reecaspieces

Overview

The Dust Bowl sweeps a handsome stranger into a small Colorado town to dangerous effect

1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. Folks can barely remember a time when the clouds were filled with rain instead of dirt, and when the fields were green instead of brown. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families, especially on the women who bear the brunt of their husbands’ frustration and their children’s hunger, is everywhere.

When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy, and prejudice grip their neighbors – and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.

Full of period detail and Sandra Dallas’s trademark focus on the lives of women, The Hired Man entertains and ultimately surprises.

Review

Sandra Dallas has done it again!

1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Then, Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.

Talk about conflicting feelings! This author is a master at leading the reader through so many realms of emotions. Not only that, you also see all the elements of human nature. And as you guessed, not all of that is good nature.

This is a story of murder, prejudice, assumptions, hardships and community. It is very atmospheric! I could feel the pain and suffering…and so much more! And don’t sleep on young Mary Helen! She is tougher than she looks.

I listened to this in one day. I could not stop! The narrator, Jesse Vilinsky, is amazing! And I mean amazing!

Need a book to take you on a roller coaster of emotions….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas meets “Sister Wives” in a deliciously chilling, darkly romantic, historical gothic horror with a feminist slant, as a young Mormon woman is haunted by a malevolent presence in the decrepit Salt Lake City mansion she shares with her new husband and his other wives…

Hazel Russon’s life in 1882 Utah territory is defined by three things: the Mormon church, polygamy, and the men who control both. She knows she’s supposed to suppress her sinful dreams of a monogamous life with her sweetheart, and her desire for the freedom to play her beloved piano. Every Mormon woman’s duty is to live obediently and meekly, devoted to her husband and her calling as a sister wife. Her eternal salvation depends upon it.

Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she’s never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob’s wives and children live in the same house—a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread. 

Despite Jacob’s tenderness, Hazel senses dark secrets and resentments among her sister wives. She hears strange music, sees blood oozing from the very walls, and glimpses apparitions that grow more terrifying every day. And as her nightmares worsen, Hazel can’t be sure if she has more to fear from the living—including her mysterious husband—or from a sinister presence that seems to animate the house itself . . .

Drawing on little-known Mormon folklore and the author’s own polygamous ancestors, this fascinating, suspense-filled historical novel debut is by turns darkly romantic, spine-tingling, and wholly unforgettable.

Review

Well! This will make your spidey sense tingle!

Commanded to become the fourth wife of a man she’s never met, Hazel is relieved that Jacob Manwaring is attentive and handsome. However, she is shocked to discover that instead of living separately as is custom, all of Jacob’s wives and children live in the same house—a large, dilapidated manor that inexplicably fills Hazel with dread. 

Hazel is just trying to do what the Lord and her community expects of her. She gives up the man she truly loves and she marries Jacob. But, it doesn’t take her long to realize something in this house is not right. It is like the house “knows” everything going on inside.

There are a lot of moving parts to this tale. I enjoyed the Mormon folklore and the creepy house. This really melded the story together…And this ending!! However, I just felt something was missing. I wanted more.

This is narrated by Morgan Hallett. I do not think I have listened to her before. There are a lot of voices and creepiness. She did a good job.

Need a creepy tale with a kick…THIS IS IT! This publishes March 31! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.

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Overview

A bodyguard has his work cut out for him protecting a headstrong heiress in this classic tale from New York Timesbestselling author Jana DeLeon. 

Bodyguard to an heiress is Tyler Duhan’s idea of hell. The steely, sexy ex-marine has heard—and dismissed—the gossip about the haunted old LeBeau mansion and its “cursed” heiresses. Now the middle sibling—headstrong Joelle—has arrived to comply with her mother’s will and reunite with her long-lost sisters. 

But no sooner does she move into the house, than Joelle falls prey to terrifying threats and mysterious visions. Tyler, though he’s sworn off femme fatales, can’t deny his feelings for the Creole beauty. Nor can he let passion distract him. Because falling for Joelle could be a fatal mistake—for them both. 

Review

Bodyguard to an heiress is Tyler Duhan’s idea of hell. The steely, sexy ex-marine has heard—and dismissed—the gossip about the haunted old LeBeau mansion and its “cursed” heiresses. Now the middle sibling—headstrong Joelle—has arrived to comply with her mother’s will and reunite with her long-lost sisters. 

I enjoyed this creepy tale. Give me a haunted old mansion with weird stuff going on and I am in.

Joelle has her hands full! She has just moved into her inheritance, the LeBeau Mansion and strange things are happening. She is not a quitter and boy I liked that about her.

I did feel the romance was very predictable and eye rolling! But, I didn’t read this book for the romance. I read it for the family drama and the haunted house…and it delivered! It is full of family secrets and even a hidden relative or two!

This is narrated by Carly Robins. I enjoyed her voices for all the characters.

Need a tale set in a creepy house…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review!

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Overview

After losing the career she built her life around, Flora Fraserretreats to her grandmother’s lochside cottage in Rowan Bay for the summer.

Rowan Bay offers peace, kindness . . . and Brodie Robertson.

Brodie is infuriatingly self-assured, impossibly charming, and far too rooted in village life to fit into Flora’s temporary plans. Their first encounters spark with friction — and he always seems to be around when things go wrong.

For Flora, it can’t get worse — until she and Brodie find themselves working together. What begins as a battle of wills slowly deepens into attraction, one that becomes harder to resist with every day.

As summer unfolds, mornings spent swimming in the loch, evenings filled with laughter and long walks under starry skies, begin to heal parts of Flora she thought she’d lost. Rowan Bay feels less like a refuge — and more like home.

But Flora has always believed her stay to be temporary. And Brodie belongs here.

When the time comes for Flora to leave, both must decide whether this was simply a fleeting escape — or the beginning of something that could last beyond one perfect summer.

Review

I really love a book set in Scotland and this is set at my favorite place, Loch Lomond.

After losing the career she built her life around, Flora Fraser retreats to her grandmother’s lochside cottage in Rowan Bay for the summer.

This is a sweet read with a great setting. This is the whole reason for me to pick it up. However, it is predictable…lord it is predictable. You can predict the next leaf falling. And it is a bit overly dramatic. But it is, just like the title says, a Scottish Summer Escape. I enjoyed the characters, the predictably and the setting.

The narrator, Mhairi Morrison, is ok. But it could have been the writing.

Need a good summer escape…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Yes…I took this photo. Absolutely gorgeous place.

Overview

A wrongfully convicted man and the key witness against him join forces to figure out who framed him for murder in a riveting novel of small-town secrets by USA Todaybestselling author Debra Webb.

Every person in Pine Bluff, Alabama, stood behind Emily Wallace when she testified against Clint Austin. After all, Emily knows what she saw that terrible night: Clint, covered in blood, holding the body of her best friend Heather.

But Clint has always maintained his innocence, and now, after a successful appeal, he has come home to prove it.

The whole town is furious about his return, and Emily becomes obsessed with sending Clint back to prison―until her father reveals a devastating secret that casts doubt on the whole trial. What if she was wrong?

When another person with a connection to Heather turns up dead, Clint and Emily embark on a desperate search to find the truth. Because ten years ago, they were both betrayed by someone they know. So who, in a town full of liars, is getting away with murder?

Revised edition: Previously published as Traceless, this edition of The Ten Year Lie includes editorial revisions

Review

Every person in Pine Bluff, Alabama, stood behind Emily Wallace when she testified against Clint Austin. After all, Emily knows what she saw that terrible night: Clint, covered in blood, holding the body of her best friend Heather. But Clint has always maintained his innocence, and now, after a successful appeal, he has come home to prove it.

This book started pretty strong. But it became more and more convoluted as it went along. It has quite a few characters to keep up with. But I enjoyed the lies and the twists and turns. And trust me….the lies are rampant. And these people….some are pure evil and then some!

This is narrated by Sarah Welborn and Scott Merriman. I liked Scott a lot better than I liked Sarah.

This is not my favorite book by this author. And to be honest, I struggled between 3 and 4 stars. So, I am going to give this 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Need a tale full of lies…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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