contemporary

Interview with Lisa Childs (The Cowboy’s Claim, Christmas Security, The Unknown Colton)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Cowboy’s Claim has lawyer Maci Bluff trying to win a lawsuit for the Lemmon Brothers, Blake, Brett, and Levi. They were ranch hands for Frank (the owner) who has died and left them the ranch. But his birth daughter, Trish, and Maci’s best friend, are contesting the will. Maci has feelings for Blake but is trying to set them aside because she does not want a conflict of interest. Christmas Security has biophysics …

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Review Roundup Winter 2025-2026 – Part 1

A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Winter 2025-2026. Beware of spoilers! Title: 100 Days of Sunlight Author: Abbie Emmons Series: Tessa and Weston #1 This author has a “writing how-to” YouTube channel that I’ve watched a few times, and when I learned she’s published a book with an interesting premise and it was available at my library, I wanted to check it out and see if Emmons can walk the walk or just talk the talk. DNF 19%. …

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You Can Scream by Rebecca Zanetti

Title: You Can Scream Author: Rebecca Zanetti Series: Laurel Snow #5 Much thanks to Rebecca Zanetti, Kensington, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I read the first couple books in this series and greatly enjoyed them, but One Cursed Rose was so awful it completely turned me off Zanetti for a couple years. I wish I’d continued this series where I left off instead of skipping to Book 5, because while …

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Interview with Katie Bernet (Beth Is Dead)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet takes the Little Women story by Louisa May Alcott and turns it on its head. Readers who loved this timely classic will be intrigued how Bernet takes Beth’s death and turns it into a murder mystery, puts the characters in the modern day, and has many twists with many people of interest. Although it is listed as a YA book, adult readers will also find it enjoyable, gripping, …

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Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Title: Great Big Beautiful Life Author: Emily Henry Series: n/a I could have been okay with the unbalanced narrative. But I hated the climax and resolution. I went into this book so arrogant, thinking I knew exactly how it would unfold. Alice and Hayden would “audition” for the first half, their attraction sparking as they slowly got to know one another as friendly rivals; the midway point would be a twist where instead of choosing one or the other, Margaret …

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Interview with Catherine Bybee (Maybe One Day)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Maybe One Day by Catherine Bybee is a home run like all her other books. Every time a reader picks up a Bybee book they take a heartfelt journey with the characters. Mari D’Angelo’s life is complete. Her children are all married. Two grandbabies fill her days, with two more on the way, and her thriving family restaurant is running on autopilot. She is an adoring Italian mother and grandmother who absolutely lives for …

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Interview with C. M. Ewan (Strangers in the Car)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Strangers in the Car by C. M. Ewan will take readers on a roller coaster ride. The plot has Abi Foster and her boyfriend Ben Simmons driving home, having cut their weekend vacation in Cornwall short due to a crisis at Ben’s law firm. They are arguing about cutting the weekend short when Abi misses a turn in the foggy country roads. They spot a stranded family with a young baby whose car has …

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Interview with Melinda Curtis (The Christmas Cowboy)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Christmas Cowboy by Melinda Curtis is a delightful holiday read. There are some heavier subjects that are heartfelt and emotionally riveting. But the humor is a welcome relief, coming mostly from a five-year-old boy. Lily Smith has come to Clementine to act as a nanny for her newborn niece and five-year-old nephew, Ford. But there is another reason she is there. She has spent her whole life wondering why her father ignored her …

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Interview with Jean Meltzer (Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer is a great holiday read. Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights and this novel shows how the characters were brought out of their darkness and illuminated with light as they take their journey to reconnect. In the style of best-selling author Kristin Hannah, this novel is a heartfelt, sad, and heartbreaking story dealing with loss and trauma. But readers also will laugh with the …

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The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: The Lost Author: Sarah Beth Durst Series: not anymore PSA: If you’re furious about the ending and came looking for answers, check the copyright of the copy you just read. If it says 2014 and only 2014, find a copy of the updated 2025 version, stat! Read the last two or three chapters, then come back if you need to. 😉 —————– Initial Post: Wow. I haven’t felt fucked up by a book like this in a while. I …

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