Dance to a Wylder Beat by Marilyn Barr

            Nartan Sagebrush's name may mean "to dance" in Arapaho, but he dances in secret. Forced to abandon his Shamanic apprenticeship, he is overwhelmed with homesteader life, and even his spirit guides are at their wit's end. Nartan takes fate into his own hands. Instead of divine intervention, a wife will help with his responsibilities and in assimilating into the Wylder community. 

Olive Muegge answers Nartan's "wife wanted" advertisement.  Wildly independent she has secretly dreamed of a family to call her own. The secret she carries inside makes her an outcast and her wild ways don't fit the quiet wife Nartan thinks he desires.

        Despite their differences, they are drawn to each other but a mistake may drive them apart.  Will Nartan embrace his Shamanic past to save them both or will he choose to rid himself of Olive forever?

 Our Review: For those readers who thrive on fiction centered in the old west—and those who lean toward the paranormal—Dance to a Wylder Beat, the latest in the Wylder West series for the Wild Rose Press—is an experience. Author Marilyn Barr has gone above and beyond in her research, not only for the customs and beliefs of the Arapaho nation, techniques once used to prepare animal hides for tanning, popular recipes of the time frame, and an all around lexicon of everyday life in the old West. This is a unique love story between two deserving, multi-layered characters.   

 On a scale of 1-5, Dance to a Wylder Beat deserves a 3.5

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews 

 

 

 

 

Body Conscious by Ana Diamond

 Move over Stephanie Plum. . .  

        As a mortician, Lily Reynolds is used to seeing dead bodies in her family-owned business—just not the murdered type. As hunky yet squeamish detective James Rivers zeroes in on her as the number one suspect, she rises above accusations and rumors to solve the case herself all the while keeping her attraction to the troubled detective at bay.

          James has a past. The last time he let someone into his life, she wound up dead. Vowing never to let that happen again, he has sworn off dating for good—until he meets Lily—and gets a load of what she does for a living. In his gut, he knows she’s not the murderer but pressure to solve the case puts him on the wrong trail while he comes to grips with her job and struggles to keep her off the case.

 Our Review:  While Manorview, a small town along the Hudson River, is no “Burg”, it holds its own when it comes to characters, bumbling and otherwise, kooks, tweakers and bad boys. Humor abounds as Lily and her quirky siblings work hard to keep the family business alive and thriving as a tribute to their murdered parents. And like all small towns, Manorview’s hotline for gossip, inuendo and allegations runs at warp speed. For zany, comedic action, Body Conscious is the story for that reader who appreciates unique and different settings and off the wall humor. We expect great things from debut author Ana Diamond. This is the first of many. Nicely done.

On a scale of 1-5, Body Conscious deserves a 4.5.

She Wakes the Night by Darcy Carson

            Trell Langois escapes a thousand-year-old curse. Being trapped as a tree wasn’t on her bucket list, but now she can continue as a healer. Traveling with her dragon, Torkel, she seeks out new cures to help others and meets Gren, an unfortunate soul who suffers from a dreadful disease.

          Gren Oyg Har is a prince on a mission. In order to rule his father’s kingdom, he must first find a healer. Not just any healer, mind you, but one with a dragon. Yet, it is Trell who finds and recues Gren, but wants nothing to do with him. If not for Torkel, she would leave him behind.

          Separate goals soon become entangled, and both Trell and Gren are on their way to falling in love until secrets better kept hidden become known—and threaten to destroy all they hold dear.

 Our Review: Rarely have we found a novel filled with such lyrical descriptions of every aspect of a story:  the setting, the characters, the emotions. Author Carson has a real talent, not only for her imagination, but also for her clear in-depth research into exotic diseases and ethnic groups. Her ability in putting that information into a cohesive, coherent story is exceptional.

 On a scale of 1-5, She Wakes the Night deserves a 6.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews    

Backup Offer by Liz Crowe

 Backup Offer, Book 9 in the Stewart Realty series, written by Liz Crowe, a July 2021 release by Buoni Amici Press, LLC’

      After Blair Freitag ended things with Brandis Gordon, she was determined to get away--and stay away from him for good. She put family, friends, and the life she knew in Michigan in her rearview mirror and started over. As owner and head chef of her own place in Louisville, Kentucky, she stays busy, turning “Blair’s Kitchen” into the darling of the local restaurant scene. She’s managed to avoid Michigan for almost a decade, but when her best friend needs her help, she drops everything and heads home.

Brandis Gordon has spent the last ten years coming to terms with addiction, personal tragedy, and the loss of the woman he loved. He’s now the third generation to run his family’s construction business, and he’s managed to reconstruct tattered relationships with his family and friends. He’s got everything he needs—except a for one thing.

When the contractor Blair paid to build an expansion on her restaurant takes off, not before making sure her place is trashed to Hell and back. She only hesitates a moment before calling Brandis for help. After he rushes to her side to evaluate the crisis, it doesn’t take long for the temptation of close proximity to give way—with serious consequences.

 Our Review:  It isn’t often that we find an author who portrays addiction and its long-term effects both for the user and those in his/her immediate circle in a clear, coherent manner. Liz Crowe has done an excellent job of showing how events which are in the distant past continue to effect people well into their adult lives. Brandis Gordon has made a truly remarkable recovery in all aspects of his life—and  works the steps each day in many ways. Blair Freitag? Not so much. Yes, she’s worked hard to create a strong professional presence but her personal life remains in tatters still after ten long years. Friends and family urge her to get over herself, but for someone who knows the other side of addiction and the damage it wreaked, it’s not that easy. Recovery and repair must be shown on a daily, continuous basis—and Liz Crowe has done a masterful job with two wounded people coming to grips with the past while forging a future.  

 On a scale of 1—5, Backup Offer deserves a 4.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

The Inventor's Heart by Kara O'Neal

           Alex Davis, “The Genius of Pike's Run” returns from Yale after five years, and anxious to show off his invention that might revolutionize electricity. He also can't wait to see Julia Forrester, best friend and best love. From the first day home, she avoids him like the plague. He doesn't understand and tries everything he can think of to spend time with her—to no avail.

Composer Julia Forrester has loved Alex Davis since their school days. While he acted as confidante and champion for her as she struggled with her studies, she helped him with his inventions. She'd thought he'd loved her, but when he went off to college—and rarely wrote—her heart broke. Now that Alex is back, she is determined to move on with her life and the symphony she’s written. Past hopes and dreams will not overtake her again—despite the steps Alex takes to win his best friend and first and only love back.

Our Review: It’s always a treat to read a story from Kara O’Neal’s heart-warming, family-oriented Pike’s Run series. Her talent for drawing vivid descriptions of people, places and things draws the reader in immediately. And as always, she reaches deep down to tackle human issues and emotions with a realism and common sense. With The Inventor’s Heart, we meet an intrepid heroine who suffers with dyslexia but doesn’t let that keep her back from her music and her life. As well, this reader anyway, learned more about the mysteries of electricity. A twofer. Who could ask for more?

On a scale of 1-5, The Inventor’s Heart deserves a 5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

Sworn to Fly by Maria Imbalzano

  Sparks fly, but will they ignite?

 Sworn to Fly, Book 3 in the Sworn Sisters series of contemporary romances, current release out of the Wild Rose Press and written by Maria Imbalzano.

        Alyssa Beckman, hard-charging ER nurse, has made a few mistakes in her life—and regrets every one of them. Determined to carve a new course for her life, she books herself for a week of healing, yoga and introspection at a resort in the picturesque Pocono Mountains. Within minutes of signing in, she’s ready to take two aspirin—then head for the hills.

High fashion photographer Gabe Sutton, equally hard-charging, is also at a crossroads and doesn’t quite understand why. He knows something’s got to change, and soon, but what? And how?

After these two totally different people meet on a remote hiking trail, as they say in the romance game: it was all over but the shouting.

 Our Review: Reading Sworn to Fly is a breath of fresh air. Two completely opposite and most deserving of happiness people meet by accident, synch instantly, then learn to fight their way to a future filled with trust and love and genuine liking. Imbalzano is a writer to contend with. Well done!!

On a scale of 1-5, Sworn to Fly deserves a 6.

           Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Death by Sample Size by Susie Black

 Everyone wanted Bunny Frank dead…but who actually killed her?

The last thing swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected was to discover was a corpse trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini stuffed down her throat. After Holly’s colleague is arrested for the murder, the wise-cracking and irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to find the real killer. 

Our Review: In the opinion of swimwear executive Holly Schlivnik, when it comes to describing a person or situation, why use five words when ten work better? She has a million of them—opinions that is—and doesn’t hesitate to share them with the extensive cast of characters in author Black’s cozy mystery set in Los Angeles’ world of wholesale swimwear. Death by Sample Size is a fun ride through the streets of LA, taking the reader on a trip to find a cold-blooded killer.

 On a scale of 1-5, Death by Sample Size deserves a 3.5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews