I liked the characters and the flow of the story. I don't like Rafe so the description of him is good. I can feel Mira's pain and feel what she does with the detail written of her. Griff is a great character. There some graphic descriptions and detail. Not for the faint of heart. The intensity in the writing is really good. I was hooked with the first words. Highly recommend. Can't wait for more. Was given ARC by author for honest review.
A hard-hitting Crime Detective Thriller that will keep you on edge all the way through.
She had been so naive to believe his words. Now all she wanted was to escape. The only issue was how to escape from one of the most feared men in London. He would never stop coming after her, that was a fact. Rafe had spent his life building his empire of drugs, clubs and extortion. It was a legacy he protected with a ruthlessness that was beyond imagining. Miranda was the final piece in his plan and he intended to keep it that way. When she ran from him, it was a matter of pride that she be found and brought back.
Investigating a website which sold Identity papers, Ryder and his partner were determined to track down and arrest as many criminals as they could from the list of those who had bought new idenitities. When Mira answered the door, it was an unexpected surprise and one which led to an explosive beginning. The only problem was that with Ryder's appearance came the unveiling of her whereabouts and Rafe wanted his property returned to him. Rafe wasn't a man to be toyed with.
Unaware that the noose is tightening Mira gives her heart to Ryder but someone else is also watching and waiting for his chance to pounce. Who is he and what are his intentions? The eyes in the mirror give no answer.
This is the first book in the Freedom series. Book 2 is underway and will be released at the beginning of 2016.
*For 18yrs plus due to scenes of graphic sex and violence in relevent parts of this book.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
Completions and Connections by Kathryn R. Biel
I really liked this story. Loved the characters and journey they take. I would highly recommend this book!
Christine's list of resolutions contains many
clichés. Try something new. Buy a pair of heels. Get a promotion. Fall in love.
Seems simple, especially when Christine meets Patrick, the man who could be Mr. Right. He's got the right credentials: a job, a sense of humor, a love of all things Indiana Jones, and best of all, he's actually taller than Christine. But busy schedules take over and gets in the way of Patrick and Christine's budding romance.
Life interferes, as it has a way of doing, and Christine wants to throw in the towel. Is the magic of the Christmas season enough to renew Christine's faith in love?
Christine's list of resolutions contains many
clichés. Try something new. Buy a pair of heels. Get a promotion. Fall in love. Seems simple, especially when Christine meets Patrick, the man who could be Mr. Right. He's got the right credentials: a job, a sense of humor, a love of all things Indiana Jones, and best of all, he's actually taller than Christine. But busy schedules take over and gets in the way of Patrick and Christine's budding romance.
Life interferes, as it has a way of doing, and Christine wants to throw in the towel. Is the magic of the Christmas season enough to renew Christine's faith in love?
November
2- A Southern Girls
Bookshelf – Excerpt
November
2 – Love Chick Lit – Review &
Excerpt
November
3 – Hey Said Renee – Review &
Excerpt
November
4 – Change the Word – Q&A
November
5 – Living Life With Joy –
Q&A & Excerpt
November
6 – Chick Lit Goddess – Q&A
& Excerpt
November
6 – Jersey Girl Book
Reviews – Review & Excerpt
November
6 – Books and Wine – Q&A
& Excerpt
November
6 – Basically Books –
Excerpt
November
6 – Granny Loves to Read –
Review & Excerpt
November
6 – The Phantom
Paragrapher – Review
November
6 – A British Bookworm – Excerpt
November
6 – CDYess Writes – Excerpt
November
6 – Caroline Fardig – Excerpt
Bio:
Telling stories of resilient women,
Kathryn R. Biel hails from upstate New York and is a spouse and mother of two
wonderful and energetic kids. In between being Chief Home Officer and Director
of Child Development of the Biel household, she works as a school-based
physical therapist. She attended Boston University and received her Doctorate
in Physical Therapy from The Sage Colleges. After years of writing countless
letters of medical necessity for wheelchairs, finding increasingly creative
ways to encourage the government and insurance companies to fund her clients'
needs, and writing entertaining annual Christmas letters, she decided to take a
shot at writing the kind of novel that she likes to read. Her musings and rants
can be found on her personal blog, Biel Blather. She is the author of Good
Intentions (2013), Hold Her Down (2014), I'm Still Here (2014), Jump, Jive,
and Wail (2015), and Killing Me
Softly (2015).
Links:
Giveaway Info:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Buy Links:
Collision by PJ Byer
I really liked this book. The journey of discovery kept you reading and wanting more. The complex story led to the unrest between father and daughter. The history references were intragal to the story and where the journey by Stella and her dad need to find peace and find their history. Highly recommend. Received copy for honest review.
Giveaway Info: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9d17395a203/? a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Angry and defiant, Stella runs away from home
and lands in a small seaside village. It is overlooked by the forbidding ruins
of Trial Bay gaol.
Stella hides out in the town and is disturbed by her growing confusion about her identity. Her mysterious flashbacks to the gaol one hundred years before are even more frightening.
What is reality? What is fantasy? And is the guy next door the one to help her solve the mystery?
Or will a stranger unlock the key to her past?
Stella hides out in the town and is disturbed by her growing confusion about her identity. Her mysterious flashbacks to the gaol one hundred years before are even more frightening.
What is reality? What is fantasy? And is the guy next door the one to help her solve the mystery?
Or will a stranger unlock the key to her past?
November 2 – Mallory Heart
Reviews
November 3 – The Write Teachers
November 4 – Chick
Lit Plus
November 6 – Granny Loves to Read
November 9 – Polished & Bubbly
November
9 - Terry’s Book Nook
Author Bio
What happened when PJ found her
old journal, and in it was jotted the bones of a story?
What happened when that story had
been rattling around in her head for fourteen years?
What happened when she admitted
she’d always wanted to write, and now newly retired had time to pursue this
dream?
She started, of course!
In the journal the story outline
was set at Trial Bay gaol near South West Rocks, a beautiful place where PJ’s
family had holidayed for years. She was inspired by the history of the Germans interned at the forbidding gaol
during the First World War.
PJ grew up in Sydney’s Northern
beaches, married Ivor, and they have raised two wonderful daughters, Zoe and
Hannah, on the Central Coast. She had a long career as an English, History and Drama teacher, and is
passionate about youth literacy and encouraging young people to read. This book
is pitched as Young Adult genre, one of the world’s fastest growing genres, and
is part of a series. A prequel and sequel will follow.
She has a diverse range of
interests, including reading, bushwalking, a cappella harmony singing, film,
theatre, swimming as well as volunteer work for a disaster relief charity
called ShelterBox.
Links
Twitter:
@PJ Byer
Pinterest@PJ
Byer
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Excerpt of Completions and Connections by Kathryn R. Biel
Me and four kids under four feet tall. I feel even more like a giant than I normally do.
And sadly, most of them are better skiers than I am.
After ninety minutes, I've learned to pizza and french fry enough to stop and start. The most challenging thing for me is to stand up once I've fallen down.
Wait, check that. The most challenging thing is the damn J-hook bar contraption that drags me up the bunny hill. You can't sit. You can't stand. You hang in a weird crouch, praying your skis don't hit a rut knocking your ass over tea kettle into the other tow-ees, toppling them like bowling pins. Not that this happens. Okay, yes, it totally happens.
In a heap, one ski pointing one way, one ski lost, I'm pretty sure this skiing thing is not for me. And if I can figure out how to stand up, I'm going to go in the lodge and have a hot toddy. Or ten. And hope that this day passes quickly.
It's just I don't have a lot of free time. I work crazy hours. Free weekends are a rarity and to waste one on something I hate seems frivolous.
Maybe I'll read while I'm in the lodge. That's something on my list. To read three books this year. I've been trying to read the same book for about two years now. I never get through more than a page or two at a time, and anytime I get a large chunk of time to read, I have to start again because I can't remember what I've read.
This is what I'm thinking about, lying in a heap, snow creeping down into my snow pants.
"You need a hand?"
I look up through my goggles to see another begoggled face leaning down over me. The face emits a voice with a deep timbre, which makes my belly twist a little bit. A thick-gloved hand extends and I grasp it. With apparent ease, he hauls me up to a standing position. I still only have one ski on. Not saying a word, he retrieves my ski and guides my boot back into the binding.
"Better?" His smile shows a row of white teeth. Just one looks crooked. It's probably a good thing, though. Otherwise, I have a feeling he'd be too perfect. The best part—he's looking down on me. Do you know how often the guys I meet are my height or shorter? I swear there's a shortage of tall men out there.
"No. I'm still out here, making a fool out of myself."
"I take it this is your first time."
"Is it that obvious I'm a virgin?"
He lifts his goggles up, eyebrows raised. The bemused expression in his light green eyes highlights my faux pas. "Oh really? I didn't know we were getting this personal."
"Oh my God!" My mitten-covered hand, white with snow, flies to my mouth. Which, of course, results in me getting a face full of snow. "That's um, not, crap. I'm not a virgin-virgin. I meant a skiing virgin. I have lots of experience with the other. Well, not lots. I mean, I'm not loose or anything. Oh crap, I should just stop talking."
"No, keep talking. It's quite amusing."
"I'm going to go bury myself in a snow bank right now. Thanks for the help. It's been nice knowing you."
FYI, it's impossible to storm off in a dignified manner when you're wearing skis.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Clutch by Lisa Becker (Excerpt and Review)
This book is fun, inventive, and a great read. I liked the relationship to purse references. Fun to compare the type of man Caroline dated to a type of purse. I like the evolution of the relationship with Mike and Caroline. Fun book to read and highly recommend! Given the book for an honest review.
Excerpt
Excerpt
Caroline was sitting in Financial Reporting and Control on her first day of Harvard classes (and yes, the class turned out to be as boring as it sounded). That’s when she first eyed Mike, who was wearing a faded pair of Levi jeans, a washed-out vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt, and Converse sneakers. He oozed charisma. Turning her head away from him and back toward the front of the lecture hall, Caroline thought that if he were a handbag, he would be a grey leather tote – confident and dependable, but not trying too hard.
Mike surveyed the large lecture hall as he walked in, a Starbucks coffee cup in each hand. After descending the steps slowly, he took a seat next to Caroline and planted one of the white and green cups on her desk.
Flashing a wide, dimpled smile, which she mused he reserved for getting girls to drop their panties, he said, “Here. You look like you’re going to need this.”
“Thanks,” she replied in a suspicious tone, turning her head sideways to look at him and raising an eyebrow.
“I’m Mike,” he said, again flashing a smile and reaching out for a handshake.
“I’m Caroline. Thanks for the…”
“Latte.”
“Latte,” she confirmed. “Thanks. But just so you know, I’m not gonna sleep with you,” she said in an apparent attempt to establish up front she wasn’t taken in by his obvious charm.
“I know,” he replied matter-of-factly.
Before she could respond, Professor Beauregard, a stout man with excessive eyebrows, spoke up.
“Please take note of where you are seated. I will send around a seating chart for you to mark your spot. This will be your seat for the remainder of the semester.”
“Looks like we’ll be seatmates,” Mike said, grinning at her.
“Looks like it,” she replied.
***
About three months into the first semester, Caroline learned that her fun-loving, easy-going new best buddy Mike wasn’t exactly who he appeared to be.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Dream On, Amber by Emma Shevah
Dream On, Amber
By Emma Shevah
October 6, 2015; Hardcover ISBN 9781492622505
Book Info:
Title: Dream On, Amber
Author: Emma Shevah
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Publishers: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Praise for Dream On, Amber:
“By turns playful and poignant, in both style and substance, this coming-of-age novel will hook readers from the first page to the last.”—School Library Journal, STARRED review
“Amber’s effervescent and opinionated narration captivates from the start, making it easy to root for her as she strives to conquer the “beast” of her worries and thrive at home and at school.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“Shevah tenderly captures the void of growing up without a father yet manages to create a feisty, funny heroine… A gutsy girl in a laugh-out-loud book that navigates tough issues with finesse.” –Kirkus, STARRED review
“[This] novel is a charmer...While its humor and illustrations lend it Wimpy Kid appeal, its emotional depth makes it stand out from the pack. Molto bene!”- Booklist, STARRED review
Summary:
My name is Ambra Alessandra Leola Kimiko Miyamoto. But call me Amber. I have no idea why my parents gave me all those hideous names but they must have wanted to ruin my life, and you know what? They did an amazing job.
As a half-Japanese, half-Italian girl with a ridiculous name, Amber’s not feeling molto bene (very good) about making friends at her new school.
But the hardest thing about being Amber is that a part of her is missing. Her dad. He left when she was little and he isn’t coming back. Not for her first day of middle school and not for her little sister’s birthday. So Amber will have to dream up a way for the Miyamoto sisters to make it on their own.
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25965546-dream-on-amber?ac=1
Buy Links:
Amazon- http://ow.ly/RX7L9
Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/RX7VK
Books A Million- http://ow.ly/RX9Ra
iBooks- http://ow.ly/S3wH6
!ndigo- http://ow.ly/S3wQz
Indiebound- http://ow.ly/S3wYp
About the Author:
Emma Shevah is half-Irish and half-Thai born and raised in London. She has lived in Australia, Japan, India (her first child was born in the Himalayas) and Jerusalem before moving back to the UK. Emma has busked as a fire-juggler, been a restaurant manager, a copy writer, an English teacher, and is now a blogger and author.
Social Networking Links:
Excerpt from Dream On, Amber
Bella came in wearing her matching pink nightdress, pink dressing gown, and pink slippers with Hello Kitty all over them. I just don’t get why people like Hello Kitty. I know it’s Japanese and supposed to be kawaii (cute) and everything, so maybe I should like it, but it’s just a picture of a cartoon cat’s head. I mean, seriously, what’s the big deal?
Bella’s hands were behind her back like she was hiding something. She looked much happier than she did when we got home from the party. She moved her arms to the front and handed me a sealed envelope.
“What’s this?” I asked, putting my sharpener down.
“Can you mail it for me tomorrow?”
I looked at the front of the envelope. There was nothing written on it.
“But it’s blank, Bella.”
“Yuuup.”
“Who’s it for?”
“None of your beeswax, Mrs. Nosy Pants.”
“Um…okay. So you…you want me to put it in the mailbox?”
“Yes, Amber. Duuuh. That’s what mailing means.”
“But how is the mailman going to know who to give it to if it has no name on it?”
“Oh,” she said, frowning.
She lay down on her belly on the floor and with her red crayon from the dollar store (well, she wasn’t borrowing any of mine), she wrote on the front of the envelope: “TO MY DAD.”
I looked at her.
“Bella—”
“Shush,” she said. “Just mail it for me.”
“But there’s no address on it—”
“The mailman will know where he lives. He knows where everyone lives.”
“He won’t know where Dad lives. Nobody knows where Dad lives. Not even Mum.”
“Didn’t I say ‘shush’? I’m sure I said ‘shush.’ Just mail it for me. Pleeease, Amber.”
I sighed. What was I supposed to tell her? She was too little. She didn’t get it. So I took it and put it on my desk, just to make her happy.
I know I shouldn’t have done it and it’s probably against the law and everything but when she went out of my room, I opened it.
It said:
Dier Dad,
My nam is Bella and Im your dorta. My bithday party is on Sunday 16 Speptmbr and I rely want you too come. And I neid you to play with me in the park and posh me on the swing. Please come home
love, Bella
P.S. Please buy me a perpel Swatch wach and Sparkle Girl Julerry Makar for my bithday.
I didn’t know what to do. Obviously, I wasn’t going to mail it without an address on it. So instead, I put it in my secret place. If you pull the bottom drawer of my dresser all the way out, there’s a space under it on the floor where I put my most sacred things. I had a coin that I found in Hyde Park that I’m sure is Roman or Viking and one day I’m going to sell it and get mega rich. I had a few other cool things in there too. Some of them are embarrassing, like key-rings I made out of lanyard strings when I was, like, seven and valentine cards my mum sent me. Stuff you can’t exactly throw out but really don’t want anyone to see. The letter wasn’t one of my sacred things but where else was I going to put it?
I also had a picture of my dad holding me when I was a baby that I sneaked out of Nonna’s album. Obviously, we have a whole bunch of photos of him in that album, but I wanted one for myself. One of him with me. Just to prove to myself that he did actually exist and hold me once, and he even looked proud. I don’t look at that photo much because it makes me angry. I know it doesn’t make sense to keep it, but there you go. Not everything makes sense. If it did, he would never have left in the first place.
There was another knock on my door, so I quickly closed the drawer.
“Hang on… Okay, you can come in now.”
Bella stuck her head in.
“When do you think he’ll get it?” she asked.
“Well, they have to find him first. It’s not easy, you know. It takes teams of detectives monthsto find missing people.”
She walked in to my room and said, “Oh,” and did that thing where she points her toes inward and puts one foot over the other, like her toes are hugging.
“Do you think he’ll get it before my birthday?”
“I don’t know, Bella. I don’t think so. But if by some weird miracle he did get it before then, I’m sure he’d come to your party.”
Bella unhugged her toes and put her hands on her hips. “Amber?”
“Mmm?”
“How do you know I want Dad to come to my party?”
Oops.
“Well, it’s kind of obvious, Bella. You did ask if he’d get it before your birthday.”
“Oh,” she said, frowning. “Hmm. Well, okay.” And she skipped back to her room.
The letter wasn’t my biggest problem at that point. I was so worried about starting my new school in the morning that I couldn’t get to sleep for ages. When you can’t sleep, your mind starts going a bit doolally. Well, mine does anyway. I start thinking all kinds of crazy things. And eventually the problem with Bella and her letter worked its way into my churning brain.
It was kind of mean and everything but there were times I really wished Bella wasn’t my sister. But knowing there was a huge hole where our dad was supposed to be wasn’t much fun either. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe, just maybe, I could do something about it. I could save Bella from years of torture with one quick solution.
It seemed straightforward enough.
I decided to pretend to be my dad and write back to her, you know, to make her feel better.
And that was it.
Paff!
The most ingenious idea I’ve ever had lit up my mind like a firework.
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Clutch by Lisa Becker
clutch: a novel is the laugh-out-loud, chick lit romance chronicling
the dating misadventures of Caroline Johnson, a single purse designer who
compares her unsuccessful romantic relationships to styles of handbags – the
“Hobo” starving artist, the “Diaper Bag” single dad, the “Briefcase” intense
businessman, etc. With her best friend, bar owner Mike by her side, the
overly-accommodating Caroline drinks a lot of Chardonnay, puts her heart on the
line, endures her share of unworthy suitors and finds the courage to discover
the “Clutch” or someone she wants to hold onto.
Participating Blogs
Author
Bio
In
addition to clutch: a novel,
Lisa Becker is the author of the Click Trilogy, a contemporary romance series
comprised ofClick: An Online Love Story, Double Click and Right
Click. She’s written bylined articles about dating and relationships
for “Cupid’s Pulse,” “The Perfect Soulmate,” “GalTime,” “Single Edition,”
“Healthy B Daily” and “Chick Lit Central” among others. She lives in
Manhattan Beach, California with her husband and two daughters. To learn
more, visit www.lisawbecker.com.
Social
Media Links for Lisa Becker
Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Web
Get Your Copy!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/clutch-novel-Lisa-Becker-ebook/dp/B015P09CBW/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Get Your Copy!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/clutch-novel-Lisa-Becker-ebook/dp/B015P09CBW/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
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