Archive for March, 2018



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The Boy Who Swallows Flies
Michael F. Stewart
Publication date: February 15th 2018
Genres: Middle-Grade, Mystery, Superhero

Winner of the Claymore Award!

Warning – Rated Kids-Only for Bug Violence

Jarrod can view the memories of any bug. He just has to eat it. It’s not the tastiest of superpowers and, let’s face it, fly memories aren’t all unicorns and rainbows. Eating insects also doesn’t net him many friends, and Bug-boy is an unavoidable nickname. But Jarrod’s ready to prove that he and his bugs are worth more than ridicule.

When he swallows a fly while biking, he’s in for a shock. The bug saw a room stacked full of sick dogs and puppies in crates. It’s a puppy mill, and Jarrod needs to save the animals. But the flight range of the common housefly is five miles. Even if the police believed him, with no evidence, they can’t help. It’s up to Jarrod.

Trained cockroaches survey neighborhood basements. A fly taped to a window makes an excellent sentry. Every beetle, mosquito, caterpillar—don’t eat the fuzzy yellow ones—spider and centipede is his edible sidekick.

Will Jarrod save the dogs? Or is it all too much to swallow?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

 

My Review

I had a feeling this would be a hoot to read and the author didn’t let me down.

Jarrod has a condition where he faints for no reason. That’s why he wears a helmet to protect his head.  It paints a huge target on him at school and the bullies don’t miss a chance to pick on the Bug Boy. He’s been called weird and dumb often enough  he’s come to believe it. But his best friend tells him he just hadn’t tapped into his potential yet. When he accidentally swallows a bug and can see it’s memories, he thinks he just might have found it.

No. Just no. There’s no way I could eat a bug on purpose.  Jarrod gets creative, I’ll give him that. And he keeps a bucket handy in case what goes down comes back up.  And letting the bugs out to crawl all over him in his bed. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.

Jerrod’s new found talent sets him on a course of discovery. There’s some moral issues involved and he’s tempted by others. He may believe he’s not the smartest of kids, but I sure liked how he worked things out.

 An unlikely hero with some unusual sidekicks. It’s creepy crawly fun.

5 Stars

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Author Michael F. Stewart

Michael F. Stewart is winner of both the 2015 Claymore Award and the 2014 inaugural Creation of Stories Award for best YA novel at the Toronto International Book Fair.
He likes to combine storytelling with technology and pioneered interactive storytelling with Scholastic Canada, Australia, and New Zealand’s, anti-cyberbullying program Bully For You. In addition to his award winning Assured Destruction series, he has authored four graphic novels with Oxford University Press Canada’s Boldprint series. Publications of nonfiction titles on Corruption and Children’s Rights are published by Scholastic and early readers are out with Pearson Education.

For adults, Michael has written THE SAND DRAGON a horror about a revenant prehistoric vampire set in the tar sands, HURAKAN a Mayan themed thriller which pits the Maya against the MS-13 with a New York family stuck in the middle, 24 BONES an urban fantasy which draws from Egyptian myth, and THE TERMINALS–a covert government unit which solves crimes in this realm by investigating them in the next.

Herder of four daughters, Michael lives to write in Ottawa where he was the Ottawa Public Library’s first Writer in Residence. To learn more about Michael and his next projects visit his website at www.michaelfstewart.com or connect via Twitter @MichaelFStewart.

Michael is represented by Talcott Notch.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

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Sneaking Out
Chuck Vance
(Chased, #1)
Published by: Dunemere Books
Publication date: March 6th 2018
Genres: Mystery, Young Adult

Could you sleep next to a murderer?

Luke Chase—yes, that Luke Chase, a modern hero ripped from the headlines—didn’t mean to get caught up in Mrs. Heckler’s murder. He just wanted to hook up with the hot new British girl at St. Benedict’s, and if that meant sneaking out to the woods after hours, then so be it. But little did he know someone would end up dead right next to their rendezvous spot, and his best friend and roommate Oscar Weymouth would go down for it. With suspects aplenty and a past that’s anything but innocent, Luke Chase reluctantly calls on his famous survival skills to find the true killer.

For fans of “A Study in Charlotte” and boarding school lit, “Sneaking Out” (book one in the “Chased” series) immerses readers in the privileged prep school world, with a mystery that exposes the dark side of life on a residential high school campus.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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Enjoy the excerpt:

Luke stood up and held out a hand to help Pippa up. He didn’t let go after she rose, and he clasped it firmly as they walked together. It didn’t feel awkward—he’d already held her hand a couple of times. He felt protective. They walked along in silence.

