Review: Swimming With Sharks by Jeanne Lamb-Carlin

 Swimming With Sharks

Allison Taylor Series: Book 3

by Jeanne Lamb-Carlin

Blurb: (From Amazon)

When Ally’s ex-husband Jack Doretta shows up claiming he has been having some money issues that have put a strain on his marriage to second wife Kimberly, and then asks if he can stay with her for a few days while he sorts out his life, Ally reluctantly agrees. And then quickly regrets her decision when it becomes clear Jack’s money and personal issues might be more substantial than he implied.
After some unscrupulous men come to town, and Ally’s life is threatened, all perfectly timed to Jack’s arrival in Spring Hollow, Ally knows she needs to find out the truth. So she calls on best friends, Elizabeth Meade and Larry Jones to help figure out what Jack is hiding and how she is connected to it all.
But as Jack’s past and present collide, Ally starts to discover secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew about her ex. And as she searches for answers, a killer draws closer while a mystery man is intent on keeping Ally alive.

Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00VVX148C

Author Bio: (From Amazon)

Born in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, Jeanne Lamb-Carlin has spent most of her life in Long Island, New York. When she isn't writing, she could be playing pc games or reading. She loves movies, and looks forward to AMC's Best Picture Showcase every year. She could easily spend hours vegetating on the couch, catching up on episodes of "The Walking Dead" and "The Americans".

Her first job was dispatcher for a small shipping company where she spent way too much time writing bad poetry. She then moved on to public relations and sales for the Empire State Building Observatory where she didn't have as much time to write, but met a lot of interesting people.

She likes to travel, hike, ride very scary roller coasters, bowl, (wish I could find Candlepin bowling in Long Island) drink Pumpkin Ale, (unfortunately just in the Fall), watch hockey, bake, make pierogi, and of course write.

She is the author of three novels in the Allison Taylor Series: THE LIES THAT BIND, WORDS TO DIE BY, and SWIMMING WITH SHARKS. Fourth book in series: SINS OF THE FATHERS coming soon.

"Like" Jeanne on Facebook at www.facebook.com/allisontaylorseries
Follow Jeanne on twitter.com/lamb_carlin  

MY REVIEW:

I have not yet read the first book in this series, but after reading Book 2, (Words To Die By) I just had to read this one too. 

All the characters I enjoyed getting know are back in this book, leading with Ally. The book starts off with Ally and the hunk Mark broken up, and if you've loved their relationship as much as I have, it's heartbreaking to see. But with Larry, one of my all time favorite minor characters, shows up, you know everything is going to be all right in the end. This book really gets going when Ally's ex-husband Jack shows up claiming financial issues, and asking for a place to stay for a little while. Soon some shady characters show up, and while there is definitely someone protecting Ally, there is for sure someone trying to kill her. The only ones Ally can turn to are Elizabeth and Larry, and it isn't long before the three of them are digging into the situation and finding out some rather "interesting" aspects to Jack's past. So much for the smoking hot cop that got away.

There are a lot more characters to this book, but you can totally tell how much the author has grown throughout this series. Since I read the second book before this one, I ended up skimming over the back story repeats, and wish that the author had just made a note that this series is best read in order, rather then include it, but it's a tough call to make for every author.

Other then the backstory parts, I found the story quick paced, intriguing, and with a fabulous sprinkle of humor necessary for such an intense plot.

I give this book 4 STARS!!!

Review: Words to Die By by Jean Lamb-Carlin

Words to Die By

(Allison Taylor series Book 2)

by Jean Lamb-Carlin

Blurb (From Amazon)
Allison Taylor is having some trust issues, when a woman from Mark Ryan’s past turns up in Spring Hollow, and makes it very clear she’d like to revisit old times. And Elizabeth Meade is writing a murder mystery. But then people start dying just like the characters in her book, and it seems likely the killer is someone Lizzie knows. Mark Ryan would like Ally to leave the police work to him, but Ally, Lizzie, and new friend, Larry Jones, decide to investigate before someone else winds up with a knife in their chest.

Amazon Buy link: http://amzn.com/B00MKKLBBA

Author Bio: (From Amazon)

Born in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, Jeanne Lamb-Carlin has spent most of her life in Long Island, New York. When she isn't writing, she could be playing pc games or reading. She loves movies, and looks forward to AMC's Best Picture Showcase every year. She could easily spend hours vegetating on the couch, catching up on episodes of "The Walking Dead" and "The Americans".

Her first job was dispatcher for a small shipping company where she spent way too much time writing bad poetry. She then moved on to public relations and sales for the Empire State Building Observatory where she didn't have as much time to write, but met a lot of interesting people.

She likes to travel, hike, ride very scary roller coasters, bowl, (wish I could find Candlepin bowling in Long Island) drink Pumpkin Ale, (unfortunately just in the Fall), watch hockey, bake, make pierogi, and of course write.

She is the author of three novels in the Allison Taylor Series: THE LIES THAT BIND, WORDS TO DIE BY, and SWIMMING WITH SHARKS. Fourth book in series: SINS OF THE FATHERS coming soon.

"Like" Jeanne on Facebook at www.facebook.com/allisontaylorseries
Follow Jeanne on twitter.com/lamb_carlin  

***REVIEW***

First off, because I work hard to promote family friendly books, I need to make it clear that this book did have quite a few swear words. While I was disappointed in the language, the rest of the book was very well written.

This is the first book of the series that I've read.

The book starts out Adrian Taylor as the main character, who is actually the main character of a manuscript which plays a huge roll in the plot of the rest of the story. The REAL main character is Allison, and she has not only personally had a difficult love life, but her mother was far from a good example of what a real relationship looks like. So when an attractive woman from her boy friend's, Mark's, past shows up and crowds her out, and then her best friend starts writing a rather terrible murder mystery, and then people in the community start dying just like in the manuscript it's not surprising she's a little at a loss as to how to handle things.
Colorful characters that instantly have you either loving them or hating them, and surprising plot twists make this book easy to stay up late reading. The back stories are interesting, and as intriguing as plot, and I really liked the injection of the manuscript sections in the book. All in all I would definitly recommend this book to my adult friends. 

I give it 4 stars!

Book Tour: Bookminder by M K Wiseman

Author Q & A

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

That was a sort of slow shift for me. I mean, I started writing pieces of significant length in 2004 but really did so without any specific “I want to be a writer” aim. I was just compelled to try it out, I suppose. At that time, what I really wanted to be (and still do!) was/is an animator. But both are storytellers so it's not that big a leap. I think I finally knew what I wanted when it came clear to me that my work is actually publishable. Then I found that I had a burning desire to keep going with it, wanting to add to libraries rather than just “worship” them as a reader.

Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?

Before you read this answer, remember this question cites unlimited resources. . . My answer presumes unlimited patience from my family, as well. That said, there are a handful of places that I've been that would be really interesting places to write and it'd be lovely to have access to each as the impulse takes me. Ideally, I'd like to take a bit of time and write from Santa Fe, NM, up where even the heady smell of books pales in comparison to the piñon-sweet air. I'd like some time in Boston by the gas light district. I'd like to try to write an entire novel while sailing from Point A to Point B . . . I think keeping things fresh and adventurous is my ideal.

Where do you actually write? Do you write on a schedule?

I actually spend a lot of my writing time in a big, orange, overstuffed armchair. Or, if I need a little more 'action' around me, I head off to a coffee shop to immerse myself in a slice of Life. As for any sort of schedule, I don't have set hours or word counts or anything—that tends to mess with my muse's office hours. Sometimes there are publishing deadlines to keep but that's as tangibly schedule-y as I get.

What is your writing drive? The power that keeps you going when your writing gets difficult?

Deadlines. :) More seriously, though, early on I feared that I'd only ever have One Good Idea. I now have a pile of “Work in Progress” manuscripts sitting on my hard drive and they cover a host of different genres and intended audiences. It is now almost impossible for me to hit a wall because of the breadth of those projects. So if I bump up against something in a project that seems unsolvable, I take a step back and work on something else until I lose my frustration at the first roadblock. I do admit that it takes some discipline to keep from bouncing aimlessly between projects. So my power is persistence, even if it involves a writing detour.

Name one entity that you feel supported your writing, outside of family members.

Xchyler Publishing. Truly. Until they came along and said “Yup. We can publish you” I really was just dabbling. They took me from being a writer to an author, from a hobbyist to someone who wants to actually make a go of this whole book thing.



--> Just for fun nerd list:

Star Wars or Star Trek? 
Star Wars (Though I am a sucker for Voyager.)

Hunger Games or Divergent?  
Neither? I know that sounds terrible. I just never got into the 'dystopian' thing. Too intense for me.

James Bond or Jack Ryan? 
Erm, *embarrassed blush* I haven't ever read or seen a James Bond novel or movie and actually had to Google “Jack Ryan” to find out who that was.

Sherlock: Robert Downey, Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch? 
Jeremy Brett. :)

Spock: Leonard Nimoy or Zachary Quinto?  
Leonard Nimoy.

X-Men or Avengers?  
That has changed for me very recently, actually. Avengers now has the lead because of the excellence of the recent movies—great dynamics.
Aliens or Predators?  
Cue another embarrassed blush . . . Complete and total unfamiliarity here for me.

Minions or Penguins? 
Penguins.

Batman or Superman?  
Batman *But only because he has such cool toys!
Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean?  
That's a tough one because I never really got into Harry Potter in the way that I'm sure this question is asking about and I loved “Pirates” so long as we stick only to the first movie.
Beatles or Rolling Stones?  
Beatles.

Peter Jackson or James Cameron? 
Peter Jackson. But only because I am largely unfamiliar with the main body of James Cameron's work.

Steven Spielberg or George Lucas?  
George Lucas.

Vampires or Werewolves?  
Vampires

LARP or MORPG? 
LARP – always wanted to try one. 

We're celebrating the release of THE BOOKMINDER by M. K. Wiseman with a blog tour and Rafflecopter give-away! Visit each blog each day for more chances to win lots of great prizes. If you like epic fantasy, you'll love this coming-of-age tale of magic and wizards set in the Renaissance era.


January 9-16, 2016

Saturday, 01-09	Bookwhizz
Sunday, 01-10	M. K. Wiseman
Monday, 01-11	Perpetual Chaos of a Wandering Mind
Tuesday, 01-12	Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Wednesday, 01-13	Belart's Book Reviews
Thursday, 01-14	Dreams to Become
	Semi-short Chic
Friday, 01.15	JD Spero
	Books in the Spotlight
Saturday, 01-16	Creativity from Chaos
	Rambling Reviews

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Cover Reveal: Courting Cassandry by Joyce DiPastena

Joyce DiPastena dreamed of green medieval forests while growing up in the dusty copper mining town of Kearny, Arizona. She filled her medieval hunger by reading the books of Thomas B. Costain (where she fell in love with King Henry II of England), and later by attending the University of Arizona where she graduated with a degree in history, specializing in the Middle Ages. The university was also where she completed her first full-length novel…set, of course, in medieval England. Later, her fascination with Henry II led her to expand her research horizons to the far reaches of his “Angevin Empire” in France, which became the setting of her first published novel, Loyalty’s Web (a 2007 Whitney Award Finalist).
When she’s not writing, Joyce loves to read, play the piano, and spend time with her sister and friends. A highlight of her year is attending the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival. She lives with her two cats, Clio and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov, in Mesa, Arizona.

Website: www.joyce-dipastena.com 
Blog: http://jdp-news.blogspot.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoyceDiPastena
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoyceDiPastena

-->Is it too late for second chances when the girl you loved in your youth comes back into your life?

Gerolt de Warenne became guardian to a child-heiress named Cassandry when he was only nineteen-years old. As he watched her grow into a lovely young woman, he found himself falling in love with her, but Cassandry viewed him as an older brother. So, burying his feelings, he gave permission for her to marry another.

Twenty-four years later Gerolt and Cassandry meet again. With the loss of their respective spouses, Gerolt hopes to finally court Cassandry, but she desires to remain a widow. Instead, they agree to a betrothal of their children.

Matters become complicated as their friendship begins to evolve into the romance Gerolt has always wanted. But by the law of the medieval Church, Cassandry and Gerolt can’t marry if their children do. Can they find a way to be together? Or must they sacrifice their future for the love of their children?

Let's take a look inside before we see the cover!

Gerolt’s gaze shifted back to her face. His eyes suddenly grew so warm, she almost felt herself embraced. “There you are,” he murmured.

She gazed back, baffled, while at the same time feeling something begin to glow inside her. “What do you mean?”

“That smile. I feared I had lost it forever.”

And here it is!!!

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Cover Reveal: See Me For Me by Teya Pack

Her most recent accomplishment started in the summer of 2015, see previous page. Making her dad’s dream come true with publishing his works as well, as an emotional accomplishment. She is the 2016 local A.N.W.A. chapter (Snake River Writers) president, won NaNoWriMo and loves StoryMakers.
Teya has been writing for as long as she can remember. At a young age she lived on a street she affectionately named Hill Street Blues, which helped her creative writing. Her Family moved to Menan where she continued her love of writing. Her father would always be and will continue to be her inspiration, even after his untimely death in 2006.
She loves sitting in her soft chair next to the fireplace and watching out a big living room window. It gives her plenty of creative juice for stories.
She met the love of her life in the loft of a barn. Yep, that set up some teasing from her father. They have been happily married since 2003. They have four children and all are loving and supportive of her writing. Her oldest daughter is following in her footsteps as a writer adding her own illustrations. She refuses to comment on the trolls in the closets and under the beds. She is active in her church, has compassion for others, and a love for all life brings.
(pick and choose what you want to use from my about author.)

Check out her social media pages!

http://www.amazon.com/Teya-Peck/e/B01346K2AO/

http://teyapeck.wix.com/teyapeck  (signing up for Teya's newsletter on her website and receive her poetry book free)

https://www.facebook.com/teyasbooks/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

One wrong step changes Jocelyn’s Prima Ballerina’s life in one step...
A single choice results in Jeremiah facing unbearable consequences...
When these two meet, it could be catastrophic or the answer to unspoken prayers.
Can love be tested too far? Will hearts soften and hurts be forgiven?
Or will too much loss be too devastating to find hope?
One thing is for sure, lives are about to change forever…

And now let's see this cover!!!!

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Don't you love this!

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