Category: iRead tour

In House of Eire, Hillary Broome, a reporter-turned-ghostwriter from Lodi, California, and her detective husband Ed fly to Ireland for research and a conference.

About House of Eire

Hillary Broome, a reporter-turned-ghostwriter from Lodi, California, and her detective husband Ed fly to Ireland – Ed for a gang conference in Dublin and Hillary to research her ancestors in Galway. Hillary plans to meet up with her friend Bridget, who’s pushing a greedy developer to include a memorial museum inside his proposed Irish theme park. As Hillary travels through Ireland and learns more about her friend’s crusade, she uncovers secrets and mysterious forces nudging her to fly away home.

My Thoughts

A wonderful thrilling adventure full of suspense, mystery and history. This book is set in Ireland and we learn so much about their history, their people and their struggle. I found myself at several times, stopping where I was so I could look up an event or place to learn more about it. It left me in tears at times with the suffering the people went through.

The plot line falls in perfectly with the history of Ireland. Hilary is going back to her home country to learn her past and visit her friend who has been researching and leading a fight to stop a developer from building a theme park without truly representing the suffering of the Irish people. This quickly turns deadly when individuals are murdered, leaving Hilary scared not only for herself but for her family.

The plot quickly speeds up and you literally can not put the book down as it is that exciting! The murder, suspense and never truly knowing what was going to happen next was thrilling. House of Eire is well written, laid out, with amazing characters and an even better plot. You will easily fall in love with this story!

You can purchase a copy of House of Eire on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

June Gillam teaches literature and writing at a Northern California Community College. She describes this series as psychological suspense novels in which Hillary Broome, reporter and ghostwriter, fends off complex villains of many kinds: a berserk butcher, a demented daughter and a haunted theme park developer. You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

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

In Haven, Princess Haven was never meant to be Queen. She was not prepared for the role but she now finds herself fighting a seemingly impossible foe.

About Haven

Her immortality has saved her time and time again, but when the last of her royal family dies at her feet, she is next in line to rule a nation on the brink of war. With no formal training on how to be Queen, she must rise to the occasion with the help of her best friends, and personal guard, or risk losing everyone she has ever loved.

With war to the West, and no escape to the East, the evil tyrant Kadia sets her sights on the six kingdoms. Her neighbors are quick to fall under the swords of Kadia’s shadow soldiers, leaving a sea of bodies and a clear path to Haven’s only home. Haven must make a choice; take her people and flee to the foreign Republic across the sea or lead a last stand against a powerful dictator.

My Thoughts

An exciting novel from start to finish that I thoroughly enjoyed! It mixes adventure with magic and an immortal Queen. Haven is our main character, a Queen who never thought she would be one with so many in her family. But time was not kind to her and when her whole family is gone, she is left to deal with the Kingdom alone. I loved watching her evolve as not only a person but as a Queen. She is strong, brave and independent.

I loved how the evil Queen Kadia was placed into the book with her mysterious powers. She uses her powers for evil but somehow she almost seems like a victim herself when we get to know her better. We even find that there may be a strange connection between the two powerful Queens.

Haven is a well written, thought out novel that young adults and adults alike will fall in love with. We have a strong female lead who battles her own wars in order to save her people. We watch her grow in strength, bravery and in her role as a Queen. The novel is definitely one that you will not want to put down in fear of missing what happens next!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository and Chapters.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Katherine Bogle’s debut young adult novel, Haven, came second in the World’s Best Story contest 2015. She currently resides in Saint John, New Brunswick with her partner in crime, and plethora of cats. You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

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

In The House of Kane, Aislinn is hired to discover how manuscripts keep going missing and are suddenly published by Kane Publishing House’s competitors.

About The House of Kane

Aislinn Marchánt, a writer and editorial consultant, is hired by the major New York publishing company, Kane Publishing House, to help determine why several submissions sent to them have mysteriously disappeared only to be published later by another publisher. Are the editors at Kane simply not being diligent enough with the in-coming material, or is there something more sinister going on? Working from her West Palm Beach home, Aislinn quickly becomes involved with the House of Kane as well as with Caldwell Kane, the man who hired her.

As Aislinn works toward uncovering the various layers of truth of her former husband, her elderly neighbor, and Kane Publishing House, she continues to research her own novel, the story of a love between two people that becomes fractured because of the misunderstandings created by two different cultures. Her research takes her to abotanica where a Santerian priest reveals the truth in her own life and a destiny that is joined to that of Caldwell Kane.

My Thoughts

Missing submissions, fierce competition, lies and deceit are found throughout this fantastic novel by Barbara Casey. This novel showed an inside look at the publishing world while mixing mystery, deceit and a tad bit of romance that makes you not want to put the book down (literally could not stop reading this book!). Not to mention, I was totally jealous of her awesome job!

Aislinn uncovers quite a mystery at Kane Publishing house not to mention the underlying stories of her ex-husband, new boss, her neighbour and her own novel – it was quite an exciting time for Aislinn! While the mystery seems a bit obvious half way through, the twist on it was unbelievable and was not what I was expecting! It was very impressive the way the characters were tied into the story (especially one that you thought was just there to add a little extra into the story but played a role in the grand plot).

I loved not only the plot (which is very unique and one of the best parts of this book) but also the hints of a romance that could develop between Aislinn and Caldwell Kane. While an age difference exists and Aislinn does still have a strong relationship with her ex husband, a romance between these two would be perfect. Their personalities and interests compliment each other perfectly.

The House of Kane is a well thought out, written novel that will keep you guessing and reading to the last minute. You will fall in love with the characters, their connections and ties to the story.  I loved every moment of this novel.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Barbara Casey is a partner in Strategic Media Books, and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. She is also a manuscript consultant and the author of numerous articles, poems, and short stories.

Her award-winning novels have received national recognition, including the Independent Publishers Book Award. Her novel, The House of Kane, was considered for a Pulitzer nomination, and The Gospel According to Prissy, also a contemporary adult novel received several awards including the prestigious IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction. Her most recent young adult novel, The Cadence of Gypsies, received the Independent Publishers Living Now Award and was reviewed by the Smithsonian for its list of Best Books.

Ms. Casey makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts. You can connect with her on her website.

The Giveaway!

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

In Candidate for Murder, politics force Police Chief David O’Callaghan to nominate the most unlikely candidate for Mayor – Gnarly!

About Candidate for Murder

It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for mayor is not a pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become divided between the local year-round residents who have enjoyed their rural way of life and the city dwellers moving into their mansions, taking over the town council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed gate community—complete with a host of regulations for everything from speed limits to clothes lines.

When the political parties force-feed two unsavory mayoral nominees on the town residents, Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make a statement—by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run as mayor of Spencer!

What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight Gnarly becomes the front runner—at which point his political enemies take a page straight out of Politics 101. What do you do when you’re behind in a race? Dig up dirt on the front runner, of course.

Seemingly, someone is not content to rest with simply embarrassing the front runner by publicizing his dishonorable discharge from the United States Army, but to throw in a murder for good measure. With murder on the ballot, Mac Faraday and the gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in to clear Gnarly’s name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!

My Thoughts

You can’t help but fall in love with Gnarly, who is one amazing dog that not only takes on crime but who is also now running for mayor?!!

Politics can be dirty and you sometimes find it hard to trust the individuals who are running, especially when they only seem out for their own best interests. In David O’Callaghan’s small country town, the people who have lived there their whole life have had enough of the big city candidates. What began as a joke about a dog running for mayor became a reality when Gnarly is not only nominated but becomes a front runner! Everyone can’t get enough of Gnarly.

The competition is fierce and very jealous of the attention Gnarly is getting and do whatever they can to ruin his reputation. They pull up his past, which is confidential and in turn this uncovers deadly secrets in the town of Spencer. A murder puts the whole race upside down and that is when the gang realizes there is more to this running then just a mayor’s position. Now they must solve quite a few mysteries.

Hilarious, mysterious and full of adventure, Gnarly and his human friends will have you on the edge of your seat unable to put your book down. Candidate for Murder is well written, played out and a story that you have just never heard before. I enjoyed every moment reading this book!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

Book Trailer

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries. The twelfth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series, Candidate for Murder will be released June 2016.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. You can connect with her on her website.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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