Happy New Year, and a Bargain book for December 31, 2019

Happy New Year! … on this last day of yet another decade. I’m looking forward to more good things in the decade to come.

It’s amazing, when I can look back over the last ten years and feel nothing but gratitude. Especially while remembering the angst we all experienced entering a new millennium two decades ago. Y2K. Seriously, many of us were gearing up for the apocalypse. I think the last two decades seem sweeter because of angst that didn’t materialize.

The largest unsettling issue was related to computer systems. If operating systems failed, unable to roll with the new multi-digit date of 2000, the world would come to a stand still. Planes would fall out of the sky, vehicle engines would turn off mid journey, electrical grids would shut down, and commerce would come to a halt.  People were preparing for the worst, stock piling food, water, and probably, currency.

Time magazine y2k

Credit: A Time magazine cover found on a Google search of Y2K

1999 was a tough year, living with uncertainty. You can imagine the immense relief we felt when the clock quietly rolled around to 12.01am January 01, 2000 and nothing drastic happened.

The only problem left was to figure out what to do with a three year supply of canned food and water.

I think for many of us New Years Eve 2000 was the best one ever. My mother (if she were still alive today) would probably disagree. She would be thinking January 01, 1946 (with the end of World War Two) was the best New Years Eve ever. She would probably be right, when I stop to think about it.

Remembering those special times gives me hope. As humans, we tend to face up to tough situations when they happen, looking for a way to escape, survive, live through it. Thinking back over my lifetime and the amazing advances we’ve seen in technology; it’s clear that the capability of the human brain is mind blowing. Whatever problem we ever face, there is always someone who will have a solution. Brilliant minds are unable to resist the challenge in the words, It’s impossible, it can’t be done.  They jump into the task quietly shouting, Oh Yeah? just watch me!

Thinking back on rough times reminds me of the angst the world was feeling in my mid-teen years. Bullies were the threat in those days. The cold war was happening between Russia and the rest of the world. The adults in my life were convinced the Russians were plotting to invade us, World War Three was going to happen, and the earth would be destroyed. Soon. Be ready! Those were the days of well stocked and outfitted bomb shelters. If we look hard enough, there may even be a few of them still in existence.

I can remember lying in bed listening to a jet fly overhead, (we were in the flight path for Vancouver International Airport, but I didn’t remember that detail) terrified it was the Russians coming to bomb us. Once the jet passed out of hearing range I could relax and go to sleep.

There was no sudden end to this angst, not like the closure we had with Y2K. Instead, the whole idea of war just seemed to fade away. Lack of interest? Predicted dates that didn’t materialize? All I know is life moved on, the cold war ended. The idea of Russia holding power over us didn’t seem as believable as we once thought.

Worries come and go but life goes on.

I find comfort in the high probability history shows of us being wrong about things that worry us.

I’m looking forward to a productive new decade. I hope you are too.

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So, back to books…

A bargain book today from BookBub. A Lancaster County Christmas $0.99, it is an Amish story. Over the years, there have been four books in my downloads from this author. This new book starts out well and I’m planning to read it next.

A Lancaster County Christmas

Amazon quote:

Jaime and C. J. Fitzpatrick began their married life as most couples do–in love and looking forward to a bright future together. But four years later they’ve drifted apart and are almost ready to call it quits.

Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband Sol the Christmas gift they have both longed for–news that a baby was on the way. But as usual, she is disappointed. The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big family isn’t likely to become a reality.

Then a winter storm raging outside blows the Fitzpatricks into the Riehl home–and into a much slower pace of life. Can these two couples from different worlds help each other understand the true meaning of love this Christmas?

That’s all I have for books today.

Happy New Year!

It will be a quiet one at my house. I was hoping to talk a friend into a games night but she is suffering with a bad cold so we will have to take a rain check on that idea. Between a new jigsaw puzzle, new book downloads, and the new 5D Fashion Diamond painting picture of a humming bird, I have lots to help me party tonight.

Diamond painting is a new craft my daughter found for me on Amazon this Christmas. It’s a cross between paint-by-number and cross stitch with embroidery floss. It has little round discs of color that you apply to a sticky surface with a little tool. The discs sparkle with refracted light. Very pretty, and it goes much faster than cross stitch with floss. If you like crafts, check it out. It’s sold in kits and doesn’t seem to be an expensive hobby.

This is the one I’m doing. It will lose the flat look with the diamonds sparkling but it will be pretty.

Diamond Humming Bird

Happy New Year, Happy Reading!

 

Bargain books December 31, 2019?

I couldn’t help but continue the search for good books this morning and two more grabbed my attention. They are bargain books and I started a new post for tomorrow (Dec 31st,) but rethought the idea and decided to not wait, in case the price changes overnight. That would be so disappointing. I’m going to cheat and leave tomorrow’s date though. (big smile)

A bargain book ($1.99) on Amazon, Garden of Dreams. Leslie Gould has appeared once before on my download list. Reading the first few pages now, I’m looking forward to checking this out.

Garden of Dreams

Amazon quote:

Raised by a mother who was haunted by worry and fear, Jill vowed to live a different kind of life. As a young woman, she planned out what she wanted—a husband, a large home full of children, the opportunity to paint and grow a beautiful garden, a community of believers, and a best friend—then watched as it all came true in the art-filled town of Ashland, Oregon.

But Jill has a secret that she has kept from those she loves most, including her husband and her best friend, Caye—and she’s not the only one with something to hide. Her mother also has not told Jill the whole truth about her father and the disease that claimed his life. Together, these secrets shatter Jill’s idyllic world.

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Another cool looking bargain book, Alias Raven Black ($1.31) I’ve not read this author before so don’t know what to expect but the first page has me wanting to read and find out what this is about too.

Alias Raven Black

Amazon quote:

Brenna has lived most of her life just left of the right side of the law. While on vacation at a secluded ski resort, her past finally catches up with her. Her father, who she hasn’t seen since she ran away at sixteen, suddenly wants to reconcile.
Before she can make sense of that overture, the FBI whisk her off to Minneapolis. In exchange for a clean slate, she is recruited to work as a mole in the home of known mobster and suspected drug lord, Anthony Giordano. Under the alias, Raven Black, she becomes nanny to Giordano’s children.
Brenna’s hands are full just learning to mother two spoiled kids, while her main objective, finding information that would put their father away for life, remains elusively out of reach.
Will the secrets she discovers bring absolution from the past she’s tried so hard to leave behind or simply tear her heart in two?

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If anything shows up via email tomorrow, I will post again.

Happy Reading

Free and bargain books December30, 2019

BookRunes has a FREE book for us today,  Three Days in Heaven. This book and author is new to me but after reading the introduction and some of the reviews, it sounds enticing. The subject isn’t new to me, I’ve read other books sharing real Near Death Experiences and they are all fascinating. The reviews tell me this author has a fictional, light hearted, but inspiring spin on three days spent in heaven. I’m looking forward to checking it out.

Three Days in Heaven

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BookBub is mentioning a FREE book we’ve seen before, Thicker Than Blood. I read and enjoyed this one about five years ago. It’s worth mentioning again.

Thicker than Blood

Amazon quote:

Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build her career as a buyer for a large used bookstore. So far she’s been able to keep her drinking problem at bay, but everything changes when she lands a DUI on her thirty-third birthday.

When she’s accused of a crime she didn’t commit at work, she has nowhere to turn. She yearns for her estranged family, especially her younger sister May whom she hasn’t seen for fifteen years. Now the owner of a failing cattle ranch in Elk Valley, Colorado, May couldn’t possibly want a relationship with the big sister who didn’t even say good-bye all those years ago, could she?

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A bargain collection of books from two well known, long-time authors showed up on Amazon this morning. This is a series on my read-and-enjoyed list from way-back-when. I’m not going to say how many decades it’s been but it has been more than a few, and the memory hasn’t faded.

The Russians Collection is a bargain at seven books for $1.99

The Russians Collection

Amazon quote:

In this bestselling series set in pre-revolutionary Russia, both a peasant and a princess face the prospect of their beloved country being torn apart by conflict within and without.

1 The Crown and the Crucible
2 A House Divided
3 Travail and Triumph
4 Heirs of the Motherland
5 Dawning of Deliverance
6 White Nights, Red Morning

7 Passage Into Light

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Happy Reading!

 

Free and bargain books December 29, 2019

Slim pickings this morning, from the regular sources, but Amazon has a few for us.

The Healing Touch is FREE and looks interesting. I’ve read author Kit Morgan before but not this book. I’m looking forward to it.

The Healing Touch

Amazon quote

Jack Carlson spied for the union army for four, long years and what did he get for his trouble? Blindness. Battered by the war and lost without his sight, he seeks refuge in Cutter’s Creek, Montana. There he hopes to heal his bitter heart. But he’s going to need a lot more help than what he can come up with. His cousin, the local preacher, thinks so too and sends off for a mail-order bride for him, praying a wife will do the trick.
Willow Bennett has been in love with the same man all her life. As a young girl she followed Jack Carlson and his friends until they managed to out run her. As a young woman…well, a girl can dream, can’t she? Imagine her surprise when she becomes a mail-order bride and discovers Jack is her intended! That’s not the only surprise she gets in this story of forgiveness, hope and love.

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Another FREE book, The River Between, also new to me

The River Between

Amazon quote

The river brought a handsome stranger to her. Would the river also take him away? From her Alabama mansion on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, Lily watches the steamboats pass and dreams of falling in love with the perfect man, giving him her whole mind and spirit. But when the river gives her an irresistible steamboat captain, Lily is torn between him and her pledge to marry the wealthy man her parents have chosen for her. Torn by her love for the mysterious captain, she struggles with duty, honor and faith. Like the river’s dangerous currents, her choice will change the course of her life forever.

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There is a bargain Christy Barritt book, Dubiosity,  $1.99. I’ve always liked Christy’s books and have been reading her for years. I’m excited to find a book I haven’t read yet.

Dubiosity

Partial Amazon quote

Savannah Harris vowed to leave behind her old life as an intrepid investigative reporter. But when a friend raises suspicions about two migrant workers who’ve gone missing from the sleepy coastal town Savannah calls home, her curiosity spikes.

As ever more eerie incidents begin afflicting the area, each works to draw Savannah out of her seclusion and raise the stakes—for both Savannah and the surrounding community. Even as Savannah’s new boarder, Clive Miller, makes her feel things she thought long forgotten, she suspects he’s hiding something too, and he’s not the only one. Doubts collide in Savannah’s mind: Who can she really trust?

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It’s tempting to keep searching, but I won’t. We need to leave some for tomorrow.

Happy Reading, on this suddenly snowy afternoon.

We have had it pretty good the last few weeks, with warmer and dryer than usual weather for this time of year. (It’s not been warm, just not quite as cold as usual.) Our world starts to look a little dirty with road sand showing up where melt has happened, a dusting of snow will make things look clean again, briefly. Clean is good.

 

Free books December 28, 2019

I’m back. I did think about blogging over Christmas but, it was a nice break just to be with family. Nothing interesting showed up in the daily emails or I would have been posting for sure.

Today, Chautona Havig has a FREE book on offer. Everard (Not-So-Fairy Tales) it is sort of a retelling of a fairy tale and is on my 2018 reading list. My memory is short on details but I do remember liking this one.

Everard

I’ve also found a couple of FREE books on Amazon from even farther back. Apparently I did read them but will need a refresher to remember them.

Finding Her Way is the historical story of a city girl travelling by wagon train to make a new life in the wild west. I’ll have to read it again to decide if I liked it.

