The Creator in You by Jordan Raynor

 With engaging rhyme and stunning illustrations, this picture book sparks readers’ imaginations with the big idea that God created human beings to make, model, and work like Him.

The Creator in You is a book that children, graduates, and even many adults will treasure for a lifetime. This fresh perspective on the creation account from the Bible’s first book, Genesis, helps readers see that “the sixth day” wasn't the end of creation—it was “just the beginning.”

“Before His day off, God had one more to-do. On His sixth day creating, God chose to make you.” God made kids to create like he does—by filling the world with sand castles and s’mores today, and businesses and books tomorrow. Through inspiring illustrations and text, readers of all ages will feel connected to God’s story of creation in a deeply personal way, inspiring them to view their current and future work with purpose, enthusiasm, and joy.

Pick up your copy here...

The Creator in You: Raynor, Jordan, David, Jonathan: 9780593193136: Amazon.com: Books

Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his bestselling books (The Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create), podcast (The Call to Mastery), and weekly devotional (The Word Before Work)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth.

In addition to his writing, Jordan serves as the Executive Chairman of Threshold 360, a venture-backed tech startup which Jordan previously ran as CEO following a string of successful ventures of his own. Jordan has twice been selected as a Google Fellow and served in The White House under President George W. Bush.

A sixth-generation Floridian, Jordan lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters. The Raynors are proud members of The Church at Odessa.

The Physicists' Daughter by Mary Anna Evans

No one can be trusted. The fate of a country is at stake. And everything depends on the physicists' daughter.

New Orleans, 1944.

Sabotage. That's the word on factory worker Justine Byrne's mind as she is repeatedly called to weld machine parts that keep failing with no clear cause. Could someone inside the secretive Carbon Division be deliberately undermining the factory's Allied war efforts?

Raised by her late parents to think logically, she also can't help wondering just what the oddly shaped carbon gadgets she assembles day after day have to do with the boats the factory builds. When a crane inexplicably crashes to the factory floor, leaving a woman dead, Justine can no longer ignore her nagging fear that German spies are at work within the building, trying to put the factory and its workers out of commission.

Unable to trust anyone―not the charming men vying for her attention, not her unpleasant boss, and not even the women who work beside her―Justine draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.

Pick up your copy here...

 Amazon.com: The Physicists' Daughter: A Novel: 9781464215551: Evans, Mary Anna: Books

I'm the author of the upcoming historical suspense novel THE PHYSICISTS' DAUGHTER and the award-winning Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries. My thriller, WOUNDED EARTH, is available in print, ebook, and audiobook editions.

I'm a university professor of writing, and I'm also a chemical engineer by training and license, with a degree in engineering physics thrown in for spice. This background came in handy while writing THE PHYSICISTS' DAUGHTER, which features Justine Byrne, who works at a Rosie-the-Riveter-type job during World War II. I like to describe Justine like this: "The Nazis are no match for the physicists' daughter." As for the protagonist of my archaeological mysteries, I'd say, "Faye Longchamp digs up trouble." If you like strong, smart, independent female protagonists, I think you might like Justine and Faye.

My other fiction includes several short stories, available separately as ebooks, and as a collection in both ebook and print form, called JEWEL BOX: SHORT WORKS BY MARY ANNA EVANS. YOUR NOVEL, DAY BY DAY: A FICTION WRITER'S COMPANION is available for novelists in both ebook and print form.

I am a co-editor with Dr. JC Bernthal of an upcoming book on the bestselling novelist of all time, the BLOOMSBURY HANDBOOK TO AGATHA CHRISTIE. It is very much a labor of love to the Queen of Mystery.

I enjoy reading, writing, teaching, gardening, spending time with my family, cooking, and playing my 7-and-a-half-foot-long monster of a grand piano. For more information on my work, visit www.maryannaevans.com.

Anne Wilson My Jesus CD GIVEAWAY!

 

 Check out Anne Wilson’s Debut Album, “My Jesus”, which released April 22nd!

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                   Anne Wilson - My Jesus - Amazon.com Music

 Hillary Scott (from Lady A) features on song “Mamas” + “Mamas (Official Music Video)” will release 5/4 for Mother’s Day, and includes footage of Anne surprising her mother with the song, and Hillary Scott and her daughters

Anne Wilson is the first female solo artist debut single to reach #1 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart Anne Wilson’s debut single “My Jesus” was the longest #1 single on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart of 2021 at 7 weeks total

"My Jesus” Hit #1 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and #19 on the Rolling Stone Top 25 Trending charts

Anne Wilson was featured as Billboard’s October 2021 Chartbreaker Artist in their 21 Under 21 issue

 Album Track Info: 1. Prelude (Scatter) 

2. Scatter 

3. My Jesus

4.    Devil 

5. Sunday Sermons

 6. Hey Girl 

7. This House 

8. Mansions 

9. Mamas (with Hillary Scott) 

10. No Place Like Home 

11. God Thing 

12. That’s What We Need 

13. Something About That Name 

14. Closer To God 

15. My Jesus (feat. Crowder)

My Thoughts...

This is a great CD. Wilson has the voice of an angel and  I must warn you, you are going to need a box of tissues. This CD will touch you to the core and you will cry. This would make the perfect gift so grab a few extra copies you are going to want to share it with those you love. Thanks to Universal Music Group for providing a sample of the product for this review.

The Last Party By Cassidy Lucas

 

Some guests were not invited….. 

The authors of Santa Monica once again illuminate the dark truths of life in sunny California in this twisty and atmospheric psychological thriller about a 50th birthday celebration on a remote mountainside in Topanga Canyon, where things go terrifyingly wrong.

For Los Angeleno Dani Sanders, turning 50 seems like one more disappointment. Her career has stalled, her nineteen-year-old daughter with developmental issues is regressing, and Dani’s ex-husband Craig, a fertility doctor worshipped by Hollywood’s elite, is forever upending her life. Though she doesn’t feel much like celebrating, she can’t say no when her best friend Mia Markle, a flamboyant and strong-willed actress, insists on planning a “creative” birthday weekend in the wild, wealthy bohemian enclave of Topanga Canyon.

 On the weekend of the Summer Solstice, Dani and her six closest friends gather in the hills above the canyon at “Celestial Ranch,” 18-acres of rugged, wooded mountainside where they’ll spend three glorious days hiking, practicing meditation and reiki, and enjoying lavish catered cuisine. They will also indulge in a little DMT, a short-acting psychedelic drug meant to open their senses and transport them to a higher plain. But as the weekend unfolds, long-buried tensions, unresolved grievances, and old secrets emerge, leaving Dani desperate for clarity about her life.

 Dani and her friends take the drug late at night on an open hillside beneath the glittering stars. When Dani returns from her intense and revelatory "trip," she learns that one of her friends has gone missing. Then another disappears. And soon, Dani finds herself alone on the dark mountainside, seemingly abandoned by the people who are supposed to love her most.

 Or have they somehow been taken from her?

 What could Dani have possibly done to deserve a devastating birthday night like this—and how will she make it to the morning alone? 

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: The Last Party: A Novel: 9780063018488: Lucas, Cassidy: Books

Cassidy Lucas is the pen name of writing duo Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger. Their first novel, SANTA MONICA, was published in 2020. Their second novel, THE LAST PARTY, set in Topanga Canyon on the westside of Los Angeles, will be published in April 2022. Fierro is the author of the novels Cutting Teeth, praised by the New Yorker as a “comically energetic début,” and The Gypsy Moth Summer, called “hugely engaging” by Francine Prose. Widger is the author of the novels Real Happy Family and Mother of Invention, praised by Margaret Atwood as a “pacey thriller,” and was featured on NPR’s Marketplace. Both Fierro and Widger live in Santa Monica with their families.

Unmasked By Paul Holes

 From the detective who found the Golden State Killer, a memoir of investigating America’s toughest cold cases and the rewards–and toll–of a life solving crime.

I order another bourbon, neat. This is the drink that will flip the switch. I don’t even know how I got here, to this place, to this point. Something is happening to me lately. I’m drinking too much. My sheets are soaking wet when I wake up from nightmares of decaying corpses. I order another drink and swig it, trying to forget about the latest case I can’t shake.

Crime solving for me is more complex than the challenge of the hunt, or the process of piecing together a scientific puzzle. The thought of good people suffering drives me, for better or worse, to the point of obsession. People always ask how I am able to detach from the horrors of my work. Part of it is an innate capacity to compartmentalize; the rest is experience and exposure, and I’ve had plenty of both. But I have always taken pride in the fact that I can keep my feelings locked up to get the job done. It’s only been recently that it feels like all that suppressed darkness is beginning to seep out.

When I look back at my long career, there is a lot I am proud of. I have caught some of the most notorious killers of the twenty-first century and brought justice and closure for their victims and families. I want to tell you about a lifetime solving these cold cases, from Laci Peterson to Jaycee Dugard to the Pittsburg homicides to, yes, my twenty-year-long hunt for the Golden State Killer.

But a deeper question eats at me as I ask myself, at what cost? I have sacrificed relationships, joy―even fatherhood―because the pursuit of evil always came first. Did I make the right choice? It’s something I grapple with every day. Yet as I stand in the spot where a young girl took her last breath, as I look into the eyes of her family, I know that, for me, there has never been a choice. “I don’t know if I can solve your case,” I whisper. “But I promise I will do my best.”

It is a promise I know I can keep.

Pick up your copy here...

Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases: Holes, Paul: 9781250622792: Amazon.com: Books

Paul Holes retired as a Cold Case Investigator after spending over 27 years working for the Sheriff and District Attorney’s Offices during his tenure in Contra Costa County located in the Bay Area, California. Having experience in both forensic and investigative assignments, Paul throughout his career specialized in cold case and serial predator crimes, developing and applying investigative, behavioral, and forensic expertise in notable cases such as Zodiac, Golden State Killer, and Jaycee Dugard. Paul is frequently sought out by investigators to consult on the most complex and high profile cases and has played a part in putting several serial predators on Death Row such as Darryl Kemp, Joseph Naso, and Joseph Cordova Jr.

As an FBI Task Force Officer while employed with the DA’s Office, Paul teamed with FBI and Sacramento DA personnel to apply innovative technology that identified Joseph DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer, the most prolific and cunning serial predator in U.S. history.

Since the arrest of DeAngelo, Paul has been very involved on the media side continuing to assist law enforcement and victim’s families with their unsolved cases, through the television show The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes and with the podcast Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad.

My Thoughts...                                                                                                  True crime fans are going to really enjoy this one. Hurry and grab your copy.

Love & Saffron By Kim Fay

 

In the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road, this witty and tender novel followstwo women in 1960s America as they discover that food really doesconnect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.

When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter--as well as a gift of saffron--to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she’s never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.
 
Food and a good life—they can’t be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen’s decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen’s friendship—a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.
 

A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.

Pick up your copy here...

Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love: Fay, Kim: 9780593419335: Amazon.com: Books

Born in Seattle and raised throughout Washington State, I am a former indie bookseller and former travel writer living in Vietnam for four years. I am the author of the historical novel THE MAP OF LOST MEMORIES, an Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel; COMMUNION: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH VIETNAM, winner of a World Gourmand Cookbook Award; and LOVE & SAFFRON, a historical, epistolary novel written during the pandemic. I am also the creator/​editor of the To Asia With Love guidebook series. I live in Los Angeles with my husband Jim and dog Mabel. I am represented by Kate Garrick at Salky Literary Management: kgarrick@salkylitmgmt.com

My Thoughts...

This was a great read, I love food and I love friends so what better combination. I hope that you get to read this one with a friend. Its the perfect buddy read.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The Truth of Who You Are by Sheila Myers

 When his family is plunged into poverty during the Great Depression, Ben Taylor takes a job with the US Civilian Conservation Corps developing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A tragic accident puts him in a dilemma: does he let someone else take the fall for what he did so he can keep his position? The repercussions of his decision plague him all the way to the Battle of the Bulge in World War II where Ben is reunited with an old friend from his time with the Corps. Inspired by actual events and the people who once lived in the Smoky Mountains before it became a National Park, this saga explores how people use stories to hide uncomfortable truths and the lengths they'll go to protect their home and family.

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: The Truth of Who You Are: 9781684339341: Myers, Sheila: Books

Sheila Myers is an award-winning author of four novels. Her essays and fiction are published in The Stone Canoe Literary Magazine, Embark Magazine, The Adirondack Life Magazine, and History News Network. Her last novel, The Night is Done, the last in a trilogy about the infamous Durant family, won the 2017 Best Book of Fiction by the Adirondack Center for Writing, and received a Kirkus starred review. She is a professor of ecology at a small college in Upstate New York.You can connect with her on her website at https: //www.sheilamyers.com/.

My Thoughts...

The main character Ben was something else. He made this book a real hit for me. 

The writing for me was so good the descriptions and the way it all flowed. This was a hit for me, and I can't wait to read more from this author. 4 stars and one you don't want to miss.                                      The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

A Wedding on Sunshine Corner By Phoebe Mills

 

A delightful small-town romance between a daycare teacher and single dad who must overcome their differences to help plan the ultimate wedding.

They’ve driven each other crazy for years, but were they fighting each other—or the chemistry between them?

As the youngest in her loving, overprotective family, Savannah Lowe has always gone with the flow instead of going out on a limb…until now. Her new job running a preschool requires her to be all in. If only the father of one of her students wasn’t her brother’s incredibly infuriating, impossibly attractive best friend. Savannah has no clue what she ever did to make him dislike her, and now they’re stuck spending even more time together planning her brother’s wedding. 

Single father Noah Adams has his hands full between his job as a paramedic and caring for his young daughter. The last thing he needs is a complication like Savannah in his life—a girl he remembers being constantly pampered by her family. But the more he gets to know her, the more he sees how kind and compassionate she really is. Now their long-ignored, off-the-charts chemistry has them on a collision course…with each other.  

Pick up your copy here..

Amazon.com: A Wedding on Sunshine Corner: 9781538753989: Mills, Phoebe: Books

Falling for You By Barb Curtis

Just when recently evicted yoga instructor Faith Rotolo thinks her luck has run out, she inherits a historic mansion in quaint Sapphire Springs. Though Faith never imagined putting roots down anywhere, small-town life is growing on her, as is her fixer-upper house. If only her handsome new contractor, Rob Milan, would stop spoiling her daydreams with the realities of a major rehab…and his generally grouchy vibes.

A single dad of two, Rob doesn’t have much time for fantasy wish-list ideas his clients can’t afford. Then again, Faith’s creative energy might be exactly what he needs right now. But while Rob and Faith work to give her home the second chance it deserves, their spirited clashes wind up sparking a powerful attraction. As work nears completion, and Faith’s house becomes the shining jewel of the neighborhood, will she and Rob realize that they deserve a fresh start too? 

Pick up your copy here...

 Falling for You: Curtis, Barb: 9781538703137: Amazon.com: Books

A happily-ever-after-crafter at heart, Barb Curtis’ love for writing began with a quick-witted style column, and her background in marketing led to stints writing print and web copy, newsletters, and grant proposals. The switch to fiction came with the decision to pair her creativity with her love for words, and crafting characters and settings she could truly get lost in. Barb happily lives in a bubble in rural New Brunswick with her husband, daughter, and dog. You’ll find her restoring the century-old family homestead, weeding the garden, and no doubt whistling the same song all day long.

You can learn more at:

https://www.barbcurtiswrites.com/

Twitter @Barb_Curtis

https://www.facebook.com/barbcurtiswrites/

https://www.instagram.com/barb_curtis_writes/

Just the Two of Us By Jo Wilde

 

A couple on the brink of divorce after 35 years of marriage gets a second chance to rediscover their love now that a pandemic lockdown has forced them to spend more time together.
Julie and Michael Marshall have stayed together through thick and thin, through better and worse -- and, for the last few years, it has mostly been worse. As their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary approaches, Julie realizes something: she doesn't want to pretend anymore.

Divorce papers at the ready, she's just about to have The Talk with Michael when everything changes. Lockdown begins and Julie and Michael face the greatest terror they can imagine: uninterrupted time with each other. But, when stripped of all distraction and forced to meet eyes across the dinner table, could it be that Julie and Michael might find a way back to where they first began? 

Pick up your copy here...

Just the Two of Us: Wilde, Jo: 9781538755068: Amazon.com: Books

Jo Wilde considers herself a proud Midlander (despite being told by a university friend that ‘the Midlands’ doesn’t exist) and loves living in her Derbyshire village with her two children, two stepchildren, two hamsters, two dogs and – thankfully – one husband. To be fair, with the children now largely grown up, they only live with her intermittently when their own money and their supply of booze runs out. Upon retirement, Jo and her husband plan to take off in a mobile home (or, in her mind, a mobile writing office) to see the world.

In the meantime, Jo’s very happy with imaginary worlds and has now published a range of fiction, including historical novels as Joanna Courtney and contemporary fiction as Anna Stuart.

The Secret In the Wall By Ann Parker

 Sometimes you can't keep your gown out of the gutter...

Inez Stannert has reinvented herself―again. Fleeing the comfort and wealth of her East Coast upbringing, she became a saloon owner and card sharp in the rough silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, always favoring the unconventional path―a difficult road for a woman in the late 1800s.

Then the teenaged daughter of a local prostitute is orphaned by her mother's murder, and Inez steps up to raise the troubled girl as her own. Inez works hard to keep a respectable, loving home for Antonia, carefully crafting their new life in San Francisco. But risk is a seductive friend, difficult to resist. When a skeleton tumbles from the wall of her latest business investment, the police only seem interested in the bag of Civil War-era gold coins that fell out with it. With her trusty derringer tucked in the folds of her gown, Inez uses her street smarts and sheer will to unearth a secret that someone has already killed to keep buried. The more she digs, the muddier and more dangerous things become.

She enlists the help of Walter de Brujin, a local private investigator with whom she shares some history. Though she wants to trust him, she fears that his knowledge of her past, along with her growing attraction to him, may well blow her veneer of respectability to bits―that is, if her dogged pursuit of the truth doesn't kill her first.

Pick up your copy here...

The Secret in the Wall: A Novel (Silver Rush Mysteries, 8): Parker, Ann: 9781464214943: Amazon.com: Books

Ann Parker earned degrees in Physics and English Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, before falling into a career as a science/corporate writer. During the daylight hours, she scribbles about "bleeding-edge" scientific R&D. At night, she delves into the past. Ann is listed in the Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame.

The early books of her award-winning Silver Rush historical mystery series are set primarily in the 1880s silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, and feature Silver Queen Saloon owner Inez Stannert—a woman with a mysterious past, a complicated present, and an uncertain future. The first in the series, Silver Lies, won the Willa Literary Award for Historical Fiction and the Colorado Gold Award and was a finalist for the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award as well as for the Western Writers Association Spur Award for Best Novel of the West. It was chosen a best mystery of the year by Publishers Weekly and The Chicago Tribune.

Iron Ties, the sequel to Silver Lies, won the Colorado Book Award (CBA) for Popular Fiction. In its starred review, Publishers Weekly says, "Parker's outstanding second Silver Rush mystery finds her heroine, Inez Stannert, corset-deep in the intrigues of Leadville, Colo. . . . Plenty of convincing action bodes well for a long and successful series."

Leaden Skies, the third Silver Rush mystery, was a CBA finalist. Booklist calls it "a lively historical tale with a strong female protagonist. The intricate plot, lively characters, and vividly realized historical landscape will appeal to those interested in the Old West as well as to historical-mystery fans."

Mercury's Rise, fourth in the series, is winner of the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award, and finalist for: the Agatha Award for Best Historical Mystery, the Colorado Book Award (Genre Fiction), the Macavity / Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery Award, and the Willa Literary Award for Best Historical Fiction. About Mercury's Rise, Library Journal says: "Encore!"

What Gold Buys, the fifth in the series, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it "emotionally and historically convincing." What Gold Buys was a finalist for: Best Historical Mystery Novel, Lefty Award; the Sarton Women’s Book Award (Historical Fiction); the Macavity Historical Novel Award; and the Will Rogers Medallion Award (Western Romance).

The next three books in the series take Inez and her young ward, Antonia Gizzi, to San Francisco. Information for A Dying Note (#6), Mortal Music (#7), and The Secret in the Wall (#8) can be found on Ann's website at https://annparker.net/books/ .

For more information about the series and Ann's other writings, see https://www.annparker.net.

The Silver Rush series is published by Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks.

Insomnia By Sarah Pinborough

 

IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, MADNESS LIES . . .

Emma can’t sleep.

CHECK THE WINDOWS.

It’s been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer.

LOCK THE DOORS.

Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own fortieth birthday.

She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it.

LOOK IN ON THE CHILDREN.

Is that what’s happening to Emma?

WHY CAN’T SHE SLEEP? 

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                 Amazon.com: Insomnia: A Novel: 9780062856845: Pinborough, Sarah: Books 

Sarah Pinborough is a New York Times bestselling and Sunday Times Number one and Internationally bestselling author who is published in over 25 territories worldwide. Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her recent books include Behind Her Eyes which will air on Netflix in January 2021, Cross Her Heart, in development for UK television, and 13 Minutes in development with Netflix.

Sarah was the 2009 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story and also the 2010 and 2014 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella, and she has four times been short-listed for Best Novel. She is also a screenwriter who has written for the BBC and is currently working on three TV projects and the film adaptation of her novel The Death House.

Her latest novel, DEAD TO HER and is a dark and twisty, sexy tale of hidden secrets and revenge in high society Savannah and has been sold for TV in the US.

Sarah lives in the historic town of Stony Stratford, the home of the Cock and Bull story, with her dog Ted.

You can follow her on Twitter @sarahpinborough 

My Thoughts...

This was such a wild ride; I could not put it down I loved thinking I know who was doing it and then having to rethink it. Pinborough has done it again. She is starting to rise as the queen of thrillers in my book.

4 star and one you don't want to miss.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The New Neighbor By Carter Wilson

 

Aidan holds the winning Powerball numbers.

Is today the best day of his life... or the worst?

Aidan Marlowe is the superstitious type—he's been playing the same lottery numbers for fifteen years, never hitting the jackpot. Until now. On the day of his wife's funeral.

Aidan struggles to cope with these two sudden extremes: instant wealth beyond his imagination, and the loss of the only woman he's ever loved, the mother of his twin children. But the money gives him and his kids options they didn't have before. They can leave everything behind. They can start a new life in a new town. So they do.

But a huge new house and all the money in the world can't replace what they've lost, and it's not long before Aidan realizes he's merely trading old demons for new ones. Because someone is watching him and his family very closely. Someone who knows exactly who they are, where they've come from, and what they're trying to hide. Someone who will stop at nothing to get what they want...

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: The New Neighbor: A Thriller: 9781728247526: Wilson, Carter: Books

USA Today bestselling author Carter Wilson has written eight critically acclaimed, standalone psychological thrillers, as well as numerous short stories. He is an ITW Thriller Award finalist, a four-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, and his works have been optioned for television and film. Carter lives in Erie, Colorado in a Victorian house that is spooky but isn’t haunted…yet.

To check Carter’s appearance calendar, subscribe to his irreverent monthly newsletter, or to inquire about his availability for speaking events, book clubs, or media requests, please visit www.carterwilson.com.

My Thoughts...

This was my first book by Wilson. I read it in one sitting. I never put it down. I love a thriller that keeps me guessing until the very end. This is a 4.5 star read and I can not wait to read more by him.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Looking For Leroy By Melody Carlson

 

It's official: Brynna Phillips is done with men. They only break your heart. But just when she makes this declaration, her friend Jan convinces Brynna to join her on a camping vacation in Sonoma Wine Country. As they wind their way toward their destination, spanking-new mini camper in tow, Brynna recalls her teenage camp romance with a boy named Leroy. How can it have been nearly 30 years ago? All she remembers is that Leroy was a genuinely good guy and that his family owned a vineyard--in Sonoma. She doesn't even remember his last name. Jan insists they look for him, and the search begins.

Beyond the slim chance they'd ever be able to find him are questions that have haunted Brynna for decades, including What is the point of digging up the past? and Can Leroy ever forgive me for losing touch?

Bestselling author Melody Carlson invites you on a trip to rediscover the carefree days of youth and, just maybe, to get a second chance at love.

Pick up your copy here...

Looking for Leroy: Carlson: 9780800739751: Amazon.com: Books

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of more than 250 books with sales of more than 7.5 million, including many bestselling Christmas novellas, young adult titles, and contemporary romances. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including Finding Alice, and her novel All Summer Long was made into a Hallmark movie. She and her husband live in central Oregon. Learn more at www.melodycarlson.com.

My Thoughts...

I really enjoyed Looking For Leroy. The sweet romance is one for the books. Carlson never disappoints. I can just picture the wedding at the vineyard. This is a must read for those who love a sweet romance.

4 stars and I highly recommend this one.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

By Any Other Name By Lauren Kate

 What she doesn't know about love could fill a book.

 
With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, Lanie's more than good. She's killing it. Then she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway. All Lanie has to do is cure Noa's writer's block and she'll get the promotion she's always dreamed of. Simple, right? 
 

But there's a reason no one has ever seen or spoken to the mysterious Noa Calloway. And that reason will rock Lanie’s world. It will call into question everything she thought she knew. When she finally tosses her ninety-nine expectations to the wind, Lanie may just discover that love By Any Other Name can still be as sweet. 

Pick up your copy here...

By Any Other Name: Kate, Lauren: 9780735212541: Amazon.com: Books

Lauren Kate is the internationally number one bestselling author of the Fallen novels, the Teardrop novels, and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives in Los Angeles.