HIS MAGIC TOUCH by Debby Grahl is a contemporary paranormal
romance featuring witches and ghosts set in NOLA. Ms. Grahl’s world-building
effortlessly pulls you into the conflict between good and evil and the
generational curse which is the suspense element of the story. The lore and
setting of New Orleans adds to the story’s impact.
Jared Dupre is a powerful witch. He met his soulmate, Kendra
O’Connel several years ago at a coven meeting.
Now, on the eve of their wedding, Jared discovers his brother has been kidnapped by Adam Montief, a powerful dark witch. If Jared does not follow, Adam has sworn to kill his brother and threatens to kill Kendra as well. Jared refuses to tell Kendra where he is so that she remains safe in New Orleans. Adam believes he is The Chosen One and has to kill Jared to settle a centuries old family vendetta.
A swordfight between the two sends Adam wounded and over the
side of a cliff and leaves Jared severely wounded. As Jared heals in Connecticut,
Kendra believes he has left her for another woman.
When Jared returns to New Orleans, he finds that Kendra does
not want to hear the truth of what happened and Adam is alive and dating
Kendra. Jared must now find a way to protect and win back Kendra as he
investigates the reason for the vendetta between the Montief’s and the Dupre’s
which will only end with the death of one of heirs.
I absolutely loved the setting and world-building in this
book. The witches and ghosts of NOLA interacting with the human population was
believable and interesting. The twisting suspense plot in the past and present
kept me turning the pages. I did have a problem with the romance subplot. Kendra’s
reactions on her own and with her two best friends, I felt were very immature.
I dislike when a lack of communication or misunderstandings are the main reasons
for a couple not being together for a large portion of the book especially when
they are supposedly soulmates.
I really enjoyed the suspense and world-building in this
book, but not the romance. I would read more books in this witchy world hoping
for a more mature relationship in the next book.
Today the Feature Post and Book Review is for Mary Burton’s upcoming release HIDE ANDSEEK (Criminal Profiler #1). Below you will find a guest piece from the author, an excerpt from the title, my book review, a bio about the author and social media links for the author. At the end of the post, you will also see a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a digital copy of the book.
It was hard to put this book down and I was on the edge of my seat at the climax. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Profiling FBI Profiler Macy Crow
Special Agent Macy Crow is 33-years-old and is
an accomplished FBI Agent. She’s worked a series of high profile cases
across the United States and isn’t afraid to take chances. When her father was
murdered, she headed to Texas to investigate the crime. Following clues left
behind by her father, she was closing in on the killer when she became the
victim of a hit and run accident.
Most would have died from the injuries Macy
sustained or would have been permanently disabled. However, Macy channeled her
extreme ability to focus into her recovery. Though her fit muscles have
softened during her recovery, she is regaining strength each day and is now
laser-focused on returning to the FBI as a field agent. Before her
accident, she had shoulder length blond hair but the brain surgeons who saved
her life cut off all her hair. She now proudly sports a pixie cut.
When Macy returned to Texas, she learned a
startling fact about herself. She has an identical twin—medical examiner Dr.
Faith McIntyre. Though adopted by different families, the sisters already have
a strong connection.
Macy’s adoptive parents split when she was two
and she moved from Texas to Alexandria, Virginia located outside of Washington,
D.C. Over the years she remained close with her father and spent many summers
with him helping repair old cars on his auto salvage lot. In Alexandria, she
and her mother lived in a large apartment complex. When she was young, a
neighborhood girl was murdered. That tragedy had a very profound affect on
Macy, who discovered she wasn’t afraid of the police and FBI agents swarming
the apartment complex. Instead, she was fascinated by their work and not only
watched law enforcement in action but also walked the actual crime scene
herself in search of clues.
Macy has never been married and has no children. For a long time, she considered herself married to her job and it wasn’t until she met FBI Special Agent Mike Nevada that she reconsidered her single status. However, her accident cut short their romance. Nevada is now the sheriff in a small Virginia town in the Shenandoah Valley. He understands Macy’s need to reclaim the FBI job she has always loved so much. In the last year, he has never forgotten her and is committed to helping regain her old life. When the two are paired on a cold case murder investigation in Nevada’s district, they become an unstoppable team.
