Kiss Away Your Pain by Debbie Cromack
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another good addition to the series but another story dragged out! The characters were wonderful and their story was great! The chemistry comes off the pages but the hook was missing! I really want this series to come out with a banger!
Someone Exactly Like Me by Debbie Cromack
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A well written book with great character and development. The story moved slow but it seemed like a deliberate slow that made the characters come to life. The hook was missing that really drew me in but it was a nice easy read with no true downfall!
Murder on oak street by I. M. Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is by an author I hadn’t heard of but the storyline sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go. This is a historical murder mystery novel which only adds to the intrigue and takes you back to a time and place where things were done differently.
Daniel is fed up with his current role in the city, I mean what’s the point of submitting your findings as coroner if they will just be brushed under the rug in favor of a quicker outcome. So 2 years down the road with many unsatisfactory cases, when Daniel is left at the altar he finally decides that he needs to shake things up a bit. So he takes up a new coroner job on Long Island and it doesn’t take long for the very first case he worked to come back for a visit when the local librarian brings it up. Daniel is eager to once and for all solve the case that has puzzled him for years. Will he be able to solve the case and catch the killer? Or will he bring more death to Long Island by poking a sleeping giant?
This book was very intriguing and I did enjoy reading it. At times it was a bit slow for my taste but that is to be expected in a historical plot line. Back then they took their time with everything. The characters were well thought out, the story itself was interesting, and the historical aspects were on point. If you like historical fiction mixed with some murder mystery whodunnit then you should definitely give this book a try. You may find this one is right up your alley!
More Than by Diane Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved the book More Than! It was a light hearted book but also pretty inspirational and creative approach to dieting. Peggy is a widowed stay at home mom, who has spent years eating her feelings. Her kids are off to college and she has to find a way to cope with her empty nest. She has focused on being a mom for so long, she lost her own identity and realizes she is alone in the world with her kids gone. As a gift, they gave her a prepaid boot camp (diet gym camp). She dreads the idea but finds good reason for wanting to get back in shape. I loved seeing Peggy make friends and rediscover herself. It’s hard to start over and re enter the dating world… it’s even harder as a middle aged widow who is overweight and has no self esteem. I loved the book and will be reading more by this author.
Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy
The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch by Julia Brewer Daily
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this story; I couldn’t put it down until the very end as I wanted to see how things would turn out. I loved the author’s descriptions of the Texan wilds and life on a ranch. This was a well written story about intrigue and family drama. Emma was a strong female character who loved her life, but when taken in by The People, she worked hard to earn their trust. Emma consistently looked for ways to get home, but while living among her new people, she found a way to try to help them with her education and knowledge. I enjoyed how the story would switch back and forth from Emma’s point of view to her mother, Josie’s point of view. It was heartbreaking reading her mother’s anguish over her missing daughter and the pressures of the legacy of Thorn Ranch. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a fast paced story about love, drama, and family.
Kiss Away Your Pain by Debbie Cromack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When Enzo sees Candi for the first time…it is lust at first site. He asks her out, but she turns him down. He assumes he will never see her again. All of this is fine, because his lifestyle doesn’t allow room for a relationship. He has been hurt in the past…and he does not want to go down that road again.
Candi is taken by Enzo’s good looks and charm…but her heat was broken years ago and she never got it back. Dom was her true love, and she doesn’t believe that people get more than one in their lifetime. To save herself from the hurt she felt over Dom, she just doesn’t open her heart to anyone.
However, these to strike up a friendship at a photo shoot and it builds from there. However, they both have their own baggage that is standing in their own way when it comes to moving forward with each other. When they come to a crossroads in their relationship, will they move forward with each other or let each other go in order to protect their hearts?
This story is a true slow-burn…but was a good read. I enjoyed watching these characters dance around (and with) each other while trying to navigate the dating world while protecting themselves. They are both deserving of happiness and I was rooting for them the whole way. A good read that I enjoyed.
National Parks by Laikyn Meng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I know the book said it was a angsty second chance romance but I really wasn’t prepared for just how true that was. The characters are designed to pull at your heart strings with their story, that honestly could have been love or tragedy at any moment it felt like. I thought the pacing of the whole book was spot on and fit what the author was trying to portray.
This is a new author to me and I think it was a brilliant introduction. I connected with the story and the complexity in it. This is a great book all round and I can wait to see what else This author produces.
