#i then learned that the author cheated her way to the New York Times bestseller list for 23 hours!

[brightbeautifulthings]

THE MALL BY MEGAN MCCAFFERTY BLOG TOUR & BOOK REVIEW

"Totally rad! This former 1990s mall teen loved The Mall, an ode to tall bangs, boys with good taste in music, and female friendship, set in the only place that mattered. What a joy to have a new book from Megan McCafferty, who knows exactly how to make us laugh, cry, and fall in love with her characters." -- Amy Spalding, author of The Summer of Jordi Perez and The New Guy

New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall. The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after. But you know what they say about the best laid plans... Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.

About the Author:

Megan McCafferty writes fiction for tweens, teens and teens-at-heart of all ages. The author of several novels, she’s best known for Sloppy Firsts and several more books in the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series. Described in her first review as “Judy Blume meets Dorothy Parker” (Wall Street Journal), she’s been trying to live up to that high standard ever since.

Review:

"Troy's dislikes were about so much more than ridding controversial items from my wardrobe. They were about removing controversial ideas from my brain."

Year Read: 2020

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: I'm honored to be asked to read this book, since I'm not sure it's one I would have requested on my own. Its title doesn't do it justice. The Mall makes it sound like it's a story about vapid, Clueless-era mallrats--no hate, I adore Clueless and I'm fond of malls, but this story is far more charming than the title lets on. First of all, it's a love letter to the 90s. If the mall of the 90s was your natural habitat as a teenager, then you're sure to enjoy all the nostalgic references to stores that are no longer around, like Kay-Bee Toys, Orange Julius, and Sam Goody. It really took me back to days of hanging at the mall with my friends, stocking up on 10 for $10 jewelry at Claire's, and searching for clearance band/horror movie t-shirts at Sam Goody, Suncoast, and Media Play before there ever was such a thing as a Hot Topic at my mall. I love that McCafferty set her story in this time period, and it's sure to resonate with readers slightly older than the average YA audience.

It's also fun for anyone who's ever worked in a mall, since they develop their own weird inner cultures. Cassie has Kool-Aid and Everclear and a Cabbage Patch Kids treasure hunt; I had urban legends about cursed objects and The Buckle challenge, wherein employees of other stores try to make it to the back wall of The Buckle without being pounced on by another retailer. The treasure hunting plot is fun, not unlike the teenagers trying to crack Russian codes in Stranger Things (without the guns and monsters). It gets enough attention to keep the plot moving, but as in life, it's not always the obvious things that end up having the most impact. The treasure hunt turns out to be secondary to the real plot development of the novel, which is Cassie's self-discovery and her friendship with Drea. It's a funny, moving coming-of-age story that handles its issues with humor and just the right amount of heart.

I like Cassie; she's my people. She's a straight-A student and an over-achiever, and her brand of know-it-all humor is just my style. McCafferty manages to capture that purely teenage arrogance that comes from being one of the smart kids without making Cassie wholly unlikable. She obviously thinks she's too good to work in a clothing store, and the mall is just a holdover until her real life starts in New York. Yet the book pushes her (not always gently) toward a more adult perspective that there are all kinds of worthwhile jobs in the world and that being a snob to people who earn their living in a mall isn't acceptable. I enjoyed her conquering her fears of her ex-boyfriend and discovering new sides of her personality, her cute new summer romance with "Sam Goody", and most of all her friendship with Drea. They're opposite poles, with Drea being the popular, sophisticated friend with panache, and I like how the book allows them both to be vulnerable in different ways. Cassie is far from a perfect person, and she doesn't give Drea's dreams the respect they deserve but, as with the best characters, she tries hard to learn from her mistakes. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at St. Martin's Press and an invitation to join the blog tour. Trigger warnings: sexual harassment, slut-shaming (mostly countered on-page, or at least hilariously avenged), divorce, cheating.

Twitter | Get Your Copy

[cctinsleybaxter]

2019 in books

The year’s contenders for the good, the bad, and the rest. I used to make a list of the ten best books I read all year, a tradition encouraged by my mom as far back as high school, but out 2019′s twenty-six mediocre offerings it didn’t really come together. Instead I’ve decided to break my ‘honorable mentions’ category into three subsections that I hope you’ll enjoy. In order of when read, not in order of affection:

Honorable mentions [books I liked; 3+ star material]

The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin was given to me as a Christmas present last year, and I wasn’t sure how much I would like it since I don’t really do high fantasy. Rules need not apply; I loved the world building and narrative structure, and the characters were so much better than I’m used to even when their arcs seemed familiar at first glance. I guessed what was going on with the formatting maybe a little too quickly, but even then it was emotionally engaging and I was eager to keep reading and see what happened next. Haven’t devoured a book that way in years.

The Periodic Table by Primo Levi has been on my list for a while; as a memoir told through short stories it’s hit-or-miss, but so worth it. I especially loved getting to read his early attempts at fiction, and the chapter Phosphorus regarding his first real job as a chemist in 1942 (his description of his absolute disgust at having to work with rabbits, the feel of their fur and the “natural handle” of the ears is a personal favorite.) This excerpt is one I just think about a lot because it’s full of small sweet details and so kindly written:

“[my father] known to all the pork butchers because he checked with his logarithmic ruler the multiplication for the prosciutto purchase. Not that he purchased this last item with a carefree heart; superstitious rather than religious, he felt ill at ease breaking the kasherut rules, but he liked prosciutto so much that, faced by the temptation of a shop window, he yielded every time, sighing, cursing under his breath, and watching me out of the corner of his eye, as if he feared my judgement or hoped for my complicity.”

Slowing Down from Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin is a one-page short story, but I’m including it because it’s the best in the book and one of the better stories I’ve read in general. I won’t spoil it for you since it’s more poem than anything else (and you can read the whole thing here.)

A Short Film About Disappointment by Joshua Mattson deserves to be lower in the order because it’s like. Bad. But I couldn’t help but have a self-indulgent kind of love for it, since it’s a book about white boy ennui told through movie reviews. It definitely gets old by the end (one of those things where you can tell the author lost steam just as much as his leading man), but parts of it are so well-written and the concept clever. 80+ imaginary movie reviews and psychosomatic possession by your traitorous best friend. 

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway has one of the greatest twists I’ve ever read in a novel, and no that’s not a spoiler, and yes I will recommend it entirely on that basis. It does its job as a multi-year sci-fi epic; reminds me a lot of Walter Moer’s early stuff in that it’s a bit Much(tm) but still a good mixture of politics and absurdity and absolute characters. Tobemory Trent was my favorite of the ensemble cast (but also boy do I wish men would learn how to write women.)

My Only Wife by Jac Jemk is a novella with only two characters, both unnamed, a man describing fragmented memories of his wife. It has me interested in Jemck’s other writing because even though I didn’t love it she writes beautifully; reading her work is like watching someone paint. The whole thing has a very indie movie feel to it (no scene of someone peeing but there SHOULD be), which I don’t think I’ve experienced in a story like this before and would like to try again. 

Mentions [books I really wanted to like but my GOD did something go wrong]

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou is the most comprehensive history we have of Elizabeth Holmes and her con-company Theranos. It’s incredibly well-researched and absolutely fascinating, but veers into unnecessary pro-military stuff in one chapter (’can you believe she tricked the government?’ yes i can, good for her, leave me alone) and carries an air of racism directed at Holmes’ partner and the Pakistani people he brings onto the company. Carreyrou works for WSJ so I don’t know what I expected.

Circe by Madeline Miller was fun to read and goes down like a glass of iced tea on a hot day, but leaves a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste. It says a lot of things that seem very resonant and beautiful but ultimately ring hollow, and the ending is too safe. Predictable and inevitable. 

I was also bothered about Circe’s relationships with Odysseus and Telemachus as a focal point, not because they’re father and son (Greek mythology ethics : non-committal hand gesture) but because it’s the traditional “I used to like bold men but now I like... sensitive men.” Which as a character arc feels not unrealistic but very boring. You close the book and realize you’re not nine and reading your beat-up copy of Greek Myths, you’re an adult reading a New York Times Bestseller by a middle aged straight white woman.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor could have been the best thing I read all year and I’m miserable at how bad it ended up being. The concept is excellent; a thirteen-year-old girl goes missing in a rural English village, and every chapter chronicles a passing year. I knew it would be slow, I like slow, but nothing happens in this book and it ends up it feeling like Broadchurch without the detectives. Plus, McGregor, you know sometimes you can take a moral stance in your story and not just make everything a grey area? Especially with subplots that deal with things like pedophilia and institutional racism?

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor is about a twenty-something who moves from Iowa to San Francisco in the 90s and explores gender and sexuality through shapeshifting. It was something I really thought I would like and maybe even find helpful in my own life, but I couldn’t stand a single one of the characters or the narration so that’s on me! It does contain one of my favorite lines I’ve read in a long time though:

“And anyway, weren’t French boys supposed to be like Giovanni, waiting gaily for you in their rented room and actually Italian?”

Dishonorable mentions [there’s no saving these fellows]

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson was supposed to be a fun easy-to-read thriller and what can I say except what the jklfkhlkj;fkfuck. It very quickly goes from ‘oh hey I read books like this when I was 15’ to ‘oh the girl who intentionally gets kidnapped by a wealthy serial killer is accidentally falling in love with his son and can’t stop talking about his eye color now huh.’ I felt like I was losing my mind; why did grown adults give this 5 stars on Goodreads.

The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips is supposedly surrealist horror fiction about working an office job in a new town, and reminded me of that rocky third or fourth year when I really started hating Welcome to Night Vale. All spark no substance, and even less fun because you know it’s going nowhere. I’ve also realized this past year that I cannot stand stories about women where their only personality trait is the desire to have children. People will throw the word ‘Kafkaesque’ at anything but here it was just insulting. 

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai alternates point of view between Yale, a gay man living in Chicago in the late 80s and watching his friends die, and Fiona, the straight younger sister of one of those friends now looking for her erstwhile daughter in 2018. It was nominated for the 2018 Pulitzer, and part of my interest was in wondering how we were going to connect the plot lines of ‘the personal cost of the AIDS crisis’ with ‘daughter lost to a cult.’

The answer is that we don’t. The book is well-researched and acclaimed beyond belief, but it is SUCH a straight story. Yale’s arc is fueled by the drama of his boyfriend cheating on him and infecting them both, Fiona is painted as a witness to tragedy and encouraged to share their stories with her own daughter. “You’re like the Mother Theresa of Boys Town” one of the men complains bitterly of her, and the claim goes undisputed. It’s a story that makes a lot of statements about love and families and art that I feel we’ve all heard before to much greater effect.

[anitabyars]

Title: Dirty Rich Betrayal: Love Me Forever

Series: Mia & Grayson Duet #2

Author: Lisa Renee Jones

Release Date: May 12, 2020

ABOUT LOVE ME FOREVER

The second book in Mia and Grayson’s duet…

Grayson Bennett returns.

A powerful man, the king of the world to some, but he is nothing without Mia Cavanaugh. She is his life, his heart, the reason he breathes. Shaken by an attempt on her life, Grayson is ready to marry her, love her, protect her, but the threat isn't over. He has lost everyone he loves before Mia. He will do anything it takes to protect her and call her his forever.

BUY LOVE ME FOREVER

Amazon → http://mybook.to/DRBLMF

Apple → https://apple.co/2RsOD4A

Nook → http://bit.ly/2K1gQfI

Kobo → http://bit.ly/2PTiCn2

Paperback → http://mybook.to/DRBLMFPB

EXCERPT

My lips part Mia’s and I can taste a million missed moments on my tongue, a million wants, and needs. A million demands my body craves and I want to bury them all inside her. I reach up and catch the top of her blouse just above her buttons and yank, tiny buttons flying everywhere. She gasps and already I’ve unhooked the front clasp of her bra. Already, my gaze is raking over the swell of her high breasts, the pucker of her pink nipples.

“Grayson,” she whispers, and there was a time not so long ago that I thought I’d never hear my name on her lips again, at least not spoken with that raspy burn of a plea. And that’s what my name is on her lips right now: a plea.

