Wednesday, August 31, 2022

I Told You This Would Happen by Elaine Murphy



 Carrie’s sister is dead.

Four months after losing her sister, Becca—a serial killer unknown to everyone else in their town—Carrie Lawrence is finally free of her manipulative clutches. From now on, she’s keeping her hands clean, no more hiding dead bodies in the middle of the night, no more lies.

She’s never been happier.

Then she attends a meeting of the Brampton Kill Seekers, a group of amateur local sleuths, and learns that a recent victim left behind a note that incriminates her in their disappearance. All of a sudden, the quiet, law-abiding life she’s been planning starts to unravel.


She’s never had so much to lose.

In her frantic quest to keep her secret dead and buried, she discovers someone nefarious lurking in the shadows…someone who’ll go to any lengths to bring her dark truths to light. Now if Carrie wants her secrets to stay hidden, she’ll have to get her hands very, very dirty. 


Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: I Told You This Would Happen: 9781538722060: Murphy, Elaine: Books



Elaine Murphy is a Canadian author who has lived on both coasts and several places in between. Among other things, she has volunteered in Zambia, taught English in China, jumped off a bridge, and out of an airplane. She has a diploma in Writing for Film & Television, but has never worked in either field, and eventually took an interest in the dark side and began plotting suspense and thrillers. She enjoys putting ordinary people in extraordinarily difficult situations, and seeing what they do about it. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Blue Skies by Nora Roberts


 #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts tempts hungry hearts with Blue Skies, collecting two of her classic, savory romantic novels.


Summer Desserts

Decadent dessert designer Summer Lyndon is celebrated around the world for sharing her creations with the wealthy and celebrity sets. So she is intrigued when the renowned hotel chain owner, Blake Cocharan, taps her to spend the summer in the restaurant of his luxury Philadelphia hotel to give his menu a makeover. Taking a break from her travels will be just as challenging at developing delectable cuisines, but Summer never expected working so closely with Blake would mean losing her heart to him.

Lessons Learned

Throughout Italy, master chef Carlo Franconi is famous for his culinary creations. Publicist to the stars Juliet Trent has prepared a worldwide tour that will showcase his irresistible international fare to every restauranteur and home cook looking to add some flavor to their menus. Talented and charming, Carlo has an uncanny ability to satisfy appetites―of all kinds―and Juliet finds herself developing an acquired taste for the chef who is determined to combine all the right ingredients to earn her love.

Pick up your copy here...


Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Shelter in Place, Year One, Come Sundown, and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than five hundred million copies of her books in print.

Monday, August 29, 2022

Smart Girl Summer by Kristin Rockaway


 From Kristin Rockaway comes a fun, insightful romance about what can happen when life gets off track but you’re willing to go along for the ride.

This summer’s not going as Abby Atkinson planned. A thieving PhD adviser, a screeching halt to her grad program, and zero job offers have left her high and dry. Nothing a little eat, pray, love across the Mediterranean can’t fix, right?

Or eat, pray, tutor, more like. Her dissertation might be dead, but she can still teach. She’ll just have to do it for six weeks on a superyacht with a billionaire and his daughter.

playboy billionaire, according to the tabloids―but Abby’s not so sure. As big as his bank account is, his heart’s that much bigger, especially when it comes to his daughter. Their strained relationship could use some mending, though, and Abby can help. She was hired to teach junior high math, but she’ll make room in her lesson plans.

Falling for her boss wasn’t part of the plan either, but…

Maybe it’s time she let her heart, not her head, teach her something new.

Pick up your copy here...



Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker and recovering corporate software engineer. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she finally traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of code. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, taking naps, and planning her next big vacation.

Friday, August 26, 2022

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin GIVEAWAY!


 A murder she doesn’t remember committing. A killer she doesn’t remember meeting. Megan Goldin’s Stay Awake is an electrifying novel that proves memory can be deadly.


Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers―a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE.

Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers. Catching a glimpse of the local news, she’s horrified to see reports of a crime scene where the victim’s blood has been used to scrawl a message across a window, similar to the message that’s inked on her hands. What did she do last night? And why does she remember nothing from the past two years? Liv finds herself on the run for a crime she doesn’t remember committing. But there’s someone who does know exactly what she did, and they’ll do anything to make her forget―permanently.

A complex thriller that unfolds at a breakneck speed, Stay Awake will keep you up all night.

Pick up your copy here...


