Murder Takes The Cake by Gayle Trent

Book Description: A routine cake delivery becomes a culinary nightmare when a small-town baker discovers her first client’s dead body in this irresistible new mystery series. — It’ll take more than a little sugar to convince folks Daphne Martin’s freshly baked spice cake was not to blame for the mysterious death of town gossip Yodel Watson. Getti... more »ng her new cake decorating business, Daphne’s Delectable Cakes, off the ground is hard enough now that Daphne’s moved back to her southern Virginia hometown, but orders have been even slower since she found Yodel’s body. She soon realizes, however, that just about everybody in town had a reason to poison the cantankerous busybody, from the philandering pet shop owner, to Yodel’s church potluck nemesis, to the Save-A-Buck’s cranky produce manager-turned-bagger. Now, to help prove she’s no confectionary killer, Daphne recruits her old flame, Ben Jacobs, editor of the local newspaper, and quickly stirs up a long-hidden family scandal that just might hold the secret ingredient she needs to solve the case. All she’s got to do is roll up her sleeves and get her hands a little dirty before the real culprit decides that taking sweet revenge on Daphne will be icing on the cake. My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. Daphne has returned home to small town Virginia to start her bakery. When she goes to deliver a cake to the town's busybody, she finds more than she'd barganed on...a dead body! It turns out Yodel was poisened, but not by Daphen's sweets! After finding a diary and some disturbing secrets, Daphne is determined to find the murderer and the truth. Daphne was a great character, very easy to like a realistic. There were twists and turns. The town is full of secrets and lots of people had a reason to want Yodel dead. There was humor in the book and it was a great addition. This was a good cozy mytery. A solid 4/5. Sweet mystery! ;) Thank you to Gallery & Pocketbooks for the review copy of this book. I recieved this book in exchange for an honest reveiw and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

The Mountains Bow Down by Sibella Giorello

Book Description:

Even Alaska can't give Raleigh Harmon a vacation from her job as an FBI forensic geologist. — A cruise to Alaska sounds like the perfect vacation--it's a geologist's dream and will give Raleigh space to sort out her feelings about her recent engagement. But before the ship even reaches its first port, a case manages to find her. The producer of a movie that's being filmed onboard goes missing and is then discovered hanging from the railing. Suicide seems to be the cause, but Raleigh quickly realizes the pieces don't add up. When the Seattle field office sends Jack Stephanson to assist her in the investigation, her personal uncertainty skyrockets. Why is it that she forgets to even call her fiance back in Virginia. And Jack seems to know her as well as she knows herself. She'll have to wait to sort out those feelings, though, because she and Jack only have five days before the cruise ends to solve this case.

My Thoughts:

This was a really good book. It was my first by this author and this is the 3rd in her series but I wasn't lost with the characters or what was going on. Raleigh is taking a cruise vacation which is interrupted when there is a murder that the captain wants to rule a suicide. She needs help and who does the office send but Jack Stephanson, one of the main points of confusion in her life! She is engaged to her high school sweetheart, but very much attracted to Jack. Her mother has serious issues she has to contend with all while trying to find a murderer before time runs out!

Raleigh was a great character. The more I read, the more she seemed like a real person! The humor in the book was good and somewhat unexpected. The suspense wasn't overwhelming but a good mix of expected and unexpected events. All in all, I want to read the first two in the series now!

I rate this book a 4/5. A really good read!

Thank you to Litfuse for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

The Chasm by Randy Alcorn

Book Description
A Journey He Couldn’t Miss… and a Step He Couldn’t Take
He found himself a traveler in the strangest of lands. Where invisible secrets come starkly into sight. Where the fairest of companions leads the way into unsuspected danger and darkness. Where hidden battles burst into the open. Where so much is grasped…and so much more seems unattainable.
Driven by a yearning he doesn’t understand, compelled toward a destination he can’t quite see, the traveler navigates the inhospitable landscape with determination and a flicker of something like hope—despite the obstacles that seem to unerringly block his path.
Best-selling novelist Randy Alcorn weaves a supernatural interplay of wills and motives, lusts and longings, love and sacrifice. It’s a potent mix that leaves every reader wondering: Do I really understand this world I live in? Do I really understand myself? Is there more to all this than I’ve ever dared hope?

My Thoughts:

It honestly took me a while to get into this book. Nick is a man wonder the road between two worlds and along the way finds out a lot about himself and life. He, along with his family, is shown his life of sin and his indiscretions. He is thrown into a battle and this is just his journey to the 'shining city'.

The book is about Nick and his journey but it is to inspire us to ask questions of ourselves. I also didn't realize it is basically a condensed versions of another of Alcorn's books until the end. I think if I'd read the earlier book and then 'The Chasm' it wouldn't have felt like I'd jumped into the middle of something and I would have gotten into it quicker. The book does pose some stimulating questions and if you are in the mood for a philosophical book, this is it.

I rate this a 3/5. Short thought provoking read, but you have to get into it first.

Thank you to Librarything for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Save the Date by

Book Description:
When Alex and Lucy pick out wedding invitations, they wonder if they can be printed in vanishing ink. — Former NFL star Alex Sinclair is a man who has it all--except the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancee in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn't quite what he seems, Lucy will find her heart on the line--and maybe even her life.

When God asks Alex and Lucy to scrap their playbook and follow his rules, will they finally say, "I do"?

My Thoughts:
I loved this book! After an 'unproposal', Lucy finds herself running a home for young girls. Her funding gets cut by the people that make her the most uncomfortable and she goes to confront them. Through a strange turn of events, she agrees to play along with Alex Sinclair's, one of the uppity people, schemes to become his girlfriend and eventually his wife. Her ex-almost fiance returns and Lucy is torn, but will she listen to her heart or her head?
Lucy was a wonderful, caring character. She actually had compassion and did what was best for the girls in her care. Alex is a loving brother, though with his brother missing he is having difficulty showing it, and a wonderful human being. The support characters were wonderful. I loved that Lucy wasn't the normal romance character but loved scifi and Star Wars, it made her more real! Can't wait to read more from this author.
5/5 a wonderful read for anytime.

Thank you to Booksneeze for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Guest Blogger HD Hatcher

Good morning all, please help me welcome author HD Hatcher!!

HD Hatcher- Errors In Books
I have found throughout my adventures throughout the literary world, that there are a lot of books out there with errors.
Many of us writers tend to be a little overconfident in our literary skills. As much as we would like to think that we are impervious to making errors, this is not the case.
I myself, do not mind reading books with errors in them. Honestly, I respect anyone that puts their work out there for the world to read and to have their baby judged by people they have never met.
Finding errors in books makes the story more intimate to me. It reinforces that just because something is not perfect, does not mean it isn’t good. Maybe I am too laidback, but I think that the beauty is in the story and not the mechanics. Just because a book is grammatically correct and technically correct, doesn’t mean that the story is worth telling.
I have read books by powerhouse authors whose books have errors in them. Guess what, it didn’t make a difference to their fans or their movie deals. Some of the best books I have ever read have spelling and grammatical errors.
It’s going to happen.
Let me offer writers this tidbit of advice. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Everyone is not going to love your style of writing, and not everyone is going to give your book a “stand on their head and clap” review. So bet it. But, in the same breath there is someone out there that will. This is who you write for.
There will be readers out there that will be able to look beyond the errors and find the beauty in your story. Accept the good with the bad, and if the errors have you bothered, calm down, and fix the errors in the second edition.
Thank you for allowing me to take up so much of your time. Hopefully we can do this again some time.

HD



About A Cold Dark Place:
On a chance meeting, (at a mutual friend’s house) Luke finds the love of his life. Andy is what Luke has been longing for all of his adult years: the perfect man. But, this perfect man is not only straight—he is married to a woman who is more devilish than Satan himself.
In a bittersweet journey that will change his life forever, Luke must reach deep inside and find the strength he never knew existed. A Cold Dark Place is the story of a man who must pick up the pieces of his broken heart after a lifetime of heartbreak and betrayal.


About HD:
Author HD Hatcher is no newcomer on the literary scene.
He is author of In the Heart of the Closet, a
piece nominated for both the 2006 Stonewall Book
Award and the 2005 Lambda Literary Award. He is
an avid supporter of gay and lesbian causes, suicide
prevention programs, as well as Animal Rights.
Hatcher currently resides in the Grand Strand area
of South Carolina, near his hometown of Conway,
with his Life Partner of ten years, Jerry.
A Cold Dark Place
One Too Many (a short)

Passport Through Darkness by Kimberly Smith

Book Description:

Passport to Darkness takes readers on Smith's journey to the deserts of Africa and the deserts of her own soul as she tries to live well as an imperfect American mom, crusade for justice for orphans around the world, and embrace God's extraordinary dreams for her. When Kimberly and her husband risk everything to answer God's call, they see God change and restore them--even amid exhaustion, marital struggles, and physical limitations. This heartbreaking, heartlifting book is for anyone who longs to see God's redemptive power heal broken hearts, fill empty bellies, and shelter uncovered heads. It is a call to readers to take one more step on their journey to know God's heart. It is a guide from one ordinary person to another to finding a life that matters.

My Thoughts:

Wow! I was so not prepared for this book. I knew from the description this book would be 'heavy' but I didn't expect it to be an emotional roller coaster. I won't give away much, you can read the description above, just know if you read this book, your life will be changed. Kimberly is an amazing woman and her husband, Milton an amazing man. This book shows love (most especially God's love), fear, courage, and so much more! It shows how God can use two ordinary people who are willing to open themselves up to His will and the struggles they endure to accomplish God's will. Truly inspiring.

I rate this a 5/5. Though it will be a while before I read it again, it will stay on my shelf.

Thank you to the B&B Media Group for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Guest Julius Thompson

About Ghost of Atlanta:
In The Ghost of Atlanta, Andy Michael Pilgrim faces demons from his youth that haunted his life. These are the ghosts in the crawl spaces of his life; some are real and some supernatural.
After landing a job with The Atlanta Defender, Andy returns home and visits the place where he finally faces remembrances of his deceased abusive father. While walking around the grounds, he meets his mysterious cousin, Joe Boy, and finds out that the property is going to be sold by unscrupulous cousins.
While Andy fights this battle, he must confront the personal demon of a possible drug addiction, breaking the color barrier at the south’s largest newspaper, The Atlanta Defender, meeting his old girl friend and fighting the lingering effects of segregation in small-town Georgia life.
As the story unwinds, all these forces push Andy toward the breaking point, where he almost quits on life. Malevolent mortal deeds are committed and Andy could be next in line.
"The Ghost of Atlanta" is, overall, a superbly written book. 5 stars!~Readers Favorite

About Julius Thompson:
Julius Thompson grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York and attended Bushwick High School. The sixties in Brooklyn was an era that had a personality, a feel, and a life-force that changed a generation. Mr. Thompson felt this energy and experienced these fires of social change.

After high school, Mr. Thompson spent the next four years riding the "A" train to Harlem, in upper Manhattan, to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from the City College of New York. At CCNY, which was located just a few blocks from the famous Apollo Theater, Wednesday afternoons was hard on the undergraduates. The matinee performances of the major R&B groups of the times were more tempting than attending a boring college lecture. Most of the time Mr. Thompson succumbed to the temptation, but still earned a college degree from one of the best universities in the country.

At CCNY, literature instructors like Prof. Thomas Tashiro, fueled the fire in him to become a writer! Brooklyn, New York and attended

Mr. Thompson’s journey to compose a trilogy began in 1995. The fourteen year fictional journey of character Andy Michael Pilgrim from Brooklyn, to Philadelphia and finally Atlanta is now complete. In this pilgrimage, readers experience places that are filled with hopes, dreams, challenges and fears that make us human.

The novels that make up the trilogy are A Brownstone in Brooklyn which was published in 2001, Philly Style and Philly Profile in 2007 and Ghost of Atlanta which will be published the first week of January 2011.
Mr. Thompson received the Georgia Author of the Year nomination for Philly Style and Philly Profile, from the Georgia Writers Association, in 2007.

Mr. Thompson is writing his fourth novel, Purple Phantoms, which is a story about the haunting of a mythical high school basketball team.
Mr. Thompson is currently a Creative Writing/Publishing Instructor at Atlanta’s Evening at Emory’s Writers Studio. For more information please visit him at www.ghostofatlanta.com.

Shameless Self Promotion Giveaway!

Good morning all!

I am needing some help doing book promotion so I'm coming to all my wonderful readers :) I need tweets, facebook posts, blog posts, etc. Anything you can do to help me get my books out there would be greatly appreciated. Here are the giveaway 'rules'

• For each time you tweet, facebook, blog, etc place a link in the comments (along with an email address for you) and you will be entered to win an ebook copy of my first book 'Shadows From The Past'.


• For the first 10 'promotions' there will be one copy up for grabs, after that for each additional 5 'promotions', I will add one e-copy to the 'pot'.


• You CAN enter multiple times, if you tweet=1, facebook=1, and blog=1, that is 3 entries into the drawing!!!!


• Use the links at the bottom of the page for Kindle, B&N, or Smashwords somewhere in your promo so people know where they can get the books. Also feel free to use the covers here for promo if you want.


• Have some fun with it, I need postitive promotion! Don't forget to mention books are only $2.99 each!!
  
  
  

Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

Guest Blogger Ami Blackwelder

Good morning Ami! It is great to have you here today :)


Eloquent Enraptures and author Ami Blackwelder proudly presents the six part science fiction/paranormal romance saga! Like nothing you have ever experienced!
Shifters of 2040:
“I’m pregnant. Her eyes peered over the edge of the cloth and confronted her mirrored reflection with that truth. I’m pregnant…by a SHIFTER. Oh, god!”
In “The Shifters of 2040,” Scientist Melissa Marn finds her world swirling on its axis with that one revelation. Shifters — a sentient alien species of light — look to Earth for refuge. In doing so, both shifters and humans are forced to confront prejudice, betrayal, adversity and oppression.
Methodical scientist, Melissa Marn, and her coworker, Dr. Bruce Wilder, conduct experiments on the shifters. Through her pregnancy, she becomes more compassionate and humane and finds herself defending the very species she’s supposed to eradicate.
One of the hybrids, Diamond, falls in love with Keenan, a soldier trained to kill her. Between the four, the reader is led from conflict to resolution, from despair to hope, from loneliness to love.
Much of the book’s originality lies in the shifters, common characters in science fiction, but whose origins are rarely explained. In this series, their alien DNA allows them to metamorphose into not just wolves, but a variety of animals. As the plot unfolds, the shifters discover they can have children with humans — hybrids.
Strengths of the novel include the complex characters, its writing style of poetic prose and rich description, and the well developed, thought-provoking, yet highly entertaining plot.
This fast paced book will appeal to the young adult and adult market. It fits nicely into the paranormal romance and science fiction romance genres and would make a great movie, a captivating TV series and an intriguing video game.
Readers will enjoy the fresh approach and original concept of the world thirty years from now, and will find the characters come to life in their minds long after they read “The End.”

Shifter Evolutions video and purchase options at her website.
http://amiblackwelder.com/

[youtube] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7BEABzTbrU [/youtube]

Ami Blackwelder is a forbidden romance writer in the paranormal and historical romance genre. Growing up in Florida, she went to UCf and in 1997 received her BA in English and teaching credentials. She travelled overseas to teach in Thailand, Nepal, Tibet, China and Korea. Thailand is considered her second home now. She has always loved writing and wrote poems and short stores since childhood; however, her novels began when she was in Thailand.

Having won the Best Fiction Award from the University of Central Florida (Yes, The Blair Witch Project University;), her fiction From Joy We Come, Unto Joy We Return was published in the on campus literary magazine: Cypress Dome and remains to this day in University libraries around the country. Later, she achieved the Semi-Finals in a Laurel Hemingway contest and published a few poems in the Thailand’s Expat magazine, and an article in the Thailand’s People newspaper. Additionally, she has published poetry in the Korea’s AIM magazine, the American Poetic Monthly magazine and Twisted Dreams Magazine.

Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze

Book Description:
HER ENEMY WILL STOP AT NOTHING FOR CONTROL…
SHE WILL RISK EVERYTHING FOR FREEDOM.
A horrific crime shatters Lisa Harper’s idyllic childhood. Her father is dead and her desperate mother, Annie, quickly marries Dutch Hauk, an abusive monster who soon reveals his hatred for Lisa. To protect her, Annie defies her ruthless husband and forfeits custody to a trusted friend. Enraged, Dutch vows to keep Annie and Lisa apart—and he does. Years later, though keenly aware of Dutch’s evil intent, Lisa and her mother seize a chance to be a family, safe in a home where love dwells. But they fail to fathom how far Dutch will go to keep his vow.
Determined to control his women, Dutch proves resourceful. His associates in crime are feared at the highest levels across the globe—and for Lisa they plan a fate worse than death. Yet she too has formidable connections, including former Special Operations Officer Mark Taylor. Burdened by his own traumatic past, Mark has loved Lisa from afar. Now, for Lisa and her mother to survive, Mark must risk his life—and even more difficult for him, he must trust God. All as one question haunts them: Can Mark and Lisa untangle these deadly ties before it’s too late?


My Thoughts
This is a great book. Lisa witnesses her father's murder and suppresses it. Her mother, in seeming desperation, marries Dutch Hauk and because of that winds up giving up her rights to Lisa. Custody of Lisa is given over to a friend and for years there is no contact between mother and daughter. The trouble begins when Lisa is old enough to free her mother from Dutch's abuse, but he's vowed to keep them apart!
Lisa is a great character. She's had a hard life but doesn't let that stop her. I felt for Mark, with his history and issues, you can't help but feel empathy! The way the past and present are entertwined is slowly revealed. The support characters are great and you get to know them well. I am ready for the next book in this series!
I rate this one a 5/5. It kept my attention the whole way through and was good supspense!

Thank you to Waterbrook for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

Book Description:
Rose, a healer’s apprentice in the town of Hagenheim, feels drawn to the duke’s older son, Wilhelm, but he is betrothed to a young noblewoman who has been hidden away for years, ever since she was threatened by an “evil conjurer.” Though her attachment to Wilhelm grows, Rose encourages the suit of his younger brother, Rupert, who begins to amend his rakish ways under her virtuous influence. The story’s outcome is never in doubt, but the lovers endure many setbacks before a fortunate circumstance paves the way for the happy ending. Dickerson creates a sympathetic character in Rose, who has her weaknesses as well as considerable strength of will, morality, and faith. Though references to Christianity are woven through the book, many readers will be surprised by the climactic scene, in which Wilhelm heals Rose by casting out demons in the name of Jesus. Young people looking for Christian fiction as well as a historical romance may enjoy this medieval love story.

My Thoughts:
This was an enjoyable book. It is somewhat of a Christian spin off of Sleeping Beauty. Rose is a healer's apprentice and has caught the eye of two brothers. Hamlin is the oldest and in line for the throne, and he fights the attraction because he is already betrothed. Rupert is the rogue brother who Rose tries to convince herself is right for her since he isn't in line for the throne. Since she is a woodcutter's daughter, she should be happy with a marriage above her 'position' but can she be?
I completely adored Rose! She has a wonderful heart and is definitely in a quandary. Hamlin is an upstanding guy and Rupert definitely defines rogue. There is some light mystery, a few twists, but mostly the story is a predictable read. This is marketed as a young adult novel but most adults would enjoy it too. The first three quarters of the book is great but the last quarter threw me a bit.
I rate this a 3/5. I would rate it higher but the ending got to me a bit.

Thank you to Zondervan for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Karen Kingsbury Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is:
rubynreba!!!

There were 7 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.5. rubynreba
2.4. Karen
3.3. Sheila Deeth
4.2. Cheryl F. {the lucky ladybug}
5.6. Jennifer
6.1. PoCoKat
7.7. Wolf Bear
Timestamp: 2011-03-03 21:46:41 UTC

Notorious Pleasures Giveaway Winners

Here are the 3 winners for Notorious Pleasures:
elaing8, Jane & Katie! Congrats :)

There were 12 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.6. elaing8
2.11. Jane
3.3. Katie
4.9. Mindie
5.2. Zoe
6.8. Lisa Potts
7.7. Cheryl F. {The Lucky Ladybug}
8.1. PoCoKat
9.12. Wolf Bear
10.5. Judy H
11.10. mrsshukra
12.4. rubynreba
Timestamp: 2011-03-01 22:36:10 UTC