REVIEW: “Local Girl Missing” by Claire Douglas

"Local Girl Missing" has all the makings of a good psychological thriller.

BLOG TOUR (REVIEW): “Other Breakable Things” by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

Yes, I know I mentioned earlier this week that I'm on hiatus, but I still wanted to keep my promise I'd made to participate in the blog tour for "Other Breakable Things," a moving YA novel by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood. "Other Breakable Things" by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood 290 pages (Kindle Edition), Entangled Teen …

Review: “Every Wild Heart” by Meg Donohue

"Every Wild Heart" by Meg Donohue 304 pages, William Morrow Paperbacks Published March 14, 2017 ISBN: 0062429841 "Maybe there are two kinds of change. One is the kind that involves transitioning toward something new. And the other is more like peeling away your own layers to find what has always been at your core." Gail Gideon …

BLOG TOUR: “The Last Chance Matinee (Hudson Sisters #1) by Mariah Stewart – Review

I am delighted to be participating in a blog tour for the very first time. This blog tour is hosted by Simon and Schuster's Gallery Books, the publisher of "The Last Chance Matinee (Hudson Sisters #1)" by Mariah Stewart. Many thanks to Melissa Gramstad, publicity manager for Simon & Schuster/Gallery, for inviting me to participate! …

Review: “The Barrowfields” by Phillip Lewis

"The Barrowfields" by Phillip Lewis 368 pages, Hogarth Press Published March 7, 2017 ISBN: 0451495640 "And it came to me again how little time we all had, and how much time I'd let pass since I'd seen her. I thought of our respective times on this earth and how she and I were tied together by …

Review: “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee

"Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee 490 pages, Grand Central Publishing Published Feb. 7, 2017 ISBN: 1455563935 "There was more to being something than just blood." "Pachinko" is a multi-generational story following a Korean family from the early 1900s to the eve of the 1990s. It begins with Sunja, who becomes pregnant out of wedlock and marries …

Review: “The Typewriter’s Tale” by Michiel Heyns (DNF)

"The Typewriter's Tale" by Michiel Heyns 288 pages (Kindle edition), St. Martin's Press Published Feb. 28, 2017 (originally published in 2005 by Jonathan Ball Publishers) ISBN13: 9781250119001 “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.” This is the maxim of celebrated author Henry James and one which his typist Frieda Wroth tries to live …

Review: “In the Shadow of Lakecrest” by Elizabeth Blackwell

"In the Shadow of Lakecrest" by Elizabeth Blackwell 282 pages, Lake Union Publishing Published Feb. 1, 2017 ISBN: 1503941841 Looking to escape from a life of poverty and hardship, Kate Moore hastily marries wealthy medical company heir Matthew Lemont on the threshold of the Great Depression. When he brings her home to meet his ice …

Author Mindy Mejia demonstrates new dance move, discusses “grip-lit”

Yesterday afternoon, I traveled with three fellow Book Swap pals to Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City, where we attended a reading and signing by "Everything You Want Me to Be" author Mindy Mejia. First off, I wanna say that Mindy is hilarious. She told us how, while making breakfast for her two young children …

Review: “The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress” by Ariel Lawhon

"The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress" by Ariel Lawhon 304 pages, Doubleday Published Jan. 14, 2014 ISBN: 038553762X "Everything in this city is based on favors. In one way or another." So says Stella Crater, wife of New York Supreme Court Judge Joseph Crater, in "The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress." On Aug. 6, …