I know what she wants, what she needs and I need. That forbidden burn of submission she has often admitted to wanting, the need in her that answers my need for control. For her, it’s the only time she allows herself to fully let go, to dare to give me that control, and fear nothing. For me, inside that control is her trusting me, her being all-in in every possible way. I’d like to say I know she is, and on most levels I do, but the bite of her leaving is fresh. Her believing I cheated is a bleeding wound, only now healing. But it is healing. That said, it’s true, absolutely fucking true, that her submitting right here in our bedroom and showing me how much she trusts me, feels urgent. It feels necessary.

Cupping her hands behind her back, I yank her to me hard and fast, her naked breasts smashed to my chest. I’m about to kiss her and turn her over and spank her when she says everything I didn’t know I needed to hear in a mere three words. “I was lost without you.” A moment later, she pushes to her toes and presses her soft lips to mine.

Just like that, she spreads a softer, sweeter emotion through me and that dark hardness only she understands submits to her. She owns me. There was a time when I might have tried to fight such an absolute need, but there was never a chance. Not with Mia.

I tear away her jacket and toss it aside, cupping her head and slanting my mouth over her mouth, drinking her in, drugging myself with that sweetness of hers that is so damn perfect. The kind of sweetness that brings a man to his knees and I’m already there. I’ve been there. Her fingers tangle in the thick strands of my hair and it’s as if we’re swept into a far, far land, in the middle of an ocean where only we exist. Where we’re drowning in each other.

It’s Mia that ends that kiss, tearing her lips from mine and reaching for my tie. Impatient, I grab it and yank it out of my collar. Another time, I’d use that tie, I’d twist it around her wrists. Five minutes ago, before her confession, before her kiss, I’d been in that place where the past year fucks with my head. A place where I’d lost her and my father. I’d have done just that. I’d have used sex to take us away, to consume us, and run from the pain. Instead, I’m here, I’m present, and I don’t want to be anywhere but here and present.

I’ve barely tossed it aside when she’s fumbling with my buttons. “Why are you not naked right now?”

“You first,” I murmur, turning her around and unzipping her skirt. She kicks off her heels and when my hands slide under the material, I slide it, and it alone since she’s still pantyless, down her hips. She steps out of it and when I might otherwise hold her here, I don’t. Not now. That’s not what I want now. She rotates to face me and just her standing there willingly naked and vulnerable is enough. I don’t care about control right now. And my need for that is a dangerous black hole I need to avoid.

Trust.

I have to give it to get it.

I have to remember that my walls created her fears.

I unbutton my shirt and then just tear my shirt over my head. I’ve barely tossed it aside and she’s pressed against me, soft and warm. She presses her lips to mine again, and the minute her tongue strokes mine, that need only she stirs inside me explodes...

THE SERIES

Dirty Rich Betrayal (book one) – Available Now

Amazon → http://mybook.to/DRB

Apple → https://apple.co/2G4PrXQ

Nook → http://bit.ly/2LlFvhY

Kobo → https://bit.ly/2NE8v3g

Audible → https://adbl.co/368o9uq

Paperback → http://mybook.to/DRBP

Love Me Forever (book two) – Available Now

Amazon → http://mybook.to/DRBLMF

Apple → https://apple.co/2RsOD4A

Nook → http://bit.ly/2K1gQfI

Kobo → http://bit.ly/2PTiCn2

Paperback → http://mybook.to/DRBLMFPB

Check out the other couples’ duets in the Dirty Rich series → https://bit.ly/2YSwxhK

ABOUT LISA

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series.

In addition to the success of Lisa's INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is also the author of the bestselling WHITE LIES and LILAH LOVE series.

Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women's Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

CONNECT WITH LISA

Newsletter ➜ http://lisareneejones.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Bookbub ➜ http://bookbub.com/authors/lisa-renee-jones

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/2MoWosB

Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/LisaReneeJones

Instagram ➜ http://instagram.com/lisareneejones

Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/LisaReneeJones

My Review

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Captivating Intrigue & Passion!

Dirty Rich Betrayal: LOVE ME FOREVER is a story of betrayal, retribution, passion and love. It is a fast paced, intriguing and captivating story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages as fast as you can. Not knowing who or what will be coming at them next as the suspense builds.

When they learn of a sinister plot that was set up by Riley Montgomery with the Dungeon, a powerful underground operation, they will need all the help they can get from their friends at Walker Security to make it through this alive. As danger and threats lurk in the shadows keeping Grayson and Mia from finally being free from the evil that separated them and having their HEA.

But although these two are recently engaged once again, Grayson and Mia must make sure that their trust, their passion, and their love, is all-in, everyday. And not torn apart by lies once again.

This is an amazing story that brings such a Happily Ever After, Together for these two. As well as getting so many amazing secondary characters from previous storylines.

A copy was received for a honest review.

[takingbackjoy]

What I learned about my breakup — and myself — during this year’s Polar Vortex

On New Year’s Day, my boyfriend of three months broke up with me. We were parked in his car after coming back from the airport. We had both gone home for the holidays, which to our benefit, was the same: Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We met one another’s families and friends for the first time. Everything seemed to fit perfectly in our puzzle of a world.

Until, suddenly, it didn’t.

It was a “newer” relationship; we were swept up in all the good parts, spellbound by everything about one another. Same music. Same silly habits. Same stupid one-liners from our favorite movies. We talked about the stuff that made us laugh, and we weren’t afraid to cry about the things that made us hurt inside. We couldn’t escape each other, and frankly, we didn’t want to. We let “me” and “you” slip away — and became “us.”

After he told me he needed to “figure his sh*t out” (I will never understand why people use that as an excuse instead of expressing how they truly feel), I spent the rest of my night piecing together the last three months: Had it been a lie? Did he cheat on me, and this is his excuse? Did I do something wrong?

I couldn’t escape the last question: Something’s not adding up, so it must be my fault.

Wrong.

Why was it my fault that he felt lost? Or that he’d decided to bury his thoughts and feelings until now? Had I not offered enough support or space for him to be vulnerable?

After a lot of introspection and weeks of churning these thoughts over and over in my head, the answer to these questions became clear: It wasn’t.

I’d been there for him in every way I could have offered, so much so that it became about him — and only him. I’d lost sight of me and my needs.

I’d been in my fair share of short- and long-term relationships to learn that every relationship is a balancing act. It takes a recipe of trust and balance, give and take. They can be complicated, messy and passionate, all at once. There is no rulebook. But if you aren’t comfortable in your own state of happiness, they end almost as quickly as they begin.

Comedian and New York Times bestselling author Abbi Jacobson said in her book I Might Regret This:

“The doors that have been shut, the ones I’ve walked away from, sad, frustrated and depleted, have always somehow led to the other doors, the ones I didn’t see right away, the ones that opened so many others.”

The next door that opened for me, I definitely did not see coming.

I had a two-week trip planned to Chicago for work. Chicago had once been home to me, and I was relieved to get out of my new Denver apartment, out of my head. Everything was a constant reminder of a false reality. This would be a good chance to see my coworkers, my sister and friends, I told myself. Bury the pain in Chicago’s snow.

Damn, was I right.

I managed to fly in hours before the Polar Vortex swept across the Midwest, and hovered — for days. Chicago turned into Antarctica, with temperatures reaching minus 20 degrees (with a wind chill of 45 below zero). Schools and businesses were closed; people were forced to stay inside. I felt like I had entered an apocalypse.

On top of the catastrophic weather, lucky for me, I was forced to confront my solitude — for an entire week.

It became a retreat where I lost myself to deciphering music from Tom Petty and Maggie Rogers (why is it that all music speaks to you in a different way during a breakup?) I caught myself in many moments of weakness, picking up my phone to call him out of habit before realizing I no longer have that right. Sleep escaped me; instead, I peered into the darkness wondering what the hell I was doing here.

Being forced to sit alone with your overwhelming thoughts and feelings is never something you choose to do. It’s actually something many of us try to avoid, surrounding ourselves with background noise, the distraction of work, friends and social media.

Was it exactly what I needed? Oddly, yes.

There’s a meditation technique I practice regularly whenever I deal with everyday stress in my life. It’s called “noting.” The way it works is when I’m meditating, if my mind starts to wander to a specific challenge — whether related to the pain I’m in now or something else — I capture that thought (or, note it), let it go, then breathe and move on.*

My week became full of this method. With every memory and tinge of sadness, I moved through a small meditation — and I let each one go. My chest started to unwind; I started to breathe on my own again. While I realize meditation doesn’t always work for everyone (and I recognize there were moments where I still allowed my own tears to get through), I began to shift my perspective, refocusing on my mental and physical well-being. I started to slowly piece myself together, building on a new foundation: self-love.

Now, I’m certainly not suggesting you buy a ticket to Antarctica and hibernate for a week after a breakup. Please, if anything, pick somewhere warmer.

My point is, I discovered the unexpected during that treacherous week. When I was forced to look inward, I learned a lot about myself. I used my discomfort to grow and become comfortable in my own skin again. I made my own playlists. I accepted the things that didn’t make sense, and never will. I prioritized myself, I was present, and explored on my own.

I stopped questioning if I had been good “enough” for him — and shifted my life to be everything I needed in that moment, for me.

*Try the noting technique yourself. Head over to Headspace’s blog.

This article was originally published on Medium on March 17, 2019. Click here to read more.

[becbibliophile]

I don’t know about you, but I love a great Cowboy Romance. There is just something about these rugged men and the strong women who support them. Whether it’s in the historic Wild West, or on a present-day ranch in Texas, a good cowboy romance is hard to resist. And this coming fall, Berkley has three fantastic new stories (and cowboys) for you to fall in love with!

THE DEVIL ON THE SADDLE by Julia London

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia London brings readers a charming, sexy contemporary western, where a Texas princess learns that love may burn brightest for the devil who steps in your path…

No one cheats on a Prince and gets away with it. And Hallie–Texas socialite, would-be ballerina, and the only daughter of Cimarron County’s renowned Prince family–is ready to give her two-timing fiancée a piece of her mind. But fate plants hot, sexy ranch hand and ex-Army Ranger Rafael Fontana quite literally in her way. Her childhood friend is all grown up. He’s sexy, he’s handsome, and suddenly, after all these years, Hallie is taking notice.

Rafe has been in love with Hallie since they were kids, but he was always the help–and she was glamorous and popular, seemingly off-limits to a lowly cowboy. But now he’s back at Three Rivers Ranch to help his family and Hallie is there too–and she needs his support. Of course, Rafe agrees, but soon long-buried feelings boil to the surface, and the desire between them is hot and palpable and undeniable. Rafe realizes he wants Hallie for keeps… he just has to convince her to give true love another shot.

Series Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/255046-princes-of-texas

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Apple Books | Kobo

This book is up next for me! I haven’t had a chance to read it but I can’t wait!

SPUN OUT by Lorilei James

New York Times bestselling author Lorelei James returns for another wild ride in Wyoming with a new Blacktop Cowboys® novel.

Years in the Army equipped Bailey Masterson for many things: target shooting, rappelling off cliffs, dodging grenades. She’s lived through horrors that still give her nightmares. But nothing in Bailey’s life-or-death training prepared her for caring for the tiny terror that is five-year-old Olivia Hale. Or how to control her raging attraction to Olivia’s father, Streeter, the rugged, green-eyed cattle rancher who undermines her every move even when he stars in her dreams.

Streeter Hale has room for only two things in his life: his daughter and his job. He doesn’t date. He doesn’t get attached. Not anymore. So not only is Streeter stunned by Olivia’s improved behavior after just a few days with Bailey, he’s downright floored by his immediate attraction to the woman. But with secrets in her eyes and a body that doesn’t quit, Streeter begins to worry that Bailey Masterson might just be the one woman to heal his fractured family and broken heart.

One thing’s for sure–these two wrecked souls are spinning out of control as they desperately try not to fall in love…

SERIES GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/series/47701-blacktop-cowboys

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Apple Books | Kobo

BOOK EXCERPT

He’d hoped she’d fall asleep in the car, but the girl was wired. And she asked questions that even Google couldn’t answer.

If dinosaurs were the biggest animals, what scared them?

Who got to pick the names for all colors? What if blue should really be called orange?

Why do people skip rocks across the lake?

She asked him what he’d do if he saw a magical fairy in the forest (his answer to leave it be earned him a heavy sigh) and then she gave an explicit explanation of what she’d do: learn how to do its magic and become the queen of the world.

It was good to have goals.

By the time he’d unbuckled her from her car seat, she was asleep. Then she nestled her head on his shoulder as he carried her toward their trailer.

