#BlogTour: Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid series continuation that still isn’t afraid to touch issues many in its genre will never get near. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Solid Series Continuation, Maybe Slightly More For the Zoomer Set. As is my custom, I went in and read a lot of reviews of this book *after* I read the book myself. In a bit of an unusual move, I *also* actually went back and read my own review of Book 1 of this series – which I read roughly 200+ book ago. Here, La Rosa continues a lot of the things that made the first book so good – she isn’t afraid to shy away from far deeper issues, but also tries to make sure that they don’t overly weigh down the book (and for the most part, succeeds quite well there). She also uses various social media platforms – in this particular case, primarily current “darling” TikTok – to further the overall story, both in the actual plot and in the comments and DMs related to the various videos. Yes, that means that at some point this book will be quite dated – but it also means that it will serve as a bit of a time capsule for what this particular era really was like. So again, it actually works quite a bit better than its detractors in other reviews claim.

Now, about the Zoomer bit – our female lead is openly bisexual, her former partner is a lesbian, and there are a fairly good mix of sexualities, genders, and most other demographics present in this book. La Rosa actually used them quite well within the world she created here, though yes, depending on where you, the reader of my review lives and the life you lead… maybe this isn’t as expressive of the world you’ve created for yourself. Further, I know nothing of La Rosa beyond her pen name and her general writing style. So while others may want to critique her on not being “real” or not being “own voices” or “authentic” or some other bullshit… I truly don’t give a flying fuck about an author’s demographics, and the story La Rosa has crafted here is genuinely *good*. So complaining about those things, to me, speaks more about your own issues than La Rosa’s storytelling abilities.

Finally, the substance abuse angle. Yes, it is prominent. And yes, it likely doesn’t follow the path of real-world recommendations, particularly in the last chapters of the book when it comes to a head. There again, the dominant real-world recommendations aren’t the only ones, and there are many who have real-world problems with the real-world dominant recommendations. So the fact that La Rosa chose to craft a *fictional romance tale* the way she did… doesn’t bother me as much. And to be clear, I say this as the grandson of an alcoholic and the cousin of more than a few drug abusers, in addition to all the other areas of my life I’ve worked with those affected by these choices. But there again, if this is a topic that is going to be particularly sensitive to you, it says more about you and your issues than it does about La Rosa’s storytelling when you complain about these things in your review. So if you, the reader of my review, thinks this issue will be a problem for you… maybe spare yourself the hurt and La Rosa the 1* and just skip this book? No harm, no foul, and I wish you the best in your own struggles.

Overall, truly a solid sequel, and I’m truly looking forward to seeing how this series progresses. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid Hallmarkie Christmas tale, perhaps with a not-as-typical feature. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Wishing Bridge by Viola Shipman.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Solid Hallmarkie Christmas Movie. The main way you’re at least somewhat positive Viola Shipman wrote this particular one is that it is set in her (his) beloved Michigan. Beyond that, this is a fairly standard and typical Hallmarkie type Christmas tale of the young girl who loves the magic of Christmas growing up into a successful business tycoon before coming back to her small hometown for Christmas. Indeed, probably the one thing that makes this one at least a *touch* different is that our heroine is *also* (theoretically) the villain…

Filled with the wonders of Christmas as portrayed in the US 1970s ish, complete with department stores sending out toy catalogs at Christmas and the ubiquitous Boris Karloff How The Grinch Stole Christmas, this is yet another tale that so many fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will absolutely love – and those who despise those types of tales will most likely not like much at all. And yes, there is a loveable and old dog.

Overall a solid tale of its type, if not a particularly standout “Viola Shipman” novel. Still, very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book excerpt, book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Shelter by G.N. Smith

For this blog tour, we’re looking at yet another Scottish isolated environment mystery where at least the MC and author acknowledge the sheer improbability. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Shelter by G.N. Smith.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Not Again. HOW? At Least The MC And Author Acknowledge It. Third book in the series – and the third murder within a few weeks that our MC, police officer Macleish, finds herself locked in an enclosed environment with the bodies piling up and a murderer prowling about – but at least there is a quick line early where the MC (and thus, the author) acknowledge that this just doesn’t happen to people normally. Which then allows the reader to settle in and just enjoy the book. For the established formula, this one again works well – though perhaps with even more pure speculation and even less actual evidence throughout this particular tale, due to the exact nature of this particular “locked room” isolated environment. (Here, a blizzard in the Scottish Highlands, vs the first book’s flood-blocked valley and the second book’s storm-blocked island.) Solid overall character work again with the MC though, bringing in the best friend for this particular event and then having some solid progression on the overall mythos of the series in the finale. Which leads to lingering questions of if this series will continue and if it will continue with the existing formula…

Overall a solid book of its type, and one that is well worth the read. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Cana

For this blog tour, we’re looking at the spicy second entry in Natalie Cana’s series of family, friends,… and a meddling grandfather. For this blog tour, we’re looking at A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Cana.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Slow Burn Second Chance Romance With Quite A Bit Of Political Commentary Baked In. Straight up, just from the nature of the work of our female MC in particular, this book has *quite* a bit of left leaning politics baked in. That noted, if you can accept that this is simply this character… it actually isn’t overly preachy. I’ve certainly seen *far* more preachy books given similar characters in other works by other authors before, so, truly – don’t let that scare you too much, just know your eyes may roll a bit if you disagree with the politics being espoused.

Beyond that though, this really is a solid and remarkably deep second chance/ single dad romance showing the power of love… and meddling grandfathers and saccharine sweet young daughters. But it *is* a *very* slow burn, almost with more focus on everything *other* than the romance itself. Like, our MCs met in HS and had this instant chemistry, broke it off, went their separate ways, and yet the flame never died… so it is never really *shown* in the book so much as *told* that it is there (with the *occasional* view of it, often seeming more to remind the reader that this *is* intended to be a romance novel).

And yet… the story really does work quite well. There’s nothing definitively *wrong* with it, and the world created here is remarkably “real” and one of the more fully fleshed out communities I’ve encountered in all of my reading. It just may not be *exactly* the kind of book various readers are looking for for various reasons. Including pissing off the sweet/ clean crowd with its in-the-room sex scenes.

Still, ultimately this *was* a really good book. I *am* looking forward to Book 3. And this *is* very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book excerpt, book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Royal Daughter by Soraya Lane

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Riyal Daughter by Soraya Lane.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Strong Dual Timeline Emotional Rollercoaster. This is a book about finding yourself and doing your own thing – even when everything and everyone is against you. It is about finding family you never knew you had. It is about unravelling decades old family secrets… that you didn’t even know were secrets. It is about falling in love, a few times over – at least once in each timeline, + falling in love with a new land.

As Lane has done throughout this series, she yet again shows remarkable skill in bringing together the two halves of her former writing – the romance + the historical fiction – in a genuinely compelling, but only very loosely coupled, series. Indeed, while other *groups* of authors have, over the last several years in particular, come together with similar loosely coupled “series” where each can be read as standalone, all tied together by some theme or some macguffin… with this series, Lane manages to create a much more cohesive single author version of the gimmick that still maintains the “can be read as standalone” allure of this gimmick. In doing so, in many ways she changes it from a marketing gimmick to her own (so far unique, at least in my own reading) almost genre, really. Because this tale, and this series, isn’t *just* romance, though it fills every (mostly “clean” / “sweet” / “behind closed doors”) requirement for the romance genre that I’m aware of, even by its more strict interpretations. This book isn’t *just* historical fiction, though again, it fills every requirement I’m aware of for the genre (which are much looser generally than romance). And while Lane truly excels in both spaces – and I think I’ve said this next bit before in other reviews of this series – she truly comes to her full ultimate power in combining them so effectively and beautifully.

