Tag Archives: 4 star review

New Release – Little Dolls by Jane Blythe @jblytheauthor

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Jane, Jane, Jane…you write so fast I can hardly keep up. I love the cover for Little Dolls. When I saw it, I had to put aside the other book of yours I was going to read, Saving Charlie and delve into this one. How about you, readers? Do covers call out to you?

Little Dolls (Candella Sisters' Heroes #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Usually it is the cover of a book that first catches me eye. Even though I love the cover for Little Dolls by Jane Blythe, it was the title that caught my attention first. Having read a lot of books by Jane, and knowing her penchant for thrills, I am bracing myself.

She pushed the pedal to the metal as the flashing lights glared behind her. Jane Blythe knows how to set the hook early, and I love that! And that is how Detective Jonathon Dawson meets Clara Candella. The immediate attraction leads Johnathon down a path that he could never have anticipated. With Jane Blythe’s writing, nothing is at it seems, so beware.

We have triplets, of a sort…Naomi, Clara and Agape. Even though they all have the same father and they have different mothers, they can still pass for triplets.

Little Dolls is a perfect title…each child taken was found with a doll…and another young child. What is the meaning? Why pairs? Why blond, with blue eyes (mostly). Why has it been so long between the kills of the past and now?

Clara had been six years old when she had been taken by the Doll Killers. Her and the boy she was trapped with had managed to escape. Her mind had blocked her memories, but now she feels she has to restore them to save who she can and put the people away once and for all.

The circumstances push Clara and John together. All the events happen over a short period of time, so I can overlook the instant attraction. After all, romantic suspense has to have romance to go with the thrills and chills that Jane Blythe creates, and the horrible situations she puts her characters in, fighting for their lives…or someone else’s.

Little Dolls by Jane Blythe kept me wondering…what the heck is going on…and who is doing it. Sure, I think he is involved…sure, I think ? is involved, but how does it all fit together? Jane never fails to give me hours of thrilling reading pleasure.

Little Dolls is Jane Blythe’s newest series, and Clara’s story. I can see where the series is going, each sister will get her chance to tell their story. I love that Jane ties up each story for her books, sometimes giving a little tease to make you want to read the next one. The characters make recurring appearances, so we don’t lose track of what they are up to now, getting to know them better through others stories.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Little Dolls by Jane Blythe.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

He’s trying to prove her friend is guilty of murder.

When Clara Candella is carjacked it brings the past she thought was firmly behind her crashing into her present. Now the sexy detective who saved her life is trying to prove that her childhood friend is guilty of the same horrendous crimes they both survived. Can she set the fact that they’re on opposite sides of this investigation aside and allow the attraction simmering between them to grow into something more?

A car chase leads Detective Jonathon Dawson to a woman he instantly feels a connection to, unfortunately, she’s hellbent on proving that her friend is innocent, even though he knows differently. Despite her being involved in his case he asks her out, only to be turned down flat. He knows there’s something between him but winning Clara’s affections while simultaneously searching for proof of her friend’s guilt isn’t going to be easy.

ABOUT JANE BLYTHE

Jane has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series, Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.

When she’s not writing Jane loves to read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies. She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears. She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!

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MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

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New Release – Her First Mistake by Eve Parrish #EveParrish

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Eve Parrish is a new to me author, and Her First Mistake is her debut novel…as Eve Parrish. It bothers me when an author writes under different names. In old time publishing, I get it. It was probably the publishers that pushed an author to have different pennames for different genres. Myself, I don’t think it is necessary. If I love what an author is writing, I’ll read anything by them. Yeah, I might not rate it as high from one genre to the next, e.g. romantic suspense and plain romance. It would take something special about a plain romance to get a 4 or 5 rating from me. That being said, I enjoy 3 star reads all the time and do recommend them.

Well, I got off on a bit of a rant there, so let’s get back to the real reason we are here…Her First Mistake.

Her First Mistake: A Heart-Pounding Crime Thriller: A Detective Nina Viken Novel

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The eerie cover first caught my eye and as I investigated further, I saw – serial killer. I’m all over that. I have a fascination for serial killers, whether fact or fiction. I love teases and the Prologue did it’s job. I’m hooked.

“I’m a bad boy.” With a start like that, I think I may have issues stopping long enough to…well, whatever.

It is not bad enough they have a kidnapper, a rapist, a murderer on their hands, the Saxon County Sleeper is all three wrapped up in one and he is back with a vengeance.

Nina Viken is a detective for Saxon County, a single mother, and familiar with serial killers. She has blow after blow delivered to her, and gets up stronger each time. Her father is a convicted murdered and he says he knows who the serial killer is. The killers past is textbook, foster homes, abuse…

The book has a twist as Rayna enters the scene. Her spidey senses are sent tingling when her friend goes missing…and she wants answers, even if she has to find them herself. I love her and would hope to have a friend like her if I ever went missing.

