Review: Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Posted on August 21, 2014August 20, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> book reviews

Format read: ebook borrowed from the library
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: mystery; paranormal romance
Series: Krewe of Hunters, #1
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: March 29, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

A secret government unit, a group of renegade paranormal investigators…and a murder no one else can crack

Though haunted by the recent deaths of two teammates, Jackson Crow knows that the living commit the most heinous crimes.

A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition, Angela Hawkins already has her hands full of mystery and bloodshed.

But one assignment calls to them too strongly to resist. In a historic mansion in New Orleans’s French Quarter, a senator’s wife falls to her death. Most think she jumped; some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits inhabiting the house—once the site of a serial killer’s grisly work.

In this seemingly unsolvable case, only one thing is certain: whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion will cast Jackson and Angela into danger of losing their lives…and their immortal souls.

My Review:

After reading The Hexed last week, and loving it, I couldn’t resist going back to the beginning of this series and trying to figure out how the author got here from there.

Besides, I’m a terrible completist and it was driving me a bit nuts that I had so much fun with book 13 in a series and hadn’t gotten around to books 1-12. Now that I’ve read book 1, I can see that this series is going to be my “treat” reading for a while.

Phantom Evil is the first book in Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters series, and it establishes both the series and the group in a way that set the bar high for the rest. (The Hexed lived up to that bar!)

There are so many marvelous paranormal series set in New Orleans. There is obviously something about the long and storied history of that melange that inspires writers to do their spine-chillingest. (If you like New Orleans’ set paranormals, try Suzanne Johnson’s River Road.

Although there is a definite ghostly vibe to Phantom Evil, the story also establishes that evil is an act of the living. The ghosts are either icing on the cake, a distraction or possibly an influence, but it is living humans who choose the path that leads to the dark.

The mysterious Adam Harrison puts together a team of elite investigators under the leadership of Jackson Crow. Every member of the team has solid credentials, and experience in dealing with things that go bump in the night.

Not that there isn’t some bumping in the night together, but that’s not the main thrust of the story.

Harrison sends his team on their first mission; to investigate the death of a prominent State Senator’s wife–in a house that’s just chock-full of evil ghost stories.

The death has been ruled a suicide, but the Senator doesn’t believe it. He’s sure that the ghosts killed her.

Crow and his team go in with an open mind. Yes, one of New Orleans most notorious serial killers committed his crimes in the house, but State Senators have plenty of modern day skeletons in their closets.

And the victim didn’t fall from the balcony, she was thrown.

On the very first day, investigator Angela Hawkins finds a century old corpse in the basement. She’s led to the bones by a ghost. More and more evidence piles up that the house really is haunted.

Which still doesn’t mean that the 21st century victim wasn’t murdered by an equally 21st century killer.

The task before Crow’s task force is to determine who had the best motive (and opportunity) to want to relieve the Senator of his marital burden, while putting all of the 19th century ghosts to rest.

It’s especially difficult when there are murderers in both eras who equally want the investigation stopped–dead.

Escape Rating A-: This series seems to be paranormal romantic suspense, with the emphasis on the paranormal and the suspense. The story is chilling because there is both 21st century evil and 19th century evil, and both mysteries have to be solved to get a complete resolution.

That the ghosts don’t commit murder does not make the story any less chilling. Angela Hawkins is particularly sensitive to the ghostly hauntings, a sensitivity that both puts her in danger and saves her.

It’s also a sensitivity that brings out the protective instincts in Jackson Crow. Neither of them expected to find a relationship in the middle of the investigation, but it definitely adds to the story without taking anything away from the suspenseful elements.

In addition to the central mysteries, we also see the team develop. The scene where they decide on the name “Krewe of Hunters” made me want to cheer, but we also get to see the group form into an effective team. Every member has their particular strengths, and their growing partnership is fun to watch.

The investigation was absorbing as the team worked both the ghost angle and the political angle until they were able to solve all the puzzles.

Phantom Evil is a terrific start to the series, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading my way through the rest.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Hexed by Heather Graham + Giveaway

Posted on August 14, 2014August 13, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: paranormal romance, romantic suspense
Series: Krewe of Hunters #13
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: July 29, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

A place of history, secrets…and witchcraft.

Devin Lyle has recently returned to the Salem area, but her timing couldn’t be worse. Soon after she moved into the eighteenth-century cabin she inherited from her great-aunt Mina—her “crazy” great-aunt, who spoke to the dead—a woman was murdered nearby.

Craig Rockwell—known as Rocky—is a new member of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI’s team of paranormal investigators. He never got over finding a friend dead in the woods. Now another body’s been found in those same woods, not far from the home of Devin Lyle. And Devin’s been led to a third body—by…a ghost?

Her discovery draws them both deeper into the case and Salem’s rich and disturbing history. Even as the danger mounts, Devin and Rocky begin to fall for each other, something the ghosts of Mina and past witches seem to approve of. But the two of them need every skill they possess to learn the truth—or Devin’s might be the next body in the woods…

My Review:

I was a bit worried starting this. It’s the 13th (unlucky number!) book in Graham’s Krewe of Hunters series. I’ve always meant to read the series, but never got around to book 1, Phantom Evil. This is a mistake that must be rectified!

While I was definitely able to get into the book without having read the others, this one was plenty good enough to make me WANT to read the rest of the series. (Thank goodness the library seems to have them all in ebook!)