Kiss Away Your Pain by Debbie Cromack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading this wonderful love story. The author wrote this story in such a way that made me get to know and relate to the characters. I became invested in their outcome and found myself rooting for them. Enzo is the type of guy that all women want. Enzo is smart, attractive, respectful, and has many talents. He doesn’t have time for relationships because of his career. Candi has lost her soul mate so she has resigned herself to live the rest of her life without ever falling in love again. Candi is a very career oriented woman, she has worked hard to build up her career to what it has become. She is an independent and attractive woman. The chemistry between these two is off the charts. There is an unexpected twist in this story. This is a must read if you want to know how their story unfolds. I highly recommend this book.
<a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62832401-the-rom-com-movie-club—book-one” style=”float: left; padding-right: 20px”><img border=”0″ alt=”The Rom Com Movie Club – Book One” src=”https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664570719l/62832401._SX98_.jpg” /></a><a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62832401-the-rom-com-movie-club—book-one”>The Rom Com Movie Club – Book One</a> by <a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4046931.Bernadette_Marie”>Bernadette Marie</a><br/>
My rating: <a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5122229440″>5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Lisa had never had a sleepover so her and her friends do what they call “the monthly romcom movie club” where they all get together and watch a romcom. Tina is getting married and is one of Lisa’s best friends, she is the first one to arrive for movie club. Tina is telling Lisa about wedding stuff and says that her brother in law is now moving in with everyone at Tina’s mother in law’s house. Tina shows a picture of her brother in law to Lisa, of course she’s swooning over him. While Lisa is swooning over a picture of this guy, Mindy and and Ruby show up for movie club.<br />Aaron is Tina’s fiancé, and Ryan is Aaron’s brother. They are hanging out in the garage at their parents house thinking of what to do for the bachelor party. Aaron doesn’t want to do any of the typical things. He suggests axe throwing, or golf cart racing, something fun. Aaron ends up showing a picture of the girls to Ryan, and He is stuck looking at Lisa. That’s when mom walks in with a box of cookies and tells the guys they need to deliver it over to movie club. While the ladies are in face masks watching the movie, all of a sudden the doorbell rings. But Lisa made home made pizzas, Ruby asks if Lisa hired a stripper and they all laugh. Lisa looks out the peep hole. It’s Ryan and Aaron with the box of cookies Tina forgot. Mindy and Tina run down the hall to the bathroom to wash off their face masks. Ruby doesn’t care, she opens the door for the guys while her and Lisa are still in their face masks. Aaron asks Lisa to show Ryan her apartment. She gives him the tour of her small apartment and tells him that she’s a YouTube blogger for her job. Lisa is a good blogger and got an award for it. Ryan asks Lisa to show him what she does for work. So he sets a date for Sunday for her to cook for him and she can blog it. After the guys crash movie night Aaron tells Ryan it’s time to go so the girls can enjoy their night. Lisa thinks nothing of the date, nothing has been long term for her, except her girlfriends. She worked at a coffee shop near campus when Mindy, Ruby, and Tina were attending school. They pulled her into their friend group and kept her around. They traveled places they had seen in their romcom movie nights to go try different places to eat. Romcom night was over, the ladies tidied up Lisa’s apartment before leaving. Lisa wakes up the next day with a wine hang over, and someone is knocking on her door, on a Sunday? Ryan he shows up with two coffees and a bag in his hands. Lisa invites him into her apartment. Ryan couldn’t wait a week to Lisa. They both chat for twenty minutes then Ryan leaves. Lisa was good at meeting people, she had been doing it all her life when she was bounced from one foster family to another.<br />Lisa picks up her phone to go through food options and decides to text Ryan to see if he is allergic to any foods, and they end up bantering back and forth and then Ryan calls. He asks Lisa to a baseball game on Tuesday! She says yes and tells him to be there at noon and she will have lunch ready before the game.
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Kiss Away Your Pain by Debbie Cromack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have to start by saying that I loved getting even a small glimpse of Nicco and Destiny’s wedding when I first started this book. In the first book, we didn’t learn a lot about Candi other than she was Destiny’s best friend. Debbie did a good job further developing her character and giving insight as to why she tends to hold back. Debbie used this story and showed that despite the hardships we experience, we can learn to love again. Look forward to reading more of her work.
Dream-Shifter by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dream shifter is a story about a young girl, Gwendolyn, who can shift into animals while she dreams. In this story, she is woken abruptly and left trapped in the body of an elk. Even worse news, hunting season is about to start. How is she going to stay alive long enough to figure out how to get back to her human form again. The clock is ticking…
This is a fun story that takes you on an adventure as Gwen avoids hunters, while searching for a way to become a girl again. It is full of excitement and fun and I would definitely recommend reading this story to your kids.
Snow in Love by Libby Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was such a good read, kept me interested, great characters, and a sweet story! Perfect for this time of year I must say! I very much enjoyed it, I was very much invested in the hopes and dreams of the characters!
Christmas, Romance, and Achieving a future…how could I not love it. I loved Connor and Sienna. Both have that instant chemistry, but she wants to take the Gold medal. Connor has fear holding him back. I loved how things were not instant, they had to find common ground, not just with their future goals, but a chance at igniting this spark into a flame. The book was a quick read, but full of impact. You are never too late in life to achieve your goals. Loved this holiday read, and honestly you will too! It will melt your heart!
Wonderful romance and powerful read. It is impossible not to love the author or how they use their writing skill! Easy to dive in and follow! Fun read and get you into the holiday spirit! Highly recommend!
Murder on oak street by I. M. Foster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book, to say it was good, would by far be an understatement! I was amazed and full of intrigue as I read. I was left in suspense, I loved the author’s way of writing, and the historical mystery that took place.
I love mysteries. I grew up swearing I was going to be the next Sherlock Holmes SO of course this book greatly appealed to me. The more I dived in, the more I wanted to know. A mystery that even I could not put together-and I am quite good at those things. I was intrigued all the way through. I enjoyed the build up of the story very well and could not get enough. Great characters and suspenseful writing. Nothing was what it seemed. I found the read thrilling, and cannot wait for book 2! Freaking loved it!
Wonderful read, and not one to be passed up for any reason. Seriously! A must read book and author! Needless to say this is a high recommendation from me, if not a high priority to be read book and author!
Tink by D.M. Earl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What I love most about this author is that she is able to conjure up these real characters with depth and unique personalities, while also building a world that you can picture yourself in. This is not just a telling of a timeline of events, but an immersive experience. Tink’s story is an exciting rollercoaster of a read. I loved the female MC part as well. Yes, they relied on the support of other chapters, but so do male lead ones. I don’t feel that it took away from the ability or strength of Tink’s club at all. The MC world is a close knit community that relies on each other in times of need. That being said, don’t miss out on reading Tink and Noodles story. You won’t be disappointed. I personally can’t wait to get to know more characters in part two.
This book hits home for those who have lost someone unexpectedly. Catherine Keely, a very distraught mom is trying to understand what happened to her daughter. No one seems to “know” what happened to her. Catherine does her best to find out what happened and doesn’t believe that her daughter just fell because she was intoxicated. I am not a mom so I can’t relate to losing a kid, but I have lost my mom and feel like there is something missing. Does she find out what really happened to her daughter, You have to read to find out.
And Then She Fell by Dreena Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book hits home for those who have lost someone unexpectedly. Catherine Keely, a very distraught mom is trying to understand what happened to her daughter. No one seems to “know” what happened to her. Catherine does her best to find out what happened and doesn’t believe that her daughter just fell because she was intoxicated. I am not a mom so I can’t relate to losing a kid, but I have lost my mom and feel like there is something missing. Does she find out what really happened to her daughter, You have to read to find out.
Kiss Away Your Pain by Debbie Cromack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the second book in the Wounded Hearts series. I had loved the first book and was really hoping that Candi would get her own book and was so looking forward to reading her story. I was certainly not disappointed. In fact, I loved this book even more than the first one.
Candi and Enzo’s story hits you with all the feels. It’s a total roller coaster of emotions journey. There was laughter and there were tears. Many tears. I’d have tissues handy when reading this. Or maybe I’m just a total sap who cries at the slightest thing.
Candi is still trying to get over the death of her boyfriend Dom when Enzo comes into her like. It’s been a few years and deep down she knows that Dom would want her to move on and find love again but it’s not that easy. But the more time she spends with Enzo, the more she’s at war with herself.
I really loved reading this story. When reading a romance novel you assume that the HEA is coming, but it’s all about the journey and how they get there. The path to true love does not run smooth and this author makes Enzo and Candi work for it, throwing in a few surprises along the way they I definitely didn’t see coming.
100% recommend.
Shadow Patterns of Melt – Book One by J.R.P. Fogg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was intrigued by the cover of this book as it reminded me of several science fiction characters. I am glad that I chose to pick this book up to read. It was incredibly good, and I highly recommend it. The author did a wonderful job with the world building and characterizations in this story. It did take me a couple of chapters to get into the story and understand the dialect. Once I did, I could not put this book down. I was perplexed by the time travel through wormhole tunnels in spacetime and questioned if this was a real possibility. This book reminded of the movie “Interstellar” in many ways. I was not disappointed.
Dream-Shifter by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review by @mimimadge
View all my reviews
Soliloquy by Janet Fogg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book, wow. Pulls you in first 10 pages. I was stuck reading. The author describing the dolls that Erin got from her grandmother. I was all about it. Then later the romantic side came later. I spent all day with this book could not put it down.
