Best Mystery & Suspense
Finally content as the real estate writer for a local newspaper, Aubrey keeps her extraordinary ability hidden—until she is unexpectedly assigned the story of a decades-old murder. Aubrey has no choice but to get involved, even at the terrifying risk of stirring spirits connected to a dead woman’s demise and piquing her new reporting partner’s suspicions. “A wild adventure of a mystery, brimming with layers, secrets, and more than one person who should feel guilty…Paranormal mystery/romance fans will find a gem of a story in Laura Spinella’s Ghost Gifts .” —Fresh Fiction. “ Ghost Gifts will stir your emotions, spook the bejesus out of you, and keep you furiously turning pages until the cows deign to come home. “Laura Spinella skillfully weaves plot twists from the dead with secrets from the living, and adds sparks when psychic Aubrey Ellis and reporter Levi St John are assigned to uncover the truth about a decades-old New England murder. The southern locale provided the inspiration for her first novel, Beautiful Disaster , which garnered multiple awards, including a Romance Writers of America RITA nomination.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book also switches back and forth between present day and 20 years prior, to the time when Aubrey Ellis, the protagonist, is a 13-year-old girl, and where it all started. When a new discovery uncovers a murder committed twenty years ago, she is assigned to help Levi St John, the city desk editor of the Hartford Standard Speaker, with the story because she has a lot of contacts in the community and knows the town well. She has tried to lead a normal life by working as a reporter but it seems as though her talents are going to be utilized in the latest development in the decades-old murder of Missy Flannigan. I often noticed parts of the book dragged on with so many details, only to end on a brand new piece of information that flared my excitement again."
"I preferred the Kindle edition of “Ghost Gifts” because the Audible narrator failed to give the characters distinct voices; This was especially true for female characters who all sounded breathy and occasionally breathless. Although the Kindle version was superior, this book could have benefited from a good editor to correct writing problems and to cut some fat from the book."
"It has a fascinating paranormal aspect, a heroine who longs for roots, after a childhood spent traveling with a carnival, a murder mystery involving an abused girl, and a satisfying ending."
"Sure, it could have had all the past events in the beginning of the book, but with the way it was written, I thought that the past scenes gave you more understanding of the present. Although I figured out the mystery part before I got to the end of the book, I thought that it was a well written story."
"As an avid reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and even had difficulty putting it down for some much needed sleep."
"Aubrey and Levi work well together."
But when a television-show host presses her to tackle the one story everyone claims she cannot write—the story of her own family’s destruction—her perfect life shatters. Shrouded in cold, brooding fog, the close-knit coastal town harbors dark secrets and suspicious residents. A twotime RITA finalist, she has won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Readers’ Crown. She is a Booksellers Best Award finalist, a twotime Daphne du Maurier finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner. Born in South Africa, White now lives with her family in a ski resort in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest—the perfect place to escape reality.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The characters are very real and lifelike as you read the book."
"This is my third book by Ms. White and I have to say they've all been great."
"5 Stars for sure."
"On the edge of my seat from beginning to end!"
"I only read current era stories and loved the coastal and storms."
"The author deals with many different types of characters from a childhood that dealt with the death of her sister."
"This is my kind of romance novel- laced with crime!"
"But twenty percent into the book I was totally yanked out of the story by this extremely annoying habit: Anxiety trickles through the heroine; stomachs churn in "an oily roll of conflict"; "the sick oiliness in his stomach slithered toward his bowels." Stomachs fold, emotions claw, surprise blossoms, hot coals begin to burn in her gut, expressions chase through his face. Sorry, but I quit reading after the young son, Noah, upon barely meeting Meg the Heroine, catches her and his father in the beginnings of an embrace and cries that his dad only married the (dead) mom because Meg the Heroine went away and now (dad) is stuck with (son), " the kid he never wanted in the first place." Had I persevered to the end, my head would have been hammering as if pounded by a dozen anvils and my stomach would have been flopping about as if I'd swallowed an ocean of fish and... To sum up my review: with some good editing and a few tweaks in writing style, Loreth Ann White would not only be a popular writer but an accomplished one."
He makes me feel protected like no man ever has and the way he looks at me, as if he just wants to push me up against a tree and rip my clothes off.... Could he be innocent of his crimes and can I help him escape the demons of his past? "This book has it all: a strong, hot hero, a heroine who is strong but still vulnerable, the lies, the deceit, the betrayals and of course plenty of bad guys. This was non-stop action, a real page turner, I mean stay up all night reading and take the consequences the next day type of book. The heroine had real spine and the hero, yum, on every woman's wish list. "It's 4am and I just finished reading. "Awesome contemporary stand-alone romance that draws you in from beginning until the last page. "She is an amazing writer that never disappoints.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. A buttoned up, by the book fed in Alaska investigating a series of attacks on women related to a case she's been working on. Soon they are stranded in the cold, frozen forest being hunted by mercenaries, all the while ignoring their mounting attraction toward each other. He's pulled himself off the ledge numerous times to save the only thing that matters to him. INTENSE, UNDENIABLE CHEMISTRY TURNS INTO FULL ON, UNADULTERATED PASSION !"
"Kate needs a ride to Fairbanks Alaska and she hitches a ride with 2 marshals and 2 prisoners."
"Her writing is mature and evocative, I felt fully immersed in the characters and grew to understand them."
"The bad guys chasing them and the Alaska adventures kept me glued to my seat."
"Very Good writing, great adventure, great descriptions, great love scenes, great suspense, great ending."
"Trouble big time, and add the current topic of PTSD, and you have one hell of a story that will keep you riveted to each page."
"What a great book."
"They meet by chance on a prison transport flight in Alaska. She gets a bad vibe off the Marshals transporting Boone and a notorious white collar criminal. Her worse fears are realized when the Marshals release their very wealth prisoner and escape."
Best Historical Romance
Sixty-four years ago, Susannah Morgan managed to flee the horrors of the Holocaust. He wrote a singularly awful novel in the early 1990s, and so concentrated on his IT/engineering career (and renovating a house) for the next fifteen years.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon""Perhaps seeing again how unlucky so many others had been- how a whole generation had had their lives and dreams stolen from them-would remind her how lucky she'd been to escape sixty-four years ago. Her family along with her aunt and uncle move to Netherlands to try and escape what was happening, but they can’t stay hidden forever sadly and eventually there luck ran out. Then we also get to see things from Judy who is Susannah’s daughter and how she is so worried about her mother and just wants to make her last bit of time on earth safe and comfortable. I also really like the writing of this story the author did such a good job and made you feel like you were really there with the character and seeing it all through her eyes. I’m sorry I’m not saying much about the plot, but I can’t because I don’t want to give anything away about what she had to do in order to keep her and her family alive while living through that time in Germany as a Jew. Her friendship with Ester was one that was good for both of them and showed that just having a little bit of hope can help you stay alive even when it seems everything in the world is against you."
"I have read many memoirs of concentration camp survivors, but I have never before read one that so clearly details the recovery and emotional devastation that continue years later as well as the impact the concentration camp experience and survival had on the survivor's children and other relationships."
""The Sugar Men" is historical fiction dealing with difficult subject matter - the Holocaust & life (and death) in the concentration camps."
"Susannah was a holocaust survivor."
"After all the horrible things that had happened to her and her family she still had the power to forgive those who had taken so much from her."
"The reason I gave the book a four star instead of a five star is because historical fiction in general gives reference to historical materials that the author read and influenced his writing."
"Kingfisher has captured the horror of Susannah's past and her later efforts to gain "closure" for herself."
"It was a good story."
