Now Live!! Fangsters by Jo-Ann Carson

 

Title: Fangsters

Series: Fangsters Book 1

Author: Jo-Ann Carson

Genre: Fantasy Romance/Witches, Warlocks, & Vampires

Release Date: April 4, 2023

Cover Credit: Rebecca at Dream2Media

Gangsters with bite.

I should have known better than to sign a deal with a blood-sucking blackmailer. But what choice did I have? He knows my deepest, darkest secret. Our unholy covenant, written in blood, states I must establish an academy for delinquent vampires within thirty days, or he’ll expose me.

I’ve never taught vampires, or delinquents, or teenagers for that matter, but I will risk everything I have, and do anything I can to set up this dream-team school for the undead. On the plus side, I have a PhD in Education and am a talented witch capable of all sorts of sorcery. Getting my brooms in a row, I’ve already started writing lessons on the seven undeadly sins. What could go wrong?

Onyx, a drop-dead-gorgeous night stalker with an extensive knowledge of blood sorcery, has offered his assistance, but you know what they say about deals that appear too good to be true. Should I accept a sidekick with fangs or go it alone?

Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in the small Pacific Northwest town of Mystic Keep where I live. Someone is killing witches. While I expect many bumps in the night await me, I swear no bloody mess will deter me from my goal—to get the academy for naughty vampires functioning on time. Will I succeed, or will I be exposed? Or worse, will I be murdered?

My name is Rebel Black, and this is my story.

Fangsters, the novel, is the first book in Fangsters, an urban fantasy with bite series, set in the Mystic Keep world. A fast-paced thriller, and slow burn romance, it features powerful witches, stubborn warlocks, and sexy vampires, and can easily be read as a standalone.

~A little bit of magic~

Jo-Ann Carson is an award-winning author who loves the magic of storytelling. She writes evocative settings, strong characters, and fast-paced plots. Her current project is Fangsters, a six book, urban fantasy series featuring a witch blackmailed into running an academy for delinquent, teenage vampires.

To date, Jo-Ann Carson has published 31 stories. Her latest series are: Fangsters, the Dial Witch Trilogy, The Perfect Brew Trilogy, the Ghost & Abby Mysteries, and the Gambling Ghosts Novellas.A firm believer in the magic of our everyday lives, Jo-Ann loves watching sunrises, walking the beaches with her poodle near her home in the Pacific Northwest, and reading books by a crackling wood fire. You can find more about her on her website.

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Book Review for The Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

 The Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

400 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 4, 2023

Genre:  Historical Ficton

Taken from Goodreads:  The USA Today bestselling author of The Gown returns with another enthralling and royal-adjacent historical novel—as the lives of three very different residents of London’s historic Blue Lion hotel converge in a potentially explosive climax on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.

It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.

Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age.

Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.

James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.

When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.

 

My Thoughts:  Usually when I read about Her Majesty and it tells her story, in this book you hear the story of a hotel that is on the parade route.  The struggles it has to stay afloat, and the way the coronation affects its tenants and the owner.  

I enjoyed the characters and they strength of Edie, the hotel owner.   She took her family hotel, which had been struggling for years, and was doing all that she could to keep it running.  I could relate to how she felt the need to succeed and not let her parents down (my parents had their own family diner that I helped run).  The variety of backgrounds from the other characters kept the story interesting with unique points of view. 

 

Coronation Year is not a quick read but it is a book I would recommend.   I love learning about the history of Queen Elizabeth and this book shows a unique look into the world around the coronation, not just the actual event.

 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

 

Meet Jennifer Robson (Taken from Goodreads): Jennifer Robson first learned about the Great War from her father, acclaimed historian Stuart Robson, and later served as an official guide at the Canadian National War Memorial at Vimy Ridge, France. A former copy editor, she holds a doctorate in British economic and social history from the University of Oxford. She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband and young children.

 

Book Review for Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman

 Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman

 Format

384 pages, Hardcover

Publication

April 4, 2023 by Berkley

 

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller

Taken from Goodreads:  A summer in Greece for three best friends ends in the unthinkable when only two return home in this new novel from Ella Berman. . . .

Ten years ago, after a sun-soaked summer spent in Greece, best friends Bess and Joni were cleared of having any involvement in their friend Evangeline’s death. But that didn’t stop the media from ripping apart their teenage lives like vultures.

While the girls were never convicted, Joni, ever the opportunist, capitalized on her newfound infamy to become a motivational speaker. Bess, on the other hand, resolved to make her life as small and controlled as possible so she wouldn’t risk losing everything all over again. And it almost worked. . . .

Except now Joni is tangled up in a crime eerily similar to that one fateful night in Greece. And when she asks Bess to come back to LA to support her, Bess has a decision to make.

Is it finally time to face up to what happened that night, exposing herself as the young woman she once was and maybe still is? And what happens if she doesn’t like what she finds?

 

My Thoughts:   This book was so good.    I found it to not be a fast read but it was a through read.   The story was told with so much attention to the details.  The details of not only the storyline but also of the characters.  I felt like I was living through their stories and hearing on the news of the lives their were living.

 

As I read, I found myself looking for the clues as to what the rest of the story was.  The rest of the story of Evangeline and their summer getaway but also the story of Joni.  I was left looking for a little more, I am not sure what I wanted more of, but I was not entirely happy with the story.  There were parts, important parts, that we skimmed over (the prison time) that I wanted more of. 

I would recommend Before We Were Innocent to anyone who is looking for a book full of twists and turns.   

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Purchase your own copy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

 

Meet Ella Berman (taken from Goodreads): Ella Berman grew up in both London and Los Angeles and worked at Sony Music before starting the clothing brand London Loves LA. She lives in London with her husband, James, and their dog, Rocky.

 

 

Cover Reveal for Accidental Attachment by Max Monroe

 

Title: Accidental Attachment

Author: Max Monroe

Genre: Romantic Comedy (stand alone)

Release Date: April 30, 2023

Cover Design: Peter Alderweireld

A successful writer accidentally sends her new (and super-dreamy) editor the wrong manuscript. Instead of the full-length paranormal novel she promised Longstrand Publishing, she sends the fan fiction she’s written about her crush…on him—including every detail of the hot, steamy “physical activity” she’s fantasized about happening between them.

And Chase Dawson may be the hottest man alive and a super-talented editor to boot, but he’s completely oblivious that he’s the star of the manuscript he just convinced his boss to green-light.

Brooke Baker has been through a lot in her thirty-one years of life.

A divorce.

A career change.

A move to New York City from “small-town” Ohio.

Not to mention, she has a bit of a medical condition that involves occasional fainting spells, mild embarrassment, and the companionship of her adorable service dog and canine sidekick, Benji.

But none of it has prepared her for this.

None of it prepared her for Chase Dawson.

Strong jaw, blue eyes, cut muscles, and a perfect swoop of superhero-worthy black hair, Chase’s features are those of a book boyfriend and then some. Obviously, Brooke would know—she literally filled an entire manuscript with it.

A manuscript no one was ever supposed to see.

Will she survive two months of revising and editing the sizzling romance she imagined with Chase in extremely close quarters with him? Or will the constant white lies and overwhelming attraction make her spontaneously combust?

WHAT IS ACCIDENTAL ATTACHMENT ALL ABOUT?

• Hilarious standalone Romantic Comedy

• A successful writer accidentally sends the wrong manuscript (fanfiction she wrote about him) to her hot and dreamy editor.

• Forced Proximity via a road trip

• Slow-burn with intense, smoking hot chemistry

Many moons ago, a dynamic duo of romance authors teamed up under the pseudonym Max Monroe, and, well, the rest is history...

Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of more than thirty contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far. ​

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Book Review for The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

 The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

 

Publication March 28, 2023

 

Taken from Goodreads:  Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.

One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her. Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle, and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon. Bottom line -- Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.

The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting that they leave town immediately?

Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.

 

My Thoughts:  I almost did not read this book. I am not sure why but it just did not sound like a book I wanted to read.  BUT… I did pick up the book and I am so glad I did.   It was a one day read for me.  I could not put it down. 

 I laughed at Louise and Mrs. Wilt’s adventures.  I cringed at the reason why they had these adventures.  But, oh what adventures they had.  I loved how they interacted with each other; you could see their age difference but you could also see how they did care about each other. 

 The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise had me turning pages as fast as I could read.  I recommend picking up with fun and unique story and falling into all the adventures.

 Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

 

Meet Colleen Oakley (Taken from her website):  Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, You Were There Too, Close Enough to Touch, Before I Go, and the forthcoming The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise (March 2023). Colleen’s novels have been longlisted for the Southern Book Prize twice and Close Enough to Touch won the French Reader’s Prize. Her books have been translated into more than 21 languages, optioned for film and have received numerous accolades including:

*Indie Next List Pick Jan 2015, March 2017 and Jan 2020

*Library Reads Pick 2020, 2021

*Top 21 Books of 2020 by O Magazine

      *TODAY show Best Summer Read

*People magazine Best New Book

*Us Weekly “Must” Pick

       *Inaugural pick of the Emily Giffin book club

*Romantic Times Top Pick

*Library Journal Big Fiction Debut

*Publisher’s Lunch Buzz Books

*In Touch Weekly: Grade A

*Pop Sugar’s Books We Can’t Wait to Read

*Real Simple’s Best Books List

*Bookbub’s 12 New Books to Read If You Love Jodi Picoult

A former magazine editor for Marie Claire and Women’s Health & Fitness, Colleen’s articles and essays have been featured in The New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Women’s Health, Redbook, Parade, Woman’s Day, Fitness, Health, Marie Claire and Martha Stewart Weddings. A proud graduate of the University of Georgia’s school of journalism, Colleen currently lives in Atlanta with her husband, four kids, and a terrier mutt named Baxter.