OUTSIDE IN by Andrew Grey

Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Gay, Novella

4****

Blurb: Years of relocating without putting down roots have left Daniel Houseworth filled with anxiety, as change piled on change. Finally buying a home, he wants a settled life, one he can count on. The tall, broad, and strong man across the street catches his eye. But to Daniel, Stanley is the epitome of intimidating—just what he doesn’t need, regardless of how scorching hot he may be. Nonprofit economic development specialist Stanley Jackson knows he can be unapproachable, with his wide build, tattooed arms, close-cropped hair, and dark eyes. He’s noticed hisintriguingly endearing new neighbor, Daniel, and the way he avoids him. But when Daniel brings home a lost kid goat, Stanley cautiously approaches him and offers help to find Delia a proper home. Daniel quickly comes to care for his charge and does his best to put his anxiousness aside for her sake. As Daniel gets to know Stanley’s heart, the once intimidating qualities shift to intense attraction. But just as Daniel begins to let his guard down and trust that hunky Stanley could feel the same about him, Stanley is presented with a job offer that could stop their budding relationship in its tracks.

Thoughts: I loved this story – mostly because of Delia. I loved that Daniel rescued her, and fell in love with this sweet little baby goat… and that, for her own good, he was willing to give her up to a better life. And that he sees past Stanley’s size and tats to the soft man underneath. The only thing I didn’t care for was that Stanley and his family didn’t seem to resolve anything. Or, rather Stanley just turned his back on them—as they did him. So I guess it was the only outcome there could have been. But the best part was the end. Thank you, Stanley. 

Recommendation: This is a short novella in typical Andrew Grey style. Recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

GET IT TOGETHER by Puja Rios

Nonfiction, Self Help, 184 pages, expected publication date 9/19/23

5*****

Blurb: As a woman and dynamic leader in sales—and the C-Suite—Puja Bhola Rios has developed a proven, results-oriented program and mindset for success. However, success starts with personal development, and Puja has mentored countless people in how to “Get It Together.” You may not be lucky enough to work for Puja, but now you get to learn from her. If you want to push past your current goals, want to truly excel, want focus and inspiration, Get It A Winning Formula for Success from the Boss You Need is the one transformational book that can get you where you want to be. No matter where you are in your career and life, she has the energy and insights to make sure you go after—and achieve—what you aspire to. Born into an immigrant family, she was raised on the ethics of hard work and ambition. But she also has the keen insights of being a woman in the C-Suite. Strong, warm, funny—Puja’s advice will bring results—but also build your self-belief, until you are capable of accomplishing anything! This book will help Puja operates without limits. She has unlocked the to have it “all,” you need to learn to laser-focus on the goals you really desire—and tune out all the other noise. A coach, a mentor, a leader, and a fierce believer in building opportunities for women and all who aspire to greatness, Puja is the boss we all need (and wish we had).

Thoughts: This is a book aimed at helping you achieve success and does so through anecdotes, guidelines, and personal experience. I love that it is written by a woman—and an immigrant—who has achieved that success. She focuses on personal development, goal setting and achievement, shutting out distractions, overcoming setbacks, critical thinking and understanding the “big picture”, progress, opportunity, empowerment, and more. By following her guidance, you should be able to make achievable goals—and then reach them.

Recommendation: definitely recommended. In fact, I will be purchasing copies of this book for several people I know who could use it!

Disclaimer: thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC for me. Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: John Locke (1632), Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809), Anna Ella Carroll (1815), Maurice Maeterlinck (1862), Marquis James (1891), Preston Sturges (1898), John E. Williams (1922), Rene Depestre (1926), Thom Gunn (1929), Gillian Rubinstein (1942), Sue Harrison (1950), Karen Hesse (1952), Michael Kube-McDowell (1954),

Maurice Maeterlinck won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Marquis James was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.

John Williams won the 1973 National Book Award for “Augustus”

Karen Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for “Out of the Dust”

Quote: “Deep feeling doesn’t make for good poetry. A way with language would be a bit of help.” – Thom Gunn

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”

― Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee

Tip: Like vs. as if – everyone overuses “like” but in a lot of cases, it can be changed to a different word. For instance: He looked at her like she was a drink of water and he was dying of thirst. (In this case, like can be changed to ‘as if’: he looked at her as if she…)

Jumpstart: She settled the mask over her face. “Are you ready for this?” He nodded and put on his mask as well…

REMNANTS OF FIRE by Alana Lorens

Fiction, Paranormal Suspense, 192 pages

5****

Blurb: Looking for a fresh start, Sara Woods takes a job as a news reporter in a small town. Her first assignment for the Ralston Courier is to investigate a string of deaths, all young women, all her age. To deal with chronic back pain, she goes to the Goldstone Clinic, a local healing center with a strange reputation. As local doctor Rick Paulsen teaches Sara how to access hidden energy skills and reveal secrets from her past, police officer Brendon watches Sara’s every move. The deeper she digs into the Goldstone, the harder it is to deny links to the paranormal. Can she figure out what is going on and who to trust before it’s too late?

