Synopsis

Love and danger spar in this thrilling romantic suspense novel in which hands push Marie Jessica (“MJ”) Goodrich from a rural roadway into an icy creek. The clock is ticking for her pleading friend on the other side of the ravine.

Running from flashbacks of a life-altering attack in Afghanistan, MJ takes refuge with her mother, managing Peach Blossom Orchard. But peace is elusive in a rural Oklahoma town full of secrets.

After losing his wife and children in a fatal car crash, Josh Rivers doubts he deserves a second chance at love. He can’t believe his bad luck when MJ, the woman who plagues the nightmares of his military service in Afghanistan, shows up in his hometown. She claims a driver ran down and abducted her friend Kelsey. Frustrated with the county sheriff’s investigation, MJ and Josh partner to follow clues that lead to a kidnapper who demands a bizarre ransom.

With danger increasing for everyone MJ loves, will the clock run out before they solve the mystery? Find out how MJ and Josh—swirling in a whirlwind of mystery and suspense—lean on their mutual faith to find answers, courage, forgiveness, healing … and wholesome romance.

If you like to read Christy Barritt and Colleen Coble, you’ll love Into the Fog, a keep-you-up-at-night clean romantic suspense novel that launches the Peach Blossom Orchard series.

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Review

This romantic suspense novel had me on the edge of my seat from the first page. The author’s description of the fog has many meanings that became clearer as I read more of the book.

MJ and Josh happened to be in the same village in Afghanistan when a bomb went off. He saved MJ, but she didn’t recognize him until she heard him humming the song he hummed when trying to keep her focused on staying alive. They both have scars from the war in the form of PTSD. It doesn’t help that they are both in situations that are not of their choosing. MJ is there to assist her mother, whose memory is failing. Josh has taken over his dad’s garage but has flashbacks that make it hard to concentrate at times. Despite their reluctance to get to know one another, they find that they work well together and maybe even have a bit of romantic attraction.

The mystery of what happened to Kelsey kept me guessing throughout the book. There was more to her than just her disappearance. What was she hiding? Or who was she hiding from? You can’t hide very well in a small town where everyone knows your business, no matter how much you keep to yourself.

The story kept me engaged with plenty of action. There are also several suspicious characters. Some are red herrings, and others are not.

I believe this is going to be a series, and I look forward to venturing back into this small Oklahoma town.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Karen Randau authors fast-paced stories with intricate plots, lots of action, and a dash of romance told from the point of view of a female amateur sleuth. She lives in the mountains of Arizona with her multi-generational family.

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In Together at the Table, the husband-and-wife founders of Juliska, David and Capucine, share their philosophy on love and the art of living well. Sharing their family stories and traditions for celebrating life’s special moments, they delve into the soulful, the whimsical, and the delightedly imperfect art of entertaining. Their alluring mouth-blown Bohemian glassware and delicately embossed dinnerware make the perfect centerpieces for household bliss. This must-have volume contains hundreds of inspiring ideas about indulging in playful celebrations, how to reinvent the classics by mixing and matching, and the elegance that can be found in both formal and casual dining. A culmination of culture, sentiment, and tradition, Together at the Table is the perfect muse for everyone seeking joy at the table and harmony in the home.

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Review

I love to entertain and have to admit that I rarely set a table that is as beautiful as the ones within the pages of this book. However, it is giving me inspiration for my next dinner party to step it up a notch.

I have never heard of Juliska until now. This set me off to investigate the products they sell, and I have to admit I went down a rabbit hole looking at the various place settings, barware, and so much more. This is an entertainer’s kryptonite!

The book itself is worthy of sitting on one’s coffee table. The photos are rich in color and just might inspire you to decorate your table and make it a focal point of any event.

Not only are there a multitude of photos, but there are also tips that even the most novice decorator could incorporate. (hint, that would be me!) I have to admit that the book is somewhat overwhelming. I think the thought of having all of the items and being able to store them seems daunting. Also, setting the table for every meal seems a bit much, BUT, I can see where it could set the mood and perhaps remind us to kick back and relax and not rush through a meal.

I like that they reinforce using what you have and not being confined by what is expected. There was a meal where they used bud vases for soup, which is an interesting idea. Or that any piece of fabric can be used for a table covering.

This book is chockful of ideas for decorating, and the biggest thing to remember is to keep it personal. Nothing says love more than using items that have special meaning for you or your guests.

If you are looking to take your entertaining up a notch, this is a book that you will want to peruse for ideas and tips.

Synopsis

Her heart is wide open, but he’s nailed his shut.

Preschool teacher Harley Cole has always viewed life through rose-colored glasses. With a career she loves, friends she enjoys, and a home that is her haven, there’s only one thing missing—finding her soul mate. As the holidays approach, Harley is inspired to help her former high school crush rediscover his holiday joy. It’s just a good deed…until the feelings she thought were gone come rushing back.

Fire Chief Becker Lange returns home to River’s Edge with a heavy heart. His divorce has emotionally ravaged him, leaving him more confused than ever about what women want. So to protect himself from another failure, he closes his heart. And then Harley Cole makes him a flirty dare that she can help him overcome the holiday blues. Beck’s not sure he wants to, but Harley’s a hard woman to tell no.

Can the magic of Christmas and a sweet stray kitten bring these two lonely souls together?

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Review

This is the end of the Lange brothers trilogy. If you haven’t read the other books, The Valentine Wager or Falling for the Doctor, you’ll want to read these too. While not necessary to read in order, it will help since the characters move forward in each book.

We get to know Beck and Hayley in this new book. Beck’s life growing up wasn’t the easiest with an absentee father, but he helped his mom make the best of it for their family. He is back in town after a failed marriage which has set him back emotionally. Hayley has always had a crush on Beck and even dated his younger brother for a hot minute. I think Hayley looks at Beck as her project to try and cheer him up and see life in a new light.

This book was delightful and also a bit emotional. Hayley is dealing with her mother’s dementia, and Beck’s father comes back into the picture with a fatal illness. I could relate to Hayley and her struggles with her mother’s disease. Dementia is not a kind killer. But I loved that she made the best of the situation.

The relationship between Hayley and Beck isn’t always smooth as they both work out what they want from a relationship. Beck is more closed off than Hayley, but I enjoyed watching him blossom and realize that maybe life can be better when you are with the right person.

This was a great conclusion to the series, and we give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet romantic fiction for Tule Publishing. Her day job is working as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. However, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten and is still writing, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled woman in her prime. Nan lives in the Midwest with her husband of 49 years, where they split their time between a house in the city and a cottage on a lake.

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From the foremost figure on the New Orleans’ drinking scene and the owner of renowned bar Cure, a cocktail book that celebrates the vibrant city

New Orleans is known for its spirit(s)-driven festivities. Neal Bodenheimer and coauthor Emily Timberlake tell the city’s story through 100 cocktails, each chosen to represent New Orleans’ past, present, and future.

A love letter to New Orleans and the cast of characters that have had a hand in making the city so singular, Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em features interviews with local figures such as Ian Neville, musician and New Orleans funk royalty, plus a few tips on how to survive your first Mardi Gras. Along the way, the reader is taken on a journey that highlights the rich history and complexity of the city and the drinks it inspired, as well as the techniques and practices that Cure has perfected in their mission to build forward rather than just looking back. Of course, this includes the classics every self-respecting drinker should know, especially if you’re a New Orleanian: the Sazerac, Julep, Vieux Carré, Ramos Gin Fizz, Cocktail à la Louisiane, and French 75.

Famous local chefs have contributed easy recipes for snacks with local flavor, perfect for pairing with these libations. Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em​ is a beautiful keepsake for anyone who has fallen under New Orleans’s spell and a must-have souvenir for the millions of people who visit the city each year.

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Review

This is more than just a cocktail recipe book. This book dives into the history of New Orleans and what makes it a unique place to visit. There are multiple restaurants, bars, and other famous sites that bring a richness to the city that compares to none.

I wish that I could say that I have spent a lot of time in New Orleans, but sadly I cannot. Which is odd since I have family in that region! But this book took me on an adventure of my own from my couch in Texas. I love the various stories about how drinks were concocted, the cocktail bucket list, and the history that is shared that makes New Orleans unique.

Each chapter focuses on a different type of cocktail. This makes it easier if you know what you want to make. The number of recipes is overwhelming to me, along with all of the ingredients. I love a good cocktail, but I have to admit that my personal bar is lacking. I guess it is because my spouse prefers wine. This book makes me want to go out and purchase various items I need to create these drinks. I might have to focus on a drink a week, so I don’t blow the grocery budget!

I love learning all sorts of facts about the city, including that in 2008, lawmakers made Sazerac the official drink of the city. They were going to try statewide but got cold feet and just made the bill for New Orleans. There are other stories sprinkled throughout, and it makes for some interesting reading.

