Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen ~ a Review & Excerpt

by MK French

Being a vampire isn't anything like what books had said, but Louise does have longevity. When her brother Stephen arrives with his grandson Ian after his father is killed in a car accident and his mother is undergoing cancer treatment. Louise takes in Ian for the weekend, and he discovers her secret. She wouldn't want him to feel as lonely as she does, and doesn't know how to change someone into a vampire anyway. When Ian runs away, Louise has to find him before elder vampires discover that he knows the truth and before Stephen finds out she lost him.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Such Pretty Flowers by K. L. Cerra ~ a Review

by MK French

Holly received strange messages from her brother Dane prior to his death, which police have called a suicide due to psychosis. She goes to Savannah and meets his girlfriend Maura, a florist involved in the city's high society. In following her and trying to learn more about Dane's death, Holly is drawn to Maura and the dark allure the woman has. As she gets closer to Maura, Holly risks finding out exactly what happened to Dane the hard way.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

5 Books with Groundhog Day (Time Loop) Plots

by Donna Huber

When I was a teen Bill Murray's Groundhog Day was the comedy movie. We watched it over and over again. I've watched several Christmas movies that features a time loop plot. I think there's been a few sitcoms that played with the plot trope. This week's Quantum Leap (the remake) episode had its own take on Groundhog Day. Recently I read a book that I thought had an interesting take on the trope and I wondered what other books have used it. As today is Groundhog Day in the U.S. (do other countries have a thing where an animal's shadow decides how soon til Spring?), I thought it would be fun to share a few of them.

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Shards of Shattered Darkness by Mark N. Drake ~ a Review

by MK French

This short story collection opens with "The Grey Berserker," a tale where a banished young man and his friends raid a monastery. There, a man collecting occult knowledge is taken and uses his magic to twist the bodies of fighters into a fearsome berserker, a monstrous form capable of killing hundreds on his own. From there we have stories short and long, each hinting at or outright delving into the dark and hideous potential of horror. The stories start out within the realm of normal before veering off sharply.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz ~ an Audiobook Review

by Donna Huber

Lena lies on her deathbed and as she slips in and out of consciousness memories resurface. Memories of her childhood in Poland, memories of the early days of her marriage, memories of the day that changed the course of her life, and memories of a love found in the snowy tundra of Siberia.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

New Books Featuring Brave Women in World War II

by Susan Roberts

Over the last several years, there have been a lot of books published about World War II in the women's fiction category.  What's interesting to me is that all of these books look at this tumultuous time from different angles and are able to make an interesting new way to look at the war.  What they all have in common is that they feature strong and resilient women who did their part to win the war.  Today I have reviews of three books that will be published in January and February 2023.  Yesterday's Tides looks at the war from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Code Name Sapphire is about a network that saved downed pilots in France and The Night Angles looks at the part that China played in rescuing Jewish people from the Nazis.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for honest reviews.  

The Drift by C.J. Tudor ~ a Review

by MK French

In the middle of a catastrophe, three people come together for survival. Hannah is one of several survivors that had been evacuated from a boarding school. Meg is with strangers in a cable car suspended in midair headed to The Retreat, and none of them have any memory of how they got there. Carter is in an isolated ski chalet with companions, and the generator is failing in the storm; somewhere within the chalet is something trying to escape. The three strangers' stories are each part of a larger puzzle, of something threatening all of humanity.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.