contemporary

Twisted Truths by Rebecca Zanetti

Title: Twisted Truths Author: Rebecca Zanetti Series: Blood Brothers #3 Plot-driven with somewhat undeveloped characters I would like to thank Rebecca Zanetti, Forever/Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Desperate to find the baby who suddenly became her daughter, Noni Yuka tracks down the man who a year ago left in the dark of night without so much as a word, shattering her heart. If anyone can …

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Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright

Title: Lies Jane Austen Told Me Author: Julie Wright Series: n/a Has its charms but is rather ridiculous I would like to thank Julie Wright, Shadow Mountain, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book had its moments but overall wasn’t impressive or unique. I did like that Blake wasn’t a superficial cookie-cutter villain. Well, not cookie-cutter, anyway. We didn’t get to know him much at all, so as a character …

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The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson

Title: The Christmas Room Author: Catherine Anderson Series: n/a Heartwarming but boring Kirstin Conacher is sick and tired of being pinned under her father’s thumb. Ever since her mother died six years ago, her once loving, thoughtful father has become bitter, angry, mean, and extremely protective. She can’t go to town without him being suspicious; she can’t look twice at a man without him flying into a rage. She rebels, naturally, and one day she manages to meet Cam McLendon. …

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A Christmas Affair by Jodi Thomas

Title: A Christmas Affair Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #6.5 Rushed but well-meaning This was cute, if you don’t mind some cheese and purple prose. It’s so strange; I don’t remember associating Thomas with such fanciful dialogue before this year. Maybe my taste or perception has changed recently. I just couldn’t imagine real people saying some of those lines, and that sense of absurdity distances me from the story. Which might sound like an ironic paradox considering it’s fiction, …

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The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones

Title: The Trouble with Twelfth Grave Author: Darynda Jones Series: Charley Davidson #12 supernatural Stephanie Plum at first, now so much more I would like to thank Darynda Jones, St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, and NetGalley for enticing me to check out this series by offering a free copy of First Grave on the Right and allowing me to read an ARC of The Trouble with Twelfth Grave in exchange for an honest review. Here’s a spoiler alert, though I imagine most …

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The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Title: The Broken Girls Author: Simone St. James Series: n/a A spooky, intelligent, character-driven thriller I would like to thank Simone St. James, Berkley/Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Idlewild Hall is a girls’ boarding school where the illegitimate, the mentally ill, and the troublemakers are swept under the rug. In 1950, four girls band together to survive the cold, dreadful place—and the ghost that uses their darkest …

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Interview with Cynthia Eden (Before the Dawn)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Before the Dawn by Cynthia Eden is the second book of the “Killer Instinct” series; a psychological thriller intermingled with some romance. The premise of these novels is very unique in that they involve someone in law enforcement knowing a serial killer. An experimental FBI unit recruits Agents who have a personal connection to serial killers, knowing the murderers because they were friends, lovers, family, and their tormenters. The intensity begins from page one, …

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Elise’s Review – Wired by Julie Garwood

Book Review by Elise Cooper Wired by Julie Garwood has the relationship dominant to the story. This novel has much more romance than suspense along with humorous scenes, a welcome relief from the tension of thrillers. The book features a computer nerd, Allison Trent who gives geeks a good name. She is beautiful, painfully shy, models on the side, and is not a phony; yet, relaxes by writing computer codes and working out puzzles. Determined to make a name for …

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Interview with Sandra Brown (Seeing Red)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Seeing Red by Sandra Brown is an intriguing story about redemption and second chances intertwined within a “who done it” mystery. The complexity of the plot originates with the lies and deceit. Twenty-five years ago a bombing at the Dallas Hotel, the Pegasus, leaves 98 dead and 197 wounded. An iconic photo was taken of Major Franklin Trapper rescuing a little five-year-old girl from the building’s ruins. Although he was never the reluctant hero …

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The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream by Christina Dodd

Title: The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream Author: Christina Dodd Series: Virtue Falls #4 Two well-written stories that don’t belong together I would like to thank Christina Dodd, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. From the very start of The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream, I was hooked, and I could not bear to stop reading for any reason, because I had to know what happened next. I had to …

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