Monday Bookish Posts - Dec 28, 2015

     

Hi!  My name is LuAnn and I am a bookaholic.  Here are the books I read/downloaded/reviewed last week:

READ

Sean and Sara are supposed to have a relaxing vacation in Vail, but it all goes up in a puff of powder when there’s a suspicious death on the mountain. And the deceased is not just anyone; it’s Adrian Blackwell, a two-time Olympic skiing gold medalist.

Rumor has it Adrian died in a skiing accident, but he was too skilled for Sara to accept that as fact. But she doesn’t want to disappoint Sean by ruining his ski trip, even though she’s convinced Adrian was murdered and she’s itching to find the killer.

Sean has never been able to say no to Sara, but this time he plans to. However, all it takes a call from their PI firm back in Albany to change his mind. A job’s come in to investigate Adrian’s death, and his agent is the one footing the bill, leaving Sean with more questions than answers.

Yet one major problem remains: their New York State PI licenses hold no legal authority in Colorado. They still can’t help but look into Adrian’s death on the sly, though. This case will definitely involve some underhanded tactics, all while trying to dodge the local police over the course of the investigation.

~~~oOo~~~

My name is Izzy. I drink too much, am clumsier than a newborn foal, and my brain-to-mouth filter often malfunctions. My daredevil husband killed himself in a parachuting accident five years ago and my best friend Jack has decided it’s time I jump back in the dating pool. He’s perfectly happy to throw me in if I don’t listen. Just when things in the dating world start to heat up, my grandma dies. Only her knitting group of Jessica Fletcher wannabes is sure it’s murder. I’m not convinced but I’m always up for a bit of excitement as long as it doesn’t lead to a night in jail. Well, more than one night anyway. Will I miss my chance at love because I’m chasing imaginary killers? Did someone really kill grandma or am I and my merry band of geriatric thieves imagining things?

~~~oOo~~~

On the night of her engagement, Rae Lynn Dobbs stumbles across a dead body on the beach of White Sands, Florida. Not only does she recognize the murder victim as one of the retirement-home residents where she serves dinner, but it looks increasingly likely that someone there also killed him.

To her fiancé's dismay, Rae Lynn launches her own investigation. Between the gossipy widows, the home's last surviving bachelor, and her coworkers, Rae Lynn doesn't have any shortage of suspects. But the more she learns, the more it seems anyone could be guilty. And if she doesn't find out "whodunit" quickly, her fiancé might just become fed up enough to leave.

~~~oOo~~~

I’m having the suckiest day ever. First, my father, aka Mr. Grumpy Pants, calls to say his nurse just walked out on him. Likely story. I rush home to pack, only to walk in on my husband getting it on with his younger, skanky secretary. Unfortunately, my quick weekend trip home to fix Dad’s problems turns into a stay of a few weeks. Luckily, I’ve got Danny, the neighbor boy I’ve had a crush on since I was a dorky, braces-wearing, nose-buried-in-a-book teenager, and a brand-spanking new blog to keep my mind off things. Before I know it, I’m writing product reviews of vibrators and getting questioned by a store rent-a-cop at the world’s worst date ever. All while trying to figure out how to take things with Danny to the next level. Not to complicate things or anything, but my boss decides to give me an ultimatum—come back in four weeks or don’t come back at all. How in the world did my life get so complicated?

~~~oOo~~~

Fire chief Stella Griffin has been put in charge of judging the annual recipe contest, but Eric—her resident ghost and true culinary genius—has vanished. Before she can track down his latest haunt, she’s called in to investigate a local moonshine distillery that was set ablaze, making her realize there’s more than pies and cakes cooking in Sweet Pepper.

As rumors of a revived whiskey war ignite, Stella turns to the town’s elders to help her find answers. The past might have some clues as to what has sparked the present fires. But when following a lead lands her in buried rubble, Stella realizes she must extinguish this case fast or she might be going down in flames.

~~~oOo~~~

REVIEWS

Ack!  I didn't post a single review this week!  Looks like I've got my work cut out for me in between Christmas and New Year's Day!

~~~oOo~~~

DOWNLOADED

(There are too many of these in the last week to put pictures of them all up.  I am addicted to free downloads on Amazon.  I do try to - eventually - also download another title for the author.  Links here go to GoodReads.  I don't read erotica, so some of these may become DNFs.)

My Little Pet Dragon by Scott Gordon
Lawful Deception by Pamela Samuels Young
The Billionaire Boyfriend Trap by Kendra Little
Baby, I'm Back! by Laurie Kellogg
His Captive Bride by Shelly Thacker
The Use by D. L. Carter
Catch Me When I Fall by Vicki Leigh
The Helios Rain by Peter Glassman
Mystery: Perfect Crime by Varun Vashist
Song at Dawn by Jean Gill
Ties that Bind by Carolyn Arnold
(I will be reviewing her new title, City of Gold, on February 4, 2016)
Spectre Rising by C. W. Lemoine
Christmas Romances 2015: Places to See by Jennifer Conner
Daughter of Earth and Water by Gerson Noel Bertram
(author's name appears in several ways)
Marked by Kim Richardson
Primal Unleashed by Jack Silkstone
Wanted by You by Stephen Nuss
Taste for Trouble by Susan Sey
The Trouble With Being Wicked by Emma Locke
Fin Gall by James L. Nelson
Emissary by Thomas Locke
Lingering Echoes by Erica Kiefer
Lahn's Edge by Chuck Driskell
Heart Raider by Sophia Knightley
Charlotte's Summer by Annie Lane
Beginnings by Lori King
Tutti Frutti by Mike Faricy
Rachel's Folly by Monica Bruno
Trusting the Boss by Mallory Crowe
The Warrior's Game by Denise Domning
Bowl of Fruit (1907) by Panayotis Cacoyannis