"After Anna" by Lisa Scottoline

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is about Maggie, a mother who loses custody of her baby girl because of her husband having her declared unfit due to her postpartum psychosis.  She remarries a widower who is a doctor named Noah and becomes a stepmom to his 9-yr-old son, Caleb.  They have a happy family until Maggie gets a call from her daughter asking her to come to the college to meet.  Maggie's sees a news article about her ex-husband dying in a plane crash and is ecstatic about finally seeing her 17-yr-old daughter after being separated for so long.  Will Anna finally become part of a happy family after feeling abandoned for so many years?  Will Noah be welcoming?  Is Anna a nice girl or a manipulative brat?  Did Noah get framed for murder or did he really kill his stepdaughter?

 I felt bad for Noah all through this book and was rooting for him and Maggie to be happy together once again.  This was a very entertaining read for me.  I liked the trial parts and was completely surprised by the unexpected twist.  Unfortunately, the twist was unbelievable and Maggie being the heroin really was far out.  I would have preferred the book be written in chronological order but it was cool how the story got told by much of the trial.  I liked it and was happy with the ending.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

 Teaser from page 2:  His life had exploded like a strip of firecrackers at a barbecue, igniting the patio furniture and spreading to the house until everything was blazing out of control, engulfed in a massive fireball.
His entire world destroyed.
It had all started with Anna.  

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Bright We Burn" by Kiersten White (Book 3 of And I Darken series)

Bright We Burn by Kiersten White is the third and final book of the And I Darken series.  The author saved the best for last!  This book is fantastic!  This is full of action.  Lada is so Good!  Nobody had better get in her way!  She is so "bad ass."--LOVED IT!  In this book, Lada controls her land, but she wants ore and wants it known that she is in charge!  However, not everyone goes along with that and the fighting begins!  This whole series is really good!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 219:  "How could a woman do this?"  Ali Bey's voice was filled with equal parts wonder and disgust.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Night Blood" by Elly Blake

Night Blood is the third, and sad to say, the final book of the Frost Blood series by Elly Blake.   It was a fantastic series!  Ruby must bring the Frost Blood and the Fire Bloods together to hold back the beasts that will take over the world! 

I liked that this was action packed from start to finish.  Ruby was a great character and had good interaction with the other people in the book.  It has a very good ending too!  I LOVED this series!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 33:  The cold of Arcus's fingers on my wrist did more to penetrate the angry haze than that single pleading word.  I lowered my hands but kept them molten hot.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Gathering of Secrets" by Linda Castillo

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo is a murder mystery that is extremely sad.  Right from the Prologue, this book blew me away!  It is downright gruesome at times with some suspense.  The Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder gets herself into a couple dicey situations in this book.  When she discovers what a slime bag the 18-yr-old Amish boy really was, it becomes a struggle for her to hunt down his killer.

This book had some surprises but I came close to figuring out who the murderer was.  I thought the plot was interesting and kept my attention throughout the book.  I finished this one in just two days.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review (3.5 stars):
In A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo, a teen-age boy is found burned to death in his own barn.  Foul play is suspected.  It is up to Kate to find out who did this and why.  This book is pretty much the same as her other books with it set in the Amish community, her in danger while trying to solve the case, and some of her personal life.  The names and incidents change, but pretty much follows the same pattern.  I thought it was okay.

Teaser from page 6:  Meet me in the barn at midnight.  I'll make it worth your while.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Cathy--Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Book 11" by Rachel Wesson

Cathy, Book 11 of the Colorado Springs Mail Order Bride series by Rachel Wesson is about drug addiction in the 1800s. When Cathy’s adoptive parents died in a boating accident, the doc gave her some medicine to which she became addicted. Her cousin, Archibald, was appointed her guardian and her father suggested they marry. No love between them though. With the help of Cathy’s maid, she ran off to Clover Springs to find her long lost sister, Mary. Cathy was afraid Archibald was poisoning her and he threatened to put her in an asylum! Shortly after arriving in Clover Springs, she fainted in the street which was how Abe O’Malley met her when he carried her over to the doctor’s office.

This book started out a bit slow and at first, I felt sort of bombarded with a bunch of new characters. I would have liked more of Cathy’s married life with Abe. I thought there should have been more catching up with the sisters. This book seemed to end abruptly. Wilma and her girls were just like a little distraction in this book which focused almost completely on Cathy and Abe. I liked it, but not as much as the others in this series.
(Karen’s review, 3 stars)

Teaser from Loc. 570-71 on Kindle: “My parents, the people who adopted me, hid them from me. My letters to Mary are in the bag.”


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!