reecaspieces

Overview

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

Review

Oh! Y’all! This book is soooo good! I almost skipped it. I am not a big fan of Narnia-GASP! But, this book captured me in a unique world and I do not want to forget it!

This story follows Jeremy and Rafe. As young boys, they were lost in a West Virginia forest for 6 months. But, were they really lost?

Now, it is 15 years later. Jeremy is an expert in finding lost people. He has been contacted by Emilie. Her sister has been missing for years. Jeremy knows where she is and now he needs Rafe to help him return to the enchanted world they discovered in their youth.

This tale is full of wonderful characters, magic, mystery, abuse, love, terror, friendship and just plain creativity. It also had me laughing out loud in places.

Need a magical read that is present in both worlds…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chancesexplores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice…with the same person?

Liz Lewis has tried everything to be what people want. But she’s always been labeled different from everyone else in the boisterous world of wilderness expeditions—that is, if anyone notices her at all. Her marriage to popular adventure guide Tobin Renner-Lewis is a sinkhole of toxic positivity where she’s the only one saying no. In a mountain resort town built around excitement, introverted Liz gets…spreadsheets.

When she gets mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party and her last line of communication with Tobin finally snaps, Liz vows to stop playing a minor character in her own life. The (incredibly well-researched and scientific) plan? A crash course in confidence…via improv comedy class.

The catch? She’s terrible at it, and the only person willing to practice with her is a certain extroverted wilderness guide who seems dead set on saving their marriage one bonkers improv scenario at a time. But as Liz and Tobin get closer (…again), she’s forced to confront all the reasons they didn’t work the first time, along with her growing suspicion that there might be more to her social awkwardness than anyone realized. Liz has just eight weeks to learn improv’s most important lesson—”yes, and”—or she’ll have to choose between the love she always wanted and the dreams that got away.

Review

Liz is tired of playing a back seat to everyone, especially her husband, Tobin. Tobin is outgoing and the social butterfly of the relationship. So, she takes an improv class to help with her social awkwardness and, hopefully, to get a promotion. She is tired of spread sheets. She wants to do more!

This is a pretty good read. I just did not like the main character, Liz. Yes, I get her situation is different but I just did not connect with her well. Her actions do not fit the way I thought she would act. Just read it and see what you think!

I did enjoy the improv idea. How unique to use it to draw someone out of their shell. And Liz uses this to help her try, key word, try to get a promotion.

This is a cute story, with lots of character. I just did not connect very well with some of them. And the story itself can be a bit confusing in places.

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

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Overview

In her most imaginative novel yet, number one New York Times best-selling author Lisa Jewell (None of This Is True) launches the Marvel Crime series of thriller books for adults with an original story starring the private detective Jessica Jones.

Meet Jessica Jones: retired superhero, private investigator, loner. She tried her best to be a shiny spandex crimefighter, but that life only led to unspeakable trauma. Now she avoids that world altogether and works on surviving day-to-day in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The morning a distraught mother comes into her office, Jessica would prefer to nurse her hangover and try to forget last night’s poor choices. But something about Amber Randall’s story strikes a chord with her. Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect”.

Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins’ new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?

A mother’s intuition is never wrong. And Jessica knows that nothing in life is perfect—not these kids, not her on-again, off-again relationship with Luke Cage, and certainly not Jessica herself. But even as she tries to buy into the idea that better days are ahead, Jessica Jones has seen all too clearly that behind every promise of perfection trails a dark, dangerous shadow.

Breaking the Dark, the first book in the brand-new Marvel Crime series, introduces fans to a grittier, street-level side of the Marvel Universe, and will continue with original novels featuring fan-favorite characters like Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.

Review

Ok, I did not realize this story is a bit on the Sci-fi side of the book world. Not really my genre at all. But, I did read it. So, take my review with a grain of salt!

Amber Randall is seeking help from private investigator, Jessica Jones. Jessica does not really believe Amber when she says her twins are not right. The twins have just returned back to the states after a long stay with their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something “perfect”.

This is not your usual Lisa Jewell. She is one of my favorite go to suspense authors. As usual, she has wonderful characters. This is what kept me reading. I love Jessica. She is a hot mess but she is also intelligent and a bit snarky!

I also enjoyed the hunt to find out what happened to the twins! What kind of brain washing or experience did they actually have? This is where the story deviated from the normal. It involves human blood and not the vampire kind.

If this is what you like, you will enjoy this one. It is just a bit far fetched and “out there”. But, it is not going to stop me from reading this author, I will just skip this series.

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

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Overview

For readers eagerly awaiting the return of Yellowjackets, this novel from McKinnon blends the musical highs of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six with the darkness of The Girls by Emma Cline in a twisty thriller that is hard to resist.” —Library Journal

“Rock’n’roll with a dash or two of murder.” —Jeneva Rose, New York Times bestselling author

Becoming the star is easier when the rest of your band is dead… 

All drummer Vienna Taylor ever wanted was to make music. If that came with fame, she’d take it—as long as her best friend, guitarist Madison Pierce, was sharing the spotlight and singing lead. And with their new all-female pop rock band gaining traction, soon everyone would hear their songs…

Except, on the way to an event, the Bittersweet’s van careened off an icy mountain road during a blizzard—leaving one member dead and another severely injured.

In order to survive the frigid night, the rest took shelter in a nearby abandoned cabin. But Vienna’s dreams devolved into a terrifying nightmare as, one by one, her fellow band members met a gruesome end…and Madison simply vanished in the night.

What really happened to the Bittersweet? Did Vienna’s closest friend finally decide to take center stage on her own terms?

She doesn’t want to believe it.

But guilty people run.

Review

Vienna is a self taught drummer. She and her best friend, Madison, actually started a band in high school. So, when Vienna’s world falls apart after high school she heads to NYC to live with Madison. Vienna decides to start a new band, Bittersweet, and they are gaining lot of attention. On the way to an event, the Bittersweet’s van careened off an icy mountain road during a blizzard—leaving one member dead and another severely injured.

This story fluctuates between before the accident and after the accident. And it leads you astray in the first half of the book. And then it all comes to light!

This is not my favorite book by this author. I have read several. And I cannot put my finger on why. I just didn’t enjoy this book as well as some of her others. It is a book I enjoyed reading, while reading it. But if I put it down, I did not want to pick it back up.

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

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Overview

This epic, dazzling tale based on true events illuminates a woman of color’s rise to power as one of the few purported female pirate captains to sail the Caribbean, and the forbidden love story that will shape the course of history.

In the tumultuous town of Yáquimo, Santo Domingo, Jacquotte Delahaye is an unknown but up-and-coming shipwright. Her dreams are bold but her ambitions are bound by the confines of her life with her self-seeking French father. When her way of life and the delicate balance of power in the town are threatened, she is forced to flee her home and become a woman on the run along with a motley crew of refugees, including a mysterious young woman named Teresa.

Jacquotte and her band become indentured servants to the infamous Blackhand, a ruthless pirate captain who rules his ship with an iron fist. As they struggle to survive his brutality, Jacquotte finds herself unable to resist Teresa despite their differences. When Blackhand hatches a dangerous scheme to steal a Portuguese shipment of jewels, Jacquotte must rely on her wits, resourcefulness, and friends to survive. But she discovers there is a grander, darker scheme of treachery at play, and she ultimately must decide what price she is willing to pay to secure a better future for them all.

An unforgettable tale told in three parts, The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a thrilling, buccaneering escapade filled with siege and battle, and is also a tender exploration of friendship, love, and the search for freedom and home.

Review

Jacquotte is an up and coming shipwright in her town of Yáquimo, Santo Domingo. But things quickly change and she is forced to flee. She and her band of ragamuffins end up servants to the infamous pirate, Blackhand. This just makes her stronger and smarter and leads to her rise and her fall!

Jacquotte is an amazing character! She has so much stacked against her. But she truly makes her mark as a shipwright and then, due to circumstances beyond her control, a pirate…yes I said pirate! Jacquotte is not only strong in mind and body, her heart is her best feature. She truly is an advocate for women and does everything in her power to help anyone that comes across her path.

This story has a unique setting and unique characters. It is a bit long and has some monotonous scenes. But, it has great intensity and y’all…the last 50 pages are amazing!

Need a great pirate story with a female at the helm…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

In the usually quiet high desert of Nevada, Sheriff Porter Beck faces one of his greatest challenges—a series of unlikely, disturbing and increasingly deadly events of unknown origins.

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, doing the same lawman’s job his father once did now that he’s returned home after decades away. With his twelve person department, they cover a large area that is usually very quiet, but not of late. One childhood friend is the latest to succumb to a new wave of particularly strong illegal opioids, another childhood friend—now an enormously successful rancher—is targeted by a military drone, hacked and commandeered by an unknown source. The hacker is apparently local—local enough to call out Beck by name—and that means they are Beck’s problem.

Beck’s investigation leads him to Mercy Vaughn, the one known hacker in the area. The problem is that she’s a teenager, locked up with no computer access at the secure juvenile detention center. But there’s something Mercy that doesn’t sit quite right with Beck. But when Mercy disappears, Beck understands that she’s in danger and time is running out for all of them.

Review

Sheriff Porter has just discovered one of his childhood friends dead from an overdose. Another childhood friend was targeted by a high jacked military drone. Porter is wondering what the devil is going on in his county!

As Porter is investigating, he comes across a young, computer hacker named Mercy. She is only 16 years old but, she is old beyond her years. Porter knows she is lying, but he cannot figure out why. Porter soon discovers there is more to this case than he ever expected.

Because Mercy is so young, I found myself, mad, furious and wanting to cry all at the same time. She definitely had herself in a mess. But you talk about confident and smart. Mercy is all of the above. She is also a character I will not soon forget. Add in Porter Beck and his sister…and y’all! I want a Netflix show!

I, at first, had this as a 4 star read. But as I was writing this review, I changed it. The emotions this author created and the fast movement of this story…I am changing my rating to 5 stars.

This novel is constantly on the move. And I had no idea where it was going to end up! Fabulous characters and intensity…do not miss this one!

I read the first Porter Beck novel, The Bitter Past. I enjoyed that book as well. It is not necessary that you read it prior to this novel.

Need a thriller that will have your emotions all over the place…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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