Posts

Walker Pride (The Walker Family, #1) by Bernadette Marie Review by Heather Knalls

Walker Pride (The Walker Family, #1)Walker Pride by Bernadette Marie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Susan is a caterer that has been hired for the will reading at the Walker Farm after the grandfather passes away. She meets Eric the eldest son and is intrigued by him from their first meeting. They both have haunted pasts that have somewhat come to haunt them in their everyday lives now. All of the drama started before they were ever born and it is now being brought to light. Will everything play out as it should or will things come crumbling down. Can’t wait to read more and see what happens.

View all my reviews

Luce Eterna: Part 1: Book 5, The Luminara Series by SJ Molloy – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Luce Eterna: Part 1: Book 5, The Luminara SeriesLuce Eterna: Part 1: Book 5, The Luminara Series by S.J. Molloy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is only for those over 18 due to the adult nature of the content and themes which some may find triggering.

Lexi and Lucca are back in another installment of the Luminara series and it is still them against the world, but this time, they have the twins to think of, after their mothers abduction and brutal beating which started the premature labour, four weeks later and they are improving, although both Lexi and Lucca are exhausted they are still a team and still looking after their two miracle babies. This little girl is finally out of the hospital and allowed home, however, their little boy is still in the SCBU unit, although that is a huge downgrade in levels from the incubariot he has been in since birth. They have been able to have family and friends to visit, as well as trying to look after each other, but between Lucca being hands on with most things, Lexi is still trying to get into a routine with breastfeeding, expressing and all the other things that babies need, especially when premature.

As they are allowed to take their little girl out of the hospital, they decide to stay in a hotel across the way so that they can be close to their little boy. They regularly go to see him and are overjoyed with their little miracle bundles. However, they are still reeling from the events and the consequences associated with them, the fact they still need the security detail, the fact that two pasts combined to create a horrific present, the loss of close friends and the seemingly endless media scrutiny surrounding it all. However much they are trying, Lexi is in denial and Lucca is struggling to keep his head above water as well, but they have support all around them and this is something that they will come to rely on sooner rather than later.

On the day that their little boy has his final xray before getting the all clear to come home, they are preparing the baby bag, stroller and necessities while planning the tasks for the day ahead depending on whether the results are positive or negative, while all the time praying that they can take him home, so they check the post and find that an old acquaintance has sent them something which is undesirable, but they brush it off as purely being bitchy. However, when they get to the unit there have been some unplanned and unforeseen changes in staffing and when they ask who is with their child, they find out that it isn’t his normal nurse, but it is another two whom they have known and trust, so Lexi is encouraged by Lucca to take a nap while they are waiting for his return and she is happily asleep in her carrier. Lexi is suddenly awoken in a panic by the sound of Lucca’s voice shouting, her daughter missing out of her carrier and realises that she is leaking all over her shirt, wondering what is happening, she approaches the voices, however, she is horrified to find that the nurses who were meant to be with their son aren’t and that their son is actually missing!

As Lucca crumbles to the ground screaming, wailing and breaking, Lexi is screaming while trying to find her son, but when she sees the state that Lucca is in and that his PTSD and past experiences are coming back with full force to haunt him, she takes control of the situation and starts to deal with the police, security and everything else around her. As he is breaking, she is being reformed into a master multitasker and all the while juggling motherhood, but will Lexi be able to keep all the plates in the air, or will she crumble and break as her emotions cascade around her? Will Lucca be able to come out of his downward spiral and help Lexi to find their son, or will he let his demons get the better of him while he gives up the ghost? This is another rollercoaster ride of emotion as you are hauled along on their journey with them and experience every twist and turn at the same time.

Review by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

The Web of Humanity: A Novel by Maria Turchin – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

The Web of Humanity: A NovelThe Web of Humanity: A Novel by Maria Turchin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anna Venu is a woman with a loving family, but one who holds many secrets, as she has grown up, she has realised that her grandmother didn’t want to share anything about her past as she lived her life travelling from Austria to Berlin and finally to the USA, she didn’t even tell her husband anything, she just acted as if it didn’t matter and nobody really pressed her, at least until one day just before she passed away when Anna asked her and she only told a snippet of a story about how she loved the zoo in Berlin, especially the zebra’s and how one saved her life during WWII when it blocked her from an artillery shell and losing it’s life in the process. However, a year later when she is feeling restless and nearly involved in an accident, she decides to go and visit her grandfather, he was a Seaman in the Navy and had written his story down in a book about how he survived a U-Boat attack and how he ended up meeting his wife, which Anna often revisited when she had the chance, however, on this particular day, he shows her a card with writing on the back addressed to her grandmother and a photograph which she always kept at her bedside, this is the starting point of a journey of discovery where Anna uses her pre-law training, her tenacity and determination to discover her grandmothers hidden past.

Anna is given access to some funds and decides to travel across the world to Austria and start at the beginning in the town of Sankt Gilgen in Austria where she goes to start to find out about her roots, this is when she realises that she has more family that she could have imagined as her search leads her to an old woman with a very detailed and large family tree and a story of why her grandmother distanced herself from them, it turns out that she fell in love with a soldier and refused to return to the family home after he tragically was killed in the war, instead deciding to become a nurse and stay in Berlin where she had gone to look for him.The next day when Anna shows the picture she brought with her, it turns out that it is a bit of a mystery as to why she didn’t look the same as in her portrait on the family tree, so Anna decides to go to Vienna where there is a military museum and try to get some more information about one of the men in the picture. When she gets there, she is rebuffed by a bored receptionist and then pointed in the right direction by a helpful security guard and meets the ex director of the museum, she asks for his help, however, it is not his area of expertise, but he knows someone whose it is. As Anna is put into contact with the next professor, she finds that she has to travel to Berlin and try and figure things out after their meeting, but she is passed onto a student as the professor hasn’t the time to deal with her request.

In this next stage of her journey, Anna finds out more about the people in the photograph, however, there is another mystery to solve when they are identified, they are not who she thought they were and so the next piece of the puzzle has to be sought and this leads her on a merry chase and discoveries which she would never have believed. Will she find out her grandmother’s past, or will it die with her when one lead after the other turns to nothing, or will what she discovers shake the very foundations of what Anna believed? This is a mystery with a historical basis which will challenge your perceptions, as well as teaching you about life at the time in the format of a thrilling mystery which will keep you intrigued throughout.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Chameleon by Zoe Kalo – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

ChameleonChameleon by Zoe Kalo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Paloma is a seventeen year old girl who has recently lost her father, so in an attempt to contact him she conducted a seance in school, but she really underestimated the effect it would have on the rest of the school’s population, fear and rumours of an indiscretion with a boy in a confessional spread like wildfire and resulted in her expulsion. However, the convent she is now approaching with her mother, step father and little sister looks more like a prison, a prison she only has to stay in for seven months, a prison ruled by nuns in black habits and full of orphans and less than perfect school children. As she enters through the front door, Paloma cannot but admire the building itself, but the nuns are not what she would have expected, or at least the one who answers the door isn’t. After she watches one girl get told off for lying and have her ear twisted as a punishment, they are interrupted by another nun, but this time, one in a whilte habit, Madre Superiore, the headmistress of the establishment and the one who takes the family to her office to go over the final details and oversee their goodbyes.

As the same nun from earlier escorts Paloma to her dormitory, she points out where the necessary places she will need to know about are, the dining room, the library, the dormitories and the floor where the nuns sleep and which is off limits to students and as they enter the dormitories, Paloma is introduced to one of the students she will be sharing the dormitory with called Rubia. Rubia helps Paloma to settle in and goes through the rules with her again while Paloma unpacks, but for some reason, she can’t put her finger on it, Rubia seems off, not rude or impolite, but indescifrable for some reason and that unsettles Paloma a little. Paloma also finds out that Rubia will be the one who will be helping her to catch up on the lessons she has missed between schools, to which Paloma reluctantly agrees, it is while she is unpacking that Paloma hears the waterfall through the open windows and has to stop herself from panicking and having flashbacks, but she manages and Rubia carries on with the tour of the convent.

As they talk more about the different nuns and a little about Rubia’s past, Paloma changes into her uniform and they head down for dinner, on their way Rubia introduces her to three other girls who are also in the same dormitory, Adelite who is the one who was being punished for lying earlier, who is very quiet and seems to always be far away in her own mind, Silvy, a girl with cat like eyes and delusions of grandeur with regards to her heritage and personality, but who is also always seeking attention and finally Maria, a bigger girl with a friendly smile and tortoiseshell glasses who seems to be close with Adelita and helps to keep her mind on what she is doing at the time. Each of the girls has a past and slowly as time progresses Paloma learns of them, but she also learns that they are nearly all interested in the seance and want to take part in one, all apart from Maria who is very dubious of the whole thing, however, they all agree to hold one, however, their reasons are slightly different for each of them and what they discover during the seance leads to a whole host of new questions and a mystery to solve.

A few days later, accidents start to happen and Paloma starts to believe that she is seeing and hearing things in the halls of the convent and in the graveyard outside, however when the accidents become fatal, Paloma risks everything to try and unravel the mystery, however, is it all in her head, or is there really a malevolent presence in the convent? Will she be able to solve the mystery or will there be nobody left to save? This is a thrilling and yet disturbing mystery which will keep you guessing right until the end while simultaneously leaving you wondering if it is all in Paloma’s imagination and not real at all.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Southland Academy for Supernatural Youth by Sandra Tentler and Brooke Tentler – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Southland Academy for Supernatural YouthSouthland Academy for Supernatural Youth by Sandra Tentler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Southland Academy for Supernatural Youth is a school for supernaturals of all kinds, it is a safe place where they can learn all the usual subjects plus subjects related to their particular nature and this is where six friends meet for the first time and the bond which is created between them is a strong one, the six friends are Vlad, Devlin, Amber, Sakana, Lily and Fiona, the most unlikely of friends and allies you can imagine.

Devlin is a typical high school kid, he is successful at sports and popular with both the girls and the boys, but when he wakes up on his thirteenth birthday and he is covers din a thick carpet of hair all over his body, he is shocked and appalled and asks his mum to get his dad to ask him about shaving, however, when his dad comes in, he asks Devlin to come to the breakfast and he will explain what is going on. So as Devlin stuffs his face with pancakes, he learns that all the males in his family have been cursed with the werewolf gene since one of his ancestors was bitten, however, it skips generations and his dad was hoping that it would skip him too, however, they had prepared for this eventually anyway. As they explain what is happening and that he will be changing school and that his stuff is already packed so they will set off as soon as possible, he is not happy about it, but when he gets there and meets his roommate, it seems like things might not be as bad as he thought.

Next we meet Lily, she is the daughter of a warlock and also the High Priest of the Coven of the Hallowed and has been sent to the Academy so that she can work on her spell casting, she is so nervous around other witches that she stutters and mixes up her words which means that her spells backfire with sometimes awful consequences. Her father says that she is an embarrassment to the Coven and that she has to improve or she will be transferred to another coven, this is the last thing that she wants, but she has no idea what to do, she doesn’t want to be recognised, but she also know that that isn’t going to happen, she looks too much like her father, so when she meets the student who is going to show her around and help her settle in, she isn’t sure at first, but eventually relents and after spending the first evening alone in her room and joins some of the others for breakfast.

Vlad is Devlin’s roommate and he is a vampire from a very well known and high ranking vampire family,in fact, he is the vampire behind the legends of Dracula in everything apart from the name, but he has some quirks of his own, he cannot stand the sight or taste of blood, he is completely uncoordinated and is just hopeless at being a vampire in general. His father is also disappointed with him and Vlad wishes that he could be more confident and less accident prone, but he is smart and welcoming and has a feeling that he will get on with his new roommate, despite all the hair.

When Vlad, Devlin and Lily go down to breakfast, they are all introduced to the others on the table by Amber, she is a chatterbox, friendly and full of energy, she is also happy all the time and just wants to be friends with everyone around her, she is also a ferret shifter. Fiona introduces herself, she is a snowy owl shifter and is as wise as they come, but also quiet, reserved and a tutor at the Academy. As everyone gets into the routine of the school and the group of friends help each other with their studies, the students start complaining that things are going missing, it starts off with trousers, shoes and socks, but soon books, jewellery and other trinkets start going missing too, but the professors have no idea what is going on, meanwhile Lily is shocked when one day a cat called Sheba appears in her room and says that she is her familiar and is there to help, so the six friends devise a plan to catch the culprit while keeping up with all their schoolwork, but will they be able to do it and retrieve the items before the students families realise they are missing, or will it all go to pot and the culprit continue on its thieving rampage? This is a paranormal, coming of age comedy where things are not as they seem and mysteries keep popping up, it is entertaining and will keep you guessing the answers until the end.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

An Unexpected Bonding: Book One of The Unexpected Trilogy by Lilly Rayman – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

An Unexpected Bonding: Book One of The Unexpected TrilogyAn Unexpected Bonding: Book One of The Unexpected Trilogy by Lilly Rayman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There has been a war between the werewolves and the vampires for thousands of years, it is bloody, it is gruesome and it may be about to end thanks to a faerie prophecy which foretold of future events that would shake the paranormal world to its core. A member of the vampire council is cursing the werewolves near to his territory, they seem to be allowing themselves to be seen by humans so that they can scare them away and move into the territory and this vampire is not impressed in the slightest by it because their preference is to drink straight from the vein and this can’t happen if there are no humans. At the same time, another of the council has a plan to try and broker a peace deal between the two warring factions, however, it needs to go before the Council before it can be approved. Meanwhile, Livvie is the daughter of the Alpha of the Romulus pack but she is wolf-less and because of this she has been living away from her pack for the last ten years in Texas on theThunder Hollow cattle ranch her late fiance left to her after his death and this year is the first year where her bulls will be entered into the local rodeo, she is still grieving his loss and feels it as acutely as she did when it happened three years ago, but life goes on, she works hard and hopefully will see the fruits of her labours soon. All of a sudden Livvie senses someone entering the bar who shouldn’t be there, it is a vampire, she is wary but engages him in polite but stunted conversation, but his expectations are disappointed when the friend he is looking for in Livvie cannot be called out and as she walks away, he is left surprised and she returns to her home.

As the vampire Council convenes, they discuss the proposal set before them, there is opposition and discussions around the who, the where and the why, but they eventually agree that it is a good proposal and that the werewolves should be approached about iy, meanwhile the Romulus pack is disturbed by news of a rival pack moving into territory near where Livvie is living, so a few of the members decide to go down to the rodeo and use it as an excuse to see Livvie at the same time. Livvie is hard at work preparing her cattle when her friend comes to look them over, she is surprised that he is not alone and that he has brought someone who wants to work at the ranch with her, as he introduces Darius to Livvie she cannot help but feel drawn to him, however, she keeps that to herself as she feels guilty about the feelings it stirs up with regards to Nate. Darius is just as drawn to Livvie as she was to him, although he also doesn’t want to acknowledge his feelings over the grief he still feels at the loss of his late wife, three years before, so he shuts down the feelings straight away as well.

As the weeks pass, Livvie and Darius fall into a comfortable working relationships on the ranch and when Livvie’s finds out that her pack brothers are coming to visit she is excited, but later on that day she has an accident when she is attempting to fix a windmill on , but when Darius goes to her rescue, the feelings that they are trying so hard to repress come back until the vampire from the bar turns up and that is when she finds out what Darius really is and when another unexpected visitor turns up, her wolf is called to the surface, however, she is strong and has to be temporarily bound again, but the instincts are awakened nonetheless and these are what could get her into trouble. As the rodeo approaches and the pack find out about Darius for the first time, fists almost fly and Livvie’s true nature starts to show through, this shocks her family, however when the rival pack kidnap Livvie, everything else is put on the back burner as Darius realises exactly how deep his feelings for Livvie really run.

Will the werewolves and the vampires be able to work together to return Livvie and rescue her from the clutches of the rival pack, or will she be able to free herself when the full moon rises? Will the prophecy play out as planned and a peace be brokered, or will things derail the plans and go awry? This is a complex and exciting journey through the history of vampires , werewolves and the faerie while keeping romance in full flow, it will draw you in and land along for the bumpy ride in more ways than one.

Review by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

The Way to Storey by L.B. Anne – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

The Way to StoreyThe Way to Storey by L.B. Anne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Luella is an eleven year old girl who lives with her Gramps next door to a lady she knows as Ma Poo, they live a quiet existence in the Florida swamps where she is homeschooled and taught all about nature, as well as the normal school subjects as well, but spends her leisure time reading or fishing with her Gramps and on the odd occasion watches a bit of TV with Ma Poo. She doesn’t get on well with the other local kids, they call her names and pick on her, but she can run away from them faster than they can catch her, but she does get in trouble for it sometimes. While they are out on the lake, Luella asks her Gramps about Storey, it is a place where Gramps says she is from, he then asks her questions about what she already knows, such as how to get there, to which Luella replies that she has to follow the birds and where her emotions need to be kept, to which she replies in her heart, but Luella doesn’t believe that Storey exists, after all, she found no evidence of it when she searched the house or when she searched for it on the computer in the local library, but when the computer goes haywire, Luella has a feeling that something is coming.

One day some men come to the house and ask where Luella is, even though she has never seen them in her life, but Gramps tells her to stay inside and out of site while he and Ma Poo deal with them, the men won’t take no for an answer and so when Gramps comes back into the house to get his shotgun, he tells Luella to go to their place and wait for him there. When he says this Luella knows it is serious and goes there to wait for him, when he eventually comes to get her it is already night time and so Luella has a bath and goes to bed thinking nothing more about it until her Gramps picks her up out of bed in the morning and tells her to hide in the hidden alcove above her dresser and to stay there no matter what happens. As usual, Luella doesn’t listen and creeps to a window to see what is happening, this is when she sees them force her Gramps into one of their cars and hears people entering the house, this is when she goes and hides while she hears them searching the entire house for her. She only comes out once she is sure she cannot sense their presence in the house and Ma Poo comes in looking for her. When she does, she tells Luella that the people will be back and that she has to gather together her things and come to her place out of the way, but things do not go smoothly and the men come back before the sun even has chance to rise and when Ma Poo is placed in danger, Luella cannot control her emotions and blasts the men away from her.

This is where Luella’s life will change completely, she leaves the only place she has ever known and follows her Gramps instructions to follow the birds and get to Storey as soon as she can, but that she has to do it on her own, as she travels she meets people along the way, but some help and some hinder. Will Luella be able to hold her own and make it to Storey, or will she lose her way and be caught by the people shadowing her every step? This is a fantasy tale of a journey of one girl against the odds which will hook you in and keep you there until you have read the entire thing.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Our Wicked Lies: A gripping psychological thriller by Glede Browne Kabongo – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Our Wicked LiesOur Wicked Lies by Glede Browne Kabongo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alicia Gray has the life everyone wants, a marriage to a handsome and successful man, two beautiful daughters who are headstrong and know what they want out of life and a beautiful home in a quiet and wealthy area of town, but things are not all as they seem when she sees her best friend getting a little too friendly with her husband at a party. When she confronts him about it the next day, he is not comfortable and tries to portray it as less than it was, he tells Alicia that it was all on her friend and he felt uncomfortable and was hoping that nobody had seen, while being embarrassed that she had, not really an sight of an apology though, but Alicia gives him the benefit of the doubt and tries to get in contact with her friend to hear her side of the story. This is not to be when her friend does not get back in touch with her, but she cannot get it out of her head despite trying to take her mind off of it, her suspicions are raised again at dinner the next day when unusually her husband is home for it, normally he works late, however, when he gets a phone call and looks nervous about answering it in front of her, she is not sure what to make of it all. When she confronts him about it, he is evasive and says it was to do with work, but she isn’t buying this time at all, however, she lets the subject go for now.

Alicia is taking some time to think about her future none that her girls are both heading off to uni this year and the next, she thinks it is time to start looking at getting the degree she gave up on earlier on in life and getting herself a job to keep her skills up, on top of her volunteering at a Gynaecology Centre for a charity near to where she lives. She adores her work there and ideally would like something there, however, she asks her boss to keep an eye open for anything that might suit her, she uses it as a way to practice before she talks to her husband about it all. She is getting worried though when her friend still isn’t answering her messages, but doesn’t know whether to go and see her in person or not and it is driving her to look for other evidence of what her husband may be hiding from her, so she decides to check his computer, although what she finds on there just makes her even more incentivised to find out what is happening when she finds emails which are addressed to another woman, but never sent. As this mystery unfolds, another shock comes when someone close to her is killed, but is it related to the emails and the mystery phone calls, or is there something else more sinister at play? This is a suspense which will keep you hooked as secrets are revealed, pasts are exposed and current events show that there is more to the surrounding area than meets the eye.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Betrayal at the Beach: A Cozy Christian Mystery (Dangerous Curves Book 1) by K.L. Montgomery – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Betrayal at the Beach: A Cozy Christian Mystery (Dangerous Curves Book 1)Betrayal at the Beach: A Cozy Christian Mystery by K.L. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sunshine Baker work in the Bryce Beach Public Library as a YA and she has been working with the Friends of the Library Committee to organise and throw their yearly Gala to raise funds for the library, as well as her role at the library itself and has been enjoying every minute of it and as the night of the gala arrives, she is hoping that everything will go well and that the invitees will enjoy the evening. From the start it looks like everyone is having fun and the catering, magician act and music are keeping everyone entertained, when the food is served and she finds out that she has to make the first speech and introductions, she is terrified, but manages to get through it and the rest of the evening inscathed, that is until after they have counted the donations and are presenting the total to the audience when there is a crashing of glass and a scream where the crowd is shocked into panic. The Founding Fathers Bible, a priceless artifact has been stolen and when Sunshine goes to check on the donations in the locked room, she is devastated to find out that they have been stolen too.

The police are called and statements are made, but when she arrives at work on the Monday morning, the Chief of Police is there to see her and ask her some questions, however, she is surprised to find out that they suspect one of the employees and that they need the information of all who had access to the room that the donations were being kept in, whether they were at the Gala or not. This has Sunshine worrying and this is increased even more when she goes to see the head of the Library and is asked for her opinion and then to look into it in her own time as well. This spurs her onto asking questions of her friends Evangeline and Molly, drawing up a list of attendees and talking through the events of the night again, but all this does is throw suspicion around with no strong leads bar one, so the next day Molly and Sunshine make plans to talk to them, but in a non-threatening way to try and glean some more information from them about that night. As these conversations take place, more tidbits and accusations are thrown around which are making Sunshine feel even more uncomfortable as they are mostly pointing towards one of her friends and another colleague as the police appear to be less than interested.

As the stakes are raised and jobs are on the line, will Sunshine and her amateur sleuthing skills solve the mystery before jobs and a priceless artefact are lost forever? This is a cozy mystery which will keep you guessing through to the end as the hunt for answers throws light upon a small community with secrets and stories to tell.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Apocalypse NOPE!! by Deidre Huesmann – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Apocalypse NOPE!!Apocalypse NOPE!! by Deidre Huesmann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ivy-Jean is a teenager in high school, but that is where the similarities to others in her year end, she is tall with dark hair and spiders for friends, but she is alone, bullied and called names all the time she is out of the house, but when she is at home, she is a disappointment to her mum and usually her dad is nowhere to be found. She does have the responsibility of picking up their mail, but gets annoyed when she has to redeliver mail. To her neighbour whose mail always seems to get mixed up with her family’s, even though they live on completely different floors. As she gets home from school as usual, she has made some new spider friends, whom her mum attacks and kills before IVy-Jean can relax, this is followed by another confrontation with her mum about getting into trouble at school and her lack of friends as she rushes out to go to work, but this day is different, today she decides that to hell with federal law, she is going to open her neighbours mail and see what is inside, little does she know that as she reads the words on the page, she is going to be getting into a whole heap of a new kind of trouble.

As her last remaining spider friend of the day crawls onto the letter and walks around underlining the word “Come” and as soon as the word is out of Ivy-Jean’s mouth, there is a thump on the wall in the corridor outside her apartment, followed by the door exploding inwards and a young guy about her age walks through her door dressed in boots, dark pants, a red silk shirt and a cape bearing a huge broadsword bigger than he is! However, when he introduces himself as “War, the second Four Horseman of the Apocalypse” and that he is at her service, she cannot believe her eyes or ears, thoughts flow through her head, but no matter what she cannot believe that this is real and when he mentions her neighbour, Ivy-Jean realises that he is assuming that is her, but no matter what she says he will not listen. As the conversation carries on he insists that she calls the rest of the Horsemen and that they should go look for them, it is at this point that another figure emerges out of nowhere behind her, they are pale, grey and almost skeletal looking with a voice that sounds like winter frost and a cold breeze which accompanies it, that person then introduces themselves as “Death”.

As no other Horseman has appeared after this latest summoning, Ivy-Jean, War and Death go on a hunt through the city to find the remaining two, amid Ivy-Jean trying to understand what is going on while trying not to get herself killed on the city street, it is an anxiety inducing mess. At one point during their walk, Ivy-Jean’s spider, now named Spinderella jumps onto War’s face which startles him and sends him reeling into a woman and consequently breaking her arm, but when she starts spouting insults of all kinds at him, War asks permission to smite her while she is being helped by a passerby, when she says yes, War is in his element and the next thing she knows there are two piles of ash where the two people used to be, when War is questioned on this, he just replies that the man’s soul was evil and needed to die as well. As Ivy-Jean is processing this, War and Death spot a familiar face staring people down in a restaurant nearby and this is where she meets Famine, a woman who is beautiful and obsessed with food waste and how it is destroying the planet, when they find her, she is about to kill a restaurant manager, but Ivy-Jean manager to convince her to stave off doing it and retreat so they can find the final Horseman. It is at this point that they realise that something is off when their leader, Pestilence and the final Horseman who is actually taller than Ivy-Jean and looks like he is a gift from the gods with blonde hair and the strong face of an angel, turns up in her neighbor’s apartment and this is where they find out the mistake that the other three have made and the reality of Ivy-Jean’s responsibilities as the Summoner are laid out before her, as well as the consequences if she cannot complete her task.

As they talk out what needs to happen, it is decided that they need to enroll into the local high school, and observe what the youth of the era think of the world and see it through Ivy-Jean’s eyes, however, this doesn’t go quite to plan and the Horsemen bar Death end up enrolling in after school classes and becoming more entwined with the mortal youth than they should be, but can Ivy-Jean keep them on the right path, or will she fail both herself and those closest to her? This is a fantastical and unusual telling of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse tale while bringing it into a modern setting which will keep you laughing and reading throughout.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Luminoso: The Luminara Series, Book 4 by SJ Molloy – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Luminoso (Luminara, #4)Luminoso by S.J. Molloy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is only for those over the age of 18 due to it’s graphic nature, adult content and triggering themes.

This is the continuation of Lexi and Lucca’s story, and that her past tormentor has been released from jail in Australia and is determined to make Lexi pay for what she did in their shared past and he is finding the most innovative and underhanded ways in which to do this. He is praying on her family and friends, as well as finding out all he can about Lucca at the same time, he has done his research and done it well, however, when Lucca finds out about it, his only concern is Lexi and her safety, however, while they are on a trip to see her family, it all comes out and Lexi is told that he has been seen nearby, it is almost more than she can bear as it all comes rushing back to her.

On their fated trip, Lexi is feeling extremely unwell, but just blames it all on a stomach bug, but when she finally gets to her grandparents house and she settles into the visit, Lucca is still looking after her while getting to know the rest of her family, but when she is still ill a few days later, her mum suspects it isn’t a bug and insists that Lexi takes a pregnancy test, in the end she takes triple that and when the realisation hits that she is indeed pregnant with Lucca’s child, this puts even more pressure on the couple than before. One evening as they are spending time together, it is reported that Micheal has been seen near the house they are staying in and that despite all the security which is in place, they are not safe there, so Lucca makes the drastic decision to take himself, Lexi and her mum Grace back to Tuscany immediately, so the hurriedly pack a bag, say their goodbyes and hurtle to the private airstrip as fast as humanly possible. While on the plane, Grace takes her medication, Lucca drowns his worries and anxieties in whiskey while Lexi panics that it is going to be Tuscany all over again, so as she tries to talk to him and get him to open up, the only way he can is by her giving him over the control so that he can work out his frustration without resorting to drink. Lucca hates himself afterwards, however, he does finally open up and talk to Lexi about the situation.

When they get to the farmhouse, all they want to do is sleep, however, Lexi’s nightmares continue and her mother starts having episodes of her own brought on by the traumatic events of the night before, but Lucca is there to pick up the pieces as best he can and support both of the ladies in his life, while also running his business at the same time. As the stresses all pile up and the media get a whiff of the story, scandals are broken and the family’s haunted past is dredged up and brought back into the spotlight, this is too much for Lexi to cope with and she struggles with the stress and anxiety, but when Lucca starts to become distant and closed off, Lexi is even more worried about him. Neither of them want to hurt the other and by continuing the cycle of non-communication this is only doing them more harm, but when a new threat is unleashed and trusts are betrayed, Lexi and Lucca begin to wonder who is really on their side and it brings out the determined and strong willed woman in Lexi while pushing Lucca to breaking point while trying to protect her and their unborn baby.

Will they have any peace while Lexi copes with a difficult pregnancy, while having the eyes on the world focussed on her and Lucca, or will Lucca’s need to protect his family break the fragile bonds holding them together? Will they be able to fight the incoming storm together, or will it break them apart on the rocks of their pasts? This is another compelling installment in a darkly romantic series where love, lust, light and strength will all be tested as past and present combine to create a turn of events which will change perceptions and realities completely.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Tapestry of Worlds, Part Two: Running and Gunning by Hadley Thorne – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Tapestry of Worlds, Part Two: Running and GunningTapestry of Worlds, Part Two: Running and Gunning by Hadley Thorne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Louisiana a dark figure hunts in the night, he is shrouded in shadows as he disposes of the trash for the Black Queen, it is the start of something dark and disturbing and he is revelling in it, as long as it doesn’t hurt the one he loves. Meanwhile “Ransom” McIlwain is packing up and preparing for a new mission with his team, although he wishes he was going to a party with his girlfriend Erika instead, especially with how good she looks in the picture she just sent him, but duty calls, at least until he can swap to another area of the military in the future. H wants to spend more time with her, she is bold, beautiful, intelligent and everything he is looking for in a woman, but when she speaks about her Ph.D in Folklore, he admits to himself that he tunes out a little, not believing in what she is telling him, but for now, he has to concentrate on work and not his girlfriend.

As the briefing starts and the team find out where they will be going and what they will be doing it all seems to be something they don’t normally deal with and they would be right, they are going after a terrorist called the Black queen who is combining neurotechnolog and mysticism to launch a domestic terrorism plot on home soil and that they will be deploying to Lousiana to go to a top; secret facility in order to receive further intel and training to use during their mission. Before they head out, their Captain insists they call their families and warn them about the pandemic of Covid-19 which is going to become more problematic and widespread while they are on mission, Ransom does his best to warn Erika, but it seems like she is having too much fun to listen to him, he is hoping that he is wrong.

As they arrive at the underwater black ops base, get set up with their equipment and are introduced to the doctors who will be looking after them during the mission, as they go into their brief they cannot believe what they are hearing, apparently the Black Queen has found a way to cross the Veil between the worlds and that they will be using brand new technology to access it, however, on the other side, things will not appear as the team expect, they will be in a state of lucid dreaming and will explain more when they get to the other side. As the team settle into their assigned machines and cross the veil, they realise what the doctor meant by looking and seeing things differently, but as they begin to immerse themselves into this strange new world and start to gather the information they need to try to stop the Black Queen, Ransom realises that his girlfriend had unwittingly already partially prepared his for this mission.

Will they be able to navigate this world on the other side of the veil and accept and use the gifts they find themselves with to complete their mission, or will the dangerous beings within this world somehow use this to their advantage instead? This is a military mission based around current times with a paranormal twist of alternate dimensions, shifting landscapes and otherworldly gifts which will keep you hanging on the edge of your seat throughout.

Review by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Eye of the storm A Gray Ghost novel book 2 by Amy Mckinley- Reviewed by Stephanie Dulac

Eye of the Storm (Gray Ghost #2)Eye of the Storm by Amy McKinley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eye of the storm A Gray Ghost novel book 2 by Amy Mckinley is a wonderful read. You could read this book as a stand alone if you wanted but Broken Circle was a amazing read and recommend you read it. Eye if the storm will captivate you right from the beginning. Amy Mckinley has a amazing way of writing and keeping you invested and wanting more. I really enjoyed reading about all the characters Mari Dias and Chris. I look forward to read more books written by Amy Mckinley and thank you for another wonderful read.
@stephaniedulac25

View all my reviews

The Lightning Horse (Empire at Twilight Book 1) by N.L. Holmes – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

The Lightning Horse (Empire at Twilight, #1)The Lightning Horse by N.L. Holmes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the land of Hatti, Tiwatipara is a charioteer and he drives the chariot of the Prince Nerikaili, son of The Sun and he is very proud of his work with both the chariots and the horses who pull them. This day is no different when The Sun’s new pair of stallions are being shown off to a crowd of royalty, fellow charioteers, the staff who work at the stables, as well as other inhabitants of the city, it is a proud day for Tiwatipara who has been invited to ride in The Sun’s chariot, however, this chance is taken away when The Sun is called away on urgent business and instead Tiwatipara stays on the sidelines and his father and grandfather ride in the chariot, however, this is both a blessing and disguise when the chariot crashes killing Tiwatipara’s father and gravely injuring his grandfather and because he was the one to prepare and check the carriage over, the guilt he carries from that day from thinking that he was the cause of it changes his life forever.

Three years later and things within the kingdom are in flux, old enemies are reappearing and new enemies are trying The Sun’s patience by wasting his time with meaningless requests and platitudes while working against him in the background. Tiwatipara is still driving Prince Nerikaili’s chariot, however he does so recklessly and this puts others in a predicament while dealing with him and from that day, he feels like his and his families fortunes are on the descent and that they are being punished for some reason. As things become more confused and conflicting within Hatti, Tiwatipara is given information which again changes the course of his life, but will this be for the better, or for the worse and how will it affect those around him?

This is a historical fiction with intrigue, secrets, betrayal, love and hate where nothing is as it seems and will keep you reading to both know what happens in the end, all while learning more about the culture and the history it is based upon.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Love by Design (The Meraki Series Book 2) by Effie Kammenou – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Love by Design (The Meraki series, #2)Love by Design by Effie Kammenou
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mia Andarakis is one of four children in a typical greek household, however, she doesn’t live the typical single woman’s greek life, she lives in an apartment in the city with her best friend, she has a job with a magazine as a graphic designer amongst other things and a family who loves her, even if they can be stifling and overly opinionated at times, but she is convinced that she was born in the wrong era as her tastes in fashion and music are not current by any means, but she is happy. Today however, she is going to the first meeting of the Community of Creatives in Publishing (CCP), but when she sees the man on the podium, Nicholas Aristedis, the CEO of Aris Publishing, all rational thought and movement are scrubbed from her mind, he is stunning and his voice is like nothing she has ever heard before and she has definitely never reacted in such a way before, so she doesn’t quite know how to handle it. The CCP also have an awards ceremony yearly and this year Mia is proud to have been on the committee organising it, but when she comes face to face with Nicholas, he glares at her and she is dumbstruck as to why, so when she is congratulated on her role in the event and is asked for her resume to be sent to the head of the CCP, she is more than elated, however, when she hears that the company is being restructured and she is called to HR the next week, she starts to overthink and convinces herself that she is being let go of, so when she is told that she is in fact being moved to a different magazine thanks to a recommendation and is to work directly under Nicholas as his Associate Art Director.

Mia throws herself into research about the demographic of this new magazine, so she is prepared for her first day and the staff meeting she will be in, when she finds out more about the magazine and what it will be all about, Mia has an idea already coming together in her head and goes straight to work on a pitch and three hours later emails it to Nicholas and is immediately called into his office to discuss how the meeting should have been three hours ago! She is unnerved and intimidated by the man, but when they discuss everything, he is nothing like what he seemed at the meetings and they end up having a difference of opinion and bringing out the worst in each other, to the point that Mia debates whether she can work with a man who hates her and cannot stand being around her. When she gets back from lunch, she is called into the other CEO’s office and to her astonishment and delight, she is presented with an apology for Nicholas’s behavior and the knowledge that her pitch has not only been discussed and has been accepted, but will be used as the layout for the inaugural issue! She celebrates over dinner with friends and when she gets home is exhausted but brimming with ideas, so she sets up her laptop and works until she falls asleep, however, the next morning doesn’t go to plan and she ends up being a little late to the office and is immediately called into Nicholas’s office, who proceeds to apologise to her, but things are said and they have another disagreement where he says things are not going to work between them on a professional level, hearing this, Mia forwards him what she was working on the night before and packs up her desk to go stay with her sister.

After a long talk with her sister and a good night’s sleep, Mia head to her sisters cafe to help out and work out all the feelings by baking, but when Nicholas turns up after she didn’t turn up for work and searching for her, she agrees to hear him out and after the air is cleared, they return to the office to work on the magazine and she is told that they will be going to Athens in a couple of weeks to work on the next issue. Will Mia and Nicholas be able to work through their differences and together create something beautiful, or will their temperaments get between them and send things off the rails? This is another sweet romance with a carousel of mystery, heartbreak and love rotating throughout where past mysteries collide with current events in a way that would never be expected.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Love is What You Bake of it (The Meraki Series Book 1) by Effie Kammenou – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Love is What You Bake of itLove is What You Bake of it by Effie Kammenou
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kally Andarakis is a greek woman with a plan, she has her dog, her best friend, her cafe and her family and doesn’t need anything else, but it hasn’t always been that way, eight years before, she took a risk on a man who was the complete opposite of what her family wanted for her, mysterious, long haired and tattooed who drove a motorcycle, but when tragedy struck and he died, she discovered something which would shatter her trust in men and it broke her heart completely.

Today is her sister’s name day and Kally has a family meal and celebrates it at her childhood home in Port Jefferson, so she quickly stops in at home to change and take her dog for a quick walk before she heads over there. As usual there is plenty of food, drinks and love, her family is a close one, albeit a bit stifling at times and with some old fashioned greek ideals to boot, but she wouldn’t change them for the world. In her day to day life, when not attending family events, Kally has a routine she has perfected, in the morning she gives her dog a quick walk, then heads to work to begin baking pastries, scones and cakes for her customers, so headphones in and music on, she dances round her kitchen until the rest of her team show up to start their day, then she greets her regulars and chats with the other customers as she prepares their orders, however, today is not like any other when she finds a license plate outside her shop and so she picks it up and resolves to call the police about it when she gets a chance. When an officer shows up to collect the license plate, the cafe is busy and so she grabs it and turns to see which of the local officers had arrived, however, this one she has never seen before and he doesn’t quite fit the description of one, he is gorgeous and she is tongue tied, however, her ever present and man-crazy best friend thankfully takes the lead and makes the small talk. While he is talking Kally notices that although he complements the establishment, she is taken aback a little at the fact that he didn’t introduce himself, but her friend says his name is Max, according to his name badge, but she doesn’t need a man and he is definitely not the one for her, despite what her coworkers think.

The next day, life carries on as normal, however, Kally cannot get Max out of her head, so she bakes to take her mind off him and when her team come in it helps even more, however, when he comes back in to give her an update on the license plate, his interest in her baked goods, followed by an insult to her scones, she doesn’t know how to take his mercurial mood swings. After the cafe closes, her favourite book club arrives and talk diverts to a more steady topic as they discuss the months book and eat the sweet treats accompanying it, however, when a friend of the family tries to set her up with her nephew, Kally is less than impressed, but agrees to meet him if they run into each other at church. Meanwhile Max cannot get Kally out of his mind either and decides to come up with a way to see her again, even if it isn’t in his\best interest, he can’t afford to be distracted from the new life he is creating since moving back home and away from the disaster of his past. After church, he meets up with his daughter, his sister in law and her son and takes them to Kally’s cafe, Kally is happy to see Max and when he introduces the two kids with him, she is happy as well, they are lovely and the little girl worms her way into her heart, but when a beautiful woman joins them at the table nothing else quite goes to plan and she backs away thinking that it was too good to be true after all. When the group is ready to leave, Max stays behind to talk to Kally, he loves how she was with his daughter and feels like things are going well. However, when he bumps into her the next day, he cannot understand why Kally has suddenly lost the warmth she had when she looks at him and talks to him, although when he discusses it with a coworker later on, he realises the reason and is determined to clear up the misunderstanding.

Will Kally listen to Max, let him clear the air and take a chance on him, or will she hold back her heart behind the walls she has erected over time? This is a romance where the past affects the present in more ways than one as experiences are discussed, truths are revealed and hearts are thrown around on a rollercoaster ride, but can a family mystery from the past help two hearts to find each other? Only reading to the end can tell you.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Myths & Legends: An Indie Love Anthology – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Myths & LegendsMyths & Legends by Laura Greenwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book contains tales of romance where nothing is simple and everything is fantastical.

Mistress Of Sky And Stars is all about Nut and Geb, they have a forbidden love and when their secret is revealed, it is a race against time for a god and a goddess to enable the birth of their children, but will they manage in time, or will they be lost forever?

Queens of the Underworld is a lesbian retelling of the story of Persephone and Hades, but the twist is that Hades is the job title of the ruler of half of the Underworld and Maia has just gotten the job, but will the duties and challenges she face be made easier or harder by Persephone who rules the other half?

Frost And Flame is the story of a Phoenix called Carrie who is responsible for ending and rebirthing the world, however, she is special as she has both Fire and Ice within her, but they also carry the risk that she will be consumed by one before she has the chance to use her skills, will she be able to learn how to control both facets of her powers, or will she be have to choose just the one?

In Search Of Ghosts is s story of betrayal, mystery and true love where Alec has just lost his father and all his plans and goals have been derailed by the betrayal accompanying is, so when he decides to try and follow a ghost from his past, will it turn out in sync with his mothers memory, or will it lead to something unexpected, yet unbelievable?

In Cursed To Love is a twist on the typical tale of a hero and their quest, this is the story of one the ones who protect these objects of desire, they are the cursed, each curse is different and in the case of Maya, her curse is one of love and only love can undo it, but until that one person can come along who wants her for her and not the object she protects, she will kill anyone who tries to take it from her. Will this ultimate love story be told in a favourable light, or will death be the only solution?

I Do It For You is another retelling, this time of Robin Hood where Millie had everything her heart desired, the job, the hot boyfriend and the best friend who knew all her secrets, that is until one disaster of a night destroyed it all. When a letter is delivered with information about an uncle she had no idea existed and then she meets Micheal, a bad boy with a secret past. Will this mystery man be able to help her figure out who this uncle was and what the other benefactors mentioned in the letter might do, or will her life continue to crash down around her?

The final story is Dragon’s Heart and the story of dragon mates Geraint and Mary. Geraint is a dragon shifter and member of the Welsh Dragon Guards, a secret military elite who investigate the actions of a group of people hunting mythical creatures, all the while, keeping his home village safe and he has been waiting a long time to find his mate. Mary has had dreams of dragons all her life, but the night of her twenty-first birthday, a mystery man makes an appearance, his name is Geraint and he is hot as hell, but he is just a dream, isn’t he?

This indie romance anthology is filled with fantastical tales with something for everyone and well worth a read to discover something new.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Fake Fiancé (A Second Chance Office Romance) AUDIO BOOK by Amy McKinley – Review by Heather Knalls

Fake Fiancé

A Second Chance Office Romance

By: Amy McKinley

Narrated by: Regan Brown

Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins

Audiobook

4.6 out of 5 stars(26 ratings)

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Heather

05-08-21

What a love story!

What a love story. Stone and Adeline were destined to be together. The story is set in gorgeous Verona Italy and you just want to fall in love from the start. From their first accidental meeting as she fell into his arms to the ending it keeps you on your toes. If only every love story could be like this. Lovers of the past broken apart only to be reunited again in another life. So intriguing and captivating.

Jake the Growling Dog Goes to Doggy Daycare: A Children’s Book about New Experiences, Friendship, Stress Relief, and Kindness by Samantha Shannon – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Jake the Growling Dog Goes to Doggy DaycareJake the Growling Dog Goes to Doggy Daycare by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a lovely children’s book about Jake the dog who goes to doggy daycare for the first time when his owners go on holiday. He is a bit scared and worried about it so he goes to talk to his best friend. They agree on a plan and then Jaske sets off with his family to doggy daycare, he enjoys the journey there, but gets nervous at the actual place, but he is hoping that everyone will be friendly and that he enjoys himself. Will Jake be able to settle into this new experience or will he want to go home?

The book also goes on to talk about stress and how to relieve it in a way that a child would understand with colourful illustrations and a great flow. This book is one both adults and children alike can enjoy and find useful at the same time.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Bovine Tricks (Royals Gone Rogue Book 1) by Seelie Kay – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Bovine TricksBovine Tricks by Seelie Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mathilda Honoria Spencer, or Tillie is an Agent with MISix who works for the Queen, she carries out assignments when needed and is on currently on an assignment investigating a farm but so far all she can see are male farmhands and cows, but no sign of the supposed Hucows she is there to look for. As she discusses the situation further via her earpiece, she learns more about what exactly these Hucows are, how they are trained by fetish schools to become more like the animals, how they can be physically enhanced to resemble the animals and be used for pet play, as well as milking, she becomes more and more disgusted with the whole idea, but carries on tryin to investigate further before finally reporting on what she has found. This is when she finds out that she has an invitation to an auction where these Hucows and other Huanimals are going to be sold to the highest bidder in order to raise funds for a charity, thankfully though, she will be accompanied by her partner in more ways than one, Agent Abdul Ali so that she can search for the main focus of ehr assignment, Lady Annabelle, a minor royal before she ends up in the wrong hands.

The day of the auction arrives and Agents Tillie and Abdul are ready, he has done his research and is prepared to ask the difficult questions when they go to inspect the goods, where Tillie is struggling just to hide her true feelings on the situation. As they are invited to sit and prepare for the main event, they are still looking for Lady Annabelle, but as they are also looking for those there under duress, they join in the bidding on some of the others to keep there cover intact until she appears, however, it appears that she has an almost full transformation and it is shocking to both Tillie and Abdul. They manage to win the bid when they stare down another bidder whom they recognise from past assignments, however when the auction is raided and the Huanimals disappear from under their noses, even as their money has been taken, a race against time begins to find Lady Annabelle and rescue her.

As the search continues and the lines begin to blur Tillie and Abdul are struggling to keep duty and feelings separate and the hunt for Lady Annabelle becomes more complicated and there are more dead ends than leads, will they get to her in time before those who want to do her harm carry through? This is a race against time to rescue a royal but things are not all as they seem and the blurred lines between fantasy and reality keep you on your toes and make you think at the same time.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Murder at Honeybee Lake (Shadow of a Doubt Book 2) by Jessica Aiken-Hall – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Murder at Honeybee Lake (Shadow of a Doubt, #2)Murder at Honeybee Lake by Jessica Aiken-Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book which is only for those over 18 due to the triggers it contains within.

Randy Fletcher is a best selling author of children’s horror novels and is celebrating the anniversary of his boyfriend Ben moving in with him as a couple together in a boat on Honeybee Lake, or at least they were until a knocking sound on the outside of the boat annoys Randy enough that he convinces Ben to have a look, however, when he finds a dead body attached to a rope underneath the dock, their plans are immediately forgotten and the police are called. Randy doesn’t want to believe what he is hearing but Ben’s reaction to the situation convinces him it must be true, so as they wait for the cops to show up, they go back down to the lake and support each other but they end up arguing, especially when Ben hides their relationship from the cops by saying that he is just a friend, it doesn’t help when the cop is dismissive of the whole situation and state that they can’t see as it is too dark and that they will have to come back in the morning to confirm it instead. Ben is stunned by their nonchalance and ends up taking it all out on Randy when all he wants to do is help, they manage to talk it through and spend the rest of the evening trying to forget about the body in the lake.

The next day the cops come back to the house and have the same bad attitude as the day before, but one is eventually convinced to get into the lake and take a look, when they do, it is confirmed that there is a dead body and that it is a crime scene so they have to call in a team to remove it, while they are doing that, they send Randy and Ben back up to the house to wait, but not before another argument. Meanwhile, Mandy Blake is having snuggles with her daughter when the phone rings and her wife brings it to her saying it is her brother Randy and he sounds awful and when he tells her what is happening at his house, her first thought is to go there and support him and Ben, but he delays that telling her there is nothing she can do, he just needed to talk to someone about it all, so she asks her sister in law Tessa if she has heard anything from Randy, but being busy herself, Mandy isn’t surprised when she doesn’t get an answer until later on. Five hours later and the body is on its way to the morgue but with no further information about who the person is, apart from it looks like they have been there a while, so with nothing else they can do, Randy and Ben try to take their minds off it and decide to try and get some sleep.

Mandy is still trying to get her head around what Randy told her over the phone and has a bad feeling about the whole situation, which is confirmed when she sees a bunch of missed calls and messages saying Randy has been taken in for questioning, Randy is waiting for her there in an interrogation room when two men in suits enter and start demanding that he tells them what is going on so that they can get on with their day, but when he clearly states multiple times that he has no idea what they are talking about, they reveal the identity of the body and Randy is completely taken aback and decides to ask for a lawyer before they go any further with their questions. When they leave and Mandy comes in, all the emotions he has been holding spill out when he tells her he has just found out that it is someone from his past better left forgotten and she is as dumbfounded as he is. They leave together and after everyone has returned home, this is when Tessa calls back, this is when she decides to communicate with the victim and see if they can help figure out what happened. When things take a turn for the worse and evidence is collected, fingers are pointed and confusion, temptation and betrayal reign, will Randy, Mandy and Tessa be able to unravel the mystery of the body found in Honeybee Lake, or will the past come back to haunt them all with deadly consequences? This is a triller with a paranormal twist which keeps you guessing all the way through, as you try to figure it all out as you go along the journey with them.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Key West Dead (Jake Wolfe Book 6) by Mark Nolan – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Key West DeadKey West Dead by Mark Nolan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jake Wolfe and his ex-war dog Cody are back in another of their thrilling adventures and this time, they are in Key West in Florida so that Jake can attend the wedding of a friend, it is a barefoot beach wedding at one of the resorts on the Marina and while Jake is mingling with the other guests and catching up with people, he has a feeling that all is not well, his neck is tingling and the feeling of a premonition of danger, despite the fact that most of the guests are veterans and it is probably one of the safest places in the Keys, but this feeling only intensifies when a drone passes by and looks directly at him, even though this particular hotel has a no fly policy. After the ceremony finishes and the reception is over, Jake and Cody sail the newlyweds to their cruising sloop, however, as they approach it, Cody alerts Jake that he can smell something on the boat, the newlyweds stubbornly don’t allow Jake and Cody to investigate, preferring to set off on their honeymoon instead. Unfortunately, minutes after they set off there is an explosion followed by a ball of flame as the boat blows up in front of Jake. As the authorities arrive and take control of the situation, Jake is struggling with feelings of guilt and remorse and he is blaming himself for not insisting harder on carrying out the check until he sees the same, or very similar drone flying around and this throws him into a rage where he threatens the person behind it and swears revenge.

The next day, all the local news networks are talking about the devastating event and the person who has claimed responsibility for it by sending them the drone footage, as well as their ransom demand for $30 million from Monroe County. Meanwhile, the criminal being discussed is planning their next targets, the timings of them, planning the method of placement and finding out as much as they can about the man who threatened them. Jake is having breakfast with friends and trying to make sense of what happened when Jake receives confirmation that his request to take Cody to check some of the other marinas in the area has been approved and so the pursuit of the bomber commences in earnest. When the group leave, Cody turns up outside the restaurant and so Jake splits off from the others to take him for a walk back to the marina, but just as they are passing the county courthouse, Cody signals that he senses something followed by Jake seeing an individual jumping out of a car and heading away on a bicycle. Jake realises what is about to happen and shouts a warning before firing a gun shot in the air to encourage people to listen and just as the two clear the area and take cover, there is a blast from the abandoned vehicle. Jake goes into marine mode and starts to fight the fires in the immediate area while making sure that people are ok while demanding that someone calls the authorities. When they arrive at the area, he again has to make a statement and he is again annoyed that he wasn’t able to stop it, or protect the people around him, but as he talks it over with people later on, he is even more resolved to help solve the mystery of what is happening.

As the days follow on and more attacks are planned and carried out, the locals and tourists are becoming increasingly worried by the situation, as are the local government, but they are worried about the economic impact it could have on this area which revolves around tourism. Will Jake and Cody be able to figure out who is behind the attacks and why before more innocent lives are lost, or will they be the next victims before they get the chance? This is another thrilling race against time where an ex-marine and ex-war dog take on another criminal with malicious intentions.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Date Night by KM Lowe – Review by Stephanie Dulac

Date NightDate Night by K.M. Lowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Date night by KM Lowe is the first book that i have read by this author and im not disappointed. Date night is sweet short romance read. I really liked reading about Kyle and Hannah they were fun and entertaining to read about. Hannah is someone you could see your self being best friends with and Kyle seems like the man most ladies dream about. Once i started reading this book I could not stop. I would love to read more about Kyle and Hannah but I would also like to read more about Hannahs best friend and business partner Jesse and his life partner Peter!!!! I look forward to read more books by KM Lowe. Thank you KM Lowe for this wonderful romance read.

View all my reviews

@stephaniedulac25

Seductive Prey: The Relentless Trilogy by Vivian Fiano – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Seductive Prey (Relentless #1)Seductive Prey by Vivian Fiano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is only for those over 18’s due to the adult nature of the content.

Officer Grant Summers is a cop in the Boston PD so that he can pay forward the kindness he experienced as a child and Jordan Smith is a dancer with a dream of owning her own studio and decides to do this by joining the National Guard.

We first meet Jordan on her first day at the National Guard boot camp when some fellow recruits decide to try and get a rise out of her by demeaning her, but she doesn’t take any offense and just shakes her head while walking away from them until she hears the command of a higher ranking officer chewing them out for the inappropriateness of their comments, as he finishes with them, he introduces himself and then takes her to where she needs to meet her commanding Staff Sergeant. We first meet Officer Summers when he is attending to a call relating to oa drugs offence and the scene he sees when he gets there reminds him of his own childhood experiences, so as he reminisces, he looks after the child while his mother and another male are arrested.

Jordan is returning home after her nine weeks at bootcamp and as she is waiting to disembark from the plane, she reminisces about her time there and the friend she made while there, she is proud of herself for completing the training successfully and showing that she is more than just a dancer and a fragile one at that, but she is surprised when she and another recruit are allowed off of the plane first with an accompanying the round of applause when it is announced by the pilot over the intercom. When she sees her friends and family at the arrivals gate and later at her parents home, she realises that they are as proud of her as she is for herself and the surprise party her parents have thrown just confirms it, the next day she returns to work at the dance studio and pulls another surprise with the students who attend it, then she gets back into the everyday routine of being home and she loves it. However, when she and her friend get to the studio a few days later, they are shocked to walk in to see that somebody has broken in and is messing with some of their equipment, as Jordan shouts at her friend to call the police, the guy rushes her and her self defence instincts kick in as she fights the intruder off. When the police arrive, the assailant runs off and they don’t manage to catch him, however, it turns out that the officer attending is someone she already knows.

When Officer Summers is called to a breaking and entering, he is surprised to see that the victim is someone he already knows and they have a connection that nobody can deny and the fact that she fought the intruder ups her in his opinions again. After Jordan has made her statement at the station and returned home, the adrenaline runs out and she feels scared at what could have happened, but she is happy when Officer Summers checks in on her a couple of days later and is even more happy when he invites her out for dinner, she agrees and they end up enjoying each others company a lot, as the next few weeks pass and their relationship develops, Jordan starts to receive cryptic notes attached to photo’s of her when they are left on her car and her front door, but is this related to the break in at the studio, or is it something more sinister? This is a thrilling roller coaster ride which keeps you on your toes trying to work out who is behind the notes and photos while becoming more and more invested in Jordan and Officer Summers relationship as well as the pnes of those around them.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

On Viking Seas (Forerunner Series Book 3) by Jay Veloso Batista – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

On Viking Seas (Forerunner Series)On Viking Seas by Jay Veloso Batista
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the continuation of the story of the Agneson family, in this installment they have split up and are all over the northern reaches, Thorfinn in on the Verdandi Smiles snekke with Karl and his crew as they battle their way through a gruelling storm in the northern seas, Cub has been captured after the battle at Ethandun and is in chains, injured and on his way to a tin mine in Devonshire as a slave. Sorven is travelling with his family to Jorvik where they will be staying so that they can rest and recover from the devastating news of their most recent tragedies, whereas Kara is shocked and appalled by the idea that she is of marrying age and is soon to be paired with a suitor by her uncle as a way to improve the ties to his Mercian comrades, when all she wants is to become a shield maiden. Meanwhile Yeru is recovering from her arrow wound with her cousin Gurid and her family while catching up on the most recent news of the rest of the family.

As their individual trials unfold, will they make their way through and keep themselves alive, or will they succumb to them never to see the rest of their family again? With hidden enemies, secret schemes and adventures galore, this is a fantastic romp through a living myth with twists, turns, happiness and sadness as the adventures continue.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Safe Harbor: A Logan McKenna Mystery Book 5 AUDIO BOOK by Valerie Davisson- Reviewed by Stephanie Dulac

SAFE HARBOR: Logan Book 5(The Logan McKenna Series)SAFE HARBOR: Logan Book 5 by Valerie Davisson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Safe Harbor Logan book 5 in The Logan McKenna Series by Valerie Davisson is the first book ive read by this author. Safe harbor is a very entertaining book to read. I also really like logan and thought that she was a great character. I found this book was unpredictable and really kept me engrossed. I look forward to reading more books by Valerie Davisson. Thanks for the wonderful read.

View all my reviews

@stephaniedulac25

I Will Bury You by Brandy Nacole – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

I Will Bury YouI Will Bury You by Brandy Nacole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is a sunny day, but it isn’t the right weather for a funeral, especially when you are burying a parent and comforting an aunt, but staying strong is the most important thing when you have to be strong for them, even though you are breaking down inside. As we leave the cemetery and head home, she announces that the house needs to be cleared, things organised into piles for donation, items to sell at the antique shop and things to keep and it all has to be done in less than a week before she moves into a retirement home. This is all a shock and while going through the things in the attic first, this is when the time gaps start, one minute looking at a drawing, the next a banging announcing that tea is late and her routine is broken and routine is everything for her nowadays. Later on after she is settled into her chair with an audiobook, the sorting and organising continues, however, the things that are found are both disturbing and at the same time unknown, there are drawings and pictures, that are new to the eyes and the questions they bring up are blown off when an explanation is needed.

