Tom Benson

has written a real winner here. A Scot gets something from the family lawyer that puts him on a plane to the lovely city of Prague after his father's death. Both his parents die in mysterious circumstances which have him seeking answers and possibly, revenge. 

I'm trying to be careful to not give out spoilers. This one has enough twists and turns to keep you up far later than you should be. But that's what a good book is all about. I'm giving it 5 stars for a tale well told. 

 

 A regency mystery kick.

Has led me in several directions recently. C.S. Harris started me off since I was looking for something a little different. 

 It got so good, I went through one a night. I've already ordered the new one due out in April. I believe I posted about these earlier. Good books. 

Now we come to another author. I'm not sure how well known she is, but I've gone through the first series by Andrea Penrose, Wrexford and Sloane. They progress from the first one in a manner that drew me in and hooked me fast. 

Of course, I'm a real sucker for women not of the usual stripe. Those ready to brave their own paths through life. These move Ms. Sloane back into a world she left of her own accord after having sunk to a real low. For all her need to stay private, she is on the ragged edge of starvation. To earn a living she takes up her dead husband's idea and fleshes it out, more than he ever could. It becomes her own.

Enter the man she has maligned somewhat. He may well hang if he can't find who is to blame. So begins the association between Wrexford and Sloane. 

From there I made my way into the Arianna Hadley series. 

 

Sweet Revenge is indeed sweet. And I find I'm quite enjoying this series as much as the first. The bits  about chocolate are interesting in themselves. The plot pulled me in and refused to let go. A long book, this was a bit of a trial when I stayed up far too long. The perils of finding a good book. 

Arianna is another different female lead. Having survived by her wits alone as a young girl orphaned in the West Indies, she has a store of practical knowledge about some things and is woefully ignorant about others. 

The male lead is in bad straits when we first meet him. The poppy has its fangs in him due to a war wound. Not one of society's darlings, he is on the wrong side of someone with a great deal of power. 

In the back of each book you will find author's notes which read all the way through. Most interesting. 

I'm presently into book four and intend to devour all six before the month is over. 

Good reading crew.

 

Looking for something to take your mind off the world insanity? Here a bunch of things all boxes and ready to go for your enjoyment. And I think there's even a bonus. Have a look. 

• *´¨)
  ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
  (¸.•´ (¸.•` 💀 🖤 99C PRE-ORDER🖤💀

Pre-Order your copy for Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086ZVTKSS

Claim your gift here: www.soulsdayboxset.com

From 19 USA Today & International Bestselling Authors proudly present a 99c Boxset & pre-order Gift.

Old Hallows Eve, when things go bump in the night,
Children come to play, and the witches provide the fright.
For 19 authors, USA Today and international bestselling,
The Halloween tales become more than this foretelling.
In the Soul's Day Boxset, a mansion feeds on souls,
A gargoyle captures them, and a demon dungeon master makes the calls,
Campers gets picked off one by one,
The Karnaval's corn dogs are less than fun,
Ghosts lurking around every bend,
'I do' at the wedding is the very end.
A boxset of chills and thrills to keep you up at night,
One-click pre-order to snap your copy filled with fright.
On old Hallow's eve when creatures come to play,
With this spine chilling pages, it's where you'll want to stay.

Pre-Order your copy for Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086ZVTKSS

Claim your gift here: www.soulsdayboxset.com

About those dratted resolutions.

 I've got a couple of things for you this October. First, have a look at this. It's on pre-order now. If you're wanting to do more than make a resolution you probably won't keep, try this instead. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KTHGJN9

A little something to work on every day. Stick with it and if you can, start a support group of others who want to make concrete changes. #selfhelp #selfcare #happiness

It won't be long until the yard is covered in snow. At least I hope we get snow before the deep freeze hits. It's not good for the ground to freeze too deep without some snow on top to cushion the blow. 

The temps are holding at 20 in the morning. That's a good thing. I've taken everything out of the garden with the exception of the carrots. When the tops go, I'll pull the lot up. Looking forward to juicy little sugar lumps of carrots. #garden #fall #arcticwinter 

Reading, well I found a Louis L'Amour I hadn't read before. I think they found this one half finished and I'm not quite sure who finished it, but so far so good. #readingnow

On another note. And I do mean note. PSYCHEDELIC COUNTRY BLUES JAM on youtube is worth listening to if you like blues. Since I do, I'm enjoying this one. #blues #music

Well all, I must go. The bread needs punched down, formed into a loaf and tucked in the over. 

The Highlands... Forever.

