Land of Careful Shadows (Jimmy Vega Mystery, #1) by Suzanne Chazin
Land of Careful Shadows by Suzanne Chazin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Detective Jimmy Vega finds himself investigating the case when a young, Hispanic woman is discovered at a reservoir north of New York City. Worrying detectives is the fact that the women has a photo of a young child and this child is no where to be found. Along with the body is also a note that says “Go back to your country. You don’t belong here.”
Land of Careful Shadows is a book that is fitting the times and what is going on with current news with racial tensions and political topics. The story starts off with Jimmy himself being racially profiled even though he is a homicide detective he finds himself still dealing with the stereotypes. The writing in this book was really good and the plot interesting but I still found myself at somewhat of a disconnect with this one.
The MC is Latino and he is investigating a Latino murder in an area with a lot of illegal immigrants that shy from the police from not wanting to be deported. But some characters still seem to block the police efforts even though Jimmy should be one of their own whether the characters were legal or not. That is kind of where my disconnect stemmed as I don’t understand not helping to find a murderer and some of the things included I’m just not as familiar with when it comes to immigration etc.
I do still think that overall the author has made a good story here that sits well with current times that some people will love. There are of course twists and turns along the investigation to keep one guessing as to who is responsible and how it will turn out.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Somniare by D.T. Dyllin blitz with giveaway
Somniare
D.T. Dyllin
(Somniare, #1)
Publication date: July 19th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Remy Novem was murdered…
But she didn’t die.
Forced to escape to Somniare, a dream landscape, Remy must somehow survive living nightmares, and endless torment without using her magic. Her only hope for freedom is to hitch a ride with a human back into reality, tricking the poor creature into believing no harm will befall them.
Remy isn’t troubled by the fact that she must kill to live…
Until love changes everything.
*Are you a reviewer? Request a review copy of Somniare here!*
Author Bio:
D.T. Dyllin is a bestselling author who writes both paranormal and contemporary romance. Anything with a love story is her kryptonite. Her obsession with affairs-of-the-heart is what first drove her to begin twisting her own tales of scorching romance.
D.T. was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Black & Gold for life, baby!) She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband and two spoiled German Shepherds.
GIVEAWAY!
Legal by Bree Dahlia blitz with giveaway
Legal
Bree Dahlia
Publication date: July 20th 2016
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance
Taboo. Wrong. Off limits.
I know the drill. I know the rules.
But damn, if he doesn’t get under my skin.
And into my bed.
There’s no reason for a woman like me,
Successful, established, independent,
To ever be sleeping with a younger man.
A younger man with a hard, rugged, sculptured body.
A body that can go all night.
All night.
I can’t resist, can’t turn him down.
Can’t walk away.
Because I’ve never known pleasure like this.
Chase Nolan walked into my life and disrupted my perfect little world.
And made it so much better.
Enjoy it while you can, Jillian.
Because there’s no way there’s a future for us.
After all, is he barely even legal?
Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo / iTunes / GooglePlay / All Romance
Are you a book reviewer? You can request an ARC of Legal here!
—
—
Author Bio:
Bree Dahlia is an unconventional romance junkie. She loves reading it but adores writing it even more. Her stories range from lighthearted to sizzling with that satisfying Happily Ever After ending and a touch of the unexpected. She favors themes of friendship, forgiveness, and unconditional love with alpha characters and eccentric tastes.
She holds degrees that she does nothing with and has experienced a long string of jobs that have left her unfulfilled. Only as an author, has she truly found her passion. When not crafting stories in her small Wisconsin town, she hikes unbeaten trails, watches hockey games, and wishes she didn’t detest cooking so much.
Dahlia is her middle name. Her last name is more suitable for a horror writer.
You can sign up for her new release newsletter at http://eepurl.com/PeU-r
GIVEAWAY!
The Stolen Twin by Michele Pariza Wacek blitz with giveaway
The Stolen Twin
Michele Pariza Wacek
Publication date: November 16th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Psychological Thriller
On the surface, Kit Caldwell has it all. A senior in college with her future ahead of her, lots of friends, lots of parties…not to mention also having the eye of Tommy, the star quarterback of the football team.
But underneath, Kit’s life is a charade, built on a foundation of secrets and lies, including one so dark it threatens to tear her world apart: her twin sister, Cat, was kidnapped when they were both seven, never to be heard from again.
That is, until one dark Halloween night.
But is it really Cat? Or is it someone else, someone playing a sinister and deadly game?
To save herself from imminent danger, Kit, with the help of Tommy and her friends, is forced to go back in time and confront her own personal demons, as she finally discovers what really happened to Cat, all those years ago.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
—
Guest Post by Michele Pariza Wacek:
Why it Took Me 10 Years To Publish “The Stolen Twin”
Back in 1998, I quit my job to become a fulltime freelance writer/copywriter.
At the time, there were no coaching, masterminding or mentoring programs that taught you how to set up and run a successful business (or, if there were, I didn’t know about them as the Internet was still in its infancy) so I went to the Small Business Association (SBA) and got myself a counselor.
When the counselor learned what my business plans were, he invited a retired freelance writer to come in and give me some tips.
Well, her “tips” turned out to be her trying to talk me out of becoming a freelance writer. For about 45 minutes, the conversation went something like this:
“Being a freelance writer is a really difficult way to earn a living.”
“Okay, what should I do?”
“Can you get your job back?”
“No, I can’t get my job back.”
“Are you sure? It’s really difficult to earn a living as a freelance writer.”
“Yes, I’m sure I can’t get my job back.”
“You could work full time at your job and on nights and weekends do freelance work until you have enough work to quit.”
“I really can’t get my job back.”
You get the idea. Finally at the end she said “Okay, I guess I can’t talk you out of this so here are a few tips.” And she finally gave me those “tips,” which I dutifully wrote down.
We were getting read to leave when I decided to chime in and tell her “you know, one of the reasons why I’m so excited to become a freelance writer is because then I’ll have time to finally work on my novels.”
She got a look of complete horror on her face and said “Oh my God, NEVER tell anyone you’re working on fiction. You’ll NEVER get any work.”
Now, basically this woman was pretty much dead wrong on everything she told me that day. Even her “tips” were basically worthless. But, for some reason, what she told me about the novels stuck. So, I didn’t talk about my fiction very much, I especially didn’t share about the novel I had written 2002/2003.
If you do have a dream or a creative project that in your heart you know you really want to be working on (what Stephen Covey calls the “important but not urgent”) I’d love for you to take a moment and just breathe into what’s stopping you. You don’t necessarily need to do anything — just take a moment to see what’s keeping you from working on this project.
In my case, I had completely forgotten about this whole exchange until I was getting ready to publish my novel and one of my clients exclaimed “why isn’t it we’ve never heard until now that you’re publishing a novel?”
In other words, something I didn’t even remember kept me stuck.
Author Bio:
When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly.
As you can imagine, writing has been a driving passion throughout her life. She became a professional copywriter (which is writing promotional materials for businesses), which led to her founding a copywriting and marketing company that serves clients all over the world.
Along with being a copywriter, she also writes novels (in fact, she just published her first novel, a psychological thriller/suspense/mystery called “The Stolen Twin” and her second novel “Mirror Image'” is set to be published in May 2016) plus, she is also the author of the “Love-Based Copy” books, which are a part of the “Love-Based Business” series and cover both business and personal development.
She holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and her border collie Nick and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.
GIVEAWAY!
Reckless by Janet Elizabeth Henderson Blog Tour with review and giveaway
Celebrate the release of Reckless
by Janet Elizabeth Henderson
Follow the tour and enter to win great prizes!
2 grand prize winners will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card.
2 runner-ups will receive an e-copy of choice from Janet’s backlist!
Visit all the blogs participating in the tour for reviews, excerpts, guest posts and more chances to win!
07/23/2016
Splashes Into Books
07/24/2016
Kitty’s Book Spot!
07/25/2016
07/26/2016
Indie Authors, Books, and More
07/27/2016
Catherine Mede
07/28/2016
07/29/2016
07/30/2016
Splashes Into Books
About Reckless
Synopsis:
The new London office of Benson Security hasn’t even opened its doors yet and already it’s neck deep in its first case…
If the mission doesn’t kill him, his sexy partner just might.
Dimitri Raast and Megan Donaldson have a common enemy—the head of an organisation that specializes in human trafficking and sexual slavery.
They have similar motivation—Dimitri’s sister was taken by the organisation, and Megan’s sister is threatened by it.
They have the same goal—eliminate their enemy and save their sisters.
Given they have so much in common, you would think working together would be a piece of cake.
You would be wrong.
While Dimitri brings skills and experience from years as a US Army Ranger to their partnership, Megan brings a background in failed career choices and an ability to cause trouble wherever she goes. Yet,
even with so much at stake, Dimitri can’t resist Megan’s particular brand of crazy. She’s wild, she’s sexy and she’s fearless. An irresistible combination for a man who lives his life completely in control. Now, after almost a year with one all-consuming focus, Dimitri finds himself torn between rescuing his sister and protecting the woman he wants – from herself.
Before she gets them both killed.
Available at: Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | B&N
Excerpt:
They were meeting Johnny Rotten in a dark alley. Of course they were meeting a guy called Johnny Rotten in a dark alley. Megan rolled her eyes. Obviously Johnny went to the TV movie school of how to be a bad guy.
“You stay here.” Dimitri pointed at a dumpster. Yeah. A dumpster. She half expected some guy with a camera to shout cut and make them start again.
“You don’t mean in the dumpster, right?” Because—eew!
“No. Beside it. In the dark.” He didn’t even try to disguise that he was losing patience. “Don’t move, don’t make a sound, don’t interrupt.”
Blah, blah, blah, let the big boys play. She was so tired of hearing the same old tune. It was time to change the radio station.
“Right,” Dimitri said. “I’m going to drive round and come in from the other end.”
“Why can’t I just wait in the car? It’s cold and it stinks here.”
“Because…” He stretched the word out. “You’re supposed to be my hostage. I can’t just let you hang out in the car.”
“I can pretend to be drugged.”
“No. Too dangerous. He might spot you, know who you are and that Rudi wants you. Then what would stop him deciding to eliminate me and take you to Rudi himself?”
She stamped her feet to get her blood circulating before the chill removed her toes. “Why didn’t you just take me back to the office?”
“You’re my backup.” There was a silent ‘idiot’ attached to that sentence, she just knew it.
“The backup that hides in dumpsters?”
“The backup that phones for help if it looks like things are going south.”
Megan blushed, grateful he couldn’t see it in the dark. “So, I need my phone?”
He put his hands on his hips and looked skyward for a moment. “Where is it?”
“Car.” She gave him what she hoped was an apologetic smile.
He stomped off, cursing under his breath and came back a few minutes later with the phone. “Sorted now?”
Megan nodded. It probably wasn’t the best time to tell him she really needed to use the bathroom. She could hold it. How long did it take to have a covert meeting in an alley anyway?
She gave him a thumbs up and watched him march back to the car. Leaving her alone in a stinky, dark alley. Alone and not thinking about how good Dimitri’s lips felt against hers. Nope. She wasn’t thinking about that at all. She was a professional—nearly. She had a job to do. She backed into the shadows and tried to become invisible. Ninja Megan. She could do it. It was all about the power of the mind. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths.
That’s when her stomach rumbled. Her hand smacked flat on it as she bit her lip. Maybe all that fried food wasn’t such a great idea after all. Not that she would ever admit that to Dimitri. She was still mad at the man. Sure she’d been the first to say they weren’t in a relationship, but he didn’t have to agree so enthusiastically. He’d sounded affronted. As though she was the last person on earth he’d consider dating. It was insulting. Her stomach made a strange bubbling sound as she saw Dimitri’s SUV pull up at the other end of the alley. He got out and stood under the yellow glow of the street lamp. Waiting. Alert. Moody.
Megan’s stomach rumbled again. Loudly. This wasn’t good. So much for not making a sound. Her own body was working against her. She crouched down in an attempt to dull the noise, and hoped it worked. She closed her eyes, tried to calm her stomach and think thoughts that made her invisible.
That’s when she farted.
It wasn’t silent.
Megan dropped her head to her knees. If the bad guys didn’t get her, she’d die of humiliation.
And then her stomach rumbled again.
© 2016 Janet Elizabeth Henderson
My review:
Dimitri Raast and Megan Donaldson find themselves both working at the new London office of Benson Security when a common enemy brings them together. Dimitri’s sister has been taken by the organisation and Megan’s sister is in danger from the same people. The pair have immediately chemistry but Megan has a way of infuriating Dimitri and getting under his skin.
Reckless is one of those reads that combines the genres in a really fun fashion. The book is a mix of a romantic comedy with the way the main couple teases each other and some rather hilarious situations that they get into. But this was also a high intensity action packed thriller as the investigation progresses with a dark subject matter of what was happening with these girls when they were taken.
I rather enjoyed all the characters in this read, they were all rather different but brought together. Megan has some pretty good one liners and a personality that was just funny as can be. There were also a few side characters that their actions had me cracking up laughing. Dimitri was also a sexy male lead that could steam up the pages.
Overall, a fun read with mixing a romantic comedy and action packed thriller.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My rating: 4/5 stars
About Janet Elizabeth Henderson:
I grew up in Scotland, but now I’m living in New Zealand – married to a Dutch man whom I met in America. (It can get a little confusing in my household!) When I’m not living in my head, I’m a mother to two tiny kids, three pet sheep, three miniature horses, three alpacas, one dog, two cats, several
chickens and an escape artist goat.
5 random things about me:
1. I accidentally mooned a crowd at a Bolivian wedding.
2. I’ve been chased by a gang of baboons. And I mean gang. They were organised and vicious. All that was missing was their leather jackets and tattoos!
3. I wrote my first novel when I was 22. It was a cross between Star Wars, Monsters Inc. and Tinkerbelle. Funnily enough, no one wanted to publish it. Odd that…
4. I was a portrait artist on the streets of Amsterdam for a time.
5. I worked night shift as a security guard at Stirling Castle in Scotland while I was in art college. The castle was on a terrorist hit-list back then. To defend it they gave me a flashlight, a two-way radio that only worked one-way and made me wear a polyester A-line skirt…
If you’d like to sign up for my newsletter, which happens sporadically – usually when books are being released – then you’ll find a form on my website. I hope you enjoy my books. Happy reading!
Carries Book Reviews 
Recent Comments