What I’ve been Reading

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you.  I’m back today after a week of work and writing. I’ve finished editing my second story, so now I have two WIPs under my belt. I still need to make revisions, but I’m taking a step back and noodling what and how I want to make changes. I’ve also started my Christmas shopping, so I don’t anticipate getting a lot of writing done during this time, but I have a new idea that I’m going to start outlining soon. 😊

https://allthefreestock.com/

But enough about that. After the seriousness of last week’s post, I’ve decided to do a fun post for this week. So, I’d like to share what I’ve been reading. I’ve got two thrillers I’ve finished, and I thought I’d share them with you in case you have some time over the holidays to relax and dive into a book. So, without further ado, here they are:

“We were Never Here”

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “This book is every suspense lover’s dream and it kept me up way too late turning pages. . . . A novel with crazy twists and turns that will have you ditching your Friday night plans for more chapters.”—Reese Witherspoon

A backpacking trip has deadly consequences in this “eerie psychological thriller . . . with alluring locales, Hitchcockian tension, and possibly the best pair of female leads since Thelma and Louise” (BookPage), from the bestselling author of The Lost Night and The Herd.

A Marie Claire Book Club Pick • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by NPR and Marie Claire

Emily is having the time of her life—she’s in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back to their room attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again—can lightning really strike twice?

Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving headfirst into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their cover-ups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can Emily outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom—even her life?

My Thoughts:

This is a great story about toxic friendship with an incredible twist at the end. The characters are likable in the beginning and the author brilliantly weaves the threads of insanity, so the reader has an “aha” moment. The suspense builds and it was hard to put the book down. This story does not disappoint.

“The Wife Upstairs”

Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

“Compulsively readable…a gothic thriller laced with arsenic.” ––EW

One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021: CNN• Newsweek • Vulture • PopSugar • Parade • BuzzFeed • E!Online • TimeOut • Woman’s Day • Goodreads • She Reads • Good Housekeeping • CrimeReads • Frolic • Hello! • Mystery and Suspense

January 2021 Indie Next Pick and #1 LibraryReads Pick

A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda.

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

My Thoughts:

This story was recommended to me by a friend, and it did not disappoint. It’s another thriller with a great twist at the end. Excellent character building that keeps you turning the page to find out the truth of what really happened. Another great read on a snowy night.  

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post! How about you, are you reading any great books this snowy, holiday season? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Book Review: “The Devil’s Dance”

 

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today reveling in the fact that I have the whole summer off. I plan on doing a lot of writing this summer. I’m hoping to get three books finished. I know. Huge goal. Let’s see if I can do it. 🙂 One of them is almost done and I must say this story has evolved so much from the one I originally started with. I’m ecstatic to finish it and start the editing process.

I’m also planning on doing a lot of reading. I just finished an awesome debut novel and I thought I’d share it with you. If you like crime thrillers then you’ll love Kristen Lamb’s novel “The Devil’s Dance.” The cover and blurb are below.

 

 

When Romi Lachlan’s fiancé disappears with half-a-billion dollars stolen from his company, she finds herself broke, blackballed, and the FBI’s prime suspect.

Forced to take refuge with her crazy-as-a-bag-of-cats family at the Cactus Flower trailer park in Bisby, Texas, Romi’s sure her life can’t get any worse until Special Agent Benjamin Sawyer shows up, determined to recover the money and put her away.

It turns out that persuading the hard-nosed G-man she’s innocent is the least of her worries. The body count in Bisby is rising, and Romi must uncover the secret to the town’s newfound prosperity before the secret buries her.

Grab your copy of this intense mystery-thriller today!

Praise for The Devil’s Dance:
“Kristen Lamb is a word demon. Sardonic, humorous and afoul of propriety, her fiction takes no prisoners. This is fun stuff, written by a born novelist with a maverick sensibility.” Joel Eisenberg, Hollywood producer & award-winning novelist

My Thoughts:

This story opens with Romi Lachlan in the unemployment office frustrated because she can’t seem to find a job. She’s an independent woman with a soft heart and I immediately liked her. In the beginning she’s unaware of the person pulling the strings behind the scenes. She believes the reason she can’t find a job is related to the fact her fiancé embezzled millions from his company and ran off with the cash, leaving her and everyone else holding the bag.

