Category: Blog Tour

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#BlogTour: The Spanish Daughter by Soraya Lane

For this blog tour, we’re looking at yet another solid entry in this (loose) series. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Spanish Daughter by Soraya Lane.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Yet Another Solid Entry In (Loose) Series. This is one of the more standalone entries in this loose series, where all the books share a common starting point – a group of women meeting with a lawyer after boxes are discovered with their family’s names on them when a London building is being torn down, then each woman beginning her own path to discover the significance of her box. While some of the previous stories have more of the story of how those boxes came to be in them and are thus more essential to read in order, this one was one of the more complete standalones that could very well be read immediately after the series introduction and still make 100% sense with virtually no spoilers for the rest of the series at all.

So for those considering this series, this could actually serve as a decent starting point, if you don’t want to start at the beginning/ if this book happens to be on sale when you come across it.

The story itself is the same solid blend of both sides of Soraya Lane (romance) and Soraya M. Lane (historical fiction) tales, while this one perhaps leans a touch more to the romance side given the lack of war dangers given the setting (and also the similarities even in the historical side to some of Lane’s cowboy romances as Soraya Lane in particular). In other words, yet again, if you’ve never read Lane’s work and happen to come into this book completely blind, this really is a solid introduction to her overall style of storytelling in both halves of her writing career.

Ultimately this was likely a much needed break – for both Lane herself and for readers – as I very much suspect that the most difficult, most harrowing book of this series is still to come… the actual origins of Hope’s House and the mysteries therein, which have been hinted at in the prior books to more or less degrees, though it is still unclear exactly how many stories Lane has planned before executing on that particular tale, which I expect to be the finale of this series. (But who knows, I could be dead wrong about that. Not claiming any form of knowledge of Lane’s plans, to be crystal clear.)

Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
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#BlogTour: Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid tale of friendship and love… that has nothing at all to do with its title. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Zero Beach Vibes. Solid Mallery Tale. I normally get a bit into the review before explaining star deductions, but in this particular case the reason for the star deduction is the most critical thing you need to know about this book:

It has *ZERO* beach vibes. Yes, it takes place in Malibu – largely across the street from the beach, at best – but the setting here is largely completely irrelevant to literally anything about the story. Mallery could have changed the location names to almost literally “Anywhere” and the overall story would read and feel *exactly* the same.

Now, with that said, this actually *is* a solid tale of its type = in other words, a women’s fiction/ romance blend that Mallery is so prolific with and does so well. If you’ve never read her works, this is a decent one to begin with – not her worst in my own experiences with her books, yet also not her best, but solidly indicative of her overall style of writing and storytelling.

So if you’re ready for a drama filled tale of two strangers who happen to become friends and who happen to develop an uncommon cross bond with each others’ siblings… this tale will work well for you.

Note that the spice level here is somewhere north of a warm glass of milk yet south of habanero – again, fairly typical of Mallery’s overall style. So those that prefer the warm glass of milk or those that prefer ghost peppers… either direction there, you’re likely going to be left a touch disappointed. Yet the overall tale, outside the bedroom, is actually quite strong in its own right, and you really should give it a chance anyway – there will most likely be other things about this tale that you truly enjoy, and maybe you can glass over the bedroom stuff.

Overall a solid, well told tale… that simply has absolutely *zero* to do with anything remotely associated with its title.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
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#BlogTour: Gone In The Storm by B.R. Spangler

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a murder mystery with one of the creepier killers I’ve read of late. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Gone In The Storm by B.R. Spangler.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com) and YouTube:

Spangler Returns With One Of His Creepiest Killers Yet. Seriously, while Spangler has had some pretty creepy killers in this series in particular, this one is certainly near the top of that particular chart – and we see this from essentially the opening words of this text.

Maintaining the series cohesion, this tale is nearly as much about Detective Casey White’s personal and professional struggles as it is the “freak of the week” murder mystery, so even as White finds herself going up against one of her toughest investigations to date… she’s also encountering a lot of things that make her question a lot of things, and these ultimately could prove quite interesting indeed to the overall series – or even perhaps an ending at some point in the near-ish future?

