authentic reviews and insightful interviews for inquisitive readers
Title: Dance Away with Me Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips Series: n/a A return to form I was kinda nervous to crack this book open, not gonna lie. I was so disappointed in First Star and didn’t want to see more of the same. (Oh my god, was that really four years ago already? Holy shit.) But fear not! This felt like classic Phillips, and I adored it. There wasn’t a whole lot I didn’t like. Only a couple things come …
Title: Call It Magic Author: Janet Chapman Series: Spellbound Falls #7 Started out somewhat promising…then tanked I would like to thank the late Janet Chapman, Berkley, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I feel like I’m sacrilegiously speaking ill of the dead—rest in peace, Ms. Chapman—but that’s not going to stop me from giving an honest review. I wanted this book to be good so that it would honor Chapman’s …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Wyoming Special Delivery by Melissa Senate is a story about second chances. It intertwines family, forgiveness, and love, with emphasis on the role of family. Readers meet Daisy Dawson, who has been down on her luck. Nine months pregnant, she realizes that the man she is about to marry is a runaway groom who literally left her at the altar. Frustrated and embarrassed she jumps into her car and throws away her cell phone …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Badlands Cops Series by Nicole Helm is a must read for anyone who wants a great suspense story intertwined with a romance and very likable protagonists. These novels explore if children can escape the sins of their father, who is the ruthless head of a murderous gang. The first book in the series, South Dakota Showdown has the oldest of the six Wyatt brothers, Jamison, helping his former beau, Liza rescue her four-year-old-kid …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Who Rescued Who by Victoria Schade is a heartwarming novel. Intertwined throughout the story is how family, friends, including the furry four leg types, can make an imprint on someone’s life. Readers will love the interaction between the charming town and characters. At the beginning of the book, the main character, Elizabeth, gets fired from her social media job. Having been addicted to social media herself, she feels lost and abandoned. But coming to …
Title: The Sun Down Motel Author: Simone St. James Series: N/A Not her best but I still really enjoyed it Well, let me tell ya. I wasn’t going to review this book because I’m bitter that Berkley wouldn’t allow me to read an ARC. I’ve praised St. James’s books up and down since I discovered them a few years ago; I’ve recommended them to friends and family; and I was allowed to read The Broken Girls six months early. But …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Cowboy for All Seasons written by the cowgirl quartet, Maisey Yates, Caitlin Crews, Nicole Helm, and Jackie Ashenden is billed as an anthology, but is actually a compilation since the four stories flow into one riveting plot. It will remind readers of the Dixie Chick song “Cowboy Take Me Away,” as they are swept up by the characters and plotline. The four heroines tangle with their hardheaded cowboys as they find love, healing, …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Hindsight by Iris and Roy Johansen is a unique thriller. The protagonist is Investigator Kendra Michaels, whose former blindness has left her with uniquely insightful observational skills. Blind for the first twenty years of her life before gaining her sight via a revolutionary surgical procedure, she has become known for her razor-sharp senses and keen deductive abilities. Kendra has highly developed senses of smell, hearing, and spatial awareness that she’s used to help the …
Book Review by Elise Cooper Christmas in Winter Valley by Jodi Thomas has an unusual format. Instead of having one hero and heroine there are multiple relationships. Each are connected with the theme involving the importance of family. The author noted, “Having many relationships, instead of just one, has become very much my style. I like to have an interconnection between the lives of those who live on a ranch as well as a sense of community. I wanted to …
Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates is written in the same spirit as the old Jimmy Stewart movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” There are pieces of both that are not blushingly happy and celebratory. Yet, in the end there is a happy ending. Caleb Dalton has loved Ellie Bell from the first minute he saw her but because she was going to be married to his best friend, Clint, he repressed his feelings as …