Can't Wait Wednesday: End Game (Capital Intrigue #1) by Rachel Dylan

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm featuring End Game (Capital Intrigue #1) by Rachel Dylan releasing January 7, 2020.

About the Book

When elite members of the military are murdered on the streets of Washington, DC, FBI Special Agent Bailey Ryan and NCIS Special Agent Marco Agostini must work together to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, all evidence points to a Navy SEAL sniper whom Bailey refuses to believe is guilty.

When Bailey and Marco start to connect the dots between the victims, including a link to a powerful defense contractor, they wonder if there's a deeper cover-up at play. Then Bailey is targeted, and it becomes clear that someone is willing to kill to keep their dark secrets.

With the stakes getting higher by the moment in a twisted conspiracy, there's a rush against the clock to determine whom they can really trust. As allies turn to enemies, the biggest secret yet to be uncovered could be the end of all of them.

Why I Need It

If you know me, you know how much I enjoy a good romantic suspense, but when you add in conspiracies and cover-ups, I can't resist! I've loved everything I've read by Rachel Dylan so I was excited when I saw this new series from her. I can't wait!

What upcoming release are you excited about?

Review: Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar

About the Book

Bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Louis Sachar knows how to make readers laugh. And there are laughs galore in perennial favorite Wayside School Is Falling Down, now available for the first time in ebook format!

Yum! Miss Mush is dishing out her famous Mushroom Surprise in the Wayside School cafeteria. Ron says it tastes like hot dogs and grape jelly. Clean your plate and you’ll turn green in time for class picture day. Wear your craziest outfit and you’ll fit right in between Maurecia in her striped bikini and Clavin, who’s wearing his birthday tattoo. Say cheese!

More than nine millions readers have laughed at the wacky stories of Wayside School. So what are you waiting for? Come visit Wayside School!

Amazon / Goodreads

My Thoughts

This was a fun and nostalgic trip back to my childhood. I have so many great memories of reading the Wayside School books. They're weird and wacky; just the type of stories I love. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe my love of these weird kind of books stems from Wayside School.

I went into to this reread thinking that it had been so long since the last time I'd read it (20+ years! EEK!) that I wouldn't remember much at all. Was I wrong or what! It all came back to me. It had me laughing so hard and left a permanent smile on my face. I felt like I had been reunited with a long lost friend. I loved every second of it!

Four Stars

Book Beginnings + Friday 56: A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two.

This week I'm featuring a really sweet historical romance that I recently finished, A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott.

About the Book

Meg Pero has been assisting her photographer father since she was big enough to carry his equipment, so when he dies she is determined to take over his profession--starting with fulfilling the contract he signed to serve on an Army survey of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 1871. What she doesn't realize is that the leader of the expedition is none other than the man she once refused to marry.

Captain Ben Coleridge would like nothing more than to leave without the woman who broke his heart, but he refuses to wait even one more day to get started. This survey is a screen for another, more personal mission, one he cannot share with any member of his team.

As dangers arise from all sides, including within the survey party, Meg and Ben must work together to stay alive, fulfill their duties, and, just maybe, rekindle a love that neither had completely left behind.

Book Beginning

"You can't be the photographer."

Friday 56

The ride to the next camp seemed endless. Meg tried not to think about the cougar, but any movement among the trees caused her muscles to stiffen.

Can you stop reading before the end of a chapter?

I can, but I don't like to. Interruptions happen, but if at all possible, I'll do my best to make it to the next chapter. Or if there's breaks in the chapter, those will usually make okay stopping places too. 

What have you been reading lately?

Review: Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes

About the Book

In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the tiny, coastal Maine town, and he sets his calloused hands to work, but the building halts when tragedy strikes.

Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when she learns her Great-Uncle Robert, the man who became her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is now the one in need of help. What she didn't anticipate was finding a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Long-ago memories of stone ruins on a nearby island trigger her curiosity, igniting a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers.

She joins forces with the handsome and mysterious harbor postman, and all her hopes of mending the decades-old chasm in her family seem to point back to the ruins. But with Robert failing fast, her search for answers battles against time, a foe as relentless as the ever-crashing waves upon the sea.

Amazon / Goodreads

My Thoughts

I've found that when I'm trying to write a review for my favorite books that words are hard to come by. I can never find a way to truly express my feelings because they all seem so inadequate. And that's where I'm at now, after finishing Whose Waves These Are. I'm staring at my computer screen trying to put into words the soul-wrenching beauty that was this novel.

The writing style is so lyrical and had me completely enchanted from the very first page. It's an emotional read. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I cried or almost did. But, my goodness, it's a novel brimming full of hope, too. It's a story that will stay with me for a long time to come. If I could give it more than five stars, I certainly would. I highly recommend it to everyone and I can't wait to read what Amanda Dykes comes up with next.

Five Stars

Can't Wait Wednesday: Ruby Jane (The Montana Marshalls #5) by Susan May Warren

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm featuring Ruby Jane (The Montana Marshalls #5) by Susan May Warren releasing November 26.

About the Book

She loved...and lost.

Ruby Jane never thought she'd meet the man of her dreams while running from the police in Russia. That he'd steal her heart on a train to Siberia. But loving a former CIA officer comes with a price...a life of danger. A life of high stakes.