I love reading a book with flawed, damaged characters and seeing we have a serial killer on the loose, it’s no surprise that we have one of them here. Most characters have baggage they carry, but they are caring, loyal, loving people, doing the best they can.

I love the turn the book takes at 50%. And Livie…she is so darn cute, but, aren’t most little kids?

There is a time or two where I didn’t like what NIna did or didn’t do, but I get it. That’s how we create suspense for a rousing ending. And then…another twist. Hmmmm, you are making me work for this Eve. We have plenty of suspects. My mind is bouncing around, using a process of elimination to find the last one standing. AHA…it’s you!

I felt Her First Mistake by Eve Parrish was a three star book through half of it, but the more I read, the the more the suspect list grew, the more twists that came up, the more I got involved, I knew I needed to bump it up. Good job Eve.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Her First Mistake by Eve Parrish.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Her First Mistake is a serial killer thriller with a female lead and mysterious love interests.

Detective Nina Viken is no stranger to the ominous clues serial killers leave with their discarded victims.
It’s a typical method used to taunt and torture the authorities who are ruthlessly hunting them down.
This time though, everything seems a little too close to home.

When Nina gets a call that a dead body is being pulled from the Hollow Pointe Ravine, intuition tells her she’s going to have her work cut out for her. Upon arriving at the crime scene, she sees various photographs scattered along the ground. The photos feature completely nude women–bound, shackled, bloody and bruised.
At first it looks like it’s just another sick and twisted murderer on the loose…

But upon examining the body, Nina sees the signature of one of the East Coast’s most notorious serial killers–The Saxon County Slayer.

As if the pressure of finding him before he kills again wasn’t enough, Nina gets a call from her father–a convicted murder himself–saying he knows the identity of the infamous serial killer.
With little evidence to point her in any other direction, Nina begins to look into her father’s claims.

Regardless of whether her father is telling the truth or not…
The Saxon County Slayer is back.

And this time, he has a vendetta against Nina.
A vendetta that he will stop at nothing to satisfy.

ABOUT EVE PARRISH (Victoria Ellis)

Meet Victoria Ellis: Victoria Ellis writing as Eve Parrish

Victoria Ellis

Victoria Ellis started out writing primarily thrillers but slowly transitioned into both poetry and contemporary romance.

Now, she is a multi-genre author that publishes Psychological Thrillers, Suspense, and Romance novels. She is also the author of two poetry collections.

Victoria has a penname, Gemma Stone, for her upcoming romance novels that she plans on releasing. It was important to her to separate romance from thrillers. Be on the lookout for more Gemma Stone news in 2021 and 2022!

Victoria is the founder of Cruel Ink Publishing, LLC.

She resides near Chicago, Illinois with her husband, newborn daughter, and an abundance of animals.

Connect with Victoria Ellis:

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Awesome Cover for Save Her by Chris Patchell @chris_patchell

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The amazing cover for Save Her by Chris Patchell has all the elements to foreshadow the story inside…and it was chilling.

Save Her (Lacey James #2)

Amazon / Kobo / Nook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Save Her by Chris Patchell could have started out: It was a cold, wintry day and she found herself alone, stranded in a snowstorm…

Pacing, pacing, pacing…Chris Patchell is a master at keeping a high level of suspense going throughout the book. I know from her past books she will not fail to get my emotions roiling.

We’re back in Sweet Home, Oregon, with Lacey, who is struggling to adjust having Caleb home from Fort Hood on a permanent basis, though the kids are loving it. It sounds to me like she now has three kids to take care of and I’m uncertain if she hasn’t outgrown Caleb.

Being a cop in her home town isn’t easy for her either…A small town where she knows everyone. She’s quick with her words, witty and sharp, and I find myself laughing out loud, at times.

There is more than one person in the small town of Sweet Home, Oregon, that needs to grow up.

OMG…the rat bastard! I want to reach into my Kindle and beat him to a pulp! I am shocked, outraged and very pissed off!

Save Her may be a bit on the predictable side, but Chris Patchell has a way of creating tension, suspense, and a sense of urgency that has me racing through the pages to find out if or who will SAVE HER! I know Lacey is going to run into danger, but that’s okay. The pacing keeps me going. Gotta know…What’s…Next.

Lacey is too juicy a character for her story to end her. Next up: Tell Her, Book III in this stand alone series, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on it.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Save Her by Chris Patchell.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Abandoned on a remote mountain road, the storm closing in isn’t the only deadly threat she will face.