***
Excerpt: Hide and Seek by Mary
Burton
Vivid blue
sky, white clouds, and golden fall leaves blanketed the Blue Ridge and
Allegheny mountains and created a picture-perfect day in the valley. In Macy’s
book, the beauty was wasted. If she had God’s ear, today would have been cold,
overcast, and damp. Save the pretty days until she caught this killer.
As she drove south down I-81, Macy mentally
replayed her ten minutes of regional research. In the last couple of decades,
the Shenandoah Valley’s population had ballooned thanks to a growing
university, its proximity to Washington, DC, and a thriving tourism trade
peddling vineyards, Civil War battlefields, and railroad museums. Filling in
the economic gaps were warehouse distribution centers, chain hotels, and strip
malls.
The voice of Macy’s GPS cut through AC/DC’s Back in Black blasting from her
playlist and instructed her to take the upcoming exit toward Deep Run. As she
rolled onto Route 250, a sign for her go-to fast-food eatery gave her an excuse
to stretch her legs before driving the remaining ten miles to the crime scene.
Parking, she gingerly rose up out of the car.
Her leg hurt. Stretches weren’t optional any more. She grabbed her ankle and
pulled until the bunched muscles in her thigh released. After a quick walk
around the lot, she made a beeline for the restaurant bathroom.
She glanced into the mirror as she washed her
hands. Even after five months, she still didn’t recognize the woman with the
short hair and thin face.
Nevada was in for a rude awakening.
She wiped her face with a paper towel. “Macy
Crow, you’re above ground and headed in the right direction. That’s what
counts.”
At the counter, she ordered a supersize bucket
of fries and a large soda. It wasn’t that she loved the food—okay, maybe she
did love the fries—but the chain restaurant’s predictability and sameness was
comforting after so many life changes.
A few fries later, she was in her car and
backing out of her space when her phone rang. Nevada’s number appeared. She
cleared her throat and sat a little taller.
“Agent Macy Crow,” she said.
“Ramsey tells me you’re on your way. Where are
you?”
He was direct, rarely charming, and she always
knew where she stood with him. “Fifteen minutes from the barn.”
“I’m here now.”
The transition back into a working relationship
appeared effortless. Whatever they had was over and done. No hard feelings.
“See you soon,” she said.
En route on the interstate, she ate her fries
and drained her soda. There were no guarantees on when the next meal would be.
The last few miles took her down smaller roads
until she spotted the driveway marked by stacked stones. Gravel crunched under
her tires as she passed a freshly cleared field. Over the rise of a hill, she
saw the old barn encircled by yellow crime scene tape.
When she had been researching the area, slogans
such as “Best Quality of Life” and “Raise Your Family in Deep Run” popped up on
her computer screen. As she had read about the area, she had kept glancing
toward her open case file filled with images of Tobi Turner’s scattered bones.
Recent pictures had captured the barn surrounded by dozens of state and local
law enforcement vehicles crammed side by side in the grassy field.
Now as Macy parked, she noted that all the
vehicles were gone expect for a lone black SUV. She grabbed her Glock from the
glove box, holstered it, and stepped out of her car. Her worn hiking boots
sloshed in the damp muddy soil. She tugged on an FBI windbreaker and draped her
FBI credentials around her neck. As a stiff breeze blew a lingering chill and
autumn scents, she checked her pockets for latex gloves, sunglasses, a small
pocketknife, and pendant light.
Edginess and excitement fused as she strode
toward the stretch of yellow tape and searched for Nevada. She ducked under the
tape and stepped inside the barn.
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
HIDE AND SEEK (Criminal Profiler #1) by Mary Burton is a romantic suspense with a stronger emphasis on the suspense/thriller plot line than the romance. The two main characters have been involved in the past, both professionally and romantically, which allows the author to amp up the suspense without the reader feeling cheated on the romance. This is a new series, but there is overlapping of characters from Ms. Burton’s previous books.
FBI Special Agent Macy Crow has an innate ability to connect
seemingly unconnected pieces of a crime together to solve big cases. She is
attempting to get on the FBI’s elite profiling team so she can get back out
into the field. After being almost killed by a hit-and-run tied to her last
case in Texas, she knows she is not yet one-hundred percent, but she is tired
of sitting behind a desk.
Mike Nevada has returned home after resigning from the FBI.
He was a profiler and had had enough of the death and depravity. He is elected
sheriff after discovering multiple rape kits that the current sheriff purposely
never had processed. When the bones and backpack of a fifteen-year-old missing
person case of a high school girl are discovered, Mike requests Macy’s assistance
on the case.
Macy and Nevada work together as seamlessly as before, but
they are up against a killer who has evolved and honed his skills over many
years. In 2004, he started with rapes and then worked his way up to kidnapping
and murder. He is bold enough to have left his DNA at every scene and he is
still free. He is watching as Macy starts to put the pieces together and he has
decided she needs to be stopped – permanently.
I read this book in one sitting. The investigation was so intriguing
and the killer so depraved that I just had to find out who the killer was. The
climax had me on the edge of my seat. Macy and Nevada are a great couple who
each understand what drives the other. Macy is extremely strong and resilient and
yet vulnerable due to her physical changes since the accident. Nevada is
strong, smart and the perfect man to support Macy. The sex scenes are not too
explicit or long. All of the secondary characters are fully fleshed out and I
will be looking forward to following them in future books, too.
I can highly recommend this book and I will be waiting
anxiously for the next book in this series!
***
About the Book
Title: Hide and Seek
Author: Mary Burton
Release Date: April 23, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
Special Agent Macy Crow is a survivor. After a vicious hit-and-run nearly kills her, she gets right back to work, and now she’s gunning for a spot on the FBI’s elite profiling team. As an audition, she offers to investigate the recently discovered bones of Tobi Turner, a high school girl who disappeared fifteen years ago.
While investigating with local sheriff Mike Nevada, a former colleague and onetime lover, Macy discovers a link between Tobi’s case and several others that occurred around the same time as her disappearance. As Macy interviews victims and examines old cases, she uncovers a sinister picture of a stalker who graduated to sexual assault—and then murder.
Macy and Nevada race to put this monster behind bars before he can come out of hiding. But the murderer’s had years to hone his skills, and soon Macy herself becomes a target. She’s no stranger to pain and terror, but will Macy’s first profiling case be her last?
***
Author Biography
New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is the highly praised author of twenty-six romance and suspense novels and five novellas. She lives in Virginia with her husband and three miniature dachshunds.
DRAWING BLOODLINES (The Princeton Allegiant #1) by Deborah
Garland is the first book in a new paranormal vampire romance series. The
vampires are a bit different from the norm and this leads to new world-building
opportunities for this author.
Dr. Alexander Manning is a doctor, a professor and a
vampire. He is a valued member of the Princeton Allegiant due to his ability to
supply blood to the group. Alex was turned over one hundred years ago and is
still learning how to use the “special” gifts he received from his sire, Loren.
No one knows about his extraordinary talents and he prefers to keep it that
way.
Elizabeth Lockspier is a teacher and is adjusting to her
life as a divorced mother of one. While having her blood drawn at a doctor’s
visit by one of the most beautiful men she has ever seen, she becomes
lightheaded as he takes too much and faints when she finds him drinking from
one of the vials.
Alex could not help himself. He finds Elizabeth’s scent and
blood intoxicating. The problem is that no human can know of a vampire’s
existence and if they do they must be reported to the head of the Allegiant.
Alex breaks into Elizabeth’s house to wipe her memory rather than report her,
but finds she is as drawn to him as he is to her even though he is a vampire.
As Alex and Elizabeth grow closer, Alex’s past threatens to
pull them apart forever. He must decide to obediently go into a forced marriage
with a vampire he hates or attempt to change his immortal future with a secret
science experiment of a colleague.
