Free Books Sept 27, 2019

This first one is from Chautona HavigAuthor. Chautona is prolific… at everything; books, blog posts, emails, and free book offers. You will see her name pop up here regularly. This book was mentioned in her regular email today. Be sure to subscribe if you would like to see what else she does. She is on FaceBook as well.

Prairie (Journey

For this one you need to search Prairie (Journey of Dreams: Book 1) Chautona Havig for it to come up on Amazon. Prairie isn’t enough.

It seems I downloaded this book in 2014. I don’t remember much about it but the synopsis describes a city girl dreaming of a life of prairie living, and it happened. I’m must read this again. I’ve enjoyed all of Chautona’s books. She has a unique style and  imagination. Looking forward to a re-read.

The next one was offered on BookRunes

Warrior   Warrior (Spiritual Warfare Series book 1) Linda K. Rodante

This is a book and author new to me, billed as Romantic Suspense. I am partial to books similar to this one (spiritual warfare) and I’m looking forward to checking it out.

 

BookBub offers one you may find interesting. It isn’t free but is on sale for $1.31 which is also a good deal.

Hold Me Close

Hold Me Close is book 1 in a new Historical Fiction series set in 1772 Charles Town South Carolina. I’m not familiar with this author so can’t offer an opinion or recommendation at this point.

That’s it for today.

Until next time, Happy Reading!

 

 

Still Free Sept 26, 2019

A comment in yesterday’s post The Crimson Cord has me rethinking some things. If I post about books as I download them they would still be free for you. Waiting until I’ve read them means you often miss out. Free usually has an expiry date. Although, some authors do leave the first book in a series free for extended periods of time, as teasers.

This book today came from my subscription to BookBub and it seems I downloaded and read it in 2017. Lynette Eason is one of my favorite authors and I know I love all of her books.

If there are more free books today from other sources I will post again. Hopefully this will prove to be helpful. I’m more than happy to share the wealth.

Always Watching   Elite Guardians – Always Watching book 1 – Lynette Eason

Let me know what you think … if this is helpful.

Happy reading

 

Mystery

There are repeat authors on the list this time and only one new one – Tom Threadgill.

The regulars are Christy Barritt, Blake Pierce, Margaret Daley and Kristen Heiztmann. They are excellent writers and they often give good deals on their books. Such a great way to acquaint readers with their work.

I enjoyed reading the new author’s book too, Coming of Winter, and look forward to seeing more from him.

I highly recommend every book on this list. Good reads – all of them.

Disillusioned  Disillusioned – Christy Barritt …… Sometimes we don’t know who we can trust, or, if there is anyone we can trust. Nikki is relieved to have her brother home from Columbia after escaping a terrorist group. When the  hospital releases him to her care and the bodyguards sent to keep them safe turn out to be the enemy, all trust is gone.

Bobby and Nikki manage to escape  their would be captors and call the one friend they know could help. Now all three of them are in this together with arrest warrants out on all of  them, They are running for their life.

The authorities are convinced Bobby is in league with the terrorists, he says he’s not. He is trying to stop the bombings plotted against the US, not cause them.

There is something strange going on with Bobby and at times Nikki can’t be sure if she knows which side he is truly on. She is convinced the threat is real though and time is not on their side if they want to stop it.

 

If she knew A Kate Wise Mystery – If She Knew book 1 – Blake Pierce …. Retired after a successful thirty year career with the FBI, Kate is restless with a year of living small town life under her belt. Not sure what to do with herself she has thought about re-establishing some sort of connection with her old life but can’t decide if she should.

She’s pondering all of this as she enters the restaurant for the weekly gathering with her friends. It’s strange. Deb is usually there first and isn’t, what’s with that?

The shocking news is her daughter has been murdered. The police are looking for the killer but  Deb is determined that Kate has to investigate too.

She has a proven track record for finding serial killers. The trouble is, she has no authority and the local police won’t be happy with her poking her nose into their investigation.

They weren’t happy – they contacted her old FBI boss to complain. Not exactly the way she wanted to renew connections with her old life.

The Agency agreed to work with her and give her limited resources but the loss of even  that is threatened as the bodies keep mounting up without an arrest.

She does have a proven track record though, and if she hasn’t lost her touch …..

Freefall  Freefall – Kristen Heitzmann ….. A bruised and battered young woman has stumbled into someone’s yard after surviving a long trek out of the Hanalei Mountains, dehydrated and starving. She has no recollection of anything to do with who she is, what’s happened to her or why. She doesn’t remember leaving an injured someone behind,  waiting for her to get help and return.

Cameron Pierce is hostile toward yet another stray showing up in his sister’s garden, taking advantage of her tender heart. The only reason he is here now is because he was asked to help figure out where she came from and what’s happened to her.

He wants to turn the woman they call Jade over to the police, or at the very least take her for medical help, but for reasons she doesn’t understand Jade resists, feeling threatened by going to the authorities.

The person she’s left behind has serious injuries and he’s caught behind a waterfall where it’s cold, damp, and there’s no way to get food when his meagre store runs out.

Jade is trying hard to remember but nothing is working.

Deciding to put a picture out there to see if anyone recognizes her will not work out the way they’d hoped. They’ll be left wishing they could take it back.

 

Deadly Fires Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations Series – Deadly Fires: Rodeo Knights book 9 – Margaret Daley …..  Alexis Richards is trying hard to please her father after she’s been forced to run their family rodeo business while he recoups from a massive heart attack.

His blood pressure is through the roof when he hears his prize bull was out on the street terrorizing the neighborhood.

Bad things keep happening and it seems to be escalating without anyone knowing who or why.

Her father said he’s sending help and the last person she expects to see is Cole, her ex-husband. Their marriage did not survive the death of their son and Alexis is not happy to see him.

 

Coming of Winter A Jeremy Winter Thriller – Coming of Winter book 1 – Tom Threadgill ….. Special Agent Jeremy Winter, twenty-three year veteran of the FBI has been exiled to St Louis from DC for anger management issues. Without any explanation.

He’s had to leave his girlfriend and all his friends behind to work white collar crime in a sterile office with a fake plant.

His anger is simmering when his phone rings and it’s a voice he is expected to recognize, and doesn’t. It’s a connection to his army days, a guy he doesn’t even know all that well.

Randy is worried about one of his ex wives, she hasn’t been cashing his alimony cheques and that’s highly unusual. He’s called the police and they checked it out and said everything looked fine, there is nothing they could do. He’s convinced something is wrong and wants Jeremy to find out where she is.

At first he doesn’t want to get involved but the longer he thinks about it and the more red flags his research uncovers – he’s convinced Randy has good reason to worry.

The challenge will be to find time to investigate without the brass realizing what he’s up to, at least until he has enough evidence to convince them there is a case to be worked on.


May you have many hours of Happy Reading!

 

Distorted, and other thrillers

Here are a few more thriller suggestions for you. Ghost was probably my favorite…. because of the dry humor. I always like a book that will make me laugh out loud. The twists and turns of the story were fun too.

 

distorted Distorted – Christy Barritt ….. Mallory feels like she has been given a second chance at life and she is trying to build new and make it count for something. It has been working too….. until a man from her past is spotted at a public event for one of her new ventures.  The old fears are suddenly strangling her and she can’t breathe.

Former Navy Seal Tennyson Walker is amazed at the difference in Mallory, he still has nightmares about her rescue from sex slavery.  The call now is because of the stalker and  while Mallory is grateful to see him again, he has reservations about interacting with her. There are secrets he’s been keeping about her life in captivity and for that he feels guilty.

 

ghost A Sam Prichard Mystery – Ghost – Sam Prichard Part 2 book 1 – David Archer ….. Sam, a retired cop with a bad hip, is lead singer for a hot new band, with a side business as a private investigator. He’s trying  to retire from the PI business but keeps being drawn back in.

He takes his wife out for a nice dinner and nearly runs a man over on the way home. Sam brakes to miss him and sees the man look back to the forest. His head suddenly explodes in a shower of blood before he has the chance to run across the road. Sam and his wife (also his personal assistant) figure they better check to see if there is anything they can do before help arrives. It’s strange;  he is wearing a cheap suit but everything else about him spells money. There is nothing in the way of identification and no clues as to why he is out here running from someone. It feels creepy as they wait for the cops to show up.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the shooting, life has gone back to normal and Sam has a nine o’clock appointment. A tall black man with a retired military service dog — they’d survived Afghanistan together and now they have problems on the home front. Jack received a threatening note accusing his wife of cheating on him with his best friend Max. Jack doesn’t believe a word of it and wants Sam to find out who is doing this terrible thing.

 

before sunrise  Before Sunrise – Rick Mofina …. Will Fortin, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, chose the wilderness of southern Alberta as his place to serve. Life is hard in these remote places and the worst of it is domestic violence, where injuries are extreme and charges are never laid.

Will’s loving marriage didn’t survive his guilt and distress over failing to protect a woman who wouldn’t leave her abusive drunken husband. His promising career didn’t survive either but at least he was still employed.

For some reason his boss, all these years later, is sending him to Washington State to deliver a dangerous offender. They will be flying by small private plane in weather that is less than the best. When they crash in the mountains and most of the passengers are killed, Will is on his own with the prisoner. His challenge is to make sure no one else will ever be harmed by this murderer. A tall challenge.

 

tears of god  The Blackwell Files – Tears of God book 7 – Steven F Freeman …. Her mother’s birthday party is in full swing when Mallory and her husband Alton arrive. The place is crowded with military guests, all of them having served with her parents through the years. A chance meeting with a man claiming to have served with her late father is disturbing. He expresses sorrow for the avoidable death – a surprise to Mallory who was told her father had died of a heart attack. He gives them his card and invites them to his home in the morning to hear more. When he doesn’t appear to answer the door, they imagine the worst and break in to find him dying in a pool of vomit on the bathroom floor. Someone has gotten to him first. With his dying breath he tries to whisper words they don’t understand but figure much be important for him to make such an effort.

The mystery deepens. Alton and Mallory try to make sense of the words they heard. They check with their FBI sources for clues and the results are mystifying. The coroner tells them Major Creighton’s cause of death is poisoning. They mention him to Mallory’s mother and find she doesn’t know this man and didn’t invite him to her party. Further research turns up more questions than answers and Mallory cannot rest without answers. It’s a good thing she is not the only one wanting to know because they have no idea what giant will be awakened by their search for the truth.

buried secrets  Men of Valor – Buried Secrets book 1 – Irene Hannon …. Lisa Grant, former Chicago homicide detective, has taken on the role of Chief in a small town hoping for the quiet life. Unearthing bones in a new housing development was not part of the future she had in mind with this move.

Former Navy Seal, Mac McGregor, has been called in to lend assistance and doesn’t get off to a good start when he bypasses Lisa and addresses one of the officers as the person in charge. Oops!

Lisa knows she has to find a way to set aside her prickly response to Mac if they hope to uncover the secrets buried with this person. Maybe it’s not a bad thing, but they have no idea what they are getting in to, or the lengths someone will go to try and keep the secrets hidden.


Happy reading!

 

Mysteries, and writing

The other day someone asked me if this blog is about writing. It is…… indirectly.

I am a novice at writing so have little to offer that would be useful in perfecting a writer’s craft. I have thoughts and opinions but nothing I would share.

On the other hand, I have much experience as a reader. I’ve learned to recognize good writing and not-so-good writing. I am passionate about the value of an active and robust reading life in an aspiring writer.

Deeply disappointing experiences with books that could have been great and weren’t has ignited this passion to be an influencer.

To be great you have to hang out with the greats.

Discussion of mechanics will only take you so far. Watching a master at work will take you places an instruction book could never hope to go.


Attempting to inspire, here are a few more examples of good writing.

If you get caught up in a story and lose sight of the writing……it was a good book.

hunt for justice   Hunt for Justice Willa Carson Novels – Due Justice book 1, Twisted Justice book 2 – Diane Capri ….

Due Justice …  Judge Willa Carson and her sister have a long history of a rocky relationship and Carly has been ignoring Willa’s attempts to connect with her for over a year. The sight of her sister showing up at her door is a bit of a shock, to say the least. This visit wouldn’t be happening without good reason and Willa is immediately wary of being drawn in, again. If she asks the reason for the visit, and it turns out to be criminal in nature, she would have to choose between loyalty to her sister and the letter of the law requiring her to report to law enforcement. It could mean her job.

Carly is a successful lawyer herself and knows how to make things go her way. Despite her best efforts to avoid involvement, Willa finds herself signed up as legal counsel for a sister accused of murder. Can she manage to walk this tightrope? Helping her sister  while keeping her job? Or will she crash and burn?

Twisted Justice …. Judge Willa Carson’s beloved husband has been arrested for murder. He has been leading the fight to defeat General Randall Andrews’ nomination to the Supreme Court. Andrews has been found dead and the police are convinced the evidence points to George Carson.

Willa doesn’t believe George did it but she feels helpless because he won’t discuss it with her. He says he has an alibi but can’t, or won’t – she’s not sure which – tell her where he was. He is refusing to hire a lawyer or to discuss his defense with anyone.

Willa decides; under normal circumstances George trusts her judgement so hopefully he will this time. One of Willa’s old classmates has become a high powered defence lawyer, it looked like a good fit but things don’t go as smoothly as hoped. George still refuses to cooperate and clues are hard to come by. Things are not what they seem and the truth – when it comes out – is a shock.

dangerous mistakes  Leah Nash Mysteries – Dangerous Mistakes book 2 – Susan Hunter ….. Reporter Leah Nash is back at her small-town newspaper after a disgraceful exit from her big city job. She plans to do whatever it takes to survive this job and work on her true-crime book as a way to get back to the city. This won’t be easy since her new boss seems to have it in for her for some reason.

Escaping the notice of her boss becomes difficult when the daughter of the local surgeon is convinced her father did not commit suicide but was murdered. The authorities  believe this murder theory is a figment of an overactive imagination so in desperation  she turns to Leah for help. Soon everyone in town, everyone that matters anyway, is upset with Leah for poking her nose in where it doesn’t belong.

Even she begins to question the sanity of the murder theory but then odd things begin to happen and it’s clear, this is a dangerous position to be in, chasing a determined killer. Well, so is she … determined ….. to find the truth.


 

If your passion for reading is at a low ebb, I hope you will be inspired to make a change. 

Here’s to finding books that will carry you away to magical places.

Happy hunting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romance

The recent death of my Kindle slowed me down, (read the story here  (Happy New Year ) , but  now I’m back in business with the arrival of the new and improved version.

The upside to technology is; improvements. The downside is ….  improvements – nothing is ever the same, and I’m sad.

It looks like having to adjust to new layouts may help  unearth long forgotten unread books, of which there are many. This may even inspire the reorganization of all 2500 downloads. Cull the herd, so to speak.

Who would have thought it possible to find so many suggestions tempting me to click the download button.

I have to admit, I didn’t love all of the downloaded books when I got right into them. Then I felt bad rejecting them because it occurred to me that others may find them  interesting even if I didn’t. Conflicted emotions only lasted a short while and I moved on.

We all have different tastes and that is as it should be.

I’m hoping you are finding ways to discover books you can get excited about.

Now, on to some of the latest books read.

I liked all of these books well enough to talk about them but the first one was my favorite. I’d like to read the sequel if there is one.

I think I’ll stick to Romance in this post and save Mystery for the next one, change things up a bit from the usual mix.

just the way you are  A Pleasant Gap Romance – Just the Way You Are book 1 – Pepper Basham….. How embarrassing, the contents of her purse are spread across the airport floor because someone bumped her from behind. And, as if that isn’t bad enough, her heel caught in her purse strap and now she’s landed on top of someone. Her mortification is complete – she has squished  a silver haired grandpa.

As she helps him up it’s obvious he is injured, and when he recognizes her as the guest  he was sent to meet, she feels even worse. With a twinkle in his eyes, he assures her it will all be fine but please don’t mention this to his son when he picks them up.

The glare was the first hint about the reason for the strange request. His devastatingly handsome son is clearly unhappy with her visit.

Be that as it may, she has promised her uncle she will research family secrets for his upcoming book and she intends to keep that promise. No matter what kind of disapproval she faces in this handsome but glacial man.

The question is: why is he so upset by her presence? What is there about her that makes him feel so threatened? Does he have his own secrets? Are they tangled up with the secrets her family has been protecting all these years? She plans to find out, one way or the other.

all this love  Seven Brides  Seven Brothers Pelican Bay – All This Love book 3 – Belle Calhoune …..  The Donahue brothers of Pelican Bay are cousins to the Donahue brothers in the popular Cape Code Series. (This distinction is important if you are like me and on first glance you’re thinking wait a minute……)

Most of the brothers in the Donahue family were adopted.  (A miracle in Heath’s life – after the untimely death of his single parent mother.) They are a tight knit, fiercely protective family and they would do anything necessary to be there for each other. If they knew what needed to be done.

Heath has been keeping secrets, he’s come home from Afghanistan with deep wounds of the unseen variety, added to that, the trauma of coming home from school to discover his mother in her  untimely death. Now he is barely hanging on emotionally and no one knows.

Deciding it would be kinder to sever the connection with the love of his life, to spare her  the effects of the darkness in his life, he breaks up with her and walks away. Leaving her confused and devastated.

Five months of intense work with a therapist has made a difference. Now he’s beginning to second guess the break up decision and needs to see Bella, hoping to re-establish their relationship.

He’s devastated to discover she’s pregnant, and he didn’t even know, you’d think in a town this size he would have heard rumors. He wants to do the right thing and be there for her but it’s not going well …. she’s unwilling to let him back into her life just like that.

Secrets are a huge problem… so, how far is he willing to go to fix things?

the only best place   Holmes Crossing – The Only Best Place book 1 – Carolyne Aarsen ….. Her husband’s business has failed and their marriage is in trouble, her husband has admitted to having an emotional affair with a co- worker. He says it’s over but she doesn’t trust him. They have grown so far apart it doesn’t seem like there is anything left to work with anymore.

It’s decided that the only alternative they have to stay afloat financially is to move back to Dan’s home town. Leslie is reluctant because she knows very little about his life before they met, and she’s a city girl – what does she know abut farming?

The surprises are huge and daunting. Leslie had no idea God was a big part of family life for him growing up. Not only is she not a farmer, she does not fit the description of a suitable mate for their son and brother.

Dan promised they would stay a year and move back to the city.  Under his family’s influence, she finds he has already gone back on that promise. He has even started making other major decisions about their life and finances without consulting her.

Leslie wants to fit in and gain the family’s approval but it seems like a losing battle.

In despair with no one to talk to, she runs into the most unusual woman at an auction sale. She seems to be a free spirit, totally out of place in this farming community, and yet for some inexplicable reason she seems to fit in. The connection between them is instant and Leslie intends to get to know her better, Maybe her new friend will be able to help her navigate life in this uncomfortable place.

secrets and sacrifice  The Shadows Series – Secrets and Sacrifice book 4 – Juliette Duncan …. Grace is in the middle of closing arguments in a high powered case when her brother Caleb slips into the court room, sending worry into her heart. What’s happened, why is he here?

It’s their sister, she’s been found, in a run down apartment barely alive. She’s in hospital with an overdose and they all need to be there.

Brianna promised to stay clean this time but obviously hasn’t. Drugs was always her go-to place when she couldn’t handle the voices from the past. With Grace it was work. She would bury herself in it to still the voices. She wasn’t destroying her body but she was destroying her relationship with her sister, never there for her when she was needed most.

Determined to be there for her this time, Grace decides to take her sister home with her. Brianna is not comfortable in the posh surroundings and it turns out to be a bigger challenge than expected to make it work. At a loss she think’s maybe a trip with a change of scenery would work better. A plan like this would mean a leave of absence from the District Attorney’s Office. Could she do it? This job is her whole life and she’s worked very hard to get this far.

Her brother Daniel runs a successful recovery program and, with a trip in mind, Caleb is pressuring her to make use of Daniel’s offer to help. Grace is not interested, she has nothing but disapproval for his methods.

It isn’t until she runs out of options coping with Brianna that she gives up and heads in Daniel’s direction.

Now she has another dilemma in her life. Niall, the prosecutor back home is an old flame trying to rekindle the relationship. The complication is the good looking teacher, part of Daniel’s staff, who makes her heart race and her cheeks blush.

Brianna seems to be fitting in well but where does this leave Grace? Go back to her job and Niall or stay here to build a connection with family and explore the possibility of Ryan?


Happy Reading!!

 

A boxed set, of Christmas Lights

Comfort & Joy

In my mind it’s never too early. I love Christmas any time of year.

Maybe it’s because I don’t get caught up in all the stressful parts of the season like I used to – the shopping, baking, obligatory social events – I’m past all of that these days. Now I relish the positive parts of the season – lights, music, family, the reason for the season. Every year it seems to feel a little sweeter, in spite of some circumstances, I love how that happens. So…. pardon the early start 🙂

Looking at the cover of this Christmas boxed set, you might be thinking fluff – but you would be wrong. The one line teasers on Amazon even give a feel-good impression. That’s why it was a bit of a shock to find these stories were definitely not light reading. They would fall more into the category of Romantic Suspense. There was romance alright but the details of their lives  took them to unexpected, and sometimes dangerous, places.

Having said all that, I enjoyed this set. The exposure to different authors is great. It  provides a first introduction, if we haven’t already met, and gives us a chance to see if we enjoy what they have to offer.

Alana Terry is author of the first book Frost Heaves and is someone to keep your eye on. She’s young and relatively new to the writing scene but is prolific, with an impressive number of published books to her name. She has participated in boxed sets before, I enjoy her writing and look forward to reading more from her.

Toni Shiloh is author of the second book Deck the Shelves and is new to me. She is listed on Amazon with 8 or 10 books and looks to be a promising author as well. BookBub also carries Toni’s books and that accomplishment is a recommendation in itself.

Cathe Swanson is author of  the third book The Christmas Glory Quilt. I don’t believe I’ve read anything from her before. This was a good experience for me and her offerings on Amazon look promising.  I’ll be watching for more from her as well.

Chautona Havig is no stranger to this blog, having been mentioned here many times. She is highly involved in the writing scene and shows up in different places, in different ways, and is a regular participant in boxed sets. Not just Christmas sets either. The Ghosts of New Cheltenham, the fourth book in this set belongs to her.

I like the way they’ve planned and tied the stories together; it makes for a unique and  interesting reading experience. All of the books in this set are stand-alone but there are familiar elements threaded through them.

They are all captivating and well written but my personal favorites were books 1 and 4.

The set has been offered on Amazon for .99, (in US and Canada anyway, not sure about other countries) which is a steal and makes it easy for us to take a chance on new authors.

Comfort & Joy

 

I hope you are feeling inspired to search for captivating books. There are so many out there just begging to be read.

Happy searching!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christy Barritt Mysteries

I cannot believe how quickly the weeks are flying by. It feels like a new month is starting every couple of weeks. I know it’s not but it sure feels like it

Lately, I find myself spending more time in front of my work computer and less in front of my blog computer. I have mixed emotions about this. I appreciate the heavier workload but ……  like my favorite bumper sticker says I’d rather be reading. I’m gradually working up to I’d rather be writing and I do see a little progress in that area.

It seems I’m not the only one writing less these days. I’ve noticed many of the bloggers I follow aren’t writing as often as they once were, either. It would be interesting to know why this is. Is it a busier life? Less interest in writing… or in life? Is it a normal cycle, maybe, to start out strong and fade after awhile? Every day, as I check emails for new notifications of blog posts, I wonder about the answer to this question of why. I miss the writers I used to count on as being there. I miss seeing the regular readers for my posts too. They still pop up now and then but not like before. Hopefully things will change one day and we will find our motivation again.

It would be nice to overcome the lethargy I feel at the end of a work day, and find the energy to spend time blogging. The writing process can be an uplifting experience, releasing some of those feel good endorphins. My intentions are good, to do better……. but you know what they say about good intentions…..

In the meantime, I’m still finding good books. Today I have a couple of mystery books to share with you. Author Christy Barritt is showing up often these days and her books are always a good read.

shadow of intrigue  Lantern Beach Romantic Suspense – Shadow of Intrigue book 2 – Christy Barritt …… Lisa Garth feels out of place, all of her friends have someone to share life with and she is odd man out, having no one. It’s most noticeable in the off season with tourists gone and reduced hours at her restaurant leaving her too much time to think.

Braden Dillinger plans to spend several weeks at Lantern Beach, on the recommendation  of his therapist. The hope is that beach time will bring some healing for the debilitating scars of his Special Forces days in battle.

Friends have loaned him the use of their cottage while they are away visiting family. Lisa promised Ty and Cassidy she would play hostess to their guest and cook for him while they are gone.  Things have gotten off to a rocky start, and now she wants to turn her back on that promise.

With no car in the driveway , Lisa assumed their guest had not yet arrived and let herself in to prepare dinner. Braden, forgetting about the special arrangement for his meals, has gone to take a shower and doesn’t hear her come in. She knew he had an injury of some sort but had no idea just what it was, or what reaction her presence in the house would trigger.

She thought she was going to die at his hands.

She explains her presence, he apologizes and, eventually, they begin an uneasy truce.

Distressing, inexplicable events keep happening to them both. Evidence of break-ins in his cottage, shadowy figures watching both houses, shots fired through her window.  With his blackouts, Braden is afraid the memories of these events are part of his paranoia and he is only imaging things. Lisa is labelling her attacks as bored teenage pranks.

Gradually, Braden is convinced someone is trying to kill him, but who is it and how did they know where to find him? Then, there’s the question of Lisa’s attacks – are they connected to his or is something else going on with her?

When he sees Lisa is busy and short handed, Braden decides to offer his services at the restaurant . He thinks listening to the town’s gossip may give him clues as to who and why.  He’s hoping he can figure this out before it’s too late.

 

Random Acts of Outrage  Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries – Random Acts of Outrage book 6 – Christy Barritt ….. As usual, Holly arrives on time after school to pick up Sarah, her fourteen year old foster daughter. She’s even a little early today. The line keeps moving up and eventually Holly realizes, all the other students have gone, and Sarah isn’t here. Convinced something is terribly wrong she runs to the school staff and calls her case worker, but no one takes her seriously. They are all of the opinion Sarah has run away, that’s what foster kids do. Holly doesn’t believe it. There are too many indicators, in her mind anyway, that Sarah has been taken against her will.

Holly is desperate and can think of only one person with the ability to help her. He is her ex fiancé, and it will be awkward, but she asks them to call Detective Chase Dextor. Sarah has Type 1 diabetes and without her meds, she could die, they have to find her..

Holly is convinced Sarah hasn’t run away. They have developed a close relationship, and this home situation is the best she’s ever had. She’s even more convinced now that she’s   talked to the teachers responsible for supervising after school pick ups. Someone saw  Sarah get into a lady’s car in the student parking lot and drive away. Holly doesn’t believe she is running, there is something else going on here.

Once she’d gone through her house and found all of Sarah’s meds still there, Holly knew this wasn’t a planned meeting. The deeper she searches the greater her conviction, something is desperately wrong.

Fortunately for her; Chase believes her and is doing everything he can to help figure out what happened. The problem is; they have very little to go on.

It’s a good thing they are looking, because Sarah needs them more than they could ever imagine.


How is your book search going?  Have you discovered a good source for books? What is your favorite? My favorite is still BookBub.

Happy searching, and happy reading this week!

 

Lori Wick – another favorite

Lori Wick is one of my long time favorite authors. Back in the day when I was borrowing library books I would read everything they had for her. It’s been awhile since I last visited a library and I’ve gotten behind a bit. That’s why it made my day to see Promise Me Tomorrow show up as a BookBub suggestion.

I hope you will stop by to meet Lori, if you’ve never read any of her work. And if like me, you’ve read her work but it’s been awhile, join me in getting reacquainted.

With another one added to the growing list of recommended authors, maybe it’s time to start a Favorite Authors page, to help keep track of them all. Most likely it will be coming soon.

Thinking about discovering new authors reminds me of a hand out from a library a lifetime ago. It was a large card with a list of favorite authors in the most popular genres. I loved that card. It provided treasured insight and expanded my horizons.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found choosing books can be a difficult decision. Part of the reason is because I want an excellent experience with every book. This was even more of a need in the early days when the check out limit was three; that’s when the recommendations list really helped me zero in on good ones. Of course, once they raised the check out limit to as many books as you can carry, selection decisions weren’t as critical. With that many possibilities, a few duds wouldn’t be leaving me with the tragedy of nothing to read.

 

Promise Me Tomorrow  Rocky Mountain Memories Series – Promise Me Tomorrow book 1 – Lori Wick …. Katherine Taggart, nicknamed Rusty for her red hair, loves the children in her aunt and uncle’s orphanage and they love her right back.

Chase McCandles, a director for the orphanage, is impressed by her take charge attitude and her easy rapport with children. He is even more impressed when he sees the way his son takes to her. He offers her the job of replacement nanny when a sudden need arises but Rusty is having serious reservations about saying yes, knowing there will be fireworks over differences in parenting styles. Would they survive the conflict? Will her tender heart for the needs of a little boy let her say no? Will Chase ever see her as more than a nanny?

October  October – J. Grace Pennington …… this is a story of unique friendship, discovery, loss of innocence, and a broken heart: An intriguing new girl shows up in church, she carries herself like a princess and Emily is fascinated. Friendship is not quite that easy though, with this illusive princess. But when finally it begins – it’s magical. Life through October’s eyes seems to open up whole new worlds to her friend, and yet, the world that is her is a closed to everyone. This was an emotional read but it touched a deep place, and made me glad for the experience.

Words   Words – Ginny L. Yttrup ….. Sierra Daw has escaped to a  favorite forest where she can privately lose herself in grief on the anniversary of her baby’s death. Out of the corner of her eye something catches her attention but when she focuses, there is only a fleeting glimpse of a young girl. Concerned about seeing a child alone in such a remote location, she investigates and discovers a hiding place in a hollowed out tree. Now she is on a mission to find a child her heart knows is in trouble and needs to be rescued.

Kaylee runs when the woman sees her. She’s intrigued after witnessing such grief but terrified to stay because of what would happen if her captor discovered she had left the cabin.  The tree is the secret place where she can write out words and  hide the  dictionary – a gift from her mother before she disappeared. Kaylee hasn’t spoken since,  but she has words.

 

Two Rivers  The Peacemaker Series – Two Rivers book 1 – Zoe Saadia …. centuries before the US  became a nation there was a confederacy called The Great League of the Iroquois, composed of five nations. After many years of destructive,  retaliatory fighting between the five nations, they came to an agreement and their constitution was born. It worked so well that it maintained perfect balance between the them and their success was evident to all. Many scholars believe this was noticed and so it became the example followed for the writing of the US Constitution.

This series attempts to recreate the events leading up to this Iroquois agreement. Historical books in a similar theme seem to be a popping up regularly just now, but this series is unique in it’s handling of history and is definitely worth reading. I’m looking forward to the rest of the story.

 

Forgotten and Remembered  Love’s Second Chance Series – Forgotten & Remembered: The Duke’s Late Wife – Bree Wolf …… Graham is crushed by the death of  his wife and has withdrawn from  life, closing out even his daughter. There is pressure on him to take a new wife as a mother for his daughter so when he notices the interaction between a young woman and the children surrounding her, an idea begins to form in his mind.

Rosabel, has been taken in by her disapproving aunt and uncle after the death of her parents.  A life of total obedience to their unreasonable ways is torture. She is exploring ways to gain her freedom from them when a complete stranger asks for her hand in marriage. Who is this man, why would he offer for her, and what will life be like in this marriage? Better or worse? Will she be sentenced to a marriage of convenience or is there a chance for a real marriage with the duke?

 

The Indigo Rebels   The Indigo Rebels: a French Resistance Novel – Ellie Midwood ……. Three siblings, each of them with different temperaments,  all find themselves caught up in the Resistance movement, in one form or another. Germany has invaded France, hardships prevail, and their houses are taken over by high ranking military men. This causes problems on the one hand while on the other, it supplies opportunities.

I enjoyed this book for the strong and varied characters. It also had a different slant on the war and was unlike anything I’ve read so far. It drew me in from the beginning and came to an end all too quickly. There are sequels and I hope to read them too.

Happy reading! I hope you are discovering a growing list of authors that you love.

 

 

Collections

Collections have been very popular this winter season, and there were many to choose from. More than I could possibly read before winter is over so I had to show some restraint.

I’ve always enjoyed collections. Especially the ones with various authors, because their individual styles make the flavor of the story change. The more books the better, is my thinking, and 3 – 7 books in 1 is a veritable gold mine.

Today, it looks like collections are still being offered, so it’s not too late to get in on the bounty and enjoy the spoils of your own treasure hunting.

I’ll share several I’ve downloaded this season. Most of these are on the lighter side as other parts of my life have been busier than usual lately, and I’ve needed something in this part of my life that didn’t require a lot of concentration.

There are a wide range of genres and intensities out there to choose from, though, so I know there will  be something to please you.

If there is something you like, in your search, grab it quickly before it disappears. Looking for the cover picture to go with one of the boxed sets, I found it is no longer available, (I should have downloaded the picture while I could). The good news is –  there are still other sets available.

I will mention one of the sets anyway, even without the picture. It was an interesting collection and you may run across some of these authors sometime. The boxed set was called Pursued  and it was a Romantic Suspense collection. There were 7 Novellas and I enjoyed them all. They were: NOWHERE TO RUN – Mary Alford  IMPERFECT – Christy Barritt   THE UNRELENTING TIDE – Lynette Bonner  SAVING GRACE – Lesley Ann McDaniel   PREY – Lisa Phillips  IDENTITY THEFT – Alana Terry, and, HOMECOMING SUICIDE – Virginia Vaughan.

It’s possible the individual authors will release their own book as a single since they each retained their rights. It could even be that some are planning their own series and this novella  will be the first book in the series. Something to watch for.

Then: Here is a collection that is still available

out of the blue bouquet bk 1Out of the Blue Bouquet (Crossroads Collection book 1)

The interesting thing about this collection, the 5 novellas are written by different authors but the characters from each book walk in an out of  each story. It’s very cool to have them all tied together like that. You get a different flavor and focus in each novella but they are all part of a bigger story. Chautona Havig is one of the authors and it may be her influence as this strategy happens in many, if not most, of her successful and prolific books.

The five books are: COURTING CALLA – Hallee Bridgeman  SEOUL IN LOVE  Alana Terry  A KOERASTI FOR CLARI  Carol Moncado  PREMEDITATED SERENDIPITY – Chautona Havig,  and  OUT OF THE BLUE BOUQUET Amanda Tru

The other unusual and interesting thing about this collection, is the vast difference in approach to romance, and the type of characters involved. Usually this sort of collection would be about a group of five friends and the story would be about each of their romances. This was so not like that. I won’t say more and spoil it for you. It was interesting, I’ll say that.

I will finish this list with the mention of a couple of single books.

Shadows of the Past  Logan Point Series – Shadows of the Past  book 1 – Patricia Bradley is one I read a couple of years ago. I was reminded of it today as I was considering another of her books and was trying to remember if I had read anything of hers before. I found this one and read the last of it to see if I enjoyed it. I did and now I am looking forward to reading the latest download from her which is;

Justice Buried A Memphis Cold Case  – Justice Buried book 2 – Patricia Bradley

Check them out – Shadows of the Past is still free and Justice Buried is a good deal right now. Time to take a chance on a, possibly, new-to-you author.

Don't Leave Me  The last one to recommend tonight.

Don’t Leave Me – James Scott Bell …. a thriller ….Chuck Samson, a military chaplain with the Marines, comes home to take care of his adult, autistic, brother. The trauma from his capture and torture in Afghanistan is enough to deal with, and now both of their lives  are being threatened, for unknown reasons, from unknown sources. Will they be able to figure it out and survive? A good read.

Happy reading, may you find many treasures this weekend!