Spotlight & Guest Post: Of Dreams and Shadow by D.S. McKnight

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About the book Of Dreams and Shadows by D.S. McKnight

Of Dreams and Shadows

We live. We die. Is there anything more? Jenna Barton is about to find out. After moving to the coastal North Carolina town of Parson’s Cove, Jenna has unwittingly stepped into the middle of a mystery involving a missing child. Unfortunately, the predator is still on the loose and Jenna has become his new obsession. With a little luck and a bit of paranormal help, Jenna might survive.

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About the author, D.S. McKnight

D.S. McKnight

D.S. McKnight has enjoyed a varied career—from working as a radio DJ on a small AM station to serving as president and co-owner of a marina, until Hurricane Ophelia took aim at the Carolina coast. Currently, she works at an insurance agency as well as hosting her blog – Novel Notions.

It is her love of the North Carolina coast that fueled her desire to write. Of Dreams and Shadow: Forget Me Not (book 1) is her first novel.

Connect with D.S.

Web | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Read a Guest Post from D.S. McKnight

 

For approximately 2 1/2 years, I spent every available moment in Parson’s Cove – the fictional town where Of Dreams and Shadow takes place.  I knew the town – the name of the streets as well as the locations of shops and restaurants.  I knew the characters, how they looked and what they liked. I witnessed the tragedy that set the story into motion.  So, I found it difficult to let go when it came time to say goodbye.  Fortunately for me, I was able to visit the story in other ways.  One way was to become the reporter for The Parson’s Cove Daily News:

 

The Parson’s Cove Daily News

 

June 19, 1997

 

(Parson’s Cove)  Area authorities continue to search for Sarah Jones.  The four year old girl was last seen the morning of June 17, while playing outside of the family home located on Sandpiper Drive.  Parson’s Cove Police Department spokesman,  Sgt. Joe Wilkes confirmed that there was a witness to the abduction.  The suspect is described as a male however there was no further description available.  The suspect is believed to have been wearing dark clothing.

 

Neighbor Bob Williams spoke for the family.  “At this time, the family is asking for prayers for the safe return of their daughter.”  When asked how the family was doing, Williams became visibly upset.  “I guess they are doing as good as possible considering the situation.”

 

Besides canvassing local businesses, search and rescue teams have been called in.   “Bloodhounds are a valuable asset in this type of investigation,”  Sgt. Wilkes said.

 

Sarah is described as a white female child approximately three feet tall with light brown hair and green eyes.  She was last seen wearing pink shorts and a white top.

 

Residents are asked to contact the police department if they remember seeing anything suspicious in the area.

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Read an excerpt

Prologue

June 17, 1997

Details…they were the making or breaking of any plan and he

felt sure that his plan was perfect. He surveyed the yard one last

time, slid back into his hiding place and waited. It wouldn’t be

long now. She would open the door and come out to play as she

did every morning: swinging, pulling her wagon, playing with her

doll. Only this morning would be different, this morning would

be special.

Laying in her wagon was his gift, a necklace he had taken from

his mother. He was certain Sarah would love it. A door slammed,

pulling his attention from the wagon to the patio where the little

girl stood.

“Big…black…bug’s blood,” she said slowly. And then, looking

rather pleased with herself, she continued a bit faster, “Big, black

bug’s blood, big black blugs blug, blig black blug’s blug.” Shaking

her head, she stepped off the patio, “I don’t like bugs anyway…well,

maybe ladybugs…and butterflies,” Sarah added as a swallowtail

fluttered by.

Sarah found herself following the butterfly’s trail, stopping

when it lit upon a flower and continuing on as it once again took

flight. “Come back butterfly,” she called as the butterfly

flitted from place to place, always just out of her reach. The

tinkling sound of her laughter floated across the yard to his

hiding place. He couldn’t believe his luck. It seemed that fate

was lending him a hand as the butterfly fluttered ever closer to

the wagon.

     Just a little further, sweet Sarah.

She stopped, looked up at the butterfly as it changed course,

then set off in the opposite direction. He clinched his fist. Fate,

he thought, is like a fickle strumpet. But patience on the other hand,

was quite the virtuous lady. Damn. He hated virtuous ladies. And

strumpets…they weren’t any better.

The swallowtail, perhaps tired of playing the game, circled

around and carried Sarah back toward the wagon. Its flight was

now one of purpose. It had nectar to collect and flowers to pollinate

and a curious little girl was a hindrance. The butterfly, however,

didn’t need to worry. It had lost Sarah’s attention. She had seen the

Picking up the silver chain, she watched as the blue stones

glistened in the sunlight. It was the most beautiful thing she had

ever seen. Sarah slid the necklace over her head and ran back to the

house calling out for her mother.

Liza Jones opened the door. “Is everything okay, Sweetie?”

Sarah lifted the pendant. “See what I found.” Her voice dropped

to a whisper, as she looked over her shoulder. “Do you think a fairy

dropped it?”

Liza shook her head. “I don’t know about a fairy, but someone

certainly did.” She put out her hand. “I think maybe you should

give the necklace to me. We don’t know whose it is.”

Sarah’s lip began to tremble. “But I found it and it’s so pretty.

Can’t I please wear it for a little while? I won’t lose it.”

Liza smiled as she touched her daughter’s cheek. She hated

telling her no. “Okay, as long as you’re careful. But when we find

out who owns it, no tears.”

“No tears, Mommy,” Sarah agreed. “I promise.”

Liza closed the door, her mind already going over the phone

calls she needed to make. She felt certain that one of the neighbor’s

children had been exploring in their mother’s jewelry box.

Smiling, Sarah whirled around and set off for the swings. Her

soft caramel curls, caught in a ponytail, danced about as she skipped

across the backyard. She hoped her mommy couldn’t find the owner

of the necklace.

As she sat in the swing and pushed off with her feet, Sarah

noticed her shadow. It moved along the sand, stretching out just as

she did. Higher and higher she went, her shadow following below.

Taking a flying leap from the swing, Sarah sailed through the air,

landed on the soft grass and toppled over. Giggling, she righted

herself. Her shadow did the same. And so the game of chase began.

Like a small rabbit, Sarah scampered across the lawn, her

little feet swiftly changing course. Sometimes, depending on the

direction she was going, Sarah noticed that she was being chased by

her shadow. Other times, she was doing the chasing.

The slamming of the neighbor’s back door didn’t go unnoticed.

Boys! She thought to herself as she wheeled in the opposite direction,

making sure to avoid the fence. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw

the neighbor boy peeking over the pickets.

As she neared the back of the yard, Sarah slowed to a walk,

sat down, and leaned against a large boulder, her shadow all but

forgotten. She fingered the silver chain before carefully lifting the

pendant. Blue stones surrounded a small crystal, reminding her of

the flowers that grew in her mother’s garden. “Buttercup, Poppy,

Forget-Me-Not,” Sarah recited her favorite nursery rhyme, “These

three bloomed in a garden spot—” her soft voice trailed away to

nothing as the sensation of being watched rolled over her.

Sarah lifted her eyes from the necklace and glanced toward the

wood line, looking for anything that seemed out of place. Seeing

nothing out of the ordinary, she continued to search the yard,

looking for the source of her discomfort. She paused, realizing that

the only place left to look was behind her. The hair on her arms

began to rise as did the instinctual feeling to run to safety. Slowly,

she turned her head to look over her shoulder. Her eyes rested on

the dark figure standing behind her right shoulder.

“Shadow?” she asked in a bewildered voice.

“Who else could it be?” hissed the childlike apparition as it

took position between Sarah and her house. A ragged whimper

wrenched from deep in Sarah’s throat, her eyes darted, looking for

an escape but seeing none. From across the fence, the frightened

eyes of the neighbor boy found hers, his small hand waved for her

to run.

“Mommy!” she cried out, her eyes welling with tears.

“Thy mother hearest thou not, sweet Sarah,” the specter hissed

as it took a step closer to the child.

Sarah’s mind told her to flee yet her body refused to move.

Tears streamed down her face. The shadowy figure looked over

its shoulder at the house. Satisfied, it turned its attention back to

Sarah. Cocking its head to the side as though in thought, Sarah’s

silhouette paused for just a moment before lunging and engulfing

the child. Sarah had no time to scream. She was gone, swallowed

by the blackness that was the shadow. The dark figure of the little

girl stretched upward and outward as it shifted into the dark shape

of a man.

