Yvonne
I have these lovely new books to be added to my virtual shelf this week.
I am still trying to be good and schedule all the books I receive, so as not to increase my toppling TBR pile, and so far it is working, although it’s quite a close call!
First I have to thank the lovely Noelle, representing publisher Bookouture, for saving me space on this “Books On Tour” event
CROSS MY HEART (Kane & Alton #12) by D.K. HOOD
She wakes to the sound of footsteps outside her secluded home. Moving toward the window, she scans the dark woods around her and freezes. A tall figure in a long dark coat holds a crossbow pointed right at her. She blinks as lightning cracks overhead. But when she opens her eyes, the figure has vanished…
When the body of a man is found in the dense forest surrounding Black Rock Falls, Sheriff Jenna Alton immediately sees disturbing similarities with a past case—the same murder weapon, the remote beauty spot, and the way the victim is perched against a tree with no sign of a struggle. But the killer in that case was jailed for life.
Jenna suspects a copycat killer and her fears are confirmed when, during the town’s Halloween festival, the bodies of two tourists are found further down the remote trail. They too had been hunted down and murdered in another picturesque spot and all Jenna can hope is that the man behind bars can help her catch the twisted monster behind these new deaths.
As she comes face to face with the vicious murderer who has haunted her dreams for years, she is sure he knows more than he’s telling her. Looking deep into Jenna’s eyes, as if they’re two old friends catching up, he promises to take his final revenge on her for locking him up. But before she can learn more, he is dragged away by prison guards.
When a sudden emergency call takes Jenna and her deputy David Kane deep into the woods, Jenna senses something is very wrong about the situation. As a strange calmness falls over the forest, a familiar face emerges from the shadows. Will this killer be the one who finally takes down Sheriff Alton, and can they make it out of the forest alive?
Next, I need to thank Deb, representing publicist Meryl Moss Media Group, for the opportunity to read this great sounding book
THE AUDACITY OF SARA GRAYSON by JOANI ELLIOTT
What happens when your mother’s dying wish becomes your worst nightmare?
What happens when the world’s greatest literary icon dies before she finishes the final book in her best-selling series?
And what happens when she leaves that book in the hands of her unstable, neurotic daughter, who swears she’s not a real writer?
Sara Grayson is a thirty-two-year-old greeting card writer about to land the toughest assignment of her life. Three weeks after the death of her mother—a world-famous suspense novelist—Sara learns that her mother’s dying wish is for her to write the final book in her bestselling series.
Sara has lived alone with her dog, Gatsby, ever since her husband walked out with their Pro Double Waffle Maker and her last shred of confidence. She can’t fathom writing a book for thirty million fans—not when last week’s big win was resetting the microwave clock.
But in a bold move that surprises even herself, Sara takes it on. Against an impossible deadline and a publisher intent on sabotaging her every move, Sara discovers that stepping into her mother’s shoes means stumbling on family secrets she was never meant to find—secrets that threaten her mother’s legacy and the very book she’s trying to create.
Finally this time, I would like to thank author Melissa Bourbon for getting in touch personally, with this great review request
MURDER IN DEVIL’S COVE by MELISSA BOURBON
Every book tells two stories—one written on the pages with pen and ink, and one woven into the paper, a story of the soul. The Lane women have the gift of bibliomancy. They can read them both.
Almost everyone in the Lane family line dies young. The gift of bibliomancy tells their story before the deaths happen. But Cassie Lane doesn’t see it as a gift. For her, it is a curse. As soon as she’s able, she leaves Laurel Point, Oregon, running from her past and her fate, ending up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There she meets Leo Hawthorne and lives a perfect life with him in an old Sea Captain’s house.
Perfect, that is, until Leo vanishes at sea.
After an old copy of Moby Dick foretells Leo’s death, Cassie forbids all books from the lives of her children with Leo. But when twins Pippin and Gray discover a secret room where their father hid away books that were special to him, long forgotten secrets surface, an old crime comes to light, and everything Pippin thought she knew is turned upside down.
Now twenty-five years later, Pippin must learn how to be a bibliomancer if she is to figure out what happened to her father and stop another murder from happening in Devil’s Cove.
‘Mailbox Monday’ is a gathering place for readers to share links to the books that came into their house during the last week.
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well, after all you never know where that next “must read” book will come from
…
They all look good.
LOVE the cover on THE AUDACITY OF SARA GRAYSON. ENJOY them all, Yvonne, and have a great week.
Hi Elizabeth,
I actually had to rush ‘The Audacity Of Sara Grayson’ to the top of my reading schedule as soon as it arrived, in order to meet the required deadline for review. It was a little outside of my usual reading genres – but I LOVED it!! – and I also thought the cover was great, although the story is by no means as ‘fluffy’ as the cover makes it look!
Thanks for stopping by, I always value your comments and I hope that your week is good too 🙂
I’m glad you are managing your review schedule. Mine is usually tight too.
All three new books look good but Cross My Heart gets my interest most.
Happy Reading!
Hi Martha,
I was actually quite well ahead of my review schedule, until hubbie decided to take all of the holiday he needs to use up by the end of May, without giving me any notice! He now has several projects on the go at home, which really need two pairs of hands, so my reading has been severely curtailed and I am already rushing to play catch-up.
I generally only accept review titles which I really want to read, so I am looking forward to this little collection, although as a good thriller will always be my ‘go to’ genre, I totally agree with you about ‘Cross My Heart’
Have a good week and thank you so much for visiting, I appreciate your support 🙂
All three books sound really interesting. I would love to start with THE AUDACITY OF SARA GRAYSON because this is the kind of stories that I don’t read often. Have a wonderful week ahead, Yvonne!
Hi Angie,
I don’t generally have the luxury of being able to pick the book I most like the look of to read first, as my schedule is usually so tight that I have to read in strict Blog Tour Review date order. However this time ‘The Audacity Of Sara Grayson’ did need to be first off the pile, as the date I was given for this one, was really tight.
I too don’t read from ‘contemporary women’s fiction’ very often, however I became completely invested in what I would say was a storyline which was, part love story, part family mystery and part self-actualization. I absolutely loved it and really can recommend it.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, it is good to chat with ‘friends’ and I hope that you have a Happy Monday 🙂
Congrats on managing your TBR pile, that’s no easy task! I’ve been on the opposite side these past couple weeks, but I plan to slow down in May.
Your books sound good, The Audacity of Sara Grayson sounds like something I might enjoy. Have a great week and happy reading!
Hi Kay,
I still seem to be amassing a review card index which is getting larger not smaller, so I can’t be doing as well as I thought after all. I think the problem comes with the books which have no fixed review date, as the pressure doesn’t seem so urgent, so I keep pushing my scheduled date back – a sure recipe for disaster! The only solution is just to stop taking books in until I have caught back up, but where’s the fun in that!! 🙂 🙂
I can totally recommend ‘The Audacity Of Sara Grayson’. Loads of twists I never saw coming and so much more depth to the storyline than I had expected.
Thanks for taking the time to visit, I always value your comments. Have a good week 🙂
All these books sound wonderful. I hope you enjoy them. I need to add them to my ever-growing wish list.
Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a nice week.
Hi Cheryl,
Ah! Wish lists! I’m afraid I have had to draw a line under mine until I have cleared at least a few of the older books off the top.
I may kind of have my review schedule under some control, however my Goodreads and Netgalley pages are full of either ‘want to read’ books, or even worse, books that are already downloaded onto my Kindle and now just sat there!
“Look, but don’t add”, should be my new mantra – at least for a couple of hours 🙂
Thanks for visiting, I hope that all is well with you and Happy Reading for the coming week 🙂
A greeting card writer? That’s such an unusual job that it makes me want to read the book only to discover more about that. All three books sound nice and I hope you’ll enjoy all of them.
Have a lovely week xx
Hi Anca,
Not quite a ‘greeting’ card writer, that is a bit of a mis-leading job description! 🙂
I was much more interested in the fact that Sara is being entrusted to finish the final book in a very successful and lucrative series…
You really need to read this one for yourself. I laughed, cried and sometimes cried with laughter! It is definitely not the kind of story I though it would be. I loved it and gave it 5 stars ahead of the May 25th review!
I am looking forward to reading the other two books very soon.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and I hope that the typical Bank Holiday weather isn’t too much of a bind for you 🙂
THE AUDACITY OF SARA GRAYSON appeals to me. I hope you love it and the others just as much. Have a good week, Yvonne!
Hi Mary,
‘The Audacity Of Sara Grayson’ seems to be the book which is appealing to most commenters this time round. Whether or not that is because the storyline is about a reluctant wannabe author, I don’t really know!
I have actually finished reading this one already and I can definitely say that it was not at all what I was expecting. There was so much more mystery, depth and intrigue in the storyline and I thoroughly enjoyed it
The other two are scheduled in, but do not have such pressing review dates, so I have a little flexibility!
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I always look forward to having you visit.
Have a good week and Happy Reading 🙂
The first is out of the question since it’s so deep into an established series, but the other two, while totally different”, sound good! Bibliomancy seems a bit creepy.
Hi Kelly,
‘The Audacity Of Sara Grayson’ was an excellent read, with much more intrigue and insights into the publishing world than I had anticipated, although there is a romantic element to the story too. Chick-lit with substance? I really enjoyed it anyway and my review is up later this month!
The bibliomancy references were also intriguing in ‘Murder In Devil’s Cove’, especially when I checked out the word’s definition and discovered that it often involves religious texts. That made it really quite spooky. As this was a direct request from the author, she is aware that this book is going to take me quite a long way out of my comfort reading zone, however she is still keen to know how I get on with it.
D.K. Hood is an author whose name I have come across so many times, but whose books I have yet to try, so when the Blog Tour Review came up for ‘Cross My Heart’, I thought I would give it a try.
Three totally different storylines, that’s for sure 🙂
As well as ‘The Midnight Library’, I also like the sound of both ‘The Sanatorium’ and ‘The Book Of Lost Friends’ from your recent reading. Are either of the last two worth reading? 🙂
I just saw your question…
While the real life history The Book of Lost Friends is based on is fascinating, I had trouble engaging with either of the timelines dealt with in the story. I’d probably give it a 3.5/5. (maybe a 4/5)
The Sanatorium had SO much potential, but again…. it fell a bit short of my expectations. Another 3.5/5.
Maybe I’m just getting more critical in my old age.
Mmm! I’m going to add both of those to my ‘wish list’, although I probably won’t go out of my way to attain copies of either, just yet!
I really do dislike having to rate books, as it is just so subjective, with each reader having a uniquely different perspective on the same story and author style of writing. I think that has made me a little more liberal minded of late, and I have been awarding 5 stars more than I ever have before, tending to use my Goodreads ‘favourite’ shelf as the distinguishing marker! 🙂
Nice mailbox this week Yvonne. Cross My Heart especially sounds intense. I have seen The Audacity of Sara Grayson around. Enjoy your books this week!
Hi Naida,
I think you might enjoy ‘The Audacity Of Sara Grayson’, it was really good and such a great mix of genres all in one storyline. Plus, it is all about the struggle of a wannabe author writing that amazing final book of a series!
‘Cross My Heart’ is on my Blog Tour schedule for July, so I shan’t be starting on that one just yet, although it does sound good. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, so I am hoping it works okay as a stand alone story!
Thanks for visiting and I hope that your week is going well so far 🙂
You got lots of goodies this week
Hi Serena,
A lot of my ARC copies and Blog Tour Review opportunities, come from a really prolific e-publisher called “Bookouture” They constantly have new releases on their site, so there are always enough new titles to keep me going, not counting all the other avenues I have open to me!
I like that there is always a great mix of genres, as I don’t like to exclusively read a single kind of storyline, or style of writing!
Thanks for hosting MM and for taking the time to stop by 🙂