Thoughts: I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book – I’m not a huge vampire fan – but this one pulled me in and kept me reading. For one thing, the vampires in this story aren’t your usual “fangs out/suck your blood” types. They’re different. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t danger and death involved.

Sara Woods is a news reporter in a small town. She usually reports on the society pages and other light pieces, but when the hard news (re: dead bodies) reporter is out of town, she fills in, and thus begins her investigation into a string of deaths of young women. As she digs deeper into the deaths, she becomes involved with a local doctor who teaches her about energy. At first, she doesn’t believe in him, or the clinic where she gets help for her chronic back pain. But she can’t deny that what they did to her helped. She also can’t deny that something strange is happening and it’s all connected to the clinic. She’s also a bit freaked out by the intense consideration she gets from the local police officer, Brendon. And the clinic’s administrator, Chal. With three men after her, she’s not sure who to trust. 

Recommendation: Definitely recommended. This one is different from the usual vampire story but has an ending that satisfies. Would I read more by this author? Again, definitely. 

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Theodore Dreiser (1871), C.S. Forester (1899), Ira Levin (1929), Antonia Fraser (1932), Ann Rinaldi (1934), Sarah Stewart (1938), William Least Heat-Moon (1939), Suzy Cline (1943), Lisa Yee (1959), Jeanette Winterson (1959), Jill Lepore (1966), Thando Mgqolozana (1983)

Ira Levin’s 1954 book “A Kiss Before Dying” won the Edgar Award for best first novel.

William Least Heat-Moon is best known for his book “Blue Highways”

Quote: “The clue to book jacket photography is to look friendly and approachable, but not too glamorous.” – Antonia Fraser

“A book you read when you were a child will read differently when you pick it up later.” – Thando Mgqolozana

Tip: Learn about singular, plural, and possessive nouns: The cat scratched at the door (singular). Three cats showed up on our porch (plural). She was playing with the cat’s toy (single possessive). She was playing with the cats’ toys (plural possessive).

Jumpstart: It’s the future and everyone has a “gem” embedded in their wrist. It monitors your movements, your health, everything about you. Green is perfect; yellow is a problem; red is serious. Yours suddenly turns black…

Birthdays: John Buchan (1875), Guillaume Apollinaire (1880), Eleanor Dark (1901), Caroline P. Miller (1903), Christopher Isherwood (1904), Julio Cortázar (1914), Irving R. Levine (1922), Barbara Ehrenreich (1941), Will Shortz (1952), Nikky Finney (1957), Stephen J. Dubner (1963), Paula Hawkins (1972)

Caroline Miller’s first novel “Lamb in His Bosom” won the 1934 Pulitzer Prize for Literature.

Will Shortz, since 1993, is the crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times.

Nikky Finney is the winner of the 2022 National Book Award for “Head Off & Split” poetry.

Quote: “Without poets, without artists… everything would fall apart into chaos. There would be no more seasons, no more civilizations, no more thought, no more humanity, no more life even; and impotent darkness would reign forever. Poets and artists together determine the features of their age, and the future meekly conforms to their edit.” ― Guillaume Apollinaire, Selected Writings

The novel wins by points, the short story by knockout.” – Julio Cortazar

Tip: Don’t give your reader a laundry list of things: She went to the store, then to the doctor, then worked out at the gym… Break things up with something more interesting.

Jumpstart: I was just so done with everything. With life. I wanted to scream. But that’s not proper. Not polite. So I…

Birthdays: Bret Harte (1836), Paul H. Buck (1899), Leonard Bernstein (1918), Brian Moore (1921), Thea Astley (1925), Patrick McManus (1933), Charles Wright (1935), Virginia Wolff (1937), Frederick Forsyth (1938), Margaret Maron (1938), Howard Jacobson (1942), Charles Ghigna (1946), Martin Amis (1949),Ian Falconer (1959), Lane Smith (1959), Taslima Nasrin (1962)

Paul H. Buck won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for History for “The Road to Reunion, 1865-1900”

Charles Wright won both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Charles Ghigna, a children’s book writer, goes by the name “Father Goose”

Quote: ““To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.”

― Leonard Bernstein

“The only sure thing about luck is that it will change. ” ― Bret Harte

“Every time we start thinking we’re the center of the universe, the universe turns around and says with a slightly distracted air, ‘I’m sorry. What’d you say your name was again?” ― Margaret Maron, Bootlegger’s Daughter

As a novelist nowadays, you have to assume that everything you say will be, for some reader somewhere (and maybe for hundreds of them), something they know a lot about. And they do not forgive slovenly descriptions riddled with errors.” – Frederick Forsyth

Tip: A fragment is a sentence that is missing something, usually the subject, as in: “And do it now.” In this fragment, the subject is implied. But a fragment can also be a single word: “Now!” They can be used to a good effect, but don’t overuse them or they lose their impact.

Jumpstart: You walk into English class in school. Everyone’s staring at you… why? Are you a student? Or a teacher? What’s happening?

Fiction, Paranormal Romantic Suspense, 300 pages

5*****

Blurb: Kira Jackson, former Marine and vampire, is close to achieving her goal of becoming a Government Vampire Protector—or she will be if President Gareth Hayes drops his attitude toward women agents. It’s a good thing he has no clue what he does to her body. Her physical attraction to the sexy widower is just the enamel off her fangs when Kira discovers Gareth could be her soul mate for eternity. Gareth is forced to have a protective agent after terrorists target him. But no way will he allow the sexy Agent Jackson to fill that position. However, he changes his mind when White House security is breached. Now Kira is ordering him around, and when Air Force One goes down, she proves she’s more than capable of doing her job. But what is he going to do about his growing fascination with her? Circumstances and the media toss Kira and Gareth into a shady limelight and into matrimony to save their reputations. Kira’s secret comes out and both he and Kira must decide if love will be enough to overcome “death do us part” with a vampire.

At first, I didn’t think I’d like this book – vampires and a high heat level are not normally my first choice in reads – but wow. Once I got into it, the story pulled me in and kept me reading. This is a romantic suspense novel with a twist – the agent is a woman and the “victim” is the man – actually, the president of the US and she is with the secret service. And she is a vampire. Kira is determined to do her job even when Gareth turns out to be a chauvinistic type who doesn’t want a woman agent protecting him. But the two also have an instant attraction (he is her “mate”) that they both try to fight.

The death threats against Gareth ramp up with no idea of who is trying to kill him. And then the killer targets Kira as well. Things heat up both with the threats and the passion between the two of them until the final scene.

Recommendation: If you like a lot of heat, vampires, and a bit of suspense, definitely pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and not influenced by anyone.

Birthdays: William Ernest Henley (1849), Edgar Lee Masters (1868), Will Cuppy (1884), Henry F. Pringle (1897), J.V. Cunningham (1911), Norbert Blei (1935), Nelson DeMille (1943), Robert Irwin (1946), Willy Russell (1947), Melanie Rae Thon (1957), Charley Boorman (1966), Curtis Sittenfeld (1975),

Edgar Lee Masters is best known for his poetry collection “Spoon River Anthology”

Henry Pringle won the 1931 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for “Theodore Roosevelt”

Quote: “If everyone howled at every injustice, every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness, then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.” – Nelson DeMille

Writing doesn’t leave much time for hobbies, unless you consider that I began writing as a hobby and have made the hobby into a profession.” – Nelson DeMille

Tip: A metaphor compares two dissimilar things, but utilizing the word “like”: He was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.

Jumpstart: He stared at the bodies in the room – there were at least a half dozen. In the corner, she stood watching him, wiping her blade on her shirt. “You’re late…”

The danger and lies are more than she can handle.
Shea O’Bannon feels like a fifth wheel around her romantically paired-off friends, but there’s too much slime in the dating pool for her to bother with it. Then she sees her two-timing ex, Trevor Madero, serenading the mostly female crowd at a live-music bar. God knows trouble follows him around, but her desire for him rushes back in anyway. After he rescues her from a handsy drunk, temptation takes over.
Determined to prove he never stepped out on Shea, Trevor slides back into her life—and her heart—with forever in mind. Even with the wall he keeps up to protect her, his secret criminal life weighs heavy on his soul and drives a wedge between them.
When the truth comes out and his enemies target them both, they’ll have to fight for their love, or kiss it goodbye.

Amazon

https://books2read.com/trevorsredemption/

The Author:

Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.

She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats. Feel free to visit her at https://amberdaulton.com/ or sign up for her newsletter at https://amberdaulton.com/newsletter-signup/.

– Book 3.5 in the sexy romantic suspense series, Arresting Onyx.
–Triggers: scenes depicting gang violence and organized crime, drug use (discussed), brief workplace assault, and kidnapping. Intended for mature audiences.

Standalone novella. No cheating. HEA guaranteed.

Available in the Arresting Onyx series
Arresting Mason (Mason and Mia)
Arresting Jeremiah (Jim and Calista)
Ryan’s Temptation (Ryan and Chanel)
Arresting Benjamin (Benji and Belle)
Trevor’s Redemption (Trevor and Shea)
Arresting Alan (Alan and Hannah)