They passed a mailbox, its hinge squeaking in the wind. The wind had picked up a plastic bag, which was scraping along the road, dancing with the fallen leaves. Every noise was amplified.

Luke pulled Pippa toward him to avoid a ditch. It was then that Luke sensed something. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the flash of someone jump behind a tree. Luke’s muscles tensed. They were being followed.

“Don’t turn around, but someone is behind us,” warned Luke. “On foot.”

He saw Pippa’s neck stiffen. “Who is it?” she whispered.

“Not sure, but let’s speed up.”

They started walking as fast as possible without running. Luke felt as if there was a bullseye on his back. Was the person who was following them crazy enough to do something to harm them? What if he had a gun?

They were about a block away from the nearest streetlight. Luke feared that if they walked under it, they would be completely exposed to whoever was following them. It seemed safer to remain in the shadows. He abruptly pulled Pippa diagonally across the street. They picked up their pace and stayed on course.

“We’ll be able to see who it is when they pass the streetlight,” said Luke.

“Do you think he crossed, too?”

Luke pricked his ears. He could hear a distant tap, tap. Footsteps. “No, he’s on the other side.”

They walked past the streetlight and up about thirty feet before stopping short and turning around. For a split second, they saw a figure bathed in the light, but then it darted to the side. It looked like a man, in a baseball hat. But he was too fast for them. Luke grabbed Pippa’s hand tightly.”

“We need to run.”

Author Chuck Vance

Chuck Vance is a pseudonym for a bestselling writer of both adult mysteries and novels for young adults. Vance attended boarding school in Connecticut and graduated from Columbia University. Vance has lived in New York, Moscow, London, Paris and Los Angeles and is frequently on the move.

Website / Goodreads



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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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To see all of my giveaways go HERE

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by Ambrosia  @ The Purple Booker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

My Teaser for this week is from

Hurricane Season

A Florida Panhandle Mystery#1

by Michaela Thompson

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Genre: Mystery

 My teaser from 26% in the eBook.

 The figure caught in the net was not, as he had been trying to tell himself, a large fish or a sodden pile of clothing. Dark hair wafted around what was unmistakably a woman’s head. As he watched, the dark shape of a catfish swam up and nuzzled at her fingers.

I know this is a bit gruesome. This story takes place practically in my back yard and I could see this so clearly. You cast a net in the muddy bayou and who knows what you’ll dredge up.

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

Sticky, sultry Palmetto had seen its share of hurricanes and evil. But it was an ill wind that blew through the Gulf-coast Florida town in the summer of ’52.

Diana Landis, well-known in every barroom, and more than a few bedrooms in town, was found beneath the dock, afloat in a fishing net. Her lover, Bo Calhoun, had already seen his family’s moonshine still set ablaze by arsonists. Congressman Robert “Snapper” Landis seemed more interested in his tough reelection campaign with Gospel Roy McInnes than in his daughter’s murder. And Wesley Stafford, a young seminarian more familiar with salvation than seduction, was in jail when, it seemed, he confessed to the killing.

All that was before storekeeper Lily Trulock left her neglecting husband to his beekeeping and ran her skiff to the island of St. Elmo, where an even bigger wind threatened to blow the lid off the whole county!

Amazon

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How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE

Look For Her

Keene And Frohmann #4

by Emily Winslow

On Tour February 12th through March 16, 2018.

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Genre: Psychological Thriller
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 13th 2018
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 006257258X (ISBN13: 9780062572585)
Series: Keene and Frohmann #4 | Each is a stand alone novel
Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

My Review

The mystery of what happened to cause the death of a teenage girl cast a shadow over the town of Lilling. New evidence breathes life into the decades old cold case and brings together two detectives who still want to solve her murder. So much time has passed, will they be able to close the case? Or will the murderer continue to roam free?

 I enjoy cold case plots and with so many character’s muddying the waters and the story being told from multiple perspectives, I wasn’t surprised that I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. All of them had tons of baggage and some had a motive to see the case solved or kept open. And you’re taken back in time to when the crime occurred and forward to the continued investigation and this I found engaging.

