Edger Lives by David Beem
Publisher: Escapist Press
Genre: Contemporary, Comedy, Action/Adventure, Paranormal
Length: full Length (305 pgs)
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose
Our dork of destiny rides again!
Edger is falling for Mary, his bodyguard, kick-ass spy, and cover wife. But she’s so hopelessly out of his league, it’s clear someone’s going to get hurt. Less clear? That someone may be the Prime Minister of Australia.When Mary confesses her desire to kill the world leader whose assassination Edger’s supposed to prevent, Edger’s superpowers pick the worst time to stop working. Without a fully functional psychic superhero, their team of spies can no longer order him to probe Mary’s mind for ill intent. The stage is set for a confrontation that threatens to strip a defenseless Edger of his loyal protector just when he needs her most.
Return to the Collective Unconscious, this time with Listerine-chugging stoners, Hollyweirdos, commie-alien-kung fu robots, one space gorilla-unicorn, and an exceedingly lovesick Vladimir Putin.
Mind your fingers and toes on page 270. Those skydiving mind-control monkeys have been known to bite!
April Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ Edger Lives by David Beem
2018 Best Book of the Year Poll
The books below all won (or tied) for our Book of the Month in 2018. Now they’re vying for the 2018 Book of the Year!
Poll runs from February 1 – 14, 2019.
January Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ Secret Lady by Beth Trissel
Secret Lady by Beth Trissel
Ladies in Time Book Three
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Full Length (235 pgs)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia
At Lavender House, Evie McIntyre is haunted by the whispers from her bedroom closet. Before she can make sense of their murmurs, the house “warbles” between times and transports her to the Civil War. Past and present have blended, and Evie wishes she’d paid more attention to history. Especially since former Confederate officer, Jack Ramsey, could use a heads up.Torn between opposing forces, Jack struggles to defend the valley and people he loves. Meeting Evie turns his already tumultuous world upside down. Will solving the mystery of the whispers return her home, and will the handsome scout be by her side?
Against the background of Sheridan’s Burning of the Shenandoah Valley, Jack and Evie fight to save their friends and themselves – or is history carved in stone?
January Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ One Taste Too Many by Debra H Goldstein
One Taste Too Many by Debra H Goldstein
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (323 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe
For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one thing scarier than cooking from scratch—murder!Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty‑eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist job in the tired hometown she never left. With nothing much to show for the last decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills, she’s the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily—an ambitious chef determined to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant . . .
Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!
Includes quick and easy recipes!
November Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ Gazelle in the Shadows by Michelle Peach
Gazelle in the Shadows by Michelle Peach
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (312 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender
In the mid 90s, Elizabeth Booth is a young British college student studying Arabic at Durham University. With some travel and work already under her belt, she excels at her studies and is sent to Damascus to immerse herself in the language. Taken aback by the generosity and kindness of the people there, she easy slips into a life in the ancient city. She has friends, her studies, and even a handsome boyfriend. But things aren’t always what they seem. Soon, in a world where mistrust and disloyalty are commonplace, Elizabeth finds herself navigating a web of lies, betrayals, and even murder involving MI6, deadly terrorist factions, and the shadowy Syrian secret police.
August Book of the Month Poll ~ Wedding at the Rocking S Ranch by Kathryn Albright
Wedding at the Rocking S Ranch by Kathryn Albright
Oak Grove Series
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon
Genre: Historical
Length: Full length (288 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower
Can a widow in the Wild West…
…find wedded bliss again?
When Cassandra Stewart fulfills her husband’s dying wish by visiting the ranch he loved, she plans to sell it. But then she meets his best friend. As aloof, ruggedly handsome Wolf shows Cassandra the value of life in the prairies, tenderness begins to grow from their shared pain into something more… Maybe there’s a future for her at the Rocking S Ranch after all…
July Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ Awaken the Darkness by Dianne Duvall
Awaken the Darkness by Dianne Duvall
Immortal Guardians Book 8
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Action/Adventure
Length: Full length (247 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum
He awakens encapsulated in dirt with no knowledge of how he came to be there. Riddled with injuries, he can remember neither his past nor who he is. Nor can he remember what he is. But surely no mortal man could survive being buried deep beneath the earth. All he knows with certainty is that the soothing voice and presence of the woman moving around above enables him to endure the agony of his wounds. And he will do whatever it takes to be with her.
When Susan first sees the old two-story house for sale, such warmth and longing fill her that–against all reason–she makes an offer. It will take years of hard work and money she frankly doesn’t have to fix up the place. So she can’t explain why she bought it. She also can’t explain what compels her to spend hours one night, digging in the basement until she unearths a man. A man who still lives and breathes despite having been buried alive. A man whose intense brown eyes glow amber with pain, declaring him far more than ordinary. Susan knows she should keep her distance. He has no memory and possesses gifts that would make most fear him. But as the two work together to unravel the mystery of his past, she finds herself drawn in by his teasing nature and tender touch. So much so that she loses her heart to him even as they find themselves hunted by unknown enemies who are ruthless in their quest to capture them.
June Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan
The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan
Publisher: Graydon House
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: Full Length (384 pgs)
Rated 5 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon
Laura and Casey were once inseparable: as they floated on their backs in the sunlit lake, as they dreamed about the future under starry skies, and as they teamed up for the wild scavenger hunts in their small California lakeside town. Until one summer night, when a shocking betrayal sent Laura running through the pines, down the dock, and into a new life, leaving Casey and a first love in her wake.But the past is impossible to escape, and now, after seventeen years away, Laura is pulled home and into a reunion with Casey she can’t resist—one last scavenger hunt. With a twist: this time, the list of clues leads to the settings of their most cherished summer memories. From glistening Jade Cove to the vintage skating rink, each step they take becomes a bittersweet reminder of the friendship they once shared. But just as the game brings Laura and Casey back together, the clues unravel a stunning secret that threatens to tear them apart…
Mesmerizing and unforgettable, Amy Mason Doan’s The Summer List is about losing and recapturing the person who understands you best—and the unbreakable bonds of girlhood.
May Book of the Month Poll ~ Bumpy Night on the Walk of Fame by Loretta Bolger Wish
Bumpy Night on the Walk of Fame by Loretta Bolger Wish
Publisher: Uncial Press
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Inspirational, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (180 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Orchid
After Bette Davis posthumously founds a museum-theater complex at her hometown college, the Producer on high fulfills her longtime dream of playing Scarlett O’Hara. But Bette has no idea how much she’ll shake up her career and her love life by starring in Gone with the Wind.
And that’s only the beginning. Her cosmic do-over also manages to scramble eighty years of world history.
Ronald Reagan will win two Oscars and never become President while John Kennedy marries Grace Kelly and serves two terms. Marilyn Monroe will turn into a sitcom legend, Jacqueline Bouvier will run a style empire and Martha Stewart will become a celebrity chef.
To curator Dana Foster’s horror, the casting reboot plays havoc with her exhibits and replica Hollywood Walk of Fame. It turns egotistical superstar Patrice Clark into a nobody just as she is about to become the museum’s first Hall of Fame inductee. She’s outraged when she finds Meryl Streep is being honored instead and the Patrice Clark Walk of Fame star now bears Michelle Pfeiffer’s name.
Racing against time, the movie-loving academic and the high-strung diva form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery before the next day’s induction ceremony.
While they spend a stressful but enlightening day trying to restore order, the Producer takes Bette on a bumpy multi-media ride of her own. As she sees favorite film roles elude her and her onetime husband marry another, she mourns all she has sacrificed by starring in Gone with the Wind and fears her derailed history can’t be fixed.Seeing that Patrice and Dana’s investigation is stalled, Bette gets permission to make a cameo appearance on earth and lend them a hand. In the process, the trio learns new lessons about film, fate and roads not taken.
April Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ Willow’s Way by Sharon Struth
Willow’s Way by Sharon Struth
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: Full Length (228 pgs)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rated: 5 stars
Reviewed by Rose
Willow Armstrong, the once-famous “Queen of Weight Loss” and president of Pound Busters, succumbed to stress eating after her divorce. Now the scandal of getting caught on camera binging on pizza, and the internet-wide mocking of her new curves, may destroy her career. Add in a business advisor who drained her finances, and Willow is out of options—until she learns she’s inherited a house in England’s most picturesque locale, The Cotswolds.
Willow’s trip across the pond to sell the property and salvage her company soon becomes its own adventure: the house, once owned by grandparents she never met, needs major work. Plus, single dad Owen Hughes, the estate’s resident groundskeeper and owner of a local tour outfit, isn’t thrilled about the idea of leaving . . . Yet as Willow proceeds with her plans, she’s sidetracked by surprising discoveries about her family’s history–and with Owen’s help, the area’s distinctive attractions. Soon, she’s even retracing her roots—and testing her endurance—amid the region’s natural beauty. And the more she delves into the past, the more clearly she sees herself, her future, and the way home . . .
