Interview with Terri Parlato (She Thought She Was Safe)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper She Thought She Was Safe by Terri Parlato has the author venturing away from her series with Detective Rita. This is a stand-alone thriller shows how people are not whom they seem and monsters lurk behind facades. The plot has Emma realizing she needs a new start. After the unexpected death of her mother and the collapse of her marriage, Emma is looking for a place to escape to. She discovers the identity of …

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Review Roundup Winter 2025-2026 – Part 2

Another roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Winter 2025-2026. Beware of spoilers! Title: Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin Author: Nancy Springer Series: Enola Holmes #10 Much thanks to Nancy Springer, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I love the Enola Holmes books and enjoyed this installment. Spent the day reading it, didn’t want to put it down. Enola’s voice is lively and entertaining, and …

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Interview with Sandra Brown (Bloodlust)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Bloodlust by Sandra Brown is a great romantic suspense story. Besides a mystery and a budding romance between the main characters, Brown delves into grief, loss, and the father as a single parent. The story opens with Mitch Haskell as a grieving detective who realizes his wife was murdered and did not commit suicide as others think. Roland Malone and the unidentified mastermind of the crime known only as Oz are behind the crime …

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A Crown of Stars

Interview with Shana Abé (A Crown of Stars)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Crown of Stars by Shana Abé is a tale of survival, courage, fate and love. Once readers take the journey with the main character, Rita, on the events leading up to the sinking of the Lusitania, and the events afterwards, the book is hard to put down. The historical importance of this act of war and its aftermath becomes even more powerful since it is told through the eyes of the survivors, so …

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Interview with Maisey Yates (Outlaw Lake and Lonesome Ridge)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Outlaw Lake and Lonesome Ridge by Maisey Yates continue the story of the Rustler Mountain series. Yates is at it again with her stories involving love, family dynamics, and personal growth. Her characters are strong and relatable rugged cowboys and cowgirls. These modern westerns take readers on a wild ride through Oregon where the feuds between family descendants of outlaws and lawmen are still very much alive. Outlaw Lake has Carson Wilder and Perry …

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Bloodlust by Sandra Brown

Title: Bloodlust Author: Sandra Brown Series: stand alone but shares characters with Blood Moon Much thanks to Sandra Brown, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I won’t lie, I was sucked in. Read this in about 24 hours. Brown knows how to keep the pace fast and the tension high. But if you’ve read Brown’s work before, you’ll find this is pretty much cut and paste. • …

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Interview with Patricia Johns (Still Waters and An Amish Baby in Her Arms)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Still Waters and An Amish Baby in Her Arms by Patricia Johns have gripping plots. The characters in the stories must navigate their Amish life with their desires and wishes. Still Waters has two of the female characters trying to navigate the Amish world versus the English world. Tabitha Schrock left the Amish faith because she wanted to become a veterinarian. Although she has no regrets about that choice, she decided to come back …

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Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward

Title: Crown of War and Shadow Author: J.R. Ward Series: Kingdoms of the Compass #1 Thank you to J.R. Ward, Tor, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve heard good things about J.R. Ward for years, saw she was hopping on the romantasy trend, and figured that’d be as good an introduction to her as any. But then I decided to try her famed vampire series (Black Dagger Brotherhood) before …

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Interview with Ellie Curzon (The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans in The Runaway Evacuees series by Ellie Curzon, the pen name for Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell, are two books that have touching, heart-warming, and heartbreaking moments, with a tinge of humor. The setting of London during the Nazi blitz of WWII shows how Londoners faced fear, survival, loss, and horror, but also were courageous, kind, brave, and strong. Both books are historical fiction based on the …

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Interview with Jenna Blum (Murder Your Darlings)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum has the author venturing into the thriller genre. Formerly known for her historical novels, she still maintains some semblance by making her female lead, Simone “Sam” Vetiver, a historical novelist. This suspenseful novel had love, grief, and revenge. Readers meet Sam who is finishing up a book tour while searching for some ideas for her next plot. She then receives a fan letter from best-selling author William Corwyn …

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