The Haunting of Solomon House by Marnie Vinge (Blair Graves, #1) Publication date: January 25th 2021 Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Synopsis:
Blair Graves’ father went missing seven years ago.
The legal death of her paranormal radio host father tilts her world sideways on its axis. When no will can be found, Blair is forced to adapt to a quickly shifting reality. One in which she’s forced to sell her family home.
When a historical fixer-upper catches her eye, she goes all in, hoping to escape her father’s legacy and the long shadow cast by his very public disappearance.
But when the house starts presenting more problems than just the creaks and groans associated with old age, Blair starts questioning what she knows about life, death, and what comes after.
When the very arrogant and handsome Cash Kelly–a ghost-hunting expert–offers his help, Blair is sure he’s the same kind of attention-seeking, conspiracy-promoting, dollar-chasing content creator hack as her father.
As she begins to question his motivations for helping her, the haunting escalates to a dangerous point, forcing Blair to confront the reality of the world her father believed in.
And what it means to be his daughter.
The X-Files meets Supernatural in this urban fantasy series about the strength of a father-daughter bond and how, sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction.
Marnie Vinge is a novelist and storyteller as well as the creator of the podcast, Eerie Okie.
She first started writing at the ripe age of 7, creating a science fiction horror story about a monster that lived in seaweed off the coast of Corpus Christi. Since then, she’s stretched her wings by writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and horror.
To check out Eerie Okie, search your favorite podcast platform. If you’re an Oklahoma ghoul who loves the morbid and macabre, it’s the podcast for you.
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for this hilarious new book from one of my auto-buy authors- Portia MacIntosh.
Faking It
The perfect house, the perfect husband and the perfect life… or is she just faking it? Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Ella. Growing up as the ‘less successful’ identical twin to her ‘perfectly successful’ sister, Emma, has left her feeling isolated, inadequate and let’s face it.. a little bitter.
When Emma unexpectedly reaches out to Ella in a time of need, Ella suddenly finds herself with the opportunity to fill in for her sister and experience how the other half live.
But as Ella navigates the world of gossiping mothers, rebellious teens and trying to play the model housewife (not to mention avoiding the temptation of attractive men at the school gates…) will she discover that all is not always as it seems on the other side?
Discover the brilliantly funny new romantic comedy from top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntosh. Perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Sophie Ranald and Lindsey Kelk.
My thoughts: Another winner from one of my favourite authors! Faking It is a hilarious rom-com with lovely and lovable characters, a quirky plotline and some unexected emotional moments.
Despite being thirty-four, Ella is drifting through her life a bit aimlessly…until one fateful day she loses her job (admittedly, she wasn’t all that invested in it), her car (which has been on ts legs for some time) and her flat (which was tiny and smelt funny, but was her haven). She will figure it all out somehow, she just needs a few days to get her head round all of this. Then her sister Emma calls and asks for help and Ella can’t refuse. Even though they have been estranged for a decade, Ella shouldn’t find it too difficult to impersonate her identical twin with her perfect house, rich husband and two children, while Emma goes away for six weeks. No, Ella doesn’t lie to herself, she knows it will be next to impossible to trick everybody into believing her, but she understands her sisters’s reasons (or she thinks she does) and you do have to help your family in the time of need. Of course, she has a few missteps, like almost causing a car pile at the school drop-off or failing to confiscate her nephew’s videogame at his bedtime.
Portia MacIntosh has a wonderful sense of humour and will make you laugh out loud while reading the book, but there are also deep and thought-provoking moments. Ella intuitively senses her sister’s life isn’t all that peachy and not just because she definitely needs to stay away from the vipers of her so-called friends. Ever since they were children, Ella was the one to fight back for what she thought was right, so if you think jobless, homeless and rudderless Ella is a bit flaky, she is going to surprise you. This is what I love about Portia’s characters- they are strong and they learn, they develop and grow. The kids are adorable, even the grumpy fifteen-year-old. There are also other delightful secondary characters, including Ella’s love interest ( or should I say love interests?).
