Category: Blog Tour

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#BlogTour: The Last Of The Seven by Steven Hartov

For this blog tour we’re looking at a WWII action tale built more for guys, without the emotional impact of similar works in women’s fiction. For this blog tour we’re looking at The Last Of The Seven by Steven Hartov.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Slow Start Builds To Action-Packed Finish. This book is one that starts with an intriguing mystery – a man shows up at a British post in the northern Africa desert during the Africa Campaign of WWII wearing a German uniform and claiming to be British – and builds a bit slowly and at times seemingly disjointedly – random flashbacks to this soldier’s memories from Jewish persecutions in Berlin – to a bit of a romance middle and then an action packed final mission reminiscent of most any WWII movie. Overall a solid war tale for guys, with a lot of the emotional punch of women’s fiction WWII historical fiction largely removed in favor of showing people actively being blown apart or shredded by machine gun fire. Recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher’s details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Last Of The Seven by Steven Hartov”

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#BlogTour: The Secret Keeper by Siobahn Curham

For this blog tour we’re looking at a tense and visceral spy thriller set in an oft-overlooked area of WWII. For this blog tour we’re looking at The Secret Keeper by Siobahn Curham.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Tense Spy Thriller In Oft-Overlooked Area Of WWII. This tale was exactly what I said in the title of the review – a tense spy thriller based in the OSS days of the CIA during WWII and apparently based on the experiences of a real-life actress-turned-spy. Here, we see theoretically neutral Spain (under dictator Francisco Franco, in the early part of his reign) as a hotbed for spying by both sides and the tense and sometimes deadly stakes that arise from any spy story. But we also get a much more intimate and personal look at issues involving trust and betrayal, and throughout the text the reader is kept wondering as much as the protagonist is: just who *can* you trust? One of the more interesting features of this particular tale was the series of letters the protagonist’s grandmother writes – knowing she’ll never be able to send them – describing her ordeals in Paris as France falls and during the war. Overall an excellent tale well told, and very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details”, including the book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Secret Keeper by Siobahn Curham”

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#BlogTour: The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman

For this blog tour we’re looking at . For this blog tour we’re looking at The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Beautiful Story With A Near Frequency Endgame. Yet again, Ackerman manages to craft a beautiful Hawaiian tale set partially in WWII and partially a couple of decades later. Both timelines worked quite well for me, and both were equally compelling with the high stakes and secrecy of codebreaking during the war and the mystery surrounding the opening of a new hotel during the early Vietnam era. Quite possibly the thing I liked the best was the endgame that came about with a nearly Frequency level abruptness, where the tale is moving along and *bam* – endgame. Overall a truly beautiful and wonderfully interconnected tale. 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: The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman”

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#BlogTour: Great Sexpectations by Kristin Bailey

For this blog tour we’re looking at a hilarious and sex-positive romantic comedy. For this blog tour we’re looking at Great Sexpectations by Kristin Bailey.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Sex Positive Romantic Comedy. This is a fun, *just* under 300 page romantic comedy where much of the both the sex positivity and the comedy comes from the fact that our heroine runs a sex toy company and is the daughter of porn stars. So if that kind of humor isn’t your thing… this likely isn’t the book for you. For the rest of us though, it was freaking hilarious, literal laugh-out-loud-even-while-your-sister-in-law-is-sleeping-in-the-next-room-as-you=read-the-book-overnight hilarious. But it also has a degree of angst the way so many romances, and particularly those featuring Millenials, must. Truly just a fun book that never gets *too* deep but hits most every note romance readers have come to expect. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Great Sexpectations by Kristin Bailey”

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#BlogTour: Home To Brambleberry Creek by Elizabeth Bromke

For this blog tour we’re looking at a book that is a more serious approach than its author’s normal tales and is also a series starter – though this isn’t always obvious in the tale. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Home To Brambleberry Creek by Elizabeth Bromke.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Serious (And Not Always Obvious) Series Starter. In this first book with a new publisher, Bromke does something she’d rarely done in my experience reading her books over the past year or so – approached 300 pages. Most of her other books I’d read hit between 150 and 200 or so pages, and here the extra length works to allow fair amount of extra drama and detail that Bromke normally manages to tell a strong tale while excluding. Yet she adds it in such a way that it is never obvious, and that is evidence of solid storytelling abilities. While the witty comedy that she normally brings is noticeably absent here, there are still some fun times to be had – but the overall tone of this particular tale is truly much more serious than previous efforts I’ve read from her. Still, in the end it does in fact become clear that there are at least two more tales to tell in this world, and this reader for one is looking forward to coming back to this world and seeing where Bromke takes us. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Home To Brambleberry Creek by Elizabeth Bromke”

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#BlogTour: The Lost And Found Girl by Maisey Yates

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a remarkable tale ostensibly about how four adult sister get along with each other that becomes so much more. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Lost And Found Girl by Maisey Yates.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Slow Start That All Comes Together For A Dramatic Finish. This is a story of how four sisters – three biological + one adopted – interact as adults when the adopted sister comes back to the town that saw her as their “miracle” from the moment she was found 22 yrs ago. It features romance angles for each of the sisters, though some of the guys are more well fleshed out than others – but each has at least a moment or two to shine. In particular there is the town pariah, accused of a murder a year before the adopted sister was found but for which he has maintained his innocence all along. Can an angel and a devil coexist? What if they may be more linked than anyone – except the two people in town harboring a deep, dark secret that *no one* is aware of – may realize? And what if the town *needs* that secret to be unearthed, whether they realize it or not? Truly an utterly fascinating book, one that no matter how slow you feel the start is you absolutely need to hang in there through the finish. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Lost And Found Girl by Maisey Yates”