Maybe it was my mood at the time I was reading this, or it could be I didn’t grasp the relationships of some the characters, but I never fully engaged with them, and I need that to get pulled into a story. I lay the blame for that on my doorstep. The character’s were written in depth. Sure were some damaged psyche’s. I’d especially like to know more about Keene and Frohmann. I was intrigued by the bits of back story the author provided.

The writing was strong and I did love the twist the author gave in her ending.

4 Stars

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Synopsis

Lilling might seem like an idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared, and though her body was later discovered, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.

When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case detective Morris Keene and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally bring closure to this traumatized community. But the new evidence instead undoes the case’s only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.

Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections? With piercing insight and shocking twists, Emily Winslow explores the dark side of sensationalized crime in this haunting psychological thriller.

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Trade Reviews:

“An intriguing, suspenseful, and briskly paced story with complex characters, evocative descriptions of England’s Cambridgeshire, plenty of clever misdirection, and a satisfying ending.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Using multiple narrators, as she did in The Start of Everything (2013), Winslow spins the plot to a satisfying and humane conclusion, with Keene and Frohmann again proving to be a winning pair.”
—Booklist

“Winslow’s kaleidoscopic narrative technique, employing first-person accounts from multiple characters, makes for engaging reading.”
—Publishers Weekly

Look For Her is a nuanced, thought-provoking portrait of a crime and its aftermath. Beautifully written with an expertly twisty, surprising story, this is a must-read!”
—Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go

“Surprising and satisfying, you won’t be able to stop turning the pages of Look For Her.”
—Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King’s Daughter

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Enjoy this Excerpt

From Chapter One

Annalise Williams (Wolfson College),
University Counselling Service,
recorded and transcribed by Dr. Laurie Ambrose

My mother picked the name Annalise for me because of a girl who was killed. Her name was Annalise Wood, and she went missing when she was sixteen. My mother was the same age when it happened. Annalise was lovely, much prettier than my sister and I ever became. She was the kind of girl you look at and think, “Of course someone would want to take her.”

Don’t look at me like that. I know that what happened to her was awful. It just seems a very fine line between being the kind of person that others want to be with and be like and treat well, and being the kind of person that some others, just a few, sick others, want to take for themselves. That’s the same kind of person, isn’t it? The loved and lovely. Isn’t that from a poem somewhere? That’s what she was like. That’s the risk when you’re the kind of person who’s wanted. Good people want to be close to you, but the bad people want you too.

There were two photos of her that the media used most: her most recent school portrait, and a snapshot of her laughing, with the friends on either side cropped out. Taken together, they presented the two sides of a beautiful and perfect person: poised and thoughtful, and spontaneous and bubbly. The kind of person who deserves help and attention.

Realistically, if they wanted these pictures to help strangers identify her if they saw her out and about with the bad man, they should have used photos of her frowning or looking frightened. Either there weren’t any (which may well be the case; who would take a photo of that?), or they couldn’t bring themselves to advertise a version of her that was less than appealing. The narrative is important. If you want the “general public” to get worked up, you have to persuade. Attractiveness and innocence must be communicated, even if emphasising those traits makes the real person harder to recognise.

In the end, she was already dead, so it’s a good thing, I suppose, that they used the nice photos. They’re the images that everyone remembers. My mum was a teenager when those pictures were in the paper every day for weeks, then weekly for months. Annalise Wood was the most beautiful girl in the world. Everyone cared about her. It’s what any mother would wish for her child, to be the kind of person that everyone would care about and miss if she disappeared.

It wasn’t until Mum was over thirty that what really happened to Annalise Wood was discovered.

***

Excerpt from Look for Her by Emily Winslow. Copyright © 2018 by Emily Winslow. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

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Author Emily Winslow

Emily Winslow

Emily Winslow is an American living in Cambridge, England. She trained as an actor at Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious drama conservatory and earned a master’s degree in museum studies from Seton Hall University. For six years she wrote for Games magazine, creating increasingly elaborate and lavishly illustrated logic puzzles. She lives with her husband and two sons. She is the author of four novels and a memoir.

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Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

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This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for Emily Winslow and William Morrow. There will be one winner of one physical copy of the 1st three books in the Keene and Frohmann Series: The Whole World, The Start Of Everything, and The Red House AND there will be 5 winners of one physical copy of their choice of ONE of the 1st three books in the Keene and Frohmann Series: The Whole World, The Start Of Everything, and The Red House. The giveaway begins on February 12 and runs through

Go HERE to visit the other tour participants.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE



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Celestia
Yumoyori Wilson
(Unicorn Blessed Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: March 2nd 2018
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

What do you get when your father’s a centaur and your mother’s a powerful magician?