The book is entertaining, uplifting, funny and tender at the same time, It is a perfect rom-com. If you are not a fan of this fabulous author, you are going to be after reading it! Highly recommended.
Thank you to Rachel, NetGalley and Boldwood books for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Author Bio
Portia MacIntosh is a bestselling romantic comedy author of over 15 novels, including My Great Ex-Scape and Honeymoon For One. Previously a music journalist, Portia writes hilarious stories, drawing on her real life experiences.
A Stolen Kiss with the Midwife by Juliette Hyland Published by: Harlequin Publication date: February 1st 2021 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
Dare these best friends…
…risk it all? Midwife Quinn Davis and Dr. Milo Russell have been friends forever. So why is it now that they’re working together things have become…awkward? Quinn can’t get Milo out of her mind—and when they share an explosive kiss, she’s left questioning everything! Free-spirited Quinn never planned on settling down…and Milo has a life plan of his own. Are they ready to think about a new life—together?
From Harlequin Medical: Life and love in the world of modern medicine.
AUTHOR BIO:Juliette Hyland believes in caffeine, hot drinks and happily ever afters! She lives in Ohio, USA, with her prince charming, who has patiently listened to many rants regarding characters failing to follow the outline. When not working on fun and flirty happily ever afters, Juliette can be found spending time with her beautiful daughters, giant dogs or sewing uneven stitches with her sewing machine.
Juliette Hyland believes in caffeine, hot drinks and happily ever afters! She lives in Ohio, USA, with her prince charming, who has patiently listened to many rants regarding characters failing to follow the outline. When not working on fun and flirty happily ever afters, Juliette can be found spending time with her beautiful daughters, giant dogs or sewing uneven stitches with her sewing machine.
For this challenge, use the first letter of each book title to spell the current month (skipping articles such as A or The). You can either use titles from your tbr (Carla) or books that you have read/reviewed.
Starting from February, Jana is going to create a formal linkup and post it on the second Saturday of February. She is also considering adding a theme for each of these lists. Her theme for January was The First in the Series!
A police procedural introducing Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler, a cold case reviewer who lands a high-profile murder investigation, only to find the main suspect is his recent one-night stand . . .
When financier Gerald Cartwright disappeared from his home six years ago, it was assumed he’d gone on the run from his creditors. But then a skeleton is found bricked up in the cellar of Cartwright’s burned-out mansion, and it becomes clear Gerald never left alive.
As the sole representative of South Yorkshire’s Cold Case Review Unit, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler is not expected to get results, but he knows this is the case that might finally kick start his floundering career. Luckily, he already has a suspect. Unluckily, that suspect is Cartwright’s son, the man Tyler slept with the night before.
Keeping his possible conflict-of-interest under wraps, Tyler digs into the case alongside Amina Rabbani, an ambitious young Muslim constable and a fellow outsider seeking to prove herself on the force. Soon their investigation will come up against close-lipped townsfolk, an elderly woman with dementia who’s receiving mysterious threats referencing a past she can’t remember, and an escalating series of conflagrations set by a troubled soul intent on watching the world burn . . .
Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there’s one thing she knows for certain – she has everything she ever wanted.
Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a shocking accusation about his first wife. He always claimed her death was an accident – but she says it was murder.
He insists he’s innocent, that this is nothing but a blackmail attempt. But is Patrick telling the truth? Or has Stephanie made a terrible mistake?
Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o’ joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.
Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee – and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff – thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her–and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter’s new school, plus and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.
But even clouds have their silver linings. This one’s got Levi, Sunshine’s sexy, almost-old-flame, and a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol’s normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty – and find the kidnapper who’s terrorizing her beloved hometown – without falling head over high heels in love . . . or worse?
A princess fleeing an arranged marriage teams up with a snarky commoner to foil a rebel plot in B. R. Myers’ Rogue Princess, a gender-swapped sci-fi YA retelling of Cinderella.
