Blog Tour | The Last Little Secret by Zuri Day | Review

July 12, 2021July 12, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Will a secret child stand in the way of business? Find out in this Sin City Secrets novel by Zuri Day.

Is she willing to risk it all

for one more night with the boss?

Thanks to a year-long hiatus, interior designer Samantha Price is desperate for a new project. But the only client she can land is Nick Breedlove, a former one-night stand who’s dominated her fantasies ever since! The real estate billionaire agrees their partnership is strictly professional—even as his flirting promises more. If Sam gives in to their passion…will Nick learn the truth about their baby son?

Add The Last Little Secret to your Goodreads!

This was my first Zuri Day book, but I found I really enjoyed her writing style and how the story itself flowed. Miscommunication and a secret baby aren’t my favorite tropes to read, unless they are done well and for the most part I felt this one was done pretty well. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters and there was enough of the side characters that it makes me want to check out the other books in the series to see who they are about. Though this is the 4th book in the series, I felt it could easily be read as a stand alone if you wanted, I didn’t feel like there was anything I didn’t understand or anything that confused me.

Award-winning author Zuri Day snuck her first Harlequin romance from her older sister’s collection and was hooked from page one. Knights in shining armor and happily-ever-afters spurred a lifelong love of reading. Zuri now creates these stories as a full-time author. Splitting her time between the stunning Caribbean islands and southern California, and always busy writing her next novel, Zuri still loves to connect with readers via Zuri@ZuriDay.com.

Happy reading!

Review | Ghosts of Salem: Haunts of the Witch City by Sam Baltrusis

July 11, 2021July 11, 2021 DeAnne1 Comment

Nestled on the rocky coast of Massachusetts, Salem is a city steeped in history and legend. Famous for its witch trials, the storied North Shore seaport also has a dark history of smugglers and deadly fires. It is considered one of New England’s most haunted destinations. Inside Howard Street Cemetery, the ghost of accused witch Giles Corey wanders among the gravestones. Outside the Ropes Mansion, the ghost of Abigail Ropes can be seen peeking out of the windows. The Gardner-Pingree House on Essex Street is host to the spirit of sea captain Joseph White, a man whose murder in 1830 inspired literary giants like Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Join author and paranormal journalist Sam Baltrusis on a chilling journey through the streets of Salem as he chronicles the historic haunts of the Witch City.

Well, first things first – anyone who uses Ghost Adventures as a source gets a little side eye from me… That being said, I didn’t have an issue with any of the actual quotes from Nick (of Ghost Adventures).

Now on to what I really thought – I really enjoyed this compilation of locations/stories from Salem. I felt the writing style was solid – with any book that deals with history and legends you are going to get some dryness and dense sections, but I felt it was balanced really well between history and story telling. There were some instances where things were repeated which threw me a little, but the author did usually have a note that the subjects were referenced elsewhere in the book. The pictures that went along with the different sections were interesting and definitely added an element to the book as it was helpful to see named locations. Also, most of the sources sounded really interesting (besides Ghost Adventures) so I now have a list of other books I’d like to track down and pick up.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne | Review

July 10, 2021July 10, 2021 DeAnne1 Comment

Meet Josephine, the most loveable mischief-maker in Barbados, in a magical, heartfelt adventure inspired by Caribbean mythology.

Eleven-year-old Josephine knows that no one is good enough for her daddy. That’s why she’s desperate to make it onto her school’s cricket team. She’ll get to play her favorite sport AND make sure her fisherman daddy is too busy attending her matches to date.

But when tryouts go badly, the frustrated Josephine cuts into a powerful silk cotton tree and accidentally summons a bigger problem into her life . . .
The next day, Daddy brings home a new catch, a beautiful woman named Mariss. And unlike the other girlfriends, she doesn’t scare easily. Josephine knows there’s something fishy about Mariss–she sings in a strange language, eats weird food, and seems to exert mysterious control over everyone she meets.

Josephine knows that Mariss isn’t what she seems … she might not be human! But who’s going to believe her? Can Josephine convince her friends to help her and use her cricket skills to save Daddy from Mariss’s clutches before it’s too late?

What can I say about this book that doesn’t start with the fact that I loved every second of it? It’s rich with culture, heritage and folklore – as well as a main character who speaks with such a clear voice that she’s practically three dimensional. It was such a fun and compelling read from start to finish with writing that just flew by and was completely immersive. There were so many times during this book that I was laughing and I truly enjoyed the glimpse into modern Barbados life and culture. I also really loved the dynamic between Josephine and her father, and the talk of her father’s heritage since he was from Guyana. This book was packed full of so much that I loved and I will definitely be looking for more from this author in the future.

Shakirah Bourne is a Barbadian author and filmmaker. Her first feature film, the comedy-drama, PAYDAY, was screened throughout the Caribbean, USA and UK. She has written three films since its debut in 2013: Two Smart (writer/co-director), Next PAYDAY (writer/producer) and A Caribbean Dream (writer/director). A Caribbean Dream is distributed by Verve Pictures and had a cinema release in London in 2017. The film won several awards, including Best Drama at the National Film Awards UK, Best International Feature at the Charlotte Black Film Festival and best UK Feature at the London Independent Film Festival.

Her short stories have been featured in many literary journals (see below). Her self-published collection of short stories, IN TIME OF NEED (2013), won the prestigious Governor General Award for Excellence in Literary Fiction. She was a finalist for the BURT/CODE Award for Caribbean Literature in 2018. The Caribbean edition of her middle grade novel, MY FISHY STEPMOM, was published by Blue Banyan Books (2019) and the North American edition, JOSEPHINE AGAINST THE SEA, will be published by Scholastic in 2021.

She was a Part-time Lecturer at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, and is a Part-Time Lecturer in Screenwriting at the Barbados Community College. She currently holds Certificates in Screenwriting from the Barbados Community College and the University of Edinburgh, and an MA (Hons) in Arts and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University.

Author Links | Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Make sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour here!

Happy reading!

Review | Circus Girl, The Hunter, and Mirror Boy by J.Y.Yang

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 DeAnne1 Comment

As an orphaned sixteen-year-old, Lynette was haunted by the ghost of Mirror Boy, the drowned child who replaced her reflection. Ten years later, she’s built herself a new life, but all that is threatened when Mirror Boy returns, warning of danger. A hunter has come for both of them, and unless Lynette can figure out what’s going on, they will both perish.

I enjoyed a previous short story I read by this author, so I definitely wanted to check out this one. Though it was short I really enjoyed the snippet of this setting and world that was revealed. I would definitely enjoy reading more stories in this world as I felt the author really crafted the small look at it really well. It was an interesting mix of different elements and I really liked it. The plot itself is a simple storyline, but it was all the elements that went into it – from the description of the main character’s past to the different locations described.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | Pug Actually by Matt Dunn

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Doug’s human, Julie, has been adrift since she lost her mom (which is strange, because she’s usually pretty good with directions). Doug just wants Julie to be happy, and he doesn’t think she’s going to get there while she’s seeing her married boss, Luke. What’s worse, she’s saying if things don’t work out with Luke, she might end up like her lonely cat-lady neighbor. Horrified by the prospect of a sad Julie and untrustworthy feline companion, Doug decides it’s time for an intervention.

Despite his short legs and some communication roadblocks, Doug sets out on a quirky, sweet, and hilarious mission to find his rescuer the love she deserves. Though he doesn’t totally understand the strangeness of human relationships, he knows he can’t give up on Julie – after all, being a rescue dog works both ways…

As soon as I saw that this book was told from Doug’s (the pug) point of view, I was intrigued. It was such as cute and fun story as he tried to help his owner and best friend find her direction and steer her in the right direction. Doug’s feelings towards Julie were in all of his actions, no matter how frustrating her actions may have been. The writing style of this book was also super easy to read and fast paced, which made it a quick and enjoyable read – perfect for summer reading!

Matt Dunn’s romantic comedy novels include The Ex-Boyfriend’s Handbook (shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance), A Day at the Office (an Amazon #1 bestseller across several categories), Thirteen Dates (shortlisted for the Romantic Comedy of the Year Award), and Kindle #1 Bestseller At The Wedding. He’s also written about life and love for The Times, Guardian, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Company, Elle, and The Sun.

Social Links | Author Website | Twitter: @MattDunnWrites | Goodreads

Happy reading!

Review | Rebel Girls Lead: 25 Tales of Powerful Women

July 1, 2021July 1, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Rebel Girls Lead: 25 Tales of Powerful Women celebrates the incredible and inspiring stories of 25 women leaders in politics, business, sports, activism, and more, all written in fairy tale form. It is part of the award-winning Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.

Reach for new heights with Vice President Kamala Harris. Organize voter registration with Stacey Abrams. Spread messages of kindness with Lady Gaga. And captain a team of Olympic gymnasts with Aly Raisman.

This collection of 25 stories includes the most beloved stories of leadership from the first three volumes of the New York Times best-selling series, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. And also features 11 brand new tales of women’s activism, bravery, and vision.

Rebel Girls Lead celebrates the leadership of women from Michelle Obama to Malala Yousafzai. It is illustrated by female artists from around the world.

I had heard about the previous Rebel Girls books in the past, so I was excited to see this new one available. It’s a short volume about women from past and present. Even though this one contains only 25 stories, it has a good mix of cultures, professions/dreams/causes and contemporary/past figures. The way each story is written is easily consumable for most ages, especially it’s target audience. The way each woman is described as well as their dreams, motivations and achievements could easily help shape the dreams of younger generations.

Happy reading!

Review | Running Out of Time by Cindi Myers

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

When a terrorist is on the loose, the Tactical Crime Division is on the case.

To find out who poisoned medications, two of TCD’s agents are tapped to go undercover posing as a married couple and infiltrate the company. But as soon as Jace Cantrell and Laura Smith arrive at Stroud Pharmaceuticals, someone ups the ante by planting explosives in their midst. Turns out that the small-town family business is hiding a million secrets. Could they unknowingly be protecting a vengeful killer?

I’ve really enjoyed every installment in this series, including this one. As with the others, the romance is less important than the suspense, but I found this one to have a good balance between the two. It was fun to watch two characters who are in some ways opposites work together and grown a relationship. I felt this one was especially realistic in it’s portrayal of events and relationships between people. All in all I really felt it was fitting end to the series and though it could be read by itself, I would recommend reading all four books.

Happy reading!

Review | The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson

June 28, 2021June 28, 2021 DeAnneLeave a comment

Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls–a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place–Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the “Saturday Night Ghost Club.” But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly lighthearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become.

I was really excited for this book when I heard the premise of it, but it fell short for me – I think that’s more of an expectation problem where I was hoping for a certain thing and didn’t get it. While I did enjoy the story as a whole, I didn’t really connect with it. It is a coming of age story, but also talks a lot about cancer (specifically in the brain) and trauma to the brain and its effects. We follow Jake primarily during the summer of his 12th year, but also follow him as an adult for part of the book. He spends the summer checking out locations of local legends with his uncle and a couple new friends – the stories themselves, as his uncle tells them, are dark and compelling – but there isn’t as much supernatural as I would have hoped. I had pretty much guessed the reveal (at least the jist of it) about 2/3 of the way through the book, but even having done that there were still some surprise elements. Definite trigger warnings for talk of cancer and tumors, trauma to the brain (and how the brain copes with trauma), talk of brain surgery in detail and loss of loved ones.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | Shark Summer by Ira Marcks | Review

June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 DeAnne1 Comment

“Shark Summer is bursting with vibrant, expressive art….The characters are distinct and relatable…It’s a lovely read!”—Molly Knox Ostertag, author of the Witch Boy series

“Eloquently chronicled in Marcks’s cinematic panels, friendships are formed and repaired, parental relationships articulated, and inner conflicts expressed and resolved. A winning production.” —Kirkus

When a Hollywood film crew arrives on Martha’s Vineyard with a mechanical shark and a youth film contest boasting a huge cash prize, disgraced pitcher Gayle “Blue Streak” Briar sees a chance to turn a bad season into the best summer ever.

After recruiting aspiring cinematographer Elijah Jones and moody director Maddie Grey, Gayle and her crew set out to uncover the truth of the island’s own phantom shark and win the prize money. But these unlikely friends are about to discover what happens when you turn your camera toward the bad things lurking below the surface.

I didn’t know a ton about this graphic novel going in but I was prepared for it to be a fun summer story, and it was! I really enjoyed the story as we followed Gayle as she navigated summer in Martha’s Vineyard, made new friends, dealt with a movie crew on location and dove deep into an old legend. She was definitely a complex character with not only issues that a lot of teens face, but she’s also having a crisis of identity due to what happened in her last baseball game, plus those she thought were her friends maybe aren’t as good of friends as she thought. While the plot has lots of components to it, I felt they were all wrapped up really well by the end of the graphic novel.

Ira Marcks is a cartoonist living in Upstate New York with his wife, two cats, a dog, and lots of books he’s been meaning to read. His love for ancient magic and possible futures has led him to create a warehouse of esoteric objects for the Hugo Award-winning magazine Weird Tales and to tell stories about villainous technology for the European Research Council. Shark Summer is his debut graphic novel.

Author Links | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Happy reading!

Review | Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 DeAnne2 Comments

A feminist comic book history of women’s rights, from the ancient world to modern times, in a giftable, visually stunning package.

August 26, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote. And while suffrage has been a critical win for women’s liberation around the world, the struggle for women’s rights has been ongoing for thousands of years, across many cultures, and encompassing an enormous variety of issues. Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is a fun, fascinating, and full-color exploration of that important history, tracing its roots from antiquity to show how 21st-century feminism developed. Along the way, you’ll meet a wide range of important historical figures and learn about many political movements, including suffrage, abolition, labor, LGBT liberation, the waves of feminism, and more.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this graphic novel, from the message, delivery and art. This graphic covered so much of women throughout history who had impacts on the rights of women, while also covering a diverse range of subjects in short, consumable vignettes. I would love if there were more put out by this author since I know this was likely scraping the surface on women and individuals who have made an impact. I also really enjoyed that it covered diverse individuals all over the world, not just in the U.S. – that was a really nice thing to incorporate into it.

Happy reading!