Monthly Archives: July 2016

July 20, 2016 · 5:00 am

Toxic Tide by CJ Matthew (Book Review) (CONTEST INCLUDED)

 
Dolphin Shore Shifters book 5
 
She’s on a mission…and it’s personal.
 
When Heather O’Donnell’s younger sister is murdered, and homicide detectives fail to uncover a suspect, she
abandons competitive swimming and moves to New Jersey. She stakes out her sister’s former employer, a mob-run waste disposal company. But it’s the sudden appearance of another investigator, a ruggedly handsome man, that sets off all her alarms—and more than a few pheromones. Before she’ll act on the attraction, Heather needs to unravel his true connection to her sister’s case.
 
It’s his last chance to redeem himself…no personal distractions allowed.
 
After three disastrous missions in a row, SBW shifter and field ops agent Grus Garret returns to New Jersey determined to solve the murder of Lorelei, a shifter gunned down with her whistle-blower. Grus’s gut tells him the mob boss is responsible for both deaths. But after a shocking encounter with the beautiful stranger, Grus questions
his gut. Especially when it urges him to grab the human woman and hold on forever.
 
When the mob boss decides it’s personal and sends his hit man to eliminate Heather and Grus, they’ll need to use their unique connection to save each other.
 
 
Kobo Purchase Link

 

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

If you haven’t read any other book in the Shore Shifter series, don’t worry, you won’t get lost picking up book 5 in the series. However, I do encourage you to read the others because they are that good. CJ is that good. 
 
Like the other stories in the Shore Shifter series, Toxic Tide contains plenty of action and a bit of hanky panky, too. 
In this case, the hanky panky was between a tough ass human (Heather) and a dolphin shifter (Grus). An unlikely couple who shouldn’t have found love with each other but did. And, they did so while solving the murders of two people close to them. 
 
During their investigation, they encountered many obstacles: a hitman, the mob, FBI, ATF, faced an abduction, suffered battle wounds and much more. However, everything they encountered/endured was worth it in the end because they each found the closure they desperately needed. Due to their determination to see justice served, they aided the pod and Heather’s parents in finally achieving closure, too. 
 
Trust me, you want to buy this book. It’s worth every damn penny spent. 

On a final note: AMAZING cover. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Probably my favorite one yet. 

Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤1/2
 
 
 
 
 
Alrighty folks, let’s get to the main event. 
WHO WANTS TO WIN A MEGA, FABULOUS PRIZE PACKAGE?
 
Prizes included: An SBW drink container w top and straw, a SIGNED COPY of Toxic Tide, a TT book mark, a fancy TT keychain, plus trinkets: little plastic dolphin key chains, temp. dolphin tattoo, dolphin stickers. 

Contest open to anyone — anywhere!!  
 
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below before THURSDAY (midnight, central time). 
 
FRIDAY morning, I will post the winner’s name and attempt to message you. Please
follow the comment thread or come back on FRIDAY to see if you are the lucky
recipient of this amazing prize package. 
 
Good
luck!!!
 

CJ Matthew grew up in an Air Force family traveling and living all over the US and around the world. It proved to be the perfect experience for gathering ideas and material for future books. And for meeting real life heroes and heroines in uniforms and flight-suits. She spent her high school and university years in California, which inspired her love of marine life, and the Pacific Ocean.
 
Toxic Tide is the fifth book, so far, in her paranormal romantic suspense series: Dolphin Shore Shifters. The series features a pod of dolphins living in the Santa Barbara channel off the coast of California, who are capable of shifting to human form. While posing as real humans, the dolphins work, through their oceanic conservation corporation, Save Blue Water, to protect their oceans at any cost.
 
CJ’s next series, The Paladin Group, launched with Deadly Reboot. The books are in the romantic suspense genre, set in a small southern town, and starring  wounded air force veterans, men and women warriors turned civilian attorneys and investigators determined to continue their rescue work.
 
The third series, titled The Colonel’s Daughters, is a quintet with each book featuring one of the five sister’s story. Born in different countries around the world, when each of the daughters happens to return to her country of birth, she’s meets her true love and is forced to confront her destiny. Book 1, A Major Seduction is the oldest sister Kari’s book and takes place at an air force wedding in Tokyo. 
 
A member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Georgia Romance Writers (GRW), and Kiss of Death, CJ lives and writes near a lake in the woods northeast of Atlanta. When she isn’t writing or reading romances, CJ spends time with her two grown children, their spouses, a brilliant grandson and a feisty cat named Max.
 
Schedule permitting, CJ loves to travel, to discover new favorite places and to meet new friends in both the US and around the world.
 
Max flatly refuses to travel. 

Website Link
Twitter
Facebook
Amazon author page
Goodreads author page

CLICK ON THE TITLES LISTED BELOW TO BE REDIRECTED TO AMAZON!  
 
1.) BLOOD TIDE
2.) RISKY TIDE
3.) DANGEROUS TIDE
4.) LETHAL TIDE
5.) TOXIC TIDE

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July 18, 2016 · 5:00 am

Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters by Lida Sideris (Book Review)

 
Watch out Southern California! There’s a new entertainment attorney in town and she’s got game. Only problem is, it’s not the one she should be playing. Corrie Locke belongs behind a desk, not behind a Glock. She should be taking VIP calls, not nosing around a questionable suicide. Instead, she’s hot on the trail of a murderer.

Luckily, she’s the daughter of a late, great private eye and she’s inherited his love of sleuthing…and illegal weaponry. It doesn’t help matters that her gene for caution is a recessive one. Corrie finds herself in the center of a murder case, unearthing suspects in shocking places. With a cold-blooded killer on the loose, Corrie will have to up her game, or die trying.

 

 


I veered out of the parking lot and bounced onto the cavity-ridden dirt road. The mystery car appeared out of nowhere from beneath the tall pines, eclipsed by the darkness. Now it raced away somewhere ahead.
“Why didn’t we hear it start?” I asked James.
“It’s a hybrid.”
“We’re in a car chase with a Prius?” A car chase with a Porsche or Ferrari was respectable, but with a battery operated car? All bragging rights vanished.
I shifted into warp speed and surged downhill. Seconds later, we faced the hybrid’s rear bumper. The spot for the license plate sat empty.
“He’s not getting away,” I said.
The hybrid turned and launched up a hill, kicking up pebbles and a dusty haze. It fish-tailed and I nearly nipped it in the rear. I executed a sharp left and ran over something large. And lumpy.
“Stop,” James said.
I skidded to a halt, a cloud of dirt trapped in my headlights. The Prius escaped through an open gate and onto La Paz. My eyes cut to the rearview mirror. My tail-lights illuminated the road behind us in an eerie red glow. As I surveyed the scene, not a trace of saliva remained in my mouth.
 

 

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
 
Have you ever read/watched a crime show and figured out the “who” and “why” of the plot halfway through? Heck, even ten minutes into the mystery and you’re suddenly bored out of your mind because there’s no real mystery at all? Well, have no fear, Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters will keep you on your toes until the bitter end. 
 
Besides the murder/suicide case, Corrie and Michael are on a mission to retrieve a missing cat and solve the mystery of the alien abduction. Well, there weren’t really any green men but Fo didn’t know that (at first). 
 
Doesn’t this book sound delightfully crazy? Oh it is thanks to the numerous whackadoodles gracing the pages.
 
However, as much fun as I had reading this whirlwind of nuttiness, a couple things made this story’s score a 3.5
 
1.) There were a multitude of cast members introduced to us at once. In fact, I kept a list of who everyone was and a brief description of each until I really got to know them. 
2.) At certain points of the book, I wondered if there was a mini story (a .5 novella) written before this one. I actually checked because when Clayton appeared, when she thought of her father’s death (before the big unveil of what happened to him), I felt as if I missed something. So, I checked and I noticed there wasn’t anything before Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters. 
3.) Corrie was noticeable jealous of the attention women gave Michael but seemed to want James as well. She also “spoke” too much about the attractiveness of her male co-workers. 
 
So my question is…. Does she really have feelings for Michael? Want James? Both? Or is she just noticing and wondering what it would be like with any attractive male? 
 
My gut is telling me a love triangle is in the works and I can’t wait to read it. Plus, I can’t wait to watch her sleuthing ways in action again. I have no doubt book 2 will be just as entertaining.
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5
(highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤ 1/2
 
 
 
 
 

Like her heroine, Lida Sideris worked as an entertainment attorney for a film studio. Unlike her heroine, she was not blackmailed into investigating the suspicious death of a co-worker. Lida resides in the northern tip of Southern California with her family, their rescue shepherds, and a flock of uppity chickens. She was the recipient of the Helen McCloy/Mystery Writers of America scholarship for her first novel, Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters. To learn more, please visit www.LidaSideris.com.
 

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July 16, 2016 · 5:00 am

Multi-Author Showcase featuring Hebby Roman & 7 Other Bestselling & Award Winning Authors – (CONTEST INCLUDED)

Man, oh man, are you all in for a treat today. Hebby Roman and her writing companions are here to promote Come Love A Cowboy and, with this promo, they are offering up three prizes. But first, let’s take a peak at anthology.

 

 

 

Overall Blurb with Short Individual Blurbs:
 
Eight stand-alone Contemporary Western Romance novellas from Bestselling and Award Winning Authors. 


From firefighters, bronco busters, and wealthy ranchers to bad boys, we have them all for you! If you’ve ever wanted to fall in love with a sexy, alpha cowboy of today…now’s your chance.
 
Luke’s Fate by Kathleen Ball 
Meg O’Brien hoped never to lay eyes on the one man who broke her heart. To her dismay, Luke Kelly arrives at her ranch a much different and broken man. Can Meg ever forgive his callous treatment of her and help Luke become the man he used to be? 


Grant Me The Moon by Caroline Clemmons 
All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder? 


Three for The Win by Keta Diablo 
Hollis should have known better than to fall for a bone-melting man like Stede. He’s gone now and Eli is left to pick up the broken pieces of her life. 

Border Affair by Hebby Roman 
When his partners’ daughter is kidnapped in México, a self-made millionaire must confront his feelings about their affair and the future of their relationship. 

Leaving Necessity by Margo Bond Collins 
Mac has one week to convince his ex-girlfriend Clara not to sell his oil company. In this high-pressure reunion, can they strike love again? 

The Shape of Destiny by Julie A. D’Arcy
A young male shape shifter. A beautiful female ranch owner. Can love be born in a web of deceit? 

Bad Boy, Big Heart by Andrea Downing
She’s a New Yorker escaping her parents. He’s a Wyoming cowboy supporting his dad. One summer, two young people—three months to find love. 

Desert Heat by Patti Sherry-Crews 
A single mother struggling to keep her guest ranch puts her own desires on hold. When a handsome and persistent fireman sets his sights on her, she must decide how much she’s willing to give.
 
 

KINDLE PURCHASE LINK

 

No matter if you live here in the USA or abroad, anyone can be eligible to win one of THREE Amazon gift cards; each worth $10.

Pretty sweet deal, right? 🙂

To enter, all you have to do is leave them a question, comment or simply say hi. Heck, we will accept smiley and winky faces too.

So, whatcha waiting for. Drop them a line!!

(Contest will end Sunday at 11:59 p.m. – central standard time. Winners will be selected Monday, names posted on a comment, and I will send out a congrats email to each of you.  However, I do suggest you follow the posting and check back Monday afternoon to see if you are one of the lucky winners. Emails get lost and you DO NOT want this gift to go unclaimed!)


Good luck!! 

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July 14, 2016 · 5:00 am

Interview with Alice Ross

Welcome, Alice Ross!! 
 

 

 
       1. For those who might not be familiar with you, would you be a dear and tell the readers a little about yourself? How did you get your start in the writing business?
 
(Alice) Unlike the majority of authors, I’d never had a burning desire to write a book.  I used to work in the financial services industry, writing all kinds of scintillating (?) material about pensions and the like.  Fortunately, one day when nobody was looking, I managed to escape, and to make sure they didn’t drag me back, I moved to Spain.  We looked after a holiday rental property there and people kept leaving all kinds of books which I subsequently read.  Then it occurred to me one day that perhaps I could write a book too.  So I did.  I locked myself away for about six weeks and rattled off a 100,000 word Regency romance novel.  Not having a clue what I was doing, you had to pick me up off the floor when the first publisher I sent it to, replied saying they’d like to publish it in hardback.  That was nine years ago and I’ve since re-edited the book, removing (ah-hem) about twenty-thousand adverbs.  (But don’t tell anybody!) 
 
   
2. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, please share how you handle it.
 
(Alice)  In the early days I used to try and push myself through it, which was completely unproductive, made me very frustrated, and occasionally reduced me to tears (I KNOW!).  Now I’m much more relaxed about it and while I try and write every day, I accept that some days will be more productive than others.  I’ve also realized with experience that I’m much better writing first thing in the morning, and that if I try to do anything of a creative nature after lunch, I’m wasting my time.  So I just have a snooze instead J
 
 
3. Contrary to what some people envision about a romance writer’s life, it’s not all glitz and glam. Well not for the majority of us. With that bubble sadly busted, when you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
 
(Alice)  It’s FAR from glitz and glamour.  It’s a very lonely and isolating profession, which is why I try to balance it by working in the “real world” for two days a week.  My job in the tourism industry basically involves chatting all day (tough work but someone has to do it), but it
provides a healthy contrast from writing.  I’m also a complete exercise junkie so I work out for at least an hour a day.  I also play the violin in an amateur orchestra – badly! But I try and practice regularly as – for some unfathomable reason – I have a burning desire to be good at it. 
 
      4.  I know many writers, such as myself, keep their pastime/career a secret. Do those close to you know you write? If so, what are their thoughts?
 
(Alice)  I’ve had eight books published now and, apart from the first one, I haven’t really told many people about the others.  People are usually surprised – and, I have a say, a tad impressed – when you do tell them.  This year, though, I’ve decided to raise my profile by launching myself
into the world of social media.  It’s been a complete revelation!  But the really good thing is that I’m now in touch with other authors which makes me feel part of something and is making the whole writing experience so much more enjoyable. 
 
 
      5.  Will you share with us your all-time favorite authors? If you’re like me, it’s a long list so give us your top ten.
 
(Alice)  I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I don’t actually read a lot of fiction.  As a child I devoured all of Enid Blyton’s books – over and over again.  And then progressed into the world of Catherine Cookson.  But I then developed a passion for history and now love nothing more than getting stuck into a good book about some dead monarch, or some fifth-cousin-thrice-removed of some dead monarch.  I love David Starkey’s books and keep The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England by Antonia Fraser my bed at all time so I can dip in for a quick fix when required.  (But don’t tell anyone that either.)
 
 
      6.  If you could choose one book to go to the big screen, yours or otherwise, which book would you choose and whom would you love to see cast in the parts?
 
(Alice)  I’d love to see A Summer of Secrets on the screen.  It’s my favourite of all my books so
far.  I can just see Tom Hiddleston as Rich, Caroline Quentin as Jenny, and Maggie Smith as Phyllis. 
 
Purchase Link
Book 2 in the Countryside Dreams series
 

One long hot summer. Secrets never stay buried for long…

Portia is determined to restore Buttersley Manor, her family’s crumbling ancestral home, to its former glory. Yet she has a feeling that there are a few forgotten skeletons in the dust-covered cupboards.

Jenny has put her life on hold for far too long. It’s time to finally start living and to dig up those hopes and dreams she’s kept hidden all these years – but is she brave enough?
Rich is happily married with a beautiful wife and lovely daughter. In fact, his world is perfect until a very unexpected consequence of his past walks through the door…
Joe would like nothing more than to travel back in time to when he and Gina were happy. But is it too late to rescue what they once had?
 
One thing’s for sure, nothing’s ever quite what it seems when it comes to life in the country!
 
A perfect, feel-good summer read about love, life and family.

 
 
7. Would you care to tell us what you’re working on now? That is if it’s not top-secret information. If so, just whisper it in my ear. I swear it’ll go no further.
 
(Alice)  Carina launched my Countryside Dreams series in April – Book One – An Autumn Affair, and Book Two – A Summer of Secrets – have already been published, so I’m now working on Book Three.  It’s set in the run-up to Christmas, which is something new for me as all of my other books have a summery feel to them. 
 
 
Purchase Link
Book 1 in the Countryside Dreams series
 

Autumn is coming. Anything could happen…

Julia is contemplating an affair with ex-boyfriend Max after a chance meeting in the cereal aisle of the supermarket…and finding that he’s just as gorgeous as ever.

