REVIEW: “Local Girl Missing” by Claire Douglas

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

Review: “And Then There Was Me” by Sadeqa Johnson

"And Then There Was Me" by Sadeqa Johnson 304 pages, Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press Published April 11, 2017 ISBN: 1250074169 Bea is a surrogate mother, carrying more than her husband's cousin's child. She's also carrying devastating secrets. She is bulimic*, and her charismatic, handsome husband Lonnie is extremely unfaithful. When Bea's closest friend Awilda betrays her, …

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 Roanoke Girls” by Amy Engel

"The Roanoke Girls" by Amy Engel 276 pages, Crown Published March 7, 2017 ISBN: 1101906669 "I had trouble with roots. Still do. Always trying to stay one step ahead of my past, my granddad, Roanoke. "Look how well that turned out." When 15-year-old Lane Roanoke's mother commits suicide, she's shipped from New York City to the …

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: “Blink” by K.L. Slater

"Blink" by K.L. Slater 295 pages, Bookouture (Kindle only) Published Feb. 16, 2017 ISBN13: 9781786811288 "If only they had a machine that could translate the anxious thoughts that fill my brain. I could tell them how Evie was taken from me, beg them to help me find her before it's too late. Every day I …

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 …