Arc Review: The Boyfriend Candidate By Ashley Winstead

The Boyfriend Candidate By Ashley Winstead

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Politics, Adult Fiction
Pages: 384 pages
Publication Date: May 9th 2023
Publisher:  Graydon House
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Plot: “Charming, swoony, and utterly unputdownable. I LOVE this book!”
—LYNN PAINTER, New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies

A laugh-out-loud rom-com about learning to embrace living outside your comfort zone.

As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—the humiliation is a wake-up call. She decides she needs to change, and what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?

Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Logan is audacious and filterless, making him Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm—and in their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.

Alexis is bewildered until breaking news hits: pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. It turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot politician challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious images are poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: to squash the scandal, he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?

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Blogmas Day 9: Book Review – Malibu Rising By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Adult, Romance, Historical, Adult Fiction, Family
Pages: 369 pages
Publication Date: June 1st 2021
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Plot: Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.

Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them… and what they will leave behind.

Continue reading “Blogmas Day 9: Book Review – Malibu Rising By Taylor Jenkins Reid”

Arc Review: It Came from the Multiplex: 80s Midnight Thrillers

It Came from the Multiplex: 80s Midnight Thrillers by Joshua Viola (Goodreads Author) (Editor, Contributor), Warren Hammond (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Angie Hodapp (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Alvaro Zinos-Amaro (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Dayton Ward (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Kevin Dilmore (Contributor), Betty Rocksteady (Contributor), Keith Ferrell (Contributor), Gary Jonas (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Mario Acevedo (Contributor), Orrin Grey (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Sean Eads (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), K. Nicole Davis (Contributor), Stephen Graham Jones (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Steve Rasnic Tem (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Kevin J. Anderson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Paul Campion (Introduction), Jeanni Smith (Foreward), Bret Smith (Foreward)

Genre: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction
Pages: 316 pages
Publication Date: September 15th 2020
Publisher: Hex Publishers

Plot: Welcome to tonight’s feature presentation, brought to you by an unholy alliance of our spellcasters at Hex Publishers and movie-mages at the Colorado Festival of Horror. Please be advised that all emergency exits have been locked for this special nostalgia-curdled premiere of death. From crinkling celluloid to ferocious flesh—from the silver screen to your hammering heart—behold as a swarm of werewolves, serial killers, Satanists, Elder Gods, aliens, ghosts, and unclassifiable monsters are loosed upon your auditorium. Relax, and allow our ushers to help with your buckets of popcorn—and blood; your ticket stubs—and severed limbs; your comfort candy—and body bags. Kick back and scream as you settle into a fate worse than Hell. Tonight’s director’s cut is guaranteed to slash you apart.

Edited by Joshua Viola
Produced in collaboration with the Colorado Festival of Horror
Cover art by AJ Nazzaro and Joshua Viola
Story art by Xander Smith
Header art by Aaron Lovett

Contents:
FOREWORD: Bret and Jeanni Smith, INTRODUCTION:Paul Campion, ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACE By Warren Hammond, RETURN OF THE ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACE By Angie Hodapp, NEGATIVE CREEP By Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, HELLULOID By Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore, RISE, YE VERMIN!
By Betty Rocksteady, THE CRONENBERG CONCERTO By Keith Ferrell, CREATURE FEATURE By Gary Jonas, INVISIBLE By Mario Acevedo, SCREEN HAUNT By Orrin Grey, THE DEVIL’S REEL By Sean Eads and Joshua Viola, ON THE ROCKS By K. Nicole Davis, COMING ATTRACTIONS By Stephen Graham Jones, LATE SLEEPERS By Steve Rasnic Tem and SPECIAL MAKEUP By Kevin J. Anderson

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Arc Review: Little Secrets By Jennifer Hillier

Little Secrets By Jennifer Hillier

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Contemporary
Pages: 352 pages
Publication Date: April 21st 2020
Publisher: Minotaur Books
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis: Four hundred and eighty seconds. That’s how long it took for someone to steal Marin Machado’s four-year-old son.

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family. Up until the day Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. The only thing keeping her going is the unlikely chance that one day Sebastian reappears. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding him, she discovers that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman.

Kenzie Li is an artist and grad student—Instagram famous—and up to her eyeballs in debt. She knows Derek is married. She also knows he’s rich, and dating him comes with perks: help with bills, trips away, expensive gifts. He isn’t her first rich boyfriend, but she finds herself hoping he’ll be the last. She’s falling for him—and that was never part of the plan.

Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. But as she sets a plan in motion, another revelation surfaces. Derek’s lover might know what happened to their son. And so might Derek.

From the author of Jar of Hearts, a mother driven to the edge by the disappearance of her son learns her husband is having an affair with the woman who might have kidnapped him.

Continue reading “Arc Review: Little Secrets By Jennifer Hillier”

Blog Tour: Queen of Volts By Amanda Foody

Queen of Volts By Amanda Foody

ISBN: 978-1335145864; 1335145869
Pages: 608 pages
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Price:
$20.99 USD
Genre:
Teen & Young Adult Fantasy & Supernatural Mysteries & Thriller
Where to Buy: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, Indie Bound, Books-A-Million,
Google Play

Synopsis: GAME OF THRONES meets THE DIVINERS in this thrilling fantasy — the highly anticipated final book in Amanda Foody’s THE SHADOW GAME series.

Return to the City of Sin, where the perilous final game is about to begin…The players? Twenty-two of the most powerful, most notorious people in New Reynes.

With no choice but to play, Enne and Levi are desperate to forge new alliances and bargain for their safety. But any misstep could turn deadly when a far more dangerous opponent appears on the board — one plucked straight from the city’s most gruesome legends. While Levi hides behind a mask of false promises, Enne is finally forced out from behind hers and as the game takes its final, vicious turn, these two must decide once and for all whether to be partners or enemies.

Because in a game for survival, there are no winners…

There are only monsters.

Author Bio:  Amanda Foody has always considered imagination to be our best attempt at magic. After spending her childhood longing to attend Hogwarts, she now loves to write about immersive settings and characters grappling with insurmountable destinies. She holds a master’s in accountancy from Villanova University and a bachelor of arts in English literature from the College of William and Mary.

Social Links: Twitter: @amandafoody, Instagram: @amandafoody, Website:  www.amandafoody.com

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Arc Review: One By One By Ruth Ware

One By OneOne By One By Ruth Ware

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Contemporary
Pages: 384 pages
Publication Date: September 8th 2020
Publisher: Scout Press
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis: The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be? Continue reading “Arc Review: One By One By Ruth Ware”

Blog Tour: The Last Story of Mina Lee By Nancy Jooyoun Kim

The Last Story of Mina LeeThe Last Story of Mina Lee By Nancy Jooyoun Kim

ISBN:
Pages: 409 pages
Publication Date: September 1st 2020
Publisher: Park Row Books
Buy Links: Harlequin, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Powell’s

Synopsis: (on sale: September 1, 2020; Park Row Books; Hardcover; $27.99 US/ $34.99 CAN). opens when Margot Lee’s mother, Mina, doesn’t return her calls. It’s a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous and invisible strings that held together her single mother’s life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.

Interwoven with Margot’s present-day search is Mina’s story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she’s barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.


Nancy Jooyoun Kim_AndriaLoAuthor Bio: Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nancy Jooyoun Kim is a graduate of UCLA and the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s The Margins, The Offing, the blogs of Prairie Schooner and Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Her essay, “Love (or Live Cargo),” was performed for NPR/PRI’s Selected Shorts in 2017 with stories by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Phil Klay, and Etgar Keret. THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE is her first novel.

Social Links: Author Website, Twitter: @njooyounkim, Instagram: @njooyounkim, Goodreads

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Mini Arc Review: Fangs By Sarah Andersen

FangsFangs By Sarah Andersen

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novel, Humor, Adult, Fiction
Pages: 112 pages
Publication Date: September 1st 2020
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis: A new gothic romance story from the creator of the enormously popular Sarah’s Scribbles comics.

Vamp is three hundred years old but in all that time, she has never met her match. This all changes one night in a bar when she meets a charming werewolf. FANGS chronicles the humor, sweetness, and awkwardness of meeting someone perfectly suited to you but also vastly different.
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Arc Review: The Crow Rider By Kalyn Josephson

The Crow RiderThe Crow Rider (The ​Storm Crow #2) By Kalyn Josephson

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, LGBT
Pages: 368 pages
Publication Date: July 7th 2020
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis: The thrilling conclusion to the epic Storm Crow duology that follows a fallen princess as she tries to bring back the magical elemental crows taken from her people.

Thia, her allies, and her crow, Res, are planning a rebellion to defeat Queen Razel and Illucia once and for all. Thia must convince the neighboring kingdoms to come to her aid, and Res’ show of strength is the only thing that can help her.

But so many obstacles stand in her way. Res excels at his training, until he loses control of his magic, harming Thia in the process. She is also pursued by Prince Ericen, heir to the Illucian throne and the one person she can’t trust but can’t seem to stay away from.

As the rebel group prepares for war, Res’ magic grows more unstable. Thia has to decide if she can rely on herself and their bond enough to lead the rebellion and become the crow rider she was meant to be. Continue reading “Arc Review: The Crow Rider By Kalyn Josephson”

Arc Review: Venus in the Blind Spot By Junji Ito

Venus in The Blind SpotVenus in the Blind Spot By Junji Ito, Yuji Oniki (Translator), Jocelyne Allen (Translator), Masumi Washington (Editor)

Genre: Horror, Manga, Adult
Pages: 272 pages
Publication Date: August 18th 2020
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis: A “best of” collection of creepy tales from Eisner award winner and legendary horror master Junji Ito.

This ultimate collection presents the most remarkable short works of Junji Ito’s career, featuring an adaptation of Rampo Edogawa’s classic horror story “Human Chair” and fan favorite “The Enigma of Amigara Fault.” In a deluxe presentation with special color pages and color illustrations from his most recent long-form manga No Longer Human, every page invites readers to revel in a world of terror. Continue reading “Arc Review: Venus in the Blind Spot By Junji Ito”