A life where he simply disappears...

He has no memory of the man he was.

Mack Jones has no memory of his past...just the dark sense that he is hiding. And, he wants to stay that way. Mack likes the life he's built in a small tourist town, tucked away beyond the mountains, and has no desire to dig around in the gray areas of his memory.

When his place of business catches fire and Mack rescues the owner, he makes the news, which of course alerts the past he's hoping to outrun.

The only person who can help him is a mysterious woman he doesn't remember.

But a woman he desperately needs.

The surprising, thrilling conclusion to the Montana Marshall series.

Why I Need It

I've been loving the Montana Marshall series. It's been so nice having the books release close to each other. It's awful waiting a year or more for the sequel, so I've been really grateful for the quick release schedule. Ruby Jane is the final book in the series and while I'm sad to see it end, I HAVE to know how everything works out. I'm so ready!

What upcoming release are you eagerly anticipating?

Review: Protecting Tanner Hollow: Four Romantic Suspense Novellas by Lynette Eason

About the Book
Four nail-biting novellas in one!

Lethal Homecoming
Nolan Tanner never got over Kallie Ainsworth's sudden, unexplained departure. Now when he comes to her rescue after an attempt on her life, all the old feelings come rushing back.

Lethal Conspiracy
When professional fundraiser Lillian Maloney sees her father's campaign manager commit murder, she goes on the run from the men he hires to kill her. A close call brings firefighter Jason Tanner to the rescue, but the killer is closing in . . .

Lethal Secrets
Someone wants Honor McBride dead. When Eli Murphy helps her change a flat tire and discovers the danger Honor is in, he longs to help--but Eli has secrets of his own that could get them all killed.

Lethal Agenda
When Detective Derek St. John rescues a woman he's met only once before--and has never been able to forget--he finds himself falling for her. But he'll have to keep Claire Montgomery alive if they're to have a future together.

Amazon / Goodreads

My Thoughts

What a great collection! These fast paced, action packed suspense novellas will leave you breathless and glued to the pages. They each had the perfect combination of romance and suspense, and each one left me guessing until the reveal. The first three stories were previously published, but the fourth one is brand new and features Derek St. John from Eason's Blue Justice series. While I enjoyed each one of these novellas a great deal, I do have to say that Derek's was my favorite. I was so happy that he finally got his time in the spotlight.

Lethal Homecoming
This was short, but it packed a big punch. There was a lot of family drama and secrets. A very compelling read.

Lethal Conspiracy

I love a good conspiracy, so with the title Lethal Conspiracy, I was sure to like this story. And I did! There's so much excitement and so many twists and turns. My only complaint is that the relationship seemed to move a little fast, but it is a novella so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

Lethal Secrets
This started off a little slower paced than the others, but by the end it really picked up. The kids were adorable and I loved Lady the dog. This ended up being my second favorite of the collection.

Lethal Agenda
This was Derek St. John's story and, gosh, was it good! What can I say about it other than the fact that it was as close to perfect as a novella can get? It's my favorite of the collection, by far. It didn't feel too short, although I wouldn't have minded if it had just kept on going. I loved getting to visit the whole St. John clan again. What a great way to end the series!

All in all, Protecting Tanner Hollow was a can't-put-down thrill ride that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys romantic suspense.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

Four Stars

Review: Starstruck by Carla Laureano

About the Book

Novelist Christine Lind has achieved her lifelong dream—a string of best-selling books and a cable-TV adaptation about to go into production. But on her way to London FanFest for the cast reveal, disaster strikes: their leading man is injured in a motorcycle accident… and his replacement is the one person she hoped she’d never seen again.

Nick Cleary has clawed his way to recognition as a Hollywood actor, but it’s long past time he get the chance to show he’s more than a pretty face and a chiseled set of abs. His big break comes in the form of a juicy lead role in a new steampunk fantasy series. There’s just one catch—casting has to be approved by the author… a woman he once devastated through his own youthful stupidity.

Christine is the last person to be starstruck by the handsome heartthrob, but as the clock ticks down to the cast announcement and Nick races to show that he’s really changed, she begins to wonder if there’s more to her ex than his Hollywood persona. Except now the consequences of being wrong no longer apply only to her career… but also to her carefully guarded heart.

Amazon / Goodreads

My Thoughts

What an absolutely wonderful contemporary romance! I pretty much loved everything about it. It was short, but it worked. I didn't feel shortchanged or that the story was lacking.

Second chance romances are some of my favorites. The obstacles that Christine and Nick have to overcome are big, and might seem insurmountable at times, but they do still have strong feelings for each other. And their chemistry is still off the charts. It's just a matter of whether or not they want to do the hard work to breakthrough all the lingering hurt to see what's still there between them.

I'm a big fan of steampunk, so I really enjoyed the fact that Christine was a novelist in that genre. We got a little sneak peek into one of the books and I'd be thrilled to actually see those be a real thing. They sounded so cool.

This was my first time reading anything by this author and I enjoyed every second of it. I'll definitely be checking out her other books. I'd highly recommend Starstruck to anyone looking for a quick and fun read.

Five Stars