Archive for November 6, 2019

APPLE CIDER SLAYING BANNER 820 1

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Apple Cider Slaying

A Cider Shop Mystery

by Julie Anne Lindsey

 


Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Kensington (October 29, 2019)
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 1496723473
ISBN-13: 978-1496723475
Digital ASIN: B07NCQPSVW

My Review

In the three years since Winnie’s grandfather passed away, business has been declining. Her Granny Smythe supports her plans to expand the business to keep it open and profitable year round. So, she books several tours for the day the bank official is to come and assess her proposal. After a rocky start, he seems to be coming around, but that all changes when her big reveal ends up being a dead body in the apple press. Turns out the dead woman is someone that Granny Smythe has been at odds with, making her the prime suspect. The business isn’t the only thing in jeopardy now.

I’m a huge fan of cozies. They have such fun titles and cover art. Apple Cider Slaying says fall and the cover is a perfect representation to the story. Including those two adorable kitties, which Winnie adopted.

And they usually have homey settings. The town felt like home. We had a crab apple tree where I grew up. There was nothing I liked more than to climb it and settle on these two branches that made a perfect place to sit and read a book. I suffered many an upset tummy from munching the apples before they were ripe. LOL

And the characters could be your family and neighbors. They are so genuine. Winnie was smart and brave. I thought she was awesome in how she handled the banker. Despite being nervous she really stepped up to the plate. Just like she did when her Granny was suspected of the murder. She dug in and sorted things out while also juggling other issues.

And the mystery kept me guessing. I had two suspects in mind for the murder and didn’t know which one it was until right near the end.

While cozy mysteries usually have a murder to solve, I found myself just as wrapped up in the characters everyday lives. Apple Cider Slaying is a great beginning to a wonderful series and I’d happily read more.

Shooting Star, Meteoroid, Star, Meteorite, YellowShooting Star, Meteoroid, Star, Meteorite, YellowShooting Star, Meteoroid, Star, Meteorite, YellowShooting Star, Meteoroid, Star, Meteorite, Yellow

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Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year’s crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .

ONE ROTTEN APPLE

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny’s beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it’s struggling. That’s why they’re trying to drum up business with the “First Annual Christmas at the Orchard,” a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike—until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder . .

Includes Recipes!

About Author Julie Anne Lindsey

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. When she’s not creating new worlds and organizing the epic adventures of fictional characters, Julie can be found carpooling her three kids around Northeastern Ohio and plotting with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest  

Purchase Links  – Amazon B&NKoboGooglePlayIndie Bound 

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Flame banner

Today I am happy to share the cover reveal for Of Flame and Fury, Cecy Robson’s newest Weird Girls novel. This is the ninth novel in the Weird Girls urban fantasy series, and the third in the Flame series featuring sister Taran Wird. If you haven’t met this sassy, hot-headed, loudmouth sister yet you’ll want to dive in and begin the series. Action-packed, fans of this series will tell you, it’s addictive and you’ll find yourself rooting for these flawed but lovable characters.

。・:*:・゚★,。・:*:・゚☆ Of Flame and Fury 。・:*:・゚★,。・:*:・゚☆
Cover Design by: Sarah Hansen @Okay Creations
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Flame cover

Of Flame and Fury
Weird Girls #9, Flame #3
Release Date: February 25, 2020
Add to Goodreads
Pre-order your copy: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo 
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Taran Wird, the loudmouth mistress of flame and lightning, didn’t want to attend the formal gathering of the supernatural elite. She did so only to help to unite the supreme beings in attendance in one common goal: protecting Taran’s sister, Celia.

Celia is pregnant with alpha werewolf Aric Connor’s child, the same child prophesized to save the world from uprising evil. Evil wants this child dead before he is born and, more importantly, before he can grow strong enough to stop it.

Taran and her werewolf lover, Gemini, put plans in place to protect Celia. Master Vampire Misha Aleksandr and his clan also swear their allegiance to Celia and vow to keep her from harm. The witches even cast protection spells around the manor to curse anyone with malintent who enters. Nothing was supposed to go wrong, except everything did.

Creatures that shouldn’t exist stalk the grounds and invade the premises, and every curse meant to shield the guests turns against them. No one counted on the powerful being who arrived uninvited. But he’s here, manipulating the magic enclosing the estate to work in his favor.

As body counts rise and allies become enemies, chances are Celia won’t survive the night. But evil never counted on how hard Taran Wird would fight, even at the expense of her life.

。・:*:・゚★,。・:*:・゚☆A Teaser Just for You…. 。・:*:・゚★,。・:*:・゚☆
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“Emme,” I call out. I frown when the hall darkens and she appears to walk further and faster away from us. “Emme, don’t go without us.”

She takes off, running.

“Em,” Bren hollers. “God damn it, wait!”

Emme rounds a corner and disappears into yet another hall. I pick up my pace, passing a small meeting room. Emme is moving fast, too fast. What’s happening to her?

My steps to falter when the light scones dim further. I turn around, the rooms we passed are gone. There are no doors or windows, only a long corridor covered with dark paneling remains.

Everything feels off and I can no longer hear the gentle strut of Emme’s feet.

“Bren?” I say.

“She’s gone,” he says.

“I know, but—”

“She’s been gone a while,” he interrupts. He takes a long whiff. “That wasn’t her.”

“Excuse me?” I look back where I thought I last saw her. “Then, who was that?”

“Not Emme,” he says, the muscles along his jaw tensing. He clasps my left arm. “Come on. We have to find her.”

I double back and into a wall.

“What the fuck?” Bren snaps.

The hall narrows, swallowing what used to be the way out in darkness.

Bren’s head jerks up. “Did you hear that?”

“I don’t hear anything,” I respond.

It’s the truth. There is no sound. Just me and Bren and our increasing breaths.

“What do you hear?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

He closes his eyes, listening hard, the rise and fall of his chest growing more pronounced.

A light whisper of wind rustles from the darkness, intensifying into a pained moan as it reaches us.

“Aw, hell,” Bren says. “Stay with me, okay?”

“Ah, sure,” I say, trying to remain calm and more than failing. I turn around when something stirs behind us. “Do you think the spells are just surging now that Celia has arrived? They’re meant to keep her safe. Maybe they’re reacting to her presence.”

I whip around. The wall is gone.

And so is Bren.

I inch backward, my motions dimming the lights further. My right arm shoots up, lighting like a torch and sparing me from the blackness encasing me.

The sound of splintering wood has me lowering my arm. I jump when thin rivers of blood trickle toward my feet.

Blood is never a good sign. It leads from bad to deadly every damn time. Most would run at the sight. Me, being me, and knowing there’s no other recourse, I follow the tiny rivers.

I move carefully, not wanting the thickening fluid to touch me. Dark magic is particularly nasty and usually requires a sacrifice. This blood signifies more than death, it’s a trigger to whatever will fire next.

My light strobes in and out, in tune with my accelerating heart rate, and against the tiny rivers that expand into widening pool. The horrible silence resumes, adding an extra dose of eerie.

Don’t be afraid, I tell myself. It’s quiet. That’s all.

I don’t manage to convince myself. Not when the moaning resumes with the next step I take. It starts out low, almost imperceptible, swelling in volume until it’s loud enough to muffle my rattling teeth.

The temperature drops absurdly low. The chill of death is here, expanding quickly, mingling with spirits and dark magic, and determined to drag me to hell.

Son of a bitch.

I reach another wall, another dead end. I release a breath, cursing when more moans join the first, these much higher pitched and much, much closer.

Frozen fingers drag down my spine. I turn around, ready to blast whatever is touching me only to stop dead. The streaks of blood are moving, swirling in freakish directions to form letters and words.

N-Y-T-E-S…

My light shakes from my violent trembles.

A-R-E…

The letters darken to black, smearing the wooden floors.

C-O-M-I-N-G

I jolt when something crashes on the level above. I don’t wait for more of this twisted spelling bee. I take off in a sprint, shaking my right hand. “Get us to Celia,” I tell Sparky. “Get us there now.”

I just miss crashing into a wall that materializes in front of me. I shake my arm harder. I don’t typically order Sparky around. It’s not something I can do. As connected as we are, she’s practically a separate entity with her own set of rules I’ve yet to figure out.

“Come on, girl,” I insist. “Celia needs us.”

More by instinct than anything Sparky does, I spin, startling when a new set of words form along the wall.

NYTES

HAVE

COME

Pre-order your copy: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo About Cecy Robson

CECY ROBSON is an international and multi-award-winning author of over twenty-five character driven novels. A registered nurse of eighteen years, Cecy spends her free time creating magical worlds, heart-stopping romance, and young adult adventure. After receiving two RITA® nominations, the Maggie Award, the Award of Excellence, and a National Reader’s Choice Award nomination, you can still find Cecy laughing, crying, and cheering on her characters as she pens her next story.
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。・:*:・゚★,。・:*:・゚☆ Giveaway。・:*:・゚★,。・:*:・゚☆ 


Enter to win a $25.00 Amazon gift card and eBook copy of Sealed with A Curse, book one in the Weird Girls series.

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You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

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