Posts Tagged ‘review’

My Monday Minis Reviews #47 ~ Memory House by Bette Lee Crosby

Posted: March 21, 2016 in Contemporary Literature, Fantasy, reviews
Tags: , , , , , , ,
2

26249106  25970678  27848536  28498856

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

Memory House

The Memory House Collection #1

by Bette Lee Crosby

26249106

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

My Review

I’ve read most of Bette Lee Crosby’s books and adored them. She has this southern flavor in her writing that appeals to my soul.

Memory House is the first book in the collection and enchants you right from the get go.

Ophelia is nearing 90 years old, and while she’s slowing down, she still has a lot of living to do. Searching from someone to pass her guardianship of treasures to, she waits for that someone to appear.

Ophelia can capture memories from objects. She feels their emotions, and sometimes visualizes them. She keeps the objects she comes across in her loft, keeping them alive to become others memories too. Perhaps that’s why so many of us are drawn to antiques and old things. We’re curious about them, wonder about the owners.

In walks Annie, looking for some time away after a bad break up with her boyfriend. She stumbles upon Memory House Bed & Breakfast, where a kind elderly woman welcomes her in. They quickly form a kinship and Ophelia feels that special someone has finally arrived. Now to see if she’s right.

I especially enjoyed it when Ophelia introduced her treasures to Annie. I recognized character’s the objects belonged to from some of her other books. It took me back to those beloved places and characters. A treat and such a clever idea.

Memory House a lovely read. Bette never fails to deliver engaging, step from the pages character’s that quickly become special friends to you. Her story is woven with magic. It entices, evokes your emotions, and you finish with a need for more.

I’m now reading the second book, The Loft, and it take places not too long after this book ends. Right back into this world and eagerly turning the pages.

5 Stars

~~~~~

Synopsis

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A MEMORY TO OUTLIVE ITS OWNER?

Ophelia Browne knows the answer is yes. She knows because she’s been granted the unique gift of finding and caring for those forgotten memories. But now she’s nearing ninety, and Browne women seldom live beyond ninety.

Before time runs out Ophelia must find a successor. Someone who can take hold of the gifts and keep the memories from fading.

When broken-hearted Annie Cross shows up on the doorstep of The Memory House Bed and Breakfast, Ophelia knows she is the one. The two women forge a bond of friendship as they sip magical dandelion tea and share stories. When Annie starts to sense the memories Ophelia is delighted, but then a thread of violence begins to unravel and Ophelia fears things have gone too far.

AMAZON

To get your copy of Memory House and view all of Bette Lee Crosby’s books, click on the link above or the book covers.

~~~~~

This counts towards my 2016 Alphabet Soup Challenge.

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Eyeshine by Cy Wyss ~ Cozy Review and Giveaway

Posted: March 16, 2016 in Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery, giveaways, reviews
Tags: , , , , , ,
11

Partners In Crime Tours

Eyeshine

by Cy Wyss

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Nighttime Dog Press, LLC
Publication Date: November 2015
Number of Pages: 200
ASIN: B017WD3WWU
Purchase Links:

Amazon / Goodreads

My Review

I think it would be fun to turn into a cat and prowl anonymously every night. At least at first.

PJ Taylor does just that. She turns into a cat every night and stays that way from dark til light of morning. She has no choice. Can’t change at will.

So she uses it to her advantage. Rigging a tiny video camera to a cat collar,, she films scenes she comes across while wandering through her neighborhood. It comes in handy when she catches some thieves on film.

One night, while she’s taking a cat walk, she witness an altercation between a neighborhood boy and grumpy old Chip Greene. Chip slips and falls in the river and she’s way too tiny to help. Luckily, he washes up alive.

It gets strange when Chip is found quite a distance away from where he washed up, and he’s dead as a doornail.

Now it’s time for PJ to use her special abilities to help save the boy. He’s autistic and can’t defend himself, so she’s going to need lots of batteries for her kitty cam if she’s going to solve the case.

It sounded like a fun synopsis. A woman turns into a cat every night and films the goings on in her neighborhood. Being a reporter, she can use this to break some great stories.

The author did a good job covering how PJ manages to have clothes to wear when she changes back.  Can’t be running around naked if she doesn’t get home before daylight.

And the kitty cam was a fun twist too. Perfect for a reporter. PJ can get the skinny on what’s happening around town. I bet she caught some interesting stuff on film.

PJ is easy to like. She’s sweet and snarky. Smart as a whip. And has a generous, kind heart.  I was wondering how she could have a romantic relationship without spilling her secret. Couldn’t very likely just disappear every night. Maybe she’ll meet someone she can trust and understands.

There are several characters you’ll come to like, human and furry. Yes, PJ can kind of communicate with other animals when she’s in her cat form.

While the mystery may seem obvious, there’s a whole lot going on to lead you astray.

Eyeshine is a cozy mystery. It’s clean, no graphic sex, violence, or bad language. Not too serious of a plot, so it’s more of a fun who dun it then a thriller or suspense.

If the author continues with these characters, I’ll be checking in to see what they get into next.

4 Stars

~~~~~

Synopsis

PJ Taylor is a reporter with a difference. Each night she turns into a black tabby cat from sundown to sunup. In this first adventure, follow PJ as she chases thieves, drug dealers, and even a murderer. Will PJ solve the mysterious drowning death of cantankerous old coot Chip Greene? Or will a local special needs boy end up taking the blame? Be prepared for twists and turns along the way as PJ applies all her feline senses to this diabolical situation.

~~~~~

Enjoy this excerpt

People called Brooke Annabeth Taylor “PJ,” which stood not for pajamas but for Peeping Jane. She’d been a photographer and reporter for as long as the town could remember—at least since grade school—and her reportage was known for the most candid and impossible photos, like Peter Parker’s but from nearer the ground. Her job was made more difficult by her moniker because once people found out what it was, they shied away and wouldn’t tell her the secrets that are a reporter’s stock-in-trade. As she got older, it got harder and harder to convince anyone to give her a story. Now, at thirty, she was no longer “kitten cute” and able to wile her way easily into subjects’ confidence. Still, she managed to find a way.

With her penetrating amber eyes and easy smile, people found her disarming. She loved her relationship as a freelance reporter with the town’s paper, and all the vagaries that life entails, such as being a night owl and an absolute bulldog for the truth. If she could have chosen her own moniker, it would have likely combined these: Owl Dog. It was particularly inappropriate, however, because she turned not into a bird or canine every night, but into a cat.

She had been a black tabby from sundown to sunup since shortly after puberty. She often wondered why other people didn’t morph into alternate beings for the dark hours, but was admonished very early on by a loving mother to never, never, ever speak a word of it to anyone. PJ liked to think that was because her mother had a similar power and had suffered, but it could have been due solely to the woman’s intelligence and sense of practicality.

PJ’s father had died when she was ten. The man was a scientist, an absent-minded chemist, and PJ was of two minds about his awareness. On the one hand, his cleverness meant surely he wouldn’t have been fooled by a mere wife, no matter how adept at deception; on the other hand, his absentmindedness meant sometimes he forgot to wear shoes. So it wasn’t a stretch to think he might have no inkling about the bizarreness of his wife or daughter.

At sixteen, with PJ in limbo between childhood and womanhood, her mother suffered a tragic and debilitating stroke that took her life within months. PJ then moved in with her much older brother and his family. By then, she had become as adept as her mother at hiding her talent, in spite of the fact her brother was an FBI agent by that time, at twenty-nine, and extraordinarily difficult to deceive. It helped that after he witnessed firsthand the transformation from girl to cat, he immediately went into a long-lasting shock that consisted of utter denial. Instead of considering how her unique power could assist him in his life of crime fighting, he grounded her for a month and kept her largely confined to her room, especially after sundown.

PJ forgave Robert for locking her up, only because of her natural optimism and sense of personal grandeur. Honestly, grudges were beneath her, as were most things mere mono-modal humans did. She focused on her schoolwork and got all A’s that semester. Much later she discovered her brother had to take a polygraph test every year he was employed with the all-knowing government agency. PJ realized Robert had so thoroughly put the image of his sister becoming a black tabby cat out of his mind that he had convinced himself it wasn’t even a hallucination—it simply hadn’t existed at all. There’s no need to lie if you’re a true believer, and that was the most effective path for a forced deceiver. So PJ kept her secret, and Robert kept his job.

Fourteen years later, PJ was irrevocably known as Peeping Jane and Robert had traveled the country and come back in his forties to set up a one-man field office in Mayhap, Indiana. One day, PJ was out with her best friends Clara Goodwind and Vicky Donnerweise at the Mayhap Spring Festival when the sun dipped low on the horizon, threatening to bring the stars closer and the day to an end.

“PJ, why do you always leave just when things are getting interesting?” Clara said.

She was a buxom woman with big hazel eyes and bright red hair. Her wardrobe favored items with cats in evidence or implied by pithy sayings, such as “Meow Happens,” which her pink tube top currently sported. The woman was Taft County’s prime cat rescuer, with a warren of dedicated chicken-wire pens covering her backyard and a full-time feeding schedule. When she wasn’t volunteering at the county’s humane shelter, she was ensconced in a network of gossips centered at the Mayhap Memorial Library. Clara was an assistant librarian but party to all the good stories the town could provide. PJ found her an invaluable source. If it happened, or was going to happen, Clara knew about it and would talk.

Vicky stood with arms akimbo and watched PJ inhale an elephant ear. She was a striking woman with hair even blacker than PJ’s and blue eyes where PJ’s were yellow. Vicky was tall and muscular, like a man, but lither and hourglass-shaped inside the bulky kit she wore for law enforcement. She was one of Taft County’s deputies, second in their force only to Sheriff Curtis Denning, whom she happened to be married to.

“Land’s sake, PJ, how do you eat like that? You know I’m active all day, but I can’t eat three of those things without being ten pounds fatter tomorrow. Do you just stay up all night on the treadmill or what?”

A loud cry of enjoyment crescendoed from the fairway before PJ could answer, which was just as well since her mouth was filled with fried dough and she wouldn’t have gotten more than a grunt or two out. She didn’t have the heart to enlighten her friend. Every night, indeed, she ran the treadmill of being feline. She wandered miles in the summertime, searched every nook and cranny of the county, chased rodents and vermin, and napped only fitfully and with one eye open under the shifting moon.

She popped the last of the ear into her mouth and said, “It’s genetics. Some people are luckier than others.”

Vicky and Clara groaned.

Clara adjusted her pink-rimmed glasses and slurped her sno-cone. “At least I managed to keep myself to just one Devil Dog. And sno-cones have no calories after noon—everyone knows that.” Clara was constantly watching her figure, which didn’t seem to keep her from growing more buxom by the year. At the rate she was going, she would be a round octogenarian with a radiant smile in fifty years. PJ thought things could be worse.

“So you two coming two weeks from today or what?” Vicky said.

She was having a cookout, a common occurrence in the warmer months, and the Taylors and Goodwinds were regular fixtures. Everyone knew the cookouts were as much a bid to stuff the people of Taft County with reasons why the Denning clan should hold on to the sheriff-hood for the indefinite future, but everyone came anyway. Vicky’s ribs were legendary, and Curtis’s beer was as tasty and free flowing as anyone’s ever was. Today was Saturday, and two weeks from today was going to be the first big Donnerweise-Denning BBQ of the season.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” PJ said. “At least until sunset.”

Vicky rolled her eyes. “Because you turn into a pumpkin at sunset, right? We’ll never get to see nighttime you. Isn’t Doc Fred helping you with that?”

Doctor Fred Norton was Mayhap’s most celebrated, and only, psychiatrist. Apparently he was a third cousin twice removed to the iconic Oprah Winfrey and had once listened to her problems with aplomb, inspiring her to go on and listen eternally to others. He was given a brief mention in a book of hers, which was now out-of-print. For Mayhap, that was all it took to secure one’s place in the annals of town history. He even had a special shelf in the library to display his pamphlets on the pluses of positive putation, despite the brochures containing more than their fair share of buzz non-words.

