June 5, 2023
Mermaid Beach by Sheila Roberts - Review
May 23, 2023
Break time is over!
I had to take a step back from blogging for awhile as it was starting to feel more like work and not so fun. I am going to start sharing my book reviews again. I am going to change things up a little and do monthly posts with the exception of books that I have been asked to review for authors. There has been a lot happen since regulary posting and a lot of it was good.
Right now I am finishing up reading The Sewing Girl's Tale by John Wood Sweet. A riveting Revolutionary Era drama of the first published rape trial in American history and its long, shattering aftermath, revealing how much has changed over two centuries―and how much has not. I have been enjoying this book.
Stay tuned for more posts in the near future.
July 31, 2022
A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber - Review
Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.
Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .
April 27, 2022
Sand Dollar Lane by Sheila Roberts - Review
I received this book from the author and all opinions are my own.
Lucy Holmes needs a new start. In business, in love, in…everything. If ever there was a clichĂ©, it was her life back in Seattle. She was a real estate broker working with her husband until she caught him trying out the walk-in shower in a luxury condo—with another agent. She’s always been the more successful of the two, and with him gone, she’s determined to build a business even bigger than what she had. Moonlight Harbor is a charming town and it has only one real estate agency. Surely there’s room for a little competition.
Or not. Looks like it’s going to be a hot market in Moonlight Harbor. And maybe these two competitors will make some heat of their own.
Simmering With Resentment by Daryl Wood Gerber - Review
Desperate to prove Sarita’s guilt but consumed by worries over Rhett’s condition, Jenna reluctantly lays her case out for the police and leaves the investigation in their methodical hands. Still, she can’t help piecing together the clues, and as the evidence begins to mount, Jenna realizes that revenge may be a dish best served cold, but she can cook up a scheme of her own to bring the culprit to justice—she just has to hope it doesn’t blow up in her face . . .
Includes mouthwatering recipes!
https://darylwoodgerber.com/contact-media/
April 11, 2022
Blood on the Bayou by Douglas J. Wood - A review
A serial killer is terrorizing the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The victims are found with their throats slit, odd symbols on their faces, and a wooden cross in their hands. Detective Rebecca Simone and her team are working the case and when DNA from a local man is found on a body, it looks like the mystery is solved. However, someone in Washington D.C. has been quietly observing, and he is not satisfied with the outcome of the case. Unable to remain an outsider, Special Agent Christopher DiMeglio packs his bags and heads down to an unfamiliar city and an unwelcoming New Orleans police department.
Full of dark alleys and urban legends of voodoo, vampires, and hidden secrets, New Orleans is the perfect setting for a killer to get away with murder. Blood on the Bayou is a gripping mystery with a shocking twist that will leave readers guessing until the very end.
He is the author of the award-winning Samantha Harrison political trilogy. In 2018, he published his memoir, Asshole Attorney: Memories, Musings, and Missteps in A 40-Year Career (winner of the 2019 Independent Press Award for Best Humor and Wit). In the following year, he added Dark Data: Control, Alt, Delete, a thriller about cyberwar and financial terrorism and winner of the 2020 Independent Press Award for Best Political Thriller. Doug’s newest novel, Dragon on the Far Side of the Moon, a thriller that pits China and the United States in conquest of the Moon, was published this past summer to rave reviews. His other non-fiction titles include 101 Things I Want to Say…the Collection, a book of fatherly advice to his children and the best-selling text Please Be Ad-Vised: A Legal Reference Guide for the Advertising Executive, now in its seventh edition and described by Bob Liodice, CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, as the legal bible for the industry. He is currently working on his next novel, Blood on the Bayou, a criminal thriller set in the sultry streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter. Look for that in 2022.
Doug lives in North Carolina with Carol Ann, his wife of 48 years. They are blessed with three grown children and four adorable grandchildren.
March 21, 2022
The Last December by Velda Allard McElroy - A review
Eighteen-year-old Pearl Hardisty discovers the small town of Silver Lake in Eastern Oregon has more to offer than dry sage brush, old farmhouses, and unbearable freezing cold winters when she met Frank Bunyard. The kindhearted, handsome cowboy made her glad she decided to move with her family after all. Through stories Frank shares with her she learns about friendship, survival, and an unforgettable story of privation and loss from a small band of Modoc Indians who were left behind after the Modoc war. When the tightly knit community of Silver Lake experiences its own tragedy on Christmas Eve in 1894, they learn just how fragile life really is and how important it is to lean on one another and open their hearts and homes to those they once tried to destroy.
Velada is an Office Manager & Bookkeeper for a non-profit who loves creative writing, genealogy, studying history and cultural anthropology.