Release Day Review of Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine

Series: Stillhouse Lake #4
Read As A Stand Alone: Maybe? It starts a new story arc but you'll miss a lot of backstory and character development.
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Release Date: January 21st, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

She’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no else would dare.

In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children.

Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects…and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.

In a town that’s closed its ranks against Gwen; her partner, Sam; and her kids, there’s no bolder enemy than the Belldene family—paramilitary, criminal, powerful, and vengeful. As personal vendettas collide with Gwen’s investigation, she’s prepared to fight both battles. But is she prepared for the toll it could take on everyone she loves?

BOOK BEGINNINGS AND FRIDAY 56 - Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine

I'm participating in two Friday book memes, Book Beginnings On Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice.

I'm a few pages into Bitter Falls, a thriller by Rachel Caine. This series is dark, intense, and fantastic. I am a little concerned with the new direction the series is taking, but I trust the author.

Book Beginnings Rules:

Every Friday, share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Bea Reviews 'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick

Publisher: Thorndike Press Large Print
Source: Library
Release Date: May 4th, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The author of the New York Times bestseller "Garden of Lies" returns to Victorian London in an all-new novel of deadly obsession.

Calista Langley operates an exclusive introduction agency in Victorian London, catering to respectable ladies and gentlemen who find themselves alone in the world. But now, a dangerously obsessed individual has begun sending her trinkets and gifts suitable only for those in deepest mourning a black mirror, a funeral wreath, a ring set with black jet stone. Each is engraved with her initials.

Desperate for help and fearing that the police will be of no assistance, Calista turns to Trent Hastings, a reclusive author of popular crime novels. Believing that Calista may be taking advantage of his lonely sister, who has become one of her clients, Trent doesn't trust her. Scarred by his past, he's learned to keep his emotions at bay, even as an instant attraction threatens his resolve.

But as Trent and Calista comb through files of rejected clients in hopes of identifying her tormentor, it becomes clear that the danger may be coming from Calista's own secret past and that only her death will satisfy the stalker..

Bea Reviews The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman

Series: The Invisible Library #6
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Ace Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Release Date: January 7th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  | Google | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Time-travelling, dimension-jumping, Librarian-spy Irene and dragon-prince Kai will have to team up with an unlikely band of misfits to pull off an amazing art heist--or risk the wrath of a dangerous villain with a secret island lair.

A Librarian's work is never done, and Irene is summoned to the Library. The world where she grew up is in danger of veering deep into chaos, and she needs to obtain a particular book to stop this from happening. Her only choice is to contact a mysterious Fae information-broker and trader of rare objects: Mr. Nemo.

Irene and Kai make their way to Mr. Nemo's remote Caribbean island and are invited to dinner, which includes unlikely company. Mr. Nemo has an offer for everyone there: he wants them to steal a specific painting from a specific world. But to get their reward, they will have to form a team, including a dragon techie, a Fae thief, a gambler, a driver, and the muscle. Their goal? The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, in an early twenty-first-century world, where their toughest challenge might be each other.

Short & Sweet Reviews: The One for You by Roni Loren and A Different Kind of Cosplay by Lucy Felthouse

Now and then, I read a book but don't have a lot to say about it. When that happens, I'll save them up and then do two or more in a single post. I share, in a short paragraph or two, my thoughts on the story. Today, you have two quite different contemporary romances. Enjoy!

Series: The Ones Who Got Away #4
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Release Date: Dec. 31st, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  | Books-A-Million | iBooks* |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The highly-anticipated fourth book in Roni Loren's unforgettable The Ones Who Got Away series.

She got a second chance at life.
Will she take a second chance at love?

Kincaid Breslin wasn't supposed to survive that fateful night at Long Acre when so many died, including her boyfriend—but survive she did. She doesn't know why she got that chance, but now she takes life by the horns and doesn't let anybody stand in her way

Ashton Isaacs was her best friend when disaster struck all those years ago, but he chose to run as far away as he could. Now fate has brought him back to town, and Ash doesn't know how to cope with his feelings for Kincaid and his grief over their lost friendship. For Ash has been carrying secrets, and he knows that once Kincaid learns the truth, he'll lose any chance he might have had with the only woman he's ever loved.

Happy New Year!

Claude and I wish all of you who celebrate the Gregorian new year, a year filled with peace, happiness, good health, and dreams that come true.

I don't usually make resolutions and I'm not big on goals either but a Tweet got me thinking about bookish goals and I made some. I declared them on Twitter and I'll declare them here too, with some revisions..

Bookish Personal Goals:

1. Get caught up on several series. I'm 2/3 of the way through 3 different ones. My library and KU are supplementing the titles I don't already own. When I finish those, there are several more I want to work on.

2. Read more from my personal collection, especially the non-fiction.

Bookish Blog Goals:

1. Get blogging again on a regular schedule, even if it's just once a week.

2. Review more backlist titles, more from my personal collection, and fewer review books.

I'm not giving up review books but want to take fewer so I can focus on the above goals. I want the review books I take to be less of,  "Oh, that looks good" and more "I NEED THAT!" That should help with the weird mindset I get sometimes of not wanting to write reviews. The less I feel obligated to write, the more I will actually write. Or so I'm hoping. :)

Have you made any goals or resolutions? If so, what are they?

Brenda Jackson's Finding Home Again - Excerpt & Giveaway!

Today we're part of the blog tour for Brenda Jackson’s Finding Home Again! Check it out, read the excerpt, and be sure to grab your copy today!

Cat Thursday - Peek A Boo!

 Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates cats; their foibles and humorousness and the joy they bring. You can join in by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you made or came across, cat art or share with us pics of your own felines, then post your link up at The True Book Addict.