All posts by janisf2

Strange Truths by SD Wasley an Alice England Mystery

Strange Truths is a Young Adult Novel containing social and family issues with a little bit of mystery thrown in.  This is the first book in the Alice England Mysteries.

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My FIVE Star Review:

Alice England is a very unique character and I loved her immediately.  She’s a young woman in her senior year of school who lives with her father in a funeral parlor.  She sees things that others don’t and she always speaks the truth.  Kids in her school find her odd and basically stay away from her.  Mikey Warrender thinks she’s a bit odd as well but then Alice takes him on an adventure that changes their lives.  This is a kind of detective story with lots of twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages.

I very much look forward to more of Alice’s adventures.

More About Strange Truths:

Why did she have to be so goddamn weird?

Mikey Warrender’s goals are within his grasp. On track for a spectacular swimming career in the last months of his senior year at school, his life seems ideal. A successful Senator father, a pretty, popular sister, and a girlfriend who acts and looks, well, perfect. They’ve had their share of trouble in the form of Mikey’s late twin, but that trouble died with Toby and now things can finally get back on track.

Until Alice England. Mikey couldn’t have been less interested in a friendless undertaker’s daughter who sees strange things and always speaks the truth—until she starts stalking him at school. Alice has reason to believe Tobias Warrender was reluctant to take that fatal dose of crystal meth. What’s more, she insists Mikey is grieving for his twin. Curious, Mikey lets Alice in—just for a moment—and before he knows what’s happening she’s wedged her foot in the door and busted his world wide open.

Alice leads him through a series of discoveries that make him look more closely at his own carefully constructed reality. Innocent yet knowing; kind yet devastatingly honest, Alice effortlessly unravels Mikey Warrender’s falsely safe world—and what really happened to Toby.

Strange Truths is a coming of age detective story that will appeal to adults both young and old(er), especially lovers of classical mystery with a twist.

Find SD Wasley here: FacebookInternet WebsiteGoodreads, Amazon.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.

As Always, Keep Writing/Keep Reading ~ janisf

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon #HappyReleaseDay

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon is a Historical, Inspirational, Romance you are absolutely going to love.

Releases today, December 1, 2016 and recommended for readers 16 yrs and older.

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My FIVE Star Review:

I really tried to prepare myself.  I knew this was a historical novel about World War II.  I knew reading From Sand and Ash was going to be emotional, it was going to dragged me places I was sure I didn’t want to go, and I knew even before I opened it to page one, that Amy was going to make me take this journey and I was going to be changed by the end. I absolutely was.

Most people in the world know the stories of WWII.  You either learned them in school or maybe you had a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle who lived through it.  What Amy gives you in this book is a story of two young people, Angelo and Eva, who are thrown into this horrific war and work to do whatever they can to help people.  There is laughter along the way and joy, there is family and love, there is sorrow and horror, there is commitment and trust but most of all there is determination to keep going.

Amy Harmon is Magical.  There are no other words to describe her.  She puts a pen to paper and gives us everything from deep down in her soul and I for one am truly grateful.  Each of her novels have filled me with such joy, even with a few tears.  If you don’t normally read historical novels, please do me a favor and give this one a try.  You will not regret it.

I’ll leave you with these:

“Fear is strange.
It settles on chests and seeps through skin, through layers of tissue, muscle, and bone and collects in a soul-sized black hole, sucking the joy out of life, the pleasure, the beauty.
But not the hope.
Somehow, the hope is the only thing resistant to the fear, and it is that hope that makes the next breath possible, the next step, the next tiny act of rebellion, even if that rebellion is simply staying alive.”

“Life is hard.  What an understatement! Hard is too mild a word for the trouble we’ve seen. Life is hell shot with just enough heaven to make the pains of hope all the sharper. Life is impossible. Ugly. Agonizing. Inexplicable. Torture.”

“Our immortality comes through our children and their children. Through our roots and branches. The family is immortality. And Hitler has destroyed not just branches and roots, but entire family trees, forests. All of them, gone.”

More About Sand and Ash:

Italy, 1943—Germany occupies much of the country, placing the Jewish population in grave danger during World War II.

As children, Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco were raised like family but divided by circumstance and religion. As the years go by, the two find themselves falling in love. But the church calls to Angelo and, despite his deep feelings for Eva, he chooses the priesthood.

Now, more than a decade later, Angelo is a Catholic priest and Eva is a woman with nowhere to turn. With the Gestapo closing in, Angelo hides Eva within the walls of a convent, where Eva discovers she is just one of many Jews being sheltered by the Catholic Church.

But Eva can’t quietly hide, waiting for deliverance, while Angelo risks everything to keep her safe. With the world at war and so many in need, Angelo and Eva face trial after trial, choice after agonizing choice, until fate and fortune finally collide, leaving them with the most difficult decision of all.

Pick up From Sand and Ash here: Amazon.

Find Amy Harmon here: Internet, FacebookGoodreads, Twitter

To read more of my reviews of Amy’s books, click here: janisf Amy reviews

As Always, Keep Writing/Keep Reading ~ janisf

 

NineStar Press is One Year Old!!

*Please welcome Raevyn McCann from NineStar Press to my blog today.*

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WWW.NineStarPress.com

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It’s our first anniversary.

Thanks to Book Reviews – janisf & leisha for hosting our anniversary post today!

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Find the Ballons!

Randomly placed on book pages, look for the balloons on our site. Find a balloon and get a free book of choice.

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Once you find a balloon send an email to Anniversary@ninestarpress.com. Please include the color of the balloon, the title you want, and the format you prefer. One win per person per day. Does not include books not released yet.

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Daily Snippet

Guess the book the snippet is from and you could win it. Five winners per day.

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He sat up and swung his legs over as if getting out of bed, but stayed sitting there to give his head time to clear from another all-night bender and to gain a semblance of balance before stepping onto the cold cement floor. His still imposing six-foot-four-inch body, an inch taller than in his high school days, was out of shape and bloated. It served as a metaphor for everything else his life had become, contrary to the Greek god physique he’d had when he was seemingly in total charge of his life and circumstances.

His blond hair was long and greasy, and his face contorted by the miseries of daily self-flagellation through alcohol, drugs, and slovenly habits. His tongue felt thick and dry, and his eyes appeared as if seared on an iron skillet. He did his best to gather whatever strength remained to get up and to live what had become his own recurring Groundhog Day. He wanted water to quench his alcohol-induced thirst and to be bathed by a sympathetic and nonjudgmental geisha, washing away impurities and regret. But again he thought of sleep and of beckoning the dreams to reacquaint him with his previous life. He eased his head onto the pillow with hopes that sleep would allow him to wander back to his senior year in high school—to a time when he was admired by all and treated as the town’s favorite son.

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When you figure it out, send an email to Anniversary@ninestarpress.com with the format you prefer.

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Don’t forget to comment here, on our Facebook posts, and our Tweets. We will be giving books away each day to commenters.

You will also be added to the drawing for a FREE year of books.

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Thank you, Raevyn, for stopping by today, for all these wonderful chances to win free books through your 1st Anniversary giveaways, and for letting my blog participate.

I am a very big fan of NineStar and have read several of their books.  Click the link to read some of my reviews: janisf NineStar Book Reviews.

