Bea Reviews Wilde Side & Wilde Thing by Jannine Gallant

Series: Born to Be Wilde #2
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 25th, 2016
Challenges: 2016 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge | 2016 NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The Wilde brothers are addicted to the rush of adventure. But one of them is about to discover that it’s sink or swim, when passion and politics collide…

Whitewater rafting guide Sawyer Wilde has taken his share of inexperienced adventure seekers through the rapids of Idaho’s Salmon River, so his next group should pose no problems—even if it includes a presidential hopeful and his sexy, outspoken aide. After all, it’s just a campaign photo-op for the congressman. Until a series of minor mishaps takes a sinister turn…

Devin Lockhart has one job on the rafting trip: to make her boss look both presidential and relatable. And no matter how distractingly attractive their guide is, she plans to do it well. But as danger stalks them through every bend in the river, Devin must put her life—and the congressman’s—in Sawyer’s capable hands. Because surviving the trip is only the beginning of a deadly ride.

2016 Edition of The TBR Book Tag - How Many Books Are In My TBR Pile?

I did this a couple years ago, missed it last year, and decided to do it again this year, even though I was nervous to compare facts and see how I've done since then. The short answer? Poorly. :D I am a book hoarder, there's no doubt. Books are my addiction. Luckily, it's not an expensive one as I've gotten good at acquiring books at a bargain price or for free.

First, a couple of housekeeping tasks. My definitions of a TBR, or To Be Read, pile differs from many other bloggers. For me, the TBR pile consists of books actually in my possession; I own them or have borrowed them, whether from the library or a friend. If it's a book I want to read but don't have in my possession, then it's a wish list book. My wish list is a mix of books I want to review, books I want to own, and books I want to read. I use it for "shopping" the library and for requesting books as well as for my personal shopping list.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite...Books! My Favorite Books of 2016

I wasn't going to do a top books or best of books post this year but, on a whim, I changed my mind. These aren't necessarily the best books I read this year but they are the ones I liked the best. They made me happy when I read them and they make me happy re-reading them; they call to me, stay in mind and I think about them from time to time. I've recommended and talked about them until people run and hide when they see me coming.  😁 Most, but not all, were released this year.

The links go to my reviews, some on the blog and some on goodreads.

Bea Reviews The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle

Publisher: MIRA 
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 27th, 2016/January 1st, 2017
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* |OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Everyone has secrets...

Iris and Will have been married for seven years, and life is as close to perfect as it can be. But on the morning Will flies out for a business trip to Florida, Iris's happy world comes to an abrupt halt: another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board and, according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers.

Grief stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. Why did Will lie about where he was going? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to uncover what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she finds shock her to her very core.

Bea Reviews Find Her by Lisa Gardner

Series: Detective D.D. Warren #8
Publisher: Dutton
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 18th, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Flora Dane is a victim.

Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure.

Flora Dane is a survivor.

Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has spent the past five years reacquainting herself with the rhythms of normal life, working with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes. She has a mother who’s never stopped loving her, a brother who is scared of the person she’s become, and a bedroom wall covered with photos of other girls who’ve never made it home.

Flora Dane is reckless.

. . . or is she? When Boston detective D. D. Warren is called to the scene of a crime—a dead man and the bound, naked woman who killed him—she learns that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society. Is Flora a victim or a vigilante? And with her firsthand knowledge of criminal behavior, could she hold the key to rescuing a missing college student whose abduction has rocked Boston? When Flora herself disappears, D.D. realizes a far more sinister predator is out there. One who’s determined that this time, Flora Dane will never escape. And now it is all up to D. D. Warren to find her. 

Bea Reviews An Import of Intrigue by Marshall Ryan Maresca

Series: Maradaine Constabulary #2
Publisher: DAW Fantasy
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 1st, 2016
Challenges: Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Mixing high fantasy and mystery, this is Marshall Ryan Maresca’s second novel in the Maradaine Constabulary series, companion to DAW’s Maradaine Novels.

The neighborhood of the Little East is a collision of cultures, languages, and traditions, hidden away in the city of Maradaine. A set of streets to be avoided or ignored. When a foreign dignitary is murdered, solving the crime falls to the most unpopular inspectors in the Maradaine Constabulary: exposed fraud Satrine Rainey, and uncircled mage Minox Welling.

With a murder scene deliberately constructed to point blame toward the Little East, Rainey is forced to confront her former life, while Welling’s ignorance of his own power threatens to consume him. And these few city blocks threaten to erupt into citywide war unless the constabulary solves the case.

Happy Holidays!!!