Finding Her Way

I’ve read This Time Forever but it’s been even longer, 2012 or so. It’s FREE too. I’ll have to read this again along with you.

This Time Forever

BookRunes has a FREE book today. The Defiant Bride

A wealthy heiress and obedient daughter, her father disapproves of her choice in men and sends her away as an embarrassment to the family.

Travelling west the train is set upon by bandits and she’s kidnapped. One of the bandits seems to be helping her but she still doesn’t trust him.

I’m not sure about this author or the story but it looks to be worth a shot.

The Defiant Bride

Happy Reading

 

Free books December 23, 2019

Two Free books today, they not quite as light as the cozy mysteries yesterday but will still be a good read.

BookBub has Because of the Rain, and BookRunes suggests Light Over Water.

Because of the Rain,  is one I downloaded and read in 2017 and it is FREE again.

Because of the Rain

Amazon quote:

ANNA’S LIFE CHANGES FOREVER ON ONE HORRIFIC NIGHT
WHEN SHE IS ASSAULTED AND LEFT FOR DEAD.

Anna Marquette has everything to live for. Her daughters are in college and, with the support of Paul, her loving husband, she is pursuing her dream of a career in counseling. Then one night, while on a trip to Orlando, the unimaginable happens. She takes a “short cut” to an evening out with Paul and is brutally assaulted.

She’s pregnant as a result. This book had a great impact on me, such that I can still remember reading it. Deborah Raney has a gift for creating characters that come alive, drawing in the reader until you feel like you are living in their skin, making the story that much more memorable, and impactful.

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Light Over Water, both the book and the author are new to me but it looks like it is worth taking a chance. It’s FREE too.

Light Over Water

A partial Amazon quote for this historical novel:

Life in Little Cove is safe, familiar and sedate, until events an ocean away draw Sam Eliot and Alison Granger into a tightening spiral of tragedy, failure and betrayal. In April 1917 the United States enters the war in Europe. Sam and Alison are affected by the disintegration of their safe world as Sam enlists, only to experience a personal tragedy soon afterwards that affects his ability to cope as a soldier. Alison, the daughter of a doctor, remains at home in the Maine coastal village and becomes involved in a scandal that shakes her faith in God and humanity.

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Currently I’m still reading  the Resort to Love collection

Resort to Love

I’m almost finished book 2 Eureka, California and I’m liking it even better than I liked book 1.

Amazon quote:

Adopted into a family of dysfunctional siblings, Genevieve Wilson doesn’t believe she’s capable of successful relationships, which makes her crush on the pilot at work feel safe. Matt Lake has a perfect life, girlfriend included, but the redhead who works at the Eureka airport makes him smile like never before. Will he give up the flawless life he planned in exchange for the messiness of love, and if so, will Gen risk more heartbreak?

It’s still a bargain at $1.31

Happy Reading!

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Christmas is only two more sleeps. Kids are excited.

I wasn’t going to bother putting up a tree, again, this year. Too much like work when I’d rather be reading a book. But then, a little inspiration hit yesterday. I have a box filled with pieces of pine garland already strung with lights from Christmases past. If one was hung  from the hook in this window, I could have a  tree, and the neighbors wouldn’t feel like Scrooge was living in the house with un-festive like windows.

Ok, so mostly I just wanted to have some lights in the window to make it look like someone cared, and since I have no idea where the wreath with the candle shaped light in it went to (probably tossed out in one of my many moves) I had to improvise.

There are definitely lights in the window now. I’m happy.

20191222_172142 (450x800)

And, it won’t be a big job to take it all down.

I do actually like having the house all fixed up with lights and Christmas decorations. It’s like a mood lifter. It creates a fairyland ambiance and I like to sit with a book, listen to music, and drink it all in, for weeks and weeks. Something’s changed this last couple of years, I haven’t wanted to even bother.

I’m glad I felt inspired to make a bit of an effort this year. It makes me feel happy, well, at least happier. Every little positive step in the right direction helps.

There are so many good things to be grateful for in my life and yet the abusiveness of my early childhood overshadows all of it sometimes. It’s hard, facing up to reality, but it has turned out to be worthwhile in the end. I’ve made so many friends over the years that happened to have wounds like mine. Sharing stories together has made life for all of us easier, somehow.

Lately I’ve be blessed with another new friendship and it has connected me with a whole new circle of supportive people. Maybe that’s what’s contributed to me making more of an effort with the Christmas decorations all of a sudden. A new ray of light showed up in my life.

It always amazes me, when I share a little of my story with someone, to find they know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s easy to feel like no one understands and it’s a shock when they do. Earlier this month I shared something I never talk about and that’s what happened – she knew. It was amazingly freeing and validating. I have a feeling there is a lot more story sharing coming in my future. That’s a good thing.

There are a multitude of others feeling the kind of pain I do and I pray, always, that they  will discover supportive friends to share their stories with. That somehow there will be a ray of light, of hope, especially this time of year. They say one in four women experience abuse, I’m sure it’s higher than that. If you are one of them…

I’m wishing you, and every other hurting person – man or woman, the very best in this Christmas season. May you be open to connecting with someone else so you can experience a ray of hope too, both now and in 2020.

Janette

 

 

 

 

Bargain books December 22, 2019

Some Christmas-y bargain books to curl up with this afternoon.

Cozy Mysteries Collection (Heart and Holiday edition) … 6 books, 1096 pages, a lovely bargain at $0.99

Cozy Mysteries Collection

Partial Amazon quote:

Just in Time for the Holidays!

Treat yourself to the brand new “Heart & Holiday” Cozy Mystery Collection featuring 6 bestselling books from four of Hope Callaghan’s most popular mystery series. Each book has a heart/love or a holiday theme.

These books are not available in any other boxed set or collection…

I’m happy to see these stories aren’t included in any other box set. I’ve read some of her other cozy collections and was worried maybe I’d read half of this already. So glad.

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Christmas Suspense book set is another collection that looks like it will be a fun read. A bargain too, $1.31, 321 pages. These stories are novellas, a little less daunting than full book length.

Christmas Suspense

Amazon quote:

ANGELS AMONG US
In the season of Love, Peace and Joy, a chance meeting with a young woman in a supermarket sets Detective Cole Allen on an urgent quest to save the lives of three young women.
It will take the combined skill and dedication of the Twin Falls Homicide Bureau, and a helping hand from God, to locate and end the nightmare of the helpless victims.

GUARDING CANDY KANE
Nothing bad can happen in a place called Christmas Tyme, Colorado. Right?
Granted, Sean McGregor is there to bodyguard a recent heiress to the Kane Industries fortune. Not to mention there have been two previous attempts on her life.
For Sean, a former Recon Marine and ex-Secret Service Agent this should be a no-brainer. Safely ensconced in a mountain chalet overlooking the picturesque town he can control the environment. Control the environment, control the mission.
But the Kane chalet is hiding dark secrets he can’t control.

LAST CHANCE
Chance Crawford is back in Afghanistan.
A place he swore to never return.
No longer the team leader of a Marine Recon unit. He’s now a CIA agent, searching the mountains of the Hindu Kush for a Taliban chief who wants to defect.
While tracking his objective he encounters two children in need of a protector. And he’s the only one available.
It’s mission impossible but Chance has never run from trouble.
No matter the odds.

THE MEANEST COP IN TOWN
A Bonus Christmas Short Story

I’m not sure if I’ve read this author. I think I have but it must have been in a collection if I did. Looking forward to checking this one out anyway.

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I’m currently reading, and enjoying, so far anyway. I’ve only just begun so it’s a little early to tell for sure. I still have hopes.

Resort to Love a collection still at the bargain price of $1.31

Resort to Love

I’m on book 1 Oregon Coast 

Christina Lovejoy finds herself honeymooning alone when she leaves her fiancé at the altar. Dave Lake prayed for a wife and has a bride show up at his bed and breakfast. When she agrees to stay on as his cook, will he be able to convince her not to run away from another chance at romance? (Amazon quote)

All of today’s offering are on the lighter side. Maybe that’s a good thing?

Enjoy. Happy Reading!

 
 

 

Free books for December 21, 2019

Chauona Havig’s FREE book this weekend is Not A WordI ordered this one last year and here it is, free again.

Not a Word

This time I’m giving you the whole Amazon quote …

Maybe there is a hell on earth.

All Mac has ever wanted was a chance to love Savannah. And when he gets it, nothing could be sweeter.

Right up to the moment she turns on him and flees their small town.

He’s stuck now—stuck in a place where everyone hates him. Stuck in a dead-end life and without the girl he can’t help but loving or understanding why.

Why did she pretend to care?
Why did she shred what little reputation he had?
Why did she leave without a word?
Why can’t he defend himself?

He hasn’t said one word against her or in his defense.

Find out why in Not a Word.

Because love doesn’t always die—even when your heart is crushed.

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I found another FREE book on Amazon, one I downloaded in 2015 . I don’t remember reading it but it says I did. I will check it out along with you.

All for Anna

Amazon quote:

An empowering love story about letting go of guilt and holding on to hope. 
When Tori Sales, a 23 year-old trauma nurse returns home, she’s determined to escape the painful memories that haunt her still…two years after the loss of Anna. But not even the distraction of a new job, an overbearing family, or a therapist who won’t take no for an answer can lessen the guilt trapped inside her. 
After a chance encounter with a compassionate fireman, Tori sets out on a journey to find closure where she needs it most. But when a shocking revelation threatens the relationship she’s come to rely on, Tori is forced to make another life-altering decision. Will she stay with the man she loves or will she choose the escape she knows best…

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Yesterday there was a bargain book (it’s still a bargain) and I loved this read. I just finished and have to say, it is my favorite of the week.

Well written with great character development, there are lots of believable twists and turns grabbing my interest. The absolute best is an intelligent feisty woman and a strong man who could love and appreciate her. London and Declan definitely both fit the bill on that score. Check it out to see if you agree with me.

A Mouse for the Duke  

A Mouse for the Duke

London is a survivor and she is brilliant in finding ways to keep her head above water in a tough environment, including dressing down to fit a role.

Declan is dedicated to spending his efforts growing his family business. He wouldn’t take the time to pursue marriage if his grandfather wasn’t forcing him.

With a few short weeks to find a wife, he quickly agrees to an unsuitable marriage. A match not wanted by either of them, especially not by the bride-to-be.  There is someone, though, desperately wanting this marriage and they are willing do whatever it takes to make it happen. The plan could work … unless they meet up with someone smarter and more observant than they are.

I’m still basking in the glow of enjoyment from this book.

A happy Saturday, and Happy Reading to you.

bargain book today December 20, 2019

BookRunes has a bargain book for us today that looks interesting. A Mouse for the Duke $1.31

The Amazon quote below makes this story sound quite enticing. A spunky and enterprising young woman, at a time in history when life was a man’s world and women were thwarted from business involvement. Thwarted is not too strong a word.

A Mouse for the Duke

Lord Declan Sheridan is content growing the family business. There’s no time for courting. He’s put all his energy, money and time into his custom furniture line. Declan is unprepared for the ultimatum given to him by his grandfather, the owner of Sheridan Furniture. Marry by Christmas or lose his inheritance!

London Taylor works as a lady’s maid by day, while secretly playing the stock market. Becoming “the mouse” was necessary to get the job. Everyone warned her that Tessa Hubbard was horrible to work for, but the job came with perks. It was supposed to be a simple thing. Wear a disguise, work hard and secretly play the stock market. When London overhears a plot, she is forced to make a choice that will alter the path of her life.

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Currently, I’m still working on reading the mystery collection A Date With Danger.

A Date With Danger

It’s slow going for me, what with being distracted by a large work project that showed up demanding attention. But, there’s another book that’s been in my thoughts even more than this neglected collection. It’s one I’ve started but set aside, in a responsible moment.

The Camera Never Lies

The Camera Never Lies

This was recommended in an author’s (Chautona Havig) regular email. It is full price, not even a bargain, but I succumbed to temptation to check out this new  (to me) author.

Amazon quote says it well:

Daniel, Kelly, and Milly appear to be the perfect family. But an old camera will expose secrets no one wants developed. 

Daniel Whitely is a successful marriage counselor and bestselling author, yet his own marriage is in crisis and his daughter is drifting further away each day. To make matters worse, the deadline for his second book has come and gone, and he still hasn’t written a single word. 

When Daniel inherits an old camera from his grandfather, he notices an inscription on the bottom: “No matter what you think you might see, the camera never lies.” 

Daniel is about to use his grandfather’s camera but he is disconcerted: he hasn’t taken any pictures and yet the old fashioned role of film is full.

When the pictures are developed he is incensed. Telling private moments are captured with the subjects of the photos seemingly unaware of being observed. He is set on finding out who has been using his camera without permission.

He has suspicions but he’s never right, which is embarrassing.

I stopped reading at a very intense moment … it’s hard to go back just yet, his sky is about to fall in and he’s not helping himself. I think I’d better stick with A Date With Danger a little bit longer, except I’m torn – I can’t stop thinking about his families dilemma.

in the meantime …  Happy Reading

 

Free book December 19, 2019

One FREE book from Bookbub this morning.

There could have been more as their list was longer but I’m always looking for clean. Clean is hard to come by these days. It’s rare in mainstream books so I don’t go there anymore. Last week there were a couple of books that I didn’t recognize in my usual search but I took a chance on them. They looked like they would be ok. Disappointingly, they weren’t. It creates a problem, to accept even mostly clean. The few I took a chance on were a perfect example of what happens when mostly clean is picked. All of a sudden more erotica than usual was showing up as I continued my free search, I had to give it up in frustration. Once I started reading the new books it all made sense. The algorithms recognized what I didn’t and jumped all over it. I’ll be more careful in the future.

This author, Liz Isaacson, writes clean and interesting stories.

The Sleigh on Seventeenth Street – Three Rivers Ranch Series book 14. I’ve read and enjoyed a number of books in this series so expect this one to be good as well.

The Sleigh on 17th Street

Excerpt from Amazon quote:

With a new development going in on the north end of Three Rivers, Camila Cruz is desperate to win the plumbing bid for the mom-and-pop plumbing shop she joined when she came to town four years ago. The project would keep the shop open and allow Cami to buy it from the owners who are ready to retire. It would be the perfect Christmas present.

Dylan Walker is determined to win the bid for Three Rivers Electric Company as well, and the only friendly face he can find at the announcement meeting is Cami’s. Okay, semi-friendly. She’s heard a lot of rumors about the handsome electrician who moonlights as a cowboy, and she doesn’t need her wounded heart to get another shock.

When they both win their respective bids and start to work together, sparks fly ….

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I’m currently reading and enjoying book 2 in  A Date With Danger,  a six book Mystery/Suspense/Romance collection. This read falls on the light side – not as light as cozy mysteries but definitely lighter than most thrillers. Lighter is good for me right now so I’m loving this experience.  This collection is still a bargain at $1.32.

A Date With Danger

Amazon excerpt for the first book in this collection

Kimberly Rose Johnson
Librarian Nancy Daley loves a good mystery and enjoys moonlighting as a consultant for the sheriff’s department. Sheriff Deputy Carter Malone expects Tipton, Oregon to be a sleepy small-town, but he miscalculated. When the minor case they are working morphs into something more, things quickly go from harmless to scary. Can these two strong-willed sleuths solve the mystery before it’s too late, and more importantly, what will they do about their growing attraction?

Happy Reading on this wintery morning.