This is more than a recipe book, so if all you want are recipes, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you want to enjoy a book rich in culture, this is the book to pick up.

About the Authors

Neal Bodenheimer was born and raised in New Orleans. In 2009 he opened his first cocktail bar, Cure, on a flood-damaged stretch of Freret Street. Since then he has opened several more bars in New Orleans, including Cane & Table, Bellocq, Vals, and Dauphine’s, which is in Washington D.C. In 2018 Cure won a James Beard Award for “Best Bar Program.” He is the co-chair of the board of directors for the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, a leader in the global cocktail community committed to educating, advancing, and supporting the hospitality industry around the world.

Emily Timberlake is a writer and editor based out of Oakland, California. Previously an editor at Ten Speed Press, Timberlake acquired and edited 12 James Beard and IACP Cookbook Award winners. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Punch, TASTE, and more.

Synopsis

The annual Sweet Water, Georgia, Christmas parade is nearing but relationships are fractured on Wild Rose Lane. Antique dealer Cheryl Calloway’s holiday spirit has tanked. It’s been a horrible year with her divorce, her ex marrying younger and perkier Miriam across the street, and Mama moving into Cheryl’s Victorian cottage with her Amazon parrot right before Thanksgiving. A party girl in her eighties, Mama smokes up a storm, likes her nightly vodka, has a hankering for men, and now a wingman named Nigel. If that isn’t enough, the Historical Society wants Cheryl to clean up all the projects on her porch waiting to go to Spivey’s Antique Mall for their Christmas Open House. Her desire to work her booth is as dead as her marriage. Miriam, President of the Historical Society, chastises her, “If it ain’t pretty don’t put it on the porch.” Then there’s Alice, her strange neighbor with the six-foot fluorescent light bulb cross nailed to the huge Magnolia tree in the middle of her rose garden. Alice watches all the neighbors too closely. Just when Cheryl thinks things can’t get worse, an incident shakes her to the core, and a mystery follows revealing family secrets long forgotten. Cheryl wants to believe in miracles and love again, and Dr. James may just be the man of her dreams as he helps her and Mama sort things out.

Filled with quirky characters, mystery, family secrets, and sweet love, all set in a hot Georgia small town.

Amazon

Review

This book will have you laughing and cringing all at the same time.

Cheryl has had a tough year or two, and now her mother has come to live with her and has brought along her pet parrot, Nigel. Mama is definitely one of those people that says and does what she wants no matter what anyone else requests. I love that she even has a romance going with Jackson, a semi-blind resident at the local retirement home. But I love that they don’t care about what others think and do what they want to do.

Cheryl is trying to get her life back together after divorcing her husband, who now lives across the street with his new wife, Miriam. Miriam is a handful and inserts herself into everyone else’s life and doesn’t care what that person thinks or wants. There is also the next-door neighbor, Annie, that is hiding a secret from Cheryl and Mama. We also have Dr. James, aka Jim, whom Cheryl meets, and they have some instant chemistry. He is just what Cheryl needs to move forward with her life.

This book is more than romance and mystery. It is about relationships, family, and the pursuit of happiness. It is sticking up for your family despite how crazy they might make you. I felt drawn to Cheryl and what she was experiencing when it came to her mother and her siblings. She was sort of “stuck” taking their mother in to live with her because she was single. But I think that despite the ups and down, they forged a strong bond with each other, and maybe this won’t be such a bad situation to be in…even with Nigel.

I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics between everyone, and it gave each of the characters depth which only added to the story.

I hope that this becomes a series. I would love to visit Sweet Water again!

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Barbara Barth turned to writing and adopting dogs to heal after her husband died fourteen years ago. Known as ‘Writer With Dogs,’ Barth currently lives with four Chihuahuas in a charming town forty miles outside of Atlanta. She is Literary Arts Chair at a small art center where she promotes writing activities, author events, book launches, and hosts an online group Walton Writers. Inspired by the wonderful artists around her, Barth started painting and has won several awards for her whimsical art.

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Synopsis

Was the death of her college roommate’s father suicide or murder?

That question takes Beck O’Rourke to Miami in this fourth standalone book in the Cozy Mysteries To Die For series.

With three successful murder investigations under her belt, Beck enters the privileged world of her spoiled freshman roommate and her fractured family to take on her first paid job as a private investigator.

Heirs stand to inherit millions from the death of Benjamin Greene. Was it more than a coincidence that he died the night before he was meeting with his lawyer to change his will?

An Inheritance To Die For brings readers back to the Beach Reads bookstore and café, a block off the ocean in quaint Manatee Beach, Florida. Returning are Beck’s spirited grandmother Miss Alice, her fiesty lifeguard sister Lizzie, town character Scratchoff McLean, and, of course, her love interest, handsome Manatee Beach Police detective Devon Mathis.

Will their romance ever get off the ground?

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Review

Beck O’Rourke is back in the fourth book in this series. Beck’s love for reading mysteries has helped her uncover clues in murders around town and has helped her delve into the world of private investigating. Now she has her first paying gig from her college roommate to uncover who killed her father and why, especially since the police have written this off as a suicide.

This has been a fun series to read, and I like that the author puts clues out there, but you have to really dig for them, and many are red herrings. The choices are limited regarding who might have killed Mr. Greene, and many of them have possible motives. The true answer surprised me, much like this author’s last book. It was the last character that I would have suspected.

Beck’s former roommate, Jacquelyn, is quite a handful. She is pushy, bossy, and takes everyone else for granted. I was glad to see that Beck doesn’t let her get away with this attitude for the whole book. The whole family has some unique personalities, and not everything you believe about them turns out to be true.

We don’t see as much of Lizzy and Grandma in this book, and that is ok. This story takes Beck outside of their little community to solve the crime, and we get to see her interact with Devon, and she receives some answers to questions about their relationship. I like their interaction with each other and am glad to watch their relationship blossom.

This has been a fun series to read, and I wonder what the author has in store for Beck next. Only time will tell.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Judy Moore is the author of the popular thriller, “The Mother-in-Law,” as well as three mystery novels: “Somebody in the Neighborhood,” “Murder in Vail,” and “Murder at the Country Club.” She has also written numerous novellas, including the Christmas anthology “Christmas Interrupted,” which contains three novellas: “Airport Christmas,” “The Holiday House Sitter,” and “The Hitchhiker on Christmas Eve.” She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida and worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine feature writer, and publications editor for several years. A former tennis pro, Ms. Moore’s writing background also includes sports writing, and athletes from various sports are sprinkled throughout some of her novels. A lifelong resident of Florida, she currently resides in Vero Beach.

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Synopsis

Beck O’Rourke’s younger sister Lizzie has cajoled her into taking tennis lessons in the middle of the summer in South Florida. Beck not only suffers from the heat but from her snooty classmates who are more interested in the handsome tennis pros than learning how to hit a backhand. But things get serious when one of the racquet club’s pros is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Beck takes advantage of her inside knowledge of the tennis club to try to help handsome police detective Devon Mathis catch the killer.

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Review

Who killed the tennis pro and why? The answer might surprise you as it did me.

Beck is back in town and was roped into taking tennis lessons. I felt for Beck because I am a lot like her, not athletic, and definitely not interested in tennis. After one of the lessons, she meets Haley reading a book in the club, and they strike up a conversation about books. What Beck doesn’t know is that Haley is a professional tennis player. I think Beck’s ignorance about Haley helps forge a bond between the two since Haley isn’t being hounded for her status. I enjoyed watching their friendship evolve, and books are definitely at the center.

The relationship between Devon and Beck continues to evolve, and by the end, there is a better understanding between the two. There are some humorous moments that I won’t spoil for you since they might give away a little of the plot/storyline. But I appreciated that Devon recognizes Beck’s ability to uncover clues and details to help solve the case.

I enjoy the banter back and forth between Lizzie, Beck, and their grandmother. Lizzie and Beck are opposites, but that doesn’t prevent them from having a good sibling relationship. We also see these characters continue to evolve and have more layers to them.

And we can’t forget Scratchoff and his friend Shirley now working at the cafe. Scratchoff is quite the character and, despite winning a million dollars, is still the same guy he was before. He just helps more homeless people with the money.

This has been a fun series to read and book 4 is next on my list to read. We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Judy Moore is the author of the popular thriller, “The Mother-in-Law,” as well as three mystery novels: “Somebody in the Neighborhood,” “Murder in Vail,” and “Murder at the Country Club.” She has also written numerous novellas, including the Christmas anthology “Christmas Interrupted,” which contains three novellas: “Airport Christmas,” “The Holiday House Sitter,” and “The Hitchhiker on Christmas Eve.” She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida and worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine feature writer, and publications editor for several years. A former tennis pro, Ms. Moore’s writing background also includes sports writing, and athletes from various sports are sprinkled throughout some of her novels. A lifelong resident of Florida, she currently resides in Vero Beach.

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Synopsis

When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. But they wake up in bed next to each other with wedding bands on their fingers—and no idea how they got there. Over the course of one New Year’s Eve, together they have to face up to whether they can overcome and reevaluate their complicated past, look toward the future and ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?

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Review

This book definitely brought back some college memories!

Frankie and Ezra had a pretty good thing going in college, but they wanted different things and probably weren’t in the place to realize how much they wanted or needed the other person. I can relate to that; I know when I graduated from college, I wasn’t the most mature when it came to relationships. But that is the great thing about time; you grow and learn how to succeed in all aspects of your life. It took Frankie and Ezra 10 years to realize that what they had in college might just be the real deal.

However, it takes trying to relive the previous night that neither can remember to piece together what happened. How did they both come to be wearing wedding rings? How did Frankie get that lump on her head? How did they end up in one of the dorms? All good questions and the answers take input from others to bring forth the memories of what really happened.

Frankie and Ezra both have their issues from their formative years. Frankie and her genius ability on the piano. Ezra dealing with his mother’s cancer. I don’t think their lives were what they needed to become until they forged out on their own. I found it interesting that Ezra created a computer program that he sold for a pile of money. This was pre-2000, before the great computer explosion. I remember having a computer in 1995 and learning how to operate it, but the computers were nothing like we have today.

It is obvious that Frankie and Ezra had issues with communication and the ability to share their true feelings with each other. I don’t think they really knew each other until they reconnected at a friend’s wedding. However, each learns something from this time at their old alma mater, and they just might come out ahead in the end.

If you enjoy second-chance romances, you might enjoy this one.

We give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

Allison Winn Scotch is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including Time of My Life, In Twenty Years, and Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing. A cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied history and marketing, Winn Scotch now lives in Los Angeles.

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Synopsis

It’s 1967, the Summer of Love. When twenty-one-year-old guitarist Stephen Cane’s promising band falls apart, he is forced to move back home with his Christian mother. Unwilling to give up on his rock and roll dreams, however, Stephen flees to New York so he can patch things up with his former friend and bandmate, Dylan John, a pioneer of psychedelic rock whose band is on the verge of making it big. When Dylan unexpectedly quits Red Afternoon to be a civil rights activist, Stephen is handed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Lured into the trappings and pitfalls of celebrity and confronted with a dangerous secret, Stephen spirals into self-doubt and misplaced loyalties. Against the backdrop of a nation in turmoil, Stephen questions his dreams, his parents’ loyalties to a bygone era, his inability to choose wisely in love, and the unfortunate legacy of racial discrimination.

We Are All Together addresses a nation struggling with its mythological past and the effects it has had on the integrity of the individual. Does the artist owe the world anything? Does the ailing world need another rock star?

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This book will be released on 11/29. Preorder your copy today!

Review

When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. I didn’t feel like I could relate since this all happened before I was born. I only know what I have seen or heard about music in the 60s and the peace, love, and drug lifestyle.

However, once I delved further into the book, I found that it was more than just the music scene, but also a look into civil rights as things were changing at that time. Some were against integration and treated those who didn’t believe the way they did as traitors.

The story does focus on a few main characters, but mostly Stephen Cane. He played with several bands and one Arthur Devane or Dylan John. Dylan was a musical genius, at least with his lyrics, but he seemed to enjoy theatrics a bit more. We know the 60s as the hippie era, and this book embodies that mentality and way of life – from drug use, alcohol, parties, clothing, and music. Stephen gets caught up in this despite trying to avoid getting hooked on drugs. While he has good intentions, he isn’t strong enough to say no or follow the path that he says he wants. He admits his weaknesses, and we know where he wants to go with his life, but how determined is he to get there?

I enjoyed the weaving of musicians, musical groups, and known people (Goldie Hawn is mentioned) into this story. It enabled me to be pulled more into the story and empathize with the characters and their life choices.

A surprisingly good book that we give 4 paws up.