A New Year’s Eve party is the perfect time to reconnect with old friends and make resolutions none of you will keep. Still, Audrey Drummond sees it as a good way to pass the time now that she’s back in Sweet Home, Oregon. She hitches a ride with her high school ex, but their ride down memory lane takes a perilous turn, and Audrey finds herself abandoned, cold and alone on a mountain road—miles away from the party.

From that moment on, her situation only gets worse.

When Audrey vanishes in a winter storm, Officer Lacey James knows that left to the elements, she won’t survive long. But when the initial search yields no viable clues, the missing persons case takes a darker turn.

Time is running out, and the killer storm isn’t the only immediate threat Lacey will face in the desperate quest to save her.

ABOUT CHRIS PATCHELL

Chris Patchell

Chris Patchell is the bestselling author of In the Dark and the Indie Reader Discovery Award winning novel Deadly Lies. Having recently left her long-time career in tech to pursue her passion for writing full-time, Chris pens gritty suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her family and two neurotic dogs.

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This Morbid Life by Loren Rhoads Review @MorbidLoren

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After looking at the cover, I had to have This Morbid Life by Loren Rhoads. I didn’t care what it was about. How about you? Have you ever grabbed a book because of its cover, without checking out anything else about it?

I am sooo excited to have Loren Rhoads visiting today. She is going to share some of her thoughts and an excerpt….are you tempted yet?

1. What’s the most inspiring part of where you live?

I feel blessed to live in the most diverse neighborhood in San Francisco. It’s really great to get my coffee at the Filipino-Hawaiian cafe, pick up a pork bun across the street, and stop off for a Salvadoran pastry on the way home.

2. Where did the idea for This Morbid Life come from?

The incredible artist Lynne Hansen was doing a challenge last October where she created a new book cover every day. One day she made this beautiful collage of an autopsied body with wildflowers and butterflies inside its rib cage. I immediately fell in love with the artwork. I knew I had to put together a book that would do the cover art justice.

3. How long did it take you to write the book?

Almost everything was already written, but it took a while to gather up all the essays, polish them up, and put everything together. I started in January and the book came out in August.

4. Which “character” has etched its way into your heart and why?

A lot of the essays are about my friend Jeff, so I dedicated the book to him. We met the summer after I graduated, when I sublet a room in the house where he lived. We eventually lived together again when my husband and I moved into a lovely old Victorian in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood and couldn’t afford the rent without a roommate. Jeff and I have known each other for more than 30 years now. I remember when he came out, when he tested positive for HIV, when his first husband died at home of AIDS. I was highly entertained when his second husband got to This Morbid Life before Jeff had a chance to read it. Jeff called to ask if there was anything too scandalous in the book that he should worry about. I had to laugh at that.

5. What are you working on now?

This Morbid Life is the first in a series called No Rest for the Morbid. The second book, Jet Lag & Other Blessings, will be a collection of my morbid travel essays: drinking all the absinthe I could find in Prague, encountering a rattlesnake in the Mojave, chasing alligators in the Louisiana bayou, flying over an active volcano in a helicopter, trying out Japanese love hotels, and basically stalking my morbid curiosity around the globe. That book will have a Lynne Hansen collage for its cover, too.

So many interesting essays. You kept me entertained, at times smiling and maybe even eliciting chuckle or two. I love the cover and find it as fascinating as the stories inside. No Rest For The Mordid sounds just as fascinating. Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your thoughts.

This Morbid Life

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

#1, Loren Rhoads was born in my hometown of Flint, Michigan. Gotta support another Michigander. #2, I couldn’t resist that cover.

Right out of the gate, I felt a kinship to Loren Rhoads. I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and this was like going home. I went to Mott Community College. I know Dort Highway very well, because I worked at the AC Plant, after being laid off from the Chevrolet Plant downtown Flint. I do love a walk down memory lane.

Loren Rhoads found inspiration from her personal experiences…you never know where it will come from. We need to be open to all our experiences.

HOLD ON TIGHT!f These essays are dark and gritty, filled with truth. Loren lays herself bare. This Morbid Life is an apt title for the book and is not for the feint of heart. She lets it all hang out and I loved every minute of it.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of This Morbid Life by Loren Rhoads.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

What others have called an obsession with death is really a desperate romance with life. Guided by curiosity, compassion, and a truly strange sense of humor, this particular morbid life is detailed through a death-positive collection of 45 confessional essays. Along the way, author Loren Rhoads takes prom pictures in a cemetery, spends a couple of days in a cadaver lab, eats bugs, survives the AIDS epidemic, chases ghosts, and publishes a little magazine called Morbid Curiosity.

Originally written for zines from Cyber-Psychos AOD to Zine World and online magazines from Gothic.Net to Scoutie Girl, these emotionally charged essays showcase the morbid curiosity and dark humor that transformed Rhoads into a leading voice of the curious and creepy.

EXCERPT

Burning Desire (an excerpt from the cremation essay)

At the back of the warehouse stood the cremator itself. The Neptune Society used British equipment, which was acclaimed as top of the line. A computer controlled the temperature and length of burning time. The cremator had four doors, two above and two below, so that bodies could be cremated simultaneously and their ashes commingled. Before anyone could ask, Steve assured us that California state law prohibited cremation of more than one body at a time, so that ashes couldn’t get mixed by accident.

The “ovens” themselves were built of fire-resistant brick. A metal rack slid out, onto which the body was placed. Before the operator inserted a body, the cremator would be preheated to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. As we toured the building, the ambient temperature rapidly became torrid. The ovens were warming. Apparently, at 1800 degrees, the inside of the oven glows red-hot.

Natural gas was used for the heating process. A human body provides its own fuel and will burn on its own at a high-enough temperature, so the cremator was preheated, the body placed inside, and the gas switched off to prevent overheating. Toward the end of the cremation, the gas was turned on again until the bones became calcined and brittle.

Someone asked Steve how they knew when a body was done. He recommended sticking it with a fork. Sobering up, he added that, on average, it took between one and two hours for a cremation at the Neptune Society, with an additional half hour for the oven to cool down enough to remove the cremains. All bodies burned differently, due to their levels of fat or moisture. Both cancer and AIDS deplete the body’s fat reserves, so victims of those diseases had less fuel value. Those bodies required more gas and a higher heat and might take longer to reduce to ash.

The different compositions of people also produced a variety of colors as the body burned. Sometimes the flames turned green or blue, but generally they were orange or red.

When the cremation was complete, human remains were white and very brittle. Any other discoloration implied that the cremation was unfinished. The bones might have shrunk or twisted, but they were still quite recognizable. The cremains were scooped out of the retort with a tool like a hoe. They were placed in a machine with a drum like a clothes dryer that used heavy iron balls to pulverize the remaining bones. The process was complete when the remains fit through a sieve.

I asked if I could see real human ashes. With a shrug, Steve found a beige cardboard box that was maybe five inches on a side. Inside a plastic wrapper, the cremains looked like Quaker Oats and weighed as much as an old-fashioned solid-body telephone. No one else in the tour group was interested in holding the box. In fact, they all took a step back when I held the box out to them.

Continued in This Morbid Life

ABOUT LOREN RHOADS

Loren Rhoads

Loren Rhoads is author of This Morbid Life, a morbid memoir, and Unsafe Words, the first full-length collection of her edgy, award-winning stories.

Loren is also author of 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die and Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travel.

She’s the co-author of Lost Angels and its sequel Angelus Rose. She’s also author of the space opera In the Wake of the Templars trilogy: The Dangerous Type, Kill By Numbers, and No More Heroes.

Finally, she’s editor of Tales for the Camp Fire, which raised money for survivors of 2018’s devastating wildfire in Butte County, California.

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Sons of Brutality by Daniel Jeudy Review #DanielJeudy

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Sons of Brutality is my first book by Daniel Jeudy and I was not disappointed.

Sons of Brutality #1

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Two attractive, young, blond women…missing body parts….an inverted cross on their breasts…One serial killer is bad enough, but they have two. I am very curious how Daniel Jeudy will bring them together.

Detective Addison Mowbray had believed people were good….until his father was murdered. His grief led him to a career in law enforcement and he has stayed with the LAPD for almost thirty years.

We actually have three plots going: Occult killing, Armenian Mafia, a vigilante.

I must say, as a debut novel…well done, Daniel. I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. Dark, gritty, twisted, perverted, the most depraved, despicable dregs of humanity ungrace the pages. Evil…and I revel in it. I love walking among the dark and damaged…and Daniel supplied that. I had wondered how he would end the story, and though he left it in a good place, there is still more to know. The work is not finished. Bring it on, Daniel.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Sons of Brutality by Daniel Jeudy.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

When Detective Addison Mowbray begins investigating the murders of two young women in the Hollywood Hills, he can’t imagine where the case will lead. He suspects the crimes were inspired by an occult fascination, due to some missing body parts and the inverted Christian cross branded on the victims’ breasts. But apart from Addison’s temperamental partner, Jed, the only other person keen on them pursuing that line of investigation is Lilly Coniglio, a medical examiner from the Coroner’s Department. The LAPD is already under immense public pressure due to all the bad press another killer – a vigilante – has brought to their door: it’s been over a year since the first organized-crime figure showed up full of holes, with a plastic police badge beside his body.

