Book Title: Dead Cereus by Kira Kanani Seamon

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Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 276 pages

Genre: New Adult Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Kira Kanani Seamon

Release date: January 2021

 

Synopsis

 

Holy holly berries! “Hurricane Holly” creates shenanigans on the Olympic level. This mischievous charmer has found herself in many strange messes, but this one takes the carrot cake!

With her college scholarship already on frost alert, when Holly accidentally douses the college’s most distinguished donors, she sees her degree and her relationship with the hot Master Gardener quickly wilting.

Her only chance of remaining in Shellesby is to win a vaunted internship with a famous chocolatier. The only problem? The other candidate is Holly’s biggest rival, a stuck-up queen bee-and she just might have her sights set on Holly’s swoon-worthy boyfriend as well!

With a chance to win over the prestigious chocolatier when the rare night-blooming cereus plant is scheduled to open its petals at the Night Lights Gala, Holly is there-and so is a killer. Events unfold that not only place her scholarship on the line, but also her life…and that of her rival.

Holly finds herself racing the clock to save her arch-nemesis, secure her scholarship, and catch a murderer if she can!

Enjoy this lighthearted romp with its plethora of plants and wonderful characters by picking up a copy of Dead Cereus today! Can Holly stand the heat in the hothouse or is she headed for a spectacular meltdown?

This is an epic romance and a fantastic, unique mystery rolled into one hilarious story. With all the feels, this novel can’t help but implant itself in your heart and grow into one of your favorite reads. Put your petal to the metal and see what all the buzz is about. Dead Cereus is to die for!

Come for the mystery, stay for the food. Chocolate plays a big role in this book; you will ‘chocolate’ as you’ve never ‘chocolated’ before! Hot new debut author Kira Seamon makes botany cool again, one plant at a time.

 

 

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Praise

 

Seamon is a master at creating atmospheric settings, and cozy mystery lovers will find it easy to fall under her spell. An appealing, witty heroine, a gem of a leading man, and well-constructed setting and plot make this one a must-read for both mystery lovers and fans of chick-lit literature. Readers will look forward to more of Holly and William’s adventures.

 

 

Review

 

This was quite an interesting book and different from most cozies that I read, but it has all of the characteristics of a cozy such as an amateur sleuth, a mystery to solve, and a small town setting.

Holly is on thin ice with the president of the college and has a tumultuous relationship with his daughter, Ivy. They compete with each other for everything and it doesn’t look like a truce is in sight. Not until she shares a special tea with Ivy that changes everything.

At first, I didn’t think that this was a cozy because while there is a murder we know who the killer is right off the bat. However, when something happens to Ivy, Holly rushes off to help her and seems to throw caution to the wind and not involve anyone else in her plans. Or she keeps them in the dark, like her boyfriend William. William is on her side but they have an odd relationship. While he will do anything for her and to protect her, sometimes he treats her like a child. Granted, Holly acts like a child a lot of the time and one of my favorite lines is when Williams tells her she is acting like an eight-year-old having a tantrum. This statement is very true and creates an unlikeable character in Holly, but she does have a big heart and wants to help those around her. Despite that, he does love her and they do seem to have a fairytale romance.

The setting is amazing and while I do not have a green thumb, I admire those that do. The descriptions of the plants, the greenhouse, the butterfly garden, and the herb garden were detailed and I enjoyed the fun facts about the various plants and flowers.

We enjoyed this story and the recipes at the end (don’t miss those!) and give it 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kira Kanani Seamon was born and raised in Hawaii. She attended the prestigious Punahou School as an award-winning honor student.

A polymath, Kira is a gold medal/state winner in piano performance and a national and two-time regional dance champion. In ten years of competing in dance competitions, she won 18 awards, including special awards from the judges and platinum awards. Additionally, she’s an award-winning photographer and has had her art accepted and sold in national and regional juried shows. She’s had over fifty newspaper cover stories about her art and is a fourteen-time grant recipient from cultural councils. She celebrated her first solo museum exhibit of her work in 2020.

Now living in Massachusetts, she was recently the inaugural artist-in-residence in Natick, Massachusetts. She received a personal letter from the Massachusetts Senate President and a Certificate of Recognition from the Massachusetts State Legislation in recognition of her grant from Framingham, Massachusetts. All of this culminated in her receiving the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, for which she appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 2020.

She took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Machu Picchu, Peru with the Punahou Alumni Association, and her travel tale about that expedition is published in the 2021 September/October edition of the Writers and Readers Magazine. Additionally, her Peru photography is the editorial feature in the 2021 fall edition of DRIFT Travel magazine.

DRIFT Travel is an upscale travel and lifestyle magazine with each issue being emailed to 4+ million digital magazine readers worldwide. Additionally, DRIFT is also part of the PressReader magazine/newspaper digital platform that puts DRIFT in thousands of hotels, cruise ships, resorts, and airlines around the world, opening the door to an additional 300 million users annually.

Kira has never met a story from Greek mythology that she didn’t love and has kept a daily journal since her teens. Dead Cereus is her first novel.

 

Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads

 

 

Giveaway

 

Win signed copy of DEAD CEREUS by Kira Kanani Seamon) (USA only) (ends Feb 24)

DEAD CEREUS Book Tour Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

Struggling artist Parker Derrick faces the death of her mother – and the emergence of villainous family members when she’s named the sole heir to her aunt’s North Arkansas estate. Surrounded by new friends and enemies, Parker must decipher who is really on her side…to help uncover a deadly secret.

 

 

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Review

 

This new author has written an intriguing tale that captured my attention and I ended up staying up to finish the book. While parts are predictable and there isn’t much of a mystery behind some events, I found the story to be more about family, second chances, and forgiveness.

Parker is a struggling artist that falls into a fortune left by a great aunt that she doesn’t really remember. On the heels of her mother’s death, this is a godsend for her as Parker doesn’t know what she wants to do now that her mother has passed and she isn’t needed in the small town of Lakeview anymore. She is on a journey to rediscover who she is because she isn’t having the best of luck as an artist and is at a loss what to do with her life. Luckily, the caretakers of the estate have been around for some time and are willing to show her the ropes and help her however they can. Lydia and Charles both have strong opinions and sometimes I feel like they might cross a line between being helpful and trying to control situations.

I enjoyed this story and was sad when one character turned out to be not so nice. I was hoping for a different outcome, but when the full truth is revealed it is rather shocking.

The story wouldn’t have any tension if it wasn’t for the family members that didn’t inherit anything and have decided that Parker is not deserving. It angered me how much danger they put people in and didn’t seem to care. And when some other truths come out, it is very sad to hear the lengths some will go to just for money.

A standout minor character is Cash, the beagle. He is adorable and I had to chuckle when Parker said he couldn’t sleep in her room with her and where is he a few nights later?  Yes, you guessed it, with Parker in her bed.

This is a good debut novel and I feel that the stories will only get better from here. We give this 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt

 

Striding towards the house entrance, she glanced around nervously as she stepped up the white concrete steps and felt the soft plunk-plunk-plunk of the wooden floor of the front porch beneath her shoes. Ferns were hanging from the rafters all in a row, blowing ever so slightly in the cool afternoon breeze, the soft creaking of their ropes the only noise she could pick up on. It was oddly quiet. Clearing her throat, she knocked a few times with the brass ring at the door and waited. Of course, there’s a brass knocker, she thought.

After a couple of minutes, there was no answer, nor could she detect any movement from inside. She pushed bits of hair behind both ears, a nervous habit that often comforted her. After another minute, still nothing. She knocked again for good measure, and after waiting around and attempting to peer into the dark windows for what felt like an embarrassing amount of time, she decided to try the door herself. Surprisingly, it came open with little effort, and she found herself stepping into the foyer. Three chandeliers lined the massive ceiling of the entrance, and the light was reflected in every single space of every front room by the absurd number of mirrors hanging on each wall. To the right sat a black piano, polished so vigorously that it gleamed as if covered in black oil. To the left, past a wall of delicate and willowy vases, there was a bevy of sofas, and classic chaise loungers, scattered across what she could only assume was the entertainment room. Next to the piano was a large pedal harp made of mahogany, and even this simple instrument was possibly the most extravagant thing she had ever seen up close. Parker walked over to it first, running her hands over the steel strings, marveling at its craftsmanship and wondering how old it must have been. Even amid such extravagance, it had to be the most prominent item in the room.

There were several eye-catching marvels – marble statues of naked goddesses, a large bust of a bearded man, a cherry-red buffet holding oversized china pieces- and simply too much to see at first glance. Parker had fallen entirely silent while taking in the sights, and she realized that she was still standing alone in the house, as far as she could see. There was the soft ticking of a grandfather clock somewhere in the vast expanse of the house, but otherwise no other noise. There was a winding wooden staircase to the left, gleaming red and as shiny as a new penny. The steps led up and around a corner, out of sight, and she felt tempted to follow them. However, uncertainty kept her rooted to the spot. Finally, it was apparent that no one had heard her come in. “Hello?” she called, the eyes of the nude statues seeming to glare at her for interrupting their blissful slumber.

Parker stepped down off the porch and could feel the soft grass being crushed underneath her feet as she walked towards the pavilion, drawn in by the glorious plants that surrounded it. Once underneath its shade, she sat down on one side of its bench and looked out at the creek. Everything, from the sway of the trees in the breeze, the faint groaning of the frogs, and the stillness that had settled over the area, had a dream-like quality to it. She looked back at the house and could see stained glass biblical figures staring down at her from the windows. Next to the house, she noticed a pumpkin patch. A row of its fruits was ready to be picked.

Suddenly, a dog ran up the pavilion steps quietly and joined her, startling her so badly that she nearly fell off her seat. It was a beagle, and he appeared to be very friendly, poking his head into her lap, forcing Parker to pet him. As soon as she ran her fingers through his fur, distant childhood memories came to her, of running across the soft green grass, hearing the bark of a dog and her mother’s laughter, touching the dog’s sleek fur, and feeling the hot sun warm her hair. She realized the memory was from the first time she had visited this place and was perplexed by how the beagle had triggered those emotions. The inexplicable joy that had erupted in her chest was initially overwhelming, and she dabbed at her cheek, feeling a warm tear sliding down.

 

 

About the Author

 

By day, he’s a mild-mannered nurse, loving husband, and father of three dogs – who just so happens to write stories in his spare time. Inherit is his debut novel.

 

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Synopsis

 

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

When Crystal Donavan gets a message on a mysterious app with a video of her little sister gagged and bound, she agrees to play the kidnapper’s game. At first, they make her complete bizarre tasks: steal a test and stuff it in a locker, bake brownies, make a prank call.

But then Crystal realizes each task is meant to hurt—and kill—her friends, one by one. But if she refuses to play, the kidnapper will kill her sister. Is someone trying to take her team out of the running for a gaming tournament? Or have they uncovered a secret from their past, and wants them to pay for what they did…

As Crystal makes the impossible choices between her friends and her sister, she must uncover the truth and find a way to outplay the kidnapper… before it’s too late.

Author of All Your Twisted Secrets, Diana Urban’s explosive sophomore novel, These Deadly Games, will keep you riveted until the final twist is revealed.

 

 

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This book will be released on February 1, 2022. Pre-order it today!

 

 

Review

 

This YA psychological thriller might make you question what goes on in people’s minds! From the group of friends, to the “killer”, to the parents.

This is the first book by this author that I read and I was pulled into the story from the start as I watched this group of friends prepares for a gaming tournament yet a small twist in Crystal’s life changes her life forever. The story is primarily set in the present but there are some flashbacks to 5 years ago when a friend of Crystal’s goes missing. With those flashbacks, some of the twists might become apparent but not necessarily. This ragtag group of friends has mixed emotions when it comes to each other. Some get along great, and others have animosity towards each other. It makes you wonder why they hang around each other if they don’t like each other.

I have to wonder how I would react if I were in Crystal’s shoes and someone has kidnapped my sibling and says not to tell anyone. And then the tasks she has to perform seem innocuous at first but then become more and more dangerous, not necessarily to Crystal but her friends. Since the cast of characters is smaller, I wondered if it was someone we knew or not. I had some suspicions at first just because of timing, but I was wrong. I did determine who was behind it all but not until closer to the end. The twists kept me guessing until the very end.

And that ending? Did not expect that and makes me wonder, could there be another book that follows this one? Maybe, or we are just left to wonder how things play out for this group.

We give this a solid 4 paws up and if a psychological thriller is one of your go-to genres, then definitely check this one out.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Diana Urban is an author of dark, twisty thrillers, including All Your Twisted Secrets (HarperTeen) and These Deadly Games (Wednesday Books, 2022). When she’s not torturing fictional characters, she works in digital marketing for startups. She lives with her husband and cat in Boston and enjoys reading, playing video games, fawning over cute animals, and looking at the beach from a safe distance.

 

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Our Lunar New Year by Yobe Qiu

Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7), 36 pages

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Publisher: Yobe Qiu LLC

 

 

Synopsis

 

It’s almost Lunar New Year! Xiao Mi, Hang, Kwan, Malai, and Charu all celebrate the New Year in their own special way. Experience how each one of the Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indian children, and their families honor Lunar New Year, from dragon dances in China to firecrackers ​

 

 

Amazon * B&N * ByYQ

 

 

Review

 

We have all heard of the various New Year celebrations celebrated by those of Asian descent, but you may not have heard of all of them. This book is educational and spotlights the countries of
China, Korea, India, Vietnam, and Thailand. I had heard of the Chinese New Year and India’s Diwali, but not the other countries.

Each country has a section that shares the traditions and food that are celebrated at this time. It was fascinating to learn the different names of their celebrations, foods that they enjoyed and what they represented, activities that the family enjoyed in each country. The information is brief but since this is written for a child, it is enough information to intrigue a child to search out more information.

The illustrations are colorful for the most part but some are a little dull and not as bright as others. But they depict what the author is trying to convey about the different traditions.

This is a good introductory book and will spur some conversations and perhaps lead the parent and child to discover more about these holidays.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Yobe is an educator, entrepreneur, and mom who lives in NYC. As an educator, she focused on teaching families to embrace love, diversity, and different cultures. Through the years working in the classrooms and closely with other educators, she noticed the lack of multi-cultural resources that represented children of color. That is when Yobe decided to create multicultural children stories that feature Asian children, families, and cultures! Yobe loves spending time with her daughter, reading to children, and taking long walks during the day!

 

Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

 

 

 

Giveaway

 

Enter to win OUR LUNAR NEW YEAR signed by the author (one winner/USA only) (ends Feb 14)

OUR LUNAR NEW YEAR Book Tour Giveaway

 

 

Synopsis

 

An allegory about one’s journey to self-actualization. When 17-year-old Alunsinag Bayani accidentally stepped into Driftland, he discovered he could switch places with his alternate self for 58 minutes. During the switch, his alternate self gives him the necessary push to find the courage and regain self-confidence. But trouble looms over Driftland when nightmares attack to diminish hope and dreams through fear. Can Alunsinag and his companions conquer their fears and save Driftland?

 

 

Amazon

 

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Review

 

This shorter story is engaging and pulls us into an alternate reality where our excellent self merges with the self we know but only for 58 minutes at a time.

We meet Alunsiang that is like most teens and has a hard time in school with bullies, few friends, and just trying to fit in with the rest of the students. I love his passion for Michael Jackson and how it calms him down if he is anxious. His parents are loving but his father travels a lot and his mother works many hours as a nurse, but you can see the love for her son and husband from making sure they have good food to eat or listening to their issues. She also is observant and realizes that one of his classmate’s mother is possibly being abused. She is willing to go the extra mile to help her if possible.

Alunsiang does have nightmares and wonders if it is real or not. Asking for help from a teacher leads him down a path to save this alternate reality with his friend and they find another classmate might have some knowledge about this, and I wonder if the future books will show them working together as a team or will it tear them apart?

I enjoyed the variety of characters and their interests and backgrounds, it really rounded out the story. I really like this band of misfit friends and how their friendships formed over food, more specifically lunch. I look forward to reading the next two books in this series to see how the story plays out. We give this 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

I. S.A. Crisostomo Lopez is a writer based in the Philippines. She is married with four children. Her short stories “Si Lola Apura at si Lolo Un Momento” and “Ang Bisikleta ni Kyla” were published by Adarna House and Philam Foundation respectively. Her story “Passage” was anthologized in “Hoard of Thunder 2: Best Philippine Short Stories” by UP Press. Her latest work is the Driftland trilogy available on Amazon.

 

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Synopsis

 

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill meets Younger in a heartfelt debut following a young woman who discovers she’ll have to ditch the “dream job” and write her own story to find her happy ending.

Meet Nora Hughes—the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.

When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.

With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parsons is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet…and maybe poach some Parsons’ authors along the way.

But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or…herself and her future.

 

 

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Review

 

Just by the title alone, I knew I needed to read this book. I love books and wanted to discover what was in store for Nora.

I felt for Nora. She was in a company that was downsizing and all of her favorite people had been let go. Her workload had increased but her pay decreased. This was all having a negative impact on her mental state but she didn’t realize it until much later. I could relate to her situation, I have worked for companies that things changed or the work environment became toxic and the best thing to do was leave. But it wasn’t until years later that I realized all of this. Nora doesn’t go about trying to fix her situation the right way, but she did what she thought she needed to do at that moment in time.

Andrew is an author that has other ideas about his newest book. However, he isn’t sure if Parson’s is the right publishing house for him. The friendship that he builds with Nora can be a positive one for both of them if they can just tell each other the truth. They aren’t lying per se, but perhaps not telling each other the full story. But I enjoy their banter and watching their friendship develop.

I think we have all been in a situation similar to Nora, not knowing what we want to do with our lives. I like how she uses a book that we have all heard of to help guide her when times get tough. It is never easy to articulate what we want from life and sometimes it takes friends to help push us in the right direction.

This was an enjoyable debut novel and I look forward to more books from this author. We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Shauna Robinson’s love of books led her to try a career in publishing before deciding she’d rather write books instead. Originally from San Diego, she now lives in Virginia with her husband and their sleepy greyhound. Shauna is an introvert at heart—she spends most of her time reading, baking, and figuring out the politest way to avoid social interaction. Must Love Books is her debut novel.

 

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The Wedding Setup

By – Sonali Dev

Release Date: January 11, 2022

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories

 

 

Synopsis

 

Ayesha Shetty lost her brother seven years ago, the same time she lost everything else important to her: her dreams, her fierce independence, and the man she loved. Not wanting to see her mother hurt anymore, she put her wild self away and became the dutiful daughter her mother needed and took on her brother’s role in the family business.

Now her best friend’s big, fat Indian wedding is a chance to get away from her endless duties at the restaurant and maybe even have some fun (if she remembers how). But a setup arranged by her mother, with a doctor no less, is the last thing she needs. The fact that he checks all her mother’s boxes just makes everything better…and worse.

Then Emmitt Hughes shows up. Her brother’s best friend. The love she once chose over family duties and her responsibilities. The one she asked to leave, and who did. The one who knows the real Ayesha. Torn between a love from the past that could cost her the only person she has left and her sense of obligation to her mother, will Ayesha find the strength to stop thinking about what everyone else wants and finally put herself first? Or is the old Ayesha truly gone for good?

 

 

Amazon

 

Read for free via Kindle Unlimited

 

 

Review

 

This is a cute short story about love just might be right under your nose. You also can’t put your life on hold for anyone no matter the circumstances.

We get a peek into Ayesha’s life and how she has taken on the weight of being there for her mother after all of the tragedy in her family. Her mother didn’t expect this of her, and I think Ayesha has some resentment on what she has given up or put on hold to be there for her mother. But lurking in the past is a relationship with her brother’s best friend, Emmitt. I think the guilt of losing her brother made her end the relationship with him, but they both still have feelings for each other. She hasn’t seen him in about 7 years and the wedding of her best friend throws them back together. They have to have some frank discussions with each other, but is this a new future for them?

I was amazed at how well this story was written and that it included so many details, emotions, and depth of character. I felt like the author packed a lot of detail into these 60+ pages and we are given closure with the ending and nothing is left unresolved.

Definitely give this a whirl if you have a spare hour, you won’t regret it.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

Interview with Author Solini Dev

 

The Wedding Setup may be a short story, but it is tremendously powerful. How would you describe it to readers?

 

Thank you. It’s the story of a girl who used to be a rebel who followed her heart and fought for what she wanted, and then her brother’s death leaves her responsible for her widowed mother. It’s about being knocked off your feet and getting stuck, and learning how to stand back up and reclaim yourself.

 

The story invites us to take an intimate look into a mother-daughter relationship. This is a universal theme, however, you also steep the plot in your own Indian heritage. Can you tell readers what this story means to you as a daughter? What it means to you as an Indian woman?

 

There is so much of my own relationship with my mother in this book. We’ve always been incredibly close. She’s outspoken and confident and she modeled some powerful behaviors for me growing up about owning her own body and her voice. But there were the other parts where she was a product of her time and culture, believing in absolute terms that it is a woman’s duty to nurture her family, to marry ‘at the right time,’ to be a certain kind of mother. These are things she pushed hard. Things I internalized but also fought to do on my own terms and not hers. Ayesha’s relationship with her mother used to be this way, and then a tragedy changes their dynamic. So, it’s an exploration of how battles for identity get derailed by tragedy and grief and what it takes to heal.

 

Ayesha’s mom describes her as obedient, responsible, and “always putting everyone else before her own needs.” After hearing this Ayesha (internally) feels hypothermic. Can you explain how these seemingly sweet compliments completely destroy your heroine?

 

The mother-child bond comes with a kind of intuitive understanding of each other that’s unique to that relationship. So, while Ayesha has lost her fiery spirit and both she and her mother have lost years to their grief and struggle to survive, her mother knows who her daughter is deep down and how much she’s buried. So there’s a very nuanced intent to these ‘compliments’ and they hit the nerve they’re meant to hit. Ayesha’s reaction to these words is her dead parts coming back to life.

 

It only takes a moment—one second—for Ayesha to break free from her ice…a single word from Emmitt has her coming back to life. Why does she have such a powerful reaction to someone she hasn’t seen in seven years?

Ayesha had a crush on Emmitt for many years before they got together. She’s always had a strong reaction to him. The years they spent together as young adults were years when she came into herself, and felt seen and cherished. Then she loses all of that when her brother dies and they break up. So, it’s a combination of things that come together when Ayesha meets Emmitt again. They have a natural connection, but also, with his return come all the memories of who she used to be and how much she used to let herself feel.

 

Ayesha has never forgotten how Emmitt turns “her messy, impulsive, unfettered emotion into something beautiful.” But she has forgotten the effect that she has on him. What buried memories are uncovered as she watches Emmitt react to their reunion?

 

Emmitt has always dealt with the world and the pain it causes him by keeping everyone at arm’s length. But Ayesha destroys his defenses with her ability to love (and do everything else) so fiercely. So, when he loses her he’s already lost his ability to protect himself. Their joint grief is what separated them, so, while they understand each other’s pain they both also understand the loneliness of not having each other to lean on. They’ve had to make the journey to healing individually, but meeting each other again brings up the piece that needs the other to heal.

 

How did you get to know your couple? How were you able to understand what was needed to heal their broken hearts?

 

The one theme that threads through all my books is finding yourself on the tightrope between personal freedom and responsibility to family and community. Healing is always about finding or rediscovering your love for yourself. So, I understand my characters through that lens: how have they lost themselves? What about themselves do they need to reclaim and fall in love with? A truly connected couple is one who aids this journey in each other, recognizes it, and supports it.

 

In a limited number of pages you not only give readers a living, breathing couple, but also an avalanche of equally interesting characters like Ayesha’s best friend, suitor, aunties…and you even create depth with characters that are no longer living. Why was it so important to spend time with these secondary characters? What do they reveal about your hero and heroine?

 

I believe that as humans we are a sum total of our relationships and the world we live in and build for ourselves. How someone treats other people and how they respond to how they are treated is what constitutes character.

At its heart, every story is about a person who is somehow at odds with the world they live in or with themselves because of the expectations of their world, and the journey they make to resolve that conflict. Ayesha wouldn’t be Ayesha without her mother and Bela, her best friend and the community she was raised in. Bela has been her wild other half growing up, then their paths diverged, but they continued to be each other’s support. Her mother has become a crutch she uses to hold on to her grief. Emmitt’s grief over his friend has run his life for seven years too. So the secondary characters are just as integral to the story as the protagonists.

 

While the plot focuses on grief, there is also great joy to be found. After all, the backdrop of the story is a giant wedding. What do you personally find the most fun at a traditional Indian wedding celebration?

 

I’m always only there for the food and dancing! Fine, and getting to dress up. And the wine. Also, maybe the chance to hang out with family and friends I only see at weddings. And the drunk aunties and uncles.

 

After readers devour The Wedding Setup, which of your other books would you recommend they read next?

 

First, thank you so much for devouring The Wedding Setup! I’m incredibly proud of my Raje series, a set of retellings of my four favorite Jane Austen novels set in a politically ambitious Indian American family from Northern California. Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is a gender-flipped Pride and Prejudice. Recipe for Persuasion is a two-generational homage to Persuasion set on a Food Network show. Incense and Sensibility, the love story between a gubernatorial candidate and a yoga therapist who can save him but also destroy his campaign, pays tribute to Sense and Sensibility. And the upcoming The Emma Project (May 17th, 2022), which is a gender-flipped Emma that explores what it means when a person with tremendous privilege offers charity to someone who has much less.

 

 

The Wedding Setup Excerpt

 

 

Goose bumps rose across Ayesha’s skin, one sharp dot at a time.

“Ayesha.”

That was it. Just that one word. Her name. In a voice that was its own ghost.

She squeezed her eyes shut. One tight squeeze. Tight enough to hurt, tight enough to almost dislodge the false eyelashes Andre had pressed into her lash line one by one with the precision of a surgeon. Then boom! she was in control again and back to Ayesha on Ice.

Eyes blank, face set, she turned toward the voice.

Emmitt.

The impact of him was a body blow.

The entire universe stilled. Words weren’t a thing. Or sound. Breath? What was that?

Ayesha! Get a grip.

No grip. That’s how it had always been. She’d had no grip when it came to Emmitt Hughes. Not even a little bit. Not when she’d spied on him and Ajay playing Mario Kart and Minecraft and GTA for hours, for years. Not when she’d yearned and dreamed and spun stories with him at the center.

I’ve made my love for you, my god.

It was the cheesiest of lines from one of those Bollywood songs her parents had played on repeat at the restaurant. Amma had loved translating the over-the-top lyrics and explaining their nuances.

Back when Amma was full of stories and songs and laughter. Before Ajay.

Ajay.

Her brother’s unspoken name fell between them like a glass bauble and shattered.

“You remember Emmitt,” Edward had the gall to say.

Bela shot him a glare.

You didn’t tell me he would be here. Ayesha threw the silent accusation at her traitorous best friend, who gave her nothing more than another worried look.

No, Eddie. Remind me again who he is? The snarky words stuck in Ayesha’s throat. Old Ayesha would have said them. Old Ayesha said everything.

“Emmitt,” New Ayesha said, every feeling buried under her customer-is-king voice from the restaurant. “Nice to see you again.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed in the long column of his throat. How was he still so darned beautiful?

One swallow, and then he smiled back. Banking feelings where no one saw them had been his thing. Emmitt the Wall. That’s what Ajay had called him. Her brother had been best friends with him since Emmitt had moved to Naperville in fifth grade after his parents’ divorce. Years of friendship, and he’d still held Ajay at that slight distance he’d been so good at. Something she would always wish she hadn’t cured him of.

You broke me, Ayesha.You broke every defense I’ve ever had against the world.

She, Ayesha Shetty—too tall, too dark, too outspoken, too intense, too ambitious, too everything for everyone else had been just enough to break through Emmitt the Wall.

“It’s nice to see you too,” he said gently, sounding . . . she dug through her brain to come up with the right word. Grown-up? Contained?

Good. Because Ayesha was all those things now too. Not a grenade with its fuse pulled, ready to blow up the world.

 

 

About the Author

 

USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev writes Bollywood-style love stories that explore universal issues. Her novels have been named best books of the year by Library Journal, NPR, the Washington Post, and Kirkus Reviews. She has won numerous accolades, including the American Library Association’s award for best romance, the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for best contemporary romance, and multiple RT Seals of Excellence; has been a RITA finalist; and has been listed for the Dublin Literary Award. Shelf Awareness calls her “not only one of the best but one of the bravest romance novelists working today.” She lives in Chicagoland with her husband, two visiting adult children, and the world’s most perfect dog.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Synopsis

 

THE PARIS BOOKSELLER opens in 1917, as World War I ends and Paris is alive as a thriving center for culture and modernity. With new ideas rapidly taking the post-war world by storm, Sylvia Beach moves to Paris and opens the doors to her new English-language bookshop with the help of fellow writer and bookseller Adrienne Monnier. What starts as a partnership and friendship with Adrienne soon blossoms into a romance, and the women work together to create a haven for English writers and readers.

Sylvia quickly falls in love with James Joyce’s prose, especially his unpublished manuscript, Ulysses. When the contentious novel is banned in the United States for its obscenity, Sylvia takes a massive financial and personal risk, deciding to publish it under the auspices of Shakespeare and Company. She quickly realizes that the success and notoriety of publishing the most influential book of the century comes with steep costs. While many patrons applaud her efforts, some believe she has marred the integrity of Shakespeare and Company as she remains staunchly loyal to Joyce. Even worse, the future of her beloved store is threatened and her most enduring friendships are put to the test when Ulysses’ success leads to Joyce being wooed by other publishers. Now on the cusp of World War II and facing financial ruin, Sylvia must decide how far she will go to keep Shakespeare and Company alive.

 

 

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Review

 

This is the kind of book that can send you down a rabbit hole to learn more about the characters!

I love when I can learn new things about our past! While this book is fictionalized, it is based on some real-life people including bookshop owner and publisher Sylvia Beach, author James Joyce, and many many more. Set primarily in the 20s and 30s, this is a look into Sylvia’s life opening a bookstore and deciding that Ulysses by James Joyce needed to be published and since America was banning the book as obscene, it needed to be published in Europe. Imagine typing up the book from someone’s handwriting, that could be treacherous work and it was in one case where the husband came home and burned the pages because he considered it scandalous. Needless to say, that caused quite a pickle since there was not a way to recreate the chapter…or was there?

I have to admit, when I first started reading the book it was hard to get into and I’m not sure why. It might have felt a little high brow, but as I settled into the characters and their lives, I became immersed in the lives of the artists, how Sylvia was doing with her bookstore, her life with her lover Adrienne, and a little family drama thrown in to boot. I have to admit to searching online for Sylvia Beach and her life and accomplishments. I love that she jumped right in and started her store, primarily for ex-pats living in Paris, but it because a meeting place for writers, musicians, poets, and more.

James Joyce was a mess in this book. I don’t know if this is how he was in real life, but I have to imagine it is loosely based on the truth. He might have had a brilliant mind, but he was hard to deal with on many fronts and it cost Sylvia nearly everything.

This well-researched book will have you dreaming of Paris and the life that was available to many in the early 1900s compared to other countries. The glimpses of well know authors had me wondering what that life must have been like, to meet such great minds before they were just that.

Overall, we give this 4 paws up and will be looking for more books by this author.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kerri Maher is the author of The Girl in White Gloves, The Kennedy Debutante, and, under the name Kerri Majors, This is Not a Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and was a writing professor for many years. She now writes full-time and lives with her daughter and dog in a leafy suburb west of Boston, Massachusetts.

 

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Girl with a Gun (An Annie Oakley Mystery) by Kari Bovee

 

Genre: Historical Mystery / Cozy Mystery

 

Publisher: Bosque Publishing

 

Release date: April 2020

 

Synopsis

 

She’s on the rise to fame and fortune, but her sudden notoriety comes with some deadly consequences.

Annie Oakley thrives as a sharpshooter in the Wild West Show. Finally, she has a chance to save her family’s farm—and make her dreams come true.

But her act misfires when she discovers her Indian assistant dead in her tent. Uncovering a shocking secret from her assistant’s past, the girl with the gun believes it’s murder. Determined to find the truth, she ruffles some horse feathers, making enemies along the trail.

​But, when her prized gelding is stolen, Annie realizes she might have been the target all along.

Can Little Miss Sure Shot save her equine friend and find the killer before everything she’s worked for is destroyed?

​If you like a cunning mystery, a feisty heroine, and a fast-paced plot that keeps the pages turning, you’ll love this wild ride with the iconic Annie Oakley in the saddle.

 

 

Audible ~ Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review

 

Take a journey back to the Wild West with Annie Oakley, Frank Butler, and the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. While this is a fictional story, there are parts of this story based on fact which gave me a peek into the past while enjoying this story.

Annie is but 15 when hired as a sharpshooter for the Wild West Show. Considering the financial straits her family is in, she signs up with the show. What she doesn’t expect is to become wrapped up in helping solve some murders with nothing more than her intuition and a few clues left behind. She has a little help from some new friends, but many still stand in her way and don’t believe what she is saying and this shouldn’t be a surprise since it is 1885 and men tend to think women don’t know too much.

I thought Annie was spunky to leave her family at that age to join the show, but I understand the responsibility that she feels towards her family and helping them survive especially since her mom has taken up with a deadbeat that drinks any of the money that they receive. I felt like Annie had to grow up quickly at that point as she was thrust into the limelight with her rifle and pistol acumen and entertaining the crowds. While not everything worked out well in the shows, the crowds were entertained and enthralled by Annie’s abilities. She was quite a celebrity!

The mystery is well crafted and while there are several red herrings tossed into the mix, I suspected who the killer was but didn’t have too many facts to back up my gut instinct. I enjoyed following the clues and trying to firm up my guess with facts sprinkled throughout the book.

There is a little bit of romance too for Annie and Frank Butler. In a way, it seemed strange since she was just 15, but at the same time, this is a different world in the late 1800s and really shouldn’t have been too surprising. I appreciate that the author stayed true to who Annie married in real life.

There was one passage that really caught my eye between Annie and a suffragette named Emma Wilson, who was also a local reporter. This speaks volumes to me.

“I admire you, Annie. With your sweet face, you look like a prim little girl in those sparkly cowgirl outfits, but you are fierce – you are making a difference in the world of women, inspiring women to be stronger, to let the world know that women can be might without losing their femininity. Have you thought about joining the suffragette movement?”

Overall, this is an intriguing mystery and I look forward to reading the next book and where Annie’s adventures take her (and I have an idea since this book ended with a clue!)

