Synopsis

 

After a devastating breakup, instead of drowning in her tears, Amelia Day starts a new business. For a hefty fee, she uses the methods for training foster dogs to transform men into suitable marriage material. Her track record is impeccable until she meets perpetual bachelor Phin Baxtor. From the start, she’s confused as to why this guitar-playing hunk would even want to hire her, but she needs the money, so she takes him on.

Phin is content with working in his food truck all day and playing the field at night. But his business partner, Jay, offers him a bet he can’t refuse. If Phin can complete Amelia’s program without changing his ways, he will win Jay’s rare guitar. Certain his task will be easier than playing “Hound Dog,” he agrees to enter the program.

With Phin and Amelia spending all their time together, her techniques begin to slip past his defenses. He might become her biggest success, but falling for a client isn’t supposed to be part of the deal.

 

 

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Review

 

Sometimes you just need a good fun romance to brighten your reading stack. This is that book!

Amelia has been crushed by a former fiance, so she decides to train men how to find their soulmates. I love how she incorporated dog training and phrasing into her technique. But she doesn’t expect that this client will be her last. Phin has played the field all his life but never knew what he was missing in finding the right woman for him.

This book made me laugh and even tear up a little at the end when they get their HEA. There is a great scene at the end that had me laughing out loud, so much so that my husband asked what was so funny. Of course, it is never as good trying to explain a scene if they aren’t reading the book.

I thought the food truck name was great, PB&J, which was a play on Phin and Jay’s names. There is even music trivia sprinkled throughout. I didn’t know any of the answers, but maybe you will.

There are so many great characters, and I could see this becoming a series. I’d love to know what happens with some of the other single characters, such as Layne and Axel.

If you are looking for a light-hearted book, then definitely pick this book up. We give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

After several decades of writing medical research documents, Cindy decided to switch gears and write stories where the chances of happy endings are 100% and the side effects include satisfied sighs, permanent smiles, and a chuckle or two.  She writes romance novels with a slice of humor that ranges from historical romance to southern fried romantic comedies. Her young adult debut novel, Tuned Into You (BookFish Books) was released in June 2016 and her adult sweet romance, Left Hanging (Red Adept Publishing) was released in March 2017. In A Jam (Red Adept Publishing) was released summer of 2018.

Cindy was born in Texas and raised in Georgia.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Kennesaw State University and her Master’s Degree from The University of Georgia.  Cindy enjoys gardening, reading, bodybuilding, and a whole bunch of movies.  She can be overheard quoting lines from her favorite movies… a lot.  But her favorite pastime is spending time with Mark, her bass playing husband, Maddie Rose, the coolest girl on the planet, and fur child Daisy Mae.  She currently resides in Nashville, TN where live music can be heard everywhere, even at the grocery store.

 

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Synopsis

 

The most dangerous lies are the ones that use the truth to sell themselves.

Medical treatment determined by artificial intelligence could do more than make Hope Kestrel’s career. It could revolutionize healthcare.

What the Seattle surgeon doesn’t know is the AI has a hidden fatal flaw, and the people covering it up will stop at nothing to dominate the world’s healthcare — and its profits. Soon, Hope is made the scapegoat for a patient’s death, and only Jacie Stone, a gifted intern with a knack for computer science, is willing to help search for the truth.

But her patient’s death is only the tip of the conspiracy’s iceberg. The Director, Marah Maddox, is plotting a use for the AI far outside the ethical bounds of her physician’s oath. A staggering plan capable of reducing human lives to their DNA code, redefining the concepts of sickness and health, and delivering the power of life and death decisions into the hands of those behind the AI.