He loved these quiet times with her because they were becoming rare. Pretty soon she’d be too big to carry, or worse . . . she wouldn’t want to be carried.

That would break his heart.

He’d stopped to dig his keys out of his pocket when he heard a door close. He glanced down the walkway to see Bailey leaving her trailer with a duffel bag.

Was she headed to the gym this late?

Maybe she’d gotten a booty call.

No surprise she’d have no trouble finding a hookup.

Knock it off, perv.

Bailey paused when she reached him. “Do you need help?”

“Nah, I got it. But thanks.” He turned the key in the lock before looking at her again. “You’re out late.” Way to sound accusatory.

“I missed my workout this morning.” She gave him a once-over. “You’re out late yourself.”

“We had supper with my brother and his family. That’s why we left the pool, uh . . . like we did.”

She cocked her head. “Really? You suddenly remembered you had dinner plans during the middle of our conversation?”

They studied each other for a moment.

Somehow he found the guts to say, “No.”

“Okay. That’s progress. Tell me . . . did I say something to offend you?”

“Nope. I just . . .” Don’t know how to act around you.

“You just . . . what? My friendliness annoyed you because you have enough friends?”

“God, no. That’s not it. Not even close.”

“Then what?”

He leaned in. “This right here is what it is. Surely you’ve noticed I’m no good at small talk.” He shifted Olivia higher. “I ain’t so hot at big talk either.”

She laughed softly. “I know you’re not trying to be funny, but—”

“But you’re laughin’ at me.”

“Not at you, Streeter. I’m laughing because usually I’m the one who’s awkward.”

“I doubt that.”

“You’ve probably noticed that I tend to come on strong.”

“You? Nah.”

She laughed again. “Maybe you’re just out of practice with small talk.”

“Yeah, well, cattle ain’t much on talkin’ back.”

“See? You are funny.”

Her grin widened and he saw she had a tiny dimple on the right side of her smile. How hadn’t he noticed that sexy little divot before now?

When she continued to smile without speaking, he said, “What?”

“Nothing. I just like seeing you like this.”

“Like what? Fumblin’ my words like a tongue-tied fool?”

“No, I like that you’re not trying to get away from me.”

He blinked at her and kept his mouth shut.

“Plus, you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Cute? “Jesus. No one has called me cute since junior high.”

“Then maybe it’s past time you heard it. You’re very cute, Streeter Hale, and I’m crushing on you big-time.”

His jaw might’ve hit the top of Olivia’s head when it dropped.

“I’m not good at small talk either. I’m more a cut-to-the-chase kinda chick.”

“Good to know.”

She bumped him with her hip as she walked past. “Sweet dreams, cutie. See ya around.”

MY THOUGHTS

Streeter Hale is just trying to survive. It’s been almost 5 years since his wife died. Trying to raise a child who witnessed her mother’s death even though she was really too young to remember and has detachment issues, isn’t the easiest life. So when Seargent Bailey Masterson moves into the trailer next to him and ends up running a boot camp at the ranch for all the employee’s kids, he doesn’t know what to think of her at first. That is except she is sexy as hell and he doesn’t know how to approach her.

Street hasn’t been in a relationship in years. And before that, he was only with one woman. So his experience is pretty much nil. Bailey is trying to figure out what’s next in her life. She’s spending the summer helping out her sister and keeping some secrets of her own. But after meeting the sexy Street Hale – she doesn’t see why she can’t lose herself in the sexy cowboy for the summer. Since that’s all she can commit too.

This book is super steamy and sexy. The storyline is one that will tug at your heart. Single Dad who is just trying to make it the best way he knows how and love a little girl who’s been damaged by a mother she doesn’t even know. Bailey is the right fit for both Street and his daughter but can she forgive her own past in order to have a future with Street.

LOVE THIS BOOK! And this entire series is one of my all-time favorites.

BOUND FOR GLORY by Tess Lesue

Coming December 3rd

An unwilling legend and the woman who made him one face off in this epic conclusion to the Frontiers of the Heart series.

He has many names. They call him Deathrider, White Wolf, The Plague of the West. He’s the ice-eyed killer of the plains; the ghost of the trail; the restless spirit who haunts the frontier from California to Missouri, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. They say he seeks vengeance for his murdered people; they say he never sleeps; they say he moves silently through the night and changes form to run with the wolves. And that he is as beautiful as Lucifer.

At least, so they say. Ava Archer wouldn’t know; she’s never seen him. But that doesn’t stop her from writing about him. The Plague of the West is her bread and butter, and after more than a dozen dime novels, she thinks she probably knows Deathrider better than he knows himself, even if she wouldn’t recognize him on the street. If only rumors of his death would stop getting in the way of a good story….

Those damn stories make Nathaniel Rides With Death’s life an absolute misery. Thanks to his unwanted notoriety, he’s hunted like an animal by an endless stream of gunslingers looking to make a name for themselves. When someone close to Nate is shot by one of the gunslingers, Nate decides it’s time to hunt down the novelist at the root of all his troubles. He has a plan to end this farce once and for all….

SERIES GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/series/221992-frontiers-of-the-heart

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Apple Books | Kobo

BOOK EXCERPT

There was a naked man in the desert.

Ava Archer knew trouble when she saw it, and this was trouble with a capital T. She was alone in the desert, her horse was played out, her canteen was bone-dry, and she was out of bullets. This was no time to be running into natives. Even a solitary one. If she had any sense at all, she would turn right around and run in the other direction . . . but Kennedy Voss was in the other direction, and Kennedy Voss was a mean son of a bitch. Besides, she was desperate for water, and maybe this Indian had some.

She’d thought she’d known thirst before—but this was something else again. She felt made of grit and sand, her every pore a desert in miniature, her tongue thick and swollen in her cottony mouth; even her eyes and nose had dried out. And every thud of her horse’s hooves on the ground made a drumbeat: Water. Water. Water. Water.

So Ava kept on toward the man, pulled by the hope of water. As she plodded closer, she reassured herself that at least there was only one of him, and from what she could see, he was in bad shape: he was squatting under the screamingly bright September sun, naked from the waist up, his body a patchwork of bruises, and both of his eyes swollen shut. Ava doubted he could see her. But he knew she was there, because he rose to his feet at the sound of her tired horse dragging his way.

Oh dear. He wasn’t mostly naked, she saw as he stood: he was completely naked. He was also tall, wide, and terrifyingly powerful. A warrior. He was the color of rosewood, his muscles as hard as if he’d been carved from a tree. And he was covered in tattoos, including a sprawling, intricate pattern in the shape of a bird, which stretched its wings the breadth of his thickly muscled chest. His hair was long, loose, and coated in dust; it fell down his back in tangles to his shoulder blades. He was bruised all over, she realized as her gaze drifted down, wincing as she took in the black blotches on his legs. There was a particularly nasty one on his hip, right next to . . .

Ava tore her gaze away. Hell. She was alone in the desert with a naked man. A big, powerful, wounded naked man. And she was heat struck and ill with thirst, barely able to think straight.

She couldn’t have stumbled onto a little old lady instead? Or a nice family, with a pack of kids? A pack of kids and an icy-cold barrel of water . . .

Ava rubbed her hand across her dry mouth. She felt skin flakes come away on her fingers and winced. She needed to get hold of herself. She was growing delirious. This here was just an injured man. Probably an Apache, considering she was somewhere near the Apacheria. Probably. Maybe. Who knew where the hell she was, to be honest. Purgatory seemed likely. Little old ladies and nice families didn’t go wandering around Purgatory—this was the best she could hope for. She should have been grateful that he was just one beat-up Apache and not a whole party. And at least he wasn’t Kennedy Voss. Without even realizing she was doing it, she glanced over her shoulder, as though thinking about Voss might summon him. That man gave her the willies. Voss was likely to be somewhere nearby (she hadn’t had that much of a head start on him), and here she was about to die of thirst right in his path. She didn’t have time to be distracted by naked strangers.

  Make sure to add these beauties to your TBR list! 

      A Cowboy Romance Roundup - @BerkleyRomance My Review of Spun Out by @LoreleiJames Plus Books from @JuliaFLondon and @TessLesue I don't know about you, but I love a great Cowboy Romance. There is just something about these rugged men and the strong women who support them.

[tometender]

The Devil in the Saddle

My Rating: 

Written by: Julia London

Series: The Princes of Texas (Book 2)

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Berkley (October 29, 2019)

ISBN-10: 0451492374

ISBN-13: 978-0451492371

Genre: Cowboy Contemporary Romance

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Saddle-P...

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...

Itunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-d...

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia London brings readers a charming, sexy contemporary western, where a Texas princess learns that love may burn brightest for the devil who steps in your path... No one cheats on a Prince and gets away with it. And Hallie--Texas socialite, would-be ballerina, and the only daughter of Cimarron County's renowned Prince family--is ready to give her two-timing fiance' a piece of her mind. But fate plants hot, sexy ranch hand and ex-Army Ranger Rafael Fontana quite literally in her way. Her childhood friend is all grown up. He's sexy, he's handsome, and suddenly, after all these years, Hallie is taking notice. Rafe has been in love with Hallie since they were kids, but he was always the help--and she was glamorous and popular, seemingly off-limits to a lowly cowboy. But now he's back at Three Rivers Ranch to help his family and Hallie is there too--and she needs his support. Of course, Rafe agrees, but soon long-buried feelings boil to the surface, and the desire between them is hot and palpable and undeniable. Rafe realizes he wants Hallie for keeps... he just has to convince her to give true love another shot.

The Devil in the Saddle by Julia London The Devil in the Saddle is a cute and endearing second chance at love romance. Hallie Prince’s fiancé cheated on her right after she lost her father and discovered that her father had left the family with gambling burdens. Distraught over the betrayal, Hallie returns home to lick her wounds only to be caught off guard by her childhood friend Rafael. Rafael is a retired Army Ranger who has returned home to assist is father with the Prince’s family ranch, Three Rivers Ranch. Rafael has always been in love with Hallie since they grew up, but understands that he will always be the ranch hand and employee and not the social elite that Hallie deserves. When things turn difficult Hallie turns to Rafael only to discover there could be more to their relationship then she ever could imagine, only to find Rafael taking one step forward to two steps back. Now, the fun begins, with Hallie and Rafe both unequivocally draw to each other but knowing where they stand. Lots of heart, some agonizing hurt and some fantastic chemistry makes The Devil in the Saddle a great cowboy contemporary romance. I received this ARC copy of The Devil in the Saddle from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. The Devil in the Saddle is set for publication October 29, 2019.

He’d hoped she’d fall asleep in the car, but the girl was wired. And she asked questions that even Google couldn’t answer.

If dinosaurs were the biggest animals, what scared them?

Who got to pick the names for all colors? What if blue should really be called orange?

Why do people skip rocks across the lake?

She asked him what he’d do if he saw a magical fairy in the forest (his answer to leave it be earned him a heavy sigh) and then she gave an explicit explanation of what she’d do: learn how to do its magic and become the queen of the world.

It was good to have goals.

By the time he’d unbuckled her from her car seat, she was asleep. Then she nestled her head on his shoulder as he carried her toward their trailer.

He loved these quiet times with her because they were becoming rare. Pretty soon she’d be too big to carry, or worse . . . she wouldn’t want to be carried.

That would break his heart.

He’d stopped to dig his keys out of his pocket when he heard a door close. He glanced down the walkway to see Bailey leaving her trailer with a duffel bag.

Was she headed to the gym this late?

Maybe she’d gotten a booty call.

No surprise she’d have no trouble finding a hookup.

Knock it off, perv.

Bailey paused when she reached him. “Do you need help?”

“Nah, I got it. But thanks.” He turned the key in the lock before looking at her again. “You’re out late.” Way to sound accusatory.

“I missed my workout this morning.” She gave him a once-over. “You’re out late yourself.”

“We had supper with my brother and his family. That’s why we left the pool, uh . . . like we did.”

She cocked her head. “Really? You suddenly remembered you had dinner plans during the middle of our conversation?”

They studied each other for a moment.

Somehow he found the guts to say, “No.”

“Okay. That’s progress. Tell me . . . did I say something to offend you?”

“Nope. I just . . .” Don’t know how to act around you.

“You just . . . what? My friendliness annoyed you because you have enough friends?”

“God, no. That’s not it. Not even close.”

“Then what?”

He leaned in. “This right here is what it is. Surely you’ve noticed I’m no good at small talk.” He shifted Olivia higher. “I ain’t so hot at big talk either.”

She laughed softly. “I know you’re not trying to be funny, but—”

“But you’re laughin’ at me.”

“Not at you, Streeter. I’m laughing because usually I’m the one who’s awkward.”

“I doubt that.”

“You’ve probably noticed that I tend to come on strong.”

“You? Nah.”

She laughed again. “Maybe you’re just out of practice with small talk.”

“Yeah, well, cattle ain’t much on talkin’ back.”

“See? You are funny.”

Her grin widened and he saw she had a tiny dimple on the right side of her smile. How hadn’t he noticed that sexy little divot before now?

When she continued to smile without speaking, he said, “What?”

“Nothing. I just like seeing you like this.”

“Like what? Fumblin’ my words like a tongue-tied fool?”

“No, I like that you’re not trying to get away from me.”

He blinked at her and kept his mouth shut.

“Plus, you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Cute? “Jesus. No one has called me cute since junior high.”

“Then maybe it’s past time you heard it. You’re very cute, Streeter Hale, and I’m crushing on you big-time.”

His jaw might’ve hit the top of Olivia’s head when it dropped.

“I’m not good at small talk either. I’m more a cut-to-the-chase kinda chick.”

“Good to know.”

She bumped him with her hip as she walked past. “Sweet dreams, cutie. See ya around.”

[teenageread]

Review: I See London, I See France

Synopsis:

Nineteen-year-old Sydney has the perfect summer mapped out. She’s spending the next four and half weeks traveling through Europe with her childhood best friend, Leela. Their plans include Eiffel-Tower selfies, eating cocco gelato, and making out with très hot strangers. Her plans do not include Leela’s cheating ex-boyfriend showing up on the flight to London, falling for the cheating ex-boyfriend’s très hot friend, monitoring her mother’s spiraling mental health via texts, or feeling like the rope in a friendship tug-of-war.

In this hilarious and unforgettable adventure, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Mlynowski tells the story of a girl learning to navigate secret romances, thorny relationships, and the London Tube. As Sydney zigzags through Amsterdam, Switzerland, Italy, and France, she must learn when to hold on, when to keep moving, and when to jump into the Riviera… wearing only her polka dot underpants

Plot:

For a friendship to survive new memories must be created. Which is why Sydney departs on this trek across Europe, to keep her and Leela’s friendship alive.  As the other kids were into sports and clubs, Leela and Sydney wanted to read books, and thus found themselves together at lunch, books in hand, forming a friendship that has lasted them half their lives. After a year apart, with Leela studying marketing at McGill University (a school in Quebec, Canada), and Sydney chooses to live at home to study English Literature in Maryland, they needed a trip to hold them together. Yet during the school year, and with a nine-hour drive between them, they made other friends. Sydney started hanging out with Kat, the ultra-cool girl who took Sydney to parties and made her smoke pot.  Leela met Matt, and they fell in love, even planning four-and-a-half-week travel through Europe during their summer break. When Matt was caught kissing a girl at a club, Leela called it off, and semi-forced Sydney to abandon her family and come on this trip with her. With her mother suffering from agoraphobia (the fear of crowded or enclosed spaces), so extreme she never leaves the house, this is the first time Sydney left her mother in years. Yet, she also wanted to explore the world, and to grow as a person. Thus, Sydney packs her bags, kisses her mother goodbye and told her sixteen-year-old sister, Addison, that is her turn to watch their mother for the less-than-five weeks she is gone.

Thoughts:

This book starts off with a shock as Sydney only had a month to get ready to send five weeks in Europe. Sarah Mlynowski defiantly used the world fiction to describe this book, as Sydney was able to get the time off work, had three grand she could blow on anything, and dad have enough mileage points to fly her to London and them home from Rome. Mlynowski takes us to the UK, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy and more. Sydney manages to scrape by with her budget of about sixty dollars a day, but also managed to blow and still be okay multiple times. The story plot was cute, from the relationship between Leela and Matt, to why it worked and why it did not. To Kat, who was a minor character, but played an import role in Sydney and Leela’s development throughout the novel. Mlynowski also gave it the nice touch of family drama on Sydney’s front to explain a bit about why our girl is the way she is. Like most young adult novels, if this was a movie, it would be a romantic comedy, as the whole story was kept light and fun, with a bit of romance sprinkled in with Sydney and Jackson. Jackson the hot guy that no way should have looked twice at Sydney, did and then felt something a little more than just a casual hook up. Following Sydney though her adventures, Mlynowski writes this nice story of a girl, a guy, some friends, and some beautiful countries and what they had to offer.

Read more reviews: Goodreads

Buy the book: Amazon

[katsbookcornerreads]

I’m learning how to work certain apps, but I haven’t yearned learned how to add wings to a sexy man 😉 The ruthless warrior possessed by the demons of Jealousy and False Hope has a second chance to win the girl who holds his heart captive. Order your copy today for only $2.99! https://amzn.to/2DzZuoP From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gena Showalter comes a new story in her Lords of the Underworld series… For centuries, Galen the Treacherous has been the most hated immortal in the Underworld. With good reason! This bad boy of bad boys has lied, stolen, cheated and killed with abandon. Possessed by the demons of Jealousy and False Hope, he has always lived for a single purpose: destroy everything. Then he met her. Former demon turned human femme fatale — Legion Honey -- sought to kill Galen, but ended up parting with her virginity instead. Afraid of their sizzling connection, she ran away…and ended up trapped in hell, tortured and abused in the worst of ways. Now she’s free, and a shell of herself, afraid of her own shadow. https://www.instagram.com/valentine5062/p/BqtAmtelSjS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ur5r2jmvnahd

[gadgetgirl71]

Amazon First Reads April 2021

As you all know I always look forward to see what Amazon First Reads has in store for us. This is the first month in a while that they haven’t included children’s picture book in the line up but they have added a young adult book instead.

This months choices are:

Domestic Suspense

The Aftermath by Gail Schimmel, Pages: 349, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: Three women: a mother, a daughter, a friend. Can they save each other from the past?

It’s been twenty-six years since the accident, but Helen still lives on autopilot, going through the motions of work and motherhood. Her one wish is for her daughter Julia to settle down with her own family—so Helen can let go.

Julia has dealt with her mother’s emotional distance by looking for love in all the wrong places. But when her latest choice drives away her best friend, Claire, Julia realises she’s on her own.

Impossibly perfect Claire is so busy caring for everyone—even her cheating ex-husband—that she’s forgotten to look after herself. Reeling from Julia’s betrayal, she doesn’t know who to trust.

As their lives unravel, these three women reconnect in unexpected ways. But with a devastating secret still hanging over them, will they ever be able to leave the past behind?

Revised edition: Previously published as The Accident, this edition of The Aftermath includes editorial revisions.

Contemporary Fiction

An Invincible Summer by Mariah Stewart, Pages: 373, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: An endearing novel of friendship, forgiveness, and second chances by New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart.

It was a lifetime ago that recently widowed Maggie Flynn was in Wyndham Beach. Now, on the occasion of her fortieth high school reunion, she returns to her hometown on the Massachusetts coast, picking up right where she left off with dear friends Lydia and Emma. But seeing Brett Crawford again stirs other emotions. Once, they were the town’s golden couple destined for one another. He shared Maggie’s dreams—and eventually, a shattering secret that drove them apart.

Buying her old family home and resettling in Wyndham Beach means a chance to start over for Maggie and her two daughters, but it also means facing her rekindled feelings for her first love and finally confronting—and embracing—the past in ways she never thought possible. Maggie won’t be alone. With her family and friends around her, she can weather this stormy turning point in her life and open her heart to the future. As for that dream shared and lost years ago? If Maggie can forgive herself, it still might come true.

Suspense

The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda, Pages: 306, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: There is no limit to the lies, suspicion, and secrets that can poison the perfect marriage in this twisting novel of suspense by USA Today bestselling author Kaira Rouda.

Kate Nelson had it all. A flourishing company founded with her husband, John; a happy marriage; and a daughter, Ashlyn. The picture-perfect family. Until John left for another woman. Tish is half his age. Ambitious. She’s cultivated a friendship with Ashlyn. Tish believes she’s won.

She’s wrong. Tish Nelson has it all. Youth, influence, a life of luxury, and a new husband. But the truth is, there’s a lot of baggage. Namely, his first wife—and suspicions of his infidelity. After all, that’s how she got John. Maybe it’s time for a romantic getaway, far from his vindictive ex. If Kate plans on getting John back, Tish is one step ahead of her.

She thinks. But what happens next is something neither Kate nor Tish saw coming. As best-laid plans come undone, there’s no telling what a woman will do in the name of love—and revenge.

Historical Fiction

Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia, Pages: 487, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of The Murmur of Bees comes a transportive novel of two families uprooted by war and united by the bonds of love and courage.

With war looming dangerously close, Ilse’s school days soon turn to lessons of survival. In the harshness of winter, her family must join the largest exodus in human history to survive. As battle lines are drawn and East Prussia’s borders vanish beneath them, they leave their farm and all they know behind for an uncertain future.

But Ilse also has Janusz, her family’s young Polish labourer, by her side. As they flee from the Soviet army, his enchanting folktales keep her mind off the cold, the hunger, and the horrors unfolding around them. He tells her of a besieged kingdom in the Baltic Sea from which spill the amber tears of a heartbroken queen.

Neither of them realizes his stories will prove crucial and prophetic.

Not far away, trying and failing to flee from a vengeful army, Arno and his mother hide in the ruins of a Königsberg mansion, hoping that once the war ends they can reunite their dispersed family. But their stay in the walled city proves untenable when they find themselves dodging bombs and scavenging in the rubble. Soon they’ll become pawns caught between two powerful enemies, on a journey with an unknown destination.

Hope carries these children caught in the crosshairs of war on an extraordinary pilgrimage in which the gift of an amber teardrop is at once a valuable form of currency and a symbol of resilience, one that draws them together against insurmountable odds.

Domestic Suspense

The Watcher Girl by Minka Kent, Pages: 236, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: A woman’s suspicions about her ex-boyfriend become a dangerous obsession in a twisting novel of psychological suspense by Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent.

Eight years ago, Grace McMullen broke Sutton Whitlock’s heart when she walked away. But it was only to save him from the baggage of her own troubled past. Now all she wants is to make sure he’s okay.

Only everything she learns about him online says otherwise. According to his social media accounts, he placed roots in her hometown, married a look-alike, and even named his daughter Grace. He clearly hasn’t moved on. In fact, it’s creepy. So Grace does what any concerned ex-girlfriend would do: she moves home…and watches him.

But when Grace crosses paths with Sutton’s wife, Campbell, an unexpected friendship develops. Campbell has no idea whom she’s inviting into her life. As the women grow closer, it becomes clear to Grace that Sutton is not the sentimental man she once knew. He seems controlling, unstable, and threatening. And what a broken man like Sutton is capable of, Grace can only imagine. It’s up to her to save Campbell and her baby now—but while she’s been watching them, who’s been watching her?

Book Club Fiction

Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar, Pages: 333, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: An aspiring photographer follows her dreams and faces her fears in a poignant novel about finding beauty, promise, and love amid the chaos of war-torn Kurdistan.

It’s 1979. Olivia Murray, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper, is determined to become a photojournalist and make a difference with her work. When opportunity arrives, she seizes it, accompanying her Kurdish boyfriend, Delan, to northern Iraq for a family wedding, hoping to capture an image that lands her a job in the photo department. More important, though, the trip is a chance to understand Delan’s childhood and bridge the differences of their pasts. Yet when the return home proves less safe than Delan believed, Olivia is confronted with a reality she had not expected, and is awakened to the dangers of a town patrolled by Iraqi military under curfew and constant threat.

But in this world torn apart by war, there are intoxicating sights and scents, Delan’s loving family, innocence not yet compromised, and small acts of kindness that flourish unexpectedly. All of it will be tested when Olivia captures a shattering, tragic moment on film, one that upends all their lives and proves that true bravery begins with an open heart.

Humorous Fiction

I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin, Pages: 301, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: A road trip can drive anyone over the edge—especially two former best friends—in bestselling author Ann Garvin’s funny and poignant novel about broken bonds, messy histories, and the power of forgiveness.

Widowed Samantha Arias hasn’t spoken to Holly Dunfee in forever. It’s for the best. Samantha prefers to avoid conflict. The blisteringly honest Holly craves it. What they still have in common puts them both back on speed dial: a mutual love for Katie, their best friend of twenty-five years, now hospitalized with cancer and needing one little errand from her old college roomies.

It’s simple: travel cross-country together, steal her loathsome ex-husband’s VW camper, find Katie’s diabetic Great Pyrenees at a Utah rescue, and drive him back home to Wisconsin. If it’ll make Katie happy, no favor is too big (one hundred pounds), too daunting (two thousand miles), or too illegal (ish), even when a boho D-list celebrity hitches a ride and drives the road trip in fresh directions.

Samantha and Holly are following every new turn—toward second chances, unexpected romance, and self-discovery—and finally blowing the dust off the secret that broke their friendship. On the open road, they’ll try to put it back together—for themselves, and especially for the love of Katie.

Young Adult

Only The Pretty Lies by Rebekah Crane, Pages: 272, Publication Date: 1 May 2021

Synopsis: A young love story about breaking painful legacies by the author of The Upside of Falling Down.

Convention doesn’t carry much weight in Alder Creek. It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she?

Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down.

Now Amoris must decide where she stands and whom she stands by, threatening her love for the boy who stole her heart years ago. Maybe Alder Creek isn’t the town Amoris thinks it is. She’s certainly no longer the girl she used to be.

*** Which book will you choose? If you come back on 5 April 2021 I’ll let you know which book I chose.. ***

[inloveandwords]

I’m participating in 2 readathons (Magical Readathon & Fantasyathon) in April as well as the Dragons & Tea Book Club and my Talk Darcy to Me book club, so every book on this list is part of those.

If you’d like to watch the video instead, you can check it out here:

April Reading List

These are all books that I own and want to read this month! Titles link to Goodreads.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (A Curse So Dark and Lonely #1) by Brigid Kemmerer

Fall in love, break the curse.

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

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Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy

Leave it to the heroes to save the world–villains just want to rule the world.

In this unique YA anthology, thirteen acclaimed, bestselling authors team up with thirteen influential BookTubers to reimagine fairy tales from the oft-misunderstood villains’ points of view.

These fractured, unconventional spins on classics like “Medusa,” Sherlock Holmes, and “Jack and the Beanstalk” provide a behind-the-curtain look at villains’ acts of vengeance, defiance, and rage–and the pain, heartbreak, and sorrow that spurned them on. No fairy tale will ever seem quite the same again!

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Defy the Stars (Constellation #1) by Claudia Gray

She’s a soldier – Noemi Vidal is willing to risk anything to protect her planet, Genesis, including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine – Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel’s advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true.

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Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons #3) by Sarah J. Maas

When the Bat’s away, the Cat will play. It’s time to see how many lives this cat really has. . . .

Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking.

Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove he has what it takes to help people in his role as Batwing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who seems cleverer than most. She has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman may be Batwing’s undoing.

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Beautiful Mistake by Vi Keeland

The first time I met Caine West was in a bar. He noticed me looking his way and mistakenly read my scowling as checking him out. When he attempted to talk to me, I set him straight—telling him what I thought of his lying, cheating, egomaniacal ass. You see, the gorgeous jerk had wined and dined my best friend–smooth talking her into his bed, all along failing to mention that he was married. He deserved every bit of my tongue-lashing and more for what he’d done. Especially when that lazy smile graced his perfect face in response to my rant. Only it turned out, the man I’d just told off wasn’t the right guy. Oops. My mistake. Embarrassed, I slunk out without an apology. I was never going to see the handsome stranger again anyway, right? That’s what I thought…until I walked into class the next morning. Well, hello Professor West, I’m your new teaching assistant. I’ll be working under you…figuratively speaking. Although the literal interpretation might not be such a bad thing—working under Professor West. This was going to be interesting…

Reckless by Lex Martin

Reckless features Tori and Ethan and is a standalone companion to the USA Today bestseller Shameless.

Tori… For the record, I’m not going to hook up with my boss.

I’m a lot of things—a screwup, a basket case, a flunky. But when I take a nanny job to be near my pregnant sister, I swear to myself I’ll walk the straight and narrow, which means I cannot fall for my insanely hot boss.

I don’t want to be tempted by that rugged rancher. By his chiseled muscles or southern charm or the way he snuggles his kids at bedtime. Ethan Carter won’t get the key to my heart, no matter how much I want him.

Ethan… Between us, she’s the last thing I need as I finalize my hellish divorce.

What sane man trying to rebuild his life wants a hot nanny with long, sexy hair, curves for miles, and a smart mouth? A perfectly kissable, pouty mouth that I shouldn’t notice.

My focus is on my kids and my ranch, not the insufferable siren who sleeps in the room next to mine. It doesn’t matter that she wins over my kids in a heartbeat or runs my life better than I do. Tori Duran is the one woman I can’t have and shouldn’t want, no matter how much I crave her.

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Saga, Vol. 1 (Saga #1) by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Artist)

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

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A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1) by Brittany Cavallaro

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

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The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars #1) by Frank Beddor

Alyss of Wonderland? When Alyss Heart, newly orphaned heir to the Wonderland throne, flees through the Pool of Tears to escape her murderous Aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!

Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss’ story – and he’s searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland, to battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges our Wonderland assumptions of mad tea parties, grinning Cheshire cats, and a curious little blond girl to reveal an epic battle in the endless war for Imagination.

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Seeing Redd (The Looking Glass Wars #2) by Frank Beddor

Alyss of Wonderland’s rule has only just begun, and already those who prefer chaos to peace are threatening to destroy everything worth imagining. Trailed by newly appointed royal bodyguard Homburg Molly, Alyss is doing her best to keep pace with the non-stop demands of being queen while attempting to evade Molly for a few private moments with Dodge.

Alyss’ life is a challenging mix of duty, love, and tough decisions, and then a series of phantom sightings set fire to an urban myth of Her Imperial Viciousness’ return and have everyone… seeing Redd.

Has Redd somehow freed herself and her chief assassin, The Cat, from the confines of the Heart Crystal? If not, then who has resurrected Redd’s brutal foot soldiers the Glass Eyes and set them loose to attack Wonderland on all sides?

Battles rage, looking glasses explode, and the Alyssians once again unite to defend White Imagination in this fast-paced follow-up to the New York Times best-selling The Looking Glass Wars.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she’s left behind. And an ending you won’t be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

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ArchEnemy (The Looking Glass Wars #3) by Frank Beddor

Imagine this… The power of imagination has been lost!

Now it’s all about the artillery as AD52s, crystal shooters, spikejack tumblers, and orb cannons are unleashed in a war of weapons and brute force.

As Alyss searches wildly for the solution to the disaster that has engulfed her queendom, Arch declares himself King of Wonderland. The moment is desperate enough for Alyss to travel back to London for answers, where Arch’s assassins are threatening Alice Liddell and her family. But after coming to the Liddells’ assistance, Alyss discovers herself trapped in a conundrum of evaporating puddles. The shimmering portals that exist to transport her home through the Pool of Tears are disappearing!

What is happening in Wonderland? Deep within the Valley of Mushroom the Caterpillar Oracles issue this prophecy: “Action shall be taken to ensure the safety of the Heart Crystal. For Everqueen.” But who is Everqueen?

As the metamorphosis of Wonderland unfolds, enemies become allies, bitter rivals face off, and Queen Alyss and Redd Heart must both confront their pasts in this thrilling, no-holds-barred conclusion to the New York Times bestselling series.

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Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets – a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

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The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by Rin Chupeco

In the captivating start to a new, darkly lyrical fantasy series for readers of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir, Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price…

Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

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When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

What are you reading this month?

April 2019 Reading List I'm participating in 2 readathons (Magical Readathon & Fantasyathon) in April as well as the…

[pitz182]

