Tag: #series

Feature Post and Book Review: Waterborne by J. Luke Bennecke

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for WATERBORNE by J. Luke Bennecke which is the second book in the Civil Terror series featuring Civil Engineer Jake Bendel.

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

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Book Description

A thought-provoking thriller about a very real threat to the essence of life: water. You’ll be forced to consider how you’d react if you were cornered and trapped in a terrifying, life-threatening situation. Jake Bendel and a cunning team of experts create a five-plant desalination system – all powered by environmentally friendly molten salt reactors – providing clean, healthy drinking water to millions of thirsty Californians. But the dark side of humanity sees this as a chance for revenge against the United States. A genius weaponizes the system, threatening to kill more Americans than all of World War II.

The clock is ticking. Can Jake and the FBI stop the terrorists before more innocent people are murdered in the name of the Jihad? WATERBORNE will grab you by the throat and pull you into a vicious struggle that will define the fate of the world for generations to come.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57250096-waterborne?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6T2hYNjBES&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

WATERBORNE by J. Luke Bennecke is the second book in the Civil Terror thriller series featuring Civil Engineer Jake Bendel. This is an action packed, fast paced thriller set in the immediate future that is equal parts thought provoking, edge-of-your-seat thrilling, but also a fun read with characters good and bad that remind me of an over-the-top movie adventure. While you can read this book as a standalone, I believe all the main characters and their motivations are better understood if you read the first book, “Civil Terror: Gridlock” first.

Jake Bendel is “the” civil engineer in California who has big ideas and answers to many of California’s and the nation’s climate problems. Jake is working to get five desalination plants up and running which are powered by an environmentally friendly nuclear reactor to solve the shortage of fresh water problem and the nuclear waste problem together.

A criminal mastermind works to weaponize the water flowing from the plants with a waterborne virus that effects not only humans, but plant life, also. Can Jake, his friends and the FBI discover who is behind this plot and find a way to neutralize the virus and save the infected?

I really enjoy reading this series of thrillers! Mr. Bennecke writes a protagonist who makes being a civil engineer exciting and demonstrates the many solutions they work on for the good of civilization. Jake is an average man thrown into extraordinary circumstances and danger. The premise of the book is interesting, realistic and thought provoking. It is easy to read and fast paced with plenty of thrills, but it is the characters that pull me in and keep me turning the pages. The characters are over the top, especially the evil antagonists and so are the FBI agents.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For me, this series of books are an action-adventure thrill ride based on a realistic premise.

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Author Bio

J. Luke Bennecke is a native Californian and veteran civil engineer who has spent his career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. In addition to his first book, Civil Terror: Gridlock, which became an Amazon Bestseller, Bennecke has written several novels and screenplays, a creative process he thoroughly enjoys. He has a BS in civil engineering from Cal Poly Pomona, an MBA from Cal State San Bernardino, a private pilot’s certificate, and is a partner in an engineering firm based in Riverside. In his role as philanthropist, he awards scholarships annually to high school seniors at his alma mater.

Bennecke resides in Southern California with his wife of 30 years, whom he enjoys traveling with, and three spunky cats. In his leisure time, he spends his hours flying, learning about innovative tech, playing golf, and catching up with his grown daughters.

Bennecke is a member of International Thriller Writers and looks forward to attending ThrillerFest every year in New York. 

Author Social Media

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlukebennecke

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-luke-bennecke

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1880444.J_Luke_Bennecke

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Moonlight Becomes You by Robert Herold

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Blackthorn Book Tour to share my Feature Post and Book Review for MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU (An Eidola Project Novel Book #2) by Robert Herold.

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

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Book Description

The Eidola Project travels to Petersburg, Virginia, to investigate a series of murders in the Black community—rumored to be caused by a werewolf. Once there, danger comes from all quarters. Not only do they face threats from the supernatural, the KKK objects to the team’s activities, and the group is falling apart.

Can they overcome their human frailties to defeat the evil that surrounds them?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57249183-moonlight-becomes-you?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=DrnLnd4Tlf&rank=2

MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU

  • Genre:  Gothic horror
  • Print length: 209 pages
  • Suitable for young adults? This is an adult book but suitable for mature teenagers 16+
  • Trigger warnings: Some sexual scenes. Supernatural violence. Recollected murder of a child.

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU (An Eidola Project Novel Book #2) by Robert Herold is an intriguing and entertaining historical paranormal horror story set in rural Virginia twenty years after the Civil War. The Eidola Project team come together in Book #1 “The Eidola Project” and while each book has a complete paranormal investigation, I feel it is best to read these books in order due to the continued character revelations and interactions.

Dr. William James and the other paranormal investigators on the Eidola team have been asked to investigate a series of mutilation murders within a small black community in Petersburg, Virginia. The team does not know at first if they are dealing with human monsters riding as the KKK or a true werewolf. It soon becomes apparent they are dealing with both.

This book is such a wonderful mix of paranormal horror and historical reality. The author does an amazing job of mixing and balancing both throughout the entire story. The Eidola Project team is an eclectic group that take their research seriously, but also each have their own very human foibles and weaknesses. All the team members and secondary characters are fully fleshed and time-period appropriate. This book kept me captivated from start to finish even though it is not your typical paranormal werewolf story.

I highly recommend this historical paranormal horror story, series and author!

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About the Author

The supernatural always had the allure of forbidden fruit, ever since Robert Herold’s mother refused to allow him, as a boy, to watch creature features on late night TV. She caved in. (Well, not literally.)

As a child, fresh snow provided him the opportunity to walk out onto neighbors’ lawns halfway and then make paw prints with his fingers as far as he could stretch. He would retrace the paw and boot prints, then fetch the neighbor kids and point out that someone turned into a werewolf on their front lawn. (They were skeptical.)

He has pursued many interests over the years (among them being a history teacher and a musician), but the supernatural always called to him. You could say he was haunted. Finally, following the siren’s call, he wrote The Eidola Project, based on a germ of an idea he had as a teenager.

Ultimately, he hopes the book gives you the creeps, and he means that in the best way possible.

Social Media Link: https://robertheroldauthor.com/

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TVHMNGN

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Knife Edge by Kerry Buchanan

Hi, everyone!

Today I am kicking off the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for KNIFE EDGE (Detectives Harvey & Birch Mysteries Book #1) by Kerry Buchanan.

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

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Book Description

A MESMERIZING BREAK-OUT CRIME THRILLER SET IN NORTHERN IRELAND FULL OF BREATH-TAKING TWISTS

Nic always hated clubbing.

She only went out that night because she’d promised a friend.

She wakes up, naked and bound in an abandoned cottage in the middle of nowhere. Dappled light comes in through a dirty window. Her body is covered in cuts. Across the room her friend groans in pain.

A shadow passes the window. He’s back.

He picks up a knife. He begins to cut her friend. In that moment of bloody frenzy, Nic wrenches free and runs.

She’s finally safe. But this is only just the beginning.

Detectives Asha Harvey and Aaron Birch arrive at the scene hours later. There is no body, there is no sign of the killer. It’s as if it never happened.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW HOW IT ENDS? THINK AGAIN.

Fans of Lynda La Plante, Tana French, Patricia Gibney, Brian McGilloway and Helen H. Durrant will devour this electrifying crime thriller by one of Northern Ireland’s newest talents.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57491443-knife-edge?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=e0QMJWb46B&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

KNIFE EDGE (Detectives Harvey & Birch Mysteries Book #1) by Kerry Buchanan is a fast-paced crime thriller that takes off on page one and does not stop even through the unexpected epilogue. The investigation is set around Belfast featuring two new protagonist detectives.

Nic is has never liked clubbing and being around so many people, but her roommates have talked her into joining them with her friend, Colm. That is the last thing she remembers. She wakes to find herself tied to a wall, gagged and naked. She is repeatedly tortured with knife cuts by an unknown captor until she is able to, or allowed to escape?

Detectives Asha Harvey and Aaron Birch are assigned to investigate this case which is not the first with this killer. As he is tracked, he is always one step ahead of the search and is able to abduct Nic’s sister and his first victim once again. Will Nic and the detectives figure out this mad man’s identity and what is his end game?

This is a fast-paced book that is difficult to put down. The suspense and pace continue to ramp up throughout even though it started with a high degree of tension. All the characters are fully fleshed and interact with each other in a realistic manner, although I do not believe Nic would have been so involved in the investigation in real life. This book was not strictly a police procedural because several time the plot followed Nic’s feelings or instincts over strict police procedure, but it was a great suspense/thriller read. The ending and epilogue while not an explicit cliff-hanger, does lead to more questions and a need for the next book hopefully for answers.

I recommend this chilling crime thriller and I am looking forward to the next book in this series!

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Author Bio

Kerry Buchanan has had numerous short stories published internationally, including some prize-winners, but her heart lies with novel-writing. Her crime series is set in Belfast and in the rolling County Down hills she sees from her window as she writes. She is often invited to perform her work at literary events or to be a member of panels at conventions, and she loves to help new writers by facilitating writing groups and classes in her local community.

Although Kerry is disabled, her hobbies include sailing and attempting to outwit the slugs in her vegetable patch. Generally, the slugs win.

Author Social Media Links

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOODREADS
AMAZON

Book Review: For All She Knows by Jamie Beck

Book Description

Two mothers face the consequences of their choices in a gripping novel about friendship, family, and forgiveness by Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Beck.

Grace first met Mimi when she blew into their sons’ toddler playgroup like a warm bay breeze that loosened Grace’s tight spaces. Despite differing approaches to life and parenting, the fast friends raised their kids together while cementing a sisterlike bond that neither believed could be broken. But when a string of ill-fated decisions results in a teen party with a tragic outcome for Grace’s son, the friendship is ripped apart and an already-splintered community explodes.

Accusations are leveled, litigation ensues, and the people of Potomac Point take sides, all of which threatens Mimi’s business and her current custody agreement. Her sole salvation is a young cop who just might be her second chance at love. That fact only antagonizes Grace, whose marriage is crumbling beneath the weight of blame and the echo of past mistakes.

With their lives unraveling, the former friends stand to lose everything they love unless they learn to forgive—both themselves and each other.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53710828-for-all-she-knows?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=IoUP1pvGjU&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

FOR ALL SHE KNOWS (Potomac Point Book #3) by Jamie Beck is an emotional and powerful Women’s fiction story which while an addition to the Potomac Point series, it stands on its own.

Two mothers who are best friends with very different lives. A tragic accident will change everything as both are tested by one moment in time.

This story had me feeling so many different strong emotions and they often changed while reading all sides offered by all the characters. Grace’s rigid and unbending emotional handling of the accident and Mimi’s attempt to help Grace and her family in so many ways while also trying to change from being a more lenient parent kept me turning the pages. I did not want to choose who was right or wrong in their parenting styles because I have had to make parenting decisions myself that could go either way. This book does not just focus on the two best friends, but all the members of the families involved, with even the small community takes sides and plays a part.

One incident that is so life-altering and Ms. Beck’s writing guides you through the journey of everyone involved so smartly and realistically. This journey will take you through love, friendship, parenthood, forgiveness and hope.

I highly recommend this book!

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Author Bio

Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than two million copies. She is a two-time Booksellers’ Best Award finalist and a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist have respectively called her work “smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing novels, she enjoys hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah and dancing around the kitchen while cooking. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family. Fans can get exclusive excerpts, inside scoops, and be eligible for birthday gift drawings by subscribing to her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/b7k7G5. She also loves interacting with everyone on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JamieBeckBooks.

Social Media Links

Website – https://jamiebeck.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JamieBeckBooks/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/writerjamiebeck

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8020971.Jamie_Beck

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Blood Stained by Rebecca Bradley

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for BLOOD STAINED (Detective Claudia Nunn Book #1) by Rebecca Bradley.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

Can’t find her.

Can’t catch him.

Can’t trust anyone.

The first in a gripping new Sheffield-set crime series starring Detective Claudia Nunn.

Detective Claudia Nunn’s colleague DS Dominic Harrison has been leading the case against a dangerous serial killer, who hunts his victims using a dating app. But now his own wife has gone missing.

Then a large pool of blood is discovered in their garage. And Dominic is the prime suspect.

Is Dominic being framed by a serial killer or will Claudia expose an even uglier truth?

Can’t tell a soul how it ends.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57254029-blood-stained?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=qWys0FJN55&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4.5 out of 5

BLOOD STAINED (Detective Claudia Nunn Book #1) by Rebecca Bradley is the first book in a new British police procedural thriller/mystery that I could not put down and read all in one sitting. This is an intense and intriguing new thriller with hairpin turns in its plot from a new to me author and I will definitely be following DI Claudia Nunn in her future books.

DI Claudia Nunn follows the facts no matter where they may go. Claudia is assigned to investigate a missing person report and interrogate the missing woman’s husband. The missing woman, Ruth is an undercover investigator and married to a fellow officer and a friend.

DS Dominic Harris has been investigating a serial killer, the Sheffield Strangler, who meets women in their forties with one or more children through a dating app for the last six months. Now he is being held and investigated for the disappearance of his wife and fellow officer by DI Nunn. Harris claims his innocence and swears he is being set up by the Sheffield Strangler.

As the hours pass, DI Nunn is working to find and save Ruth, exonerate DS Harris and solve the Sheffield Strangler case but will the facts lead to the solution expected?

I loved this story and the author’s intricate and tightly woven plotting that not once, but twice truly surprised me. The first surprise is the only reason I was slightly disappointed because it made the previous pages I had just read no longer feel truly realistic. (I cannot say why without spoiling it for you, but you can agree or disagree yourself.) This book is a page turner with the dual narratives of DI Nunn’s investigation in the present and DS Harris’ investigation in the previous six months intertwined throughout. The characters are interesting and fully fleshed. The ending is a huge surprise that has me anxiously waiting for the next book.

I highly recommend this first book in this new series and look forward to many more!

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Author Bio

Rebecca Bradley lives with her family in the UK, and two Cockapoos, Alfie and Lola, who keep her company while she writes. She drinks copious amounts of tea to function throughout the day and if she could, she would survive on a diet of tea and cake while committing murder on a regular basis. Rebecca served fifteen years in the police service and finished as a detective constable on a specialist unit.

Author Social Media Links

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
GOODREADS

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee

Hi, everyone!

Today I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on this Blog Tour for CHANGING THE RULES (Richter Book #1) by Catherine Bybee.

Below you will find a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section, the author’s social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $100 Amazon gift card. Good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway and enjoy!

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Book Summary 

As an employee of MacBain Security and Solutions, Claire Kelly can certainly hold her own. Armed with an impressive set of covert skills, she’s more than prepared to tackle any job that comes her way…except one involving Cooper Lockman.

Cooper and Claire used to work together before his feelings for her sent him packing to Europe for six long years. But now he’s back and determined to ignore the still-smoldering heat that lingers between them.

Their current mission: go undercover together at a California high school to root out the mastermind behind a prostitution ring targeting young girls. The closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, however, the deadlier their task becomes. As Claire and Cooper risk their lives to bring down their target, will their hearts be the final casualties?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54457628-changing-the-rules?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ztwP76binc&rank=1

About the Title

Title: Changing the Rules

Author: Catherine Bybee

Release Date: March 23, 2021

Publisher: Montlake 

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

CHANGING THE RULES (Richter Book #1) by Catherine Bybee is the first book in a new romantic suspense series featuring characters working for MacBain Security and Solutions that were introduced in the fifth and final book “Say It Again” in the First Wives Club series. Even with the crossover, this book is easily read as a standalone with background information given in the story.

Claire Kelly was taught an impressive set of covert skills at her private military boarding school, Richter in Germany. Given a home and college education by the MacBain’s, Kelly has now worked for MacBain Security and Solutions for six years while living with her best friend and fellow Richter graduate, Jax.

Cooper Lockman has been working in the European MacBain office for the last six years and has returned to the California headquarters in time for a new assignment with Claire. He left to give Claire time to mature and make her own life, but he is back and finds he still wants her.

Claire as a student and Cooper as a back-up track coach are working undercover in a local high school to root out a sex-trafficking ring with a mastermind who has eluded local undercover police. The more they uncover, the more dangerous their situation even as their relationship heats up.

I was so happy to see Claire and Cooper get a story. Claire is a character that can take care of herself and was trained in all covert skills and yet she is a caring and giving adult. Abandoned as a baby and still at times affected by that, she loves the MacBain and Hoffman families. Cooper is perfect for Claire. He is willing to give her up for six years, appreciates her skills and does not seek to change her. Ms. Bybee does a wonderful job of making Claire and Cooper’s romance grow naturally while also keeping the plot and suspense moving at a rapid pace with ever increasing tension. All the characters, past and present and the increasing suspense keep you turning the pages to get to the final solution.

I highly recommend this romantic suspense and I am looking forward to many more!

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Excerpt

Claire collapsed onto the living room sofa the second she walked in the door. Not only had she suffered a headache the entire day, Cooper ran her like a trainer working an Iron Man competitor. 

“That sounds like a bad day,” Jax said as she walked around the corner of the kitchen. 

“You don’t want to know.” 

Claire flung an arm over her eyes to block out the sun. 

She heard Jax walk in the room and then exhale as she sat down. “You’re right. I don’t give a crap what happened in school, unless it involved Cooper. What I want is the details of last night after I got out of the car.” 

Before Cooper picked them up, Claire and Jax had agreed that Jax would give them a few minutes to have a private conversation. Now Claire regretted that plan. 

“The long story, or the short story?” Claire asked. 

“Whatever one you want to deliver.” 

Claire’s arms slid off her head, and she pushed herself into a sitting position. 

“Cooper has a thing for me.” 

Jax sat silent, blinked a few times. “Okay, and?” 

“What do you mean, ‘okay, and?’” 

“Sorry, Claire, but that’s obvious. I think you’d have to be an idiot to not see it. Even the guys on the team see it.” 

“What? Are they talking about—” 

Jax stopped her with a shake of the head. “Of course not. But you can tell by how they look at the two of you that they know there’s an attraction.” 

Claire pointed to her chest. “I’m not doing anything, it’s him.” 

“Maybe it’s more him.” 

She kept shaking her head. “No, it’s all him. I’m not instigating anything.” 

“You flirt with him all the time.” 

“I do not,” Claire huffed. 

One look from Jax and she rescinded her statement. “Okay, we banter. But it’s always been like that. I have the pool stick, he makes some kind of phallic joke. It’s banter. Not flirting.” 

Jax sat back, crossed her arms over her chest. Claire couldn’t believe her best friend was calling her out. “We’re friends. And last night he ruined that by telling me he’s had a thing for me since we met. Told me he left sunny California for dreary London because I was too young and naive to handle him when I first got here.” 

Jax narrowed her eyes. “Is that really how he said that?” 

Claire’s headache was coming back. “No. He said I was a child.” 

“A child?” 

Claire stood up from the couch, started for the kitchen. “He kept repeating that I was eighteen back then.” 

Jax followed behind. “Which is true.” 

Claire yanked open the fridge, pulled out a beer. “Whose side are you on?” 

“Yours. Always. But I just don’t see where all the fire is about this. Cooper owns up to the flirting comments and puppy-dog looks he gives you, and you’re pissed because he walked away six years ago.”

Like picking a lock, the pieces slid into place and finally started to click. “But he’s my friend.” 

“Trying to say you’ve never thought of him as more?” 

“No.” Her denial was quick. 

Jax started to smile. “You’ve never checked out his ass? The guy can fill out a pair of jeans.” 

Some of the anger she’d harbored all day eased. “That’s true.” 

“And that smile. When he’s belly laughing he has the tiniest dimples.” 

Claire closed her eyes, pictured his smile. She hadn’t noticed the dimples, but now that she thought about it . . . She opened her eyes to find Jax staring at her. 

“Sounds like you have a thing for him,” Claire said. 

“Wouldn’t matter if I did, and I don’t, by the way, but it wouldn’t matter. The guy can’t stop looking at you.” 

“God, what am I going to do with him?” 

“I don’t think you have to do anything. It’s not like he asked you out and you said no and now it’s awkward.” 

“You’re right. It’s worse than that.” 

“You’re overthinking it.” Jax pushed off the counter. “You know what, let’s gussy up a little and hit a proper happy hour. We’ll talk in German and pretend we don’t speak English and shamelessly flirt.” 

Claire abandoned her beer. “Now that is exactly what I need to do and get my mind off of boys.” 

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About the Author

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series, the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series.

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/catherinebybee

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2905789.Catherine_Bybee 

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