‘Nightcrawling’ Book Review

“Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent–which has more than doubled–and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed.

One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.”

Kiara is a character that you can root for. She is finally realizing that she has to stand up for herself after years of trying to help others around her, that she herself is also important. Even if she is coming to terms with this, she is still constantly trying to be of help to those that she loves. How can you not want what is right for her? Marcus, her older brother, has been the caregiver for Kiara since the abandonment of their parents, but he too, is wanting to do something for himself after all these years. The two siblings go about it in totally different ways. Kiara is a realist and Marcus is a dreamer. If you are someone who loves to read about familial dynamics, this is a book for you.

The atmosphere is gritty, that of a truly American city. It depicts the life that so many Americans are living, a reality that many people don’t even want to think about. The setting is East Oakland, California, where so many people are just trying to get by every day, to survive.

The writing was the first thing that stood out to me as I flipped through and read the first few pages of the novel. It features beautiful prose that is full of metaphors and vivid scenes. Some chapters read like poetry, even through truly brutal scenes. However, after the first third of the story, the momentum did start to fall back, and scenes began to get repetitive. It was not enough of a hindrance to my reading experience, but it’s worth mentioning and something that I can see the author improving on as her literary career takes off.

This is truly a story of survival in the modern sense of the word: doing whatever it takes to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. It’s a rough read that will make your jaw drop and make you need to take a breather every so often. Then, you have to realize there are likely hundreds of thousands of people living this story every day. It is a lot to take in, in less than 300 pages. Other themes included are finding yourself, the modern iteration of the American dream, police misconduct, and poverty. I love that in the author’s note, Leila Mottley, mentions hearing stories similar to Kiara’s in the news but she wanted to create “a world beyond the headline, and for readers to have access to this world”. Such a powerful way of showing what is truly happening beyond what the media portrays, and that everyone has a story and reasoning for why they did something that you might find as shameful. Please know the full story before making a judgment of a person.

Kiara is a character that you can root for. If you are someone who loves to read about familial dynamics, this is a book for you. The atmosphere is gritty, that of a truly American city.The setting is East Oakland, California, where so many people are just trying to get by every day, to survive. The writing was the first thing that stood out to me as I flipped through and read the first few pages of the novel. t was not enough of a hindrance to my reading experience, but it’s worth mentioning and something that I can see the author improving on as her literary career takes off. This is truly a story of survival in the modern sense of the word: doing whatever it takes to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. Please know the full story before making a judgment of a person. A new favorite book for me.

5 out 5 stars.

‘The Indigo Girl’ Book Review

Based on historical documents, including Eliza’s letters, this is a historical fiction account of how a teenage girl produced indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports out of South Carolina, an export that laid the foundation for the incredible wealth of several Southern families who still live on today. Although largely overlooked by historians, the accomplishments of Eliza Lucas influenced the course of US history. When she passed away in 1793, President George Washington served as a pallbearer at her funeral.

The characters, heroes and villains alike, were all one-dimensional; flat. For the first seventy-five percent of the book, I had no issue with Eliza, but by the last quarter, I did not like her. She’s another example of a Mary Sue and whines like no other when things don’t go her way. Flat characters.

There are real historical letters immersed throughout the book, and the author had the dialogue and overall personality of Eliza spot on, transitioning from historical records to a fictional novel.

The atmosphere came right off the page. The author did a great job of depicting the area of coastal South Carolina and making it easy for the reader to picture the locales of the scenes.

The writing itself was fine, but bits and pieces of the dialogue did get repeated quite a bit, even within a page of each other. Also, I wonder how many times the author used the word ‘blue’ or some variation in the book. We get it, the book is about indigo!! This book does read young, and I think it would be great for young adults to read.

As an idea, the plot sounds pretty good. On the page, it just wasn’t executed properly. I was not gripped or intrigued by what would happen next, and that ultimately led me to skim-read the last quarters of the book. This story sounds unbelievable, but it’s a real story. However, some of the plot points were unnecessary and would have caused an uproar if genders had been reversed. However, as historical fiction, I do believe this was a well-researched story.

The characters, heroes and villains alike, were all one-dimensional; flat. The author did a great job of depicting the area of coastal South Carolina and making it easy for the reader to picture the locales of the scenes. The writing itself was fine, but bits and pieces of the dialogue did get repeated quite a bit, even within a page of each other. However, as historical fiction, I do believe this was a well-researched story. Overall, this book didn’t do a lot for me, and I really wouldn’t recommend it

3 out of 5 stars.

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

I did love the characters. They were very reminiscent of the cast of ‘Betty’ by Tiffany McDaniel. I relate it to that book because of the dynamics of the Todd family in this book. However, with the ebb and flow of the story, I had a hard time forming that true connection that would make these characters deserving of a five-star rating rather than a four-star.

My favorite part of ‘Life After Life’ was the atmosphere and setting of the story. The reader is taken through the first half of twentieth-century England. The writer did a great job of showing the terrors of war in such a unique way that I have not seen in any other World War II book.

This is another book where I struggled with the writing. As mentioned before, the flow and setup of the story were very hard to follow. It could have been edited better to make it more accessible and easier for the reader. However, I did love the prose itself and tabbed several different quotes. The story was gripping and medium-paced, with the second half definitely being better than the first. I managed to get through it in one day

The plot was so confusing. I still do not have a firm grip on what was truly real and what was not. This whole story is based on time being a construct, and there was no real closure on what actually happened here. I have so many more questions after finishing this book, but funnily enough, I am not hating that. I usually hate not knowing everything about what I have read, but I am somehow intrigued. Besides that main plot point, I loved a review of this book that said Atkinson puts history on a human scale. That is so true.

I did love the characters. However, with the ebb and flow of the story, I had a hard time getting that true connection that would make these characters get a five star rating rather than a four star. My favorite part of ‘Life After Life’, was the atmosphere and setting of the story. The writer did a great job at showing the terrors of war and did it in such a unique way that I have not seen in any other World War II book. This is another book where I struggled with the writing. The second half was definitely better than the first and I got through it in one day. The plot was so confusing. Besides that main plot point, I loved a review of this book that said Atkinson puts history on a human scale. After finishing this book, I am somehow loving it. It is not a new favorite but I would still highly recommend it.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

SPOILERS – ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ Readers Guide Questions

Alex and Poppy became unlikely friends in college. Alex went on to become a teacher, and Poppy, a travel writer. Each summer, they take a trip together, until two summers ago when an event took place that caused the friends to go their separate ways. In the present, Poppy calls Alex and makes plans to take one final trip to save their friendship.

When they first meet, Alex and Poppy are immediately put off by each other. Have you ever made a friend after a bad first impression?

I cannot recall a specific instance of someone initially giving me bad vibes and then that person becoming a friend. However, there have been occasions where I found someone annoying at first, only to later become friends with them. So, I would answer this question with a yes.

2. What’s something that you do on vacation that you’re unlikely to do in your daily life? Is there a certain comfort to anonymity?

Believe it or not, I tend to have a hard time picking up and reading a book while on vacation. There are just so many other things to do and look at that I cannot make myself focus on a book. I would say that there is a comfort in anonymity. I generally like to be left alone, and people tend not to interact with strangers. At the same time, I just live my life like I would anywhere. Location does not matter.

3. Have you ever met a goal and found that your reaction was not quite what you expected?

Definitely, you tend to think that there will be a big celebration for completion, but it usually tends to be more of a relief off your shoulders.

4. Poppy is going through professional burnout. Have you ever experienced that kind of fatigue? How did you get through it?

To be honest, I did not pick up on Poppy going through that burnout at all in this book. Towards the end, she randomly said she just wanted to quit her job, and I was like, okay… It is only human to experience this kind of fatigue, and I definitely do every so often. I usually just push through it and keep doing what I do every day. Another thing I recommend is watching a content creator who does the same thing as you, and that often encourages motivation.

5. Which vacation of Alex and Poppy’s would you most want to take? Which would you least want to take?

For the most part, definitely Tuscany. That trip did not go well for the characters, but it is in my top three places I want to go because of all the history. The next question of where I would least like to go is hard to answer. There is adventure in each and every place, but I guess that I will go with Nashville. I have been several times, and it’s not too far from me, and the culture is relatively the same as where I live.

6. Having grown up in a small town, Poppy struggles to break free of her reputation – or at least struggles to believe she can do so. When have you felt misunderstood, and how did you get past it?

I felt most misunderstood in my late teenage years—high school and in the years directly after that. Sometimes you just have to take a step back, work on yourself, and then surround yourself with the right people.

8. Why do you think it takes so long for Alex and Poppy to admit their feelings for each other?

I honestly have no clue. It’s unrealistic that it would take nearly a decade for them to do so. I guess maybe just the wrong place and wrong time, but in all honesty, once again, it’s unrealistic.

9. Rachel has a lot to say about contentment versus purpose. In your own life, do you prize one above the other? Are these ideas mutually exclusive, or can you have both?

In my own life, I never think about this. In my opinion, I think this is subjective. I would like to think that you can have both rather than them being mutually exclusive.

10. Do you think that Poppy and Alex are going to make it?

I did not feel a romantic connection between these characters whatsoever. No, I do not think they will make it as a couple and will resort to being friends again, or maybe just acquaintances.

‘Years’ Book Review

Linnea has just received her teaching certificate and is ready to begin her career in a small North Dakota farming town. She is all arranged to be staying with her host family, the Westgaards, as she adjusts to small town life. There, she meets Theodore, a man who does not want a woman under his roof. He is constantly finding flaws in Linnea but eventually they might find more than just that.

A lot of the time when I read romance, the authors have a hard time making their characters seem like real people rather than just a fantasy. It will be this man is a jerk but no backstory into what made him be like that. Spencer, she gave her characters those backstories. Linnea is still young and naive, she does not know much, if anything, about love. Theodore, he has been in love and has had his heart broken. He is reserved and scared to go down that path again even if he does not admit it. Linnea and Theodore are three dimensional characters.

This was a well researched book. It might just be the first romance book that I have read where the atmosphere or setting is actually important. This was a great portrayal of what day to day American life was like in the days of the First World War.

The writing was great if you love drawn out and long descriptions. When I first started the book, ‘I was like wow this is some great descriptive writing.’ Those sentiments are what later made me dislike this book more and more. It went on forever!! Nearly five hundred pages, the chapters were all long and it took me double the amount of time to read than it usually does for a book. The pacing was a major issue.

In romance, listing the tropes seems to be the way to tell a plot. Here we have; age gap, enemies to lovers, and small town romance. I am fine with all of those but enemies to lovers is probably my all time favorite romance trope. The author did a great job with all of those tropes as I really did enjoy the romance between Linnea and Theodore.

A lot of the time when I read romance, the authors have a hard time making their characters seem like real people rather than just a fantasy. Linnea and Theodore are three dimensional characters.This was a well researched book. This was a great portrayal of what day to day American life was like in the days of the First World War. The writing was great if you love drawn out and long descriptions.The pacing was a major issue.Here we have; age gap, enemies to lovers, and small town romance. The author did a great job with all of those tropes as I really did enjoy the romance between Linnea and Theodore. This is a good book and I would still recommend it if you are in for a long slow burn journey!

‘Spoiler Alert’ Book Review

Marcus is an actor who has his big show coming to an end. An unsatisfactory ending, that is. April is a fangirl but has never shared her interests with anyone in her life. That is until there is a tweet from Marcus’s show that asks fans to send in their best cosplay pictures. April sends in her picture and it definitely gets a lot of attention, and not all positive. Marcus takes note of this and invites her out to dinner from the kindness of his heart. Little do both know that they both already know each other through their secret online identities and that there might actually be real feelings.