The Hexed is paranormal romantic suspense. In other words, both a paranormal romance and romantic suspense. The suspense plot is a chilling search to find a serial killer, but the cops chasing the murderer all have paranormal powers. They don’t just see dead people, they talk to them.

It’s as if the FBI created an entire unit of ghost hunters. Which is a fascinating set up.

Even cooler, in the chilly, thrilly aspect, is that the serial killer is operating in Salem Massachusetts, and it looks like he or she is either a real witch or trying to throw suspicion on the local Wiccan community.

The story starts with a scene out of the movie Stand By Me, a concept that works even better considering that Stand By Me was based on Stephen King’s The Body.

Five friends discover the body of the sixth member of their clique dead in the woods. It’s a horrifying discovery that changes the lives of all the surviving high school students. But it’s more than merely coming across the body by accident.

Craig “Rocky” Rockwell discovers his friend Melissa because he heard her calling out to him, long after she was dead. And her body was positioned ritualistically with a pentacle hanging from her neck.

The discovery changed his life. Not just that his friend was dead, but that he heard her lead him to her body. Rocky set his sights on becoming a cop, and then an FBI agent. He was in the perfect position to return to Salem thirteen years later when more bodies starting turning up; murders that exactly matched the grisly sight he found as a teenager.

The difference is that this time, Rocky returns to his old hometown as part of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters, an elite unit with special normal and paranormal talents. The other key change is that he meets Devin Lyle just after she has discovered body #3. And that Devin also heard the dead tell her where to locate that body.

Devin is the great-niece of the “Witch of the Woods” and she has been pushed into the paranormal world of the Krewe by the discovery. Or by her late great-aunt, who manifests in the house to watch over her niece.

As the bodies continue to pile up, Devin and the Krewe have to dig deep to figure out the motive for killing one young woman after another, a motive that is rooted not in Melissa’s death 13 years ago, but all the way back in the 1690s, in the infamous Salem witch trials.

The investigation becomes a race against time, as the list of possible suspects narrows, but it becomes clear that the killer is planning to end his spree with the death of Devin Lyle.

Rocky will do anything to prevent Devin turning into the killer’s final victim. But it’s hard to prevent a murder when no one can figure out who the 21st century killer might be. And in the end, all their assumptions and investigations point to the wrong perpetrator.

Escape Rating A-: The Hexed is tremendously fun and entertaining. The romantic suspense element seems to be primary, and it’s such a convoluted mystery! We follow the investigations every step of the way, as Rocky and Devin are forced to investigate all their friends down to their genealogy in order to get close to finding the killer.

Rocky was in a very difficult position. He’s new to the FBI team, and he has an emotional interest in the crime. At the same time, this is a long-postponed homecoming for him, and his old friends all want to connect with him. Meanwhile, he has to investigate them, because they are all potential suspects.

Devin was a terrific addition to the story. She’s a children’s book author, and has made a career out of telling stories using her “witchy” great aunt as the inspiration for her heroine. “Auntie Min” saves the day in every book, using her witchcraft for good. Devin is thrilled to death when her Aunt’s ghost appears, she loves the older woman and misses her terribly.

Although she’s a bit put out when her Aunt’s unscheduled appearances and disappearances put a crimp in her budding romance with Rocky. Ghostly chaperons are even more libido dampening than the regular kind. They are always a bit worried that the ghost is watching them, and she might be.

Devin is also forced to stretch herself in this story. She’s a successful author, but she feels compelled to help find the killer. Her research skills are respected and used by the Krewe to find the killer’s motives and help to determine who the potential victims are. At the same time, she is quite reasonably afraid of the events surrounding her, and while she’s mostly sensible about it, the attacks on her do move her relationship with Rocky into high gear.

Even though the research and investigation were leading up to the murderer, I was still as surprised as Devin when the perpetrator was finally revealed.

If you like a slightly spooky undertone to your romantic suspense (and I do) this was oodles of fun. I’m looking forward to catching up with the series, and also to the next book, The Betrayed. I wonder where the Krewe is headed next?

GIVEAWAY

Heather is generously giving away the winner’s choice of The Cursed, The Hexed or The Betrayed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts

Posted on July 7, 2014July 6, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback
Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Life in Icicle Falls, #5
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: July 1, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

When it comes to men, sisters don’t share!

After a fake food poisoning incident in L.A., Bailey Sterling’s dreams of becoming a caterer to the stars collapse faster than a soufflé. Now Bailey’s face is in all the gossip rags and her business is in ruins. But the Sterling women close ranks and bring her back to Icicle Falls, where she’ll stay with her sister Cecily.

All goes well between the sisters until Bailey comes up with a new business idea—a tea shop on a charming street called Lavender Lane. She’s going into partnership with Todd Black, who—it turns out—is the man Cecily’s started dating. It looks to Cecily as if there’s more than tea brewing in that cute little shop. And she’s not pleased.

Wait! Isn’t Cecily seeing Luke Goodman? He’s a widower with an adorable little girl, and yes, Cecily does care about him. But Todd’s the one who sends her zing-o-meter off the charts. So now what? Should you have to choose between your sister and the man you love (or think you love)?

My Review:

I always enjoy visiting Icicle Falls, no matter who is being romanced. This small-town feels like a great place to visit, and the town it’s based on, Leavenworth, Washington, is not just real but really close to Seattle.

