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Kelly reviews Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine

TITLE: Bitter Falls
SERIES #: Stillhouse Lake #4
CHARACTERS: Gwen Proctor
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLICATION DATE: January 28, 2020
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
She’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no else would dare.
In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children.
Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects…and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.
In a town that’s closed its ranks against Gwen; her partner, Sam; and her kids, there’s no bolder enemy than the Belldene family—paramilitary, criminal, powerful, and vengeful. As personal vendettas collide with Gwen’s investigation, she’s prepared to fight both battles. But is she prepared for the toll it could take on everyone she loves?

REVIEW:
In Bitter Falls Gwen takes on the case of a missing child that has not been seen or heard from in years. But Gwen is not a quitter. She will do everything she can to find the answers good or bad for a grieving mother. But the real question is what will Gwen have to sacrifice to get those answers.

Gwen and her family have had to endure more than their fair share of trials and tribulations over the last few three books. I think that Bitter Falls is their toughest test yet. I enjoyed this book a lot and was very happy that I picked up for review.

I am looking forward to what is next in this series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

4 Hearts

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Kimberly reviews The Family Next Door by Fiona Cummins

TITLE: The Family Next Door
CHARACTERS: Garrick & Olivia
AUTHOR: Fiona Cummins
PUBLICATION DATE: 01/28/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
For Sale: Lovely family home, ready for your updates. Friendly neighborhood setting close to park; secluded.

If not for the bodies discovered in the woods behind their new home, Garrick and Olivia Lockwood couldn’t have afforded to buy number 25 The Avenue. It’s the fresh start they and their two children badly need. Soon, these terrible crimes will be solved, they tell themselves, and once Garrick has remodeled, he’s confident they’ll sell the house for a profit.

But the darkest secrets can reside on quiet, ordinary streets like this–behind the doors of
well-kept houses and neighbors’ friendly faces. Secrets that can destroy a family, or savagely end a life, and will surface just when they’re least expected . . .

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts I liked most of this story. The reason I say most is there is a bit of what I would call “horror” and it was really descriptive. A bit too descriptive for me. I have never been a fan of horror movies. I enjoy suspense and I liked the suspense part of this book and the story was interesting but the horror was just too much.

Taking the horror out of it I liked the characters and I think I would enjoy the same story told with less graphic details.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Spotlight feature and review of Melinda Leigh’s Cross Her Heart

A homicide detective’s violent family history repeats itself 

in #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s new novel of murder, secrets, and retribution.

Wasn’t enough that she responded with intelligence and resiliency—she needed compassion as well. A tragic backstory makes Bree driven to help others who have also suffered. To her, every case feels personal. But the last thing she expects is having to solve her own sister’s murder.  I’m so excited to finally share CROSS HER HEART with readers.”  

TITLE:  Cross Her Heart
SERIES #: Bree Taggert #1
CHARACTERS: Bree Taggert & Matt Flynn
AUTHOR:  Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE:  March 17, 2020
ORDER LINKS:  Amazon | B&N  

BOOK SYNOPSIS: 

A homicide detective’s violent family history repeats itself in #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s novel of murder, secrets, and retribution.

For more than twenty-five years, Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert has tucked away the nightmarish childhood memories of her parents’ murder-suicide…Until her younger sister, Erin, is killed in a crime that echoes that tragic night: innocent witnesses and a stormy marriage that ended in gunfire. There’s just one chilling difference. Erin’s husband, Justin, has vanished.

Bree knows how explosive the line between love and hate can be, yet the evidence against her troubled brother-in-law isn’t adding up. Teaming up with Justin’s old friend, former sheriff’s investigator and K-9 handler Matt Flynn, Bree vows to uncover the secrets of her sister’s life and death, as she promised Erin’s children. But as her investigation unfolds, the danger hits close to home. Once again, Bree’s family is caught in a death grip. And this time, it could be fatal for her. 

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Kelly
NUMBER OF HEARTS: 5

Bree Taggert has to return to her hometown to once again face a violent death in her family.  Once Bree returns to town she finds that she can’t just sit back and let the local police handle the investigation. Bree will team up with Matt Flynn (who just happens to be the prime suspects best friend).  

But will Bree be ready for all the secrets and lies she is about to uncover?

Another great story by Melinda Leigh!  Cross Her Heart is the first book in her new Bree Taggert Series. I am very excited to see where this series goes. It was fun to see a few familiar names from past series also. I am already looking forward to book two See Her Die (September 1, 2020).  

 

If you’re a fan of mysteries, thrillers and Melinda Leigh’s fast-paced tales, be sure to add CROSS HER HEART to your reading list this Spring!

For further information, please contact Rachel Tarlow Gul at Over the River Public Relations: rachel@otrpr.com, 201-503-1321. 

 

 

About Melinda:
Her other novels include She Can Tell, She Can Scream, She Can Hide, She Can Kill, Midnight Exposure, Midnight Sacrifice, Midnight Betrayal, Midnight Obsession, Hour of Need, Minutes to Kill, Seconds to Live, Say You’re Sorry, Her Last Goodbye, Bones Don’t Lie, What I’ve Done, Secrets Never Die and Save Your Breath. She holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate, has taught women’s self defense, and lives in a messy house with her family and a small herd of rescue pets. For more information, visit www.melindaleigh.com. 

Look for more stops on Melinda’s tour here:

 

 

 

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Kimberly reviews Virgin River by Robyn Carr

TITLE: Virgin River
SERIES #: Virgin River #1
CHARACTERS: Melinda & Jack
AUTHOR: Robyn Carr
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/22/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A Netflix Original Series!

Welcome back to Virgin River with the book that started it all…

Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included.

When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad, she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving—the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she’s made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning.

But a tiny baby abandoned on a front porch changes her plans…and former marine Jack Sheridan cements them into place.

REVIEW:
This is a re-release of Virgin River. I have read a few from this series but didn’t start from the beginning so I was happy to see the release. It is now a series on NetFlix and the show is great which made me want to start reading the books from the series that I have not read so I understand the show a bit better.

I was not disappointed reading this even though I had seen the NetFlix show. As always the book is better but not by much. They did a phenomenal job with the show. But Robyn Carr is a great author and drags you right into her world.

Visiting Virgin River is always a pleasure and the start of the series is no exception.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4 Hearts

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Sunday Series Presents: Melinda Leigh’s Morgan Dane Series

 

TITLE:  Say You’re Sorry
SERIES #:  Morgan Dane #1
CHARACTERS: Morgan Dane & Lance Kruger
AUTHOR: Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE: May 16, 2017
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N  

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
In a new series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most personal—and deadly—case of her lifetime.

After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she’s finally found peace and a promising career opportunity—until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Tessa was the ultimate girl next door, and the community is outraged by her death. But Morgan has known Nick for years and can’t believe he’s guilty, despite the damning evidence stacked against him. She asks her friend Lance Kruger, an ex-cop turned private eye, for help. Taking on the town, the police, and a zealous DA, Morgan and Lance plunge into the investigation, determined to find the real killer. But as they uncover secrets that rock the community, they become targets for the madman hiding in plain sight.

******

TITLE:  Her Last Goodbye
SERIES #:  Morgan Dane #2
CHARACTERS: Morgan Dane & Lance Kruger
AUTHOR: Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE: September 26, 2017
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N   

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s Morgan Dane series continues as the fearless attorney and her partner, investigator Lance Kruger, take on a disturbing disappearance…

Young mother Chelsea Clark leaves the house for a girls’ night out…and vanishes. Her family knows she would never voluntarily leave her two small children. Her desperate husband—also the prime suspect—hires Morgan to find his wife and prove his innocence.

As a single mother, Morgan sympathizes with Chelsea’s family and is determined to find her. She teams up with private investigator Lance Kruger. But the deeper they dig, the deadlier their investigation gets. When Morgan is stalked by a violent predator, everything—and everyone—she holds dear is in grave danger.

Now, Morgan must track down a deranged criminal to protect her own family…but she won’t need to leave home to find him. She’s his next target

******

TITLE:  Bone’s Don’t Lie
SERIES #:  Morgan Dane #3
CHARACTERS: Morgan Dane & Lance Kruger
AUTHOR: Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE: March 13,2018
ORDER LINKS: Amazon  | B&N 

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Shocking evidence hits close to home for attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger as Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s acclaimed series continues.

Private investigator Lance Kruger was just a boy when his father vanished twenty-three years ago. Since then he’s lived under the weight of that disappearance—until his father’s car is finally dredged up from the bottom of Grey Lake. It should be a time for closure, except for the skeleton found in the trunk. A missing person case gone cold has become one of murder, and Lance and attorney Morgan Dane must face the deadly past that’s risen to the surface.

For Lance, the investigation yields troubling questions about a man he thought he knew. But memories can play dirty tricks. For Morgan, uncovering each new lie comes with a disquieting fear that someone is out there watching, because someone is killing every witness tied to this decades-old crime. Morgan and Lance follow in the shadows of a relentless killer and walk right into the crossfire.

******

TITLE:  What I’ve Done
SERIES #:  Morgan Dane #4
CHARACTERS: Morgan Dane & Lance Kruger
AUTHOR: Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE: September 18, 2018
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N 

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Morgan Dane’s new client has blood on her hands—and no recollection of what happened—as the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling series continues.

Haley Powell wakes up covered in blood, with no memory of the night before. When she sees a man lying in the backyard, stabbed to death, she has only one terrified thought: What have I done?

Agreeing to take the case as a favor to her PI friend Lincoln Sharp, Morgan must scale a mountain of damning circumstantial and forensic evidence to prove her client innocent. Haley couldn’t appear more guilty: her bloodstained fingerprints are on the murder weapon, and she has no alibi. But Morgan can’t shake the feeling that this shocked young woman has been framed.

Someone out there is hell-bent on sabotaging her defense, targeting Morgan, her partner, and especially Haley. Someone who will stop at nothing—and whose next move will be deadly.

******

TITLE: Secrets Never Die
SERIES #:  Morgan Dane #5
CHARACTERS: Morgan Dane & Lance Kruger
AUTHOR: Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE: March 19, 2019
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | Audible | B&N 

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The #1 Amazon Charts bestselling series continues as Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger fight for the innocence of a young murder suspect—if only they could find him.

When a retired sheriff’s deputy is shot to death in his home, his troubled teenage stepson, Evan, becomes the prime suspect. Even more incriminating, the boy disappeared from the scene of the crime.

Desperate to find her son, Evan’s mother begs PI Lance Kruger for help. She knows her son is innocent. Kruger and defense attorney Morgan Dane want to believe that too, but the evidence against the boy is damning. Just as the trail goes cold, another deputy vanishes. His shocking connection to Evan’s stepfather throws the investigation into chaos as Lance and Morgan fear the worst…that Evan is the killer’s new target.

With so many secrets to unravel, will Lance and Morgan find him before it’s too late?

******

TITLE:  Save Your Breath
SERIES #:  Morgan Dane #6
CHARACTERS: Morgan Dane, Lance Kruger, Olivia Cruz & Lincoln Sharp
AUTHOR: Melinda Leigh
PUBLICATION DATE: September 17, 2019
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | Audible | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger investigate the mysterious disappearance of a true-crime writer.

When true-crime writer Olivia Cruz disappears with no signs of foul play, her new boyfriend, Lincoln Sharp, suspects the worst. He knows she didn’t leave willingly and turns to attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger to find her before it’s too late.

As they dig through Olivia’s life, they are shocked to discover a connection between her current book research on two cold murder cases and the suicide of one of Morgan’s prospective clients.

As Morgan and Lance investigate, the number of suspects grows, but time is running out to find Olivia alive. When danger comes knocking at their door, Morgan and Lance realize that they may be the killer’s next targets.

 

About Melinda:
#1 Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker who learned that writing books is way more fun than analyzing financial statements. Melinda’s debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. Since then, she has garnered numerous writing accolades, including two RITA® Award nominations and an induction into the NJ Romance Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have sold more than 7.5 million copies across the world. Melinda loves martial arts, rescue dogs, and sea turtles.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER 

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Sunday Series Presents:

TITLE: A Discovery of Witches
SERIES #: All Souls Trilogy #1
CHARACTERS: Diana Bishop
AUTHOR: Deborah Harkenss
PUBLICATION DATE: February 2011
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | Audible | B&N
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

 

 

 

 

 

*****

TITLE: Shadow of Night
SERIES #: All Souls Trilogy #2
CHARACTERS: Diana Bishop
AUTHOR: Deborah Harkenss
PUBLICATION DATE: July 10, 2012
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | Audible | B&N
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.

 

 

 

 

 

*****

TITLE: The Book of Life
SERIES #: All Souls Trilogy #3
CHARACTERS: Diana Bishop
AUTHOR: Deborah Harkenss
PUBLICATION DATE: February 2011
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | Audible | B&N
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. 

 

 

About the author:
Bestselling novelist Deborah Harkness is also a professor at the University of Southern California. A prize-winning historian, she specializes in the history of science and Europe in the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries. She has been studying history—particularly the history of science, magic, and alchemy–for more than twenty-five years, so it’s safe to say she knows her way around a library card catalog or the computerized equivalent. Her career in fiction began at an airport bookshop in September of 2008 when she noticed the shelves were lined with supernatural fiction and asked herself “If there really are witches and vampires, what do they do for a living and why don’t I know any of them?” Her debut novel, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, was her answer to that question.

The first book in the All Souls series, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES sold more than a million copies in the United States, also appearing in thirty-eight foreign editions, and was adapted by Sky into a television show of the same name. Deborah continued to tell the story of the Bishop and De Clermont families in SHADOW OF NIGHT, THE BOOK OF LIFE, and most recently, TIME’S CONVERT. She is currently at work on Book #5 of the All Souls Series. For updates, including a tasting menu of the books, music, people, and places which inspire and sustain her in the classroom and at her writing desk, you can subscribe to her monthly newsletter “The Blast” on her website: www.deborahharkness.com.

FACEBOOK |  TWITTER | PINTEREST  | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS  |   AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

 

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Kimberly reviews The Lion, The Leopard And The Wolf by Eliza March

TITLE: The Lion, The Leopard And The Wolf
SERIES #: Enchanted Mountain #1
CHARACTERS: Mac, Adam & Trent
AUTHOR: Eliza March
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/07/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Macalister Cameron’s fantasy comes to life when she’s snowbound in Fantasy Lodge with two incredible men vying for her attention.

“What if your romantic fantasy became possible? Two gorgeous hunks, one dark and surly, the other blond and bright, lived to please and fulfill you? What if you burned with passion and only these two alpha males could satisfy you? What if you found out they had a dangerous secret, and it included you?”

REVIEW:
When I requested this book I figured it was erotica but this is nothing but sex. There is no story behind it. It is like a modern day cheap porn. No story just get to the sex and in this case with it being three of them there is a lot of sex. M/F sex and M/M sex and of course M/M/F sex.

If you are looking for a quick read with not much more than sex this is the one for you.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews Under A Firefly Moon by Donna Kauffman

TITLE: Under A Firefly Moon
SERIES #: Blue Hollow Falls #4
CHARACTERS: Cheyenne & Wyatt
AUTHOR: Donna Kauffman
PUBLICATION DATE: 01/21/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Blue Hollow Falls may be a small Blue Ridge Mountain town, but it’s big on love–and second chances . . .

When former barrel racer Cheyenne McCafferty left the circuit, she left her past behind too. Now, as part owner of Lavender Blue farm, she’s content rescuing and rehabbing horses, and growing a new business. She’s only got one regret: letting go of Wyatt Reed. When he professed his love, she was too young and foolish to know her heart. After that he disappeared. But when his beloved horse turns up on the auction block, Chey makes a bid and wins more than she bargained for . . .

Chey believed she was ready to face Wyatt again, to explain herself. But seeing the man he’s become, she’s unsure. Gone is the quiet, gentle boy she knew. In his place is a rugged, confident adventurer who’s seen the world. Yet the longer Wyatt sticks around, the clearer it is that the feelings of their youth aren’t so easily dismissed now that they’re adults. In fact, the timing may be just right to make the dreams they’ve shared under a firefly moon come true . . .

REVIEW:
Donna Kauffman is one of my favorite authors and this is just another example as to why. This is a very quick read even though it is about 300 pages.

In this latest Blue Hollow Falls novel Chey and Wyatt meet back up Years ago they were teenage friends until Wyatt admitted his feelings for Chey and the friendship splintered. But now they are adults and life is different.

I have always loved Kauffman and her writing style. I love the way she writes her characters. They are so “real”. You want to be their friend. And being as I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains I can picture every scene she writes of this beautiful area of the country.

Donna Kauffman is always worth the read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4 Hearts