Winter's Kiss by Darlene Fredette

 When her high heels flattened the snow, his defenses didn’t stand a chance.

 About the Book: Danielle Lerato adores the ocean breezes of Victoria, on Canada’s west coast, the comfort of her routine, and a life that requires minimal interaction with snow boots. But when her company relocates to Redford Falls, with a population of unpredictable charm, she agrees to train her replacement with one goal in mind: get in, get out, and never look back.

      Andrew Bailey, a local restaurant owner with a fierce protective streak, doesn’t believe in second chances. Yet, Danielle’s fiery spirit, stubborn streak, and snow-fueled scowls shift his expectations and crack open the door to a future he never dared to imagine.

      As mutual chilly glares and sarcastic banter thaw into cozy glances and unexpected flirts over shared cups of hot cocoa, Danielle suspects the town’s snowy landscape is warming more than her toes. Add in a legendary matchmaker-bunny named Thumper, Redford Falls is stirred into a romantic frenzy, and maybe this snowy wonderland isn’t a detour.

        Maybe it’s destiny.

Our Review: This update of a previously published story is just as much fun as the first time around—especially the scene where Danielle and Andrew ‘meet’ up again. The characters—all of them—are unique and fun [including the infamous Thumper]. This is a short story that cries out for a warm fire, an adult beverage of choice, and a crocheted afghan. Our last comment is this: why hasn’t the Hallmark Channel not picked up this series?

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Winter’s Kiss merits a 7.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

 Every teenager has his or her own secrets. What else is this small Georgia town hiding?

 About the Book: Karin Slaughter, no stranger to man’s inhumanity to women, does not spare the details when it comes to describing the anguish incurred on the family and friends of victims of child sexual abuse and human trafficking. This time, when it hits a small Georgia town, it doesn’t stop with one incident. When a similar crime repeats after twelve years, small town cop Emmy Clifton struggles to maintain herself midst perceived failures to friends, family, and mostly herself as she takes the back roads of North Falls Georgia in her professional role as chief deputy sheriff—always thinking ‘if only I’d done this…said that…” .

Our Review: Having thoroughly enjoyed the author’s wonderful Will Trent series, when we heard author Slaughter had a new one in the making, we glommed onto it and did not want to let go. This holds one surprise after another, keeping the reader thinking, wondering, trying to ID the bad guy—as every good mystery writer wants us to do. We can only hope that Slaughter has more in store for Emmy, her sister Jude and son Cole. Keep them coming, because #1 in the new North Falls series is a winner on every count.

Based on a scale of 1-5, We’re All Guilty Here merits an 8.

 Veronica Lynch, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Phantom Algebra by Dan Rice

      On the run from her abusive father, a teenage MMA fighter finds love and opponents she can’t strike in ghosts.

About the Book:

Zuri and her mother settle in Pinedale, North Carolina, to start over. For years, they’ve been on the run from Zuri’s father, a retired boxer and full-time gangland enforcer. In Pinedale, Zuri finds a gym where she can train in mixed martial arts in order pursue her dream of becoming a champion fighter. At Pinedale High, she discovers friends among the outcasts while battling academic challenges and something unexpected…ghosts.

After she encounters a tween phantom haunting the library, Zuri’s life is turned upside down and inside out as she attempts to help the spirit. This incurs the wrath of devils, living and dead. Zuri will need her martial arts prowess, heart, and the aid of friends to protect everyone she loves.

Our Review: It’s always a treat to read something out of the creative mind of Dan Rice. This one in particular, a part of the Haunting of Pinedale High series, features teenagers and ghosts, a specialty of author Rice who knows how teens think, talk, feel. How they ‘work’ the system whether we’re talking MMA training, school hierarchies or family systems. Zuri has a mind of her own and knows how to use it. Her sensitivity to others—whether corporeal or ghostly—shows through loud and clear. We can’t wait for the next one from this talented writer.

Based on a scale of 1-5, Phantom Algebra merits a 7.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

Undeveloped Memories by Karina Bartow

      We assume we know everything there is to know about those who raised us…until we discover that we don’t. . .

About the Book:  Freelance photojournalist Lorelei Carmichael returns to her hometown of Sedona, Arizona to check on her aging uncle Reed who interrupted his life to raised her and her brother after the tragic deaths of their parents. While searching through the attic, Lorelei comes across evidence of her uncle’s past life as a photographer covering an Alaskan earthquake—then finds more clues which give her the impetus to search for those people, places and things Reed may have given up all in the name of family responsibility.

