books

Review – The Lie by C.L. Taylor

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

The Lie I know your name’s not really Jane Hughes…

Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She’s happier than she’s ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.

Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.

Jane has tried to put her past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed Jane and everything she loves.

 

 

Genre: Thriller
My Rating: **** (4 stars)

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Audiobook Review – Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan – Witch’s Child #1
Read by Erin Spencer and Will Damron

Julia Vanishes Julia has the unusual ability to be . . . unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people’s senses.

It’s a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it’s a useful trait for a thief and a spy. And Julia has learned–crime pays.

She’s being paid very well indeed to infiltrate the grand house of Mrs. Och and report back on the odd characters who live there and the suspicous dealings that take place behind locked doors.

But what Julia discovers shakes her to the core. She certainly never imagined that the traitor in the house would turn out to be . . . her.

Genre: YA / Urban Fantasy / Steampunk-ish
Story Rating: **** (4 stars)
Narration Rating: *** (3 stars)

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Cozy Review – Reading Up a Storm by Eva Gates

~ Erika K ~ 4 Comments

Reading Up a Storm (Lighthouse Library Mystery #3) Misfortune blows into North Carolina’s Outer Banks when a dead body in a boat on the shore leaves local librarian Lucy Richardson racing to solve a strange new mystery….

After a successful party at Bodie Island’s Lighthouse Library, librarian Lucy Richardson is ready to curl up with her cat, Charles, and a good book. But her R and R is cut short when she notices some mysterious lights leading a small boat to crash into the coast.

The two shipwrecked seafarers survive the ordeal—but one of them shows up dead ashore a few days later. Lucy finds herself again roped into a murder investigation and navigating a sea of suspects, all of whom had motives to deep-six the deceased. And this time, she has a sinking feeling that finding the real killer won’t be so easy…

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Audiobook Review – Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

~ Erika K ~ 2 Comments

Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Gideon Crew #4

Beyond the Ice Limit (Gideon Crew, #4)That thing is growing again. We must destroy it. The time to act is now…
With these words begins Gideon Crew’s latest, most dangerous, most high-stakes assignment yet. Failure will mean nothing short of the end of humankind on earth.
Five years ago, the mysterious and inscrutable head of Effective Engineering Solutions, Eli Glinn, led a mission to recover a gigantic meteorite–the largest ever discovered–from a remote island off the coast of South America. The mission ended in disaster when their ship, the Rolvaag, foundered in a vicious storm in the Antarctic waters and broke apart, sinking-along with its unique cargo-to the ocean floor. One hundred and eight crew members perished, and Eli Glinn was left paralyzed.

But this was not all. The tragedy revealed something truly terrifying: the meteorite they tried to retrieve was not, in fact, simply a rock. Instead, it was a complex organism from the deep reaches of space.

Now, that organism has implanted itself in the sea bed two miles below the surface-and it is growing. If it is not destroyed, the planet will be doomed. There is only one hope: for Glinn and his team to annihilate it, a task which requires Gideon’s expertise with nuclear weapons. But as Gideon and his colleagues soon discover, the “meteorite” has a mind of its own-and it has no intention of going quietly…

Narration – *** (3 stars)
Story – **** (4 stars)

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Calamity Cafe by Gayle Leeson – Blog Tour and Giveaway (ENDED)

~ Erika K ~ 5 Comments

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The Calamity CafeAspiring chef and small-town Virginia native Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café offering old-fashioned Southern food. But her dream may go up in smoke when someone kills the competition…

Tired of waiting tables at Lou’s Joint, Amy Flowers doesn’t just quit—she offers to buy the place from her bully of a boss, so she can finally open the café of her dreams. Amy can’t wait to serve the kind of Southern, down-home treats and dishes that her grandmother always loved to the kooky cast of regulars at the restaurant. She knows her comfort food will be the talk of the sweet, small town of Winter Garden, Virginia.

At first Lou Lou refuses to sell, but when she seems ready to make a deal, she tells Amy to come see her.  Showing up at the eatery ready to negotiate, Amy is shocked to find her former employer murdered. As the prime suspect, Amy will have to clear her name by serving up the real killer—and with Lou Lou’s stack of enemies, that’s a tall order.

Includes delicious Southern recipes!

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Tea Cups and Carnage by Lynn Cahoon – Blog Tour and giveaway (ENDED)

~ Erika K ~ 8 Comments

Synopsis:

The kettle’s about to boil over . . .

The quaint coastal town of South Cove, California, is all abuzz about the opening of a new specialty shop, Tea Hee. But as Coffee, Books, and More owner Jill Gardner is about to find out, there’s nothing cozy about murder . . .

Shop owner Kathi Corbin says she came to South Cove to get away from her estranged family. But is she telling the truth? And did a sinister someone from her past follow her to South Cove? When a woman claiming to be Kathi’s sister starts making waves and a dead body is found in a local motel, Jill must step in to clear Kathi’s name—without getting herself in hot water.

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2016 Book-to-Movie Adaptations

~ Erika K ~ 8 Comments

I don’t get to the cinema as often as I’d like, but I’ve noticed quite a few good book-to-movie adaptations out recently or coming soon. I’m always a little apprehensive about seeing a movie after having read the book, but there are a few that look promising, or that I haven’t read the corresponding book yet. Let me know if I’ve missed one you’re looking forward to – I can always use a good recommendation!

The BFG – coming 7/1/2016

Based on the book by Roald Dahl. My oldest daughter has made it quite clear that we’re not going to see this one. She says it is nothing like the book, and she is not happy about it! I think most people have felt this way about a movie adaptation of a favorite book at one time or another, and I can understand her feelings so I guess we will skip this one. For those who have not read the book, or who can think of it as a separate entity from the book however, it does look like it might be fun.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: The Worst Years of My Life – Coming in October

Based on the bestseller by James Patterson. Neither my daughter nor I have read this one yet. I love James Patterson’s mysteries, and my kids have enjoyed his I Funny series, so I think we’ll be able to agree on this one, described as “Ferris Bueller meets Home Alone”! 🙂

Me Before You – out now

Based on the JoJo Moyes novel. I’m not usually a fan of books or movies that can be described as tear-jerkers, but this one looks very sweet and I’ve heard so many good things about the book, that I may give it a shot.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – coming November 2016

Based on the JK Rowling book of the same name, and set in the Harry Potter universe. I will be first in line. Ok, maybe not first, but I will be there!!

The Girl on the Train – Coming October 2016

Based on Paula Hawkins’ book of the same name. I loved this book. (Hated most of the characters, but loved the book!) I am very anxious to see how it translates to the big screen. The kiddos are going to have to stay home for this one though… 🙂

 

Somewhat “loosely” based on Lewis Carroll’s novel, the colors and characters alone make me want to go see this one.

I know there are a lot more out there, so tell me what you are looking forward to seeing!

 

 

Ten Reasons I love Agatha Christie

~ Erika K ~ 35 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday they post a new Top Ten list prompt. This week’s prompt is… Ten Reasons you love “X”. My “X” is Agatha Christie because her name was the first thing that popped into my head when I read this prompt. (That could be because I just watched a documentary chronicling her life over the weekend!) She’s been one of my favorite authors for as long as I can remember, so I should be able to come up with 10 reasons why, and I will do my best to keep it spoiler free. 🙂

Don’t forget to leave me a link to your own post in the comments, or just tell me what you’re loving this week, books or otherwise!

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Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford – Review and Giveaway (ENDED)

~ Erika K ~ 8 Comments

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ECLAIR AND PRSENT DANGERThe first book in the delicious new Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery series from national bestselling author Laura Bradford.

With her rent rising faster than her pie crust, bakery owner Winnie Johnson had hoped to be rescued by an inheritance from her wealthy friend and neighbor Gertrude Redenbacher. Instead all she inherits is the widow’s hostile hissing tabby, Lovey, and a vintage ambulance, restored by Gertrude’s late husband. As her dream crumbles, Winnie makes her final delivery—a peach pie to an elderly widower. But she finds Bart Wagner lying on his kitchen floor, smothered by a pillow.

To comfort her frightened and grieving neighbors, Winnie comes to the rescue with her baked goods—and an idea is born: dessert delivery via her ambulance and a new business called the Emergency Dessert Squad. When she’s not speeding to the scenes of dessert emergencies, Winnie is also racing to track down Bart’s killer—before she needs to call a real ambulance for the next victim…

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The Madness of Mercury by Connie di Marco – Blog Tour and Giveaway (ENDED)

~ Erika K ~ 12 Comments

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MADNESS MERCURYA Zodiac Mystery – #1 

San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti’s life is turned upside down when she becomes the target of the city’s newest cult leader, Reverend Roy of the Prophet’s Tabernacle. Driven out of her apartment in the midst of a disastrous Mercury retrograde period, she takes shelter with a client who’s caring for two elderly aunts. One aunt appears stricken with dementia and the other has fallen under the spell of the Reverend Roy. To add to the confusion, a young man claiming to be a long lost nephew arrives. The longer he stays, the more dangerous things become. Is the young man truly a member of the family? Can astrology confirm that? Julia’s not sure, but one thing she does know is that Mercury wasn’t merely the messenger of the gods—he was a trickster and a liar as well.

 

This was a first for me – a cozy with an astrologer as the sleuth. While I myself am not into astrology, that didn’t make the story any less enjoyable. There were times when Julia was doing a reading for someone that I didn’t really understand what she was talking about, but they were brief, and she always explained in layman’s terms what it all meant for the individual right afterwards. So why did I choose to read this one if I’m not “into” astrology? The cat and the purple couch! I couldn’t resist that cover, and I’m glad I didn’t try. This mystery is well-written, the characters likable and realistic, and I ended up reading it in a single sitting!

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway  (ENDED)for a chance to win your own copy!

About the Author

Connie.Archer.2

Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries from Midnight Ink.  She was fascinated by astrology at an early age and this was the inspiration that gave birth to Julia Bonatti, San Francisco astrologer and her newspaper column Ask Zodia.  Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.  Connie lives in Los Angeles with her family and a constantly talking cat. 

Author Links

Website:  www.conniedimarco.com
Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/ConniediMarco
Twitter:  @askzodia

Purchase The Madness of Mercury from Amazon |  B&N 

 Tour Participants

May 20 – A Blue Million Books – Interview
May 20 – Book Babble – Review
May 21 – Laura’s Interests – Review
May 21 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
May 22 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – Review
May 22 – Mystery Playground – Interview
May 23 – I Wish I Lived in a Library – Review
May 23 – fuonlyknew – Review
May 24 – Moonlight Rendezvous – Review
May 24 – Musings and Ramblings – Guest Post
May 25 – Back Porchervations – Review
May 25 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – Review, Guest Post
May 26 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review
May 26 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – Review, Interview
May 27 – The Book’s the Thing – Review
May 27 – Thoughts in Progress – Review
May 28 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Guest Post
May 29 – deal sharing aunt – Review
May 30 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review
May 31 – I Read What You Write – Review, Interview
June 1 – A Holland Reads – Review
June 1 – Ashleyz Wonderland – Review
June 2 – Booklady’s Booknotes – Review, Guest Post
June 2 – Brooke Blogs – Spotlight

NOTE: I was provided with a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.