Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Mr. Perfect

SERIES:  Sinister in Savannah #2

AUTHOR:  Aimee Nicole Walker

PUBLISHER:  Chasing Rainbows Press

RELEASE DATE:  September 18, 2020

LENGTH: 303 pages

BLURB:

Word-slinger. Purveyor of truth. Jaded heart.

By day, Felix Franklin is an investigative journalist. By night, he produces Sinister in Savannah, an investigative podcast, with his two best friends. Felix’s life revolves around three principles: fortune favors the bold, honesty is everything, and love is for schmucks.

The podcast is back to investigate allegations that a local businessman is dabbling in money laundering. On the surface, everything about Cameron Spencer, aka The Auto King, appears to be perfect. The trio of trouble quickly learns all that glitters is not gold. Seeking the truth will challenge Felix’s convictions and put his life in grave danger. The biggest threat to his well-being isn’t an unknown villain; it’s the reappearance of his first and only love.

Jude Arrow had it all: great looks, charming personality, and a lucrative career as Atlanta’s hottest news anchor. So, why had he recently relocated to Savannah? When the two reporters are forced to work together, Felix will get a chance to ask him. The answer will stun Felix until he remembers not to believe anything that comes out of the heartbreaker’s pretty mouth.

Love and hate are two sides of the same coin and just as conflicting as the battle of wills that ensues. Will the chip on Felix’s shoulder save him from trusting Mr. Wrong or ruin his chances with Mr. Perfect?

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  The Last Text

AUTHOR:  Alice Winters

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  119 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 7, 2019

BLURB: 

Happy Birthday, Daniel. I was told not to send you another text, but I never was any good at listening. I love and miss you. I always will.

When I lost my partner of eight years, I felt like my world was crashing down around me. In order to feel some relief from the overwhelming emptiness, I’ve found myself sending him texts every year on his birthday, even though I know he will never answer. It makes me feel like there’s a piece of him still alive, at least in my heart.

I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. I apologize for not responding sooner, but I was at work.

That is, until someone responds to my text. Jace is charming, sweet, and everything I could ever want. But how can I accept someone new in my life when Daniel’s only been gone two years? Even so, Jace starts to consume my world. It feels like I can finally breathe as he helps me understand that my life doesn’t have to revolve around my grief.

Soon, I find myself laughing again as he pulls me away from the hopeless cycle I’ve been caught in, and I love spending time with him, whether it’s playing video games together or discussing our comic book alter egos. But I still need to let go of this guilt and allow Jace to show me that I can love another without replacing what I’ve lost. Jace rewrites my entire world with every word and smile he gives me, and it’s becoming harder to not give in and hand him my heart. Maybe Daniel did respond after all.

REVIEWED by Jay V.

TITLE: Brothersong

AUTHOR: T.J. Klune

SERIES: Green Creek #4

PUBLISHER: BOATK Books

LENGTH: 522 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2020

BLURB:

In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett learned the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it—he—was gone.

Desperate for answers, Carter takes to the road, leaving family and the safety of his pack behind, all in the name of a man he only knows as a feral wolf. But therein lies the danger: wolves are pack animals, and the longer Carter is on his own, the more his mind slips toward the endless void of Omega insanity.

But he pushes on, following the trail left by Gavin.

Gavin, the son of Robert Livingstone. The half-brother of Gordo Livingstone.

What Carter finds will change the course of the wolves forever. Because Gavin’s history with the Bennett pack goes back further than anyone knows, a secret kept hidden by Carter’s father, Thomas Bennett.

And with this knowledge comes a price: the sins of the fathers now rest upon the shoulders of their sons.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Griff’s Place

AUTHOR: Riley Hart

SERIES: Havenwood #4

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 215 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2020

BLURB:

GRIFFIN

I always felt I wasn’t wired like my peers, but when my brother, Kellan, gave me three terms—ace, aromantic, and demi—I had possible names for it. Those three words have been on my mind ever since, as has my brother’s best friend, Josh Westbrook. It’s been cool getting to know him and spending time together, just us. He makes me feel something I never thought I’d be able to feel. When we end up alone in a cabin with only one bed, all my crossed wires finally connect and point toward being demi and wanting him.

JOSH

Griff and I were never supposed to be more than friends, but I like him more and more. I like being the reason he smiles, and…yeah, I enjoy making him writhe with pleasure too. But Griff doesn’t hook up casually, and I swore off love a long time ago. Still, we keep finding ourselves drawn together, a shared loneliness and a deep want guiding us. Kellan’s afraid I’ll hurt Griff. Frankly, I am too. My past is still an open wound that keeps me from getting too close.

One thing is becoming clear, though—my Grumpy Griff is making me break my own rules. He says he’s never known his place in the world, but I do. It’s with me. The only way for us to move forward is for me to stop looking back…before I lose sight of him for good.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Lacuna

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 1111Kb

RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2020

BLURB:

A boychild swathed in green, a distinct tree-shaped birthmark on his wrist. A girlchild enveloped in red, marked with the three lines of the desert winds. A boy bundled in white, the koi mark on his wrist as defined as his shock of red hair. And a boychild wrapped in black, a raven his mark to serve his fate.

Twenty-five years ago, the hand of fate marked four newborns and sent them to the four corners of the Great Kingdoms. They were schooled and trained as rulers of their lands in preparation for the Golden Eclipse ceremony: a festival to celebrate a thousand years of peace and prosperity since the Great War.

Crow, ruler of Northlands, a skilled swordsman and expert tactician, is as reclusive and stoic as the mountains that surround him.

Tancho has spent his life in strict discipline, governing the Westlands with a fair mind and gentle hand. Quiet and unassuming, yet lethal in combat, he is the embodiment of the waters he lives by.

Yet the same hand of fate unknowingly linked Tancho to Crow in ways they cannot comprehend. Ruled by the stars, the brother sun and the two sister moons above them, and marked by an alchemical sorcery as old as time, their destinies were never their own.

As the eclipse draws near and the festival begins, word comes of another threat. Invaders from unknown lands bring a war no one was prepared for, and Crow and Tancho must decide on which side of the battle line they stand.

In life or death, their destinies will see them joined either way.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Liars

AUTHOR:  Lucy Lennox and May Archer

SERIES:  Licking Thicket #2

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  307 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 27, 2020

BLURB:

Parrish Partridge’s True Facts:

There’s nothing hotter than a tall, gruff, bewildered, tattooed mountain of a man cuddling a sweet, orphaned baby, so you can tell yourself that you’ll resist him…

But that’s a lie.

And when that man asks you to do him a favor and pretend to be his very temporary, very fake fiance to help him get custody of that adorable baby, you can pretend you know better than to say yes…

But that’s a lie, too.

And when you actually get to know your kind, strong, pullet-loving prince of a fiance, and all his crazy, lovable, meddling neighbors, you can tell yourself you’re not really falling for Diesel Church and the town of Licking Thicket…

But that might be the biggest lie of all.

Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  The Happy List

SERIES: Better With You #1

AUTHOR:  Briar Prescott

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  307 pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 25, 2020

BLURB:

Gray
There are some things I excel at:
– Exercising rigid control over every aspect of my life
– Making sensible decisions at every turn
– Being organized, predictable and responsible to an abnormal degree
In short, I’m boring as hell and in desperate need of a change.
Luckily I have my best friend by my side and a newly written to-do list to guide my way through the murky waters of finding happiness.
It’s all very promising at first, but as weeks pass, I start to realize that the best part of my day has always been Kai.
And when I see him out on a date with some guy?
Let’s just say I’m definitely not happy about it.

Kai
I’m back in Boston after ten years of traveling, and I’ve fulfilled all my goals:
– See the world
– Figure out what to do with my life
– Get over my impossible crush on Gray
Check, check and check.
Life’s good until I accidentally find Gray’s happy list, which contains some very interesting things that friends never ever do with each other.
And as weeks pass, it becomes clear those not-so-innocent parts are the ones Gray is determined to explore with me.
In short, I’m screwed because no matter how hard I try, I can’t resist him, and pretty soon I’m forced to admit that I’m not as done with my crush as I thought I was…