As Addison and Jed navigate a murky, disturbing occult landscape in search of answers, they uncover something even more terrifying than a killer hiding in the shadows: an organization so vile and powerful that it changes their lives forever. These two troubled detectives are all that stand between this organization and a spectacular season of carnage.

Set against a backdrop of urban bleakness and social inequality, ‘Sons of Brutality’ combines deeply flawed protagonists with human monsters, integrating strong dialogue, violent action and gripping suspense.

ABOUT DANIEL JEUDY (from his website)

Daniel Jeudy

Daniel is a musician who has toured throughout Australia and America with various bands. Founder of Xcel Business Solutions, he lives in the Blue Mountains. Daniel has written and collaborated on many different musical projects and traveled extensively. His passion for music, off-beat stories, and the written word ensure he is always busy.
His first novel, Sons of Brutality, draws heavily on the situations he encountered inside smoke-filled spaces around the world throughout the 1990s and the underbelly culture he experienced while on tour in America. To find out more information about his book, please visit his website at: danieljeudy.com.au

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Cap and Gown by C J Daly – The Saga Continues @theacademysaga

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I am lovin’ The Academy Saga. The books are long and the story captivating.

CAP & Gown (The Academy Saga, #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Okay…first of all, I am going to do my best to not include spoilers.

It’s New Years Eve and Katie is ready for a change…and a kiss. Who would be the lucky guy? She is torn between Ranger and Pete. Who are you rooting for? I am Team Ranger. I love a little bit of the bad boy. Besides, when they fall, the fall hard!

The Academy…everything has good and bad, but I struggle to find the good. Things are not as they seem.

The characters grown and change, developing more depth as they are put into situations that are beyond their control.

Katie is caught in the middle, pulled in opposite directions. She is so young and naive, inexperienced. I love watching her learn life’s lessons and I do feel frustrated with how easily I feel she is being manipulated.

Completely flipped…and…I am very leery and afraid for her. AND…curious about where we will go next. Don’t think you know where we are going is easy, cut and dried, because C J Daly has so many twists, turns and questions that make me want MORE.

I will be up front. I don’t know who will win out in the love department, Ranger or Pete, but I am Team Ranger. There’s something about Pete I don’t like, don’t trust. Is it love, obsession, possession?

I had a good idea how Cap and Gown would end, seeing we have so much more of the story to be told. Warning…once you start you won’t want to quit, so be ready for many hours and thousand of pages, of love, hope, despair, duty….

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Cap and Gown by C J Daly.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Katie Connelly is nineteen years old but feels like she’s been fighting for survival forever.

When Officer Ranger Nealson offers her a lifeline at The Academy, she snatches it with both hands. But she soon realizes that her lifeline might not be enough to keep her afloat and that her mentor might have ulterior motives. She wouldn’t be willing to compromise her principles if it wasn’t for one small thing–her brother Mikey. Her all-encompassing promise to her mother to protect her brothers causes her to forge forward with Ranger’s master plan. After all, this is likely the best deal she would get at The Academy, and she and Mikey need all the help they can get to survive in this cutthroat world.


But during the course of her training, Kate can’t help but long for a different elite cadet. Where is Pete Davenport? He’s lost in the wind. Will he make an appearance before Kate marches into a destiny she’s not sure she wants? Much less can handle. Somewhere along this fast-forward march, Kate makes a major misstep that costs her biggest ally and forever changes the lives of everyone she’s trying to protect.

ABOUT C J DALY

CJ Daly grew up on the scrabbly plains of Eastern New Mexico. When she was supposed to be helping her six siblings with chores on the family ranch, she was really sneaking behind dusty haystacks to read. And dreaming about becoming a writer.

After graduating high school, CJ moved to Big D, where she quickly put herself through college while trying to rid herself of her country accent. She had better luck with college, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in English literature. After teaching a few years and pausing to have back-to-back boys, she began writing in earnest.

A few years later, “The Academy Saga” was born. It instantly earned a Readers’ Favorite 5-STAR seal of approval and became an Amazon best seller.

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Review – Find Her by Chris Patchell @chris_patchell

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I meant to have the Find Her by Chris Patchell review done around the November 16th release date, but life got in the way. It in no way reflects on my thoughts about the book, which I have a page plus of notes. I am sure I will be editing that down.

I love the cover, how about you?

Find Her (Lacey James #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the cover for Find Her by Chris Patchell. I have a love of trees, naked or dressed, but naked is the best. Look closely at the branches. What do you see? To me it is like looking at clouds in the sky and deciphering the images that pass overhead.

Sadie saw the man in aisle four of the hardware store. All her spidey senses went on high alert, but he managed to lift the hammer and leave without being nabbed for nonpayment. Nine thousand eight hundred and fifteen people lived in the small town of Sweet Home, and she knew he wasn’t one of them.

Police Officer Lacey James is on the case. She was ‘this’ close to nabbing him, and after seeing what was in the back of the car….

Lacey James is married to a soldier who is in Fort Hood. She has two young boys and it looks like she will be raising them on her own.

Hmmm…at the end of Part I the story took a twist I didn’t see coming. Chris…whether you know it or not, you get me. Your books are right up my alley and give me hours of suspenseful reading pleasure.

I don’t know what is going on, or where we are going, but Noah and security at the Mall leaves a lot to be desired. A second storyline comes into play and I am curious how the parts will mesh together. I am on the hook and OMG! The quickness of the end of Part II caught me so offguard I can hardly wait to see what Part III has in store for me.

I so want to peek ahead, BUT no cheating. I know it will be worth the wait and I don’t think I will be able to put my Kindle down until the last word is read.

WHY? That is my question, as much as who, how…

Lacey is great, and if anything were to happen to me or mine, I would want her on the case. With her dogged determination and common sense, she won’t quit until the job is done.

There was one part that I was disappointed Lacey didn’t catch, but sometimes the author needs that creative license to make the story sing. Chris Patchell did wrap up the story nicely, bringing all the elements together. Though it seemed to end a bit abruptly, I was satisfied…AND…OMG…the cover for Save Her, the second book in the Lacey James series is to die for. Bring it on!

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Find Her by Chris Patchell.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars
Save Her (Lacey James #2)

Up for Preorder and will be published on 1.4.22

GOODREADS BLURB FOR FIND HER

A simple heist at a hardware store uncovers a brutal crime spree leaving a police officer dead, several innocents murdered, and the small Oregon town of Sweet Home shaken to its core.

Veteran police officer Lacey James answers the call. The robbery suspect has fled, but the items she finds inside the car at the scene raise the hackles on the back of Lacey’s neck: a hammer, a tarp, zip ties, and a stolen gun. This discovery pushes her suspicions to an all-time high and has her questioning what dark and dangerous crimes this man may be involved in?

Eden Mills is smart, kind, and fun-loving. Not the kind to make enemies or run away. But Eden has a stalker, and when Lacey discovers that Eden is missing, possibly kidnapped, there is plenty of reason to fear the worst. As Lacey peels back the layers of the suspect’s crimes, her pursuit of the truth leads to unthinkable tragedy.

A colleague is dead. Her suspect isn’t talking. And time may be running out for Eden.

Can Lacey find her before one man’s obsession destroys more lives?

ABOUT CHRIS PATCHELL

Chris Patchell

Chris Patchell is the bestselling author of In the Dark and the Indie Reader Discovery Award winning novel Deadly Lies. Having recently left her long-time career in tech to pursue her passion for writing full-time, Chris pens gritty suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her family and two neurotic dogs.

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Review – Lord King by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff @MimiJeanRomance

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MY REVIEW

WHEW! (swipes hand across sweating forehead) What a cover for Lord King by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff. This ought to be fun. Mimi Jean Pamfiloff writes her stories with wit and creativity. Even though I have missed a book or two in the series, I feel it did not affect my enjoyment of Lord King, but I do recommend beginning at the beginning.

Ansin is evil…and was dead. Now, he’s back…with a hot new body. He is evil, on a par with King. Jeni is a seer, the last of her kind, as is Ansin…so, he demands she marry him and give him children. He thinks they are destined to be together and carry on their bloodlines, even though it is King she wants.

King had lost his love, Mia, and his children. Even though he’s incapable of dying, that doesn’t mean he can’t suffer. The heart wants what the heart wants, no matter how evil. Jeni is there to help him die and go to his family. She wants revenge and he is paying penance, so they each have their own agenda.

“I’m sorry, King.” I reached out, covering his heart with my hand, “but, like it or not, you can’t hide from me. I see you. You see me. We are Connected.”

They are together until his situation is resolved. She is a human lie detector and they could read each other’s thoughts. I’m not sure I would care for that.

It was wonderful watching meek and mild Jeni grow up.

Soooo, two badass alpha males, evil and magical, want her for their own purposes. What to do.

NO! Mimi! I didn’t see that coming. That’s on me. With all the twists and turns, betrayals and double crosses, I shouldn’t have been THAT surprised, but I loved that I was…by the ending. We do have a cliffhanger…sort of. Yes…there are so many questions and I plan on being around to see the ending.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Lord King by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a Paranormal Suspense, Lord King.

A curse he cannot break without her… KING Before I became evil, I was king of a great people. Now I am cursed to walk the earth until I pay for my misdeeds. After three thousand years, I have much to answer for.

Then along comes Jeni, further complicating matters. She claims to love me, though I could never reciprocate. Her loathsome people placed me in this predicament, and frankly, I gave my heart to another woman long ago. But I am about to discover that meeting Jeni is no coincidence. Our true connection will shock even me.

A power she didn’t know she had… JENI I am what they call a Seer, an ancient people with unusual gifts, and I’m the last of my kind. Surprise! Because up until recently, I thought I was a regular person. But meeting King changed everything. He opened my eyes to the world around me, filled with more darkness than I could’ve imagined. And King? He’s the darkest of them all. That’s why I can’t wrap my head around my feelings. With every moment we spend together, I’m falling for a man who can never love me back. His heart belongs to his dead wife. That’s when I meet Ansin. The only man on earth who could rival King for darkness and ruthless ambition. Like me, Ansin is the last of his bloodline, which is why he demands I marry him and give him children. Do I get to choose, or has fate already chosen for me?

GET YOURS: AMAZON US / AMAZON UK / AMAZON CA / AMAZON AU / APPLE BOOKS / B&N / PAPERBACK

ABOUT MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF

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.

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MY MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF REVIEWS

MY M O MACK REVIEWS

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A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane Review @MentalMommyPam

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.

Amazon says A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane is….

AN INSTANT BESTSELLER!

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Little Deadly Secrets comes a highly anticipated novel that weaves an ancient family mystery and tense drama into a page-turning psychological thriller. Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me, Lisa Jewell, and Ruth Ware.

I love the contrast from black and white to purple on the cover for A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane. This is not my first book by this author and she has never failed to give me hours of reading pleasure. That being said…let’s see what she has in store for us with A Slow Ruin.

A Slow Ruin

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love when a story begins with an assault to my senses and A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane does just that. Pamela does a great job of grabbing my attention and keeping me flipping pages, having to know what happens next.

A missing woman in 1910. 111 years later, a missing teen. What could they have in common?

Once we get going, I found myself being taken through each characters point of view. It has its good and bad points when done this way. I do like knowing what each character is going through, but it feels a bit choppy. Having read some of her work, I feel confident she’ll bring everything together as all their secrets are revealed. Secrets that haunt them. Secrets that dictate their feelings and actions every day.

No matter what, don’t become complacent. There is more going on than meets the eye.

If you are looking for dysfunctional, damaged characters, secrets, lies and betrayal, mystery and danger, life and death, all while clinging onto the edge of a roller coaster, jerked willy nilly, then A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane is for you.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

April 1910. Women’s rights activist Alvera Fields mysteriously vanishes from her home one night, leaving her newborn baby and husband behind, the case never solved.

April 2021. On the anniversary of her great-great-grandmother’s disappearance, Alvera’s namesake Vera Portman vanishes in an eerily similar manner.

Six months later, the police recover a girl’s body. While the family waits in the horror of finding out if it’s Vera, Felicity Portman clings to hope that her missing teenage daughter is still alive. Despite all odds, Felicity senses a link between the decades-apart cases—a mother feels such things in her bones. But all suspicion points to the last person who saw Vera alive: Felicity’s sister-in-law, Marin.

Marin, with her troubled past.
Marin, the poor woman who married into the rich family.
Marin, the only one who knows Felicity’s darkest secret.

As Felicity makes a shocking discovery in Vera’s journal, she questions who her daughter really is. The deeper she digs, the more she’s ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed their ancestor in a terribly slow ruin.

ABOUT PAMELA CRANE

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.

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Review – Beyond Atlantis by Lucius Beauchamp @RoxanneRhoads

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Beyond Atlantis: An Epic of The Ancient Americas
Lucius Beauchamp

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
ISBN: Paperback 978-0-6488929-0-8  
ISBN: E-book 978-0-6488929-1-5
ASIN: 0648892905 
ASIN: B01I4OMBVY
Number of pages: 448
Word Count: 158,240 
Cover Artist: Flametree Creative

Tagline: Greater Atlantis, where The Guardian Tribe roam

MY REVIEW

First off, Beyond Atlantis by Lucius Beauchamp has an amazing cover and I love anything to do with Atlantis. Add in some magic and angels, what more can I ask for?

The world I entered holds many things that our world does…love, desire, betrayal, greed, power, lust, good and evil, light and dark.

Priests are people too, with all the foibles the rest of us have.

Galen and Zithia are soulmates, but there is much to be risked for them to be together. I’m not so sure about Galen, but have no doubts about Zithia.

She struggles to build a life for herself. She is bright, determined, giving, an asset to any community. Her struggles and are richly detailed, brought to life through Lucius Beauchamp’s words. I had no idea what was coming, I was just along for the ride.