 

Okay, so I've been quiet lately. 
But I've been busy. 
If you haven't seen it already, I now have an entire series in Kindle Unlimited and they are all done. No waiting until I finish the books. They are cliff hangers until the last one. They are releasing about 45 days apart. #nativeamerican #secondchanceromance #contemporaryromance

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086XLFK8Q
Her son has been gone for over 20 years. Worse her first love helped keep him from Lily Raven. She did the best she could, got a law degree and now helps battered women get free and out of Alaska if necessary. One day her grown son turns up in her law office. The first thing Teller notices is his mother's paralegal. A stalker is after Lily Raven. Teller enlists his uncle Destry's help to keep her alive. Destry has a guilt problem. Lily Raven has a Destry problem.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086ZJX5P6
Dink has a thing about red heads. Lily Raven's receptionist ticks all his boxes. He's been on the run for years. Rescuing Destry and getting involved with the man has kept him in one place too long. Worse, he wants to stay in Alaska with Bea. First things first, he has to fix things in Louisiana. Meanwhile, Ruby is keeping Teller at bay, but just barely. The stalker is playing a waiting game having run low on cash. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087NTQV9Z
The stalker may have switched his attention to someone easier to get to. The young husband, Sully, takes the problem to Lily Raven. Teller and Sully will form a life long bond over their pursuit of the man determined to grab Sully's wife. Ruby is holding Teller off, barely. She has to do something to keep from giving in. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087N1V2Q4

Why is Teller with that woman? Is this proof of Ruby's deepest fear? Is he Drake's son in more ways than appearance? Ruby doesn't want to know more, she's seen enough. Winter has set in and she's sure Teller will be gone to a warmer climate soon. 
 

 

I wasn't exactly sure what to make of the author's description when I was given the ARC for a review.  Since I've read other books of his I liked, I was ready to give it a try. 

This in my opinion is probably his best work to date. A story told from the end of his life looking back to the beginning, Ben has lived through a lot. The retired cowboy and his horse have gone through a lot. 

The author told the story with a deft touch and did a fantastic job. If you are looking for something a little different, give this one a try. Quite well done.

A good solid read. 

Two lonely, needy people don’t always mesh well. In this case, the result is a disaster. I wondered about the title and understood it when I finished the book. Fate had it in for these characters. The dark history of apartheid in South Africa forms the basis for much of the trouble, but Lydia is clueless.

She has her reasons for ignoring the bad patch she and her husband of almost a decade are going through. His lack of support for her problems doesn’t help. What she doesn’t know about the man she married hampers her efforts to find her children when he packs them up and escapes in the dead of night. The plot has quite a few twists, and it kept me reading. There may have been one too many coincidences, a notion which didn’t strike me until the end.

Still, it was a good read, well written and entertaining. If you’re looking for a romance, this book is not for you. There is a hint at the end of the book of something to come in Lydia’s future.  

 

 

 Review of CEO by Patricia E. Gitt

 

I pay a lot of attention when I pick up a book in NetGalley. My time needs to be used wisely, I don’t have a lot to spare. 

Still, I love to read and since I’ll read before I sleep anyway, it might as well do someone good. Hence, NetGalley and BookBub. 

I found myself pleasantly surprised by this one, it has an interesting plot and is easy to read. The publisher called it a “page turner”, I agree. Well written, one tiny little thing in perhaps two places threw me off, a bit of confusion over proper use of two words. Minor little blips. Neither bothered me for long and the plot took over again. I’m mentioning it only in case a reader asks why I gave it 5 stars. I easily dismissed the errors as I got caught up in the story again.  Anyone who has read many of my reviews and the books I reviewed knows I can ignore a few piddly errors in favor of a good plot. This book had the tiniest of errors, as mentioned above. 

Don’t go looking for a romance read here. This is a tale of two women finding their way in a man’s world. Not an easy feat as those of us who have had to work in any office well know. 

Not a real literary work, it speaks to the trials endured by any woman seeking to be a mover and shaker in the business world. The worst adversaries a woman can encounter on her upward climb will be other women in the office. The question here is, can these two help one another? What will be the way forward for the women who can make or break the other’s career? An interesting plot idea brought to fruition and laid out well by the author. Give it a whirl. 

 

Book Review

As an unabashed Alaskan, I review book set in Alaska with a critical eye. 

I can't help it. This tale of gold, manipulation, love and loss did the best job yet of portraying the real Alaska (other than my books since I live here and I'm not afraid to shovel snow). If you read Ms. Pace's Amazon page, you'll get the shoveling reference.
She did a great job with the setting, the plot was a good one as was the writing. A good book and one I recommend if you like romantic suspense.

I love cooking on a stove that's pumping out wood heat into the room. You can say what you want, nothing I know beats wood heat. Somehow, it warms a room the way nothing else can. An electric heater, even with a fan, doesn't quite do the job. Heating with electricity can find you with a bill that will nearly cause heart palpitations.

Gas heat is great if you can afford piping it in. In my case thousands of dollars is out of the question. So I stick with a fuel oil furnace and supplement with wood when the temperature drops below -10. A good compromise.
I'm not equipped to cut my own wood these days. Most of the time I get a cord (4X4X8) before winter sets in. My son-in-law helped me get my wood. I got a good deal because I picked it up. We loaded it and unloaded it at the house. Stacked it and after covering it with a tarp, I was set.
It's February now and the pile has decreased considerably. There's still a bit and I'm not worried, it is February which means things should warm up a little. And I have a backup plan. A pile of old junk 2x4s which I'll cut up with the electric chain saw should the need arise. Which I doubt.
I've used my little stove, and it is a small one by Alaska standards, to cook on this winter. It makes a mean pot of beans or a stew. I get double duty from it, lunch, dinner and heat. Works for me.