Wolves of War By Adam Conlon

 

The collapse of peace is inevitable. The kingdom of Tourm has enjoyed peace for fifty years, but the head that wears the crown grows feeble. Unrest rules inside the kingdom and border skirmishes have become common. The nation of Kendala to the south marches on Tourm. The frantic masses whisper... war. Read an authentic tale of Orrick pan Pallaton by Adam TS Conlon.This is a brutal story of duty and triumph in a fantastic adventure. Orrick is a new knight and untested; he must find grit to face deadly challenges on and off the battlefield. Political schemes and dangers in the dark threaten him, while others would like him dead. The kingdom of Tourm is in turmoil, and Orrick must discover the meaning of valor to survive. Delight in a fresh full-length book series with four new books coming this year. This first eye-opening novel "The Threat" will give you a world you won't want to leave. The second book "Siege and Storm" releases this March. In July, the third book of the series "Feast for Flies" excites. Then read the spectacular finale "Crown and Conflagration" this December! 

Pick up your copy here...

Wolves of War: The Threat: Conlon, Adam: 9781951405090: Amazon.com: Books

Adam T. S. Conlon is a new author. He has long been fascinated with medieval and feudal cultures. He works in pharmacy and practices swordsmanship. “Wolves of War, Act I: The Threat” is his first book.

My Thoughts...

This was outside my comfort zone. But I will say that the premise is a good one. 

The writing was good but I have to be honest this book needs to be edited and then it will be a real gem.

I will hope that the next book coming out in December will be edited in full.

   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 Girl Like You By Cari Scribner

 

When fiftysomething Jessica Gabriel finds herself heartbroken and single after failed marriage number two, her adult kids convince her to explore the tumultuous world of online dating. With a new haircut, a gym membership, and a dating profile as a forty-nine-year-old, Jessica trudges through a pool of not-so-eligible bachelors - from a pothead who tells her weed makes sex better, to a much younger man who called her the name of another lover, to a dominant male with a penchant for clothespins.

Jessica's new life comes with a new job, where she's often left to do all of the work while her boss eats donuts and gossips with his three cronies. When her advice helps save her co-worker's marriage, her hope in love is renewed.

Jessica's journey is full of tears, laughter, and an astonishing amount of sex. With the love and support of her family and friends, she discovers that being alone doesn't have to be lonely. 

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                    A Girl Like You: Scribner, Cari: 9781953639004: Amazon.com: Books 

I have 3 incredible kids over age 21 and two close-to-the-floor dogs named Miloh and Lucy.

Here are some things I like: Kindness, snow, zombies, mindfulness, writing about my very ill father, having a knack for remembering names, a good sturdy umbrella, dog kisses, open hearts, flying anywhere, outdoor music, purple, and I am forever grateful to the Law of Attraction. “Want it, and believe you can have it.” Through this, all things are possible.

Here are a few things I don't like very much: Mean-spiritedness, closed minds, that my dogs won’t outlive me, bragging, black licorice, sarcasm, the unrelenting passage of time.

On my To-Do list: Get Halloween declared a national holiday, daily Random Acts of Kindness, relinquish my affinity for ruminating, have more long lunches with my mom, live in leggings, learn to knit, learn to speak Spanish, learn to let go, never let go.

I was a newspaper reporter for more than 20 years in Upstate NY. I had the great privilege of writing about:

* Ice sculptors, cheese makers, a kid who made granola for squirrels, library book sales, tarot card reading, what makes people donate their bodies to science, why more girls need to study math and science, the 6 most common nightmares, haunted B&B’s, what kids think the 4th of July is celebrating, pumpkin growers, sidewalk chalkers, jump ropers, sky divers, coffee servers, protesters, you name it.

* I rode in an ice cream truck and the driver gave me free samples, watched a man drink a glass of muddy, algae-infested river water to prove it was safe, cried with a mom who lost her son to MS, climbed into a pigeon poop covered clock tower on top of a former paper bag factory, sang happy birthday to Martin Luther King with a class of first-graders, watched kids’ faces turn purple in a blueberry pie-eating contest, and so much more. I loved, and still love, writing news stories and features, and have a profound respect for reporters.

Please stop by my website to check out my published short/flash fiction:
www.scribnerfiction.com

My Thoughts...                                                                                                  Romance at its best this was such a fun read. Full of humor and a fun quirkiness. I could just see myself being friends with the author if she's anything like what she writes about.

This is a book that us "older" girls can relate to and one that is a much needed getaway.

I enjoyed escaping reality for a couple of hours in this one.   I gave this book 4 stars.   T he Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.  

In Light of the Summit By Jamie McGillen

 The much-anticipated sequel to In Sight of the Mountain!

After Anna Gallagher’s first climb on Mt. Rainier, she faces a new challenge—enduring the ridicule and threats that come with breaking tradition. In 1890, being a young female mountaineer makes polite society uncomfortable, even angry. But despite the threats and inherent risk, she still has plans for another climb, even if it jeopardizes her family bookstore, and puts her in more danger than she ever imagined.

Emily Watson has always been close with the Gallagher family. As a young girl she dreamed of a wealthy husband, a fine house, and a future in Seattle society and now she finally has it. Her desires couldn’t be more different than Anna’s, but she’s confronted with her own invisible mountain to climb when she’s suddenly poverty-stricken. She must decide what matters most, and whether true love is worth waiting for.

In Light of the Summit is a captivating story of ambition, heartbreak, and redemption. It’s a tale of two childhood friends navigating womanhood in the late 19th century, with as much grace as they can muster, while still figuring out how to be true to themselves. 

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: In Light of the Summit (The Rainier) (9781733423953): McGillen, Jamie: Books

Jamie McGillen lives in the shadow of Mount Rainier, and no matter how many times she moves away, it draws her home. Everything about large evergreen trees delights her, except how poky they are, and the sap. Her poems and essays have been published in numerous literary journals, and she teaches English Composition at Highline College.

My Thoughts...

In this sequel to In Sight of the Mountain we get to return to Seattle and I was so excited to read the next book in the series.

This one has dual narrative and I love following these two.

I again was left wanting more. McGillen has out done herself with this series.

4 stars and I recommend the series.

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

Surviving Savannah By Patti Callahan

 

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving. 

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: Surviving Savannah (9781984803757): Callahan, Patti: Books

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling novelist of fifteen novels, including the historical fiction (writing as Patti Callahan) BECOMING MRS. LEWIS—The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. In addition, she is the recipient of The Christy Award—A 2019 Winner "Book of the Year.” ; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020 and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019, and the RNA UK finalist for Romantic Historical Fiction.
Her newest novel SURVIVING SAVANNAH will be released on March 9, 2021 by Penguin Random House/Berkley Publishing.

She is also the co-founder of the Facebook weekly show Friends and Fiction.

The author is also the host of the popular seven-part original "Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series" launched, October 2019. The podcast audiobook collection including bonus material was released January 2020, and available now. The new expanded Becoming Mrs. Lewis paperback edition was released March 2020, and available now.

On March 9, 2021, SURVIVING SAVANNAH—a new historical fiction novel based on the true story of the Steamship Pulaski wreck will be released and available for pre-order now.

THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER (writing as Patti Callahan Henry—Southern Contemporary Fiction) was launched in June 2019, and THE PERFECT LOVE SONG—A Christmas Holiday novella released October 2019.

Patti Callahan is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly Friends and Fiction Facebook Live Show and podcast, featuring the five bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Kristin Harmel, and Mary Alice Monroe with endless stories, special guests, and a way to connect readers and writers.

A full-time author and mother of three children, she now resides in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.
Patti's Story


Growing up in Philadelphia as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Patti learned early the value of storytelling. At the age of twelve, her family moved to South Florida where Patti found the sanctuary of libraries and began her slow but steady journey into understanding the power of story to navigate confusing times in life.

Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work, and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. Once a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, she now writes full time. The mother of three children, she now lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.

My Thoughts...

Southern fiction at its best.  this one has it all mystery, friendship, forgiving, tragedy. and so much more. It was masterfully written and left me wanting more.

I hope that every one gets to read this one.

You won't be sorry. The plot and the characters and  the whole story were amazing.

5 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.  

The Four Winds By Kristin Hannah GIVEAWAY!

 

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa―like so many of her neighbors―must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it―the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation. 

Pick up your copy here...

The Four Winds: A Novel: Hannah, Kristin: 9781250178602: Amazon.com: Books

Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People's Choice award for best fiction in the same year. Additionally, it was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.

Kristin's newest new release, The Great Alone, was published on February 6, 2018 (St. Martin's Press) and became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller. The novel, an epic love story and intimate family drama set in Alaska in the turbulent 1970's is a daring, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival and the wildness that lives in both nature and man. Like The Nightingale, The Great Alone was voted the best Historical novel of the year by Goodreads readers.

The Nightingale is currently in production at Tri Star, with director Melanie Laurent and Dakota and Elle Fanning to star. Tri Star has also optioned The Great Alone and is in development.

Kristin's upcoming novel, The Four Winds, set during the Great Depression, will be published on February 9, 2021.

www.kristinhannah.com

My Thoughts...

I don't even have words for this book. It was a hard to read. I could not put it down. BOTM has the best books. Elsa is my hero. I just want to share this book with everyone so bad. It was a heart tugging read and Hannah did it so well.
5 stars and such a fantastic 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.

A Gallery of Mothers By J. S. Latshaw

 

Mountaintop, the last known refuge of humanity, faces a new cataclysm, and only exiled Icelyn Brathius can stop it. But to do so, she must give up all she loves and journey to an accursed, legendary tower in the middle of an unforgiving desert. Can she endure the nightmares and secrets she confronts–and accept what they teach her about herself?

The end of the world happened in slow motion, and should have been avoided a hundred times. Learn the truth about the aftermath of Sean Brathius’ doomed experiment, and how those tragedies and betrayals forged the foundation of today’s volatile and dangerous world.

An unprecedented horror arises Down Below–a movement, a fervent faith, and a deadly vision for the world. Can the Anaghwin and what’s left of humanity survive the terrors that will be unleashed? Will they even want to if they can?

Pick up your copy here...

A Gallery of Mothers (Brathius Legacy Series): Latshaw, J.S.: 9798614343491: Amazon.com: Books

Jason Latshaw is a writer who lives in Los Angeles.

Latshaw has always enjoyed writing. (All writers say that but he states "it's true with me and other writers are all probably lying".) Even when he's not writing, he is, just without a pen or a keyboard. That's why there's often a blank look on his face.

Latshaw has an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. He also writes television and film scripts.

Latshaw was almost kidnapped when in the third grade and (according to the police there at the time) would have been pressed into the sex slave trade in Egypt. He believes his life would have been very different had that happened.

In his spare time, Latshaw enjoys believing in Bigfoot, Nessie, Chupacabra, the Jersey Devil and all manner of cryptozoological creatures because the world is more fun that way, but in his quieter more honest moments he'll admit that he's afraid that maybe they are all just made up.

In his darkest moments, Latshaw is afraid of three things: Serial killers, Alien Abductions, and Sharks. He recently heard a radio show about an entity called the Hat Man the other night, and the Hat Man is trying his hardest to join the club.

The Threat Below J. S. Latshaw

 

Three hundred years ago, a lethal and mysterious threat arose and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, a small remnant - the descendants of the few survivors who escaped the massacre below - lives above the clouds, on the top of a mountain. But now their water supply is being poisoned. Something down below is trying to kill them. Now an expedition, including seventeen year-old Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the horror that wiped out civilization centuries ago.

As Icelyn faces dangers in a world humans are not meant to survive, she learns that not everything is as it seems, uncovers an ancient revelation, and faces a choice that will change the fate of everyone above and below the clouds. Will Icelyn be strong enough to survive - and bear a terrible secret?

Join Icelyn Brathius as she leaves everything she has ever known to journey to the place no one was ever supposed to go.

Pick up your copy here... 

Amazon.com: The Threat Below (Brathius Legacy Series) (Volume 1) (9780692463598): Jason Latshaw: Books

                                                                                                 

     Jason Latshaw is a writer who lives in Los Angeles.

Latshaw has always enjoyed writing. (All writers say that but he states "it's true with me and other writers are all probably lying".) Even when he's not writing, he is, just without a pen or a keyboard. That's why there's often a blank look on his face.

Latshaw has an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. He also writes television and film scripts.

Latshaw was almost kidnapped when in the third grade and (according to the police there at the time) would have been pressed into the sex slave trade in Egypt. He believes his life would have been very different had that happened.

In his spare time, Latshaw enjoys believing in Bigfoot, Nessie, Chupacabra, the Jersey Devil and all manner of cryptozoological creatures because the world is more fun that way, but in his quieter more honest moments he'll admit that he's afraid that maybe they are all just made up.

In his darkest moments, Latshaw is afraid of three things: Serial killers, Alien Abductions, and Sharks. He recently heard a radio show about an entity called the Hat Man the other night, and the Hat Man is trying his hardest to join the club.

My Thoughts...

They said this was a Young adult book but I beg to differ. I found it a book that you could not put down, mysteries are always intriguing. This was a first for me I don't usually read this genre so I will have to say Latshaws voice is very well developed. I gave this book 3 stars and I am heading off to read book two in this series now.                                             The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.