In addition to the chance to go back to Icicle Falls, The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane also provides the opportunity to catch up with the Sterling women. Samantha Sterling and the Sweet Dreams Chocolate Factory got their HEA in Better Than Chocolate (reviewed here), but now it’s her younger sisters Cecily and Bailey’s turns to find their own happiness.

Cecily has been working at Sweet Dreams since the first story; she’s found her niche as head of the marketing department. Her successful campaigns have helped to put Sweet Dreams and Icicle Falls back on the map, and into the black, in spite of the recession.

The one part of her life that Cecily hasn’t found a plan for is her love life. She’s attracted to two eligible men in town, Luke Goodman and Todd Black. Luke really is a good man, he’s the factory manager at Sweet Dreams and a loving single father. His first marriage was a success, but enough time has passed since his wife’s death that he is ready to try again, and he wants to try again with Cecily.

But as much as Cecily likes Luke, she can’t help but be attracted to bad-boy Todd Black, owner of the testosterone soaked local bar, the Man Cave. Todd’s been chasing Cecily ever since he hit town, and he’s decided that it’s time to make his move.

Cecily (and Samantha’s) younger sister Bailey throws a spanner into everyone’s plans. Bailey returns to Icicle Falls with her tail between her legs, after her attempt to run a catering company in LA is wrecked by one starlet’s food-poisoning publicity stunt.

Bailey needs a job. She needs more than that, she needs a way to get her confidence back. And she needs to work with food again, to get back on the horse that threw her.

It just so happens that Todd Black is much more of an entrepreneur than anyone, especially Cecily, gives him credit for. And he just so happens to own a property in central Icicle Falls that would be perfect for a Tea Room, with just a bit of sweat equity and repair.

Todd has just what Bailey needs. Except that Cecily has decided that he has just what she needs, admittedly in a much more personal way. So while Todd and Cecily are trying to take their relationship to the next level, Todd and Bailey are discovering just how much fun they can have building a business together.

Meanwhile, Luke Goodman is watching from the sidelines, hoping for his chance to convince Cecily that they belong together after all.

Escape Rating B: As is usual in the Icicle Falls series, the romance (or romances) take a backseat to the small town/family story.

We have more than a love triangle in this one, we have a love quadrangle. Luke loves Cecily. Cecily can’t make up her mind between Luke and Todd, to the point where everyone in town is confused about which one she’s dating. Then Todd starts falling for Bailey, and vice-versa.

Part of Cecily’s romantic confusion is that Luke is the steady and sensible man she should want, while Todd is the bad-boy that every girl wants to reform. Or at least that’s Cecily’s perception.

The reality is that Todd isn’t nearly as bad a boy as he seems. That Cecily can’t figure that out is proof positive that they aren’t meant for each other. However, Todd and Bailey’s mutual attraction brings out the possessive bitch in Cecily. Cecily has so many insecurities, particularly about Bailey, that she doomed the relationship before it had a chance to begin. Which it shouldn’t have.

The fallout makes the town choose sides, and causes a family rift. It isn’t until Luke finally sweeps Cecily off her feet that the sisters are able to make peace. The romance in this one is very messy.

There’s an intended message here, that men may or may not stick around, but sisters are forever. I think there was a second one about listening to that little voice that tells you something is not a good idea. Cecily knows that Todd isn’t right for her, but she can’t resist the lure. At the same time, she won’t let herself move the relationship forward, because there are just so many things about him she wants to change.

Bailey likes Todd just as he is. It helps that she sees all of him, the entrepreneur and the hard worker, and not just the bad boy image he projects. Which may be another message about falling in love with the real person, and not thinking you’re going to change them.

It was great to see the Sterling sisters get their own HEAs, and it’s always a treat to visit Icicle Falls. I can’t wait to go back in The Lodge on Holly Road!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Four Friends by Robyn Carr + Giveaway

Posted on April 2, 2014April 1, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews> Giveaways

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook, hardcover, audiobook
Genre: women’s fiction
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: March 25, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Gerri can’t decide what’s more devastating: learning her rock-solid marriage has big cracks, or the anger she feels as she tries to repair the damage. Always the anchor for friends and her three angst-ridden teenagers, it’s time to look carefully at herself. The journey for Gerri and her family is more than revealing—it’s transforming.

Andy doesn’t have a great track record with men, and she’s come to believe that for her a lasting love is out of reach. When she finds herself attracted to her down-to-earth, ordinary contractor—a man without any of the qualities that usually appeal to her—she questions everything she thought she wanted in life.

Sonja’s lifelong pursuit of balance is shattered when her husband declares he’s through with her New Age nonsense and walks out. There’s no herbal tonic or cleansing ritual that can restore her serenity—or her sanity.

Miraculously, it’s BJ, the reserved newcomer to Mill Valley, who steps into their circle and changes everything. The woman with dark secrets opens up to her neighbors, and together they get each other back on track, stronger as individuals and unfaltering as friends.

My Review:

I really enjoyed Four Friends, I think because I identified with aspects of all of the characters. And I envied the strength of their friendship. But each of their stories had resonance for me. This is not a story where you get swept away on the tides of romance, Four Friends is a quiet story about women you would like to go out with for one of their early morning power walks.

This is a story about, obviously, four friends. But it’s also the story of four marriages, and the way that some of them bend, some of them break, and the women who are stronger for surviving the things that life has thrown at them.

At the beginning of the story, one woman seems to have it all, one woman is a new age flake, one is throwing out her latest boy toy husband, and one is a widow of mystery. Suddenly, as if Andy’s melodramatic breakup with her second husband the manchild is a catalyst, every woman’s relationship falls apart.

Gerri, who seems to have everything together and a perfect partner in her Phil, discovers that there must be something missing in her marriage that she never saw, because Phil had an affair five years ago, and she totally missed it. Now she feels betrayed and she is furious.

Sonja the new age practitioner, finds herself all alone, when her husband gets totally fed up with years of waterfalls and chakra balancing and totally bland meals and leaves. She never saw it coming, because she was so busy trying to do good for him that she never listened to him. Sonja has a psychotic break and descends in extreme clinical depression.

BJ, the widow of mystery, is the one who discovers that Sonja needs medical attention. After a year of keeping herself completely to herself, when she’s needed, she gets involved. From that involvement springs a friendship that uncovers the secret she’s been hiding.

And Andy gets involved with the man remodeling her kitchen, a sweet, gentle soul who is nothing like the hardbodied boy-men she has been attracted to all her life.

Every one of the women is in a different place, but the circumstances that they are in reflect versions of the reality of women’s lives in their 30’s and 40’s. Gerri misses the partnership she had with her husband, but doesn’t know how to move past, not merely the betrayal, but the fact that she didn’t know. It strikes both at her self-confidence and her trust. She can’t help blame herself that she didn’t listen, didn’t see that what was perfect for her was less than perfect for her husband. And he blames himself both for the affair and for not speaking up about what was missing. Meanwhile, their kids act out in their own less than successful attempts to cope.

As we see the world through Gerri’s eyes, we feel the depth of her friendships, and the confusion she’s experiencing as the construct of her world falls apart. Then we empathize as she begins tentative steps to rebuild amidst the chaos.

In each of the women’s stories, we see them reaching for a happy that will be right for them, even if in the cases of Sonja and BJ, that happiness is about learning to be strong in the broken places.

Escape Rating A: Four Friends is a character study of women and their relationships, particularly their relationships with each other. So the story passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors but doesn’t qualify as a romance. And that’s completely okay with me.

One woman finds love in an unexpected direction. Another discovers that she has a lot to learn if she wants to keep the love she has come to rely on. A third has to figure out how to stand on her own, and the fourth still has difficulty trusting even in friendship. But it’s the way they hold each other up, or pick each other up, that makes the story worth following.

True love is not the goal, but sometimes its the reward. True friendship sees them through. And you’ll cheer for each of them as they find their own paths.

GIVEAWAY

We’re giving away a paperback copy of Four Friends by Robyn Carr to one lucky (U.S.) winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Cottage on Juniper Ridge by Sheila Roberts

Posted on March 27, 2014March 25, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction
Series: Life in Icicle Falls #4
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: February 25, 2014
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

How to Change Your Life…

Can a book change your life? Yes, when it’s Simplicity, Muriel Sterling’s guide to plain living. In fact, it inspires Jen Heath to leave her stressful, overcommitted life in Seattle and move to Icicle Falls, where she rents a lovely little cottage on Juniper Ridge. And where she can enjoy simple pleasures—like joining the local book club—and complicated ones, like falling in love with her sexy landlord, Garrett Armstrong.

Her sister Toni is ready for a change, too. She’s got a teenage daughter who’s constantly texting her friends, a husband who’s more involved with his computer than he is with her, and a son who’s consumed by video games. Toni wants her family to grow closer—to return to a simpler way of life.

Other women in town, like Stacy Thomas, are also inspired to unload their excess stuff and some of the extra responsibilities they’ve taken on.

But as they all discover, sometimes life simply happens. It doesn’t always happen simply!

My Review:

This is a sweet treat of a book, and not just because all the characters discuss their problems with regular applications of Sweet Dreams Chocolate from the local chocolatier.

Speaking of Sweet Dreams Chocolate, it is terrific to see how all the lovely people who starred in the previous books in the Icicle Falls series, (Better Than Chocolate, Merry Ex-Mas and What She Wants) are doing now that they have their own HEAs.

But the main characters of The Cottage on Juniper Ridge are Jen Heath, who rents the titular cottage, her sister Toni, and local resident Stacy. They are each, in their various ways, influenced by Muriel Sterling’s latest book, Simplicity. (We also know Muriel from Better Than Chocolate, and why she needed to get some simplicity in her life.)

Jen reads Muriel’s book, and decides that it is time she got some of her own simplicity back. Her life in Seattle has become so busy with the drudgery of two jobs to pay for a condo she can’t afford that she hates her life. So she buys into the siren song of Muriel’s book to the point where she rents a cottage in Muriel’s home town of Icicle Falls and puts her condo in Seattle on the market.

Jen is reaching for a simpler life where she has time to do things she enjoys and kindle some new friendships. She wants to find the joy that she used to have.

What she finds is a hunky landlord who is also a firefighter. She falls into insta-lust, but he thinks she’s a complete flake for turning her life over so irresponsibly. He’s already been in love with one irresistible but irresponsible ditz, and he’s not interested in doing it again, even though he adores the child that came out of his impulsive first marriage.