About the Author

Richard Fulco’s first novel, There Is No End to This Slope (Wampus Multimedia), was published in 2014. His second novel, We Are All Together, will be published by Wampus Multimedia in October 2022. Richard received an MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College, where he was the recipient of a MacArthur Scholarship. His plays have either been presented or developed at The New York International Fringe Festival, The Playwrights’ Center, The Flea, Here Arts Center, Chicago Dramatists, and The Dramatists Guild. Richard’s one-act play Swedish Fish was published by Heuer Publishing, and his stories, poetry, interviews, and reviews have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, Failbetter, Across the Margin, Fiction Writers Review, and American Songwriter (among others). Richard is a member of the Pen American Center, where he is also a mentor in the Prison Writing Mentorship Program. For six years, he wrote about music on his blog, Riffraf. He teaches creative writing and English at an independent high school in New Jersey.

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Synopsis

Born to shanty Irish on one side and Park Avenue privilege on the other, Laura navigates a turbulent childhood filled with the alcohol-fueled abuse of her volatile father and her mother’s excessive drinking. As the middle child of three girls, she assigns herself the role of her mother’s protector, who dies when Laura is thirteen, leaving her heartbroken and adrift.

Insecure, anxious, and fearful, she tries drugs, random sex, and a sequence of lovers. Along the way she becomes a successful painter and has a bad first marriage. Nothing however seems to assuage her emptiness and her sense of loss. Eventually, she marries a caring man and has a loving daughter. It is only at the end of her life and by way of an unusual and unexpected turn of events that she is finally able to make peace with herself, to let go of the feeling that she never really grieved, and said goodbye to her beloved mother, and to appreciate that though we work at love and acceptance, sometimes the most wonderful experiences in our lives come in unanticipated and unsought ways.

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Praise

Because I tend to read fiction cinematically, I saw each chapter of Exit Wounds as fully realized scenes in a movie. It isn’t a happy book and it’s not a sad book. It’s a brave, raw story of redemption infused with clever and witty black Irish humor.   — Moritz Borman, Producer Snowden, Terminator Salvation, Basic, Savages

It manages to be harrowing and hopeful in equal measure. The scenes of a childhood defined by a brutal drunk beating a young girl’s dying mother are as scarifying as any coming of age novel I’ve read, and the scenes of a life lived in defiance of the script she was handed is no less than thrilling.    — Tom Lutz, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Creative Writing, UC Riverside/Founding Editor in Chief and Publisher of the Los Angeles Review of Books

Exit Wounds, Annie O’Neill Stein’s debut novel will draw you in, tug at your heart, and help you appreciate the subtle pleasure of black Irish humor. She hooks you in with her original voice and takes you on a journey without sugar coating or apology and helps one understand the importance of an examined life.  — Bob Wallace, Former Managing Editor, Rolling Stone

Annie O’Neill Stein’s novel Exit Wounds is a striking debut. Her writing is sensory, emotionally honest, and darkly comic. Like Laura, her main character, Stein is a rule breaker. She takes the reader on a wild and satisfying ride.  — Jan Cherubin, author of Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2020, The Orphan’s Daughter

Review

This book covers Laura’s life from a young girl until old age. There are flashbacks to her youth and the trials and tribulations she endured with her family. It was a dysfunctional family, but considering the era, not too surprising.

Laura is a typical middle child, seen but overlooked. Their life growing up was harder than some with alcoholic parents, but they made the best of it until they couldn’t anymore. Laura left home and struck out on her own. Her life had its ups and downs, but she rolled with it.

This story is raw, gritty, and honest. Laura has many frustrations in her life, and while it may seem that she has it all, she wants something more. She learns how to make the best of it despite everything. I liked that, in the end, she took control of her life despite a debilitating illness. It just shows us that we all need to live life to the fullest, no matter what hand is dealt to us.

We are all searching for something in our life, and only we will know if we have found it.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Native New Yorker Annie O’Neill Stein moved to Los Angeles in the early eighties as an actress. After many small parts in TV series, from Miami Vice to Charlie’s Angels, she decided to follow her true passion, writing.

Being accepted to Sewanee Writers Conference to study with Alice McDermott planted the seed for Exit Wounds, her first novel.

Annie has written for several magazines, More, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Distinction, Folks, and was a regular contributor to The Huffington Post for several years.

One of the things she’s proudest of is leading creative writing workshops with foster teens, which led to editing and publishing Beauty From Ashes, a collection of short stories and poetry written by foster youth.

She lived in LA with her husband until her recent passing. She has two grown daughters. Like most writers, she regarded Ex