For me, this particular tale, with its falsely accused high school student in particular, took a bit of a more personal tack, as I too ran into a somewhat similar situation at that age, so I know all too well what that feels like. In my personal case, while it wound up leading me to leave that school, it also wound up giving me everything I now have thanks to a very crucial several month period there between Fall 1998 and Summer 1999. I’ll simply note that I have – still, all these years later – a very nicely written apology letter from one of the leaders of those falsely accusing me back then and that because of all of that, I met my high school mentor, Tommy Harris, then of the now long defunct Bartow Academy in Cartersville, Georgia – and it was Mr. Harris who became so instrumental in helping shape truly the rest of my life. So while we don’t know how this situation affects the rest of this particular character’s life in the world Spangler has created here, I can state with confidence that such situations *can* wind up ultimately benefitting the falsely accused – even though the hell they go through in the short term can be quite immense, and Spangler does a great job of showing this.

Read this book because it really is an excellently written creepy murder mystery set, as always with this series, in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. And hey, maybe something in it will resonate with you too. Either way, make sure to leave a review once you’ve read it.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Gone In The Storm by B.R. Spangler”

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#BlogTour: The Younger Woman by Cate Ray

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Younger Woman by Cate Ray.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com) and YouTube:

Editing Miscues Mar Otherwise Solid Suspense Story. The story told in this book really is quite solid. It may not work for *everyone*, but I found it enjoyable and it seemed to fit well enough with the characters as portrayed that nothing was so far “out there” as to be too distracting. There are several twists and turns and while I realized the link possibly before the author meant me to – or possibly much later than Ray meant me to, due to the aforementioned editing miscues – it wasn’t anything that harmed my enjoyment of the tale. More of a “I know something you don’t know” to hold over the main character until she finally realizes it herself.

But the editing miscues. Ugh. Not enough to deduct a star over, because it isn’t really an “objective-ish” issue, but it absolutely marred my enjoyment of reading this book. Specifically, the way the timeline bounced around with little warning and with even less differentiation. Nothing about the way the text was formatted or the way these jumps into the past were written gave any indication beyond the “x time earlier” at the beginning of the chapter, and while that can (and has) worked in other books… for some reason it just *didn’t* here, and I’m not overly sure why. It could absolutely be a “me” thing though, so read this book and see for yourself – and write your own review so I can have a more complete picture of whether or not this *is* a “me” thing. 🙂

Ultimately a solid story that shows promise for this author’s continued career, but I do hope the editing issues can be resolved (or shown at least to be just a “me” problem).

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Younger Woman by Cate Ray”

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#BlogTour: Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid thriller that uses multi-perspectives from a rare type of character class to tell an excellent tale. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com) and YouTube:

Not For Everyone. Read It Anyway. This is one of those tales that with its focus on a distinct type of character – namely, elderly residents of a care home – and with its use of multiple perspectives to tell its tale won’t be something everyone likes. Well, not everyone likes [insert your personal favorite book here], so read this one anyway and maybe see some things from perspectives you might never have considered before. To me, Glass creates her characters well – yes, they are all old and have some stereotypical elder shenanigans, but they’re also all truly complex characters with their own secrets and motivations and connections, and this winds up working well to drive the narrative, particularly as we get deeper into the overall story here.

Ultimately a satisfying thriller that sits comfortably within its genre as far as overall story goes, and with the particular characters employed helps it to stand out a bit from the literal millions of other books within this general space. If you enjoy thrillers at all, this is absolutely one you should check out. And even if you don’t generally enjoy thrillers, this is still an interesting one to try out to see if you may be more open to the genre than you thought.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass”

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#BlogTour: The Greatest Lie Of All by Jillian Cantor

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Greatest Lie Of All by Jillian Cantor.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Never Meet Your Heroes – You Might Find Out More Than You Wanted To. Seriously, this book takes that age old saying to heart in its basic premise… and then spins it on its head in the actual execution of the tale at hand and in showing all that has transpired in these characters’ lives.

This is one of those inventive enough tales that it seems almost completely implausible… and yet real enough that it feels all too real at the same damn time. Surely, *nothing* could be *this* convoluted, right? (Says the guy whose mother in law is best friends with her husband’s ex-wife and whose grandparents lived together on the same property – at times even in the same house – even after they divorced and remarried.) In other words… yes, life can get quite messy at times, and this book does a tremendous job of showing this to great dramatic effect.

This is one of those women’s fiction/ romance genre benders that actually has the *cajones* to walk right up to the RWA/ RNA gatekeepers and say “Really? You’re going to try to tell me that *this* isn’t a romance for the ages?”. There is even at least one element of this book that will certainly, if the book reaches enough people, prove quite controversial indeed, and while I know *exactly* what those arguments will be and who (in general) will be making them, revealing even the specific nature of that particular debate pretty well spoils what this element is, so this is about as close as I can get to noting its presence without spoiling it.

Releasing late in the year when Yankees are seemingly already snowed under and largely inside their might-as-well-be Igloos for the winter and thus needing much reading material (at least that is how this Southern boy who has never lived any further north than the Atlanta exurbs tends to look at these things), this is going to be one of those great ones to read while huddled up trying to stay warm. Yes, even for us Floridians in our heaviest Arctic gear getting ready for temperatures that begin with “5” for a few days.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Greatest Lie Of All by Jillian Cantor”

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#BlogTour: The Maui Effect by Sara Ackerman

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an interesting departure for an established author that still reads like a love letter to the author’s homeland. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Maui Effect by Sara Ackerman.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Interesting Departure, Still A Love Letter To The Author’s Homeland. Ackerman, at least in my time reading her works, has been a historical fiction writer before this tale. While there were generally some elements of romance to her tales that have always featured a female lead, that was seemingly almost there for realism and impact as much as trying to add in a romantic subplot.

Here, Ackerman goes instead for a more full-bore romance, still set in her native Hawaii. While not as impactful as some of her more recent historical fiction work, it still works well for what it is – a drama-filled romance tale set against the backdrop of a native Hawaiian and a mainlander surfer trying to become a surfing legend. Fans of most anything to do with Hawaii and/ or surfing will enjoy this work. Fans of the early 2000s era movie Blue Crush, since it just came up this week (great timing for Ackerman!) with the Weds, November 13, 2024 airing of The Masked Singer in the US and specifically who was revealed that night (though this is all I’m saying… it is likely still too much to avoid spoilers of *that* show… which I never guaranteed) will enjoy the callbacks to both the tropical scenery and the surfing competitions and their dangers.

More interesting, at least to me, are all the connections to the Avatar scifi franchise. Our female lead here is named Iwa Iwa, apparently for a native Hawaiian plant – and yet Eywa (which sounds similar to this Southern United States boy’s ears) is the Na’vi goddess in the Avatar franchise. Similarly, when Iwa begins praying to the various natural gods early-ish in the book, the language sounds remarkably like the language spoken by the Na’vi in the movies (and in the Pandora world at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, for that matter). Which shouldn’t come as *too* much of a surprise, since James Cameron and staff openly admit they were inspired by Pacific Islander culture – including Hawaiian culture – in the creation of the Na’vi. Still, this is the first fiction book I’ve ever seen with such a clear and pervasive connection, and it was both interesting and jarring. Then there are the conservation connections, as both storylines feature at least some level of fighting to preserve nature from “greedy developers”. (So yes, the anti-capitalist themes are there to a degree, but I personally didn’t find them too be too preachy or overbearing here. Avatar is certainly *far* worse in that regard.)

This isn’t a light romcom by any stretch, there are absolutely some very weighty subjects dealt with herein – including a serious injury that leads to opioid addiction – and this may hit harder for some readers than others.

Overall it really was an interesting departure from Ackerman’s norm (again, at least in my own experience with her books), but one that shows that Ackerman is a strong enough storyteller that she will be able to give us a compelling story in any genre she chooses while also still allowing for some growth in these new adventures.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book fo
llowed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Maui Effect by Sara Ackerman”

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#BlogTour: Sleeping With The Frenemy by Natalie Cana

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a tale that is necessarily different from its predecessors in its series. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Sleeping With The Frenemy by Natalie Cana.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Very Different From Previous Books. Still Solid In Its Own Right. The first two books in this series dealt with vastly different types of relationships than our MCs here have. In the first book, it was a friends to lovers situation, while in the second book it was a S L O W burn second chance situation. Here, its more of a situation situation. As in, this is a couple that has been fucking for *years* behind the backs of the siblings of one of them – one of those siblings being the best friend of the other. More on a situational level though – both were available and attracted to each other and had an opportunity, so mutual itch scratching was had. Fair enough, and that back story alone makes this *wildly* different than the other books here.

And because of that back story, this is perhaps the spiciest entry into the series. So those looking for the no sex/ “fade to black” type books… this aint fucking that. Instead, it more readily takes scenes from a Fifty Shades type environment, and that alone should tell most anyone what to generally expect there.

Still, this book and these characters have history within the series, and that is well respected here. The characters from the prior entries all show up in appropriate enough places, and indeed certain elements of prior storylines come into play heavily in this book – so absolutely read this series in order.

Overall a fun, spicy, story whose every element blends the Puerto Rican background of these characters with their current Chicago home quite well. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Sleeping With The Frenemy by Natalie Cana”

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#BlogTour: One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery

For this blog tour, we’re looking at . For this blog tour, we’re looking at One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Hallmarkie “Messy Family Comes Together” Type. This is a Susan Mallery book, and it is Christmas book from Susan Mallery – so you know you’re going to get a lot of drama, but in a very Hallmarkie manner where the drama never gets *too* intense and everything wraps up with a nice dose of Christmas magic by the end. Considering the popularity of both Mallery and Hallmark Christmas movies, this isn’t exactly a losing strategy… if a bit “been there, done that”.

Where Mallery manages to spin things with this particular one are, well, the particulars – and there are a lot of things here that aren’t exactly typical. Irritable Bowel Syndrome shown in all of its complexities in a book? Happens some, not exactly overly common in my experience. Female tow truck company owner? I actually am related to one – a cousin – but she’s literally the only one I had ever heard of before reading this book. Age gap romance where the *woman* is the older *and* is on the back side of “middle age” to boot? Done, somewhat, but rarely in this particular combination/ age range. On and on it goes.

Oh, and for anyone who says that this gets way too far out there with just how “together” everything gets… if you’ve read a few of my other reviews over the years, you know about my own family history – same side as the cousin above, actually. You see, both sets of my grandparents were divorced long before I was ever alive. But my mom’s parents in particular? My grandmother remarried, also before I could ever remember anything. My step grandfather was my “second grandfather” (the other died 5 weeks after my birth). And yet there was more than one instance of my grandmother and step-grandfather living on my grandfather’s land over the years, including at least one stint in his house with him. So my sense of “weird family relationships” may be a bit skewed, having seen this type of thing – along with several of the exact scenarios Mallery includes in this book – in my own (extended) family over the years.

Ultimately a solid book of its type, and one for anyone looking for a good Christmas family drama to check out.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery”

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#BlogTour: The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book with a strong premise that brings to mind the 30+ yr old movie The Flatliners. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Strong Premise Reminiscent Of The Flatliners. Ok, this is possibly a bit of a stretch even for me, but that is where my mind is going as I think about this book, and I think it applies *enough* to give you, the reader of my review, a sense of both the overall tone and style of this book, at least to a point. In both this book and that movie, you have a group of people coming together to test the bounds of medical knowledge… and things go wrong, of course. Add in the “time travel” (ish) element of the book (which could have used a great deal of internal clarification, fwiw, but worked well enough), and you’ve got an interestingly dark, almost goth/ emo/ gothic kind of vibe going on throughout, which the overall setting of our “current” timeline really helps to establish, particularly down the stretch into the endgame.

Overall an intriguing debut, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this author does next.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison”