Review

Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne & Lillian Hansen

Book Review Graphic

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Pump Up Your Book in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne & Lillian Hansen was a fascinating book.  This is the second book in the series, and I haven’t read the first book, but I still understood what was going on in this book.  I did wish I knew more of the back story, but it didn’t make me want to stop reading this book.  Right from the start this book hooked my interest and keep me interested right up through the end of the book.  This book didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, but it did hold my interest throughout the entire thing.  I was such a fan of the characters that I am going to go back and read the first book even though I do know how it all works out in the end.  If you like mystery books, I would check this book out.

About The Book

Karina and LiAnn worked hard to put the awful memories behind them of the nightmare they walked into at The Magnolia and all the death and destruction caused by the former owners. As they settled into their new roles as managers of the upscale independent living facility, LiAnn reconnects with her true love and Karina continues to explore the new relationship with a sexy cowboy named Bo.

Each are haunted by the atrocities committed at The Magnolia and how close Karina came to dying at the hands of mafia monsters. With the help of her mother, beloved grandparents, new job, an enormous dog, and a hunky, younger man to keep her mind occupied, Karina lets her guard down, naively assuming the worst is over for her family.

Unfortunately, she’s wrong.

When one of the elderly residents of The Magnolia reveals the truth about a shady past, the entire Tuck family find themselves embroiled in one of Arkansas’s most notorious mysteries from 1957. The disappearance of a beloved attorney and her young charge was never solved, bodies never found, and even after over 60 years, Karina and LiAnn discover there are still those who intend to keep it that way.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Barclay in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates was a good book but parts of it I was able to know what was going to happen next. I almost always say that with this genre of the book because I have read some many of them over the years that I know the patterns that most of the books follow. Even though I knew what was coming I still really enjoyed this book. One of the main reasons that I loved this book is because it had to do with the military and I always love those types of book. I had to smile at the things that Clara. I loved that she would always go and get coffee even though she hated coffee. If you love chick lit and want to read a book that was easy to read I am sure you will love this book just as much as I did.

About The Book

Title: Wild Ride Cowboy

Author: Maisey Yates

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: August 29, 2017

Series: Copper Ridge #9

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ISBN: 9780373803644

He’s come back to Copper Ridge, Oregon, to keep a promise—even if it means losing his heart…

Putting down roots in Copper Ridge was never Alex Donnelly’s intention. But if there’s one thing the ex-military man knows, it’s that life rarely unfolds as expected. If it did, his best friend and brother-in-arms would still be alive. And Alex wouldn’t have inherited a ranch or responsibility for his late comrade’s sister—a woman who, despite her inexperience, can bring tough-as-iron Alex to his knees.

Clara Campbell didn’t ask for a hero to ride in and fix her ranch and her life. All she wants is the one thing stubborn, honorable Alex is reluctant to give: a chance to explore their intense chemistry. But Clara has a few lessons to teach him, too…about trusting his heart and his instincts, and letting love take him on the wildest adventure of all.

Add to your TBR list:  Goodreads

Available:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes

 

About The Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.

Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.

She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  BookBub

 

Let’s Be Friends

Enter To Win

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read An Excerpt

(more…)

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

The House of Moody Avenue by Cellestine Hannemann

Book Review Graphic

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from BookLook in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

The House of Moody Avenue by Cellestine Hannemann wasn’t my favorite book, to say the least, but I still did enjoy parts of this book.  I had a tough time staying interested in this book.  At times I found it hard to know who was talking.  I also felt the book was rushed in some places and in other places I felt like there were way too many details.  I did like most of the characters in this book though.  I also liked the plot of this book because it was different from anything other than I ever remember reading in the past.   I am sure that is the way I did enjoy parts of this book and why I didn’t want to just stop reading it.  Usually, when I read books that don’t keep my attention I have a hard time finishing them, and I usually give up on them.  I am sure that this book will work for some people, but I wasn’t one of them.

About The Book

An eclectic assortment of humanity, with all their foibles and failings, lived in the house on Moody Avenue over a period of ninety years. I tell their stories.

Lisette, her unshakable faith sustaining her, is undeterred in the face of adversity; Julia, a social-climbing snob, sees her world crumble when her children marry inappropriately; Clarence, a Casper Milquetoast bank clerk, absconds with a quarter of a million dollars; Frances, a country girl, comes to the big city to marry a rich man; Sammy, a black man, passes for white.

Beatnik squatters, high on LSD, burn down the condemned ninety-year-old house, leaving it naught but a precious memory in the hearts of those who once sought its shelter.

About The Author

Cellestine Hannemann (born March 28, 1924) is an American author and pioneering figure in the methodology of Oshibana art. Hannemann, née Hofmann, born in Chicago, Illinois, and currently living in California, is best known for developing new processes in the pressing of botanical materials to reduce discoloration and shrinkage. She manufactured a unique press incorporating polyester materials to cushion the plants that became known as “Cellestine’s Press,” and authored a book that is a popular reference guide for plant pressers and Oshibana artists. Hannemann also wrote two novels.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

My Sister’s Mother by Donna Solecka Urbikas

Book Review Graphic

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

My Sister’s Mother by Donna Solecka Urbikas was a fantastic book.  From the first page of this book right through the end, I was in love with this book and this author.  I love that is about real people and what they went through during WWII and the aftermath of it all.  I also liked how she went back and forth between when the author was growing up and when her mother and sister were going through during the war.

There was one sentence that stuck out to me and still sticks out me now.  I am going to share that right here because I think it is something that most people could relate to.  “Just as the last weeks of pregnancy make life so unbearable that a woman rushes joyfully into the pain of labor and delivery, so do the last weeks of life in old age prepare one for death.”  What do you think of this statement?

I love most books that have something to do with WWII, but this book was so different from others that I have read over the years.  I have to say that this book might be my favorite because I felt like I really connected with the characters. The authors writing all spoke to me and I was sad when the book was over because I missed the characters.  If you love WWII books and also like real stories, then I think you will enjoy this book as much as I do.

About The Book

Donna Solecka Urbikas grew up in the Midwest during the golden years of the American century. But her Polish-born mother and half sister had endured dehumanizing conditions during World War II, as slave laborers in Siberia. War and exile created a profound bond between mother and older daughter, one that Donna would struggle to find with either of them.
In 1940, Janina Slarzynska and her five-year-old daughter Mira were taken by Soviet secret police (NKVD) from their small family farm in eastern Poland and sent to Siberia with hundreds of thousands of others. So began their odyssey of hunger, disease, cunning survival, desperate escape across a continent, and new love amidst terrible circumstances.
But in the 1950s, baby boomer Donna yearns for a “normal” American family while Janina and Mira are haunted by the past. In this unforgettable memoir, Donna recounts her family history and her own survivor’s story, finally understanding the damaged mother who had saved her sister.

Finalist, Best Traditional Non-Fiction Book, Chicago Writers Association

About The Author

Donna Solecka Urbikas was born in Coventry, England, and immigrated with her parents and sister to Chicago in 1952. After careers as a high school science teacher and environmental engineer, she is now a writer, realtor, and community volunteer. She lives in Chicago with her husband.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

Reunion by Carl Brookins

Book Review Graphic

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Reunion by Carl Brookins was a good book.  The one thing I was left with when I was done reading this book was that I am never going to attend a high school reunion.  I really enjoyed this author writing and the characters in this book.  This is one of the few books lately that I haven’t want to put down, so I stayed up way too late reading the book.  This book wasn’t super suspenseful, but it did keep my interest.  I really liked Jack right from the start of the book.  Lori was a character that I didn’t like at first, but she did grow on me, and by the end of the book I liked her.  This author made me feel like I was there with the characters, so I was able to understand why they did the things that they did during the book.  If you are looking for a mystery book to read this fall, I would for sure recommend this book to you.

About The Book

While still exploring their relationship, Jack Marston persuades his companion, psychologist Lori Jacobs to attend her high school class reunion with Jack as her escort. After a classmate is discovered brutally murdered at the reunion, Jack and Lori are drawn into the search for the murderer, and themselves targeted as they begin to reveal years of passion and corruption beneath the placid small-town surface of Riverview.

About The Author

Before I became a mystery writer and reviewer, I was a television program producer, a counselor and faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul and a mystery fiction reviewer for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Mystery Scene Magazine. I’m an avid recreational sailor (hence my sailing series and a member of Sisters in Crime, and Private Eye Writers of America, as well as MWA. You can frequently find me touring bookstores and libraries with my companions-in-crime, The Minnesota Crime Wave. You can also catch me on tv! Just check out the Minnesota Crime Wave website, http://www.MinnesotaCrimeWave.org.

I live with my wife Jean, a retired publisher and editor, in Roseville, Minnesota.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

The Color of Fear by Judy Alter

Book Review Graphic

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

The Color of Fear by Judy Alter was an okay story. I did feel like the story was rushed, but I am sure that is only because it is a short story. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I can see myself picking up other books by her in the future. I did wish from time to time that there was more conversation and less of what Keisha was thinking. I felt like I spent more time in her head than actually knowing what was going on in the book. If you are looking for a short story to read and you like mystery books, I would pick this book to read.

About The Book

The Color of Fear marks Judy Alter’s return to mystery fiction and the Kelly O’Connell series after an absence of more than a year. This time, the indomitable Keisha narrates the short tale wherein Kelly and her family live under the threat of infant Gracie’s kidnapping. The story serves as a reprise of many of the previous novels in the series, as Keisha, in her search for the kidnapper, recalls Kelly’s earlier adventures.
Keisha remains outspoken and independent as she balances her need to protect Kelly and her family with her love for new husband, José Thornberry. Some but not all of Kelly’s friends and foes from previous stories appear here, along with such new characters as Clyde, the guard dog, and Cowboy, the homeless guy with a soft heart.

About The Author

A novelist and author of books for both adults and young readers, Judy Alter is the author of the Kelly O’Connell Mysteries, Skeleton in a Dead Space, No Neighborhood for Old Women, Trouble in a Big Box, Danger Comes Home and Deception in Strange Places Her second series is the Blue Plate Café Mysteries–Murder at the Blue Plate Cafe and >Murder at the Tremont House.=She has also written frequently about women and girls of the American West, and many of those books are available as ebooks. Her Web page is http://www.judyalter.com.
The mother of four and grandmother of seven, she lives in Texas.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret