First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson: Book 1) by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)

4 Stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: February 1st, 2011

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Romance. Suspense

Number of pages: 321

POV: 1st person

Series: Charley Davidson

First Grave of the Right – Book 1

For I Have Sinned – Book 1.5

Second Grave on the Left – Book 2

Third Grave Dead Ahead – Book 3

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet – Book 4

Fifth Grave Past the Light – Book 5

Shimmer – Book 5.5

Glow – Book 5.6

Sixth Grave on the Edge – Book 6

Seventh Grave and No Body – Book 7

Eighth Grave After Dark – Book 8

Brighter Than the Sun – Book 8.5

The Dirt on Ninth Grave – Book 9

The Curse of Tenth Grave – Book 10

A Very Charley Christmas – Book 10.5

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight – Book 11

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave – Book 12 (expected publication date: October 31st, 2017)

Charley Davidson #13 – Book 13 (expected publication date: October 31st, 2018)

Where you can find First Grave on the Right: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.
Or a diagram of some kind.
A flow chart would have been nice.

Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and a full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can’t she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?

With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.

Trigger Warning: None

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An Honorable Man (Into the Storm: Book 3) by Margaret Watson

An Honorable Man (Into the Storm, #3)

4 Stars

Publisher: Dragonfly Press

Date of publication: June 2nd, 2017 (first published 1996)

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 244

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

The Dark Side of the Moon – Book 4

Family on the Run – Book 5

Where you can find An Honorable Man: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?
Two years ago, Luke McKinley had gone too far. One wrong move had cost him his badge, leaving him nothing – except burning anger at the woman he blamed for his dismissal.

WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY?
The guilt had followed Julia Carleton ever since. But now she desperately needed Luke’s help. Yet the rough-edged P.I. would never agree to her plan if he knew the whole truth.

WHEN WERE THE STAKES TOO HIGH?
She had put Luke’s life on the line – and gotten her heart caught in the crossfire. For the first time in her life, she was in love. But one ugly secret could cost her everything… 

Trigger Warning: None

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Loving Lakyn by Charlotte Reagan

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4 Stars

Publisher: Inkitt

Date of publication: October 18th, 2017

Genre: Romance, LBGTQIA

Number of pages: 

POV: 1st person

Where you can find Loving Lakyn: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Lakyn James is sixteen years old and hating every second of it. He was supposed to be done, he’d tapped out. End of story, unsubscribe here. Suicide “attempt”, they said. His intentions had no “attempt” in them. 

Re-entering normal life after ‘trying’ to take his own is weird. Especially when the world keeps going like it never happened. He still has to eat breakfast, go to school, and somehow convince a cute boy that he’s too damaged to date.

Scott White comes with his own problems, namely a habit of drinking too much and being indecisive about rather he wants in the closet, or out of it. Lakyn can’t stand him; he also can’t help smiling when Scott’s around.

Unfortunately – or fortunately – for Lakyn, life has decided to give him a second chance. He’s not happy about it, but maybe, with a lot of hard work and a good therapist, he can learn to be. And maybe he can hold Scott’s hand at the same time.

No promises though.

Trigger Warning (from the author’s Goodreads blog pages): Suicidal Ideation, Self Depreciating Thoughts, Descriptions of an Attempted Suicide Scene (after the fact), Mentions of Past Child Abuse (neglectful & physical),  Underage Substance Abuse (marijuana, alcohol, & pills that induce euphoria), Descriptions of Self Harm (cutting) and Blood, Mentions of a Deceased Parent, Brief uses of Homophobic Language, Descriptions of Disassociation, Descriptions of Anxiety, Brief Allusions of Bullying

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An American Cage by Ted Galdi

An American Cage

4 stars

Publisher: Precipice Books

Date of publication: October 16th, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Number of pages: 297

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find An American Cage: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Three inmates break out of a maximum-security prison in Texas, one of them Danny Marsh, a suburban kid in his twenties who landed in jail because of a crime he never intended to commit. 

An American Cage follows Danny and his two escape partners over a twenty-four-hour period as they struggle to cross Texas to freedom in Mexico. On this dangerous journey, Danny has to evade the rabid Texas authorities, and even worse, the schemes of one of his closest allies, who isn’t who he seems.

The second novel by Amazon #1 bestselling author and multi-award winner Ted Galdi, this psychological thriller is packed with suspense, twists, and grit, all while having heart. The story follows its young male protagonist on a journey of self-discovery and redemption as he weaves through a rocky landscape of family issues, guilt, betrayal, and questions about the nature of good and evil.

Along the way, he encounters an eclectic supporting cast, including a renowned psychology professor, a car thief, a young female hitchhiker, the leader of a biker gang, and a small-town Texas police officer with big ambitions. 

Featuring vivid descriptions of East Texas’s Piney Woods, Austin, and El Paso, a cinematic unfolding of action, and an examination of existential philosophical concepts, An American Cage would be a pleasing read for fans of literary thrillers as well as commercial thrillers.

The book has echoes of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, in addition to the crime fiction of upmarket writers like Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos.

Trigger Warning: None

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Crimson Cage by Thomas Howard

4 Stars

Publisher: Lulu.com

Date of Publication: September 27th, 2017

Genre: Christian, Thriller, General Fiction

Number of pages: 198

POV: 3rd person

Series: Cage Series

Caged Light – Book 1 (review here)

Crimson Cage – Book 2

Where you can find Crimson Cage: Amazon | Lulu.com

Books synopsis (from Amazon):

Some legends are born, others are forged in the crucible of fire. For Detective Wyatt Cage, fighting a demonic crime lord was just the beginning. Plunged deep inside of a world he barely believed existed, he is swept into a fight against possibly the greatest general ever to be born of HellÕs army to rescue countless children from a fate worse than death. Failure in this attempt will unleash HellÕs might upon the world in a war unlike any other. Along his dark road, Wyatt will discover two things his true lineage and something he never knew he was missing, his son. However, his fight in the realm where nightmare and reality are one may just cost Wyatt his life as he knows it.

Trigger Warning: None

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Slap Shot (Aces Hockey: Book 5) by Kelly Jamieson

Slap Shot (Aces Hockey #5)

Title: Slap Shot

Author: Kelly Jamieson

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: October 17, 2017

Genre: Romance, Sports

Number of pages: 276

POV: 1st person

Series: Aces Hockey

Major Misconduct – Book 1

Off Limits – Book 1.5

Icing – Book 2

Top Shelf – Book 3

Back Check – Book 4

Slap Shot – Book 5

Where you can find Slap Shot: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

My name’s Max Hall, and I need to f***. As a pro hockey player who’s been away from the game for over a year, my libido has picked one hell of an inconvenient time to come roaring back to life.
 
After my wife died from a rare form of cancer, sex was the last thing on my mind. Same with hockey, the other love of my life. Now, after fifteen months of eating too much, drinking too much, and generally just feeling sorry for myself, I’m facing a steep uphill battle to get my ass in shape and play my way back onto the Chicago Aces.
 
So I’m not looking for a relationship. Just sex. Yeah, I know how that makes me sound. But the truth is, I’ll never love another woman the way I loved my wife. When I meet a sexy bridesmaid at my teammate’s wedding, I decide to scratch that itch. A fling with Kendra Armstrong in her posh hotel room could be just what the trainer ordered.
 
Not only is Kendra smokin’ hot, but she’s also dynamite in bed—one of the perks of being a sex toy designer. Since she lives in New York anyway, we agree to keep things casual, no strings attached. The arrangement is perfect . . . until one of us falls in love. And it’s not me.

Trigger Warning: None

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House of Shadows by Nicola Cornick

House of Shadows

Title: House of Shadows

Author: Nicola Cornick

Publisher: Harlequin, Graydon House

Date of publication: October 17th, 2017 (original publication date: December 5th, 2015)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Number of pages: 464

POV: 3rd person (Elizabeth and Holly) and 1st person (Lavinia’s journal entry)

Where you can find House of Shadows: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

The wooded hills of Oxfordshire conceal the remains of the aptly named Ashdown House—a wasted pile of cinders and regret. Once home to the daughter of a king, Ashdown and its secrets will unite three women across four centuries in a tangle of romance, deceit, and destiny…

In the winter of 1662, Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, is on her deathbed. She entrusts an ancient pearl, rumored to have magic power, to her faithful cavalier William Craven for safe keeping. In his grief, William orders the construction of Ashdown Estate in her memory and places the pearl at its center.

One hundred and fifty years later, notorious courtesan Lavinia Flyte hears the maids at Ashdown House whisper of a hidden treasure, and bears witness as her protector Lord Evershot—desperate to find it—burns the building to the ground.

Now, a battered mirror and the diary of a Regency courtesan are the only clues Holly Ansell has to find her brother, who has gone missing researching the mystery of Elizabeth Stuart and her alleged affair with Lord Craven. As she retraces his footsteps, Holly’s quest will soon reveal the truth about Lavinia and compel her to confront the stunning revelation about the legacy of the Winter Queen.

Trigger Warning: Domestic violence (Lavinia)

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Scored by Sloane Howell

Scored

Title: Scored

Author: Sloane Howell

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: October 17th, 2017

Genre: Romance, Sports

Number of pages: 230

POV: Alternating 1st person

Series: Unknown

Bossed – Book 1 (review here)

Where you can find Scored: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

He’s a player. But she’s about to score.

Opposites really do attract* as a sassy salesgirl turns a pro athlete’s life upside down in this supercharged standalone novel of seduction from the author of Bossed.

Kelsey: My mom would tell you I’m quite the catch, but since my last boyfriend, I haven’t been dating much. Maybe it’s my rocker style or my lack of filter that intimidates the boys. So I’m pleasantly surprised when Matt Stallworth waltzes into the indie record store where I work and gives as good he gets. Turns out Matt is a professional baseball player, which should mean he’s out of my league. But if he wants to hook up with me, he’s going to have to follow my rules.

Matt: After winning my MVP award, I learned that a guy can get used to having beautiful women practically throw themselves at you everywhere you turn. But everything changes the first time I see Kelsey Martin, and something just clicks. She’s hot, snarky, and whip-smart. I’ve got to see her again. The only problem is, she sees right through all my best moves. And I’m going to have to step up my game to convince Kelsey that I’m playing for keeps.

*And sexy times ensue—for mature audiences.

Trigger Warning: None

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The Emperor’s Harvest (formerly Refugees) by R .A. Denny

The Emperor's Harvest (Tales of Tzoladia Book 1) by [Denny, R.A.]

4 Stars

Publisher: 

Date of publication: April 9th, 2017

Genre: Fantasy

Number of pages: 288

POV: Alternating 1st and 3rd person

Series: Mud, Rocks, and Trees

Refugees – Book 1

Where you can find Refugees: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book Synopsis (from Goodreads):

I love to listen to Baskrod’s stories. He describes warlike men with natural armor who hibernate in rocky caves and peaceful people who soar through the air in a forest of giant trees. His tales are full of foreboding dreams and ancient prophecies; royal palaces and strange creatures. My brother laughs at me. He says that the old fisherman makes it all up. But everything Baskrod has ever predicted has come true. So I have always believed his stories.

UNTIL NOW

Baskrod appears to have gone mad. He claims that the emperor is sending a murderous horde of evil men to destroy our village. “They will drink your blood!” he yells, wide-eyed while standing in the marketplace waving his trident. He repeatedly begs me to escape with him. But it is harvest time, and I must stay to help my family in the fields. Anyway, the emperor has no reason to turn against us. We pay our tribute.

If only we had listened to Baskrod.

The emperor planned his own harvest. His reapers were ax-wielding horsemen. And they were not harvesting crops. They harvested my people.

Now I am the sole survivor from my village. Baskrod claims that the one God has chosen me. He says I must travel to the distant capital of Tzoladia to save the world. Maybe Baskrod is right. Maybe it is my destiny. But I’m nobody. How can I save the world?

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Saviors (The God Jars Saga: Book 1) by Devon Vesper

Saviors

5 Stars

Publisher: Magelight Press

Date of publication: September 19th, 2017

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA

Number of pages: 222

POV:

Series: The God Jars Sags

Saviors – Book 1

Avristin – Book 2 (expected publication date: October 31st, 2017)

Where you can find Saviors: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Trust is more terrifying than any weapon.

Valis’ father wants to sacrifice him to the evil God, Qos. His uncle wants to use him as a magical battery and sex slave. All Valis wants is to live in peace, without fear of constant abuse. When he escapes his father’s sacrificial knife and runs away, he lands in the camp of his two saviors, Kerac and Darolen, holy Aesriphos warriors powerful enough to put his family in their place.

But trusting anyone could be fatal, and the warriors ask the impossible: to sell his father’s farmstead and abandon his old life to join their monastery.

They’re his only hope and when he learns to trust them, they’re the father figures he always wanted, but Valis isn’t sure he’s strong enough to put aside his fear and start over.

The God Jars Saga is a nine-book slow burn medieval M/M fantasy romance.

Continue reading “Saviors (The God Jars Saga: Book 1) by Devon Vesper” →