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Featured New Release Of The Week: This Place Of Wonder by Barbara O’Neal

For the fifth straight year, Barbara O’Neal‘s annual release is the Featured New Release on this blog. This tradition began in 2018 with The Art Of Inheriting Secrets, which was the very *first* FNR post, and continues this week with This Place Of Wonder.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

O’Neal Delivers Yet Another Solid Family Drama. O’Neal’s solid 2018 book The Art of Inheriting Secrets was the very first Featured New Release on my blog, and I have kept up that tradition every year since – and 2022 is no exception there. Her 2019 book When We Believed In Mermaids continues to be one of my most “liked” reviews on Goodreads to this day, and continues to garner attention seemingly every few days.

All that to note that I have a rich if recent history with O’Neal’s work, and this is yet another truly solid and sensual tale of family secrets and drama. In this particular work, we get four women struggling with the sudden death of one man that all were connected to – his ex-wife and mom of his step-daughter and step-mother to his daughter, his most recent girlfriend, and both of the daughters in question, though we only “hear” from the two elder ladies + his biological daughter.

While this tale “hits” a few solid blows emotionally, it doesn’t really land the haymakers that Mermaids did – this is more in line with most of her other books, including Secrets, on that level. This noted, it is ultimately a very satisfying tale that has several great moments not always seen in novels, including the daughter’s actions in the prologue and the elder ladies’ blend of pragmatism and romanticism. Several issues from alcoholism to rape to child abuse are touched on, so be prepared for that if one needs to be. Overall truly an excellent tale, and yet another wonderful read from O’Neal. Very much recommended.

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#BlogTour: The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an excellent book where I found some of the secondary characters even more intriguing than our leads. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Evil Isn’t Born. It Is Created. Of all the WWII historical fiction books I’ve read over the years – and at this point, it is a decent number – this is the first to highlight one particular scenario that I’m almost positive has impacted my own life. Specifically, Rimmer does a phenomenal job with one of her characters fighting in WWII and having a particular experience that I’m nearly positive (as much as I can be, given the dearth of records) my own grandfather had a very similar one. She shows how, particularly if the soldier perhaps had already endured some level of trauma, this particular experience (and I’m being intentionally vague to avoid spoilers) could truly push them off the deep end and take them from troubled-yet-manageable to outright evil. But even there, Rimmer takes care to show that there is still hope that the person can be redeemed. Similarly, she also uses another character in a similar mold, but at a much different age and on the opposite side of the war. Rimmer does a great job with making the story hit notes not always seen in this genre, and in the process manages to humanize many types of people that are all too often dehumanized by various groups today. Truly an astounding work, and 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: The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer”

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#BlogTour: Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a fun and witty romantic comedy with heart – where the author seemingly read my review of her last book and corrected the issue in this one. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley.

Here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

The One Where The Author Seemingly Read My Review Of Her Last Book. I’ve now had the pleasure of working both of Bromley’s books as blog tours, and this book shows her progression as a writer and storyteller – she is able to make a book that is just as fun and witty as her debut, but add in some serious angst and drama to boot, and in turn morph this romantic comedy into a blend of romantic comedy and women’s fiction. But the most interesting facet of this book, for this reader looking back at his review of her last one, is my commentary on an unnecessary feature in that first book’s epilogue… which gets mirrored (to a degree) in this book’s epilogue. It seems that at minimum, Bromley was aware that this issue existed, and actively chose to go a different (and refreshing) route in the epilogue here. Oh, and this is one of those romantic comedies where the dog dang near steals every scene he is in, if not the entire dang show. Truly a fun and witty tale with heart, and very much recommended.

Below the jump, an excerpt followed by the “publisher details” – description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley”

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#BlogTour: The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an atypical tale of WWI that pulls no punches. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham.

Atypical Tale That Pulls No Punches. While the WWI period isn’t *quite* as common in historical fiction tales as WWII, it is hardly the rarity another reviewer claims it to be – though this *is*, in fact, the first tale I’ve come across to detail life on the ships of the White Star Line in the years after the Titanic catastrophe. As such, Eastham does a great job here of showing life aboard the Olympic during its last cruise before Germany declared war on Great Britain – and the moment those on the ship first learned of that fact. We also see a vivid description of life along the coasts of Scotland and its great fisherman… and the women who toiled so hard to process all the fish that were caught. Eastham then dives into The Great War itself… as seen through the eyes of these nurses (mostly) as they serve on the HMHS Britannic. Eastham actually uses the moment of its sinking as a prologue, before eventually getting back to that moment deep in the book (around the 70% mark, IIRC). Eastham then continues to follow these two nurses through the end of the war, and it is here in particular that she shows the bravery to do things few authors do. Overall a solid tale of its type, one fans of the genre will love and which even those new to the genre will get a good example of this type of tale. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, author links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Sea Nurses by Kate Eastham”