And speaking of effective and beautiful… be forewarned here: there are sections near the end where the room gets extremely dusty all of a sudden. To the point that some readers may cry out for an Audible version of the tale, as it may genuinely become impossible to read the words on the page with your eyeballs due to the amount of dust in the room. (To be clear… men don’t cry. But sometimes, sometimes rooms get extremely dusty – and it may *look* like we’re crying or even bawling as we try to keep the dust out of our eyes. 😉 )

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Flood by G.N. Smith and The Island by G.N. Smith

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an atmospheric detective novel with BookAnon level connections to some of the most popular detective stories of the last century. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Flood by G.N. Smith. In a first for this blog, we’re also looking at a second book in the same tour – the sequel to The Flood, The Island.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites about The Flood (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Atmospheric Novel Can Get Repetitive At Times. This is one of those detective novels – not really a police procedural, since it is almost a “locked room” scenario (with the “room” in question being a sequestered area of a small town) with only a single detective available – where the setting seems as much as character as any of the actual human characters. Smith manages to put the reader right in the titular flood and the fight for survival from both the elements and the murderer that only our detective knows lurks in their midst. And yet, in repeating the detective’s personal motivation *so* often… Smith does in fact get repetitive enough to at least warrant mentioning in the review. Indeed, it becomes as tedious at times as seeming *every* Batman movie with a new actor portraying the character having to do some version of Thomas and Martha Wayne’s murders, or every new Spiderman movie having to do some version of Uncle Ben’s murder. With those franchises… guys, we get it. We already know these characters. With this particular book… the first mention was solid character development. Maybe a reference back here or there could have been good. But to be hit with a near word for word repetition of the motivation *so many times*… the editing could have been better here, at minimum. Beyond this though, the story itself was quite strong indeed, even within the “locked room” type space, and the overall plotting was quite solid, with the tension ratcheting up at a fairly steady pace and the reveals coming at enough of a clip to keep the pages turning. Overall a strong series starter and I’m interested to see where we’re going here. Very much recommended.

And here’s what I had to say on the review sites about The Island (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

And So It Becomes Clear This Is An Open World “Locked Room” Series. This book largely follows the format of the first one in the series, and happens just a few days later in the world timeline. In other words, while still dealing with the repercussions – good and bad – from the first book, our detective is now thrust into *another* mystery where she is in an essentially “locked room” open world environment – she has quite a bit of area to work in (as do our perpetrators), but it is an area isolated off from the “main” world. This comes to bear in good and bad ways, though at least in this entry another variant on the theme is introduced… and again, the moves and countermoves this particular variant introduce open up their own possibilities. The main problems from the first book – the repetitive repetition of the detective’s motives – are largely still in play here, though this time at least a few of the repetitions give us a bit more of the backstory for the motivations, and thus a reprieve from the near copy/paste verbatim repetitions that seemed so prevalent in Book 1. But… the things that made the first book so good, specifically how the scenery itself very nearly becomes its own actual character as it is described so vividly and is so intrinsic to the story here, are *also* still in play here. Indeed, with the clear theme now established for this series, perhaps that is one of the more intriguing aspects going forward…. how can Smith manage to keep putting this same person in these same situations and keep them different enough? Based on this book, I for one am looking forward to seeing how he pulls it off again. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at another Hallmarkie type Christmas tale done exactly as fans of such tales expect. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Solid Sarah Morgan Christmas Tale. For long time fans of Morgan or those who have never heard of her, know that this particular tale is *exactly* the type of tale she always tells for Christmas, at least in my few years’ experience reading her books. In this particular case, it is long time friends – each with their own secrets they’ve been hiding from the others – reuniting for Christmas at a small town bed and breakfast… that happens to have some needs of its own that these three friends just so happen to be particularly well suited to help with. You’ve got the Hallmarkie charm and at least one romance thread, you’ve got the female friends bonding even more, you’ve got the small Northeastern town at Christmas, complete with all the decorations and snow. You’ve got the slight flair for the dramatic, just to spice things up a bit. And overall you’ve got the great “cozy-read-by-the-fireplace-in-the-evening” feel that Morgan so often brings to the table so well. Again, nothing truly earth shattering here… but sometimes “not earth shattering” is exactly the kind of book you’re looking for. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Fun, Informative Without Being Preachy – But *IS* Focused On Advocacy As Much As Romance. This is one of those books that works its advocacy into its story in a compelling way that doesn’t come across as preachy at all – but *can* feel like a bit of a “Sponsored By” kind of a tale. The issues it discusses, including both chronic pain and medical (and even recreational) marijuana use are very real, and in these areas the book is quite informative indeed – hell, I openly admit I learned quite a bit more about marijuana from reading this book than I ever had in 40+ yrs prior.

