08.26.2021 The Merchant and the Rogue @SarahMEden, @ShadowMountn

The Merchant and the Rogue: Proper Romance Victorian

Sarah M. Eden

·         Series: Book 3 in The Dread Penny Society

·         Genre: Historical Romance, Historical Mystery/Suspense, Inspirational Fiction

·         Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing (August 17, 2021)

·         Length: (368) pages

·         Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1629728513

·         Audiobook ASIN: B0921TS4TF

·         eBook ASIN:  B098TVLLM7

·         Previous Books in the Series: The Lady and the Highwayman (2019) & The Gentleman and the Thief (2020)

·         Tour Dates: August 16 – 29, 2021

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

London, 1865

 

Vera Sorokina loves reading the Penny Dreadfuls and immersing herself in tales of adventure, mystery, and romance. Her own days are filled with the often-mundane work of running the book and print shop she owns with her father. The shop offers her the freedom and income to employ and protect the poverty-stricken Londoners she's come to care about, and it gives her father something to do other than long for their hometown of St. Petersburg. She is grateful for the stability in their lives, but she often feels lonely.

 

Brogan Donnelly was born and raised in Ireland, but has lived in London for several years, where he's built a career as a Penny Dreadful writer. He has dedicated himself to the plight of the poor with the help of his sister. His membership in the secretive Dread Penny Society allows him to feel he isn't entirely wasting his life, yet he feels dissatisfied. With no one to share his life with but his sister, he fears London will never truly feel like home.

 

Brogan and Vera's paths cross, and the attraction is both immediate and ill-advised. Vera knows from experience that writers are never to be trusted, and Brogan has reason to suspect not everything at her print shop is aboveboard. When the growing criminal enterprise run by the elusive and violent Mastiff begins targeting their area of London, Brogan and Vera must work together to protect the community they've both grown to love. But that means they'll need to learn to trust each other with dangerous secrets that have followed both of them from their home countries.

 

MY REVIEW:

The Merchant and the Rogue is book three of The Dread Penny Society series by Sarah M Eden.

Though this is my first book by Eden and the only book I have read in the series, I still enjoyed this book as a stand-alone.

The main story revolves around Vera Sorokina who works in a book and print shop with her father, and Brogan Donnelly who is an Irish immigrant, a penny dreadful writer, and a vigilante fighting for the children in the streets of London. These characters are a delight to read with their banter, and a mini romance brewing. The addition of the mystery element of figuring out the terror affecting the merchants was a wonderful addition to the story.

I really enjoyed the writing and the main characters with depth and history - I especially enjoyed reading about a strong female character, who was an immigrant from Russia that is set during a time when the class system viewed foreigners as inferiors.

Overall I was so pleased to finally read a wonderful historical fiction in the Penny dreadful series.

AUTHOR BIO

Sarah M. Eden is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning Proper Romance series novels including The Lady and the Highwayman and Ashes on the Moor. Combining her passion for history and an affinity for love stories, Sarah crafts smart, witty characters and heartfelt romances. She happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library and dreams of one day traveling to all the places she reads about.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

SPECIAL OFFER

 

Please help Sarah M. Eden get her latest novel, THE MERCHANT AND THE ROGUE, to hit the New York Times best-seller list by purchasing a copy between August 15-22, 2021.

Everyone who submits a copy of their receipt and fills out the form during the week of August 15-22 will receive The Merchant and the Rogue - Swag Bundle. Supplies are limited, so act today. Please visit the Swag Bundle webpage for details. 

 

8/25/2021 ALL ARE WELCOME By Liz Parker @wizpower, @OverTheRiverPR, @AmazonPub

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (August 1, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English

Synopsis

A darkly funny novel from a fresh new voice in fiction about brides, lovers, friends, and family, and all the secrets that come with them.
Tiny McAllister never thought she’d get married. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t think girls from Connecticut married other girls. Yet here she is with Caroline, the love of her life, at their destination wedding on the Bermuda coast. In attendance—their respective families and a few choice friends. The conflict-phobic Tiny hopes for a beautiful weekend with her bride-to-be. But as the weekend unfolds, it starts to feel like there’s a skeleton in every closet of the resort.

From Tiny’s family members, who find the world is changing at an uncomfortable speed, to Caroline’s parents, who are engaged in conspiratorial whispers, to their friends, who packed secrets of their own—nobody seems entirely forthcoming. Not to mention the conspicuous no-show and a tempting visit from the past. What the celebration really needs now is a monsoon to help stir up all the long-held secrets, simmering discontent, and hidden agendas.

All Tiny wanted was to get married, but if she can make it through this squall of a wedding, she might just leave with more than a wife.

