Review: Fifty Shades Darker by  E.L. James

Goodreads Blurb

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most important decision of her life. Erotic, sparkling and suspenseful, Fifty Shades Darker is the irresistibly addictive second part of the Fifty Shades trilogy.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Love can change even the darkest man. I was not as happy with this second book. I felt like it dragged for a long time. It started to get very interesting halfway through the book. I was very happy with the outcome but could only imagine that the third book would have some sad moments. Christian and Anastasia were able to rekindle their love for each other. Christian worked very hard to forget the whole contract and try to make it a loving relationship. Cheers to a life full of happiness.

Review: The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti


Goodreads Blurb

After years spent living on the run, Samuel Hawley moves with his teenage daughter, Loo, to Olympus, Massachusetts. There, in his late wife’s hometown, Hawley finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at school and grows curious about her mother’s mysterious death. Haunting them both are twelve scars Hawley carries on his body, from twelve bullets in his criminal past; a past that eventually spills over into his daughter’s present, until together they must face a reckoning yet to come. This father-daughter epic weaves back and forth through time and across America, from Alaska to the Adirondacks.

Both a coming-of-age novel and a literary thriller, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley explores what it means to be a hero, and the cost we pay to protect the people we love most.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This book brings together violence and love in a way we could not imagine. Just imagine first aid kits being part of your everyday needs! This book could never have enough first aid kits. That kit was a building block for Hawley. Without it, he would not have survived his first shot. Hannah split this book into all twelve shots that Hawley lived through without a complaint while coming to the present and showing us the life he lived with his daughter. Hawley is a man that from a very early age, met a friend who got him into stealing and killing in order to survive. It’s a book in which he is a villain but has a soft spot for his wife and daughter. He did everything in hopes of making a better life for them. Loo is Hawley’s daughter, who is constantly bullied at school until she takes matters to her own hands. Violence is what she learned from her father, and that violence made them both survive in their environment. As much as he didn’t want Loo involved, she was from the very beginning. Once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down. Each bullet was a scar that we were part of as we read this book. Enjoy the thrilling story.

Author Biography

Hannah Tinti grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, and is co-founder and executive edtior of One Story magazine. Her short story collection, ANIMAL CRACKERS, has sold in sixteen countries and was a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway award. Her first novel, THE GOOD THIEF, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, recipient of the American Library Association’s Alex Award, and winner of the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Hannah’s most recent novel, THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY was a national bestseller and is in development for television with Netflix.

Review: Encore! Encore! By Fonda St. Paul

Goodreads Blurb

What does the famed Dakota at 1 West 72nd Street in New York City have to do with MURDER, MAYHEM, and ILLICIT AFFAIRS.
A psychologist with a horrific secret past marries a wealthy cardiologist and makes their home at the Dakota. She is not aware that someone is stalking her from her past, waiting in the wings to pay her a surprise visit. Dark secrets of foster-homes, abandonment and sexual depravity are about to unfold and change lives forever.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Let the games begin! May the smartest killer win! This was absolutely the most enticing book I have ever read. I wasn’t able to put this book away. I was at the edge of my seat reading this amazing thriller. The plot of this book was so much fun. You have two serial killer type people who are all about clearing up their baggage and living their lives. Syd was very smart up until she decided that Tom could not be her play toy any longer. From there, her life started spiraling down like a roller coaster. I really thought that Syd was going to be able to get away with all her murders but karma is always out there to get you. I was very happy at how this book ended. It left us with time to take a break and relax after going through all that tension. I highly recommend you read this book. It’s an awesome psychological thriller. Fonda is truly a storyteller of a lifetime. She made this story come to life by giving the reader a story that had elements of life at its best moments until elements of power, greed, and vengeance altered everything.

Author Biography

FONDA ST. PAUL is a voracious reader with a vivid imagination and a talent for telling a story. Her vast interest in crime and the criminal mind has kept her researching for a number of years, especially on Serial Killers.
In addition to writing, FONDA is also a producer and creator of reality shows. She is at work on her fourth novel, “Samuel.” Her first, Smile Pretty Now, Forever Christmas Eve and Encore! Encore! are still avail on amazon.com and kindle. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their pugs, Monticello and Lily Jean.

Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Goodreads Blurb

Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can’t wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn’t if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There’s an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school…

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Another amazing continuation to Harry Potter. This third book had more secrets and suspense. I loved how all the secrets unraveled. Harry seems happier and stronger as he grows up. I love how Harry and his friends go out and search for answers with no fear. This book just keeps the reader reveled in the magic and secrets. I was happy to see Harry still has a close family friend.

Author Biography

As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that: “I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee.” At the age of nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said “taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind,” gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford’s autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling’s heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.

Rowling has said of her teenage years, in an interview with The New Yorker, “I wasn’t particularly happy. I think it’s a dreadful time of life.” She had a difficult homelife; her mother was ill and she had a difficult relationship with her father (she is no longer on speaking terms with him). She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother had worked as a technician in the science department. Rowling said of her adolescence, “Hermione [a bookish, know-it-all Harry Potter character] is loosely based on me. She’s a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I’m not particularly proud of.” Steve Eddy, who taught Rowling English when she first arrived, remembers her as “not exceptional” but “one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English.” Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books.

Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

Goodreads Blurb

J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut is captured in this exciting hardcover edition of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay.

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Featuring a cast of remarkable characters, this is epic, adventure-packed storytelling at its very best.

Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition to any reader’s bookshelf.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It was so magical reading this screenplay. I did see the movie before reading this book. I actually loved that I was able to vividly see the creators as they came into the play. I loved all the animals that were created, plus Newt is just the perfect protector of these animals. He is very loving to them. I love the illustrations. They really depict the creatures in this book. I was happy to be able to come back to the world of magic after reading Harry Potter books. I love the romance between Jacob and Queenie it was just perfect. I can’t wait to read the continuation to this series.

Author Biography

Although she writes under the pen name J.K. Rowling, pronounced like rolling, her name when her first Harry Potter book was published was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling. She calls herself Jo and has said, “No one ever called me ‘Joanne’ when I was young, unless they were angry.” Following her marriage, she has sometimes used the name Joanne Murray when conducting personal business. During the Leveson Inquiry she gave evidence under the name of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. In a 2012 interview, Rowling noted that she no longer cared that people pronounced her name incorrectly.

Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling, a Rolls-Royce aircraft engineer, and Anne Rowling (née Volant), on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Bristol. Her mother Anne was half-French and half-Scottish. Her parents first met on a train departing from King’s Cross Station bound for Arbroath in 1964. They married on 14 March 1965. Her mother’s maternal grandfather, Dugald Campbell, was born in Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Her mother’s paternal grandfather, Louis Volant, was awarded the Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery in defending the village of Courcelles-le-Comte during the First World War.

Rowling’s sister Dianne was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old. The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael’s Primary School, a school founded by abolitionist William Wilberforce and education reformer Hannah More. Her headmaster at St Michael’s, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the Harry Potter headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would usually then read to her sister. She recalls that: “I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it. Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee.” At the age of nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales. When she was a young teenager, her great aunt, who Rowling said “taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind,” gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford’s autobiography, Hons and Rebels. Mitford became Rowling’s heroine, and Rowling subsequently read all of her books.

Rowling has said of her teenage years, in an interview with The New Yorker, “I wasn’t particularly happy. I think it’s a dreadful time of life.” She had a difficult homelife; her mother was ill and she had a difficult relationship with her father (she is no longer on speaking terms with him). She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College, where her mother had worked as a technician in the science department. Rowling said of her adolescence, “Hermione [a bookish, know-it-all Harry Potter character] is loosely based on me. She’s a caricature of me when I was eleven, which I’m not particularly proud of.” Steve Eddy, who taught Rowling English when she first arrived, remembers her as “not exceptional” but “one of a group of girls who were bright, and quite good at English.” Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books.

Review: The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders

Goodreads Blurb

In the seaside village of Frip live three families: the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her father. The economy of Frip is based solely on goat’s milk, and this is a problem because the village is plagued by gappers: bright orange, many-eyed creatures the size of softballs that love to attach themselves to goats. When a gapper gets near a goat, it lets out a high-pitched shriek of joy that puts the goats off giving milk, which means that every few hours the children of Frip have to go outside, brush the gappers off their goats, and toss them into the sea. The gappers have always been everyone’s problem, until one day they get a little smarter, and instead of spreading out, they gang up: on Capable’s goats. Free at last of the tyranny of the gappers, will her neighbors rally to help her? Or will they turn their backs, forcing Capable to bear the misfortune alone?

Featuring fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by Lane Smith and a brilliant story by George Saunders that explores universal themes of community and kindness, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a rich and resonant story for those that have all and those that have not.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This was such a hilarious book that everyone can enjoy. It teaches us that we should all help each other in good times and bad times. That someone else’s problem might end up your problem even if you choose not to be involved. People choose not to be helpful when someone needed help but are quick to look for help when they are in a bind. I do truly love that after all the problems with the Gappers, they were able to look past the difference and join together.

Author Biography

George Saunders was born December 2, 1958 and raised on the south side of Chicago. In 1981 he received a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He worked at Radian International, an environmental engineering firm in Rochester, NY as a technical writer and geophysical engineer from 1989 to 1996. He has also worked in Sumatra on an oil exploration geophysics crew, as a doorman in Beverly Hills, a roofer in Chicago, a convenience store clerk, a guitarist in a Texas country-and-western band, and a knuckle-puller in a West Texas slaughterhouse.

After reading in People magazine about the Master’s program at Syracuse University, he applied. Mr. Saunders received an MA with an emphasis in creative writing in 1988. His thesis advisor was Doug Unger.

He has been an Assistant Professor, Syracuse University Creative Writing Program since 1997. He has also been a Visiting Writer at Vermont Studio Center, University of Georgia MayMester Program, University of Denver, University of Texas at Austin, St. Petersburg Literary Seminar (St. Petersburg, Russia, Summer 2000), Brown University, Dickinson College, Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

He conducted a Guest Workshop at the Eastman School of Music, Fall 1995, and was an Adjunct Professor at Saint John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, 1990-1995; and Adjunct Professor at Siena College, Loudonville, New York in Fall 1989.

He is married and has two children.

Review: It’s All Fun and Games by Dave Barrett

Goodreads Blurb

When Allison’s best friend, TJ, convinces her to come along for an epic game of LARP (live-action role-playing), she reluctantly agrees despite her reservations about the geeky pastime. TJ’s weekends are filled with powerful wizardry, mystical creatures, and intense battles with his LARP group. Each adventure is full of surprises, but the goal is always the same: to defeat the monsters and find the treasure.

Not long after their quest begins, the friends discover that something has gone wrong. The fantasy world they’ve built has transformed, and the battle they’re in the midst of is no longer make-believe.
Now they must fight for survival against brigands, kobolds, and other deadly mythical creatures that come to life. Fortunately, the group’s once-fictional magical powers have also become real – including Allison’s newly acquired gifts as a healer. They’ll need everything in their arsenal if they hope to make it home alive.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This was a good story that brought live action role play to life. The group of teens didn’t know that the game that wasn’t real would bring them to a world where goblins and creatures roam. Weapons always had safety features, but once they entered that fantasy world, weapons became what they truly were a deathly weapon. The author did a nice job of making the game come to life to the readers.

Review: Christmas in the Cove by Carol Ross

Goodreads Blurb

A DEA stealth mission has brought coast guard Lt. Commander Eli Pelletier home. But when he ends up aiding rescue swimmer Aubrey Wynn during her own harrowing mission, powerful emotions reignite between them. Except Aubrey doesn’t want Eli’s protection. She wants answers.

Twelve years ago, Eli broke up with Aubrey without telling her the real reason he was leaving Pacific Cove. How can he try for a second chance if he’s forced to deceive her again? Amid suspected drug trafficking and a sabotaged Christmas contest, Eli must find a way to regain Aubrey’s trust without compromising his career or endangering the woman he loves.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

What a heartwarming novel that brings love together after so many years. This book had many genres all in one. It was a thriller, mystery, and romance. This book opens up with a search and rescue, which leaves the reader clenching for Aubrey’s safety. My favorite character was Aubrey because she is not scared of anything. I loved the togetherness between Aubrey and her family. The tension between Aubrey and her pass love Eli made this book come to life. Eli was her knight in shining armor plus her protector. They both cared for each other after all the years apart, and safety was a priority. I loved that this book had a lot of action with some mystery hints. I highly recommend this book.

Author Biography

USA Today and national bestselling author Carol Ross grew up in small-town America right between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains, in a place where you can go deep sea fishing in the morning and then hit the ski slopes the same afternoon. The daughter of free-range parents, she developed a love of adventure and the outdoors at a very early age. She’s grateful for the “research material” that every questionable decision, adrenaline-charged misstep, and near-death experience has provided.
Stop by her website: http://www.carolrossauthor.com/
Or sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bB60jr

Cover Reveal: Lost and Found Cowboy by Jennie Marts

BOOK DETAILS:

Lost and Found Cowboy

by Jennie Marts

(Lassiter Ranch. #4)

Publication date: March 11, 2025

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

He came to find a family. He never expected to find love.

After meeting the three half-brothers he never knew existed, cowboy Mack Lassiter decides to stay and try to build a new life in the small Colorado mountain town of Woodland Hills. But he didn’t expect to find another family in Lorna Gibbs, the sweet single mom and local coffee shop owner, whose strength and warmth instantly captivated him.

Lorna’s not looking for love—her heart had been trampled by the snake who’d walked out on her and their two kids, and now her only focus is on giving her son and infant daughter the stable life they all deserve. The last thing she needs is a man breezing into town and stirring up feelings she’s locked away for years. But Mack isn’t just any man—he’s steady, kind, and a little broken, just like her.

Mack didn’t come to town expecting to fall in love, but Lorna and her kids stir something deep inside him. As he starts to find a place in their lives, both Mack and Lorna must confront the scars of their past. As Mack grapples with fitting into a new family, Lorna must decide if she’s ready to open her heart and find the courage to let a new kind of love into her life.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219366203-lost-and-found-cowboy

Pre-order: https://amzn.to/4j3a9sx

AUTHOR BIO:

Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”

She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet who loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books range from western romance to cozy mysteries but they all have the charm and appeal of quirky small town life. She loves genre-mashups like adding romance to her Page Turners cozy mysteries and creating the hockey-playing cowboys in the Cowboys of Creedence. The same small town community comes to life with more animal antics in her latest Creedence Horse Rescue series. And her sassy heroines and hunky heroes carry over in her heartwarming, feel good romances from Hallmark Publishing. Take the Honey and Run is her newest cozy mystery in the A Bee Keeping Mystery series. 

Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, Twitter at @JennieMarts, and at jenniemartswriter on Instagram. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.

Author links:

Home

https://www.facebook.com/JennieMartsBooks/

https://www.instagram.com/jenniemartswriter/

https://twitter.com/JennieMarts

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6876233.Jennie_Marts

Review: Pete the Kitty and the Groovy Playdate by Kimberly & James Dean

Goodreads Blurb

This groovy series from New York Times bestselling team James and Kimberly Dean introduces Pete the Cat before he was Pete the Cat…when he was little Pete the Kitty! Pete the Kitty is super excited to visit his friend Grumpy Toad’s house for a playdate! Grumpy Toad has all the best a truck, building blocks, and a superhero cape. Far out! It’s going to be cat-tastic! But when Grumpy Toad refuses to share any of his cool toys with Pete, neither of them are having any fun. Will Grumpy Toad ever share his toys with his friend Pete? In this easy-to-read and engaging picture book, little readers will learn all about sharing with their favorite blue kitten!

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Such a cute book that teaches children to share their toys with friends. Pete was super excited to have a play date with Grumpy Toad. Once grumpy Toad took all his toys back, he realized it wasn’t fun if they both didn’t play together. Sharing is so much better when you have friends to share the fun with.