Jen creates a new life for herself, and hopes that her landlord will eventually get the stick out of his ass and see that the sparks they generate could lead to a real relationship. Garrett, in turn, tries to force himself into a relationship with someone steady and solid. It takes him a long time to realize that the heart wants what it wants, and that looking for the fun in life does not necessarily make Jen selfish, childish or even remotely flakey.

While Jen is getting her new life together, her sister Toni is searching for someplace where her family can not just get away from it all, but disconnect from the electronic gizmos that are always distracting them from each other. It turns out that the little Washington town that her sister moved to on a whim may be the perfect place to find her family again.

Icicle Falls resident Stacy just needs to declutter her life. It takes a cosmic push for her to realize that she doesn’t own her stuff, she has so much stuff that it owns her. It takes a lot of effort, and some whole new ways of thinking, for Stacy to find a channel for her love of finding beautiful things.

Icicle Falls sustains and supports them all.

Escape Rating B+: Like all of the Icicle Falls series, The Cottage on Juniper Ridge is primarily a story about the supportiveness of strong friendships. In this case, the friends are the members of the Icicle Falls Book Club, a group of women who share books, chocolate, and a chance to unwind in a place where everyone understands what the others are going through. It’s their once-a-month break for some “me time” with the BFFs who will be there for them, no matter what.

Jen Heath comes in from the outside, but her shared love of books and the general friendliness of the town is enough to get her adopted by this tight-knit bunch of marvelous women. They help each other through whatever needs to be shared and/or listened to. We all need a group like this in our lives, but it’s hard to find!

The tying element of Muriel’s book, Simplicity, resonates with each of them differently. They are all over-worked or over-committed, and the book makes them stop and think about ways they can de-stress their lives, just a bit.

While it is the story of Jen’s journey of self-discovery that drives the book, Stacy’s story had a tremendous amount of resonance. It’s not just that she has been letting her hunt for beautiful bargains fill her empty nest, but how many memories she has invested in what to other people looks like “stuff”. At the same time, it was great in Stacy’s story to see a long-term marriage that is happy, where the husband is supportive and generally terrific and the couple feels lucky to be together.

Where so many stories ignore women who have achieved their happily ever after, in The Cottage at Juniper Ridge we see a whole range of experiences, from Jen’s search for true love to Toni’s need to reconnect to Stacy’s search for her own purpose within the context of a continuingly happy marriage.

Icicle Falls continues to be a marvelous place to visit, filled with people you’d love to meet. I can’t wait for the next book!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Cider Brook by Carla Neggers

Posted on February 26, 2014February 25, 2014 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: paperback, ebook, audiobook, large print
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Swift River Valley #3
Length: 379 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: January 28, 2014

Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Unlikely partners bound by circumstance…or by fate?

Being rescued by a good-looking, bad-boy firefighter isn’t how Samantha Bennett expected to start her stay in Knights Bridge, Massachusetts. Now she has everyone’s attention—especially that of Justin Sloan, her rescuer, who wants to know why she was camped out in an abandoned old New England cider mill.

Samantha is a treasure hunter who has returned to Knights Bridge to solve a 300-year-old mystery and salvage her good name. Justin remembers her well. He’s the one who alerted her late mentor to her iffy past and got her fired. But just because he doesn’t trust her doesn’t mean he can resist her. Samantha is daring, determined, seized by wanderlust—everything that strong, stoic Justin never knew he wanted. Until now…

My Review:

After having finished this story and had a chance to think about, it feels like the theme of Cider Brook is finding peace with the ghosts of the past. And that applies whether they are they are the ghosts of the long-dead past, or your own past.

A lot of the characters in the story are seeking redemption for something that they feel they did wrong, or think might have been the wrong thing. Part of the story is that the people they think they wronged have died. So they are searching for peace within themselves.

I feel like I should start the way that A Christmas Carol starts; Duncan McCaffrey was dead, to begin with. Yet the story centers around him and his death, even though he isn’t still around.

Duncan was a larger-than-life treasure hunter and explorer. And so was Harry Bennett, Samantha Bennett’s grandfather, also lately deceased. While cataloging and processing her grandfather Harry’s huge and disorganized collections, Sam comes across a painting of a mill over Cider Brook and a handwritten romance novel between a pirate and an English Lady.

Sam recognizes the scene in the painting and is fascinated with the book. She has been hunting pirates all of her professional life, and the story points her towards Knight’s Bridge. Sam was there once before, when she briefly worked for Duncan McCaffrey.

That’s where Sam feels the need for redemption. She concealed her investigation of Knight’s Bridge and her identity as a member of the slightly infamous Bennett family from Duncan. He fired her because he couldn’t trust her after that.

Now she’s back in Knight’s Bridge chasing her pirate legend, and everyone is pretty wary of her and her motives. She wasn’t exactly above board the last time, after all.

A freak thunderstorm forces her to break into that very same Cider Bridge mill for shelter, and when the place catches fire, she gets rescued by Justin Sloan, the same man who outed her presence to Duncan.

The Sloans do their level best to keep her around while Justin investigates what she is there for. He wants to keep her from treasure hunting, and she’s out chasing pirate legends. They strike sparks from the beginning.

As Sam investigates the local legends, she discovers that her pirate may really have been part of the history of Cider Brook and Knight’s Bridge. Her confirmation of that history lies in a little secret that Justin has been keeping from her all along.

Escape Rating B: In the end, it’s the historical story that turns out to be more interesting than the slow-burning love story between Sam and Justin in the present.
I enjoyed the way that the entire Sloan clan adopts Sam and involves her in the wedding and the other events going on while she is there. Even though I haven’t read the first two books in the Swift River Valley series, Sam’s introduction to everyone served as my introduction as well. (Although I am curious enough about the previous stories that I’m planning to read them!)

Sam and Justin arrive slowly at a relationship; they need to trust each other, and at first they really, really don’t.

But the historical investigation is what held my interest. Sam is trying to find a 17th century pirate, and her trail has led her to Knight’s Bridge. The more she digs, the more she discovers, and the closer she comes to a piece of her own past. The way that this thread circled around to the present was very cool.

Sam’s past with Duncan, and why she felt so bad about what happened, is never quite clear. But the subplot it introduces with Duncan’s lawyer, Loretta, and how she felt about encouraging Duncan to fire Sam, as well as Loretta’s inability to move on after Duncan’s death, was a poignant side-plot.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane

Posted on November 12, 2013November 11, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | A Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Series: Forensic Instincts #3
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Date Released: September 24, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

It begins with a chilling phone call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead.

College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they’re posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life—a criminal brought to justice with the help of Forensic Instincts.

Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath’s desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey—a connection that grows closer and closer to her.

Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopathic won’t stop until he makes sure she’s dead.

My Review:

The title is a clue. It’s also a double play on words, both that the killer is a stranger that Casey Woods knows, and that people are often stranger than anyone can know. In this particular instance, quite a bit stranger.

Also this third case that the Forensic Instincts team is investigating (after their awesome beginning in The Girl Who Disappeared Twice and equally compelling followup The Line Between Here and Gone) the two cases that the team is investigating are both about a stranger, and about someone that team leader Casey Woods knew all too well.

The kidnapping, rape and murder of her best friend 15 years ago was the impetus for Casey’s founding of Forensic Instincts in the first place. It may also be linked to the cold case that a dying father has asked them to re-open.

But when a serial rapist and murderer starts taunting Casey on the phone, linking new crimes to her past and to a psychopath definitely behind bars, the team scrambles to figure out what the link is between a prisoner supposedly without privileges and a killer who is definitely on the loose. Both of whom want revenge on Casey and are determined to torment her by killing an ever-tightening circle of women who look just like her.

The tension ratchets up higher and higher as the team brings all of their formidable talents to bear on catching the killers; while the shadowy assailant continues to stay one step ahead of them and his motive remains unknown.

Just when it seems that they have finally caught a break in the cold cases, they discover that they have only played into the hands of a convicted serial murder.

Escape Rating A-: What makes the Forensic Instincts series so awesome is the team dynamic. Although this case turns out to be about Casey Woods and her past, the way it gets solved requires the talents of every member of the FI team, except possibly the dog.

The FI team is an absolutely marvelous example of the “Five-Man Band trope”. (See tvtropes.org for complete explanation) If you have never previously delved into tvtropes, be prepared to lose at least an evening.

The story in Stranger is primarily of the suspense/thriller type. The reader follows the team and they solve the puzzle. We don’t know anything until they do. We might guess, but we don’t know, although we do get a couple of extra clues that they don’t, which is what separates this story from a true mystery.

Nevertheless, this is a chilling tale. We spend time following the thought processes of a serial killer and rapist as he self-aggrandizes and justifies his crimes. It’s ugly and so is he.

But it’s absolutely fascinating to watch the team solve the puzzle. The psychopath is one step ahead of them all the way, until the very end. Good triumphs over evil, but the cost is shown to be very, very high.

The ending packs one hell of a jolt.

This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Declan’s Cross by Carla Neggers

Posted on September 23, 2013September 22, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews

Format read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, paperback
Genre: romantic suspense
Series: Sharpe and Donovan, #3
Length: 317 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Date Released: September 1, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

For marine biologist Julianne Maroney, two weeks in tiny Declan’s Cross on the south Irish coast is a chance to heal her broken heart. She doesn’t expect to attract the attention of FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan—especially since a Donovan is the reason for her broken heart.

Emma and Colin are in Ireland for their own personal retreat. Colin knows he’s a reminder of everything Julianne wants to escape, but something about her trip raises his suspicion. Emma, an art crimes expert, is also on edge. Of all the Irish villages Julianne could choose…why Declan’s Cross?

Ten years ago, a thief slipped into a mansion in Declan’s Cross. Emma’s grandfather, a renowned art detective, investigated, but the art stolen that night has never been recovered and the elusive thief never caught.

From the moment Julianne sets foot on Irish soil, everything goes wrong. The well-connected American diver who invited her to Ireland has disappeared. And now Emma and Colin are in Declan’s Cross asking questions.

As a dark conspiracy unfolds amid the breathtaking scenery of Declan’s Cross, the race is on to stop a ruthless killer…and the stakes have never been more personal for Emma and Colin.

My Review:

Declan’s Cross is the third book in Carla Neggers’ Sharpe & Donovan series, and just like the first two books in the series, Saint’s Gate and Heron’s Cove (reviewed over at Book Lovers Inc. here and here), the suspense part of this romantic suspense story involves both a case from Emma’s past as a art recovery expert for her family’s firm from before she became an FBI agent and a mystery out of her grandfather’s murky past.