It's Never Too Late to Change: New Books by Writers in Recovery

Your nerves shot? Mine, too. Winter is a slog and I can’t wait for spring. When I can’t stand one more minute of worrying about the planet, polar bears, politics and hate, I still choose escape. But… instead of rum and cocaine, my go-to is a good book. So, if stress has been dogging you and your bandwidth is low, it’s okay to turn off your gadgets so you can refuel. Breaks from YouTube and the 24/7 news cycle can do wondrous things for the mind. I went radical this week and even turned off my cell. Twitter can consume me if I let it.This month I made time to curl up on the couch with my dog and disappeared into these gems:Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addictionby Judith Grisel (Doubleday, Feb. 19, 2019)“My response to being overwhelmed by the deep void was to leap into it.” — Judith GriselJudith Grisel writes about the grizzly years of self-destruction. Stories show the author at her messiest. In a decade, she’d consumed a cornucopia of substances; by age 23, she was a self-loathing mess.The strength of Grisel’s bestseller is her intimate knowledge about the nervous system and addiction. Grisel peppers the pages with unsettling anecdotes, but she does it sans self-pity. Like a journalist, she reports embarrassing and creepy things.“I ripped off stores and stole credit cards when the opportunity presented itself, I was still able to maintain, at least to myself, that I was basically a good person. To an extent, for instance, I could count on my companions, and they could count on me. I say to an extent, because we also knew and expected that we would lie, cheat, or steal from each other if something really important were at stake (that is, drugs).”I never tire of drunken-drugalogues, and Grisel doesn’t disappoint on that front. But telling these stories is not to shock or manipulate readers, nor is Grisel trying to prove she was “a bona fide addict.” Her purpose is to illustrate the bleak existence of those who cannot stop drinking and drugging.When Grisel “finally reached the dead end” where she felt she was “incapable of living either with or without mind-altering substances,” she sought help. After a 28-day rehab and months in a halfway house, she managed to pull her life together. After seven years of study, she earned a PhD in behavioral neuroscience and became an expert in neurobiology, chemistry, and the genetics of addictive behavior.This book doesn't brag about having the answers, but shows what a sober neuroscientist has learned after 20 years of studying how an addicted brain works. She makes it easy to understand why it's so difficult to get sober and maybe even harder to stay that way. It irks me when people say they never think about drugs or alcohol anymore. My first feeling is rage—probably because I’ve never experienced anything like that, despite working hard on myself during 30 years in recovery. Grisel refreshingly writes about the temptation that’s always there.Grisel’s writing communicates succinctly: “A plaque I later saw posted behind a bar described my first experience [with alcohol] precisely: Alcohol makes you feel like you’re supposed to feel when you’re not drinking alcohol.” In another passage, she quotes George Koob, chief of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: “There are two ways of becoming an alcoholic: either being born one or drinking a lot.” Grisel is careful to explain so you don’t get the wrong idea. “Dr. Koob is not trying to be flip, and the high likelihood that one or the other of these applies to each of us helps explain why the disease is so prevalent.”When she writes about her experiences, it’s candid and clear, and it feels like she’s a friend and we’re chatting in a café. I found myself frequently nodding with identification—like a bobblehead on a car dashboard. It’s a fascinating, absorbing, satisfying book about addiction.Widows-in-Lawby Michele W. Miller (Blackstone Publishing, Feb. 26, 2019)There was a huge turnout at The Mysterious Bookshop in downtown Manhattan on February 26. The event was the book launch of Michele W. Miller’s second novel, Widows-in-Law. Lawrence Block, the wildly successful, sober crime novelist, sat beside Miller in the role of interviewer, and he was as entertaining as ever.See Also: Lawrence Block: One Case at a TimeMiller, a high-level attorney for New York City, said, “Widows-in-Law is about an attorney who dies suddenly in a fire, leaving behind a first wife who’s a streetwise child abuse prosecutor.” She then jokingly added, “who might resemble me a little bit.” That got a big laugh because many attendees knew that Miller had previously worked as a child abuse prosecutor.In a thick and endearing Brooklyn-Queens accent, Miller described the deceased’s second bride. “You know, legs up to the eyeballs…[a] gawgeous trophy wife.” Block jumped in with praise: “That’s the one that resembles you.” Miller blushed and said, “See? That’s why we keep him around for a hundred books. Another big laugh, another inside joke: throughout Block’s astounding career, the well-loved crime writer has churned out 100 books.Miller quickly regained her composure and got back to the novel’s setup: Emily is a 16-year-old from Brian’s first marriage, to Lauren. Shortly before Brian died in the fire, Emily moved in with Brian (and his new wife). Lauren hoped they could reel in the out-of-control teen.The Miller thriller works well. It’s a fast read with dramatic and believable scenes and dialogue. I wanted to dig deeper and find out how much of the novel was fictional. Many novelists write about the worlds they know. Miller agreed to one-on-one time to discuss the three badass women at the center of the story.“Emily’s mom Lauren is my main character. Her backstory includes being a homeless teenager during the 1980s and ‘90s,” Miller said. “Her parents were whacked on drugs so Lauren left. She stayed at a shelter on St. Marks. It’s an iconic recovery building in the East Village.”When I asked which parts of the novel are autobiographical, Miller paused, sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.“Okay,” she said. “Here goes. I’m in my 30th year clean. I was a low-bottom heroin addict.” Miller’s past included a felony arrest for cocaine possession. She was facing 15 to life. To avoid spoilers, suffice it to say that explained why some of the scenes seemed so thoroughly researched.“The book touches on my experiences with jail, illegal after-hours spots, and the complete chaos of addiction,” said Miller, who is now the director of enforcement for the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. “Basically, that means I’m the chief ethics prosecutor for the city.” She’s aware of the irony. Before getting clean, Miller ran in the same circles as hitmen, such as the infamous Tommy Pitera.“Yeah, we got high together,” said Miller. “People knew him as Tommy Karate because he was into martial arts. But it wasn’t until a book that I found out he was a brutal killer who cut people into little pieces. I was traumatized. We hung out, getting high. I don’t know why he didn’t kill me. I guess he liked me. Maybe because I was an accomplished martial artist?”Miller is proof of how much your life can change when you get sober. She's lucky to have survived her druggy past that included hanging out with murderers. Lawrence Block said, “Michele Miller has had more lives than a cat, and they’ve made her a writer of passion and substance.”After you read Widows-in-Law, check out Miller’s first novel, The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery (HOW Club Press, November 4, 2013). It’s another fast-paced doozy and a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Kirkus Reviews wrote, “A humorous and surprising satire of both the zombie apocalypse and the culture of addiction... wholly original... satisfying.... The care taken in both characterization and prose earns the reader’s time. A well-written, thoughtful treatment not just of a popular literary trope but of a nagging social issue.”The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate Approach to Recovery by Paul Thomas, MD, and Jennifer Margulis, PhD. (HarperOne, Sept. 4. 2018)Paul Thomas, MD, is board certified in integrative and holistic medicine and addiction medicine—he’s also in recovery.“Addiction isn’t about willpower or blame,” he said. “It’s a disease that, like many other conditions, exists on a spectrum.” The spectrum is about how severely you crave your substance of choice when you don’t have it. It’s about how serious your health consequences are. Death, of course, is the worst end of the spectrum.The Addiction Spectrum offers a system that bases the individual’s needs on where they are on the spectrum. Thomas offers seven key methods for healing, whether you’re active in addiction or already in recovery. “Doctors need a new approach to treating pain,” said Thomas. He mentioned the hazards of painkillers within the medical community, “My wife is a nurse and recovering opiate addict,” he said. The book is about any addiction—alcohol, marijuana, opioids, meth, technology. Co-author Jennifer Margulis, PhD, is an award-winning science journalist who’s been writing books about children’s health for over 10 years.“Making love, eating delicious food,” said Margulis, “these activities release dopamine and make you feel good. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel good. But using heroin or abusing prescription opioids or even excessive computer gaming or binge eating will harm your brain. Too many young people think, ‘Hey, I’m just having fun.’ But there is nothing fun about dying from an overdose.”But what is it about right now that can explain the drug epidemic?“We’re animals, wired to avoid danger and seek pleasure,” Thomas said. “We scan for threats and have an immediate fight, flight or freeze reaction. We’re talking about dopamine and epinephrine (adrenaline) responses.”Margulis agreed: “with cell phone alerts, video games, 24/7 news and high stress from work or school, we are overloaded. We can become addicted to food, social media, cigarettes, and a bunch of other substances and behaviors.”Both Thomas and Margulis agree it is time to start looking at the root causes. Why is there an increase in mood disorders, fatigue, and addiction? The book answers so many questions and I learned a lot about how to treat my body and mind better. The writing style makes it easy reading—nothing too tough to get through and very practical.The most anticipated book on my list isn’t out yet, but I’ve been lucky enough to read a sample chapter.Strung Outby Erin Khar (HarperCollins|Park Row Books, Feb. 2020)Erin Khar’s much-anticipated memoir will hit the shelves in early 2020. It’s the story of Khar’s decade-long battle with opioids, but it goes even further by searching for answers. Why is it that some people can do drugs and stop, while others become addicted? She explores possible reasons for America’s current drug crisis and its soaring death toll. The CDC statistics are staggering. From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people died from drug overdoses, and 400,000 of those died from an opioid overdose. This epidemic is devouring our nation.Khar’s writing beat includes addiction, recovery, mental health, relationships, and self-care. She also writes the “Ask Erin” column for Ravishly.For a decade, beginning at age 13, she kept her heroin use a secret from friends and family. When she was caught by her then-fiancé, she went to rehab and her book describes her harrowing withdrawal. Three years later, at age 26, she relapsed. Four months later, her using had dragged her to the bottom.Khar, who has written for The Fix, told me, “I’ve been clean from opiates for 15 years!” That’s an enormous achievement for any addict, and in that decade and a half, she’s completely changed her life.From Khar’s essay in Self magazine:“If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be a happily married mother, living in New York City, doing what she loves for a living… I would have laughed.”She hopes that her book will help shatter the stigma; stop the shaming. She describes its genesis: “I wrote the short story 'David' for Cosmonauts Avenue. Agents contacted me about writing a memoir.” After reading her essays, and following her writing career, I’m eager to read a book by this heroine about heroin.Every one of these books is written by a sober writer. They are living proof that people’s lives can change at any time.Mine sure did.Do you have favorite sober authors? Please share them with us in the comments!

[emlydunstan]

It's Never Too Late to Change: New Books by Writers in Recovery

Your nerves shot? Mine, too. Winter is a slog and I can’t wait for spring. When I can’t stand one more minute of worrying about the planet, polar bears, politics and hate, I still choose escape. But… instead of rum and cocaine, my go-to is a good book. So, if stress has been dogging you and your bandwidth is low, it’s okay to turn off your gadgets so you can refuel. Breaks from YouTube and the 24/7 news cycle can do wondrous things for the mind. I went radical this week and even turned off my cell. Twitter can consume me if I let it.This month I made time to curl up on the couch with my dog and disappeared into these gems:Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addictionby Judith Grisel (Doubleday, Feb. 19, 2019)“My response to being overwhelmed by the deep void was to leap into it.” — Judith GriselJudith Grisel writes about the grizzly years of self-destruction. Stories show the author at her messiest. In a decade, she’d consumed a cornucopia of substances; by age 23, she was a self-loathing mess.The strength of Grisel’s bestseller is her intimate knowledge about the nervous system and addiction. Grisel peppers the pages with unsettling anecdotes, but she does it sans self-pity. Like a journalist, she reports embarrassing and creepy things.“I ripped off stores and stole credit cards when the opportunity presented itself, I was still able to maintain, at least to myself, that I was basically a good person. To an extent, for instance, I could count on my companions, and they could count on me. I say to an extent, because we also knew and expected that we would lie, cheat, or steal from each other if something really important were at stake (that is, drugs).”I never tire of drunken-drugalogues, and Grisel doesn’t disappoint on that front. But telling these stories is not to shock or manipulate readers, nor is Grisel trying to prove she was “a bona fide addict.” Her purpose is to illustrate the bleak existence of those who cannot stop drinking and drugging.When Grisel “finally reached the dead end” where she felt she was “incapable of living either with or without mind-altering substances,” she sought help. After a 28-day rehab and months in a halfway house, she managed to pull her life together. After seven years of study, she earned a PhD in behavioral neuroscience and became an expert in neurobiology, chemistry, and the genetics of addictive behavior.This book doesn't brag about having the answers, but shows what a sober neuroscientist has learned after 20 years of studying how an addicted brain works. She makes it easy to understand why it's so difficult to get sober and maybe even harder to stay that way. It irks me when people say they never think about drugs or alcohol anymore. My first feeling is rage—probably because I’ve never experienced anything like that, despite working hard on myself during 30 years in recovery. Grisel refreshingly writes about the temptation that’s always there.Grisel’s writing communicates succinctly: “A plaque I later saw posted behind a bar described my first experience [with alcohol] precisely: Alcohol makes you feel like you’re supposed to feel when you’re not drinking alcohol.” In another passage, she quotes George Koob, chief of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: “There are two ways of becoming an alcoholic: either being born one or drinking a lot.” Grisel is careful to explain so you don’t get the wrong idea. “Dr. Koob is not trying to be flip, and the high likelihood that one or the other of these applies to each of us helps explain why the disease is so prevalent.”When she writes about her experiences, it’s candid and clear, and it feels like she’s a friend and we’re chatting in a café. I found myself frequently nodding with identification—like a bobblehead on a car dashboard. It’s a fascinating, absorbing, satisfying book about addiction.Widows-in-Lawby Michele W. Miller (Blackstone Publishing, Feb. 26, 2019)There was a huge turnout at The Mysterious Bookshop in downtown Manhattan on February 26. The event was the book launch of Michele W. Miller’s second novel, Widows-in-Law. Lawrence Block, the wildly successful, sober crime novelist, sat beside Miller in the role of interviewer, and he was as entertaining as ever.See Also: Lawrence Block: One Case at a TimeMiller, a high-level attorney for New York City, said, “Widows-in-Law is about an attorney who dies suddenly in a fire, leaving behind a first wife who’s a streetwise child abuse prosecutor.” She then jokingly added, “who might resemble me a little bit.” That got a big laugh because many attendees knew that Miller had previously worked as a child abuse prosecutor.In a thick and endearing Brooklyn-Queens accent, Miller described the deceased’s second bride. “You know, legs up to the eyeballs…[a] gawgeous trophy wife.” Block jumped in with praise: “That’s the one that resembles you.” Miller blushed and said, “See? That’s why we keep him around for a hundred books. Another big laugh, another inside joke: throughout Block’s astounding career, the well-loved crime writer has churned out 100 books.Miller quickly regained her composure and got back to the novel’s setup: Emily is a 16-year-old from Brian’s first marriage, to Lauren. Shortly before Brian died in the fire, Emily moved in with Brian (and his new wife). Lauren hoped they could reel in the out-of-control teen.The Miller thriller works well. It’s a fast read with dramatic and believable scenes and dialogue. I wanted to dig deeper and find out how much of the novel was fictional. Many novelists write about the worlds they know. Miller agreed to one-on-one time to discuss the three badass women at the center of the story.“Emily’s mom Lauren is my main character. Her backstory includes being a homeless teenager during the 1980s and ‘90s,” Miller said. “Her parents were whacked on drugs so Lauren left. She stayed at a shelter on St. Marks. It’s an iconic recovery building in the East Village.”When I asked which parts of the novel are autobiographical, Miller paused, sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.“Okay,” she said. “Here goes. I’m in my 30th year clean. I was a low-bottom heroin addict.” Miller’s past included a felony arrest for cocaine possession. She was facing 15 to life. To avoid spoilers, suffice it to say that explained why some of the scenes seemed so thoroughly researched.“The book touches on my experiences with jail, illegal after-hours spots, and the complete chaos of addiction,” said Miller, who is now the director of enforcement for the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. “Basically, that means I’m the chief ethics prosecutor for the city.” She’s aware of the irony. Before getting clean, Miller ran in the same circles as hitmen, such as the infamous Tommy Pitera.“Yeah, we got high together,” said Miller. “People knew him as Tommy Karate because he was into martial arts. But it wasn’t until a book that I found out he was a brutal killer who cut people into little pieces. I was traumatized. We hung out, getting high. I don’t know why he didn’t kill me. I guess he liked me. Maybe because I was an accomplished martial artist?”Miller is proof of how much your life can change when you get sober. She's lucky to have survived her druggy past that included hanging out with murderers. Lawrence Block said, “Michele Miller has had more lives than a cat, and they’ve made her a writer of passion and substance.”After you read Widows-in-Law, check out Miller’s first novel, The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery (HOW Club Press, November 4, 2013). It’s another fast-paced doozy and a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Kirkus Reviews wrote, “A humorous and surprising satire of both the zombie apocalypse and the culture of addiction... wholly original... satisfying.... The care taken in both characterization and prose earns the reader’s time. A well-written, thoughtful treatment not just of a popular literary trope but of a nagging social issue.”The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate Approach to Recovery by Paul Thomas, MD, and Jennifer Margulis, PhD. (HarperOne, Sept. 4. 2018)Paul Thomas, MD, is board certified in integrative and holistic medicine and addiction medicine—he’s also in recovery.“Addiction isn’t about willpower or blame,” he said. “It’s a disease that, like many other conditions, exists on a spectrum.” The spectrum is about how severely you crave your substance of choice when you don’t have it. It’s about how serious your health consequences are. Death, of course, is the worst end of the spectrum.The Addiction Spectrum offers a system that bases the individual’s needs on where they are on the spectrum. Thomas offers seven key methods for healing, whether you’re active in addiction or already in recovery. “Doctors need a new approach to treating pain,” said Thomas. He mentioned the hazards of painkillers within the medical community, “My wife is a nurse and recovering opiate addict,” he said. The book is about any addiction—alcohol, marijuana, opioids, meth, technology. Co-author Jennifer Margulis, PhD, is an award-winning science journalist who’s been writing books about children’s health for over 10 years.“Making love, eating delicious food,” said Margulis, “these activities release dopamine and make you feel good. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel good. But using heroin or abusing prescription opioids or even excessive computer gaming or binge eating will harm your brain. Too many young people think, ‘Hey, I’m just having fun.’ But there is nothing fun about dying from an overdose.”But what is it about right now that can explain the drug epidemic?“We’re animals, wired to avoid danger and seek pleasure,” Thomas said. “We scan for threats and have an immediate fight, flight or freeze reaction. We’re talking about dopamine and epinephrine (adrenaline) responses.”Margulis agreed: “with cell phone alerts, video games, 24/7 news and high stress from work or school, we are overloaded. We can become addicted to food, social media, cigarettes, and a bunch of other substances and behaviors.”Both Thomas and Margulis agree it is time to start looking at the root causes. Why is there an increase in mood disorders, fatigue, and addiction? The book answers so many questions and I learned a lot about how to treat my body and mind better. The writing style makes it easy reading—nothing too tough to get through and very practical.The most anticipated book on my list isn’t out yet, but I’ve been lucky enough to read a sample chapter.Strung Outby Erin Khar (HarperCollins|Park Row Books, Feb. 2020)Erin Khar’s much-anticipated memoir will hit the shelves in early 2020. It’s the story of Khar’s decade-long battle with opioids, but it goes even further by searching for answers. Why is it that some people can do drugs and stop, while others become addicted? She explores possible reasons for America’s current drug crisis and its soaring death toll. The CDC statistics are staggering. From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people died from drug overdoses, and 400,000 of those died from an opioid overdose. This epidemic is devouring our nation.Khar’s writing beat includes addiction, recovery, mental health, relationships, and self-care. She also writes the “Ask Erin” column for Ravishly.For a decade, beginning at age 13, she kept her heroin use a secret from friends and family. When she was caught by her then-fiancé, she went to rehab and her book describes her harrowing withdrawal. Three years later, at age 26, she relapsed. Four months later, her using had dragged her to the bottom.Khar, who has written for The Fix, told me, “I’ve been clean from opiates for 15 years!” That’s an enormous achievement for any addict, and in that decade and a half, she’s completely changed her life.From Khar’s essay in Self magazine:“If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be a happily married mother, living in New York City, doing what she loves for a living… I would have laughed.”She hopes that her book will help shatter the stigma; stop the shaming. She describes its genesis: “I wrote the short story 'David' for Cosmonauts Avenue. Agents contacted me about writing a memoir.” After reading her essays, and following her writing career, I’m eager to read a book by this heroine about heroin.Every one of these books is written by a sober writer. They are living proof that people’s lives can change at any time.Mine sure did.Do you have favorite sober authors? Please share them with us in the comments!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://www.thefix.com/its-never-too-late-change-new-books-writers-recovery

[alexdmorgan30]

It's Never Too Late to Change: New Books by Writers in Recovery

Your nerves shot? Mine, too. Winter is a slog and I can’t wait for spring. When I can’t stand one more minute of worrying about the planet, polar bears, politics and hate, I still choose escape. But… instead of rum and cocaine, my go-to is a good book. So, if stress has been dogging you and your bandwidth is low, it’s okay to turn off your gadgets so you can refuel. Breaks from YouTube and the 24/7 news cycle can do wondrous things for the mind. I went radical this week and even turned off my cell. Twitter can consume me if I let it.This month I made time to curl up on the couch with my dog and disappeared into these gems:Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addictionby Judith Grisel (Doubleday, Feb. 19, 2019)“My response to being overwhelmed by the deep void was to leap into it.” — Judith GriselJudith Grisel writes about the grizzly years of self-destruction. Stories show the author at her messiest. In a decade, she’d consumed a cornucopia of substances; by age 23, she was a self-loathing mess.The strength of Grisel’s bestseller is her intimate knowledge about the nervous system and addiction. Grisel peppers the pages with unsettling anecdotes, but she does it sans self-pity. Like a journalist, she reports embarrassing and creepy things.“I ripped off stores and stole credit cards when the opportunity presented itself, I was still able to maintain, at least to myself, that I was basically a good person. To an extent, for instance, I could count on my companions, and they could count on me. I say to an extent, because we also knew and expected that we would lie, cheat, or steal from each other if something really important were at stake (that is, drugs).”I never tire of drunken-drugalogues, and Grisel doesn’t disappoint on that front. But telling these stories is not to shock or manipulate readers, nor is Grisel trying to prove she was “a bona fide addict.” Her purpose is to illustrate the bleak existence of those who cannot stop drinking and drugging.When Grisel “finally reached the dead end” where she felt she was “incapable of living either with or without mind-altering substances,” she sought help. After a 28-day rehab and months in a halfway house, she managed to pull her life together. After seven years of study, she earned a PhD in behavioral neuroscience and became an expert in neurobiology, chemistry, and the genetics of addictive behavior.This book doesn't brag about having the answers, but shows what a sober neuroscientist has learned after 20 years of studying how an addicted brain works. She makes it easy to understand why it's so difficult to get sober and maybe even harder to stay that way. It irks me when people say they never think about drugs or alcohol anymore. My first feeling is rage—probably because I’ve never experienced anything like that, despite working hard on myself during 30 years in recovery. Grisel refreshingly writes about the temptation that’s always there.Grisel’s writing communicates succinctly: “A plaque I later saw posted behind a bar described my first experience [with alcohol] precisely: Alcohol makes you feel like you’re supposed to feel when you’re not drinking alcohol.” In another passage, she quotes George Koob, chief of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: “There are two ways of becoming an alcoholic: either being born one or drinking a lot.” Grisel is careful to explain so you don’t get the wrong idea. “Dr. Koob is not trying to be flip, and the high likelihood that one or the other of these applies to each of us helps explain why the disease is so prevalent.”When she writes about her experiences, it’s candid and clear, and it feels like she’s a friend and we’re chatting in a café. I found myself frequently nodding with identification—like a bobblehead on a car dashboard. It’s a fascinating, absorbing, satisfying book about addiction.Widows-in-Lawby Michele W. Miller (Blackstone Publishing, Feb. 26, 2019)There was a huge turnout at The Mysterious Bookshop in downtown Manhattan on February 26. The event was the book launch of Michele W. Miller’s second novel, Widows-in-Law. Lawrence Block, the wildly successful, sober crime novelist, sat beside Miller in the role of interviewer, and he was as entertaining as ever.See Also: Lawrence Block: One Case at a TimeMiller, a high-level attorney for New York City, said, “Widows-in-Law is about an attorney who dies suddenly in a fire, leaving behind a first wife who’s a streetwise child abuse prosecutor.” She then jokingly added, “who might resemble me a little bit.” That got a big laugh because many attendees knew that Miller had previously worked as a child abuse prosecutor.In a thick and endearing Brooklyn-Queens accent, Miller described the deceased’s second bride. “You know, legs up to the eyeballs…[a] gawgeous trophy wife.” Block jumped in with praise: “That’s the one that resembles you.” Miller blushed and said, “See? That’s why we keep him around for a hundred books. Another big laugh, another inside joke: throughout Block’s astounding career, the well-loved crime writer has churned out 100 books.Miller quickly regained her composure and got back to the novel’s setup: Emily is a 16-year-old from Brian’s first marriage, to Lauren. Shortly before Brian died in the fire, Emily moved in with Brian (and his new wife). Lauren hoped they could reel in the out-of-control teen.The Miller thriller works well. It’s a fast read with dramatic and believable scenes and dialogue. I wanted to dig deeper and find out how much of the novel was fictional. Many novelists write about the worlds they know. Miller agreed to one-on-one time to discuss the three badass women at the center of the story.“Emily’s mom Lauren is my main character. Her backstory includes being a homeless teenager during the 1980s and ‘90s,” Miller said. “Her parents were whacked on drugs so Lauren left. She stayed at a shelter on St. Marks. It’s an iconic recovery building in the East Village.”When I asked which parts of the novel are autobiographical, Miller paused, sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.“Okay,” she said. “Here goes. I’m in my 30th year clean. I was a low-bottom heroin addict.” Miller’s past included a felony arrest for cocaine possession. She was facing 15 to life. To avoid spoilers, suffice it to say that explained why some of the scenes seemed so thoroughly researched.“The book touches on my experiences with jail, illegal after-hours spots, and the complete chaos of addiction,” said Miller, who is now the director of enforcement for the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. “Basically, that means I’m the chief ethics prosecutor for the city.” She’s aware of the irony. Before getting clean, Miller ran in the same circles as hitmen, such as the infamous Tommy Pitera.“Yeah, we got high together,” said Miller. “People knew him as Tommy Karate because he was into martial arts. But it wasn’t until a book that I found out he was a brutal killer who cut people into little pieces. I was traumatized. We hung out, getting high. I don’t know why he didn’t kill me. I guess he liked me. Maybe because I was an accomplished martial artist?”Miller is proof of how much your life can change when you get sober. She's lucky to have survived her druggy past that included hanging out with murderers. Lawrence Block said, “Michele Miller has had more lives than a cat, and they’ve made her a writer of passion and substance.”After you read Widows-in-Law, check out Miller’s first novel, The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery (HOW Club Press, November 4, 2013). It’s another fast-paced doozy and a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Kirkus Reviews wrote, “A humorous and surprising satire of both the zombie apocalypse and the culture of addiction... wholly original... satisfying.... The care taken in both characterization and prose earns the reader’s time. A well-written, thoughtful treatment not just of a popular literary trope but of a nagging social issue.”The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate Approach to Recovery by Paul Thomas, MD, and Jennifer Margulis, PhD. (HarperOne, Sept. 4. 2018)Paul Thomas, MD, is board certified in integrative and holistic medicine and addiction medicine—he’s also in recovery.“Addiction isn’t about willpower or blame,” he said. “It’s a disease that, like many other conditions, exists on a spectrum.” The spectrum is about how severely you crave your substance of choice when you don’t have it. It’s about how serious your health consequences are. Death, of course, is the worst end of the spectrum.The Addiction Spectrum offers a system that bases the individual’s needs on where they are on the spectrum. Thomas offers seven key methods for healing, whether you’re active in addiction or already in recovery. “Doctors need a new approach to treating pain,” said Thomas. He mentioned the hazards of painkillers within the medical community, “My wife is a nurse and recovering opiate addict,” he said. The book is about any addiction—alcohol, marijuana, opioids, meth, technology. Co-author Jennifer Margulis, PhD, is an award-winning science journalist who’s been writing books about children’s health for over 10 years.“Making love, eating delicious food,” said Margulis, “these activities release dopamine and make you feel good. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel good. But using heroin or abusing prescription opioids or even excessive computer gaming or binge eating will harm your brain. Too many young people think, ‘Hey, I’m just having fun.’ But there is nothing fun about dying from an overdose.”But what is it about right now that can explain the drug epidemic?“We’re animals, wired to avoid danger and seek pleasure,” Thomas said. “We scan for threats and have an immediate fight, flight or freeze reaction. We’re talking about dopamine and epinephrine (adrenaline) responses.”Margulis agreed: “with cell phone alerts, video games, 24/7 news and high stress from work or school, we are overloaded. We can become addicted to food, social media, cigarettes, and a bunch of other substances and behaviors.”Both Thomas and Margulis agree it is time to start looking at the root causes. Why is there an increase in mood disorders, fatigue, and addiction? The book answers so many questions and I learned a lot about how to treat my body and mind better. The writing style makes it easy reading—nothing too tough to get through and very practical.The most anticipated book on my list isn’t out yet, but I’ve been lucky enough to read a sample chapter.Strung Outby Erin Khar (HarperCollins|Park Row Books, Feb. 2020)Erin Khar’s much-anticipated memoir will hit the shelves in early 2020. It’s the story of Khar’s decade-long battle with opioids, but it goes even further by searching for answers. Why is it that some people can do drugs and stop, while others become addicted? She explores possible reasons for America’s current drug crisis and its soaring death toll. The CDC statistics are staggering. From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people died from drug overdoses, and 400,000 of those died from an opioid overdose. This epidemic is devouring our nation.Khar’s writing beat includes addiction, recovery, mental health, relationships, and self-care. She also writes the “Ask Erin” column for Ravishly.For a decade, beginning at age 13, she kept her heroin use a secret from friends and family. When she was caught by her then-fiancé, she went to rehab and her book describes her harrowing withdrawal. Three years later, at age 26, she relapsed. Four months later, her using had dragged her to the bottom.Khar, who has written for The Fix, told me, “I’ve been clean from opiates for 15 years!” That’s an enormous achievement for any addict, and in that decade and a half, she’s completely changed her life.From Khar’s essay in Self magazine:“If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be a happily married mother, living in New York City, doing what she loves for a living… I would have laughed.”She hopes that her book will help shatter the stigma; stop the shaming. She describes its genesis: “I wrote the short story 'David' for Cosmonauts Avenue. Agents contacted me about writing a memoir.” After reading her essays, and following her writing career, I’m eager to read a book by this heroine about heroin.Every one of these books is written by a sober writer. They are living proof that people’s lives can change at any time.Mine sure did.Do you have favorite sober authors? Please share them with us in the comments!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://ift.tt/2UEuCbv

