Book Talk

Spent Identity by Marlene M Bell

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Partners In Crime Book Tours 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.

Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell was an exciting book.  This is the second book in the series and the first book that I have read.  I wasn’t confused at all reading this book. I did wish that I know some of the backstories but I didn’t need to know that in order to understand this book.  I wasn’t a fan Annalisses cousin Jeremy right from the start.  I spent most of the book convinced that he had something to do with everything that was going on.  Even as I say that, though, there were quite a few other characters that I also thought had something to do with it.  I spent most of the book jumping from person to person because I had a hard time deciding who I thought did it.  This book did keep me interested through the entire book.  It wasn’t super suspenseful, but it did have enough to keep me interested and keep me reading.  If you love mystery books I would pick up this one and check it out.

About The Book

Genre: Mystery

Published by: Ewephoric Publishing

Publication Date: December 11th 2019

Number of Pages: 378

ISBN: 0999539426 (ISBN13: 9780999539422)

Series: Annalisse Series #2 || This is a Stand-Alone novel but the reader may gain more about the character’s past if they pick up the first book.

Farm For Sale. 360-acre lot with ranch-style home. Refurbished barn. Corpse not included.

To find her missing aunt, she has to unearth the secrets of the past. But lies and deceit run through the very heart of their town…

What started out as a promising relationship with adventurer and tycoon Alec Zavos has fizzled into an uncertain future for antiquities expert Annalisse Drury. Returning to Walker Farm in Upstate New York to see her Aunt Kate should have been a welcome homecoming and distraction. Instead, she finds the childhood home she expected to inherit is for sale, without her permission. What’s worse, Kate’s ranch manager makes a gruesome discovery in the barn: the body of an unidentified man, dead by foul play.

Annalisse turns to Alec for help. She and her aunt shelter on his estate in the Catskills while the authorities canvass the scene. But when Kate herself disappears without a trace, Annalisse fears the worst: that one of the many secrets of her hometown has ensnared her family—a secret someone is willing to kill for to keep hidden.

About The Author

Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living, and Sheep Industry News, to name a few. Her catalog venture, Ewephoric, began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Order Ewephoric gifts online or request a catalog at TexasSheep.com. Marlene and her husband, Gregg, reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.

Catch Up With Marlene M. Bell: MarleneMBell.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Twitter, & Facebook!

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Relative Silence by Carrie Stuart Parks

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FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Partners In Crime 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.
Relative Silence by Carrie Stuart Parks was an exciting book.  As I was reading this book, I remember why I love books in this genre so much.  I always feel like I am coming home when I read them.  I enjoyed this author and her writing.  I know that I will read more books by her in the future because I enjoyed it so much and fell in love with Piper right from the start of the book.  This book isn’t super suspenseful, but that didn’t bother me because I loved this book.  I read this book in two sittings because once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down until I  had finished the entire thing. It has been quite a long time since I have read a book that made me want to stay up and keep reading until I had finished reading the book.  If you like suspense books, I would surely pick this one up because I am sure you will love it.

About The Book

Genre: Suspense Published by: Thomas Nelson Publication Date: July 14th 2020 Number of Pages: 336 ISBN: 0785226184 (ISBN13: 9780785226185)
A powerful family with lots of secrets. A forensic artist with his own tragedies. And a hurricane drawing bearing down on their private island. Fifteen years ago Piper Boone’s only child died in a boating accident, and Piper’s almost perfect life came to an end too. After living through a divorce and losing her job, she retreats to Curlew Island and her childhood home—a secluded mansion for the politically powerful Boone family, who are practically American royalty. But Piper’s desire to become a recluse is shattered when a mass shooter opens fire and kills three women at a café where Piper is having lunch. The crisis puts her family in the spotlight by dredging up rumors of the so-called Curlew Island Curse, which whispers say has taken the lives of several members of the Boone family, including Piper’s father and sister. Forensic artist Tucker Landry also survives the shooting and is tasked with the job of sketching a portrait of the shooter with Piper. They forge a bond over their shared love of movies and tragic pasts. But when police discover a connection between the shooting and two more murders on Curlew Island, they face a more terrible lineup of suspects than they could have imagined: Piper’s family. Unraveling the family’s true history will be the key to Piper’s survival—or her certain death.

About The Author

Carrie Stuart Parks is Christy, Carol, and Inspy award-winning author, an award-winning fine artist, and internationally known forensic artist. Along with her husband, Rick, she travels across the US and Canada teaching courses in forensic art to law enforcement as well as civilian participants. She has won numerous awards for career excellence. Carrie is a popular platform speaker, presenting a variety of topics from crime to creativity.

Catch Up With Carrie Stuart Parks: CarrieStuartParks.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, & Facebook!

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This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Carrie Stuart Parks. There will be 1 winner of one (1) RELATIVE SILENCE by Carrie Stuart Parks (print). The giveaway begins on July 13, 2020 and runs through August 16, 2020. Open to U.S. addresses only. Void where prohibited. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Beautiful Ashes of Gomez Gomez by Buck Storm

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Audra Jennings PR 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 Beautiful Ashes of Gomez Gomez by Buck Storm was a great book.  I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this book, but I fell in love with the book.  I did judge this book by the cover, and this one again showed me that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.  It had a unique plot than I had read in a while, but I also fell in love with the author’s writing.  This book was so sweet that I am going to keep this book in my collection of books. I know I will reread it in the future.  I felt so bad for Gomez Gomez because I can’t even imagine how hard it was for him to go on after his wife was killed.  This is the first book that I read by this author, and I know that I will be reading more from him in the future.  If you are looking for a book with a unique plot, I will pick up a copy of this book because I am sure you will love it just like I did.

About The Book

Literary Americana fiction filled with humor and heart

When his wife, Angel, is killed in a head-on collision, Gomez Gomez feels he can’t go on–so he doesn’t. He spends his days in the bushes next to the crash site drinking Thunderbird wine, and his nights cradling a coffee can full of Angel’s ashes. Slow, sure suicide, with no one for company but the snakes, Elvis’s ghost, and a strange kid named Bones.

Across town, Father Jake Morales plays it safe, haunted by memories of the woman he left behind, hiding his guilt, loss, and love behind a thick wall of cassock and ritual. Then a shady business deal threatens the town–and his good friend Gomez Gomez–and Father Jake can’t just stand by and watch. But what happens when the rescuer is the one in need of saving?

The Beautiful Ashes of Gomez Gomez is quirky, heartfelt, and deeply human. Lives and hopes collide in the town of Paradise, stretching across decades and continents in this epic story of forgiveness, redemption, and love.

About The Author

Buck Storm is a critically acclaimed author and musician whose stories have found friends around the world. His nonfiction work includes Finding Jesus in Israel and Through the Holy Land on the Road Less Traveled. Storm’s novels include The List, The Light, Truck Stop Jesus, and The Miracle Man. The latest, The Beautiful Ashes of Gomez Gomez, launches his new series, Ballads of Paradise.

Storm and his wife, Michelle, make their home in North Idaho and have two married children.

Learn more about Buck Storm, as well as his writing and music, at buckstorm.com. He can also be found on Facebook (@buckstormauthor), Twitter (@buckstormauthor), and Instagram (@buckstorm).

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Oops!: Tales of the Zombie Turkey Apocalypse

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Audiobookworm 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.

Oops!: Tales of the Zombie Turkey Apocalypse was a fun book and is my favorite book in the series.  I enjoyed this one because it was a bunch of short stories, and I always enjoy those books.  I love that each story is short enough that I don’t get bored.  I loved the stories that didn’t have anything to do with zombies because zombies aren’t something that I usually enjoy.  I did enjoy the stories about zombie vegetables, though, because I think that would be great if it happened.  I also found that some of the stories in this book made me laugh more than any of the other three books in this series.  I also want to find a time machine because I would love to go back in time and see things that happened.  I would recommend listening to the other stories before this one if you don’t want any spoilers, but if that doesn’t bother you, then I would pick this one up first.  If you are looking for a funny book to read I would recommend this one because I am sure you will enjoy it just like I did.

About The Book

Author: Andy Zach, Olivia Smith

Narrator: Michael Stafford

Length: 5 hours 12 minutes

Publisher: Jule Inc.⎮2020

Genre: Science Fiction; Humor

Series: Life After Chronicles, Book 4

Release date:  Jun. 12, 2020

Synopsis: Accidents happen. Especially around zombie turkeys. Then you add zombie humans, and problems proliferate. Mix in some ill-planned genetic engineering, and things get crazy.

The insanity continues, from the story where zombies are merged with cucumbers to the one where two basement-dwelling nerds gain access to all video content from the past two hundred years – from aliens.

Andy Zach pulls out all the stops on his imagination as he serves up this smorgasbord of silliness. Try it. Laughter is good for your soul.

About The Author

Andy Zach was born Anastasius Zacharias, in Greece. His parents were both zombies. Growing up, he loved animals of all kinds. After moving to the United States as a child, in high school, he won a science fair by bringing toads back from suspended animation. Before turning to fiction, Andy published his Ph.D. thesis “Methods of Revivification for Various Species of the Kingdom Animalia” in the prestigious JAPM, Journal of Paranormal Medicine. Andy, in addition to being the foremost expert on paranormal animals, enjoys breeding phoenixes. He lives in Illinois with his five phoenixes.

With his first book, “Zombie Turkeys” Andy blazed new ground in paranormal humor. The second book in his Life After Life Chronicles, “My Undead Mother-in-law” expands the zombie plague from turkeys to humans, with hilarious results. You can find both volumes on Amazon Kindle, Createspace print, and Audible audiobook editions.

Not content to keep in zombies earthbound, Andy puts them afloat in his third book, “Paranormal Privateers”. Just when you thought every funny zombie trope had been explored, new humorous horizons open up. You can get “Paranormal Privateers” in Kindle and print formats. The audiobook is available now on Audible.

Having conquered paranormal animal humor in his first series, Andy Zach launches into middle school superhero genre with Secret Supers. Four disabled seventh graders all get superpowers. Who knew a disability could be so useful for hiding a superpower? But the four friends, Jeremy, Dan, Kayla, and Aubrey confront problems that can’t be solved by superpowers.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Amazon

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Folly At The Fair by Kari Bovee

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from iRead 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.

Folly At The Fair by Kari Bovee was an interesting book but not one of my favorites.  I had a tough time getting interested in this book.  I found that I would put it down and then force myself to pick it up again.  I am not sure why I had such a hard time with this book.  The one thing I can tell you is that I hated Frank right from the start, and my thoughts didn’t change by the time that I finished the book.  I didn’t find that this book was super suspenseful, but I did enjoy the mystery parts of this book.  I wouldn’t recommend this book to you if swearing in books bothers you.  It doesn’t bother me, but it might be bothersome, so I wanted to make people aware of that.  I did like that this book was about a person that I have heard so much about.  I know that the things that happened in this book didn’t happen but I loved that the main character was someone that I had heard of.  If you are a fan of historical fiction books I would give this book a shot. 

About The Book

Book Title: Folley at the Fair (An Annie Oakley Mystery) by Kari Bovee
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 + yrs), 322 pages
Genre:  Historical Mystery
Publisher:  Bosque Publishing
Release date:   June 2020
Content Rating:  R for some swearing, violence, and mature themes.

Book Description:

She never misses a target. But unless she can solve this murder, she’ll become one… Chicago World’s Fair, 1893. “Little Sure Shot” Annie Oakley is exhausted from her work with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. But when a fellow performer scuffles with a man who threatens her harm, she has to keep her eyes peeled. And when the heckler is found dead under the Ferris Wheel, Annie won’t rest until she proves her defender is innocent. Before she can rustle up any clues, an old friend asks Annie to protect her young daughter. And as more bodies turn up around the grounds, she’s going to need all her sharpshooting skills just to stay alive. Can Annie live up to her reputation and put a bullseye on the killer? Folly at the Fair is the third book in the Annie Oakley Mystery historical fiction series. If you like strong heroines, Wild West adventures, and suspenseful twists and turns, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s fast-paced whodunit.

About The Author

When she’s not on a horse, or walking along the beautiful cottonwood-laden acequias of Corrales, New Mexico; or basking on white sand beaches under the Big Island Hawaiian sun, Kari Bovee is escaping into the past—scheming murder and mayhem for her characters both real and imagined, and helping them to find order in the chaos of her action-packed novels. Empowered women in history, horses, unconventional characters, and real-life historical events fill the pages of Kari Bovée’s articles and historical mystery musings and manuscripts. An award-winning author, Bovée was honored with the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards Hillerman Award for Southwestern Fiction for her novel Girl with a Gun. The novel also received First Place in the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards in the Mystery/Crime category, and is a Finalist in the 2019 International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards and the International Chanticleer Goethe Awards, as well as the Next Generation Indie Awards. Her novel Grace in the Wings is a Finalist for the 2019 International Chanticleer Chatelaine Awards and the International Chanticleer Goethe Awards. Her novel Peccadillo at the Palace is a Finalist in the 2019 International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards and the 2019 International Goethe Awards, as well as a Finalist in the 2019 Best Book Awards Historical Fiction category. Bovée has worked as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 Company, has written non-fiction for magazines and newsletters, and has worked in the education field as a teacher and educational consultant. She and her husband, Kevin, spend their time between their horse property in the beautiful Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, and their condo on the sunny shores of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

​Connect with the author:  Website ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram
~ Pinterest

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Charlock’s Secret by Leah Moyes

 

Leah Moyes is from the sunny state of Arizona. She is a wife and a mother, a former teacher, and a coach with a background in Archaeology. She loves popcorn and seafood (though not together) and is slowly checking off her very long bucket list.  





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Desperate to hide, Kat flees. Now, trapped in time, her survival and return are threatened by her tortured heart.
Ensnared by hopelessness and grief, twenty-four-year-old Kat Shelton accepts a position as the curator of an old English estate with the sole purpose of running away from her memories and to bury life’s pain.
 
What she finds on her journey is much more than she bargained for—an arrogant employer, patronizing staff, and a chaotic system to name a few. Then to top it all off, an unforeseen tumble down the antiquated cellar steps brings her to a sudden halt.
 
Waking up in the year 1878, and mistaken for the children’s new governess, Kat scrambles to navigate nineteenth-century British lifestyle and culture. An impossible feat if it weren’t for the help of the Gilford girls and their charming and handsome brother, Merritt.

 

 
Will Kat find the strength, love and forgiveness she yearns for in the past? Or will her path bring her back to the reality she fears?
 
Snippet:
“Your turn is over.” Merritt pointed out candidly. “My turn.”
“But, now that you’re older Merritt, you can fix it!”
He completely ignored me. “Truth or dare, Miss Shelton?”
Steamed, I was not about to share my most painful memory now. “Dare!” I cried.
His expression was priceless. “Now, what does that mean exactly?” His mouth twisted innocently.
I laughed aloud. “You dare me to do something crazy, impractical, or what you might consider uncouth.”
“I cannot comply.”
“You agreed! Remember!”
“Yes, but I thought you would choose to divulge an indiscretion like me, not engage in an illogical act.”
“I chose dare, so let’s have it, Mister.”
“All right, let me think.” He pushed forward on the oars, and the boat glided once again. It seemed to help in his devilish plan. “Does it have to happen promptly, or can it be deferred to a later hour?” His question preceded a sly grin. I knew he was up to something but felt sorry I put him on the spot with his truth.
“Since you shared a deep dark secret . . .” I smiled. “I will let you choose the time and place of my dare, but it has to be today.” I felt overly confident. I knew Merritt advocated the duty of a gentleman and would ask nothing too risky of me, so I felt somewhat victorious.

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