She decides to return home to her family and finds things have changed in the small town where she grew up. That’s when FBI agent Ben Sawyer reappears, following her from Dallas. He believes she’s just laying low until things cool down and then she’s going to meet up with her fiancé. They’ll disappear together with all the money and live happily ever after.  This is the furthest thing from the truth as far as Romi’s concerned, but she can’t seem to get that through Ben’s thick skull.

However, his inability to see the truth is the last thing on Romi’s mind when people start dying in Bisby.  Ben and Romi become an unlikely team as the body count starts to rise. There are plot twists that keep you guessing and you won’t want to put this book down. I won’t give any more of the story away, but check it out. It’s the perfect summer read!

How about you? Have you read any good books lately? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you and I’m putting my TBR pile together for this summer so I’m looking to make additions to it!  🙂

 

Reading Rocks in Rockford!

 

 

Photo credit: demandaj via Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! This Saturday from 10:00 to 1:00 I’ll be in downtown Rockford with other amazing authors! Come on down and meet authors and get some incredible books!

In a small town in Michigan, fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman and what’s worse? One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death.

Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own investigation. The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the investigation. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer.

Or die trying…

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where Sarah Cole and her sister Lacey are now living with their Aunt and Uncle. Still reeling from the fact her parents have disappeared, Sarah starts the school year with her new friend Jackie Jenkins. When Sarah learns the school has been bombed, she’s filled with dread. Uncle Walt is a teacher, and he was in the school when the bomb exploded. Taking matters into her own hands, Sarah decides to search for him. The rest of the Super Spies are right behind her. When a fireman chases them away from the school, Sarah becomes suspicious. She decides to investigate. The FBI arrives on the scene. Sarah realizes this bombing could have even bigger implications. Searching for the bombers, Sarah is introduced to the world of terrorism. She fears that the bombing and her parents’ disappearance are connected and terrorists are involved. To make matters worse, the bombers are determined to finish the job. Can the Super Spies find the bombers before it’s too late?

Sarah Cole and her sister Lacey are at it once again when they learn their missing parents’ cell phone has been traced to Alden, Michigan. When the FBI declines to continue the in-vestigation, Sarah takes matters into her own hands. She calls upon the Super Spies and they delve into the situation. Suddenly, the teens find themselves immersed in small town intrigue and mystery involving a menacing stranger, who Sarah dubs “The Stalker.” But when Sarah learns he’s connected to her parents’ disappearance, she’s determined to find out what that connection is. The Super Spies embark on a journey that leads them into a web of corporate corruption at its highest level that leaves innocent victims in its wake. Can they find the proof they need to stop the greedy corporation before it’s too late?

Lark Singer is seventeen years old and already on the way to a brilliant music career. But as she and her band, Starlight, gear up for a competition, life seems to be throwing her a few curve balls. The mysteries of her past seem to be unraveling, and she’s no longer certain she wants to know those answers or how knowing about her past will affect her difficult relationship with her mother. And when her best friend, Bean, changes things between them, all her plans for a musical future are placed in jeopardy. How can she balance her complicated personal life to keep her musical goals on track?

Book Review: “The Luckiest Girl Alive”

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. Summer’s coming and I’m looking forward to doing a lot of reading so I’m putting together a Summer Reading List. I’ll post that one at a later date. Today, I’ve got a book review for you. The cover and blurb are below.

 

**AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER***

Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will thrill at “the perfect page-turner to start your summer” (People, Book of the Week): Luckiest Girl Alive—described by Reese Witherspoon as “one of those reads you just can’t put down!”

“Loved Gone Girl? We promise [Luckiest Girl Alive is] just as addictive.”
—Good Housekeeping

“Jessica Knoll introduces you to your new best frenemy, and you’re going to love it. . . .Destined to become one of the summer’s most gripping reads.”
—Bustle.com

“With the cunning and verve of Gillian Flynn but an intensity all its own, Luckiest Girl Alive is a debut you won’t want to miss.”
—Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me and The Fever

“Luckiest Girl Alive is Gone Girl meets Cosmo meets Sex and the City. . . . Knoll hits it out of the park.”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There’s

hing else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that’s bigger than it first appears.

The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

My Thoughts:

This is the well-written story of Tifani before she became Ani, a girl who has achieved success and is about to marry the guy of her dreams, but something isn’t quite right, and as we progress through the story, we find out how damaged and broken Tifani is on the inside.

We go back to her high school days and learn about the group she desperately wanted to fit in with, and the boy she had a crush on. The story takes us back to the pivotal point where Tifani breaks. It’s a party and she gets so drunk she passes out. The boys at the party take advantage of the situation and have sex with her without her consent. She doesn’t remember everything that happened and she learns the hard way that belonging to this popular group may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

One boy in the group belongs to a powerful family in the city. His name is Dean Barton, and he has always gotten away with things because of his family money because of this he has entitlement issues and there’s a history of his abusive behavior. There’s another character, Ben, who Dean victimized so badly he ended up in a mental hospital and has never returned to the school. He seems like a minor character, but he becomes a major one as one of the instigators of the tragic event that blows the cover off the abuse in this school.

I won’t tell you anymore of the story, but it’s a sad tale that’s beautifully weaved together so all the threads and pieces fit. You don’t realize the important elements until the end, and that’s how a master story-teller works.

I loved how the story fit together and how I didn’t see the tragic event coming toward the end. The story shows the transformation of Tifani from an insecure girl who has everything to the strong survivor who pushes away things that aren’t good for her.

If you liked “Gone Girl,” you’ll like this story. It’s a great summer read.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and reading my post. Do you have any books you’d like to recommend? I’m planning on doing a ton of reading this summer so I’m looking for some good recommendations! Leave a comment, I love hearing from you!

It’s a Thanksgiving Blog Hop!

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Some of my colleagues and I have put together a Thanksgiving Blog Hop just for you! There will be prizes so check out everyone’s site! 🙂

All of us are listing five things that we are grateful for this year. Check it out and share your thoughts! Let me know what you’re grateful for! I’d love to hear from you!

 

Five Things that I’m Thankful For

 1. My wonderful husband and my two boys. 🙂 They are my inspiration and keep me headed in the right direction.

2. My awesome publisher ASTRAEA PRESS for accepting my manuscripts. And the awesome editors that edit my books! Your guidance has been instrumental in my stories.

3. The wonderful AUTHORS that I’ve met in the publishing industry. Their help and encouragement has been a real blessing.

4. My Critique Group THE GRAND RAPIDS WRITERS EXCHANGE. They’ve been instrumental in helping me get my manuscripts in shape.

5. Last but certainly not least my FANS and READERS! Without you my stories would be sitting on the e-book shelves gathering dust!

So to celebrate my gratitude I’m going to give away a signed paperback of “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”! Whoo Hoo! 🙂 It would make a great Christmas Present for the Tween/Teen in your life! 🙂

How do you enter this giveaway? That is a very good question. You can enter by posting a comment about what you are thankful for and that will count as one entry. You can also enter by tweeting and sharing about the giveaway and then posting the tweet or share in the comment section at the end of this post. Each tweet and share equals two entries. So, if you tweet 4 times…you’re entered 8 times.

That’s it! That’s all you have to do! 🙂

The winner will be announced on November 23^rd! I will post the winner on my blog, facebook, and twitter. I will also send the winner an e-mail. 🙂

Here’s the cover and blurb for “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”.

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman. One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own fact-finding mission.  The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the inquest. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. To make matters worse, the police don’t even believe them. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer, or die trying…

The next stop on this blog hop is E.A. West’s blog! Check it out! The link is below.

http://thewestcorner.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/thanksgiving-blog-hop/

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving! 🙂

Please Welcome Sherry Gloag as she talks about “Vidal’s Honor”!

 

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you today! I’ve got Sherry Gloag here and she’s talking a little bit about herself and her new release “Vidal’s Honor”. Thanks so much for being here today Sherry! 🙂 Take it away!

 

 

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember, and I discovered Georgette Heyer very early on, and have always had copies of her books on my shelves, both virtual and real.  So, in a way, I suppose, given I write romance, that I would one day try my hand at a Regency Romance.

Vidal’s Honor opens on the morning of the battle of Salamanca in July 1812.  Not having much confidence in my ability to research my subject I wasn’t sure how I’d get on.  Suffice to say, it was a pleasant surprise.  I even spent time researching the weather in various parts of Spain and France, and yes they, unlike the English, do have weather records going back that far.