Miranda has got it all: expensive clothes, a huge house and her enormously wealthy husband, Doug. So why does she feel as if something is missing?

Faye is fed up of being treated like a child – she’s a teenager, and knows what she wants! She’s determined to escape her sleepy life at Primrose Cottage…

Three women, each with two options, needing to make one choice. When it comes to affairs of the heart, nothing is ever simple!

A perfect, feel-good read about love, life and family.

Please note this book was previously published as A Country Affair in April 2015.

  
8. Where can we find your stories, and is there a particular reading order?
 
(Alice)  Forty Things To Do Before You’re Forty is an introduction to the village of Buttersley, where my Countryside Dreams series is set.  An Autumn Affair is the first book in the series, and A Summer of Secrets the second. The books can easily be read independently of each other though. 
 
 
Purchase Link
 
The truth is that Annie Richards is just too busy to fall in love!

Running a successful cake-making business, acting as caretaker to grand country house, Buttersley, and not to mention single-handedly raising her five-year-old daughter is more than enough to keep Annie’s (flour-dusted) hands full! So can someone please remind her why she agreed to train for a marathon as a ‘40 things to do before you’re 40’ pact with her same so-called best friend?!

With every hour of day already taken up, the arrival of crime writer Jake O’Donnell at Buttersley shouldn’t really have any impact on Annie’s day-to-day life at all. There’s definitely no time in her carefully scheduled day for daydreaming about drop-dead gorgeous authors. Is there?

But between whipping up batches of her signature limoncello cupcakes, Annie realises that Jake, and his twinkling dark eyes, can’t just be ticked off her mental to-do list as easily as she though. Especially when it seems that no. 40 on her list could be creating a truly decadent wedding cake – for her very own wedding…

 

9. Would you please share how your present and future fans can contact you?
 
(Alice)  Via Twitter Aliceross22, or my website alicerossauthor.co.uk
 
 
 Closing remarks
 
Fellow bookworms, I hope you enjoyed my interview with ALICE ROSS because I had a grand time learning more about her and her creations. 
 
Speaking of which, we hope the book covers and blurbs enticed you to check out one or all the books discussed above. Oh, be sure to leave her a review on Amazon. It’s how readers show their appreciation to an author, understanding the hard work and time spent to create their masterpieces. 
 
On a final note, if you have any questions
or comments for ALICE please leave her a message below. 
 
Thank you in advance for your visit! 
 
 
 

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July 12, 2016 · 5:00 am

Falling in Deeper by Shayla Black (Book Review)

 
Series: A Wicked Lovers Novel (Book 11) 
Paperback: 336 pages 
Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2016)


 

A tragic past threatens to destroy a passionate future in this dangerously sexy new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked for You.

After a violent tragedy nearly destroyed her, Lily Taylor ran away, changed her name, and started over. When her deadly nemesis resurfaces to eliminate his loose end, she turns to the last man she should trust—a stranger with a history of violence and an intoxicating sexuality she can’t refuse…

Though strong-armed into locating Lily to help put away a drug lord, ex-con Stone Sutter isn’t anyone’s snitch. When he finds the terrified beauty, he vows to keep her safe—but he isn’t sure he has the strength to shield her from his own desires.

As an unquenchable fire sparks between them, Lily’s tormentor stalks ever closer, and she must overcome her darkest fear to survive. Can she trust the bond she and Stone have formed as they’re falling in deeper?

 
 
 
 
Shayla has again captured my interest and my heart with one of her creations. In “Falling in Deeper”, Shayla had constructed a backstory so traumatizing I felt the pain and anguish right down to my very bones. (No spoilers) 
 
But more importantly, I could also see the strength Lily possessed and I’m sure you will too.
 
Any number of the things Lily experienced would’ve broken most people, and yes, she was emotionally detached for a long while. However, deep down, her spirit wasn’t obliterated. We saw her come alive when Stone entered her life. We saw him come to life as well.

Death, heartache, lies, betrayal are all par for the course in this contemporary romance tale. 

 
Of course, no Shayla Black story would be complete with the epic forgiveness scene because we all adore a HEA. 
 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5
(highest)  
Score: ❤❤❤❤1/2
 
 

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