The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy: Book 2) by Katherine Arden

The Girl in the Tower (The Bear and the Nightingale #2)

5 Stars 

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: December 5th, 2017

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Number of pages: 384

POV: 3rd person

Series: The Winternight Trilogy

The Bear and The Nightingale – Book 1 (review here)

The Girl in the Tower – Book 2

Where you can find The Girl in the Tower: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The magical adventure began in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to live in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

Trigger Warning: None

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The Emperor’s Trap (formerly Seekers) by R.A. Denny

The Emperor's Trap (Tales of Tzoladia Book 2) by [Denny, R.A.]

4 Stars

Publisher: 

Date of publication: April 11th, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Number of pages: 238

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: Mud, Rocks, and Trees

Refugees – Book 1 (review here)

Seekers – Book 2

Captives – Book 3

Warriors – Book 4

Where you can find Seekers: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

I can see the future, but it’s muddy.  A dream led me to Baskrod when I was a small boy. A dream showed me the emperor’s mad ravings in his throne room. And a recurring dream reveals that I will ride a lion into the city of Tzoladia at the head of a victorious procession.

But what if I’m wrong?

Prophecies, dreams, and signs are easy to misinterpret. Why else would the wise men of the Society of the Word hide in caves, carry swords, and employ spies? I thought they would know where to find the other deliverers.

But nobody knows what has happened to Brina and Moshoi.  For all I know, the emperor may already have them in his trap.

Trigger Warning: None

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Complicity by L. Dalton White

Complicity: A Thriller

4 Stars

Publisher: Vernacular Press

Date of publication: February 27th, 2017

Genre: Drama

Number of pages: 334

Where you can find Complicity: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

When Natalie finds proof that her now ex-boyfriend’s father might be alive, she also discovers that knowing him at all has placed her in tremendous danger. Pete helped a teenage girl forced into prostitution by an outlaw biker gang to escape. If Natalie can’t produce Pete, she may be forced to fill the empty bed in their criminal organization.

Pete was hitchhiking across the country after the death of his wife when his disappearance and presumed murder precipitated the breakup between Natalie and Bobby. She hoped the new information might salvage their relationship, or at least help Bobby get one of his parents back.

Instead, it almost gets her killed.

Natalie enlists Pete’s girlfriend Betty-Anne to help retrace his steps while being pursued from California to Massachusetts and back again by members of a motorcycle club, produce Pete or else. But how do they keep finding her? And why is Natalie the only one being threatened and assaulted? Why not Betty-Anne too?

Natalie’s skepticism and a keen sense for survival are all that stands between her and a fate worse than death.

Trigger Warning: drug use, attempted rape Continue reading “Complicity by L. Dalton White” →

Whispers in the Woods (Firemountain Chronicles: Book 1) by Victoria Lynn Osborne

Whispers in the Woods (Firemountain Chronicles #1)

4 Stars

Publisher: Azure Spider Publications

Date of publication: February 16th, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of pages: 184

POV: 3rd person

Series: Firemountain Chronicles

Whispers in the Woods – Book 1

Where you can find Whispers in the Woods: Amazon| Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Dinah Steele was starting her career as part of a presidential candidates press corps when her team made a campaign stop in Tacoma Washington. Ever since then she has been seeing strange creatures in the shadows.
Drawn by a growing obsession to find answers to her visions, her journey takes her to Firemountain. She is drawn into the strange city. With the help of a privileged heir, she investigates the death of her predecessor and uncovers a plot spearheaded by a demon lord that seeks to conquer the city and take over the gate that has opened in the nearby volcano.

Trigger Warning: None

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Family on the Run (Into the Storm: Book 5) by Margaret Watson

Family on the Run (Into the Storm, #5)

4 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: June 6th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Suspense

Number of pages: 250

POV:3rd person

Series: Into the Storm

To Save His Child – Book 1 (review here)

An Innocent Man – Book 2 (review here)

An Honorable Man – Book 3 (review here)

The Dark Side of the Moon – Book 4 (review here)

Family on the Run – Book 5

Where you can find Family and the Run: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

For three years, Andi McGinnis had haunted Chase Remington’s dreams. She was the one woman in the world he would never trust – or ever forget. Now she was back, as infuriatingly brazen – and alluring – as ever. But this time, he vowed their mission was all that could exist between them…

Driven by revenge, Andi had dreamed of the day she would meet Chase again. Now that she had, an innocent child’s life depended on her ability to pose as his loving wife. Together, the undercover agents set out through the perilous South American jungle to deliver the orphaned baby to safety, bound by their common cause – and tortured by a passion that refused to die…

Trigger Warning: None

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The Dark Side of the Moon (Into the Storm: Book 4) by Margaret Watson

The Dark Side of the Moon (Into the Storm, #4)

4 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: June 2nd, 2017

Genre: Romance

POV: 3rd person

Series: Into the Storm

To Save His Child – Book 1 (review here)

An Innocent Man – Book 2 (review here)

An Honorable Man – Book 3 (review here)

The Dark Side of the Moon – Book 4

Family on the Run – Book 5

Where you can find The Dark Side of the Moon: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Disturbing things are happening in the small town of Eagle Ridge. Veterinarian Tory Holt had come here seeking sanctuary after her life in Chicago fell apart. But the violence she’d escaped has followed her to northern Wisconsin. A serial killer is preying on single women, and Police Chief Holt Adams has appointed himself Tory’s keeper. 

Although Tory is drawn to Holt, she realizes he’s hiding secrets. As the violence escalates in Eagle Ridge and Tory and Holt grow closer, Tory is forced to make a decision. Can she trust Holt? Or will she pay the ultimate price for her trust?

Trigger Warning: Police brutality, stalking

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The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross (The Curious Affair of: Book 2) by Lisa Tuttle

The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross (The Curious Affair Of, #2)

3 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Hydra

Date of publication: November 28th, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Number of pages: 314

POV: 1st person

Series: The Curious Affair of

The Somnambulist and the Psychic Theif – Book 1

The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross – Book 2

Where you can find The Curious Affair of The Witch at Wayside Cross: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The paranormal answer to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Jesperson and Lane are turning the Victorian era upside down in this bewitching series from John W. Campbell Award winner Lisa Tuttle.

“Witch!” cries the young man after stumbling unexpectedly into the London address of the consulting-detective partnership of Mr. Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane. He makes the startling accusation while pointing toward Miss Lane . . . then he drops dead. Thus begins the strangest case yet to land—quite literally—on the doorstep of Jesperson and Lane.

According to the coroner, Charles Manning died of a heart attack—despite being in perfect health. Could he have been struck down by a witch’s spell? The late Mr. Manning’s address book leads Jesperson and Lane to the shrieking pits of Aylmerton, an ancient archaeological site reputed to be haunted by a vengeful ghost. There they sift through the local characters, each more suspicious than the last: Manning’s associate, Felix Ott, an English folklore enthusiast; Reverend Ringer, a fierce opponent of superstition; and the Bulstrode sisters, a trio of beauties with a reputation for witchcraft.

But when an innocent child goes missing, suddenly Jesperson and Lane aren’t merely trying to solve one murder—they’re racing to prevent another.

Trigger Warning: Talk of rape

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4 Years Trapped in My Mind Place by Johan Twiss

4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by [Twiss, Johan]

4 Stars

Publisher: Twiss Publishing

Date of publication: December 9th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Number of pages: 284

POV: 1st person

Where you can find 4 Years Trapped In My Mind Palace: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Diagnosed with a rare form of meningitis, fourteen-year-old Aaron Greenburg is paralyzed from head to toe. Doctors believe he is essentially brain dead and unaware of his surroundings, but Aaron is very much aware—trapped in his own mind with no way to communicate. 

To cope with his imprisonment, he retreats to an imaginary world called his Mind Palace, but the lines between reality, and time itself, start to blur when he receives a new patient as a roommate—an old, outspoken, Jewish jazz musician, named Solomon.

Filled with witty humor and heart-warming experiences, 4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace is a coming-of-age story, entwined with an end-of-age story, that will capture your imagination with a hint of nostalgia, a hint of the whimsical unknown, and a wild adventure through modern history.

Trigger Warning: None

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Poison by Galt Niederhoffer

Poison

Title: Poison

Author: Galt Niederhoffer

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Date of publication: November 21, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

How many pages: 304

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find Poison: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Poison is a literary psychological thriller about a marriage that follows minor betrayal into a bubbling stew of lies, cruelty, manipulation, and danger.

Cass and Ryan Connor have achieved family nirvana. With three kids between them, a cat and a yard, a home they built and feathered, they seem to have the Modern Family dream. Their family, including Cass’ two children from previous relationships, has recently moved to Portland —a new start for their new lives. Cass and Ryan have stable, successful careers, and they are happy. But trouble begins almost imperceptibly. First with small omissions and white lies that happen daily in any marital bedroom. They seem insignificant, but they are quickly followed by a series of denials and feints that mushroom and then cyclone in menace.

With life-or-death stakes and irreversible consequences, Poison is a chilling and irresistible reminder that the closest bond designed to protect and provide for each other and for children can change in a minute.

Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence

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Hard Cover by Jamie K. Schmidt

Hard Cover

Title: Hard Cover

Author: Jamie K. Schmidt

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: November 21st, 2017

Genre: Erotica, Romance

Number of pages: 232

POV: Alternating 1st person

Where you can find Hard Cover: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

He can read her like a book. But will he give her a happy ending?

Dawn: I’d do anything to keep my bookstore. It’s a safe place for all women, somewhere to let their freak flags fly. I call it sex-positive. The menfolk call it smut. That’s how I met Rory Parker, the local billionaire trying to shut me down on behalf of the “moral majority.” He walked in with an offer I couldn’t refuse . . . except I did. Now Rory wants to play dirty. Well, he picked the wrong bookseller. Let’s see how much support he still has after people get a load of the little movie I recorded of the two of us going at it like wild animals in my shop. 

Rory: I could care less how Dawn Nolan makes her money. The only thing I care about is how much she’s making. Her bookstore isn’t the kind of upscale attraction my investors want in this sleepy little tourist trap, so it’s got to go. But when Dawn personally finds out how I treat bad girls who misbehave, she seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Now I just need to destroy the copies of that video she’s threatening to post—as soon as I stop watching it. The trouble is, when I’m with her, all I want to do is get started on the sequel.

Trigger Warning: None

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