Even if the algorithm accidentally discards some who are treatable in order to make that happen…

 

 

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Praise

 

“I’ve been waiting for a book like this: a full-frontal assault on the dangers of artificial intelligence and the failures of our mangled health care system, all wrapped up in a clever, ripping thriller. Jennifer Lycette is an author to watch.” — Rob Hart, author of The Paradox Hotel

“In her debut, Lycette explores the darkest realities about the healthcare system and what generations of the near future could potentially face if power shifts to the wrong hands. Perhaps even more gripping is how she delves into the ways grief can shape someone, causing them to make questionable decisions in the name of redemption. With nuanced characters and a truly terrifying premise, The Algorithm Will See You Now is an ambitious debut that delivers.”— Heather Levy, author of Anthony nominated Walking Through Needles

“Both tense and topical, The Algorithm Will See You Now is a meticulously researched and deeply informed novel about the perils of where healthcare is likely heading, and the agonizing human costs involved. There are no easy decisions here, and Lycette paints a wonderfully complex portrait in an exciting debut.” — E.A. Aymar, author of No Home For Killers

“Full of intrigue and smart thrills, The Algorithm Will See You Now is a incisive vision of a tech-driven future, amping up the contemporary horrors of our healthcare system to the extreme. Lycette’s mastery of the medical field shines through, and her empathetic storytelling invites us to examine where we are headed and how we treat each other as human beings.” — Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless

“An AI is putting profit over life. And patients are dying. The Algorithm Will See You Now is a tense, terrifying ride that dives into prescient themes of power, control, and the corruption of Big Medicine. Here’s your wake up call. This disturbing future is closer than you think.” — L.P. Styles, author of The Molecule Thief

 

 

Review

 

If you are into conspiracy theories regarding the government, this might be a book of interest to you. It delves into the world where AI makes the medical decisions on whether a person will receive treatment for a deadly disease, like cancer, based on DNA and whether AI thinks that it can be cured.

This type of book is one of my favorites; it takes real-world scenarios and gives it a twist. While reading this book, I felt like this could potentially be happening already in our world. Maybe not AI making decisions regarding our healthcare, but how insurance companies do make decisions on whether to approve treatments or procedures based on their own criteria. This takes it a step further. This story also reflected the greed that is seen by healthcare and others with no regard for those that use their services. This may be futuristic, but I felt like this is what we might see today.

But beyond this aspect of the book, there is one woman’s quest to improve the situation. Hope is brilliant and offers a lot to the healthcare system that she works for. However, certain secrets come out, and it destroys her beliefs. She must make a decision on how to handle this turn and what it will mean for her professionally should she buck the system.

There will be characters that you dislike right off the bat and others that you will empathize with. One character, Jacie, took some time to like. I felt like her character was all over the highway in the beginning, and I didn’t understand her role until later.

This story played to my distrust of some entities in deciding what was best for me. It also encouraged me to continue to stand up for what is right and to now be swayed.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Jennifer / JL Lycette is a novelist, award-winning essayist, rural physician, wife, and mother. She has a degree in biochemistry from the University of San Francisco and attained her medical degree at the University of Washington. Mid-career, she discovered narrative medicine in her path back from physician burnout and has been writing ever since. Her essays can be found in Intima, NEJM, JAMA and other journals; at Doximity and Medscape; and her website. She is an alumna of the 2019 Pitch Wars Mentoring program. Her other published speculative fiction can be found in the anthology And If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing: Parenting Stories Gone Speculative (Alternating Current Press). The Algorithm Will See You Now (Black Rose Writing Press) is her first novel.

 

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Synopsis

 

Twenty-nine-year-old Nina Abrahams is not in a good place. She’s been fired from her restaurant manager job after she stands up to her bully of a boss, her motivational speaker mother is helping other people get their lives on track and ignoring the derailing of her daughter’s, and her best friend, Lucas Wilson, the guy she’s loved since she was eighteen, can’t seem to look beyond the girl in braces to the woman she is now.

When a new opportunity comes up, Nina decides it’s the perfect time to start over. The restaurant needs a reinvention and so does she. Unfortunately for Nina, the restaurant comes with hostile servers, a belligerent chef, and an owner averse to change.

But if Nina’s brave enough to take on the restaurant and tackle the people out to sabotage her, perhaps she can find the courage to tell Lucas how she really feels, even if it means risking the most important relationship in her life.

 

 

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Universal Book Link: Books2Read

 

 

Review

 

This story was a surprise. It is well crafted. I felt like the characters had depth, there were issues to resolve, and love to find.

Nina has a lot going for her – a supportive brother, good friends, and a love for the hospitality industry. Her mother is supportive but in her own way. I suppose that comes from being a motivational or inspirational speaker. But even they resolve their issues that have kept them apart and do not truly know one another. There is even her good friend Lucas whom she loves but doesn’t say anything for fear of messing up the friendship. But we all know how that goes…unrequited love is hard to dismiss.

I liked that Nina has some issues to work through, from her job to friends and family. It is a time for her to grow and stretch herself, become the best person she can be, and follow her dreams.

There is romance in the story too, but it is very clean, and I appreciated that aspect. The crux of the story doesn’t get lost in scenes between the characters. It is very much a G-rated book.

This was a fun book to read, and I will look for more books by this author. We give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Lara Martin writes books about imperfect people living messy lives, falling in love and getting their perfect happily-ever-after. She’s lived in South Africa and Australia and now calls a cozy village in England her home. She’s tried a variety of amazing and awful jobs: video game reviewer, graphic designer, insurance claims agent (she has no idea how she landed this one), proof reader, feature writer, and magazine editor. She lives with her husband (always the first reader of her novels), two slightly terrifying teenagers, and the requisite psychotic cat. When she’s not writing, she can be found haunting local coffee shops.

 

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Synopsis

 

Set among the rolling green Irish hills, Kelkerry Castle is something out of a dreamy fairy tale. For hotelier Bridget Marshall, however, it’s a dream come true…once she’s sorted out the mold, lead paint, and ancient plumbing. And she’ll prove to everyone in the nearby village of Shansally (pop. 119) that she’s not just another silly, dreamy-eyed American—including her curt (if utterly gorgeous) new neighbor, Liam O’Flannagain.

Only, this breathtaking castle has far more secrets than expensive repairs. While someone—or something—here desperately wants Bridget to give up and walk away, there’s another force tugging Bridget to stay. Because whenever she’s with Liam, the ancient past seems to come to life again, sweeping them along in a story they’re apparently destined to relive.

Now, Liam and Bridget are caught up in a long-ago tale filled with love, danger, and betrayal. The past seems to be working its magic on both of them, pulling them into a love story they’re helpless to resist. And they’ll have to uncover the truth of what happened all those centuries ago before history—and tragedy—repeats itself.

 

 

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Review

 

This was such a fun read! It had many of the elements I enjoy in a book – mystery, suspense, romance, and time travel. The time travel wasn’t like most I have read; rather, it was more of the two main characters experiencing what those from the past endured. I do wonder why these two were chosen, and an answer isn’t provided. Were they descendants of the people whose body they were in?

The mystery was who was sabotaging the castle and Bridget’s work to open a hotel. I had my suspicions about one character, and I was glad to see I was correct. There was a twist with that plot line that I didn’t expect, so that added another dimension to the story.

The romance between Bridget and Liam took some time. He is very broody and does not like Bridget. There isn’t anything concrete as to why other than she is an American that came over and purchased a castle to convert into a hotel. Perhaps he didn’t want tourism in that small town? Or maybe he didn’t want to be there and would have rebelled against anything or anyone. However, when she breaks through his defenses, it still takes some time for him to come around and admit his feelings.

While I have never been to Ireland, I felt like I was there from the descriptions of the towns and the people. I could imagine the lush green meadows and more. I liked how there were bits of Gaelic sprinkled in, and I had to chuckle as Bridget learned what words meant or what words she should use in certain situations.

This was an enjoyable read, and we give it 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Jessica Dall is the author of such novels as Forever Bound, A Dangerous Beauty, and The Stars of Heaven. She has written across an array of genres, though her love of history and romance always seems to find a way into her work. Born and raised in southern California, she now resides in Maryland with her husband and daughter. When not living vicariously through her characters, she enjoys travel, crafting, and helping others with their own writing journeys.

 

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Synopsis

 

Little Sowerby, England, 1802

Miss Genevieve Wilde—a magistrate’s daughter and independent heiress—is determined to meet life’s challenges all on her own, just as her late father had taught her. So when her father’s pocket watch is stolen, she will do anything to get it back, especially when the local authorities prove incompetent.

Upon reading an advertisement in the paper, she takes a chance and contacts a thief-taker to find the watch. It’s a choice Ginny regrets when former Bow Street officer Jack Travers arrives on her doorstep. He is frustratingly flirtatious, irritatingly handsome, and entirely unpredictable, and Ginny wonders if she’ll be able to resist such a man.

But after Ginny discovers that the missing watch is just a small part of a larger, more frightening plot against her, she needs Jack’s help more than ever. To protect her home and her reputation, the two enter into a risky charade—pretending Jack is her cousin so he can begin his investigation, starting with the household staff. As they work together to unravel the mystery, Ginny finds herself falling fast for her charismatic thief-taker, leaving her heart in just as much danger as her life.

 

 

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Review

 

This was a fun mash-up of a proper romance and a mystery.

I had mixed feelings about Genevieve, aka Ginny. She is running an estate, but she makes bonehead decisions that endanger her life. I appreciate her dedication to her estate and wanting to protect it, but putting yourself in danger? Not smart, Ginny! But at the same time, I enjoyed watching her mature when it came to matters of the heart, mostly due to Jack Travers. She even managed to mend some fences with family members, which is another reflection of her maturity.

I enjoyed the mystery and watching it unfold. Was the thief someone we are introduced to in the book or someone unknown? You’ll have to read the book to find out, but I will say that the answer surprised me.

My only complaint about this book is that there are no chapters, or at least not in the copy I read. This made it very hard to find a good stopping place. This is only the 2nd book that I can remember reading without chapters, and I still don’t like it. I do not know if all of her books are like this, but if they are, I won’t read another.

Overall, this was a fun book to read (despite my comment above), and we give it 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Joanna Barker firmly believes that romance makes everything better, which is why she has fallen in love with writing Regency romances. When she’s not typing away on her next book, you’ll find her listening to podcasts, eating her secret stash of chocolate, or adding things to her Amazon cart. Joanna thinks being an author is the second-best job in the world—right after being a mom. She is just a little crazy about her husband and three wild-but-lovable kids.

 

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Synopsis

 

She’s determined to start a new chapter, so why is she still drawn to a man from her past?

When Jasmine Weaver, the chief of staff to a powerful D.C. congresswoman, chose integrity, she didn’t anticipate ringing in the New Year disgraced, unemployed, and sleeping in her childhood bedroom. Now back in River’s Edge, Indiana, identical triplet Jazz has her sisters’ support while she plans her next steps. She agrees to lead the committee for their high school’s fifteenth reunion, never dreaming that her co-chair is the man who broke her teenage heart.

As the new CEO of Walker Construction, Elias Walker has taken the family business to new levels of success. He’s buried himself in work to ease the grief of losing his fiancé several years earlier and wants nothing more than to be a carpenter again. Elias grudgingly agrees to co-chair the high school’s reunion committee, but when Jazz Weaver blows into town, suddenly anything seems possible.

These high school sweethearts have lived half their lives apart. Can they reinvent themselves back in the town where it all began?

 

 

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Review

 

I loved going back to River’s Edge. Many of the characters we met in The Lange Brothers and Four Irish Brothers series. I love revisiting some favorite characters and meeting new ones.

This series will center around the Weaver triplets. These sisters have had their ups and downs in life and love. While we meet all of them in this book, this one focuses on Jasmine aka Jazz. She couldn’t wait to get out of town and thrived in DC in the political scene. That is until she discovered how unethical the congresswoman was that she was working for and was essentially fired. However, there are some interesting revelations near the end of the book, and I hope that we will see a few other mentions of this situation in future books to see how it all shakes out.

Jazz and Elias were high school sweethearts until they weren’t. But coming back to town reenergizes their friendship and their love for one another. They help each other through some tough times while exploring their attraction to one another. It is definitely your HEA that you want in a book.

I can’t wait to read the next few books in this series about the other sisters. We get a peek at their life, and I can just tell that there is a story waiting to come out.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

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

 

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Synopsis

 

Find out how I, a nobody from the state of Rhode Island, was invited to travel Europe with the son of the richest man in the world at the time. We drove 19,965 miles through 12 different European countries in 10 weeks. We dined with Kings and Queens in Denmark, we gambled with the Shah of Iran in Monte Carlo, we had high tea with her Imperial Highness of Iran Princess Farah in Paris, we were rescued out of handcuffs by Shirley Temple Black during the Russian Invasion of Czechoslovakia, and Brigitte Bardot – The sexiest women in the world at the time – “Would you please dance with me? And that does not even scratch the surface of this mind-blowing adventure of 10 lifetimes that took me an additional ten years just to process.

How did my companion turn a ship around in the middle of the ocean just because we missed its departure? Within 8 hours of sending his dad to Iran, how did 30-$100 bills get hand-delivered to our hotel room in Switzerland even though no banks or wiring offices were open? After being told by the telephone company in Nice, France, to put my call through to the USA, how did my companion from the first payphone have me talking to my dad in the USA in 30 seconds flat?

How did Israel in 1948 get the oil needed to survive when no country in the world could or would sell the oil? Is it true that his father had permission from the Israeli government to build an entire city in Israel to move the total Jewish population from Tehran, Iran, to Israel at his own expense?

I was one of only eight people in the world who knew about this history-changing plan as I saw the actual blueprint of the city, which cost more than I would earn in my lifetime. Wait till you hear of the story of the 100 suitcases or the one about the prisoner who returned voluntarily to Dachau, a German concentration camp after escaping and being free.

If “Nothing Boggles the Mind of Simple Men like The Truth, ” I promise that you will be glad that you read it because as you do, you will come to realize it must be true because nobody could make this story up.”

 

 

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Excerpt

 

I got the call at work. I recognized Moritz’s voice immediately from his German accent. His voice was thick with grief. He could barely get the words out.

“It’s Maurice,” he said. “He’s gone.”

Gone? As in dead? I couldn’t seem to process the information. I stared blankly at the wall of my shop, specifically at a poster for Goodyear Tires. “How?” I managed to ask.

“Massive heart attack.”

A heart attack? It seemed such an unglamorous way to go, so incongruous with the enchanting no-holds-barred way Maurice had lived his life. I did the math in my head: he was only fifty-two.

I kept the call brief, thanked Moritz, one of Maurice’s other close friends from Munich, Germany, clearly in a similar state of shock, and hung up the phone.

I sat down in a chair and let the first wave of emotion wash over me. True, I hadn’t seen him in years, but I still thought of him as my best friend, and now that cherished friend was dead—the man who had opened the world up for me in ways I never imagined possible. Now, nearly 26 years after the fact, I had to remind myself that the time we spent traveling around Europe just after college was not a dream, that I did not imagine Maurice. But in truth I knew I had not. In the deepest depths of my mind, I could not have conjured up the times we had together.

 

 

Review

 

Wow is the first word that comes to mind. This stroll down memory lane for a trip taken by Gary and Maurice was terrific. While I would like to say it is hard to believe all of this happened and the details that Gary remembered, I don’t doubt a word that was written.

This is also a story of an unlikely friendship. Maurice is from a wealthy Iranian family, and Gary is from a small New England family. But this is what made it work. They each brought experiences to the table that the other may not have ever experienced had it not been for this friendship. Maurice’s experiences were ones that many of us might only dream of – meeting royalty, staying in nice hotels, and gambling with other people’s money. But Gary brought humble beginnings and family to the table. Despite all that Maurice’s money could buy, it can’t purchase home-cooked meals and close-knit family ties.

Their jaunt around Europe was one that most of us would not experience, or at least parts of it. I believe that most of us touring Europe would see other parts of the countries. However, this was 1968, and the times were different. I loved how you could send mail to a hotel, and they would hold it for you, whether you checked in or not. I’m unsure what sort of mail you would need to have sent this way, but it was intriguing.

This friendship and adventure across Europe was a joy to read. I imagined what taking this journey must have been like and that relieving these memories brought back some happy times.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

In 1965, Gary Orleck graduated from Babson College—a small but outstanding business college with students from around the world—in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and set out along Route 66, working his way around the US for four months. Most helpful was an agreement he had with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company that he could work in any store during his travels, but he could not be paid locally. Instead, his pay was sent to his home later. Gary was well-versed in the tire business because his father owned the largest Goodyear Tire and Service store in New England.

For a young boy from Rhode Island, this was a life-changing experience. Gary was present for the Watts Riots and the world premiere of Fantastic Voyage with Raquel Welch and Fernando Lamas at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. He arrived in San Francisco the day topless was approved. The four-month trip wet Gary’s appetite for more traveling. While driving home from California, he made a promise to himself: to drive around all of Europe the next year.

Gary bumped into a college student who graduated with him. The student was from Iran, a country most Americans had never heard of. Gary didn’t know it at the time, but his friend was from the wealthiest family in the world. His friend had lived in Switzerland for four years of boarding school, four years of college in London, and seven summers in the South of France for summer school. He asked Gary to join him that following summer to drive through Europe—his friend offering to be his tour guide since he knew Europe like the back of his hand.

At first, Gary was hesitant because of his friend’s perceived reputation, but he was very persuasive, promising to be the best tour guide ever. Reluctantly, Gary agreed, which led to the most mind-blowing experience—a ten-week trip through 12 countries and 19,920 miles of earth-shattering adventures that included turning a ship around in the middle of an ocean, dining with the King and Queen of Denmark, and the King and Queen of Belgium, meeting The Who backstage, being entertained by the Empress of Iran Empress Farah in Paris, gambling with the Shah of Iran in Monte Carlo, and even being rescued by Shirley Temple Black after being arrested during the Czechoslovakian Revolution in the summer of 1968.

Gary says, “It took ten years for me to process that trip—five years of research plus five years of writing—because I wished to share the greatest adventure a young naïve boy from Rhode Island could ever imagine happening. So, fasten your seat belts for a ride inside the elite world of the rich and famous, and join me on the trip of my lifetime. A trip you will never forget. I promise you that!”

 

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Synopsis

 

Visions of her Cherokee grandmother, Cordie, flashed through Mary’s mind as her mother, Marguerite, informed her that her stepfather shot himself and was in the hospital. Oh no! Did she use me last night? She’d never use her scapegoat! No, she couldn’t! Even Marguerite wouldn’t sink that low! Or would she? Marguerite had always been abusive and vile to most people, and especially to her children and husbands, but would she shoot Paul? Chills raked Mary and triggered her shuddering. Was she more shocked that her mother shot her stepfather with murderous intent, or that she left Mary as her alibi?

 

 

 

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Review

 

This short story shares the horrors one woman went through growing up with a mentally unstable mother. While reading this, it made me grateful for my family. I couldn’t imagine the horrors this woman and her siblings endured at the hands of their mother. Mary seemed to be targeted the most by her mother, with no real understanding of why.

More and more stories like this come to light daily, making me sad for those who endured abuse from their parents or other family members. It is hard for me to understand or grasp that people can do this to someone they supposedly love.

Despite her upbringing, Mary is able to break free from the negativity in her life. It isn’t easy, and she doesn’t get it right immediately. But she moves forward with her life. I can only imagine the horror of being the “alibi” for her mother, whose husband is found shot. While nothing is ever confirmed, it is suspected that her mother shot him.

This is a gritty book, but it shares her story. There are photos included of her siblings, grandparents, and other celebrations in her life.

I did feel like the story was scattered and seemed to wander in places, but overall is a solid testament to her strength.

We give this book 3 1/2 paws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt

 

“Chills raked Mary and triggered her shuddering. Was she more shocked that her mother shot her stepfather with murderous intent, or that she left Mary as her alibi?”

 

Before I get to this shooting, I want to fill in background so that you understand sociopathic people and the rage they can present to another person or persons. My mother was a sociopath. Her rage was uncontrolled, and she acted fast, aggressively, and with vengeance. It’s important for the reader to have a full background.    

As I grew up, I wanted to believe that my mother was a good mother, but sadly that never happened, she never was. My mother, Marguerite, always seemed to think that she was the best mother, perfect even, but not all mothers are made the same as I found out from a very young age.

I remember my second Christmas at age two years. We had a cedar Christmas tree with lights and tinsel.  Somehow, I found some small, glass Christmas lights and I had them in my hands. No one stopped me. Possibly no one noticed. I took my pretty treasures and sat behind the heating stove in our small house on North Grand Avenue. For some reason only a two-year-old would understand, I put one of the light bulbs in my mouth and bit it down. I broke the glass, and I didn’t get hurt, and I thought oh that was a cool sound and so I broke the other one in my mouth! My mother, older brother and sister were in the same room, and my mother found me bleeding from my mouth behind the heating stove. She went into a ballistic rage! I was in trouble. She beat my butt and yelled at me all the way to the hospital in Lyons, KS, and she was quiet only while my stomach was pumped. No glass was left inside me, and I had one little cut on my tongue, and no stitches needed. I will never forget her rage at me, and that is probably why I remember the incident.

 

 

About the Author

 

Mary L. Schmidt writes under her given name and a pen name, S. Jackson, along with her husband Michael, pen name A Raymond. She grew up in a small Kansas (USA) town and has lived in more than one state since then. At this time, Mary and her husband split their time between homes in Kansas and Colorado as they love the mountains and off-road four-wheeling. Traveling is one of their most favorite things to do and Mary always has a book to read on her Kindle. Books are one of her favorite things. When she was younger, it seemed like every time she turned around, a new library card was needed due to the current one being stamped complete. Diving into a good book made any day perfect, and you would be surprised at the number of books she read over and over.

As a child, Mary drew paper dolls, and clothes for them, using watercolor as her medium when painting scenes, especially flowers. She continued with art in high school exploring a wide variety of mediums such as jewelry making, ceramics, leather works, drawing, painting and more! Her creative loves to be an amateur shutterbug and she has an online art gallery.

In college, she went into the sciences and received a bachelor’s degree in the Science of Nursing. Throughout her nursing career, Michael assisted Mary in her work with The American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, Cub and Boy Scouts, and sponsored children alongside his wife on music trips. Mary’s nursing career was highly successful, and she hung up her nursing hat in December 2012.

Mary and Michael love to read, fish, play poker, go Jeeping, and travel, especially to visit their grandson, Austin, and granddaughter, Emma.

 

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Synopsis

 

After his wife’s betrayal, Mark jumps on the first flight out, heading for Central America. He soon joins Aaron, a South African dive master, and Kendal, a quirky fellow American.

But their friendships get more complicated by the day.

Kendal finds Mark’s needy misery a welcome diversion from her problems. Her husband, Charlie, is thirty years her senior and dying, and Kendal has sought solace in the arms of Charlie’s best friend, Aaron.

Charlie may be dying, but he’s not blind, and his tickle of suspicion becomes an unbearable scratch. He’s always been Kendal’s protector, and now he must struggle with his illness and the risks of finding out the truth.

Funny, heartwarming, and tragic, this poignant story is ultimately about love, survival, and redemption as Mark, Kendal, and Aaron navigate the rough seas of life.

 

 

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Review

 

Life changes bring together this cast of characters to Belize, where the weather is warm, and the drinks are cold. There might even be some fish involved.

This merry band of characters’ lives intertwines whether they meant it to or not. They have formed friendships and relationships and care about one another despite everything. They may not admit it, but they do. The descriptions are breathtaking, which isn’t surprising considering the Belize setting. I can only imagine settling there, taking life one moment at a time, and not worrying about much of anything. While life isn’t finite, they are all living it to the fullest, or at least to the best of their ability.

I’m not sure if any one character stood out. They all have their flaws but are endearing at the same time. I am fascinated by Kendal’s business of creating jewelry with precious stones. It sounds intriguing, if not labor intensive.

The only thing I did not like about this book was the author’s notes at the end of each chapter. It interrupted the flow of the story for me. While some of the information was intriguing, I often skipped over that portion.

This is an enjoyable story, and we give it 3 1/2 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Karen Winters Schwartz wrote her first truly good story at age seven. Forty-five years later her professional writing career finally began in 2010, when the first of three widely praised novels, Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?, Reis’s Pieces, and The Chocolate Debacle were published by Goodman Beck Publishing. Red Adept Publishing released Legend of the Lost Ass in 2020, and her latest novel The Vast Clear Blue in 2023. Both are richly emotional stories about love and relationships and take place in the exotic setting of Belize.

Educated at The Ohio State University, Karen and her husband moved to the Central New York Finger Lakes region where they raised two daughters and shared a career in optometry. She now splits her time between Arizona, a small village in Belize, and traveling the earth in search of the many creatures with whom she has the honor of sharing this world.

 

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A RIVER OF CROWS

 

by

 

SHANESSA GLUHM

 

 

Fiction / Suspense / Thriller / Revenge

Publisher: TouchPoint Press

Date of Publication: April 18, 2023

Number of Pages: 427 pages

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1988, Sloan Hadfield’s brother Ridge went fishing with their father and never came home. Their father, a good-natured Vietnam veteran prone to violent outbursts, was arrested and charged with murder. Ridge’s body was never recovered, and Sloan’s mother— a brilliant ornithologist— slowly descended into madness, insisting her son was still alive.

Now twenty years later, Sloan’s life is unraveling. In the middle of a bitter divorce, she’s forced to return to her rural Texas hometown when her mother is discharged from a mental health facility.

Overwhelmed by memories and unanswered questions, Sloan returns to the last place her brother was seen all those years ago: Crow’s Nest Creek. There, she is shocked to hear a crow murmuring the same syllable over and over: Ridge, Ridge, Ridge.

When the body of another boy is found, Sloan begins to question what really happened to her brother all those years ago. What she discovers will shock her small community and turn her family upside down.

 

 

Click to Purchase

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secrets. Lies. Betrayal. Revenge. These are characteristics that will draw me in every time to a book.

This is the second book by this author, and I can safely say she brings a sense of intrigue to everything she touches. The books are filled with drama, family, mystery, and conflict.

This book has alternating timelines, much like her first book. We are taken back and forth in Sloan’s life, where we see the pain she felt at losing her brother but not really knowing what happened to him, to 20 years in the future, where she is dealing with the fallout from the past. Not to mention the secrets about her past that are slowly introduced to us throughout the story. So many surprises that kept me guessing throughout.

I felt for Sloan and all she was enduring in the present. I think that much of her past impacted how she acted and reacted in the present. Especially as more details were coming out about missing boys from the past, was her brother one of them?

The author also addresses tough topics like PTSD, mental health, and trust. Nothing is held back, and we see Sloan work her way through the issues that are keeping her from living a happy life. She may not see it that way, but considering everything that happened in the past, it isn’t surprising when her marriage doesn’t last and her reactions to those from her past. She also must face her past when dealing with her mother and her mental health issues. That can be hard, and I didn’t envy her in the least.

This book may resonate with some, and even if you cannot relate to portions of the story, it will hold you captive until you are left wrung out from the onslaught of emotions.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shanessa Gluhm works as a librarian at an elementary school in New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and children.  It was during her own elementary days when a teacher encouraged Shanessa to share a story she wrote with the class. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Her debut novel, Enemies of Doves, was an IAN Book of the Year Finalist in the category of first novel, an NIEA Finalist for cross-genre fiction, and first place winner in the Chanticleer Clue Awards for mystery, suspense, and thriller fiction.

When Shanessa is not writing, she enjoys birdwatching, reading, and watching true crime documentaries.

 

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

 

ONE WINNER:

 

$20 Barnes and Noble gift card

 

+ eBook copy of A River of Crows on winner’s preferred platform

 

(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 4/28/23)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

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

or visit the blogs directly:

 

04/18/23	Rox Burkey Blog	Book Trailer
04/18/23	Hall Ways Blog	BONUS Promo
04/19/23	Forgotten Winds	Review
04/19/23	LSBBT Blog	BONUS Promo
04/20/23	All the Ups and Downs	Playlist
04/21/23	The Real World According to Sam	Review
04/22/23	StoreyBook Reviews	Review
04/23/23	The Page Unbound	Guest Post
04/24/23	The Book’s Delight	Review
04/25/23	Shelf Life Blog	Author Interview
04/26/23	The Plain-Spoken Pen	Review
04/27/23	The Clueless Gent	Review

 

 

 

 

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