contemporary

Interview with Suzanne Woods Fisher (Lost and Found)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Lost and Found by Suzanne Woods Fisher has a story that looks at change and how someone faces that change. There are hints of romance, dashes of humor, and some drama. Most of the characters in the story explore difficult choices. There is conflict between the Liberal Beachy Amish order, and the more conservative Amish order plus the conflict between those who want to protect the bird sanctuary of Wonder Lake and those who …

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Interview with Melinda Curtis (A Cowboy’s Fourth of July)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper A Cowboy’s Fourth of July by Melinda Curtis is the second in the series. What makes the plot interesting is how the dynamics between the characters have changed over the years. The hero and heroine were high school friends with her having the upper hand but as they grew to adulthood the roles reversed. Allison Burns has many responsibilities. She gave up her dream of becoming a singer after becoming pregnant. Now a single …

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Interview with Lori Foster (Indiana Summers series)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Each of Foster’s Indiana Summers books—The Honeymoon Cottage, The Little Flower Shop, and The Love Shack (out June 2024)—has two romances in it. The lead characters, and the secondary characters. There’s also a close friendship and a deepening of other relationships, such as Yardley (The Honeymoon Cottage) with Betty, who is the town matriarch; Emily (The Little Flower Shop) with her aunt and uncle. Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the …

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Interview with Patricia Johns (A Single Dad in Amish Country and Their Amish Secret)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Patricia Johns’s books, A Single Dad in Amish Country and Their Amish Secret are both endearing stories. Readers will go through the emotions with the characters from pain and sadness to hopefulness and love. As with all her books people are drawn to each character and their feelings. The plot of A Single Dad in Amish Country has an emphasis on single parenting. Hazel Dobbs and Joe Carter both raised daughters without a spouse. …

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Review Roundup Summer 2023

A quick little roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Summer 2023. Beware of spoilers! Title: A Fatal Illusion Author: Anna Lee Huber Series: Lady Darby Mystery #11 Thank you to Anna Lee Huber, Berkley, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Yazmine Hassan for inviting me to participate in the blog tour; I’m sorry I didn’t get my crap together in time to participate properly. …

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Interview with Joanna Schaffhausen (Dead and Gone)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen brings back popular police detective Annalisa Vega. In this latest installment there are not one but five crimes to solve. Because she is such an excellent author, readers do not get confused at all as to what is happening, and which crime is being focused on in a particular chapter. The plot has Annalisa Vega being pulled in by her boss, Commander Zimmer, to investigate the death of …

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Interview with Valerie Burns (Murder Is a Piece of Cake)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Murder Is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns is the second book in the Baker Street Cozy Mystery series. As with all her books, dogs play an important role and the characters are very well developed. The first book in the series, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder, has Maddy Montgomery inheriting from her great Aunt Octavia the Baby Cakes Bakery and a 250-pound English Mastiff named Baby. The will stipulates Maddy must …

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Interview with Cari Lynn Webb (Three Springs, Texas series)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The first four books in the Three Springs, Texas series by Cari Lynn Webb will draw on reader’s emotions. They will smile, cry, and take a journey with the characters. The Texas SEAL’s Surprise has Abby James coming to visit her cousin, Tess, in the small town of Three Springs Texas. She is a single pregnant woman whose fiancé cheated on her. She initially meets Wes, the hero, after her car has a flat …

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Magdalena by Candi Sary

Title: Magdalena Author: Candi Sary Series: n/a Not my cuppa Thank you to Candi Sary and Regal House Publishing for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thanks also to Laura Marie of Laura Marie Public Relations for inviting me on the blog tour. So . . . I read this novel because the description leaned hard into the paranormal aspect, and I love a good ghost story. It sounded a …

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Interview with Linda Castillo (An Evil Heart)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo is once again another home run. She blends an intense crime mystery with some light-hearted scenes and detailed insight about the Amish community. The story opens with twenty-year-old Aden Karn being violently killed with a crossbow. He was well-liked, kind, funny, hardworking, and engaged to be married. Now Kate Burkholder, Painters Mills police chief, must find his killer. But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to …

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