Month: October 2021

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The Mother Next Door (Laskowski)-Blog Tour-Thriller-Available Now

If you’re a seasonal reader looking for a spooky novel with just enough gossip and drama to keep you interested, look no further. This is the book for you.

Set on and around Halloween, the author creates an eerie atmosphere and serves up a couple of chills along the way. There isn’t a whole lot of depth or deep thinking, but that’s okay. The plot skims along and keeps the reader entertained from beginning to end.

Theresa is happy to have moved into her idea of a perfect house – but there is an undercurrent of unease in the neighborhood. It could just be the season because the annual Halloween block party is coming up. Or there could be past events coming back to haunt the residents of Ivy Woods.

Maybe it’s both.

Buy Links can be found underneath Author Bio

I thought that the author set the tone in an excellent manner, introducing the story with a mystery narrator. It was atmospheric, and the continued narration scattered throughout the chapters was eerie.

I keep using those words (creepy and eerie). Honestly, I typed them in my notes several times as I was reading. I can’t stress enough how atmospheric the story was.

And that attention to making it spooky and creating doubt as to what was going on and who was responsible is what absolutely makes this novel.

There are plot points that seemed thin and a few things that just didn’t ring true. For example, Kendra’s attitude toward younger women seemed to be thrown in merely for motivation – there wasn’t a lot of backup or other examples of why she felt that way. The same could be said for the rest of the Ivies…there wasn’t a lot of depth or follow up to their characters.

But once again, that didn’t matter to me, because that’s not how I was reading the book. I took it for a fun October read with a few surprises and I thoroughly enjoyed it for that.

So just let yourself skate along with the narrative. Don’t think too much or expect deep revelations. Think of it as a favorite scary movie that you watch every year.

If you do that, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

Facebook: tara.laskowski.9
Twitter: @TaraLWrites
Instagram: @taralwrites

AUTHOR BIO

TARA LASKOWSKI is the author of One Night Gone, which won an Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and Anthony Award, and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Left Coast Crime Award, Strand Critics’ Award, and Library of Virginia Literary Award. She is also the author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders, has published stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Mid-American Review, among others, and is the former editor of SmokeLong Quarterly. Tara earned a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MFA from George Mason University and currently lives in Virginia. Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @TaraLWrites.

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His Loving Wife (Smith)-BoT-Psychological Thriller-Available Now

I love it when a book starts with a scene that draws me in and makes me wonder where the rest of the story is going to go. This one absolutely succeeds in this regard.

After a terrifying event, the reader is immediately taken to a family vacation nearly a year after the initial incident. It’s apparent from the very start that the family is struggling to heal – but just how bad it has gotten remains unseen.

The rest of the book jumps between current time (usually Kate, sometimes Andrew) on the vacation and various points over the past year. In other words, there is a lot of switching perspectives.

It sounds like that might make it confusing, but it doesn’t. It’s always very clear where the reader is in the narrative. I actually liked this method, because it felt like there was an outline of the big picture and the author was filling in the areas with color, building to the overall view.

The tension also grows as Kate not only relives the incident and worries about her family’s safety but as she realizes that things are happening that are beyond her control – and that might be an even more imminent danger than what she is worried about.

I will openly admit that I thought the story was going in a plausible direction and would have been happy with it had it turned out the way I thought it was going to.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ESWBvv
Apple: https://apple.co/3qMTOxd
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3yrCqRd
Google: https://bit.ly/3wiCv8H

However, and I need to choose my words carefully here, the author throws in a gigantic twist that I did NOT see coming. Once the thread on that storyline is pulled, the whole thing unravels and reforms into a gonzo, what-the-heck-just-happened crazy ride.

It was a great way to turn something good into something memorable and unique. I don’t think I’ve read a story with this particular “crime” as a focus in a very long time.

And no, I’m not going to say what it is or what the other book was, because that would give it away.

I do want to be clear. The author didn’t do this in a way that made it implausible. There was suspicious behavior by characters that could have been chalked up to coping with the incident from the beginning.

But instead, the behavior was actually something much worse. It actually gave insight to the psyche of one of the characters and illustrated how events throughout one’s life could permanently damage confidence…and cause a misplaced sense of what is right or wrong.

I’m starting to say too much.

There were a few times that Kate irritated me because it seemed as if she should have been more aware. But then I remembered that she was still dealing with the incident from the beginning and her own dose of guilt (which was being played upon), so I was able to get over it.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the twist, and I definitely recommend it.

Facebook: MirandaSmithAuthor
Instagram: mirandasmithwriter
Twitter: msmithbooks

Author Bio:
Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children.

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COVER REVEAL: A Life for a Life by Carol Wyer – Coming soon!

I’m so darn excited to see that Detective Kate Young is back for another investigation in the upcoming A Life for a Life.

First, here’s the blurb.

Nobody can get into the mind of an erratic killer

—except an unpredictable detective.

When a young man is found lying on a station platform with a hole in his head, DI Kate Young is called in to investigate the grisly murder. But the killing is no one-off. As bodies start to pile up, she is faced with what might be an impossible task—to hunt down a ruthless killer on a seemingly random rampage.

Meanwhile, Kate has her own demons to battle as she struggles to come to terms with her husband’s death. And she is hell-bent on exposing corruption within the force and bringing Superintendent John Dickson to justice. But with the trail of deception running deeper—and closer to home—than she could ever have imagined, she no longer knows who she can trust.

