Blog Tour / Book Musings - Inseverable by Cecy Robson

Don't Miss the first in a Brand New Series!!

INSEVERABLE

Carolina Beach #1

Cecy Robson

Releasing June 21st, 2016

How can you imagine forever with someone who's leaving everything behind?

Callahan, a former army sniper, wants to make an escape from his past and everything he experienced at war, but most of all, just not feel. Feeling leads to pain and he's suffered enough. When he inherits a house on South Carolina's Kiawah Island, he packs his bags, lured by the peace and seclusion he thinks it will bring. But, Callahan never counted on meeting anyone like Trinity . . .

Trinity has always been the cute, and funny one, who most guys overlook inpursuit of her "hot" friends. She became used to being everyone's pal, until the day the young man she was attracted to, was drawn to her in return. He became her first great love, and first crushing heartbreak when she found him in bed with one of her closest friends.

To move forward, and to carry out her commitment to helping those in need, Trinity enlists in the Peace Corps, but not before returning to Kiawah for one last memorable summer. She just never imagined it would be so unforgettable.

Callahan doesn't want to get close to anyone-let alone Trinity. He finds her perkiness insufferable and her attempts to entice a smile distracting. After all, he's in Kiawah to leave all feelings behind. But when it comes to Trinity, who feels everything, it's hard not to feel something.

Neither expected to fall in love. And no one could have predicted how inseverable they'd become.

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I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This doesn't impact my review in any way.

To be honest, Trinity being every guy's best friend as given in the blurb was what first caught my attention. I am a sucker for romance books with that thread of plot and this one was no exception. But that was the only thing which was common with other books in the same vein. All other points were uniquely Inseverable.

The characters, Trinity and Callahan truly touched my heart. Trinity is all heart, sunny and perky with her unlimited love for everyone. There were times when I felt she could haven toned down her happy moods but it was counter balanced with Callahan's growliness. At the same time, the author didn't stint her words in showing the other side of Trinity, the vulnerable and slightly insecure person. Trinity won my heart especially with her brave attitude. Callahan was one hot hero inspite of his roughness and moody attitude. He was a classic case of soft heart under a tough exterior. 

The supporting cast comprising of Trinity's friends and family was awesome in their support of the story. They filled in the holes while Trinity was wooing Callahan. They added lightness and fun times to the story. 

The plot was pretty simple with the heroine meeting the hero and both of them falling in love with each other. What makes the book special was the complexity of the main characters and their lovable mistakes. They were portrayed as "real" humans with their set of flaws. There were a few cliches but they don't seem to overwhelm the reader because the way the author has written the story. 

The story had me going through all the emotions from laughter to sadness to surprise to hurt. I can definitely see myself reading the other books in the series.

My rating :  4.5/5

Cecy Robson is a new adult and contemporary author of the Shattered Past series, the O’Brien Family novels and upcoming Carolina Beach novels, as well as the award-winning author of the Weird Girls urban fantasy romance series. A 2016 double nominated RITA®finalist for Once Pure and Once Kissed, Cecy is a recovering Jersey girl living in the South who enjoys carbs way too much, and exercise way too little. Gifted and cursed with an overactive imagination, you can typically find her on her laptop silencing the yappy characters in her head by telling their stories.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Blog tour / Spotlight / Guest Post - Regina Shen Series by Lance Erlick

Regina Shen: Resilience (Book 1)

Blurb : 

Regina Shen is an outcast forced to fend for herself in a world that bans books and artifacts from before the Great Collapse. An approaching storm could be the least of her problems. The World Federation condemns Regina and her family to live on the seaward side of barrier walls. Those walls were built to hold back rising seas caused by abrupt climate change and as a place to dump outcasts.

A hurricane threatens to destroy Regina’s world, tearing her from sister, mom, and home. Now Federation agents claim she has unique DNA that could prevent human extinction. It's too bad she doesn't trust them enough to barter fairly, let alone with her life. Three-hundred-plus-year-old Grand Old Dames rule the all-female Federation using a rigid caste system. Their notorious Department of Antiquities, under the command of Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco, polices barrier walls, destroys knowledge from the past to suppress dissent, and pursues Regina for her genome.

Regina survives by her wits on swampy islands and thrives on salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books from before the Federation. With her photographic (eidetic) memory, she defies Antiquities by consuming salvaged books not available in the Federation, which makes her an outcast even among her exiled peers. With Antiquities in pursuit, Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for her family. Does she have the resilience to survive both the storm and Antiquities?

Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble

Regina Shen: Vigilance (Book 2) 

Blurb :

After two years of training, outcast Regina Shen prepares to jump the barrier wall into the World Federation to hunt for her sister, but nothing goes according to plan. The Federation condemns Regina and her family to live on the seaward side of barrier walls.

For two years she avoided capture. Now the Federation is desperate to exploit her unique DNA in order to prevent human extinction. She would rather die than help the people who kidnapped her sister. The Federation’s notorious Department of Antiquities, under the command of Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco, polices barrier walls, destroys knowledge from the past, and pursues Regina for her genome. Now Demarco has a ruthless rival who aims to capture Regina as a means to overthrow Demarco.

Regina has survived by her wits on swampy islands and salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books not available in the Federation. Her photographic (eidetic) memory, access to these books, and an amazing teacher just may help her reach the university town in the Federation where they’re holding her sister. Pursued by Antiquities, Regina jumps the wall into the Federation.

While making new friends and enemies, she must use her wits to avoid letting either of two rival inspectors capture her. Can she rescue her sister from an obvious trap?

Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble

Regina Shen: Defiance (Book 3) 

Blurb :

On the run, outcast Regina Shen is determined to stop the Federation’s relentless attacks on her family and friends, but the stakes are much higher now and she is deep in foreign and hostile territory.

The Federation condemned Regina to live on the seaward side of barrier walls, but she crossed into the Federation where she continues to survive by her wits. Competing Federation agents vie to capture her and use her to acquire power, based on her genome being the key to prevent human extinction. When her sister is kidnapped again and agents close in, Regina flees west with a friend across deserts created by abrupt climate change.

Raised on swampy islands and underwater salvage, they must adapt to different harsh environments. Guided by her photographic (eidetic) memory of illegal print books from before the Federation, Regina is determined to defy the Federation and find a treasure big enough to barter for freedom for her and her sister. In the cat-and-mouse game, can she find allies and ways to escape the Federation dragnet long enough to discover something to trade?

Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble

Regina Shen: Endurance (book 4):

Blurb :

Betrayed by her own mother, outcast Regina Shen has been trying to free her sister. Instead, she becomes a pawn in the World Federation’s struggle for power and succession.

Worldwide fertility has collapsed and the World Premier is dying, leading to a crisis of leadership. Battle lines are forming and Regina holds the keys to resolving the fertility crisis with her genome and elevating whoever can capture and control her into positions of power. Using her photographic (eidetic) memory of illegal books, she also holds the key to locating ancient artifacts that could save or destroy the Federation. In holding these keys, Regina should be treated as a queen, but outcasts aren’t even allowed to become citizens.

Having survived the swamps, deserts, and wilderness, Regina continues to try to barter for freedom for her and her sister, but the stakes are too high. Federation agents hound Regina to uncover ancient artifacts and serve herself up as a lab specimen to prevent human extinction. The disgraced Inspector Joanne Demarco pretends to be Regina’s ally to get her to deliver the location of ancient DNA vaults that could change the balance of power. Meanwhile, ruthless rivals are willing to do anything to destroy Demarco and control Regina.

Regina’s new journey will test her endurance, her ability to recognize opportunities, and her knack for avoiding capture. She will also face a tragedy and a strange twist of destiny that will shake her to her core and get her to question everything. Will she be able to overcome adversity or will she descend down an even more dangerous path?

Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble 

WRITERS BLOCK by Lance Erlick
Writer’s block plagues most writers at some time during their writing careers. They stare at a blank page and nothing comes forth. I’ve been fortunate so far, which I attribute to my approach.

The mind has two ways of experiencing writing: creative and editorial. It’s natural after years of parental, teacher, and peer criticism to have an editor on your shoulder. That critic says things like, “That won’t work.” or “That’s trash.” The editor will stifle creativity if you don’t turn it off. There’ll be time later to rework and polish.

I like to think of creative writing like modeling clay. You can’t mold the clay until you get it on the spinning wheel. So the first thing I do when writing a rough draft is ignore all of the negative feedback from the editor on my shoulder.

The next problem I’ve run into that brings on writer’s block is trying to write a story before I’m ready. I’ve gotten my protagonist into a fix and have no idea how to get him or her out. At times like this, I step back and let the subconscious mind mull the problem. When I return later, the answer often presents itself. Forcing the answer rarely does.

While writing Rebels Divided, I had this problem. I needed Annabelle and Geo to meet in such a way that would throw them together despite mutual distrust. Rather than pushing through this dilemma, I wrote other parts of the story. When that didn’t work, I slept on it, mulling the problem before I went to bed. In the middle of the night, the answer presented itself in what I hope readers find as creative and satisfying ways.

Only after I’ve laid out the creative side of the story do I let the editor on my shoulder have her say.

Author's Bio:

He was raised by a roaming aerospace engineer, growing up in various parts of the United States and Europe, as well as traveling through Asia. He took to stories as his anchor, including the works of Asimov, Bradbury, and Heinlein, and has been writing since age eleven.

Growing up, he was inspired by his father’s engineering work on cutting-edge aerospace projects to look to the future.

In an ideal world, Lance would find time loops where he could step out for a week at a time to read and write. Then he would return to the moment he left, without life getting in the way. Of course, since everyone would have the same ability, he suspects life would still sneak in.

Lance is also the author of short stories and novelettes.

Connect with the author: Website Twitter Facebook Goodreads

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Blog Tour - Candidate for Murder by Lauren Carr

Blurb : 

It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for mayor is not a pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become divided between the local year-round residents who have enjoyed their rural way of life and the city dwellers moving into their mansions, taking over the town council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed gate community—complete with a host of regulations for everything from speed limits to clothes lines.

When the political parties force-feed two unsavory mayoral nominees on the town residents, Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make a statement—by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run as mayor of Spencer!

What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight Gnarly becomes the front runner—at which point his political enemies take a page straight out of Politics 101. What do you do when you’re behind in a race? Dig up dirt on the front runner, of course.

Seemingly, someone is not content to rest with simply embarrassing the front runner by publicizing his dishonorable discharge from the United States Army, but to throw in a murder for good measure. With murder on the ballot, Mac Faraday and the gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in to clear Gnarly’s name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!

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Author's Bio:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries. The twelfth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series, Candidate for Murder will be released June 2016.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with Lauren: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Giveaway:

Win a Fire Tablet, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB (Open internationally) Winner will be person to use #Vote4Gnarly most often - Ends Aug 5, 2016


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Cover Reveal - Fall of Thrones and Thorns by Jennifer Ellision

Fall of Thrones and Thorns
Jennifer Ellision
(Threats of Sky and Sea #3)
Publication date: September 27th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

War hurtles in, a typhoon over the sea.
After Bree’s life was torn apart, Nereidium had represented a haven to her. A place that—if she could save it—was beyond the King’s reach.
And, at last, she’s arrived upon its shores. But things in Nereidium are not what they should be.
The land is plagued by a rash of mysterious earthquakes, the likes of which it’s never known. The governors are distracted by old traditions, while Bree and her friends grapple with changing identities and the sense that the longer they wait to take action… the greater the danger from Egria grows.
Bree is tired of living under the shadow of King Langdon’s power. And she’s tired of waiting for him to be the first to act.
In this final chapter of the Threats of Sky and Sea series, it all comes down to Nereidium or Egria. To Bree or the King. It’s kill… or be killed.
And not everyone will escape the battle unscathed.

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Previous books in the series:

Author Bio:
Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn't find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of the fangirl flail. She resides in South Florida with her family, where she lives in fear of temperatures below 60 Fahrenheit

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Blog Tour / Book Musings - Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley

Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley

Release Date: June 14, 2016

Publisher: Month9Books

Blurb :

Eighteen-year-old Blanca has lived a sheltered life. Her entire childhood has been spent at Tabula Rasa School where she’s been protected from the Internet. Blanca has never been online and doesn’t even know how to text. Her lack of a virtual footprint has made her extremely valuable and upon graduation Blanca, and those like her, are sold to the highest bidders. Blanca is purchased by Cal McNeal, who uses her to achieve personal gain. But the McNeal’s are soon horrified by just how obedient and non-defiant Blanca is. All those mind-numbing years locked away from society have made her mind almost impenetrable. By the time Blanca is ready to think for herself, she is trapped. Her only chance of escape is to go online.

Link to Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29502184-genesis-girl

Purchase Links:
Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

My Musings :

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb was the hook which reeled me in. The premise of a dystopian world, so near our time, in the future where Vestals, technology virgins, exist was so unique and ingenious that I had the thought that I had to read this book period! So did the book satisfy me or disappoint me is the question of the hour.

Blanca is one of the Vestals and she is sold to Cal who uses her for personal gains and reasons. She is a technology innocent and how she comes to better understand the world and her own precarious position is the story which unfolds. The beginning literally went boom with Blanca's action scene and the story started off on a note of fast paced action.

I have to note that I expected Blanca to be meek and submissive from what I understood from the blurb. But she turned out to be manipulative as per her instructions, strong and steadfast in her beliefs. It wasn't easy for her to change my perspective but when she did, she took a strong stand. The side characters like her fellow Vestals could have been given more scenes in my opinion. The story was so focused on Blanca that all others were ignored. That kind of disappointed me. I like side characters who add so much depth to the tale.

Seth and Cal were interesting with their background stories and their interaction with Blanca showcased the world they were in, in detail. It was from their conversations and dialogues that I was able to piece together the intriguing world the author has introduced in this book.

The take on the technology addiction has made me take a second look at myself and my dependence on the various gadgets and internet. This is one premise which seems to be very near our real life. I for one look forward to the sequels and I am sure they will also be fast paced and well thought out like this one.

I recommend this to sci-fi lovers out there. This is one book which would make you sci-fi genre lovers for sure if you aren't.

My rating : 4.5/5

Meet the Author : 

Jennifer Bardsley writes the parenting column “I Brake for Moms” for The Everett Daily Herald. Her debut YA novel, “Genesis Girl” will be published by Month9Books on June 14, 2016, with the sequel releasing in 2017. “Genesis Girl” is about a teenager who has never been on the Internet. Jennifer however, is on the web all the time as “The YA Gal” with over 20,000 followers on Facebook, and 15,000 followers on Instagram. On Facebook, she hosts the weekly instant book club called #TakeALookTuesday where YA Gal friends geek out, share pictures of what they are reading, and chat about books. Jennifer is a member of SCBWI, The Sweet Sixteens debut author group, and is founder of Sixteen To Read. An alumna of Stanford University, Jennifer lives near Seattle, WA where she enjoys spending time with her family and her poodle, Merlin.

Author Links: Website ● Twitter ● Instagram ● Facebook ● Goodreads

Giveaway Information: Contest ends July 2, 2016 
One (1) winner will receive a scrabble tile book cover charm (US ONLY)
Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley (INT)

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Book Blast - Fresh Starts by Kimberly Krey

Fresh Starts by Kimberly Krey

Bree has had her fair share of difficulties. The loss of her parents, a not-so-recent divorce, and the disruption of her life caused by a stalker now who’s serving jail time. When the determined criminal finishes his sentence, Bree is sent into hiding. And while she’s doing all she can to steer clear of this frightening piece of her past, an old acquaintance enters the scene, determined to be part of her future.

Praise for Fresh Starts:
“Fascinating characters, heartwarming and steamy romance, and chilling suspense make for one incredible read!” Reviewer, Ruth Josse

“…all that you hope for in a gentle tug and pull of fearing the past and daring to hope for a better future. Kimberly Krey is masterful at helping us feel Bree’s experience… Fresh Starts will keep you reading page after page until the heart stopping culmination.” Author Christene Houston

“…believable and intriguing. And as always…steamy and clean!” Jamie Lynn

EXCERPT:

Say something, an inner voice pled. “Thanks for bringing up my things,” she blurted.

Greyson gave her a subtle nod and made for the stairs. He got to the landing, took two more steps, and then paused to look up at her where she stood in the doorway, paralyzed.

“Bree?” Tingling warmth gushed through her chest at the sound of her name in his deep, raspy voice.

“Mmm?”

His eyes locked on hers, and Bree was certain – by the look on his face, the very air about him – that if Greyson Law wanted to own the world and everyone in it, he could.

He lifted his chin, squaring his face with hers. “I’m going to see that you’re safe.”

Author Kimberly Krey

Kimberly Krey specializes in writing “romance that’s clean without losing the steam!”
She’s a reader of good, clean romance, a lover of family time and Diet Coke, and the ultimate hater of laundry. She discovered her love for writing in college when given a creative writing assignment. She still remembers sitting in the lamplight’s glow, crafting words to depict the vision in her head. That assignment sparked a passion within her. It took years to return to that passion, but now that she has, she counts it among her greatest blessings.

Krey is author of the top-selling Sweet Montana Bride series, as well as its companion series, Second Chances.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

 $100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 6/30/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Blog Tour - The Hang up by Tawna Fenske

Enter to Win a $20.00 Amazon eGift Card

THE HANG UP

First Impressions #2

Tawna Fenske

Releasing June 13th, 2016

Entangled Publishing

PR specialist Miriam Ashley makes her living cleaning up bad boys. Mountain climber-turned-CEO Jason Sanders should be an easy fix. And with a nephew to care for, he’s motivated. The problem? Every time she tries to help Jason get his head in the boardroom, they end up in the bedroom.

What the hell is she thinking? He’s the definition of off-limits. Not just because he’s a client—he spends his free time risking his life mountain climbing. The same thing that got her father killed. She’s not going to open her heart to a guy who could disappear at the drop of a…well, she’d rather not finish that thought.

She needs to leave complicated alone, but every time she sees Jason, something tells her it’s her who might fall…

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“At least I have the good sense to keep my mouth shut in board meetings instead of peppering all my dialogue with profanity,” Miriam said.

“Keeping my mouth shut isn’t usually an option as CEO,” Jason pointed out. “I don’t suppose you’d care to give me some pointers on being a more polished professional?”

“What, you mean like etiquette lessons?”

“Sure, something like that.”

Miriam snorted. “We’ve known each other forty-eight hours, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for not realizing I’m the last person in the world who should be giving anyone etiquette lessons.”

“I beg to differ,” he said, his gaze sweeping her body in a way that made her shiver. “You’re the most put-together woman I’ve ever met.”

“Looks can be deceiving.”

“And you totally owned it in the board meeting.”

“Owning a team of suit-clad, tie-yanking executives is only slightly more challenging than owning a housecat.”

“I’ve met your cat. Considering he sexually assaulted me, that qualifies as a challenging pet.”

Tawna Fenske is a USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Her offbeat brand of romance has received multiple starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, one of which noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband, step-kids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year.

To learn more about all of Tawna’s books, visit www.tawnafenske.com

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Blog Tour / Book Musings - Hell to pay by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Hell To Pay

by 

Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Blurb 

USA Best Book Award-Winning Series, Cross Genre Fiction.

Third book in the Emily series, a spin-off from Katie & Annalise.

Big-haired paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily thinks she’s got her life back on track. Her adoption of Betsy seems like a done deal, her parents have reunited, and she’s engaged to her sexy boss Jack. Then client Phil Escalante’s childhood buddy Dennis drops dead, face first into a penis cake at the adult novelty store Phil owns with his fiancée Nadine, one of Emily’s best friends. The cops charge Phil with murder right on the heels of his acquittal in a trail for burglarizing the Mighty is His Word church offices. Emily’s nemesis ADA Melinda Stafford claims her witness overheard Phil fighting with Dennis over a woman, right about the time Phil falls into a diabetic coma, leaving Nadine shaken and terrified. Meanwhile Betsy’s ultra-religious foster parents apply to adopt her and Jack starts acting weird and evasive. Emily feels like a calf out of a chute, pulled between the ropes of the header and the heeler, as she fights to help Phil and Nadine without losing Betsy and Jack.

She says her first book came out in 2012 and that her latest, Hell to Pay, is the seventh book in the series. The books all have ties to Texas, with “an interrelated cast of kick-ass female protagonists.” She says the novel's heroine (“a former rodeo queen turned paralegal”) returns to her home town in west Texas and discovers an extremist cult has set up shop and is terrorizing the local townsfolk.

- As told to Houston Press.

Read a Teaser 

Chapter One Excerpt

Disco lights whirled around me, or was it the room? My inner party animal had atrophied, not that I’d ever been a real heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the fantastic people-watching—and the fact that this was the celebration party for the burglary acquittal of our firm’s client Phil Escalante the day before, and his engagement to Nadine, one of my best friends in Amarillo—I've bagged this shindig. Instead, there I was with tendrils of fake smoke floating past my face, ten

feet from a DJ dressed in a black latex fetish costume and spiked dog collar and A tall woman maybe ten years older than me appeared out of the low lights and sidled up to me, engulfing me in the odor of cigarettes. Her vanilla hair sported a generous dollop of dark chocolate roots, which was pretty funny to me since she had a body shaped like a cone. A waffle cone. A waffle cone with sparkly sprinkles from the spinning ball overhead. Behind her trailed a paunchy man of roughly her height. His eyes had locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl with leeches that weren’t there.

Rick James’s “Super Freak” ended. The silence in the cavernous L-shaped room was immediate and complete, but short-lived. A clamor of voices from the one-hundred- or-so guests resumed, their voices echoing off the bare walls and “Hey, Foxy Loxy,” the man mouthed at me. Or did he? Surely not. It was hard to tell with the lights playing tricks on my eyes.

The woman spoke past me. “You and your wife got any plans later?” Her bellow seemed to fill the room to its farthest corners, even with all the other voices. I winced and shrank under the eyes that shifted our way.

Not Jack, though. The horse rancher cum criminal attorney was nothing if not unflappable. His topaz eyes twinkled. “Emily’s not my wife.” 

The man surged toward Jack. “You’re not together?”

“I’m his fiancée,” I said through my recently tightened braces and painfully rubber-banded teeth, leaving out “and he’s my boss.” I waved my big, fat teardrop-shaped diamond at him to accentuate my point, then I pinched Jack’s arm where my hand was looped through its crook. I’d capitulated to the mouth gear when my childhood orthodontist saw the gap between my front teeth and insisted I needed Invisalign then, filled my mouth with metal instead. Payback for never wearing my retainer, I guess.

The man and woman looked at each other and nodded. She asked, “Care to join us? We’ve got a room at a no-tell hotel nearby.”

Jack’s whole body shook and I didn’t dare look at him. I was a sucker for his laugh. In fact, I was a sucker for everything about him, from his lived-in boots to his permanent tan to his Apache cheekbones. Before either of us could think of an appropriate response, Phil interrupted.

“Millie, Pete, leave my poor friends alone.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me aside to clap his other onto Jack’s. “They’re not swingers. And this isn’t a swingers social. I’m out of the business.”

The space between Millie’s eyebrows narrowed and puckered as drops of

light rained down on her face. “It’s a free country, ain’t it?”

Grab your Copy @

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My Musings : 

I received a free copy from the author via The Book Club.

Though this isn't the first book in the series, this is the first book I have read by the author. The only thing I understood ,in the beginning ,was that Emily and Jack were together and they come across a murder during a party and one of their friends is the suspect in it. After that, it was a bit of a confusion with the various number of characters introduced. I had a hard time keeping them straight. I felt that there were too many crammed in a tight space. I had trouble even till the end trying to remember all the characters and their places. As for the main characters, they were easy to follow and they were coherent in the scenes being played out.

The story is done in first person and the point of view is of Emily's. I learnt a lot about her from this book. It doesn't only touch on her professional life but also her personal. I saw her in a lot of roles - friend,daughter,mother,lover,detective. She had me stitches in some of the scenes, with her observations and her curses. It was a hilarious read inspite of being a serious book with a murder as a background. I felt that Jack wasn't much in the book. I think it would have been better to have known a bit about him and his previous family. That's the reason I was able to connect with Emily but not with Jack. Jack was too mysterious.

The setting was finely done and the author had done a great job of the plot interesting with the twists and turns. It was a slow buildup with a fast climax. The ending could have been a bit less rushed in my opinion. The dialogues and the interactions between the characters and the narration were harmonious with no disruptions.

The mystery was unraveled layer by layer keeping the reader intrigued till the end. The romance part was a bit unsatisfactory. It felt too one sided. In spite of it being a romantic mystery, it had a light tone of suspense with a sprinkling of romance. I would have expected a bit more action in a mystery read.

All in all, this was a delightful and a fast read with the rich characterisation and the subtle plot.

My rating : 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes overly long emails, best-selling, award-winning mysteries (WINNER USA Best Book Award, Fiction: Cross Genre, Finalist) and hilarious nonfiction. The Houston Press named her as one of Houston's Top 10 Authors (2014).

She is a recovering attorney and investigator who resides deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and in the frozen north of Wyoming. Pamela has a passion for great writing and smart authorpreneurship as well as long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs, traveling in the Bookmobile, and her Keurig. Visit her at http://pamelafaganhutchins.com or drop her a note pamela at pamelahutchins dot com. 

And if you would like her to visit your book club, women’s group, writer’s group, or library, all you have to do is ask.

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