PJ’s cover story for disappearing every evening, no matter the weather or event, was a rare and debilitating overreaction to darkness. Everyone thought she ran home to sit in a bright room under full-spectrum lights so she could make it through the dark hours with her psyche intact, her odd and entrenched phobia notwithstanding. Doc Fred made a perfect corroborator. His acute sense of professional delicacy meant he could never confirm nor deny PJ’s hints that he was treating her without success for her illness. Perhaps he had spent the last decades sketching her case study, which would no doubt be picked up by the professional societies should it ever come to a positive conclusion.

“Sorry,” PJ said to Vicky, “I’m not going to talk about it.”

“Oh, right. Shrink’s privilege and all that.”

“Well, get going,” Clara said. “I don’t want to have to carry around any pumpkins your size after dark, if you turn into one.”

“Alrighty. Toodles, people.”

~~~~~

About Author Cy Wyss

Cy Wyss

I live and write in the Indianapolis area. After earning a PhD in Computer Science in 2002 and teaching and researching for seven years, I’ve returned to the childhood dream of becoming an author. I better do it now because I won’t get a third life. Behind me, I have a ton of academic experience and have written about twenty extremely boring papers on query languages and such, for example this one in the ACM Transactions on Databases. (That’s a mouthful.) Now, I write in the mystery/thriller/suspense genres and sometimes science fiction. I know for some people databases would be the more beloved of the options, but for me, I finally realized that my heart wasn’t in it. So I took up a second life, as a self-published fiction author. Online, I do the Writer Cy cartoon series about the (mis)adventures of researching, writing, and self-publishing in today’s shifting climate. I also love to design and create my own covers using GIMP.

Visit Cy to learn more:

Website / Twitter / Facebook

~~~~~

Follow the tour.

Click here to view the Eyeshine by Cy Wyss Tour Participants

~~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Teaser Tuesdays #148 ~ Red Dot ~ They Are Here!

Posted: March 15, 2016 in reviews, Science Fiction, Teaser Tuesdays, thriller
Tags: , , , ,
19

Teaser

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Books And A Beat.

 

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

Red Dot

by Eugene Linn

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller

My teaser is a breaking news broadcast scene from the ebook.

The female anchor added, “From at least ten states, Canada, Mexico, countries in Europe, Japan…” “And reports are still coming in, flooding in, about, well…” “Some kind of red dots.” “You can see the video here, from, from where? From outside Washington, .C. Lots of confusion and panic. A red circle about ten feet across. Yes, some kind of red dots, circles on the ground and on surfaces.”

~~~~~

My Review

What would you do if you knew aliens were real and a space craft was nearing Earth? Would you panic? Would you think they were friendly or hostile? Would you believe what your government was spinning?

That’s what this book is about. The characters portrayed come from all facets of the population. From your average Joe to the higher ups in government, all are wondering what will happen.

Scenarios range from a crumbling of society, people panicking and looting, to turning to their church for guidance, to eagerly awaiting the aliens arrival.

While keeping an eye on what they thought was a comet, it comes as a shock when the object is observed changing trajectory and speed. It leaves no doubt this object is being controlled and we now know we are not alone in the universe.

In the coming weeks, as people wait for the alien to arrive, mysterious red dots appear all over the world. They are small to medium patches of red on the ground. No harm comes from stepping on them, no dangerous emissions are detected. Their purpose is unknown.

Contact is also established. Though it’s difficult at first, people at NASA slowly establish a dialogue. This is released to the public to try to stem the rising panic.

I’ve often wondered how we’d react to contact from aliens. I’ve watched the movies. read plenty of other books about it.

While there isn’t a lot of action in this story, there is a slow build of suspense as the day of contact approaches.

If I’d connected more with the characters I would have enjoyed this story even more. I just didn’t get that little bit extra I needed for these characters to endear themselves to me.

That aside, I did enjoy this and would definitely read more if the author chose to continue with his story.

4 Stars

Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

An extraterrestrial craft will enter Earth’s orbit on October 16, 2022—forty-four days from now. The question is: will there be any humans left when the aliens arrive?

NASA scientist Claire Montague is a single mother in her thirties who’s leading a special team near Washington, DC, assigned to handle the approaching spaceship and report their findings to President Al Douthart.

News of the impending ET encounter spreads after a tumultuous National Security Council meeting, causing social, economic, and political upheaval around the world. Just as governments are beginning to calm the chaos of their countries, thousands of unexplained red dots appear on the ground all over the globe.

As the countdown continues, Claire and her colleagues struggle to make sense of the mysterious dots and determine what the extraterrestrials’ plan is once they arrive on Earth. But as the questions go unanswered and global tensions erupt into violence, President Douthart wonders who will be more harmful in the end—humans or aliens?

Red Dot is a thought-provoking sci-fi thriller complete with a remarkable cast of characters and an intriguing portrayal of alien life. Expect the unexpected and you’ll still be surprised.

AMAZON

~~~~~

Author Eugene Linn

Eugene Linn

I graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, before I joined the US Army.

After studying Chinese Mandarin at the Defense Language Institute, I served as a Chinese language voice intercept operator. Upon leaving the armed forces, I attended the University of Kansas, earning a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in East Asian studies, with a focus on Chinese language and politics.

I went on to become a freelance reporter, working out of Hong Kong for UPI, Business China, Asian Business, and numerous others. Some of my specific writing assignments have included an annual report on China’s government social insurance system for Watson Wyatt Worldwide consulting and special contributor articles on China stocks for equities.com.

I now live with my wife in the Philippines, writing novels and editing academic papers.