In an ironic twist, she is offered the assignment to go to Alaska for a story commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of that very disaster. Many people step up to the plate to help Lorelei on her journey which includes a tour to witness the lasting impact of the fifty year-old catastrophe. During her rare free time, she reads one of Reed’s letters to a local woman; this leads her to meet Azalea, the woman Reed knew fifty years ago and never stopped loving.

Torn between her desire to make up for all he sacrificed for her and her brother—as well as her concern over inflicting more heartache, when she returns home and finds a note that his lady love snuck into her bag, Lorelei admits all to her uncle who now has a second chance at love with the woman he lost.

Our Review: This story is much more than a second chance at lost love; it is one of familial devotion and sacrifice. It is also a life lesson in despite all the odds and common sense rearing its often ugly head not being afraid of trying one more time. Sweet and sad at times, it is also filled with sly humor and snappy dialogue spoken between two men of a certain age that readers will relate to immediately. Do not miss this one; it’s a beauty.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Undeveloped Memories merits a 6.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

The Wine Jelly Murder by Meg Benjamin

 Weddings can be murder—this time, for the father of the bride, Now, Roxy needs to find out who hated him most.

 About the Book: Roxy Constantine and Nate Charbineaux are into weddings, both for work and family. But after the obnoxious father of the bride is murdered at the engagement party, they learn more about his business than they bargained for.

     Now someone wants to stop Roxy from investigating even as she pulls out all the stops on a super New Year’s Eve wedding celebration for her uncle and his new wife.

     She’ll need more than wine jelly favors and wedding cake to stop the killer.

Our Review: The Wine Jelly Murder was our first exposure to this fun cozy mystery series out of the Crimson Rose line for the Wild Rose Press—and it definitely won’t be our last. For those who find cooking in any form and all it entails frightening to the extreme, this is a textbook for using ingenuity and imagination. For those who appreciate crusty characters straight out of a casting call for cops, Ethan Fowler is a special treat. Roxy and Nate, who jump off the page from the start, are the picture of lovers who’ve both been around the block a time or two and are finally ready to settle down. This one’s a beauty!!

Based on a scale of 1-5, The Wine Jelly Murder merits an 8.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Paw Prints in the Ledger

 She’ll tell you all about embezzlement and fraud—when she’s not hip deep in training her faithful dog.

About the Book:  Irene Lisner is dedicated to her job as a forensic accountant with Oregon’s Justice Department. Recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she battles every day to make her body do the things she needs it to do while managing a high-stress job. Training her dog for the next agility trial helps her blow off steam, but he’s at the end of his career as an agility dog—and she’s not feeling as good as she’d like.

Being assigned a politically fraught case forces her to work even longer hours instead of getting the rest her doctor recommends. But when checks are discovered missing during a standard audit for the city of West Linn, Irene is sure the city’s problems go beyond staff turnover and the political drama created by the new media hound mayor.

While coping with the often ambiguous, always unrelenting symptoms of MS, Irene and her team confront corruption, embezzlement, and political maneuvering. Under enormous stress, she identifies underlying problems for city officials, confronts the embezzler, and seeks to reconcile a future with a potentially debilitating diagnosis.

Our Review: It’s always a treat when you read a book that features not only well-drawn and layered characters but offers the opportunity to learn something new. In the case of Paw Prints in the Ledger, this math dummy learned about forensic accounting, what goes into the training and care necessary to succeed in the competitive world of canine agility trials, and—perhaps most important—the latest in effective treatment options for Multiple Sclerosis. Best of all, we hear there’s more coming in this forensic accounting series, so hang on. We can’t help but wonder what we’ll learn next.

Based on a scale of 1-5, Paw Prints in the Ledger merits a 7.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

A Life Came Calling by Ann Howard Creel

 "We both want this. We both need this. This is what people live for."

About A Life Came Calling: Before she can accept a marriage proposal from a new suitor, secretary Janey Nicol feels she must travel to a small town in the Tennessee in order to put to rest her feelings for Cole, her fiancé lost in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. There in the lush Smoky Mountains she comes to learn and respect the customs and people Cole spoke of—pays her respects to his grieving parents, learns some important life lessons, gains courage to follow what’s in her heart—and finds new, everlasting love.

Our Review: This is more than a love story, of recovery from loss and grief, of finding a path to new adventures and opportunities. It is a study of history on the very last days of WWII, where the setting of the lush Smoky Mountains stands out as a colorful secondary character, and cuisine and customs of the region flow slow and smooth. It is the type of book one should read slowly, in front of a fire or beach chair, with an adult beverage of choice at hand. It is lovely and sweet and enduring. 

Based on a scale of 1-5, A Life Came Calling merits a 6.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews