Month: January 2018

In Frostbitten, great beauty hides dark secrets.

About Frostbitten

Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost.

Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.

My Thoughts

Frostbitten is a fun, paranormal romance based in Cedar Falls in Northern Ontario (woohoo thought this was pretty cool hearing Toronto and Ontario in an audiobook as this never happens). The story will be a huge hit for fans of youth paranormal novels like Twilight and Vampire Diaries (although in this case a werewolf takes centre stage, which I actually enjoyed reading about as I think we have had enough of vampires).

Cedar Falls is a remote, beautiful, isolated town that holds a dark secret – a history of attacks and wolves. This is where Anastasia finds herself after getting in trouble at her previous school, her Mother’s home with her Grandparents. She is a very typical teenager – unsure, wanting to fit in and conflicted about her emotions.

Anastasia does not find life any easier in Cedar Falls – the youth in her school are mean and untrusting. Something I am sure many teens can relate to (I know I could have), they torment her with their lies and gossip. She falls hard for Frost a young man with his own troubled past (most that is not his own fault). Their relationship seems doomed from the start – her Grandfather despises the young man and it doesn’t help her social life at school. He also has a very huge secret that could destroy their friendship.

The story really picks up here as we dive into the town’s history and the legends of the werewolves. Their relationship is starting to build and when werewolf hunters come to the town – they are forced to make a huge decision.

This was a well written, fun and interesting audiobook, Heather has done a great job with this story. It has a great plot line that paranormal fans will love. The narrator in the audiobook is excellent and kept me engaged and interested throughout the novel. There is some mild language throughout the book so depending on your comfort level with this it may be better geared for older youth. A great read and/or listen overall!

You can purchase a copy of Frostbitten on Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Heather Beck is a Canadian Author and Screenwriter who began writing professionally at the age of sixteen. Since then she has written eleven well-reviewed books, including the bestselling series, The Horror Diaries, which has sold in six continents.

Heather received an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from university where she specialized in English and studied an array of disciplines. Currently, she is working on the Frostbitten series and has two anthologies slated for publication. As a screenwriter, Heather has multiple television shows and movies in development. Her short films include: Young Eyes, The Rarity, Too Sensible For Love, Circular, and the forthcoming Witch’s Brew.

Besides writing, Heather’s greatest passion is the outdoors. She is an award-winning fisherwoman and a regular hiker. Her hobbies include swimming, playing badminton and volunteering with non-profit organizations.

Disclosure: I received an audiobook of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

In Saturday at Sweeney’s, members of the Sweeney family, young and old, chart their courses for the future in this final installment of the bestselling Sweeney Sisters Series.

About Saturday at Sweeney’s

When the seafood business Lovie Sweeney established sixty years ago is destroyed by fire, she finds herself at the center of an arson investigation. What really happened that night? Is Lovie responsible for starting the fire or is her family under attack from a sworn enemy?

The loss of their family business leaves the Sweeney clan in flux. Samantha faces the challenges of rebuilding the market while her son, Jamie, on track to graduate from college in six months, must decide whether to make his permanent home in Prospect or move to Charleston where a new special someone resides. At age forty-five, Faith, who has never fully recovered from an abusive marriage, is on a quest to find her true passion? Jackie is distraught when her son, Sean, flunks out of college and struggles to find direction in his life without his twin brother to guide him. A medical diagnosis brings the sisters closer together and threatens to change family dynamics forever.

The Sweeney women remind us that it’s never too late to begin a new endeavor and to never stop chasing your dreams until you draw your last breath.

My Thoughts

Wow – another powerful book from  in the Sweeney Sisters series!

I love the Sweeney sisters, they are as real as you can get. They love deeply, argue deeply, speak their minds but family is the most important thing to them at the end of the day (even if sometimes their actions speak differently!).

In this novel, emotions are running high and the pain is very raw. Lovie, who you fall in love with right from the start, is at the center of an arson investigation of her own family business! For months, she has been showing signs of Alzheimer’s and this had already had the girls on the fence on how to care for her but when because of this she is being blamed for arson, a decision needs to be made and fast. While the girls in their hearts struggle with the idea that their Mother could have caused the fire (and deep down they know she couldn’t have), all fingers point to her.

With this background, the girls need to decide not only Love’s future but their own and the future of their family business – do they rebuild, do they move on or do they change? While this is all taking place, life is still moving forward – children are moving home, facing crises, addiction and major life changes!

Saturday at Sweeney’s is a well written, unique to the series novel that you will not want to put down. Ashley draws you into the story from Chapter One and leaves you craving for more. She spins an amazing plot where you don’t see the ending coming. This is a story of family, life, moving forward, faith, trust and strength. It is real, raw and full of emotions – a definite must read novel and series.

You can purchase a copy of Saturday at Sweeney’s on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Ashley Farley is the author of the bestselling series, the Sweeney Sisters Series. Ashley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her goal is to keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. If her story stays with you long after you’ve read the last word, then she’s done her job.

After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save.

Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she’s lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, part of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry where she grew up. Through the eyes of her characters, she’s able to experience the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kind-hearted folks with lazy drawls that make the area so unique.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.