The Ancestor

Review: The Ancestor, by Lee Matthew Goldberg

by

About the Book, The Ancestor

The Ancestor• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: All Due Respect (August 20, 2020)

A man wakes up in present-day Alaskan wilderness with no idea who he is, nothing on him save an empty journal with the date 1898 and a mirror. He sees another man hunting nearby, astounded that they look exactly alike except for his own beard. After following this other man home, he witnesses a wife and child that brings forth a rush of memories of his own wife and child, except he’s certain they do not exist in modern times—but from his life in the late 1800s.

After recalling his name is Wyatt, he worms his way into his doppelganger Travis Barlow’s life. Memories become unearthed the more time he spends, making him believe that he’d been frozen after coming to Alaska during the Gold Rush and that Travis is his great-great grandson. Wyatt is certain gold still exists in the area and finding it with Travis will ingratiate himself to the family, especially with Travis’s wife Callie, once Wyatt falls in love. This turns into a dangerous obsession affecting the Barlows and everyone in their small town, since Wyatt can’t be tamed until he also discovers the meaning of why he was able to be preserved on ice for over a century.

A meditation on love lost and unfulfilled dreams, The Ancestor is a thrilling page-turner in present day Alaska and a historical adventure about the perilous Gold Rush expeditions where prospectors left behind their lives for the promise of hope and a better future.

The question remains whether it was all worth the sacrifice…

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon | Down & Out Books | Goodreads

About the author, Lee Matthew Goldberg

Lee Matthew GoldbergLee Matthew Goldberg is the author of THE DESIRE CARD, SLOW DOWN and THE MENTOR from St. Martin’s Press. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. The second novel in The Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming. THE ANCESTOR will be out from All Due Respect books in 2020 along with a reissue of his debut novel. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, Essays & Fictions, The New Plains Review, and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series(guerrillalit.wordpress.com). He lives in New York City.

Connect with Lee:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

Melissa A. BartellThe Ancestor is one of those novels that isn’t easily categorized. It’s sort of a fantasy, in that one of the main characters is introduced to us when he wakes up after being frozen into the Alaskan ice for the better part of a century, but it turns into a thriller/suspense novel once he encounters Travis Barlow and decides they must be related, and that Barlow’s family is the key to his own identity and purpose. More than any of these, though, the language and imagery in this novel elevate it to literary fiction.

Lee Matthew Goldberg grabbed me by the scruff of my neck from the very first chapter, when Wyatt, cold, hungry, confused, still manages to kill, skin, and eat a wolf with little more than his bare hands and sheer determination. This, however, is just one of many visceral scenes that really make it seem as though we readers have stepped into the Alaskan wilderness (without appropriate gear) and must survive.

The juxtaposition of Wyatt’s needy desperation with Travis’s cozy (but realistically imperfect) family life, really kept me hooked, and the interconnected relationships of the Barlows, Wyatt, Travis friend Gray, and the rest of the population of the funky frontier town (well, it FEELS like a frontier town) grounded the story with the sense of place and time that the main character lacked.

Goldberg excels at descriptions, of people and places, and at times I had to check my city-girl squeamishness. At the same time, his depiction of gold rush culture took me back to my childhood in the mountains of Colorado, where panning for gold has become a tourist attraction near more than one Rocky Mountain creek.

Overall, I found this both fascinating and compelling. Perhaps because I read it very quickly, I felt like I experienced a lot of the action with the characters, but I recommend The Ancestor to anyone who likes their adventure tales married to searches for identity, and no small amount of soul.

Goes well with: a stew made of game meat – venison or caribou – and a strong red table wine.

TLC Book ToursVisit the Other Blogs on This Tour

Instagram Features

Monday, September 7th: Instagram: @readtowander

Tuesday, September 8th: Instagram: @suethebookie

Wednesday, September 9th: Instagram: @bibliolau19

Thursday, September 10th: Instagram: @fearyourex

Friday, September 11th: Instagram: @yaaas_or_nahs_books

Saturday, September 12th: Instagram: @travelling.the.pages

Sunday, September 13th: Instagram: @thebookishalix

Monday, September 14th: Instagram: @booksandetcetera

Tuesday, September 15th: Instagram: @the.magicalpages

Wednesday, September 16th: Instagram: @melanatedreader

Thursday, September 17th: Instagram: @readingbetweenthe__wines

Review Stops

Tuesday, September 8th: Reading Reality

Wednesday, September 9th: Bibliotica

Friday, September 11th: Write – Read – Life

Sunday, September 13th: The Reading Chemist

Monday, September 14th: Always With a Book

Tuesday, September 15th: Instagram: @gingersbookclub

Wednesday, September 16th: Candid with Courtney

Thursday, September 17th: Instagram: @bookin.good

Friday, September 18th: Instagram: @thereadingroom444

Monday, September 21st: Openly Bookish

Tuesday, September 22nd: Instagram: @biblio.jojo

Tuesday, September 22nd: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 23rd: Instagram: @nurse_bookie

Thursday, September 24th: Instagram: @readinggirlreviews

Monday, September 28th: Books, Cooks, and Looks

Tuesday, September 29th: Welcome to Nurse Bookie

Wednesday, September 30th: She Just Loves Books

 

Giveaway SMALL A Vote is a Powerful Thing_Giveaway

Spotlight: A Vote is a Powerful Thing, by Catherine Stier (illustrated by Courtney Dawson) – with Giveaway

by

BNR A Vote Is A Powerful Thing

 

About the book, A Vote is a Powerful Thing cover med res A Vote Is A Powerful Thing

  • Children’s Picture Book / American Historical Fiction / Elections and Voting
  • Ages 4-7
  • Publisher: Albert Whitman and Company
  • Date of Publication: September 1, 2020
  • Number of Pages: 32
  • Scroll down for the giveaway!

Callie knows there’s a presidential election coming up, and people will soon vote to decide the country’s leader.

Her class is having an election too, about an issue that affects them all–the class field trip. Should they choose the cookie factory or the wilderness park?

Join Callie as she campaigns for the wilderness park she loves and learns how people have organized, marched, and protested for the right to vote. And find out how a vote–even just one vote–can make a difference!

Praise for this book:

  • “Gets the job done.” ―Kirkus Reviews
  • “A galvanizing read for children interested in politics or parents who hope to instill such interests.” ―Publishers Weekly

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

The Twig Book Shop ║ IndieBound ║Barnes and Noble ║ Amazon || Goodreads

XTRA Review Promo 1

About the author,  Catherine Stier

Catherine StierCatherine Stier is the author of several awarding-winning children’s books. Her titles include If I Were President, If I Ran for President, If I Were a Park Ranger, and the A Dog’s Day chapter-book series. In grade school, Catherine ran a class campaign for student council with handmade signs, and, although she didn’t win, she found the process exciting! She went on to earn an MA in reading and literacy from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has conducted children’s literature research. She now resides with her husband in San Antonio and volunteers at a local wilderness park.

Connect with Catherine:

Facebook ║ Twitter ║ Instagram ║ Amazon ║ Website

XTRA Review Promo 3

Giveaway

ONE WINNER: Copies of each of the three election-series books;
patriotic socks, button, and pencils; plus a $15 gift card to The Twig Book Shop.

September 4-10, 2020

(US ONLY)

 

Giveaway SMALL A Vote is a Powerful Thing_Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR.

LoneStarBookBlogTours sm

 

XTRA Promo graphic 2

Christmas at Lock Keeper's Cottage

Review: Christmas at Lock Keeper’s Cottage, by Lucy Coleman

by

Christmas at Lock Keeper's Cottage

 

About the book, Christmas at Lock Keeper’s Cottage Christmas at Lock Keepes Cottage Cover

  • Paperback : 334 pages
  • Publisher : Boldwood Books (September 3, 2020)

Join us for Christmas in the Cotswolds in this perfect festive escape, from the bestselling Lucy Coleman.

Imogen Tolliman never knew her mother. And when an accident robs Immi of her father too, she goes to live with her grandfather, Tollie, in his picturesque lock-keeper’s cottage by the Aysbury marina.

Tollie is the star of the Santa Ahoy Special each Christmas – a festive boat ride along the canal that enthralls both children and adults alike. And as Immi grows up, she starts to appreciate the magical community she is lucky enough to live in.

When Immi meets Gray Adams, she instantly realises he’s someone special. And as their relationship gets serious, they start to plan for the Christmas to beat all Christmases.

But as the day approaches, and the romantic snow showers turn into blizzards, their dream of a Christmas to remember, looks set to be one they’ll never forget – for all the wrong reasons. Can they salvage the festivities, or will old secrets that are finally uncovered turn Immi’s life upside down forever?

Let Lucy Coleman transport you away to a dreamy Cotswolds Christmas full of snowflakes and secrets, log fires, mistletoe, friends and much-loved traditions. Perfect for all fans of Trisha Ashley, Holly Martin and Sue Moorcroft.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Lucy Coleman Lucy Coleman

Lucy Coleman is a #1 bestselling romance writer, whose recent novels include Snowflakes over Holly Cove. She also writes under the name Linn B. Halton. She won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award and lives in the Welsh Valleys.

Connect with Lucy:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

Dear Santa,

Thank you so much for the early Christmas present you sent in the form of this lovely novel, Christmas at Lock Keeper’s Cottage, by Lucy Coleman. This story hit all my favorite holiday buttons: a plausible romance, a cozy setting near the water, a beloved older relative, a bit of family drama, and a weather disaster.

And it even opened with a letter to you!

Santa, I really loved the main character of Immi – Imogen. She was so realistically written with such a big heart but without being at all naive. Her  partner, Gray, was also a wonderfully dimensional creation. Tollie, Fisher, the innkeepers, and all the other townsfolk felt like the kind of people you really would run into in a cafe or a pub, serve on committees with, and interact with in any number of ordinary ways. So vibrant a picture did author Coleman draw, that I wanted to step into the book, and be a part of the festivities.

I’m a sucker for a good Christmas story, and this novel is a great story for the season, with a narrowboat tricked out for the holiday, and little kids getting to sail with Santa Claus, but this was hardly Hallmark fare. Rather, it was a compelling parallel drama – Immi looking for truths about her mother, and Gray facing truths about his father – that were made all the more compelling because of the time of year, and festive background.

If you want a holiday romance with adult characters who feel like real people, one with a bit more depth than the usual Christmas fluff, this novel, Christmas at Lock Keep Cottage – should be the first thing on everyone’s list, Santa.

It would go well with a locally brewed beer and and a hearty stew or chili.

Thanks again for putting this novel on my radar, Santa. Looking forward to seeing you this December.

Don’t forget my pony.

Christmas at Lock Keepers Cottage Full Tour Banner

 

 

Maddie Meadows - Banner

Review: The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows, by Sharley Scott

by

Maddie Meadows - Banner

 

About the book, The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows

Maddie Meadows - CoverMaddie Meadows adores her family and loves her work. But she has good reason to keep them separate.

For single mum Maddie, home is a flat on a run-down estate. And family consists of an excitable toddler, a lonely Dad and a younger brother mired in a love triangle.

Meanwhile, professional Madeleine balances a tricky day job, made worse by a jealous colleague. No one at work knows about her other life, and she needs to keep it this way: one of the bosses has made his feelings very clear about single parents and the people on her estate.

Thank goodness for her fun-loving and loyal friends – although Maddie wishes they’d believe her when she insists she has no time for love. Or so she tells herself as she fights to quell her hidden feelings for her gorgeous colleague, Oliver, who comes from the posh part of town.

When her friends line up their ideal man for her – Sean, more beanstalk than Bean – Maddie wishes she’d told them the truth. It’s hard enough juggling two lives. But, with all the added complications, how long will be it be before Maddie’s carefully created world comes crashing down?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

About the author, Sharley Scott

Sharley Scott is the author of the ‘Devon Seaside Guesthouse’ novels – Bedlam & Breakfast and B&Bers Behaving Madly.

Her latest book ‘The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows’ is being published in early July 2020. The second in the series ‘The Gift of a Rose’ will be available in the autumn.

Sharley is a guesthouse owner in South Devon. She is thankful to have been blessed with lots of amazing and kind-hearted guests, who are nothing like some of the characters featured in the Devon Seaside Guesthouse series.

The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows is a fictional account, but Sharley has never forgotten how interesting life can be with a toddler. Some of the mischief Josh gets up to will be familiar to all parents. Sharley has carried out the threats she made to her son decades ago and now embarrasses him by telling tales to his girlfriend, although he gets her back by recounting stories about his mum.

Connect with Sharley:

Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

MissMelissHATI try not to commit to reviewing books in August, because it’s my birthday month and it’s also the month when I’m usually doing a daily podcast project, but I had a few interactions with the author, Sharley Scott on Twitter when this novel launched, and she was so lovely, I couldn’t not review it.

The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows is a light read about serious topics. Part romance, part social commentary, it focuses on a young woman who lives in two worlds, the “posh” world of her corporate job, and the decidedly less-than-perfect one of being the single mother of a toddler, living in a rundown council estate.

Maddie (known as Madeleine at work) is the perfect heroine of the modern age. Her story is a love story, but it’s as much about falling in love with her true self as it as about the men in her life – handsome, co-worker Oliver and down-to-earth Sean.

Scott’s dialogue is excellent, and really differentiates the characters who populate Maddie’s two worlds. Her friends and family are much more casual in their speech, while those she works with speak the bland corporate-ese that masks one’s origins the world over. (Scott gets extra points from me for explaining the code-switching Maddie displays, and acknowledging that everyone does it to some degree.)

What I loved about this novel was that even when Maddie was uncertain about her place in either world, she was still very much herself. She might not be a cookie-cutter mother, but she showed real love for her son, and true devotion to her father and brother.

As an American reader, I found myself re-examining class differences in my own country, even as Maddie was facing them during her life. On this side of the pond, where even millionaires are still middle class, the divisions are harsher, if often less  obvious.

In this novel, Sharley Scott has given us a story about identity and family that also provides a look at life in one corner of the UK, and she has done so with humor and grace. From the first page, I was rooting for Maddie, and I was not disappointed.

Goes well with ice cream cones eaten in a park after feeding ducks.

Maddie Meadows - Banner

Secret of You and Me - Giveaway

Review: The Secret of You and Me, by Melissa Lenhardt – with Giveaway

by

Secret of You and Me - BNR

About the book, The Secret of You and Me

  • Genre: Women’s Fiction / Romance
  • Publisher:  Graydon House (Harlequin)
  • Date of Publication: August 4, 2020
  • Number of Pages: 352
  • Scroll down for the giveaway!

Secret of You and Me - CoverTrue love never fades—and old secrets never die . . . 

Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she fled Texas to start a new life. Away from her father’s volatile temper and the ever-watchful gaze of her claustrophobically conservative small town, Nora has freed herself. She can live—and love—however she wants. The only problem is that she also left behind the one woman she can’t forget. Now tragedy calls her back home to confront her past—and reconcile her future.

Sophie seems to have everything—a wonderful daughter, a successful husband, and a rewarding career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. She still yearns for Nora—her best friend and first love—despite all the years between them. Keeping her true self hidden hasn’t been easy, but it’s been necessary. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.

But they both find that first love doesn’t fade easily. Memories come to light, passion ignites, and old feelings resurface. As the forces of family and intolerance that once tore them apart begin to reemerge, they realize some things may never change—unless they demand it.

Praise for this book:

  • “A compelling story of second chances and being true to yourself.”
    —Harper Bliss, bestselling author of Seasons of Love
  • “Lenhardt convinces in her portrayal of the conflict between desire and control.” —Publishers Weekly

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Interabang Books

(Personalized/signed copies available through Interabang)
Amazon | IndieBound | Bookshop | Goodreads

A portion of royalties from this book are going to the It Gets Better Project.

(Click for more details.)

About the author, Melissa Lenhardt

Melissa LenhardtMelissa Lenhardt is a women’s fiction, mystery, and historical fiction author. Her debut mystery, Stillwater, was a finalist for the 2014 Whidbey Writers’ MFA Alumni Emerging Writers Contest, and Sawbones, her historical-fiction debut, was hailed as a “thoroughly original, smart and satisfying hybrid, perhaps a new sub-genre: the feminist Western” by Lone Star Literary Life. The New York Times called her sixth novel, Heresy, “An all-out women-driven, queer, transgender, multiracial takeover of the Old West”. The Secret of You and Me, her seventh novel and her first contemporary women’s fiction novel, was published on August 4, 2020.

When Melissa isn’t writing, she’s thinking, “I really should be writing,” and eating Nutella or peanut butter straight out of the jar. A lifelong Texan, she lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two sons, and two Golden Retrievers.

Connect with Melissa:

Facebook | Instagram  | Website | Goodreads | Amazon  | BookBub | Twitter

My Thoughts

MissMelissHATSet in the recent history of Texas, just a few years before gay marriage became a national right, Melissa Lenhardt’s novel  The Secret of You and Me is not so much a coming of age story, as the lead characters are adults, as a coming of identity story. It’s a wonderful novel, a candid lesbian romance, wrapped around a host of difficult subjects: death, loss, desire, (in)fidelity, parenthood, childhood, the lens of nostalgia, and coming out. More than that, though, it’s a compelling drama rooted in family, both chosen and blood, and how we define it and ourselves.

The structure of the novel is in (mostly) alternating chapters from Nora (the central character) and Sophie’s (Nora’s best friend/first love) points of view. Lenhardt’s choice to shift between these equally dimensional women gives us greater insight into both, as well as their perspectives on the various supporting characters, most importantly Nora’s aunt, Emmadean, and Sophie’s, husband, daughter, and AA sponsor Charlie, Logan, and Todd, respectively. By doing this we get to see each woman’s view of herself, as well as of the other, and I think the novel is richer for the split POV.

I also felt that Lenhardt has an excellent ear for dialogue and a flair for family dynamics. From the earliest chapter, where Nora, newly arrived “home” is eating enchilada casserole, to the last I felt like I was in that small town, hearing the gossip from the locals, and watching everything unfold. So cinematic is the author’s writing, that I told a friend, “I could easily see this novel as movie on Amazon Prime or a Hulu original.”

As the person many of my friends have chosen to come out to, to reveal that they were trans to, to share their marital issues with, this novel really resonated with me. While I do not support infidelity, even in fiction, I certainly understand it as a symptom – an expression – of deep unhappiness. Lenhardt handled all of these revelations with grace and poise, and at times I felt as though I were watching friends share their stories.

While some of the subjects within this novel are serious, the story itself is not uncomfortably heavy. It’s a romance, just not a conventional one, and definitely worth the read.

Goes well with enchilada casserole and cold Shiner Bock, right from the bottle.

(As noted above, a portion of royalties  from this book are going to the It Gets Better Project. Click for more details.)

Giveaway

TWO WINNERS each get a signed hardcover copy of the book and their choice of
either a FaceTime call or virtual book-club visit with the author.

 August 11-21, 2020

(U.S. Only)

Secret of You and Me - Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Visit the Other Blogs on This Tour

Click to visit the  LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE for direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily, or visit each blog directly.

8/11/20 Author Interview All the Ups and Downs
8/11/20 Review Tangled in Text
8/12/20 Review Momma on the Rocks
8/12/20 BONUS Post Hall Ways Blog
8/13/20 Review Carpe Diem Chronicles
8/14/20 Top Six List Texas Book Lover
8/14/20 Review Bibliotica
8/15/20 Excerpt StoreyBook Reviews
8/16/20 Guest Post The Page Unbound
8/17/20 Review Missus Gonzo
8/17/20 Review Rainy Days with Amanda
8/18/20 Audio Spotlight Book Bustle
8/19/20 Review Chapter Break Book Blog
8/19/20 Review Reading by Moonlight
8/20/20 Review It’s Not All Gravy
8/20/20 Review That’s What She’s Reading

 

LoneStarLitLife

LSBBT BOOK REVIEW

 

 

Gulag P-Pa SMALL-Giveaway

Review: The Gulag P-Pa Diaries, by Preston Lewis, with Giveaway

by

Gulag P-Pa-Diaries-BNR

 

About the book, The Gulag P-Pa Diaries Gulag P-Pa-Cover

  • Genre: Memoir / Christian / Humor / Grandparenting / Family
  • Publisher: CKN Christian Publishing
  • Date of Publication: April 22, 2020
  • Number of Pages: 268
  • Scroll down for the giveaway!

As new empty-nesters, Harriet and Preston next looked forward to becoming grandparents. Their journey to assuming the names of Mema and P-Pa, however, took a tragic and unexpected turn.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Preston Lewis Preston Lewis

Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of thirty novels. In addition to his two Western Writers of America Spurs, he received the 2018 Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Western Humor for Bluster’s Last Stand, the fourth volume in his comic western series, The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax. Two other books in that series were Spur finalists. His comic western The Fleecing of Fort Griffin received the Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association for best creative work on the region.

Connect with Preston:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads  | Amazon author page

My ThoughtsMissMelissHAT

Part conventional memoir, part Condamant’s (sic) Log from the eponymous Gulag P-Pa, Preston Lewis’s latest offering is both hilarious and heartfelt.

It’s a year-by-year recounting of his life as a temporary caregiver (with his wife Harriet) of his grandchildren – four girls and one boy when the story opens, though as a three-month-old, the boy really isn’t a true “inmate” of the gulag, and it masters the emotional combination of laughter-through-tears from the very first page.

(“Condamant,” by the way, is one of the granddaughter’s malapropism; she meant “Commandant.”)

But, this book, The Gulag P-Pa Diaries, is more than just a reminiscence of life with growing grandchildren. It’s also a reflection on the nature of parenthood. “The first step toward becoming a grandparent is having a family of your own, of course,” Lewis writes in chapter three, one of the traditional memoir chapters, and then goes on to describe his courtship of his wife.

Written in alternating chapters of memoir and diary, this book is a look at the very real lives of a typical American family, and while some of the events and family jokes (like the “poople heart” earned for dealing with dramatic diaper incidents) are often silly, the real thread holding everything together is love.

We are given a glimpse of a sweet man who is literally lovesick as he gets to know his eventual wife, and we are shown how even the most contrary three-and-a-half year old can be incredibly charming.  We see the expected difference between how woman (Camp Mema) and men (Gulag P-Pa) handle discipline and structure, and we cry (or I did) when the author mentions his first grandchild who died before he ever got to hold or know him.

If your grandparents are still alive, this book will make you pick up the phone to call or Facetime with them. If they have left this world, this book will leave you wistful, and perhaps a little weepy. Either way, this is a charming, funny, very real story, made even better by being true.

Goes well with: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk.

Giveaway

1ST PRIZE

Book signed by P-Pa (the author), Mema, and The Grands
2ND PRIZE

Book signed by the author
AUGUST 4-14, 2020
(US ONLY)

Gulag P-Pa SMALL-Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check Out the Whole Blog Tour at THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE  or Visit Them Directly:

8/4/20 Review Bibliotica
8/5/20 Author Interview Forgotten Winds
8/6/20 Notable Quotables Texas Book Lover
8/7/20 Review Book Fidelity
8/8/20 Top Tips & Fails That’s What She’s Reading
8/9/20 Playlist All the Ups and Downs
8/10/20 Review Hall Ways Blog
8/11/20 Scrapbook Page The Clueless Gent
8/12/20 Review It’s Not All Gravy
8/13/20 Review Reading by Moonlight

 

LSBBT BOOK REVIEW

LoneStarLitLife

Say Yes to What's Next

Excerpt: Say Yes to What’s Next, by Lori Allen

by

About the Book, Say Yes to What’s Next: How to Age With Elegance and Class While Never Losing Your Beauty and Sass!

  • Hardcover: 240 Pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 14, 2020)
  • Scroll down to read an excerpt from this book.

Say Yes to What's NextFrom the star of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, now filming its eleventh season for TLC, comes a book and a life-makeover movement for women approaching fifty and beyond.

Move over, girlfriend, Lori Allen is here to help you say yes to what’s next! Star of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Lori Allen uses her confidence, wisdom, and signature humor not only to help young brides on their most important day ever but also to model to them and their mothers how to live out the coming years as the best of their lives.

Lori Allen is owner/operator of one of the biggest and busiest bridal mega-salons in the country, Atlanta’s Bridals by Lori. But she’s also a wife, mother, grandmother, and breast cancer survivor.

Whether you’re feeling invisible, disappearing into the fabric of your couch a little more every year, or simply being indecisive about what’s next, Lori offers herself as the poster child of what to do, not do, and how to see your way through the unexpected.

In Say Yes to What’s Next she addresses essential issues, such as

  • don’t let yourself go,
  • marriage is awesome, but it’s no fairytale,
  • keep your mouth shut and your heart open to your kids (and they’ll bring you grandkids),
  • make time to parent your parents,
  • maintain a close circle of girlfriends,
  • get off the couch and live your passion,
  • take charge of your money, and
  • what to do when life gives you a faceplant.

Say Yes to What’s Next is a life makeover and therapy session from a relatable you-can-and-you-should-do-this straight-shooter as Lori helps women shape their own futures with confidence, style, and sass.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the author Lori Allen

Lori Allen Lori Allen opened Bridals by Lori just two weeks after graduating from the all-female Columbia College in South Carolina. Four decades later, she is one of the world’s foremost experts on bridal couture and the central figure of TLC’s reality show Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, filmed on site at Lori’s bridal salon and shown in more than 120 countries.

Lori’s role as a bridal expert, successful female business entrepreneur, TV personality, and breast cancer survivor has led her to interviews by top-tier media outlets, including CNN, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, and the Wall Street Journal. She currently resides in Atlanta with her husband, Eddie, and, thankfully, not far from their son and his wife, daughter and her husband, and granddaughters.

Connect with Lori:

Facebook | Instagram

Read an Excerpt from Say Yes to What’s Next

Say Yes to What's NextAn Ounce of Wisdom from Lori Allen

Think Like a Bride

Many young women come into the salon looking for the hottest new fashion, and frankly, that’s not always a good idea. I encourage each bride to choose a dress that reflects her own personality, but I also advise her to think beyond the wedding itself. The day she’s a bride will come and go in what seems like a nanosecond, but the photos from her wedding are going to be around for a long time— and today’s trend is tomorrow’s costume. (Poodle skirts, enormous shoulder pads, and go- go boots come to mind.)

From “Say Yes to What’s Next”, Chapter 2: Self-Care is the New Black

Check Out the Other Sites on This Tour

TLC Book ToursInstagram tour:

Monday, July 13th: @lesa_cap

Tuesday, July 14th: @books_with_bethany

Thursday, July 16th: @readtowander

Friday, July 17th: @thelit_bitch

Monday, July 20th: @wellreadtraveler

Tuesday, July 21st: @livingmybestbooklife

Monday, July 27th: @kelly_hunsaker_reads

Thursday, July 30th: @sweethoneyandbrei

Review tour:

Monday, July 13th: Bibliotica – excerpt

Tuesday, July 14th: Lesa’s Book Critiques – author guest post

Wednesday, July 15th: Leighellen Landskov and @mommaleighellensbooknook

Friday, July 17th: Novel Gossip – author guest post

Saturday, July 18th: Nurse Bookie and @nurse_bookie

Monday, July 20th: Well Read Traveler

Tuesday, July 21st: Living My Best Book Life

Wednesday, July 22nd: Running Through the Storms

Thursday, July 23rd: @bookscoffeephotography

Thursday, July 23rd: From the TBR Pile – author guest post

Monday, July 27th: Tabi Thoughts

Tuesday, July 28th: Blooming with Books

Wednesday, July 29th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Thursday, July 30th: Seaside Book Nook

Friday, July 31st: Bewitched Bookworms – excerpt

Monday, August 3rd: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – excerpt

Friday, August 7th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

Friday, August 14th: What is That Book About

A Sunset in Sydney Full Tour Banner

Review: A Sunset in Sidney, by Sandy Barker

by

A Sunset In Sydney - Banner

About the book, A Sunset in Sydney

 

  • Publisher: One More Chapter (July 3, 2020)
  • Publication Date: July 3, 2020
  • Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers

A Sunset in Sydney CoverHow far would you go in the name of love?

Sarah Parsons has a choice ahead of her. After the trip of a lifetime she’s somehow returned home with TWO handsome men wanting to whisk her away into the sunset.

Pulled in two directions across the globe, it’s making life trickier than it sounds. Her gorgeous American, Josh, wants to meet Sarah in Hawaii for a holiday to remember. Meanwhile silver fox, James, plans to wine and dine her in London.

It’s a lot to handle for this Aussie girl, who had totally sworn off men!

Join Sarah after her adventure in One Summer in Santorini, for the heart-warming and uplifting third novel in The Holiday Romance series.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Google Play | Kobo | Waterstones | Goodreads

About the author, Sandy Barker

A Sunset in Sydney - Author Photo Sandy BarkerSandy Barker is an Australian writer, traveller and hopeful romantic with a lengthy bucket list and a cheeky sense of humour. She’s also an avid reader, a film buff, a wine lover and a coffee snob.
Many of Sandy’s travel adventures have found homes in her writing, including her debut novel, a contemporary romance set in Greece, which was inspired by her true-life love story.

Connect with Sidney:

Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

MissMelissHATWhen the world around you is in turmoil, and all your travel plans have been cancelled for the foreseeable future, a light, happy romance is practically medicinal.

Sandy Barker’s third entry into her Holiday Romance series, A Sunset in Sydney, fills that prescription perfectly. It’s light but not too fluffy, keeps you entertained, and has really engaging characters, as well.

Sarah, our protagonist, opens the novel with a complaint many of us wish we’d had when we were young and single: two love interests. James a “silver fox” she meets while sightseeing, and Josh, whom she meets on the same vacation, on a ten-day sailing trip, and whom she immediately has what she calls a “Ross and Rachel, will they / won’t they” relationship.

Both men are engaging, witty, attractive. James is in London, where Sarah’s sister Cat also is, so she uses her time there to meet up with him, and Josh, the “cute American” has made plans to meet her in Hawaii four months after their initial sailing trip.

What follows is typical romance novel fare, made distinctly original by Barker’s handling of both comedy and flirtation. Instead of a cookie-cutter story, we are treated to a tale about people who are all searching for what they truly want out of love and life, with trial and error, doubts and insecurities, misfires and marvelous encounters, all wrapped up in a package of well-written dialogue, and characters you truly enjoy spending time with.

This was my first introduction to Barker’s work, but I’m hooked and can’t wait to read the other novels in this series, as well as her other writing.

Overall, this is the perfect light read, for summer, for quarantine, or just for a murky, damp weekend when you want to escape into someone else’s life for a while.

Goes well with grilled tequila lime shrimp and a margarita on the rocks.

A Sunset in Sydney Full Tour Banner

 

 

Gates of Mars - Giveaway

Review: Gates of Mars by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays – with Giveaway

by

Gates of Mars - Banner

About the Book, Gates of Mars

  • Series: The Halo Trilogy (Book1)
  • Genre: Science Fiction / Detective (hard-boiled)
  • Publisher:  Pumpjack Press on Facebook
  • Date of Publication: June 16, 2020
  • Number of Pages: 336
  • Scroll down for Giveaway

Gates of Mars - CoverIN THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE, HOW CAN A PERSON GO MISSING? 

The year is 2187. Crucial Larsen, a veteran of the brutal Consolidation Wars, is working as a labor cop on Earth. The planet is a toxic dump and billions of people are miserable, but so what? It’s none of his business. He’s finally living a good life, or good enough. But then Essential, his beloved kid sister, disappears on Mars. When Halo—the all-powerful artificial-intelligence overseeing Earth and Mars on behalf of the ruling Five Families—can’t (or won’t) locate his sister, Crucial races up-universe to find her.

In the Choke, the frigid, airless expanse outside the luxury domes, Crucial uncovers a deadly secret from Essential’s past that threatens to shatter his apathetic existence … and both planets. Blending science fiction with the classic, hard-boiled detective story, Gates of Mars is a page-turning, futuristic thrill-ride featuring a gritty, irreverent anti-hero, Crucial Larsen. The first book of the Halo Trilogy, Gates of Mars is the eighth novel by award-winning authors, Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall.

Praise for this book:

“An indelible introduction to an interplanetary saga and its sublime characters.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The authors’ imaginations again run wild, this time a science fiction/detective series looking at what our lives may hold in the not too distant future if everything that can go wrong does go wrong. And they’ve done it with their trademark undercurrent of humor that lifts an otherwise dreary future into something resembling—do I dare say?—hope. Their best work to date. And the giraffes? You’ll have to read Gates of Mars to find out. I’m already wishing they could write faster.” —Renee Struthers, East Oregonian newspaper

“With twists and turns true to some of the best noir detective pieces—but with an other-world setting and futuristic society—along with psychological insights and connections, Gates of Mars is a riveting, unexpected story, filled with intrigue and change. Sci-fi and detective story readers alike with find Gates of Mars one of a kind, worthy of avid pursuit.” —Midwest Book Review

Buy, read and discuss this book:

Amazon | Goodreads

About the Authors, Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays

Gates Of Mars - AuthorClark and Kathleen wrote their first book together in 1999 as a test for marriage. They passed.

Gates of Mars is their eighth co-authored book.

Connect with Clark and Kathleen:

Facebook ║ Instagram

Connect with Kathleen:

Goodreads ║ Amazon ║ Facebook ║ Twitter

Connect with Clark:

Goodreads ║ Amazon ║ Facebook ║ Twitter

My Thoughts

MissMelissHATI’ve been a science fiction fan for as long as I can remember, and I have a special fascination with Mars, so this novel, the first in a new trilogy, was a perfect fit for me.

In Gates of Mars authors Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays give us dystopian future for Earth, with the additional information that anyone who’s anyone has packed up and relocated to our reddish neighbor. This basic premise is the center of everything that happens, but it’s also the start of some serious world building, for the future which Crucial Larsen inhabits is both grim – a significant portion of the population is unemployed and lives in portable pods – and fascinating – you can buy immersive scenarios to sleep in, but they can be interrupted by work, or family, calling you.

Because this is the first book in a planned trilogy, it would have been easy to make the plot secondary, to let the world building dominate the story, but McFall and Hays didn’t do that. Rather, the intricacies and details of Crucial’s world came from the plot, so we, as readers, are never flooded with backstory or exposition, rather, we discover it as Crucial lives it.

But fantastic details (like cloned giraffes on Mars!) aside, this is also a detective story. War veteran-cum-labor cop Crucial must track down his missing sister, while staying off the grid as much as possible, because HALO is watching everything (think of HALO as a cross between Orwell’s Big Brother and Star Trek: Discovery‘s Control).

It takes a lot of talent to combine a detective plot with a sci-fi setting, and make us care about the characters even when their flaws are all too visible, but McFall and Hays have that talent. They also infuse their work with just enough wry humor to keep things from being overwhelming.

If you want a gritty space saga that’s also a compelling neo-noir mystery, look no further than Gates of Mars. You won’t be disappointed, but you will be left wondering: how long must we wait for book two?

Goes well with any food that doesn’t come in tube. (I recommend a BLT on multigrain bread and a tall glass of sweet tea.)

Giveaway

Gates of Mars - Giveaway

TWO WINNERS: One Winner: First edition copy of A Very Unusual Romance 

One Winner: All four books in The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection 

June 29-July 8, 2020

(U.S. Only)

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click to Visit the LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE

Or, visit the blogs directly:

6/29/20 Excerpt Texas Book Lover
6/29/20 Review Forgotten Winds
6/29/20 BONUS Post Hall Ways Blog
6/30/20 Review Reading by Moonlight
6/30/20 Review Sybrina’s Book Blog
7/1/20 Author Interview StoreyBook Reviews
7/1/20 Review Book Bustle
7/2/20 Excerpt All the Ups and Downs
7/2/20 Review Chapter Break Book Blog
7/3/20 Review Books and Broomsticks
7/3/20 Review Bibliotica

 

LoneStarLitLife

LSBBT BOOK REVIEW

Sun, Sea and Sangria

Sun, Sea and Sangria, by Victoria Cooke

by

Sun, Sea, and Sangria

About the book, Sun, Sea and Sangria

 

  • Print Length: 289 pages
  • Publisher: HQ Digital (June 10, 2020)
  • Publication Date: June 10, 2020
  • Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers

Sun, Sea and SangriaKat swore off dating many years ago, after her marriage ended in a catastrophic mess. Having moved to the Canary Islands for a fresh start, she has never had much time for romance, channelling all her energy into managing all-male dance troupe – the Heavenly Hunks.

 

With golden beaches, sparkling blue water and relaxing after work with a glass of sangria – or three – for Kat, it’s summer all year round. But despite life being postcard perfect, Kat can’t help but wonder if she is missing out on the most important thing of all… love.

The dancers are all well-known for their flirtatious antics and aren’t looking for anything serious… except Jay. Sitting by the pool, watching the sun reflecting in the water, Kat feels like she can tell him anything.

Handsome, caring and a good listener, he ignites a fire in Kat’s heart that scares her witless. But her relationship with Jay should stay strictly professional… right? There is absolutely no way that she can be his boss and his date.

As the temperature rises, will Kat be able to take the plunge, let go of her past and find romance in paradise?

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Get Book | Goodreads

About the author, Victoria Cooke

Suns Sea - Victoria Cooke New ImageVictoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of a career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016 which was selected for onscreen adaptation in April 2020.

Her third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.

Connect with Victoria:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

My Thoughts

MissMelissHATMy first introduction to Victoria Cooke’s writing was when I read and reviewed her lovely novel A Summer to Remember last year, so I was eager to jump into another of her books, especially since her stories are such a great escape from the every-day. In this summer of lockdown, a novel that takes place in Tenerife and features a cast of hunky male dancers was just what I needed.

But, Cooke’s books are never the fluff they might seem. In this novel, Sun, Sea and Sangria, we get a protagonist in Kat who isn’t some idealistic twenty-year-old. Rather, she’s eight years out of a bad marriage, and pointedly not-dating while managing the Heavenly Hunks. It’s a breathtaking relief to encounter a character who has experience in both love and life, and has learned from it, and I really appreciated Kat’s journey – she had healing to do that she’d been compartmentalizing for the better part of a decade, and when love walked  – danced – into her life again, she had to prepare herself. I loved that. I loved that even though she wasn’t a fresh-faced college kid, she was still unsure and cautious. I think most of us are, and it made her character seem that much more real.

The leading male, Jay, was, likewise, not as young as the rest of the dancers. He, too, brought experience into the story, even if his initial overtures to Kat were strictly professional.

Dating someone you work with is always a risky proposition, but Cooke makes that a plot point, and does so with the same deftness she does everything else. I had no trouble envisioning any of the characters or settings, though I think this book should be sold with a bottle of sangria on the side.

Overall, this is a lovely, flirty, flight of fancy with just enough realism to keep it from becoming saccharine. The perfect summer read. Even in quarantine.

Goes well with pulled pork sandwiches and drinks with umbrellas and rum. Lots of rum.

Sun Sea and Sangria Banner