I really enjoyed Where I Belong, so I was eager to catch up with Corrinne and see what she’s been doing since her days in Broken Spoke, Texas.  The Art of Goodbye takes place over the evening before she leaves for college, with brief flashbacks to the spring, when she visited Broken Spoke to attend prom with her new friends.  That evening didn’t go quite as she had planned, so Corrinne has carefully crafted a schedule of events to celebrate her last night in New York City.  She is on a rigid time table, and when these plans don’t go as expected, either, she learns a valuable lesson.  There is no art to saying goodbye, and sometimes, things just happen.  Trying to control every situation to make a perfect memory isn’t possible and it’s better to just go with the flow.

 

When I started reading this novella, I was so disappointed with Corrinne.  It seems as though she had completely reverted back to her old overindulged, spoiled self.  Her evening is all about her, her, her.  Forget what the other participants in her plans want.  She has been planning this night all summer, and things are going to go according to her schedule.  Period.

Only the night doesn’t go at all like she planned.  Bensen, her boyfriend with an expiration date, wants to extend their relationship.  She’s taken aback by his suggestion, because she thought they had an agreement.  They would have fun during the summer, and then move on, with no hurt feelings, when they both headed off to college.  A long distance relationship, especially with Bensen, just isn’t in her future.  I really felt bad for Bensen, as Corrinne made it painfully clear that their relationship didn’t mean half as much to her as it did to him.

To further throw her perfect evening out of whack, Corrinne runs into Bubby, not once but twice.  She is still smarting about how prom night ended between them, and all of her plans for this evening are driven by the need to be in control now, since everything was totally out of control then.  Because of that night, she has blown the significance of this evening so far out of proportion that it would be virtually impossible for her not to feel let down.

As the night continued to snowball, and Corrinne continued to see her plans derailed, she started to take a close look at herself and how she was acting.  She was partly responsible for the disastrous outcome after prom, and she’s finally willing to own up to her role in that fiasco.  She has been blaming Bubby for their falling out, when in reality, she had just as much to do with their misunderstanding as he did.  I thought her childish behavior was mostly responsible, and I kept hoping that she would eventually man up to her own mistakes, instead of just dumping everything into Bubby’s lap.

She does redeem herself at the end, after realizing that there is no perfect moment.  This allows her to reflect on her behavior, and put her priorities into perspective.   While I was nervous about the resolution, I was happy to see that Corrinne does get a happily ever after, despite it being somewhat unrealistic. 

Fans of Where I Belong will enjoy spending more time with Corrinne.  I think this novella would be a let down for readers who haven’t read the book yet, so do yourself a favor and give Where I Belong a spin, too. 

About the book:

The heroine of Where I Belong is back in The Art of Goodbye, a romantic digital original novella about first loves and second chances.

It’s Corrinne Corcoran’s last night in town before heading off to college, and she’s determined it’ll be the most epic night ever. She’s planned every detail of each hour of the night, from what dresses she’ll wear, to what parties she’ll hit, to which of her best friends will be with her. But Corrinne’s perfect plan for her last night in New York goes awry when she runs into a ghost from her past, and the boy she’s never been able to forget—her ex-boyfriend, Bubby, from Broken Spoke. And Corrinne starts to wonder if her expertly planned goodbye to New York City was as perfect as it seemed. . . . Set over the twelve-hour period before Corrinne sets off for college, The Art of Goodbye will make you believe that true love can find you when you’re least expecting it . . . again.

HarperTeen Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

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Driving Mr Wrong Home was not my favorite novella in the Billionaire Matchmaker series, and I’m not sure why.  It has all of the elements I usually find engaging; a second chance at love trope, a road trip across the country, and a feisty little dog that demands pets and attention.  I think the problem I had is with the heroine’s personality, and I didn’t feel that she really changed much during the story.

Gabby is a struggling artist and a reformed bad girl.  She’s had a couple benign brushes with the law, flaunted her opinions in a too public arena, and as a result, she derailed her career and put her livelihood as an artist in jeopardy.  In a misguided fit of frustration, she used a commission opportunity to vent her temper, and the ensuing fallout destroyed her self-esteem.  Reinventing herself into a more cautious – and career-minded – adult, Gabby is focused on her career and getting back in the good graces of the art world.

She’s excited to receive a message from Mr B – he wants to meet with her to discuss a business proposition.  While she’s hoping desperately that he wants to commission some artwork from her, she is deflated to discover, through his butler, that he would like to retain  her services to babysit his Jack Russell terrier, Charlie, while he travels out of the country.  While the offered paycheck is more than enough to ease her immediate monetary fears, it wasn’t quite the break she was hoping for.  That, coupled with a surprise reunion with her best friend from high school has her on edge.  She’s trying to put her rebellious past, and the regrets of her youth behind her, and seeing TJ again just brings everything crashing back.

TJ was a nerd in high school, but he’s remade himself, too.  Now hot and sexy, he’s also a self-made man.  Wealthy and successful, he has pined for the one thing he couldn’t have – Gabby.  Determined to make one last ditch effort to win her heart, he’ll do anything to spend time with her.  Even lie about being poor and needing a ride to California so he can ride shotgun with her.  And off Gabby, TJ, and Charlie set on their road trip across the country.

I was disappointed with Gabby’s character.  She was impulsive and fun-loving when she was younger, but now  she’s risk-averse and strictly business.  She’s tempted by her conflicted feelings for TJ, though.  After rejecting him at a school dance, she’s still smarting over his rejection of her after he went off to college.  I had a hard time with her definition of TJ; a nerd with the ability to make her eyes glaze over with boredom once he started talking about computers.  That just didn’t mix for me, and made her seem self-indulgent and even selfish that she found something that he was so passionate about to be so boring.  I am aware that I am taking a small piece of the story and giving it far more weight that it would otherwise deserve, but that passing thought of Gabby’s really bugged me.  (Probably because I was and still am a nerd and have been accused of the same thing!)

I liked TJ and his determination to win Gabby back.  He acknowledges that he was wrong to ignore her after he left Chandler’s Cove, but his reasons for avoiding all things having to do with home rang true.  And he was able to accept that they each matured during the intervening years, and he put their separation into perspective by recognizing that now they were ready to have their happily ever after.  And so while I have mixed feelings about Driving Mr Wrong Home, I can firmly say that TJ (and Charlie) made the story for me.  

ABOUT DRIVING MR. WRONG HOME

Title: Driving Mr. Wrong Home
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Shirley Jump
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
EBook: 59 pages
Release Date: March 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1622665037
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Can a feisty four-legged matchmaker help four best friends find the romance of their dreams?

When a handsome man from Gabby’s past agrees to a cross-country road trip, her master plan to re-launch her art career quickly morphs into an unexpected, romantic reunion.

AMAZON* BARNES & NOBLE

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Love in the Shadows features Charlie’s mysterious owner, the billionaire Mr B, and Jenny, a woman who has lost the ability to trust in love.  She’s been running from her past and has settled in Chandler’s Cove, making friends with Mia, Marney, and Gabby.  A dedicated school teacher, she has worked hard to remake herself, and she’s content with her friends and her new life.  That is, until she meets Nick.  Suddenly she’s confronted with a riot of emotions, which has her running scared and leaves Nick with confirmation that he is truly a hideous monster.

Nick was seriously burned in an accident that left him disfigured and alone.  His fiancée took one look at him and declared that he was no longer husband material and that no one could ever love him.  When Megan walked out on him, she also left Charlie, the puppy she insisted on purchasing.  Like with Nick, she became bored with Charlie,  and left the two of them in her dust.  Best thing that ever happened to either of them!

I thought that the novella length hurt this story.  Both Nick and Jenny are suffering from self-revulsion, and both of them are hiding themselves from the rest of the world.  Nick lurks in darkened rooms, avoiding contact with anyone other than Cyrus, his butler, and Jenny has stamped out her former self, becoming someone she feels is capable of respect. They both guard their true selves from everyone else, even their closest friends.  When Jenny storms into Nick’s mansion, insisting he make good on Charlie’s errant behavior, the sparks fly.  She ends up leaving in a huff, with Charlie firmly in tow, and her real self precariously near the surface.

After Jenny discovers why Nick is always hiding in the shadows, she attempts to coax him out.  While I loved his reaction to her efforts to draw him into the light, I wasn’t convinced by the sudden change in either of them, but this was due mainly to the abbreviated length of their courtship.  They were both such interesting, damaged characters that I would have enjoyed learning more about them. 

Love in the Shadows wraps up the Billionaire Matchmaker series, though reading order isn’t a requirement for any of the novellas.  All of the stories work as stand alones, though it’s more fun to read them all, and to learn about all of the couples Charlie nudges together.

ABOUT LOVE IN THE SHADOWS

Title: Love in the Shadows
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Barbara Wallace
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Ebook: 80 Pages
Release Date: March 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-1622665068
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Can a feisty four-legged matchmaker help four best friends find the romance of their dreams?

Jenny is a woman on a mission – she’ll even resort to dognapping to make her point! But can she teach a reclusive, emotionally-wounded tycoon that love heals all things?

AMAZON * BARNES & NOBLE

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Review may contain spoilers

Love Unleashed is the second book in the Billionaire Matchmaker series that I have read.  As I stated previously, the big draw for me is Charlie, the rambunctious little canine who acts like a catalyst to brings the couples together.  The protagonists of this novella are Mia, a florist, and Gideon, the town vet.  It features my favorite trope;  Mia rejected Gid when he proposed six months ago because she is terrified of commitment, and both are still hung up on the other.  Mia is carrying around a ton of baggage that is preventing her from trusting Gid.  After bouncing between her drug addicted parents and the foster care system, she feels that she can’t trust anyone and that all relationships are doomed to failure. 

 

Charlie gamely steps in by eating the contents of her trash can, as well as a lace bra.  When he begins vomiting, Mia panics and calls Gid.  He agrees to see the dog immediately, opening the path to a strained reunion.  Before Mia knows what’s happened, they have fallen back into physical relationship.  Gid stresses about getting his heart broken again, and Mia worries about Gid putting his house and vet clinic on the market.  All Gid wants is to settle down with the woman he loves, but Mia still isn’t ready to trust him completely.  And with Gid on a timeline-his new job in California starts in just a few weeks-it doesn’t seem that there is enough time to get beyond the hurdles that keep getting in their way.

My favorite part of Love Unleashed is Gid’s unwavering love for Mia.  He’s willing to give her space and not push about her past, though this too becomes a thorn in their relationship.  While Mia has made it crystal clear that she doesn’t want to discuss her past, she is bothered that Gid never asks her about it.  It did take me a while to warm up to her, but she is a mess emotionally and she doesn’t want to be hurt again.  With Gid as her anchor, though, and with Charlie slyly pushing them together, she learns that love is to something to cherish, not to run and hide from.

My biggest disappointment? I didn’t think the interaction between Mia and Charlie was as cute as it was with Marney and Charlie.

 

ABOUT LOVE UNLEASHED

Title: Love Unleashed
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jackie Braun
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Ebook: 80 Pages
Release Date: March 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1622665051
Goodreads |Amazon |Barnes and Noble

Can a feisty four-legged matchmaker help four best friends find the romance of their dreams?

The last thing Mia wants is a relationship yet the headstrong florist can’t keep her hands off her sexy-as-sin ex-boyfriend. Will she open her heart before he leaves town for good?

AMAZON * BARNES & NOBLE

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Review:

The Sheriff’s Secret is part of The Billionaire Matchmaker series, which features a four-legged matchmaker.

The Sheriff’s Secret is a quick, sexy read, and even though Dell could occasionally be a shallow jerk, I really enjoyed this story.  Marney is a jewelry designer whose work has been picked up by a shopping channel, so she is enjoying her success and reaping in the benefits of her hard work.  Single again after catching her husband cheating on her, she’s lost everything in the divorce; her condo, their mutual friends, and even her parents’ respect.  They can’t get over how she could allow her ex to get away.  He was a lawyer and made them feel like they had made a huge jump socially.  Never mind that he was a cheating scumbag and that Marney is doing just fine on her own, her parents just won’t let her forget what a prize she let go.

 

Sheriff Dell O’Nell is attractive and he knows it.  When Marney makes a 911 call, thinking that an intruder is in her house, he accuses her of reporting a false alarm.  He believes the only reason Marney called was because she knew they would send Dell over.  Dell lives on the property next door, and while Marney was admittedly ogling him, she certainly did not make the call hoping to use the emergency dispatcher as a dating service.  So, right off the bat, their relationship gets off on the wrong foot, and it stays that way until The Kiss.  And the Next Kiss. And Everything That Happens Next.  And in between, Marney learns Dell’s secret, which makes him even more wary of her.

I thought this was a fun story.  Marney and Dell are continually drawn to each other.  Their physical attraction is undeniable, though neither of them wants a serious, committed relationship.  They are both still smarting from their previous, disastrous marriages, and they don’t want to go through anything like that again.  When Marney starts getting a little too fond of Dell, though, she knows she’s in deep, deep trouble.

I wanted to read The Sheriff’s Secret because one of the characters is a dog, Charlie.  I am a sucker for dogs.  Charlie is a smart little guy, and he knows that Marney and Dell need a little help admitting their feelings for one another.  This little matchmaker excels at plying his wiles and getting his way.  I liked how Marney poured her heart out to the dog.  Her relationship with Dell is a secret, so she has no one else to confide in except for the always attentive Charlie.

There are three other novellas in The Billionaire Matchmaker series featuring Charlie and Marney’s best friends, and because I enjoyed The Sheriff’s Secret so much, I hope to share reviews of the other stories soon as well.

ABOUT THE SHERIFF’S SECRET

Title: The Sheriff’s Secret
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Susan Meier
Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Ebook: 80 Pages
Release Date: March 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1622665044
Goodreads |Amazon |Barnes and Noble

Can a feisty four-legged matchmaker help four best friends find the romance of their dreams?

Marney’s 9-1-1 emergency help arrives in the form of a rugged, blue-eyed cop. Now she has the perfect bodyguard to keep her safe during those dark, steamy nights…

AMAZON * BARNES & NOBLE

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First published in 1912, Alexander’s Bridge was Willa Cather’s first novel. She had been publishing short stories for years and even had a couple of collections, but this novel, novella actually, was her first long work.

Cather has such an easy, beautiful voice that carries a reader pleasantly along. And even though this is not even close to the wonderful complexities of her later stories, her voice made it so I really didn’t care.

The story is about Bartley Alexander. Alexander

stood six feet and more in the archway, glowing with strength and cordiality and rugged, blond good looks. There were other bridge-builders in the world, certainly, but it was always Alexander’s picture that the Sunday Supplement men wanted, because he looked as a tamer of rivers ought to look. Under his tumbled sandy hair his head seemed as hard and powerful as a catapult, and his shoulders looked strong enough in themselves to support a span of any one of his ten great bridges that cut the air above as many rivers.

Aged forty-three, married to a beautiful woman, at the height of his career, he seemingly has it all. But something is making him start to feel a little dissatisfied. A mid-life crisis awaits!

On a business trip in London a friend takes him to see the play that is currently all the rage. The rage is more about a beautiful actress than the play itself. It turns out Alexander knows the actress, Hilda Burgoyne, quite well. In fact he had a youthful fling with her while he was studying in Paris a very long time ago. Seeing her again reminds Alexander of his youth and all its freedoms and suddenly the vague dissatisfaction crystalizes and he feels overworked, trapped, bogged down by tiny details he has no interest in:

He found himself living exactly the kind of life he had determined to escape. What, he asked himself, did he want with these genial honors and substantial comforts? Hardships and difficulties he had carried lightly; overwork had not exhausted him; but this dead calm of middle life which confronted him,—of that he was afraid. He was not ready for it. It was like being buried alive.

He goes to Hilda’s flat and discovers that while she has plenty of admirers, she has never committed herself to any man. It doesn’t take long for Alexander to discover that Hilda still loves him, and, because she is the bridge to his past, his youth, all the things he no longer has and wishes he did, Alexander rekindles their long ago affair.

Of course the clock cannot be turned back. While Hilda returns Alexander to his youthfulness, he realizes he does not want to abandon his success or his wife whom he loves. The transatlantic affair goes on for a number of years. Each time Alexander makes the trip to London he determines to break off the affair. He is feeling like he is living two lives and the deception is getting in the way of everything, keeping him from being happy with either life. But even though he feels “as if a second man had been grafted into me,” he cannot break off with Hilda.

And here is where Cather’s youth shows through. Instead of making Alexander face up to his situation and forcing him to make a choice, he gets an out. I won’t tell you what the out is in case you haven’t read the story; I don’t want to spoil it for you. Then after Alexander escapes having to make a decision, we get a sort of moral:

No relation is so complete that it can hold absolutely all of a person.

While this may be true, it is done a bit clumsily. Two novels later Cather writes Song of the Lark where there is barely a slip, no easy outs, and no obvious moralizing.

But even here in Alexander’s Bridge, you can see Cather’s interest in a certain type of character, in music, in strong women. It is still an enjoyable read because even when the story falters, there is still that marvelous Cather voice carrying everything confidently along.

I read this along with Danielle, so be sure to hop over and read her take.

Filed under: Books, Novella, Reviews Tagged: Willa Cather

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13 Shocking Reasons Real People were Committed to a Lunatic Asylum  by Sarah Ballance

If you thought you had to get your crazy on to land in a place like Ruby Hill, you’d better think again.

The following list of reasons folks were locked up for “treatment” between 1864 and 1889 at the RUBY HILL-esque yet very real Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum is absolutely true. (My commentary, however, may be prone to exaggeration.) (Source)

1. Bad Whiskey – I don’t know if this guy drank bad whiskey, sold bad whiskey, or manufactured bad whiskey, but you’ve got to feel for anyone forced to sober up a lunatic asylum. I’m pretty sure that type of residence is exactly where I’d most need whiskey, bad or otherwise.

2. Drospy – I admit I had to look this one up. It’s the old word for edema, which is what happens when you carry excess fluid. Basically this means if you’ve ever taken off your socks to find they’ve left dents in your legs, you could have been committed. Now THAT is lunacy.

3. Fighting Fire – Not setting them, but fighting them. Apparently firefighting in the 1800s wasn’t always considered the heroic profession we know it as today. And someone at the admissions desk is a pyromaniac.

4. Menstrual Deranged – What does that mean, exactly? Aside the menstrual part – we get that. Monthly, even. But deranged? We probably don’t want to know, but what do you want to bet a man came up with that one?

5. Masturbation for 30 Years – Erm, okay. But why THIS GUY and not EVERY OTHER GUY ON THE PLANET? I’m just sayin’….

6. Suppressed Masturbation – So what we’ve just learned is there is clearly a target zone for this particular activity—somewhere between once and 30 years’ worth. Good luck with that, boys.

7. Ill Treatment by Husband – Okay, so he’s a jerk so they lock HER up? I bet a man thought of that one, too. (I’m gaining a whole new appreciation for my fabulous husband, who—in over 16 years of marriage—has not once sent me to an asylum.)

8. Seduction and Disappointment – I’m not sure who was seduced in this scenario and who was disappointed, but apparently this was not the time to oversell oneself. (No wonder that one guy just stuck to masturbation for 30 years.)

9. Scarlatina (Scarlet Fever) – You there, with the contagious disease. Into the criminally over-crowded asylum. Yep, that’ll fix you. That will fix all of you. Muahahaha.

10. Medicine to Prevent Conception – To be fair, all forms of contraception were made illegal in the United States in 1873, so this was at least technically a crime. By the 1880s, though, there was a handy-dandy sausage casing device (yes, that would be animal intestine) alternative. Might have been worth a shot because…

11. Dissipation of Nerves – There’s nothing to indicate the dissipation of nerves was in any way related to conception rates, but my husband and I have six children (one of whom was conceived after I was surgically sterilized) and I’m telling you, asylum people. YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. It a classic inverse proportion, and if you don’t believe me just ask all those people who see me with six kids and immediately assume I’m crazy. But I digress.

12. Carbonic Acid Gas – I’m not sure of the particulars here, but just so y’all know, this is a byproduct of breathing. BREATHING WAS A CRIME.

13. Novel Reading – ERMAGERD, YOU GUYS. First we can’t breathe, and now they take away our novels! But fear not, for RUBY HILL is not a novel, but a novella. Which can only mean READING RUBY HILL WILL KEEP YOU OUT OF AN INSANE ASYLUM!

Okay, so my logic might be a bit flawed, LOL, but I’m going to distract you quickly so you won’t notice. ?

Here’s a related little historical twist that blew my mind.

In September, Entangled Scandalous released my historical romance, HER WICKED SIN, which is set during the Salem Witch Trials. Back then, the Salem in question was actually Salem Village, which has since been renamed Danvers. Danvers is home to the Danvers State Lunatic Asylum (reportedly one of the most haunted places in the world, and they turned it into APARTMENTS, y’all!), which sits on Hawthorne Hill, the very site of the gallows where the Salem witches were hanged. Nice little coincidence, right? But it gets better. Back in 2011—long before I’d given any thought to writing about the Salem Witch Trials or a haunted lunatic asylum—I had out there a little novella about a haunted house. Its name?

HAWTHORNE.

Mind. Blown.

Now that you’ve been properly wooed (yes-I-said-wooed), are you ready to dive into the dust, abandonment, terror—and yes, romance—of an abandoned mental institution? (Come on—you’ve got to see how the romance fits in there, right?) If so, I hope you’ll consider a dark, dangerous trek (or, you know, just click over) to your favorite e-tailer for the scoop on RUBY HILL!

PS: I’m probably hiking with grizzly bears as you read this, so bear (ha!) with me if I don’t respond immediately to your comments. I do look forward to your replies—and I have been promised nightly wifi—so if I’m not mauled, eaten, or otherwise incapacitated, I will SO come back for you! ?

Ruby Hill by Sarah Ballance

ISBN: 9781622662258

Book Description

From her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum, and she’s not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it’s Ashley’s job to find out what.

Crime scene expert Corbin Malone doesn’t believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths at Ruby Hill, but he won’t turn his back while more women die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his greatest fear isn’t living with his own demons, but losing her for good.

Amazon BN Goodreads

Excerpt:
Death had a flavor. Equal parts bitter and bland, the damnable taste was more sickening than the stickiness in Corbin Malone’s throat. It soured his gut, leaving him with an unease he couldn’t quite swallow, and the deeper they drove into the countryside—the closer the car brought him to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum—the more potent the flavor. Five years a cop, he’d neatly sidestepped the ugly aftertaste until things got personal.

Until the body belonged to his brother, Cash.

Nearly six months had passed since Cash Malone fought for his last breath inside the dismal, abandoned halls of Ruby Hill. Though his body now rested six feet under a distant patch of cemetery grass, Ruby Hill remained his tomb—a giant, crouching headstone marring acres of otherwise beautiful, rolling hills. And for Corbin, a visage of murder.

About the Author:

Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the kids). When not buried under piles of laundry, she may be found adrift in the Atlantic (preferably on a boat) or seeking that ever-elusive perfect writing spot where not even the kids can find her.

She loves creating unforgettable stories while putting her characters through an unkind amount of torture—a hobby that has nothing to do with living with six children. (Really.) Though she adores nail-biting mystery and edge-of-your-seat thrillers, Sarah writes in many genres including contemporary and ghostly paranormal romance. Her ever-growing roster of releases may be found on Amazon , Barnes & Noble, Kobo, For the Muse Publishing, and ENTANGLED PUBLISHING.

Website: http://sarahballance.com

Blog: http://sarahballance.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahBallance

Facebook: http://facebook.com/sarah.ballance.author.news

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4103362.Sarah_Ballance

Giveaway:

$25 Gift Certificate to winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble AND Skelton Key blue Swarovski heart Art Nouveau necklace (US/Canada ONLY) (http://www.etsy.com/listing/88152504/silver-butterfly-key-blue-swarovski?ref=shop_home_active )

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[Manga Maniac Cafe] Good morning, Ruth, and welcome to Manga Maniac Cafe!  Can you please describe yourself in 140 characters or less.

[Ruth Browne] I’m a writer with escapist fantasies about lawyering.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about One Thousand and One Nights?

[Ruth Browne] It’s the story of a busty biker redhead blasting zombies with a shotgun. It’s also the story of a sharp-witted young woman looking out for her little sister in a hostile universe, spinning stories to keep hope alive. It’s a romance, in more ways than one (but also in the most important, pleasantly erotic way). It’s a retelling of the Persian legend of Scheherazade during a zombie apocalypse. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Ruth Browne] I saw the Entangled ad for a zombified retelling of a fairytale, and took a few weeks to think about it. The mostly European Disney fairytales seemed pretty hackneyed, so I dismissed them. The 1001 Nights idea probably arrived via Aladdin, which is one of my favourite Disney movies. When it appeared in my head I pretended to ignore it so it would hang around. Pretty soon I was fleshing it out in my head, starting from the premise of being chained to the wall by an attractive man. The characters began as generic badasses of urban fantasy and developed from there. So, a combination of erotic daydreaming and Disney musicals. Forgive me.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Sheri?

[Ruth Browne] Brave, uninhibited, lonely.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Aleksy had a theme song, what would it be?

[Ruth Browne] Iron Maiden – The Trooper. I stole it from Max Brooks, sorry Max.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Sheri is never without.

[Ruth Browne] Her sense of humour.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things will you never find in Aleksy’s bedroom?

[Ruth Browne] Pretty pictures. Crime fiction. Boredom.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Sheri’s greatest regret?

[Ruth Browne] Sheri tries to live without regret, but leaving Lebanon and her parents for the States as a child is a decision she really regrets, even though she had no control over it.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Ruth Browne] Music, like the Beck track that plays in the van. Brilliant writers, like Gaiman and Miéville. And my own long-standing desire to write something I personally would want to read, especially in the genre of apocalyptic fiction. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[Ruth Browne] Time, inspiration and Ceylon tea.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What was your biggest distraction while working on One Thousand and One Nights?

[Ruth Browne] I was recovering from a death in the family. 1001 Nights was my distraction.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[Ruth Browne] Max Brooks’ World War Z. Detailed, fascinating, epic beyond belief. It froze my blood with horror. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

[Ruth Browne] Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. I wrote an enthusiastic book review on it when I was six.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

[Ruth Browne] Friendship and good times above all things, except food and sex.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[Ruth Browne] I’m on Goodreads, Twitter and Facebook so any contact is welcome.

https://twitter.com/browne_rh

https://www.facebook.com/onethousandandonecorpses?skip_nax_wizard=true

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7258617.Ruth_Browne

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thank you!

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Guest Blog by E. J. Russell

My youngest (by eight minutes) son is a lifelong aficionado of the macabre. Nick’s favorite book in grade school was an oversized, cheerfully illustrated book on historical disasters (his favorite was – and still is – the Black Plague), and post-grade school, he graduated to all-things-Stephen-King.

It’s only natural, then, that when he was a senior at the local arts magnet high school, he and his friends decided to make a horror movie. Their script involved a too-good-to-be-true free vacation at a B & B that turned out to be the lair of cannibals. The location for the creepy isolated hotel?

Our house.

I didn’t know whether to be insulted or flattered.

True, the very remoteness of our out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere house can be alarming. We live on a six-mile-long, partially paved road, with no feeder streets – you can only enter from one end or the other. Our house, screened from the road by a stand of shaggy Douglas firs, sits at the back of a grove of ancient, gnarled walnut trees that have almost forgotten how to leaf out, and the blackberry brambles looming on either side of the bumpy driveway rival Sleeping Beauty’s daunting thorn hedge.

To my husband, this set-up is a dream come true. For him, our virtual fortress on the hill is the perfect sanctuary, a retreat where he never has to see a neighbor if he doesn’t want to. But for our extrovert daughter, who gets freaked out by the least hint of the weird, it’s a nightmare in the making. She avoids being home alone like she’d avoid Nick’s favorite disaster, and if for some reason she can’t, she turns on every light in the house. Every. Stinking. One.

Nick, pragmatic opportunist that he is, was perfectly willing to exploit the creep factor for his film, even though he’s just as quick to embrace the seclusion when he’s feeling anti-social.

My two heroes in Northern Light have a similar love/hate relationship with rural isolation.

For desperate painter Stefan, the remote cabin in the Oregon Coast Range, off the grid and hugged by the forest, is a refuge. There, away from the stress of his financial difficulties and the reminders of his personal failures, he finally has a chance to reconnect with his artistic vision and start to rebuild his shattered life.

But the solitude that Stefan finds so comforting nearly sends Luke, my art investigator, running for…well, not the hills. He hates those damn hills. For Luke, who once endured a disabling traumatic event in the mountains, safety is a well-populated sea-level community, where he can see the horizon whenever he looks out his window, and know that he’s not trapped.

So how about you? City dweller or country cousin? Hustle and bustle or peace and quiet? Or are you like Nick, who’ll take which ever one suits his mood at the moment?

Northern Light by E.J. Russell

ISBN: 9781622662845

Genre: M/M Romance

Book Description:

Nothing gives art fraud investigator Luke Morganstern a bigger rush than busting forgers, the low-life criminals who dare victimize true artists. But when his latest job sends him to a remote cabin in the Oregon Coast Range, he’s stunned to discover the alleged forger is his former lover, Stefan Cobbe, the most gifted painter Luke has ever known.

Stefan, left homeless and destitute after the death of his wealthy partner, doesn’t exactly deny the forgery — he claims he doesn’t remember, an excuse Luke can’t accept.

But Luke’s elderly client suggests Stefan may be telling the truth and presents another possibility – a dark presence in the woods, a supernatural fury simmering for decades. Luke must face down his fear of the uncanny – and admit his feelings for Stefan – if either of them is to survive.

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Excerpt:

Luke slammed the heel of his hand against his forehead. Shitgoddamnsonofabitch. He’d asked the fucking question. Now he’d have to listen to an answer he could never un-know. His chest heaved and he stared Stefan down, waiting for the words that would either damn him as a liar or condemn him as a forger. Either one would force Luke to choose between rebooting his career or destroying the man he’d once loved.

Stefan blinked. Blinked again, brows drawing together in a tight vee. "What?"

For some reason, maybe aftershocks from his Fiat-flashback or mortification that Stefan had witnessed his resultant freak-out, the bewildered affront on Stefan’s face kicked Luke into art investigator asshole mode. "Did you think you’d get away with the fake Arcolettis because he was a relative unknown? Because all his pieces except one are in private hands?"

"Who the hell is Arcoletti?"

Luke guffawed, sounding unpleasant even to himself. "Good one."

"No. I mean it. Who’s Arcoletti?"

"Jeremiah Arcoletti. American realist painter. Disappeared in 1945 along with all thirteen canvases from his last collection.” Luke’s eyes popped wide. "Holy shit. That’s it, isn’t it? The lost collection." He poked Stefan’s shoulders with stiff fingers, peripherally aware arguing in the middle of a dark mountain road was ridiculous and possibly suicidal, but he didn’t give a flying fuck. They’d finish this now. "Is that your plan? Recreate the lost collection out here in your little studio in the big woods?"

"Stop it." Stefan batted Luke’s hand away, his gaze fixed on the ground, avoiding the question. Pleading the artistic Fifth. Last refuge of the guilty.

"Where’d you see his work? The museum in Amsterdam? Hell, in all those years of prancing around with Marius, you could have seen every fricking one of the privately held pieces. Marius had the connections for it. You could toss his name around to get access to the Gordon letters too. Damn it." He dropped his arms, suddenly spent. "The Stefan I knew would have cut off his hands before he’d counterfeit another artist’s work. What’s happened to you?"

"What hasn’t?" Stefan’s eyes were wide, his pupils huge in the combined light of headlights and flashlight. "But I swear. I’ve never heard of this Arcoletti."

"No? Then tell me. What’s coming off your easel these days? Studies in Monochrome? The Picture of Oregon Gray?”

"I…I don’t know."

The feeble disavowal flipped Luke’s asshole switch back on. "Don’t give me that shit. You don’t paint with your eyes closed."

"No. I just…" Stefan’s voice was hoarse, and he clutched his flashlight to his belly, casting warped, inverted shadows across his face and distorting his features into a death’s-head mask. "I’ve been painting, but I don’t remember them. I’m not even sure how many there are."

"Artistic amnesia? Bullshit. You must have seen them when you handed them over to Boardman."

Stefan shook his head and pinched his eyes closed. "Thomas always loaded them into his car. I never looked. Not after…not when they were finished."

"Why? Guilt?"

"No. I was afraid…" Stefan wrapped his arms across his stomach, pointing the flashlight into the woods, and his face was his own again, drawn and haunted.

"Afraid of getting caught?"

"Afraid of what I’d paint next," he whispered.

Luke’s lips twisted. "Denial. It’s what’s for dinner. No wonder you’re so fricking thin."

"Why is everything black and white for you, Luke? Let in some color, for Christ’s sake." Stefan forked the fingers of one hand through his hair. "Even a little gray would be a change."

Luke refused to allow the broken edge of Stefan’s voice to influence him. He’d let sentiment sway him once before and it had cold-cocked his career. "Right or wrong, Stef. It’s not that tough a choice."

"Fine." Stefan raised his head and met Luke’s gaze, his shoulders shifting as if bracing for a blow. "You’ve already made up your mind, as usual. Go ahead. Turn me in to the art police."

Luke searched Stefan’s face for some flicker of remorse, some acknowledgement he accepted the enormity of his crime. Nothing. Only the droop of his lips and a telltale glitter in his eyes, hinting at unshed tears. "Can you give me a reason not to?"

Stefan’s breath caught in what might have been a laugh if his face weren’t so bleak. "Guess not." He saluted Luke with a middle finger. "Enjoy your drive."

Stefan strode uphill, the beam of his flashlight bouncing from road to hillside, and Luke’s last trace of adrenaline drained away. He sighed, deep and exhausted.

The lousy car sat perpendicular to the road, driver’s door ajar. If he was lucky, he’d manage to creep down the hill by midnight. He shut the damn door before the brainless chime of the key alarm drove him nuts and leaned his forehead against the car roof, the beaded rain icy against his heated skin.

"Shit."

About the Author:

E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer and business intelligence consultant. She returned to her childhood love of writing fiction after her twin sons learned to drive and she no longer spent half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class.

Her daily commute now consists of walking from one side of her office to the other — from left-brain day job to right-brain author cave — where she’s perfected the fine art of typing with a cat draped across her wrists and a dog attached to her hip. Her stories include gay and straight characters because her life includes gay and straight characters (as does everyone’s).

E.J. lives in rural Oregon with her curmudgeonly husband, enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.

Website: http://www.ejrussell.com

Blog: http://ejrussell.com/bloggery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ej_russell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/ej_russell

Giveaway:

The Oregon Chill-chaser bundle: (US ONLY)

Mystic Water handwarmer mug from Clay in Motion Pottery

9.5 oz Dark Hot Chocolate mix from Moonstruck Chocolatiers

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Guest Blog: Thrills & Chills While Doing Laundry (Wait. What?)

By Lindsey R. Loucks

Instead of taking one of the buses speeding through campus during my college career, I always walked, my gaze aimed at the ground for anything shiny and round. If I found treasure in the form of a quarter, it was well worth the few bumps on the head or rude comments I got from not looking where I was going. Like most college students, I was poor.

But I became a pretty successful quarter tracker, and when I’d find one, I’d add it to my carefully stacked pile with the hope I’d have enough to do laundry soon. With all that walking around campus, there were days when I came home smelling a tad ripe.

The washers and dryers were located on the basement floor of my apartment building, and let’s just say that going down there, alone, was the equivalent of walking into a dragon dungeon with my arms loaded with raw meat. That’s what it felt like anyway.

Storage cupboards took up the far wall that led from the stairs to the laundry area, each one about three feet long and three feet wide. Sometimes one of them would be open a crack. The single overhead light only cast a faint orange glow, deepening the shadows inside that open cupboard to an inky black.

Whenever I’d see one of those open cupboards, I’d stop in my tracks while my imagination tumbled over everything that could be lurking inside. Usually the things I imagined involved segmented legs, machetes, Brazilian poison dart frogs, porcelain dolls, or a combination of all of the above, just waiting to spring out.

My pulse racing, I’d give my laundry bag a squeeze and check to make sure I still had my quarters. Then, with my breath held, I’d race past the open cupboard, dump all my clothes into the washer, throw in some soap, push my quarters into the slots, start the machine, and sprint back out before I’d used up all the stored air in my lungs.

It was such a rush! It made laundry day pretty much the best day ever! Of course, I’ve always lived for that pump of adrenaline that fear gives me. I watch scary movies alone in the dark by myself on purpose. I guess I’m weird like that.

On one of my trips to the laundry room, my boyfriend’s brother went with me (I can’t remember why exactly, but I may have told him about the spooky basement). When he saw the wall of cupboards, his exact words were, “A serial killer stores his victims in these, huh?”

And that’s when I stopped doing laundry in that apartment building. Nah, just kidding. I still did. Remember that adrenaline rush thing I was talking about? Yep.

All of this was the fuel I needed to eventually write Haunted Chemistry. Who knew laundry could be so delightfully scary?

How about you? What’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to you while doing laundry? Have you ever done laundry in a particularly frightening place?

Haunted Chemistry by Lindsey Loucks

ISBN: 9781622662982

Book Description:

When bookish college co-ed Alexis heads to the laundry room in her new apartment, she runs into Ian Reese, the chem lab partner she crushed on all last semester. And the guy who stood her up on their first date. But she’s down for an awkward reunion, and no better place than her creepy laundry room.

Ian has every intention of making amends, but just when Alexis begins to trust him again, a new threat calls more than their future together into question. A ghost from the apartment’s past is hellbent on revenge, and if he wants to get his girl, he’ll have to get the ghost first.

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Excerpt:

“Uh, Alexis?”

My name on his tongue sounds amazing, but I try not to notice. I turn, the bulk of my laundry bag holding the door open for me. “What?”

He swallows and glances at his black boots. “It’s great to see you again.”

I nod. It’s great to see him, too, but I’m not the one who didn’t show up for our date at the end of last semester and who vanished for an entire summer with no explanation. Maybe he forgot about our non-date, because he sure isn’t trying to explain himself. But why didn’t he call to tell me he wouldn’t be coming instead of making me wait for him?

My bag bites its weight into my shoulder. When I shift it to the other one, the door creaks closed in Ian’s face. I wince. I didn’t mean for that to happen.

“Well.” He frowns through the broken squares in the window. “See you.”

“Yeah.” With a sigh, I watch him walk away. I’ve missed our group study sessions where we’d always sit next to each other and accidentally nudge each other’s knee or foot. I’ve missed how easy it is to be with him. I’ve missed him. He doesn’t seem like the type who wouldn’t call to say he couldn’t make it. But he didn’t.

About the Author:

Lindsey R. Loucks works as a school librarian in rural Kansas. When she’s not discussing books with anyone who will listen, she’s dreaming up her own stories. Eventually her brain gives out, and she’ll play hide and seek with her cat, put herself in a chocolate induced coma, or watch scary movies alone in the dark to reenergize.

She’s been with her significant other for almost two decades.

Website: http://www.lindseyrloucks.com

Blog: http://www.lindseyrloucks.com/my-blog

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LindseyRLoucks

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindseyRLoucks

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6151511.Lindsey_R_Loucks

Giveaway:

$50 gift card. Winner’s choice of Amazon or B&N

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To celebrate the beginning of the scariest month of the year, I wanted to share news about Entangled’s Ever After releases for October. They are all keeping with the creepy Halloween theme, and you can enter a bunch of giveaways! I’m planning on reading all of these – let’s see how many I get through!

Ruby Hill by Sarah Ballance

From her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum, and she’s not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it’s Ashley’s job to find out what.

Crime scene expert Corbin Malone doesn’t believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths at Ruby Hill, but he won’t turn his back while more women die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his greatest fear isn’t living with his own demons, but losing her for good.

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One Thousand and One Nights by Ruth Browne

Sheri spends her days fighting zombies and her nights chained to a wall, earning her every breath by telling stories to her captor Aleksy—stories that make them both forget the ruined world. Sheri could put up with the conditions—at least she knows her sister is safe in the community Aleksy leads—until she realizes she’s falling for him…even though he wants her dead.

When Aleksy allowed Sheri and her sister into his compound, he didn’t know about the zombie bite on her back. It’s only a matter of time before she turns into one of the rising dead and threatens their existence, but Aleksy has a secret need for Sheri and her stories. For everyone’s safety, he chains her to his bedroom wall, hoping for just one more day. But how long will the community allow Aleksy to ignore his own rule: always kill the infected. Always.

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Mercy by Jan Coffey

Julia Klein’s life has begun to unravel—her daughter Amy has been suspended from school, Julia is about to lose her job, and her boyfriend Garrett is being transferred thousands of miles away. Overwhelmed, she and Amy leave for a weekend at a rambling old colonial inn. Julia never suspects that Garrett, desperate to find a way to keep Julia in his life, has decided to surprise her by joining them. Nor does she expect her daughter to befriend a mischievous ghost…or that she herself would be possessed by the malevolent spirit of a long-dead mother.

As a dark secret emerges, Julia, Amy, and Garrett find themselves pitted in a fight for survival against a savage presence that intends to resurrect/repeat/relive a horrible crime committed two centuries ago. And this time, Amy and Julia will be the victims.

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Haunted Chemisty by Lindsey Loucks

When bookish college co-ed Alexis heads to the laundry room in her new apartment, she runs into Ian Reese, the chem lab partner she crushed on all last semester. And the guy who stood her up on their first date. But she’s down for an awkward reunion, and no better place than her creepy laundry room.

Ian has every intention of making amends, but just when Alexis begins to trust him again, a new threat calls more than their future together into question. A ghost from the apartment’s past is hellbent on revenge, and if he wants to get his girl, he’ll have to get the ghost first.

Amazon      Barnes and Noble

Wish Upon a Star by Michelle McLean

Ceri McKinley never stopped wishing that her ex-fiancé Jason Crickett would come back into her life. But when he finally does, he comes with a request that puts them both—and all of humanity—into jeopardy.

Jason only wants two things: to bury his brother properly and to convince Ceri to trust him again after he jilted her. But when Ceri agrees to help him get his brother back, they end up fighting for their lives as a zombie uprising threatens them all.

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Northern Light by E.J. Russell

Nothing gives art fraud investigator Luke Morganstern a bigger rush than busting forgers, the low-life criminals who dare victimize true artists. But when his latest job sends him to a remote cabin in the Oregon Coast Range, he’s stunned to discover the alleged forger is his former lover, Stefan Cobbe, the most gifted painter Luke has ever known.

Stefan, left homeless and destitute after the death of his wealthy partner, doesn’t exactly deny the forgery — he claims he doesn’t remember, an excuse Luke can’t accept.

But Luke’s elderly client suggests Stefan may be telling the truth and presents another possibility – a dark presence in the woods, a supernatural fury simmering for decades. Luke must face down his fear of the uncanny – and admit his feelings for Stefan – if either of them is to survive.

Amazon      Barnes and Noble

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Title: Author:

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

 

Review:

Entangled Publishing’s Ever After line is mostly a hit for me, so when I saw Risky Surrender, I wanted to read it.  The protagonist is an archeologist skating on the edge of the law, and she avoids personal relationships at all costs.  When she meets Keats McCall, she can’t help but be attracted to him, even though a long term relationship isn’t an option for her.  All she wants is to keep the promise she made to her father before his death, so she can finally be free to live her own life.  She discovers that McCall is the only one standing in the way of her goal, and she’s determined to keep her word to her father, regardless of the sexy man standing in the way.  Is holding on to the past preventing her from claiming her future?

I liked this novella!  Lucy has already retrieved an artifact from under McCall’s nose, but she isn’t all that eager to do it again.  After he catches her poking around the historic Indian village that he’s in charge of protecting, he’s instantly on guard.  Lucy doesn’t play by the rules, he’s learned, and he’s suspicious about her motives now.  When he discovers that she’s been living in her car, and that she can’t really afford the repairs after it breaks down, he takes her under his wing.  While he’s attracted to her, McCall’s number one calling is protecting things, be it historic sites or people.  With his privileged background, helping Lucy with the auto repairs, and even finding her a place to stay, isn’t a hardship, and it’s something that he genuinely appears to enjoy.  The more he sees of Lucy, though, the better he wants to get to know her.  She doesn’t care who his parents are or how much is in his bank accounts, and he finds that refreshing.  The fact that she has zero interest in getting to know him better is just something he chalks up to as a challenge.

Lucy has been alone since her father died two years ago.  She’s been at the mercy of her father’s benefactor, forced to pay back the debts her father incurred when his treasure hunting trips yielded nothing of value.  Lucy thinks she’s done with Malcolm, but when the artifact collector learns that she’s got a lead on an ancient statue, he makes threats against both Lucy and McCall unless she hands it over.   Yikes!

I enjoyed the flow of Lucy and McCall’s relationship.  It just clips believably along, and as they get to know each other better, they slowly begin to trust each other with little pieces of themselves.  The progression seemed so natural.  Sure, they stumbled along at times, but the reasons for that were also compelling and fit so well in the overall context of the story.  Lucy was a better developed character, but she had an unconventional upbringing, following along after her father, who was always looking for that next rush, that next treasure.  It made her think that she wasn’t able to have a traditional relationship, but after losing everyone close to her, she was so over giving her heart away, only to have it returned, bruised and battered. 

