June 21st, 2019
Summer Reading
Now that summer is officially here, it seems like a perfect time to plan out some of my summer reading. There are some light and heavy topics, but I hope that all of them hit the spot!
1- Into the Water - By Paula Hawkins
2- Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space - By Duncan Bradshaw
3- Hideaway - By Nicole Lundrigan
4- 'Salem's Lot - By Stephen King
5 - Fool - By Christopher Moore
June 11th, 2019
Book Review:
Hope for the Wicked
By Edward Lorn
I’ve been reading a lot of traditionally published books lately, you know the ones, with a team of editors, proofreaders, and marketing experts behind them. More often than not they’re good books, while at the same time, they can be a little vanilla. One of the so-called experts decides you can’t do this or that, someone might get offended, or worse yet, triggered.
*Read my review...
June 4th, 2019
New Release & Review:
Another Life
By Robert Haller
The famous “coming of age” story; you could say that it’s been done to death, but with each generation of authors there is always something fresh and new to the genre: the era, the locale, the gender of the protagonist or protagonists, as the case may be.
*Read my review...
May 31st, 2019
Weekend Audiobook Recommendations!
- Sci-Fi - Hyperion - By Dan Simmons - This book was excellent! I'm already looking forward to the next one in this series. Read my review.
- Thriller - Cemetery Road - By Greg Iles- Read my review.
- Horror/Dystopian - All Roads End Here - By David Moody - If you like dark stories that take you where you might not want/expect to go, read /listen to this author's books! - Read my review.
May 24th, 2019
Long Weekend Reading!
If you're looking for a book to read over the weekend, I have a few recommendations for you.
-Horror - N0S4A2 - By Joe Hill - This book is going to be on the small screen (AMC) in June, but we all know that the book is always better! Read my review.
- Thriller - The Homecoming - By Andrew Pyper - Read my review.
- Mythology/Historical - Circe - By Madeline Miller - Read my review.
- A good laugh - Lamb - By Christopher Moore - Read my review.
May 14th, 2019
Book Review:
Hyperion
By Dan Simmons
I’ve always loved Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the concept of a group of travelers telling each other stories to make their trip more interesting. This idea could easily be applied to a more modern voyage. Little did I know that Simmons had been there and done that with Hyperion. When I realized that was what was going on, I had one of my “Oh, Hell yeah!” moments and Simmons had me hooked.
*Read my review...
May 10th, 2019
Book Review:
Little Darlings
By Melanie Golding
The best horror plays off of real-life fears. For any parent the biggest fear has to be something happening to your children. Melanie Golding assaulted this fear. Playing with nursery rhymes and traditional children’s stories, Golding has created a new parent’s nightmare.
*Read my review...
*Read Shelley's review...
May 7th, 2019
Book Review:
Cemetery Road
By Greg Iles
I love committing myself to big books. I crave spending hours with interesting, well-developed characters. I appreciate an author like Greg Iles, who has the patience and makes the time to create the stories that will occupy a portion of my life.
I’ve heard it said many times that an author should write what they know; Greg Iles is a southern boy, and he sets his stories, like Cemetery Road, in small-town Mississippi.
*Read my review...
April 29th, 2019
Book Review:
The Pandora Room
By Christopher Golden
Ben Walker is living my childhood dream, well, he isn’t exactly living it because he is a fictional character, but you know what I mean. I grew up on a healthy dose of Indiana Jones and Allan Quatermain; Harrison Ford and Richard Chamberlain stoked my love of the adventure of uncovering a lost mythical treasure in an exotic location. Ben Walker is a modern version of my childhood heroes.
*Read my review...
April 19th, 2019
Book Review:
The Last Big Thing
By David Moody
David Moody is one of my favorite authors. I’ve been captivated by his writing since I first opened Hater many years ago. I’ve been nursing The Last Big Thing since its release in January. I just can’t sit and read straight through an anthology; I like to place the stories in between other full-length books that I’m reading. I find that this helps with my overall appreciation for the anthology as a whole.
*Read my review...
April 9th, 2019
New Release & Review:
The Stillwater Girls
By Minka Kent
The Stillwater Girls got off to an incredible start. It begins with Wren and Sage; you can get all of their basics from the synopsis. Then, chapter two: Nicolette. Wait! What? Who? Nicolette is not in the synopsis. Where is this going?
I followed along, loving the two sides to the story, wondering how and where the two would come together. Kent’s writing style kept the suspense and mystery high.
*Read my review...
April 8th, 2019
What will I be doing on the evening of April 10th? That's easy. I will be watching The Silence on Netflix! The Silence by Tim Lebbon was one of my favorite books, and I am more than a little excited to see it come to life!
*Read my review...
April 5th, 2019
Book Review:
The Last
By Hanna Jameson
Releasing April 9th!
I love a good old-fashioned apocalyptic story - the nuclear war scenario has been left behind by biological/viral worlds. It was interesting to see how Jameson brought this very real possibility back to life.
Imagine that it hits the fan in full force, world tensions reach that point of no return and someone pushes the button.
*Read my full review...
April 2nd, 2019
Book Review:
Soon the Light Will Be Perfect
By Dave Patterson
Releasing April 9th!
Sometimes a synopsis just grabs your attention and refuses to let go. For me, Soon the Light Will Be Perfect is one such book. A coming-of-age story set in rural Vermont, it had a universality that it could have been set in Anytown, America.
*Read my full review...
March 29th, 2019
All Roads End Here
(The Final War #2)
By David Moody
What David Moody has done with The Final War series is genius. I find that more and more authors don’t know when or how to end a series and move on to something new. I loved the Hater series, it was a novel concept in the realm of “zombie” books. I loved every moment that I spent with Danny McCoyne, but by the final pages of Them or Us, Danny’s story was over, and I was good with that.
*Read my full review...
March 22nd, 2019
Book Review:
Alien: Out of the Shadows
By Tim Lebbon
As a Tim Lebbon fan, I jumped at the free Audible Original Drama of Alien: Out of the Shadows. This “radio play” was a great change of pace from the books I had been listening to.
Lebbon brought me back to the world of Alien, even the voice actor who did Ripley sounded similar enough to Sigourney Weaver. This gave me a comfort/familiarity level that got me more involved, more quickly.
*Read my full review...
March 19th, 2019
Book Review:
Shelter in Place
By Nora Roberts
I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but Nora Roberts is one hell of a writer. She continues to amaze me with her ability to develop storylines and seamlessly tie them all together.
Shelter in Place is a story of love and hate; where love is the glue, if used properly, can fix anything. The synopsis doesn’t do the story justice, there is so much more beneath the surface.
*Read my full review...
March 12th, 2019
Book Review:
The Homecoming
By Andrew Pyper
The Homecoming was one heck of an attention grabber. Once I read the synopsis I knew that I wanted to read it, and the cover pulled me in with its comforting yet sinister scene. The story started off with a bang, and I was hooked.
Andrew Pyper developed an exquisite, multi-layered plot of deception and betrayal. I loved the fact that there was always another twist or turn right around the corner.
*Read my full review...
March 11th, 2019
Have you been enjoying Fox’s production of The Passage? I sure have, and my wife doesn’t mind watching it with me as long as I rub her feet…quid pro quo. You may be wondering what other great stories are out there that can give you that same feeling.
*Read the full post...
This Love Story Will Self-Destruct
By Leslie Cohen
Summer - 2019
I’m always looking for new-to-me Nordic Noir. Greenland, hmm…now that’s different, a little bit New World, yet still under the dominion of Denmark. This could be something with a new twist. Toss in a mummified Viking corpse – sign me up!
The Girl Without Skin was not what I expected or hoped for.
What he's reading!
What she's reading!
Greg's Dailyish Blog
Shelley's Daily Blog
This was a cute story with
a good message to all.
While this is a young
adult book, this book’s
message can and will
resonate with people of
all ages. Who hasn’t been
insecure about their
appearance at one point or
another in their life? To be
one hundred percent
comfortable in your own
skin would be a wonderful
way to live. Time, age, and
maturity certainly help with
those feelings, but feeling
out of place and insecure
is something that I believe
everyone has experienced. If you say that you can’t relate, then you’re either one of the lucky ones or you’re lying to yourself.
Summer Reading
There’s nothing like sitting outside with a good book, a chilled beverage, and just losing yourself in the pages of a story. My reading lists are always growing, often changing
(depending on my mood), and I have concluded that I will probably never have the time to read ALL the books that my heart desires.
