This Chick Read: Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas (Rocky Mountain Cowboys) by Katie Ruggle

Katie Ruggle excels at building fun characters who live on the edge of society. Those oddball characters that are slightly dorky and immediately endear you to them. Camille Brandt has always had trouble talking to people. She second guesses what she should say and do in social situations so tries to avoid them as much as possible. When Steve Springfield moves back to town with his four kids, Camille’s crush from high school immediately blooms again. Watching her face her struggles trying to speak normally made Camille so identifiable. Who hasn’t felt like that at one point in their life? I rooted for her so hard!

You may recognize Steve Springfield from the Search and Rescue series. He’s a firefighter and was always in the story but on the peripheral. It was so nice to get to know him and all of his kids! I know the Rocky Mountain Cowboy series will probably be about all of Steve’s brothers, but I want some YA books about Steve’s kids. They were so fun and unusual. Zoe is an inventor- blowing things up occasionally, Micah is the hermit artist, Will the adopted joyful oldest son, and Maya the youngest and sweetest little thing. Seriously these kids rocked and need their own stories!

Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas was a great start to this series. Katie Ruggle has proven herself again with some great characters, a solid love story, and of course she throws in just a hint of danger adding that tension that works so well in her novels. This was my first Christmas novel of the year and even though we are only approaching October, I was in the Christmas spirit right away.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given an ARC of this novel for my honest review and it was honest!

Rocky Mountain

Click this link to purchase!* Rocky Mountain Cowboy Christmas (Rocky Mountain Cowboys)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: The Hot Shot (Game On #4) by Kristen Callihan

Chess Copper is photographing players from her local pro football team naked for their annual charity calendar. Tough job but someone’s got to do it! When she meets Finn, the QB for the team there is instant chemistry, but a miscommunication gets their relationship off on the wrong foot. As she tries to make him more comfortable with the shoot, she see’s that he’s actually just a bit nervous and through their conversation realizes that behind that pretty face is a really nice guy that she might want to get to know better. There’s one problem. Chess is looking for a relationship and Finn is a no strings attached kind of guy…at first.

I loved the slow build up of Chess and Finn’s friendship. I am a firm believer in being friends before becoming lovers and Kristen Callihan hit that trigger for me. Finn is a self described one night stand man and even though Chess finds him attractive she determinedly put him in the hands off category and Finn has his work cut out for him to make her see him in another light. When tragedy hits and Chess needs a place to stay their close quarters help speed things along from friendship into love.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve read one of the Game On books, but when a couple of characters showed up in this novel I could easily remember their story. It helped a bit that this novel’s timeline paralleled Dex and Fiona’s from the Game Plan. It was kind of fun to listen to Dex talk about his budding relationship when we already knew how that relationship turned out.

If you are a fan of this series you will like The Hot Shot. Was it my favorite? No, I still like The Game Plan the best. However, I liked Finn and Chess together and really rooted for them to find their happily ever after and was happy when they did.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Hot Shot

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Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box September ‘18 Reveal!

Last week was the week that I received my surprise YA novel in the mail from Uppercase Box. I love coming home to that package sitting on my doorstep!

This month it looked kind of bulky which means it was filled with fun bookish items!

I found out that what made the extra padding in the Uppercase bag was this gorgeous cotton scarf. I love all of the stacks of books although they aren’t as large as my own TBR!

The other items in the bag are all related to the book, so Unfortunately that shortens my big reveal. Oh well, here is the book of the month!

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan- signed!

Synopsis:

Everyone in the universe knows his name. Everyone in the universe fears him. But no one realizes that notorious outlaw Ia Cocha is a seventeen-year-old girl.

A criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot, Ia has spent her life terrorizing the Olympus Commonwealth, the imperialist nation that destroyed her home. When the Commonwealth captures her and her true identity is exposed, they see Ia’s age and talent as an opportunity: by forcing her to serve them, they will prove that no one is beyond their control.

Soon, Ia is trapped at the Commonwealth’s military academy, desperately plotting her escape. But new acquaintances—including Brinn, a seemingly average student with a closely-held secret, and their charming Flight Master, Knives—cause Ia to question her own alliances. Can she find a way to escape the Commonwealth’s clutches before these bonds deepen?

In this exhilarating edge-of-your-seat sci-fi adventure—perfect for fans of The Lunar Chronicles—debut author Maura Milan introduces our world to a thrilling new heroine.

What a colorful box! I’ll admit this book hadn’t been on my radar at all but I like science fiction and it looks interesting!

Have any of you read this book? What did you think?

Thanks for reading my reveal!

Deb

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Blogger to Blogger Series: An Interview with Annie @themisstery

My first impression of The Misstery blog is that the feel of her site is very film noir-ish. The picture (I’m assuming it’s Annie!) of the young woman reading on her back in bed is in black and white. Not to be gruesome, but I could very easily see that picture as a crime photo in my mind! Very cool and definitely sets the mood for her blog that is mostly reviews of mystery novels. Annie does veer away occasionally with wrap up posts, discussions and a few reviews in other genre’s but for the most part she stays true to her name. If you haven’t checked out Annie’s blog, please check it out!

Annie @themisstery

Here are Annie’s answers to my 10 questions! Annie was having trouble with her phone and couldn’t send me any photo’s, but her descriptions are vivid and I don’t have any trouble imaging what she’s describing!

Misstery logo

Blogging is universal and even though we inhabit the same community, we don’t always live in the same country. What country do you live in?

I live in Barcelona, Spain. Most of the bloggers I interact with are from the UK or US, though. I also have blogger friends from Kenya, France, Belgium, etc.

What is the view outside your front door?  

I actually have a library in front of my flat! I never go there, though. I prefer to buy books and I usually read in English and mostly of the library books are only in Spanish. Also, I have an Italian restaurant on my right and a Bolivian restaurant on the left.

Most blogs have a fun story of origin. Please share the story behind your blogs name and/or why you started blogging.

As everyone, I started blogging because I wanted to share my love for books with others who share my same passion. I actually started blogging in Spanish but quickly realized that I was reading different books than my fellow Spanish bloggers. So I decided to go International and it was the best decision ever!

My blog name is still one of my favorite things. Misstery. I think it’s pretty self-explanatory given how much I love mysteries!

Describe where you write your blog.

I usually write my posts while sitting on the armchair. It’s so comfortable that I could spend my whole day there.

Misstery armchair

Most of us have a stack of books sitting next to our couch or bed waiting to be read. What books are in your stack? 

I have plenty of books to read, but I keep them all on the shelves. There are like +50 that I still haven’t read!

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If you have had a bad day and want to spend an hour reading a book, what is your go to genre or favorite book that will lift your mood?

My go-to books are police procedurals. I know I will always get hooked. They’re also my happy place, which I know sounds weird for some.

When you aren’t blogging, how do you spend your time? Work, Play, School?

I work 8-5 so that’s a big part of my day, although I’d rather be at home, for sure. Maybe someday…

My favorite blog post banner

What is your favorite blog post you’ve ever written? 

My blogger routine post! Although that has changed over this year!

My Book Blogger Routine

Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? If so, what did you say to them? Looking back, what do you wish you had said instead?

I have! I met Dennis Lehane last year, and also Don Winslow. 5 years ago, I met Kate Morton, too.

I told them I loved their books.

To Dennis, I told him that Patrick Kenzie was one of my favorite characters ever. He’s so serious, but it was a conference and I loved what he said.

 

Don Winslow was super nice and I loved his vision. Kate Morton was super sweet too, and she signed all the books I brought.

 


If you could sit down with an author for a slice of cake and a question,  who is the author, what kind of cake would you serve, and what is the first question you’d ask?

I think Agatha Christie, even though she’s dead. Cheesecake and I would ask her what’s the best way to come up with such twisty stories!

 

 

I occassionally love a good mystery and would have loved to know the first three books Annie is going to read next! It’s a little voyeuristic to view your TBR isn’t it? LOL.

I think Annie is the first blogger I’ve met from Spain and find it really interesting that she found that she wasn’t reading the same books as other Spanish bloggers. I know I am thankful she went international so I could enjoy her blog!

Thanks Annie for participating in my Blogger to Blogger series!

Deb

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Friday YA: Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West

Kate Bailey doesn’t really like people. OK, let me clarify. She doesn’t dislike them, she’s just kind of a loner. She’d rather be out on the lake then with a group of people, unless they are lake people. When her best friend Alana talks her into taking a podcast class at school, she agree’s half-heartedly. Their first assignment is to offer one suggestion each for the topic of their class podcast that year. Surprise! Kate’s topic, an advice podcast is the winner and Kate finds herself co-hosting, which is completely at odds with her loner personality. Suprisingly, she finds her caustic sense of humor plays well on air and their podcast becomes a hit and one day a young man calls in asking for advice on a crush….

Our young heroine has a lesson to learn, and in Kate’s it was that there is more out in the world to discover beyond lake life. Even though Kate is kind of loner, she isn’t really because her family is huge. Her parents, aunts and uncles all live on a block together so she’s surrounded by family, cousins et. al at almost all times. So for a loner, she surprisingly is pretty social. When she drives her cousin to her weekly tutoring sessions she gets to know Diego, the boy her best friend is crushing on. As she gets to know him, she develops her own crush. Due to the girl code and first dibs, she doesn’t do anything about it.

I didn’t think this was the best Kasie West novel I’d ever read, but it wasn’t the worst either. I did really enjoy the podcasts, and the supporting characters were energetic and fun. Which was good because Kate was not a ball of energy. She did have a good heart though and in the end, she did learn her life lesson, having fun with the podcast and expanding her horizons. Listen to you Heart was a quick read, so if you have a few hours on a rainy Saturday it will be the perfect book to spend your time.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

LIsten to Your Heart

Click this link to purchase!* Listen to Your Heart

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

You are dropped into the body of a series of seven strangers and told that unless you solve the mystery of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle, you are doomed to relive this day, in these bodies, over and over until you or someone else answers that question. Interesting premise, right? As our hero inhabits each person we learn a little bit more about him, as well as the person he’s inhabiting and how all of the people in this book are connected. It’s a mystery within a mystery and whether our main character solves this mystery or loses his memories to start anew again keeps me reading until the end!

The first couple of characters our hero inhabits and the people he comes in contact with are really interesting. It took me a little while to catch on to what kind of mystery I was reading, but once I realized that every person was a clue, I started to pay more attention to the details of what was not only going on with our hero, but also the other characters in the book. As each person goes to sleep, he pops into another person starting another day seeing through their eyes. I thought one of the most interesting bits about how this mystery played out was that our hero had to dominate the personality of each person he inhabited. Over time, it became easier for the other personality to overcome him making his job of using that character to move forward to solve the mystery more challenging. As the day wore on and the approach of Evelyn’s death was closer, the characters became more demonic and terrifying in personality.

This was a very well thought out mystery! How did the author keep track of all of these characters timelines, intertwine them and still make it all cohesive? Truly, the skill involved was pretty amazing. I will admit a couple of the characters were duds for me, and I sped through their scenes a little quicker than I’d normally like in a mystery novel, I usually savor the details. However, the resolution of this mystery was satisfying, fascinating, and felt true to the characters I’d just spent days reading and getting to know. I’m willing to forgive a little slowness in the middle for that feeling of satisfaction and resolution at the end. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this novel through NetGalley by the publisher for their honest review, and it was honest!

Seven Deaths

Click this link to purchase!* The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: A Murder in Time (Kendra Donovan #1) by Julie McElwain

Our heroine Kendra Donovan is an FBI profiler. She is on the task force that is taking down two drug kingpins when she finds out her team was undermined from the inside, men on her team killed, and one of the criminals goes free.  Kendra goes rogue and decides to take care of this criminal herself. She tracks him down to a castle in England but before she can kill him she gets thrown back in time to the 1800’s where another murder quickly takes place. Is this the reason why she has traveled through time?

Another book blogger wrote about being excited that the third novel is coming out soon and made me curious enough to look this one up. THANK YOU! I’m sorry I can’t remember who you are, but this was a fabulous recommendation! A time traveler mystery is a bit of a stretch but this author set it up so well. Kendra was a child prodigy and is quite young, only in her early 20’s when she gets thrown back in time. Thank goodness because she’s not seen as an old maid. She is briefly thrown by the time traveling, but kind of rolls with it hoping she can find her way home again. It does help that the Duke whose castle she finds herself in was progressive and a scientist of sorts and is fascinated by this brilliant young woman. When the first young woman shows up dead Kendra puts her profiler skills to work and the Duke puts his societal standing behind her giving her gravitas, and allows her to investigate. I love it when a woman enthralls men with her intelligence instead of her beauty!

A Murder in Time is part mystery with a hint of romance. The Duke is not Kendra’s romantic partner, but instead it’s his nephew that she ensnares. The tension between the two of them is intense but really the story revolves around solving the mystery of who among their peers is the killer. This novel held my interest and truly I didn’t want to put it down.

If you love a good mystery and don’t mind a little time traveling, then please pick up this book! I do not think you’ll be disappointed. The great news is that the second is available in book stores and the third is being released soon. Yeah! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

A Murder

Click this link to purchase*! A Murder in Time: A Novel (Kendra Donovan Mysteries)

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This Chick Read: The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott

Emily is working double shifts to make money to finish her education. Waiting tables does not come easy as Emily is so shy she can barely speak to her customers, but one cantankerous old man breaches her silence and they become unlikely friends. Through this friendship he offers her a job as the bookkeeper at his gym. A job that requires her to hold her own among a group of rowdy young men. One of those men is up and coming fighter Cormac “The Hurricane” O’Connell. He has had his eye on this sweet quiet waitress and when she lands in his path he makes every effort to be her friend.

This novel really surprised me. The cover fooled me, making me think this novel would be all “romance”. It was more of a slow burn novel. These characters were from the wrong side of the tracks, so there was some coarse language, but the pace of the novel was slow and easy, just as you’d imagine a guy like O’Connell would have to be to approach a girl like Emily. He eased his way into her heart which made this novel different and kept me engaged.

There was also some seriousness to the reasons why Emily was so gun shy. She came from an abusive background, which made her falling for O’Connell kind of unrealistic, but again, the pace of the story made me overlook that fact. As she began to trust him, I did too. He wasn’t really the hard ass he portrayed himself to be.

Another aspect of this story that I really liked was her relationship to the gym owner Danny. Although a grumpy character he was really the father she always wanted and their little one on one scenes were sweet, really adding to the depth of Emily’s character.

If you are looking for a sports romance with character depth and heart, this is a great fit. I have not read a novel by R.J. Prescott previously and didn’t have any expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised that The Hurricane had the depth and emotional impact of a Kristen Callihan or J.T. Geissinger novel. I really enjoyed this discovery and look forward to reading more. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Hurricane

Click this link to purchase! The Hurricane

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon associate and will receive a small stipend if you purchase this novel through the above link.

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Friday YA: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

You know when you have a name that is on the tip of your tongue but you can’t recall the word? The story of Shahrzad was that tale that I knew I had heard before and as I started listening to the audio book I immediately searched for it. The re-telling of that story stays pretty close to the original. However, instead of a husband who has each wife killed as the sun rises to save himself from infidelity, our hero Khalid’s reason is a mystery for most of the book. Don’t worry, I’m not going to give it away here in my review. It is not because he is trying to save himself from the hurt infidelity brings, it’s a more “honorable” reason. If you can call having hundreds of women killed, honorable. When our heroine, Shahrzad volunteers to be the kings next wife, she surprises everyone. Why would you volunteer to die? That reason is what is at the heart of this story, and she and Khalid’s budding relationship is what kept me listening.

Not only is Shahrzad a great storyteller, keeping Khalid hanging on the plot each night, she is the type of heroine that I enjoy reading about. She is strong, willful, smart, and emotional. Shazi’s original intent for volunteering is soon betrayed by her feelings. How can someone fall in love with a man who has had so many women killed? Her internal struggle was riveting.

Taking place in Persia when women were seen behind screens and through wispy bits of fabric, Renee Ahdieh modernized this version allowing Shazi to be bold and adventurous. Her King, Khalid, seemed to actually be more reserved and traditional than she, but as we get to know his reasons for his actions, we see why she would be attracted to him. That reserve was self protecting. I couldn’t really see how this novel could have a happy ending, and just as in one of Shahrzad’s own tales, I was left wanting more.

The narrator for this story, Ariana Delawari, took a more traditional route for her storytelling. She did a straight read, delivering emotion well, but not really changing her voice for the different characters. Once I got used to her style I found that this really fit the pace of the novel. This isn’t a story that you rip through. You need to enjoy the flavors, sights and smells of Persia through this authors words without any special effects to detract from them. I really enjoyed listening to it and will also listen to the sequel too. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Wrath

Click this link to purchase!*The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Have you ever been asked “If you could have dinner with any five people, dead or alive, who would you choose?”  The Dinner List is a novel about Sabrina, who sits down to dinner for her 30th birthday with five people, one of whom is Audrey Hepburn. An interesting premise, but as the novel moves forward, we are given hints that there’s a reason these five people have been chosen, and in a few hours Sabrina is able to work out her feelings of regret, sadness, love, and friendship so that by dinner’s end she, and everyone else at the table can move in the direction their lives have taken them.

Even though I didn’t have a clue where this novel was going to take me I quickly found myself wrapped up in the dinner conversation and in Sabrina’s life as told through flashbacks. This dinner list was started when she was in college with her roommate and best friend Jessica. On this list was her father who had left she and her mother when she was a toddler, her college Philosophy professor, her best friend Jessica, Audrey Hepburn, and the boy she had a blind crush on in college. As the novel progresses we see the reasons why each of these people were at the table. As each course is eaten, something new is revealed about Sabrina’s life and the people at the table help her deal with her emotions about that time in her life. These scenes were sometimes sweet, funny, fascinating and sad. However they made me feel, I eagerly ate them up digesting the words as if they were a calorie free all you can eat dessert buffet.

I think the reason why this novel worked so well was because Sabrina was not a perfect woman. She was completely flawed. At times, I didn’t understand her reactions yet I wanted to know so much more about her. In one scene we find out Sabrina is named for Audrey Hepburn’s character in the movie Sabrina because her mom and dad thought that that character was a young woman that knew what she wanted and was determined to get it. A great person to emulate, however this Sabrina was more like Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly. Sabrina was afraid to be alone, wanting to always be connected to others and she let that fear rule her.

This book made me reflect upon my own list of five people I’d like to sit down to dinner, dead or alive. Should I sit Jon BonJovi next to Abraham Lincoln or Margaret Thatcher? Or maybe I should ask Candice Bergen if she’s available? Regardless, I don’t think it would be as interesting as Sabrina’s journey was in this book.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

The Dinner List

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Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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