Review: One of Those Faces - Elle Grawl - December 2022 Have you ever finished a book and sat there thinking "What on earth did I just read?" That's exactly how I felt after turning the final page of Elle Grawl's psychological thriller "One of Those Faces." This novel had all the ingredients for a gripping, edge-of-your-seat read - a traumatic childhood, a twin's death, mistaken identities, and a string of murders. Yet somehow, these elements never quite come together in a satisfying way. The story follows Harper Mallen, a children's book illustrator living in Chicago who's haunted by her past. When Harper was ten, her twin sister Issie died, and her father forced her to assume Issie's identity - a psychological trauma that sent her running from home. Now, Harper exists in a perpetual state of sleep deprivation, plagued by nightmares of her sister. The plot thickens when women start turning up dead across Chicago - women who all bear an unc...

Review: Want - Book #2 Men of Inked: Sinners Series - Chelle Bliss - March 2025 After a string of DNF reads, Want by Chelle Bliss swooped in like a warm hug on a cold day—and what a perfect choice it turned out to be. As someone who’s read and enjoyed a few books from the original Gallo Brothers series, I was beyond excited to dive into this spin-off. The moment I saw it featured Santino (Tino) and Betty’s extended family, I was all in. The story kicks off with Brax, who’s working behind the bar when Iris walks in, having just been stood up on a blind date. Cue the snowstorm of the century—classic Chicago vibes—and a very generous offer from Brax’s sister Tate to let Iris crash in the apartment above her tattoo shop. What starts as a night of awkward but cute proximity soon becomes the beginning of something real between Brax and Iris. Iris, however, comes with baggage. Her ex not only broke her heart, but also left her with a dangerous mess—he owes some very bad people a lot of mon...

Review: The Right Move - Book #2 Windy City Series - Liz Tomforde - February 2023 After enjoying Book #1 Mile High, I was excited to read Book #2 which was a roomies-to-lovers story. In The Right Move, we meet Ryan Shay who is the twin brother from the love interest in the first book, and Indigo aka Indy who is Ryan's sister's best friend. Indy had her life all planned out from a great job as the head flight attendant for the Hockey team's private plane and a fiancé who she loved. That was until she caught him cheating on her and soon found herself homeless. Ryan's sister cashes in a favour with Ryan and has Indy moving in and becoming Ryan's flatmate. The pair couldn't be more opposite as Ryan is quiet, unemotional, and very OCD clean and Indy is loud, emotional, and messy, or as she describes it organized chaos.  When Ryan ends up as team captain, he is given some flack about it as he is viewed as not a family man which enters - Indy as his fake girlfriend, an...

Review: Mile High - Book #1 Windy City Series - Liz Tomforde - June 2022 In the last year, I have made lots of friends on Instagram as it is becoming more of a bookish platform which is great for all of us bookworms out there, not so much for our pay cheques though as my physical book pile has risen astronomically in the last two years, not that I am complaining as it means I am being exposed to new authors like Liz Tomforde. I recently received her Windy City series for my birthday. I had been putting this one off as it is a chunky book and also I was in two minds as thought it might have just been about the "mile high club". It was sitting there staring at me, so I decided to give it a read and WOW, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It also was a quick read despite its chunky size. Book #1 of the Windy City Series is an Ice Hockey read and perfect for Pucktober. We meet Evan Zanders who is our playboy Ice Hockey star and Stevie who is a flight attendant working this...

Review: King of Evanston - Book #3 King of the Castle Series - JL Campbell - December 2019 This particular series has been on my Kindle for a couple of years and finally, after reading Book #3, I have finished the series. It's taken me a while and yes, I did read it slightly out of order but the good thing with this series is as long as you read Book #1 first, the others can be read out of order or as standalones, though there are some parts the crossover into other books. Years ago, one of the main guys of the Castle - Khali found a group of boys from all over Chicago and he saw potential in them and mentored them. In a way, they all became his sons and formed a brotherhood. When Khali was shot, he called them back to have their seat at the Castle and return it to order and the legal way of business as some dodgy work had been happening. One of those members holds the area of Evanston. His name is Shaz and he is a lawyer that helps immigrants with whatever they need. In some cases...

The Scoundrel Delta James (Club Southside, #1) Publication date: February 17th 2023 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance Danger and desire go hand in hand… Welcome to Club Southside. Cerberus has opened an office in Chicago over the Club. The team takes on the jobs no one else wants. They handle everything from protection, covert rescue operations, cyber-crime to reconnaissance and more. These men are driven and deadly, willing to do what is needed to complete their missions and to protect the women they love. A fast-paced romantic suspense series of interconnected standalone books that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Add to Goodreads / Pre-order Author Bio: As a USA Today bestselling romance author, Delta James aims to captivate readers with stories about complex,curvy heroines and the dominant alpha males who adore them. For Delta, romance is more than just a love story; it’s a journey with challenges and thrills along the way. After creating a second ch...

Tempting Wilder T.L. Mahrt (Cottonwood Creek) Publication date: January 31st 2023 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance I only need one night, one night is all I need… Summer Grant practices psychology in the inner city of Chicago, specializing in post childhood trauma. Living at the hand of an estranged alcoholic husband, Summer’s worse fear becomes a reality after her daughter witnesses her husband‘s cruelty causing her to flee with her two children to the small town of Loveington, Kentucky. Summer comes along an abandoned house that she can’t seem to walk away from. Wanting to set roots in the tranquility of small-town life, Summer works to rebuild her family within the home she has longed for. Wilder Williams always dreamed of was raising a family in his grandparents’ home. After his grandmother refused to sell the homestead to family because of a feud between his siblings, his grandmother turns around and sells it to a newcomer. The timing couldn’t have been worse, with...

Glory Bishop Deborah L. King Publication date: June 4th 2019 Genres: Women’s Fiction “Deborah King has written a compelling, thought-provoking novel that engages readers and made me wish the story would never end.” -Chicago Writer’s Association Windy City Reviews Glory Bishop lives her life in pieces. At work and with her friends, she reads novels, speaks her mind, and enjoys slow dances and stolen kisses with her boyfriend, JT. But at home, Glory follows strict rules and second-guesses every step. Though she dreams of going to college and living like a normal teenage girl, her abusive mother has other ideas. When JT leaves to join the navy, Glory is left alone and heartsick. The preacher’s son, Malcolm Porter, begins to shower her with lavish gifts, and her mother pushes Glory to accept his advances. Glory is torn between waiting for true love with JT or giving in to the overzealous Malcolm. When a stranger attacks Glory on the street, Malcolm steps in to rescue her, and h...

The only thing Tess knows better than walking into a disaster is digging herself out of one. But when she becomes the victim of a revenge porn site, she needs help -- from brilliant and sexy hacker, Max. Falling for him could lead to another epic disaster… Readers who love Christian Lauren and Jasmine Guillory will love this spicy, humorous contemporary romance. Read Now!  Amazon→ https://amzn.to/3b0AN2X Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/3d70eCF iBooks→ https://apple.co/3jKXTOV   Google Play→ http://bit.ly/378Ahik Kobo→ https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/disaster-girl Bookbub→ https://www.bookbub.com/books/disaster-girl-by-michelle-dayton Synopsis  Tess Greene knows disaster—dating disasters, computer disasters, family disasters, you name it. But just when her life is finally almost perfect, she’s targeted by an internet celebrity who runs a revenge porn site admired by douchebags across the country. She has one month befo...