Here are just a few that are topping my summer reading list:
1- Say You Still Love Me – By K.A. Tucker
2- The Last Post – By Renée Carlino
3 - The Suicide King – By Vanessa Marie
4 - Jersey Six – By Jewel E. Ann
5 - Parallel – By Elizabeth O’Roark
If you're looking for your next read, be sure to check out this summer's upcoming releases!
Summer Releases!
- July 1 – In Moonlight and Memories: Volume One – By Julie Ann Walker – All three volumes available on the same day! Full-length trilogy!
- In Moonlight and Memories: Volume Two
- In Moonlight and Memories: Volume Three
- July 2 – Don’t You Forget About Me – By Mhairi McFarlane
You always remember your first love... don’t you?
If there’s anything worse than being fired from the worst restaurant in town, it’s coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else. Reeling from the humiliation of a double dumping in one day, Georgina takes the next job that comes her way—bartender in a newly opened pub. There’s only one problem: it’s run by the guy she fell in love with years ago. And—make that two problems—he doesn’t remember her. At all. But she has fabulous friends and her signature hot pink fur coat... what more could a girl really need?
Lucas McCarthy has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but he’s also turned into an actual grown-up, with a thriving business and a dog along the way. Crossing paths with him again throws Georgina’s rocky present into sharp relief—and brings a secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows what happened twelve years ago, and why she’s allowed the memories to chase her ever since. But maybe it’s not too late for the truth... or a second chance with the one that got away?
- July 9 – Say Say Say – By Lila Savage - Taboo romance!
Ella is nearing thirty, and not yet living the life she imagined. Her artistic ambitions as a student in Minnesota have given way to an unintended career in caregiving. One spring, Bryn--a retired carpenter--hires her to help him care for Jill, his wife of many years. A car accident caused a brain injury that has left Jill verbally diminished; she moves about the house like a ghost of her former self, often able to utter, like an incantation, only the words that comprise this novel's title.
As Ella is drawn ever deeper into the couple's household, her presence unwanted but wholly necessary, she is profoundly moved by the tenderness Bryn shows toward the wife he still fiercely loves. Ella is startled by the yearning this awakens in her, one that complicates her feelings for her girlfriend, Alix, and causes her to look at relationships of all kinds--between partners, between employer and employee, and above all between men and women--in new ways.
- July 9 – Hideaway – By Nicole Lundrigan - Domestic thriller!
Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment.
When Telly leaves, Gloria turns on Rowan. He runs away, finding unlikely refuge with a homeless man named Carl, with whom he forms the kind of bond he has never found with his parents. After they are menaced by strangers, Rowan follows Carl to an isolated cottage, where he accidentally sets off a burst of heightened paranoia in Carl, and their adventure takes a dark turn.
Gloria is publicly desperate for the safe return of her son while privately plotting ever wilder ways to lure Telly home for good. Her behaviour grows more erratic and her manipulation of Maisy begins to seem dedicated toward an outcome that only she can see.
- July 9 – Under Currents – By Nora Roberts
- July 9 – Last Summer – By Kerry Lonsdale
- July 9 – Wilder Girls – By Rory Power
It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.
But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.
- July 9 – Just Love – By Prescott Lane
There’s two sides to every love story. The how you fell in love, and the how you fell apart.
This is ours...
- July 16 – The Wedding Party – By Jasmine Guillory
- July 16 – Making Up – By Helena Hunting - Romantic comedy! Standalone.
- July 23 – A Beggar’s Kingdom (End of Forever Saga #2) – By Paullina Simons - Read my review of The Tiger Catcher (End of Forever #1).
- July 23 – All Roads Lead to You – By Jennifer Probst
- July 23 – A Stranger on the Beach – By Michelle Campbell – Thriller! Love triangle!
- July 23 – Million Dollar Marriage – By Katy Evans
- July 30 – The Suicide King – By Vanessa Marie
Jason King thought suicide was the only answer.
He couldn't take it anymore.
The inner demons were winning and he was ready to surrender.
As far as he was concerned no one would care.
Everyone would be better off.
No one would notice he was gone.
Little did he know how wrong he was.
His actions had consequences.
The reach went further than he could have imagined.
Only his suffering didn't end.
Stuck in purgatory Jason is forced to walk a new path.
One that shows him how his suicide affected all those involved.
Even the ones he never thought would care.
The ones he never knew it would reach.
In this Scrooged like tale, Jason King will visit all of those who mourn him.
He finds out a little too late how wrong he was about everything.
- July 30 – All It Takes: A Romancing Manhattan Novel – By Kristen Proby
- August 1 – The Truth About Tomorrow – By B. Celeste – Forbidden romance! Age gap.
- August 6 – Say You Still Love Me – By K.A. Tucker
Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.
On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.
Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group, and coincidentally the first love of her life.
The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counselors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.
Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is still alive and strong, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.
- August 6 – Ellie and the Harp Maker – By Hazel Prior
- August 6 – Love at First Like – By Hannah Orenstein
- August 6 – Life and Other Inconveniences – By Kristan Higgins
- August 6 – Postcards for a Songbird – By Rebekah Crane – YA!
- August 6 – Discretion (The Dumonts #1) – By Karina Halle
- August 13 – Things You Save in a Fire – By Katherine Center - Stay tuned for my review!
Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's a total pro at other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own.
The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie's old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren't exactly thrilled to have a "lady" on the crew—even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the infatuation-inspiring rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because love is girly, and it’s not her thing. And don’t forget the advice her old captain gave her: Never date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping...and it means risking it all—the only job she’s ever loved, and the hero she’s worked like hell to become.
- August 20 – The Last Post – By Renée Carlino
Laya Marston’s husband, Cameron, a daredevil enthusiast, always said this before heading off on his next adventure. He was the complete opposite of her, ready and willing to dive off a cliff-face, or parachute across a canyon—and Laya loved him for it. But she was different: pragmatic, regimented, devoted to her career and to supporting Cameron from the sidelines of his death-defying feats.
Opposites attract, right?
But when Cameron dies suddenly and tragically, all the stages of grief go out the window. Laya becomes lost in denial, living in the delusion that Cameron will come back to her. She begins posting on his Facebook page, reminiscing about their life together, and imagining new adventures for the two of them.
Micah Evans, a young and handsome architect at Laya’s father’s firm, is also stuck––paralyzed by the banal details of his career, his friendships, and his love life. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for, only that there is someone out there who can bring energy and spirit to the humdrum of his life.
When Micah discovers Laya’s tragic and bizarre Facebook posts, he’s determined to show Laya her life is still worth living. Leaving her anonymous gifts and notes, trying to recreate the sense of adventure she once shared with her late husband, Micah finds a new passion watching Laya come out of the darkness. And Laya finds a new joy in the experiences Micah has created for her.
But for Laya, letting another man in still feels like a betrayal to her late husband. Even though Micah may be everything she could wish for, she wonders if she deserves to find happiness again.
- August 20 – The Reckless Oath We Made – By Bryn Greenwood
Zee is nobody's fairy tale princess. Almost six-foot, with a redhead's temper and a shattered hip, she has a long list of worries: never-ending bills, her beautiful, gullible sister, her five-year-old nephew, her housebound mother, and her drug-dealing boss.
Zee may not be a princess, but Gentry is an actual knight, complete with sword, armor, and code of honor. Two years ago the voices he hears called him to be Zee's champion. He's barely spoken to her since, but he has kept watch, ready to come to her aid.
When an abduction tears Zee's family apart, she turns to the last person she ever imagined--Gentry--and sets in motion a chain of events that will not only change both of their lives, but bind them to one another forever.
- August 20 – On the Corner of Love and Hate (Hopeless Romantics #1) – By Nina Bocci
- August 20 – The Arrangement – By Robyn Harding – Thriller!
- August 20 – The First Girl Child – By Amy Harmon
- August 27 – Butterfly in Frost – By Sylvia Day – Novella with new characters!
- August 27 – Handle with Care – By Helena Hunting – Romantic comedy!
- August 27 – The Passengers – By John Marrs – Thriller – Looks exciting!
- September 3 – Permanent Record – By Mary H.K. Choi
- September 3 – Well Met – By Jen DeLuca – Enemies-to-lovers!
- September 3 – Rewind – By Catherine Ryan Howard – Psycho meets Fatal Attraction!
Happy Reading!
2 Book Lovers Reviews
Hideaway
By Nicole Lundrigan
Summer - 2019