As Always, Keep Writing/Keep Reading ~ janisf

 

~~~Cover Reveal~~~ Straight by Seth King

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Doesn’t the cover of Seth King’s new Novel, Straight, look fabulous?  

Straight will be a male/male romance story.  No date yet on when the novel will be published but I will keep you posted.   While you wait, check out Seth’s other books at the links below.

About Straight: 

Sexy, fun and thought provoking, Seth King’s Straight is about all the love we can let into our lives when we dare to jump off the beaten path and veer a little off course.

CHAT ROOM POSTING, SEPTEMBER 16, 9:08 PM: “Hey guys, I’m begging for help right now. I know this will sound weird, but here goes: I met someone on the city bus the other day, and the attraction was instant – he’s owned my thoughts ever since. But here’s my problem: I’m a guy, too – a straight guy, or so I thought. I’ve always been perfectly accepting of everyone, but at the same time I dated girls, I slept with girls, I loved girls – none of this has ever been in question. Until now. I’ve never so much as glanced at another guy before, and suddenly this dude is all I see in my dreams. I’m excited and a little giddy, but kind of confused and overwhelmed, too, because this was the last thing I ever expected. What does this mean? And where do I go from here?”

Henry Morgan is a beer-drinking, arm-wrestling, 100% heterosexual American male who is still a little numb after a rough breakup from his longtime girlfriend. Ty Stanton is a bohemian arts student who has been openly, and uncomplicatedly, gay ever since he asked for his first wig for Christmas. After a chance, butterfly-inducing encounter one autumn day, Henry realizes something strange: he might not be quite as straight as he’d always assumed. What follows is a breakneck adventure that upends Ty and Henry’s lives for the long haul.

Add Straight to your TBR on Goodreads.

Some of Seth’s other Stories:

The Summer Remains – Pub 2/14/15, Amazon, My Review.

Autumns Rising, A Summer Remains Novella – Pub 7/16/15 – Amazon.

Invincible summer – The Summer Remains Series – Pub 11/17/15 – Amazon, My Review.

Honesty – Pub 2/29/16 – Amazon, My Review.

And a few others.  Check out his author pages:  Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads.

As Always, Keep Writing/Keep Reading ~ janisf

 

the Dance by Alison G Bailey

the Dance is a Contemporary Romance by Alison G Bailey published on May 11, 2016.  It’s a second chance at love novel with several twists and turns.

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My FOUR Star Review:

This is the first book I’ve read by Alison and I purchased this book on release day for just 99 cents which means it took me over 5 months to actually get to it in my TBR pile.  I read a few reviews, which I don’t normally do, (yes I know that’s strange especially since I write them) and was shocked at the 1 star reviews.  I’m going to tell you a little bit more then I normally would and I’ll do my best not to include any spoilers.

the Dance is a second chance at love novel and I’m not going to lie, I absolutely did not like Bryson Walker when I first met her and I also didn’t like Will Forsyth.  But let me back up. The book starts with Bryson and Will at the end of their Senior year of High School. Bryson (the all American girl every parent wants for their son) and Will (the football hero and future CEO of the families construction company) have been together since 11th grade. During the Senior Prom Bryson has a brief encounter with bad boy Hart Mitchell.  An encounter even after 6 years Bry hasn’t forgotten, however, this encounter did not alter her focus.  Bryson’s entire focus is on Will, going to college where Will goes, becoming Mrs. William Forsyth, taking care of him, having children and growing old with Will.  She has no other ambitions at all.  (Some readers I believe didn’t like this about Bry.)  Will on the other hand has been driven to go to business school, to run the family business, have the perfect wife, have a few kids and do what his family expects.  Will does some pretty shitty things along the way which added to my dislike of him.  But Alison’s character of Hart Mitchell, I loved from the moment I met him and I knew there was way more to him than the bad boy persona when he told Bryson, “You’re Lovely.” and “You’re unexpected.”

At the point where I wanted to shake Bryson and smack Will in the head with the stupid things that were happening, everything changed and I mean everything.  Bryson began to “grow up” and realized it was okay to want more out of her life.  Her character evolved and she became so much more then what she was at the beginning of the book.  I liked this Bryson very much.  Will changed as well but his changing was driven by an obstacle in his path but non-the less, he did change.  Hart remained the amazing, intriguing character I met at the prom and will always have a special place in my heart.

There are a few hard issues in this book but it added dynamic to the story.  The Dance is a story that’s meant to be read and I would highly recommend this book.

More About the Dance:

“Bryson Walker stumbled heart first into the steady rhythm of her life, never questioning whether other possibilities existed. She had been Will’s girl since their junior year in high school, followed him to college, and married him soon after graduation.

In every respect, they were a loving and successful couple, until a series of missteps shattered all of Bryson’s truths. Maybe their life was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. A performance that was never based in reality.

Hart was barely an acquaintance. He and Bryson shared one brief moment during senior prom, full of friction and heat that ignited a spark. But that night Bryson walked away and Hart let her go.

Years later, twisted fate brings Bryson and Hart together again, causing her to wonder if this is her second chance at once in a lifetime.”

Pick up your copy of the Dance here: Amazon.

Find Alison Here:  Website, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter.

As Always, Keep Writing/Keep Reading ~ janisf

Enemy of My Enemy (The Executive Office Book 2) by Tal Bauer

Enemy of My Enemy is the second book in an outstanding political, military, romantic, suspense/conspiracy series by Tal Bauer.  You MUST pick up Enemies of The State and read it first.  Enemy is not a standalone and you do NOT want to miss even a minute of this story!

This is a male love story and is intended for readers 18 years and older.

Enemy of My Enemy releases October 24, 2016

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My FIVE Star Review:

I am completely blown away by the writing, the main characters and even the secondary characters in this series.  There is so much build up to the military/political story as well as the love story and let me tell you, this is an amazing love story.  The journey starts in book 1, Enemies of The State, which received a Five Star review from me.  (Just click Five Star to read my review.)

I’m not going to tell you about the story because you can see what it’s about by reading the More About section and Excerpt sections below. What I am going to tell you is how much enjoyment I have gotten from these two novels.  When I say these two books are a roller-coaster ride, I really mean it.  However, book 2 …. It was an emotional journey through every physical and mental emotion I have.  My pulse was racing, I laughed, I smiled, I cried, my heart felt full, I said awww, I said NO, and I sent a message to Tal saying “Are You Kidding Me!” Then I cried some more and these emotions basically repeated over and over again.  By the time I reached the last page, I was drained but I desperately wanted to reached through my kindle and grab book three right out of Tal’s head.

If you like stories with Military, Political, Suspense, Romance and Conspiracy, then you really need to pick up Enemies of The State today and grab Enemy of My Enemy on October 24, 2016.  Let’s see if you can figure out the difference between the “good guys” and the “bad guys.”

More About Enemy of My Enemy: 

Fifteen years from now, an affair rocks the world.
Two men commit to their impossible love.
One general is determined to destroy them both.

President Jack Spiers and former Secret Service Agent Ethan Reichenbach throw caution to the wind, committing themselves publicly as the first out male lovers and partners to occupy the White House. Jack moves Ethan into the Residence, but as Ethan settles into his new role as first gentleman of the United States, not everyone is thrilled with their choices. When it seems like the world turns against them, Jack and Ethan must turn to each other, finding the strength together to press on.

In the chaos, Jack’s relationship with the Russian president, Sergey Puchkov, grows closer, and the two nations find themselves working almost as allies. But President Puchkov has secrets of his own, secrets that could rip everything apart. And Ethan steps back into the action with Lieutenant Adam Cooper, taking charge of a covert kill team tasked with hunting down General Madigan once and for all.

But Madigan is elusive, and his dangerous reach is long. He strikes at Jack and Ethan from the shadowy corners of the globe, unraveling their entire world. As the mad general draws new allies together, he is single-minded in his quest to destroy the only two men who ever beat him.

He will stop at nothing until Jack and Ethan are shattered men, worlds apart, and struggling to get back to one another.

And after that, Madigan’s true revenge begins…

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About Tal Bauer:

Tal Bauer writes LGBT fiction and romance, bringing together a career in law enforcement, trauma medicine, and international humanitarian aid to create dynamic characters, intriguing plots, and exotic locations. Tal’s stories weave together pulse-pounding adventure, cunning intrigue, and sweeping romance. Tal is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Mystery Writers of America.

Find Tal here:  Website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Goodreads, NineStarPress

As Always, Keep Writing/Keep Reading ~ janisf

I received a copy of this book directly from the publisher.

Possible Spoiler Excerpt:  Read at your own risk. 

Scroll down just a little bit more.

Keep scrolling.  This is your last chance

Excerpt

Tal Bauer © 2016
All Rights Reserved.

Eyes slid sideways, the staff from the East Wing of the White House all seemingly hovered in the lobby, waiting to catch a glimpse of Ethan as he entered.

Ethan pushed through, nodding and giving his best tight smile to the crowd.

“Relax,” Daniels breathed at his shoulder. “You’ve got your constipated agent face on.”

Ethan threw a glare Daniels’s way.

“These are your people now.” Daniels’s eyebrows arched high as he nodded to the mass of humanity.

His people. Jesus. The office of the first gentlemen, all his. Swallowing, Ethan tried to smile again, though he couldn’t fight the nerves clutching at the back of his throat.

Daniels stayed by his side as he escaped up the stairway to the second floor of the East Wing. On the quieter second floor, the office of the first gentleman made its home. Oil paintings of former first ladies hung on the walls, and at the end of the hallway, a large corner office overlooking the Kennedy Garden, opposite the Oval Office, sported a shiny brass doorplate, reading, “First Gentleman, Ethan Reichenbach.”

“Fuck me,” Ethan breathed. Just last Monday he’d been moody and grumpy with Jack on their nightly Skype call, bemoaning his exile in Iowa. He’d been frustrated, missing Jack and Levi and Scott and everything about DC, and Jack had offered him the impossible.

He’d dismissed it out of hand; he didn’t want to be a freeloader. The first gentleman earned no income. It was a ceremonial position only. He’d be an anchor on Jack’s neck. An albatross. They were trying to stay out of the public’s eye, not catapult into it. There had never been an unwed first gentleman before, and certainly not a gay first gentleman. The whole idea was a disaster. He’d already done too much damage to Jack’s presidency.

On Wednesday, he’d flown to DC, stood in the Oval Office, and told Jack he’d take it. He’d resign from the Secret Service and move back to DC, ending his exile. He’d move in with Jack. They’d build a life together. No looking back.

That new life started immediately. They’d danced the night away at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, and Ethan had torn up his return ticket to Iowa. Thursday he’d faxed in his resignation. Friday he and Jack took an early day, spending the weekend ensconced in the Residence as Pete released the announcement to the world.

And now, this.

It was almost too much. Ethan turned away, breathing hard as Daniels gripped his shoulder again.

“This is history, man.” Daniels smiled, warm and bright, and Ethan’s nerves screamed. “I’m so damn proud of you.”

Damn him. Damn Daniels. Ethan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them to glare hard at Daniels. “This is insane,” he grunted. “I don’t deserve this. I’m not this guy. I shouldn’t be here.”

“That’s exactly why he fell in love with you, and why you are here.” Daniels gave him a gentle shove, pushing him down the empty hallway to the office that bore his name. “Get going. Your staff is waiting inside.”

His staff. Jesus.

The heavy white door whispered over plush carpet as he entered his office. Inside, one man and four women rose together from two pale-blue silk couches facing each other before a large desk. They smiled and waited, silent.

He froze until Daniels jabbed him in his kidney. Ethan strode behind the couches to the wooden chair sitting, obviously, for him. He nodded to his staff and tried to smile. “Good morning. I’m Agent—”

Clearing his throat, Ethan quirked his eyebrows at his staff as Daniels grinned from the back of the room. “Sorry,” he said. “I’ve got to get used to dropping my old title. I’m Ethan. Ethan Reichenbach.”

The smiles from his staff were indulgent, grins and nods that told him that yes, dummy, they knew exactly who he was.

“Please, sit.” He fumbled a bit, waiting for his staff to sit and then remembered that they were waiting for him. A bobbing half stand, and then he sat, embarrassment burning his cheeks as he tried to clear his throat again and bear it.

Daniels covered his grin with the palm of his hand and looked away.

“Can you all tell me a little bit about yourselves?” Ethan nodded as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and tried to sit comfortably in the ornate—but heinous—chair.

“Mr. First Gentleman,” said an older woman with short red hair curled into wide, fluffy rolls perching around her face like a football helmet. “Let me be the first to greet you with your new title.” She smiled warmly at Ethan, her hands clasped in her lap and ankles crossed just so. Her immaculate red suit was pressed and starched, and a string of pearls hung at the hollow of her neck, just below a fold of aging skin starting to sag.

Mr. First Gentleman. Jesus. He flushed from head to foot and squirmed.

“Please, Mr. Reichenbach will do just fine.”

“Mr. First Gentleman,” she gently corrected him with an incline of her head. She would have been a socialite contemporary of Nancy Reagan and carried herself with a class that proved it. “My name is Barbara Whitley, and I am the White House social secretary. I serve at the pleasure of the office of the first gentleman.” Another warm smile and Barbara’s head tilted. “And please let me say that I am absolutely delighted to be working for you, Mr. First Gentleman.”

The gentleness radiating from Barbara calmed Ethan, just a touch. “Forgive me, Ms. Whitley. I may have protected the president, but I’m not up to speed on the full breadth of your duties.”

“I am responsible for the planning of all social events at the White House, in coordination with you, of course. From something as simple as an afternoon tea all the way to a full state dinner.”

Jesus. That was a big job. Ethan blinked. “I have to admit,” he said, shifting in his seat again, “I’m not really one for afternoon tea.”