BLOG TOUR: Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery

I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery! I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to MIRA and Liz Bowery for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: Love, Hate & Clickbait

Author: Liz Bowery

Published by: MIRA

Released: April 26, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads      Amazon

 

Synopsis: Cutthroat political consultant Thom Morgan is thriving, working on the governor of California’s presidential campaign. If only he didn’t have to deal with Clay Parker, the infuriatingly smug data analyst who gets under Thom’s skin like it’s his job. In the midst of one of their heated and very public arguments, a journalist snaps a photo, but the image makes it look like they’re kissing. As if that weren’t already worst-nightmare territory, the photo goes viral—and in a bid to secure the liberal vote, the governor asks them to lean into it. Hard.

Thom knows all about damage control—he practically invented it. Ever the professional, he’ll grin and bear this challenge as he does all others. But as the loyal staffers push the boundaries of “giving the people what they want,” the animosity between them blooms into something deeper and far more dangerous: desire. Soon their fake relationship is hurtling toward something very real, which could derail the campaign and cost them both their jobs…and their hearts. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: I'm always a sucker for the fake dating trope. It's golden. Love, Hate & Clickbait was a good time.

This is also a book where the two characters really don't like each other, until they do. That is also a scenario I very much enjoy.

Thom and Clay are working in politics, and their situation does get used by the governor in order to win votes. I don't really like politicians, and I didn't really like that move.

I enjoyed reading this one. I think other people will enjoy it too. I'd definitely read more from this author.

Liz Bowery writes love stories about terrible people. Her interests include politics, cheese, TV shows you can't stop watching even when it's 3 AM, and playing Among Us with friends. Like most romance writers, she is a lawyer, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her family. Love, Hate & Clickbait is her debut novel.

Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery. Thank you to MIRA and Liz Bowery for letting me be a part of the tour! If this one sounds good to you, definitely give it a go.

BLOG TOUR: The Wrong Victim by Allison Brennan

 I am thrilled to be a part of the Blog Tour for The Wrong Victim (Quinn & Costa #3) by Allison Brennan! I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to MIRA and Allison Brennan for letting me be a part of the tour.

Title: The Wrong Victim (Quinn & Costa #3)

Author: Allison Brennan

Published by: MIRA

Released: April 26, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads      Amazon

 

Synopsis: A bomb explodes on a sunset charter cruise out of Friday Harbor at the height of tourist season and kills everyone on board. Now this fishing and boating community is in shock and asking who would commit such a heinous crime—the largest act of mass murder in the history of the San Juan Islands.

Forensic profilers know there are two types of domestic terrorists: those who use violence to instill fear for political purposes but stop at murder because it detracts from the cause, and those who crave attention and are willing to maim and murder for their own agenda.

Accused of putting profits before people after leaking fuel that caused a massive fish kill, the West End Charter company may itself have been the target. But as special agent Matt Costa, detective Kara Quinn and the rest of the FBI team begin their investigation, they discover that plenty of people might have wanted someone dead on that yacht. Now they must track down who is responsible and stop them before they strike again. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: This was a fun reading time. It kept my interest throughout, and I couldn't wait to see how everything was going to end. I really enjoy books with a police procedural element to it. This is an FBI team that is investigating, and I enjoy their dynamic. This is the third book in the series and it's more satisfying if you've read the other books. The growth and dynamics of the team are more developed that way.

I was very interested in the case, seeing their steps to solve it, and figure out the why of it all. I liked this one.

ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over thirty novels. She has been nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers and the Daphne du Maurier Award. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, Allison lives in Arizona with her husband, five kids and assorted pets.

Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for The Wrong Victim by Allison Brennan. Thank you to MIRA and Allison Brennan for letting me be a part of the tour! I'd definitely grab this one when you see it.

BLOG TOUR: Shadow Fire by Christine Feehan

 I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Shadow Fire (Shadow Riders #7) by Christine Feehan! I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Berkley Publishing Group and Christine Feehan for letting me take part in this tour!

Title: Shadow Fire (Shadow Riders #7)

Author: Christine Feehan

Published by: Berkley Publishing Group

Released: April 26, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy provided by Publisher

Goodreads      Amazon

 

Synopsis: Journey deeper into the world of Chicago’s most dangerous, alluring crime family in this incendiary installment of the Shadow Riders series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.

Shadow Rider Elie Archambault has been called many things: domineering, brash, loyal, but most of all fast. And there’s nothing faster than choosing to marry a woman you’ve never met. All he has is a signed contract and a list of his new bride’s expectations for their arranged marriage. He’s not expecting love or some happy ever after, just a partner that knows exactly what she signed up for. He’ll be faithful because he’s a man of honor, but she’ll never have his heart.... 

Elie knows who he is. A privileged member of the Archambault family. A skilled rider and fighter. A man who's always had things easy for all the wrong reasons. He's made his mistakes and lost his chance at real, true passion with his other half thanks to his own careless arrogance. Now he just wants to do his duty as a Shadow Rider and leave the past behind.

But Elie has no idea that his choice is about to spark a blaze that will burn all his carefully laid plans to the ground.... (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: I'm a sucker for books like this. I just devour them, which is what I did with Shadow Fire. I love an arranged marriage trope, so I was all in for this one. And then I find out it's an arranged marriage with a twist, these two characters already know one another and have a past romance. I also like second chance romances, so I knew that I was going to have a good time with this one. I had a great time with this book. It was perfect, escapist reading. 

I enjoyed the romance a lot, and I loved the rest of the story line too.

This is adult romance reading, so don't let that surprise you when you're flipping the pages.

This was a lot of fun and I can't wait to read more of this series.

Christine Feehan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Carpathian series, the GhostWalker series, the Leopard series, the Shadow series and the Torpedo Ink series.

Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Shadow Fire by Christine Feehan. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Christine Feehan for letting me be a part of this tour. I don't think you can go wrong with this series, so I'd look out for this newest installment.

Reading Right Now! (333)

 Happy Friday! I'm ready for the weekend.

I'm still behind on the Orilium Readathon, but that's really not that shocking.

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward -- I've heard such good things about this one in the horror/thriller reader community. I'm about 180 pages in, and so far, I'm just confused. There's a lot of confusion.

I feel like I can't say much about it because I don't want to give anything away. I am interested in the book. I want to know what's really going on. 

I don't think this is the most fast paced book, at least to me. It's kind of a slow burn mystery.

I hope to finish this this weekend and then hurry through the other books that I need to read for this readathon.

 

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading?

BLOG TOUR: The Paris Showroom by Juliet Blackwell

 I am excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for The Paris Showroom by Juliet Blackwell! I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Berkley Books and Juliet Blackwell for having me on the tour.

Title: The Paris Showroom

Author: Juliet Blackwell 

Published by: Berkley Books

Released: April 19, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads      Amazon

 

Synopsis: In Nazi-occupied Paris, a talented artisan must fight for her life by designing for her enemies. From New York Times bestselling author Juliet Blackwell comes an extraordinary story about holding on to hope when all seems lost.

Capucine Benoit works alongside her father to produce fans of rare feathers, beads, and intricate pleating for the haute couture fashion houses. But after the Germans invade Paris in June 1940, Capucine and her father must focus on mere survival—until they are betrayed to the secret police and arrested for his political beliefs. When Capucine saves herself from deportation to Auschwitz by highlighting her connections to Parisian design houses, she is sent to a little-known prison camp located in the heart of Paris, within the Lévitan department store.
There, hundreds of prisoners work to sort through, repair, and put on display the massive quantities of art, furniture, and household goods looted from Jewish homes and businesses. Forced to wait on German officials and their wives and mistresses, Capucine struggles to hold her tongue in order to survive, remembering happier days spent in the art salons, ateliers, and jazz clubs of Montmartre in the 1920s.
Capucine’s estranged daughter, Mathilde, remains in the care of her conservative paternal grandparents, who are prospering under the Nazi occupation. But after her mother is arrested and then a childhood friend goes missing, the usually obedient Mathilde finds herself drawn into the shadowy world of Paris’s Résistance fighters. As her mind opens to new ways of looking at the world, Mathilde also begins to see her unconventional mother in a different light.
When an old acquaintance arrives to go “shopping” at the Lévitan department store on the arm of a Nazi officer and secretly offers to help Capucine get in touch with Mathilde, this seeming act of kindness could have dangerous consequences. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. I liked learning something new about WWII and that time period. There are a lot of WWII historical's out there, but this one offered me things I'd never heard of before. Learning about the Levitan department store and the purpose that it served was really interesting. I could also really feel the danger of the characters having to tread carefully in the environment they found themselves in. One wrong move, and they could be sent to a place much more dangerous.

This book was also told from two points of view, which I thought worked well. We've got Capucine and her estranged daughter Mathilde. They are each doing what they can in this dangerous environment.

I really had a nice time reading this book. It gave me some different viewpoints and some information that I'd never known before. It also had a nice story flow and kept my interest.

Juliet Blackwell is the pseudonym for the New York Times bestselling author of Off the Wild Coast of Brittany and The Vineyards of Champagne. In addition to writing the beloved Witchcraft Mystery series and the Haunted Home Renovation series, she also coauthored the Agatha Award–nominated Art Lover’s Mystery series with her sister.

Thank you for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for The Paris Showroom by Juliet Blackwell. Thanks so much to Berkley Books and Juliet Blackwell for having me on the tour! This is one you should grab.

BLOG TOUR: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

 I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez! I received an electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Berkley and Dolen Perkins-Valdez for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: Take My Hand

Author: Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Published by: Berkley

Released: April 12, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher through Netgalley

Goodreads      Amazon

 

Synopsis: Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a profoundly moving novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible wrong done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench. 

Montgomery, Alabama 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a worn down one-room cabin, she’s shocked to learn that her new patients are children—just 11 and 13 years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica and their family into her heart. Until one day, she arrives at the door to learn the unthinkable has happened and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.
Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten.That must not be forgotten.
Because history repeats what we don’t remember. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: A very interesting a heart wrenching story. I really enjoyed reading this one. I also appreciated learning about this important part of history. It was hard to read it, hard to think about this happening to innocents. It's crazy to see that this wasn't even that far in the past. 

This story was well told and very emotional. It is definitely a story that we need not to forget.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench and Balm. She was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for fiction, and she was awarded the First Novelist Award by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.

Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Thank you to Berkley and Dolen Perkins-Valdez for having me on the tour! Make sure to look for this one on library or bookstore shelves.

BLOG TOUR: Mrs. England by Stacey Halls

 I am excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Mrs. England by Stacey Halls! I received an advanced electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to MIRA and Stacey Halls for letting me be a part of this tour!

Title: Mrs. England

Author: Stacey Halls

Published by: MIRA

Released: April 12, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy provided by Publisher

Goodreads      Amazon

 

Synopsis: Simmering with slow-burning menace,  Mrs. England  is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, an enthralling tale of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception.  

West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England.

Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband and is far from the angel of the house Ruby was expecting.

As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracized by the servants and increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there's no such thing as the perfect family—she should know. 

This captivating new feminist novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Stacey Halls  is her third work of fiction and proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our time. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: This book intrigued me from the start. The cover caught my eye and the synopsis grabbed my attention. I knew that I had to read it.

I really enjoy these kinds of stories. This story has a lovely, gothic feel to it. There are many secrets in this house, and it was a lot of fun to uncover them. This was a book where I just wanted to keep reading because I needed to know.

I won't say this is a fast paced book, but it does have a slow tension that pulls you in.

I really enjoyed this one. Stacey Halls hooked me.

Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Lancashire, England. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has worked as a journalist since the age of 21, writing for publications including The Independent, Fabulous magazine, Stylist and Psychologies. She lives in London with her husband. The Familiars is her first novel.

Thanks for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Mrs. England by Stacey Halls. Thank you to MIRA and Stacey Halls for having me on the tour! This is definitely one to add to your To Be Read list.