[tempusfugitaddict]

Star-Crossed by Pintip Dunn Genre: YA Fantasy Release Date: October 2nd, 2018 Entangled Teen

In a world where nutrition can be transferred via a pill, and society is split into Eaters and Non-Eaters, seventeen-year-old Princess Vela has a grave dilemma. Her father, the king, is dying, and only a transplant of organs from a healthy Non-Eater boy will save him.

Vela is tasked with choosing a boy fit to die for the king, which is impossible enough. But then Carr, the boy she’s loved all her life, emerges as the best candidate in the Bittersweet Trials. And he’s determined to win because by doing so, he can save the life of his Non-Eater sister.

Refusing to accept losing the boy she loves, Vela bends the rules and cheats. But when someone begins to sabotage the Trials, Vela must reevaluate her own integrity—and learn the true sacrifice of becoming a ruler.

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Purchase links can be found here: https://entangledpublishing.com/star-crossed.html

Review:

Now Star-Crossed, I loved!

Totally up my alley… I read the blurb and I had a good feeling about it, and boy was I proved right!

I do not want to compare it to the Hunger Games cause, it is quite different, however in spirit I do believe that they can be related.  Star-Crossed is really well written, poignant and IMHO is fantastic!

So to give you a bit of backstory, we are not on earth but on a distant planet, where those guys landed years ago.  Through bad luck, a good part of the food traveling with them was destroyed and well they have had to come up with creative ways to make sure the colony survives.

Changes have happened, sacrifices were made all for the survival of the people until it is time to pick the new boy who will die to save the king.

Like the blurb says, one of those boys in running is the one Princess Vela loves.

A tragedy in the making, I am telling you!

I was equally heart-broken.

I really liked Vela, she was a truly amazing character, so relatable and easy to love and root for.  Taking into account the circumstances she finds herself in, it is very easy to empathize with her.

Carr is great too, though he frustrated me at times, I could see where he was coming from, even though I did not agree with him.  It happens often enough that you like a character and things til bug you.

I enjoy that!

I mean you cannot always agree with everyone over everything, right?

Star-Crossed is wonderful, and I am going to very highly recommend it to you all.  If you enjoyed the Hunger Games then, this is a lovely addition, if you want a romance fraught with drama and emotions, this is the book for you… Honestly, there is a bit of everything to everyone… You even have a Murder/Mystery too!

There you have it, I love what Pintip did to this story and I am looking forward to her next book!

Star-Crossed is definitely going on my most beloved shelf.

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About the Author

Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received her J.D. at Yale Law School. 

Pintip’s novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. Her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; and the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her other titles include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, and the upcoming STAR-CROSSED and MALICE.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | Entangled Publishing

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Star-Crossed by @PINTIPDUNN @ENTANGLEDTEEN Star-Crossed by Pintip Dunn Genre: YA Fantasy Release Date: October 2nd, 2018 Entangled Teen In a world where nutrition can be transferred via a pill, and society is split into Eaters and Non-Eaters, seventeen-year-old Princess Vela has a grave dilemma.

[thesassybooskter]

THE COWBOY WHO CAME CALLING by Linda Broday: Excerpt & Giveaway

NOW AVAILABLE/ SOURCEBOOKS CASABLANCA

A Former Texas Ranger on a mission A determined woman slowly losing her sight A love neither could have predicted …and a danger that may steal their happy ending before it can even begin.

Glory Day may be losing her vision, but that doesn’t mean she’ll ever stop fighting. Determined to provide for her struggling family, she confronts an outlaw with a price on his head. But when a mysterious cowboy gets between her and her target, Glory accidentally shoots him instead. Flustered, she has no option but to take the handsome stranger home to treat his wounds.

Former Texas Ranger Luke McClain didn’t plan to fall in love, but there’s no denying the strength of Glory’s will or the sweetness of her heart. But Glory’s been burned before, and Luke will have to reach into the depths of his own battered soul to convince her to take a chance…

And trust that love is worth fighting for.

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  Excerpt

The wind shifted to a more southerly tack and hand-carried the scent of wild honeysuckle, bringing to mind the fresh smell of Glory’s hair. Did she miss him? Or did she breathe a sigh of relief to finally be rid of the bother? More likely the latter.

It surprised Luke to realize Glory Day had the power to make him forget Jessie. Or at least dull the memory.

Suddenly, a covey of quail took flight from a cluster of sumac and wild thistle. Soldier pricked his ears, stomping the ground nervously. The hair bristled on the nape of his neck.

Someone lurked out there. He’d faced danger too many times to ignore the warning. The Colt slid easily into the palm of his hand. Quickly, he rolled, stealing into the thick brush.

The fingernail sliver of moonlight suited his purpose fine. Hidden by dark shadows, he waited for the skulking varmint.

Coarse fabric rustled. Luke pivoted his attention back to the campsite in time to see a black figure creep into view. It was too dark to see the face. The extra light of a fire would have helped him. But he hadn’t wanted to announce his position with Perkins in the vicinity.

The intruder poked at the vacant bedroll with the tip of a rifle.

Luke crouched, biding his time.

At the right moment, when the culprit turned away, he jumped. They went down in a heap, jarred by the unforgiving ground. Off flew the intruder’s hat and a cloud of sweet-smelling hair blocked his view. No hard muscles—just soft, womanly curves.

“McClain!”

“Glory?” He blew away the tendrils of hair that swarmed up his nose. The fresh fragrance attacked his jangled nerves.

“What are you doing? Get off me.”

“Me? You’re the one who skulked in here like a common thief.”

No, he took that back. There was nothing common about Glory Day. Stretched out firmly atop her, he felt her racing heart. His toes curled from the sizzling current. Her heaving breasts cozied up against the hardness of his chest like a saloon girl looking to make a bit of change. Have mercy!

“Get off me, you lousy double-crosser!” She beat against his chest

Christmas could’ve come and gone in the length of time it took to pry his fingers loose and lift himself. He battled with the need to hold her close. The bold way her body fit against his made him long for her.

With the deepest regret, he rose, letting her up.

She brushed off her clothes in a huff. Her withering glare might’ve killed a less hardy soul. For him, it would take more than that. Nothing short of death could wipe the grin off his face.

The evil eye she shot him when he didn’t cower under the glare assured him she’d most certainly oblige if given half a chance.

He quickly plucked her Winchester from the dirt where it’d fallen in the scuffle. He wasn’t taking any chances.

“Miss me, huh? Couldn’t stand not having me around?”

“You’re a cheat and a low-down liar.”

“Whoa, there. I’m wounded.” He’d reckoned she’d be mad enough to swallow a horned toad backward, but to come chasing surprised the hell out of him. Didn’t she possess any sense to keep out of harm’s way?

“I don’t suppose you remember we had a deal? It simply slipped your mind that you agreed I’d come with you?”

The rise and fall of her shirt set his imagination ablaze. All that velvety skin lay beneath there. Soft swells he ached to touch. Nipples that begged for attention.

Damn! The honeysuckle still swimming up his nose must’ve pickled his brain.

How could a man fight against something he so desperately wanted? He struggled to pull his stare from her beckoning mouth and lost.

���If I recall, you promised you’d do anything I wanted if I brought you along.” He meant his softly spoken reminder as a warning. The lady trod on his territory now.

She crossed her arms, gifting him with more of those looks that could hard-boil an egg in nothing flat.

“Foolish drivel. Doesn’t matter now. You broke your word.”

He edged closer. He wanted to bother her as much as she did him. And fire and damnation, did she ever!

“Are you quite certain?”

“I’m not bound—”

“Ahhhh, but that’s where you’re mistaken.” His velvet words belied the havoc inside. The attraction between them was far more binding than any hastily spoken agreement.

Panic colored her stone-washed gaze. “I declare our agreement null and void.” She stepped back.

The rifle dropped from Luke’s hand. He barely heard the thump of it hitting the ground over the racket inside his head.

“Too late,” he murmured.

A soft gasp came when he brushed her arm with light fingertips. It didn’t take tugging or cajoling to pull her against him. Her surrender spoke of a need that equaled his.

Anything to oblige a pretty lady.

Tenderly, he caressed her lips with his tongue before he allowed himself to partake of all she gave. He paid no heed to the fact that however much that was, it would never be enough. He’d learned a long time ago to collect each drop of rain. Sooner or later, it’d fill your bucket.

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About Linda Broday

At a young age, Linda Broday discovered a love for storytelling, history, and anything pertaining to the Old West. Cowboys fascinate her. There’s something about Stetsons, boots, and tall rugged cowboys that get her fired up! A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Linda has won many awards, including the prestigious National Readers’ Choice Award and the Texas Gold Award. She now resides in the panhandle of Texas on the Llano Estacado.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

THE COWBOY WHO CAME CALLING by Linda Broday: Excerpt & Giveaway was originally published on The Sassy Bookster

[ruthlessbookfish]

Anything For Her by Lola Stvil

January 19

Title: Anything for Her Series: The Hunter Brothers #2

Author: Lola StVil

Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: January 15, 2018

Blurb

“Her lips taste like honey and sin…” My name is Logan Hunter. I’m former NYPD SWAT. I don't do romance. I don't do relationships; at least not after what happened with my ex fiancé, Shay. I left NYC to take on a series of high-risk recue missions abroad. But last night I got a call from the only woman who could lure me back to the states: my ex. Her life is in danger and she needs me to protect her. I also learn that she’s keeping a secret; a secret so painful, she’d do anything to keep me from finding out. Can I get the woman I love to open up and let me in her heart again? After two years apart, can we find our way back to each other? This steamy romance is a roller coaster ride that will make you laugh, make you hot, and even make you shed a few tears. It's a full-length standalone novel. You do not have to read the book that came before this one. NO cheating, NO cliffhangers, and a guaranteed Happily-ever-after! This book has adult content for ages 18 and over.

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Author Bio

Lola StVil is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes Fantasy in addition to Contemporary romance. She has written over a dozen books and loves taking her readers on an emotional roller coaster ride. She is currently living in California and enjoys staying in touch with her readers.

Author Links

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