I am very excited to share this Feature Post/Blog Blitz and Book Review for DYING TO TELL by Keri Beevis. This is a suspense/psychological thriller that had me hooked from page one and I cannot believe I have not heard of this author before now.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review and the author’s biography.
I highly recommend this book and author!
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Book Blurb:
As the only survivor of a horrific car crash,
Lila Amberson believes she is on the road to recovery after she is released
from the hospital. Her memories of the accident are blurred though and a series
of unsettling incidents leave her fearing for her safety. Does she have
survivor’s guilt or is something more sinister at play?
Jack Foley is reeling from the shock of
losing his sister in the crash and when he first meets Lila, he lashes out,
blaming her for Stephanie’s death. But when Lila gives him a locket that she
believes belonged to his sister, it presents more questions than answers.
As Lila and Jack work together to find out what really happened on the night of the accident, they are unaware that someone is watching them closely. Someone who has much to lose if the truth comes out, and someone who is prepared to do everything necessary to ensure all loose ends are taken care of.
***
My Book Review:
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
DYING TO TELL by Keri Beevis is a new suspense
filled, psychological thriller that has so many suspects and plot twists, I just
had to keep turning the pages long into the night. Ms. Beevis is a new-to-me
author who knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat with a well planned,
fast paced plot and memorable characters.
Lila Amberson is the sole survivor of a horrific car crash. At
first, when she wakes, she has no memories of the accident, but slowly she
begins to remember. The more she remembers, the more she has a feeling of
dread. After several incidents, she realizes that someone is trying to hurt her
and she has no idea who or why.
Jack Foley is a famous thriller writer who lost his youngest
half-sister in the accident Lila was involved in. When Lila shows up to pay her
respects at his sister’s funeral, Jack is angry and lashes out, but he soon
realizes he was wrong about Lila. He wants to protect her and begins to care
for her romantically.
As Lila and Jack begin talking to people to find out what
happened on the night of the accident, they begin to realize that someone is
watching and does not want a truth to be revealed.
I enjoyed this thriller from page one! Ms. Beevis’ plot has well placed red herrings, increases in intensity and surprised me in the end. The story is easy to read with very likable and believable main characters and a secondary cast of characters that are not just placeholders, but well fleshed out realistically flawed people. I am very grateful I tried this new-to-me author and I will be watching for more books by her even as I go back and check out her previous titles.
I highly recommend this thriller and author!
***
Author Biography:
Keri
Beevis wrote her first novel at age twenty, but it was a further twenty years
before she was published after entering the Rethink Press New Novels
Competition 2012. Her entry, Dead Letter Day, was a winner,
earning her a publishing contract, and the book proved to be a minor hit,
leading to a sequel, Dead Write. However it was Keri’s third
novel, standalone mystery thriller The Darkness Beneaththat gained
her the most success, along with many new fans, both in the UK and the USA.
Born in the village of Old Catton, less than a mile from
where Anna Sewell was living when she wrote Black Beauty, Keri had a passion
for reading and writing from a young age, though her tastes veered more to the
macabre.
Today she still lives in Norwich, along with her two naughty
kitties, Ellie and Lola, and a plentiful supply of red wine (her writing fuel),
where she writes a comedic lifestyle column for a local magazine. She loves
Hitchcock movies, exploring creepy places, and gets extremely competitive in
local pub quizzes. She is also a self-confessed klutz.
Keri’s
previous books have all been US based and she is looking forward to the release
of her first UK based novel, which is set in her beautiful home county of
Norfolk.
I am very excited to share this Feature Post and Book Review for Carolyn’s Brown new book THE EMPTY NESTERS. I always enjoy a Carolyn Brown story, but this one is my favorite to date!
Below you will find a message from the author, my book review, a book summary, author bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway.
I loved all of these characters and can highly recommend this book for a great read. As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
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Jump Into Author
Carolyn Brown’s Empty Nest
Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to
stop by to talk about my new book, The Empty Nesters. I’ll be
giving all y’all a few of my favorite scenes and a little commentary during the
time we get to spend together.
As Ma used to say on Golden Girls,
imagine this—Carmen, Joanie and Diana have just dropped their daughters off at
the recruiter’s office. They’ve managed to keep the tears at bay and put up a
brave front, but now it’s time to let the tears loose.
“For the first time ever, Natalie and I won’t
decorate the house for Halloween together. Nine months of carrying them, then
we basically raised them on our own while our husbands were deployed or got
sent someplace to train other officers. And now they’re gone, and we won’t see
them for Halloween or Thanksgiving. And who even knows about Christmas? It’s
not fair.”
It’s always amazing what comes to mind during a
sad time, isn’t it? Things pop into our heads that seem trivial in the face of
the event, and yet, at the time, the good memories are what keep us sane.
Tootsie, their elderly neighbor, has just lost
her husband, after they’d bought the huge RV and planned a trip to northeast
Texas. She’s trying to convince the women that they need to get away from their
empty nest for a while.
“You need to get away for a little while and
get some perspective,” Tootsie said.
“Let’s pool our money and blow it all on a trip
to Paris. We can shop and have lattes in little bistros,” Diana suggested.
Joanie sighed. “That’s a pipe dream. We
probably don’t have enough money to even get to Paris, Texas, between the three
of us.”
The three of them have known the support of
each other through the past thirteen years, and just because they’re now alone
in their homes, they have no doubt that the love is still there between
them—and that it’s even stronger than blood sisters.
“We’re only half a block and a phone call away.
If any of us feel the world dropping out from under our feet, we can get back
together in less than five minutes.”
I was amazed at how supportive all of them,
including Tootsie, were of each other. They might disagree, but Lord help the
person that tried to come between them, or who had the nerve to say an ugly
word about one of them.
Everything happens for a reason and in the time
that it should happen. I believe that with my whole heart. Diana had gotten her
divorce years before the book opens, but she remembers the pain and anger of it
all. Then she focused all her energy and time on raising her daughter. But now
it’s her time to find a new love, and a new life—maybe with a younger man.
“That many trips into town on those roads would
shake the hell out of their Caddy. And believe me, Aunt Tootsie treats that car
like family.” Luke chuckled. “Age, on a truck or on a person, makes no
difference. It’s how well they’re maintained that matters.”
Why, oh, why, couldn’t he have smooth pickup
lines like other men? Luke asked himself. What he’d just said could be taken as
an insult. She might think that he thought she looked like an old pickup truck
at her age, when in reality she was downright gorgeous. He wouldn’t be a bit
surprised if she still got carded at bars when she ordered a drink.
Thank you again, for inviting me into your
world, and letting me talk about the amazing ladies (and Luke of course),
from The Empty Nesters. Happy reading to each and every one of you!
***
My Book Review:
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
Sometimes if you are lucky, you pick up a book at just the
right time in your life that every emotion written by the author resonates and
you cannot put it down. THE EMPTY NESTERS by Carolyn Brown is that book
for me.
The story starts by introducing us to Tootsie and Smokey
Colbert. Smokey is retired Army and Tootsie is his beloved wife of over 50
years. They never had children of their own, so they are very excited when
three new military couples move into the neighboring homes each with their own
young daughter. The men are in the same unit and the wives are close friends.
Jump ahead thirteen years. Diana, Carmen and Joanie are all
still best friends and about to face an empty nest at home as all three of
their daughters leave for bootcamp after having enlisted in the Army together. Diana
has been divorced and moved on, working and focusing on her daughter Rebecca.
Joanie is still an army wife, waiting for her husband to come home as her
daughter Zoe leaves also. Carmen just said goodbye to her daughter, Natalie and
she receives the emotional punch of receiving unexpected divorce papers in the
mail after 20 years of marriage.
After losing the love of her life, Smokey, one month ago,
Tootsie decides to go on their planned trip to his family’s reunion and take
the girls with her. They have nothing to lose and no one at home, so they begin
their two month long life changing journey as “The Empty Nesters” in a large RV
driven by Smokey’s nephew, Luke. Tootsie faces the memories of her late husband
and hopes to ease her loneliness and broken heart, Joanie receives life
changing news from her husband which will alter the group, Carmen must deal
with the hurt, betrayal and end of her marriage and Diana just may learn to
open her heart to a new relationship and love.
This is my favorite Carolyn Brown book to date. Keep the
tissues handy for not only sad, but happy tears. I read this in one sitting
because I just had to know the resolution of all of “The Empty Nesters”. This
book deals with so many stages of life and love. It also shows each character
dealing with what life dishes out to them and how they cope with the help of
their friendship. I felt the dialogue, the emotions and the trials and triumphs
were realistically written and handled by Ms. Brown. Each of the women as a
character is unique and yet they mesh so well together.
I highly recommend The Empty Nesters!
***
Title: The Empty Nesters
Author: Carolyn Brown
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Summary
Dear friends and army
wives Diana, Carmen, and Joanie have been through war, rumors of war, marital
problems, motherhood, fears, joy, and heartache. But none of the women are
prepared when their daughters decide to enlist in the army together. Facing an empty
nest won’t be easy. Especially for Carmen. With emotions already high, she
suffers an even greater blow: divorce papers. Diana understands the fury and
tears. She’s been there.
With nothing to lose and
no one at home, the girlfriends impulsively accept an unexpected offer from
their elderly neighbor. The recently widowed Tootsie has an RV, a handsome
nephew at the wheel, and an aim for tiny Scrap, Texas, to embrace memories of her
late husband. Still grieving, she can use the company as a balm for her broken
heart. So can the empty nesters.
Embarking on a journey of hope, romance, and healing, Diana, Carmen, and Joanie are at a turning point in their lives. And with the open road ahead of them, it’s just the beginning.
***
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.
FLAWLESS DANGER (The Spencer & Sione Series, #1) by Rachel Woods is a thriller/mystery with romantic elements that I have very mixed feelings about. The writing is well done with very short change of point of view chapters to keep the story moving. The characters are my personal problem. Just as in Gone Girl, if I don’t like the characters, I don’t enjoy the book. No matter how many times you tell me Spencer had a terrible childhood, and it was too many times, I couldn’t warm up to her.
The thriller/mystery has Spencer being blackmailed by Ben Chang to get close to Belize resort owner, Sione, and steal back an envelope he claims belongs to him. She is also sent on side delivery jobs for him to three women with a bag containing a fake passport and money. All these women end up murdered. This lands Spencer in the middle of a power struggle between Ben and Richard, who is Sione’s father. Although Sione is trying to change his life, all of these men are dangerous and deadly criminals. And Spencer is no saint, either. It is sort of like a criminal soap opera.
The plot was what kept me reading, but it does drag at times. I would not call it a romantic suspense, as some have, because the love is all based on omission and lies so that was a problem for me. If you are into these types of characters, you will enjoy this book and there are more to follow because this does end on a cliffhanger of sorts.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars (Reading as a Standalone Novella)
FLAWLESS MISTAKE (The Spencer & Sione Series, #0) by Rachel Woods is the prequel to her series and establishes the characters and the “mistake” that brings them all together.
Spencer Edwards is out of work and money. She allows her half-sister to talk her into her ‘Dating Protocol’ scheme even though she knows it is criminally wrong. When she is sitting in the park one afternoon debating this turn in her life, a handsome and charismatic stranger, Ben Chang, sits next to her and she begins to want more. Spencer doesn’t believe in love or marriage, so in her fear of her growing relationship with Ben, she makes the “mistake”.
Ben Chang is not the man he portrays himself to be to Spencer. To cross him is to owe him. Spencer now owes Ben and even as she is horrified by him, she still finds herself drawn to him.
Sione Tuiali’i has a violent past that he wants to forget as his uncle has trusted in him and left him his resort in Belize to run. Once friend, now enemy, Ben Chang is trying to destroy Sione and Sione has to figure out why.
Spencer and Sione are on a collision course set up by Ben.
This prequel is a more of a set up for the novel to come than a standalone novella. It is great for me as I continue on to Flawless Danger, because I always want more information on characters and their motivations. I would recommend this prequel to those reading more in this series, but it does not give a satisfactory conclusion on its own.