The case also explores more of Father Finian Bracken’s backstory in Ireland and naturally uses the investigative talents of both Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan. As well it should, as they are both FBI agents.

Emma and Colin came to Ireland to get away from their jobs, but their jobs have found them. It seems as if the past and present have both collided and sought them out, when the last few days of their vacation are interrupted by a message from Maine. Someone from home is coming to a small village in Ireland on vacation, and is planning to pursue an internship in a few months.

It shouldn’t be their business, except that Julianne Maroney is leaving Rock Point to get away from a broken relationship with one of Colin’s brothers. The place she is coming to in Ireland, Declan’s Cross, is the site of the first of a series of unsolved art thefts; and the thief is still active and still taunting Emma’s grandfather. Last and finally, the person who is supposed to meet Julianne at Shannon airport is missing.

Julianne’s plan was to mend her broken heart by finally finishing her master’s degree in marine biology as far away from Rock Point, Maine as she could get. Her acceptance of an impulsive offer to open a marine substation in tiny Declan’s Cross with the woman Lindsay Hargreaves is seen as the act of a young woman looking for a quick way out of her troubles. Then Lindsay turns up dead, and it opens up an investigation not just into her death, but into a crime that has haunted Declan’s Cove and the Sharpe family for ten years.

Some troubles just refuse to stay buried.

Escape Rating B: One of the things I enjoy about the Sharpe & Donovan series is that even though this is romantic suspense, not only is the emphasis on the suspense rather than the romance, but Emma Sharpe definitely does not play into the submissive female stereotype. She’s an FBI agent and she does not lose her gun or need to be rescued. The romantic tension in the story is about how she and Donovan will balance their careers and the different secrets they have to keep from each other.

I also like the way that the cast of characters has been expanding over the three books so far. There are two romantic side plots in Declan’s Cross; one involves Colin’s brother Andy and Julianne (Colin has two other brothers, this has possibilities!) and the other involves Father Finian’s garda friend Sean Murphy and Kitty, the woman who owns the inn. There are a lot of past issues that come out and affect the present, including the romances.

One thing that fascinates me; every story so far has involved, not just Emma’s past working for her grandfather’s art recovery firm, but an actual case that her grandfather worked on back in the day. I wonder how many of his old cases are going to come back to haunt her new FBI team? While her boss’s comment about wishing he could do a Vulcan mind-meld on the old man was hilarious, the team does need to get some cases that aren’t generated from her grandfather’s storied past sooner or later.

That being said, I still had a great time watching Emma and Colin work out more of the kinks in their relationship and investigate a murder while trying to work both around and with the rules since they did not have jurisdiction in Ireland. There were plenty of hints about the future and I’m looking forward to more.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Heron’s Cove by Carla Neggers

Posted on September 18, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Heron's Cove by Carla Neggers Format read: ebook borrowed from the library
Series: Sharpe and Donovan, #2
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Number of pages: 336 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, paperback, mass market paperback, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website | Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

When your safety depends on living a lie…

After escaping certain death, deep-cover agent Colin Donovan is back home on the Maine coast with his new love, FBI art crimes expert Emma Sharpe. Then Tatiana Pavlova, a London-based jewelry designer, arrives in Heron’s Cove, asking for Emma’s help—a prized collection from a lost era of Russian opulence, decadence and rare beauty has resurfaced, and Tatiana warns Emma it’s about to be stolen again. And Colin realizes his nightmare isn’t over. It’s just begun.

And everyone you love is a target…

Emma guards her past closely, and Colin is determined to unlock her secrets. As they investigate the mysterious collection and the equally mysterious Tatiana, they confront their greatest challenge. Now they must count on their expertise—and each other—to outwit an enemy who wants to destroy them and everyone they love most.

Who can you afford to trust?

My Thoughts:

The Sharpe & Donovan romantic suspense series is just as suspenseful in the second outing as it was in the first. Possibly even a bit more.

The romance in this romantic suspense series is different and interesting because it’s not the usual romantic tension of new lovers meeting and navigating the initial rush of attraction–that already happened in Saint’s Gate (reviewed here). In Heron’s Cove, FBI Agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan are trying to figure out whether the love can withstand the incessant pressure of their dangerous careers; as well as the weight of the secrets that both of them still keep.

The story begins with both the danger and the secrets jumping up to bite them; Colin is nearly killed while working deep undercover, and his rescue comes by way of a phone call from a man that Emma knows from one of her secret pre-FBI contacts.

Colin is afraid that the busted operation left too many loose ends that will come up to Maine to chase him down, and equally that there are too many secrets from Emma’s family’s work in art recovery. (Of course he turns out to be right on both counts or we wouldn’t have a story!) Colin always wonders whether everything the Sharpe family has done has been completely legal. He doesn’t like Emma’s secrets, no matter how many of his own he continues to keep.

Emma feels the weight of all the different loyalties that she has accepted in her life. Her boss still believes that her contacts are an added bonus to her work, but there are times when her worlds conflict. The secrets she learned while working for Sharpe’s Art Recovery still have to be kept as an FBI agent, as long as they don’t contravene the law. They don’t, even if they drive Colin Donovan crazy.

And while Colin is still recovering from his last near-death experience, a yacht docks in Heron Cove with visitors who represent a case from Emma’s past. It should be simple, but of course, it isn’t. Especially when the case turns out to involve Colin’s past as well. His recent, and nearly deadly, past.

Verdict: If you like romantic suspense, this series is fun, but I think it works better if you start from Saint’s Gate.

The push/pull of the romance between Colin and Emma is great. He may want to go all alpha male, and his family is certainly wired that way, but Emma doesn’t take a lot of that BS. She is also an FBI agent and is both trained and wired to take care of herself. There is an immense irony that he complains that he doesn’t know everything about her and she can’t know everything about him, and it keeps getting in the way and they both need to just let it go.

The suspense part of this particular story was a lot like a Russian nesting doll, which is possibly the way the author designed it considering the story. There are Russian mobsters, and a stolen collection based on Russian folklore. Then a Russian designer says the collection is going to get stolen again. Then more Russian mobsters, and former mobsters. Along with some ex-wives and ex-daughters. It’s almost tragic enough to be a Russian folktale.

Emma’s grandfather had some very interesting clients. We get to meet another one in book 3, Declan’s Cross. I’m looking forward to finding out more about the most fascinating character in the whole series so far, Father Finian Bracken, who is supposed to look like Bono.

4-Stars

I give Heron’s Cove by Carla Neggers 4 nested stars!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Saint’s Gate by Carla Neggers

Posted on September 16, 2013December 1, 2013 by Marlene Harris | Author : Marlene Harris | 4 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Saint's Gate by Carla Neggers Format read: ebook borrowed from the Library
Series: Sharpe and Donovan, #1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: Aug. 23, 2011
Number of pages: 400 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, mass market paperback, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website | Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK)

Two people, isolated by their pasts. An obsessive killer who will force them together. Welcome to Saint’s Gate.
Emma Sharpe is summoned to a Maine convent, partly for her FBI art crimes work, partly because of her past with the Order. At issue is a mysterious painting of Irish lore and Viking legends. But when the nun who contacted her is murdered, it seems legend is becoming deadly reality.

Colin Donovan is one of the FBI’s most valuable deep-cover agents. Back home in Maine after his latest mission, a contact clues him in to an intrigue of murder, international art heists and long-held secrets that is too tempting to resist. As danger spirals ever closer, Colin is certain of only one thing—Emma Sharpe is at the center of it all.

My Thoughts:

In Saint’s Gate, we have the opening of a romantic suspense series where the emphasis is definitely on the suspense rather than the romance. This reader is grateful that the series does not look like it is going to revolve endlessly around the heroine’s lame inability to decide between love interests.

Not only is that trope verging on TSTL, but in this case, it would be less sensible than usual, as heroine Emma Sharpe is an FBI agent. It’s a job requirement that she be decisive, even in her rather complicated personal life.

The complications in Emma’s personal life form the background for this case, and are also the extras that she brings to the table as part of the FBI’s High Impact Team (HIT). Emma’s family is in the art detection business, and have been for generations. They find lost treasures, they are respected art appraisers. Some might even say the Sharpes are treasure hunters.

But before Emma became an FBI agent, she spent three years of her life as a novice at the convent of the Sisters of the Joyous Heart, a convent devoted to art restoration and teaching art.

The case, and the series, begins when one of the sisters is murdered. The question is why Sister Joan asked Emma to visit. Was there a painting? A problem? Nothing about her request for Emma to visit was within the rules of the Order.

There are too many questions about whether the murder is related to Sister Joan, the convent, a painting, to Emma, an FBI case, or Emma’s family connections. There are endless possibilities.

Added to those possibilities is Colin Donovan. Also an FBI agent, and also originally from that same rocky coast of Maine. But unlike Emma, Colin generally works deep undercover. Emma and Colin should not know each other. Initially they don’t. Except…Emma’s art expertise provided the information that Colin used to put away someone very, very bad. It’s just barely possible that this murder has something to do with Colin’s case.

Sticking his head up, identifying himself to too many people might expose him too publicly as an FBI agent. Colin Donovan might just have to come in out of the cold. Emma Sharpe might just make it worth Colin’s while, if this case doesn’t get them both killed.

Verdict: Although Saint’s Gate is romantic suspense, it definitely falls more on the suspense side of the equation. Not just because the subtitle “a novel of suspense” is a dead giveaway, but because the point of the story is solving the crime, not the romance. Emma and Colin are meant to be.

The story does carry the weight of setting up the series, so there is a certain amount of information that needs to get conveyed about both families and the Heron Cove/Rock Point area of Maine. Readers need the stage set. The most fascinating side-character in the story so far is Father Finian Bracken from Ireland. (How he gets to Maine from his native Ireland and meets Colin is told in Rock Point; while it’s billed as book #0.5 in the series, it was written between books 2 and 3).

The cool thing about this story is how much everyone’s past is influencing the present. Emma’s past life as a novice brings her into the case, and her history with the convent influences how she thinks about the people involved. Also her past influences how people think about her. Father Finian’s past, especially escaping it, brought him to Maine.

Emma’s grandfather’s past is wrapped up in the present crime, as is the past of the founder of the convent and others who were their contemporaries. The truth about those not knowing the past being condemned to repeat it is very much in evidence.

I’ve already started Heron’s Cove the second book in the series, because I enjoyed visiting this place with these people. I’m looking forward to more of their adventures.

4-Stars

I give Saint’s Gate by Carla Neggers 4 brightly painted stars!

Share this:

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Share this:

Share this:

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY