Revell; 352 pages; $14.99; Amazon

 To Capture Her Heart by Rebecca DeMarnio has been sitting my desk collecting dust for awhile now. I had originally read it back in 2016 and it's one of those books that I never got around to writing the review for it. In my quest to catch up on the needs-to-be-reviewed titles, I'm reading at least one book per day; sometimes even two.

This novel is book two in The Southold Chronicles series. Set in Southold, Long Island in 1653, it centers on Heather Flower, the princess of the Montaukett tribe. During her wedding feast, her tribe is attacked by a rival tribe, the groom is killed, and Heather is kidnapped!

Flower's kidnappers demand a ransom from her father, but they don't ever plan on returning her. Eventually, Flower is rescued by Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren, who brings her to the Hortons, an English family who are friends to her people. There she attempts to mourn her loss, but she's quickly torn between the affections from Dirk and Ben Horton.

.

What upcoming titles are looking forward to reading in 2018?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
  

My Answer:

The 17th Suspect by James Patterson  & Maxine Petro Pub. Date: April 30th   

  As You Wish  by Jude Deverux  Pub. Date: March 6th  

The Road Home  by Beverly Lewis  Pub. Date: April 3rd  

 

Bethany House; 320 pages; $15.99; Amazon

It's been a busy 24 hours for me. I meant to have this review written and posted last night, but I ended watching the movie "The Foreigner" instead. Instead of procrastinating (again), here I am writing my review for the mystery-thriller Dark Deception by Nancy Mehl. It's the second book in the Defenders of Justice series. I had reviewed the first book, Fatal Frost, yesterday. You can read my review here!

Dark Deception centers a woman named Kate O'Brien, who has been living in Shelter Cove, Arkansas. Four years ago, she and her twin sister were attacked by a serial killer. Her sister was murdered, but she survived. The killer was caught, tried, and sentenced to prison. Kate's life has never been the same. Not only did she lost her sister, but she also had to leave behind her entire life and join the witness protection.

Suddenly new evidence comes forward that suggests the man who was sent to prison wasn't the real killer, which means Kate will have to come out of hiding and testify in court again.

Tony DeLuca is assigned to escort her back to St. Louis. He's the same deputy marshal who protected her during the original trial. Tony is excited about his new assignment, as he has romantic feelings for Kate. Of course this is supposed to be a thriller, so there isn't too much time for romance, as he must protect Kate from an unexpected threat.

Now available on Paperback, Kindle, and Nook is the hilarious novel Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet by K.C. Hilton. The author has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk about her newest book.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Since I was young, I had always expressed my creativity through photography. "A picture says a thousand words," I was told, but I wanted more. A picture may say a thousand words, but a book will give you the details of the story. About ten years ago, I had a dream. Two months later, I decided to write about the dream in detail. It wasn't long before I realized I had a story to build on. So, I began researching and learning the art of writing. That story was 90 Miles to Freedom.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book published was actually the second book I wrote, which was The Magic of Finkleton.

What inspired you to write Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet?

I own and manage a used car lot with my husband. The experiences in my real life make for excellent material in the Julia Karr Series. I'm a used car dealer by day and a writer by night. I don't get much sleep. I was actually in the middle of writing another young adult book, when Barbie came to visit. That afternoon, I decided to write a book from the perspective of a female car dealer.

What character in Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

That's easy! Julia is basically me, in every way.

What is your favorite part in Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet?

My favorite part would be Romeo and Julia's home life. The love they have for each other and the amusing things they say and do at home. It balances out the crazy stuff that happens on the car lot.

What was the hardest part to write?

That would be the story about the car jacker. Recalling that memory was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Just writing that chapter took me two days and had me shook up for a week. I wondered if writing it was even worth it.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

As a career, I'd choose to be a Dental Hygienist, because I literally fall short of the height requirements to be an Airline Stewardess. However, working at Disney World would be much more fun, in my opinion. Although, some people might consider that a job, not a career.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Bethany House; 304 pages; $14.99; Amazon

Yep, I'm back with another Review Catch Up Marathon! review. Once again, my plans for finishing these reviews were put on a hold around Thanksgiving, as I was just too busy with other reviews, holiday posts, and other stuff.

Today, I'm reviewing Fatal Frost, book one in the Defenders Of Justice series, by Nancy Mehl. I fell in love with the author's stories after reading the first book in the Road To Kingdom series a few years ago. Fatal Frost was published in 2016 and I read the book shortly after reviewing an ARC, but I never got around to writing the review for it. Last night, I reread the book and then this morning I reread the second book Dark Deception.

Fatal Frost centers on U.S. Marshal Mercy Brennan, who is recovering from being shot while on the job. Out of nowhere, her estranged father makes contact with her, which gets the attention of the most powerful gang in St. Louis. For her safety, her boss assigns Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark St. Laurent to protect her.

While on the road away from St. Louis, a sudden ice story strands Mercy and Mark in a remote location, where they have no contact with the U.S. Marshal department. As the storms worsens, and with her father's enemies hot on their trail, Mercy must rely on Mark to survive.

Zondervan; 333 pages; Amazon

I have a bad habit of signing up to review books just because it's set around the Amish. Yes, I do like reading Amish fiction, but there are good ones and then there are the ones that aren't so great. I keep telling myself to try a different genre, but here I am reviewing the book A Place At Our Table by Amy Clipston, and as you have probably have guessed, it's an Amish romance tale.

Set in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the novel centers on two main characters - Kayla Dienner and Jamie Riehl. Kayla has had her handful trying to stop her younger brother, Nathan, from becoming a firefighter. Their older brother had died in a fire and she'll do anything to keep Nathan safe and sound. The last thing she has on her mind right now is love, but this is a romance story. Isn't it?

When Jamie Riehl isn't busy working on his family's farm, he's volunteering at the local fire department. Shortly after meeting Kayla, he starts to fall in love with her. However, her feelings aren't exactly the same, as she trying to protect herself from getting hurt.

Thomas Nelson; 306 pages; Amazon

New American Library; 374 pages; Amazon

Ink and Bone, book one in The Great Library series, has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for awhile now. I believe I had received the book through the Blogging for Books program. I knew nothing about the series prior to reading the book last Friday, well, except for the fact that's it's written by Rachel Caine, the author of the Morganville Vampires series.

The novel is set in a world where the Great Library is available in every city. While people can have access to the wide-range of books in the library, you cannot own any books. Alchemy (aka the government) wants to control what written knowledge is available to the people.

The main character is Jess Brightwell, who believes in the value that each book possesses in the library. However, most of his knowledge came from the illegal books owned by his family.  At the request of his father, Jess joins the Library training program, which is located in Alexandria. Of course his father has other reasons for why he wanted Jess to join, such as stealing books.

The training program is led by Scholar Christopher Wolfe, who doesn't want to teach a bunch of teenagers the way of the Great Library. One by one the students are kicked out the program, but Jess makes it to the final assignment, which involves searching for lost books in a war zone area.