 

EARLY PRAISE:

“A dramatic and darkly funny dose of WASP culture. Liz Parker takes on dysfunctional families, destination weddings, and the fact that sometimes the most difficult person to accept is yourself.”―Laura Hankin, author of Happy & You Know It

“In her buoyant, sharply observed, and painfully hilarious debut novel, All Are Welcome, Liz Parker tells the big story of a small lesbian wedding. Over a meticulously planned weekend at a sunstruck Bermuda beach club, the hard-packed, jovial WASP surfaces of two seemingly similar Connecticut families come loose to expose long-buried secrets, uncomfortable truths, and a monsoon of dysfunction. By the time the clouds part, Parker has illustrated with blistering wisdom how, for many of us, finding happiness―alone or with another―begins with first seeing who we’ve been in, and to, our families, and then deciding who it is we will be.” ―Bill Clegg, author of The End of the Day

“In All Are Welcome, Liz Parker vividly describes a young couple on the brink of their future who must also face their past when their destination beach wedding goes somewhat awry. Over the course of a tumultuous, rum-punch-fueled weekend, secrets are revealed and love is tested. Parker’s keen eye for detail and sense of humor had me both laughing and tearing up, and her sharp plot twists kept me guessing until the last page. With equal parts heart, drama, comedy, and emotion, All Are Welcome is a classic destination-wedding story turned on its head for a discernible modern reader.” ―Julia Spiro, author of Someone Else’s Secret

BOOK REVIEW:

I have always dreamed of a destination wedding in a far away paradise so thank you Liz Parker for the invitation to Bermuda of all places...

I have packed my bags because this wedding is definitely my cup of tea - full of drama, hilarious characters, and the WASPiest of all WASP families are going to in attendance. You do not want to miss this one. 

The debut novel "All Are Welcome" by Liz Parker was a fun read for me that I enjoyed from beginning to end. Having the pleasure of attending my sister's destination wedding in San Francisco with her lovely wife, there were just so many anecdotes I related to in this story that had me giggling, shaking my head, and enjoying and having a fun time reading this riot of a novel.

This was a great LGBTQ story that was not about coming out, but instead shone the light on the family that were coming into terms with their first gay child. 

Simply well written and brilliant story line I highly recommend.

INSPIRATION FOR THE BOOK:

As head of Publishing at Verve Talent & Literary, Liz Parker has brokered deals for some of the most exciting names in publishing today, including Susan Fowler (Whistleblower), Emmy-Award winner and bestselling author Leah Remini (Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath), internationally bestselling author Suzanne Rindell (The Other Typist), and NYT bestselling author and screenwriter Mikki Daughtry (Five Feet Apart, All This Time). She has an innate sense for spotting compelling narratives.

It turns out she also has a natural talent for writing them. In her debut novel, ALL ARE WELCOME (Lake Union Publishing; August 1, 2021), Parker has written a fabulously funny and keenly perceptive lesbian romantic comedy about a Bermuda destination wedding on the brink of disaster.

“The story started when two elements collided: the story’s opening line, ‘Tiny was actually tiny,’ and my own small lesbian wedding,” says Liz Parker. “I come from a long line of WASPs, and while my own family is not like the McAllisters, there is inevitable humor in challenging the status quo. I wanted to write a book that featured gay characters who weren’t coming out – it was the characters around them who were still struggling. But I also think there is a spectrum of acceptance and growth that comes with a family’s first gay child, and I wanted to shine a light on that process – a process that is challenging, at times frustrating, and often very funny.“

BUYING LINKS: Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Liz Parker is a literary agent at Verve Talent & Literary. She has written for the New York Times's Modern Love column, and she lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Sarah, and their two dogs, Beep and Tiny. For more check-out: www.lizparkerwritessometimes.com

8.10.2021 HAPPY PUB DAY THE SISTER-IN-LAW: A Novel by Pamela Crane

THE SISTER-IN-LAW: A Novel by Pamela Crane
William Morrow Paperbacks │ August 10, 2021 │ 368 pages │ Paperback ISBN: 9780062984937; $16.99
eBook ISBN: 9780062984944; $11.99 │ Digital Audio ISBN: 9780063096851; $26.99

The Wife:

Lane won Candace’s heart over chocolate martinis and karaoke. But weeks into their whirlwind marriage, Candace realized Lane came with burdensome baggage in the form of his possessive live-in sister and her eerily watchful six-year-old son. Lane had a secret that seemed to hold him hostage, and Candace would do anything to uncover it.