Hannukah began yesterday, Christmas is today, the Winter Solstice was last week, and Kwanzaa begins next week. Whatever holiday you celebrate, may it be peaceful and joyous. Peace and good tidings to you and yours.

Bea Reviews Classified Christmas Mission by Lynette Eason

Series: Wrangler's Corner #4; Love Inspired Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 6, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

UNDERCOVER GUARDIAN
Days before Christmas, CIA agent Amber Starke is on the run with her murdered best friend's special-needs son. And they're next on his criminal father's hit list. Amber failed her undercover mission to bring down her friend's husband for his crimes, but she won't fail to protect her friend's son. Now that the killer knows she's not just a nanny but an agent, she must rely on her childhood crush, Deputy Lance Goode. The handsome lawman was burned in love by his first wife, who was killed while evading the law. But he'll do everything he can to help Amber, except offer his heart. Unlocking the secrets in Amber's autistic charge is the key to their survival, but with the killer on their trail, one mistake could cost them their lives.

Bea Reviews Silver Belles: An Over-40 Holiday Anthology by Sarah M. Anderson, Ros Clarke, Laura K. Curtis, Yasmine Galenorn, & Suleikha Snyder

Publisher: River Hills Press
Source: a gift from author Laura K. Curtis
Release Date: November 10th, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Modern women can have it all, they say. But "they" don't ever explain how. All too often, love gets sacrificed to careers, to children, to art. In these five brand new stories, women from all walks of life discover love long after having given it up for lost.

This anthology contains:

“The Christmas Pony” by Sarah M. Anderson
What’s Alice supposed to do with a pony? The teacher only knows the animal was left on her porch right before Christmas. Then handsome Animal Control Officer Kirk Douglas shows up, asking questions that Alice prefers not to answer. But even the mystery surrounding the animal’s origins can’t stop the holiday spark that ignites between Alice and Kirk. Can their attraction survive ugly-sweater parties, well-meaning relatives and the Christmas pony?

“Midnight Clear” by Ros Clarke
A year ago, Alison had it all: a husband, a family, and a purpose in life. But now, following a painful divorce, everything’s changed. She doesn’t know where her life is going, and her faith is as wobbly as her lopsided Christmas tree.

When she’s bowled over by an enthusiastic Irish setter in the park, and the rather gorgeous older man on the end of his lead, she’s not expecting more than a quick coffee and the mud brushed off her coat. Certainly not a Christmas like she’s never had before, full of peace, joy, and maybe even love?

“Sparks” by Laura K. Curtis
Kate Bellows has no room for weakness if she’s going to pull JanCo Moving out of the hole its in and create a solid career for herself. Her carefully-laid plans, however, are no match for the fire that burns her house to the ground. With few options, she accepts an offer to spend Christmas with the volunteer firefighter who’d injured himself trying to save her house.

But there are two major problems with staying in Adam Miller’s spare room over the holidays. First, he works and JanCo and there’s a good chance she will have to fire him. Second, he’s entirely too attractive, and Kate Bellows has neither time nor taste for romance.

“The Longest Night” by Yasmine Galenorn
The Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, and the past few years have been dark for Merilee Johansson. After an acerbic divorce, Merilee moved to Starwood, a small mountain town devoted to the arts. Here, she hopes to heal from the wounds life has left on her heart and her self-esteem. What she doesn’t expect is for Chris Hunter to enter her life, bringing the promise of love on the darkest night of the year.

“A Taste of Blessings” by Suleikha Snyder
For Tiya Chatterjee, coming home for one of her community’s most joyous celebrations, Durga Puja, means coming home to her mom’s disapproval, nosy aunties…and a crush on a man who shouldn’t even be on her radar.

For divorced father-of-two Arnav Biswas, the three-day festival is a chance to keep his culture alive for his kids — not an opportunity to flirt with a beautiful woman who isn’t meant for him.

Fortunately, fate has other plans for Arnav and Tiya, who must learn that giving thanks to a powerful goddess means acknowledging the unstoppable power of love. 

Early Review: The Cold Eye by Laura Anne Gilman

Series: The Devil's West #2
Publisher: Saga Press
Source: the author and the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 10th, 2017
Challenges: Finishing the Series Reading Challenge | NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

In the anticipated sequel to Silver on the Road, Isobel is riding circuit through the Territory as the Devil's Left Hand. But when she responds to a natural disaster, she learns the limits of her power and the growing danger of something mysterious that is threatening not just her life, but the whole Territory.

Isobel is the left hand of the old man of the Territory, the Boss—better known as the Devil. Along with her mentor, Gabriel, she is traveling circuit through Flood to represent the power of the Devil and uphold the agreement he made with the people to protect them. Here in the Territory, magic exists—sometimes wild and perilous.

But there is a growing danger in the bones of the land that is killing livestock, threatening souls, and weakening the power of magic. In the next installment of the Devil’s West series, Isobel and Gabriel are in over their heads as they find what’s happening and try to stop the people behind it before it unravels the Territory. (less)

Bea & Steph Review #BabyLove: My Toddler Life by Corine Dehghanpisheh

Series: #BabyLove #2
Publisher: My Art to Inspire
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Challenges: I Love Picture Books
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

In #BabyLove: My Toddler Life, a new children’s picture book by Corine Dehghanpisheh, a curious toddler loves to play… especially with his mommy’s smartphone!

When Mommy finds him using her phone without permission, it’s the perfect teaching moment.  Mommy reminds her little one that what matters most in life is time together filled with love and attention.

Her simple reminder:  Put down our phones.

#BabyLove: My Toddler Life is the second book in Corine’s #BabyLove Book Series.  The first book in the series, #BabyLove: My Social Life, won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Picture Books 0-5. 

Sign Up ~ 2017 Library Love Challenge

I LOVE the Library, it's my second home, and I love the Library Challenges that have been hosted in the past by the Book Dragon’s Lair (I Love Libraries), which I took over in 2016, but did a miserable job of hosting. Then in 2015 and past years there was Snagged @ The Library Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Nympho & Geeky Bloggers Book Blog.

This year I'm co-hosting with Angel's Guilty Pleasures and we've renamed the challenge:

Library Love Challenge

Steph Reviews Mister Sam Shearon's Creepy Christmas (A Merry Macabre Coloring Book) By Sam Shearon

Publisher: Vesuvian Books
Format Read: Paperback Coloring Books
Source: the pr firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The happiest time of the year is also the creepiest. Good ol’ Saint Nicholas did not start with reindeer. Every Christmas he would bring along a hairy half-demon, half-goat named Krampus to stalk misbehaving children. The hairy spawn of Satan stuffed them into his bag, chained them up, and dragged them down to Hell for a year of punishment. A warning for anyone who thought of causing mischief. This sure does not seem like the most wonderful time of the year.

Winter has an even darker and richer lore than Halloween. For centuries, people have feared creatures from ancient legends born of this time of year. Tales such as giant hairy monsters who live in the mountains and will snatch you up and eat you were used to ensure children didn't wander off in the snow and become lost.

These were indeed just stories … or were they?

This festive feast of fear contains 40 original hand-drawn and inked illustrations from a variety of traditional beliefs and legends from around the world, including British, North American, Nordic, Icelandic, Austrian, and Germanic folklore. Mister Sam Shearon’s Creepy Christmasfeatures characters such as Krampus, Grýla, Santa Claws, Rabid Rudolph, the Grimace Tree, the Wendigo, the Snow Bear, the Yule Cat, the Abominable Snowman, and many more. Ready for you to bring to colorful life with fearsome festive cheer, each page is also accompanied with a poem—a guide to these creepy creatures from the season of ice and snow! www.CreepyChristmasColoringBook.com

Bea Reviews Eggnog Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis & Barbara Ross

Publisher: Kensington
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 25th, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

With the fireplace crackling, the tree twinkling, and the carols humming, few things in life are as picture perfect as Christmas in Maine—until murder dampens the holiday spirit. It must be something in the eggnog . . .
 
EGGNOG MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog—allegedly from the Real Beard Santa Club—proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker’s Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who’s stirring up trouble.
 
DEATH BY EGGNOG by LEE HOLLIS
Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor’s grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal—and suspicious—allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it’s up to Hayley to ladle out some justice.

NOGGED OFF by BARBARA ROSS
Julia Snowden’s tenant Imogen Geinkes seems to be jinxed. First, her poorly named “Killer Eggnog” gives all her co-workers food poisoning at the holiday party, then her boyfriend’s body shows up in Julia’s moving truck as she’s headed back to Busman’s Harbor. Now Julia has to get moving to catch the cold-hearted culprit.

Cozy up with a glass of eggnog and enjoy the spirit of murder and mystery in a Yultide treat perfect for those winter holidays .

Bea Reviews Pursuing the Bear by Kerry Adrienne

Series: Shifter Wars #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 28th, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The Shifter Wars heat up when a woman investigates the mysteries surrounding a fierce breed of man and exposes more than just secrets

Bear shifters exist. Professor Bria Lane has known this since she was a child. Now she's returned to the forests of Deep Creek to prove it to the world. She has no idea how close she is to that proof in ruggedly sexy park ranger Derek Poole. Intimately close. But uncovering Derek's wild side comes with a shattering price.

Like a magnet meeting metal, Derek is drawn to Bria. His destiny. His mate. So beautiful and so vulnerable. So dangerous, too: an encroachment of lions, vengeful and vicious, is closing in and they're ready for war. Now is not the time to be distracted like a lovesick cub.

If Bria reveals the truth of the Deep Creek shifters to the world, she'll bring out the worst of both sides. But Derek can't hide his secrets from the love of his life forever. He knows they're playing with fire--and that when passion runs this hot, this reckless, someone's bound to get burned.

This book is approximately 85,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.

Excerpt & Giveaway: Deception Island by Judith Boss

Judith Boss (née Wager) was born in the village of Honeoye Falls, south of Rochester, New York in the heart of wine country. She attended elementary school in Irondequoit, where her family moved when she was two.

When not in school, she enjoyed wandering the woods and fields around her home and picking beans for 25¢ a basket for Mr. King, who owned the truck farm behind her house. She also loved hiking and camping and was active in the Girl Scouts throughout high school.

An avid writer, when Judy was 11 years old she wrote and illustrated her first “novel," a story about her beloved parakeet “Sparky." My Little Sparky was followed by several other short novels and a book of poems.

Review & Giveaway: Color of the Sun and Moon by Talia Aikens-Nunez, illustrations by Amy Caringella

Publisher: SundanceKid Press
Source: pr firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 30, 2016
Challenges: I Love Picture Books
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Colors of the Sun and Moon is an English/Spanish STEM book which featuring an inquisitive young girl and her grandmother. The bright illustrations engage children and illuminate the science of the horizon with vibrant colors.

An inquisitive young girl questions her grandmother about the science behind the colors of the sun and moon. With a forward by Spencer Christian. "Colors of the Sun and Moon" is the second book from the new multicultural, multilingual children's press, SundanceKid Press. The mission of SundanceKid Press is to promote cultural, ethnic/racial and linguistic diversity in children's literature. Each page includes the English text along with the Spanish translation. A free audio recording is available on the SundanceKid Press website.

Bea Reviews Her Bah Humbug Bear by Marie Mason

Publisher: Marie Mason
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Release Date: February 10, 2016 
Buying Links: Amazon* - affiliate link; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through this link.

Blurb from goodreads:

Shy and curvy librarian Mercy Thompson was finally getting to celebrate the Christmas season in a very long time. Raised by an aunt who believed Christmas was just another commercialized holiday, she’d hadn’t been allowed a tree, a brightly wrapped present or even a frosted sugar cookie.

When she meets bear shifter Dirk Stockwell, she immediately feels a pull toward him. She knows however, that she is not his mate. How? Because the big bear ignores her. Fate, however, is willing to lend a hand to the young woman in search of the Christmas spirit…
Dirk is a bear shifter who doesn’t believe in Christmas and a whole lot of other things. He especially doesn’t believe he’s worthy of a mate. Having failed to protect his parents and siblings, he withdrew from the world, readily accepting his fate to be a lone bear. And during the Christmas season—a Bah Humbug bear.

Fate and the magic of Christmas has to work overtime to bring this couple together.

Review & Excerpt: The Lafayette Sword By Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne

Publisher: Le French Book
Series: Antoine Marcas #2
Format Read: Paperback
Source: pr firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 15,2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Gold. Obsession. Secrets.
Following the murder of a Freemason brother, Antoine Marcas uncovers unsettling truths about gold and its power to fascinate and corrupt. A priceless sword is stolen and deaths ensue setting the Freemason detective on a case of Masons turned bad. A clue points to mysteries and conspiracy about elusive pure gold, launching a frantic, deadly race between two symbolic places-the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. A captivating plot weaves alchemy and the Middle Ages into a modern-day thriller. With "vivid characters, an evocative international setting, and history darker than midnight," this thriller is for readers who love ancient myths, secret societies, chilling narrative and modern speed. - Over 200,000 copies sold in France alone - The series has sold over 2 million copies worldwide - Published in 18 countries

Bea Reviews The Soul of a SEAL by Anne Elizabeth

Series: West Coast Navy SEALS #4
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 6th, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb adapted from goodreads:

Love may be the toughest battle of all

Captain Bennett Oscar Sheraton
Navy SEAL, the best of the best

Dr. Kimberly Warren
Brilliant engineer, founder of secret space program

When scientists on Dr. Warren’s super-secret space mission start dying, Navy SEAL Captain Sheraton is sent in as an astronaut candidate with a hidden agenda—find the person sabotaging the program.

Kimberly and Bennett’s instant attraction may prove to be a major distraction—or it might be the key to both of their dreams coming true…