Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Book Review: Violent Departures by F. M. Meredith

 

Another engaging police story awaits you in Violent Departures by F. M. Meredith.

When a local college student goes missing, the Rocky Bluff P.D. is called in to investigate. Officer Gordon Butler already has a lot on his mind. He is training the recent new hire and still hoping to spend time with his fiancée to plan a wedding date and location. Meanwhile, Doug and Stacey Milligan are planning a move to a new home. Doug's daughter, Beth, will be coming to live with them, so they need more space. He is sure he's found the right place at the right price, but Stacey isn't so sure.

I am so thrilled to be back reading this superb series. I have missed it!  In Book 11, we see many of the regular members of the Rocky Bluff Police Department, a new member of the force, and some new residents of the town. 

Meredith continues to find that perfect balance between personal and professional in her stories. In addition, she creates a story that has a main plot and numerous subplots, which rings true to life. Characters face crises big and small along the way, allowing for great character development. I personally look forward to watching the future development of Beth. Her role in Violent Departures makes me think we will see a lot more of her. Fingers crossed.

If you like police procedurals or stories where the characters come together to create a community, you will enjoy Violent Departures. 


  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08B7LNPQC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (June 15, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 265 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8654246790

 This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.


Coming Fall 2021: Any Dumb Animal by AE Hines (Pre-sale Fundraiser to Benefit The Trevor Project)

 


Any Dumb Animal (Main Street Rag, 2021), the debut poetry collection by AE Hines, presents a memoir-in-verse as told by a gay man raised in the rural South who comes of age during the AIDS crisis. Flashing back and forth in time, a cast of recurring characters and circumstances are woven into a rich tale of survival and redemption, exploring one man's life as a queer son, father, and husband, over a span of more than thirty years.

Advance Sales open June 1st



With every pre-sale purchase of Any Dumb Animal by A.E. Hines between June and November 2021, a group of anonymous donors will match dollar for dollar each sale and donate it to The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project was founded in 1998 and is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. 

The publisher also is offering a limited time advanced sale price of $8.50 + shipping. Order here: https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/any-dumb-animal-ae-hines/

Release November 2021

"This compellingly candid work speaks the language of courage, of breath-taking transcendence. Finely crafted, it is a remarkable debut collection. Take note, world: a powerful lyric poet has emerged. Take note and rejoice!" ~ Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita

"I was amazed over and over at the bravery of these poems, never shying from the difficult moments in life, and all the while staying true to the clear-eyed, fearless vision of their author." ~ James Crews, Editor of How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope

"With a strong gift for storytelling and an eye attuned to detail, Hines ultimately shows us the beauty and knowledge made of experience." ~Richie Hofmann, Author of Second Empire



AE Hines (he/him) grew up in rural North Carolina and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. His poetry has been widely published in anthologies and literary journals including I-70 Review, Sycamore Review, Tar River Poetry, Potomac Review, Atlanta Review, Crosswinds Poetry Journal and Crab Creek Review. He is winner of the Red Wheelbarrow Prize and has been a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Writing at Pacific University.

More info: www.aehines.net



Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Book Review: Wedding Day and Foul Play by Dufffy Brown

 

Reagan and Walker are getting married. Any chance the day will come off without a hitch? Not likely with her penchant for finding dead bodies.

It's the day before the wedding when local auctioneer Cornelius "Corny" McBride waltzes into Rosegate and threatens to evict Auntie Kiki from her beloved home. It looks like Auntie Kiki and Uncle Putter will have to move until Corny winds up dead under the wedding cake table. 

Considering how many people he has swindled, the list of suspects is as long as his arm, but Auntie Kiki tops the list. Putting the honeymoon on hold, the newlyweds start looking for clues that will help clear Auntie Kiki's name. 

Wow! I forgot how much I loved this series. The charm of Savannah is the perfect setting for this fun cozy featuring consignment shop owner Reagan Summerside and her beloved family made up of her judge mamma Gloria, Auntie Kiki, Uncle Putter, and canine friend BW. Friends Mercedes and Aldeen along with Boone's buddy Big Joey also pops up. 

The list of suspects in Wedding Day and Foul Play by Duffy Brown seems endless. As Reagan and Boone continue their search for clues, the danger increases and Reagan is forced to make a tough decision. 

If you like cozy mysteries, you will want to pick up the latest Consignment Shop Mystery. Though I totally recommend you read the entire series, Wedding Day and Foul Play stands alone. 


  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08WYG5451
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (February 19, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 164 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8711193470

This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in anyway. 

Monday, June 28, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.


 


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Happy Monday from the Outer Banks! Hope you had a nice weekend. The weather here is sunny and hot. Not as hot as it is up in Massachusetts, which is experiencing a heat wave. 

I finished this book before we left.


I am reading these now:
 







Next up is...






Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Ignoring my goal of not signing up for so many virtual book tours, I received these books this week.




That is it from me. Hope you enjoy your week.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Getting Ready: My Vacation Books

We are heading to the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday. So thrilled to be finalizing all the work details, making packing lists, and figuring out what books to bring. Well, that last part was easy. 

Here is what will be coming with me either on my Kindle or as a softcover.












Looks like a whole lot of mystery with a tiny bit of fantasy. What do you think of my beach reads? What do you enjoy reading while you are on vacation?

Monday, June 21, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - June 21

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.


 


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Well, well, well, how are you all doing? I hope the dads out there had a nice Father's Day. We took my husband out to breakfast and he relaxed most of the day; a very well-deserved treat. 

My work schedule hasn't allowed for a lot of blogging or reading time, but I managed to finish off this great true crime story. You can read my review here



I am in the middle of these three as well.
 






I am packing up books for vacation this week. 





Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.


I did something I never do... bought a whole bunch of books just for me. I've kept from buying books because I have so many unread ones here, but I really wanted to catch up on the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. It will be good to see what Detective Milligan and Officer Gordon Butler have been up to. 







That's it from me. Hope you have a nice week. 

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Book Review: Death on Ocean Boulevard by Caitlin Rother



Caitlin Rother has done it again. This Pulitzer-nominated former investigative reporter has written another gripping true crime story that will have you turning page after page.

Death on Ocean Boulevard investigates the shocking and lurid death of Rebecca Zahau, girlfriend of pharmaceutical tycoon Jonah Shacknai. Two days before Rebecca 's naked body is found with her ankles tied and her wrists bound behind her, Jonah's six-year-old son, Max, took a devastating fall while in Rebecca's care. 

Though the authorities deemed her death a suicide, Rebecca's family believed she was murdered amid speculations of foul play and influence. 

Rother brings the reader through new details and multiple perspectives in a sensational case that shook the Coronado community. 

Wow! Rother has outdone herself this time. Drawn to this case because of its parallels to her own life, as she learned more about Rebecca's murder at the historic Spreckels Mansion, the more it haunted her. The author's attention to detail, her determination to investigate the murder from every angle, and her ability to take all that work and turn it into a fascinating narrative are all reasons I enjoy Rother's books. 

There are no clear cut answers as to what happened to Rebecca Zahau, but Rother provides the reader with a fair and balanced account that allows them to make their own decision. If you like true crime stories, Death on Ocean Boulevard is a must read. 

Highly recommended!

Publisher: Citadel (April 27, 2021)
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN-10: 0806540893
ISBN-13: 978-0806540894

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Monday, June 14, 2021

Making Christmas/Santa Baby Book Blast & Giveaway



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Nancy Fraser and Peggy Jaeger will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Welcome to our 1980’s Dickens Christmas stories!

Two sweet vintage romances set in the New England town of Dickens where small town charm is on full, holiday display.

Both stories are prequels to stories found in last year’s holiday anthology, Christmas Comes to Dickens. Beginning October 18th, the Ladies of Dickens will release six brand-new, full-length Dickens holiday romances (one per week) to celebrate the season.

In the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy Making Christmas by Author Nancy Fraser and Santa Baby by Author Peggy Jaeger. Both are guaranteed to whet your holiday appetites for what’s to come!

*****


Making Christmas by Nancy Fraser

A 1980s Vintage Romance ...

It’s been five years since William Barrett returned to Dickens to take over as CEO of Wil-Bar Toys. He’s spent these past years helping build Wil-Bar into a leader in creative, handmade toys. His work ethic and drive has left him little time for a personal life. Or, perhaps he’s still pining for the one who got away.

Catherine Gates moved away from Dickens six years earlier. Now a staff reporter for a woman’s magazine, she’s returning to Dickens to do a story on Wil-Bar Toys new production methods and get the scoop on their upcoming holiday line.

When Will and Cat meet up again for the first time in years, it’s as if they’ve never been apart. Rekindling their friendship, and attraction, becomes more important than Cat’s article, or even the secrecy of the new toy lines.

Can these two childhood friends make up for lost time and pursue the romance they missed out on years earlier? Or, will Cat’s story expose too much and put them at odds with one another?

***


Santa Baby by Peggy Jaeger

It’s Christmas Eve morning in the tiny New England town of Dickens.

Santa’s arrival is imminent, and a hint of snow is in the air.

Amy Dorrit is just about to open her popular diner for the breakfast rush when she discovers an abandoned baby on her back doorstep.

Amy knows she should call the authorities and turn the infant over to them, but she just can’t. Thoughts of her own abandonment as a baby flood through her and she wants to keep the little one out of the hands of the authorities until the mother – hopefully –returns.

But will the mom come back? And if she doesn’t, what is Amy prepared to do about the baby who has, already, claimed her heart?


Read an Excerpt from Santa Baby

As she moved through the breezeway connecting the diner to her apartment, Amy heard a mewling sound at the back alley door. Her cook, Willie, often left scraps out for strays, especially in winter, and sometimes when she took the trash out at the end of the day, Amy would find a mamma cat searching for something to feed her kittens.

Amy opened the door, expecting to see a hungry animal looking for a handout, and got the shock of the century when she found a baby carrier, complete with a crying infant nestled in it.

She gasped, her head flicking right, then left, to find the person responsible for leaving a baby out in the frigid night air.

“Hello? Is anyone here?”

The still sleeping and silent town surrounded her as shoe impressions in the fresh snow indicated the baby hadn’t been there for long.

The infant’s howl echoed in the quiet.

“Oh, you poor thing. Let’s get you out of the cold.”

About the Authors:

NANCY FRASER—Jumping Across Romance Genres with Gleeful Abandon—is an Amazon Top 100 and Award-Winning author who can’t seem to decide which romance genre suits her best. So, she writes them all.

Like most authors, Nancy began writing at an early age, usually on the walls and with crayons or, heaven forbid, permanent markers. Her love of writing often made her the English teacher’s pet which, of course, resulted in a whole lot of teasing. Still, it was worth it.

Nancy has published over forty books in full-length, novella, and short format. When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.


Website: http://www.nancyfraser.ca
Facebook: http://facebook.com/nancyfraserauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nfraserauthor \
Bookbub: http://bookbub.com/profile/nancy-fraser
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Fraser/e/B004AOL61Y
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7206382.Nancy_Fraser
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3gC68iMStwKCr4v_S6fMIA
Newletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/bxkKvD

***


Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance writer who writes Romantic Comedies about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them. If she can make you cry on one page and bring you out of tears rolling with laughter the next, she’s done her job as a writer!

Family and food play huge roles in Peggy’s stories because she believes there is nothing that holds a family structure together like sharing a meal…or two…or ten. Dotted with humor and characters that are as real as they are loving, she brings all topics of daily life into her stories: life, death, sibling rivalry, illness and the desire for everyone to find their own happily ever after. Growing up the only child of divorced parents she longed for sisters, brothers and a family that vowed to stick together no matter what came their way. Through her books, she’s created the families she wanted as that lonely child.

When she’s not writing Peggy is usually painting, crafting, scrapbooking or decoupaging old steamer trunks she finds at rummage stores and garage sales.

As a lifelong diarist, she caught the blogging bug early on, and you can visit her at peggyjaeger.com where she blogs daily about life, writing, and stuff that makes her go "What??!"


Website and Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-jaeger
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDR8RRIlssIyS0FYZWeGqsg/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peggyjaeger_author/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-jaeger-296ab878/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
Authors database: https://authorsdb.com/community/15814-peggy-jaeger
Triberr: https://triberr.com/tribe/strong-women--loving-men

Universal Purchase Links:

Making Christmas https://books2read.com/MakeXMas
Santa Baby https://books2read.com/u/3R8lVG

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1566764279
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/making-christmas-nancy-fraser/1139435151
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/making-christmas-3
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/making-christmas-a-dickens-holiday-romance-prequel-by-nancy-fraser

Making Christmas Trailer: https://youtu.be/PzzY7komw-I
Making Christmas Jigsaw Puzzle Link: https://bit.ly/33wkGqI

Santa Baby Trailer Link: https://youtu.be/8_MbnzNIlrg
Santa Baby Jigsaw Puzzle Link: https://bit.ly/2RaZBzj

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Poetry Collection Review: Septuagenarian by Sherry Quan Lee

 

Diving deeply into her life and the world around us, Sherry Quan Lee offers a moving, emotional, and unapologetic memoir in poetic form with Septuagenarian: Love is What Happens When I Die.

A mixed-race girl growing up knowing abandonment, lack of identity, love, loss, and abuse; in her seventh decade she reflects upon her life, the world in which she grew up in, and the world in which we all live. That past world, still as complicated today as it was then, is one changed forever by the pandemic and injustice that has long been ignored. 

Having lost someone during the pandemic, I struggled with this section this most. However, I loved Lee's approach and the pure emotion that drips from every word. 

Septuagenarian digs deep and draws you in with thought-provoking poetry that examines the global picture through one womyn's eyes and experiences. A fabulously engaging collection.

  • Publisher : Modern History Press (March 1, 2021)
  • Language : English
  • Paperback : 102 pages
  • ISBN-10 : 1615995684
  • ISBN-13 : 978-1615995684

Learn more at blog.SherryQuanLee.com

I received a paperback copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 




Monday, June 7, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - June 7

Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday.


 


It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Well, I blinked quickly and May was gone. I hope everyone is reading some great books. Me, not so much. I am tired. Way too much work and not enough play. I managed to sneak in a few chapters of this one over the weekend:




I am in the middle of these three as well.
 






My brain is looking forward to vacation, so that maybe I can read a few books. 




Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.


Nothing in my mailbox this week, but I still have plenty to read. Hope you have a great week.