authentic reviews and insightful interviews for inquisitive readers
Hello, everyone. Danielle here. I have some sad news to share. I’m not going to renew the hosting plan for this blog. It expires mid-August. There might be a grace period, but at some point this domain will lead nowhere. Until someone else registers it, I guess. I’ve been running this blog for about ten years, and it’s been fun. I loved writing book reviews and fanfiction and hosting Elise’s weekly interviews. But I’m not as into reviewing as I …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Murder at the Campfire Cookout by Darci Hannah will be the last in this series, kind of, because there will be a spinoff. This series is ending, but the characters readers have come to love will be back in a spinoff, still set in Beacon Harbor. The author had the characters step out of their comfort zones, away from the bakery. Lindsey left her boyfriend Rory at home but also Welly, her Newfoundland dog. …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Insurgent by Andrews & Wilson has everything readers love about these stories including fast-paced action, suspense, and an intense plot with a level of realism that makes people think these authors have a crystal ball. The plot has John Dempsey and the Ember task force having an opportunity to strike a master Houthi drone engineer in Yemen. It appears that Task Force Ember’s technology might have been infiltrated by foreign adversaries leading to a …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Dark Path by Linda Castillo has her trademark writing style even though the stories are not as dark as her novels. All six stories feature her blend of twists, mystery, kind-heartedness, some humor, and sometimes violence. There are five short stories written as novellas plus a new short story that has as its title the same name as the book compilation. In “A Dark Path,” a brand-new story, an Amish couple disappears enroute …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Next Wife by Liz Lawler explores domestic violence, that includes physical, sexual, mental, and emotional. The plot explains that Tess Myers met her husband, Daniel, while they worked together in an English hospital. He is a doctor, she a nurse. They got married quickly and then moved to Bath England. After they moved into the house, Tess notices the change in Daniel as he becomes increasingly controlling. As he escalates his abuse Tess …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Love Comes in Small Packages is book 2 of the novella anthology by Lori Foster and Maisey Yates. These two short stories, one written by Lori and one written by Maisey, are wonderful reads by two very talented authors. “That Special Someone” by Lori Foster features characters readers first meet in “The Odd Couple” of the book The Two of Us. Laylee and Knox are pet-sitting for his brother and her sister. Compared to …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper D is for Daisy by Shelley Shepard Gray is once again a book that will put a smile on readers’ faces and make them feel good. There has never been a book she has written that is not engrossing, captivating, and heartwarming. The story takes place in the rural Amish community of Walden, Ohio. Mervin and Ruthie Miller decide to buy a farm instead of working in a furniture factory and fabric store. The …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Truffle Trouble, an Amish Candy Shop Mystery book, and Newlyweds Can Be Knocked Off, an Amish Matchmaker Mystery book, both by Amanda Flower, have humor, great characters, and a puzzling mystery. Unfortunately, the Candy Shop series will have only one more book before it ends, and this is the last one in the Matchmaker Mystery book series. But as the saying goes, “every story has an end; yet in life every end is a …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Lead Me Home by Catherine Bybee is the first book in her newest series. The plot delves into how someone can find a love founded on mutual respect and kindness while struggling with toxic family situations. Unfortunately, Bybee experienced something very similar and drew from her own family experiences. The main female lead is Luna Canning, the youngest of three siblings. She inherited the family home from her grandmother and shares it with a …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Echoes of Infamy by Shaina Steinberg intertwines a black mark of American history with an intense mystery. The internment of American Japanese during World War II is a period marked by significant injustices and Steinberg skillfully shows the struggles of that community post-World War II. The story follows the Japanese American Takemura family. The female lead, Evelyn Bishop is President of her father’s company, Bishop Aeronautics. She is presiding over a groundbreaking ceremony for …