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For this blog tour we're looking at a solid mystery that utilizes the new podcast fad quite well but which could have used better pacing overall. For this blog tour, we're looking at The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan.

Solid Mystery That Could Have Used Better Pacing. Reading through the other Goodreads reviews on this one, a common complaint is the pacing and bloat of this book - and I tend to agree, to a point. There was in fact a lot of going over the same facts of the case, and that probably added a solid 20 pages to the length of this book just in that fact alone. But it wasn't something that I particularly noticed while reading, and indeed while reading I thought this was a truly solid use of an emerging technique to solve cold cases. And while the body count may seem a bit high for a town with less than 80K (real-world) people, a quick Google shows that it actually isn't outside the realm of reality, even this Millenium (when until recently, violent crime was plummeting across the nation). It does in fact read a bit as a setup for a potential series with our former US Marshal investigator here, and it could actually be an interesting series if that is the case. Overall an interesting and compelling mystery that will keep you guessing until it wants to reveal it secrets - and then transitions into a bit more of an action/ suspense tale to finish up the case. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt followed by the "publisher details" - book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.

One Three Years Ago Friday, April 10

Candace Swain forced a smile as she walked out of her dorm room.

Smiling was the last thing she wanted to do, but Candace had an image to uphold.

She was going to be late for the Sigma Rho Spring Fling—the last big party before the end-of-year crunch. Studying for finals, capstones and senior projects, stress and more stress, and—for some of them—graduation.

The mild April weather was perfect for an outdoor gathering. Candace had led the sorority’s social-events committee with setup, and they’d included heat lamps along the perimeter. The Mountain View dorm—which housed all campus sororities, each with their own wing—was on the northeast corner of campus

For this next entry in the Twelve Days of Romance blog tour, we're looking at a book that features both a second chance romance *and* a love angle (there are no love triangles among same-sexuality people)... with a dead man. For this blog tour, we're looking at His To Defend by Sharon C Cooper.

A Love Triangle With A Dead Man. This is a second chance romance *and* a love triangle - except the third point, the best friend / ex-husband

To kick off this Twelve Days of Romance blog tour series, we're looking at a shorter tale that wasn't quite what I expected - but was a solidly fun tale for what it actually was. For this blog tour, we're looking at Stranded With Her Greek Husband by Michelle Smart.

Not What I Was Expecting, Still Good In Its Way. With the title and the description here, I was expecting some kind of boat emergency that left our leading lady stranded on an island where her husband happened to be. Instead, we get the husband essentially imprisoning the wife against her will - and openly bragging about it. I normally try to go wherever for whateve

This week, for the first time since I began this book blog, we're looking at a book that I actually had a hand in bringing forth. This week we're looking at In An Office by Janey Klunder.

I met Janey nearly a decade ago when I was working a project I called Autism Through Our Eyes - a project that lives on in the name I use when publishing Janey's books, Autism Through Our Eyes Publishing. This is the fifth book we've published together, with Janey writing them and doing most of her own marketing, and me helping with getting them actually into Amazon (sometimes even in print form), including actually writing the official description of the book, and doing at least some marketing/ publicity myself.

And this was the first book where I actually included a Publisher's Note at the end, pointing out just how real this book is for so very many Autistics and providing a "Recommended Reading" section of a few books I've reviewed on this very site regarding Autism from a more nonfiction perspective, including Neurotribes by Steven Silberman, We're Not Broken by Eric Garcia,

For this blog tour, we're looking at a warm gingerbread cookie of a Christmas romance tale that someone thought needed some cilantro on it. For this blog tale, we're looking at Christmas In Rose Bend by Naima Simone.

Christmas Romance With A Touch Of Preachy Politics. This is *mostly* a Hallmarkie Christmas Romance that would *mostly* fit right in with a typical Hallmark Christmas Movie. So for fans of that kind of story, you're going to love this one. That noted, it does have a moment or two of getting particularly preachy about the author's politics here - enough that when reading through that section (an extended one early and a few other comments here and there) there was debate within my head about a star deduction. But ultimately even the preachiness was more spice than actual substance here - kind of a cilantro. Some will LOVE it. Others will HATE it. No matter which side you're on here, know that it truly doesn't form the actual meat of the tale here, and the rest of the tale really is a solid story of the type described above. This is marketed as Book 2 in a series, and honestly with the various backstories provided it almost seems like it could be even deeper than that - and yet the story here still works as a standalone by itself. Ultimately a solid Christmas Romance, and very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt followed by the

This week we're looking at a solid family drama that has some elements of mystery and even a few of suspense - but is completely grounded within the family drama. This week we're looking at Why She Left by Leah Mercer.

Solid Family Drama With Some Mystery. Re

For this blog tour, we're looking at a more-realistic-than-Hallmark Christmas Romance. For this blog tour, we're looking at The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan.

Here's what I had to say on Goodreads:

Would It Be Christmas Without Family Drama? This book has a LOT going on, and yes, it does in fact more blend the women's fiction and romance genres than play strictly by either one. (Though it *does* meet all of the "qualifications" for either even according to the strictest interpretations of the "rules" I am aware of, for those that care about such trivialities.) Your *basic* plot threads are these: married couple with problems working to reconcile, forced proximity romance, best friend issues between the two women in the aforementioned couples, long lost family/ traumatic secrets. Which in 350 ish pages is a LOT to work through, but Morgan does it well and never drags too much at any given point. The Lapland scenery is described beautifully (at least as I've seen the region on such shows as The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals on Netflix, this American has never been further North than New Hampshire), and the cold and isolation provide some amazing (and "traditionally" - for northerners) "Christmassy" vibes. This

For this blog tour, we're looking at a book that I actually reviewed a month ago, in a weird situation I'll detail at the end of this post. For this blog tour, we're looking at The Memory Bones by B.R. Spangler.

Here's a recap of the Goodreads review:

A Finale. Without going *too* deep into spoiler territory, by the end of this book the long-running mythos surrounding Detective White ac

For this blog tour, we're looking at an entertaining romance featuring a bickering billionaire and an ice-queen iceskater. For this blog tour, we're looking at The Christmas She Married The Playboy by Louise Fuller.

Entertaining Royalty/ Commoner Romance. He's a dude that was burned years ago and reacts by pretty well sleeping with anything that moves. She's a figure skater with a troubled past. When they happen to see each other in the airport where they both happen to be going to the same hotel... y'all, this is a Harlequin Romance. You know how this goes.

Solid Series Starter. This is the beginning of a new series by two authors combining under a single pen name, and while I had only read one