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

When she’s not on a horse, or walking along the beautiful cottonwood-laden acequias of Corrales, New Mexico; or basking on white-sand beaches under the Big Island Hawaiian sun, Kari Bovee is escaping into the past—scheming murder and mayhem for her characters both real and imagined, and helping them to find order in the chaos of her action-packed novels. Bovee writes the award-winning Annie Oakley Mystery Series and the Grace Michelle Mystery Series and has more ideas than time for many, many more.

​
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Giveaway

 

 

Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card courtesy of the author of the Annie Oakley Mysteries! (one winner) (ends Feb 11)

GIRL WITH A GUN (Annie Oakley Mystery) Audiobook Tour Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digging Up Love

by Chandra Blumberg

Release Date: January 1, 2022

Series: Taste of Love, Book 1

 

 

Synopsis

 

Alisha Blake works her magic in the kitchen, creating delectable desserts for her grandfather’s restaurant in rural Illinois. Though Alisha relishes the close relationship she has with her family, she can’t help but dream about opening a cookie shop in Chicago. She may be a small-town baker, but Alisha has big ambitions.

Then a dinosaur bone turns up in her grandparents’ backyard. When paleontologist Quentin Harris arrives to see the discovery for himself, he’s hoping that the fossil will distract him from a recent painful breakup. Instead, he finds Alisha—and sparks fly. The big-city academic and the hometown baker seem destined for a happily ever after.

But Alisha is scared to fall in love. And Quentin’s trying to make a name for himself in a competitive field, which gets even more complicated when the press shows up at the dig site. For love to prevail, the two may have to put old bones aside—and focus on the future.

 

 

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Read for free via Kindle Unlimited

 

Review

 

If you are into cookies and dinosaurs, then you need to read this book! You will find many delicious treats including a hunky paleontologist and a pumped-up baker within the pages.

Sometimes I never know what I’m going to find when I read a book and tend to go in blind without reading the description or reviews. What I found in this book was a delightful, funny, and courageous story of two people destined to find each other but have some bumps in the road to work through before they can be happy together. Of course, that is many romance books, there has to be some friction to keep us intrigued and wondering how they will navigate the sea of love.

I am in awe of Alisha. Not only is she a fantastic baker with a social media presence, but she is a powerlifter and not afraid to do what she loves. However, she is also dedicated to her family, especially her grandparents that raised her and her sister when their mother died and their father took off. But that dedication has her frozen in her own life and she is afraid to do what she really wants to do thinking that they need her around. Enter Quentin, a paleontologist from a university in Chicago that is there to help uncover some dinosaur bones that were discovered on the property. Sparks fly between these two whether they want to admit it or not, but it is not a smooth journey to be together. They each have hangups that they have to work through to realize what they truly want and need (besides each other!)

I loved all of the characters and I felt like I was there in Hawksburg watching the story unfold. Alisha geeks out on dinosaurs ever since she saw Jurassic Park as a child, so meeting Quentin is like a match made in heaven. They are both a bit awkward around each other but it helps bring in other characters to help bring these two to their senses. The ride is not always smooth for these two but thankfully, they have friends and family to help them through various issues.

There is also Alisha’s sister, Simone, that we don’t really get to know very well in this book and I wonder if she will be featured in a follow-up story.  I wasn’t sure if I liked Simone, she could be rather abrasive, but when we learn a bit more near the end of the book it explains a lot and I saw her in a whole new light.

This is a great debut book and I look forward to reading more from this author. We give it 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

Author Interview: Chandra Blumberg

 

As a debut author, what are some things readers should know about you?

 

I was born in Michigan and moved to the Chicago area shortly after college. I’m the mom of four amazing children. I love to bake and I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try, and though they often turn out less-than Pinterest-worthy, my baked goods almost always taste great.

Lifting weights is another one of my passions. I enjoy the physical challenge and the boost from achieving new goals. I also love to travel and explore, whether it be other countries or nearby towns. One of my greatest joys is finding new places to visit and experience for the first time.

And of course, I love to read! I devour books from a wide variety of genres, from science fiction to mystery, historical fiction to fantasy, but romance captured my heart and never let go.

 

Describe your novel Digging Up Love in just one sentence.

 

A commitment-phobic baker who plans to escape small-town life for Chicago hits a roadblock when an enormous dinosaur bone is unearthed in her backyard, and she falls hard for the paleontologist sent to excavate.

Including dinosaurs as a major part of the plot is unique in a romance novel. What inspired you to include dinosaurs (or at least their bones) in your story?

My kids love learning about dinosaurs, so between books, shows, movies, and time spent visiting museums to see fossils, dinosaurs have been a big part of my life for a while now, and that might be part of what sparked the idea. Plus, I’ve been a fan of Jurassic Park since I was a kid, and I thought it would be really fun to write a romance with a paleontologist love interest.

As I was drafting the novel, I remembered reading a news article about mammoth bones turning up on a farmer’s property in my home state of Michigan, and I thought: what if it had been a dinosaur bone? There haven’t been any dinosaur fossils discovered in most of the Midwest, so that offered a lot of possibilities to explore.

 

Was there a moment when Quentin and Alisha’s story really came to life for you?

 

I wrote a sketch of a scene where a woman was on a date with a paleontologist at the Field Museum in Chicago. He was super enthusiastic about showing her the fossils, and they had this flirty, fun dynamic with a lot of banter. There was immediate chemistry, and I wanted to dive deeper into their story. At one point in the scene, the woman tripped, and her response was, “Whoopsie-daisy.” So I had this young woman who was using this sort of old-school exclamation, and I thought, why would she say that? Well, maybe she was raised by her grandparents. And the story evolved from there.

 

Was there a time during the writing process that you were really surprised by the story or your characters?

 

I was sharing an early draft of the story with critique partners and one of them mentioned how Quentin was a paleontologist like Ross from Friends, and my reaction was total shock. I used to love watching Friends, but for some reason—maybe my age at the time I watched it—even though Ross was one of my favorite characters, I had no idea what he did for a living. I decided to include my reaction into the book, because how could I not? Ross is such an iconic character, and here I had totally blanked on another paleontologist in pop culture.

 

Digging Up Love is very much a small-town romance, but it also includes scenes in Chicago. What made you choose to include both settings in your novel?

 

I knew I wanted a city-meets-country love story because it offers so many interesting and fun dynamics. Since I grew up in a fairly rural community and participated in the county fair, 4-H, horseback riding, and so on, I had that experience to draw from. I also enjoy living in the Chicago area immensely and wanted to incorporate elements of the city as well.

 

What do you most want readers to take away from reading Digging Up Love?

 

First and foremost, a happily-ever-after. While this book delves into some deep issues, this is Alisha and Quentin’s love story, and I want to leave readers with all the swoony feels! I hope to tug on readers’ heartstrings and make them laugh in the next moment. I also wanted to depict a heroine who is unapologetically into lifting heavy weights, and to include body positivity in the narrative. I hope the sense of love, both romantic and in relationships with family and friends, comes through in this story. Ultimately, this is a book about finding joy and the person who makes you feel happy and fully loved.

 

 

Digging Up Love Excerpt

 

About forty yards behind the house, Mrs. S sat on her trusty motorized steed. Granny stood next to her, the top of her blonde bob a good foot shy of the reflective orange safety flag jutting up out of the back of the seat.

Opposite the women, a backhoe perched motionless on the edge of the crater like a mechanical gargoyle, motor silent. Granny was holding a whispered conference with Mrs. Snyder, doused in her trademark rose-scented perfume so strong it could penetrate a gas mask.

Alisha slinked up to the women like an uninvited guest at a funeral. She couldn’t help but address them in a hushed tone. “Hi, ladies.”

Mrs. Snyder let out an almighty yelp and revved her engine. The scooter lurched forward toward the edge of the hole. Alisha dove for the kill switch, and Granny wrapped both arms around her friend’s ample waist, the heels of her Wellington boots making furrows in the grass. The scooter skidded to a halt like a clown car dumping its occupants at center stage.

Alisha collapsed on her knees, panting. “So sorry, Mrs. S!”

“Janet.” Fanning her flushed face, she leveled a beady gaze at Alisha. “If I’ve told you once, I told you a thousand times. Call me Janet.” She adjusted one of her clip-on earrings, blue-veined hand trembling. “‘Mrs. S’ makes me feel about a thousand years old.”

Alisha nodded just to pacify her. The switch would be impossible. Mrs. Snyder was Hawksburg’s answer to Mr. Feeny: a seventh-grade math teacher, religious ed catechist, and after retirement, a high school substitute teacher. No sense in arguing, though.

She pushed off the freezing ground and turned to Granny. “What’s this I hear about a skeleton in our new swimming pool?”

Pulling the sides of her coat around herself, her grandma said, “I was gonna tell you when you got home, sweetie. But you never get much time to yourself. I didn’t want to interrupt your visit with Simone. And I doubt it’s anything. Janet just said we should be sure.”

Surprise, surprise. Mrs. Snyder had called in the professionals, not Granny.

“I’m sure we’ll have this whole thing resolved today.” Granny patted her arm in reassurance.

Alisha relaxed a bit at her grandma’s touch. The Blake women looked nothing alike. Her grandma was a fine-boned peroxide blonde and fair as winter moonlight. But temperament wise, they were a match. If Granny wasn’t fussed, everything would be fine. But still . . .

“So there is a bone?”

Granny nodded. “A big one. See for yourself.”

Obediently, Alisha took a step forward to peer down into the pit. The man—and it was a man, after all—crouched in the mud, squinting against a battered digital camera, wasn’t wearing the khaki uniform she’d expected.

Instead, a dark-gray zip-up hoodie showed the curve of strong biceps and wide shoulders. He sat on his haunches in worn-in jeans and brown work boots. A cobalt-blue beanie was pulled down over his ears, accentuating the line of a straight, clean-shaven jaw. Definitely not middle aged either.

This was fine. Totally fine. Well, he was fine, that much was certain.

Keep it together, Alisha.

No worries. She tugged at her cropped leather jacket. She was perfectly capable of sending a fit young scientist packing.

Just then, he rested the camera on his thigh and looked up at them through the snow, his gaze as dazzling as a burst of sunshine after a storm.

Alisha’s knees almost gave way. Up until this moment, she would’ve put weak knees right up there with Bigfoot in the realm of myth. But the man’s electric gray-green eyes short-circuited her nerve endings and left her legs wobbly as Bambi.

He pulled his full lips to the side, gaze unfocused, clearly deep in thought. Then he dropped those striking eyes to the ground and stood up, rubbing a hand absently along his chiseled jaw. Her stomach turned itself inside out. It wasn’t every day she encountered a man who looked like her fantasies incarnate. But the biting wind and snowflakes swirling through the air hit her like a bucket of ice water. Not a daydream, then. Which begged the question, What to do now?

The textbook definition of a sexy scientist stood a few feet away, smack-dab in the middle of her grandparents’ future swimming pool. Chills that had nothing to do with the freezing temps collided with the heated flush of a heart gone into hyperdrive. A magnetic tug drew her a step closer, vying with a hysterical urge to turn tail and run.

Heavens to Betsy, cool it, Blake.

Without another thought, Alisha took a breath and jumped into the deep end.

 

About the Author

 

Chandra Blumberg is a Michigan native who loves writing funny, heartwarming love stories about characters that feel real and relatable. When it comes to her writing process, getting to that happily ever after is half the fun.

After majoring in English at Michigan State University, Blumberg moved to the Chicago area, where she enjoys exploring museums and the beauty of Lake Michigan in all seasons. When she’s not writing, she’s usually making a mess in the kitchen with her kids, lifting heavy barbells at the gym, or traveling with her family. Digging Up Love is her first novel.

 

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Giveaway

 

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