Posted in 5 paws, Adventure, Book Release, Dystopian, Review, suspense, Thriller on February 17, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

The nightmare is far from over.

After surviving the EMP blast that crippled their cruise ship, the exhausted passengers from Rose of the Sea finally reach dry land. But the deserted island has a sinister history, and one wrong step on its sandy shores can mean the difference between life and death.

Gunner. When Gunner loses his position as leader, he fears the threadbare semblance of order will fray into lawlessness—and nothing will be left to stand in the way of desperate humans.

Gabby. Now also caring for an orphaned child, Gabby is determined to see herself and her tortured family to safety on the mainland. But without her epilepsy medication, her condition is a ticking time bomb—a fatal seizure can strike at any moment.

Zon. Hungry for power, Zon appoints himself as leader of the fracturing group. When a reckless decision leads to a deadly accident, he finds himself at the mercy of the island and those he tried to control.

Tempers are high. Supplies are low. Will the group shatter into chaos? Or will the island’s deadly secrets destroy all they have left?

Find out in this gripping post-apocalyptic EMP survival thriller.

FERAL FATE is the second book in the Waves of Fate series.

This gripping EMP apocalyptic disaster/survival series follows survivors in a desperate fight to stay alive and is perfect for fans of Mike Kraus, Ryan Schow, Grace Hamilton, Harley Tate, JJ Pike, Jack Hunt, JJ Holden, and Kyla Stone.

 

 

 

Read for Free on Kindle Unlimited

 

 

Review

 

This is the follow-up book to First Fate which I just loved and had me rethinking about ever taking a cruise again. I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint.

In this book, the small number of survivors from the cruise ship end up on an island. Sadly, the island is deserted which means they have to use all of their skills to stay alive. Thankfully, there are several in the group that have the skills needed to find food, water, shelter, etc. There is tension between some of the survivors and Zon is definitely a loose cannon. He was in the first book and he doesn’t change his tune in this book. The only thing that keeps him going and assisting everyone else is another survivor, Jessie. Perhaps she is using her feminine wiles on him, or maybe she really does like him.

While a lot of the book seems to focus on Zon, we do have more insight into the other main characters. I am still on the fence about Gabby. She is more concerned about herself and the kids than everyone else especially when her husband, Mac, wants to jump in and help everyone else. It is his calling and she doesn’t quite seem to understand that. However, she does have a redeeming moment when she realizes that perhaps she is not pulling her weight the way she should.

Gunner is still a leader at heart and he has learned how to manipulate everyone to help make sure everyone survives. I use the word manipulate, but not in a bad way. He can read people and understands what makes them tick and how he needs to approach them to ensure that everything is handled as situations arise.

The death count continues to rise on the island and the discovery of a small yacht gives them hope that perhaps they can still be rescued. No one knows what is going on anywhere else in the world as the EMP has knocked out all communications and even the discovery of HAM radios doesn’t raise anyone to find out what is going on in the world. I am amazed at the hope that everyone has that they will still be rescued.

I don’t want to divulge too much, but the ending….oh my goodness! It definitely helps fill in a few blanks and leaves you hanging for the last book in this series. I cannot wait to read that one and see how this all ends.

I stayed up late reading this book and could not put it down. I have to give it 5 paws up and highly recommend this series.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kendall Talbot is a thrill seeker, hopeless romantic, and award-winning author. She’s sought thrills in all 46 countries she’s visited. She’s abseiled down freezing waterfalls, fought the white-water in a rubber raft, jumped off a mountain with a man who spoke little English, and got way too close to a sixteen-foot shark. When she isn’t writing, she’s enjoying wine and cheese with her crazy friends, and planning her next thrilling international escape.

She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her very own hero and a fluffy little dog who specializes in hijacking her writing time.

 

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Posted in 5 paws, Book Release, Review, Young Adult on February 16, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.

In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.

When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.

Ashley Schumacher’s devastating and beautiful debut, Amelia Unabridged, is about finding hope and strength within yourself, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love while you do it.

 

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * BAM * IndieBound

 

 

Review

 

What an unexpected book. I started this, not knowing what to expect (and I didn’t go back and read the synopsis) and I was drawn in from the start and had a hard time putting the book down. It was only when my eyes were drooping did I put the book down. Something woke me early this morning and so of course I picked up the book and finished reading it because I had to know how the book ended.

This book is heavier than what you might expect, it deals with death/dying, grief, and guilt. But it also has wonderment, friendship, and hope for the future.

I loved the friendship between Jenna and Amelia. While it might have seemed one sided, you could see how Jenna and her family cared about Amelia by taking her in and treating her like one of the family. However, part of that friendship did cause Amelia to feel like she had to do certain things because it was what Jenna wanted and because she died, Amelia feels obligated to keep those dreams alive.  But at what cost?  That is part of the journey for Amelia to discover her dreams and passions without Jenna.

I really enjoyed Amelia’s trip to Michigan to discover where this book came from and who sent it to her. In her wildest dreams, she never expects to meet the author herself in this quaint little town. But he has some secrets of his own that keep him from living a full life. The interaction between these two is heart-wrenchingly good. (ok that is probably not a word but how I felt reading the book).

There are a few other characters (Alex and Val) that bring some levity to the story, but they are only looking out for Nolan. You can see the love for each other that has spanned many years.

These are a few of my favorite lines:

 

“What have you done with my devil-may-care friend?” I grin, “I canoodled him.”

