Month: February 2017

Still Life and a Giveaway!

still-life-launch-1

This  past Sunday Dani Pettrey hosted a release party at a local Barnes and Noble. still-life-launch-3Not only did I get to go, but hubs came with since he’s gotten into the series. It was such fun! Dani gave away some fun goodies, gave us all some background on the book, series, and writing life, and answered questions.still-life-launch-2

Here were some fun facts she shared:

  • Dani’s husband has extensive gun knowledge, including the snipers, and took her to the gun range so she could experience shooting for herself.
  • She loves the research for a book.
  • Tends to re-write the whole middle of the book two weeks before deadline and has a very supportive family during this crazy time.

stilllifeAbout the book: Blacklisted in the photography business over a controversial shot, Avery Tate answered an ad for a crime scene photographer. She expected to be laughed at, but crime scene analyst Parker Mitchell hired her outright–and changed her life. But six months ago, when her feelings for Parker became too strong, she left his employ to sort out her heart.

Now, for the first time, Avery is facing the world that rejected her to attend the gallery opening of a photography exhibit and support her best friend, who modeled for the show. But the only image of her friend is a chilling photo of her posing as if dead–and the photographer insists he didn’t take the shot. Worse, her friend can’t be found. She immediately calls Parker for help. As Avery, Parker, and his friends in law enforcement dig into the mystery, they find themselves face-to-face with a relentless and deadly threat.

Review: I could not put this down and neither could the hubs. It was intense, although a couple of the locations were not nearly as creepy to me since I’ve been one of the lucky few inside for my paycheck job (which I also love). But, there were some scary moments. I think the concept of knowing a murder happened because of a photograph but not knowing where the crime scene or the victim are is so intriguing. And the continuing developing relationships of the other characters in the series makes me bite my nails waiting for the next one. It is so much fun for me as a local to read and recognize places in my hometown. Maybe we can convince a local tour company to do tours based on the series!

Hubs review: I never really thought I’d enjoy reading romance until my wife took an opportunity of jury duty to stir the pot (Kat here, he forgot a book to read, so I dropped off Blind Shot. He’s been hooked ever since). Still Life has enough mystery and suspense to keep me intrigued, and I enjoy the local references that shed a good light on Baltimore. (Like a true male, short and to the point. Maybe you too can convince the man in your life that he’ll love it.)

kats-corner-cat-amazonkats-corner-cat-bn

kats-corner-cat-goodreads

I’m giving away a SIGNED copy of Still Life along with a few goodies from Dani Pettrey to one of my readers. Due to shipping costs and international regulations, this giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only. Giveaway is subject to Kat’s Corner Books’s giveaway policies which can be found on the Disclosure and Policies page.

still-life-giveaway

Giveaway open until 3/7/2017 at 12pam. Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rescue Me

rescue-me

When Deputy Sam Brooks commits to something, nothing can sway him–not just on the job as liaison between the Mercy Falls sheriff’s department and PEAK Rescue, but in his private life. He’s the one who stuck around to take care of his mother after his father’s accidental death. And he’s the one–perhaps the only one–who believes Sierra Rose is the perfect girl for him. Safe, practical, and organized, she’s nothing like her hippie, impulsive, bleeding heart sister, Willow.

Willow, however, has been in love with Sam Brooks for as long as she can remember. But she wants her sister to have a happy ending. Besides, Willow has other things to focus on–namely, nabbing the job as youth pastor for her small-town church. Best thing for her to do is to purge Sam from her heart.

Neither can predict the events that will bring them together in a fight for their lives in the forbidding wilderness of Glacier National Park. Stranded, injured, and with the winter weather closing in, Sam and Willow will have to work together to save a crew of terrified teenagers. As they fight to survive, they might just discover a new hope for love.

Rescue Me is the second book in the Montana Rescue Series by Susan May Warren focused around a PEAK Rescue Team. While the main story focuses on Sam and Willow, we also dive into the relationship between Jess and Pete, though be prepared, as like Ian and Sierra, their story is on-going. We got a taste of Pete/Jess in Wild Montana Skies, and it was great to get to know both characters more in depth, along with the rest of the team and several other characters in Mercy Falls.

The action is jamb packed throughout the story and with multiple relationships developing, the story is firmly in the page-turner category. Even with several characters to follow, the storylines are easy to follow as you jump between viewpoints. I also think it’s interesting to see a rescue from both sides, i.e. the rescuer and rescuee, thought I suppose you could argue about who falls into what category.

I don’t dive into cover art comments too often, but I love this cover and the Sam is just too handsome. I must say I wasn’t imagining him quite so good looking in my mind, but, oh, after reading the story focused on him, it fits so well!

P.S. Susan’s author note at the end is touching. I usually skip over these, but am so glad I read it. Don’t forget to read it as well.

Amazon           Goodreads

Berry on Top

The weather is glorious here today and super warm for being winter. Thank goodness Berry on Top by Valerie Comer has a real winter in it with cold temps and snow because I need something to remind me what winter is supposed to feel like. I miss snow. I know, I know, some of you wish you could miss snow.

berry-on-top

 

Liz Nemesek’s first visit home in forever is tough enough before Mason Waterman shows up. Despite her best efforts, she’s never forgotten — or forgiven — him for the hurt he once caused.

Former bad boy Mason Waterman has returned to northern Idaho to raise his five-year-old twins. The kids are determined to find a new mommy, but Liz is the last person they should latch onto… and the last person he should find himself falling for. Again.

If Mason has really changed, can Liz re-open her heart to him… and to the God who could have prevented her decade of heartache?

Review: Berry On Top is the 6th book in the Farm Fresh series. While it is a stand alone story and you can enjoy it without reading any of the others, I would encourage you to read them all as it deepens your enjoyment of the characters and their world. Valerie does a great job of giving you the backstory where you need it; enough to feel up to speed, but not overwhelming to the story line.

The mysterious missing Nemesek has finally come home! I’ve been wondering what has kept her away for so long and boy do we find out why. While I don’t get her choices, I understand why she made them. So many take a wrong turn in their life as a reaction to a situation and don’t know how to get back on track. This has been the hardest of Valerie’s books for me to get through and there were times that I was yelling at the main characters, but you know what, it was REAL. Life is messy. Faith is messy. Sometimes Christian fiction can ignore both or wrap it up with a once-you-know-Jesus-everything-is-better Bandaid, but humans are still imperfect and struggle to make the right choices and allow God’s grace to seep in. Mason and Liz’s story is meaningful example of how we struggle with faith, but God is faithful, even when we walk away.

Enjoy!

Amazon       Goodreads

To Have and To Hold

I had this blog post all composed in my head (on my extra long walk this morning after the bus broke down the final time) and then I remembered it’s Valentine’s Day, so happy day dedicated to romance! For any of you gents out there reading this, I have the perfect book for your reading lady. Read on.

It was an interesting morning. I could probably write a blog filled with stories of my trips to and from work on the bus, but I don’t think anyone would actually read it. Thankfully, this morning I had Becky Wade’s Love in the Details to keep me company so I didn’t find the whole bus thing nearly as perturbing as I otherwise would have. I finished up The Perfect Arrangement by Katie Ganshert last night which is also joined by Love Takes the Cake by Betsy St. Amant, all in the To Have and to Hold: Three Autumn Love Stories collection of novellas. Then to put the icing on the, um…doughnut, I got into work and there are doughnuts! God bless whoever brought them.

haveandhold

Love Takes the Cake: A September Wedding Story by Betsy St. Amant

Charlotte Cantrell is always the baker; never the bride. When Will, a regular at Charlotte’s bakery, catches her attention, she can only hope that he is the reliable man this single mother has always hoped to find. The problem is that he’s regularly stopping in to buy cookies for another girl. But when Charlotte is hired to bake a host of wedding goodies for a difficult bride and finds out Will is the best man, she has the perfect opportunity to get to know him better—and find out how serious Will is about this other girl in his life.

The Perfect Arrangement: An October Wedding Story by Katie Ganshert

Amelia Woods is a small-town wallflower and the proud owner of Forget-Me-Nots, a quaint flower shop. Her love life has always been a bit lackluster—until she ends up in an embarrassing fender-bender with handsome Nate Gallagher. Meanwhile, Amelia’s younger brother, William, has proposed to his girlfriend. Amelia would be excited except she has evidence that the fiancée is not who she says she is. It seems Nate is the only one available for any advice-giving, and he’s good at it—and pretty fun to talk to, too. As Amelia works to craft the perfect flower arrangements for other people, she begins to wonder if real love is better than the dream. And if it is, will Nate still be interested when he learns who she is?

Love in the Details: A November Wedding Story by Becky Wade

When Josh returns to his hometown of Martinsburg, Texas, to help his best friend get married, he didn’t intend to run into church wedding coordinator—and ex-girlfriend—Holly. He can’t help but pine after the girl he never got over. Holly broke up with Josh years ago in an attempt to ensure his future success. But she loved him then and still loves him now. As she helps him plan his best friend’s wedding, she longs to be with Josh but doesn’t feel worthy of his big-time lifestyle when she is more comfortable in her small-town world. Will Josh and Holly be able to keep things as they are when their true feelings threaten to surface at every turn?

Review:

Love Takes the Cake: This was a sweet story with the perfect novella recipe of character development, tension, and romance. I felt that the author did a great job of working within the confines of limited space while still creating a story that was complete and wrapped up nicely. And Zoe is a spitfire. Maybe one day we’ll get a story about grown up Zoe.

The Perfect Arrangement: I love flowers so the flower shop setting was spot on for me. I’m not usually a first person narrative fan, but Katie does well with breaking it up by using emails between the main characters and two others which help with their perspectives. I thought it was an interesting twist and combination of some classic storylines (some are even mentioned in the story itself). The only drawback was that it felt like it ended quickly with a neat little bow. I would have liked to see more from these characters and it would’ve made a good full-length novel concept.

Love in the Details: I’m not sure how I hadn’t read this before as I’ve read everything else by Becky Wade. I confess I’m only a few chapters in (in part thanks to this morning’s “ride,” a.k.a. the wait and walk) but I am hooked. Unfortunately, I have to do the job that earns a paycheck and not spend the rest of the morning finishing the story. BUT I WANT TO! (Some days adulting is HARD.)

So, pick up this collection and read it to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Amazon     Goodreads

Finding Margo

When you read several (or in my case, ALL) of an author’s work, you feel like you get to know them. Then, when they’re also fantastic about interacting with their readers through email and Facebook, you feel like you’re friends; you start rooting for them. Something I love about the Christian Fiction community is also being able to pray for the authors and for their stories to touch people and show them Jesus.

This brings me to Jen Turano. Y’all, she’s my friend. Granted, a friend I’ve never met, but I’m sure we’d be great friends if we ever did (hehe). So a long time back when Jen happened to mention about her dream of dusting off an old story that was a contemporary mystery, I was all for it. I’m not a writer, but I imagine it’s difficult writing across genres, especially when your historic period books have done so well. I think this makes Finding Margo special even before you get to the story. It’s Jen’s dream, and we all get to be a part of making it come true and be successful. All that said, it is a fantastic story to boot.

findingmargoInternational pop star Margo Hartman could use a night off. A grueling tour and overbearing entourage have sent her over the edge. It’s time for this diva to disappear. And who would think to look for the superstar in a small Dutch town in Ohio?

Sheriff’s deputy Brock Moore is undercover as well. He knows Margo isn’t who she appears to be, but her uncanny resemblance to a local Amish woman is raising all sorts of questions… the kind that make her a target for a killer.

Both are determined to find answers, but their mutual attraction stands in the way of either of them doing it alone.

 

I loved this book. Initially, I was a little off-put by the opening few lines, which I felt gave the mystery away, but after thinking about, it let you really dive into the who, what, when, where, and how. There were some twists at the end and people involved who I was not expecting, so that was a pleasant surprise.

There’s also a duck who might make your sides split with laughter. Trust me.

Though it’s a contemporary romance, Jen’s trademark quirky writing style comes through along with with the comedy that makes you laugh hysterically. If you’re looking for a light, funny, mystery read, this book fulfills all of those while weaving in just enough faith and character growth to bring gravity to the story.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon     Goodreads     Barnes and Noble