There is a scene when my hero and heroine, Lord Charles Vidal and Lady Honor Beaumont are setting out to cross the English Channel, and although on that particular night, in reality it rained, I took the licence of turning it into a storm with huge waves, thunder and lightning.  It was great fun.

It often happens that secondary characters play a bigger part than expected and when your story is ‘finished’ they demand you start all over again and write their story, and so it is with my secondary characters, Juan and Consuela.  Because I am a ‘pantser’ writer, I’m not sure how or where their story is going beyond a very rough outline, but already I’m having the same fun with this story as I did with my Christmas Regency Romance, Vidal’s honor, published by Astraea Press on 31^st October.

 

Vidal’s Honor

Blurb:

When plunged into a world of spies, agents and espionage during the Peninsula wars, Honor, Lady Beaumont, flees for her life when the French capture her husband at Salamanca, and relies on his batman to arrange her safe passage back to England.

Viscount Charles Vidal is ordered by Robert Dumas, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to travel to Spain and escort the only woman he’s ever loved, Lord Devlin Beaumont’s widow back home before the French discover her whereabouts.

Their journey is fraught by danger, least of all knowing whether they are surrounded by friends or foe. Will they survive long enough to explore the possibility of a future together or will whispers of treason be enough to see Honor dispatched to Tyburn first?

Here’s an excerpt from this very intriguing book! 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will whispers of treason be enough to see Honor dispatched to Tyburn or can
Vidal save her again?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

While Vidal joked with his cousin, the viscount scanned the room. The smell of fine wine, whiskey and cigar smoke blended into a rich aroma that was as much a part of Whites as the card games, the background chatter, and outbreaks of lewd laughter from the younger members of the club.
One member in particular interested Vidal tonight, and he watched Robert Dundas, second Viscount Melville, and First Lord of the Admiralty, take leave of his friends and head in his direction.

He wondered why the man spent the best part of the night watching his every move, and paused in the act of fobbing his snuff box while he waited for the viscount to join him.

“Take a walk with me?” Although couched as a question, Vidal noted the quiet steel of command in the other man’s voice. Dundas laid a hand on his arm; a companionable gesture for anyone interested enough to observe the two men leaving the club together. “I believe I live not far beyond your own house. I’d appreciate your company, and this is not the place for such a discussion. ”

With an indolent twist of the wrist Vidal returned the modish lacquered box, unopened, to his pocket and nodded agreement. A man’s club was no setting for private conversation, and it was plain the man wanted to talk about something away from flapping ears.

Together they strolled across the room stopping to take leave of several mutual friends.

Buy Links:

Astraea Press: http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662267&mode=product&product=16090214

 

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Sherry+Gloag

 

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sherry+gloag&sprefix=sherry+glo%2Caps%2C251

 

 

 

This sounds like a great story Sherry!

You can find Sherry at these social media sites:

Web: http://www.sherrygloag.com

Blog: http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.co.uk/

FB: http://www.facebook.com/sherry.gloag

twitter: https://twitter.com/SherryGloag

Thanks Sherry for sharing with us today!

Blog Tour for “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! This summer has been great and I’m excited as I venture out on a blog tour for “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer” with my tour guide Megan McDade! The schedule is below.

**Please note that these are in the United Kingdom and Australia so there are time zone differences.

The United Kingdom is five hours ahead of us.  (When I say ahead of us I mean EST)

And Australia is one day and two hours ahead of us. (When I say ahead of us I mean EST)

Blog Tour Schedule:

August 6th: Book excerpt and giveaway of an ebook of The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer @ my blog http://readingawaythedays.blogspot.com/

7th: Review @ http://aboveaveragebelowspecial.blogspot.com/

8th: Review @ http://thecoverbybrittany.blogspot.com/

9th: Promo & giveaway of an ebook of The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer @ http://littlepocketbooks.blogspot.com/

10th: Guest & giveaway of an ebook of The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer @ http://www.imabookshark.com/

11th: Review @ http://myescape84.blogspot.com/

12th: Review @ http://readinglittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com/

12th: Interview @ http://youngadultbookaddict.blogspot.com/

Stop by and leave comments on these sites! I’d love to hear from you!