Archive for the ‘New Release’ Category

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Welcome to My Monday Minis Reviews where I share short reviews of books I’ve read. For today I’ll be sharing three books.

Johnny and Jamaal

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My Review

With all of the tragic recent events we’ve seen and heard on the news, this book had a timely release.

Exploring issues occurring today with interracial relationships, coping with racial injustice, and addressing the controversy of punishment fitting the crime, this book will in turn have you cheering characters on, crying out at the inequality doled out, and hoping for a happy ending.

I became quite fond of the characters. They each had a lot of emotional baggage and much to overcome, yet all of them touched me. And I wanted to mention, it’s not all seriousness . There are the fun moments too. And sports. Got a little bit of everything for you.

Having read other books by this author, I knew I’d enjoy his writing, but was a bit worried about this story. Not my normal reading, but it’s trying something new that reveals hidden gems like Johnny and Jamaal. The strong writing of K.M. Beakey captivates you, pulling you along until you reach the end. I very much enjoyed this and recommend you give it a go.

4 Stars

Synopsis

Two athletes from different planets are on the verge of greatness. Johnny’s a carefree Canadian making his mark in the NHL. Jamaal’s set to follow LeBron and Kyrie out of the ghetto. When their worlds collide, the catastrophic clash ignites racial conflict not seen since Ferguson. The incident tests the fledgling love of Johnny’s best friend Lucas and his African-American girlfriend Chantal, and sets them on a quest for truth and justice in the perverse racial landscape of 2016.

As chaos escalates across American cities, an MLK-like voice rises from the ashes. Wilbur Rufus Holmes may be salvation for Luke and Chantal, but can he stop society’s relentless descent into racial discord?

Johnny and Jamaal is awash with sports, violence and political taboo, as America’s seething dysfunction is laid bare.

Amazon

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The Hatching

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My Review

Many of my friends wondered why I read this book. I have an irrational fear of spiders. Even the teeniest ones creep me out.

So, while reading The Hatching, and all the way to the end, I swear I felt something tickling the hairs on my arms, tiptoeing up the nape of my neck, and parting the hairs on my head.

A creepy crawly tale of spiders and how humanity panics and does it’s darnedest to destroy itself while trying to stop the onslaught of spiders.

One part that particularly creeped me out was when the spiders did something called kiting. They attached a strand of silk to something and let out more and more as they flung themselves into the air. Can you picture that. Looking up and thousands of the nasty beasts are falling from the sky to devour you from the inside out. Or perhaps they’ll cocoon you and drink you slowly. Yuck and yuck.

I’m surprised I didn’t suffer from nightmares after reading this book. For all of you fans of horror and monsters, I dare ya to read this one.

4 Stars

Synopsis

Deep in the jungle of Peru, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist party whole. FBI agent Mike Rich investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Indian earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. The Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. The first female president of the United States is summoned to an emergency briefing. And all of these events are connected.

As panic begins to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at Melanie Guyer’s Washington laboratory. The unusual egg inside begins to crack. Something is spreading…
The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An virulent ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake. But this is only the beginning of our end…

Here’s the alternate cover. Which one do you like best?

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Amazon / B&N

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Dawn Of The Spiders

Special Edition

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My Review

Yep. This would be a good movie. The first thing I though of was some of those old black and white ones. Or maybe something along the lines of Eight Legged Freaks, which was actually scary fun.

It figures that the government caused the end of the world. They act first, never ask questions, and bang! There goes everything and everyone we know and love.

Now, a town struggles to survive as hungry mutant spiders cocoon it.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? I sure had fun, even though spiders are a phobia of mine. Perhaps it’s good for me to read about them. Maybe it’ll help me to face down those evil little monsters. Maybe not. I do know it was a thrilling read. And my heart goes out to those that didn’t survive.

Grab this book. It’s a fast thrill ride to a messy ending. Caused by the spiders, of course, not the author’s writing. That was good too.

4 Stars

Synopsis

Brian O’Gorman’s international best seller returns uncut and extended. A virus designed to control the burgeoning spider population causes them to mutate into overgrown, venomous killers. A large hoard of the spiders take over the small village of Newtown, killing all but two of its residents. Laurence Johnson and Chloe Jones have only been together one night after Laurence parted ways with his wife. They find themselves trapped in the house with no way of escaping. Their only hope is to try and stay alive long enough for the army to intervene. Lorna Johnson is on the outskirts of town with nowhere to go and the spider invasion taking control. Her only hope of survival lies with a team headed up by Doctor Michael Briggs. He has a plan to stop the invasion before it gets out of hand. But he is running out of time and he is running out of allies. If he doesn’t move quickly then mankind will face the darkest day it has ever known.

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Here’s the alternate cover. Which one do you like best?

Dawn of the Spiders: Special Edition

Amazon / B&N

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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This is Me.
C.E. Wilson
Publication date: August 11th 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Science Fiction

A-SIST

Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT

Rogan is a robot. More specifically, he is an Asist – a personalized humanoid servant that provides protection, assistance, and companionship for a lonely young woman living on her own in the city. Chloe is trying to get her big break, singing at bars and clubs all over the city at night while she pays the bills as a substitute teacher during the day. Ever since she activated him many months ago, Rogan has been her beautiful, dependable, obedient, dead-eyed security blanket.

One morning she is shocked when he disobeys a direct command in an attempt to please her and his dull artificial eyes flash a hint of something new. Is this the result of the adaptive Asist servility programming or is Rogan actually thinking? Can a robot think? Can a robot feel?

As Chloe struggles with these thoughts she is blindsided by the singular Niven Adams, a handsome, confident man with the voice of an angel who is everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. He’s the perfect guy for her, except for one problem. Niven doesn’t approve of Asists and takes an immediate dislike to Rogan. As Niven charms his way deeper and deeper into Chloe’s heart, Rogan tries to convince her that he is more than a mass-produced disposable servant.

With Rogan doing everything in his power to prove that his thoughts and feelings are real and Niven trying to persuade her to abandon her robot and have a normal human relationship, Chloe is trapped between the two things that mean the most to her. Does she embrace her relationship with the blond newcomer, or face that her Asist’s feelings may be more than features of his programming?

What really makes a person a person?

Is it a ticking muscle inside their chest, or is it something more?

Goodreads / Amazon

This is Me teaser 9

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Author Bio:

C.E. Wilson is 32 years old, grew up in Millersville, Pennsylvania, and has been living in Pittsburgh since 2009. For the first few years living in Pittsburgh, she was an English teacher. Her first book, “Oath of Servitude,” was published in 2012. In 2013, she quit teaching to be a full time author and hasn’t looked back since. She loves spending time with her daughter and husband.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Street Team / Twitter / Instagram

 

GIVEAWAY!
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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 click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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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:

Save The last Dance

by Eric Joseph and Eva Ungar Grudin

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Genre: Romance

From page 56 in the paperback.

Since we started writing I too have been awash in memories – and intense feelings – actually I’ve been unable to concentrate on anything else – nervously waiting for your replies.

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

In Save the Last Dance the reader is allowed to eavesdrop on correspondence among people caught in an extraordinary situation- the sudden intrusion of long-ago love into the humdrum lives of older people.

Adam Wolf and Sarah Ross were teenage sweethearts who grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in the late 50’s and early 60’s. They set a wedding date when they turned fifteen. The day came and went. For most of their lives the two were out of contact.

With their 50th high school reunion approaching, Adam and Sarah reconnect. Email exchanges- after the first tentative “hi”, then a deluge- five, ten- by the end of the week twenty emails a day. Soon Sarah admits, “All my life I’ve been looking for someone who loves me as much as you did”.

In their late sixties now, the couple are far apart geographically, but again inseparable, at least virtually. They feel ageless. Adam dances around the house, no longer “zombie-walking to Waldheim Cemetery”. The two weave from nostalgia and reminiscences to plans and possibilities. They giggle and fantasize. They trust each other with secrets never revealed before.

Too soon, harsh disapproval besieges the couple’s dream world. Adam is married to Lola, a frustrated and hypercritical wife. His employer, Amanda, grows obsessively possessive of him. Divorced from her arrogant husband, Professor Harold Weinstein, Sarah has just entered into a relationship with Gordon, whom she once thought of as “a keeper”. Can Adam and Sarah’s newly-rebuilt romance withstand the pummeling from the people whose lives they’ve derailed?

AMAZON

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This story is told through emails and text messages. I’m having fun with it. Always looking for that ‘something different.’

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Leave your link and I’ll drop by your 56.

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Things to be happy about:

flannel pajamas

dachshunds

tiered jewelry boxes

remembering when all soda came in glass bottles and had sugar in it

someone laughing

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Release Celebration for

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Dark Minds

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By Michelle Diener

Dark Minds is book three in the Class 5 Series. Michelle is sharing about the Class 5 world today. If you missed Michelle’s release-day message, go read it HERE, if you missed about the rise of the genre, go check that out HERE, and don’t forget to check out the entire series and enter the giveaway below…

Dark Minds
(Class 5 #3)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 331 Pages
July 22nd 2016

The mind is the most powerful weapon of all . . .

Imogen Peters knows she’s a pawn. She’s been abducted from Earth, held prisoner, and abducted again. So when she gets a chance at freedom, she takes it with both hands, not realizing that doing so will turn her from pawn to kingmaker.

Captain Camlar Kalor expected to meet an Earth woman on his current mission, he just thought he’d be meeting her on Larga Ways, under the protection of his Battle Center colleague. Instead, he and Imogen are thrown together as prisoners in the hold of a Class 5 battleship. When he works out she’s not the woman who sparked his mission, but another abductee, Cam realizes his investigation just got a lot more complicated, and the nations of the United Council just took a step closer to war.

Imogen’s out of her depth in this crazy mind game playing out all around her, and she begins to understand her actions will have a massive impact on all the players. But she’s good at mind games. She’s been playing them since she was abducted. Guess they should have left her minding her own business back on Earth…

GoodreadsAmazon

Creating the World of the Class 5 Series

A few days ago, DARK MINDS, the third and final book in my Class 5 series was released. I have had a lot of readers express disappointment that this is the final book. They love the world and they want to keep exploring it.

Nothing is sweeter to me than hearing that the world I’ve created in my head is a place people want to linger. I am working on a new series, though, and hope everyone loves the new one just as much.

When I started the Class 5 series, it wasn’t really with a series in mind. The main character in DARK HORSE, the first book in the series, Rose, came to me so strongly, with such a compelling story, I set aside the historical I was working on and jumped right in to write it. It was only near the end of DARK HORSE that I realized there was still a lot of the story left to tell, and the Class 5 series was born.

I know the fact that Rose and the world she found herself in was so clear in my head and so vivid in my imagination helped me create such a strong world for the series as a whole. I had invented way more in my head than ended up on the page in DARK HORSE, and that gave me scope to include the greater world of the Class 5 series or explore things I only touched on in DARK HORSE in the other two novels.

The part of the universe where my heroines Rose, Fiona and Imogen find themselves is run by a coalition of five races. I only go into detail about the culture of the Grih, the race my human heroines have the most affinity for, but I do lightly touch on aspects of the other four’s cultures. It was fun creating the worlds and customs, the look and feel of the places my heroines are forced to go, and I like to think that while they’re there unwillingly at first, I’ve made the places interesting enough, sometimes even magical, so that they can see good in their new part of the universe, as well as bad.

If you are already a fan of the world of the Class 5 series, I hope you love DARK MINDS, and if you haven’t tried the series yet, I hope you’ll consider giving it a go. If action, adventure, and romance appeal, you won’t be sorry you did.

— Michelle Diener

Other Books in the Series

Dark Deeds (Class 5, #2)Dark Deeds
(Class 5 #2)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 340 Pages
January 4th 2016

Far from home . . .

Fiona Russell has been snatched from Earth, imprisoned and used as slave labor, but nothing about her abduction makes sense. When she’s rescued by the Grih, she realizes there’s a much bigger game in play than she could ever have imagined, and she’s right in the middle of it.

Far from safe . . .

Battleship captain Hal Vakeri is chasing down pirates when he stumbles across a woman abducted from Earth. She’s the second one the Grih have found in two months, and her presence is potentially explosive in the Grih’s ongoing negotiations with their enemies, the Tecran. The Tecran and the Grih are on the cusp of war, and Fiona might just tip the balance.

Far from done . . .

Fiona has had to bide her time while she’s been a prisoner, pretending to be less than she is, but when the chance comes for her to forge her own destiny in this new world she grabs it with both hands. After all, actions speak louder than words.

GoodreadsAmazon

Dark HorseDark Horse
(Class 5 #1)
by Michelle Diener
Adult Sci-Fi
ebook, 381 Pages
June 15th 2015

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings. or online at Twitter, at Google+ and Facebook.

Release Celebration Giveaway

$25 Amazon eGift Card
Four ebook sets of Dark Horse, Dark Deeds, and Dark Minds
Open internationally
Ends July 31st

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

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(more…)

COCKTAILS AND LIES
by
Lynette Sofras

(more…)

Somniare
D.T. Dyllin
(Somniare, #1)
Publication date: July 19th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Remy Novem was murdered…

But she didn’t die.

Forced to escape to Somniare, a dream landscape, Remy must somehow survive living nightmares, and endless torment without using her magic. Her only hope for freedom is to hitch a ride with a human back into reality, tricking the poor creature into believing no harm will befall them.

Remy isn’t troubled by the fact that she must kill to live…

Until love changes everything.

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Goodreads / Amazon

*Are you a reviewer? Request a review copy of Somniare here!*

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Author Bio:

D.T. Dyllin is a bestselling author who writes both paranormal and contemporary romance. Anything with a love story is her kryptonite. Her obsession with affairs-of-the-heart is what first drove her to begin twisting her own tales of scorching romance.

D.T. was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Black & Gold for life, baby!) She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband and two spoiled German Shepherds.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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 click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Kaitlin’s Tale

A Cassie Scot Companion Novel

by Christine Amsden

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My Review

Having read the Cassie Scot Series and loved them, I was thrilled to be able to read more of the author’s magical world and characters.

Kaitlin’s Tale obviously features Kaitlin, a friend of Cassie’s. Being a non magical resident in a predominantly magical community, she’s felt like a bit of a fifth wheel. When Kaitlin learns she’s pregnant after a momentary lapse in judgement, she follows the father, Jason, and travels from place to place. But, what started out as a grand adventure soon revealed itself to be the stuff of nightmares. Jason is a vampire. All semblance of his human self is gone now, and he wants something from the baby.

Finding a safe haven from the vampire soon proves to be another nightmare. The people of the Hunter’s Guild have no use for a non magical person. Kaitlin is allowed refuge because they also want something from her baby. And the man who could help her is not to be trusted. With no where to turn and time running out, Kaitlin has to make a choice.

I’ve become so fond of this magical community and, while all of the characters have been through some pretty harrowing experiences, Kaitlin’s Tale is darker, right from the beginning. I was immediately drawn into a malevolent, unnerving atmosphere. One that actually had me mentally squirming in my seat. I always wondered if Christine could write something darker, more ominous, and she did a bang up job with this one.

If you’re hesitant about this book because you haven’t read the Cassie Scot Series, don’t be. This can easily be read as a stand alone. And I bet you’ll want to read the other books after reading Kaitlin’s Tale.

Truly hoping there will be more companion novels from the Cassie Scot Series. I’ll be first in line to grab them.

5 Stars

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Synopsis

Kaitlin Mayer is on the run from the father of her baby – a vampire who wants her to join him in deadly eternity. Terrified for her young son, she seeks sanctuary with the Hunters Guild. Yet they have their own plans for her son, and her hopes of safety are soon shattered.

When she runs into Matthew Blair, an old nemesis with an agenda of his own, she dares to hope for a new escape. But Matthew is a telepath, and Kaitlin’s past is full of dark secrets she never intended to reveal.

*Companion to the Cassie Scot Series

Print book now available!

Amazon

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About The Author

Christine Amsden

Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, which scars the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. In addition to being a writer, she’s a freelance editor, mom, and foster mom.

Social Media Links:

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The Cassie Scot Series

Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective (Cassie Scot #1)

My Review

Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2)

My Review

Mind Games (Cassie Scot #3)

My Review

Stolen Dreams (Cassie Scot #4)

My Review

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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 click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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new release rk

Today, we’re celebrating the release of THE DEEPEST BLACK by USA Today Bestselling author Rainy Kaye. THE DEEPEST BLACK is 99 cents for a limited time! Check it out, then scroll all the way down to enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card!

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ipad tdbEmber has a little problem…fairies want her dead.

Ember spends her Friday nights lurking in the bad parts of town, killing fairies. It’s either that, or become a victim to their flesh-eating hunger.

Then she meets Remy, a fae who, despite getting on her nerves, isn’t evil. He tells her that a shadow has been consuming his world, changing its inhabitants and letting destructive beasts into his city. He is searching for his brother who went missing during the catastrophe.

When a team of mercenaries come for Ember, she has little choice but to join Remy in his quest. Together, they decide to bait a trap. What they find reveals the destruction of the fae world means the end of the human world, too–and it’s Ember’s fault.

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My Review

The blurb gives you a pretty good idea what you’re in for as far as the plot in this book. So, I’m going to share with you how it made me feel.

To begin, you meet Ember while she’s doing what she does best, killing Fae. She’s tough and smart. I like that about her. But talk about being an extreme adrenaline junkie. These Fae are bad to the bone and they’ve got wind of Ember. Not so easy to sneak up on them now, and they even begin to set traps for her.

When Remy entered the picture I feared it would become all about romance. Nope. More action, some snappy back and forth dialogue, and plenty of sarcasm. Gotta love that!

This is my first book by Rainy Kaye. Been wanting to try her books, but you know how that goes. So many books, so little…. I finally got to read one and sure got my money’s worth. Plenty of action, strong writing with no frills, and characters that are believable and likable.  I’m huge on character driven stories, and these came to life for me.

For all of you fantasy/urban fantasy lovers, grab this one! It’s a kick ass read from beginning to fiery finish!

4 Stars

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Rainy Kaye writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA, and her Summoned series was acquired by Bastei Lübbe. In 2014, she reached the USA Today Bestseller list. Today, she’s taking care of her small zoo of furry animals and trying to remember where she left her coffee.

Twitter | FacebookWebsite
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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 click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Welcome to the release event for Caught Bread Handed by Ellie Alexander! This is the fourth book in the Bakeshop Mystery series and releases June 28th by St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it from your local bookshop or order a signed copy from the authors local bookshop.

Guest Post: Baking Behind the Scenes

Welcome to Torte, where the bread is always served warm with a pat of hand-churned butter, and a side of love. Torte, the artisan family bakeshop in my culinary mystery series, is a gathering place for the community. Locals and tourists stop in for fresh raspberry scones, slices of decadent double chocolate cake, and to talk about all the gossip and news around town. I love getting to create a comforting and welcoming bakeshop and writing about food. However, I’m not a trained pastry chef which means that I spend a lot of time visiting real bakeries and interviewing professional chefs. It’s a rough job, I know.

I thought it would be fun to give you a taste (pun intended) of the research that goes into learning the inner workings of the culinary world.

For starters I think about the actual space. Because Torte is located in Ashland, Oregon, home of the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival, it has to have a touch of Shakespeare and whimsy. It’s painted cheery red and teal blue with corrugated metal siding, bistro tables, and a chalkboard menu. One of my bakery inspirations is a place called Cake Happy in Camas, Washington. It’s a family run shop with gorgeous window displays, a rustic elegant vibe, and plenty of cozy couches to curl up with a red velvet cupcake and steaming hot latte.

Another thing that I do when I’m working on a book is interview pastry chefs. I’ve learned so many tricks of the trade, quick tips for baking, and even gotten a few new ideas on how to bump someone off in a bakeshop from chatting with chefs. I’ve been so impressed to watch how they orchestrate a blur of staff, a frenzy of chopping knives, and plate after plate of styled food. One of the most amazing experiences that I’ve had behind the scenes in a professional kitchen was at the NW Culinary Institute where I spent an evening watching chefs-in-training at work as they prepared a six course meal that almost too pretty to eat and tasted even better.

Speaking of taste, I can’t even begin to count how many pastries and baked goods I’ve sampled in the last few years. Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining, but my waistline might be in trouble. Whenever I travel I ask for recommendations on the best places to score a sweet eat in town. I’ve never been disappointed in my search and I try to find unusual flavor combinations and exotic delicacies when I’m exploring a new place, some of which have even found their way into the pages of the books. One standout tasting memory was at the dessert buffet in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I still dream of the miles of cakes, macaroons, chocolate dipped strawberries, and petit fours. Yum!

Lastly, one of the most rewarding and humbling things about writing the series has been connecting with local bakers. They have welcomed me into their kitchens, championed the books, and created stunning masterpieces like this cakescape from the book release party for the third book in the series, On Thin Icing. My local pastry muse is Kristina with Tier Catering who treated the audience to a hands-on icing demonstration and a tutorial on the best way to cut a cake. Seriously, I think I have the best job ever!

Here’s to all the bakers—whether in your home kitchen or in a 5-star restaurant—I hope you enjoy my fictional bakeshop in Caught Bread Handed.

Happy Baking!

~Ellie

About the Book:
Welcome to Torte—a friendly, small-town family bakeshop where the oven is heating up as high as the body count…

Jules Capshaw is still chewing over her husband Carlos’s return to Ashland, Oregon. Could there be too many cooks in the kitchen? Whatever is stirring between those two will have to wait. Despite the Oregon Shakespeare Festival being dark for the winter, the bakeshop is bustling, the dough is rolling, and there’s no rest for the weary… especially when murder is thrown into the mix.

When Mindy Nolan, the owner of a new restaurant in town, turns up dead, the batter at hand thickens. Jules knows that there was bad blood between Mindy and others in town, and tracking the killer could prove to be an unwelcome treat. And to top it all off, there’s Carlos, who is pleading—with those delicious dark eyes and sexy Spanish accent—for Jules to take him back. Is home where the heart is or will she make a fresh start… and risk getting burned?

About the Author:
Ellie Alexander is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing pastry recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses nearby. When she’s not coated in flour, you’ll find her outside exploring hiking trails and trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter to learn more.

 
 

GIVEAWAY:

 

 

Signed copies of all 4 books in the Bakeshop Mysteries, Cupcake tea towel and pot holder, Love cake topper, Bakeshop page flags, Assortment of gourmet lemonade and Triple Chocolate Chunk cookie mix.
US only.
Ends July 20th
Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 18. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

 

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