2024… Your Year of More by Noah William Smith


strong>2024… Your Year of More by Noah William Smith
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

ELEVATE YOUR LIFE WITH THIS UNIQUE SELF-HELP NEW RELEASE

2024… Your Year of More is your go-to book to set goals and mindfully invest your efforts. It appeals to adults of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds who wish to improve their lives. Its pages are packed with something special for everyone.

The pages contain practical ideas from A to Z, thought-provoking questions, and self-reflective exercises that inspire you to live your best life.

The book is an ideal companion during your moments of solitude. You can read it in the early morning before the rest of the world wakes up or during the evenings after a long day. You may also find it enjoyable while writing in your journal or taking a lunch break.

Enthusiastic indie author Noah William Smith knows the blessings and challenges of intelligence, creativity, high sensitivity and being a minority, underdog and outsider. While his books are based on his experiences, they offer valuable insights without being prescriptive or offering advice.

The book’s authenticity and invaluable insights make it a compelling read that will remain relevant for many years!

Are you considering investing in yourself or searching for the perfect gift for someone special? 2024… Your Year of More is a life-changing book that you cannot afford to miss!

The new year is a fabulous time to turn over a new leaf.

This was a gentle look at self-improvement that included plenty of tips for self-care and for determining if the things you might have wanted in 2023 (or 2013 or 2003!) still resonate with you today. Incremental changes over time are often the most effective way to begin any sort of new habit or lifestyle change, so it was nice to be reminded regularly to be kind to myself and to focus on small steps one at a time instead of trying to drastically change everything at once.

The repetition made it difficult for me to remain interested in reading this at times. Every section began with an anecdote or two from the author’s life before diving into the same series of questions about goals the reader might want to set in three-month increments in 2024. I must admit that due to this I felt the urge to skip ahead to sections that appealed to me more, although I did read the entire thing in order.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was how much it could be customized. It made few if any assumptions about the ages, backgrounds, or values of the people who will read it. This meant that nearly ever section could apply to anyone in any stage of life from being a student to being retired. The few that were more specific could still easily be altered for people who are disabled, stay-at-home parents, otherwise out of the workforce, working multiple jobs or long hours, or who feel out of step with most other adults for any other reason. There is definitely something to be said for making goal setting so accessible to anyone who wants to change a few things in their lives next year!

2024… Your Year of More was a thought-provoking look at how to make goal setting easier for everyone.

Hardback Homicide by S. E. Babin


Hardback Homicide by S. E. Babin
Publisher: S.E. Babin, Amazon Digital Services
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

When a rare book order leads me right to a homicide, somehow I’m the one investigating…

I’m Dakota Adair, owner of Tattered Pages, a bookstore specializing in cool and quirky books. I inherited a grumpy Persian cat named Poppy who loves to make her displeasure known around the store … loudly. Things are good until I deliver a special order only to stumble over a body. Suddenly all eyes are on me. Now I have a handsome detective and an annoying reporter on my tail, hounding me about the case.

All I want to do is crack open my favorite paperback, grab a cup of coffee, and chill, but with a murderer out there and suspicion falling on me, I have to do a lot more than read. I have to find out whodunnit and quick before I become the next subject of a murder mystery…

Hardback Homicide is the 1st book in a series titled “Shelf Indulgence”. This was fun reading. Even the series name is fun. It had what I call all the “elements” of a cozy, a cute town name (Dewdrop Springs), an amateur sleuth, a handsome cop, a bookshop, books, a cat, and of course, a dead body.

I enjoyed this story, but the quirky characters of the town might be what clinched it. Dakota, the bookshop owner, and her assistant, Harper, sell books for all ages, but they also deal in rare books. This is where greed sets in, and it becomes awfully hard to tell who has their hands on the infamous book.

Lots of fun, easy reading, and good characters. What more can I say? I can say this series has 5 books so far, and I intend to read them all.

Sacrifice by Tim Svart


Sacrifice by Tim Svart
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A hidden scheme. Suspiciously pat answers. Can one untested leader navigate the thin line between professional and personal justice?
Essen, Germany. Chief Inspector “Karre” Karrenberg has no appetite for overseeing a homicide squad. Still grieving over his ex-wife’s fatal car crash that left his daughter in a coma, the veteran detective’s gut tells him to ignore all the evidence that it was an accident. But he’s forced to put his own needs aside when a poor young woman’s lakeside adventure transforms her into an unidentified body.

Willing to make risky trades for more information, Karre discovers the mysterious female was a high-class escort. But his attempts to find the dead girl’s client are stonewalled by tight-lipped suspects, iron-clad alibis… and a growing number of bodies.

