Review: Not Your Idol Vol. 1

A psychological suspense series about a girl who has given up her life as an idol after being assaulted by a fan.

After that day, she stopped being a girl. In the wake of an assault, Nina Kamiyama, a former idol in the group Pure Club, shuns her femininity and starts dressing as a boy. At high school she keeps to herself, but fellow student Hikaru Horiuchi realizes who she is. What secrets is she keeping? The shocking drama starts. 

Typically when I read manga I reach for the ones with a fantasy or paranormal twist, but the premise of this one sounded interesting. We’re following an ex-idol who has completely changed her appearance due to an assault she suffered and the trauma and effects that come after it. There’s also the more sinister story line of her attacker possibly still being after her and a lot of discussion about sexual harassment and assault. I was not expecting the first volume to be as complex as it was, but it all flowed together well.

I’m interested to see where this series goes, especially with how the first volume ended. There’s a definite question regarding multiple people’s motives, so I’m thinking it will be a twisting series.

Not Your Idol Volume 1 is coming out on May 5th by Viz Media, so be sure to pick it up if it sounds like it is up your alley – happy reading!

Review: The Accursed Inheritance of Henrietta Achilles

The life of Henrietta Achilles is about to change. After years of living as an orphan, she receives a summons to the strange town of Malrenard. To her surprise, she’s the only living relative of Ornun Zol–a notorious wizard, now deceased, who leaves Henrietta with his house and everything in it.

With Ornun Zol gone, escaped creatures and misfired curses have been spilling out into Malrenard. If that’s not enough, Henrietta will discover countless squabbling squatters inside her uncle’s abode: soldiers, bandits, tiny monsters, and more. Then there’s the matter of the strange black cat following Henrietta around . . . 

The premise of this graphic novel sounded both hilarious and intriguing, so I had to check it out. Poor Henrietta is thrown into the thick of things right away and what a roller coaster ride it ends up being. This graphic novel is a great first volume and I was actually bummed when I reached the end because I wanted more.

The characters shown so far are quite a mix of personalities and I’m sure will factor in importantly as the series goes on. It’s definitely a compelling story that makes you wonder what is coming next and seems like it will be quite an adventure for Henrietta.

Happy reading!

Review: Skycircus

When a travelling skycircus arrives in Brackenbridge, Lily and Robert can’t wait to step aboard… But there’s something sinister about the hybrid children who appear as part of the act. And before Lily and Robert can do anything, they’re captured by shadowy figures and whisked off in the mysterious flying circus to somewhere far, far away…

Treachery, tight-ropes and trickery combine in this incredible third Cogheart adventure…

I have thoroughly enjoyed both Cogheart and Moonlocket, so I had high hopes for Skycircus and it did not disappoint. Bunzl takes us on another thrilling adventure that didn’t have so much to do with a mystery as it did with people that had certain motives.

As always I so enjoyed the recurring characters and their personalities. Each book tends to see growth in both Robert and Lily as they face every challenge that comes their way. Their reactions and responses to certain situations are valid, but they also still have a lot of that impulsiveness that goes along with youth. Also, I always adore Malkin’s attitude juxtaposed against theirs.

The circus was written masterfully and was rife with danger and creepiness. It was a great setting that was perfect for the adventure. I can’t wait to get my hands on book 4!

Skycircus is out now, so make sure to pick it up with Cogheart and Moonlocket – happy reading!

Havenport Release Day Blitz

Welcome to Havenport, RI a fictional town not far from Newport where you’ll find romance, suspense, time travel and secrets shared by five authors in genres you love. Today they are releasing five new standalone books, come check them out and stay for a spell…

A quick note from Havenport newspaper gossip, Candy Apples…. 

Okay, here’s the skinny. Havenport’s a great town. Perfect for a gossip like me. 😉 I’ve been writing this column for years and never struggle for a story. Easiest job I’ve ever had!

We may have started as a small fishing town (stop by our maritime museum to learn more) but we’ve expanded into a thriving hub for business of all sorts. Lots of restaurants, a charming bookstore, souvenir shops, whale watching, ghost tours, even a metaphysical shop (the manager’s a member of our local coven)…there’s never a shortage of things to do here.

We’ve got Manor Road, with titans of business known for bringing the money to town—and the drama. I don’t need a shovel to dig up the dirt (or the skeletons) over there.

I’m no less busy when I take a stroll down Main Street and eavesdrop—um, I mean, talk to the shopkeepers. They’re a nosy bunch, but they’ve got your best interest at heart. I’ve seen some great couples get together over a drink at Royce’s Tavern or after dropping off a pup for daycare at Wags & Walks.

With our close proximity to major cities like Newport, Providence, Boston, and New York City, we attract just about everybody. And, in the spirit of our founding fathers, Havenport welcomes them all with open arms. And when I say everyone, I mean it.

Are you looking for a hometown hero to sweep you off your feet? A debonair best-selling author? Is a time traveler from the Roaring Twenties more your style? If you’re looking for adventure or to reunite with a lost love, you’ll find it here.

And I’ll report all the juicy details.
~ Candy Apples

Discover Your Next Read 

Heart of the Matter

Digging into the past can be murder.

Addison Moore, a well-known psychiatrist, is having difficulty coming to terms with the death of her grandmother, Cookie. The woman was everything to her after her parents died in a plane crash over Lockerbie, Scotland. Little did Addy know, an old picture tucked away in the family bible of Cookie with a handsome stranger would lead her to a discovery for which she is little prepared.

Ethan Taylor is an art historian. He’s lived with his Great Uncle Ben for a long time and would do anything for him. He never anticipated Ben’s dying wish would introduce him to his biggest sacrifice.

Neither Addy nor Ethan are prepared for the lengths at which their families went through to keep Cookie and Ben apart. As they put the pieces together, they uncover a decade’s old unsolved murder implicating Cookie and Ben. Will Addy and Ethan’s blossoming love be able to stand the strain of finding the truth? Will they be able to get to the heart of the matter?

Grab your copy: Amazon | Add to Goodreads

RUTH A. CASIE is a USA Today bestselling author of historical swashbuckling action-adventures and contemporary romance with enough action to keep you turning pages. Her stories feature strong women and the men who deserve them, endearing flaws and all. She lives in New Jersey with her hero, three empty bedrooms and a growing number of incomplete counted cross-stitch projects. Before she found her voice, she was a speech therapist (pun intended), client liaison for a corrugated manufacturer, and vice president at an international bank where she was a product/ marketing manager, but her favorite job is the one she’s doing now—writing romance.
She hopes her stories become your favorite adventures.

Everything

Gage and Dani have been through it all: the struggles of life, exciting military service, rocky relationships, and heart breaking deaths. In twenty-plus years of being best friends, they’ve never faced as big of a challenge as they do now. Can their friendship and hearts survive the ultimate test of time?














Grab your copy: Amazon | Add to: Goodreads

D.C. “Desi” Stone is a best-selling romance author and full-time investigator. She lives in the northeast with her incredibly supporting husband, two kids, and the ever-growing family of pets. After serving eight years of service with the United States Air Force, she went on to transition into the world of financial and organized crimes and became a lead investigator for many years. Reading has always been a passion of hers, and getting lost in a good, steamy romance is one of her favorite past times. Her writing concentrates on romantic with specifics in paranormal, suspense, and erotica. When she isn’t trying to solve a new puzzle in the world of fraud, she is engulfed with coffee, her laptop, and all those crazy characters. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Hudson Valley Romance Writers, New Jersey Romance Writers, RomVets, RWA Kiss of Death, and the Liberty State Fiction Writers. She served as the 2014 NJRW Vice President and Conference Chair.

Always

Brianna Baxter thinks she has the world figured out. She lives a life of privilege and does whatever she wants. After living in New York City, London, New Jersey, and Florida she settles down in Havenport, Rhode Island. As the Christmas holiday approaches, a secret is revealed and she is challenged with the most important decision of her life.

Workaholic Simon May gets an unexpected vacation over the holidays and visits family in London. At his childhood home, he finds an envelope that holds the answer to his future. Or does it? He throws caution to the wind and jumps on the next available flight across the pond in search of what he lost. He takes the biggest risk of his life, unsure of what he will encounter once the plane touches down.

Will the uncertainty of Brianna’s future steer her in the right direction? Will Simon receive the answer he seeks?





Grab your copy: Amazon | Add to: Goodreads

Lita Harris spends her time between New Jersey and the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania. She even lived in Alaska for a short time just for fun. Her two rescue dogs are always close by and travel everywhere with her. An avid crafter, unused supplies clutter her basement and attempts at making pottery, jewelry, and stained glass are scattered throughout her house. She also makes candles and homemade soap. With enough books to stock a small library she may need to construct a building to store her literary obsession. She writes multiple genres, women’s fiction, contemporary romance, paranormal, and cozy mysteries.

Rescuing the Ranger

Gabe Preston’s been sent on a mission: clean out his beloved grandmother’s house in Havenport and help move her into senior living—or so he thinks. Havenport had always been a special place to visit while growing up, but during this ride into town he finds more than he bargained for. Surviving multiple deployments as an Army Ranger hadn’t ever proved this type of challenging. All Gabe desires is to ride his motorcycle, enjoy his time out of the Army, and figure out his next stop in life. The best laid plans don’t necessarily work out when you’ve got a meddling, matchmaking grandmother.

Francesca Montefiore loves Havenport, and her recently acquired florist shop. She’s finally made a fresh start in her life, one stem at a time. When she’s “adopted” by the local Garden Club members she treasures the ladies as family, something she’d been sorely lacking. When her past comes back to threaten her contentment, she’ll need the help of one hunky, visiting Army Ranger, the Garden Club President’s grandson to come to her rescue. But will she be the one doing the rescuing instead?

Grab your copy: Amazon | Add to: Goodreads

Nicole S. Patrick is a Human Resources professional by day and romance novelist the rest of the time. She’s a founding partner in Timeless Scribes, Publishing, LLC and crafts contemporary romance stories about military heroes. Former President of New Jersey Romance Writers, she met her business and writing partners at a meeting and the rest is history. Together they created the fictional town of Havenport, RI, where magic is in the air, and love happens with every story. Nicole currently lives in central New Jersey with her husband and two sons who keep her house in a state of constant chaos…but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Time After Time

When Sophia Segarra, the owner of Time After Time Antiques in Havenport, finds a packet of love letters from the 1920s in her shop, she can’t help but fantasize about what it would be like to find a love like the one described in those letters. But even though she’s told the pearl necklace from her Halloween costume will bring the wearer to true love, she never imagined they’d transport her back in time to the Roaring Twenties.

In 1928, Liam O’Connell is writing an article on the Main Street Bandits for the Havenport Herald while investigating the disappearance of his brother. He’s not having much luck with either and a trip to Tilly’s speakeasy on Halloween is about to make life more interesting.

Liam’s reporter instincts tell him Sophia’s hiding something, and he’s determined to find out what. Will her secret keep them apart, or will they come to realize that time after time, love overcomes all obstacles?




Grab your copy: Amazon | Add to: Goodreads

EMMA KAYE is married to her high school sweetheart and has two beautiful kids that she spends an insane amount of time driving around central New Jersey. Before Scouts and drama club entered her life, she decided to try writing one of those romances she loved to read and discovered a new passion. She has been writing ever since. Add in a playful puppy, two patient cats, and a snake, and she’s living her own happily ever after while making her characters work hard to reach theirs.

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Review: Through the Woods

Discover a terrifying world in the woods in this collection of five hauntingly beautiful graphic stories that includes the online webcomic sensation “His Face All Red,” in print for the first time.

Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.

Already revered for her work online, award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll’s stunning visual style and impeccable pacing is on grand display in this entrancing anthology, her print debut.

I think this book suffered slightly because it wasn’t as creepy as I was expecting. The artwork perfectly suited the scary stories, and the start vibrant colors (or lack there of) made it very dynamic. I felt like I was just wanting it to go a little farther and be a little more in the scary department.

Still, there were some stories that I felt were amazing, specifically A Lady’s Hands Are Cold and The Nesting Place. Those were real stand outs in the collection. I would definitely pick up other works by Emily Carroll, I just wished there had been a little more.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour: Temporary Wife Temptation

Much more than he bargained for…

“You want me to find you a wife?”

“No. I want you to be my wife.”

Garrett Song is this close to taking the reins of his family’s LA fashion empire…until the Song matriarch insists he marry her handpicked bride first. To block her matchmaking, he recruits Natalie Sobol to pose as his wife. She needs a fake spouse as badly as he does. But when passion burns down their chaste agreement, the flames could destroy them all…

I can honestly say that I loved this one – I’ve never read anything by Jayci Lee, but after experiencing her writing I’ll be sure to pick up more. So much of this made me think of kdramas (which are something I love) that I had a great time reading it.

It was so spicy and such a fast read (maybe at some points advancing too fast, but understandably with it’s length) that I almost read it all in one sitting. I would definitely say that the characters had depth and each had their ulterior motives for the relationship. I do love a good fake dating trope and this one definitely satisfied that for me. Overall, I would definitely read it again and look forward to reading more of Jayci Lee’s writing.

Jayci Lee writes poignant, funny, and sexy romance. She lives in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction. She is semi-retired from her 15-year career as a defense litigator, and writes full-time now. She loves food, wine, and travelling, just like her characters. Books have always helped her grow, dream, and heal. She hopes her books will do the same for you.

Happy reading!

Review: Moonstruck Vol 1

Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriend go on a date to a close-up magic show, but all heck breaks loose when the magician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it’s up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it’s too late.

I didn’t know much about this except that a lot of people I follow thought it was adorable but I had definitely heard enough to want to pick it up. Let me just say that I am so glad I did! The art style is so whimsical and beautiful, the style and color palette just perfect for the setting and story. I loved the mystery and overall storyline and really feel like it is a good start to the series. I definitely would like to see more in the series and learn more about the characters and their backstories. These characters have such great relationships, but also their own insecurities and I would love to see more expanding on that.

Happy reading!

Review: Of Thee I Sing

What’s your dream? Do you believe that God will answer your prayers so that you can fulfill that dream? Do you really believe that He is faithful? Unrealized dreams can cause deep pain that lasts for years. What takes away that pain? The journey through life is a learning process that each human must endure. I say endure because the learning is not always comfortable. You are not alone in anything you do. The lessons learned and talked about in this book can help anyone who is dealing with trouble, pain, human interaction, or faith. By reading this book, the author hopes you will learn a little about music, a little more about life, and a lot about the love of God.

Full disclaimer, I do know the author and did help with preliminary edits before the book was published, but that didn’t factor into my review or reading experience.

That being said, this is a wonderful telling of a story through different stages of music and musical terms. Musical terms are used to describe different stages of life as well as different personalities. The author weaves parts of her life through these terms, exploring some of her defining moments and how music and faith have changed and shaped her. Essentially how she became comfortable in her skin, secure with her faith and even showing that even now she still deals with vulnerabilities. It’s a wonderful story of life as it is, rough patches, bright spots, love and laughter.

I feel even if you aren’t religious you can still find valuable content and lessons within this book. It’s a great story of finding yourself and finding your way towards enjoying your journey as it takes you through life.

Happy reading!

Announcement & Shout Out

Today I want to take some time to give a shout out to the people who recently made me my new banner and logo/icon. You may have seen some of the changes and I wanted to devote a post to thanking them!

My banner, the incredible and whimsical path of wandering books, was created by Mir at https://fangirlpixieblog.com/! You can find her at her blog, on twitter or at her etsy shop FangirlPixieJar!

The other change you may have seen was my icon/logo which my cousin A.J. made for me. With this I did want something different but still whimsical and he was great to work with for that. He can be found on instagram at @realajlogan, contacted by email at aj@imlhlife.com or by phone at (971)344-7469.

Both of these artists were amazing to work with! They communicated with me amazingly and customized everything to what I was wanting until I was happy. Be sure to reach out to them if you’re looking for great graphics!

Review: The Cheerleaders

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

I found this book to be a fun mystery that was definitely full of twists and turns, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. There were a number of plot elements that I felt were unnecessary and didn’t really add anything to the story, but rather detracted from it. Also I kind of felt like the Monica at the beginning of the book was a completely different person to the Monica at the end of the book, and not just because she grew as a character.

I did definitely enjoy the twists and turns, as well as the constructing of the puzzle as more and more of the mystery regarding the deaths of the cheerleaders was revealed. Everything was resolved at the end in a satisfying way and I did feel like everything was answered. The writing was easy to read and engaging. Overall I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t entirely for me.

Happy reading!