Week of Dec. 10/2019
As for the second question, Bardugo did a fantastic job! She created a couple of characters: Alex and Darlington, that were exceptionally developed.
This week's list of new
releases is posted below.
New Releases!
to read this!
more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to
doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
- Meet Me on Love Lane – By Nina Bocci
Charlotte Bishop is out of options in New York City. Fired, broke, and blacklisted by her former boss, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Hope Lake, PA to lick her wounds. Although she’s expecting to find a miserable place with nothing to do, she is pleasantly surprised to discover it is bustling and thriving.
She’s only supposed to be in Hope Lake temporarily until she can earn enough money to move back to New York. She’s not supposed to reconnect with her childhood friends or her beloved grandmother. She’s not supposed to find her dream job running the local florist shop. And she’s definitely not supposed to fall for not one but two of Hope Lake’s golden boys: one the beloved high school English teacher, the other the charming town doctor.
With a heart torn between two men and two cities, what’s a girl to do?
- Humbugged – By Pippa Grant & Lili Valente – Romantic comedy!
- Best Man – By Katy Evans
When the wedding of your dreams is just around the corner, everything needs to go as planned. Only problem is, the groom didn’t get the memo.
Aaron forgot the rings, and Lia is determined to make the long drive home to get them in time for their “I do’s.”
But there’s a catch. There always is with Aaron, isn’t there?
Aaron is too hungover to come, and sends a replacement.
The best man.
Miles Foster. The cocky, arrogant, sexy best man…and the last person Lia wants to be trapped in a car with for hours.
But Aaron insists, and Lia wonders if there’s another reason Aaron wants Miles tagging along--aside from sticking her with a hot, surly babysitter.
Yet how bad can it be? It’ll be over before she knows it, and she’ll never see him again. Just like in college.
But when secrets are revealed, and Lia's whole world is turned upside down, she realizes she's been living a lie--and so has her groom.
Miles is supposed to be the best man at her wedding.
But what if he is simply the best man she has ever known? The best man for her?
- The Boyfriend Blog – By K.L. Grayson
Boyfriend (n.)
1) A frequent or regular male companion with whom one has a romantic or sexual relationship.
2) A myth. A legend. Impossible to find.
According to her eighty-year-old neighbor, Lizzie Donovan is looking for Mr. Right in all the wrong places. Though it’s made great fodder for her blog, Lizzie is finally tired of swiping left and awful blind dates, and she’s ready to take Mrs. Skinner’s advice and find love the old-fashioned way. Goodbye dating app, hello grocery store, book store, dog park, and wherever else she might be able to meet a good man. And she really has nothing to lose. Not only will she be entertained along the way, but even if she ends up alone, she’ll always have her longtime best friend, Aiden, by her side.
Friend zone (n.)
1) A situation in which a friendship exists between two people, one of whom has an unreciprocated romantic or sexual interest in the other.
2) Location of Aiden Wallace.
According to his eighty-year-old neighbor, Aiden Wallace has been friend zoned. And that’s mostly his fault because instead of opening his eyes and seeing what was right in front of him, Aiden has spent the last several years enjoying the single life. But things have changed—he has changed—and now he needs his best friend, Lizzie, to stop shoving him into the friend zone so he can work at winning her heart. Until then, he’s stuck watching her string of dating disasters and wishing she’d believe him when he tells her he’s the one.
- House of Scarlett (Legend Trilogy #2) – By Meghan March
- Stolen Lies (Truths and Lies Duet #2) – By K. Webster & Nikki Ash
- All the Befores: A Magnolia Sound Novella – By Samantha Chase
- Hawk (The Boys of Summer #4) – By Heidi McLaughlin
It’s another season of Renegade baseball and, as they say, the boys are back in town. All except for all-star pitcher, Hawk Sinclair, who has returned to his hometown and back to the ranch he grew up on to rehab after shoulder surgery.
Real estate agent, Bellamy Patrick, feels like she’s failing at being a single mom. Her son is having a hard time fitting in and she’s hoping that playing baseball will be the answer. When he doesn’t make the team, she’s willing to do anything to help him... except that! And that’s exactly what the little league coach expects.
When Hawk’s asked to coach a team of misfit kids, he balks...until he sees how the program is run and how boys are left out. That’s when he knows he has no choice but to do the right thing and turn these boys into the players he knows they can be... and while he's at it, convince Bellamy they're meant to be.
- The Guy on the Left – By Kate Stewart - Standalone.
It started with a lie. A night of blurred lines between a teacher and a student.
I wasn’t her student, yet it was the single most defining night of my life.
I’ve never been the man she thinks I am.
Most people have no idea about the life I’ve lived or the words that ring true when it comes to me—still waters run deep.
But you’d be hard-pressed to find a coed on the TGU campus who knows otherwise…because I’ve never corrected them.
The clock is ticking down, it’s Fourth and Inches with the ball inside the one-yard line and the focus is on me, The Guy on the Left. I’ve never felt like a football god, inside I’m…just Troy.
It’s time to set the record straight.
For my son, I‘ll find the strength.
In her eyes, I’m determined to gain redemption.
I will have them both, even if I have to take my eye off the ball.
- Their First Time – By M.J. Fields
- Between Now and Always (The Forever Trilogy #3) – By Dylan Allen
Upcoming Releases!
- December 11 – The Younger Man – By Karina Halle
Starting over was her only option.
Forty-years old and still reeling from a public and painful divorce, Thalia Blackwood is looking for a fresh start, somewhere far away from her upside down life. When she’s offered a new job as the sports therapist for a football (soccer) team, she jumps at the chance. This is just what she needs to leave the heartbreak and shame of Manchester behind, trading it in for the warmth and hopeful vibrancy of Madrid.
He was her only desire.
Twenty-three year old Alejo Albarado is rising up the ranks in his career. As the charming forward for the Real Madrid team, Alejo’s life revolves around women, parties, and being a tabloid darling, that is until the new sports therapist joins the team.
Their passion could not be ignored.
What starts out as a strictly professional relationship between Thalia and the young Spanish player, slowly evolves into something more. Much more.
Their relationship was forbidden.
But their combustible chemistry and simmering sexual tension can only go so far—should Thalia give into Alejo’s advances, she’s at risk of not only losing her job, but succumbing to a much younger man will drag her through the spotlight again.
Alejo might be worth that risk.
Unless he breaks her heart in the process.
- December 12 – Kind of Cursed – By Stephanie Fournet
Every woman in Millie Delacroix’s family is cursed—kind of.
Birth control just doesn’t work for them. Like ever. Going to the altar knocked up is pretty much a family tradition. And twenty-four-year-old Millie refuses to let that happen to her—again.
Especially now that she’s responsible for raising her brothers and sister. A life of celibacy is her best defense—at least until the kids are grown and can take care of themselves. And, really, what’s ten years with no sex? No men. No sex. No love. It’s a fool-proof plan.
Until she meets Luc Valencia.
The Mexican-American contractor is just trying to do his best. Since his father handed him the reins to the family business, every day is a test to prove himself. At this point in his life, professionalism has to be his top priority.
At least until Millie becomes Luc’s client. Even with too much on her shoulders, the feisty redhead has the power to set him off, crack him up, or bring him to his knees.
All he has to do is resist falling for her through one kitchen remodel, and everything will be fine. Right?
- December 12 - Bad for Me: An MC Romance – By Shanora Williams
There's a myth that floats around in my city.
They say the president of the local biker gang is ruthless, heartless, and that once you cross him, you'll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.
There are whispers that he was once lost in a forest, and when he was found, he was surrounded by a pack of wolves that were protecting him.
Many will tell you he'd never let his guard down for a woman, and that if he ever did, it would be bad for her.
The one thing this city doesn't know about me is that I'm not your average woman. I'm a fighter, and when someone messes with my family, I will fight, and when my freedom is stolen, I will do whatever it takes to get it back.
When I'm done with him, the rumors will come to an end because I'll be the woman who tamed this infamous biker president.
I'll be the woman who, in the end, was bad for him.
- December 12 – Breaking Defenses – By JB Salsbury
- December 12 – Off Limits – By Penny Dee
Happy Reading!
What he's reading!
What she's reading!
Greg's Dailyish Blog
Shelley's Daily Blog
2 Book Lovers Reviews
One Day in December
By Josie Silver
Week of Dec. 10/2019
Krampus: The Yule Lord
By Brom
December - 2019
Book Review:
I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story
By Anthony Daniels
I’m really not a non-fiction kind of guy. I like my stories to take me away from the here and now, but when I saw this book set a long time ago in my favorite galaxy far, far away, I knew that this was one to go for.
I went with the Audible version of I Am C-3PO, and what could be better than listening to C-3PO narrate his own story.
*Read my full review...
November - 2019
Book Review:
Chokehold
(The Final War #3)
By David Moody
Authors are able to accomplish some incredible things: they create worlds that captivate people, they imagine characters that complete strangers connect with, they make people forget, temporarily, about the normal lives they live. David Moody has accomplished all of this with his Hater world.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
Imaginary Friend
By Stephen Chbosky
Perhaps I’ve lived under a rock my entire life, but I have never, ever seen The Perks of Being a Wallflower; the name Stephen Chbosky meant nothing to me. We all have our things.
I went with the Audible of Imaginary Friend based on solely on the spectacular synopsis.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
36 Righteous Men
By Steven Pressfield
Steven Pressfield has put his own unique twist on the apocalypse/future that we are hurdling towards. Set in the not too distant future, Pressfield’s characters are not only dealing with a bloodthirsty killer, but also the natural elements that have evolved and are out of control.
36 Righteous Men is a book of layers. It is a murder mystery slash thriller mixed up with futuristic environmental touches and a flash of religious fiction.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
Breakfast at Tiffany's
By Truman Capote
So, I listened to Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I never saw the movie, but I loved the song. I can’t say that I know anyone who didn’t like it. It was enough to make me want to read Capote’s book.
There are certain books that everyone knows, even though they haven’t read them. Breakfast at Tiffany’s was one such book for me. When I saw it on a daily Audible deal, I thought that it was a great chance to experience it.
*Read my full review...
October - 2019
Book Review:
Rewind
By Catherine Ryan Howard
Catherine Howard intrigued me with her concept and synopsis. I love a story that kicks off with a heinous violent crime (a fictional story anyway). Rewind is a classic who-done-it.
The concept and execution may be lost on the younger generation. Rewind read like a cassette tape…fast forward to this…pause here…rewind to get the back details.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
The Institute
By Stephen King
Once or twice a year I find myself reading a book by this Stephen King fellow. I’m starting to think that this guy might be able to quit his day job and make a go of it as a full-time author.
Some people just won’t have the patience for a book like this, I love the involved, detailed world building that King embellishes his stories with. I want to take my time and embed myself within his stories.
*Read my full review...
Book Review:
1Q84
By Haruki Murakami
1Q84 is an intimidating read to me. The hardcover is listed at 925 pages, I opted for the 46 hours and 45-minute Audible version.
Murakami took me 35 years into the past and half a world away. It was a mesmerizing journey.
There was a lot that I loved about 1Q84: the author’s patience, the careful world-building, the depth of characters.
*Read my full review...
September - 2019
Fall Reading!
There's nothing better than curling up with a good book! I've got some great reading planned for the fall months. Here are a few that are topping my list.
- The Institute - By Stephen King
- Chokehold - By David Moody
- The Lost Spear - By N.J. Croft
- 36 Righteous Men - By Steven Pressfield
- We Sold Our Souls - By Grady Hendrix
- This Book is Full of Spiders - By David Wong
- The Testaments - By Margaret Atwood
- The Twelve - By Justin Cronin
- The Rise of Magicks - By Nora Roberts
- Bubba Ho-Tep - By Joe R. Lansdale
Book Review:
Wanderers
By Chuck Wendig
I had a love/hate relationship with Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers.
I was first drawn into Wanderers by the fabulous synopsis. There is nothing I love more than a new unique twist on any type of apocalypse, and it looked like Chuck Wendig had just the thing for me.
I loved Wanderers. It is a fantastic story, filled with incredible characters.
Book Review:
Swan Song
By Robert R. McCammon
There are many authors who can tell a good story, who are creative and can capture my attention. But then there are those who create worlds that I can disappear into, and for a brief time, I can make this world a part of my life. This is what Robert McCammon did for me with Swan Song.
*Read my review...
Summer - 2019
Book Review:
Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space!
By Duncan P. Bradshaw
When it comes to creativity, corny one-liners and base humor, Duncan P. Bradshaw has it in spades.
I loved the concept of Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space! It’s a whole lot of fun to read Bradshaw’s synopses, they are always a bit tongue-in-cheek and this one goes above and beyond.
*Read my review...
Book Review:
Hideaway
By Nicole Lundrigan
This is my second go-around with Nicole Lundrigan and I continue to be impressed. She has a unique approach to her subject matter. Hideaway kicks off with a “you can’t do that,” but quickly escalates to a “what the *@#* do you think you’re doing?!”
Hideaway is told from two points of view: Rowan and his little sister, Maisy; the two unfortunate children of Gloria and Telly Janes.
*Read my review...
Book Review:
The Girl Without Skin
By Mads Peder Nordbo
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.
*Read my review...