This Is Not Over by Holly Brown

Paperback, 400 pages

Expected publication: January 17th 2017 by William Morrow Paperbacks 

Two women are caught in an escalating game of cat-and-mouse that leads to an explosive ending in this breathtaking psychological thriller from the author of a Necessary End and Don’t Try to Find Me.

You’ll have your deposit within seven business days, just like it says on Getaway.com. I’ve put through a refund to your credit card for the full amount, minus $200 to replace the sheets. I couldn’t get the stain out despite professional laundering and bleaching. . .
Miranda

All Dawn wanted was to stay in a beautiful beach house with her husband, to live like money’s no object, for just one long weekend. Then Miranda, the home’s owner, has to send an e-mail like this, full of lies and the suggestion that Dawn’s so dirty, she needs to throw out her sheets. Someone needs to teach Miranda a lesson.

Beware of your "host"
I wouldn’t leave a review on Getaway.com at all, if I didn’t feel it was my civic duty to warn others . . .
Dawn

Miranda cannot believe her eyes. Yes, she may be a doctor’s wife, but she needs the rental money from the beach house desperately. Someone needs to teach this Dawn a lesson.

Two very different women with one thing in common: Each one knows she’s right, and each is determined to win this battle of words and wills and (eventually) worse. Neither will yield, not before they’ve dredged up hidden secrets, old hurts, and painful truths that threaten to shatter the foundations of their lives.

Because it’s never really just about the sheets, is it?

This is not over.

This is so not over. 

My Thoughts…

This is Not Over is a different book.    Written about two women who have never met yet have a hate for each beyond anything I have ever seen.  I felt like it was 2 teenagers acting out yet these women are grown, adults, married, and insane.   

I wanted to choose a side, pick a winner but both of these women deserved nothing…NOTHING!    Dawn and Miranda could have been people I know.   They were married, Miranda has a son, they volunteered and went to school, they seemed normal if you take away all the emails, texts, and website posts.   These posts, emails, and text messages were the focus of the book.    Neither could believe they were wrong or even partially wrong, they were sure they were right, 100% right.  No room for discussion, no doubt, and no giving in.  

When I finished the book I just sat back and thought Oh My, what did I just read?   I will admit that I am not sure yet I could not stop turning the pages.  Holly Brown had me from the first email and kept me entertained until the end.  

Book Links

Goodreads   |   Amazon  |   Barnes and Noble 

The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall by Shannon Kirk & GIVEAWAY & Author Interview

 Book Description:

What if you could choose your heaven now? Go on a celestial shopping trip of sorts? Thirty-five-year-old Vivienne does just that, as she lies dying in the ICU; a fatal walk into the path of a truck. In her final week of life, Vivienne treks through the Heavens of a priest, a best friend, a homeless child, and a lover who never was. Vivienne’s guardian angel, Noah, who may just be her soul mate, escorts her through selections of Heavens and through the confusion Vivienne experiences as she flounders between a doubt of life and the certainty of death. Although her visits to varied afterlives provide peace and beauty, choosing proves not so easy: Vivienne’s love for her young son and her earthly father pull her from her colorful journey—and from her divine love of Noah.

The nature of love, the variety and magic of life, unending hope, and the importance of saying goodbye are central to this uplifting tale.

Buy the Book:   Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR A SOCCER MOM’S BOOK BLOG

(The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall)

What is your next project?

Oh boy. I wish I could answer this with a simple title. My problem is that I have several things on the stove right now. I just sent my agent a draft of a psychological thriller called AUNTY (which I had devilish fun writing). So hopefully she likes that. I have her edits to work on for a horror titled GOAT, and I need to work on those. And right now, today, I’m back to working on a sequel to my first book, a thriller. I just submitted a short story to a compilation novel to which I was asked to contribute, so edits will be coming in on that. I have three other manuscripts bubbling away in the background. And I think I want to try to publish a book of poems. Eeeeeeeesh. I know. Problem is, I’m totally distracted by writing. I feel like a firehose with no one manning the spray. I wish I could have some control, focus on one project, but when I write, my brain will only let me write whatever it’s thinking on that day. So. Yeah, I know. Long answer to a simple question.

What genre do you write and why?

I write in many genres because, well, I don’t don’t why. I read in all genres, maybe that’s why. I write whatever I’m inspired to write on any given day. Could be poetry. Could be some demented horror scene of murder. Could be a nature scene I want to put characters in. I’m not writing for the money (but believe me, if this could be my full-time career, I’d do it in a second), so I have the freedom to write whatever I want to write. Whether the business side of publishing agrees or goes along with this, well, that’s another story.

What is the last great book you’ve read?

The Incarnations by Susan Barker. This book is outstanding. It still sticks with me.

If you’re a mom writer, how do you balance your time?

Not sure I am balancing my time. It’s very possible I’m a disaster. But I do write, and I do try to be a good mother, so I must be doing something. First off, I only have one child, and he’s very independent. Also, my husband is very involved, coaching his basketball teams. When they are off together at basketball practices (which is 3-4 nights a week), I write. I get up early to write. I write on the train to and from work. I don’t work on Fridays, while my son is in school, so I write then. And, I travel a lot for work, so, chances are, if I’m not writing on the plane or late at night in the hotel room, I’m editing. Basically, I scrape and scrap every free second I can to write or edit. What this means is I am NOT doing things I should otherwise be doing in my free time, such as decorating or cleaning my house, or planning out the weekly meals, so we don’t have to order in or eat out so much.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

I have a very specific day I would go back to. I was in college. I was home for Thanksgiving. I was meant to meet up with High School friends at our High School’s Turkey Bowl game. I stopped to get gas and when I went to tell the cashier the amount for the pump, I misplaced my wallet. I swear I dug through my whole car looking for my wallet, but I could not find it. Actually, I was frantic for it, because without the wallet, I couldn’t get into the game: The stadium charged fifty cents to enter. Fifty cents.

It was a bummer telling myself I had to go all the way home and miss the game, not see friends from High School. I really did want to go to that game. I’d been looking forward to it for awhile. I missed people.

Now.  A few things that I find very strange about this memory that I can’t seem to shake. Out of all my memories, all the places I’ve traveled and lived and people I’ve met. All the various, ludicrous events in my life, big and small, foreign and domestic. And yet, this, this one day and this misplacing wallet event is the one that nags at me.

Why did I drive all the way home, about thirty minutes from the game and give in? My friends were at the game, and I’m sure one of them would have covered the door charge. Right? I mean, fifty cents! It was practically free!

Further, when I got home, when I opened the door to get out to head inside, my wallet fell out to the driveway. It had been with me the whole time. By then, with all the time looking for the wallet and driving home, I’d missed most of the game. I didn’t drive back.

I think there’s a reason I didn’t go to that game. And while I like to think of myself as a rational person and I lean more towards the sciences, and believe me, I don’t believe in crazy mystical powers, I do believe there are unexplained things that happen in everyone’s life. And I believe, for I feel it in my bones and in my soul, that had I gone to that game, the course of my life would have been very different. I guess now, knowing what life I have lived, and knowing how profound this memory is of this one single day, and how weird it was that I misplaced the wallet that was under my nose, I’d like to go back to this one day and go to the game to figure out what it was that was waiting for me there, or what was going to happen to me there, and then I’d know for sure. I don’t want to change my life right now one bit. I love my life and am very happy. But I am so deeply curious as to why I can’t shake this memory and my odd actions that day.

If you were stuck on a deserted island, which 3 books would you want with you?

Just three??!! Ugh!

Okay, I’ll try…

Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Incarnations, by Susan Barker

The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje

 Author's Bio:

Shannon Kirk is the awarding-winning author of the international bestselling Method 15/33 (psychological thriller--bestseller in Colombia and Spain, will be lead title in Italy, 2017) and Heavens (Literary Fiction). Method 15/33 has received multiple accolades: 2015 Foreword Review Book of the Year (Suspense); Winner of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award, Best Suspense; 2015 USA Best Book Finalist; School Library Journal's Best Adult Books for Teens (2015); and Finalist in 2013 William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (when a Novella). Method 15/33 is optioned for a major motion film and has sold to nineteen foreign rights.

When not writing, she is a practicing lawyer, residing on Massachusett's Cape Ann with her husband and son and two cat writing accomplices, Marvin Marquez (in honor of Gabriel Garcia Marquez) and Stewie Poe (Edgar Allen Poe).

Shannon enjoys writing in several genres: literary fiction, psychological thriller, young adult, and poetry. She has been honored three times by the William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. ​

Connect with the author: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook

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Scattered Souls (Flames of Time #2) by Erica Lucke Dean

Paperback, 244 pages

Published December 2016 by Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Ava Flynn is cursed.

After barely surviving an epic battle between her warring soul mates, Ava is stranded in the past with Laith, while Maddox frantically searches across the decades. Laith will stop at nothing to prove his love to Ava, and a desperate Maddox must race against time to find her before his brother can win her heart.

Torn between the two brothers, and with her eternal soul at stake, Ava comes to the horrifying conclusion that only she can break the curse. But the cost may be more than she is willing to pay.

My Thoughts…

Scattered Souls takes off exactly where book one, Splintered Souls, left off.    The characters of Maddox, Laith, and Ava were there like old friends that I hadn’t talked to in a while but I still knew them.     They were characters that I was excited to reconnect with and find out what the future will hold for them.     

There is still time travelling, soul mates, and a blessing/curse.      I loved that there was a lot of history given about Maddox and Laith.  It was interesting to understand why they are the way they are.     I struggle with the hatred between these two and the length’s they will go to take Ava from each other.   It bothered me that two brothers could be so mean to each other, but then I realized that was all caused by the blessing/curse, the curse that needs to be broken.  

The ending… oh the ending.    I never saw it coming, I had no clue where it was heading, but it was perfect!     I love when a book takes a direction that I never saw coming.   

Erica Lucke Dean is so talented that I never have a doubt when I pick up one of her books I will be entirely entertained.

Purchase links

Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble  
   Google Play   |   Kobo   |   iTunes   |   Goodreads

Check out book one, Splinter Souls, HERE

Author Bio:

After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica Lucke Dean moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains, where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost. When she’s not writing or tending to her collection of crazy chickens and diabolical ducks, she’s either reading bad fan fiction or singing karaoke in the local pub. Much like the main character in her newest book, To Katie With Love, Erica is a magnet for disaster, and has been known to trip on air while walking across flat surfaces. How she’s managed to survive this long is one of life’s great mysteries.

Links:

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1WfQyFU

Red Adept Page: http://bit.ly/RAPSplinSouls 

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1Jvxoq4

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericaluckedean

Sisters In Love: Snow Sisters by Melissa Foster AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

Sisters In Love: Snow Sisters

• Written by: Melissa Foster
• Narrated by: B.J. Harrison
• Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins 
• • Series: Snow Sisters, Book 1
  • Series: Love in Bloom, Book 1
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  
  
  
  Release Date:05-27-15
  Publisher: Melissa Foster
  
  
  
  





















Danica Snow has always been the smart, practical, and appropriate sister. As a therapist, she prides herself on making reasonable, conservative choices, even if a bit boring, and as part of the Big Sister Program, she has little time for anything more in her life. Blake Carter is a player. He never gets bored of conquering women, and with his sexy good looks and successful lifestyle, he has no trouble finding willing participants. When his friend and business partner dies in a tragic accident, he suddenly, desperately, wants to change his ways. The problem is, he doesn't know how to stop doing what he does best. When Blake walks into Danica's office, the attraction between them is white hot, but Danica isn't the type to give into the heat and risk her career. Danica's desire sets her on a path of self-discovery, where she begins to question every decision she's ever made. Just this once, Danica wants to indulge in the pleasures of life she's been so willingly ignoring, but with her Little Sister in turmoil and her biological sister's promiscuousness weighing heavily on her heart, she isn't sure it's the right time to set her desires free.




Practical, Danica Snow is a therapist that has always been conservative and boring. In walks Blake Carter, a player, and her whole world is shaken up. The sparks fly as soon as Blake elbows her causing her to have a bloody nose while waiting for her coffee. When Blake’s best friend and business partner dies he realizes his life is rather lonely and is looking for help in changing this. When he goes to a therapist, yes Danica Snow, he feels the attraction and knows that this therapist will help. My Thoughts... This is the first Melissa Foster Audiobook I listened to.   Immediately I was under BJ Harrison's spell.   The voice, the tone, and the cadence of the words brought the characters to life.    I found myself getting in the car just listen to him more.      I loved that there were many levels to this story. There is the fun and hot romance and then there is the deeper death of a best friend and how that affects the people he left behind. There is also the story of Kaylie and her promiscuous ways and her struggle with falling in love. I cannot forget Michelle, the Little Sister of Danica that has lost her mother to alcoholism and is struggling to come to terms with herself. All the stories interwove perfectly and fit together without missing a beat.  I found myself connecting with each character in a different way. Hoping for Danica to loosen up and have some fun in her life. Blake to find the peace he so deserved. Kaylie to make the right choices in her life and not let her past pull her back. Michelle, oh Michelle, as a teenager I pulled for her the most. She is close to my daughter’s age and I cannot imagine her not having me here to guide her and give her occasional grief. I wanted her to succeed more than anyone else in the story.  I cannot wait for the next book in this Snow Sister’s series. Melissa Foster wrote a heart touching, realistic, loving story that I recommend highly. Audible Link  HERE Book Links Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble

The Echo of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn SPOTLIGHT

1914. Whispers of war are rapidly spreading across Europe as a dark cloud of uncertainty settles over England. But with the promise of a glamorous new career as a lady’s maid, one young woman’s future has never been so bright in Judith Kinghorn’s new World War I period piece, THE ECHO OF TWILIGHT (Berkley Trade Paperback Original; January 3, 2017; $16.00).

Once hired by Lady Ottoline Campbell—a beautiful Northumberland aristocrat—Pearl Gibson cannot help but be swept up into Ottoline’s dazzling world of luxury and scandal. Although at first perturbed by Ottoline’s unusually brazen demeanor, Pearl soon develops a deep and complicated bond with her rather eccentric employer.

While accompanying the Campbells on an annual stay in their Scottish summer estate, Pearl unexpectedly falls for Ottoline’s gentle, artistic cousin—but it’s not long before their newly blossoming love affair is ripped apart by the escalating war. As the violence continues to heighten, Pearl and Ottoline fight to survive sorrow and despair at home while the men in their lives continue to be called to the front lines.

A must-read for fans of Kate Morton, Natasha Solomons and upstairs/downstairs dramas such as Downton Abbey, THE ECHO OF TWILIGHT offers an inspiring story of the unexpected strength and love that can be found in war’s darkest hours.

Purchase Links

Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble   |   Goodreads

“A gripping tale of family secrets and a comedy of manners...Historical

fiction fans will not want to miss this gem!”

–Renee Rosen, author of White Collar Girl

“Those who love the blockbuster show Downton Abbey will find much to enjoy.”

–Historical Novel Society

Judith Kinghorn is an author, reader, nature lover and occasional painter. She was born in Northumberland, England, and lived in London for many years before moving to Hampshire. Her début The Last Summer was first published in the UK in 2012 when it was chosen by LovereadingUK as a MEGA Début and featured in The Bookseller magazine’s round up of that year in ‘Ones To Watch’. Judith’s novels are published in the UK, USA, Canada and British Commonwealth countries, and have been translated to German, French, Italian and Spanish.

The Guests on South Battery (Tradd Street #5) by Karen White

 Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Expected publication: January 10th 2017 by Berkley

New York Times bestselling author Karen White invites you to explore the brick-walked streets of Charleston, where historic mansions house the memories of years gone by, and restless spirits refuse to fade away...

With her extended maternity leave at its end, Melanie Trenholm is less than thrilled to leave her new husband and beautiful twins to return to work, especially when she’s awoken by a phone call with no voice on the other end—and the uneasy feeling that the ghostly apparitions that have stayed silent for more than a year are about to invade her life once more. 

But her return to the realty office goes better than she could have hoped, with a new client eager to sell the home she recently inherited on South Battery. Most would treasure living in one of the grandest old homes in the famous historic district of Charleston, but Jayne Smith would rather sell hers as soon as possible, guaranteeing Melanie a quick commission. 

Despite her stroke of luck, Melanie can’t deny that spirits—both malevolent and benign—have started to show themselves to her again. One is shrouded from sight, but appears whenever Jayne is near. Another arrives when an old cistern is discovered in Melanie’s backyard on Tradd Street. 

Melanie knows nothing good can come from unearthing the past. But some secrets refuse to stay buried....
 

 My Thoughts…

Ghosts, shadows, haunted dolls, mystery happening, old houses…. Sounds like a wonderful story and it is. 

While this is a series, this is the first book I have read in the Tradd Street series by Karen White.   Maybe I should have read the first 4 but I really did not feel like I was missing anything.    There were some relationships that I would have liked to know more about yet I enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end.    

Melanie… oh what an OCD character.   Her spreadsheets drove me crazy.   The need to micro-manage everyone and everything was insane.    But I liked her.   I liked that the reasons behind the spreadsheets was so she could keep involved in her twins lives while she was working.    I don’t think they were from lack of trust of  Jayne, the nanny.     Melanie was a character that knew what she wanted, trusted her instincts (even when she was wrong), and loved with her whole heart.   

The mystery part of the story was pretty easy to figure out.    It didn’t take me long to figure out who Jayne was and why she was left Button’s house bringing her into Melanie and Jack’s lives.     I was okay with that because it didn’t make the ending any less enjoyable. 

The story ended with all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed.     There is no cliffhanger or wonder what will happen next.    I’ll be looking for the next book in this series.

Book Links

Goodreads   |   Barnes and Noble   |   Amazon

  

The River at Night by Erica Ferencik PROMO POST

 A high stakes drama set against the harsh beauty of the Maine wilderness, charting the journey of four friends as they fight to survive the aftermath of a white water rafting accident, The River at Night (Scout Press, imprint of Gallery Books; Hardcover; January 10, 2017; $26.00) is a nonstop and unforgettable thriller by a stunning new voice in fiction.

Winifred Allen needs a vacation.

Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls’ trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings.

What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed.

With intimately observed characters, visceral prose, and pacing as ruthless as the river itself, The River at Night is a dark exploration of creatures—both friend and foe—that you won’t soon forget.

Amazon Purchase Link :: Simon & Schuster Purchase Link :: B&N Purchase Link

PHOTOGRAPH BY KATE HANNON

 Erica Ferencik is a graduate of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Boston University. Her work has appeared in Salon and The Boston Globe, as well as on National Public Radio. Find out more on her website EricaFerencik.com and follow her on Twitter @EricaFerencik.

Pretty Little World by Melissa DePino, Elizabeth LaBan

Kindle Edition

Expected publication: January 17th 2017 by Lake Union Publishing

On a cozy street in Philadelphia, three neighboring families have become the best of friends. They can’t imagine life without one another—until one family outgrows their tiny row house. In a bid to stay together, a crazy idea is born: What if they tear down the walls between their homes and live together under one roof? And so an experiment begins.

Celia and Mark now have the space they need. But is this really what Celia’s increasingly distant husband wants? Stephanie embraces the idea of one big, happy family, but has she considered how it may exacerbate the stark differences between her and her husband, Chris? While Hope always wanted a larger family with Leo, will caring for all the children really satisfy that need?

Behind closed doors, they strive to preserve the closeness they treasure. But when boundaries are blurred, they are forced to question their choices…and reimagine the true meaning of family.

My Thoughts…

Living in a commune style with my neighbors is nothing I would ever want to do but for these three families it seemed to make sense.   Yet after taking the walls down each family found their own issues.   These problems could have been there before they took the walls down but were brought to light after.    With each problem the support from the other families was wonderful.  There was never a doubt that they would support each other, pick each other up, and help each other in any way possible.

I am not sure what my thoughts were on the how the adults all seemed to bond with each other’s spouses.   What I mean is that the wives all bonded with different husbands.   I am not sure that everyone in the house didn’t overstep boundaries many times.     The style of living did not give any private/personal time to couples or individual families.     I am not sure how any of these marriages managed to stay together.  

The children in this story were not prominent characters but there was still an attachment to them.    I wonder how confusing it would be to young children to call other women mommy and other men daddy.    This is something that I thought about each time it happen but maybe it is just because I am a mommy and I wouldn’t want my daughters to call anyone else mommy.   

When I finished reading I just sat and thought about how my world would be if I lived in a world like they did.   How would my relationship with my husband change?  What would my children think?   

Pretty Little World is an interesting read.   I devoured it.

Book Links

Amazon   |   Goodreads   |   Barnes and Noble

MEET THE AUTHORS…

Elizabeth LaBan is the author of The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven languages, The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven languages, and The Restaurant Critic's Wife. She lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant-critic husband and two children.

Melissa DePino lives in Philadelphia and is a founding   partner and principal of Leapfrog Group, a marketing communications firm specializing in non-profits. In her spare time, she reads voraciously, writes fiction, practices yoga, and enjoy live music.

 “A skilled, funny, and highly engaging examination of family, love, and marriage…This book is a win.” —Meg Mitchell Moore, author of The Admissions