The Phantom Paragrapher

Title: Sole Survivor Author: Candice Wright Genre: Dark Romance Tropes: Serial Killer/Stalker Vibes Release Date: March 28, 2024 BLURB There’s a murderer on the loose. One who kills without hesitation and remorse. When Rue Anderson, the killer’s tenth victim, is found in a shallow grave at a children’s park, it sends shockwaves through the local community and sparks a media frenzy. But there is a difference between Rue and the nine victims that came before her. Rue survived. Left with a scar on her soul and her memory in tatters, Rue finds herself drawn to Valen Ward, the dark and enigmatic man who reminds her there is more to life than just existing. But Rue’s future is as uncertain as her past. And though Valen holds her close, he might also be the reason Rue’s world was torn apart. Every secret has the power to break her, but nothing proves to be more fatal than the truth. Not when she’s the sole survivor. And he’s the prime suspect. GOODREADS BOOKBUB ...

Review: Only If You're Lucky - Stacy Willingham - January 2024 Today was the perfect weather for reading outside on my porch swing so I decided it was a great time to make a dent into my TBR physical pile and Stacy's book had been sitting there for about a month. I was a little nervous reading it as I hadn't enjoyed All the Dangerous Things. That was a DNF for me. Only If You're Lucky though caught my attention right from the beginning and I think it was mainly to do with the setting of the university housing and college-aged kids. This is one of my favorite themes in books. The book starts with their friend and roommate Lucy missing and Levi is dead. It then jumps back in time to the previous year when Margot is at Rutledge College and sitting on the grass with her roommate Maggie and Margot spots Lucy. She radiates and is the center of attention. She reminds Margot of her now-deceased friend Eliza. At the end of the first year, Lucy invites Margot to be their fourth r...

The Rumble and the Glory JA Huss Publication date: June 27th 2024 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense Deep in the hills of West Virginia, three small towns have found a way to flourish in the face of extreme poverty. Disciple runs a side-show tent revival that brings in millions of dollars a year. Bishop flaunts traditional ways in the vein of Colonial Williamsburg, luring weary city people to the slow-living lifestyle. And Revenant offers them an experience of sin filled with tattooed bikers and live-music dive bars. It’s a sacred trinity that worships the almighty dollar and everyone plays their role like a well-trained Broadway actor. But these hills have secrets, and so do the people. Twelve years ago, when he was just eighteen and dreaming of a future with his high school sweetheart, Collin Creed learned something about himself. Something so disturbing he left Disciple to join the Marines and didn’t once look back. But all that came to a screeching halt with...

Review: Woman on the Edge - Samantha M. Bailey - November 2019 With the sun shining today, it felt like a lovely day to read outside on my porch swing. It felt invigorating as I opened my Libby App and read Samantha M. Bailey's 2019 release "Woman on the Edge". I didn't have a huge expectation, which I think helped me as I enjoyed this book. In the beginning, we meet two women Nikki and Morgan at the train station. Nikki gives Morgan her daughter Quinn and then jumps in front of a train. The book then jumps to before which is back when Nikki first discovered she was pregnant with Quinn. Nikki never wanted children, but now she is pregnant she is happy but worried at the same time. Even more so, when a threatening letter turns up from her past. Twenty years ago when Nikki was 17 years old, she worked as a nanny and her daughter Amanda died of SIDS. The mother Donna told Nikki she had killed her baby and sent notes. As Quinn is born, the notes increase and strange thi...

Sweetheart Cookie O’Gorman Publication date: April 25th 2024 Genres: Romance, Young Adult Sweetheart (suh-weet-hart): Someone who is kind, friendly, and/or lovable. For reference, see Scarlett Kent. Seventeen-year-old Scarlett Kent likes the idea of love—in theory. She’s just never had time for romance. Voted Most Likely to Succeed, founder of a youth mentoring program, and an aspiring professional violinist, Scarlett has goals—and a list of “firsts” she’d like to complete before graduation. One thing that’s not on her list: Falling for Sam Bishop. Flirtatious jocks who sleep through class aren’t her type—no matter how good Sam looks in his jersey. But when her car breaks down, Sam stops to help…which leads to an unexpected offer. Sam volunteers to help Scarlett complete her list. In return, she’ll help him win back his ex. It’s a sweetheart deal that should benefit everyone. But between kissing lessons and pretend dates, Scarlett realizes Sam is the perfect fake boyfrie...

Review: Off the Cards - Book #2 Faking It Series - Chloe Walsh - February 2017 An author that I am making it my way through as I try to do this every year - is picking an author and clearing their backlists of books. One of those authors is Chloe Walsh. Last month at the Blink 182 concert, while waiting in line - I read Book #1 in this series and so today Easter Saturday in bed this morning, I read Book #2 Off the Cards. At the end of Book #1, we had the major cliffhanger that Nate had slept with Addie's mum. This broke Addie's heart but at the same time caused a fracture in her family as she lost not only the one she loved and trusted-Nate but also her older brother Jackson and best friend Ivy stopped talking to her. Addie was suddenly all alone. Nate though isn't about to give up on the one person he has always loved and so he will pursue her and be there when she's ready to talk. I am glad that Addie pushed and Nate finally told her the true reason why he slept with ...

Immense grief causes demigod Calli to do the unthinkable and use her powers to erase herself from the memories of her beloved Henrik. Calli rebuilds herself and her crew, only to be reunited with Henrick by order of the crown to stop Perseus and his accomplices before it’s too late. As remnants of their passion haunt their voyage, will their wounded hearts find their way back to each other, or will past choices stand in their way? Readers who love pirate adventures and Greek mythology with forced proximity and second-chance romances will want to devour Dana Claire’s new Young Adult Novel, War of the Mind. Blurb His sacrifice could save humanity. Her revenge could turn it to stone. When immense grief turns demigod Calli Bordeaux’s heart to vengeance, she does the unthinkable. Using her powers, she erases herself from the memories of her beloved, Henrik, so that he cannot join her hunt for the notorious pirate Captain Fredrick, Henrik’s savage father. Shattered, Calli rebuilds herself a...

Review: Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books - Kirsten Miller - June 2024 As a former librarian and a voracious reader, I have always found the notion of "banned books" ridiculous as we should not be censoring what people read. People should have the free will to choose what to read or not to read. In the last few years, the notion of banning books has been running riot, especially in the USA, and every day when I read the number of books being banned or parents/organizations - I am thankful that despite being in such a small country, that we have the freedom to read whatever the hell we want too. This book caught my attention with the Little Library and the Banned Books. In this small town of Troy, Lula Dean is on a mission to ban books she thinks are inappropriate, and standing against her in this fight is Beverley Underwood - these two have been at each other's throats since their college days.  Lindsay Underwood is a lesbian and is not against sharing the bo...