The Sister-in-Law:

Harper was the kind of woman who cooked homemade meals and dusted under the furniture. It was the least she could do for her brother after her husband’s mysterious death, and Lane took her and her kids in. Then Candace showed up like a tornado passing through, threatening and destructive. But Harper had other plans for her new “sister,” plans Lane could never find out about. 

The Husband:

All Lane had ever wanted was a white-picket-fence life. The wife. The two-point-five kids. The happy little family. Everything seemed to be falling into place with Candace … until Harper’s jealous streak got in the way, again. But choosing between his sister and wife would be costly … and knowing Harper, the price would be blood.

 

PREVIOUS PRAISE FOR PAMELA CRANE:

 

“Little Deadly Secrets has one of the most chilling opening scenes I’ve ever read, and the tension keeps right on building. My advice: don’t read this book...unless you’re prepared not to put it down until you’re finished!”

— New York Times Bestselling Author Wendy Corsi Staub

 

“Crane succeeds at painting families and friendships in vivid detail; women will see their tussles and triumphs in these pages, and will relish the twists and moments of brave camaraderie and bold revenge... A satisfying read that has echoes of Liane Moriarty and of Emily Giffin’s All We Ever Wanted.”

— Booklist on Little Deadly Secrets

 

“Pamela Crane’s anthem to female friendship and the empowerment of women proves one thing. Friends will do anything for each other...including lie, cheat in bed, and kill. Crane’s deft treatment of this theme makes the besties in Little Deadly Secrets friends you’d want as your own...despite the fizzy cocktail of secrecy, betrayal, and deception they pour on every page. This novel is a read for our tumultuous times.”

— Jenny Milchman, Mary Higgins Clark award–winning author of Cover of Snow and The Second Mother

MY REVIEW:

Warning - the opening scene was so bone chilling you are not going to want to put this book down!

What follows in this tension filled thriller was an awesome fast paced read with lots of twists.

I loved the well constructed psychological/domestic thriller that was brilliantly plotted and the tension that builds up is quite palpable, just the way I love my thriller reads.

I know you will enjoy this one too!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

PAMELA CRANE is a USA Today bestselling author of almost a dozen novels. She loves writing about flawed and fascinating heroines. When she's not cleaning horse stalls or changing diapers, she's psychoanalyzing others. 

8/9/21 The Girls From the Beach by Andie Newton

 

Digital Publication Date: July 8, 2021

Paperback Publication Date: January 2022

Aria Fiction

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

‘We’d heard stories about the nurses in tent seven. A secret mission, stolen money, and spies…’

 

In 1944, four American nurses disappeared for five days. No one knew what happened to them. Until now.

 

When Kit and Red set foot on French soil during the Normandy landings, they know they have to rely on each other. As they head for the battlefield, their aim is simple: save lives. But when they’re called away on a top-secret mission to patch up a few men behind enemy lines, everything changes.

 

Alongside fellow nurses, Roxy and Gail, they’re told to prepare for the worst, trading in their nurses’ fatigues for civilian clothes and hiding medical supplies under their skirts. But it’s a lie. Their real mission tasks them with the impossible – to infiltrate the Reich and steal something the Nazis desperately need to win their losing war.

 

In an ultimate test of courage and comradeship, each woman must decide what she is prepared to risk and what she has to live for.

 

Praise for The Girls From The Beach

 

‘One of my favorite books of 2021 and a true must-read for all fans of the genre. It’s not just a story of friendship, but a story of patriotism, heroism, and selfless sacrifice in the name of freedom. Absolutely riveting!’ – Ellie Midwood, USA Today bestselling author of The Violinist of Auschwitz

 

‘A wild ride of a book, laced with beautifully flawed characters, impeccable research and a story that will make you cry with tears of joy and sorrow. A resounding five-star read!’ – Terry Lynn Thomas, USA Today bestselling author of The Silent Woman

 

‘What a story! The Girls from the Beach took me on a rollercoaster ride of mystery and suspense. The Girls from the Beach is a testimony to courage, integrity and female friendship. And that ending – wow!’ – Gill Thompson, bestselling author of The Oceans Between Us

 

‘The Girls from the Beach is a unique and incredibly imaginative story inspired by the nurses who worked on the front line in World War Two. It is action-packed and full of unexpected drama around every turn – I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next! Readers who enjoyed Newton’s earlier books will be sure to love this one’ – Louise Fein, bestselling author of People Like Us

MY REVIEW:

Andie Newton is one of my favorite authors in the historical fiction genre. I have loved and adored her previous novels and I was more than excited to read this novel most especially because it was about nurses and their contribution to the war efforts risking their lives. This @nursebookie was definitely very very excited for this. After such a tough year working in the front lines during the pandemic, reading about these nurses really was very inspiring to me.

The Girls From the Beach blew me away - the story line was so thrilling and suspenseful, I literally could not put this book down. This enthralling read was packed full of wonderful stories and examples of bravery as the women took on such dangerous and top-secret mission. I love being immersed into the stories of Kit, Red, Roxy, and Gail - a story of female friendships, and the endurance and sacrifice by brave women.

I did not know a lot about the nurses that landed in the beaches of Normandy during D-Day and this novel definitely highlighted and educated me on the heroism of WWII nurses. The research done for this novel was impeccable and really appreciated all the details that went to writing this beautiful and riveting novel.

I highly recommend this novel for a fast-paced read that highlighted the women and nurses whose commendable bravery made a difference in the war efforts. Historical Fiction readers cannot miss this novel and will devour this five star read.

 

About the Author

 

Andie Newton is the USA Today bestselling author of The Girl from Vichy and the author of The Girl I Left Behind. Andie holds a Bachelor degree in History and a Master in Teaching. She would love to say she spends her free time gardening and cooking, but she’s killed everything she’s ever planted and set off more fire alarms than she cares to admit. Andie does, however, love spending time with her family, trail running, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.

 

8.4.2021 TWO SPIES IN CARACAS BY Moisés Naím

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Crossing (August 1, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Two Spies in Caracas: A Novel

From the New York Times bestselling author of The End of Power comes an edge-of-your-seat political thriller about rival spies, dangerous love, and one of history’s most devastating revolutions.

Venezuela, 1992. Unknown colonel Hugo Chávez stages an ill-fated coup against a corrupt government, igniting the passions of Venezuela’s poor and catapulting the oil-rich country to international attention. For two rival spies hurriedly dispatched to Caracas—one from Washington, DC, and the other from Fidel Castro’s Cuba—this is a career-defining mission.

Smooth-talking Iván Rincón of Cuba’s Intelligence Directorate needs a rebel ally to secure the future of his own country. His job: support Chávez and the revolution by rallying the militants and neutralizing any opposing agents.

Meanwhile, the CIA’s Cristina Garza will do everything in her power to cut Chávez’s influence short. Her priority: stabilize the greatest oil reserves on the planet by ferreting out and eliminating Cuba’s principal operative.

As Chávez surges to power, Iván and Cristina are caught in the fallout of a toxic political time bomb: an intrepid female reporter and unwitting informant, a drug lord and key architect in Chávez’s rise, and personal entanglements between the spies themselves. With everything at stake, the adversaries find themselves at the center of a game of espionage, seduction, murder, and shifting alliances playing out against the precarious backdrop of a nation in free fall. A thrilling fictional story based on unimaginable real-life events.




MY REVIEW

I enjoy reading about history and some political history so this book definitely was intriguing and enjoyable for me. It involves an exciting plot line that involves one of history's most dangerous revolutions in Venezuela, and about two rival spies from Washington and the other from Cuba.

The writing was immersive and intense - quite the read I enjoyed.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:






Moisés Naím is an internationally-syndicated columnist and best-selling author of influential books. In 2011, he launched Efecto Naím, an innovative weekly television program highlighting surprising world trends with visually-striking videos, graphics and interviews with world leaders which is widely watched in Latin America today. Dr. Naím gained international recognition with the successful re-launch of the prominent journal Foreign Policy and, over his fourteen years (1996-2010) as editor, turned the magazine into a modern, award-winning publication on global politics and economics.

Author of books:
* Paper Tigers and Minotaurs: The Politics of Venezuela's Economic Reforms (1993, economics)
* Altered States: Globalization, Sovereignty and Governance (2000, economics)
* Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats Are Hijacking the Global Economy (2005, economics)
* The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn't What It Used to Be (2013, social studies)

A conversation between bestselling author, Moises Naim and

award-winning translator, Daniel Hahn on their recent collaboration,

TWO SPIES IN CARACAS,

available for the first time in English from

Amazon Crossing on August 1, 2021

Danny Hahn: You've written about Venezuela a lot, but never in fiction. What did

you think a novel would allow you to do, that you hadn't been able to do before?

Moises Naim: I decided to write this novel out of frustration and because I felt I

needed to freely tell this story as I “knew” it unfolded, even though I could not prove

it. Frustration and the quest for liberation were the forces propelling Two Spies in

Caracas.

I had long felt that I was not telling my readers the full story of what was going on

inside Hugo Chávez' government. Extraordinary events were taking place in secret.

While sometimes I did get glimpses of what was happening, I consistently failed to

corroborate the parts of the story that were as critically important as they were

clandestine. Thus, the frustration.

As you correctly point out, Danny, I had been writing newspaper columns, academic

articles, nonfiction books about Venezuela and about President Chávez for more than

two decades. I covered his Bolivarian revolution, his 21st century socialism and his

extravagant, extraordinary and, ultimately, devastating deeds both inside and outside

the country.

Yet, every time I read the finished product - the article, the essay, the book - I had

doubts. I knew I had left out events and circumstances that were critically important

but that I could not describe, report, or reveal as a journalist because I could not

corroborate them. Again, I had no way of confirming my intuitions or “facts.”

The liberation came when I decided that I would tell the story as I “knew” it, even if I

could not prove it. Writing this fictional account, I felt a sense of freedom that I had

not experienced before as a writer. It was a completely new writing process and one

that I greatly enjoyed.

FISH HEADS AND DUCK SKIN BY LINDSEY SALATKA

Publisher ‏ : ‎ She Writes Press (July 20, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1647421284

EXHILARATING DEBUT TAKES READERS ON TWO JOURNEYS:

ONE TO SHANGHAI, THE OTHER TO SELF-REALIZATION

“This novel takes you on a journey and an adventure through the eyes of a female protagonist who will resonate with many. It is unique and humorously heartfelt, with vivid imagery of a family finding itself amidst the unexpected … it is a darkly funny diatribe and celebration of self-discovery in a foreign land.” - Reedsy



High achieving and short-fused, Tina Martin is burnt out. Burnt out at work, burnt out at home, burnt out in her marriage. Faced with this, some might cancel a few obligations, book a spa weekend, or at worst, consider a job change. But in a move that most would only fantasize about, Tina packs up her family, abandons her career, and books one-way tickets to Shanghai-to live. In Fish Heads and Duck Skin by Lindsey Salatka [She Writes Press, July 2021], we experience the travel and cross-cultural experience of pre-pandemic times and a level of inspiring reinvention typically reserved for the young, single and childless.

Tina moves her husband and two daughters to Shanghai, hoping the new surroundings will bring her the zen-like inner peace she’s always heard about on infomercials. Instead, she becomes a totally exasperated fish out of water, doing wacky things like holding a shifty delivery man’s shoes hostage, turning a bidet hose on a group of local women, and contemplating the murder of her daughter’s new pet cricket.

It takes the friendship of an elderly tai chi instructor, a hot Mandarin tutor, and several mahjong-tile-slinging expats to bring Tina closer to a culture she doesn’t initially appreciate, the dream job she never knew existed, and the self she has always sought.

“The themes in the book are universal, everyone wants to belong and feel like they’re part of something larger than themselves,” Salatka says. “Tina captures the struggle many of us feel and then moves across the globe to find herself, only to realize the person she wants to be was inside her all along.”

SYNOPSIS:

On the advice of a five-dollar psychic, Tina Martin, a zany, overworked mother of two, quits her high-powered job and moves her family to Shanghai. Tina yearns for this new setting to bring her the zen-like inner peace she’s always heard about on infomercials. Instead, she becomes a totally exasperated fish out of water, doing wacky things like stealing the shoes of a shifty delivery man, spraying local women with a bidet hose, and contemplating the murder of her new pet cricket.

It takes the friendship of an elderly tai chi instructor, a hot Mandarin tutor, and several mah-jongg-tile-slinging expats to bring Tina closer to a culture she doesn’t understand, the dream job she never knew existed, and the self she has always sought. Fish Heads and Duck Skin will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered who they are, why they were put here, and how they ever lived before eating pan-fried pork buns.


MY REVIEW:


This was a riveting read that I thoroughly enjoyed. My interest in this book was first captured by its title, but what I found within the pages of this book and in Lindsey's writing was truly a well-written heartwarming and breathtaking novel that takes the reader to a journey of self discovery through Shanghai.


As an AAPI woman from the culture, I cannot help but laugh and empathize with the story because it is heartbreakingly true. But in the heart of the story is appreciating how despite our cultural differences, we are more alike that different, and Lindsey Salatka captured the essence of the story in a beautiful way.

I really loved this book!

Author Spotlight:

Lindsey Salatka is an author, ghost-writer, and editor. Her writing has been featured at BlogHer and in Shanghai Family Magazine, Urbanatomy: Shanghai, and Volumes 3 and 4 of Shaking the Tree: Brazen. Short. Memoir. She is on the advisory board of the San Diego Writers Festival and serves as Director of the KidsWrite! Children’s Writing Contest. You can find Lindsey on Instagram @mywhatlovelygillsyouhave, on Facebook @fishheadsandduckskin, or on Twitter @lindseysalatka