Goodreads

~~~~~

How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

stick out tongue photo: rr-sticking-out-tongue roadrunner-stick-out-tongue.gif

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Spooky fun! The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted: March 9, 2016 in Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery, giveaways, reviews, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,

perfectly proper large banner640

I want to apologize. My comment feature stopped working. I am trying to fix it. Just bear with me. And so sorry about it.

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum was a lot of fun to read… Lots of great characters surround Maddie and they are each well written and fully formed.
~The Girl with Book Lungs

COVER
The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum
(A Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum Mystery)
New Series
Cozy Mystery
Midnight Ink (March 8, 2016)
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0738747514

goodreads-badge-add-plusShop Indie Bookstores

My Review

I read Kirsten’s Riga Hayworth: The Metaphysical Detective series and her science fiction/ steampunk book, Steam and Sensibility, and enjoyed them very much. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her paranormal cozy mystery.

Maddie Kosloski got canned for standing by with her ethics and now she’s back in her home town, San Bendetto, wine country.

She’s soon tricked into taking over the quirky paranormal museum. It’s purported to be haunted. Now, Maddie doesn’t buy into that. But the museum cat, GD, (stands for  ghost detection), has her wondering when he reacts to things she can’t see.

When a dead body is found in the museum and Maddie’s friend is arrested for murder, she doesn’t hesitate to do a little sleuthing of her own. Who knows, maybe one of the museum’s ghosts will lend a hand.

That’s just a taste of what lies in these pages.

There’s a closet witch, I mean someone who doesn’t want others to know she’s a witch. A high school bully who keeps putting the screws to Maddie. The town uppity ups of the Ladies Aid Society want the museum closed. A strange man claims he knows something about the murder, but then disappears. A lawyer with questionable morals who gives Maddie the heebie jeebies. These are just some of the eclectic characters that make this cozy such a lively romp.

Mustn’t forget the romance. There are two men interested in Maddie. The tall drink of water, Lieutenant Slate, and the man with the muscles neighbor, Mason. Either one sounded good to me. I do like a man in uniform. But I also like a rugged hunk who rides a motorcycle. What’s a girl to do?

It took me some time to choose who I thought the killer was as I was having such fun I forgot to try to figure it out. I recalled a few tiny crumbs the author had sprinkled around. Talked it over with my son. Was pretty sure I knew. And when I got to the end I was….right.

There’s a scene in the book that really tickled me. The character, Maddie, is reading a book, and it’s one by this very author. I even remember the pie scene she was reading. I thought that was so funny.

Enough gushing. This review is getting too long.

Cozy up with a copy for yourself and have a spooky good time. I guarantee, when you reach the end, you’ll feel like me. Hoping this will be a series.

4 Stars

~~~~~

Synopsis

When Maddie Kosloski’s career flatlines, she retreats to her wine-country hometown for solace and cheap rent. Railroaded into managing the local paranormal museum, she’s certain the rumors of its haunting are greatly exaggerated. But a new ghost may be on the loose. A fresh corpse in the museum embroils Maddie in murders past and present.

With her high school bully as one of the officers in charge, Maddie doubts justice will be served. When one of her best friends is arrested, she’s certain it won’t be.

Maddie grapples with ghost hunters, obsessed taxidermists, and the sexy motorcyclist next door as outside forces threaten. And as she juggles spectral shenanigans with the hunt for a killer, she discovers there truly is no place like home.

~~~~~

About Author Kirsten Weiss

KIRSTEN WEISS

Kirsten Weiss grew up in San Mateo, California. After getting her MBA, she joined the Peace Corps, starting an international career that took her around the fringes of the defunct USSR and into the Afghan war zone. Her experiences abroad not only gave her glimpses into the darker side of human nature, but also sparked an interest in the effects of mysticism and mythology, and how both are woven into our daily lives.

She writes paranormal mystery and suspense, blending her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of magic and mayhem.

Kirsten has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking good wine.

Author Links
Follow her on Twitter @KirstenWeiss, or on her Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/metaphysicaldetective or at her blog at http://kirstenweiss.com
Purchase Links:
Amazon   B&N

~~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

Follow the tour for  more fun stops.

March 8 – The Girl with Book Lungs – Review

March 8 – deal sharing aunt – Interview

March 9 – Reading Is My SuperPower – Review

March 9 – Book Babble – Review

March 9 – fuonlyknew – Review

March 10 – The Book’s the Thing – Review

March 10 – Community Bookstop – Review

March 11 – Bubble Bath Books – Review

March 12 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Guest Post  

March 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Interview

March 14 – I Wish I Lived in a Library – Review

March 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review

March 15 – Moonlight Rendezvous – Review

March 16 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – Review

March 17 – Readsalot – Review

March 17 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review

March 18 – Laura’s Interests – Review, Guest Post  

March 18 – Nadaness In Motion – Review

March 19 – Mystery Playground – Interview

March 19 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Tag Team Event and Giveaway ~ The Lie by Ashley Fontainne

Posted: March 1, 2016 in giveaways, Supernatural, suspense, thriller
Tags: , , , ,
45

tag you're it photo: Tag! You\'re It! AnyOccasion-TagYoureIt-May2007.jpg

This is a Tag Team Event hosted by myself and Sherry.

 I have some exciting news to share with you about The Lie by Ashley Fontainne.  Did you know production for the movie is complete!  It’s titled Foreseen. To check this out on Facebook, click on the widget below.

foreseen movie pic

Read on to learn how you can win some books!

After reading my review, head on over to Sherry’s blog at fundinmental for more and check out her review. Two chances to win!

~~~~~

The Lie

by Ashley Fontainne

24606630

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

My Review

After feinting on national television during an interview, famous author Karmen Moncrille flees her public embarrassment. Along with her best friend, she retreats to the family cabin, isolated in the woods outside of her home town.

The television host wasn’t supposed to ask her about where she gets her inspiration. That’s a question even Karmen isn’t sure of. As her dreams bleed over into real life, Karmen fears she’s losing her mind.

Karmen writes one more book. One that terrifies her. Will it save her or destroy her?

I enjoy reading stories about writers. Always find it fascinating to read about their struggles to write that bestseller, to get over writer’s block, deal with the trials of getting it published. With The Lie, I enjoyed the supernatural elements of Karmen’s writing process. Learning how she gets her inspiration and how she writes her stories is an integral part of the plot.

The eerie supernatural events start and escalate once Karmen arrives at the cabin. Weird noises, a strange light in the woods, and manifestations from Karmen’s dreams lend an aura of suspense and horror that stays with you until the end.

As answers were revealed and events unfolded, I realized how perfect the title, The Lie, was for this book. Betrayal occurred from unexpected sources and shocked this reader.

Strong writing, an eerie plot, and an explosive ending have me hoping the author will continue Karmen’s story.

5 Stars

~~~~~

Synopsis

Karmen Moncrille’s name has been known throughout the world since the age of sixteen when her first book shot to the top of the bestseller’s list. Now everything she writes is an instant hit, and her legions of devoted fans eagerly await her next release.

The mysterious Karmen always blamed debilitating panic attacks as the reason she avoided publicity and has become a recluse. Which is exactly what she wants the world to think. Only Karmen knows the truth behind her introverted nature. Terrified of being asked where her ideas come from, she fears being branded a raving lunatic.

Now just a week before her twenty-third birthday, Karmen’s world implodes. The madness that haunts her dreams spills over to her reality and she questions her sanity. Suddenly everything has changed and now the world will transform with her. Her last book will unleash the truth and alter mankind—forever.

Is Karmen’s ability to write a gift or a curse? She’s about to find out if her entire life is a lie. And why she was destined to write it.

Amazon

~~~~~

Author Ashley Fontainne

Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.

Her muse for penning the Eviscerating the Snake series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley’s love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance. focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.

Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.

Her paranormal thriller entitled The Lie, won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book Awards for fiction/suspense and is also in production for a feature film entitled Foreseen.

Ashley’s decided to delve into the paranormal with a Southern Gothic horror/suspense novel, Growl, which released in January of 2015. The suspenseful mystery Empty Shell, released in September of 2014. Ashley will be teaming up with Lillian Hansen (Ashley calls her mom!) to pen a three-part murder mystery/suspense series entitled The Magnolia Series. The first book, Blood Ties, released the Summer of 2015.

Whispered Pain released in October of 2015 and Night Court released December 13, 2015.

Blog

Author Website

Foreseen Movie Website – See the trailer

Number Seventy-Five Movie Website

       

~~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png


Ashley Fontainne has a fantastic giveaway for you! Multiple books and two chances to win ebooks or audiobooks, your choice. We will have 3 (three) winners on each blog. Check out this list of books for the winners!
Blood Ties
The Lie
Growl
Number Seventy-Five
Night Court
Whispered Pain
Tainted Cure
All you need to do to enter is answer the question below and leave your email so I may contact you if you win.
“Do you like to read the book before you see the movie?”
For a second look and another chance to win, go to Sherry @ Fundinmental.

Giveaway will run from 3/1/6 – 3/11/16.

This is a Tag Team Event hosted by myself and Sherry at fundinmental.

Now hop on over to fundinmental, check out Sherry’s review, and enter for another chance to win  HERE.

~~~~~

Books by Ashley Fontainne



Download your FREE copy of the International Bestseller, Accountable to None, at the following sites:

~~~~~

tag you're it photo: You're awesome tag-game-awesome-friends_zpscce89964.jpg

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

It’s in the details…. Cancelled Vows by Lauren Carr ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted: February 24, 2016 in giveaways, Mystery, reviews
Tags: , , , , ,
23

iRead Website new logo

I’ve read books in a couple different series by Lauren Carr and always loved her characters, human and furred. I’m hapy to share my review of her newest release in the Mac Faraday Mystery Series.

Scroll down and check out the goods.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Cancelled Vows

by Lauren Carr

Cancelled Vows

photo goodreadspurple1_zpsab2bdb71.png

My Review

So here we are again. Back with the gang. And another wedding is looming.  Only one problem. The groom just found out he’s still married to his first wife. Oops.

I’ve read several books in this series and, since I’ve missed one here or there, I can’t share too much about the events going on without spoiling the other books for you.

All of my favorite characters make appearances. Some are brief cameos. One in particular, a bad/good assassin, was a nice surprise.

And the pets are back too. These characters view their furry companions as members of the family. Even the giant tarantula. Gnarly, a German Shepherd, has a prominent role in this book. He’s such a rascal. You don’t dare turn your back on a morsel, or it’ll magically disappear and Gnarly will be looking at you with innocent eyes and a wagging tail.

Lots of hopping back and forth from one side of the country to the other keeps the action escalated and solving the mystery elusive.

And you’ll love the ending. I’m still grinning.

Even though I’ve jumped around in this series and missed some books, it was easy to jump back in as each book has different mysteries and characters to focus on. There’s also a list of the characters with a short bio in the beginning of the book to refresh your memory.

Another page turner in the series. And I’ll be ready for the next one.

5 Stars

~~~~~

Book Synopsis

Police Chief David O’Callaghan and Chelsea Adams’ wedding day is fast approaching. Unfortunately, at the last minute, David discovers that there is one small problem to be taken care of before he can tie the knot—divorce his first wife!

Lauren Carr takes fans of the Mac Faraday mysteries to the Big Apple in this nail biting adventure. In Cancelled Vows, David, Mac, and Gnarly, too, rush to New York City to dissolve David’s marriage to an old girlfriend—and he’s got five days to get it done. When murder throws up a road block, it is up to David’s best man, Mac Faraday, and Gnarly, K9-in-waiting, to sort through the clues to get David to the church in time!

​Buy the book here:  Amazon

Author Lauren Carr

cancelled vows Lauren Carr

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday and Lovers in Crime Mysteries and the Thorny Rose Mysteries. Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real live Gnarly!) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~   Facebook

~~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

Follow the tour for more exciting posts.

Feb 1 –   Rockin’ Book Reviews – review / author interview / giveaway

Feb 2 –   Working Mommy Journal – review / giveaway

Feb 2 –   Bab’s Book Bistro – review / guest post / giveaway

Feb 3 –   T’s Stuff – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

​Feb 3 –   Readers’ Muse – review / guest post

Feb 4 –   Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine – review

Feb 5 –   #redhead.with.book – book spotlight / giveaway

Feb 5 –   Bound 4 Escape – review / giveaway

Feb 8 –   A Blue Million Books – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Feb 8 –   Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine – author interview

Feb 9 –   A Mama’s Corner of the World – review / giveaway

Feb 9 –   Laura Fabiani – Amazon.ca Top 500 Reviewer – review

Feb 10 – Book Reviews Nature Photos and everything in between – review

Feb 10 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – book spotlight / guest post

Feb 11 – Vic’s Media Room – review

Feb 11 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – review / giveaway

Feb 12 – The Autistic Gamer – review

Feb 15 – Library of Clean Reads – review / giveaway

​Feb 15 – Sahar’s Blog – review

Feb 16 – Christa Reads and Writes – review

Feb 16 – Olio by Marilyn – review / guest post

Feb 17 – A Bookaholic Blog – review / author interview

Feb 18 – fundinmental – review / author interview / giveaway

Feb 19 – The World As I See It – review / giveaway

Feb 22 – Nighttime Reading Center – review / giveaway

Feb 23 – Heidi’s Wanderings – review / giveaway

Feb 24 – fuonlyknew – review / giveaway

​Feb 24 – Pause for Tales – review / author interview

Feb 25 – Allthingsbookie – review / giveaway

Feb 26 – Misty103@HubPages – review / author interview

Feb 29 – Jessica Cassidy – review / author interview / giveaway

​Feb 29 – Melina’s Book Blog – review

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Teaser Tuesdays #147 ~ Chasers Of The Light ~ Poems From The Typewriter Series

Posted: February 23, 2016 in reviews, Teaser Tuesdays
Tags: , , ,
34

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.

TeaserTuesdays2014e

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

chasers of the light

poems from the typewriter series

by Tyler Knott Gregson

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

My teaser from the hard cover.

Sometimes

the only way

to catch

your breath

is to

lose it

completely.

poetry 001

~~~~~

My Review

I won this fascinating collection of poems in a giveaway. It sits on my night stand and I pick it up and open to a random page, reading several before I go to sleep.

I was fascinated with the author’s story of how he came to write the typewriter series.

Remember those old typewriters? Not the electric ones. The ones where you pound on the keys and here that clack, clack, clacking? I loved that sound. And apparently so did the author. He found an old typewriter in an antique store and just had to try it out.

On a whim, he typed a poem on a page he tore from an old book. If you look closely at the pages in this book, you can see through to what’s on the other side. That, and using black out to reveal the words to some of the poems, make for fun reading.

The poems are revealing in themselves. I connected on many levels and some I read several times just to re-experience them.

Poetry as art. Art as poetry. A joy to read.

5 Stars

Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

The epic made simple. The miracle in the mundane.

One day, while browsing an antique store in Helena, Montana, photographer Tyler Knott Gregson stumbled upon a vintage Remington typewriter for sale. Standing up and using a page from a broken book he was buying for $2, he typed a poem without thinking, without planning, and without the ability to revise anything.

He fell in love.

Three years and almost one thousand poems later, Tyler is now known as the creator of the Typewriter Series: a striking collection of poems typed onto found scraps of paper or created via blackout method. Chasers of the Light features some of his most insightful and beautifully worded pieces of work—poems that illuminate grand gestures and small glimpses, poems that celebrate the beauty of a life spent chasing the light.

AMAZON

~~~~~

How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

stick out tongue photo: rr-sticking-out-tongue roadrunner-stick-out-tongue.gif

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

The Friday 56 #95 ~ Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover’s Soul

Posted: February 19, 2016 in Creatures, reviews, Short stories and collections
Tags: , , , ,
28

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

Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover’s Soul

  Stories about pets as teachers, healers, heroes and friends

by Multiple Authors

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

Genre: Non-fiction, animals, short stories

My 56 from the paperback.

“I’m a mechanic and a welder,” he said. “But there’s nothing out here for either. I’ve looked and looked. These dogs are my family; I hate to have to sell them, but I just can’t afford to feed them.”

He kept saying it over and over. He didn’t want to sell them, but he couldn’t afford to feed them. An awful look came over his face every time he repeated it. It was as if he might have to give up a child.

This man is living with his two dogs in the back of his truck, covered by a camper shell.

Read on if you want to know more.

My Review

How do I review this amazing book?

I laughed. I cried. My heart ached, and filled with joy.

Many people contributed to this wonderful collection. They share their tales of rescue, healing, unconditional love, and letting go.

Heroes of all shapes and sizes roam these pages, both animal and human.

It’s a large book yet it reads fast. The chapters are short, most are two to three pages, and there are some fun cartoons scattered throughout.

I can’t urge you strongly enough to read this book. It’s now found a permanent home on my coffee table. I pick it up often. Open to a random page. And read again.

  5 Stars

~~~~~

Synopsis

Animals bring out the goodness, humanity and optimism in people and speak directly to our souls. This joyous, inspiring and entertaining Chicken Soup collection relates the unique bonds between animals and the people whose lives they’ve changed. Such as the dolphins who helped a paralyzed woman heal when doctors offered little hope; the dog who brought life into a failing marriage; the kitten who helped a mother mourn; and the flying squirrel who taught a man the power of laughter. Packed with celebrity pet-lore, Chicken Soup for the Soul relates the unconditional love, loyalty, courage and companionship that only animals possess. Just like our furry, feathered and four-legged friends, this enchanting book will bring a smile to any pet lover’s face … and it’s housebroken

Amazon

~~~~~

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

Until the next time….

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Be careful what you wish for in The Spirit Chaser by Kat Mayor ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted: February 18, 2016 in Blog Tour, giveaways, horror, Paranormal or fantasy, Romance, urban fantasy
Tags: , , , , , , ,
26

The Spirit Chaser Banner 851 x 315

I’m always looking for a scary good haunting story. This was one of those that makes you sleep with the lights on!

Scroll down to check it out.

Enjoy my review.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

The Spirit Chaser

Book One

Kat Mayor

27859739

c8df8-add2bto2bgoodreads2bblack

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Horror, Ghosts

Publisher: Kat Mayor

Date of Publication: November 13, 2015

ISBN:1517161479 / ASIN: B01845NL8K

Number of pages: 424 / Number of words: 134,300

My Review

I’ve always enjoyed books and movies about ghost hunting. Granted, the television shows make me laugh. Seems like all they do is run around scaring themselves. What if the hauntings were real? What if something demonic has set it’s sights on you and your fate is not yours to control?

As I met the cast of characters and learned their places in the ghost hunting team, they seemed a lot like some of the movies I’ve seen. You have the essential characters, like psychics, the gadgets to bust the ghosts, and a handsome, charismatic leader. Thus you have the team of SCI.

Spirit Chaser Investigations (SCI) is the number one television show. They travel the country investigating haunted buildings. Most of the hauntings aren’t that bad, things being moved and thrown around. Ghostly apparitions and growls. But one seemingly routine investigation ends badly. A member is attacked and barely survives. The team thanks their lucky starts it wasn’t worse and regroup, thinking the worst is behind them. Not so. For they were lured to that encounter, and the worst is yet to come.

I liked the team of characters. They all came together to make a strong group. Like a family. When Casey is hired, she soon settles in. Her clashes with the leader, Austin, soon turn to romance.

Once Austin and Casey become a couple, the author shares some intimate sexual encounters with these two. I felt they went beyond what was needed. But later, I changed my mind. Those scenes were part of a spiritual bond between the two. One that will be tested in the days to come.

This book had me right from the beginning. As  the story progressed things got scary. Hauntings, demons, exorcisms…. I tried to put myself in their place. No way would I go in those buildings. Especially if I knew there were some very nasty beings gunning for me.

As I neared the end of the story, I became worried. Things were so bad and I couldn’t see a happy ending with the few remaining chapters. What surprised me the most were the tears. It just took two small scenes, but the words blurred on my Kindle. This doesn’t mean I’ve spoiled the ending for you. Doesn’t mean there is or isn’t a happy ending. It was just so different, so moving, and so unexpected. I’d given up hope it would happen.

I enthusiastically give this book a high recommendation and urge you to read it. All the twists and turns come together and you’ll want to talk about it after you’re finished. But you probably won’t want to investigate a haunting after this.

5 Stars

~~~~~

Book Description

Some places are too evil. Some places should be left alone.

Austin Cole has it made. Star of the hit television show Spirit Chaser Investigations, he has become the world’s most famous paranormal investigator. Although hard work, a talented investigation team, and favorable genetics have something to do with it, it’s his lack of fear and willingness to take risks no one else will that make Spirit Chaser Investigations cable’s number-one show.

When a ghost-hunt-gone-wrong seriously injures his best friend and lead psychic, Austin is forced to find a replacement for a team member he considers irreplaceable.

Casey Lawson can’t catch a break. She’s been on her own since she turned eighteen and is scraping by as a part-time psychic and cashier at a New Age store. When a desperate Austin Cole calls her up and offers her a position on his team, has her fortune finally changed?

He’s a control freak; she’s stubborn and opinionated. It takes time, but when they finally realize they’re working on the same side, everything clicks, both on and off screen.

Just when things are looking up, a new threat emerges. Over the years, Austin has angered plenty of demons, and one of them has set her sights on him. Now he’s the one in danger, and it’s up to the team to rescue him from the riskiest investigation of their lives.

Amazon Kindle   Amazon Paperback   Kobo   BN   Smashwords

 

Excerpt:

“I got your message. I guess that means Austin tracked you down.”

“Yeah, he did, and I have some questions about that for later.” Casey threw her purse on the entry table and flopped down on the couch. “But first I want to talk about you. I saw what happened on the finale. It was awful.” Casey paused for a moment. “How are you doing?”

“Yeah, that wasn’t my finest moment.” No it wasn’t. Casey thought it was a crappy thing to do, televising what had to be the lowest point in Barrett’s life. But she understood about ratings and the Almighty Dollar. “I’m better now, though,” he told her.

“How did it get in your head?”

“She was strong. Very strong.”

“She?”

“Yeah, the entity self-identified as female. She got in before I even knew I’d been attacked.” An involuntary shiver went through Casey’s spine. Barrett had always been careful. If an entity could get hold of him like that, then no one was safe.

“So, do you remember what happened?”

“Thankfully, no. I have vivid memories of everything that happened before we entered the warehouse. But after that, it’s all kind of a blur. This is what I do remember: She put the darkest thoughts of violence and rage in my head.” It had been like seeing his friends through someone else’s eyes. He had been crazy-out-of-control-angry at Gary and Luis. But the level of hate he’d felt for Austin was off the charts. Not only did he want him to suffer a slow, agonizing death, he wanted to inflict the pain and watch every excruciating moment as he slipped closer and closer to the edge. Barrett exhaled. “Anyway, the next thing I know, I’m in the hospital with a broken arm, terrified of something I can’t name or describe. You remember how I was in high school? When everything was hopeless and I was hating life?”

“Yeah,” Casey said. For as long as she had known Barrett, depression had been a daily struggle. He was the typical high school loner, a bit of a weirdo who didn’t fit into any of the usual cliques. He wandered around the halls with a sad, empty look in his eyes. The dark cloud over his head was what drew Casey to him in the first place. She was an outcast in her own right. Being the preacher’s emo daughter who spoke to ghosts didn’t win her any popularity contests. His vulnerability struck a chord with her. She wanted to take him home with her, like a stray puppy, and hold him until he felt safe and secure. But her comfort was not what he needed.

“That was nothing compared to the level of depression and despair I was feeling after the … thing”—he couldn’t bring himself to articulate the word “possessed”—“attacked me. I found out later that the doctors placed me on a suicide watch.” Barrett shook his head. “Weird. Sorry to unload on you. I’ll save the confessing and emotional vomiting for my priest and shrink.”

“No worries. I shouldn’t have brought up a sore subject.”

“No, Casey. You’re one of the few people who’ve even asked how I’m doing. My boyfriend, Derek, wants to ignore it, pretend like nothing happened. He’s afraid if we discuss it, I’ll lose it or something. I think a few of my friends are even kind of scared of me.” Barrett sighed. “Well, enough about me. What have you been up to, Ms. Lawson? Something fabulous, I’m sure.”

“Not really. I’ve been working at my friend’s store. It’s a low-stress job and not taxing on the brain. I’m kind of at an in-between place in my life right now. Trying to figure stuff out.” Casey paused and took a breath. “So, what’s the deal with this Austin dude? He tells me you’re the one who suggested me as a replacement. Why?”

“Because you’re the best. And Spirit deserves the best. They’re great people and I don’t want some attention-seeking charlatan screwing things up for them.”

“Well, if it’s so great, why don’t you want to go back?”

Barrett sighed and put his hand to his forehead. “That is a completely fair question, especially since I’m the one who gave Austin your name. But truthfully, I’m still in recovery mode. When Luis exorcised the she-demon, he got rid of my familiars, too. And I relied on them a lot.” Unlike Casey, Barrett came from a long line of seers. The familiar spirits that helped him see the future and communicate with the dead had been in his family for generations. “I mean, I can still see ghosts, but I can’t see the future anymore, and that kind of sucks.”

“So ask them back.”

“No, I don’t want to do that. After the she-devil got in, I’m not itching to open myself up again.”

Casey couldn’t blame him. “Well, even without your familiars, you’re still a million times better than most of the so-called psychics out there. And when you do get better, you’re going to want you’re fantastic job back.”

“No. I have my own personal reasons for not wanting to return that I’d rather not get into. It’s a great job, Casey, just not great for me.”

“Well, I haven’t even interviewed yet. Once Austin meets me, he might say forget it.”

“I know for a fact he has no one else lined up. The job is yours to refuse or accept.”

“I don’t know. I’m going to tell it like it is. Some people can’t handle that.”

“That’s what makes you the perfect choice. Austin is very persistent, very charming, and very persuasive. It’s nearly impossible to tell him no. And once he gets his mind set on something, he won’t stop. The team needs someone like you to stand firm, because Austin can’t see the danger and really doesn’t understand it. He’ll lead them all straight into hell without even knowing it.”

 

About the Author:

K.M. Montemayor

Kat Mayor is a native Texan, wife, and mom. In addition to The Spirit Chaser, she has written a young adult series, The Circle. She’s a full-time reader, part-time writer, and when she’s not kicking a story around in her head, she loves to read and review books on Goodreads.

Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

~~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

This counts towards my Horror Reading Challenge.

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Get your motor runnin….Burning Heat by David Burnsworth ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted: February 16, 2016 in crime thriller, giveaways, Mystery, reviews
Tags: , , , , , ,
8

burning heat large banner 640

BURNING HEAT
By David Burnsworth

.

BurningHeatFront
Burning Heat
Publisher: Five Star Publishing (January 20, 2016)
Hardcover: 286 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1432831110

.
goodreads-badge-add-plus

My Review

Having read the first book, Southern Heat, and really liked the characters, I couldn’t wait to meet them again and see what calamity they fell into this time.

Let me introduce you to the main character, Brack Preston. He’s an Afghanistan War veteran, a man of independent means after inheriting his uncles estate, which includes a little cottage with a million dollar view of the ocean and a ramshackle bar, the Pirate’s Cove. His best and most loyal companion is his dog, Shelby. Next is his friend Mutt, owner of a rundown bar in the bad part of Charleston.  You’ll also get to know Brother Thomas, a preacher as big as a grizzly with the heart of a teddy bear, until you get him riled up.

There’s also Darcy Coates, a reporter and friend who helped solve his uncles murder and took a bullet for it. Her and Brack do a two step around their feelings. Maybe this time we’ll see where that goes.

From the gritty digs of poverty to the glitz of affluence, Brack butts heads, stirs up several hornet’s nests, and dodges bullet.

He can’t walk away when a girl takes a bullet for him. Especially when her body disappears. Brother Thomas asks him to dig into it, and along with Mutt, Darcy, and a few old and new friends, you get dragged along, thrown in front of bullets, enter neighborhoods the police won’t even venture into, and race around in some very expensive cars.

What charms me with both of these books is Brack’s affection for his dog, Shelby. When things get dicey, he has one person he trusts to take care of the dog. And he always finds time to spend with him until it’s safe to bring him home again. Friends say Shelby is his chick magnet. I can see that.

There’s more than one plot in this story. Someone is trying to kill Brack. Someone is always trying to do that, it seems. And his bar is being sabotaged.

As you get closer to the end of the book, it all comes together. And I was truly surprised by the actual killer. The character never stood out and the motive was as old as time. Should have thought of that.

Another winner in this series and I can only hope it continues.

5 Stars

~~~~~

Synopsis

As darkness blankets the holy city of Charleston, South Carolina, Brack Pelton, an Afghanistan War veteran, steps out of a rundown bar after a long night. Before he gets to his truck, he finds himself in the middle of a domestic dispute between a man and a woman on the sidewalk. When a little girl joins the couple and gets hit by the man, Brack intervenes and takes him down. But the abuser isn’t finished. He pulls a gun and shoots the woman. Brack saves the little girl, but his world has just been rocked. Again.

The next day, while sitting on a barstool in the Pirate’s Cove on the Isle of Palms, his own bar, Brack scans the local paper. The news headline reads: Burned Body of Unidentified Hispanic Man Found at Construction Site. Nothing about a dead woman in the poor section of town. Brack feels a tap on his shoulder and turns around to see an eight-year-old girl standing behind him. She’s the little girl he rescued the night before, and she wants him to look into her sister’s shooting.

Violence and danger make up Brack’s not-too-distant past. Part of him craves it–needs it. And that part has just been fed. Things are about to heat up again in the lowcountry. May God have mercy on the souls who get in the way.

db-photo

.

About This Author

David Burnsworth became fascinated with the Deep South at a young age. After a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and fifteen years in the corporate world, he made the decision to write a novel. Southern Heat is his first mystery. Having lived in Charleston on Sullivan’s Island for five years, the setting was a foregone conclusion. He and his wife along with their dog call South Carolina home.

Author Links:

Webpage / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon               B&N 

~~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~

Tour Participants

February 10 – Back Porchervations – Review

February 11 – A Blue Million Books – Character Interview

February 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Author Interview

February 13 – Lori’s Reading Corner – Author Guest Post

February 14 – 3 Partners in Shopping; Nana, Mommy, &; Sissy too!  – Review

February 15 – Tea and A Book – Review

February 16 – fuonlyknew – Review

February 17 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review

February 17 – Shelley’s Book Case -Review

February 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review  

February 19 – Editing Pen – Author Guest Post

February 20 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Character Guest Post

~~~~~

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!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

Older Entries
Newer Entries