Tag: #aboutauthor

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Girl with the Red Hair by Imogen Matthews

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE GIRL WITH THE RED HAIR (The Dutch Girls Book #2) by Imogen Matthews on this Bookouture Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

1942, Amsterdam. The Nazi occupation has shattered the lives of inseparable best friends Hannie and Sonja. The canals and rainy cobbled streets they once strolled down are now patrolled by soldiers day and night, who arrest people at will and beat those who resist.

Hannie can’t stand by and watch the lives of the innocent be destroyed by the evil occupiers. At great danger to herself, she joins the underground resistance, where she meets the charming and mysterious Jan. She covers her bright red hair to avoid detection by the Nazis while distributing fake IDs. And she makes a promise to Sonja and her little sister Maya, who are Jewish – she will hide them and keep them safe, no matter the cost.

But as the German grip on the country tightens with each passing day, Sonja’s worst fears come true when members of her family are taken prisoner. With Jan by her side, Hannie goes undercover as a nurse to try to free them. But she’s devastated when she discovers they’ve been taken to a concentration camp in the isolated far east of the country. Is she too late to save them?

And when Sonja goes missing, Hannie is terrified the worst has happened – has someone betrayed her best friend? Hannie knows her most dangerous task is now ahead of her. Can Hannie save Sonja, and will she have to make the biggest sacrifice of all to bring her home?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203483078-the-girl-with-the-red-hair?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XhizhKFUBu&rank=2

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE GIRL WITH THE RED HAIR (The Dutch Girls Book #2) by Imogen Matthews is a heart-wrenching historical fiction novel set in Nazi occupied Amsterdam in 1942 featuring two best friends, one a law student who joins the Dutch resistance and the other a Dutch Jew. Even though this is the second book in the Dutch Girl series, it is easy to read as a standalone.

Hanni and Sonja are inseparable best friends who find their lives slowly changed as the Germans invade and begin to impose their laws against the Jews as they did in Germany. Hanni witnesses many injustices imposed on Sonja for being a Jew and refuses to just stand by. She joins the Dutch resistance and vows to help her friend. When Sonja goes missing, Hanni is willing to sacrifice anything to bring her home.

This story is well written and researched with interesting information about the counterfeiting of documents and the sacrifices made by Dutch resistance fighters. The story demonstrates the heroism and selflessness of people during the worst of times vs. the depravity and cruelty of others. This is an emotional story, and while I enjoyed it, it did not have for me the depth of fear, believable emotional reactions, or pull me in as other historical fiction books I have read. I do believe this would be an excellent story for YA readers of this genre though.

Overall, an intriguing historical fiction story.

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About the Author

Imogen Matthews writes novels based on true stories about the Netherlands during the German occupation in World War 2. Some stories she discovered by chance, others are based on her Dutch mother’s own experiences of hardship and survival during the Hunger Winter of 1944-45.

Her first novel, The Hidden Village, is set in the Veluwe woods, a beautiful part of Holland that Imogen has visited frequently over the past 30 years. It was in these woods that she discovered the story of the real hidden village which provided shelter in underground huts for Jews during WW2. Imogen retells the story of the hidden village with characters drawn from real life and from her imagination.

Within weeks of publication in 2017, The Hidden Village became an international bestseller, ranking at the top of a number Amazon’s most-read book lists.

Following on from The Hidden Village comes Hidden in the Shadows, which has the pace of a thriller yet is also a love story. It tells the story about two young people who are brutally torn apart and must find a way to be together against all odds.

The Girl Across the Wire Fence, is set in Amersfoort, Netherlands, and is based on the unforgettable tale of two young lovers who risked everything to keep hope alive in the very depths of hell – the little known Dutch concentration camp called Kamp Amersfoort.

The Boy in the Attic is a dual timeline novel in which Anna discovers a bent sixpenny coin on a silver chain amongst her father’s possessions that leads her on a journey to discover the grandmother and grandfather she didn’t know she had in wartime Holland.

The Dutch Girls is a new series based on the true story of three female activists who worked in the Dutch resistance. The Girl from the Resistance is the first to be published in October 2023.

Imogen’s WW2 novels are published by Bookouture, a digital imprint of Hachette.

Social Media Links

Website: www.imogenmatthewsbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImogenMatthewsBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImogenMatthews3

Author email sign up: https://www.bookouture.com/imogen-matthews

Learn more about Imogen’s story in this video: https://youtu.be/2YO0IWJSjj0

Feature Post and Book Review: The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks

Book Description

Based on the real life of Lieutenant Annie Fox, Chief Nurse of Hickam Hospital, The Woman with a Purple Heart is an inspiring WWII novel of heroic leadership, courage, and friendship that also exposes a shocking and shameful side of history.

Annie Fox will stop at nothing to serve her country. But what happens when her country fails her?

In November 1941, Annie Fox, an Army nurse, is transferred to Hickam Field, an air force base in Honolulu. The others on her transport plane are thrilled to work in paradise, but Annie sees her new duty station as the Army’s way of holding the door open to her retirement. But serving her country is her calling and she will go wherever she is told.

On December 7, Annie’s on her way to work when the first Japanese Zero fighter plane flies low over Hickam’s Parade Ground. The death and destruction that follow leave her no time to process what’s happening. She rallies her nurses, and they work to save as many lives as they can. But soon their small hospital is overwhelmed. Annie drives into Honolulu to gather supplies, nurses, and several women who will donate blood. However, the nurses are Japanese Americans, and the blood donors are prostitutes. 

Under Annie’s leadership and working together in unexpected ways, they make it through that horrific day, when one of the Japanese American nurses and Annie’s friend, Kay, is arrested as a suspected subversive. As Hickam tries to recover, Annie works to find her friend and return Kay to her family. But Annie’s love for her country is put to the test. How can she reconcile the American bravery and resilience she saw on December 7 with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses just a few months later?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86174715-the-woman-with-a-purple-heart?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Hkz4Tgj3cd&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE WOMAN WITH A PURPLE HEART by Diane Hanks is an enlightening, engaging, and heartbreaking historical fiction based on just a moment in a truly heroic career Army nurse’s service on one of the most infamous days in American history. This is a story of an inspiring woman that I was unable to put down.

Lt. Annie Fox served her country in the battle hospitals of WWI, was transferred to the Philippines and now in November of 1941, she is transferred to Hickam Hospital on the Army/Air Force Base near Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. Rather than being excited, she senses this is the Army’s way of moving her into retirement, but she is determined to do her duty and train her new group of nurses to the best of her ability.

As she walks to the hospital to work on the morning of December 7th, enemy fighter planes bring unbelievable death and destruction. As Annie does everything she can to support her young nurses and solve problems in unique ways to just survive the day and then the week, but her love of country is put to the test with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses in the aftermath.

I always love learning about new people and/or new things when I pick up historical fiction books and I learned so many new bits of information in this captivating story. Not only did this book enlighten me about Hickam Base, but the racial tensions that were already evident before the attack on the Hawaiian Islands during this time. The author brings Annie to life, and I felt real empathy for her as an older, single woman in that period and in the Armed Forces.  I am so glad that Annie’s heroism, ingenuity, and bravery were recognized and rewarded in her lifetime, and I hope with this historical fiction book she can go on inspiring many more woman and girls who discover her story.

I highly recommend this wonderful historical fiction book!

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About the Author

Diane Hanks has a BFA in Creative Writing from Roger Williams University and an MA in Professional Writing & Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. A medical writer by day, she has written numerous screenplays and recently returned to her first love—writing novels. Diane also is a mentor for the Writers Guild Initiative, which makes the art of storytelling accessible to underserved populations. When not writing, she enjoys walking by the river near her home.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.dianehankswriter.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.hanks.754

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/diane-hanks

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE OTHER MURDER by Kevin G. Chapman on this Black Tide Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Sometimes, the most dangerous thing . . . is the truth.

For disgraced cable news producer Hannah Hawthorne, covering the shooting of a pretty NYU sophomore is a chance for redemption. When the story snowballs into a media circus, Hannah’s reporting fans the sensationalistic flames and earns her acclaim. The tragic murder prompts protests and vigils that further magnify the story.

Meanwhile, Paulo, a neighborhood newspaper reporter, is following the other murder in Washington Square Park that same night – a young Hispanic boy. He discovers an unexpected connection that is political dynamite. When Hannah and Paulo team up, they uncover disturbing facts, leading them to question everything they thought they knew. It also leads them to the man who might be the killer.

When the story is ready to explode, the truth may be hotter than anyone can handle. Breaking the next scoop could ruin Paulo’s paper and wreck Hannah’s career – and it could get them both killed.

If you like David Baldacci’s page-turners, Michael Connelly’s cops, and Sara Paretsky’s quirky characters, you will love The Other Murder.

TRIGGER WARNING:  Heavy theme of racism in the context of the news media’s coverage.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180169378-the-other-murder?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=V8oDoYmyE3&rank=1

Universal link for the book on Amazon

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE OTHER MURDER by Kevin G. Chapman is a crime thriller/police procedural with a twist in the storytelling that shines the light on media bias today. This is a tour de force standalone crime fiction novel that I could not put down.

Two people are murdered on opposite sides of Central Park. One a female white NYU student and the other a male Hispanic high school student. The media latches on to the white female’s murder and the story broadcasts across the country, while the Hispanic male’s story is largely ignored. No one believes the two may be tied together.

The story is written with intertwining perspectives between two journalists investigating the murders and two NYPD detectives investigating the murders. The investigation is very well plotted and paced between both groups, but what made this an exceptional read for me was the integration throughout the story of differences in handling, investigating, and reporting on crime depending on gender, ethnicity, and social class of the victim. It shines a spotlight on what media organizations believe readers want to read vs. the entire truth of the story.

All the characters in this story are fully developed, relatable and realistic, both good and bad. The plot is believable on every level. There is nothing I would want to change.

I highly recommend this brilliant crime thriller/police procedural!

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About the Author

Kevin G. Chapman is an attorney specializing in labor and employment law and an independent author. In 2021, Kevin finished the first five books in the Mike Stoneman Thriller series. Righteous Assassin (Mike Stoneman Thriller #1), was named one of the top 20 Mystery/Thrillers of 2019 by the Kindle Book Review and was a finalist for the Chanticleer Book Review CLUE award. Deadly Enterprise (Mike Stoneman Thriller #2) was also named a top-20 Mystery/Thriller of 2020 by the Kindle Book Review and made the Short-List for the 2020 CLUE Award. Book #3, Lethal Voyage, was the winner of the 2021 Kindle Book Award and a Finalist for the CLUE and for the InD’Tale Magazine RONE Award. Book #4 in the series, Fatal Infraction, was named Best Police Procedural of the year by the Chanticleer Book Review, and book #5 (Perilous Gambit) was published November 24, 2021. Kevin has also written a serious political drama, A Legacy of One, originally published in 2016, which was short-listed for the Chanticleer Somerset Award for literary fiction. A Legacy of One was re-published in a newly re-edited and revised second edition in 2021. Kevin recently completed a stand-alone mystery/thriller titled Dead Winner, published in late 2022, winner of the 2023 CLUE Award (best suspense/thriller), and he is working on a stand-alone mystery titled The Other Murder. Kevin is a resident of Central New Jersey and is a graduate of Columbia College and Boston University School of Law.

Social Media Links

Website: https://kevingchapman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevinGChapman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KGChapman

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kevin-g-chapman

Release Day Blitz/Feature Post and Book Review: Baby X by Kira Peikoff

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for BABY X by Kira Peikoff for this Release Day Blitz.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

When any biological matter can be used to create life, stolen celebrity DNA sells to the highest bidder–or the craziest stalker–in this propulsive thriller.

In the near-future United States, where advanced technology can create egg or sperm from any person’s cells, celebrities face the alarming potential of meeting biological children they never conceived. Famous singer Trace Thorne is tired of being targeted by the Vault, a black market site devoted to stealing DNA. Sick of paying ransom money for his own cell matter, he hires bio-security guard Ember Ryan to ensure his biological safety.  

Ember will do anything she can to protect her clients. She knows all the Vault’s tricks–discarded tissues, used straws, lipstick tubes–and has prevented countless DNA thefts. Working for Thorne, her focus becomes split when she begins to fall for him, but she knows she hasn’t let anything slip–love or not, his DNA is safe. But then she and Thorne are confronted by a pregnant woman, Quinn, who claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, and all bets are off.   

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/173476065-baby-x?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ORsT6ZciZT&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

BABY X by Kira Peikoff is an engrossing speculative fiction, medical, and psychological thriller mash-up that kept me turning the pages from start to finish. This story is set around 2040 and takes future human reproduction into a terrifying new realm.

The Vault is a black-market site that steals DNA from high profile individuals to use as blackmail. If you don’t want your DNA used to create a baby with the highest bidder somewhere in the world, you must pay to stop it.

Ember Ryan knows how the Vault works and has set up a business to protect an individual’s DNA. Her first major client is the famous country singer, Trace Thome. Ember will do anything to protect Trace’s cell matter while they travel together on his tour. They both begin to care for each other and soon become a couple and engaged after the tour ends.

While they are out for coffee, they are confronted by a young pregnant woman who claims to be carrying Trace’s child. But nothing is as it seems because Ember is hiding secrets that will change everyone’s futures.

This mash-up thriller has many interesting plot points that led to me think about bioethical and moral questions at every turn: stolen DNA, designer babies, babies that are ‘Selected’ or ‘Unforeseen’, IVF on steroids. It is fascinating and frightening at the same time. The story is told in three alternating distinct storylines by three women, and you do not learn how they all come together until the surprise twist at the end and that is all I can say without giving anything away.

I recommend this mash-up thriller that will leave you thinking about the issues in this story long after you finish and the possibility of them becoming our reality.

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About the Author

Kira Peikoff is the author of Baby X, Mother Knows Best, Living Proof, No Time to Die, and Die Again Tomorrow. She has a degree in journalism from New York University and master’s in bioethics from Columbia. Her reported articles have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Popular Mechanics and other outlets.

She now works in biotech communications helping spread the word about transformative developments in the life sciences. Peikoff is a proud member of The Authors Guild, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.kirapeikoff.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirapeikoff/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KiraPeikoff

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/baby-x-by-kira-peikoff

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: Mind Games by Nora Roberts

Book Description

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse—because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them—and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195791352-mind-games?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=E3m2MFm1v6&rank=2

Expected Publication: May 24, 2024

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MIND GAMES by Nora Roberts is an amazingly rich and layered multi-genre story. It follows the young protagonist, Thea Fox, between the ages of twelve to twenty-seven from a traumatic family event to her ultimate battle and HEA. This book is a mix of family drama, romance, romantic suspense, murder mystery, generational paranormal psychic abilities all rolled together into an engaging story set in a small town in the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains.

School is out in Virginia and twelve-year-old Thea and ten-year-old Rem are on their way to spend two weeks with their Grandma Lucy in the Kentucky foothills. They always look forward to helping with the animals and gardens, helping with their grandma’s home-based company, and running free in the mountains. But this year, something terrible happened to their parents and they will be staying with their grandma in Redbud Hollow.

Thea has the gift of sight that has passed down through generations of women in her family and she is able to use it to help police capture her parent’s killer. But the killer has the same gift, and he uses it to stay tied to Thea. A mental battle wages between them over the next fifteen years until they are face to face and Thea is ready for a final game.

If you loved the sweeping story in Identity, you will love this story just as much. The parents’ murder is heartbreaking, but the family love between Lucy, Thea, and Rem warms and heals the break, at least partially. Then you get to read how Thea strengthens not only physically, but mentally and learns to deal with her gift as well as how to handle the intrusions and attacks from the killer. I fell in love with all the well-developed characters in this story, especially the son of Thea’s love interest. I loved the ending, not only because it ends on a HEA, but because of Thea’s solution and use of her gift to obtain it even if it could end her own.

I highly recommend this new multi-genre story from the author that never disappoints!

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About the Author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Social Media Links

Website: https://noraroberts.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noraroberts

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nora-roberts

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Umbrate by A.D. Jones

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for UMBRATE by A.D. Jones on this Black Phoenix Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Welcome to Dalton
Home to Humans, Dwarves, Elves and the shadowy Umbral Populace.

Detective Vanic Bradley works hard to keep the peace, coming down hard on the criminal underbelly of the city.

After putting his life on the line multiple times in recent weeks, all he wanted was a day off work to spend time with his son, and re-evaluate his place in the world – but forces beyond his control have other ideas.

For reasons unknown, he will find himself in a race against time as two hundred innocent citizens become collateral damage in a murderous plot centered around him.

Umbrate is the debut Urban Fantasy crime thriller by A.D Jones, that will offer up his take on a fantasy setting that should be welcomed by many readers, regardless of their genre tastes.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199395214-umbrate?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=RYgA5KMF4E&rank=1

Universal link for the book on Amazon

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

UMBRATE by A.D. Jones is an engaging debut urban fantasy crime thriller that introduces us to a new world that is like ours but besides humans is also inhabited by dwarves, elves and a dark and shadowy species known as the Umbral. This is also a fast-paced crime thriller. While this novel is a short standalone, it could easily lead to a series.

Umbral can only come out in the night or in protected environments that will not let the sun touch them and even as the government has tried to assimilate them, there has always been a deep prejudice towards them. Detective Vanic Bradley works the dangerous night shift and does not like Umbral. After being wounded on the job, Vanic just wants a day off to enjoy with his young son. They end up at the mall and are suddenly trapped inside with a killer who is willing to turn everyone else into collateral damage to get to Vanic.

I really enjoyed this story and was easily pulled into this new urban fantasy world. The crime thriller plot is what you would find in many thrillers, but this story has distinct races from fantasy stories as well as the new Umbral race. Vanic is well developed for this shorter novel. He is divorced, but on good terms with his ex, a loving father, has a current love interest and is a rising star in law enforcement ranks, but he does have a prejudice against Umbral which goes all the way back to his youth. There is plenty of action, especially once everyone is enclosed in the mall, and this is when all the major secondary characters become known and help in the fight.

This is a fast read with an interesting new world, gripping thriller action and by a debut author. I am looking forward to seeing what will come next from this author.

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About the Author

A.D Jones lives in the North of England; where he spends his time favoring books over people and can be found writing or devouring said books to review online. He loves Coca-Cola, Twin Peaks, all things horror, and cult movies. He dislikes the movie ‘The Karate Kid’ with a passion that burns brighter than the sun.

His debut novel – Umbrate was released in October 2023 to positive feedback and his next book: Sacrificial Waters is scheduled for release sometime in 2024.

He also has multiple short stories in print through publishing houses such as Dark Village Publications and January Ember Press.

You can find him on Instagram – the_evergrowing_library