Posted in 4 paws, fiction, romance on July 29, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

After a spate of terrible boyfriends, Jess is sure she’s found her perfect man in dependable – but occasionally dull – Tim. But when her grandmother, tasks her with retrieving a family heirloom from a local auction she finds herself face to face with a charming stranger, Guy.

Guy has already bought her grandmother’s precious necklace and whilst Jess desperately tries to buy it back from him, he somehow convinces her to go out on a date instead.

Ridiculous. But Guy has the necklace and Jess’s grandmother’s health is declining rapidly. Jess has no choice but to indulge Guy and go on a date with – if only to get the necklace back.

But when she and Guy hit it off on their date Jess’s dependable happily-ever-after is thrown off track…

 

 

Amazon * B&N * IndieBound * BAM * Kobo

 

 

Review

 

The message in this book is to stay true to yourself. At least that is what I took away from this story.

The book follows Jess and her quest for a necklace that her dying grandmother has asked her to find. It was made by her grandmother and they believe it is the necklace of true love, that whoever wears it will find their soulmate. Jess is lucky and finds it at an auction but loses out to another bidder. The story takes an interesting twist and Jess does her best to convince the winner to sell it to her without much luck. However, as she delves deeper into the history of the necklace, it sends her on another journey to uncover her family’s past and she learns much about her ancestors and herself in the process.

This was a fun book to read and watching Jess evolve from an injured woman to one that embraces life once again. It takes about 1/3 of the book to find out why she had to walk with a cane and once you do, there is another look into Jess’ life and who she might really be and not who is portrayed initially. Is her relationship with Tim really the one she is meant to be in or is there someone better out there waiting for her? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Overall, we give it 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Louisa Leaman is a writer. She was born, raised, and lives in Epping Forest near London. She writes contemporary romantic fiction. Her debut, The Perfect Dress, published by Transworld Books is available as an ebook now and will be out in paperback in February 2020. Rights have been sold to the US, Germany, Italy, and Spain. She is currently working on her second book, Meant To Be, which will be published in October 2020. Louisa also researches and writes for the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s leading museum of art and design. She studied Art History at Leeds University, became a teacher working with children with special needs, then turned to writing after winning the Times Education Supplement’s new writer’s award. She has written a number of teaching guides and children’s books for Hachette. When she isn’t busy writing or rearing three lively children, she paints portraits, goes running, and spends far too long browsing in vintage clothing shops.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Book Release, Fantasy, mystery, Mystical, Review on July 26, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

How do you win a game that’s trying to kill you?

A twenty-nine year-old clerk at a games store in the Appalachian hamlet of Jett Creek, Tennessee, Callie Myles lives for the weekly RPG sessions run by her beloved brother and gamesmaster, LB. Under his watchful eye, she and her friends wage war, harness magic, and battle evil. When the dice are rolling, they are heroes, and all of Callie’s anxieties slip away. The fun stops the night LB burns to death in a bizarre fire.

Asked by her friends to keep the weekly game alive, Callie does her best to set her grief aside. She puts on the monocle LB wore during sessions and finds herself sucked into a life-sized recreation of her brother’s game. Inhabiting the body of her beloved character, the legendary Arabeth, she thinks she has found the ultimate escape. Her paradise is spoiled when she discovers that something inside the game killed LB—and one of her fellow players was in on it.

To save herself, to avenge her brother, Callie Myles must pull on her armor and beat LB’s game from the inside out. If she gets killed along the way, well, at least she’s having a great time.

A fast-paced hybrid of mystery and adventure, CRITICAL HIT captures the breakneck joy of tabletop gaming, where life and death depend on the whims of a plastic die.

 

 

Amazon

 

Read for free via Kindle Unlimited – Releases August 2nd, 2021

 

 

Review

 

I always enjoy a book that teaches me something new or opens me up to a world that I might have heard of but know very little about. In this case, it is the world of RPG – Role Playing Games. You might be familiar with the term Dungeons and Dragons. My only experience with this game is on an episode of The IT Crowd. It is a short clip but gives you some basics.

Callie is a young woman that is very involved with this world thanks to her brother. He has drawn her into this game since she was young and it is only fitting that she works at a game store where they use the back room to hold their game sessions. Her brother, LB, is the game master and runs the game for this diverse group of characters. The story starts out as they are playing a game and things aren’t going well and then all of a sudden, Callie pulls out some tricks with her character, and perhaps not all is lost. It is just a game after all….or is it? After the session that evening, LB ends up dead from an explosion and Callie goes down a rabbit hole to figure out what happened to him. What she doesn’t expect is to be pulled in and tries to solve LB’s murder. This is where the story takes a crazy twist and everything you might have believed is now flipped upside down.

The author really knows how to engage the reader. I was invested from the first page trying to figure out who killed LB, and then when Callie goes deep into the RPG world. I don’t want to give anything away but I found it very informative and fascinating how the RGP world might look or be played. There is a cast of supporting characters that help to mold Callie and her adventures. When the killer is revealed at the end it was a surprise but at the same time, it wasn’t. There aren’t any obvious clues that pointed to this character, there was just something in the back of mind that wondered if this character was more involved than they portrayed.

The book is filled with action, adventure, mystery, and humor. It is a well written novel and one that anyone could enjoy whether they are familiar with this world or not.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

W.M. Akers is a novelist, playwright, and game designer. He is the author of the mystery novels WESTSIDE and WESTSIDE SAINTS; the creator of the bestselling games DEADBALL: BASEBALL WITH DICE and COMRADES: A REVOLUTIONARY RPG; and the curator of the history newsletter STRANGE TIMES. He lives in Philadelphia but hasn’t traded in his Mets cap yet.

Akers believes tabletop gaming is the greatest hobby in the universe. CRITICAL HIT is a tribute to every brave soul who has ever played a game.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Cozy, Giveaway, mystery, Review on July 11, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

The Mountain View Murder (A Wintergreen Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Chaparral Press LLC
Paperback: 270 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Guess who cried at Lou Thorpe’s funeral?

 

No one. His wife, grown children, and best friends all attended the service, but no one shed a single tear. Poor Lou. He was out for his morning walk when a crazed driver knocked him out of life. Crazed? With no car, no driver, and no witnesses, it’s difficult to say. Was it an accident or intentional?

Until that morning, Bill O’Shea was living the dream. After a career of fighting crime in the big city, Bill bought a condo in the beautiful mountain resort community of Wintergreen, Virginia. When he met his attractive new neighbor, Bill knew his retirement was off to a great start. But then the short-staffed police department asked Bill to help them investigate Thorpe’s death.

Soon, Bill fell into an old routine. Interviewing suspects. Checking alibis. Everyone had a secret to hide, but Bill lacked evidence to tie any of the suspects to the crime. He was missing something–like he had an itch he couldn’t reach to scratch.

Will Bill and his new friends solve the case, or will the murder of Lou Thorpe remain a mystery forever?

If you love beautiful mountain settings, a charming cast, and intriguing plot twists, you’re going to love this new series!

Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

 

 

Amazon * Books2ReadBarnes & Noble * Kobo

 

 

Review

 

This was a fun new series that has an endearing protagonist, beautiful scenery, and murder.

I loved all of the descriptions of the town and mountains and especially the trail that one might traverse as a rite of passage or to say that they hiked the whole Appalachian Trail.

Bill O’Shea may be a retired detective but he hasn’t given up on life or his quest to uncover a killer, even as a volunteer to the police department. Bill brings together a cast of characters in solving the crime of who killed Lou Thorpe. There are many suspects but only one murderer that is hiding in plain sight. I have to admit I never suspected this character and there are not many clues that will give away the mystery. I will say that Lou is not a nice guy so it maybe isn’t really a loss for the town that he is now gone.  There was quite a bit of backstory to uncover and Bill is able to piece together the clues and uncover the murderer. The confrontation with the murderer was rather odd and I’m not quite sure why it happened the way that it did other than that since Bill is not officially on the police force he didn’t have the authority to arrest this person? But Mitch was there and ready to take this character down. It was a rather odd ending but it worked.

There is a bit of romance for Bill with a woman that lives in his condo complex, Cindy. I have mixed feelings about this character. She seems good for Bill, but at the same time, she pulls a “scorned woman” act that makes no sense. This is where I wanted to reach into the book and throttle her for not addressing her feelings with Bill. They aren’t young and you would think that they wouldn’t have time for this sort of behavior. I know Bill has no clue what is going on because she won’t speak to him. It is rather childish.

I did like all of the characters and how nothing was ever 100% truthful or accurate. It was the omission of details that kept the police and Bill guessing.

Overall we give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Pat Kelly was raised in the idyllic suburb of Yorktown, Virginia, where children ran barefoot through the grass and fished in the York River. After graduating from UVA, he left the state to pursue a career in finance. He settled in Texas, married a wonderful woman (Susie), and together they raised two daughters in Austin.

With the girls now grown and gone, Pat has pursued a lifelong love of writing stories. Countless hours at the keyboard have produced the Joe Robbins Thriller Series, two book awards, and four standalone novels.

A few years ago, Pat and Susie bought a summer home in the bucolic mountaintop resort of Wintergreen, Virginia. The beautiful vistas there inspired Pat to write a cozy mystery series featuring the reluctant detective Bill O’Shea. Join Pat’s newsletter to follow Bill’s adventures as he dodges irrepressible bears, pursues romance, and solves mysteries.

 

Website * Blog * Facebook

 

Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram

 

 

Giveaway

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Posted in 4 paws, animals, Book Release, Review on July 5, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Born a runt, Rascal is destined to be an underdog. Despite what looked like an unbreakable bond with the daughter of the family who bred her, Rascal’s devotion is discarded when the mother loses her job, forcing the family into a financial crisis. Bitter and resentful toward a dog they can no longer afford to keep and who was never really wanted, the family throws out the young dog like garbage. Driven out to the country and left roadside, Rascal has nothing but a few pieces of kibble to help her survive the night.

Abandoned and alone, Rascal must learn to fend for herself and embark on a harsh and dangerous journey through wolf terrain in the mountain wilderness of Northern California. Along the way, she meets new families and strangers and is given many names. But will she ever settle with one family and one name? A Dog of Many Names is a courageous story of survival, seen through the eyes of a scared and desperate dog who just wants to love, be loved, and be given one last name.

 

 

AmazonThis Book releases July 6th, 2021

 

 

Review

 

This story follows the life of one dog, or at least part of her life, as she moves from family to family and also having to survive on her own in the wild. For anyone that is an animal lover, this story will punch you in the gut when you realize some things about one of the “owners” and watch as she works to thrive on her own in the wild.

Rascal (her first name) had a wonderful family and a good life until things go wrong at home and she is forced out. From there it is a journey on learning to fend for herself, learning to trust others, and just trying to survive day to day without a human providing food to her.

This was a quick read but an enjoyable story despite the hardships we watched Rascal (and all her other names) endure. There are many responsible pet owners out there but there are just as many that are not as you will see with the one that names her Ilse. I have rescued two dogs and while one was lucky to have been dumped or lost by an owner, the other had to fend for herself much like Rascal. Trust has to be earned. It takes Rascal a long time to trust again and who would blame her?

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

DOUGLAS GREEN is the author of the widely-acclaimed 2015 book The Teachings of Shirelle: Life Lessons from a Divine Knucklehead, and runs the advice website AskShirelle.com, based on the wisdom in the book, which he was taught by his ridiculous dog. Released from decades in the entertainment business for good behavior, he directed the film The Hiding Place and now works as a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, specializing in children and teenagers.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Cozy, Giveaway, mystery, Review on June 25, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

Maxed Out (The Owl’s Nest Mysteries)

 

by C.S. McDonald

​Adult Fiction, 184 pages

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: McWriter Books

 

 

Synopsis

 

The Owl’s Nest Couturier Shoppe is a huge success! Business is booming and Alexa Owl’s love life is heating up. Yet much to the seamstress’s dismay, Detective Bobby Starr is suddenly back again! Bobby isn’t your everyday gumshoe. Rather, he’s an angel who’s trying to earn a place in Saint Peter’s Guardian Angel Squad. He’s required to solve murders he had left unsettled from when he walked the earth in order to be accepted into this prestigious group. Of course, they will need to return to the time period in which the murder took place, and again, Alexa is a reluctant time traveler. Oh, and there’s one more little problem—this time, Bobby’s brought along a friend, Maxi Krogen, and she’s no angel!

 

 

Amazon * B&N

 

 

Review

 

Alexa is back helping Angel Squad wannabee, Bobby Starr, solve a murder. This is actually the second of three that Bobby has to solve to be admitted to Saint Peter’s Angel Squad.

I really enjoy the time-slip with Alex traveling back to the 1950s to help search for clues and uncover the murderer. It helps that she can do some research on her computer in the present before being pulled into the past. I can only imagine how fascinating it would be to visit another time period, especially with the clothes considering Alexa’s chosen profession.

Alexa and Bobby are trying to figure out who killed Maxi’s husband that she was framed for and died in prison accused of his murder. The answer was definitely not one I saw coming and I don’t think there were many clues that would point the reader in that direction. However, Maxi was not a nice ghost. She was rude, mean, and manipulative. What happens to her once the truth is uncovered was also a bit surprising.

Alexa’s romance with Cliff continues in this book. They seem like a good couple but their relationship is a very minor part of the storyline.  Perhaps in the next book, the author will expand upon that relationship.

All of the characters are fun, some are whimsical, and most are down to earth. There is a good balance and flow from Alexa’s story to the minor sub-plots with Winnie and Holden.

Knowing that Bobby has to solve three murders before becoming a part of the Angel Squad leaves me wondering if this will be a three book series only or if there will be more and Alex helps Bobby in his new duties if he makes the squad.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

For twenty-six years C.S. McDonald’s life whirled around a song and a dance. Classically trained at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, The Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, and many others, she became a professional dancer and choreographer. During that time, she choreographed many musicals and an opera for the Pittsburgh Savoyards. In 2011 she retired from her dance career to write. Under her real name, Cindy McDonald, she writes murder-suspense and romantic suspense novels. In 2014 she added the pen name, C.S. McDonald, to write children’s books for her grandchildren. In 2016 she added the Fiona Quinn Mysteries to that expansion. She decided to write the cozy mystery series that everyone, including teens and tweens, can read and enjoy. Presently, the Fiona Quinn Mysteries nine books with a tenth slated for 2021. The books are also available on audio, narrated by Maren Swenson Waxenberg. Cindy’s newest venture is The Owl’s Nest Mysteries. Once again, she has set her cozy mystery in Pittsburgh. The female protagonist, Alexa Owl, is much different from Fiona Quinn. The Owl’s Next Mysteries has a little grit, a little time travel, a little romance, and a whole lot of cozy! Ms. McDonald resides on her Thoroughbred farm known as Fly by Night Stables near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bill, and her poorly behaved Cocker Spaniel, Allister.

 

 

Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook

 

 

Giveaway

 

 

Autographed copy of MAXED OUT, plus other gifts (USA only) (ends Jul 23)

 

MAXED OUT Book Tour Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in 4 paws, Book Release, Review, Science on June 14, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Conspiracies abound in this surreal and yet all-too-real technothriller in which a deadly underground alternate reality game might just be altering reality itself, set in the same world as the popular Rabbits podcast.

It’s an average work day. You’ve been wrapped up in a task, and you check the clock when you come up for air–4:44 pm. You go to check your email, and 44 unread messages have built up. With a shock, you realize it is April 4th–4/4. And when you get in your car to drive home, your odometer reads 44,444. Coincidence? Or have you just seen the edge of a rabbit hole?

Rabbits is a mysterious alternate reality game so vast it uses our global reality as its canvas. Since the game first started in 1959, ten iterations have appeared and nine winners have been declared. Their identities are unknown. So is their reward, which is whispered to be NSA or CIA recruitment, vast wealth, immortality, or perhaps even the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe itself. But the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes. Players have died in the past–and the body count is rising.

And now the eleventh round is about to begin. Enter K–a Rabbits obsessive who has been trying to find a way into the game for years. That path opens when K is approached by billionaire Alan Scarpio, the alleged winner of the sixth iteration. Scarpio says that something has gone wrong with the game and that K needs to fix it before Eleven starts or the whole world will pay the price.

Five days later, Scarpio is declared missing. Two weeks after that, K blows the deadline and Eleven begins. And suddenly, the fate of the entire universe is at stake.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * BAM

 

 

Review

 

This book is not going to appeal to all audiences. It will appeal to those that like the bizarre, are into RPG, and believe that multi-dimension universes are possible. While I may not fit into all of those categories, I have to admit this book was fascinating with all of the possibilities.

We follow K and several of his friends that have stumbled across a game called Rabbits. It isn’t spoken about and I’m not really sure how someone can win this game, but there are people that have won. It isn’t spoken about or really discussed and it is a game for those that notice variations in the world around them….once again, not me but I love just thinking about the possibilities.

I like the titles of each chapter, they are somewhat comical and add humor to this insane story. There are people disappearing, memories that may not be real, time lapses, and so much more.

The story does get bogged down in some of the details and since I do not understand some of the scientific theories discussed, it did go over my head. But I was pulled into K’s life and interactions with Chloe and others that led him down the rabbit hole of this game and as he fought for his life and trying to figure out what was real and what was not.

I read a few other reviews and realized that we never really know K’s gender. I assumed male but it could easily be a female. There is no way to know for sure and thinking back, that sheds a different light on some of the scenes.

If you like podcasts, you might want to check out the Rabbits podcast. I am not usually a podcast listener but will check it out just because I’ve read this book.

Overall we give this book 4 paws.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Terry Miles is an award-winning filmmaker; creator of the Public Radio Alliance and that network’s series of hit podcasts: Tanis, Rabbits (#1 on Apple Podcasts), Faerie, and The Last Movie; and co-creator of The Black Tapes. He splits his time between the dark emerald gloom of the Pacific Northwest and sunny Los Angeles.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

 

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Cookbook, cooking, Review on June 12, 2021

 

 

 

Can you eat barbecue and still lose weight and be healthy? Yes, you can. New York Times bestselling author Myron Mixon will show you how.

After more than thirty years of winning contests for his smoked hogs, briskets, ribs, and chickens, Myron Mixon knows a whole lot about barbecue. So what does the “winningest man in barbecue” know about living a healthy lifestyle? As someone who was overweight and unhealthy before losing more than 100 pounds, he’s figured out how to cook and eat the foods he loves and still live healthfully. Having kept those pounds off for more than two years, Mixon is living proof that you can eat barbecue and be healthy, if you know how to do it right.

This is Keto done the way we all want to live; the recipes in Keto BBQ are the ones Mixon uses to enjoy the barbecue lifestyle without gaining weight. Like Mixon, you get to eat the foods you love—including bacon-wrapped chicken breasts, smoked pork shoulder, baby back ribs, and even barbecue sauce—if you follow the recipes in this book. In Keto BBQ, Mixon shares a series of real—and real simple—changes you can make to your diet while still enjoying barbecue and other Southern foods in a healthier way.

 

Review

 

I love to eat and my husband is a carnivore, so I knew this book might have some good tips on making dishes that fit the Keto plan. Neither one of us follow Keto, but I do find it interesting and I think the biggest difference is that instead of using sugar the recipes call for monk fruit sweetener. I have seen it in the baking aisle but never really thought much about it as a sweetener so I was definitely intrigued. The book has a variety of rubs for different types of meats, bbq sauce that doesn’t use sugar (which I try to avoid anyway), and there are sections that cover chicken, pork, beef, vegetables, desserts, and beverages.

I have to admit that I do not grill or bbq as much as I used to and I live in Texas where the weather is almost always perfect for this type of cuisine. But from his first book, BBQ&A, I learned a few handy rubs and techniques and a recipe I find myself frequently making. So I was curious to see what this book could add to my repertoire and I found one recipe that was similar to something I already make the BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts. This varied slightly from how I normally make it, taking the tenders and covering with a few spices and then wrapping bacon around it, and I have to admit I didn’t follow the instructions…mostly because I was scrambling at dinner time. But after reading this will definitely give the full recipe a try.  Ok, I know I’m rambling. It happens sometimes. Anyway, this recipe calls for marinating the chicken in bbq sauce, then covering it in a rub, wrapping it with bacon, and then cooking in a smoker. I don’t own a smoker, but since I normally make my recipe in the oven, I knew that would work just fine. I ended up making a smaller batch of the chicken rub and coating my chicken in that before wrapping it in bacon. We did use bbq sauce once it was cooked as a dipping sauce. My husband raved about the dish, but then he tends to rave about most things I cook. I think it is because he doesn’t have to cook the meal.

I did try and make the Mint-Basil ‘Rita since a friend had just given me some fresh mint and basil…but I think I put too much lime juice and I didn’t realize I was out of sparkling water. sigh….sometimes I have to realize I can’t make recipes on the fly because I tend to be missing something. This is why planning is key! I am going to give it another whirl and make sure I have all of the ingredients on hand.

This book is worth picking up and flipping through especially if you follow the Keto plan. I will leave you with Mint-Basil Rita recipe

 

The Skinny Pitmaster Mint-Basil ‘Rita

 

Ingredients

 

6 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

8 leaves fresh mint

8 leaves fresh basil

2 cups ice cubes

3 oz tequila or rum

1 cup sparkling water

 

In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice with the mint and basil leaves. use a muddler or other tool to muddle the leaves and fruit, crushing them in the lime juice as best as possible. Divide the muddled juice and herbs between two standard margarita glasses.

Fill the glasses 3/4 of the way with ice. Add 1 1/2 oz of tequila or rum to each glass. Fill the glasses to the top with sparkling water. Gently stir the cocktail with a stirrer or long thin spoon.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, coming of age, Crime, Review, Texas on June 11, 2021

 

RIVER, SING OUT

 

BY

 

JAMES WADE

 

 

Categories: Contemporary / Literary Fiction

 

Rural Fiction / Crime Fiction / Coming-of-Age

 

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

 

Blackstone Facebook  Twitter   Instagram

 

Date of Publication: June 8, 2021

 

Number of Pages: 315 pages

 

 

 

 

“And through these ages untold, the river did act as the lifeblood of all those things alongside it.”

Jonah Hargrove is celebrating his thirteenth birthday by avoiding his abusive father, when a girl named River stumbles into his yard, injured and alone. The teenager has stolen thousands of dollars worth of meth from her murderous, drug-dealing boyfriend, but lost it somewhere in the Neches River bottoms during her escape. Jonah agrees to help her find and sell the drugs so she can flee East Texas.

Chasing after them is John Curtis, a local drug kingpin and dogfighter, as well as River’s boyfriend, the dangerous Dakota Cade.

Each person is keeping secrets from the others—deadly secrets that will be exposed in violent fashion as all are forced to come to terms with their choices, their circumstances, and their own definition of God.

With a colorful cast of supporting characters and an unflinching violence juxtaposed against lyrical prose, River, Sing Out dives deep into the sinister world of the East Texas river bottoms, where oppressive poverty is pitted against the need to believe in something greater than the self.

 

 

 

Blackstone PublishingAmazonBooks-a-Million

 

 

Indie BoundDownpourHudson Booksellers

 

 

Praise

 

”With echoes of Jim Harrison, Cormac McCarthy (and perhaps a smidge of Flannery O’Connor), River, Sing Out is a beautiful, brutal meditation on survival and love in the face of nearly unspeakable violence and depravity in an East Texas community ravaged by the meth trade. Taut, lyrical, and precise, the prose soars in this important new novel by James Wade.” —Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine

”If you read one novel this year, make it this one. James Wade’s River, Sing Out, is an instant classic filled with characters that will break your heart, lyrical prose as haunted as the river it evokes, and a Southern Noir undertow that wholly sucks you in and keeps you turning the pages until it’s searing, masterful conclusion.” —May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives

”Wade, whose striking debut, All Things Left Wild (2020), traveled back a century in Texas history, uses an unlikely friendship to explore an equally wild present-day landscape…A haunting fable of an impossible relationship fueled by elemental need and despair.” —Kirkus Reviews

 

 

 

 

 

River, Sing Out – Book Trailer from AV FILMS on Vimeo.

 

 

 

 

 

If I could only use one word to describe this book, I think it would be poetic. The words flow seamlessly from one subject to another and the imagery fits East Texas to a T.

There are several plots in this story that meld together. There is a young boy, Jonah, that is just trying to survive despite abject poverty. River, a young woman that has lost her way but is determined to find her path, and John Curtis and Cade, local drug dealers and thugs who believe they are above the law. This novel is gritty and while has some happy moments, shows us the true underbelly of the drug world and the ruthlessness of those involved.

 

“How much of this life is truly your choice?”

 

This line resonated with me because I believe that we all make choices in our lives. Those choices may not always be the right ones, but every situation can be a learning experience. Of course, there are people and circumstances that create situations not of our choosing or making, but those are the times that one can learn from it and I think that is what happens with River and Jonah at different times throughout the book.

 

“You’ve made yourself the world’s victim and you’ll do the same with this.”

 

Jonah may be just 13, but he has seen a lot in his young life. His mother left him and his father is not a kind man. Plus his living situation isn’t wonderful but thankfully there is the kindness of a neighbor that looks out for him and gives him food when Jonah visits. This may be Jonah’s saving grace in life from a horrible life and abusive father. Jonah realizes that he wants more from life than what he has and seeks to find a better life for himself.

 

“He was her lifeline in so many ways. And he was kind to her. More kind than any human had ever been.”

 

I think my favorite character might have been River. She realized (albeit a bit too late perhaps) that a life wrapped up with drugs and thugs may not be the best for her. There was quite a little twist near the end that was quite the surprise. Her life was possibly never going to be all her own. However, her time with Jonah helped her see the good in people and strive harder to change her circumstances.

 

“We all come to appreciate those things lost to us. The sweetest breath of the day not realized until the night. Such is our reckoning as men. And how do you keep going, when something so meaningful is taken from you? How do you move forward? How do you move at all?”

 

This introspective quote gave me a lot to ponder. We all have losses in our lives and it is the hope for a better tomorrow that keeps us moving forward. I think that is what River and Jonah discover in their short time together. There is even a moment for John Curtis where I thought that he might want to change his life but it might have been too late for him.

This book will paint a picture of a world many of us are not subjected to but it gives us a glimpse into the lives of these characters and how they adapt and adjust to what life has thrown at them. The ending is both sad and joyful at the same time.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Wade lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and daughter. He is the author of All Things Left Wild, which is a winner of the 2016 Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest, a winner of the 2021 Spur Award for Best Historical Fiction, and a winner of the 2021 Reading the West Award for Best Debut Novel. His fiction has appeared in various literary journals and magazines.

 

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

TWO WINNERS

Two winners each receive an autographed first-edition

hardcover copy of River, Sing Out

+ an autographed paperback copy of

multiple award-winning All Things Left Wild.

(US only. Ends midnight, CDT, June 18, 2021)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each post on this tour,

or visit the blogs below

 

 

6/8/21 Book Trailer Texas Book Lover
6/8/21 BONUS Promo LSBBT Blog
6/9/21 Review The Clueless Gent
6/9/21 Review Rainy Days with Amanda
6/10/21 Top Five All the Ups and Downs
6/10/21 BONUS Promo Hall Ways Blog
6/11/21 Author Interview Book Fidelity
6/11/21 Review StoreyBook Reviews
6/12/21 Review It’s Not All Gravy
6/13/21 Excerpt Reading by Moonlight
6/14/21 Review That’s What She’s Reading
6/14/21 Audio Review Forgotten Winds
6/15/21 Review Book Bustle
6/16/21 Author interview The Page Unbound
6/16/21 Review Librariel Book Adventures
6/17/21 Audio Review Chapter Break Book Blog
6/17/21 Review Jennie Reads

 

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Inspirational, memoir, nonfiction, Review on May 27, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

This is a collection of true life stories that together share the life of a young girl and her walk with God including how far she ran away from Him. Follow her through the valley to the other side!

By reading this three part series in one complete collection, all readers should walk away with a greater faith than what they began with.

This book is guaranteed to make you laugh and cry and laugh again! After all, isn’t that one of the reasons we read to begin with?

 

 

 

 

Review

 

An in-depth look at one woman’s journey in life and with God.

Wendy found herself in a place she didn’t think she wanted to be at a young age, but sometimes that is where you are meant to be and there is a journey planned out for you that you don’t think you want until you are traveling down that path.

While I haven’t made it through all of her stories yet, each one that I have read is raw and gets to the heart of Wendy’s journey, her feelings, and what she wants from life.

I enjoyed reading about her childhood and she had some pluck as a child! No matter what life threw at her, she persevered and made the best of things. Not every moment was beautiful, but each event taught her something about life and herself.

This is a book you will want to take your time reading and think about how you might react to certain situations and reflect on what have been teaching moments in your own life.

 

 

About the Author

 

My name is Wendy Glidden. I am a Mom of 10 and a Grandma of 7. God spoke to me at a young age and informed me that I would be a mother to many. I ran from that promise with a vengeance! However, despite my best attempts, I could not outrun God. He delivers on His promises for He is faithful! My childhood dreams were to be a famous author. As a child, I informed God how I did not need much; material possessions have never been a hang-up for me. Thank God for that! I promised God I would use all my riches to help others. I had dreams to say the least! When you start out life on your own at 16, unwillingly married and with child, your dreams have a way of falling to the wayside. Little did I understand that God was just thickening my story and adding immense color!! It’s funny what happens when you come to the end of yourself. Everything changes. This is what happened to me. My ministry is just developing. My focus is on total wellness. I love how well God has prepared me for my ministry. I love how God has been there for me even when I thought he wasn’t. I was blogging before I even realized fully what was going on. It amazes me that in less than 4 years, I have had over 62,500 page views. Even cooler to me than that is where I have been read. My stories have been viewed in places I did not even know existed until they showed up in my stat report. This journey has been quite exciting and I am looking forward to moving to the next step. This year I am republishing my trilogy in e-book format with West Bow Press. Alongside publishing books, I blog for my ministry ‘You Are Worthy Too’. If that wasn’t enough, I am currently pursuing my Biblical Studies Degree through Colorado Christian University and in my spare time, I market for a wellness company that is a just in time manufacturer of everyday needs. No fancy packaging but tons of value! Not often can you spend less and end up with more! This side business fits perfectly with my theme of total wellness and helping others. Often others ask me how on earth I manage to do so much. I reply, “Only by the grace of God do I do what I do.”

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Book Release, fiction, Review on May 24, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Sometimes all you need is one person to really see you.

Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper?

Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper—but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.

 

 

 

Review

 

This story filled me with hope, laughter, sorrow, and joy.

Piper loses her husband way too soon in their young marriage. I can’t even imagine the grief she felt learning to live without him. Then something odd happens, everyone acts as if Tom is there with her, hence the invisible husband. I loved how this small community rallied around Piper and tried to ease her grief in this way. While it wasn’t logical, they were doing what they thought was right at the time.

Anders has always wanted to be a journalist and his first job is with a smaller paper. You can imagine his disappointment expecting to work for a big name paper right off the bat. But everyone has to start at the bottom and work their way up. What he doesn’t expect is to find this small community on Frick Island and Piper. He is sent to this island to cover their annual cakewalk. It seems odd to have it on a Thursday, but as someone tells him, it has always been on a Thursday. Small communities find change harder than others. While on the island, Anders feels like he is thrown back in time with the lack of technology, a small community with large hearts, and a weird situation with Piper and her invisible husband.

Don’t take everything you think to be true at face value. There is the mystery of who sent an email to Anders that he was missing a bigger story? Is Piper insane or having a psychotic break? Is global warming and climate changes affecting the island and what do the citizens think about losing their island? Will Anders’ podcast become a success? How will he spin what he is experiencing on Frick Island that will capture everyone’s attention?

There are many parts that tickled my funny bone like the islanders thinking that Anders is a Mormon missionary because of what he is wearing that first day. Piper setting Anders up when giving him the island experience, and so many more.

There are some twists in the book that was unexpected and has the reader rethinking their original assumptions. One of these is actually kinda funny but you will have to read the book to discover the truth. There is also a situation where Anders has to face his own fears and past and come to terms with his own life.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of You Were There TooClose Enough to Touch, and Before I Go. Her books have been named best books by People, Us WeeklyLibrary Journal and Real Simple, and have been long-listed for the Southern Book Prize. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, four kids, and the world’s biggest lapdog.

 

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