A Deadly Thaw by Sarah Ward
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lena Grey had been found guilty of murdering her husband and spent over a decade in prison for the murder. Lena hadn’t offered any defense for the murder and served her time but when she is released now years later a body turns up freshly murdered and it turns out it’s really Lena’s husband.

Now DI Francis Sadler and his team need to find out who it was that died years before and why Lena had never spoken up about the identity. DC Connie Childs is convinced there is more to what is going on than what they have gotten from Lena. With a new murder and an old crime to solve the family’s secrets and lies are found at every turn.

A Deadly Thaw was not really a bad read at all but I had a couple of issues with this one that just kept me from really connecting with it and enjoying myself while reading. The first problem I had right off the start was due to the formatting of my review copy which has nothing to do with the actual story but put my mood off to have to wade through figuring out this story. It was as if the space bar was missing in this one so huge parts were all ran together so obviously this wasn’t fun to deal with.

But, even if I tried to ignore the issues reading I still think I may have been at a bit of a disconnect with the story regardless. This is actually a part of a series and I wasn’t expecting that when I picked it up but just starting off it felt there may be some depth I’d missed which happens sometimes when joining.

Overall, not a bad read at all it just didn’t turn out to be my cup of tea at the moment althoug I’m sure some others will love this police procedural/thriller read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stud alert! I am so excited to share with you, the first look at the sexy cover for Three Simple Words by A.J. Pine! The highly anticipated third book of The Kingston Ale House standalone series releases 10.17.16.

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About THREE SIMPLE WORDS:

Annie

I know where to find my happily ever after—between the pages of a romance novel. It’s why I sell books, why I blog about them, and why I’ll never get disappointed by love.

So what if my brother’s best friend from high school is now a bestselling author? Or that he just blew back into town on a Harley, filling out a pair of jeans like he never did before? Or that he’s agreed to do a signing at my bookstore on such short notice? Because despite all his adoring female fans, I kind of hated his book.

Wes

The last time I saw Annie Denning, she was a senior in high school, three years older than me and way out of my league. Now I’m her last-minute date to a wedding, and what started as a night of pure fun has turned into something more real than either of us anticipated.

Annie is my muse. When I’m with her, my writer’s block fades away, and the words finally flow.

The only problem? She wants the fairy tale—her very own happily ever after—and anyone who’s read my book knows the truth. I just don’t believe they exist.

About A.J. Pine:

AJ Pine writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll mend them with a happily ever after. As an English teacher and a librarian, AJ has always surrounded herself with books. All her favorites have one big commonality–romance. Naturally, the books she writes have the same. When she’s not writing, she’s of course reading. Then there’s online shopping (everything from groceries to shoes). And a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. You’ll also find her hanging with her family in the Chicago ‘burbs.

AJ Pine is the author of the If Only series, the Only You series, and the current Kingston Ale House series.

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One Summer with Autumn
Julie Reece
Published by: Swoon Romance
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Seventeen-year-old Autumn Teslow arrives at her father’s job fair knowing she’ll never measure up to the perfect image of daddy’s little girl—her twin sister.

Wearing anger management issues like a second skin won’t help Autumn win her dad’s approval for the big trip she’s been planning—or meet his condition that she successfully complete a summer internship for college.

Autumn’s cool unravels when her sister lectures against disappointing the family again. And when a young, bearded guy steps through the crowd to settle the growing argument between siblings, Autumn lashes out, dubbing him a “Duck Dynasty wannabe.”

At Nineteen, Caden Behr is clueless as to why his man parts are threatened by the fearsome girl before him. He’d only come to find an intern for his recreational equipment company, not break up a girl-fight between two sisters.

Unfortunately, the only candidate left is the girl who just told him off. Without her, he’ll never prove to his CEO mother that he’s ready for more responsibility.

Autumn and Caden agree that if they can keep from killing one another, they can use one another to get what they want and then never have to see each other again. Which is what they want.

Until it isn’t.

Because despite her best efforts to scare him off, and his fading desire to push her into the lake, they’re beginning to enjoy the time they spend together. But pride is a hard habit to break. And if neither will admit their changing feelings, they could lose a whole lot more than one summer.

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Author Bio:

As a child, Julie’s summers were about horseback riding and fishing, while winter brought sledding and ice-skating on frozen ponds. Most of life was magical, but not all. She struggled with multiple learning disabilities, and spent much of her time gazing out windows and daydreaming. In the fourth grade (with the help of one very nice teacher) she fought dyslexia for her right to read and won.

Afterward, she invented stories where powerful heroines kicked bad-guy butt to win the hearts charismatic heroes. And then she wrote one down…

Writing ever since, Julie weaves southern gothic, contemporary, fantasy, and young adult romances. She enjoys sweeping tales of mystery and epic adventure… which must include a really hot guy. Her writing is proof a dream and some hard work can overcome any obstacle.

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Anti Hero
Skye Warren
Publication date: September 15th 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance

“Thrilling, suspenseful, sexy as hell. Skye Warren can simply do no wrong.” – Book Bellas

Nate Gaines used to think he was fighting for freedom. Then his team died in a fiery betrayal and he realized corruption went all the way to the top. He was no hero. Not anymore.

Not working for the highest bidder. A mercenary.

And the girl he loved? She was better off without him.

Until she became a target. He’d protect her. He would kill for her. He just couldn’t let himself fall for her again. That wouldn’t be safe, for either of them.

WARNING: Contains an inked military man, a plucky reporter on a mission, and explosive chemistry!

* * *

ANTI HERO is a full-length standalone novel with plenty of heat and suspense. For a limited time only, includes the scorching military romance ON THE WAY HOME as a free bonus book!

“On the Way Home has so many aspects that I love in a book: suspense, steamy sex, ruthless crime bosses, a military leading male, and dark, gritty, and twisty romance. I highly recommend this to readers that enjoy their romance with a dark, edgy, and suspenseful twist.” – Tattooed Book Review

“Dangerous, steamy, intense and emotional all in one fell swoop…Skye Warren definitely knows how to infuse just the right amount of high speed energy and intensity, to mix with the emotional side of things, to make a well rounded complete story.” – Fictional Candy

“I highly recommend this to readers that enjoy their romance with a dark, edgy, and suspenseful twist.” – Tattooed Book Review

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Author Bio:

Skye Warren is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of dark romance. Her books are raw, sexual and perversely tender.

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Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hermione Winters is a co-captain of her cheerleading team in Palermo Heights where the cheerleaders are the sports team of the school instead of standing on the sidelines cheering on others. Majorly competitive and involved in all the contests and camps Hermoine and her team eat, sleep and cheer.

During the last yearly cheer camp that Hermione and her team were attending though someone slips something into Hermione’s drink and the next thing you know she is waking up in the hospital. Now Hermoine needs to peace her life back together after such a horrific event and try to return to what she loves.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear is a young adult read focusing on the rape of a young girl. It’s was a wonderful way to deal with horrible subject for a young audience since this book mainly focuses on the aftermath for the main character and her feelings and emotional trauma after the event. There was a lot of graphic detail in what happened and it really doesn’t need to be to tell the story and become emotionally invested in this young girl’s life.

I started off this story wondering how much depth we would really be given with the story being focused on cheerleaders but pretty quickly I found myself really feeling the emotions come across with every page. There is laughter and tears and everything in between within the pages in this story that spotlights the victim instead of just the crime.

Overall, great read I’d recommend checking out centered around the recovery instead of the crime of rape.