With her grip on reality slipping, Kate realises that maybe she and the killer are not so different after all. But time is running out and Kate is low on options. Can she catch the killer before she loses everything?

Looks so good, right?!? You need to go out and read the first two books right away. Because there will be a lot going on in this one, I can just tell.

Ready for the gorgeous cover?!?

Idyllic, right? Sooooooo NOT what the book will be. I love it!

Here are some pre-order links if you are so inclined.

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Find Me at Whisper Falls (Oaksmith)-BoT-Small Town Romance-Available Now

I am a big fan of this author’s books. The characters are usually relatable, the settings are lovely, and the stories are charming.

This book is no exception.

You can find descriptions elsewhere, but in a nutshell, Freya and Trent were rivals in vet school. And then they find themselves both vying for the same job in small-town Whisper Falls.

It’s a romance, so you know what’s supposed to happen in the end, but as usual, the joy and fun is in following the path with them as they try to get there.

I will say that this one was a little interesting for me because I had a difficult time connecting with Freya. I felt that she was a little colder than past heroines in this author’s stories. I guess she was just more prickly than usual?

Regardless, that coolness made it difficult for me to root for her at first. I get that it was probably in response to past experiences, but I found myself feeling more for Trent than for her. It seemed like she brought her frustrations all on herself.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3EJZkaE
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Kobo: https://bit.ly/2UXSMCZ
Google: https://bit.ly/3evdi4Q

I was amused at how Trent dealt with her. I think he felt the same way I did about her – she was prickly in vet school, and now he has to compete with her for a job. But I also think he was more patient with her than I would have been.

There are the usual small-town characters that add color to the story, but they’re never overbearing or distracting. It’s all just part of the background. The author has either lived in a small town or done her research because a lot of it was familiar.

Not because I’d read the story already, but because I’ve lived in small towns, and in many ways, they’re similar: cast of characters, distrust of newcomers, eager to preserve their town the way they know and love it.

That was a unique aspect of this book as well. The author has an added plot line about tech companies buying land to build data-mining offices. It seemed a little random, but it was an interesting side story.

Anyway, it was different to root for the guy instead of the girl for a while and that side plot kept it from being boring. Not that her books ever are. It was just a different spin than usual.

As always with this author, I recommend this charming small-town romance.

Author Bio:
Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of the Blue Hills Series, featuring the Alvarez family. After graduating from Smith College and attaining her MFA from The American Film Institute, Ellyn began her writing career as an award-winning screenwriter in Hollywood. Her books explore the same themes as her screenplays: grit, humor, family and love. Ellyn lives on one of Seattle’s many hills with her husband and spends as much time as possible on the water as part of a competitive rowing team.

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The Mistletoe Pact (Lovett)-BoT-Romantic Comedy-Available Now

I find myself confused by this author’s books. There are so many things that I like, but at the same time, I’m finding that there are things that I wish were improved to make the good things even better.

First for the good. The author has a talent for making characters that seem real and believable. They’re often pleasant, which makes the reader want to root for them to finally get together.

That’s certainly the case with Dan and Evie. It’s no spoiler to say that their relationship is fated to be, but there are a lot of stumbles along the way.

The story is told in an interesting fashion. We start in the “now” which is Christmas, with Evie and Dan in Las Vegas. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But for them, it isn’t that easy.

From there, the plot switches to past Christmases, eventually catching up to the present. Then the author does something unusual and moves the action forward, where “now” actually becomes the future (2022).

This was effective because it made sense in the context of Dan and Evie’s plot arc. It also allowed for a LOT of other stuff to happen in the meantime.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/2XMJWd4
Apple: https://apple.co/3xYI90f
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3CXEjbA
Google: https://bit.ly/3mhvR18

And in some ways, although I liked the movement forward, it almost seemed like there was too much to fit in. I really enjoyed their story, but once I reached the “now” of the present time, everything else seemed like filler.

Which is weird, because that’s actually where the bulk of the action takes place.

Anyway, there were times that I felt that the author was trying to do too much. Dan had issue after issue – with his dad, his brother, his ex – and it didn’t always seem to fit the overall plot. More that “let’s give Dan more so that the reader will be more sympathetic toward him.”

Evie was sort of the same. Between the sexy mom and the lackluster boyfriends, it all seemed to just pile on. I didn’t feel it was necessary because the plot itself (and the romance) was pretty decent to begin with. It could have been more straightforward.

There were also times that I felt that the author got lazy in the actual writing. Phrases became repetitive, people repeated what others had just said, whole conversations were of the same thing said by different people. It might have been for comedic effect, but it just fell flat for me.

Which is a shame, because as I mentioned, Dan and Evie’s story is charming. And if the telling of it had been more direct with less added drama, I could have enjoyed it even more.

As always, that’s my take on it. Other people may have a different opinion and may like the extra details. There is enough to like in the book for anyone to give it a try for themselves.

Author Bio:

Jo Lovett lives in London with her family. She worked in Corporate Tax before taking a longer-than-expected career break to have more-than-expected children (five). She started writing romantic comedy when she realised that she was regularly begging her oldest son to let her do his English homework but she wasn’t actually that interested in haunted houses or Macbeth.

Jo was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping/ Orion First Novel Competition 2018 and shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Award 2019. When she can escape from her laundry mountain and childcare, she enjoys reading, tennis and wine.

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