Sometimes things are so simple…right or wrong. It’s the people that make it complicated.

Will Galen learn in this lifetime, or, will he be doomed to return and try again?

Epic love story…Lucius Beauchmap pulled my heartstrings, drawing me in on this wild adventure.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Beyond Atlantis by Lucius Beauchamp.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars
Book Description: 

10,000 years ago, ancient Atlantian Tribes of magicians flourished in the lower Americas and along the Mississippi. 

Galen, an Atlantian magician priest is locked in a relentless power struggle with an envious sorceress who blackmails, lies, and manipulates. A prince of the blood, Galen is determined that nothing will stop his becoming an Archpriest.

Eten, blackest witch and high priestess sees angels and seeks a forbidden treasure. She finds Galen’s curse of having a soulmate particularly helpful. 

Half a millennia ago the Island of Atlantis sank off the Biminis, the 13th Tribe was held responsible for the demise of Atlantis. The surviving Atlantians stripped the 13th of all technology and exiled them. 

Vengeful, the 13th Tribe wishes to return but the 13th’s warlocks fear crossing into Greater Older Atlantis. They do not dare set foot on the Guardian-protected land. The great Guardian Tribe possess a formidable circle of psychics who roam North America keeping constant vigil to keep Greater Older Atlantis safe for all Atlantians. 


Excerpt:

    With lightning rushing to greet the barbarians, not only sulphur made their guts wrench. That most feared God, the God of lightning, was among them. Sheets of power forked across the ground, felling dozens of the pure race. Repeatedly, the riverbed exploded and sprayed molten sand. Dripping glass sculptures remained and pressure waves threw barbarians into the glowing glass pools. Where some lay stuck, in death or dying.
     The false day reached the refugees, the sky pulsing green. From the Safety of the hillside they saw it all, with deafening thunder rocking them. Dodging lightning bolts, the barbarians ran when they could to slid into super-hot streams of glass where their flesh seared so completely that bare-bones were exposed among living tissue. There was screaming at newly blackened limbs and sizzling holes within a shoulder or thigh, created by actual lightning strikes. And then more astral screams as the black shadows of the underworld chased and fell upon the freshly dead. Only a handful survived. It was another mist-night.

                                                               *

Tancah. Ten ships comprising another fleet had landed. Gold. Mounds of gold was being turned into ingots for shipment to the Far World.
     The gangplanks were sunk into the pink sand by the tread of disembarking
warriors.
     The scarred pyramids were towers with large stone tablets standing
on top. Not very wide, with ladder-like stairs, each had an almost sheer
drop at the back. Saplings burst forth in unexpected places among the ruins.
     The seventh ship to dock was grander than the others. Its occupants always liked to be seventh, from superstition. Rhaim, the commander-in-chief hurried to meet these new arrivals. They were the main reason he’d come back to Tancah. After all, he didn’t want their leader to take offense. In black clothing with wide purple edging, the thirteen glided down the gangplank. Weary soldiers made hasty signs in the group’s direction while dropping their eyes. Even with a close trimmed mustache, the outlines of the first face were a death mask. Udo, the leader. Tall, white-haired and eyes robin’s-egg blue. The whole group was from similar molds.
     Not on land yet, Udo glanced at Tancah. A connoisseur, he breathed
deeply of the destruction. Then he put a foot hard on the sand and dogs began to howl. A flock of monarch butterflies, resting on their way to their wintering ground, filled the air. Raising his hand to the sky, Udo cut a swath through the gossamer wings. The lovelies rained down among the pyramids, while the coven roared with laughter.
     Invisible to everyone, a watcher hovered over the beach within sight of the ships. As one, the black-garbed group turned to look at him, eyes burning. Languidly, Udo said, ‘Kill.’
     Two men vacated their flesh so utterly that their bodies fell to the ground. Their spirits were shadow hounds. Instantly the temple flyer telepathed the sight to his temple, then spirit claws were on him. Dying, screams filled the heads of other flyers.
     The murdered watcher’s body, seated in the temple chamber, spasmed and went limp. A high priest wiped the corpse’s brow, ‘Where is the other?’
     Simultaneously, Udo’s face was in the room, hanging in mid-space.
Gloating, he disappeared. Then he was back at the beachfront. ‘Find the other watched.’
     The two dark hounds pounced forward, but Udo’s snarl sent them scurrying into their bodies. He believed in sharing and signaled a fresh pair.  

 

About the Author:

Like Plato, Lucius believed Atlantis existed. Interpreting Plato’s description of location, backed up by Edgar Cayce’s readings, the Island of Atlantis was off the Biminis. Therefore, for him, the Continent of Atlantis (Greater Older Atlantis) was North America.





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