As the packing continues the boy next door comes to visit and it is like no time has passed between the last time he was here, but the conversation is lacking but the passion is still there until he says something unusual and is asked to leave when tempers alight and anger is ignited, but this is the last time he is seen alive, but the person in the spotlight for causing it doesn’t know why they are there, but this is just the beginning of the strange things that start to happen. The time gaps increase and the memories associate them are fuzzy and incomplete, but when somebody else is hurt and the spotlight seems even brighter and more blame is piled on top, things start to unravel, the mind starts to fracture and the explanations seem far fetched, but that is where the truth lies, however unbelievable it is.

As the injuries and bodies pile up and the darkness creeps in, the unbelievable becomes fact and the fear increases, but what has happened during the time gaps and will the incomplete memories explaining them ever be revealed? Who is the one who has been doing all these hurtful things and why? When the person seen in the mirror is not the one you know, how would you react? This is a thought provoking murder mystery with a twist where you have to read to the end to understand the tale, but it is well worth the read and you will be rushing to the conclusion to find out if your suspicions and assumptions are indeed the correct ones.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Sure As Hell (Life Is Hell Book 4) by Naomi Valkyrie – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Sure As Hell (Life is Hell #4)Sure As Hell by Naomi Valkyrie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jaru Fane is an Imp, he used to be a contract companion, but now after a horrible experience, he has decided to create his own contact companion company which will employ and look after companions in a safe environment, something which he missed out on and his best friend is Larkspur, a pixie with an unhappy past and a penchant for mischief and playing pranks.

As Jaru is setting up his business, he didn’t quite realise how little time he has to spend with Lark between meeting, interviews, looking at contracts and making the decisions he needs to, but decisions are not the easiest thing for Jaru, he struggles to make them without help and it is
getting him down. Meanwhile, Lark is feeling left out and bored and when he gets bored, that is when the pranks start, nobody is happy when that happens, so he decides to sneak into the office with Jaru the next day. As he has his first interview of the day, he senses that something maybe isn’t quite right with the person he is interviewing, but he seems a good fit nevertheless,
afterwards, he ponders his decision making ability while Lark is planning his way to get to Jaru’s office the next day. While there, Jaru is looking over some more profiles for the business and thinks about getting some breakfast, however, he is startled when he sees some on his desk, this is when Lark shocks him further as he makes an appearance and spends the rest of the morning helping Jaru with the profiles, then just before he leaves the office he receives a strange phone call, but thinks no more about it.

A couple of days later, Jaru goes to his office as usual, but unusually, he finds a note on his desk saying that contract companions have been going missing and that his are next in line, so he tries to think of a solution himself and decides to call a friend for some advice and he agrees
that it is a warning and to call if anything escalates, so when Jaru receives another phone call, this time containing a definite threat, he hires his friend so that he can arrange security for himself and his boys. Jaru has asked not to keep his other friends in the loop, however, Lark ends up hearing what is going on and decides to take matters into his own hands when he realises that Jaru is keeping secrets and confronts him the next day when it looks like Jaru is going a bit off the deep end and slipping back into old habits. During this confrontation, Lark ends up revealing one of his abilities without thinking and this starts a trail of new experiences for him and when Jaru discovers this, he is drawn to Lark in a different way, but when the danger takes a turn closer to home, Jaru starts to believe that he cannot be what Lark needs and encourages another to get close to him instead.

Will Jaru be able to keep his employees and Lark safe as the threats against him and Lark escalate, or will this be the end of something which hasn’t even had the chance to start? Will Lark be able to stay safe, or continuing to take matters into his own hands put Jaru in even more danger as well? This is a story of companionship, danger, revelations and realisations as
the ties that bind are in danger of being ripped away and more problems appear than solutions, but when mental health issues and increased worry are added into the mix, you will have to read to the end to see whether they can be untangled and fixed back into place.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Everything, Somewhere by David Kummer – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Everything, SomewhereEverything, Somewhere by David Duane Kummer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Little Rush, a small town in rural America, it is the final summer holiday before their senior year and Hudson, Willow and Mason decide to make the best of it, they plan on having fun, smoking, drinking and talking the nights away with a final hoorah of not having responsibilities or feeling like they need to be adults, but Hudson is not as joyous as he would seem, he is bored of both life in Little Rush and life in general, he cannot see the life all around him, but can see the death which is slowly coming towards him, his melancholy is catching up with him and he feels like there is nothing which can stop it. He is going through the motions and pretending like there is nothing wrong, at least he is when he is around his friends, but their blossoming romance isn’t helping the situation, neither is the feeling that he cannot escape the stereotypical “farmer boy” image he is stuck with. As they start a typical night of amusement in Mason’s dads cabin, involving alcohol and reminiscing of good times past, Willow suddenly announces that a famous actor will be moving to Little Rush and when she reveals that it is Bruce Michaels, both of the boys get excited as it is their favourite actor of all time, this is where the speculation begins and Willow is bored after the conversation goes on for longer than she anticipated. The next morning amid hangovers from hell the guys tidy up and carry on discussing the news while Willow sleeps the alcohol off and when he is dropped off home, Hudson is in trouble with his parents and the excitement he felt beforehand disappears and his depression comes back full force as he sits on his own in his room with the joy sucked out of him.

Willow and Mason are also thinking about Little Rush and their future, what it will hold, why they are torn between leaving the town and staying, they try and figure out their feelings and as they spend more and more time together, they kind of leave Hudson behind and he begins to feel like a thirds wheel. Meanwhile, a chance encounter while sitting with Mason in the treeline which borders the outside of Bruce Michael’s house leads to a conversation with the man himself and leads to a0 feeling that he can confide in Bruce when he can’t with his friends. As the summer progresses, Hudson’s feelings spin slowly downwards as he receives bad news on top of more bad news, the gap developing between himself and his friends is widening as he feels uncomfortable being around them and abandoned when they stop inviting him to hang out as much. However, he is increasing the amount of time he is spending with the old actor and using it as an excuse to avoid everyone else, but this is leading him into a spiral which nobody seems
to realise he is in.

Will the distance which grows between Hudson, his friends and his family change things so much that it sends him in a direction he shouldn’t be going, or can it be mended enough that
Hudson can come back from it all? This is a story of summer breaks, mental illness, relationships, lies, truths and worlds colliding, it is in the most unlikely pairings where the dangers truly lie, but what the dangers are, only reading to the end will reveal.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Revelations (Separate Worlds Book 1) by Izzibella Beau – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Revelations (Separate Worlds Book 1)Revelations by Izzibella Beau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zach and Emily are just two seniors in high school in West Lakes, Zach is part of a big family and is close to his siblings, but he has friends who are like family to him as well, but Emily is the new kid in town with only her Aunt who she lives with, but no friends because she moves around so much because of her Aunt’s work. As they both embark on a new school year, they are polar opposites from completely separate worlds, but when those worlds collide nothing will be the same.

As Zach prepares for his new school year, he has the usual single word conversation with his younger brother as he is woken up too early by him coming home too late, they are the complete opposite in personality, if not in looks, but they are still family despite annoying each other to death, whereas Emily is still unpacking from her move and takes a welcome break to go to the mall with her Aunt to get some new clothes for the start of the new school year, she wants to make a good impression as the new kid in town and is not overly sure that the nerves aren’t going to get the better of her in the end.

When the fateful first day arrives, Zach is happy to see his friends, but when he has to go to the administrators office to get his schedule instead of it being at the seniors table, he is more than annoyed with the delay, but when he enters, there is a girl in there before him, she intrigues him, but when she turns around he is lost and when she turns around she isn’t as stunned into silence as him. This girl is Emily as she collects her schedule as well after being dropped off at the school, she smiles at the hot guy standing in front of her, but politely excuses herself when he just stands there and stares at her rudely. As she is trying to find her way to her locker and first period, she is approached by a couple of girls as she is attempting to keep her head down and avoid the usual stares and comments as she walks by, especially from the other hot guys who were in the office before her and it turns out that the guy from earlier is in her first period and as the girls introduce themselves and him, he walks her to their class, but barely says two words to her.

Zach is completely distracted by Emily and has no idea why as he doesn’t normally react to girls like that and it makes him more and more annoyed as the day goes on, especially when Emily is invited to join their group at lunch and then to shopping, the football game and the dance afterwards that Friday. As the days pass, Zach gets a handle on his emotions and inner conflicts and gets to know Emily more, she is as happy with this turn of events as he is and they become closer as time goes on. Will this be the moment when Emily can finally stop moving around and will Zach finally find an attraction like he never has before, or is it all just teenage hormones and nothing more? This is a sweet romance with some adult themes, but it is a romance with a twist which keeps you wanting to know more about their different worlds and what will happen as time goes on between them.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews