Saving the Good News Gazette by Jessie Wells (2023)

 

Zoe has a special talent for saving lost causes…but she’ll need a miracle to save herself from this mess! When her biggest advertising account cancels their contract, single mum Zoe Taylor’s Good News Gazette – Westholme’s pre-eminent feel-good news source – faces an uncertain future. Determined to save her paper, Zoe strikes a bargain with millionaire developer Daniel Lewis – he’ll help her find advertisers and in exchange, she’ll spearhead his campaign to save the Art Deco cinema from destruction. But with her boyfriend Sam no fan of her new business partner, an unexpected job offer from her old boss, and an unshakeable feeling that there’s something more between her and Daniel than there should be, Zoe’s future soon feels as uncertain as her paper’s…and she’ll be forced to make a decision that changes everything for her and her son Charlie.

                                               🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love it when a book leaves you wanting more and Saving the Good News Gazette did just that. Packed with humorous scenes and a community that pulls together, it makes for a charming and uplifting story.

Zoe and Daniel get to spend together in their attempt at bringing the old cinema back to life. Daniel is a total sweetheart and I am rooting for him and Zoe to eventually wind up together. They have great chemistry, he's obviously mad about her plus he has that big swanky house. 

Zoe and her group of friends and volunteers provide a lot of comic relief throughout this story making it a quick, enjoyable read. I'm itching to see what happens next as it ended in a little bit of a cliffhanger.

Saving the Good News Gazette is the sequel to The Good News Gazette.  I read and loved it as a standalone novel but I will definitely be picking up the next one in the series. I can't wait.

Jessie Wells lives with her husband and two children in Merseyside. She has always written in some form, and previously worked as a journalist on the Liverpool Echo and Sunday Mirror and as a freelancer for various national women's magazines and newspapers before moving into finance. She loves nothing more than getting lost in her imaginary worlds, which are largely filled with romance, communities bursting with character and a large dose of positivity.

Beneath Dark Waters (The New Orleans Series) by Karen Rose (2023)

 

High-wire suspense that keeps you riveted' Lisa Gardner

The heart-stopping new thriller in the New Orleans series, from Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose.

Assistant District Attorney Kaj Cordozo's life is thrown upside down when two masked men attempt to kidnap his son, Elijah. Given the high-profile case Kaj is working on, he's not about to take any more risks.

When Val Sorensen of Burke Broussard Private Investigation Agency is assigned as Elijah's bodyguard, she realises she also has a very personal connection to the gang thought to be behind the attempted kidnap - a run in with Sixth Day cost her brother his life.

As Kaj and Val work together to prevent a second kidnap attempt, they uncover a trail of violence and deception leading back to brothers Aaron and Corey Gates. Aaron is in prison, but Corey is dangerous, at large and about to threaten everything Kaj holds dear.

Will the revelation of involvement from the other Gates brothers lead to answers, or by placing their trust in them will Kaj and Val be putting themselves in even more danger?

'Intense, complex and unforgettable' James Patterson

'Fast and furious' Sun

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It took me a few chapters to really connect with this book. It has a slightly different feel to it than previous Karen Rose novels. A lot of the story centres around the villain and his two young brothers. I didn't like or care much about these characters so I would have preferred to see the story unfold from Elijah's viewpoint or his dad and Val's.

Jace grew on me as the story progressed and I was rooting for him by the end.
This is quite a slow burn but the twists and turns are plenty. The last quarter of the book is completely taken over with suspense, action and drama and this was the section that I couldn't put down.

I did enjoy the book overall but it isn't my favourite from this author. Will I read the next one in the series? Absolutely.

Shattered Truths by H. Hunting ~ Spotlight~

Shattered Truths 

by Helena Hunting writing as H. Hunting

Release date: August 28th

Cover Designer: Hang Le

https://www.instagram.com/byhangle/

Photographer: Michelle Lancaster 

https://www.instagram.com/lanefotograf/ 

Model: Lawrence Templar

The first time I met Winter Marks, I almost took her out with my Jeep.

To be fair, she came out of nowhere. 

I flirted with her, and she flipped me off and disappeared into the woods on her bike.

But she left me a souvenir: a single hockey skate.

Seemed to me that divine intervention shouldn’t be ignored.She was my icy Cinderella and I would be her Prince Not-So-Charming.

Winter was more than just a sassy, badass hockey-playing hottie.She’s stuck in a prison of a life. And I’m the perfect escape.

Neither of us expected to fall. 

Or for the truth to shatter us.

Amazon US → https://amzn.to/3ReSQX3

Amazon CA → https://amzn.to/3CUfDDh

Amazon UK → https://amzn.to/3ALpQz4

Amazon AU → https://amzn.to/3AGc8NQ

Amazon Universal →  https://geni.us/ShatteredTruths

Audio US → https://amzn.to/3qpYMnY
Amazon US Paperback → https://amzn.to/470y4mh
Amazon Universal Paperback → https://geni.us/ShatteredTruthsPB
Amazon US Alternate Paperback → https://amzn.to/3OG1izD
Amazon Universal Alternate Paperback → https://geni.us/ShatteredTruthsAltPB

Goodreads → https://geni.us/ShatteredTruthsGR

Website → https://helenahunting.com/books/shattered-truths/

About Helena Hunting: 

NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her adorable, emotional cat, who thinks the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from emotional contemporary romance to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.

Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1y6OBB7

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/helena-hunting 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helena.hunting69/ 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/helenahunting

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helenahunting 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/helenahunting

Newsletter:  https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/f4p1t7

The Girl Who Lied (Chief Maggie Riley #1) by Shannon Hollinger, Narrated by Amelia Sciandra (2023)

The woods are hiding more than Chief Maggie Riley could ever imagine. Including her own worst nightmares…

There’s a blood moon rising over the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove. Chief Maggie Riley is driving home ahead of a storm when she comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. And Heather, a local teenage girl, standing terrified, a silent scream on her lips, beside him.

Maggie, a redheaded decorated former homicide detective and more than over-qualified for a two-horse-town police chief, has been hiding from her past for three years. The quiet of Coyote Cove was everything she needed after… what happened. But with this murder, the life she left behind has found her. The townspeople believe Heather—already an outcast, and an easy suspect—is the killer, but Maggie isn’t convinced. To uncover the truth, Maggie must use the skills, and contacts, of her former world, however painful that will be.

As Maggie digs into the victim’s background, she is horrified to unearth another body, this time an infamous local, as callously killed as the first. But Heather’s in custody; there’s no way she could be the culprit, and Maggie’s investigation turns to the townspeople. Who has a secret so dangerous they’d kill twice to keep it hidden?

Then Heather goes missing. The race to identify the murderer is now a race to save Heather. As the search turns to the woods, the hunt is on for the killer so skilled, so twisted, no one knows how many bodies it will take before they’re found. And whether one of those will be Heather’s…

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A dark and twisty murder mystery. In this opening book of the series, we are introduced to Maggie, the chief of police of a small town. She lives across the road from her boyfriend and both are hiding secrets about their past from the other. The mystery behind what they are both running from is a very intriguing subplot and one that wasn't fully revealed in this instalment. And it's something that I want to find out more about in the next book.

The murder mystery here is a tangled web as there are so many nasty oddballs in this little town who could easily be the culprit. I liked how Maggie joined all the clues together to finally understand what happened on the night she found the dead body. I found Heather to be a very interesting character and I wanted things to work out for her but I did wonder how accurate was her psychological report.

I really like how dark this mystery is and the morally grey aspect of my favourite characters. It's different and it kept me interested.

The narration of the audiobook is performed well with good voices for both male and female characters. This was a quick read that I enjoyed in one day. 

The Girl Who Lied is out now. 

• The Girl Who Lied

• Chief Maggie Riley, Book 1
• By: Shannon Hollinger
• Narrated by: Amelia Sciandra
• Series: Chief Maggie Riley Series, Book 1
• Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
• Release date: 02-08-23
• Language: English

Death from Beyond (Bartenders Guide to Murder 4) by Sharon Linnéa Narrated by Abbie Pfaff (2023)

Description

When bartender Avalon Nash dares enter the remains of Tranquility’s infamous haunted lodge, she unleashes deadly secrets waiting to come back to life.

It’s Halloween and Avalon is on the outs with her boyfriend, her cop friend and her best friend.

When she ventures into the ruins of an old lodge above the town, she uncovers evidence of murders that have haunted the locals for decades.

Then a new friend, in town for a high school reunion, vanishes and she must battle the murderous danger that continues to stalk Tranquility to this day.

Some things are called spooky for a reason. 

                                        ✴✴✴

This is the fourth in the series but the first one I've listened to or read.

The series has a good premise. Avalon is a young bartender with paranormal abilities. She can see spirits. 

The story starts off well with a mysterious visitor coming to town for a school reunion, a murder, and the haunting of the old lodge which has a dark past.

Having not read the previous books I was expecting Avalon to interact with ghosts and generally be more involved in spooky goings-on but her investigations involved the living more than anything else. The history and narrow-mindedness of the town's people concerning minorities was a central theme in this book.

I liked Avalon's friend, the cop but, I didn't like her boyfriend who seemed very self-centred and selfish.

The story held my attention for most of it but it waned near the end. The softly spoken narration made it an easy listen and I will probably look out for the next book in the series when it releases.

Death From Beyond will be published on the 11th of August 2023.