I did not hate the characters but I also did not connect with them. First we are introduced to Marcus and he started out like a jerk but somehow when he is with April he is a completely different person, yeah, I don’t know. April started out good, we got some backstory on her and building on her personality but as the novel went on she was a stagnant. At times, she did annoy me but I could only find it relatable, of being insecure about yourself and also trying to date. It isn’t easy and I am glad to have read about a character going through something similar.

In romance books, atmosphere plays little part so there is not a whole lot to say for the atmosphere category in the CAWPILE system. It is set in Northern California, scenes in the Bay Area and Sacramento.

The writing was lengthy, this was something that I was shocked by. Usually, romance reads fast even if I am not a fan of one or two elements that the story has. Here, I was constantly having to check how many more pages that the chapter entailed. This could have been diced down a lot and not include, or just dice down, the bits of scripts and fan fictions between chapters.

Where this book will be a hit or miss for people will be the plot. I mean, is the star of a show like Game of Thrones really writing fan fiction about his own character and cast mates? I mean, it is kind of creepy to be writing dirty stuff about your coworkers, if you ask me. Still, this book is every fangirl’s dream. The other fan account you are talking to ends up being the guy your are a fan of? I think all fangirls have dreamed that at one point or another. All the talk of servers, fanfiction sites, and just the dynamics of a fandom, is spot on. Especially if you are apart of the Game of Thrones or ASOIAF fandom, I think that you will have at least a little fun with this one!

I did not hate the characters but I also did not connect with them. April was a relatable character and it was nice to read to someone who has the same fears of dating and relationships that I do. In romance books, atmosphere plays little part so there is not a whole lot to say for the atmosphere category in the CAWPILE system. The writing was lengthy, this was something that I was shocked by. It could have been diced down a lot and you would still get the same story. Where this book will be a hit or miss for people will be the plot. An average, three star, read.

’28 Summers’ Book Review

In 1993, Mallory Blessing inherits a home, on Nantucket, from a beloved aunt. Her older brother wants to host a guys weekend at the house but that results in all the guys leaving except one, Jake. Jake and Mallory spend the rest of Labor Day weekend alone and agree to be “same time, next year’ lovers with one another. This goes on for the next, you guessed it, 28 Summers.

Flashforward to the spring of 2020. Mallory is terminally ill and asks her son to call a phone number that is in a hidden envelope. The number belongs to Jake McCloud who is married to the woman that is likely to be the next president of the United States. The son thinks this must be some kind of mistake, but little does he know of the secret life that his mother has been having.

The characters were the highlight of this but also the downfall as well. Is that not strange? They were so realistic and developed throughout the novel. I mean, hopefully they would be as we did experience the majority of their lives alongside them. Mallory is obviously the main character here, even ahead of Jake. This is made clear towards the last quarter as we get less and less Jake and get ‘chapters’ at his wife’s perspective instead of his. I don’t think this is a mad thing as we get to see both women and how different they are from each other, but I think we still should have had more Jake towards the end. Now, here is why they were the downfall. It might just be because cheating frustrates me, I just don’t get why these two could not get together. Later, in the more recent years it makes sense as Ursula, Jake’s wife is a famous politician, but before that when they’re all young and out of college. Why could they not just start a relationship? I think it is really immature from both our main leads.

Elin Hilderbrand does a great job at making the reader visualize Nantucket. I have never been, but I did not have a hard time at all picturing the little beach cottage and then the island in my head. I also liked how the majority of the characters were from Baltimore as that is an important place to me. Shoutout to the University of South Carolina representation as well!

Early on the writing felt as though we were reading a gossip column but later, I felt as though it got more like a novel, more personal. Again, Hilderbrand is a descriptive writer, but she does not go on and on and I really appreciate that. This was fast paced even though this is over four hundred pages, which is huge for a romance novel! I was shocked how fast it went by, sometimes I did not believe that I had read eighty pages. Quick and fun read.

I think that I gave enough of my thoughts on the plot in the character category. I just don’t understand why this was considered a forbidden romance at the start. I feel like if they really did truly love each other as much as they seemed to, then they would just come clean and become a couple. It just really bothered me. I do not know if it was pride of immaturity that they would not do it, who knows. I do like that we went through this much time with the characters as most romance books last only a week or month but here, we went through three decades, pretty amazing.

I did enjoy this read. The characters did annoy me at times but overall, they were well written, and I can see that sometimes just committing to someone is hard for some people. I like that we did get both women’s perspectives to see what Jake was trying to choose between. I don’t think these characters were likeable, but they were real. Elin Hilderbrand can paint a beautiful setting and really immerse you into it. The writing was fast, but you never truly felt like anything was left out. I don’t think this needed to be a forbidden romance but then it wouldn’t be as exciting, would it be?

4.5 out of 5 stars.

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‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ Book Review

Lara Jean wrote a letter to each boy that she has fallen in love with, she never had the guts to actually confess her feelings to any of these guys. One day. the letters all get sent out, Lara Jean has no idea who sent them. All the guys from her past start to confront her about her feelings and the letters they received.

This book might have the most relatable characters that I have ever read. I could see a piece of me, especially in my teens, in each of these characters. Lara Jean just reminded me so much of myself, being a sentimental person and being too afraid to actually get into a relationship (cue the sweating emoji). She definitely has to be an INFP personality type, a little dreamer. Out of the guys, Peter was my favorite. I just like he had more depth to him and was built better as a character. He was not perfect, he had his flaws. Josh, I felt like was a Gary Sue. He was just too perfect that it annoyed me. I felt like he had zero flaws and was just every girl’s dream guy.

The atmosphere was like any other contemporary romance. I liked that it was set in Virginia as that is a state that I am quite familiar with.

The writing was once again like any romance novel. Some of the things that the character’s said, I think were too childish and not what sixteen year olds would say but that isn’t too big of a deal. Just a small thing to either laugh or roll your eyes at.

Short chapters and relatable characters. That is basically all I need for a book to intrigue me to pick it up and read the next handful of chapters in one sitting.

Logic wise, I think this was all fine. Nothing really stood out as being too totally unrealistic. I think this book is very believable and could happen at any high school. I’m just glad that I never had the idea to write letters to my crushes.

Oops. I just realized that I forgot to leave in what I thought about the plot. This is such a cool plot with the letters and then the guys finding out about the feelings. I think that is very creative and I cannot think of any other novel with that kind of premise. I will admit though, I did predict who sent the letters out and the reasoning behind why they did it.

This book was a surprise for me. It falls under almost all the categories of tropes and genres that I do not like. However, I LOVED it. Going in with low expectations really did me well this time and I am so glad about that. This book and its movie counterpart were really popular, my senior year of high school, so I was nervous that the hype would kill it for me but it didn’t. I will be continuing this series but I don’t think that I will watch the movie but who knows!

4 out of 5 stars.

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‘Well Met’ Book Review

Emily’s sister April got in a car accident and has broken her leg. Emily moves in with said sister and her niece to help out until April can get on her feet again. She has never lived in a small town like Willow Creek, Maryland before. She assumes it will be a rather boring summer with nothing to do except sit around the house and watch Netflix. Willow Creek is known for it’s Renaissance Faire, which Emily’s niece, Caitlin will be working at with practically the whole town. Simon’s brother is the one who founded the festival around a decade ago. Simon takes on all the weight of the festival on to his shoulders. It is something that he takes very seriously and does not like Emily’s lack of understanding about the festival.

Emily was a really relatable character. I could understand her feelings and thoughts. She was a pretty funny perspective to read from. I do think she grew throughout the story and we were able to see that. I was not a fan of Simon Graham, though. To put it kindly, I think he was a jerk. I so did not want our main character to get with him but from the synopsis of this book it is obvious that the two of them get into some kind of relationship. I liked him in his pirate character but outside of character he was just terrible! Maybe it was so we can really feel how Emily feels but I don’t know, I could be a minority here. I think I might have felt better about him if we had chapters at his POV. I did like the townspeople though, this really did feel like a small and cozy town. I liked the side characters a lot. We will give the character’s a three out of five.

I, myself, have never attended a renaissance faire or festival but I REALLY want to go to one. When I am vaccinated and it is safe to travel again you can definitely catch me at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. This setting was a lot of fun but it did get repetitive at times. We just went through the every day activities of the tavern life. If we were not there we were at the human chess match. I think I actually preferred the parts when our main character Emily was at her bookstore job. The setting was good though I think we will give it a four out of five stars.

The writing was not anything great. It was just average and bland, nothing to get excited about. As I stated earlier it was a funny writing style, it could make me laugh. Just your average three star.

The main trope of this book is enemies to lovers. That is advertised everywhere, so, no, it is not a spoiler. I usually love that trope but here I just did not enjoy it. I felt like their reason to hate each other was just petty. I would get maybe disliking but these characters full on hated each other, that is until she saw him in leather pants. Like come on, you are going to stop hating a guy just because he looks good in a tight pair of clothes? Stupid. Then, the going from enemies to being lovers was just so sudden, I do not think Simon would just suddenly change like that, again maybe if we had chapters from his perspective too that could be different. I just was not a fan of this romance. I feel like this might be extreme but I am going to give that a two out of five.

The chapters in this book were too long for a romance novel. I was dreading picking up the book knowing that the long chapter potentially would be going through the same events yet again. I get that is life that the same events usually happen day to day but it’s just boring for a book. I feel like there could be so much done with the Faire setting. 3/5.

I guess everything here is logical as it does feel realistic. I have never been to a Renaissance Faire so I will take this book’s word for it that this is how they play out. We will do a four out of five.

Did I enjoy this book? I don’t really know. It was an average read, I know it seems like I hated it but I am being honest, I did not hate it. I really liked the main character, Emily, and then all of the side characters. The atmosphere was pretty cool, I just wish we could have explored more into it. The writing was not anything special but it was not bad either. The romance was not my favorite but it does seem I am really picky with romance novels, I think I do better with ones in a fantastical or historical setting but I did like A Lesson in Thornes by Sierra Simone. The chapters were long, even though this book was under three hundred pages, I feel like it could have been shorter. This could have made a good novella. This did seem like a realistic romance even though it might have been petty. ( I am glad that I don’t have a hate like that towards anyone.) I think others might enjoy this book but it was just not for me. I will not be continuing the series.

This book gets a 3 out of 5 star rating.

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My Most Anticipated January 2021 Releases!

This is a new kind of post for me to write. Today we are going to be looking at new releases in the historical fiction and historical romance genres! I never used to pay attention to new releases as I would get to them when I got to them but now I think that I will purchase one every month with my monthly Barnes and Noble trip, which has been done online since April. There are so many new and diverse books coming out this month and later in the year as well. I am glad that authors of different faces and those in the LGBT+ community are being heard. I can only hope that reading from people with these experiences can help bring us as people together and realize that we all walk different paths in life and that we all need to treat each other with kindness.

Historical Fiction

Isaiah and Samuel were slaves on a planation in the Deep South. The barn that the two boys worked in together was a sort of escape from the harsh world around them, there it was just the two of them and the animals that they tended to. One of their fellow slaves begins to preach to the other slaves, leading them to turn against one another. Isaiah and Samuel are no longer safe as their love for one another is now seen as a sin. This novel shows the pain that was so prevalent during this time in history, but yet the hope that the people had as well, and what the power of love can do. This book was released on January 5, 2021.

Ada is seventeen years old in the year of 1894. She lives a happy life, she loves her husband and enjoys the job she has, helping the midwife. Things start to go downhill though when it has been over a year of marriage and Ada has not given her husband a child of their own. The act of being barren in their town often leads to women being executed in thoughts that they are witches. Ada joins a gang of outcast women as a source of safety in this patriarchal society. Ada has to decide if she really wants to live the life of an outlaw. Outlawed is one of the five choices this month over at Book of the Month if you guys would like to check it out there but at other locations it was put on the shelves on January 5, 2021.

Find Me in Havana is based on the true story of Cuban singer, Estelita Rodriguez. She started her career out at the young age of just nine years old by singing in the smoky bars of Cuba in the mid 1930s. Her voice and talent takes her to places like New York and Los Angeles, it is the one thing that belongs to Estelita, no one could take it from her when the revolution happened in 1933, and all the other tragic events that happened throughout her life. Thirty years later, Nina Rodriguez is left with the mystery of her mother. Nina has to go through mazes and mazes to seek out the truth about her mother’s path. This book will be published on January 12, 2021.

Pheby Brown is born on a planation in Virginia, into slavery. She has been promised she will be freed once she becomes an adult. Things do not go as planned, she is sent against her will to work as a slave at a prison that is known for its brutatlity and torture to its slaves. Pheby is forced to become the mistress to the owner of the jail. This story is powerful and shows her fight to freedom once and for all. You can pick it up on January 12, 2021.

The Walters are seen as the picture perfect, good Christian and Texan family. Victor is the main man, the leader, of the family. He is a preacher and now for his conservative values, that seem to be falling away in the 1970s. His daughter starts telling stories of having a baby that somehow died but the story keeps changing and no one knows what is true. However, the granddaughter, Lily, has as secret that could bring her whole family and its charade down. This book with be available for purchase on January 19, 2021.

Historical Romance

Sarani Rao is an Indian princess, she has everything that a girl could want; wealth, jewels, and beauty. However, her mother is English and that makes Sarani seem less than perfect to her peers. Her father is then killed which makes her life turn upside down, she is no longer safe without him. Then, there is Captain Rhystan Huntley, a duke rather he like its or not. He is with an English fleet in India and the one girl he has ever loved needs to escape that country. She must leave with him on his ship. This one will be released on January 26, 2021.

Sir Henry March is out on a cold London night and stumbles upon a girl who has appeared to be beaten. Eliza Broad escaped the abuse of her evil stepfather. Henry has agreed to take care of her until she has recovered. During her time of recovery Eliza is shown the world of culture that she had no idea existed in the same place that she lived. A romance soon sparks between the two of them. Throughout their romance dark and sadistic secrets of the elite are revealed. You will be able to find out for yourself on January 12, 2021.

My Highland Warrior is the start to a new historical romance series. Magdalene is one of the most beautiful women in all of Scotland the younger sister of a lord. She is known for her madness. One man feels as though he has to marry her for his peoples’ sake. She comes from a powerful family and he has to keep his people alive. Gabriel MacLachlan agrees to marry her but is scaredof how the curse on his family name might impact her. This title will be published on January 19, 2021.

Gilded Age America, Arizona to be precise. Evan Rounsevell is on the run from the responsibilities back home. He has always been fascinated with the American West and the cowboys that come with it. He would rather be a cowboy than and English lord. Daniella is left with her ranch after her fiancé fled from a draught a few years prior. Evan has no money left to his name so picks up work at Daniella’s ranch even though she is convinced that she does not need a man in her, especially this snotty English one. The adjustment is hard for Evan but he is desperate to win Daniella’s affection and her seeing his work on the land that she loves so much might cause her to have a change of heart. You can download this book on the Kindle app starting on January 30, 2021.

Which of these books would you choose? You can check out my Youtube channel, I will have a video with my selection at the end of the month! Izzy Rain