But that gets to a bit of a heart of the dilemma – I can now tell you as much about the intricacies of how marijuana actually works as I can about the specifics of this ostensibly enemies to lovers romance tale. I can tell you as much about how chronic pain can completely take over a person’s life as I can about the actual character who has it and her budding relationship throughout this tale. Indeed, the actual “conflict” here is largely over just about 50% into the tale, with another blowup a bit later. But it is this section in between in particular where the book is at the height of its paid promotional ad feeling, without ever naming specific real world organizations. (This feeling isn’t helped by the fact that several of these elements come back to bear in the wildly extended epilogue – a short (ish) stinger on the end of the story, this epilogue is not. Indeed, it reads and feels more like just another final chapter rather than a true epilogue.)

Overall, there is nothing technically wrong here, so no star deduction. And the tale itself, outside of the advocacy, really is sweet and charming and most everything anyone really wants in a romance with a few comedic moments. But the advocacy, while never actually preachy, is still such a prevalent force here that it does in fact take away from the ultimate feel of the romance. Still, quite entertaining and truly informative. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: It All Comes Back To You by Melissa Wiesner

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a strong atypical romance. For this blog tour, we’re looking at It All Comes Back To You by Melissa Wiesner.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Strong Long-Form Romance. You know those romance tales where someone meets on a plane on their way to their (separate) vacations that happen to be in the same place, fall in love on the plane, and are damn near married by the time they get on the plane back home?

Yeah… this isn’t that. At all. This one takes more like 15 years, and has a LOT more growth of both of our lead characters between the initial meeting and the proposal. There is a strong coming of age element here, there is a strong sense of destiny here, but more importantly and one of the strongest features of the tale is that there is a strong sense of “[S]he’s *right there*! Get your FUCKING act together!”… except that it truly does take both of them the entire time frame to really get to the point where they *can* be together.

And you know what… sometimes… sometimes that happens in real life too. And those real life stories deserve to see their fictional counterparts too. So I’m glad Wiesner wrote this one, so that these types of stories *can* get out more. Because let’s face it, these kinds of romances aren’t exactly the typical ones in the genre – and that makes them all the more refreshing and interesting when you *do* find one like this. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BlogTour: Talulah’s Back In Town by Brenda Novak

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a fairly standard Hallmarkie type romance. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Talulah’s Back In Town by Brenda Novak.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Goodreads, Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype):

Fairly Standard Hallmarkie Type Romance – And There Is Absolutely Nothing Wrong With That. This is one of those fairly standard Hallmarkie type romances that meets up with a touch of Runaway Bride with real-world type complications, particularly in a small town. There is even a minor *hint* of danger (without ever really feeling too suspenseful, more as a touch of “spice” than anything). In other words, those – not even that arguably *millions* – who read romance books and/ or watch Hallmark movies as pure, mostly light, escapism… hey, this book is *exactly* in that vein and thus will be *exactly* what you’re looking for. For those who don’t like such tales… well, again, this *is* that type of tale. So don’t leave a 1* review because it didn’t exactly break any new ground or because it had some sex scenes and cursing and such. I’ve already told you pretty well *exactly* what to expect here, so the fact that you’re reading this particular review means that you can’t say *no one* warned you. I have! 😀

But again, for the millions – *and millions!* (to channel a bit of The Rock) – who want some romantic type drama complete with all that this entails… welcome home. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Talulah’s Back In Town by Brenda Novak”