A unicorn shifter…

You’d think being the only known unicorn shifter in the world would have a few benefits. Like, people treating you kindly or getting special treatment from the council. Not in my case. I’d be lucky to get a piece of bread thrown at me.

My name is Celestia Rainbow, and yes, my last name is fucking Rainbow.

Shifters assume that I’m kind by nature, but trust me: I’m fierce, short-tempered and have the mouth of a sailor. Add in my stealthy fighting skills, advanced magic casting, and swift movement, I’m someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. But everyone looks at my shifter side – my ditzy, peaceful half, sprinkling magic dust, and on a mission to end world hunger.

Regardless of my dual personality, I’ve sworn to become a huntress at Aslan Academy. Now that I’m of age–my lucky twenty-fifth birthday just happens to coincide with the entrance exams–I’m ready to prove my worth.

Too bad I’m grouped up with six sinful looking men.

Time to prove to my community, classmates and this attractive bunch of weirdos that unicorns can kick ass too.

CELESTIA is a new REVERSE HAREM, paranormal series. Recommended for 18+ audiences, containing mature sexual content, violence and strong language.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this glimpse inside:

“Good luck, Celestia. Work hard, make some new friends, and achieve your goals.”

“I will, Master Magnor. May you remain safe until we return,” I replied.

“Bru-REE!” Arielle agreed, fluttering her wings.

“Be off then. Keep in touch.” He stepped aside, allowing me to walk out the entrance and away from his property.

I took a few steps, before looking back to see his sad smile. One last time.

I left my luggage where it was, running back to give him a final hug. He looked pleased, giving me a tight squeeze.

“I love you,” I whispered into his white shirt.

“I love you more, Celestia. Now get going. You don’t want to be late,” he reminded.

I nodded against his shoulder, taking one last whiff of his meadow scent and pulled away. We shared a smile; both of us knew this wouldn’t be the last time we’d see each other.

“Bye,” I waved, running off to where my luggage sat.

“Celestia.”

I paused mid-stride, looking back over my shoulder to see Magnor’s glossy eyes.

“No boys,” he called out, a wide grin on his face while a tear rolled down his cheek.

I giggled, letting my tears flow freely. “No promises! I’ll make sure I bring home six of the finest men,” I called out, giving him a final wave.

He shook his head in amusement, waving back.

I took a deep breath and began to walk away. This won’t be the end. I’ll make you proud, Master Magnor. I promise.

 

Author Yumoyori Wilson

Yumoyori Wilson is from Toronto, Ontario. She loves to sleep and write her days away. She works at night as a registered nurse. She has a little addiction to bubble tea and coffee but loves to workout. She has big plans for the writing world and can’t wait to share them with everyone.

Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Goodreads



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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE

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This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

I’m also linking up with The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Sunday Post

Some chit chat.

It was another beautiful week. Temps were around 80 and the sun was shining. I’m starting to stock up on pool supplies and doing some spring clean up in the yard. Time to cut back and clear the dead stuff. This weekend is a bit cooler so the perfect time to do it.

And I’m sharing more pics of my plant.

Here’s last week.

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And now one week later.

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Can you believe how fast it’s growing. It’s going to be so amazing this year!

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And one sure sign spring is here in my neck of the woods is when the buds appear on my pecan trees. My camera didn’t want to focus so this is a bit blurry, but what you see is a soft brown tip forming on the end of the branch. As soon as it turns green the leaves will start to open.

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Sta tuned. I’ll be sharing about my Sega and banana trees soon.

Have a fabulous Sunday!

*****

My new books this week.

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*****

And here are some FREEBIES for ya.

Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.

Family Secrets: A Whispering Pines Mystery by [McGuire, Shawn]  Scraps of Paper (The First Spookie Town Murder Mystery Book 1) by [Griffith, Kathryn Meyer]  The Darkest Thread (The Flint K-9 Search and Rescue Mysteries Book 1) by [Blood, Jen]

Flea Market Fatal: Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mystery #1 (Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries) by [Bates, Brianna]  Good Guys Love Dogs by [Cooper, Inglath]  Avalon: a Heartwarming True Cat Story by [Morgan, Vanessa]

*****

This weeks reviews. Click on the covers to view them.

 

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Other posts on my blog this week.

Romance Is In The Air ~ Finale and Giveaway

My Monday Minis #37 ~ The Book Of Riley #3 ~ A Zombie ‘Tail’

The Chindi Series by Brandy Nacole ~ Tour and Giveaway

A true heroine…… The Book Of Riley #4

Dog Duty ~ You can’t keep a good dog down

The Cases Of Lieutenant DeLong ~ Giveaway and Excerpt

They Call It Puppy Love Challenge ~ Completed!

Here kitty kitty….Clowders by Vanessa Morgan ~ Review and Giveaway

The Friday 56 #177 ~ Witch Creek by Laura Bickle

Chicken Culprit by Vikki Walton ~ Book Blast and Giveaway

Wild Pride by Kristen Banet ~ Teasers and Giveaway

*****

Leave your link and I’ll come visit you.

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.



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Wild Pride
Kristen Banet
(The Kingson Pride #1)
Publication date: October 20th 2017
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Twenty-three year old Riley Stern has lived in Wild Junction for two years, cultivating a mediocre life that she is content with. Just content. It’s nothing special, but it’s hers.
Then five locals move back into town after disappearing a decade before: the boys of the Kingson Estate. They have reputations that Riley needs to avoid, but they are sexy and powerful in ways that draw her to them. Then they tell her she’s only half-human and make her an offer she doesn’t want to refuse: join the pride, become part of the family, and learn everything about what she is.
Too bad her body wants much more than to be part of the family.
Too bad they also want more.
Too bad that there is much more to this deal than any of them know.

The Kingson Pride, infamous due to their youth and ruthlessness.
Brenton Kingson, Zachary Woods, Andrew Hicks, Troy and Gabe Walker. Five of the richest, most successful, and bitter feline shifters that walk the earth. Deciding to keep her close and keep an eye on her, they uncover terrifying family secrets. Now that they just need to stop all hell from breaking loose.

*This is a Reverse Harem series with graphic scenes, mature language, and mature themes. Suitable for ages 18+*

Goodreads / Amazon

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Author Kristen Banet

Kristen Banet has a Diet Coke problem and smokes too much. She curses like a sailor (though, she used to be one, so she uses that as an excuse) and finds that many people don’t know how to handle that. She loves to read, and before finally sitting to try her hand at writing, she had your normal kind of work history. From tattoo parlors, to the U.S. Navy, and freelance illustration, she’s stumbled through her adult years and somehow, is still kicking.
She loves to read books that make people cry. She likes to write books that make people cry (and she wants to hear about it). She’s a firm believer that nothing and no one in this world is perfect, and she enjoys exploring those imperfections—trying to make the characters seem real on the page and not just in her head.
She might just be crazy, though. Her characters think so, but this can’t be confirmed.

Check out her social media to catch what’s going on in the worlds inside her head. She drops teasers, new covers, and opens ARC reader slots through her Facebook group, The Banet Pride.

Goodreads / Facebook Page / Facebook Group

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE

ChickenCulprit banner

Chicken Culprit

A Backyard Farming Mystery #1

by Vikki Walton

ChickenCulprit FrontCover

Genre: Cozy Mystery

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Synopsis

Moving to Colorado seemed like a great way to start over. In Carolan Springs, Anne plans to spend her days living the simpler life.

But when her neighbor is found dead in his compost pile, trouble comes knocking on Anne’s  door.

All the evidence points to Anne’s other neighbor, Kandi Jenkins. As the young woman begs Anne for help, Anne finds herself thrust into a world of deceit and secrets.

Who had the most to gain from Ralph’s death? As the suspect list grows, Anne finds her desire for the simple life may have led her to something sinister.

ChickenCulprit teaser

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Check out the excerpt:

Anne yawned and stretched her hands over her head. She unlocked the kitchen window, taking in a deep breath of crisp Colorado air and sighed loudly. No longer would she have to deal with divorce lawyers or Duke. She could finally live her life as she saw fit.

Anne surveyed her domain. Even though boxes cluttered every available space, it didn’t matter to her. What she cared about was that it was all hers. While the work ahead might seem daunting, the prospect of transforming the old Victorian house didn’t deter Anne.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, both hands cradling the mug, before deciding to drink it out on the back porch. Rays of sunshine had risen about the copse at the back of her property, and its golden warmth welcomed the day. Raising the mug to her mouth, Anne took a much-needed sip of the hot morning brew.

“Stop! Stop!” A woman’s voice carried over from the other yard.

Anne sloshed coffee onto her chambray shirt. “Shoot!” She set her cup down on the railing. The liquid turning cold began seeping onto her skin.

“Stop!” The piercing scream came again.

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Author Vikki

Vikki is a well-liked speaker and knowledgeable instructor on myriad topics such as fundraising, work quilting, creative writing, design, homesteading, travel, and getting what you really want out of life. Her diverse background and passions enables Vikki to speak and write about many subjects. She’s the author of Work Quilting, a top ten book on vocational guidance. She’s also a global house and petsitter, founder and travel blogger at girlswanta.com and upcoming book on women’s travel.

If Vikki isn’t off exploring the globe, you’ll find her at her home in Colorado digging in the garden, watching her chicken’s antics, reading a mystery or working on her newest project.

Connect with Vikki:

Website / Facebook / Author Facebook / Twitter

Buy Links: Amazon

Chicken Culprit is currently on sale for 99 cents!

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Click on the banner below to follow the tour and comment.

The more you comment, the more chances to win!

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Welcome to The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.

 

This is a really fun meme!

The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!

My 56 for this week is from:

Witch creek

A Wildlands Novel #4

  by Laura Bickle

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Genre: Dark Fantasy

My 56 from the eBook.

The world was much different than it had been when she strode through it on two legs.

It was poison.

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

In the backcountry of Yellowstone, evil moves below the surface . . .

Following Nine of Stars comes the next chapter in Laura Bickle’s critically acclaimed Wildlands series

As the daughter of an alchemist, Petra Dee has battled supernatural horrors and experienced astonishing wonders. But there’s no magic on earth that can defeat her recent cancer diagnosis, or help find her missing husband, Gabriel. Still, she would bet all her remaining days that the answer to his disappearance lies in the dark subterranean world beneath the Rutherford Ranch on the outskirts of Temperance, Wyoming.

Gabe is being held prisoner by the sheriff and heir to the ranch, Owen Rutherford. Owen is determined to harness the power of the Tree of Life—and he needs Gabe to reveal its magic. Secretly, the sheriff has also made a pact to free a creature of the underground, a flesh-devouring mermaid. Muirenn has vowed to exact vengeance on Gabe, who helped imprison her, but first . . . she’s hungry. Once freed, she will swim into Yellowstone—to feed.

With her coyote sidekick Sig, Petra must descend into the underworld to rescue Gabe before it’s too late . . . for both of them.

Amazon / B&N

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I’ve got a treat for all of you horror fans just released today! Know what a clowder is? No? You will soon enough.

Enjoy the wonderful guest post from Author Vanessa Morgan. Check out my review of Clowders. And read the glimpse inside the book.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Guest Post by Author Vanessa Morgan

RESEARCHING LOCATIONS FOR CLOWDERS

About ten years ago, I visited a tiny but charming town in Luxembourg, Europe: Clervaux. As soon as the car entered this community surrounded by woods, I knew it would once become the setting for one of my stories.

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I already used of few elements of Clervaux in my supernatural thriller Drowned Sorrow (which actually takes place in New England), but as soon as I started working on Clowders, there was no doubt about it that the story would be set in Clervaux.

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While drafting Clowders, I mainly used my travel pictures and Google Maps as research, but once the plot was complete, I went back there to have a clear understanding of the topography and to describe places such as restaurants, shops and the castle.

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I did find a cat while I was there for research, and I featured him on Traveling Cats 😉 http://www.traveling-cats.com/2016/02/cat-from-clervaux-luxembourg.html

The only things that aren’t based on reality are the people that inhabit the town, the many cats in the area, and, of course, the curse.

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Clowders

by Vanessa Morgan

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Genre:  Horror

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My Review

They say cats have nine lives. What that means in the lovely isolated town of Clervaux, Luxemburg is they take nine. That’s right. When a cat dies, nine human lives are taken.

When an American family moves to Clervaux, they believe the legend is just that, a legend. But then a cat is killed and not long after someone dies. One down, eight to go.

This started out so hopeful. A scenic little town, friendly inhabitants, and lots of cats. But slowly, the atmosphere darkens. Strange noises are heard. Something prowls in the house at night. Claws click across the floor. Food disappears, Shadows hide a hunched over figure. And the friendly neighbors become not so friendly. Sounds like a good movie, doesn’t it? Thanks to the author’s talent for showing the story, it felt like I was watching it.

It takes a lot to give me the creeps. I’ve read a bunch of horror stories and watched lots of movies. A few scenes in this book are so creeptastic! There’s this scene where something is stalking the next victim. It moves boldly through the crowd of tourists. They think it’s part of something put on to entertain and take pictures of it, even as it attacks. I’d like to think I’d know the difference. I read it over again and still got creeped out.

Soft kitty. Warm kitty. Little ball of fur….. Not!

4 Stars

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Synopsis

Clervaux, Luxembourg. This secluded, picturesque town in the middle of Europe is home to more
cats than people. For years, tourists have flocked to this place – also known as “cat haven” – to meet
the cats and buy cat-related souvenirs.
When Aidan, Jess and their five-year-old daughter, Eleonore, move from America to Clervaux, it
seems as if they’ve arrived in paradise. It soon becomes clear, though, that the inhabitants’ adoration
of their cats is unhealthy. According to a local legend, each time a cat dies, nine human lives are
taken as a punishment. To tourists, these tales are supernatural folklore, created to frighten children
on cold winter nights. But for the inhabitants of Clervaux, the danger is darkly, horrifyingly real.
Initially, Aidan and Jess regard this as local superstition, but when Jess runs over a cat after a night
on the town, people start dying, one by one, and each time it happens, a clowder of cats can be seen
roaming the premises.
Are they falling victim to the collective paranoia infecting the entire town? Or is something
unspeakably evil waiting for them?
Aidan and Jess’ move to Europe may just have been the worst decision they ever made.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: US / UK / FR

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Check out this glimpse inside:

“Who is she?” Eleonore asked when Jess drove her to school Friday morning.
“Who’s who?” Jess countered, not sure what her daughter was talking about.
“The girl. The one who’s always watching us.”
“No one’s watching us,” Jess said.
“Yes, there is. All the girls in my baking class say the same.”
Normally, Jess wouldn’t have put much thought into such a remark – children can say weird
things sometimes. But now it seemed Eleonore might be right. Jess felt like there was indeed
someone watching them, no matter what they were doing.
She felt it everywhere she went. When she took Eleonore to baking class, when she was
lying in bed at night, even in the shops. But not all the time.
Some of the time.
More often than not, everything seemed normal, and then all of a sudden, she felt as if
someone was checking up on her. Sometimes it was only briefly, like a minute or so, but at other
times, she could feel it for several hours.
Sometimes she could feel it on the streets.
But mostly at home.
And never outside Clervaux.
You’re imagining things, she told herself.
In fact, every day since she’d arrived in Europe, it had gotten worse. More and more, she’d
get that tingly feeling, and know that someone behind her was watching her. She’d try to ignore it,
tried to resist the urge to look over her shoulder, but eventually the hair on the back of her neck
would stand up, and the tingling would turn into a chill, and finally, she’d turn around.
And nobody would be there.
Nobody, except for the cats. The sight of cats waddling along the pavement had never
seemed eerie to her, but the fact that they were always there, no matter where she was – on the
sidewalk, at the main square, in a café, in the forest – made her skin crawl.
Whenever she was running errands in Clervaux, she kept looking into store windows, but it
wasn’t the merchandise she was looking at; it was the reflection in the glass.
The reflection of something sinister watching her.
Sometimes she could have sworn she saw something. The reflection of a small, squatting
figure. But then she glanced over her shoulder and all she could see once more were the cats of
Clervaux staring back at her.
She decided to not let her imagination get to her, to resist the urge to glance over her
shoulder every few seconds.
And then her daughter muttered the words, “Who is she? The girl. The one who’s always
watching us,” and the paranoia tightened its grip on her once more.

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Author Vanessa Morgan

Vanessa Morgan is known as the “female version of Stephen King.” Three of her works (The
Strangers Outside, Next to Her, A Good Man) have become movies. When she’s not working on her
latest book, you can find her watching horror movies, digging through flea markets, or
photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats HERE.

Social Media Links

Facebook / Twitter / Google + / Amazon / Goodreads

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE