Friday, July 29, 2016

Quest for Kriya


I received a review copy of QUEST FOR KRIYA by Rahul Deokar in exchange for an honest review.  It sounded like an interesting story, with lots of action and emotion, so I was eager to give it a go.

It easily met my expectations and then exceeded them! 

An earthquake strikes India in the early 90’s, and two sisters witness how their lives change.  It is a fascinating tale of worldwide proportions as Shakti and her friend Shiva track down Shakti’s sister Kriya.  It is as much a mystery as an adventure novel.  I loved the friendship aspects.  To me, they were the most powerful in the story.

I don’t want to give too much away, but know this comes highly recommended.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

The Cantaloupe Thief

I received a review copy of THE CANTALOUPE THIEF by Deb Richardson-Moore from Kregel in exchange for an honest review. 

This is a mystery, and sometimes mysteries are hit or miss for me.  They can be slow, boring, or overly complicated.  I read for enjoyment, not to make my head spin.  I am happy to say that THE CANTALOUPE THIEF is a Christian mystery that is not slow, boring, or overly complicated.  It is just complex enough to keep the reader guessing.  If you’re like me, you’re going to guess the whole way through and then still be shocked at the true culprit.

The mystery is the ten year old unsolved murder of wealthy Alberta Grambling Resnick.  Branigan Porters (such an awesome name) is a hometown reporter tasked with investigating it.  I loved the idea of the mystery being so old.  I am a huge fan of shows like Forensic Files, and it always makes me grin when a mystery is finally solved!

Check out this mystery novel and you will be glad you did.  I highly recommend it.  I look forward to reading more mysteries by Deb Richardson-Moore.  She is a skillful author at making the action leap off the page.

Sharing Rylee


 

Title: Sharing Rylee
Author: D. Kelly
Genre: Romantic Erotica/Menage
Release Date: July 12, 2016


Blurb

Do happily ever after’s always have to be so traditional?

Rylee Stafford has asked herself this question since she was eighteen years old. Now, at twenty-eight she still doesn’t have an answer. One thing she knows for sure is even if she can have the unconventional relationship she’s always dreamed of, it would never fly with her family. Her sexual proclivities would never be accepted by them or their social circle.

The truth is Rylee is tired of hiding her feelings. Tired of wanting what she can’t have and so tired of feeling abnormal because she wants a different kind of love.

She’s kept her secret well hidden, especially from Nick, her on again off again love affair. Her secret isn’t their only stumbling block, though—Rylee’s also met someone new. His name is Pete and he sets her heart and soul on fire; he’s sexy, smart, possessive, and he wants her. No matter how much she cares for them she can’t bring herself to tell them the truth. The only way to Rylee’s heart is to have a relationship with both men.

It’s only when Rylee takes her annual vacation does she finally realize her happiness is worth more than what anyone thinks of her. Now the only question is: will Rylee’s alternate lifestyle alienate everyone she loves? Or will she be accepted for the person she’s always been deep down inside?







Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK
iBOOKS / B&NKOBO
PAPERBACK




Excerpt

“Nick, I think you should go.”

I feel like she punched me in the gut, but I’m going to take Zack’s lead on this one. He never let Cassidy pull too far away, and I’m not going to let Rylee shut me out now.

Silently, I get dressed. She’s still standing by the bathroom with her arms across her chest. She doesn’t want to get close to me because she doesn’t want to admit her feelings for me.

“Rylee,” I say, walking toward her at a slow pace. She eyes me up and down and presses herself as close to the wall as possible. She’s not getting away from me.

I pull her into my arms and crush my lips to hers. My hand weaves into her sexy, just-fucked hair, and I pull her tightly to my lips. I kiss her with all the passion I’ve had building inside of me for years and she feels it. I know she does because she hasn’t stopped whimpering the entire time her tongue has been dueling with mine. When I finally slow the kiss, she whimpers even more, and when I slowly pull away, her fingers go immediately to her lips as if she’s trying to savor the magic we just shared.

“I’ll go for now, Ry, but not for long. I’m going to check in on you every day, but I’ll give you space and stay away. Don’t take too long because I want you now more than ever, Rylee. I always have and I always will.”
I place a soft kiss to her forehead and leave.





Also Available

Sharing Rylee is not part of a series but it is a
companion novel for Chasing Cassidy


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
iBOOKS / B&N / KOBO




Author Bio

I'm a wife, a mom, and a dog lover. I'm also a taxi, problem fixer, extreme multi-tasker, and my kids’ biggest fan in anything they do. I’m married to my high school sweetheart... how cool is that? Margaritas and sarcasm make me happy. Chocolate makes that happiness grow exponentially. People who make me laugh are my favorite kind of people. I believe Karma is a bitch who slaps back hard and mean people suck. I'm California born and raised, and I love the beach but hate the sand. And, of course, I believe Starbucks makes any day better. I’m the author of The Acceptance Series and Chasing Cassidy with more books soon to come. 


Author Links





Giveaway

Monday, July 18, 2016

An Elegant Facade

I received a review copy of AN ELEGANT FACADE by Kristi Ann Hunter from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.  It is the second installment in the Hawthrone House series. 

There is nothing like a beautiful story to brighten a day, and AN ELEGANT FAÇADE did that for me.  A detailed setting, lively characters, moments of humor, and a sweet romance round out this novel of historical fiction.

Georgina, the main characters, is dyslexic.  In her world, this causes a major problem and a secret she fights to guard.  I had not read another book that dealt with dyslexia, so I could appreciate it all the more.  Georgina is extremely real as a character, with her many fault, but at the end is great at redeeming herself.

I had not read book one before diving into this one, and I regret that, as characters from that first story make appearances in this one.  If I was familiar with that book, I feel this would have been a more well-rounded story.  However, I was able to enjoy AN ELEGANT FAÇADE on its own. 

I recommend this to people who love historical fiction and clean Christian romance.  I also recommend this for anyone looking for a story about dyslexia. 

Friday, July 15, 2016

Like a River from its Course


I received a review copy of LIKE A RIVER FROM ITS COURSE by Kelli Stuart from Kregel in exchange for an honest review.  It is a story of the Ukraine under Nazi regime. 

I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and this book was no exception to my love for the genre.  The emotions are raw and the scenes are so well described, it feels as if you are there or watching a movie.  It is evident how deep the author cares about the characters and the reality of the situation.  The research she took is exceptional. 

I have read a lot of books about World War II and the Holocaust.  This book felt completely different from those novels and biographies, offering me a new glimpse at the devastating war. 

The story focuses on four main characters: Maria, Ivan, Luda, and Frederick.  Each character is unique and well-rounded.  I really can’t say enough positive things about this book!

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, especially someone interested in World War II history or the history of the Ukraine.  I must admit that I don’t know that much about the Ukraine, but this book has inspired me to dive into my own research.

True Colors


 
Series Info: The Landry’s True Colors Series is a clean reads young adult humor series about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school and high school, frenemies, crushes, and self-image. It’s a clean reads book so it’s suitable for ages 11 and up.


Blurb: Landry Albright just wants to be one of the interesting girls at school who always have exciting things going on in their lives. She wants to stand out, but also wants to fit in, so she gives in when her two best friends, Ericka and Tori, push her into trying out for a teen reality show modeling competition with them. Landry goes in nervous, but impresses the judges enough to make it to the next round.

However, Ericka and Tori get cut and basically “unfriend” her on Monday at school. Landry tries to make new friends, but gets caught up between wanting to be herself and conforming to who her new friends want her to be. Along the way she learns that modeling is nowhere as glamorous as it seems, how to deal with frenemies, a new crush, and that true friends see you for who you really are and like you because of it.

What people are saying about the Landry’s True Colors Series:

From Teenage Book Recommendations in the UK: "This is a fantastically relatable and real book which I feel captures all of the insecurities and troubles which haunt the modern teenage girl. It is about a young model who has to go through tough times when she is torn between a life as a model and managing her friendships. You learn which friends she can most trust and which will create the drama typical of teenage life. Follow the life of Landry and try to see if you can find out which are her true friends before their true colours are revealed. This book is all about relationships, hopes and truth. I loved this book!"

From Books & Authors Spot: “This book is such an inspiration for those who just care about their looks and are tensed about them. This thing is looks aren't everything. This book is related to every teen's problem. Hager has written a very inspiring novel.”

“Krysten captures the teenage girl today. The struggles are real, the issues are something children have been dealing with since before I was a teen, and oddly-Krysten captures the readers! I was prepared for another "Mean Girls" story. This is NOT that. This is the real story of teenage girls! You watch Landry flower into a young woman who finds out trust is an invaluable item to find, and friendships are hard to seek genuine realism in. You will learn about relationships with not just friends, but peers, boys, and others. The details put into the book will draw you, and make the story so much more realistic. Krysten expresses emotions beautifully through her writing, and the story flows flawlessly…” By Candice J. Conway Simpson

“True Colors, is just a dazzling story of how middle school kids show their true colors of jealousy, drama, loss and gains of friendship. However, the way Krysten wrote her story; she wrote it with passion, creativity and honesty that this story line could be placed in anyone's life at any age.” Review by Double Decker Books

 “Krysten Lindsay Hager understands what it means to be a teen today, and she writes with an authentic voice. Landry, the main character, is funny, lively, and very real. Readers will relate to her struggles with friends and family, self-esteem and self-discovery, boys and school and life in general. It's fun to read about Landry's blossoming modeling career and the changes it brings.” Review by Author Diana Jenkins

Excerpt:

The competition was for girls between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, but it felt like Ericka, Tori, and I were the youngest ones there. I only saw a couple of girls from school, and the lineup looked more like something you’d see on a music video set. All the girls were gorgeous, and they had these curvy womanly bodies. I looked like a skinny little kid next to them. The first girl walked out, and I heard the judges say she “owned the runway,” and, “walked like a gazelle.” I was starting to feel ill. I wasn’t sure which way it was going to come, but I knew I had to find a bathroom — fast. I started to get out of line when Ericka grabbed my wrist.

“It’s almost time,” she said. A tiny bit of spit flew out of her mouth and hit my cheek.

I wasn’t sure why she was so intent on me going through with it, but she had a death grip on my arm, so I didn’t have much of a choice. Her number was called and she walked out to the stage. One of the other girls said she walked like a kid with sand bucket stilts on her feet, but she came back with a smirk on her face like she knew she’d get chosen.

“They said they had never seen such long legs,” she said.

Tori was next.

“She walks like a gorilla at feeding time,” said the girl behind me. I went next, and I tried to focus on not tripping over my feet. My mom’s pumps had a rubber sole on the bottom, which probably wasn’t the brightest idea seeing as my shoes were making squeaking noises as I walked. I was so nervous I couldn’t stop smiling as I walked. I looked like the plastic clown who blows up balloons with its mouth at the Pizza Palace. When I got to the end of the runway, I tried to cross my feet to turn like the other girls had, but I over rotated and ended up doing a full spin which made my kilt fan out and gave the mall walkers a view of my blue underpants. I tried to act like it was intentional and did an extra turn. One of the judges put her hand up to stop me, and I held my breath as she started to speak.


Best Friends…Forever? (Book 2):

Landry Albright hopes the new year will start off in an amazing way—instead she has to deal with more frenemy issues, boy drama, and having most of her best friends make the cheerleading squad without her. Suddenly, it seems like all anyone can talk about is starting high school next year—something she finds terrifying.

Landry gets her first boyfriend (her crush, Vladi), but then gets dumped just as things come to a head with her friends. She feels lost and left out, but finds good advice about dealing with frenemies from what she considers an unlikely source. Landry faces having to speak up for what’s right, tell the truth (even when it hurts), and how to get past the fear of failure as she gets another shot at competing in the American Ingénue TV show modeling competition. Will she get a second chance with her friends, fame, and Vladi?


Landry in Like (Book 3):

Things seem to be going well in Landry Albright’s world—she’s getting invited to be on local talk shows to talk about her modeling career, her best friends have her back, and her boyfriend Vladi has becoming someone she can truly count on…and then everything changes.

Suddenly it seems like most of the girls in school are into hanging out at a new teen dance club, while Landry just wants to spend her weekends playing video games and baking cup-cakes at sleepovers. Then, Yasmin McCarty, the most popular girl in school, starts to come between Landry’s friendship with her best friend Ashanti. Things take a turn when Yasmin tells Vladi that Landry is interested in another boy. Can Landry get her relationships with Ashanti and Vladi back or will she be left out and left behind?


Author Bio:


Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, the celebrity world, values, and self-image in True Colors, Best Friends…Forever? Landry in Like, Next Door to a Star and Competing with the Star. Best Friends…Forever? was ranked at #1 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values & Virtues Fiction and True Colors is an international bestseller. Her work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Bellbrook Times, the Grand Haven Tribune, and on the talk show Living Dayton.

Author social media links:






Purchase:

Amazon US paperback: http://amzn.to/29gsqPw

Amazon US ebook: http://amzn.to/29tp2EF


Amazon UK ebook: http://amzn.to/29mv46L


Amazon AU ebook: http://amzn.to/29umy7d


Amazon CA ebook: http://amzn.to/29umCUm

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/29oFynI

Barnes and Noble Nook: http://bit.ly/1S5wUuk


Thursday, July 14, 2016

Sharing Rylee


 

Title: Sharing Rylee
Author: D. Kelly
Genre: Romantic Erotica/Menage
Release Date: July 12, 2016


Blurb

Do happily ever after’s always have to be so traditional?

Rylee Stafford has asked herself this question since she was eighteen years old. Now, at twenty-eight she still doesn’t have an answer. One thing she knows for sure is even if she can have the unconventional relationship she’s always dreamed of, it would never fly with her family. Her sexual proclivities would never be accepted by them or their social circle.

The truth is Rylee is tired of hiding her feelings. Tired of wanting what she can’t have and so tired of feeling abnormal because she wants a different kind of love.

She’s kept her secret well hidden, especially from Nick, her on again off again love affair. Her secret isn’t their only stumbling block, though—Rylee’s also met someone new. His name is Pete and he sets her heart and soul on fire; he’s sexy, smart, possessive, and he wants her. No matter how much she cares for them she can’t bring herself to tell them the truth. The only way to Rylee’s heart is to have a relationship with both men.

It’s only when Rylee takes her annual vacation does she finally realize her happiness is worth more than what anyone thinks of her. Now the only question is: will Rylee’s alternate lifestyle alienate everyone she loves? Or will she be accepted for the person she’s always been deep down inside?







Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK
iBOOKS / B&NKOBO
PAPERBACK




Excerpt

“Nick, I think you should go.”

I feel like she punched me in the gut, but I’m going to take Zack’s lead on this one. He never let Cassidy pull too far away, and I’m not going to let Rylee shut me out now.

Silently, I get dressed. She’s still standing by the bathroom with her arms across her chest. She doesn’t want to get close to me because she doesn’t want to admit her feelings for me.

“Rylee,” I say, walking toward her at a slow pace. She eyes me up and down and presses herself as close to the wall as possible. She’s not getting away from me.

I pull her into my arms and crush my lips to hers. My hand weaves into her sexy, just-fucked hair, and I pull her tightly to my lips. I kiss her with all the passion I’ve had building inside of me for years and she feels it. I know she does because she hasn’t stopped whimpering the entire time her tongue has been dueling with mine. When I finally slow the kiss, she whimpers even more, and when I slowly pull away, her fingers go immediately to her lips as if she’s trying to savor the magic we just shared.

“I’ll go for now, Ry, but not for long. I’m going to check in on you every day, but I’ll give you space and stay away. Don’t take too long because I want you now more than ever, Rylee. I always have and I always will.”
 
I place a soft kiss to her forehead and leave.





Also Available

Sharing Rylee is not part of a series but it is a
companion novel for Chasing Cassidy


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
iBOOKS / B&N / KOBO




Author Bio

I'm a wife, a mom, and a dog lover. I'm also a taxi, problem fixer, extreme multi-tasker, and my kids’ biggest fan in anything they do. I’m married to my high school sweetheart... how cool is that? Margaritas and sarcasm make me happy. Chocolate makes that happiness grow exponentially. People who make me laugh are my favorite kind of people. I believe Karma is a bitch who slaps back hard and mean people suck. I'm California born and raised, and I love the beach but hate the sand. And, of course, I believe Starbucks makes any day better. I’m the author of The Acceptance Series and Chasing Cassidy with more books soon to come. 


Author Links





Giveaway

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Lethal Harvest


I received a copy of LETHAL HARVEST by William R. Cutrer and Sandra L. Glahn from Kregel in exchange for an honest review.  This isn’t the type of story I normally read.  I’m more into historical fiction and fantasy.  However, I love to expand my reading tastes and dive into something different.  I am heartily glad that I took a chance on LETHAL HARVEST.

As I read, I knew this was a book I would pass on to my dad.  IVF, DNA, cloning, fertilization, and stem cell research?  Sign him up!  I wasn’t too familiar with the topics – other than hearing snippets of conversation from family and friends – so I was interested to see how the plot unfurled.  At times I was a little overwhelmed, but I think that’s because I’m not too hip on these topics.

The book is about a Mexican couple who use a clinic’s services to conceive twins.  The husband is upset because the girls don’t look like him, so he sues the clinic.  That’s it in a nutshell.  However, it isn’t quite so cut and dry.  It is a very vast and edge-of-your-seat novel.

There is a Christian theme to the story that I found refreshing.  Overall, I recommend this book to those interested in these topics, and for anyone looking for a fresh read outside of his or her usual genre.