#BookReview: On the Surface by Rachel McGuire @crookedlanebks @lexilikestoread

ABOUT THIS BOOK:

A YouTubing cruiser couple sails the world living their best life—until one of them goes missing and their whole world capsizes, in this captivating psychological thriller perfect for fans of Something in the Water and Saint X.

Sawyer Stone III and Dani Fox, a young couple who spends their time circumnavigating the globe aboard their 42' sailboat and documenting it for their fledgling YouTube channel Sailing with the Foxes, have anchored in Exuma, in the Bahamas.

As they wait for the price of crypto to rebound so they can provision and continue their journey, they’re partying and exploring with their fellow cruisers off shore. On the surface, everything looks perfect. But one night, Dani vanishes after a boat party, and Sawyer has no memory of her disappearance.

The search for Dani is initially fueled by concerns that she drowned during one of her daily ocean swims, but Dani's pre-scheduled video posts, recorded before she went missing, soon reveal a darker side to her relationship with Sawyer.

Meanwhile, Royal Bahamas Police Force Inspector Veronique Knowles has her hands full trying to keep the investigation on course as the story of the American woman missing in the Bahamas goes viral and the internet sleuths unearth secrets from Sawyer’s past. Sawyer Stone is far from perfect, but is he a murderer?

This twisty, edge-of-your-seat thriller will keep readers gripped all the way through the final satisfying turn.

#BookTour: What Once Was Promised by Louis Trubiano @RABTBookTours

 

Coming of Age Fiction

Date Published: May 6, 2024

Publisher: MindStir Media

 

He came for a better life, but it didn't turn out to be an easy one.

Sixteen-year-old Domenic Bassini sets out alone for America from his small village in Italy in 1914. He falls in love during a brief onboard affair with the beautiful Francesca, the wife of a man with Sicilian Mafia connections. But he loses her and arrives in Boston instead with an orphan stowaway named Ernesto Lentini in tow.

Domenic and Ernesto stay at the home of old family friends in Boston's Italian North End neighborhood, sharing a room with their son, Joe. Domenic becomes like a big brother to Joe and Ernesto, who become inseparable friends.

As the years and decades pass, youthful rivalries and fateful decisions lead to unpredictable and sometimes unsavory outcomes. Between moments of joy and great tragedy, the three friends' lives take very divergent paths amidst the turbulence of factions vying for power in the early 20th century Boston where the lines between politics, crime and policing are blurred.

But after all that has kept them apart, can Domenic, Ernesto, Joe and even Francesca, come together to settle the score with those who have spent a lifetime fighting against them?

#BookReview: The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier

ABOUT THIS BOOK:

What would guilt make you do? 

Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside. 

Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes. All the while, the persona of Charlotte takes on a life of its own, becoming stronger with each passing day. As her identity begins unraveling, Morgan finds herself tracing Hadleigh’s footsteps and peering into the places they lead.

#BookBlitz: Wormwood by @dhnevins @XpressoTours #Giveaway $25 Amazon gift card

Wormwood
D.H. Nevins
(Wormwood, #1)
Publication date: October 10th 2011
Genres: Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Angels. Demons. Love. Deceit.
“Nevins should be at the top of the New York Times Best-sellers List with this series.” – Amazon Reviewer

Tiamat and his brothers, a legion of one hundred half-angels, have orders to end all of humanity. Yet in a moment of weakness, Tiamat risks his life to rescue a hiker named Kali from the very destruction he initiated.
Kali, thrust from the surety of her world into the boundless hell of Tiamat’s, must try to find a way to survive on the Earth’s vast, devastated landscape. Plagued by a legion of Nephilim bent on sending her on, she is forced to trust Tiamat – the one being who could prove to be her greatest enemy.

“OMG … Fabulous. Unputdownable. 5 stars” – Fundinmental Reviews

“A new kind of tormented romance that is absolutely captivating.” – Carlyle Lasbuchane, USA Today bestselling author

#BookReview: The One I Stood Beside (Plain Daisy Ranch #2) by @PetiteRayne @lexilikestoread

ABOUT THIS BOOK: 

It’s the classic story— best friends since childhood agree to a fake marriage, thinking they can pretend to love each other without their relationship changing.

Jude would do anything for me. He’s stood by my side since we were six, and I’ve done the same for him.

When my father dies, leaving our family farm drowning in debt and on the brink of being auctioned, I’m not surprised Jude steps in to help. I just never dreamed he’d fall to bended knee and devise a plan for us to fool everyone into thinking there’s more than a lifelong friendship between us.

Soon, I’m moving into his house, we’re planning a wedding on his family’s ranch, and we discover a new side to our relationship. I keep reminding myself it’s not real—it’s only to secure a loan to save the farm.

I’ve secretly loved Jude all my life, and now that I know how good we are together, I’m not sure we can return to being just friends.

#BookTour: The Island King by Gina Giordano @RRBookTours1

The Island King 

Publication Date: June 7, 2024

Genre: Dark Gothic Romance/ Dark Historical Romance

🌺Dark History
🌺Fierce FMC
🌺Adventure
🌺Forbidden Love
🌺Cliffhanger Ending
🌺Exotic Setting
🌺African Spirituality
🌺Marriage of Convenience
🌺Enemies to Lovers
🌺Touch Her & 💀
🌺He Falls First
🌺Found Family
🌺F0rced Pr0ximity
🌺Ghostly Interruptions
🌺Love Triangle
🌺Political Corruption
🌺Mysteries & Secrets
🌺Thick Tension

In this dark, immersive tale, the author of STRANGE EDEN returns to colonial Nassau to continue the story of Eliza Sharpe’s volatile marriage to Charles Sharpe.

1792: In the aftermath of her lover Jean’s death, Eliza harbors a secret that threatens to make her fraught situation even worse. She is carrying his child. But when the clairvoyant slave Cleo comes to her aid, the solution holds devastating consequences.

Charles, meanwhile, is engaged in his own secret dealings. When he reveals his plans to Eliza, she is forced to do the unthinkable: to reframe the man she’s viewed for so long as an enemy, into an ally, perhaps even a friend.

Perhaps more.

Events directed by Lord Dunmore’s insatiable greed threaten to destroy their shaky reconciliation. Clandestine political meetings emerge as the other colonists seek an end to the corruption on the island, and they turn to Charles for leadership. But the governor of the Bahamas wants him dead, and he’s hired the perfect man for the deed.

Can Eliza forgive the man she once viewed as a monster? Or has the desperation and darkness that lurks within the walls of Pleasant Hall finally driven her to madness?

TW: Suicidal ideation & attempted suicide

#BookReview: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout @lexilikestoread

ABOUT THIS BOOK:

A Betrayal…

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice...

Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret…

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.