Free and Bargain books June 17, 2022

It’s a beautiful sunny day. A cheerful start to any day and I’m loving it.

Even better, we have book suggestions to make it a doubly nice day.

BookBub has several Romance suggestions for us. Light reading compared to Mystery/Suspense. As a bonus they are short reads and one is free.

In Love with Alaska: The Alaskan Sunrise Romances Full Series Collection (Alaska Sunrise Romances) 

Brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends—are all about to learn that love has a way of finding you when you least expect it. From rescue dogs to avalanches and every possible scenario in between, the one thing that doesn’t change is how hard each is willing to fight to secure a happily ever after.

This special full series collection of the Alaska Sunrise Romances by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Storm includes nine novellas full of heart and humor, the perfect pick-me-up for any day!

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Someone to Trust (Life Unexpected Book 2)

She wants to give him her heart. He wants to give her the best chance at a happy life. They’re headed separate ways . . . until faith steps in.

Chess Summers never got to have a “real” family growing up. Thankfully, his makeshift family of former foster kids has given him the sense of belonging he’s always been missing. However, insecurities about his dark past may cost him the future he longs for, especially when it comes to Brooke, the spunky and beautiful woman he has found himself falling for. He’s determined to protect her, and convinced she deserves someone much better than him.

Brooke Pierce may have had a rough childhood, but she also had her trust in Christ, which sustained her through it all. When Chess crushes Brooke’s dreams of a future together, she must rely on faith once again to heal her heart and help her move on. But is walking away from each other the answer? Or does redemption lie in these two broken spirits facing the past together?

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1531 Entertainment has an interesting bargain suggestion from an author new to me.

A Strike to the Heart

She’s fiercely independent. He’s determined to protect her.

Wisconsin, 1933When a routine mission becomes an ambush that kills his team, Craft Agency sniper Miles Wright determines to find the persons responsible and protect the woman he rescued. But the fierce independence that led Lily Moore to leave her family’s dairy business for the solitary life of a dog trainer and the isolation of her farm don’t make that easy. Neither does his unwanted attraction to her. Meanwhile, escalating incidents confirm that she’s far from safe.

Lily fears letting the surprisingly gentle retired marine into her life almost as much as she fears whoever is threatening her. As Wisconsin farmers edge toward another milk strike, one that will surely turn violent, it becomes clear that the plot against Lily may be part of a much larger conspiracy. When the search for her abductor leads close to home, she must decide whether to trust her family or the man who saved her life.

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Not a bad start to the weekend.

Happy reading everyone.

Bargain book June 15, 2022

1531 Entertainment has an interesting suggestion today. Lynette Eason has been showing up on our reading radar fairly often lately and we are always happy to see her.

Lethal Deception (Refuge from Danger Book 1)

Having rescued Cassidy McKnight from kidnappers in South America, Gabe Sinclair thought his job was done. Not that the former Navy SEAL could ever forget the brave, beautiful single mother. But when the danger followed her home, Gabe promised to protect her.

Why anyone would want to kill Cassidy was a mystery. Was the motive related to the orphaned toddler Cassidy was raising, a sweet little girl who brought out the father figure in maverick Gabe? Or did a newly revealed family secret have killer consequences?

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Currently, I’ve just started reading a book by an author fairly new to me. It’s too early on in the experience to form an opinion. So far so good though.

Murder at Black Lake

Film actress Jamie Riedel was barely a teenager when, while on a camping trip, she witnessed the brutal murder of her father. Fourteen years later, Jamie returns to Jackson Ridge to settle up the estate of her estranged mother. Soon after her arrival, a note appears on her door: ‘I saw you in the woods today.’ Now Jamie is questioning if the right man was sent to prison for her father’s murder.

Helping her to answer that question is childhood friend, Deputy Chief Gage Hansen. He’s more than willing to find the truth that will finally bring Jamie peace in her life, but at what cost? A nasty divorce from his cheating wife has made Gage gun-shy when it comes to relationships, especially with beautiful women who use their feminine wiles to get what they want in life. His defenses start to crumble once he learns that most of the stories he’s read about the starlet are lies, and that Jamie is basically the same girl he had a secret crush on when they were best friends. They live in two separate worlds, though, and Gage knows he could never fit into her celebrity lifestyle.

When it becomes apparent that someone in Jackson Ridge will go to any lengths to get rid of Jamie, the pair risks everything to solve the fourteen-year mystery that’s haunted the town.

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We’ve had a lot of rain in the last week. It’s terrible gardening weather but it’s great for reading.

For me, any excuse will do.

Hopefully it’s good reading weather now and then at your house too.

So good … read and enjoyed June 14, 2022

A well written, delightful story. Delightful in regard to humorous, well-played interactions. Dark and stressful due to an adversary with criminal intent. It was an engaging book just the same. I had to spend every available moment reading until the end.

Murder In The Dunes: A clean-read private investigator mystery (Smiley and McBlythe Mystery Series Book 7) 

A detective’s perfect vacation: sun, sand, surf… and murder.

When blind PI Steve Smiley visits his friend and writing mentor, Kate Bridges, he anticipates an idyllic South Padre Island getaway. The island’s magic spell is broken when Kate is accosted by her abusive ex-husband. Two days later, his body is found in the dunes, and she becomes the prime suspect.

With the police in a hurry to close the case and Kate arrested for the murder, Steve sets out to find the real killer. His investigation leads him into the dangerous world of dirty cops and the Mexican cartel—a world where there are no rules.

In a last ditch effort to prove Kate’s innocence, Steve lays a trap for the murderer. Can he outwit the devious opponent, or will the next blood spilled in the sand be his?

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Three more read and enjoyed… very much.

A few more flagged as read but my memory of them is foggy. All I can be sure of… they were recent purchases and they are marked read. They haven’t been removed so that means they were enjoyed.

It has been an excellent reading month.

Bargain books June 13, 2022

1531 Entertainment has several bargain book suggestions written by popular and prolific authors.

Double Minds: A Novel 

The young girl with the Bohemian style was on the floor where she’d fallen, between Parker’s computer case and her file cabinet. She wore a long, flowing skirt—lavender, the color of calm—and camel-colored Uggs. She lay on her back, her long, wavy blonde hair matted with blood.

For struggling singer/songwriter Parker James, the music business has just turned deadly. Her desk in the reception area of a busy recording studio has become a crime scene, and Parker finds herself drawn into a mystery where nothing is as it seems. Unraveling the truth puts her own life at risk when she uncovers high-level industry corruption and is terrorized by a menacing stalker. As the danger escalates, Parker begins to question her dreams, her future, and even her faith.

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The Inn at Ocean’s Edge (A Sunset Cove Novel Book 1)

In 1989, Claire Dellamare disappeared from her own fourth birthday party at the Hotel Tourmaline on the island of Folly Shoals, Maine. She showed up a year later at the same hotel, with a note pinned to her dress but no explanation. Nobody knows where Claire spent that year—and until now, Claire didn’t even know she had ever been missing.

But when Claire returns to the Hotel Tourmaline for a business meeting with her CEO father, disturbing memories begin to surface . . . despite her parents’ best efforts to keep them forgotten.

Luke Rocco lost his mother under equally mysterious circumstances—at the same time Claire disappeared. After a chance encounter reveals the unlikely link between them, Claire and Luke set out together to uncover the truth about what happened that fateful year.

With flashbacks swimming just beneath her consciousness and a murderer threatening her safety, Claire’s very life depends on unscrambling her past . . . even if her family refuses to acknowledge it. Someone—maybe everyone—is hiding something from Claire, and it could cost her everything to drag the truth out into the light.

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That’s it for today folks. I’ve read the second one but not the first. I’m looking forward to it.

Until tomorrow…

Happy Reading

Read and enjoyed June 12, 2022 Part two

It’s time to clear out some of the backlog. The latest binge read has been the culprit, all due to such a great run on awesome books. Some of them have risen to the top as most memorable but on the whole they have been a cut above the average story.

It was hard to put this one down, I loved this story.

In Search of a Prince: An African American Royalty Romance Book (Christian Fiction by Black Authors)

Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha’s Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops a bombshell–Brielle is really a princess in the island kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, off the coast of Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, the king, is failing.

Distraught by all the secrets her mother kept, Brielle is further left spinning when the Ọlọrọ Ilé Royal Council brings up an old edict that states she must marry before her coronation, or the crown will pass to another. Brielle is uncertain if she even wants the throne, and with her world totally shaken, where will she find the courage to take a chance on love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring?

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This is another one that kept me up half the night reading.

Shadow Game: A Christian Romantic Suspense (Shadow Alliance Book 1) 

Morgan Caine spent three years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit before being acquitted, but that doesn’t mean she’s innocent. While trying to rebuild her life, she takes a gamble and hacks into a computer network, stumbling across an assassination plot in the process. But despite the possible risks, she refuses to sit back and let a man die, even if he represents everything she’s never had.
But Oliver Wright is not the man she thinks he is, and her good deed traps her in a conspiracy that forces her to question everything she’s known to be true and reveals to both of them that they have more in common than they first realized. Now, with time running out, both Morgan and Oliver must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to save each other.

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One more all night read from a favorite author.

Tranquility Falls (Miramar Bay Book 4) 

Six years ago, Daniel was a Los Angeles financial analyst who was too handsome for his own good. Too smart for his anchor job on the nightly news. And too enamored with the heady addictions of the high life. That man died in a tragic accident with his fiancée. With grief and guilt battling for control, Daniel moved to the quiet California seaside town of Miramar Bay with his best friend—a rescue Labradoodle who still sees him through rough times. Daniel’s a different man now. Clean, sober, and taking things one day at a time with no commitments to anyone except himself. And just as his solitude begins to chafe, two souls in need of fresh starts unexpectedly enter Daniel’s life . . .
Realize that it’s time to wake up.

Daniel’s self-centered sister has dissolved several longtime relationships. Theirs included. The latest? Her restless teenage daughter, Nicole, whom she’s dropped off in Miramar Bay without a backward glance. For Nicole, who’s never felt at home in the world, it only confirms the disconnect she’s always had with her mother. Now, left with an uncle she barely knows, Nicole is more adrift than ever. Yet to Daniel’s surprise, playing surrogate father is forging a bond that he needs, too. More difficult for Daniel is the possibility of romance with lovely and fragile Stella Dalley. Struggling with a trauma of her own, the single mother is as cautious about love as Daniel is—no matter how healing it could be. But for Daniel, Stella, and Nicole there’s still hope for a tomorrow they can call their own. All they have do is to learn to trust in each other, and in themselves.

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There’s more but they will take another post.

Currently, I’m reading a nail biter. They are being hunted and they are in a tough spot.

Point of Impact (Last Chance Downrange Book 1)

As an FBI Profiler, Addie is on the edge of burnout. When she returns home, she has to face down every nightmare she’s ever had. Is the resurgence of a series of all too familiar deadly crimes the work of a former ally, or a mastermind who has been pulling her strings all along?
Recluse and artist Jacob likes his life. It’s how he’s managed to cope with who he became all those years ago. But he can’t avoid the past any longer. Not when Addie walks back into town, and right back into his life.

The past returns in a wave of unexplained crimes. Addie and Jacob find themselves at the heart of it all, at the place where their lives were torn apart

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Now back to my book.

Until next time.

Read and enjoyed June 12, 2022

A follow-up on my last current read post: to my great delight – the best was saved for last in this collection.

Books 1 and 2 of the D. B. Burns Mysteries (books 5 and 6 in this collection) were a perfect blend of light-hearted and sad. There was mystery/suspense; vindictive neighbors and secret rooms. A whole team of good guys came together and they won in the end. It felt wonderful to have the power hungry tyrants exposed in the most dramatic of ways. (can’t say too much here and spoil the fun)

The smart people were definitely on the good side this time and it was an enjoyable ride.

The Courtship of Harry’s Wife by Jeanette-Marie Mirich

The Last Roses by Jeanette-Marie Mirich

If you appreciate irony and dry humor, you will love this too.

Current read June 10, 2022

Mixed emotions.

That’s what I have about this book collection, mixed emotions.

I like the stories, they are interesting with well developed characters. I guess my quibble is with story progression. Two things; excessive detail that doesn’t add-to or advance the story, and situations that feel contrived. It’s time for another tense moment, let me see – what could it be? The stories drag on too long and are mildly frustrating. Not enough to toss the book but enough to make me skip through multiple pages without really reading them.

Fortunately, I wanted to see how the stories ended and that kept me going.

I’m up to book 5 now. It’s a book that appeared in last years collection, I thought I’d read it but have no recall at all. Maybe I didn’t finish the collection after all.

Reading the first few pages I’m interested mainly because of the sense of humor. The characters are hilarious. So far anyway.

The Courtship of Harry’s Wife by Jeanette-Marie Mirich (D. B. Burns Mysteries #1)

Delilah Morgan planned to mourn in private after her husband Harry passed, but he had other ideas—leaving his wife in good hands & protected from the elite of their small Kentucky town. Harry has selected handsome local judge Lyle Henderson to court his widow.

The judge acquiesces to Harry’s wishes until Henderson’s life spins into a maelstrom after the discovery of bodies in his long absent wife’s car. The police & FBI suspect him of murdering his wife & her apparent lover. Determined to clear the judge of murder, Delilah resolves to hunt down the true story. But will the adventure cost them their lives? Or will it be a wild-goose chase toward love?

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Check it out, this collection is still a bargain.

Free books June 09, 2022

BookBub has a FREE suggestion I am exited to see. It’s book 1 in a new Suspense series by Lisa Phillips, one of my favorite and prolific authors.

Point of Impact (Last Chance Downrange Book 1) 

“Lisa Phillips is the master of edge-of-your-seat action and suspense!” – USA Today best-selling, RITA winning author, Susan May Warren

An old haunt.
A deadly killer at work.


Fifteen years after a serial killer tormented them, Addie and Jacob are living very different lives.
As an FBI Profiler, Addie is on the edge of burnout. When she returns home, she has to face down every nightmare she’s ever had. Is the resurgence of a series of all too familiar deadly crimes the work of a former ally, or a mastermind who has been pulling her strings all along?

Recluse and artist Jacob likes his life. It’s how he’s managed to cope with who he became all those years ago. But he can’t avoid the past any longer. Not when Addie walks back into town, and right back into his life.

The past returns in a wave of unexplained crimes. Addie and Jacob find themselves at the heart of it all, at the place where their lives were torn apart.

This stand-alone story is part of the accountant’s office series, Last Chance Downrange.
An all-new setting. An all-new set of characters.

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1531 Entertainment has a FREE cozy mystery suggestion. We have seen author Bruce Hammack a few times in the last year, books 1-3 in this series. The PI is blind, an interesting wrinkle in story dynamics.

Murder In The Dunes: A clean-read private investigator mystery (Smiley and McBlythe Mystery Series Book 7) 

A detective’s perfect vacation: sun, sand, surf… and murder.

When blind PI Steve Smiley visits his friend and writing mentor, Kate Bridges, he anticipates an idyllic South Padre Island getaway. The island’s magic spell is broken when Kate is accosted by her abusive ex-husband. Two days later, his body is found in the dunes, and she becomes the prime suspect.

With the police in a hurry to close the case and Kate arrested for the murder, Steve sets out to find the real killer. His investigation leads him into the dangerous world of dirty cops and the Mexican cartel—a world where there are no rules.

In a last ditch effort to prove Kate’s innocence, Steve lays a trap for the murderer. Can he outwit the devious opponent, or will the next blood spilled in the sand be his?

Smiley and McBlythe are on the case. He’s a blind former police detective with a special gift for solving homicides and she’s a straight-to-the-point Boston debutante turned detective.

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A good day for books, yes it is.

Happy Reading!

Free book June 08, 2022

BookRunes has a FREE suggestion with an author we’ve not seen before now.

The Trust Charm (A Finding Faith Romance Book 1)

After losing her brother-in-law in a fire, Avery Sanders makes a vow to never put her heart on the line for a man with a dangerous career. And then Liam Reed walks into her life and everything is suddenly beautiful in ways she’d never imagined.

When Liam meets Avery at the youth center where he volunteers, the attraction is instant. But then he learns that she won’t date guys with a dangerous profession. So he keeps his career as a cop secret until the time is right. When Avery discovers what he’s been hiding, will she trust God with their future? Or will she let it all slip away when tragedy strikes?

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That’s it for suggestions today folks.

Happy Reading!

Bargain books June 07, 2022 part two

1531 Entertainment has a great suggestion for us. It is a ten in one collection by an author we’ve seen often. Basically it is book one of all ten of Jessie Gussman‘s series. I’ve read five of these first books and I think this will be a good way to check out all of her work.

Sweet Beginnings (10 full-length sweet romance novels): A collection of beloved series starters 

This collection contains the first book in each of Jessie Gussman’s ten series. Be swept away by cowboys, enjoy some relaxing time at the beach, laugh in Good Grief, Idaho, and feel the cozy warmth of small town life.

Book 1 – Cowboy Walking Away: After being fired from her waitressing job and coming face-to-face with her ex, Rose Baldwin lets a little lie escape. She forgot there is no such thing as a “little” lie.

Book 2 – Heartland Joy: Bridget Rawlings isn’t exactly considered a catch in Prairie Rose, Iowa. In fact, the locals all but shun her and her three children. A cloud of death and disaster seems to surround both her and her farm. After all, The Bad Luck Widow has already buried two husbands.

Book 3 – Harvest Moon Homecoming: When the high school’s float explodes five days before the National Farmer’s Day parade, Principal Calvin Finkenbinder sees his chance at the promotion to Superintendent disintegrate. Unless he enlists the help of Ellie Bright, the most annoying, disorganized and kissable woman he knows.

Book 4 – Yesterday’s Treasures: She doesn’t want a divorce, she just wants…something. Something more than being a single mom yet doing a man’s laundry.

Book 5 – Me and the Cute Catastrophe: I live in Idaho. (Yes, potatoes. *eye roll* Can we talk about something else?) And I love it here. Small town values galore and it’s right where I want to raise my girls after my jerk ex traded me in for a “younger, newer model” (his words, not mine). I was pretty happy with my life until the hot shot, all-state baller from my teen years moved back in next door. (I babysat him, yes, but I never changed his diapers. Just wanted to be clear about that.)

Book 6 – Best Friends in the Show Me State: They’ve been best friends forever. When violent weather sparks an unexpected attraction, will they risk their friendship for a chance at a lifetime love?

Book 7 – Dreaming of Her Cowboy’s Kiss: A simple cowboy in love with a surgeon. A decade of unrequited love. A hopeless, one-sided romance. Except sometimes, if you’re patient, God writes your love story.

Book 8 – The Cowboy’s Best Friend: He’s a cowboy with a billion dollar problem. His best friend can solve it, but it might break his heart.

Book 9 – The Small Town Boy’s Redemption: Blade Truax did some street racing when he was younger. Illegal, sure. But that’s not what sent him to prison. It was the lying, conniving Watkins girl and her father, Judge Watkins.

Book 10 – Always With You: He doesn’t want her to owe him. He wants her to love him

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There are 2553 pages in this collection and you can’t beat $1.29 as a great way to experience an author.

If you enjoy sweet romance, check it out.

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I’ve started a new read, also a collection and still a bargain. It appears three of the books were in the first collection (which I’ve read) and three are new. I’m enjoying the first new one and look forward to the other two. There are three contributing authors which is interesting.

A Second Date with Danger: Inspirational Romantic Suspense Boxed Set

Until tomorrow, maybe.

Happy Reading!