I was drawn into this new paranormal vampire world with all
of the twists in the world-building and action. This is a complete story, but
the author introduces enough secondary characters and questions to carry the
series forward. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous. (Personally, I
would not be interested in those cold interactions.) If you are looking for a
new twist on vampire paranormal romance this is the book and series for you.
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
Welcome to the Feature Post and Book Review for Carolyn Brown’s upcoming release THE PERFECT DRESS. Below you will find a message from the author, an excerpt from the title, my book review and info about the book and author.
Also included is a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a digital copy of the book. Enjoy this preview about three strong female friends and as always good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Carolyn Brown’s Real Life Inspiration for Writing THE
PERFECT DRESS
Hello, everyone and thank you for inviting me to your site
today!
My granddaughter is getting married this fall, and she’s not
one of those size six girls who can walk into wedding dress store, try on a
dozen dresses and find the perfect dress—especially when she has her heart set
on a black lace dress for her wedding. When we began to shop for her dress, I
wished for a custom wedding shop that catered only to women who wore a size
fourteen or larger. So I created one called The Perfect Dress and
set it in the little town of Celeste, Texas. This summer I plan to bring my old
Singer sewing machine out of retirement, and make my granddaughter’s black lace
wedding dress—just the way she and I will design it!
The Perfect Dress is not a real place so don’t
go to the local doughnut shop in Celeste and ask about it, but the town, the
characters and the shop were all very real to me while I was writing about it.
Speaking of characters let me introduce you to Mitzi. She’s
and her two plus sized friends, Paula and Jody, have dreamed of putting in
their own plus-sized wedding dress shop for years. Now it’s a reality. They’ve
bought an old two story house at the edge of Celeste and hung out their
shingle.
Jody is a thin vegetarian now, but when the girls were in
high school, she was a big girl just like her friends. She’s living proof that
a woman will do anything for love, but when love goes awry, she’s sure glad
that she’s got Mitzi and Paula to support her.
Paula is carrying a big secret. The three women have shared
everything since they were little children, but she can’t talk about her
secret, not when both her friends are in the middle of drama themselves. She
has to be the strong one to share Jody’s sorrow and Mitzi’s happiness.
Fanny Lou, Mitzi’s grandmother, is an eccentric old gal with
lots of advice that she’s not one bit shy about spreading around. She’s the
mother role for all of them, constantly popping into the shop with a box of
doughnuts, or the local gossip.
Lately Mitzi has been feeling like maybe her ‘perfect
family’ is missing someone… perhaps the perfect man. She hasn’t seen him
since high school, but that doesn’t mean that Mitizi’s heart doesn’t go
pitter-patter for this awesome single dad. Graham towers above Mitzi, who is
almost six feet tall. He has twin girls, who are also plus sized. He feels the
sparks, too, but questions whether Mitzi could ever love some big guy who
already has teenage daughters.
There is definitely a gap between the teenager girls, who help out in the shop, and Fanny Lou, the granny, and the three best friends. But true friendship knows nothing about age—it’s love, support, and unflinching loyalty towards each other, no matter what the age.
***
Excerpt: The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown
Mitzi
rushed back to the sewing room, where the hum of two sewing machines filled the
air. “Graham Harrison just came in the shop to set up an appointment for his
two daughters. He said they only live a few houses up the street from us. He
looked like a bull in a china shop sitting on that pink sofa. And of course he
didn’t even recognize me, but I sure knew him the minute I laid eyes on him.”
At the mention of that name from the past, work
jolted to a halt.
“All the girls in high school swooned over him,
including Mitzi, but she hasn’t told us if he’s still as sexy as he was back
then.” Jody took a bowl of salad from the fridge along with a plate of
vegetables that she stuck into the microwave to heat.
“He’s aged very, very well, and I’m having
cookies,” Mitzi said.
“Smart girl,” Fanny Lou said. “Life is short.
Eat dessert first. So you had a little crush on Graham?”
“Everyone did,” Mitzi answered.
“Not me. I was always in love with Lyle,” Jody
said.
“Well, according to what I heard at the church
bake sale today, Graham moved his daughters here to Celeste because they were
being fat shamed down in Greenville. One of them knocked a girl on her butt,
blacked both eyes, and bloodied her nose with one punch. It was the last day of
school and they said they were going to suspend her for the first two weeks of
next year for fighting,” Jody said.
“She should get a medal, not suspended,” Mitzi
fumed.
Fanny Lou took a gallon jug of sweet tea from
the fridge. “Who all wants a glass?”
Three hands went up.
She filled four glasses with ice and then tea
and carried them to the table. “I remember when he went to work for his dad at
the Cadillac dealership—right after he and Rita got married. His dad gave him a
job on the lowest level, and he had to work his way up. Rita was furious
because she thought they’d get a big house and a new Caddy every year. Stupid
woman figured since his folks had money that he had an open bank account.”
Paula took the ham and cheese containers from
the fridge while Mitzi pulled a loaf of bread from the cabinet. “You eating
with us, Granny?”
“I’ll eat with you and Paula, but I don’t want
any of that stuff Jody is having. I don’t eat fake meat. I’ll eat what I want
and die when I’m supposed to. Slice some of them tomatoes I brought in here
earlier. And I’d rather have bologna instead of ham and mustard instead of
mayo,” Fanny Lou answered.
“Me, too,” Paula said. “I want one like hers.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Mitzi set
about making three sandwiches.
So Graham was divorced and raising girls on his
own. Bless his heart for getting them away from a school that bullied them
because of their size. Mitzi could relate to the girls. But then, so could Jody
and Paula. She’d always figured that Jody adopted her own modern-day hippie
style to combat those feelings of insecurity. Paula had retreated into
superstition. Mitzi had just plowed her way through emotions and other kids,
spending a lot of time in the principal’s office for fighting.
She pushed all that to the back of her mind,
put the sandwiches on plates, and carried them to the table. “Y’all know that
this job for Ellie Mae could turn into a big thing. I bet her older sister will
be the maid of honor and her mother will want a fancy dress.”
“That’s what you’re in business for, isn’t it?”
Fanny Lou said. “Man, this brings back memories. Friday night was bologna
sandwich night when I was a kid.”
“Why?” Jody asked.
“Because Mama always cleaned house on Friday,
and she didn’t have time to make a big meal,” Fanny Lou answered.
“Funny how an hour of beading takes forever and
our noon hour goes so fast.” Jody pointed to the clock.
“Good Lord!” Fanny Lou finished off her
sandwich and grabbed a cookie. “I’ve got an appointment with my CPA at one and
it’s a fifteen-minute drive to Greenville. See you girls later. You have my
permission to flirt with Graham, Mitzi.”
Mitzi’s cheeks began to burn. “I had a teenage crush on him. I’ve grown
up since then.”
Fanny Lou winked as she headed for the door.
“Paula, since you live with Mitzi, I’m putting you in charge of being sure she
takes her birth control pills every morning.”
Mitzi felt even more heat in her cheeks.
“Granny!”
“When you get old you get to say whatever the
hell you want to.” Fanny Lou closed the door behind her.
***
My Book Review
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE PERFECT DRESS by Carolyn Brown is an emotionally packed women’s fiction story with a cozy romance subplot of three lifelong friends and their plus-size only custom made wedding dress shop “The Perfect Dress” in small town Celeste, Texas. Mitzi, Paula and Jody are three strong female characters that are all going through differing life challenges as the story begins, but no matter the problem they always know they can count on each other for love and support.
Mitzi is the dress designer of the group. Her grandma and
her father have always supported her and her dreams. When her high school crush
moves back to town in the summer divorced and with a set a twin girls, Mitzi
wonders if she has a chance with Graham. The twins love The Perfect Dress shop
and Mitzi has them helping with flower arrangements. She loves the twins and
does not want to ruin her relationship with them if she starts dating their
father and she also is insecure about her larger size since the twins mother
was a tiny woman.
Jody specializes in beading veils and dresses. She has lived
“in sin” with her high school sweetheart since graduation, but she is about to
learn he has not be faithful and is dumping her for the mother-to-be of his
child. Jody has put up with years of abuse from her mother about not being
married and now she has to deal with the entire small town knowing she was
cruelly dumped.
Paula loves sewing the beautiful dresses they make. She has
been criticized and abused by her mother and sister because of her weight her
whole life. She had been secretly seeing a man until she found out his wife is
pregnant and he lied about getting a divorce. When she finds out she is
pregnant, she wants to raise the baby as a single parent and does not want the
cheater to ever know he got her pregnant. Her mother disowns her when she finds
out, but Mitzi and Jody swear they will all be loving her baby right along with
her.
Mitzi and Graham’s cozy romance is more of a subplot than the main focus of this book. This book revolves around the three friends who love each other and will do anything for each other. This is a book about how messy life can be, but with good friends you can get through the tough times and triumph in the end. Ms. Brown deals with many weight related prejudices throughout this story realistically and with heart. The Perfect Dress is a heart-warming, feel good book that had me closing the book with a smile on my face.
***
Title: The Perfect Dress
Author: Carolyn Brown
Release Date: April 16, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
In the small
town of Celeste, Texas, Mitzi Taylor has never quite fit inside the lines.
Nearly six feet tall, flame-haired, and with a plus-size spirit to match every
curve, she’s found her niche: a custom wedding-dress boutique catering to big
brides-to-be with big dreams. Taking the plunge alongside her two best friends,
she’s proud they’ve turned The Perfect Dress into a perfect success.
Just when Mitzi
has it all pulled together, Graham Harrison walks back into her life, looking
for bridesmaid dresses for his twin daughters. A still-strapping jock whose
every gorgeous, towering inch smells like aftershave, the star of all Mitzi’s
high school dreams is causing quite a flush.
For Mitzi, all it takes is a touch to feel sparks flitting around her like fireflies. She can just imagine what a kiss could do. Graham’s feeling it, too. And he’s about to make that imagination of Mitzi’s run wild. Is it just a hot summer fling, or are Mitzi’s next designs for herself and seeing her own dreams come true?
Author Biography
Carolyn Brown
is a New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s
Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a
RITA finalist with more than ninety published books. Her genres include
romance, history, cowboys and country music, and contemporary mass-market
paperbacks. She and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma,
where everyone knows everyone else, knows what they are doing and when . . .
and reads the local newspaper every Wednesday to see who got caught. They have
three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. Visit Carolyn
at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
SETBACK by Edita A. Petrick was a fast paced mash-up of CIA/FBI spy novel, supernatural novel with a witch’s heirloom locket that protects the rightful heir, corporate corruption by a cadre of CEO’s, and a psychologically damaged hitman who always succeeds. Scientific and supernatural coexist side by side throughout this fast paced thriller with romantic elements and irreverent humor.
CIA Agent
Ted Bester “Beast” is called in to work with his counterpart in the FBI to
solve a series of brutal killings that are all tied to a scientific conference
on cold fusion that could radically change America’s energy dependence. The FBI
has a source for him. Amelia is in an FBI safe-house because she was killed by the same hitman he is trying to find. (Yes, you read
correctly – killed!)
Amelia now
goes by ‘Randi” and is a doctor who was set to testify against corrupt
pharmaceutical companies. Her heirloom amulet is passed down to first born
daughters in her family from an ancestor witch from Salem who cursed all who
harmed the owner. She survived her execution and is now able to sometimes slip
into the hitman’s mind because he stole the amulet as a trophy.
The two work
together with all the secondary characters you would expect in a usual spy
thriller to find and eliminate the hitman and retrieve the cold fusion
documents before they can be turned over to a foreign government.
Ms. Petrick
has written a fast paced thrill ride that brings together many different genres
into one. Even with all the characters and subplots, the writing is crisp and
never confusing. This is a creative story with unexpected twists, especially in
regards to the hitman. The characters
are well developed and believable. I cannot recommend this book enough and I
can’t wait to read more from this author. If you want something different and
well written, this is it.