Dream-Shifter by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think at some point in everyone life people can relate to this book. Having a dream and turning into someone else whether that’s an animal or a person and having an adventure in dream space. It is a touching story. The author does a great job on explaining a child’s life then turning into this grand adventure.
Pardon Me, Please by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I saw the cover and the premise for this and just had to read it. Perfect for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Albert is a turkey that lives on a turkey farm. As the holidays grow nearer, people are looking at Albert and not to be a pet.
One day, Albert sees the President on the T.V. where he announces pardons. Albert wonders if the President will pardon so he wont be someone’s dinner.
I went into this, thinking it was going to be funny but I finished it with a more open mind. Albert tries to communicate with the family that picks him, to not eat him. He wants to be the pardoned turkey this year so that he does not end up on a family’s table.
This is more than what the title and cover suggests and I am glad that I read this. I will have to read more of this authors’ books.
Amaleigha and the Big Idea by Janice Pratt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amaleigha is five years olds and sees the world differently than most people. She loves running with her bare feet and just laying on the grass. With each season, there are things that Amaleigha notices about nature.
Those around her have different opinions about her. Her brother believes her to be a ‘crazy kid’ while her grandmother knows she will do great things.
One day, Amaleigha has a great idea and starts putting it into action by telling her family and making sketches.
This was a cute short story. I loved Amaleigha’s imagination and her interest in nature. The artwork was cute too.
A Crossbow Christmas by Ann Swann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Christmas magic is a way of life
This is my first book i have read from Ann Swann and I think I love this author. Carina has had her fair share of tragedy in her life.
Carina survived the pandemic and also been through death with some loss of her family. A friend she met on an online grief support group offers her a special gift for Christmas. She wants to spend Christmas with her whole family, a big Christmas. But does anyone care? No one. Just her. Will she travel by herself up to the secret special gift her friend has given her? This was heart warming and a white Christmas. It is a must read.
More Than by Diane Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was a very heartfelt book. I felt a connection to the main character. There were times I found myself drifting into the story while reading this. The author really drew me in and kept me hooked. I will be reading more from this author.
After She Became a Lady by Wareeze Woodson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my first book by this author. I very much enjoyed it. All the aspects worked perfectly in this book. I could not put it down. The author’s use of appropriate “period” language made for a better reading experience. I highly recommend this book.
Tink by D.M. Earl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This author writes gritty darker tales that are not for the faint of heart. She covers difficult subjects with honesty and sometimes gruesome details. This one is no exception.
We briefly met a few of these females in the last Grimm Wolves MC book. They were highly impressive and made me curious about them so I was excited to pick this up.
I loved that this is a all female MC. How different! It was interesting to see how hardened some of these women are but yet they have that softer side. Tink’s tale is tragic as she has suffered much in the past. Her story is deeply involved with her family so we see a lot of then. Noodle is a guys guy who takes a fancy to Tink. He doesn’t only have Tink to gain favor from but a few others as well. That dies cause a few scary moments as well as a couple chuckles or smiles.
The secondary characters are just as involved as the main. We learn a lot about of few others as the tale is told from different POV. I enjoyed this one and really look forward to the next.
Knight In The Museum by Alice Bienia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat, it’s enthralling and I did not want to put it down (even if I was super tired).
Jorja Knight is a PI and the case that just got put in her lap has her traveling to Colombia. Naturally, there are surprises waiting for her around the corner.
Such a well-written story!
More Than by Diane Barnes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Peggy is a mom of twins who are fast approaching adulthood. She has been a stay-at-home mom and has raised them alone since they were babies, as her husband died in a plane crash. Now that they are heading off to college several hours away from home, what is she to do with herself? The book is a story of how Peggy consumes her time while the kids are at college. She enrolls in a boot camp and meets what becomes her best friends. It is an entertaining story of how they meet and get along and hang out all together. It’s an easy read and kept me wanting more. I highly recommend this book.
Road to the Mansfield by C.B. Laurence
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was really good. I don’t think I have read a mystery exposing so much of the truth. I loved how all three stories intertwined together. I am excited to the next book in the series. This book had me wondering what next was going to happen. I really enjoyed that there were strong female characters.
Reviewed by @purplesky25276
The Rom Com Movie Club – Book One by Bernadette Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Discovery and romance
This was a fun read! It’s a contemporary romance that has a great balance between romance, comedy and real life issues. Lisa has not had people stand by her and Ryan has had his share of battles. They’ve got to find some common ground. I connected with the characters easily and enjoyed the pacing of their connection. The authors writing style was easy to read and the tension, drama and angst was delivered in a way that had me vested. Looking forward to Book 2.