Will Karre’s private tragedies blind him to clues that could prevent another murder?

Chief Inspector Karre Karrenberg is reluctant to be the acting head of his murder investigations team. With the recent tragic car accident killing his ex-wife and leaving his teenage daughter in a precarious coma, Karre has plenty on his mind already. But when an unidentified woman’s body is found near the lakeside, clearly murdered and there’s no one talking and everyone seeming to have a strong alibi Karre realizes he needs all his effort to try and find justice for this lady – as well as his own family.

I mainly purchased this book because I don’t believe I have ever read a police murder mystery based in Germany. I was strongly intrigued and am very pleased with this book. With a complex mystery that circles around nicely and has plenty of depth and questions, I was also easily dragged in by the small number of very strong secondary characters. Karre’s team-mates as well as a few key forensic characters made an excellent group and they all retained my attention. The fact this plot also clearly linked somehow to the car accident that recently killed Karre’s ex-wife and put his teen daughter into a coma also intrigued me – because at a first glance I assumed the two scenarios were not linked at all.

I have read a number of British police procedural mysteries, as well as a few Scandinavian police mysteries and I would place the tone and voice of this German offering somewhere in between the two. I felt this wasn’t as cosy or rural as I find British police procedural books tend to be. This definitely had more of a city feel to it with a somewhat darker or gritter turn than many British mystery’s feel to me. That said I didn’t feel this was as bleak or dark as many Scandinavian mysteries appear to me. There was still a fair bit of emotion and hope to this book – whereas I often find the Scandi crime novels to be quite terse and often bleak.

I very much enjoyed both the setting, pace and tone of this book. I was easily hooked on the characters and found the mystery complex enough to retain my attention all through the book and I am definitely interested in purchasing the second book in this series. A good first novel and a set of characters I hope to explore further as I work my way through the series.

The Scarred Santa by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy


The Scarred Santa by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Inspirational, Holiday, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Once handsome Rafe Sullivan is left scarred, injured, and with PTSD from his Marine Corps service in Afghanistan, returning to civilian life is far from smooth, and the burn scars on his right side are extensive. Although he lives close to family, he lives a solitary life and changes jobs more often than most people change their socks. A temporary job as Santa at the mall is presented, but Rafe first rebels, then relents. His Santa gig affects his PTSD. Then he meets Sheena Dunmore. When she doesn’t run from his scars or issues, she intrigues him. An unmasking by some rowdy children is a test of his stamina and spirit. His greatest fear is fire. Will Rafe conquer the fear so he can move forward into the new life he desires?

Kindness is for everyone.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that showed how difficult the Christmas season can be for certain people. There are many reasons why someone might avoid crowds, be wary of celebrations, or not want to spend time with anyone. It made me happy to see how often the people around Rafe understood his limitations and encouraged him to do whatever he was able to do without pressuring him to do things that were too painful for him physically or emotionally. Their empathy for him was lovely and really embodied what Christmas should be all about.

There were a few plot holes in this novella that were never explained. For example, Rafe explored the idea of becoming a police officer but never fully answered the question of whether or not his PTSD and permanent leg injury would prevent him from pursuing that line of work. There was also a scene at the end involving another character being in terrible danger. It appeared to me that this person could have walked or crawled away from the threat, so I was confused by the fact that they stayed put. I wish these things had been explained better!

With that being said, I did appreciate the author’s realistic descriptions of what daily life as a civilian would be like for someone with Rafe’s extensive injuries. He struggled to do things as ordinary as go to the mall or have dinner at the homes of his relatives due to his many triggers and deep shame about his scars and missing ear. I never stopped rooting for him and hoping that he’d find a way to heal. If the author ever decides to write a sequel, I’d like to know what this character’s life was like five or ten years after the events of this tale.

The Scarred Santa was a heartwarming read.

Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz


Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz
Publisher: Jove/Berkley New York
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Quinton Zane is back.

Jack Lancaster, consultant to the FBI, has always been drawn to the coldest of cold cases, the kind that law enforcement either considers unsolvable or else has chalked up to accidents or suicides. As a survivor of a fire, he finds himself uniquely compelled by arson cases. His almost preternatural ability to get inside the killer’s head has garnered him a reputation in some circles–and complicated his personal life. The more cases Jack solves, the closer he slips into the darkness. His only solace is Winter Meadows, a meditation therapist. After particularly grisly cases, Winter can lead Jack back to peace.

But as long as Quinton Zane is alive, Jack will not be at peace for long. Having solidified his position as the power behind the throne of his biological family’s hedge fund, Zane sets out to get rid of Anson Salinas’s foster sons, starting with Jack.

Jack Lancaster is a renown FBI consultant with a particular talent for hunting down cold cases related to fire. His true interest lie, however, in tracking down Quinton Zane – the charismatic cult leader responsible for murdering Jack’s mother and burning their retreat down and nearly killing the many women and children residing there. Winter Meadows is a therapist assisting Jack with some of her talents. When Winter is threatened and Jack fears it’s linked to his own past can they work together and each survive the fiery path ahead of them?

I am a pretty long-term fan of Krentz’s having enjoyed her romantic thrillers for many years now. While this trilogy hasn’t been one of my favourites of hers, you can always be guaranteed of a solid and enjoyable read from her and this book is no exception. Vibrant, layered and interesting characters, coupled with some steamy chemistry and a well-woven and solid plot this book has a lot going for it. As the final book in the trilogy I have to admit at least a passing understanding of the history and bigger picture will probably give a reader far more enjoyment with this story. The author does an exceptional job in filling in the backstory but it might feel a bit too much for a reader fresh to this storyline to catch up on.

That said I greatly enjoyed a number of the small links to previous books and series, especially the cameo from Arizona Snow – and feel this really added some depth and texture to the story as a whole. In the beginning there was a fair bit of backstory – to Jack as well as Winter – that needed to be laid down and while I feel this slowed the pace of the story as a whole I have to admit it fleshed out the characters wonderfully for me. I was really invested in both Jack and Winter and don’t feel I would have been so connected to them had this attention and detail been given near the start of the book.

Once the plot and action began, this book was a live-wire. The pace became exceptional and the suspense and plot really grabbed my focus to the point I got annoyed when I had to put it down for real life stuff. This – for me, at least – is the hallmark of reading a Krentz novel. They all usually grab me to some degree and don’t let go. This book was no exception. I felt the speed and pace of the story after it gained momentum was exciting and I felt the chemistry between Winter and Jack was believable and steamy. I thought the author balanced these two aspects of the story well too – with neither the plot nor the romance crowding the other out.

Readers who enjoy a steamy and well plotted romantic suspense probably already are well versed with this author. She has tons of books out and this was another excellent read. I’d probably suggest readers go back and read the two previous books in this trilogy – but it’s not strictly necessary to enjoy this book itself. I felt this was strong and entertaining read and a weekend well spent.

Walk The Wire by David Baldacci


Walk The Wire by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are called to London, North Dakota, they instantly sense that the thriving fracking town is ripe for trouble. The promise of a second gold rush has attracted an onslaught of newcomers all hoping for a windfall, and the community is growing faster than houses can be built. The sudden boom has also brought a slew of problems with it, including drugs, property crimes, prostitution—and now murder.

Decker and Jamison are ordered to investigate the death of a young woman named Irene Cramer, whose body was expertly autopsied and then dumped in the open—which is only the beginning of the oddities surrounding the case. As Decker and Jamison dig into Irene’s life, they are shocked to discover that the woman who walked the streets by night as a prostitute was a teacher for a local religious sect by day—a sect operating on land once owned by a mysterious government facility that looms over the entire community.

London is a town replete with ruthless business owners, shady government officials, and religious outsiders, all determined to keep their secrets from coming out. When other murders occur, Decker will need all of his extraordinary memory and detective skills, and the assistance of a surprising ally, to root out a killer and the forces behind Cramer’s death . . . before the boom town explodes.

Amos Decker and Alex Jamison are in a remote fracking mining town in North Dakota for reasons they’re not quite certain of. A highly unusual murder of a school teacher set off alarms within the FBI hierarchy and Decker and Jamison were sent to investigate – without the request of the local police force nor a reasonable explanation for them being sent out for a singular murder. Decker and Jamison quickly realise all is not as it seems in the small community and they both will need to keep their wits about them if they are to survive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was particularly pleased that there were a number of plots interweaving together with a strong enough complexity it took me quite a while to separate out what was linked together and what was not related. Baldacci did an excellent job to my mind of interlacing a number of plotlines together and it was complicated enough that I could gauge that a number of things were happening simultaneously and it wasn’t a simple matter unraveling everything.

I was also thrilled that a few characters from a different series written by Baldacci were very strong secondary characters (and not just cameos but quite integral to the plotline as well) and it was utterly wonderful for me to read about these much loved characters and see how they were going. I also quite enjoyed the cross over – seeing how Decker and Jamison interacted with them and it was a true joy for me to read this.

While I absolutely feel readers can pick this book up as a stand alone and enjoy the intricate plot and well written FBI mystery/suspense story I think fans who have read previous books in this series and in particular who are at least passingly knowledgeable about a few other series written by Mr. Baldacci should find this an excellent book with a few deeper layers that non-fans might not fully appreciate.

I feel readers who enjoy a well woven, complicated and interesting murder/mystery/suspense style FBI book should thoroughly enjoy this book and characters and I can strongly recommend it and the others in this series.

Rag Lady by Susie Black


Rag Lady by Susie Black
Holly Swimsuit Series, Book 1
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Holly Schlivnik dreams of being a writer, but fate has other plans. A family crisis throws her into an improbable situation and her life will never be the same. Determined to make her own luck when things don’t happen the way she plans, the irrepressible young woman takes a sledgehammer to the glass ceiling and shatters it to smithereens. The wise-cracking, irreverent transplanted Californian goes on a raucous, rollicking rollercoaster ride of hysterical adventures as a ladies’ apparel sales rep traveling in the deep South and finds herself along the way.

Change is inevitable.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that explored the many ways in which life can suddenly veer off into directions one never saw coming. For example, Holly’s college major had nothing at all to do with the sales position she eventually took at the company her father worked at, but she muddled through and eventually discovered all sorts of things about her new job that suited her nicely. This was one of many examples of how characters adjusted to new circumstances and found ways to thrive when nothing went the way they thought it would. They were all enriching for the plot and interesting to think about.

I struggled with the slow and sometimes uneven pacing of this book. The narrator went into plenty of detail about every twist and turn Holly faced while adjusting to her new job. This was necessary in some scenes, but in other ones it slowed the storyline down and made readers wait even longer for fresh developments than we already had waited. As much as I wanted to give this a higher rating, I didn’t feel comfortable doing so given my experience with it.

With that being said, I did appreciate how much effort the author put into describing such a wide variety of characters. The people Holly met were from all sorts of backgrounds. Some of them I liked immediately, while others needed some time to work their charms on me. It was interesting to see how my opinions of the latter evolved over time as I got to know them better and understand why they behaved in certain ways.

This was a prequel to the Holly Swimsuit series, but it worked perfectly well as a standalone story, too.

Rag Lady was a thought-provoking read.

Match Point by Cassie Cole


Match Point by Cassie Cole
Publisher: Juicy Gems Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dicentra

For the past decade, I’ve put my love life on hold to focus on tennis.
Now I’m retired and ready to relax.
Until three swoony men from my past come walking back into my life.

First there’s Dominic deGrom, the chiseled all-American boy who stole my heart when we were teenagers.
Then there’s Tristan Carfrae, the tall Australian whose serve is as undeniable as his quick smile.
Finally there’s Gabriel Moreau, the suave French player whose cocky attitude is completely at odds with the softer personality I see behind closed doors.

These three tennis pros are competing against each other at the biggest tournaments in the world,
While fighting for my love off the court.
Can I choose which of them I want to spend the rest of my life with?
Or will all three of them end up winning the match point?

Cassie Cole has always been one of my favorite authors with books available, and her latest release Match Point was another smash hit. The book starts with our four main characters as teenagers at a tennis academy, where the guys all share a single kiss with heroine Miranda during a party game. Sadly, nothing happens at that point and things fast forward fourteen years to where Miranda is a tennis pro who recently decided to retire after earning the #1 ranked spot. By some happenstance of fate, Miranda runs into all three of her past crushes (within days of each other) and they have to figure out how to make things work now that they’re all grown up.

For those who might not be familiar, a reverse harem romance is a book where a single female protagonist has three or more male love interests. It can also be referred to as a why-choose romance. In terms of spice, I would rate this at around a 4 or a 5 (descriptive and explicit intimate love scenes, bordering on intense).

As opposed to other authors in the reverse harem genre, Ms. Cole’s books always include a great plot and show evidence of lots of research being put into crafting a believable story. I don’t know much about tennis or sports in general (outside of what watching the Olympics or playing on the Wii has taught me haha) but Ms. Cole made it easy to follow the scenes with lots of technical descriptions. There were also a lot of names I recognized as other real life tennis pros and real life tennis tournaments (i.e. Wimbledon and the US Open) being referenced in the book which was cool. All of the characters in the book had a part to play and were amusing to read about, and I really enjoyed how the ending turned out for the quartet.

Overall, Match Point was another stellar read from Cassie Cole. Her books are a perfect choice for when you’re looking for a fun and steamy reverse harem romance you can finish in an afternoon. If you’re not into reverse harem stories and are looking for a more traditional romance read, I highly recommend checking out her pen name K.T. Quinn where she writes monogamous happily ever after romance stories (with the same amount of spice).

The Plague Maiden by Kate Ellis


The Plague Maiden by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A stir is caused in Tradmouth when a letter arrives at the police station claiming that the man convicted of murdering the Vicar of Belsham is innocent. DI Wesley Peterson already has his hands full with threats made to local supermarket chain, Huntings – the last thing he needs is an alleged miscarriage of justice to investigate.

Meanwhile, Wesley’s friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, uncovers a medieval plague pit at a site near Belsham church earmarked for Huntings’ new superstore. As Wesley’s investigations continue, he begins to suspect that the vicar’s murder, the disappearance of a woman and the threats to the supermarket may be linked in some way.

Dr Neil Watson and his archaeology team uncover what they believe to be a plague pit in an open field earmarked as the site for a new local supermarket. Despite the growing number of bodies, DI Wesley Peterson is relieved, since the bones are clearly mediaeval and solving their deaths is not his problem. Wesley’s plate is already quite full, with his wife due to deliver their second child any day now, new evidence found that clearly shows an innocent man has been in jail for a decade for the murder of a vicar he can’t have committed, and an unknown person leaving infected products at the local Huntings supermarkets which has killed a number of people. When Wesley begins to find more and more connections between all these cases he will need every talent he can draw on to uncover what’s really going on.

This is another book in the DI Wesley Peterson series and I have been really enjoying them so far. Many of the books are primarily a British police procedural style with a good hit of history/archaeology running through the plots and this book is no exception. While some of the connections between the team members and Neil with the various other characters does have plenty of history from the previous books, I strongly feel this story can be picked up easily by itself and really enjoyed. The plot and central focus of the investigations are well contained in this story.

Readers looking for something very heavily historical might not find this quite suits their purposes. While Neil’s archaeology dig and investigations does indeed create quite a strong sub-plot there are a number of modern mysteries and police investigations that take up the main aspect to the plot in my mind. I feel the author has given a good balance between the past mystery and the current problems facing Wesley and his team but readers wanting something more historical might feel this balance isn’t quite right. I also could appreciate there were a number of cases that interwove here and that took some exceptional writing both to make it believable but also to knit it all together. In such a small town it makes sense that seemingly unconnected events actually could have cross over in parts since with such a small pool of people, the interactions and connectedness really would make sense to cross over into all aspects of the town’s life.

I found this to be a well written and strongly plotted police procedural with a number of interesting plots and a strong and equally interesting historical aspect too. I’m very much enjoying this series and am eager to get to the next book.

*The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin


*The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group. Berkley
Genre: Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Larkspur

A talented genetic analyst and a detective who’s haunted by an elusive cold case team up in the new standalone romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

Forensic genealogist Rowan Healy has made a name for herself by helping investigators trace the family trees of violent criminals who have eluded justice for years. But the pressure of police cases left her burned out, and she’s shifted her focus to helping adoptees find their biological parents.

Austin detective Jack Bruner has spent his career successfully tracking down vicious criminals—with the notable exception of the West Campus Rapist, a meticulous offender in Texas who has never been identified. When the latest two victims come to light, Jack sees his target is escalating his violent behavior—and only with Rowan’s help does he stand a chance of cracking this case.

Moved by Jack’s dedication and the brutal details of the attacks he lays out, Rowan agrees to help. When her ground-breaking DNA research sheds new light on the criminal’s background and helps them zero in on a search radius, Rowan and Jack must race against the clock to find a ruthless killer who’s growing bolder the longer he evades the law.

Laura Griffin writes a compelling story filled with mystery, romance and lots of suspense. The Last Close Call, her latest book, had me on the edge of my seat, quickly turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

This enthralling story takes place in Texas. The two main characters Rowen, a genealogist and Jack, a detective meet while working on a case involving a serial rapist. Jack and Rowen have an immediate connection, a lot of chemistry and I enjoyed all of their interactions. They are both dedicated to their jobs and don’t have time for relationships, but the pull they feel toward each other is impossible to resist.

This intriguing story was the perfect mixture of romance and suspense. The plot is interesting and the story held me spellbound. I felt like I was right there with Jack and Rowen and this story kept me interested until the very end. I enjoyed reading about all the behind the scenes police work Jack is doing trying to catch the serial rapist. Jack feels a lot of pressure because he knows time is running out, until the rapist strikes again. Laura Griffin is one of my favorite authors because she knows how to write an intriguing romantic story and she never disappoints me.