Megan Goldin is the author of The Escape Room, a 2019 thriller that Lee Child called "one of my favorite books of the year" and Harlan Coben called "thrilling and unforgettable". Megan's new novel The Night Swim will be released in August 2020. Before becoming a novelist, Megan worked as a reporter covering the Middle East and Asia for the Reuters news agency, the Associate Press and the ABC as well as other news outlets.

My Thoughts...

I did not sleep I read this book all night. It was a fun read and I love trying to figure out who was doing what. If you love a good thriller, then I 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.

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Rodeo Drive by Jennifer Loy


 Starving artist, Tiffany Hunter, creates a new business as a Purchase Consultant, a gift saver for desperate, busy, hard-working, or just plain forgetful men. Most have procrastinated to the last minute to buy gifts for their wives, mothers, sisters, daughters even their fiancés. She gets a high from shopping, a rush from the lack of time, and finds pleasure on the women's faces when she pretends to be the delivery person as she drops the gift off at their door. Tiffany's favorite place to shop is Lauren & Co. on Rodeo Drive, where she meets the sharp-dressed jeweler, Nick Bennett. As Tiffany and Nick's relationship heats up, two of their old flames return. As the summer temperature rises in Southern California, so does the anticipation of which path Tiffany will take. Follow Tiffany on her hilarious and surprising adventure.

Pick up your copy here....


Jennifer Loy has been writing novels since 2005. While spending a short time in Hawaii, she discovered that poetry wasn’t all that she could write. The beautiful beaches and friendly people inspired her to write romantic novels. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay in paradise forever, but the writing continues. Now living in Las Vegas, she is writing more romantic-comedy, fantasy, suspense, and paranormal.

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Everyone Belongs by Heather Avis


 “We know everyone's different; no two are the same. You belong in our show!” the sisters exclaimed.

 
Macy and Tru are putting on a spectacular talent show to highlight the ways they love to perform. Other kids arrive, eager to participate but unsure if they’ll be welcomed. Since the two sisters know that everything is a lot more fun when everybody’s included, they’re determined to find a role in the show for each person. 
 
Inspiring, encouraging, and packed with joy, Everyone Belongs reminds us that it’s possible to make room for all people and all abilities—and that life is brighter when we give every person a chance to shine.

Pick up your copy here...



Heather Avis is a shouter of worth and narrative shifter. As an author, podcaster (theluckyfewpodcast.com), speaker, influencer (@TheLuckyFewOffical) and dedicated wife and mom she is on a mission to make a more inclusive world in which everyone can belong. You can learn more about her, her family and her mission by visiting TheLuckyFew.com

This is so cute and has a fantastic message. All of our kids need to be reading and sharing this one.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

A Lancaster Family Secret by Kate Lloyd GIVEAWAY!

 

Thanks to a DNA test, Annette Dupont's world is flipped upside-down when she discovers her life is built upon lies. Not that she doesn't harbor her own secrets that haunt her. Determined to find her birthmother in Lancaster County, PA, she uncovers her Amish family's secrets as a torrential storm barrels in.

During the ordeal and adventure, the Amish family's quilt store and farm are destroyed. Annette meets an attractive Mennonite, Matt Miller, who helps her. Annette has sworn off men but finds she cannot resist him, even when she discovers another woman is pursuing him.

Annette saves a young Amishman's life. He and an Amish woman elope, but Annette encourages them to return to the fold. Soon, a double wedding is planned-this young couple and Annette's Amish birthparents. In the end, will Annette find healing, family, and love? 

Pick up your copy here...


Bestselling author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. She is delighted to present her new winter read, A Lancaster Family Christmas. Another fun and captivating book is Stage Fright a delightful story with twists and turns as a woman ventures through England where Kate has often traveled. Next, From Rome with Love, an intriguing Christmas book that will keep you guessing. A native of Baltimore, Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest. Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her novels Leaving Lancaster, Pennsylvania Patchwork, and Forever Amish, the third book in the Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy, and also A Letter from Lancaster County and Starting from Scratch. Kate studied art, art history, and Italian in college. She loved living in Rome. She has worked a variety of jobs, including restaurateur and car salesman. Kate enjoys travel and walking with her Cairn terrier, Piper.

Readers are invited to stop by Kate's Website: www.katelloyd.com

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/katelloydbooks

Instagram:@katelloydauthor

Giveaways on her Blog: https://katelloyd.com/feed

Pinterest: @KateLloydAuthor


My Thoughts...

I am intrigued by all the DNA that is being written about. Come to find out its all the rage right now. Finally, an author puts Amish and DNA in the same book. Boy are you in for a surprise with this book. You will not put it down!
5 stars and I highly recommend it.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Monday, August 22, 2022

When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff


 You can have everything, and still not have enough. 

Cassie Quinn may only be twenty-three, but she knows a few things. One: money can’t buy happiness, but it’s certainly better to have it. Two: family matters most. Three: her younger brother Billy is not a rapist.

When Billy, a junior at Princeton, is arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie races home to Manhattan to join forces with her big brother Nate and their parents, Lawrence and Eleanor. The Quinns scramble to hire the best legal minds money can buy, but Billy fits the all-too-familiar sex-offender profile—white, athletic, and privileged—that makes headlines and sways juries.

Meanwhile, Cassie struggles to understand why Billy’s ex Diana would go this far, even if the breakup was painful. And she knows how the end of first love can destroy someone: Her own years-long affair with a powerful, charismatic man left her shattered, and she’s only recently regained her footing.   

As reporters converge outside their Upper East Side landmark building, the Quinns gird themselves for a media-saturated trial, and Cassie vows she’ll do whatever it takes to save Billy. But what if that means exposing her own darkest secrets to the world?

Lightning-paced and psychologically astute as it rockets toward an explosive ending, When We Were Bright and Beautiful is a dazzling novel that asks: who will pay the price when the truth is revealed? 

Pick up you copy here...


Jillian Medoff is the acclaimed author of WHEN WE WERE BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL, a fast-paced, thrilling, deeply emotional novel about power, privilege, and consent set on NYC's Upper East Side. She also wrote four other novels: THIS COULD HURT, I COULDN’T LOVE YOU MORE (national bestseller), GOOD GIRLS GONE BAD, and HUNGER POINT. HUNGER POINT was made into an original cable movie starring Christina Hendricks and Barbara Hershey and directed by Joan Micklin Silver (Lifetime TV, 2003).

A former fellow at MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center, VCCA and Fundacion Valparaiso in Spain, Jillian has an MFA from NYU. She studied with Mona Simpson and Jonathan Dee; and took master classes with Toni Morrison, Grace Paley, and Joyce Carol Oates.

In addition to writing novels, Jillian has a long career in corporate consulting. She’s worked for a wide range of employers, including Deloitte and Aon. Now with Segal Benz, she advises clients on communication strategies for all aspects of the employee experience.

Jillian lives with her husband, Keith Dawson and three adult daughters, who come and go. She reviews fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES Book Review, and is currently working on a new novel, THE COMMITTEE, a story about medical ethics and race in Seattle, circa 1961.

Friday, August 19, 2022

The Duke's Rules for Engagement by Jennifer Haymore

 

Some matches are made in hell…

Joanna Porter loves being one of London’s hottest up-and-coming matchmakers. But her heavenly vocation is about to turn into a nuptial nightmare―thanks to the Duke of Crestmont. He’s as handsome as he is insufferable and 
obsessed with all things proper. Matching him would cement Jo’s status as England’s greatest matchmaker. Except, of course, the impossible-to-please duke refuses all of her most eligible ladies…confirming his status as a complete and utter pain in her petticoats.

The Duke of Crestmont can’t believe he needs a matchmaker―let alone this spitfire of a woman whose kissable mouth and dancing, impertinent gray eyes tease him ruthlessly. But the people of his estate are counting on him to find a duchess. A proper lady with a flawless pedigree and immaculate deportment. So why can’t he stop himself from wanting his pert, lively matchmaker…instead of the perfect duchess?

Now the entire ton is watching as this determined, audacious matchmaker takes on the most powerful man in London in USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Haymore’s lively new Regency romp. And this show might just be the most outrageous one yet…

Pick up your copy here...


USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Haymore is the author of sexy historical and contemporary romance. Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including five RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice awards and the prestigious RITA® award for best historical romance.

You can find Jennifer in Southern California trying to talk her husband into yet another trip to England, helping her three children with homework while brainstorming a new five-minute dinner menu, or crouched in a corner of the local bookstore writing her next novel.

You can learn more at:

JenniferHaymore.com

Twitter @jenniferhaymore

Facebook.com/jenniferhaymore-author

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Much Ado About Dukes by Eve Devon


 Shakespeare meets Bridgerton in this witty and lively marriage-of-inconvenience romance.


As far as William Easton―the Duke of Blackheath―is concerned, love can go to the devil. Why would a man need passion when he has wealth, a stately home, and work to occupy his mind? But no one warned him that a fiery and frustratingly strong-willed activist like Lady Beatrice Haven could find a way to get under his skin...and that he might enjoy it.

Lady Beatrice is determined to never marry. Ever. She would much rather fight for the rights of women and provoke the darkly handsome Duke of Blackheath, even if he does claim to be forward-thinking. After all, dukes―even gorgeous ones―are the enemy. So why does she feel such enjoyment from their heated exchanges?

But everything changes when Beatrice finds herself suddenly without fortune, a husband, or even a home. Now her future depends on the very man who sets her blood boiling. Because in order to protect his esteemed rival, the Duke of Blackheath has asked for Beatrice’s hand, inviting his once-enemy into his home...and his bed.

Pick up your copy here...


USATODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, Eva Devon, was raised on literary fiction, but quite accidentally and thankfully, she was introduced to romance one Christmas by Johanna Lindsey's Mallory novella, The Present. A romance addict was born. She devoured every single Lindsey novel within a few months and moved on to contemporary and paranormal with gusto. Now, she loves to write her own roguish dukes, alpha males and the heroines who tame them. She loves to hear from her readers. So please pen her a note! evadevonauthor@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

A Lot Like Forever by Jennifer Snow


 Whitney Carlisle has everything under control―or at least that’s what she needs everyone in Blue Moon Bay to think. She has always faced the hard times in her life head-on and come out stronger for it. But this time, she isn’t so sure. Whitney knows she needs help, but how can she put that burden on Trent, her fiancé? How can she crush his dreams by telling him the plans they made for a future together have to change?

Pick up your copy here...


Jennifer Snow is a USA Today Bestselling Author writing contemporary romance fiction for Grand Central Publishing, Entangled and Harlequin. Her stories range in heat level from sweet to sexy and are set everywhere from big cities to small towns. Her books are light and humorous, but also full of heart, featuring families and communities readers love to visit over and over again.

Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, she now resides in Spain with her husband, son and three mischievous cats.

She currently publishes psychological thrillers under her pen name J.M. Winchester and writes screenplays and TV shows in her 'spare' time. Her holiday rom-com, Mistletoe and Molly airs Christmas 2021!

More information can be found on her website at www.jennifersnowauthor.com

You can also find her at http://www.twitter.com/@jennifersnow18 and http://www.facebook.com/jennifersnowbooks/

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

All The Broken Girls by Linda Hurtado Bond

 

When one falls

Crime reporter Mari Alvarez was never able to solve her mother’s murder ten years ago. But when a woman is gunned down on the doorstep of her West Tampa neighborhood, Mari can’t shake the eerie sense of connection.

The others will break

Now there have been two murders in two days. Each crime scene awash with arcane clues―and without a trace of DNA from the killer. And for each victim, a doll. The first is missing an eye. The second is missing a heart. But are these clues leading to the killer…or messages for Mari?

Unless she plays the game...

Caught up in a maelstrom of Old-World superstition, secrets, and ties to her own past, Mari has only one option. Put the puzzle together before someone else dies―even if it destroys her career. But there’s no escaping the hungry spider’s web when it’s been made just for you…

Pick up your copy here...


Linda Hurtado Bond is an award-winning journalist for Tampa's Fox 13 by day and author of romantic thrillers by night. She has won 13 Emmy awards, numerous Society of Professional Journalist and Associated Press awards, as well as a Florida Bar and an Edward R. Murrow award. A breast cancer survivor, she’s also active in the Tampa community with The American Cancer Society, Hooked on Hope, and The Shoot for a Cure, raising money and awareness any chance she gets. She’s the mother of five, four athletes and an adopted son from Cuba. She has passion for world travel, classic movies and solving a good mystery.

Monday, August 15, 2022

Swerve or Die by Kyle Petty

 

Stock-car racing star, country singer, and sports broadcaster Kyle Petty shares his familial legacy, intertwined with NASCAR’s founding and history, in Swerve or Die―written with Pulitzer Prize-winner Ellis Henican, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of In the Blink of an Eye.

“Born into racing royalty. The only son of NASCAR’s winningest driver ever. The grandson of one of the sport’s true pioneers. The nephew of our very first Hall of Fame engine builder. It’s quite a family to represent, and through it all, I’ve somehow managed to keep being Kyle.”

Kyle Petty won his very first stock-car race, the Daytona ARCA 200, in 1979 when he was eighteen. Hailed as a third-generation professional NASCAR racer, he became an instant celebrity in circles he had been around all his young life. Despite being the grandson and son of racing champions Lee Petty and Richard Petty, Kyle didn’t inherit innate talent. Working in his family’s North Carolina race shop from an early age, he learned all about car mechanics and maintenance long before he got behind the wheel. And although Kyle continued the family business, driving “Petty blue” colored cars emblazoned with his grandfather’s #42―a number once used by Marty Robbins―his career took a different route than his forebears’.

In 
Swerve or Die: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing, Kyle chronicles his life on and off the racetrack, presenting his insider’s perspective of growing up throughout the sport’s popular rise in American culture. In between driving and running Petty Enterprises for thirty years, Kyle took some detours into country music, voiced Cal Weathers in Pixar’s Cars 3, and started his annual motorcycle Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. And when his nineteen-year-old son Adam, a fourth-generation racing Petty, tragically lost his life on the track, Kyle founded Victory Junction, a camp for children with chronic and serious medical conditions in Adam’s name―with help from Academy Award-winning actor and motorsports enthusiast Paul Newman.

Filled with NASCAR history, stories of his family’s careers, and anecdotes about some of stock-car racing’s most famous drivers, Kyle’s memoir also tackles the sport’s evolution, discussing how welcoming diverse racers, improving car and track safety features, and integrating green technology will benefit NASCAR’s competitors and fans in the future.

Pick up your copy here...


KYLE PETTY is a former American stock-car racer and current racing commentator on NBC Sports. He is the son of racing icon Richard Petty, the grandson of NASCAR pioneer Lee Petty and the father of rising racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash in May 2000. Outside of the sport, he is a musician, philanthropist, motivational speaker and TV host.

My Thoughts...
I am such a Nascar fan but I have not followed it since the late great Earnhart passed away.
The Petty family has always been front and center, so it was really great getting to read about Petty and his life. If you are like me and love Nascar then you should grab a copy of this.
 The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Friday, August 12, 2022

God and Me at the Sea by Shelley Kinder



 

 "I feel God's love. So strong. So deep.

I whirl! I twirl! I skip! I leap!"

It's a beautiful day at the beach--and the perfect time to praise God! With her trusty pup by her side, this little girl can’t contain her joy at the goodness of the Creator. She sings and twirls and taps her shovel on her bucket as she plays all day long, inspired by God's great love.

Shelley Kinder's story, told directly from a child's heart, shows that worshipping God can happen wherever you are!

Brigid Malloy is a graphic designer and illustrator in Wisconsin. Her other works include Bear Goes to the Donut Shop and Brave like Brizzie. 

Pick up your copy here...


Shelley Kinder is the author of Not So Scary Jerry (2017), The Masterpiece (2018), and God and Me at the Sea (May, 2022).

When not writing, Shelley enjoys family time, being artsy, music, sushi, and seventy degree days. Shelley lives in Indiana with her family.

Learn more at www.ShelleyKinder.com.


This is such a cute kid's book. With a great message.

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Paradise Girls by Sandy Gingras


 Sandy Gingras's Paradise Girls features a broken engagement. A ruined vacation in paradise. One adorable little girl. The perfect recipe for the chance of a lifetime...

Mary Valley is in a funk. She’s a writer for home magazines, but she’s lost touch with what home means. Her life seems meaningless. The last house she wrote about was a gazillion-dollar mansion with a moat! Plus, she’s estranged from her daughter, CC and granddaughter, Larkin and mired in a dead-end relationship with her boss.

Daniel is a man adrift since his son Timmy was killed in Afghanistan. He’s living on a houseboat in Florida with Timmy’s three-legged dog, Tripod and taking tourists out on fishing charters. But his life is on the edge. He’s painting his houseboat black, and he can’t stop thinking about “getting lost at sea.”

When Mary’s boss tells her he’s spending Christmas with his ex, she books a trip with her family to The Low Key Inn, a hotel on the edge of the Everglades. But things go wrong from the get-go. CC bails out of the vacation, and Mary is stuck with an unhappy Larkin. The hotel is dated and down-on-its-luck, and perhaps its owner is a witch. Then Mary meets Daniel, casts a hook into his head and wrecks his boat.

This is the story of how wounded people can help each other heal, how lost people can help each other find their way home. How life can become a love story… 

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                    Paradise Girls: A Novel: Gingras, Sandy: 9781250816719: Amazon.com: Books

Sandy Gingras lives on an island in New Jersey with her husband and a Golden Retriever named Turtle. She owns two retail stores called "How to Live." She won the Debut Dagger in 2012, an award given by the Crime Writer's Association for best unpublished mystery novel.

My Thoughts...
I really enjoyed this one and I highly recommend it.