Mini-Reviews: Week of 2/7/22-2/11/22

Mending Fences by Sherryl Woods

Two families. One incident that changes all their lives. We meet the Carters and the Dobbs, they have been best friends for a while from the children to the mothers, but habits of the Carters trinkle into the Dobbs household. Emily Dobbs must decide how important is her friendship with Marcia Carter and if keeping her daughter Dani safe. This was an intense book for me that truly shows how quick people change when terrible things happen. Support that you’ve relied on disappears leaving questions unanswered until you get to the twist in the story. I really enjoyed this book and how things unraveled, but also frustrated about Dani staying silent too long.

This is My American by Kim Johnson

This book is about Tracy, daughter and sister trying to keep her family intact while clearing their name. She is a strong character and incredibly determined to bring to like the racism and unfair treatment of her father and brother’s cases. While Tracy fights for her family she uncovers a history of wrongdoings that affects not only her family, but another one, which is the shocking reveal in the story. This is a book worth reading.

The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

Who says marriage is boring? It’s not in this book. Ainsley and Peter make an arrangement to see other people to repair their marriage. Was it a bad idea? Most definitely. Once their arrangement starts it uncovers incidents that Ainsley and Peter will have to get themselves out of. This was a great read of weaving through chaos, secrets, and unsuspected reveals. Loved it!

The Apothecary Poison by C. J. Archer

This is book three in the Glass and Steele series, we meet back up with Matt and India on the search for Dr. Hale in hopes that he can lead them to Chronos. Matt’s health is not well, and he still needs to get his watch fixed. When Dr. Hale is murdered, Matt becomes the primary suspect. Matt and India are running out of time. This book had unsuspected twist and had me anticipating what would happen next. I loved that it was harder to figure out who killed Hale. I also love the series carrying over the mission on finding Chronos. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

This is book three in the Veronica Speedwell series, Veronica and Stoker on looking into the disappearance of Stoker’s former expedition partner. It seems there have been unfortunate events happening around this expedition especially with a shadowing figure stalking about. I enjoyed the book and the reveal, but it took a little bit longer to get into it. This may be because I listened to the audiobook. I will continue this series because overall I am really it and look forward to reading the next book.

Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments.

Spotlight of The Gatekeeper’s Staff by Antoine Bandele

The Gatekeeper’s Staff

TJ Young & The Orishas Book 1

by Antoine Bandele

Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy

TJ Young has been surrounded by magic his entire life, yet he has never tapped into it… until now.

Fourteen-year-old TJ grew up normal in a secret community of gifted diviners in the heart of modern-day Los Angeles. His powerful sister was ordained to lead his people into a new age of prosperity, but her mysterious death in Nigeria threatens to destroy the very foundations of TJ’s world.

Desperate to pick up where his sister left off and uncover the secrets behind her questionable death, TJ commits himself to unlocking the magical heritage that has always eluded him. So he enrolls in Camp Olosa—a remedial magic school for the divinely less-than-gifted in the humid swamps of New Orleans.

But little does he know, TJ is destined to cross paths with powerful spirits of old thought lost to time: the Orishas.

Delve into this young adult fantasy based on the mythology of the West African gods, where TJ will encounter unlikely allies, tough-as-gatorhide instructors, and the ancient secrets of the Orishas.

Buy Links

Goodreads

Amazon * Audible * iTunes

ANTOINE BANDELE IS AN AMAZON BESTSELLING AUTHOR IN AFRICAN LITERATURE.

He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his girlfriend, where he produces work on YouTube for his own channel and others, such as JustKiddingFilms, Fanalysis, and more. During the summer he is a camp counselor. Whenever he has the time he’s writing his debut series: Tales from Esowon.

Author Links

Website* Facebook* Twitter* Instagram* Bookbub* Amazon* Goodreads

$10 Amazon giftcard – 1 winner,

ebook of The Gatekeeper’s Staff – 2 winners,

audiobook of The Gatekeeper’s Staff – 2 winners

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Book Spotlight of Everything, Somewhere by David Kummer

Everything, Somewhere

by David Kummer

Genre: Contemporary YA Fiction

The power of memories.