Risky Surrender is a satisfying read with fun characters, snappy dialog, and just enough intrigue to keep readers on their toes.  I loved McCall, and was sad when this story drew to a close.  If you have an extra hour or so this weekend, give this novella a go.

Grade:  B+

Review copy provided by publisher

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Chapter 1:  Babies Making Babies

Babies making babies.  Pfft…I ain’t never heard any good story come about when two teenagers set out, ready to conquer the world, only come to find out that they went and got themselves knocked-up after just one night’s fit of passion, leaving all their fancy ideas of what life was gonna be like, splayed like toilet paper on their heels behind them.  Mama said that’s precisely what happened to her and Daddy, that they was nothing more than just babies making babies when they gave birth to that stubborn, curly-headed, terror-of-a-sister-of mine, Bartlett.  

The way Mama tells it, she met daddy out at the Southern Speedway; the race car track down off Highway 77 in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Mama says that whole night long, Daddy kept trying to kiss her, telling her she sure was the prettiest thing he ever did saw, but Mama told him she was a lady and she was raised better than that.  Daddy must have known she wasn’t gonna let any man touch her before she got married, so he up and asked her, straight-away, to marry him on impulse.  They didn’t even know each other more than a few hours when my flattered, exasperated mother laughed and looked up at him with her shiny, steel blue eyes and finally gave in to him, “Yes, I’ll marry you, Earl, but not before you go out to my house and ask my Mama and Daddy for permission.” 

Mama turned to me, more staring through me than anything, as she slowly recanted that evening so long ago.  I watched as something deep within her stirred and fluttered and reared its head, as she began to tell me about that night, talking how they sat on the cold bleachers and watched as those loud, colorful race cars zoomed by them at breakneck speeds while Daddy tried to fondle and flirt with and hear her above the crowd and the noise.  I could almost smell the exhaust and the asphalt and rubber, she told the story so well. She said that night she believed she could love my daddy forever.  “Barley, your father was the handsomest man in all of Carter County.  It’s true, don’t laugh,” she said, eyeing me as I giggled nervously.  ”Everyone thought he looked just like Elvis Presley back then, all dark-haired, tall and tan and thin and so confident, your Daddy was. Why, all them girls out at that race track just wished they was me that night,” Mama said, as her smile slowly began to fade.  She was suddenly rummaging around in her thoughts, picking them up, one-by-one and ruminating about herself, a different person in a different body at a different time, and for a moment, I thought I had lost her completely to her memories.  “Oh Mama, hurry up already.  Tell me more,” I finally said, bringing her back to the here and now. 

That next Monday morning, Grandpa had his first serious talk with Daddy, the groom-to-be, and gave him what mama called, The Three Nevers Talk.  “Never hit her, ever,” my Grandpa said slowly, looking him straight in the eye, taking a long pause for effect, while spitting his tobacco in the Folgers Coffee can he used as a spittoon sitting next to him.  I ain’t never hit her and nor should you.  Starting up again, grimacing and contemplating his next words, he slowly sucked the tobacco from his teeth he said, “Never let her go hungry, and never stray from her and find yourself another woman, because she’s the best your ever gonna find.  Ya hear me?  If you can promise me these three things, Anita and me, well…we will give y’all our blessings, and you can marry our Franny,” Grandpa said in a foreboding voice. 

Later that morning, my Mama, just fifteen at the time, powdered her skin and got all dressed-up in her Sunday finery, kissed her Mama on the nose, and left the only home she ever knew, all giddy and excited, ambling down a dirt road, heading towards her destiny with a man she barely knew in a dilapidated Chevy truck.  Hopeful and reckless with her heart’s out-and-out abandon, she stood solemnly, thinking about what it would be like to be married to the stranger next to her, in front of the Justice of the Peace in the Carter County Courthouse.  She married Daddy while my mother’s brother, Uncle John and his wife, June, looked on.  Mama never liked old June much, and I could see just mentioning her name gave her the worst case of the willies and that in turn caused the goose pimples to surface on my arm.  I brushed them away and finished listening to Mama tell me more about the day she married my daddy.

Nine months after Mama said I do, she gave birth to Bartlett (like the pear), two years and a month before I was born.  Mama always had a thing for food, and named me Barley (like the grain.)  Seven years later, my baby brother, Graham (like the cracker) came.  Us three never knew what hit us, being born a Sullivan.  My third grade teacher, Miss Espich, says never knowing what hits you is an idiom relating to very bad consequences in which the people involved were totally unsuspecting. That’s us, the Sullivan Three.  

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Title: Gamble in Gold Author: Natalie Anderson

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

 

Review:

I’ve read one other novella by Natalie Anderson, and it really worked for me (Melt).  Gamble in Gold, sadly, did not.  Even though it featured one of my favorite tropes,  it was too short and too predictable to keep me engaged in the story.  Worse yet, a day after reading it, most of the plot has escaped my memory, so it’s also fairly forgettable.  Mango the dog, though he played only a small role, was the most memorable character for me.

Lexie is crashing at Luke Marchetti’s flat while he’s out of town.  He’s supposed to be gone for a month, so color Lexie very surprised, and also embarrassed, when he walks into his home and finds her in the kitchen.  In a gold negligee.  At the sight of him, Lexie is overcome with many emotions.  She’s had a monster crush on him since she was a foreign exchange student staying with his family in high school, and to her dismay, she hasn’t gotten over it.  Mix in the hurt from his cool dismissal of her – after sharing her first kiss – and she’s instantly on edge and angry.  He’s probably still a man whore, lacking any ability to have a real, caring relationship.  When she discovers that he’s hurt his leg in a training accident, though, her heart thaws, just a little.  Maybe he’s not so bad?

Unknown to Lexie, Luke has been attracted to her since she was a shy guest in his parents’ home.  When they’re caught kissing, his father tells him in no uncertain terms to keep his hands to himself.  With Lexie off limits, Luke turns to serial dating to forget her.  All he does is frustrate himself and break her heart.  With so many misunderstandings between them, can he convince her to give him a second chance?

I think my favorite part of Gamble in Gold was Luke’s realization that Lexie is the one for him, and that he’s finally ready to settle down with one woman.  When she coolly brushes off their night together as nothing more than a one night stand, it’s his turn to be hurt.  Lexie is beating herself up for succumbing to Luke’s charm, knowing that it will only result in heartache, so she wants to cut to the chase and make him think that he means nothing to her before he can do it to her.  Luke must plead his case, and he has to face some of his fears about a lasting relationship as he does so.

I was also disappointed with the length of GiG.  Based on the file size, I thought it would be longer, but the included preview took up a big chunk of the end.

Grade: C/C-

Review copy provided by publisher

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Huge congratulations to Lou Allin, whose Rapid Reads title Contingency Plan has won this year’s Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novella!

The Arthur Ellis Awards honor excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Lou Allin was previous shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel in 2003 for Blackflies Are Murder.

About Contingency Plan:

When Sandra Sinclair, recently widowed and the mother of twelve-year-old Jane, meets wealthy lawyer Joe Gillette, he wins her over with his kind and conscientious attitude. Falling in love faster than she ever thought possible, Sandra agrees to marry. But soon after they move into their new home, things begin to change, and Joe’s controlling behavior causes her to question her decision. When her new husband becomes seriously abusive, Sandra decides that she and Jane must leave.

When Joe makes it clear that he will not just let her walk away, Sandra discovers that it’s quite likely that he arranged his first wife’s death, and that she is now part of his “contingency plan.” She soon realizes that even the law is no defense against this meticulous and egotistical man. Fleeing to an old family cabin on a remote lake, mother and daughter prepare to live off the grid. And when Joe tracks them down, Sandra must come up with a contingency plan of her own. Buy the Book!

About the Rapid Reads series from Orca:

Rapid Reads are short novels and non-fiction books for adult readers. In our increasingly fast-paced world Orca believes there is a need for well-written, well-told books that can be read in one sitting. Rapid Reads are intended for a diverse audience, including ESL students, reluctant readers, adults who struggle with literacy and anyone who wants an high-interest quick read. Each novel in the Rapid Reads series is written between a 2.0 and 4.5 reading level. The plots are contemporary and entertaining, with adult language and themes. More about Rapid Reads.

 

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When the chance came to review another of Jessica Bell's books, I jumped at it. I loved her writing exercise and instruction book:  Show & Tell in a Nutshell! This novella, The Book, caught my attention immediately--mostly because of the different formats--journal entries, doctor/patient transcripts, and narrative in a child's voice. I know I've already caught your interest with just that list, so wait until you read on. . .

It doesn’t take a tome of 500 pages to tell a powerful, gripping and captivating story. Jessica has managed to do this in less than 150 pages in The Book. Jessica, also an author of poetry and nonfiction, takes on a unique voice for one of the narrators of her book—a five-year-old child, Bonnie; she truly captivates this voice, taking the reader through the story of the girl’s estranged parents and herself trying to figure out her young and confusing life full of adults always acting strangely.

The title comes from a book, which most would call a journal or diary, that Bonnie’s parents started writing in before she was even born. John, her father, has the idea to write special messages to his daughter and to give “The Book” to her when she is older. Penny, her mother, is the one who actually writes in it more, and eventually it becomes a diary for her mother, more than a message for the daughter.

The Book is divided into three parts: “Love is the Beginning,” “Love is a Weapon,” and “Love is Tangible.” In each part, Penny or John tell their side of the story and their feelings through their writings in “The Book”; Bonnie adds to the story through her narration for the reader; and transcripts of Bonnie speaking to a psychiatrist, Dr. Wright, are also included. All of these parts and various techniques work together to complete the story of Bonnie and her parents.

The reader learns that John and Penny don’t stay together after Bonnie’s born, and Penny starts a new relationship with Ted—who has a temper with a violent side. Bonnie explains to the reader what she sees going on in the lives of the adults around her, from her dad’s new family to her mom’s emotional side to “my Ted’s” outbursts.

Bonnie sees the biggest problem as “The Book.” She thinks it is what causes the difficulties in her life and the lives of her loved ones. She wants to destroy it and is just waiting for the chance to get it away from her mother and make everything better for everyone.

Jessica Bell

What Jessica does so well in this short novel is take on the different voices of the characters—readers will be able to hear the child trying to figure out her world in Bonnie’s narrative, while sympathizing with John and Penny who aren’t sure if they made the right choice to split apart. When Jessica writes as John in “The Book,” he has a distinct way of writing, which is different than Penny—this distinction and technique with voice are the marks of a talented writer.

The ending is shocking and can be somewhat disturbing, but it’s realistic, heartfelt, and certainly satisfying after spending several hours getting to know the characters in The Book.

Jessica is a native-Australian who lives in Athens, Greece. She is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She makes a living as an editor and writer for English language teaching publishers worldwide, such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, Macmillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning. She also runs the Homeric Writers' Retreat and Workshop in Ithaca, Greece, which is an annual week-long workshop for writers with instruction from experts in the field. Recently, she re-released her full-length novel, String Bridge, complete with a cover makeover, and is giving away the digital version of the accompanying soundtrack (which is amazing, by the way!) with every purchase.

The Book is a fast read, but one that you will want to read again. The characters are complex, which makes the story memorable, and a great one to discuss in a book club. If you haven’t checked out anything Jessica Bell has written yet, then why not start with The Book?

Margo L. Dill is the author of Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg, a middle-grade (ages 9 to 12) historical fiction novel.


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Title:  Frosted Author: Wendy Sparrow

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I’m a huge fan of Jack Frost stories, even though I hate the cold.  Go figure.  When I saw Frosted by Wendy Sparrow, I was intrigued enough to give it a read.  It’s a novella clocking in at just under 120 pages, which makes it a perfect choice if you’re pressed for time.  There were a few pacing issues, and Kate’s personality was a bit inconsistent, but overall, this is a cute read about second chances and learning to trust.

Kate fell through thin ice while skating seven years ago.  She was whisked away to Jack Frost’s wintery kingdom, and after a brief courtship, she agreed to marry him.  Sounds like a fairy tale, right? Wrong.  Kate only agreed to the wedding so she could go back to the mortal realm.  She has never learned to trust because her parents were both selfish and focused only on each other, and after their divorce, Kate became a pawn for them to battle over, but only until they each stated new families.  Then poor Kate was kicked to the curb and forgotten.  Being rejected by her parents scarred her and made her unable and unwilling to trust others emotionally.  When she’s swept off her feet by Jack, she just can’t believe that they can find happiness.  And this prophecy thing he keeps bringing up? Impossible.  There is no possible way that their union and their happiness could be written in the stars or whatever crazy thing he’s talking about.  When she’s returned to the mortal world to say her goodbyes, Kate takes the opportunity to flee instead, to sunny Florida, where she is certain he can’t follow her.

When a business opportunity forces her to Denver, she is terrified that Jack will find her.  When he does, she wants to run again.  He scares her, with his icy beauty and cool charm.  She is terrified of being hurt when he tires of her.  But a funny thing starts happening when she’s forced to spend time with Jack; she finds herself falling in love with him, and she wonders if maybe things can work out between them.  Should she give him a chance, and put herself and her emotions, at risk?  Can she learn to overcome the freezing cold she experiences, that constant state of discomfort, with Jack always at her side?

I loved Jack’s character.  He is maybe a little too focused on his goal of winning Kate back, without ever really having any doubts about her being with him.  Hey, their union has been foretold by the fae, right?  Which leaves him bewildered and hurt when she flees with half of his power.  He is willing to forgive her, with no regrets, if only she’ll give their relationship a chance.  Kate, on the other hand, felt very inconsistent to me.  First she can’t get away from Jack quickly enough, and then, halfway through the story, she has a major change of heart that didn’t convince me that her feelings had changed and that she was willing to work at a relationship with Jack.  It seemed that she was now driven by a sense of guilt, after discovering the damage she’d brought to Jack’s kingdom by abandoning her husband with half of his power.

Despite a these misgivings, I found Frosted to be a fast, enjoyable read, perfect for a wintery afternoon.

Grade:  B

Review copy provided by publisher

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Title:  How to Misbehave Author:  Ruthie Knox

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

How to Misbehave didn’t click for me because of the length.  This 96 page novella is hot, but I never connected with the characters.  Ruthie Knox has a wonderful way of painstakingly developing her characters, and they were just getting interesting when the story screeched to a halt.  My favorite aspect of Ruthie’s writing was missing, and that’s the careful unraveling of her protagonists’ strengths and flaws; by the end of her two longer novels, I was so invested in her characters that I wanted, no, demanded, that they have their HEA.  The emotional depth was absent here, and though it is a fun, quick read, I was a bit disappointed when I reached the last page.

Amber is attracted to hunky construction worker Tony, but because she’s a good girl, she hasn’t acted on her attraction.  A tornado and a few hours in a darkened basement change things for both Amber and Tony, and desire blazes between them.  Tony tries to resist, though, because he isn’t one for a long-term relationship, and he knows that Amber won’t be happy with a one-night stand.  She convinces him otherwise, finally finding release with Tony after two previous disastrous sexual encounters.  Tony is a walking woman pleaser, and sure enough, Amber is devastated when he won’t even look at her afterwards.  Oh. My.  Talk about a heartbreaker!

Tony is suffering from guilt after a tragic incident in his past.  He has convinced himself that he doesn’t deserve to be happy, and so he keeps himself aloof and never allows himself to have a serious relationship.  He will just let his partner down, so why even risk it?  Without more buildup, he just seemed a bit whiny and self-indulgent.  His emotional flip-flop after meeting Amber wasn’t convincing and was too easily won.

While I wasn’t completely satisfied with How to Misbehave, I did enjoy the author’s writing style, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series, which is comprised of full-length novels.  This novella is only .99, so if you’d like a taste of Ruthie Knox’s writing style, this isn’t a back place to start. 

Grade:  C+

Review copy provided by publisher

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Hey my peeps! While you’re running around crazy this time of year, don’t forget to get some reading in too! Check out this new novella (10k) from my dear Sean Hayden. It’s only .99 so you can still afford buying those xmas presents! Get yourself a little something!

The Ghost of Christmas Last by Sean Hayden

Throughout history, those who don’t keep the spirit of Christmas in their hearts were often visited by three ghosts. These wise spirits showed these souls what the true meaning of Christmas was all about.

Those were the souls worth saving.

Those who weren’t worth saving were only visited by one spirit and it wasn’t for educational purposes…

ONLY 0.99 Available at [Amazon][Smashwords]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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Wow. December already. Well, I’m excited to report December brings a couple book releases. Just released this week:

(Free for your Amazon Kindle thru December 3, 2012)

In this contemporary Christmas tale, baker Drew Little’s past collides with his future when he returns to Boerne, Texas. Once an apprentice at Arnwald Family Bakery, Drew’s attraction to the owner’s young daughter distracted him from his duties and he found himself jobless and disgraced. Now he’s determined to clear his name.

True to their German roots, Arnwald Family Bakery, located in the center of historic Boerne, prepares traditional pastries and holiday goodies for the Dicken’s Event until tragedy strikes and the family bakery is left without their patriarch at the helm. The bakery’s success hangs in the shaky hands of the youngest family member.

Hannah Arnwald knows Drew has returned to Boerne. Armed with the intent to hire him as lead baker, Hannah must face the long held grudge of her family as well as survive the cunning competition of another local baker. Can she save a piece of Texan history without losing her heart in the mix?

 

Coming Soon:

From The Adventures of Ally and Cory series…
The Wishing Ring, book 1 (paperback to release later this month)
The King’s Seal, book 2 (ebook and paperback to release later this month)

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Title: From the Ashes Author: Adrien-Luc Sanders

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I love super-hero stories, so when I saw that Entangled Publishing was releasing some super-hero novellas, I was excited to check them out.  I loved the first one that I read, Playing with Fire by Tamara Morgan, so I dove into From the Ashes with a great deal of anticipation.  I was sucked into the story on the first page, thought there were a few pacing issues in the middle, and enjoyed the ending, so this is another successful read.

Tobias is an aberrant.  He can control electrical currents, and his father, a sociopath, has nurtured his talents and used him in a weapon in his war against humans.  Tobias, as his alter-ego Spark, has done some terrible things.  He has wiped out an entire city for his father’s ambitious dream of ruling the world, and now he longs for a quieter, less destructive life.  A student at UC Berkley, he is researching the DNA sequence that manifests in aberrants.  If the US government learns how to destroy the genome that makes super-humans like him, they will be able to control, and ultimately, wipe them out.  When he is ordered by his father to assassinate a Senator, Tobias has serious soul searching to do.  Does he have to be evil just because he is an aberrant?

I haven’t read a M/M romance in a while, so this was a nice switch up to my normal reading habits.  Tobias makes the mistake of getting to know Sean, one of his professors, a little better than is wise.  Struggling with his feelings of helpless against his father’s domineering control, Tobias is looking for a fling.  He’ll have some fun with Sean, and then put the night behind him.  Their relationship can’t go anywhere; Tobias is a monster, and Sean is a normal, quiet human.  Tobias doesn’t think he is capable of love, and he certainly doesn’t believe that he is deserving of it, so he has never made lasting, meaningful attachments.  His other relationships were at his whim, and he never felt emotionally invested in any of them.

I think I liked Tobias so much because he was so damaged.  He didn’t think he was capable of feelings, but he had a cat that he obviously doted on.  My belief is that if you can love an animal, there is no reason why you can’t take the plunge and love something as complicated as a human.  Tobias’ problem was that his exposure to love and tenderness ended abruptly when he was a child, after his mother was killed.  Suddenly under his father’s control, he was groomed to be his father’s right hand man in his desire to conquer and subdue the human race.  While Tobias was able to put on a good front, he wasn’t actually as committed to his father’s goals as he pretended.  He was more than content to be a graduate research student, but the threat of the aberrants becoming subjugated to normal humans propels him down a path he doesn’t want to take.  His confusing relationship with Sean only manages to complicate matters, because he is afraid his father will kill Sean if he doesn’t tow the line.

The pacing felt a little off in the middle of the book, but otherwise this is a satisfying read, with an action-packed ending that hints at more adventures.  I liked the characters, even Tobias, who considered himself irredeemable.   The world-building seemed a bit light, but I’m hoping for more in the next installment of The Fires of Redemption series.  If you enjoy super-heroes (or villains, as the case may be), and angst, this is a great, short read.

Grade:  B/B-

Review copy provided by publisher

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Title: Playing with Fire Author: Tamara Morgan Publisher:  Entangled Publishing

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I am a huge fan of superheroes, and when I saw that Entangled was publishing a series of novellas about super heroes, I had to read them. It was a little scary at first, because I was afraid I’d be disappointed, but Playing with Fire by Tamara Morgan is a fun, action-packed introduction to the Holding out for a Hero anthology series. I loved this story, and it even featured one of my favorite tropes – the second chance.  This read kept me entertained from the first page to the last, and I can hardly wait to read more of the anthology.

Fiona is a character I could immediately sympathize with.  She has the ability to hurl fire balls, but it comes at a steep price.  When her emotions get out of control, her powers do too.  She’s afraid of getting close to anyone because she is terrified of hurting them, and her last, failed attempt at intimacy ended disastrously, with her lover being badly burned.  To make this situation even worse, she didn’t even want the superhuman abilities to begin with.  Her manipulative boyfriend coerced her into it, and now she’s resigned herself to a sad and solitary life.

Into her life steps Ian, her childhood friend and the boy who broke her heart.  He was also responsible for her being bullied at school, so I did have a few issues warming up to him.  To be fair, Ian tried to rectify his past mistakes, but there were times when I felt that he didn’t do enough.  When it was his friend taunting Fiona, he quickly tried to put an end to the hurtful name calling, but when all Fiona wanted was for Ian to trust and believe her, he fell a little short.  In the end, he does gallantly redeem himself, but of the two of them, Fiona is obviously the more heroic. 

I enjoyed the world building, and am interested to see how other authors tackle a new world where superheroes , and super villains, could live next door. 

If you are looking for a fast-paced read with gobs of action, romance, and danger, look no further.  Playing with Fire was quickly gobbled up, followed by a “Please, sir, may I have some more?” plea from me.

Grade:  B+

Review copy provided by publisher

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Sabrina Darby is the author of The Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe.  I enjoyed this quirky read, and was delighted when Sabrina agreed to answer some of my questions.  Check out what she has to say:

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Describe yourself in 140 characters or less.

[Sabrina Darby] From my bio:  I’ve been reading romance since the age of seven and learned my best vocabulary (dulcet, diaphanous, and turgid) from them!

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about The Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe?

[Sabrina Darby] This story was so much fun to write because the premise is basically a mom hiring a mistress for her son.

The official blurb is:

Wanted:

A beautiful young woman—preferably one with no connections, who won’t ask too many questions—to spend two weeks in the North of England with an obstinate, aloof, and utterly handsome man.

Must love dogs, fixing up crumbling castles, and gorgeous and complicated war heroes who may or may not be hiding hearts of gold under their gruff exteriors.

Must not, under any circumstances, fall in love . . .

Simpering misses need not apply.

You can find an excerpt at http://www.scribd.com/doc/100422106/The-Short-and-Fascinating-Tale-of-Angelina-Whitcombe-by-Sabrina-Darby

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Sabrina Darby] This story actually started as a blog post on TheBallroomBlog.com, where I was playing with some of the common story elements in historical romance: wounded, war-scarred hero, meddling mother, castle, etc.  It grew into a series of posts and then into a novella.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Angelina?

[Sabrina Darby] Ambitious, Determined, Unconventional

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are three things John would never have in his pocket?

[Sabrina Darby] This is a hard one.  John’s definitely the sort of guy who might collect random things if he thought they could be put to good use. Of course, he’s also very neat, so there would be nothing in his pocket by the end of the day. I do think, by the time the story happens, he would likely never have a gun in his pocket.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Angelina had a theme song, what would it be?

[Sabrina Darby] Just prior to meeting John, I’d say her theme song is the Dar Williams version of Comfortably Numb. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Sabrina Darby] Another good question, and hard to pick just a few since there is no doubt that I’m influenced by all of the amazing artists who have come before me. However, for now, I’d say Ani DiFranco, Carole Maso and Magritte.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[Sabrina Darby] Something to write with, something to write on, and a latte. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[Sabrina Darby] If we’re talking romance, then I’d have to say the last Sarah MacLean book that I read. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

[Sabrina Darby] I can’t remember because I’ve been reading voraciously for as long as I can remember. However, books like Harriet the Spy definitely contributed to my love for writing. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

[Sabrina Darby] In the past, I used to love ballroom dancing and karate. These days, I like going to museums (Los Angeles has some of the best!), traveling and spending time with my husband, family and friends.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[Sabrina Darby] I love when I get to interact with readers! You can find me online at SabrinaDarby.com, twitter.com/SabrinaDarby, facebook.com/sabrinadarbyromance or at TheBallroomBlog.com.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thank you!

You can order The Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe from your favorite bookseller, or by clicking the widget below. Available in print and digital (digital is only .99!!)

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Title: Hearts of Fire Author: Kira Brady Publisher: Zebra

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

This teaser novella worked its magic to get me totally invested in the release of Hearts of Darkness, the kickoff to Kira Brady’s Deadglass series.  The world building is fascinating, and the chemistry between Alice and Brand zinged from the pages.  The ending was like hitting a brick wall, though, and left me more than a little frustrated, because I wanted more. NOW!

  The first novel hits stores in August, and it’s at the top of my wish list.

Grade:  B/B-

Review copy provided by publisher

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Title: The Ravenous Dead   Author: Natasha Hoar   Publisher: Carina Press

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I love this series!  The pacing is fast and furious and guarantees that the pages will turn rapidly.  I started The Ravenous Dead when I had a couple of free moments, but then I had to put it down because I had social obligations to attend to.  All I could think about was getting back home and hunkering down with Rachel, Kit, and new guy Luke.  How could they possibly out muscle a horrifying monster that literately rips the soul out of its victims?  I couldn’t wait to find out!

One of the things I like best about this series is how we are given little snippets of background information about the characters and the weird, alternate Vancouver that they reside in, while chasing around with Rachel as she tries to stay alive long enough to unravel the latest mystery she’s stumbled into.  Paranormal beasties try to blend in with normal humans, and when they don’t, it’s Rachel’s job to find out why, and if necessary, help put an end to any dangerous behavior.  The world building is believable, without being heavy handed.  It’s almost like Rachel deals with all of these nasty creatures so I don’t have to even be aware that they are standing in line next to me at Taco Bell.

The Ravenous Dead pits Rachel against a reaper, an undead being that feasts on souls.  She believes that it’s the same reaper that  she failed to destroy years before, causing the death of her partner.  She is consumed with guilt, and she has a driving need to free the souls trapped inside the reaper.  The only problem?  It is a terrifying monster, fueled with the souls of its victims, and Rachel must overcome her mind-numbing fear of it, which leaves her frozen and incapable of calling on her supernatural powers.

This is a quick, exciting read with relatable characters and a paranormal world I would like to know more about.  The focus is on the intense action and character interaction, with small breadcrumbs scattered throughout the narrative to help make the setting feel real and believable.  Rachel is a strong, smart lead, and she’s given just enough flaws to ensure that she doesn’t have things too easy when she’s going toe to toe with a cantankerous spirit.  I can’t wait for her n

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