May 16, 2019

For a Good Paws by Linda O. Johnston - Spotlight and Giveaway

 

  Book details

Cozy Mystery 5th in Series 

Midnight Ink (May 8, 2019) 

Paperback: 288 pages 

ISBN-10: 0738752444 

ISBN-13: 978-0738752440 

Digital ASIN: B07HL4XNKD


Book description
Barkery owner Carrie Kennersly follows the scent of murder to find the true culprit . . .

When Carrie Kennersley, owner of a two-part bakery that serves tasty treats to both dogs and humans, learns that a local killer is being paroled, she worries that danger will come barking at her door.

Ten years ago, Mike Holpurn was convicted of murdering the first female mayor of Knobcone Heights. Now, shortly after his release, Holpurn puts the whole town on edge by yelling at the former mayor's husband, Henry Schulzer. After Schulzer is found dead, everyone assumes Holpurn is the culprit. But Carrie thinks there's more to the story, especially since Holpurn claims Schulzer was the one who really killed the mayor. Carrie is determined to uncover the truth, even if it means things will get ruff.

Includes recipes!

Meet the Author - Linda O. Johnston
Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, writes the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series for Midnight Ink. Her fifth and final book in the series, For a Good Paws, is a May 2019 release. She has also written Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Pet Rescue Mystery Series and Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Linda also writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and nearly all her current stories involve dogs.

Author Links Website - www.LindaOJohnston.com 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LindaOJohnston 

Purchase Links Amazon - B&N - BooksAMillion - IndieBound

Giveaway


TOUR PARTICIPANTS 
May 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW 
May 8 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT 
May 9 – Books Direct – SPOTLIGHT 
May 9 – The Book's the Thing – GUEST POST 
May 10 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT 
May 10 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
May 11 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT 
May 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT 
May 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST 
May 13 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW May 13 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT 
May 14 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW 
May 15 – Here's How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT 
May 15 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 
May 16 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT 
May 16 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
May 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST 
May 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 4, 2019

Still Me by Jojo Moyes - Review


Book details
Series: Me Before You Trilogy (Book 3)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books; First Edition edition (January 30, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399562451
ISBN-13: 978-0399562457

Book description
Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the superrich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life.

As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you find the courage to follow your heart—wherever that may lead?

Funny, romantic, and poignant, Still Me follows Lou as she discovers who she is and who she was always meant to be—and learns to live boldly in her brave new world.

Meet the author - JoJo Moyes
Jojo Moyes is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 2004.

She is married to journalist Charles Arthur and has three children.

My thoughts
This book was every bit as good as the other two in the series. I actually listened to the audio version of this and I had to bring it in to work because I could not wait to hear what happened next. I loved how Louisa took a chance and found herself. The cast of characters in this book were great, from the grumpy old neighbor, to the rich Agnes, to her boyfriend Sam. I loved everything about this book.

A Witch to Remember by Heather Blake - Review


Book details
Series: Wishcraft Mystery #9
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (April 9, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1683319788
ISBN-13: 978-1683319788

Book description
Not even a witch can keep her secrets safe in the sizzling ninth installment of national bestselling author Heather Blake’s Wishcraft series.

Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather’s enchanted wedding plans are put to the test when murder invites itself to her bridal luncheon…

The Enchanted Village always has a touch of magic about it, but the buzz of excitement over the wedding between wish-granting witch Darcy and Police Chief Nick Sawyer is positively electric. With every spellbinding detail planned to perfection all that’s left is to sit back and let wishes come true. But Darcy’s dream wedding is threatened when the Divinitea Cottage, the tea room hosting her bridal luncheon, goes up in flames, revealing the strangled body of the owner, Leyna Noble.

Making vows to solve the crime without delaying the nuptials, Darcy focuses on her prime suspect, and number one nemesis, wicked witch Dorothy Hansel Dewitt, a notorious firebug. But when a psychic vanishes without a trace, Darcy’s investigation shifts to Leyna’s mysteriously bewitching past. Darcy must sort through mystical claims and old, vengeful grudges to find a killer before she is forced to forever hold her peace.

Meet the author - Heather Blake
Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) is the author of more than twenty mystery novels and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She's a total homebody who loves to be close to her family, read, watch reality cooking competition shows, drink too much coffee, crochet, and bake cookies. Heather grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently she lives in the Cincinnati area with her family.

My thoughts
I am so sad to see this series end. I will say that the author did a great job of tying everything up. I even found myself getting choked up on a few spots. This is the first time that I have actually did a good job of actually suspecting the right person of course it was one of three that I thought it might be. All of my favorite characters including Pepe and Mrs. P were present and a few I do not care for, but were necessary for the story. This series has been a source of enjoyment.

The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart - Revuew

I received this book free from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

Book details
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Revell (April 30, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800729277
ISBN-13: 978-0800729271

Book description
When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?

Ann H. Gabhart returns to the enigmatic world of the Shakers in this emotional exploration of the power of love and the bond of family.

Meet the author - Ann H. Gabhart
Ann H. Gabhart grew up on a farm in Kentucky. By the time she was ten she knew she wanted to be a writer. She's published over twenty novels. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren. She still lives on a farm not far from where she grew up. She loves playing with her grandkids, walking with her dog, reading and, of course, writing. Her Shaker books, set in her fictional Shaker village of Harmony Hill in the 1800's, are popular with readers. The Outsider was a Christian Fiction Book Award Finalist in 2009. Her Heart of Hollyhill books are Small Town, America books set in the 1960's. Angel Sister, a Rosey Corner book set during the Great Depression, will be followed by Small Town Girl. 

Visit Ann's website http://annhgabhart.com or her two blogs, 
One Writer's Journal, www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com, and
Hollyhill Book of the Strange, www.hollyhillbookofthestrange.blogspo...
Giveaways several times a year.

My thoughts
I liked how the author showed all the emotions of trying to fit in somewhere that is not necessarily your normal place. That can be hard to do. It also makes the characters more real to see them go through everyday situations even if it is set in a different time. I did not realize in some Shaker communities the children are kept separate from the parents. I don't know that I could do that, although if that is all you know I am sure it may be easier. While reading this I not only got to know the characters I learned a little more about the Shaker community and their ways. Not my ways but that is their choice to live that way and to each his own. This was a very enjoyable book that I did not want to put down. The author has a nice way of writing so the story flows off the pages and her descriptions of places and people make you feel a part of the story. 

May 1, 2019

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker - Spotlight


Book details
Series: London Celebrities (Book 4)
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Carina Press; Original edition (April 30, 2019)

Book description
In which experienced West End actress Freddy Carlton takes on an Austen-inspired play, a scandal at a country estate, an enthusiastic search for a passion outside of acting…and the (some people might say icy*) heart of London’s most feared theater critic.

*if those people were being nice

Freddy Carlton knows she should be focusing on her lines for The Austen Playbook, a live-action TV event where viewers choose the outcome of each scene, but her concentration’s been blown. The palatial estate housing the endeavor is now run by the rude (brilliant) critic who’s consistently slammed her performances of late. James “Griff” Ford-Griffin has a penchant for sarcasm, a majestic nose and all the sensitivity of a sledgehammer.

She can’t take her eyes off him.

Griff can hardly focus with a contagious joy fairy flitting about near him, especially when Freddy looks at him like that. His only concern right now should be on shutting down his younger brother’s well-intentioned (disastrous) schemes—or at the very least on the production (not this one) that might save his family home from the banks.

Instead all he can think of is soft skin and vibrant curls.

As he’s reluctantly dragged into her quest to rediscover her passion for the stage and Freddy is drawn into his research on a legendary theater star, the adage about appearances being deceiving proves abundantly true. It’s the unlikely start of something enormous…but a single revelation about the past could derail it all.

“There’s more drama offstage than on, the writing is outstanding, and the bit of mystery blends well into the romance. Theater fans will devour this lovely contemporary romance.”-Publisher’s Weekly, starred review, on The Austen Playbook

“The London Celebrities series-some of the wittiest, smartest dialogue to come down the romance pike in years.”-Kirkus ReviewS of London Celebrities series

Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Meet the author - Lucy Parker
Lucy Parker lives in the gorgeous Central Otago region of New Zealand, where she feels lucky every day to look out at mountains, lakes and vineyards. She has a degree in Art History, loves museums and galleries, and doodles unrecognisable flowers when she has writer’s block.

Her interest in romantic fiction began with a pre-teen viewing of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (Firth-style), which prompted her to read the book as well, and the rest was history.

Connect with Lucy
Website | Twitter | Instagram

Interview
1. THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK is book #4 in the London Celebrities series. Did writing any secondary characters inspire you to give them a standalone romance?
Yes! I don’t usually go into a new book with the intention of making a secondary character a future main character, but very shortly into the process of writing THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK, I realised that Freddy’s TV presenter older sister, Sabrina, was going to become the next heroine. And I’m very fond of Griff’s polar-opposite, charming, happy-go-lucky younger brother, Charlie, so I have an idea in mind for him as well.

2. If you could be cast in ‘The Austen Playbook’ live-action TV event, which Jane Austen character would you want to play?
I might have to go with Anne Elliot, just to be the recipient of Captain Wentworth’s infamous letter!

3. You’ve been teasing London Celebrities book #5 online, can you tell us anything about the next book?
The fifth London Celebrities book, HEADLINERS, is the story of Freddy’s sister, Sabrina, a fiery, sophisticated London TV host. Sabrina experiences some significant ups and downs in THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK, and it’s going to be a bumpy ride to her happy ending in HEADLINERS, as she’s forced to form an alliance with her main professional rival and work towards a common goal. Neither trusts the other an inch, they’re used to trading barbs on air, and they’re increasingly frustrated as the public insist on believing that romance — and not mutual antipathy — is sparking.

4. How much of yourself is reflected in your books/characters?
People who’ve known me for a long time read the books and tell me they can strongly hear my voice in the narrative, so apparently the books reflect me quite a lot! Certainly, I think my sense of humour is threaded throughout the stories, and different sides of my own personality come out in various characters — including the grumpy ones! The character who I personally identify with most is Sophy, the heroine of ARTISTIC LICENSE, my first book, that I wrote under the penname Elle Pierson. She’s a shy introvert, and her inner struggles, the way in which she navigates her space…there’s a lot of me in Sophy.

5. What advice would you give to any aspiring romance writers out there?

Read. Read a lot. Work out what tropes and plot points you enjoy; and it’s a cliché, but do write the book you would want to read. The story you’ve been wanting and can’t find. Nobody is going to read your book more times than you’ll have to throughout the writing process, nobody is going to spend more time in that world than you will, so make it a place you want to be. Make it a treat to return to it, a refuge from all the stressful things happening in your life outside of your book. Don’t think too much about possible rejections and bad reviews and all the rest of it until you’ve finished the book. One step at a time.

And if you can, find some writer friends online, because having that support community is invaluable.

6. Would you like to share a favorite moment from your writing career?
One favourite moment was discovering that somebody wrote a fanfic based on one of my books. I’ve been part of the fanfiction world for a long time; I honestly think it shaped me as both a person and a writer in my teens and early twenties, and it was a surreal moment for me to see that somebody cared enough about that book to invest their time and effort into revisiting the characters in a fic.

And having somebody with chronic illness tell me that my books are comfort reads for them. That’s a really big deal for me, and one of the best things I could hear, because as someone who also relies heavily on my comfort books as part of chronic illness management, I know how important it is to have that.

7. What is your favorite movie or TV show?
My favourite movie (or mini-series, technically) probably remains the 1995 Pride and Prejudice, with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. A close runner-up is The Mummy with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. My favourite TV shows are primarily British comedies like The Vicar of Dibley and Jeeves and Wooster, but I also love Gilmore Girls.

8. What would be your dream vacation?
Probably a couple of weeks during the summer in Oxford and Edinburgh. Although — those old classic mysteries where people went on tours around country estates and ate lots of scones and jam. Er, yeah, I would actually love that. Preferably minus the inevitable dead bodies that crop up in those books.

9. If you could host a dinner party with three fictional characters, who would you invite?
Dominique Richard from Laura Florand’s The Chocolate Touch, but only if he’s bringing a large selection of his chocolates for dessert. I’d better invite his heroine Jaime as well, because I don’t think he’d come otherwise. And Lucy Eyelesbarrow from Agatha Christie’s 4:50 From Paddington, because I want to know who she ended up marrying.

Lucy Parker’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Sunday, April 21st: @tlcbooktours – giveaway
Monday, April 22nd: From the TBR Pile
Monday, April 22nd: @_ebl_inc_
Monday, April 22nd: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – spotlight
Tuesday, April 23rd: Read Love Blog – spotlight
Wednesday, April 24th: What is That Book About – spotlight
Thursday, April 25th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, April 25th: Seaside Book Nook
Friday, April 26th: @book_hangover88
Monday, April 29th: Moonlight Rendezvous
Monday, April 29th: Becky on Books
Tuesday, April 30th: @girlandherbooks
Tuesday, April 30th: Rad Babes Read
Wednesday, May 1st: Into the Hall of Books
Wednesday, May 1st: A Holland Reads – spotlight
Thursday, May 2nd: The Lit Bitch
Thursday, May 2nd: Amy’s Book-et List
Thursday, May 2nd: Fuelled by Fiction
Friday, May 3rd: View from the Birdhouse
Friday, May 3rd: Books & Bindings

The View from Alameda Island by Robyn Carr - Review

\
I received this book free from the publisher.  All opinions are my own. 

Book details
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: MIRA; Original edition (April 30, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 077836979X
ISBN-13: 978-0778369790

Book description
A poignant and powerful story about how one woman’s best intentions lead to the worst of situations, and how love helps her to heal and ultimately triumph.

From the outside looking in, Lauren Delaney has a life to envy—a successful career, a solid marriage to a prominent surgeon and two beautiful daughters who are off to good colleges. But on her twenty-fourth wedding anniversary Lauren makes a decision that will change everything.

Lauren won’t pretend things are perfect anymore. She defies the controlling husband who has privately mistreated her throughout their marriage and files for divorce. And as she starts her new life, she meets a kindred spirit—a man who is also struggling with the decision to end his unhappy marriage.

But Lauren’s husband wants his “perfect” life back and his actions are shocking. Facing an uncertain future, Lauren discovers an inner strength she didn’t know she had as she fights for the love and happiness she deserves.

Meet the author - Robyn Carr
Robyn Carr is a RITA® Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River series. Robyn and her husband live in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can visit Robyn Carr’s website at www.RobynCarr.com.

My thoughts
One of my favorite authors has done it again. She had me hooked from the first page on another great book. Robyn does a good job of creating characters that you fall in love with and feel like you have known for ever. Also this story just seems to have meaning as it is a story that could happen to anyone.  This story actually takes you on a bit of a ride. You start out slow then it gets a little better as you then the end is great. A definite hit on my list.