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REVIEW:  Set in Ireland in the 1950's during a horrific snowstorm that is making travel almost impossible. A parish priest is found dead and there are many suspects who are all part of the same family.   The town is hesitant to help, and the detectives partner goes missing. This book focuses on the atrocities of the Catholic Church who would cover up crimes by priests by moving them around.   While the mystery is compelling and the writing excellent the material is dark. You do get to hear from the villain and victim justifying his actions. Some people have found this book to be depressing, and it definitely wasn't uplifting, but it was interesting and delves into an interesting time period.   I'm interesting to see what the other books in this series are like.   Publication Date:  October 6, 2020 Format:   Audio Genre:    Mystery Narrator:  John Lee ...

REVIEW:  After running out on her wedding, Aaliyah goes to Chicago with her cousin. Escaping her domineering cult like church where women are subservient to their husbands and obey their family.   While in Chicago Aaliyah becomes a nanny for a handsome single dad who is the owner of a tattoo shop. His precocious daughter is a handful but wins Aaliyah's heart. This was a great story of getting your voice back and doing what's right for you even if it means breaking free of your parents.   Sexy romance with some spice and a heroine who isn't a toothpick and man who appreciates curves.   Publication Date:  November 26, 2024 Format:   Ebook Genre:    Single Dad Romance Publisher:   Afterglow Books Length:    264 pages Buy:   Kindle ...

REVIEW:  Claudia is an investigator for a dating service. Verifying that people are who they say they are. When Claudia goes rogue, she relies on her years of reading mystery novels and the detectives whose stories she has been reading for years.   This is a unique and entertaining who-done-it while also being about family and family expectations. Claudia comes from a traditional Chinese family, and she is anything but traditional. Her job isn't one her parents would approve of and the only person she desires to marry is another woman.   It's great to have an Asian main character who doesn't follow the stereotypes. What a fantastic debut. The second book is already out, and I can't wait to read it.   Publication Date:  February 22, 2022 Format:   Audio Genre:    Mystery/LGBTQ Narrator:  Eunice Wong ...

REVIEW:  Thank you Netgalley.com for a free copy of this book.  I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are mine.  A great book about a tough topic.  No one in High School thinks they will die or thinks anyone they know will die but in an unfortunate accident Julie does die, leaving behind a boyfriend she planned on breaking up with and a diary full of letters to her secret boyfriend.  This book is very readable as Colt grapples with grief that he can't share since no one knew about the relationship. He also lives in a town where the lines are very clearly drawn. The kids on Black Mountain are the haves and the kids in the Flats the have nots. The two don't mix. But Julia was from the Mountain and Colt from the Flats.  Beautifully written you could feel the struggle Colt has with his relationship with Julia, her death and how everything seems so big in their little world but he knows that things are different outside of Black Mounta...

  REVIEW:  I read this book as I was in the middle of a DIY shed project. While I was installing the tin roof, I started laughing to myself thinking of the author talking about his own foray into the DIY world of building.  Out of college and not really knowing what he wanted to do and not being able to afford to buy like a lot of his friends Hutchinson found himself a cabin in the woods for $7000. It was basically the size of a shed with no heat, no running water and a whole lot of projects that needed to be done.  With little skill, a lot of faith and a good number of friends he slowly made this ramshackle cabin a place for relaxation, learning new skills, unplugging and friendship. I loved his stories and mishaps at DIY. This book reminded me how much time we spend plugged in and how much unplugging is necessary. To get back to nature, take a hike, a walk in the woods, fish in a stream etc.   I thoroughly enjoyed this b...

REVIEW:  Thank you Netgalley.com for a free copy of this book.  I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are mine.  I really liked the concept of this book and wasn't disappointed. Honor and Strike meet at the morgue when Honor is identifying her twin sister. They have an instant connection but it's the wrong time.   Both Strike and Honor have interesting back stories that we learn sporadically through flashbacks. I don't want to give too much away but both of these characters are broken. Grief is heavy in this book but is done well.   I wish that Strikes dark side wasn't brought forward in the way that it was, it just seemed out of character. I also wish that Honor's best friend hadn't disappeared in the end of the book. She was a great character and I wanted to see more of her. I was actually hoping that some sparks would flare between her and Strikes mysterious Scottish friend.   While t...

  REVIEW:  The second of the Lords series. These are dark college romances and this one is really really dark. If child sex abuse is a trigger skip this book. Elli has a very dark past, one that even Sin missed despite being a constant in her life. This one seemed even darker that The Ritual maybe due to the content.  There were several surprises throughout the book. I thought I knew who were the scum in this book were but I missed a few. Tessier did a great job of hiding some of them in plain sight which is how predators usually hide. The addition of Ryat in a few cameo's and Tyson in a bigger role in this book tied the series together but also allowed it to be read as a stand alone.  Publication Date:  December 4, 2022 Format:   Kindle  Genre:    Dark College Romance Publisher:   Self Published Length:    636 pages Buy:   Kindle  |  Audio SYNOPSIS:   Little Demon I was raised in a world where money and pow...

REVIEW:  Thank you to Celadon books  for a free copy of this book.  I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.  Michael Stewart was an up and coming young artist in the 1980's in New York City. Where Keith Haring and Warhol were all the rage, graffiti was criminalized, and Madonna was getting her start. Unfortunately a common occurrence happened. Michael was detained by the transit police, brutally held down, choked with a baton and made to wait for medical attention until it was too late.  Before the BLM movement, black men were still dying at the hands of police. There were many people who had heard his cries for help, his pleas for them to stop for someone, anyone to help him. Unfortunately there were no cell phones back then to film the attack. No proof that could be given to show the brutality.  The men and women who murdered Michael were never convicted but Michael was more tha...

REVIEW:  I really loved the unique way this book was broken down. Each chapter begins with a description of a camera. The story line weaves back and forth between now and when Rita was a child.  Rita has always been able to see and talk to ghosts but it was always discouraged. If a ghost was powerful enough you wouldn't be able to break free and they could wind up killing you. That was never an issue until Rita is called to the horrific crime scene of a woman who either jumped or was pushed from an overpass. Her body was then run over multiple times by cars, dismembering it and scattering the remains. The ghost of this woman is now haunting Rita to find who killed her.  This is an action packed book that has a good creep factor to it. There is quite a bit of native lore in it, and a grandmothers wish that her granddaughter find life outside the reservation and prosper.  I am excited to read the sequel Exposed which was re...

REVIEW:  This book reminds us that all those books and movies about real life serial killers give them the glory of their crimes and relegate the women or men whose lives were cut short to a footnote. This book is about the courageous women who lived, and fight for justice for those who lost their lives.  Loosely based on the crimes of the Florida State serial murders (as in the book I won't use the killers name to give him more press) this book follows the women who lost friends and lovers. Those women who weren't taken seriously by law enforcement, by judges and by the media but continued to fight for justice. It's also about a time when being gay was thought to be a mental illness and those who were gay were out to infect others with their disease. It is about putting men first and how we are taught to make ourselves smaller so men feel bigger.  This book is so much and more. I'm not sure why I put off reading it but I...