Best Contemporary
They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true. The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares. Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate. LJ Shen has done it again.Taken an absolutely HORRIBLE character and made him into a swoony motherfucker. Literally no words are being formed in my head to describe how much I love this book. It was amazing and thought provoking, staying with me long after the last word was read.- Rosa Sharon,iScream Books. One of the most anticipated books of the year - heck, ever - and I totally devoured it in one sitting. He puts all the other Bad Boys to shame.- Shabby Arora, BookBistro Blog. How else could the woman possibly crawl inside my mind and create a story that seriously felt custom written for me? LJ Shen has created an addictive story line with characters that will frustrate you to no end. Shen pulled off a fucktastic slow burning story of alpha dominance and pain! I was completely bowled over by this book, the story flowed really well and the writing was as close to flawless as it could be. Shen is a USA Today and Amazon #1 Best-selling author of contemporary and YA romance. She lives in California with her husband and son, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love all her books but I think this one was the best."
"I loved every agonizing moment of the push pull relationship between Vicious and Em."
"I'm highly impressed with this author's writing style and the persona of the characters. The POV of both main characters will suck the reader's imagination into their story. Ten years goes by, the girl and boy are now grown end up working together. Details, secrets, and feelings will eventually come out that will pull at the heartstrings."
"Emilia is a sweet girl, I get how you could still be attracted to a bad guy, but he was verbally abusive to her, stole her books, trashed her locker on a regular basis, kissed her sister, made her senior year of high school miserable. Just felt like he was still a high school bully, who still felt the need to fight his friend for a girl, not because he loved the girl but because he always wants to win."
"Vicious is the leader of The Four Hot Holes, four stunning young men of privilege who are as far from gentlemen as you can get. There seems to be something new to discover in each chapter of this book, and I found myself constantly questioning Vicious’s thoughts and next moves. I admired her strength and resilience, even when faced with the most difficult and humiliating challenges. There are so many complicated layers to Vicious you’d need an entire excavating team and staff of psychologists to fully unearth and understand him. The Sinners of Saint series continues, however, by focusing on a different member of The Four Hot Holes."
"They cross paths at an early age when Emilia 's parent's come to work for Vicious and his family. He is a damaged boy that turns into a hateful, scorned brilliant man who does not let his guard down until she reappears in his life. Is it possible for two people with such a turbulent scarred history can come together to heal, forgive and move forward with whatever the world has to offer them?"
Best Paranormal
From USA TODAY bestselling series Vampire Girl , comes the next book in the saga: SILVER FLAME. For fans of Twilight , A Shade of Vampire , and Outlander , experience a fantasy romance with an original twist on an old tale. Karpov Kinrade is the pen name for the husband and wife writing duo of USA Today bestselling, award-winning authors Lux Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I thought the cliffy from MS was bad, but this one definitely knocks it out of the park for so many reasons that I will mention in a spoiler. ********. ********************************************************************************************************************. [We find out that Asher has been working with Metsi to capture Arianna and Levi in order to gain the power of the Primal One (who I think is somehow linked to Tavian). And at the end, the authors like to casually mention that btw Asher is actually chained in a hard-to-find dungeon and was being impersonated by Lucian, who is thereby actually working with Metsi to gain the powers of the Primal One. There is definitely more to him than just his amazing good looks and hot body--he is sweet, funny, cares about nature, and of course is gorgeous."
"In previous books Ari's allies were Asher and Fen and now we can add Dean! So happy about Fen and Ari finally having some "me" time."
"The soul rises from the pit of despair through the range of emotions in this installment of Vampire Girl."
"I feel like I have not stopped reading between books. I love that the story seems to keep an even flow, the next book picks up where the last one pretty much left off. This book was a bit darker I thought than the previous two books. That said I have loved all three books so far and am excited to start reading book four!"
"Has a lot of unexpected twists and turns that just delves into 'making the plot grow thicker'. Without trying to give too much away; I am very much worried about 'the truth' of what happened between Ari and Fen because of the possibility of the use of illusion."