague, #2 (Each book in the series is a stand alone mystery)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
The first coat was drying. More droplets of sweat rivered between my shoulder blades as I slugged water and Guinness alternately. Two in the afternoon was no time to be painting in the October heat, but I didn’t know what else to do and sitting around worrying about my looming penury seemed pointless.
The used old-timey clock radio I’d picked up at Bob’s Store babbled on about hurricane warnings as reception fizzled in and out. It was the latter part of hurricane season and we’d seen minimal storm damage in the region. We might dodge hurricanes for one or two years running, but it was never long enough to truly get complacent about them the way places like New Orleans had.
The overhead fan whirred. Outside my door sunlight filtered thinly through a cloud, illuminating the traffic circle a faint ocher. As I considered the faded lines denoting parking spaces and the cracked pavement, a young man bobbed into my line of sight. He was one of those people who walked on his toes at all times, like the tendons in his calves were so tight his heels couldn’t touch the ground for more than an instant before popping up again. He squinted at the building, turning his head back and forth, then perusing a sheet of paper clutched in both hands. A green Osprey backpack hung loosely off his shoulders. People in California used them for hiking. He tugged at the built-in sippy straw and sucked. The bubbly slurping of the last drops of water in his pouch filtered up to me. Disappointment clouded his face.
His attention snagged on my door. I grinned and gave myself a mental pat on the back. He shifted one hand to his hip and gave a slight lean. I wasn’t sure whether I should let him see me in my ratty painting outfit, but figured that could be explained by the wet door. A spooge of cantaloupe paint dominated the center of my gray t-shirt. I eased the door open a couple more feet.
“Help you?” I asked. “You look lost.”
“Nice door.” He pointed at his forehead and swirled his finger around. “You got some.”
He was college-aged and his face was sunburned, as were his arms. He wore a Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants, a classic tourist outfit.
He continued to stand in the same spot, squinting and considering the sheet of paper. I returned to my inner office, needing another sip of water and the breeze from the fan. Out my open doorway, I could barely make out the top of his Caesar-style haircut.
“You should get a hat!” I hollered out.
His head rose up from the paper and he pushed up on tip-toes so I could see his eyes. “The sun’s doing a number on you,” I said. “Want a drink of water?”
He stared at me a while with a strange stillness, like he was in no hurry as he weighed every option. This boy was a local and he would pull me into events that would rock one of the largest industries in the Virgin Islands.
“Do you have Perrier?”
***
Excerpt from Sweet Paradise by Gene Desrochers. Copyright 2021 by Gene Desrochers. Reproduced with permission from Gene Desrochers. All rights reserved.
Gene Desrochers hails from a dot in the Caribbean Sea called St. Thomas. He grew up with minimal supervision and free-roaming animals in a guesthouse that also served as a hospital during wartime. If you ask, he will regale you with his Caribbean accent and tennis prowess.
After a lifetime of writing and telling short stories, he ventured into the deep end, publishing his first novel, Dark Paradise in 2018. Sweet Paradise is Gene’s second published novel in the Boise Montague Series.
He lives in Southern California with his wife, step-daughter, and two cats.
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
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.
I missed my TBR post last week because I had guests, for the first time in over a year. It was nice, but I still kept my distance, even after having the vaccine. I have a lot to share and I hope you find a book or two that peaks your interest.
Previous Total: 2347
Currently Reading
I couldn’t find Synchronicity by Michaelbrent Collings on Amazon…yet. It is scheduled for release on 5.10.21, but I read a lot of his books and got my hands on an early copy. You can check it out on Goodreads by clicking the cover.
Books Read
After reading Book I (which was free) & 5 (which I won a signed paperbook) of The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant, I got a chance to grab the first three books in a bookset and an ARC of Book 6. The bookset was free at the time of this posting and I highly recommend the series!
Books Added
The first three books were free at time of posting. I won Hide in Place and I am super excited about it. Also, I have read all of DV Berkom’s books and received this in the mail. I will be reading and reviewing it ASAP.
Books DNF-ed: 0
Books Deleted: 0
Duplicates Removed: 2
New TBR Total: 2345
Even though I read a lot of books, my total didn’t go down a lot, because some of the books had never been added to Goodreads.
Mad Dog
Ophelia Bell
(Second Skin, #1)
Publication date: April 20th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Not even the king of Los Angeles’s underground can stop me from loving Celeste.
Arturo Flores could make me disappear with a snap of his fingers, and nearly did. Limping away from a beatdown when I was seventeen didn’t change the fact that his daughter was worth the pain. Running into her in my tattoo shop twelve years later, she still makes my blood run hot with a glance.
But I’m not that clueless teenage boy anymore. And Celeste isn’t the only one I want.
Leo is a temptation I crave, but in our world, admitting desires like mine could get me killed. The gangbanger is as ruthless as he is beautiful, yet he can’t see anything beyond Celeste. That hurts like hell to admit, but I would sooner die at her crime lord father’s hands than let either of them get hurt.
I’m prepared to let them have each other when Leo comes to me with an offer. One that could connect the three of us in a way that flies in the face of the world we live in. His proposal ignites a fire in my veins. If it fails, we’ll all get burned, but for a man with nothing to lose, I’m just desperate enough to take that chance.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play
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EXCERPT:
My pulse speeds up at the mere mention of what we did back then. “I thought we knew each other well enough.”
He tilts his head back and stares at the ceiling. “Maybe conversations aren’t really our thing.” Then he spears me with a sharp look that makes my insides go molten.
“Maybe not.” My heart pounds so hard it’s difficult to breathe. My feet have a mind of their own when I start to walk again. I pass by him, feeling his gaze on me all the way as I head around the corner and through the door to the locker rooms.
The space smells musty and old, a mix of stale sweat and lemon cleaner. There are no showers—just two rows of lockers with benches in front and a restroom with a trio of toilet stalls and a row of sinks beyond another door. The boys’ side is a mirror to the girls’ side, though less used due to the majority of students being female. The gleaming chrome of brand-new locks on the lockers catches the sparse light from a high window.
I pause in front of the locker at the far end. This was where it happened. My eyebrows twitch at the etched lines engraved into the metal in the center of the locker: M + C. Reaching out, I trace the letters. They weren’t there before. Did he come back? Or did these initials belong to some other lovesick teenage girl?
His intense gray eyes are fixed on my fingertips. He closes the distance, takes my hand, and raises my fingers to his lips.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, finally able to say to him what I never had the chance to until now. Taking a deep breath, I brace myself for a more detailed apology, but all thought disappears when he hauls me close and slams his mouth onto mine.
Author Bio:
Ophelia Bell loves a good bad-boy and especially strong women in her stories. Women who aren’t apologetic about enjoying sex and bad boys who don’t mind being with a woman who’s in charge, at least on the surface, because pretty much anything goes in the bedroom.
Ophelia grew up on a rural farm in North Carolina and now lives in Los Angeles with her own tattooed bad-boy husband and four attention-whoring cats.
If you’d like to receive regular updates on Ophelia’s publications, freebies, and discounts, please subscribe to her mailing list: http://opheliabell.com/subscribe/
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MY REVIEW
“…privilege is often synonymous with assholery.”
“By the time you all figure it out, you’ve got daughters of your own being stalked by jerks like you.”
“How do you live a lifetime in four months?”
I don’t know if I found one character to root for, but I feel there is always an opportunity for them to redeem themselves. Knowing you are dying gives you an opportunity to rethink what life you have left. I do love a thought provoking book, and Michael F Stewart is able to do that with ease.
Tremmy and his ‘friends’ are what you expect from the spoiled elite who think their shit don’t stink. Little do they know, they walk alone. Even their friends will betray them at the drop of a hat. Is there no one who cares about his thoughts, his feelings? I expected his fellow students and friends to act the way they did, but I did not expect the adults to be the same way. I can feel his frustration and pain as the clock ticks down.
“To die well, you have to live well.”
As days pass, so do his old thoughts and feelings.
Michael F Stewart handles a difficult subject in an unusual way, with an twisted ending that deserves a star of its own. I had wondered how he would end the story, because he has a great way of taking me to a place, making me follow a path, where I thought I knew where I was going, until I stepped off that cliff saying WTF.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair by Michael F Stewart.
GOODREADS BLURB
Seventeen years old. Rich. Hot. Captain of the Drone War team. Head prefect of a surreally elite boarding school. Tremmy is dying.
His illness strips everything from him—including the support of his teachers and friends who once nurtured his bright future. Worst of all, his best friend’s meteoric rise has come at the expense of Tremmy’s spectacular fall. Far from going out with the bang he’d hoped for, Tremmy faces betrayal.
But his illness has the power to expose the best as well as the worst of his school, his friends, and himself. Tremmy sets out to prove that the community he loves has to overcome its fear of death in order to truly begin to live. And Tremmy receive the momentous end he so fervently desires.
ABOUT MICHAEL 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.
Michael is represented by Talcott Notch.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
MY MICHAEL F STEWART REVIEWS
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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.
If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.
GOODREADS BLURB
Born in the Highlands, Kuini thought his life was simple. You hunt and you fight, defending your towns against the raids of the Lowlanders and then raiding their lands in turn. His father was the Warriors’ Leader, and he wanted to be just like him.
Yet, Texcoco, the mighty Capital of the Lowlands, seemed incredibly beautiful, sparkling, its pyramids magnificent. A friendship with the Lowlander boy, the First Son of the Texcoco Emperor, seemed harmless in the beginning. They were just boys, and their clandestine meetings were always fun, providing great entertainment.
However, on the day Kuini agrees to finally enter the magnificent city, it would all change. He expected to get into trouble, but he could not foresee the extent of the trouble and, worst of all, he did not expect to uncover hidden secrets concerning his own family.
Goodreads Ratings: 3.81 · 891 ratings · 122 reviews
I added The Highlander (The Rise of the Aztecs Book I) by Zoe Saasia to my TBR on 12.1.12. I have been to Mexico many times. I even climbed Chichen Itza. It was awesome. I love their culture and history, though the bullfight for tourists was a bit too much for me. And the fighting chickens. Had to do it once, though. How about you? Do you have a favorite country to visit, whether through books or in reality?
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MY REVIEW
Yeah, I know, another virus novel…but Jason Parent has the ability to spin a tale that can rock my world, so I am very happy to read and share his version of research that is out of the control of those who TRY and contain it. Lives will be lost..and maybe…
As I write the review, I had to scrap my notes and write on the fly. I enjoyed the story so much, I sure don’t want to spoil anything for you, Experiencing the horror around every corner is worth finding out for yourself.
I know with Jason Parent, I’m going to have a wild ride into the depths of Hell, and I gladly buckle up, clench…well…everything, and settle in.
As each body falls to Molli, I keep hoping some will survive. Jason Parent creates characters that I quickly become involved with, and keeps me wondering if they will survive what is coming at them.
So…prepare yourself. Watch for that movement out of the corner of your eye. Is it Molli? How about that feeling that something is caressing your skin. Is it Molli?
Will anyone survive?
The ending…took my by surprise and I loved/hated it. I sat for a while, thinking about it. LOL Even though the story is told, my mind keeps going, anticipating what comes next. Is it really over? Great job, Jason.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Apocalypse Strain by Jason Parent.
GOODREADS BLURB
A multi-national research team, led by a medical genomics expert suffering from MS, study an ancient pandoravirus at a remote Siberian research facility. Called “Molli” by the research team, the organic substance reveals some unique but troublesome characteristics, qualities that, in the wrong hands, could lead to human extinction.
The researchers soon learn that even in the right hands, Molli is a force too dangerous to escape their compound. But the virus has a mind of its own, and it wants out.
FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
ABOUT JASON PARENT
In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.
In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.
When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists into a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.
Please visit the author on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasonP…, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AuthorJasParent, or at his website, http://authorjasonparent.com/, for information regarding upcoming events or releases, or if you have any questions or comments for him.
MY JASON PARENT REVIEWS
The Cinderella Coyotes of State University are in the Final Four, poised to win the NCAA National Championship in basketball—the culmination of March Madness. For Marla Conners, she’s proud of her husband Neal, and his achievement of coaching a collegiate team to the pinnacle of his career and the ultimate victory for his team. Yet, Marla’s idyllic life is about to be viciously attacked and torn apart by a different madness—her husband’s reputation ruined, a university disgraced, and she finds herself on trial accused of first-degree murder.
The Coach’s Wife is rife with spine-tingling suspense, conspiracy, deceit, and murder, sizzling and seductive passion, right down to the last second buzzer-beating heroics. This is also a candid and vivid behind-the-scenes portrait of Division One college basketball, university politics, money and corruption, and all the lives that are blessed and ruined by it all.
Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.
Today I am excited to share the audiobook release of THE TRAITOR by T.J. London. This is the second audiobook in the award-winning Rebels & Redcoats Saga. You won’t want to miss this full cast narration by Shane East, Tara Langella, Patrick Zeller, Marnye Young, Dryw McAuthur, Shayna Small and Nicholas Boulton.
The Traitor by T.J. London
Rebels & Redcoats #2
Spy. Liar. Scoundrel. Redcoat.
Provocateur and spy for His Majesty, Captain John Carlisle returns to Fort Niagara with the secrets he stole in the arms of the beautiful Oneida innkeeper, Dellis McKesson. Determined to complete his mission and clear his name, he’ll see justice done—and damn the consequences. Now, he finds himself drawn into political intrigue as the British prepare to launch a three-pronged attack that will bring the Rebels and the Mohawk River Valley to its knees.
A dangerous revelation finds Dellis as whispers of intrigue insinuate her beloved is not all that he seems. Unwilling to wait for her lover’s return, she sets out in search of the truth as the Onieda begin negotiations with the Rebels, breaking the neutrality agreement with the crown. A bold move that will stoke a fire between the brother tribes and lead to a bloody inter-confederacy war—one Dellis predicted, and one John incited.
While war between the colonies and the King smolders, the punishing winter of 1777 allows the perfect opportunity for old enemies to settle scores, lying in wait, ready to exploit John’s one weakness—his heart. John is not an innocent man. The truth he’s long tried to hide from can no longer be ignored, the ghosts of the past seeking justice, and karma wanting payment for sins so dark they cannot be forgiven.
“I sincerely hope the later books are put into audio as well because The Tory and The Traitor are two of the best audiobooks I have ever heard, and I’ve heard thousands.”– Lee Ann Schwartz
“My emotions are destroyed at the end of this audio experience. From my heart pounding out of my chest with the action scenes and knife’s edge suspense, to being on my knees in complete sobs over Mr. East’s and Ms. Langella’s moments voicing heartbreaking loss, pain, and love. The Saga that was once exciting words on a page became a true movie in my mind with these amazing actors melding into one amazing cast.”– Suzi Vanderham
“I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how much I love this book. I love The Tory, and was so excited when this was completed and in my ears. But it turned out to be even more than I can expect! Stories within stories, interwoven so not only are we captivated with the characters, but entranced with the intricate way each story builds and grows. Our main characters, Dellis, John, Delancie, and Celeste keep us on our toes.”– Patty
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