Princess Delia knows her duty: She must choose a prince to marry in order to secure an alliance and save her failing planet. Yet she secretly dreams of true love, and feels there must be a better way. Determined to chart her own course, she steals a spaceship to avoid the marriage, only to discover a handsome stowaway.
All Aidan wanted was to “borrow” a few palace trinkets to help him get off the planet. Okay, so maybe escaping on a royal ship wasn’t the smartest plan, but he never expected to be kidnapped by a runaway princess!
Sparks fly as this headstrong princess and clever thief battle wits, but everything changes when they inadvertently uncover a rebel conspiracy that could destroy their planet forever.
Set in the South at the height of the Vietnam War, The Unwilling combines crime, suspense and searing glimpses into the human mind and soul in New York Times bestselling author John Hart’s singular style.
Gibby’s older brothers have already been to war. One died there. The other came back misunderstood and hard, a decorated killer now freshly released from a three-year stint in prison.
Jason won’t speak of the war or of his time behind bars, but he wants a relationship with the younger brother he hasn’t known for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake: long hours of sunshine and whisky and older women.
But the day turns ugly when the four encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road. Beautiful but drunk, one of the women taunts the prisoners, leading to a riot on the bus. The woman finds it funny in the moment, but is savagely murdered soon after.
Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason; but when the second woman is kidnapped, the police suspect Gibby, too. Determined to prove Jason innocent, Gibby must avoid the cops and dive deep into his brother’s hidden life, a dark world of heroin, guns and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
What he discovers there is a truth more bleak than he could have imagined: not just the identity of the killer and the reasons for Tyra’s murder, but the forces that shaped his brother in Vietnam, the reason he was framed, and why the most dangerous man alive wants him back in prison.
This is crime fiction at its most raw, an exploration of family and the past, of prison and war and the indelible marks they leave.
Intimacy has always eluded twenty-seven-year-old Maggie Krause—despite being brought up by married parents, models of domestic bliss—until, that is, Lucia came into her life. But when Maggie’s mom, Iris, dies in a car crash, Maggie returns home only to discover a withdrawn dad, an angry brother, and, along with Iris’s will, five sealed envelopes, each addressed to a mysterious man she’s never heard of.
In an effort to run from her own grief and discover the truth about Iris—who made no secret of her discomfort with her daughter’s sexuality—Maggie embarks on a road trip, determined to hand-deliver the letters and find out what these men meant to her mother. Maggie quickly discovers Iris’s second, hidden life, which shatters everything Maggie thought she knew about her parents’ perfect relationship. What is she supposed to tell her father and brother? And how can she deal with her own relationship when her whole world is in freefall?
Told over the course of a funeral and shiva, and written with enormous wit and warmth, All My Mother’s Lovers is the exciting debut novel from fiction writer and book critic Ilana Masad. A unique meditation on the universality and particularity of family ties and grief, and a tender and biting portrait of sex, gender, and identity, All My Mother’s Lovers challenges us to question the nature of fulfilling relationships.
A light-hearted ode to the immense pleasure of reading and its resulting neuroses in a collection of cartoons created by beloved bookstore The Wild Detectives
Who hasn’t peeked over the shoulder of the person reading next to them on the subway, curious about the book in their hands? Who doesn’t secretly love skipping the party to stay home and read? Who hasn’t daydreamed of catching the eye of a future significant other as you discover from across the room that you’re reading the same book? If you’re a reader, you know you’ve been there, and probably in so many other weird places as well, right? That’s what happens with readers, they have these strange traits, these particular ways, that separate them from the rest.
Eleven‐year‐old Yasmina and her dad lead a modest life in a small city apartment. Luckily, the food-loving Yasmina can whip up just about anything in the kitchen, with an assist from her edible herb books and her friends from the community garden. That is, until the day the garden disappears, bulldozed and replaced by a field of potatoes that are both experimental… and completely addictive! The only solution is for Yasmina to track down and eradicate the source of the problem. A fun and colorful tale for all ages.
Have you read these books? If yes, did you like them?
Capturing Fate by Abbie Roads (Fatal Truth #2) Publication date: January 28th 2021 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Thriller
Synopsis:
Can love untangle a web of lies and expose the truth?
A loner with a mysterious childhood…
FBI agent Dolan Watts is no stranger to pain. From his childhood spent in foster care to his daily grind of hunting down hardened criminals, it’s been the one constant through the years. Pain carved out gut feelings he can trust and instincts able to solve cases in record time. Until now. Confronted by a malicious new enemy who revels in mind games, Dolan begins to doubt his own perceptions. Fearing he’s spiraling into insanity, he seeks help from the one woman who can shine light into the darkness consuming him.
A woman haunted by a secret…
Psychologist Daughter Dawson sabotaged her own safety the moment she accepted Dolan as a client. Still, she felt compelled to help him. Dolan’s past mirrored many of the questions about her own, making his torment achingly familiar. Despite their growing attraction, her career demands she keep an ethical distance. Yet when she makes the mistake of confiding in him, both their lives are thrust into unimaginable danger.
Nightmares come to life…
When gruesome tragedy uncovers a serial killer’s twisted agenda, Daughter and Dolan must cling to each other if they hope to survive. Can they stop the body count from rising? Or will they find their only purpose from the start was to be pawns in a reign of evil?
Seven Things about Abbie Roads: 1. She loves Snicker Parfaits. Gotta start with what’s most important, right? 2. She writes dark emotional books featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages. 3. By day she’s a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. At night she burns up the keyboard. Well… Burn might be too strong a word. She at least sits with her hands poised over the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to strike. And when it does–the keyboard might get a little warm. 4. She can’t stand it when people drive slowly in the passing lane. Just saying. That’s major annoying. Right? 5. She loves taking pictures of things she thinks are pretty. 6. She lives in Marion, Ohio with her favorite fellow and two fur babies. 7. Being a published author is a dream come true for her.
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for this beautiful romance of second chances.
Reunited with Her Blue-Eyed Billionaire
For billionaire Whit Martin, Jamie Rutkowski is the one who got away. Now his college girlfriend is back to celebrate their best’s friend’s marriage. As their chemistry reignites into an even greater passion, Whit’s determined that this time their relationship will work. But are they ready to unlock the secrets of their past…if it means a chance at forever?
I love a good second chances story and this one checked all the boxes!
Jamie Rutkowski is a successful writer. She’s had two books published undr other people’s names. Yes, she is a ghostwriter, but a girl’s got to pay her bills somehow. Long time ago she used to be a dreamer, but then her first love Whit Martin left for Europe without a hint of trying to make their relationship work long-distance. It took Jamie a long time to get over her heartbreak. Now, Whit is back-his college roommate is getting married to Jamie’s best friend and Whit is in the wedding party. Jamie and Whit start talking and he seems quite different to what he used to be like-more thoughtful, vulnerable. Whit hires Jamie to write a book about what happened to him in Europe. To do that Jamie will have to interview him and ask lots of probing questions. In return, Whit hopes to get a closure over a tragic mistake, a closure that he has been denied for a long time.
The book is very focused on the protagonists. We do not get distracted by a large cast of characters as it often happens in other romance books. What we get is more depth to Jamie and Whit’s experiences and feelings. Both of them have to realise that they might not have known or understood each other as well as they thought. Sometimes in the whirl of intense love we fail to talk about things that really matter or perhaps not every twenty year old is self-aware enough to communicate their feelings clearly…
This was a short and satisfying read with a happily-ever-after end. Perfect for readers who enjoy classic romance where characters go through an emotional journey to reach the happiness they deserve.
Thank you to Rachel fromRachel’s Random Resources and the publisher for the gifted review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Author Bio
Barbara Wallace is the best selling author of over two dozen romance and cozy mystery novels. Her books can be found world-wide, including the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Australia.
A native New Englander, Barb lives in the suburbs with her husband of thirty-one years. Their only son is married and lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her hard at work at her other job, that of an unappreciated caretaker to two demanding rescue cats. For some reason they seem to think laps are for petting, not laptop computers.
Happy Cover Reveal for When’s the Wedding?by Olivia Spring! The book is coming out 25th of March 2021.
When’s the Wedding? Dreaming of saying ‘I do’…
Olivia Spring
She’s found the perfect man. Will she get her perfect proposal?
Dog hotel marketing manager Alex has always dreamed of having a fairy-tale proposal: the glorious sunset, iconic backdrop and rose petals – the whole shebang. She’s found her Mr Right, and life with sexy paediatrician Miles is wonderful, except for one thing. Despite saying that he’s ready for marriage, Miles seems no closer to putting a ring on it.
After a romantic getaway to Paris ends in more disappointment and Alex receives news that sends her world into a spin, she decides that her dream proposal won’t just fall into her lap. So she hatches a plan.
Although she’s convinced her methods will lead to Miles popping the question faster than she can say ‘I do’, Alex’s friends warn her it will end in disaster. But a little bit of hint dropping can’t hurt, right?
Will Alex get her happily-ever-after, or is there a reason why Miles is dragging his feet?
Order this fun romantic comedy now and join Alex on her exciting adventures as she attempts to speed up the proposal process, with hilarious results!
When’s The Wedding? is the sequel to Only When It’s Love. It can also be read as a standalone novel.
Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women’s fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel The Middle-Aged Virgin, which was released in July 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.
In addition to The Middle-Aged Virgin, Olivia has published four novels: The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy, Love Offline, Losing My Inhibitions and Only When It’s Love. When’s The Wedding?, the hotly anticipated sequel to Only When It’s Love and Olivia’s sixth novel, will be published in March 2021.
When she’s not writing, Olivia can be found travelling to Italy to indulge in pasta, pizza and gelato and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!
The Hero I Need: A Small Town Romance by Nicole Snow Publication date: January 22nd 2021 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Thriller
Synopsis:
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Nicole Snow returns with a hilariously intense small-town love story where two star-crossed hearts and one snarly tiger ignite a romance up-roar.
He knew I was trouble the instant I showed up with a stolen Bengal tiger. But Grady McKnight didn’t flinch like a sane person—he took us in. Bruce the tiger found shelter. I met a hero grump. And Grady got a hot mess. Namely, me. Born-to-sizzle single dads and rogue zoologists don’t play nice.
So freaking what if I said I’m his nanny? We needed a story when his two sweet daughters barged in. Hiding a contraband tiger isn’t easy. Neither is pretending he isn’t sending my pulse to pitter-patter heaven.
Cupid, you sneaky little nugget. There’s only room for one hulking, growly, mesmerizing beast in my life. I don’t belong at warm family dinners, or in the fortress of his arms. Saving Bruce is my mission—not falling in love.
This won’t end well. The longer I stay, the more he grins. Walls come crashing down. And my heart becomes willing prey for his carnivorous eyes. I must resist Grady flipping McKnight. Even if a scared, aching part of me knows I’m already his. Even if I know he’s the hero I need…
Full-length romance thriller with the growliest Happily Ever After. It’s claws and effect when a wounded single dad saves a firestarter—along with her tiger, his girls, and his own beat-up heart.
Nicole Snow is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. She found her love of writing by hashing out love scenes on lunch breaks and plotting her great escape from boardrooms. Her work roared onto the indie romance scene in 2014 with her Grizzlies MC series.
Since then Snow aims for the very best in growly, heart-of-gold alpha heroes, unbelievable suspense, and swoon storms aplenty. With over a million books sold, she lives for the joy of making two people fight with every bit of their soul for a Happily Ever After.
Current fan favorites include her Enguard Protectors series, accidental love novels, plus long beloved MC romance thrillers like the Grizzlies and Deadly Pistols.
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Song For A Cowboy, the newest addition to the Kings of Country series by Sasha Summers.
Country star Emmy Lou King is singing the blues over the cowboy who got away…
Emmy Lou King’s whole family is legendary in country music. When she lands the opportunity to sing the American Football League anthem and serve on one of the AFL’s anti-drug charities, she’s sure she can handle working with Brock Watson. She was charmed by the cowboy once upon a time—and she’s never loved anyone else—but she can handle it. Right?
Brock Watson is feeling the pressure. From dealing with his father’s declining health, to keeping their ranch running, staying in game-ready shape, and his dedication to the charity that changed his life, there’s no time for anything else. Emmy Lou included. After six years, he’d like to think she couldn’t mess with his head anymore. But one look, one smile—and he knows she’s as dangerous as ever. He can’t resist her—he never could.
The more time Emmy Lou spends with Brock, the harder it is for them to keep their distance.
If you’ve read Jace, the first book in the Kings of Country series, you already know how complicated living in King family is. Krystal King and Jace do appear in this book too, but mostly it is about Emmy Lou, Krystal’s twin, and her first and only love Brock Watson. Song for a Cowboy can be easily read as a standalone.
Emmy Lou has always be the sweet one, the little ray of sunshine in her family. She is the one who wears the lightest and brightest colours and will smile her way through the Kings concerts, even though she may have a sprained ankle and a broken heart. She has been in the country music business since her early childhood and has an utmost respect for her fans. She is known for her professionalism and her discipline, but do they come at expense of her own personal happiness? Emmy Lou trusts people around her to be honest and have her best interests at heart. Perhaps, she needs to learn to be more independent and more cautious of people who are trying to manipulate her.
Her high school sweetheart Brock Watson is one of the best professional football players in their hometown team. Straightaway we get the feel that they got separated due to a misunderstanding. Brock has been through a rough period of his life and would like to give back to his community through working for a charity. Emmy Lou is also involved in this charity’s project and the star-crossed lovers are thrown back together in each others’ lives. This is a sweet second chance story where the characters have to work through their family issues and learn to communicate with each other.
The three King siblings are wonderfully close and I really enjoyed their banter. I loved the way they would come to each other’s defence and stick up for each other through thick and thin. There are some wonderful secondary characters in this book, including Brock’s Aunt Mo and Emmy Lou’s bodyguard Sawyer who may have a few secrets of his own. They are in total contrast to CiCi King, Emmy Lou’s mother, who any reader would find it difficult not to hate.
If you enjoy second chance love stories, country music, strong, reliable characters who know how to keep their word, despite being caught in crazy family drama and lovely,supportive relationshipsbetween siblings, you are going to love Song For a Cowboy.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Inkslinger PR for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
AUTHOR BIO: Sasha Summers grew up surrounded by books. Her passions have always been storytelling, romance and travel–passions she uses when writing. Now a best-selling and award winning-author, Sasha continues to fall a little in love with each hero she writes. From easy-on-the-eyes cowboy, sexy alpha-male werewolves, to heroes of truly mythic proportions, she believes that everyone should have their happy ending–in fiction and real life. Sasha lives in the suburbs of the Texas Hill country with her amazing and supportive family and her beloved grumpy cat, Gerard, The Feline Overlord. She looks forward to hearing from fans and hopes you’ll visit her online. AUTHOR LINKS:
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for the much anticipated release of the third instalment in Jay Raven’s Blood Riders series, The Lazarus Child.
The Lazarus Child – Blood Riders Book 3
To save his missing daughter a distraught slayer must venture deep into the heart of darkness Legendary vampire hunter Anton Yoska is on the edge, tormented by the rumour that the precious child he once thought dead is still alive and lost in a world of monsters.
One creature alone knows for sure what happened to Gretchen, but Terek Modjeski won’t divulge his secret – revelling in the twisted power over his long-time foe.
Despairing and drinking heavily, Anton stumbles from near disaster to near disaster as he puts his team in jeopardy, testing their friendship and loyalty to snapping point.
Only one diabolical solution is possible – to confront Terek in his maximum security cell and force the bloodsucker to end his game of cat and mouse. But making the cunning infernal talk will mean employing brutal methods that go against every code Anton has ever lived by, forcing him to become as much of a demon as the leeches he hunts.
Face to face with the evil, taunting vampire, the desperate slayer takes a decision that will change his destiny forever – sending him hurtling into danger to confront a terrifying truth about his lost child that risks not only his sanity but the future of mankind.
My thoughts: Fans of Anton Yoska are going to be delighted as the book is as exciting as they have been hoping for!
Whenever I review a book that comes further in the series, I have to consider whether I would recommend reading it as a standalone. In this case, I’d say start from Book 1 The Crimson Siege. First of all, the whole series is so gripping and enjoyable that it would be a shame to miss out on any part of it. Secondly, you’ll get a much better understanding of the protagonist Anton Yoska, his life story, character, and his motivations that would go a long way towards explaining his actions in this book.
If you’re not familiar with the series, here is a very brief re-cap: The series is set in the 1860s, in Transylvania (a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire), a country which has been ravaged by a war with vampire. The humankind won and our protagonist Lord Marshal Anton Yoska played an important role in this victory. Despite his formidable reputation as a vampire slayer, he is out of favour with the court of Prince Leopold, who has sent Anton to serve as a lawman in a remote, poverty-stricken part of the country. While he is doing the best to protect and serve according to his unfaltering morality principles, a personal tragedy strikes. His beloved eight year old daughter Gretchen goes missing. The Crimson Siege and The Deadlight’s Deadly Kiss deal with a vampire siege of Brejnei, Yoska’s outpost, and the story Basium Lucis, the deadliest weapon against the infernal creatures.
The events of The Lazarus Child happen five years after the Brejnei siege. The book is as entertaining and action packed as its prequels. Terek and Sabina Madjeski, members of once all-powerful Majeski vampire family are languishing inprison. While they may not have completely abandoned their hopes for breaking free and ruling the world again, the reality is that they are being slowly starved to death. Cruel and despicable as Terek is, he is Anton’s only hope to find out what happened to Gretchen.
Deep down, he knows she couldn’t have survived these five years as a human. He must find her and do whatever he can to save her soul. Not that facing this truth comes easy. Sometimes wewill do everything to avoid thinking about our failures, especially when they concern people we love.After years of heavy drinking and slowly resigning himself to his dark fate, Anton has a second chance to bring mercy and be the father his child deserves, and his faithful companions are going to help him.
The second plotline is as exciting as the first one (later in the book they do converge). Someone has been kidnapping scientists all over the country. How? What for? Julius Gant, Prince Leopold’s Security chief, is on the case. When Prince Leopold himself is almost assassinated, the third plotline, involving Anton’s loyal apprentice, sixteen year old Tomas, emerges.
All these plotlines are masterfully interwoven in this fascinating world, full of political intrigues and scientific advances. Jay Raven is an amazing storyteller and a master of building suspense. Trust me, once you start this book, you’ll find it difficult to put it down. The chapters are short and end with nail-biting cliffhangers, begging you to continue reading. There are a few twists that took me by surprise, but the ending is logical and satisfying in its own way.
I’d recommend this gripping, fast-paced, and entertaining paranormal thriller to any reader who loves adventure stories with a historical twist. Can’t wait to read the next book!
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources and the author for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.
Author Bio
Jay Raven is the author of Gothic chillers and historical horror reminding readers that the past is a dangerous place to venture, full of monsters and murderous men. He blames his fascination with vampires, witches and werewolves on the Hammer Horror films he watched as a teenager, but living in a creepy old house on the edge of a 500-acre wood may have something to do with it.
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