Review of The Marriage Method

Mimi Matthews' new book, The Marriage Method, combines love, mystery, and a little bit of mayhem! Nell is the deputy headmistress of the Crinoline Academy and she has been sent on her first mission--to meet with newspaperman Miles and deflect his curiosity about the academy. Before she can so much as answer more than one of his questions, however, a mishap with a cat changes her life forever. Caught in a compromising position, Nell must marry Miles to save both of their reputations. They find common ground as they work to discover what happened to a missing reporter and a missing orphan, but the villains are tightening the circle around Nell and Miles and they are in more danger than they think. Can they trust the love they are building? Or will they be torn apart by those who have secrets to keep?

Ms. Matthews has truly outdone herself in this riveting new mystery romance. Nell and Miles have both survived difficult childhoods and made something of themselves, and both characters are easy to relate to and care about. The setting and description is so beautifully done and each character comes with a depth that endears them to you. Readers will love Nell's determination to find the missing girl and be there for her as no one was for Nell as a child. Miles collects stray cats like friends and it is so tender to see him fall in love with Nell and the wonder he feels at having someone to call his own. He also has an abundance of daring in trying to find out what happened to his reporter and when his efforts are combined with Nell's, there's no good place to stop reading because you'll want to see what happens next. The author deftly intertwines the mystery with the love story and contrasts the seedy underbelly of London with two love-starved souls who need each other, but are afraid to take a risk. Ms. Matthews is truly a gift for readers who enjoy a mystery with plenty of twists and turns combined with a swoony romance that will suck you in and keep you up late reading one more page.

You can get your copy HERE

Here is the back copy:

The Academy always comes first . . . which makes marriage to its most formidable adversary an exceedingly inconvenient arrangement.

Well removed from London’s more curious eyes, the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies strives toward one clandestine goal: to distract, disrupt, and discredit men in power who would seek to harm the advancement of women—by appropriate means, of course.

When intrepid newspaper editor Miles Quincey starts to question the school’s intentions, the Academy appoints Penelope “Nell” Trewlove, one of their brightest graduates, to put this nuisance to rest. An easy enough mission, she supposes. Or it would be, if Miles wasn’t so fascinating—too fascinating to resist—and if Nell’s visit to London didn’t perfectly coincide with the murder of one of Miles’s reporters.

When the inexorable claws of fate trap Nell and Miles in a compromising situation, they agree to an arrangement that will save their reputations while enabling them to investigate the story that led to a man’s death, as well as the surprising chemistry between them . . .

Veterans Day and a Hometown Heroes Sale!

On this Veterans Day I'm thinking about my grandpa who served two tours of duty in the Korean War. He received medals for his bravery, but he sacrificed so much. I'm grateful he was able to return home when many of his friends did not. He worked hard to overcome the demons he'd picked up on the battlefields and gave his life in service. He served in a civilian capacity for the Army and received awards and recognition for his efforts, he was part of several committees to help senior citizens and other veterans and he was voted Volunteer of the Year in his community the year he died. I miss him. I miss his phone calls and visits and how he could make me laugh. I'm so grateful to all veterans who gave up so much to serve and will be thinking of them all this Veterans Day.

And in honor of Veterans Day, there is a Hometown Heroes Sale going on for books featuring military or law enforcement heroes. And they're all just .99 cents!

You can see all the books HERE and click on the cover you want to buy!

Weekend Book Report

I just started reading A.L. Sowards new book in her Balkan Legends series, Against a Crescent Storm. It is so good! I love learning more about this time in history and the writing is superb! Have you read any of the books in this series yet?

Here's the back copy:

The Serbs defied the world’s most powerful ruler, and now Danilo and Maja must fight to save their people and their newly forged love before the sultan exacts his revenge.

The Balkans, 1389

Three years ago, Danilo’s people won their freedom from the hated Ottoman Empire, but with enemies on every side, the Serbs’ hard-earned peace remains fragile. Knowing the sultan will soon come for revenge, Danilo sets out to gain key allies for the coming war—and to escape the haunting grief of personal loss.

War has orphaned Maja and her brother, but they’ve moved forward from the turbulent aftermath of battle by crafting religious mosaics. Yet after being cheated and robbed, they are desperate for help. Rescue comes from Danilo, the man who once saved them from slavery to the Turks. What begins as an offer for safe escort is soon complicated by threats from a Hungarian noble who suspects them of conspiracy and from Iskandar, an Ottoman spy consumed by a vendetta against Danilo and a dangerous obsession with Maja.

As their journey grows more perilous, Danilo and Maja are drawn together by shared grief and affection. Yet upon returning home, Danilo finds that his župan, unaware of Danilo’s growing emotional entanglement with Maja, plans to use Danilo’s hand in marriage as a tool to forge a crucial alliance. Danilo is soon torn between love for Maja and loyalty to his family and people.

As tensions escalate, sabotage and vicious rumors weaken Christian unity, and hope of victory in the Balkans grows dim. Allies and enemies converge on the fields of Kosovo, where an epic battle will shape the destiny of nations for centuries to come.

Click HERE to buy

Over the Edge Review

Have you ever ridden on a horse and then it starts to canter and you're surprised, but after a minute you settle into it, but then the horse starts to gallop and while the wind is rushing through your hair, there is a thread of fear as you hold on to the reins too tightly and try not to imagine yourself thrown to the ground in a heap, staring up at the sky with the wind knocked out of you? That's how it feels reading Stephanie Black's new Trespassers novel, Over the Edge. It is SO good!

 
The mystery starts out all twisty and turny with a few surprises, but you know, you're settling in and trying to figure out who the villain is, then things take off and there's the increasingly intense mystery with romantic yearning going on, and just when you think you have everything figured out, you're thrown off and everything is upside down and then you turn the last page and it seriously takes your breath away. (I still haven't stopped thinking about that last scene!)

Rayna is a complicated heroine who is torn between her love for her family and how her powers have changed her life. She gets caught up in a murder mystery that gets even more twisted with the requirements of the team that wants Rayna to join them and the agent she's got feelings for. Damon is written so well with wanting to do his job, yet wanting to protect Rayna. His choice between duty and love is so difficult and yet so absorbing for the reader. I cannot wait for the next book in the series. One of my top stories of the year!

Get your copy HERE

Here is the back copy:

SIX MONTHS AGO, ACCUSATIONS of murder threw Rayna Kirkpatrick’s life into turmoil, and her fight to prove her innocence nearly got her killed. Now, she seeks healing and refuge, but as a Trespasser—a person with lethal paranormal abilities—she can’t escape the attention of the covert government organization monitoring her. They want her on their team, but Rayna wants to maintain her quiet life in Willet Beach, living next door to her sister and running a small pottery studio.

SPECIAL AGENT DAMON HALE has been assigned to keep an eye on Rayna. The abilities that would make her a valuable member of the Trespasser team would also make her a powerful weapon in the hands of an enemy; it’s Damon’s job to keep her safe and ensure that information about her Trespasser status remains classified. He’s posing as her boyfriend to provide an excuse for the time they spend together, but, privately, each of them is struggling with that cover story; their feelings for each other are becoming all too real.

RAYNA’S ATTEMPT AT A peaceful life shatters when she rescues a woman from a fire, an act that drags her into a whirlpool of rumors and deadly secrets. As Damon works to protect her, he’s torn by the knowledge that managing this crisis might require decisions that will devastate Rayna and that the line between ally and enemy may be more blurred than either of them imagined.