Jenna ordered informational pamphlets from the top three contenders on what I had come to call her College Deathmatch Spreadsheet.

This is beyond bizarre The mighty N.E. Endsley is showing me phone pictures? A fever dream, that’s what this is. I’m dying and this is apparently all my brain can manage to give me in my final moments.

“You must choose, Amelia, what you want your life to be. Only you can provide the courage necessary to tirelessly pursue your choices, and therefore it must be you who decides the path before you.”

“What I wrote made somebody light up from the inside and made her fearsome to behold without her having to move a muscle.”

 

This book really spoke to my soul and we have to give it 5 paws ups.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

ASHLEY SCHUMACHER is a young adult author with a degree in creative writing from the University of North Texas. She lives in a small town with her antisocial but lovable husband and more books than is strictly necessary. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her belting Disney or Broadway songs, protecting her snacks from her greedy golden retriever, hand embroidering, or playing Mario Kart. Amelia Unabridged is her first novel. She lives in Dallas, Texas.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Cozy, Giveaway, Monday, mystery, Review on February 15, 2021

 

 

 

 

Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: D. X. Varos, Ltd. (February 16, 2021)
Paperback: 258 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Alene Baron doesn’t go looking for mysteries, they find her. When the highly disliked owner of a business neighboring the Whipped and Sipped Cafe turns up dead, the list of potential suspects is pretty long, including all of the members of his quarrelsome family. Missing wills, convenient accidents, and enough red herring to feed the lunch crowd spice up this tantalizing tale. As always, while pondering the evidence, Alene also comes up with creative vegan dishes to serve her customers and share with you.

 

 

Amazon – B&N

 

 

Review

 

Alene is back with her vegetarian/vegan cafe and coffeehouse, a cast of intriguing characters, and a mystery that you may or may not be able to solve before all is revealed.

I’m thankful that the author provides a list of characters at the beginning of the book with a brief bio on each one because there are many characters to keep straight! If you have read the first book, Battered, you will recognize many from that book, but there are many new characters to make this mystery interesting. There are characters that will make you crazy, some that you will empathize with, and others that you will love.

There are quite a few storylines in this book. There is the murder, disappearance of one of the staff from the cafe, Alene’s father’s stay in the hospital, and the budding romance between Alene and Frank.

There are quite a few red herrings in the book and I never would have suspected the killer. There are a few clues peppered throughout the book, but not many. Alene jumps to a lot of conclusions and never quite gets it right until the end and thankfully doesn’t put herself in too much danger.

I think my favorite character might be Cal, Alene’s father. He is suffering from a debilitating disease but has such a great outlook on life and what he is going through.

I do enjoy the Chicago setting and based on what I read, it sounds like most everything for Alene is close to where she lives and I feel like I am able to take a peek into her world.

This is a fun new series and we give it 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

G.P. Gottlieb has worked as a musician, a teacher, and an administrator, but she’s happiest when writing recipe-laced murder mysteries. Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery and Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery take place in the spring and summer of 2019 and a third book in the series will center on a murder that occurs during the city of Chicago’s lockdown in May 2020. G.P. Gottlieb has always experimented in the kitchen and created her delicious vegan cookies and cakes in direct opposition to what she learned in courses at Chicago’s French Pastry School. She is a host for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, the mother of three grown children, and lives with her husband in a Chicago high-rise that is strikingly similar to the building portrayed in the Whipped and Sipped Mystery series.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Cozy, Giveaway, mystery, Review on February 13, 2021

 

 

GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER

 

Bean to Bar Mysteries Book 1

 

by

 

AMBER ROYER

 

 

Categories: Cozy Mystery / Women Sleuth / Romance

Publisher: Golden Tip Press

Date of Publication: February 2, 2021

Number of Pages: 266 pages

 

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

Felicity Koerber has had a rough year. She’s moving back to Galveston Island and opening a bean to bar chocolate factory, fulfilling a dream she and her late husband, Kevin, had shared. Craft chocolate means a chance to travel the world, meeting with farmers and bringing back beans she can turn into little blocks of happiness, right close to home and family. She thinks trouble has walked into her carefully re-built world when puddle-jump pilot Logan Hanlon shows up at her grand opening to order custom chocolates. Then one of her employees drops dead at the party, and Felicity’s one-who-got-away ex-boyfriend – who’s now a cop – thinks Felicity is a suspect.

 

As the murder victim’s life becomes more and more of a mystery, Felicity realizes that if she’s going to clear her name in time to save her business, she might need Logan’s help. Though she’s not sure if she’s ready to let anyone into her life – even if it is to protect her from being the killer’s next victim.  For Felicity, Galveston is all about history, and a love-hate relationship with the ocean, which keeps threatening to deliver another hurricane – right into the middle of her investigation. Can she figure it out before all the clues get washed away?

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

 

 

 

 

AmazonBarnes and NobleApple Books

 

 

Bookshop.orgKoboIndieBound

 

 

 

Praise

 

“With as many unpredictable twists and turns as the hurricane approaching Galveston, Grand Openings Can Be Murder is an intriguing cozy mystery set in a new chocolate shop along the island’s historic Strand. Readers will love learning about the bean-to-bar chocolate-making process while the store’s owner, Felicity, pursues truth, justice, and the perfect chocolate bar.”

Diane Kelly, Award-winning author of the Death & Taxes, Paw Enforcement, House Flipper, and Busted mystery series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate, Murder, and a Hurricane

 

You might have noticed that I started with chocolate because that is the most important thing about the book. Well, in my eyes anyway! All the luscious dark cacao, the processing, and the love put into the single origin bars. This book will teach you a lot that you didn’t know you needed to know about chocolate.

Chocolate aside (but really, who can put chocolate aside?!), this is a fun cozy mystery with a determined protagonist to prove her innocence and solve the murder, a loveable bunny that knows when to protect his family, and a storm that could create some havoc on Galveston, Texas.

I really liked Felicity. She is still suffering through the loss of her husband a year ago, yet foraging ahead in bringing their dream to life. She is also not afraid to jump into the thick of things and try and solve this crime despite knowing nothing about how to decipher the clues and figure out who the murderer might be. I like that she admits to all of her experience coming from books and TV mystery shows. Despite that, it doesn’t slow her down and she does find herself in harms way several times while seeking the truth.

I really enjoyed how the story and the mystery came together. It built up to the conclusion, much like the hurricane that thrashed Galveston. I have heard that there are some that won’t leave their homes even in the case of a hurricane, and this book was no different. In fact, there was a party at a local hotel for those that did not leave the island. Personally, I think that is nuts, but I suppose if you have lived through one (or more hurricanes) then this one won’t be so bad.

While I suspected who the killer was, I discounted this character because I just didn’t think it was possible and couldn’t figure out the “why.” It was quite a revelation and the pieces fell together like a puzzle in the end.

Outside of the mystery, I found the characters to be well rounded and intriguing. Many of Felicity’s friends are very supportive, along with her aunt and uncle. I was suspicious of some of her friends/coworkers and their motives, but I attribute that to the author’s writing and throwing some red herrings into the mix that made me question my suspicions.

There is a hint of a potential romance between Felicity and Logan. Logan is a former police officer, turned bodyguard, turned tour guide. Felicity has her reservations because she still misses her husband, but I think that this could develop into more in future books and I look forward to seeing how that relationship develops.

There was only one thing missing, recipes for her chocolate truffles and more. I salivated over the description of the truffles and I would love to know more about how to make them and infuse herbs and other flavors. Perhaps in future books, the author will share a few recipes with us.

This is a delicious new series and I look forward to future books that share mouth watering descriptions of chocolate, life in Galveston, and perhaps a mystery to solve.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate on her website. She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.

 

 Website  ◆  Blog ◆ Facebook  ◆  Twitter

 

Amazon  ◆  Goodreads ◆  Instagram◆  YouTube

 

 

————————————— 

 

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

 

 ONE WINNER 

 

Autographed copy of GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER

 

and a $25 Gift Card to Dandelion Chocolate

 

End Midnight, CST, February 19, 2021

 

US ONLY

 

 

 

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

 

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

or visit the blogs directly

 

 

2/9/21 Excerpt Texas Book Lover
2/9/21 BONUS Guest Post Hall Ways Blog
2/9/21 BONUS Promo LSBBT Blog
2/10/21 Top Ten That’s What She’s Reading
2/11/21 Review Missus Gonzo
2/12/21 Playlist All the Ups and Downs
2/13/21 Review StoreyBook Reviews
2/14/21 Author Interview Rebecca R. Cahill, Author
2/15/21 Review Forgotten Winds
2/16/21 Scrapbook Page KayBee’s Book Shelf
2/17/21 Review The Page Unbound
2/18/21 Review It’s Not All Gravy

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Book Release, Historical, romance on February 12, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Swirling rumors forced Cecilia White out of the teaching job she loved. She vowed not to get involved with a man again—no matter what. But when the term begins at a new schoolhouse in a new town, disaster strikes. No matter what she does, she can’t seem to escape the handsome, single chairman of the school board.

 

John Morgan has a secret. He’s not who he says he is. He’ll do anything to protect and provide for his young sister—including cozying up to the prickly schoolmarm.

 

Sparks fly and Cecilia must deny her heart if she hopes to keep her job. But what’s more important? Duty or love?

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Lacy Williams wishes her writing career was more like what you see on Hallmark movies: dreamy brainstorming from a French chateau or a few minutes at the computer in a million-dollar New York City penthouse. In reality, she’s up before the sun, putting words on the page before her kids wake up for the day. Those early-morning and late-night writing sessions add up, and Lacy has published fifty books in almost a decade, first with a big five publisher and then as an indie author. When she needs to refill the well, you can find Lacy birdwatching, gardening, biking with the kiddos, or walking the dog.

 

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Posted in fiction, Historical, WW II on February 11, 2021

 

Synopsis

 

The award-winning novel by Czech author Kateřina Tučková—her first to be translated into English—about the fate of one woman and the pursuit of forgiveness in a divided postwar world.

1945. Allied forces liberate Nazi-occupied Brno, Moravia. For Gerta Schnirch, daughter of a Czech mother and a German father aligned with Hitler, it’s not deliverance; it’s a sentence. She has been branded an enemy of the state. Caught in the changing tides of a war that shattered her family—and her innocence—Gerta must obey the official order: she, along with all ethnic Germans, is to be expelled from Czechoslovakia. With nothing but the clothes on her back and an infant daughter, she’s herded among thousands, driven from the only home she’s ever known. But the injustice only makes Gerta stronger, more empowered, and more resolved to seek justice. Her journey is a relentless quest for a seemingly impossible forgiveness. And one day, she will return.

Spanning decades and generations, Kateřina Tučková’s breathtaking novel illuminates a long-neglected episode in Czech history. One of exclusion and prejudice, of collective shame versus personal guilt, all through the eyes of a charismatic woman whose courage will affect all the lives she’s touched. Especially that of the daughter she loved, fought for, shielded, and would come to inspire.

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“A great book . . . Immediately after reading, [Gerta] is unforgettable . . . Kateřina Tučková wrote a novel that should be required reading.” —Jan Hübsch, Lidovky, the oldest Czech daily still in print

 

“The central story of Gerta Schnirch can be captured in one word, the clichéd adjective strong. Its strength lies particularly in its vivid depiction of frightful experiences immediately after World War II, experiences resembling terrible nightmares. To achieve this, the author does not need cheap effects or explicit, detailed, or shocking descriptions.” —Petr Hrtánek, iLiteratura

 

“The author describes, with a great writing talent and empathy for human suffering, Gerta’s life from the moment she stood at her mother’s grave in 1942…We have read of various anabases, but few are as dreadful as the one depicted with deep pity by Kateřina Tučková. And so forcefully described as if she were Gerta, experiencing it all firsthand.” —Milena Nyklová, Knižní novinky

 

“[Gerta] masterfully fulfills one of the potential and important functions of literature. It is a means of self-reflection for a particular community, which is the Czech nation in this case.” —Pavel Janoušek, Host

 

 

Translator’s Notes

 

My initial reading of Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch happened within the first year or so of its publication in Czech – 2009/2010.  My Czech cousin Eva, who lives in Brno, brought me the book when she came to visit me in New York, and I started reading and couldn’t put it down.  I finished in a matter of a few days.

Both of my parents grew up in Brno, albeit at very different times: my father, a concert pianist, moved back as a 3-year-old with his mother and two older siblings after his father abruptly died in 1915.  Blacklisted by the Nazis for his close ties with the first President of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, he fled in 1939 and returned only after the war was over in 1946, to play at the first Prague Spring Festival.  At that point he hoped to stay and make his home in Prague but had to return to the U.S. for a concert/lecture tour followed by engagements in South America throughout the summer and fall of 1947.  Hoping to be back in Czechoslovakia for Christmas and engaged to play a series of benefit concerts in early 1948, fate intervened:  he tripped on the sidewalk in Buenos Aires and fell, breaking his arm, so travel and concerts had to be postponed.  By then the political situation was again precarious, as the Soviets had taken control of Czechoslovakia’s Democratic government.  With the mysterious death, generally thought to have been murder by defenestration, on March 10, 1948 of Jan Masaryk, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close friend of my father’s, it became clear that a return would be impossible and my father settled in New York, in time becoming a U.S. citizen.

My mother, on the other hand, was born in Brno during one of the last Allied air raids in 1945.  My grandmother told me that in solidarity, the entire family—my grandfather, an Auntie, a Great-grandmother, and an older sister—did not go down into the basement shelter but stayed upstairs in the first floor apartment while the birth was happening.  There was no doctor but a midwife, who saved my mother’s life—she came out turning blue, the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, and the midwife pushed her back in, unhooked the cord and pulled her back out again.  I never met my father’s mother, who died in 1966, but I was very close to my maternal grandparents, who were basically the same generation as my father—Czechs of the First Republic.  When they would get together and reminisce, it always fascinated me how colorful their recollections of the city of Brno were, and how different from my mother’s—while they would wax nostalgic, my mother was filled with bitterness.  If she never set foot there again, she used to say, she would not be sorry.

Gerta is set in the Brno where my father and three grandparents lived during the brief First Republic (1918-1938), and where my mother was born and grew up.  I had always been interested in knowing more about what Brno had been like, and by 2009 had even visited the city several times, but no one had ever talked about what happened to the ethnic Germans in the immediate aftermath of the war.  One time only did I hear my father respond to a comment saying:  it was not right, what was done to those Germans.  This episode of history leapt up from the pages and I read with bated breath.  By the time I finished the book, I had found the events so disturbing that I gave the book away to a Czech and Slovak library.  But I couldn’t get the story out of my head, so several years later, I asked my cousin to buy me another copy.  I read it again and thought: this is a novel that needs to be translated into English.  In 2016, I was invited to contribute to Lit Hub a title and short description of a novel for a list of books by Czech female authors who had not yet been published in English, and say why the work deserved to be translated.  My choice was instant:  Kateřina Tučková’s Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch (The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch).  My next trip to Brno I made some inquiries, trying to find out if an English translation was in the works.  To my amazement, I learned that at that point there wasn’t.  The novel had been such a best-seller in the Czech Republic that everyone was sure there would be translators beating down the door to get at it, but it hadn’t happened.  I couldn’t believe my luck:  I wanted to have a go at this translation myself.

At some point during fall 2017, I started to translate the novel on spec, having mentioned to Tučková’s agent, Dana Blatná, that if they had no one else in mind, I would love to do it.  Sometime around Christmas I got word:  Amazon Crossing had expressed interest in an English translation based on the Lit Hub article, and was I interested?  I didn’t even blink—YES!  This fearlessly courageous novel that dared to confront the unsavory truth about a long-hidden episode in Czech history, and dealt with globally relevant themes such as the devastating effects of collective guilt and the transformative power of forgiveness, had to be available in English.

My goal was to create an English translation that would carry anglophone readers along with the same intensity and appeal as the Czech original.  I was hugely inspired by Ann Goldstein’s translations of Elena Ferrante’s novels and was after the same seamless, natural English flow.

In spring 2018, I was invited to Brno by the Meeting Brno festival, co-founded by Kateřina Tučková, to give a talk about my father.  Tučková and I finally met in person, and I joined Tučková and her colleagues, along with some 250 other participants, for the Pilgrimage of Reconciliation, which retraces the 32-kilometer route walked by the expelled Germans in 1945, but symbolically in reverse, from Pohořelice back to Brno.  I had the opportunity to join the festival’s guided, themed city walks, accompanied by historical commentary, and Tučková personally gave me a tour of Gerta’s neighborhood, known today as the “Brno-Bronx.”  I stayed an extra week and had the opportunity to visit the villages of Perná, Klentnice, and Dunajovice, as well as the beautiful town of Mikulov, where a friend pointed out the house in which one of the women whose wartime experiences had inspired the story of Gerta still lived – she had become a recluse.  It was important to me to familiarize myself with the setting so that my descriptions would capture the atmosphere as authentically as possible.

Work on the translation began in earnest in summer 2019.  The more I immersed myself into the text, the more the story and its characters drew me in.   With each re-reading, my faith in this novel grew.  I am thrilled to see it become available in English, honored to have had a hand in the process, and eager for English readers to be introduced to Gerta Schnirch.

 

About the Author

 

Kateřina Tučková is a Czech playwright, publicist, biographer, art historian, exhibition curator, and bestselling author of Gerta and The Žítková Goddesses. She has won several literary awards, including the Magnesia Litera Award (for both Gerta and The Žítková Goddesses), the Brno City Award for literature, the Josef Škvorecký Award, and the Czech Bestseller Award. Kateřina is also the recipient of the Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights Award by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and of the Premio Libro d’Europa at the Book Fair in Salerno, Italy. Between 2015 and 2018, she was a founder and first president of the Meeting Brno festival, focusing on international and intercultural dialogue. Kateřina currently lives in Prague and Brno, Czech Republic. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages. Gerta is her first to be translated into English. In December 2020, her novel Bílá Voda will be published in Czech. For more information, visit her website.

 

 

About the Translator

Born in Switzerland to Czech parents, the late pianist Rudolf Firkusny and his wife, Tatiana, Véronique Firkusny grew up in a trilingual, musical household that sparked a lifelong passion for language, literature, and music. She translates primarily from Czech to English, and her most recently published English translation is Daniela Hodrová’s novel A Kingdom of Souls, co-translated with Elena Sokol. Forthcoming publications include, in collaboration with Elena Sokol, Daniela Hodrová’s Puppets. Firkusny serves as the executive director of the Avery Fisher Artist Program of Lincoln Center and also coaches opera singers in Czech diction. A graduate of Barnard College, where she received a BA in Italian literature, she resides in New York City.

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Posted in 5 paws, Giveaway, Historical, Review, Texas, Young Adult on February 10, 2021

 

 

PUDGE AND PREJUDICE

 

by

 

A.K. PITTMAN

 

 

Categories: YA / Clean & Wholesome Romance / ’80s

Publisher: Wander (a division of Tyndale House)

Date of Publication: January 12, 2021

Number of Pages: 352 pages

 

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A Mixtape of Big ‘80s Style, High School Angst, and a Classic Jane Austen Tale

It’s 1984 and after moving to Northenfield, Texas, with her family, Elyse Nebbit faces the challenge of finding her place in a new school, one dominated by social status and Friday night football. When Elyse’s effortlessly beautiful older sister Jayne starts dating golden boy Charlie Bingley, Elyse finds herself curious about Charlie’s popular and brooding best friend, Billy Fitz. Elyse’s body insecurities eventually complicate her relationship with Billy, leaving Jayne and Elyse’s exceedingly blunt friend, Lottie, to step in and help Elyse accept herself for who she is, pant size and all.

 

 

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Praise

 

Written with wit and considerable insight into the highs and lows of first love, this coming-of-age twist on the Jane Austen classic had me laughing out loud, singing ‘80s lyrics in my head, and cheering on the brilliant, yet self-deprecating heroine. Pudge & Prejudice is a joy to read from beginning to end! Lorie Langdon author of Olivia Twist and the Disney Villains series

Allison Pittman will have readers laughing (and singing) on every page of this delightfully tenderhearted novel for all ages…[She] crafts a particularly savvy character who learns that beauty really is soul-deep…. Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Perennials

I can’t remember the last time I loved a book as much as I love this one. It’s an instant classic I will return to time after time. Bethany Turner, Award-Winning Author of The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I LOVED this book!  It isn’t because it is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice (I don’t think I have read the original by Jane Austen, don’t shoot me!). I connected to this book on multiple levels. This book is set in a small Texas town in the mid-80s and I attended high school in a small town in Texas in the 80s. I wasn’t part of the popular clique, much like Elyse, and wondered where I fit in with my classmates. I am the oldest of five (almost all girls) and Elyse is the second oldest of five, and I could relate to her and Jayne babysitting and watching the younger siblings. Then there are all of the 80s references, from clothes to music to movies and so much more. There are also the Texas football references that are so true. Texans seem to revere football and they go big and bold with anything related to the sport. And when they spoke about the rectangular pizza served in the school cafeteria? Yup, that was my favorite lunch day too. I don’t know why that piece of pizza was so good. Talk about a giant flashback!

Elyse is like many fifteen year olds. She is self-conscious about her body, has a hard time knowing where she fits in and has fallen in love with someone that might be unattainable. But that doesn’t seem to stop her from making the best of her life. I loved that her best friend is her sister, Jayne. They have many wonderful conversations during this novel, and I think both of them are able to give fitting advice when the need arises. They also support each other and never seem to let each other down. Elyse’s mother, while loving, always seems to make comments about her weight. That is hard on a teenage girl no matter the decade.

Lydia…this slightly younger sister is in too much of a hurry to grow up and is boy crazy at a young age. She definitely puts an interesting spin on their family and somehow manages to stay one small step ahead of trouble. Lydia is a sister you love to hate, but love that much more especially when she is helping you with your fashion sense.

Do you remember your teenage crushes? Elyse has it in spades for Billy Fitz, the star quarterback. Billy is rather aloof to Elyse and really a lot of people. As the story progresses, we learn more about Billy and his life and the pieces fall into place. I loved how he realizes that perhaps the way he has been going through life isn’t the best and despite all of his initial thoughts about Elyse, she is the one that speaks to his soul and forces him to take another look at reality. There is a lot of miscommunication between the two and you wonder if they will work things out or not.

My least favorite character was Lottie. Lottie is rather blunt about many things and doesn’t mince words when speaking her mind. While she may be correct with some of her thoughts, she hasn’t learned how to temper her words so perhaps they don’t stab you through the heart. Every story needs that one character that forces you to see reality and that was definitely Lottie.

I did question some of the locations which forced me to do an internet search. Many times I was surprised at the results of my searches and learned some new things. I still wonder where the state football game was played because there weren’t many large stadiums in Arlington in the mid 80s that I remember. The only stadium that might have been large enough is the UTA Maverick Stadium since that might have been the largest football field compared to the local high schools, but there isn’t seating in the end zones, and this is supposedly where the band sat during the game. This is a curse when you live in the town that is mentioned as hosting the state playoff game, you try and see it through what you know of the area.

There were so many lines that spoke to me throughout the book. Many of Elyse’s thoughts and feelings were those that I had growing up and sometimes even today. I really think Elyse is a kindred soul. Here are some of my favorite lines:

 

“I’ve always found something I needed more than a smaller waist. Like to read more books…”

“I would rather stand my ground in all my wrongness than step one foot into someone else’s idea of right, even if it means I’m sometimes left standing alone.”

“She had perfected the vernacular of the Valley Girl, even though we’d never spent more than a week in California.”

 

We have to give this book 5 paws up for the memories and the angst of being a teen in the 1980s. I think this book will resonate the most with anyone that grew up in the 80s or anyone that is fascinated with that time period. Or anyone that likes clean romance, YA, or a retelling of P&P set in Texas.

 

 

 

 

If you feel like you need a playlist of all the songs listed in the book, check out this playlist from That’s What She’s Reading

 

 

 

 

 

Allison Pittman is an award-winning author of thirteen novels, including the Christy-nominated Sister Wife series and the critically acclaimed The Seamstress. An enthusiast for all of the writing world, Allison holds active leadership in her local American Christian Fiction Writers chapter, and she heads up a thriving critique group in the San Antonio area.

When not writing, Allison teaches middle school English, working as a conduit to introduce her students to new, fresh literature. You can follow her around on Instagram or Twitter and keep up with her writing news on her Allison Pittman Author Facebook page. Here you’ll learn what’s going on with new books, next books, and day-to-day life with Allison and her husband, Mikey. You’ll also get a peek at Snax, the world’s worst dog.

 

 

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 THREE WINNERS 

 

Each winner receives a SIGNED COPY of the book,

 

a hair scrunchie, and a $25 Visa Gift Card

 

Giveaway ends Midnight, CST, 2/13/2021

 

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Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

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or visit the blogs directly:

 

2/3/21 Review The Page Unbound
2/3/21 Review Missus Gonzo
2/3/21 BONUS Promo LSBBT Blog
2/4/21 Review All the Ups and Downs
2/5/21 Review Carpe Diem Chronicles
2/5/21 Review That’s What She’s Reading
2/6/21 Review The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
2/7/21 Review Rebecca R. Cahill, Author
2/8/21 Review Nerd Narration
2/8/21 Review Rainy Days with Amanda
2/9/21 Review Story Schmoozing Book Reviews
2/10/21 Review StoreyBook Reviews
2/10/21 Review Momma on the Rocks
2/11/21 Review Book Fidelity
2/3/21 BONUS Promo Hall Ways Blog
2/12/21 Review Librariel Book Adventures
2/12/21 Review Jennifer Silverwood

 

 

 

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Posted in fiction, Giveaway, Guest Post, Historical, Literary, Religious Fiction on February 9, 2021

 

 

 

 

The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives by Tim Darcy Ellis

Adult Fiction (18 yrs +), 246 pages

Literary fiction, historical fiction, religious historical fiction

Publisher: Tellwell

Release date: 2020

 

 

Synopsis

 

The Secret Diaries Of Juan Luis Vives chronicles the epoch-making adventures of Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives. The novel begins as Vives writes in self-imposed exile in Bruges, Spanish Netherlands in 1522. He is on the run from the Spanish Inquisition which has devastated his Jewish family in Valencia. Later, Thomas More invites Vives to the English court to tutor princess Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The plot reaches its climax as Vives navigates the murky world of English politics during the reign of King Henry VIII, ever trying to negotiate an escape from Spain for his family, and for the Jewish people. The early modern period in Europe was a time of incredible instability. Economic depressions were the norm in Northern Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, and large swaths of England and France. Wars were endemic, with power politics and religion playing leading roles in massive bloodletting. Despite the darkness, great men and women of courage and intellectual curiosity also defined the age as one of scientific discovery, humanism, and scholarship. One of the great titans of the early modern period was Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives. In the novel, Vives is the embodiment of the cosmopolitanism of the intellectual elite during the Renaissance. As a secret follower of Judaism, and thus a major outlaw according to the thinking of his own Catholic monarch, Vives walks a swaying tightrope. He was a genius and a philosopher who had a lot to say (he has since been dubbed ‘The Godfather of Psychoanalysis,’ Zilboorg 1941, and the ‘Father of Psychology,’ Watson, 1915), however, if he speaks too loudly not only his survival but that of his entire people hangs in the balance. Along the way, the reader is given close up and intimate and unique views of well-known figures such as Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More and his devoted daughter, Margaret Roper.

 

 

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Praise

 

“A fast-paced and richly engaging story about an intriguing historical figure… Ellis writes all of this with marvellous gusto that’s more reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (2009) than of a more traditional Tudor novel.” – Kirkus (starred review)

“In this beautifully detailed, thrilling historical novel, author Tim Ellis brings back to life the largely forgotten Juan Luis Lives, a Spanish Jew and leading Renaissance humanist…This enthralling story is sure to please lovers of high drama, international intrigue, momentous history and psychological thrillers.” – Blueink (starred review)

“With its clear portrayal of inner conflict, The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives is a provocative, multicolored historical novel that examines hidden faith… Ellis’s intricate biographical novel approaches the Spanish scholar and Renaissance humanist through absorbing journal entries.” – Foreword Clarion

“A fast-moving, highly enjoyable historical drama, which features one of Western civilization’s most interesting men during the dazzling age of the Renaissance. Ellis draws his characters so wonderfully, and none is better than the lead. The smart, charming, and earnest humanist is depicted as the embodiment of a better world to come.” – Indiereader Review

 

 

Guest Post

 

How did your personal experiences shape your life as a writer?

 

It is a fascinating question; thank you. The question affords me the luxury of looking back over my reading life and tying it into the periods of my life that have shaped me into the writer that I am today.

At the age of five, I inherited the four weighty, leather-backed volumes of ‘Hutchinson’s Illustrated Story of the British Nations.’  It was England in the early seventies, winters were cold and dark, and apart from festivities and family functions, there wasn’t always a lot else to do but to read. The original volumes were written between the two world wars, and the images, from the stone age through to the end of the First World War, were so vivid that they gave me an indelible blueprint of British and world history. I lingered over the Tudors and Stuarts, so full of passion, plot and treachery.

I lost myself in the wandering of what life was like for the ordinary people during that period. I wondered what life had been like for immigrant and minority communities. Watching Alex Hailey’s Roots (1976) made me question how assimilation happened and what part of folk and family memory could be passed down to succeeding generations? That questioning has played out in The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives, set in London and Flanders’ secretive Spanish and Portuguese communities in the 1520s.

After standard English children’s fiction such as Enid Blyton (much criticised but much loved), I read classics such as The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkein, 1955) and the War of the Worlds (HG Wells, 1898). I studied the Greek classics at school. I swore that EV Rieu’s 1950 translation of Homer’s The Iliad would be my desert island book. At the time, south-east England seemed so safe and boring, although I can see that that sense of safety was, in retrospect very hard-won. It was indeed a precious time and place to be brought up.

I studied Medieval archaeology at University in York (1985- 1988), which was a great adventure, travelling on digs throughout England and northern France. Archaeology, being more scientific than I had imagined, took me away from literature, somewhat, but furthered my connection to material culture. If I am writing about sixteenth-century England, I know what the houses of the poor looked like what those houses were made from. I know what working Londoners ate and how they scraped a living. I have seen and felt the ceramic ware they had at their dinner tables, the rubbish they discarded, and I can understand the consequences of the population shift to London, and other cities, from the country. This inside awareness of day-to-day life has given me an ability to write historical fiction with confidence and authenticity.

While working for the Museum of London in the late eighties and nineties, I read the great European writers such as Dickens, Hardy, Chekhov and Zola, who still influence me. It was a time when to read the classics, was essential to your social standing, and I was playing catch-up. Later I found relief in American Literature such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) and JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1949). There was a clarity and a crispness about those books that felt new to me. With my newfound interest in twentieth-century American fiction, I then read and studied Maya Angelou, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Poetry was always at the forefront of my reading, and writing and I was a longterm subscriber to Stand Magazine and Poetry Review.

I have been fortunate to have lived in different countries. Through my work in health (having changed careers on moving to Australia in 2000), I have met many interesting people, many of whom are also great readers. These relationships have inspired me. The internet allows me to connect with peers who are fascinated in niche history, culture, and philosophy. For example, a patient of mine recently inspired me to listen to an interview with the 92-year-old linguist, Noam Chomsky, still sharp as a knife. I am interested in the process of ageing; what keeps some engaged and vital right up until the very end, and how others fade away so soon. I have written this into my novel, with a touching relationship between Vives and the ageing physician to King Henry VII, Thomas Linacre.

My healthcare work has also helped me understand the kinds of diseases and injuries that plagued sixteenth-century Europe populations. Men like Vives came from the Spanish Jewish tradition, where understanding health and medicine was considered essential. He used that knowledge in his quest to build sanitary hospitals and care facilities for the poor and disabled, both mentally and physically. Although there is room for improvement, I certainly don’t take the healthcare systems we have today for granted. Yes, I can undoubtedly say that my life events have presented me with a rich playing field of ideas and plenty of material to continue writing historical fiction.

 

 

About the Author

 

Tim Darcy Ellis (BA BSc, MHSc) is a writer, physiotherapy business owner and formerly a professional archaeologist. Tim studied Archaeology at the University of York (BA Hons 1988) and as a professional archaeologist, worked on sites throughout England and Wales. He held posts at the Museum of London and the British Museum’s medieval galleries. Tim is currently Managing Director and Principal Physiotherapist of Excel Physiotherapy and Wellness. He qualified as a physiotherapist at the University of East London in 1998. He moved to Sydney in 2000 where he completed his master’s degree in 2002. Tim is chief writer of Excel Life magazine: writing and teaching extensively on health and wellness and specializing in the treatment of complex hip and pelvic pain.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, mystery on February 9, 2021

 

 

 

 

Death by Intermission (An Abby McCree Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: Kensington (January 26, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Abby McCree spends a summer showing family films under the stars—only to end the season with an unexpected slasher flick . . .

 

Ushered once again onto another committee by the mayor of Snowberry Creek, Washington, Abby is tasked with keeping the box office receipts of the town’s Movies in the Park nights. Cut to the director’s chair from where she’s suddenly organizing the summer’s last feature. From the opening scene through the final credits, Abby feels she’s earned nominations for best volunteer, best movie date with her tenant Tripp Blackston—and best daughter for ignoring her mother Phoebe’s own movie date with Owen Quinn.

Unfortunately, Abby and the others are treated to a post-credits scene: the body of local insurance agent Mitchell Anders. This discovery is followed by a plot twist revealing that the murder weapon comes from Owen’s food truck. With her mother’s boyfriend suspected of murder, Abby starts her own investigation determined to shine a spotlight on the real killer . .

 

 

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About the Author

 

Alexis Morgan is the USA Today bestselling author of over forty-five novels, novellas, and short stories that span a variety of genres: American West historicals (as Pat Pritchard); paranormal and fantasy romances; contemporary romances; and cozy mysteries. A RITA® Award-finalist, Alexis Morgan is a member of RWA and Sisters in Crime. She currently lives in Washington State.

 

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Giveaway

 

 

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Posted in 3 1/2 paws, cooking, Cozy, Monday, mystery, Review on February 8, 2021

 

 

Synopsis

 

Alene Baron is the proud owner of Whipped and Sipped, a café that offers healthful, delectable food and drinks. Her life consists of dreaming up new recipes, raising her three children, and arguing with her ex-husband–until her neighbor and close friend is murdered. She imagines nearly everyone she knows as a possible suspect. After a second attack, Alene is
determined to find the true killer … before she, or her family, become targets.

 

 

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Review

 

I do enjoy a good cozy especially if there is food involved and this book does not disappoint on the food aspect! Battered is set in a coffeehouse/cafe that servers vegetarian/vegan items and don’t worry, all of the recipes (or many of them) are at the end of the book and I’m sure you will want to whip up some of these dishes for yourself.

When you first start the book there is a list of characters with a brief bio on each of them (age, relationship, etc) and trust me when I saw that you will need this information because there are a lot of characters to keep straight in your head and how they are related to each other. But as you move through the book it will become easier to keep everyone straight. Despite the numerous characters, each plays a significant part in the storyline. They might be related to the deceased, or to Alene, or involved with the cafe. The personalities and traits of the characters are also varied and add some dimension to the story, even if it is a minor character. Alene tends to throw herself into the middle of the situation, which isn’t uncommon for a cozy. However, she tends to blurt out things that are supposition on her part and not fact. Not too uncommon when you have an amateur intent on solving the mystery.

There is a lot of information packed into this book. We learn the dynamics of Alene’s family, her friendship with Ruthie, the relationship with the neighbors and their dysfunctional families, and the story behind the employees at the cafe. You will find a lot of memories from Alene about events from the past that have an impact on where she is now in her life. I think some of the information would have been better doled out in future books to add to Alene’s background and further reveal how she ended up where she is today.

The mystery has some interesting twists that I did not expect before the killer was revealed. It all made sense when the details were laid out and there are a few clues that might get you to that point but probably not enough to point you in the right direction of the killer.

There is even a potential love interest for Alene, Detective Frank Shaw. The funny thing is that he was the police officer that took her to the hospital in the past when she gave birth to her youngest child since her (now ex) husband couldn’t seem to make it there.

I think there was only one thing that I didn’t quite understand. Ruthie is a vegetarian/vegan which would make sense since she is the chef at Alene’s cafe which is vegetarian/vegan. However, when Alene had a dinner for the family and friends of the neighbor that was murdered, she wouldn’t let anyone bring any meat products in so that Ruthie wouldn’t have to smell them. While that was a kind gesture, I would expect Ruthie to understand that some people do eat meat and wouldn’t have a problem with it being in the same room. She would obviously not eat that item.

Overall we enjoyed this mystery and look forward to the next in the series.  We give it 3 1/2 paws.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Already known for her imaginative baking and fabulous dinners, G.P. Gottlieb began writing throughout her varied career. After recovering from breast cancer, she turned to writing in earnest, melding her two loves, nourishment for mind and body in recipe-laced murder mysteries. She is also the host of New Books in Literature, a podcast of the New Books Network.

 

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