Little Rush is a sleepy town on the Ohio River. Bruce Michaels is a renowned Hollywood actor. The two should never cross paths, yet one summer everything changes. The actor, haunted by demons, chasing a ghost. The town, unaware. Until the two collide.

Hudson, Willow, and Mason are high school seniors with very different upbringings, but all on the verge of adulthood. As the sun sets on their final summer, questions abound. Will they ever leave the town? Is there a future here? As their plans waver, time is running out.

The struggle of mental illness.

As he loses his friends and sinks deeper into depression, Hudson forms an unlikely bond with the actor, Bruce Michaels. But the old man is a ticking time bomb. As Hudson relies on him more, the danger to them both grows.

When dark secrets are revealed, Hudson must confront the truth about his idol and himself. Bruce Michaels isn’t who he seems. Hudson is nearly lost. And in the end, they may be more similar than different.

The search for meaning.

Different paths, converging in a web of alcohol, fights, and romance. Worlds collide one summer in Anywhere, USA. The question is who will make it through.

Goodreads * Amazon

Book Trailer Embed Code:

https://videopress.com/v/2Y3GqBtc

My name is David Kummer. I’m a young writer who leans towards horror, mystery, dystopian, and young adult fiction. I live in Madison, Indiana, a small town on the Ohio River, with lots of history and settings around here that influence my books. You can see tons about my hometown in my novel, EVERYTHING, SOMEWHERE.

I always answer whenever readers email me, so reach out or check out my blog at https://davidkummer.com. I’ve got a handful of books for you to choose from, all of them inexpensive. Reviews and shares are super appreciated.

You may have read some great authors before and some fascinating books, but you’ve never had an experience like this. Try something and let me convince you.

Author Links

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

$20 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

My January Anticipated Releases

 

 

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Releases: January 12, 2021

Purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon 

If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.

Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.

Until, that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can’t just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

Releases: January 26, 2021

Purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon

“Make a way out of no way” is just the way of life for Rue. But when her mother is shot dead on her doorstep, life for her and her younger sister changes forever. Rue’s taken from her neighborhood by the father she never knew, forced to leave her little sister behind, and whisked away to Ghizon–a hidden island of magic wielders.

Rue is the only half-god, half-human there, where leaders protect their magical powers at all costs and thrive on human suffering. Miserable and desperate to see her sister on the anniversary of their mother’s death, Rue breaks Ghizon’s sacred Do Not Leave Law and returns to Houston, only to discover that Black kids are being forced into crime and violence. And her sister, Tasha, is in danger of falling sway to the very forces that claimed their mother’s life.

Worse still, evidence mounts that the evil plaguing East Row is the same one that lurks in Ghizon–an evil that will stop at nothing until it has stolen everything from her and everyone she loves. Rue must embrace her true identity and wield the full magnitude of her ancestors’ power to save her neighborhood before the gods burn it to the ground.

Neighbors by Danielle Steel

Releases: January 5, 2021

Purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon

Meredith White was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California, plunging the Bay Area into chaos. Without a moment’s hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors into her mostly undamaged home as the recovery begins.

These people did not even realize that movie star Meredith White was living on their street. Now, they are sharing her mansion, as well as their most closely kept secrets. Without the walls and privacy of their own homes, one by one, new relationships are forged. For every neighbor there is a story, from the doctor whose wife and children fear him, to the beautiful young woman dating a dishonorable man, to the aspiring writer caring for a famous blind musician.

In the heart of the crisis, Meredith finds herself venturing back into the world. And thanks to the suspicions and the dogged detective work of a disaster relief volunteer, a former military officer named Charles, a shocking truth about her own world is exposed. Suddenly Meredith sees her isolation, her estranged family, and even her acting career in a whole new light.

Filled with powerful human dramas, Neighbors is a penetrating look at how our world can be upended in a moment. In a novel of unforgettable characters and stunning twists, acts of love and courage become the most powerful forces of all.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Releases: January 5, 2021

Purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates––a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie––not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past––or his––catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

 

What books are you anticipating in January?