Of Dreams and Shadow

This post is part of a virtual book tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book. For more information and the list of tour stops, click here.

Review: Under a Silent Moon, by Elizabeth Haynes

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About the book Under a Silent Moon

Under a Silent Moon

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper (April 15, 2014)

Devour the Book
Connect the Clues
Discover a Killer

P. D. James meets E. L. James in Under a Silent Moon, this first novel in an exciting British crime series—a blend of literary suspense and page-turning thriller that introduces formidable Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Smith—from suspense talent Elizabeth Haynes, author of the bestselling Into the Darkest Corner.

Two women share one fate.
A suspected murder at an English Farm.
A reported suicide at a local quarry.
Can DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather the evidence and discover a link between them, a link which sealed their fate one cold night, Under a Silent Moon?

A tense, compelling and unsettling novel brimming with source material and evidence set over just six days, Under a Silent Moon will keep you gripped until the very last page and asks:

Can you connect the clues to discover the Killer?

Solve the crime alongside DCI Louisa Smith and her team.

Buy a copy and connect the clues.

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About the author, Elizabeth Haynes

Elizabeth Haynes

Elizabeth Haynes is a police intelligence analyst, a civilian role that involves determining patterns in offending and criminal behavior. Under a Silent Moon is her fourth novel; rights to her first, Into the Darkest Corner, have been sold in twenty-five territories. Haynes lives in England in a village near Maidstone, Kent, with her husband and son.

Connect with Elizabeth

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My Thoughts

I’m a sucker for a good crime novel. I don’t mind blood and grit as long as that characters ring true, and the mystery is somewhat plausible. In her latest novel, Under a Silent Moon Elizabeth Hayes provides grit, amazing characters, and a story that is immensely readable.

Part conventional thriller, part police procedural, this novel is structured so that we see the tick-tock – the the hour-by-hour countdown of a law enforcement team as they work to solve the a murder, investigate an apparent suicide, and figure out how – and if – each incident is related, while at the same time navigating their personal lives.

DCI Louisa “Lou” Smith is the driving force of the novel, and we see much of it from her point of view. I instantly liked her mix of no-nonsense professionalism with just a hint of feminine softness at appropriate times. This novel very much feels like the first in a series, and I would happily read more of Lou’s adventures. She’s as real, as three dimensional as two of my other favorite female crime fighters, Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski and Margaret Maron’s Sigrid Harald (yes, yes, I know: Maron’s better known for Deborah Knott, but Sigrid’s just AWESOME) and even reminds me a little of the latter, if she were contemporary and British.

Lou’s entire team was interesting to see in action, and I’ll confess, for once I had NOT worked out the ending before it was revealed.

If you want a gripping story, great characters, and a thriller that truly thrills the imagination, look no further than Under a Silent Moon.

Goes well with Shepherd’s pie and a really good stout.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a blog tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours. For more information, and the complete list of tour stops, click here.

Mini-Review: Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas

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My Thoughts

Picking up where the Veronica Mars movie left off, this novel has everything I loved about the series and the film: Veronica’s personal brand of snark, the Neptune locals we know and love, and a mystery that wasn’t difficult to solve, but keeps us entertained, even so.

Fans of LoVe be warned: this novel takes place during Logan’s deployment, so don’t expect to see much of him.

Do expect a few lovely (and some not-so-lovely) surprises, and a good amount of Dick Casablancas being, well, Dick.

I’m not sure if this novel counts as canon – though since it was co-written by series creator Rob Thomas, it totally should, but even if we take it as a slightly alternate universe, it’s worth the read, and it’s an excellent way for people, (like me) who binge-watched the entire series before the movie was released (I’d seen it before, but my husband hadn’t) to get their latest “fix.”

Goes well with: a double-scoop of ice cream on a sugar cone, eaten at the beach.

Review: Resisting the Rancher, by Roxanne Snopek

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About the book, Resisting the Rancher

Resisting the Rancher

Publisher: Entangled Bliss
Pages: 213

Country veterinarian Celia Gamble is in trouble. A misunderstanding from her past is rearing its ugly head and the only person she can turn to is Jonah Clarke—her family’s lawyer and, as it turns out, her brother Zach’s best friend and her childhood crush. She always wanted Jonah to see her as a bona fide woman, but as a woman who’s being wrongfully blackmailed for seducing a married man? Not on her life.

Jonah is happy to help little CeeCee Gamble, if only she’d come clean about why she’s being blackmailed. But with Zach’s wedding on the horizon and Zach’s fashionista fiancée Desiree giving CeeCee a makeover, the little duckling Jonah remembers is turning into a definite swan. And the unwritten law on sisters is clear—hands off. Jonah must resist Celia or lose the only true family he’s ever known.

Buy a copy and start reading

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About the author, Roxanne Snopek

Roxanne Snopek has been writing professionally for more than two decades and her work has appeared in publications varying from The Vancouver Sun and Reader’s Digest to newsletters for Duke, Cornell and Tufts Universities. She’s done corporate copywriting on topics ranging from pet food for Iams/Eukanuba, to employee profiles for VersaCold to air-conditioner maintenance for Home Depot. (That’s right. Air conditioner maintenance.)

But she’s also had a bunch of other stuff published, including one mystery novel, a couple of literary short stories and a non-fiction series. One summer, she wrote video game dialogue and narrative for Silicon Sisters Interactive, a project that combined her two favourite genres – mystery and romance – with the world of casual gaming.

In 2012 she sold her first romance novel to Entangled Publishing. THREE RIVER RANCH made the Barnes & Noble Top Ten list, The Amazon Top 100 list and is now the foundation of a multi-book series. Recently, the first three books sold to France.

Connect with Roxanne

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My Thoughts

I’m not really a fan of “formula” romances. There’s nothing wrong with them, and studies have been done proving that women (in particular) who read them tend to have better, more fulfilling sex lives than women who do not. They’re just not my typical cup of literary tea. That said, every once in a while, it’s nice to pick up something that’s sexy and romantic and just escape into a piece of fiction.

Roxanne Snopek’s Resisting the Rancher was an excellent choice for just such an escape. Her characters were three-dimensional and their interaction was both interesting and plausible. Main character Celia is likeable – and I’m not just saying that because I work in dog rescue – smart, and resourceful, and love-interest Jonah is equally substantial.

I also enjoyed the frenetic pace the author created by setting everything against the backdrop of a family wedding – what better event than that to bring out all the quirks and dramas that linger within relationships of all kinds?

In short, Resisting the Rancher is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon, and I’d happily dip my toes in author Snopek’s pond again – easy to do since this novel is part of a series.

Goes well with Grilled chicken Caesar salad and mango iced tea, followed by a froufrou cupcake.

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Resisting the Rancher

Review: The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore

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About the book, The Serpent of Venice

The Serpent of Venice

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 22, 2014)

Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from the Queen of Britain: the rascal-Fool Pocket.

This trio of cunning plotters—the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago—have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of sprits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio’s beautiful daughter, Portia.

But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged. The girl isn’t even in the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man, be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool . . . and he’s got more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve.

Greed, revenge, deception, lust, and a giant (but lovable) sea monster combine to create another hilarious and bawdy tale from modern comic genius, Christopher Moore.

Buy a copy and start reading

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Add The Serpent of Venice to GoodReads

 

 

About the author, Christopher MooreChristopher Moore

Christopher Moore is the author of twelve previous novels: Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Lamb, Fluke, The Stupidest Angel, A Dirty Job, You Suck, Fool , and Bite Me.

He lives in San Francisco, California.

Connect with Christopher

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My Thoughts

I’ve been a fan of Christopher Moore’s books forever. In fact, when I grow up, as a writer, I want to be Christopher Moore (albeit, a version of him with breasts and technicolor hair) so when I was offered the chance to read an ARC of his latest novel, The Serpent of Venice I told the publicist I’d give one of my dogs for the opportunity. Fortunately, that wasn’t actually necessary, and the ARC arrived shortly after, only to sit on my table, mocking me, until my TBR stack was caught up.

It was worth the wait.

This book combines Moore’s take on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice with his usual comic view of the world, and adds in elements of other literary classics as well (care to try the Amontillado, anyone?). It’s also a sequel to his previous novel Fool, which, I confess, I have not read.

The characters are a blend of the familiar Shakespeare figures and Moore’s own creativity, and while the story has a slightly slow beginning, it ends up being a rollicking roller-coaster gondola ride through the streets and waterways of Venice, with enough real moments balanced by laugh-out-loud preposterous situations to keep everything flowing well but still ensure the reader is capable of drawing breath.

While knowledge of Shakespeare (and Poe…) isn’t essential to the enjoyment of The Serpent of Venice familiarity with the original play certainly didn’t hurt. Similarly, while I didn’t feel like I’d missed much by not having read Fool, I’m sure it would have increased my understanding of some of the nuances in the novel.

Goes well with A plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce and a glass of red wine.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual book tour hosted by TLC Book Tours. For more information, and the complete list of tour stops, click here.

Review: To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis, by Andra Watkins

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About the book, To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis

To Live Forever

Publication Date: March 1, 2014
World Hermit Press
Formats: Ebook, Paperback

Is remembrance immortality? Nobody wants to be forgotten, least of all the famous.

Meriwether Lewis lived a memorable life. He and William Clark were the first white men to reach the Pacific in their failed attempt to discover a Northwest Passage. Much celebrated upon their return, Lewis was appointed governor of the vast Upper Louisiana Territory and began preparing his eagerly-anticipated journals for publication. But his re-entry into society proved as challenging as his journey. Battling financial and psychological demons and faced with mounting pressure from Washington, Lewis set out on a pivotal trip to the nation’s capital in September 1809. His mission: to publish his journals and salvage his political career. He never made it. He died in a roadside inn on the Natchez Trace in Tennessee from one gunshot to the head and another to the abdomen.

Was it suicide or murder? His mysterious death tainted his legacy and his fame quickly faded. Merry’s own memory of his death is fuzzy at best. All he knows is he’s fallen into Nowhere, where his only shot at redemption lies in the fate of rescuing another. An ill-suited “guardian angel,” Merry comes to in the same New Orleans bar after twelve straight failures. Now, with one drink and a two-dollar bill he is sent on his last assignment, his final shot at escape from the purgatory in which he’s been dwelling for almost 200 years. Merry still believes he can reverse his forgotten fortunes.

Nine-year-old Emmaline Cagney is the daughter of French Quarter madam and a Dixieland bass player. When her mother wins custody in a bitter divorce, Emmaline carves out her childhood among the ladies of Bourbon Street. Bounced between innocence and immorality, she struggles to find her safe haven, even while her mother makes her open her dress and serve tea to grown men.

It isn’t until Emmaline finds the strange cards hidden in her mother’s desk that she realizes why these men are visiting: her mother has offered to sell her to the highest bidder. To escape a life of prostitution, she slips away during a police raid on her mother’s bordello, desperate to find her father in Nashville.

Merry’s fateful two-dollar bill leads him to Emmaline as she is being chased by the winner of her mother’s sick card game: The Judge. A dangerous Nowhere Man convinced that Emmaline is the reincarnation of his long dead wife, Judge Wilkinson is determined to possess her, to tease out his wife’s spirit and marry her when she is ready. That Emmaline is now guarded by Meriwether Lewis, his bitter rival in life, further stokes his obsessive rage.

To elude the Judge, Em and Merry navigate the Mississippi River to Natchez. They set off on an adventure along the storied Natchez Trace, where they meet Cajun bird watchers, Elvis-crooning Siamese twins, War of 1812 re-enactors, Spanish wild boar hunters and ancient mound dwellers. Are these people their allies? Or pawns of the perverted, powerful Judge?
After a bloody confrontation with the Judge at Lewis’s grave, Merry and Em limp into Nashville and discover her father at the Parthenon. Just as Merry wrestles with the specter of success in his mission to deliver Em, The Judge intercedes with renewed determination to win Emmaline, waging a final battle for her soul. Merry vanquishes the Judge and earns his redemption. As his spirit fuses with the body of Em’s living father, Merry discovers that immortality lives within the salvation of another, not the remembrance of the multitude.

Read an excerpt, or buy the whole book

Excerpt | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author, Andra Watkins (in her own words)

Andra Watkins

Hey. I’m Andra Watkins. I’m a native of Tennessee, but I’m lucky to call Charleston, South Carolina, home for 23 years. I’m the author of To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis, coming March 1, 2014. It’s a mishmash of historical fiction, paranormal fiction and suspense that follows Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis & Clark fame) after his mysterious death on the Natchez Trace in 1809.

I like:
hiking
eating (A lot; Italian food is my favorite.)
traveling (I never met a destination I didn’t like.)
reading (My favorite book is The Count of Monte Cristo.)
coffee (the caffeinated version) and COFFEE (sex)
performing (theater, singing, public speaking, playing piano)
time with my friends
Sirius XM Chill
yoga (No, I can’t stand on my head.)
writing in bed
candlelight

I don’t like:
getting up in the morning
cilantro (It is the devil weed.)
surprises (For me or for anyone else.)
house cleaning
cooking

Connect with Andra

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest

Add To Live Forever to GoodReads

As part of the launch of this book, Andra Watkins actually walked the Natchez Trace, the first living person to do so since the end of the age of steam. Check out her Youtube Channel for more information about that, as well as her answers to reader questions.

My Thoughts

Like most of us, my knowledge of Meriwether Lewis is limited to the part of my American History class that discussed the Lewis & Clark trail. It’s a trail I’ve never followed, except for the segments of it that are traced by I-29 as you leave South Dakota and enter Iowa (going South). More than once, heading home from a trip to SoDak, my husband and I have stopped near the marker commemorating that journey to grab a soda, use the restroom (there’s a great independent gas station/cafe), and feed ducks.

Still, that semi-regular ritual is probably more than most people have as a connection to Mr. Lewis, and it was enough to make me really want to read Andra Watkin’s novel, To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis.

Watkins, herself, describes the novel as a mishmash of genres and it really is. While most of it takes place in the 1970s’, as the previously-deceased Lewis escorts a small child from a dangerous life in New Orleans to the care of her musician-father in Nashville, we also see echoes of Lewis’s “real” life, in flashbacks and memories, including his original journey along the Natchez Trace.

It’s a cleverly woven story, combining threads of history with those of paranormal suspense, and enhancing them with characters who seem completely plausible, despite the fact that there is no way they could actually exist.

It also looks at the concept of immortality, and what that is. Does it mean literally living forever, or is it more important to be remembered for who you were and what you did?

You can read it just for pleasure, and you wouldn’t miss anything – it’s a great story, and the little girl at the center of it is written especially well – at times older than her nine years, and at times much younger – the way little girls and boys tend to be. You can also read it for the author’s insights into what it it means ‘to live forever.’

Goes well with Fresh-caught grilled catfish, hush puppies, and hand-squeezed lemonade (or any craft-brewed IPA)

Review: The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend, by Annabelle Costa

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About the book, The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend

The Time Traveler's Boyfriend

Print Length: 250 pages

Publisher: Dev Love Press (February 2, 2014)

Claudia’s geeky boyfriend Adam has just invented a time machine.

No, really—he has. She doesn’t believe it either until Adam provides her with definitive proof that he does, in fact, have a functioning time travel device sitting in the living room of his Manhattan brownstone.

But instead of getting ready to accept the Nobel Prize, Adam has very different plans for his groundbreaking invention. He wants Claudia to use the machine to travel back in time and stop the accident that landed him in a wheelchair over a decade ago, and prevent the trajectory of events that he believes ruined his life.

When Claudia reluctantly agrees to become the first human time traveler, she knows she’s making a big gamble. If she succeeds, she could have the happy ending with commitment-phobic Adam that she’s always dreamed of. But if she fails, it could mean the end of the universe as she knows it.

Read the first chapter, then buy a copy of your own

First Chapter | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Add to Goodreads

About the Author, Annabelle Costa

Annabelle Costa

Annabelle Costa is a teacher who writes in her free time. She enjoys the wounded hero genre, involving male love interests with physical disabilities, who don’t follow the typical Hollywood perception of sexy.

My Thoughts

I don’t read a lot of “formula” romances (though I’ll cop to having had a serious Silhouette Desire addiction when I was a teenager – seriously, those things were like crack), but I’ve read enough of them to recognize that The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend is a slightly more contemporary version of a classic format. Despite that, however, or maybe even because of it, it’s an excellent read, full of fun and flirtatiousness, and the fact that it is from a publishing house that focuses on love stories featuring characters with disabilities gives it a lot more depth than it would otherwise have had.

While I found Claudia’s story to be a bit predictable, I still enjoyed taking her journey with her – a journey from slightly confused girlfriend who really wants a permanent commitment, to what is, eventually, a healthier, more mature version of herself. She’s likeable and relate-able, which is exactly what romance heroines should be.

Then there’s Adam. Geeky. Smart. Affectionate. Dead-sexy. And he happens to be in a wheelchair. What made this book more than ‘just’ a romance novel was how deftly the author, Annabelle Costa, handled Adam’s disability. She made it one facet of his character, but not necessarily a defining facet, and even used it to give him a super-sexy advantage that he would not have otherwise had. For a minute or two, I wanted to date Adam.

I liked the use of time-travel, something that is definitely not a typical romance trope. As I said, I found the plot twist a bit predictable, but it didn’t hurt my enjoyment of the story.

If you want a fun, fast, read with great characters and a couple of really hot love scenes, you should definitely check out The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend.

Goes well with Pad Thai and iced Thai tea.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual tour hosted by TLC Book Tours. For more information, or the complete list of tour stops, click here.

Review: Outside In, by Doug Cooper

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About the book, Outside In

Outside In

Hardcover: 253 pages

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press (August 13, 2013)

From Memorial Day until the student workers and tourists leave in the fall, the island community of Put-In-Bay, Ohio, thrives on alcohol, drugs, sexual experimentation, and any other means of forgetting responsibilities. To Brad Shepherd–recently forced out of his job as a junior high math teacher after the overdose death of a student–it’s exactly the kind of place he’s looking for.

Allured by the comfort and acceptance of the hedonistic atmosphere, Brad trades his academic responsibilities and sense of obligation for a bouncer’s flashlight and a pursuit of the endless summer. With Cinch Stevens, his new best friend and local drug dealer, at his side, Brad becomes lost in a haze of excess and instant gratification filled with romantic conquests, late-night excursions to special island hideaways, and a growing drug habit. Not even the hope from a blossoming relationship with Astrid, a bold and radiant Norwegian waitress, nor the mentoring from a mysterious mandolin player named Caldwell is enough to pull him out of his downward spiral. But as Labor Day approaches, the grim reality of his empty quest consumes him. With nowhere left to run or hide, Brad must accept that identity cannot be found or fabricated, but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go.

A look at one man’s belated coming of age that’s equally funny, earnest, romantic, and lamenting, Doug Cooper’s debut novel explores the modern search for responsibility and identity, showing through the eyes of Brad Shepherd how sometimes, we can only come to understand who we truly are by becoming the person we’re not.

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About the author, Doug Cooper

Doug Cooper

Doug Cooper has traveled to more than twenty countries on five continents and has held jobs in service, teaching, and business. He now lives and writes in Las Vegas. Outside In is his first novel.

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My Thoughts

I’ve said before that first person novels tend to be tricky. Many try them, most fail. Doug Cooper, however, makes writing in first person seem effortless, and as a result, when I read Outside In, which, by the way, I LOVED, I felt like I really was seeing things unfold through the eyes of a real person.

For me, even if I’m enjoying a plot or really like a character, it’s the details that make a story really sing, so scenes like the trip on the ferry, and later, the first glimpse we get of the Round House, really gave me a sense of place, but also made everything else seem vivid.

As someone who is on the far side of 40, I always find it interesting when authors recognize that “coming of age” stories aren’t limited to people who are 18-21 years old, but can happen when you’re 25, 35, or even in your sixties. Doug Cooper’s main character is a teacher who is about to finish grad school, but that doesn’t make this any less a coming-of-age tale.

With nuance and a great sense of both language and place, Doug Cooper kept my attention from wandering for the entire length of Outside In (a line about humid air feeling ‘like jelly on my skin’ really struck me) and at the end, I was sad to bid goodbye to Brad and Haley and the rest of the “cast.”

If you’re not certain that this book is for you, let me assure you: IT IS.

Goes well with A really good burger with crinkle-cut fries, and a cold beer, preferably from a joint that caters to summer tourists.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual book tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours. For more information, or the complete list of tour stops, click here.

Review: Up at Butternut Lake by Mary McNear

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About the book, Up at Butternut Lake

Up at Butternut Lake

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 8, 2014)

In the tradition of Kristin Hannah and Susan Wiggs, Mary McNear introduces readers to the town of Butternut Lake and to the unforgettable people who call it home.

It’s summer, and after ten years away, Allie Beckett has returned to her family’s cabin beside tranquil Butternut Lake, where as a teenager she spent so many carefree days. She’s promised her five-year-old son, Wyatt, they will be happy there. She’s promised herself this is the place to begin again after her husband’s death in Afghanistan. The cabin holds so many wonderful memories, but from the moment she crosses its threshold Allie is seized with doubts. Has she done the right thing uprooting her little boy from the only home he’s ever known?

Allie and her son are embraced by the townsfolk, and her reunions with old acquaintances—her friend Jax, now a young mother of three with one more on the way, and Caroline, the owner of the local coffee shop—are joyous ones. And then there are newcomers like Walker Ford, who mostly keeps to himself—until he takes a shine to Wyatt . . . and to Allie.

Everyone knows that moving forward is never easy, and as the long, lazy days of summer take hold, Allie must learn to unlock the hidden longings of her heart, and to accept that in order to face the future she must also confront—and understand—what has come before.

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About the author, Mary McNear

Mary McNear

Mary McNear lives in San Francisco with her husband, two teenage children, and a high-strung, minuscule white dog named Macaroon. She writes her novels in a local doughnut shop, where she sips Diet Pepsi, observes the hubbub of neighborhood life, and tries to resist the constant temptation of freshly made doughnuts. She bases her novels on a lifetime of summers spent in a small town on a lake in the northern Midwest.

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My Thoughts

It’s the little details that make or break a book for me. On the surface, Up at Butternut Lake may seem like just another contemporary romance. It’s got the cute small town setting, the strong women who are going through personal struggles (two of them, actually, Allie, and Jax) and the newcomer who still has ties from out of town. But that’s just the surface, and it would be a mistake to write this book off just because it includes a few common tropes.

Instead, look at the details: in the early pages Allie’s young son Wyatt spins on a diner stool. We don’t have a lot of classic diners left in the USA, but trust me, there isn’t a kid alive who could resist the urge to spin on one of those. (I know this from experience because my family owned just such a diner on the Jersey Shore, and we kids used to spin on the blue vinyl stools til we were nauseous.)

Then there’s Allie herself. She’s at the lake in part because it’s a personal haven for her, full of good memories, but also because, having lost her husband, she wants to be in a place where she can rebuild trust in herself, without the often-stifling offers of help. She isn’t a misanthrope; she just needs to find her footing.

These are the sorts of details, details of plot, setting, and character, that Mary McNear has given us in Up at Butternut Lake, and this is why it’s not ‘just a romance’ but a story about strong women, and the people whom they love.

Goes well with Sweet tea and strawberry-rhubarb pie.

TLC Book Tours

This review is part of a virtual book tour hosted by TLC Book Tours. For more information, or to read the entire list of tour stops, click here.

Review: The Here and Now, by Ann Brashares

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My Thoughts

I was offered the opportunity to read The Here and Now by Ann Brashares, via NetGalley, and I was happy to take them up on the offer.

I didn’t read the books Brashares is best known for – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and it’s sequels – until just a few years ago. (I maintain that some of the most provocative contemporary literature, especially if you want strong female characters, is written for the YA/NA market. She’s the perfect example of this.) Nevertheless, I love her work, because she always writes girls and young women who are three-dimensional.

The Here and Now is no exception to that. Protagonist Prenna is someone I think many girls and young women could identify with. Certainly she reminded me of me at that age – when I was always the new kid (though I never had to move from a different time).

Likewise, Ethan, the local boy with the talent for perception, reminds me of many of the smarter, geekier boys I went to school with. If I were seventeen, I’d want to date him. Or at least go on an adventure or two with him.

The story itself is sort of a contemporary spin on Romeo and Juliet with a science fiction setup. Most of the action takes place – as the name of the novel suggests – in the here and now, but it forces us to look at our culture pretty closely, while still being incredibly entertaining.

My one complaint about this novel is that it felt like part one of a trilogy…the story is resolved by the end, but the resolution is a bit unsatisfying, and more than a little open-ended.

Goes well with a hot dog and crinkle-cut french fries from a stand on a New Jersey boardwalk.