Review: Proof Of Lies


Author: Dianna R. Wallach.
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Mystery. 
Rating: đŸ«đŸ«đŸ«đŸ«


Some secrets are best kept hidden…

Anastasia Phoenix has always been the odd girl out, whether moving from city to international city with her scientist parents or being the black belt who speaks four languages.

And most definitely as the orphan whose sister is missing, presumed dead.

She’s the only one who believes Keira is still alive, and when new evidence surfaces, Anastasia sets out to follow the trail—and lands in the middle of a massive conspiracy. Now she isn’t sure who she can trust. At her side is Marcus, the bad boy with a sexy accent who’s as secretive as she is. He may have followed her to Rome to help, but something about him seems too good to be true.

Nothing is as it appears, and when everything she’s ever known is revealed to be a lie, Anastasia has to believe in one impossibility.
She will find her sister.


I love the cover! It's so gorgeous and perfectly suits the story. I love the blue colours too!


Proof of Lies was an engaging, suspenseful read. The fact that it was a YA Suspense made it all the more fun for me!

I loved all the mystery about Anastasia's parents, but I hated the fact that it wasn't revealed in this book. I really hope it is in the sequel!

As for the characters, Anastasia was a really relatable character. The way her feelings for her sister switched because of the circumstances totally made sense. She wasn't a devout, neither did she hate her sister. Marcus was a sweet character too, and kinda seemed too good to be true. 

The storyline was flawless, and I loved all the sleuthing Anastasia and Markus did together. 

Overall, Proof of Lies was an engaging and fun read!








Review: Mister Tender's Girl


Author: Carter Wilson. 
Genre: Psychological Thriller. 
Rating: đŸ«đŸ«đŸ«đŸ«đŸŹ


How far are you willing to go for Mister Tender?

At fourteen, Alice Hill was viciously attacked by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn’t exist. His sinister character is pop-culture fiction, created by Alice’s own father in a series of popular graphic novels.

Over a decade later, Alice has changed her name and is trying to heal. But someone is watching her. They know more about Alice than any stranger could: her scars, her fears, and the secrets she keeps locked away. She can try to escape her past, but Mister Tender is never far behind. He will come with a smile that seduces, and a dark whisper in her ear…
Inspired by a true story, this gripping thriller plunges you into a world of haunting memories and unseen threats, leaving you guessing until the harrowing end.


The cover is simple, yet has an air of mystery to it. It's definitely different than the typical mystery covers, and that may be the reason why I didn't realize it was a thriller until I started reading. 


Right from the beginning, Mister Tender's Girl pulled me into its story. There wasn't a dull moment in the book. 

Alice's story was disturbing. The way a character created by her dad led to such tragic events in her life chilled me. 

The story itself was one big mess. In an interesting way, of course. I couldn't stop reading, and yet, I didn't want to know what happens next. Told you, it was a mess. 

And that is exactly why I loved it. I love psychological thrillers that mess with your head. The kind of books that make you wonder about things you'd never think about on your own. 

All in all, Mister Tender's Girl was a chilling, goosebumps-raising read that will leave you paranoid and make you wonder whether you want to hug the book or throw it away. 





Book Blitz: Morgan Is Missing



Author: K. Hanson.
Genre: New Adult, Thriller.


Kayla Falk is trying to move past the traumatic events of her mission in Syria and settle into a comfortable engineering job. However, when Morgan Bellamy, the younger sister of Kayla’s late best friend, disappears while on vacation, Kayla doesn’t hesitate to jump into action to find her. As Kayla investigates, she learns that Morgan has become trapped in a hellish human trafficking situation. Kayla is determined to find Morgan before she slips into the shadows forever.

Content Warning: This book is about sex trafficking. While I avoid explicit, graphic depictions of sexual violence, due to the nature of the subject matter, it is definitely implied that it takes place.



Blue eyes and a laughing smile, framed by wavy golden hair.
Those blue eyes stared back at Kayla Falk as she looked at the picture on her desk of her best friend Olivia. Her late best friend, that is. Even now, more than a year after returning from Syria, Kayla couldn’t quite believe that she’d never again hear the laugh that went with that smile. She had hoped the pain would fade away after enough time in a calm engineering job in Minneapolis, but it never did. It just lingered and, if anything, became heavier with time.
“Hey, Kayla!”
The shout tore her from her thoughts. Kayla blinked away the tears that had formed in her green eyes and turned her swivel chair around to see Olivia’s blue eyes looking back at her.
Except, they weren’t Olivia’s.
These eyes belonged to Morgan, Olivia’s younger sister, who stood in the doorway to Kayla’s office. “Hey, Morgan.” Her voice broke, though she smiled at the sight of her friend. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you all right?” asked Morgan, tilting her head.
Kayla cleared her throat. “Just have a tickle in my throat.”
“If you say so. Anyway, just stopping in to say bye to my dad before I meet up with Amanda and head out to the Black Hills. You know, you should really come with us,” said Morgan.
“I wish I could, but I really need to get some work done here.” Kayla gestured to the pile of paperwork that had spilled from its tray and invaded the rest of her desk.
Morgan rolled her eyes and brushed a strand of brown hair out of her face. “Come on. You work for my dad. He’ll let you come if you want to.”
“I’m sure he would. But he’s not the only one waiting for me.” Kayla waved around at the offices of the other engineers. “I have a pile of schematics to finish and pass along.”
“You still working on that wind turbine prototype?” Morgan asked.
“Yup, that’s it. It’s not quite coming along the way I’d hoped it would.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out. Maybe a nice break would inspire you a bit.” Morgan gave Kayla an encouraging smile. “If you can’t get away for a few days, can you at least come to lunch? I can text Amanda to wait a bit longer.”
“Sure, I can make that work.” Kayla turned around to lock her computer. “Where were you thinking of eating?” She threw her coat over her shoulders and walked out of her office with Morgan.
“How about we just hit that sandwich shop down the street?” Morgan suggested. “It’s not far, and they have decent food.”
“Sounds good to me.”
As they headed downstairs, Kayla asked, “How’s the new laptop working out?”
“I love it! It’ll be a big help this next semester. Thanks again. That was quite a Christmas present.”
They stepped out onto the street, with the chill air of the Minnesota winter greeting them and snowflakes floating through the air.
“Don’t worry about it. From what I saw of the old one, you really needed it.”
“For sure. Now it won’t take me eighty years to just open a browser tab.”
They arrived at the restaurant and placed their orders at the counter.
Once they had gotten their food, they carried their trays over to a corner booth and sat down. Between bites of her hot roast beef sandwich, Kayla asked, “So, what are your plans in the Black Hills?”
Morgan shrugged. “We don’t have a lot of concrete plans. I know we’re going to be in Deadwood for New Year’s, but we’re going to be in the Hills for a week after that. I’m not sure how we’ll fill the time. We’ll probably just make it up as we go.”
“That’s a good way to do it. There’s a lot to do and see out there so you won’t get bored.”
“Yeah, I know it’s cold, but there’s some beautiful scenery around there. Just driving through the Hills would be awesome.”
“Why did you decide to go to Deadwood for New Year’s?”
“I’ve heard it can be quite the party. Tons of people come out, and they do fireworks at midnight. Sounds like some of our friends are going to be there as well, so we’re ho Tuping to run into them.”
“I hope you enjoy your last winter break. After this year, you won’t get time off like this again.”
“I know, but I am excited to finish school and finally do something for real.” Morgan flashed a smile and let out a bubbly giggle. “Did I tell you I got that pharmacist position at the children’s hospital?”
Kayla laughed. “You’ve only mentioned it a couple hundred times. I am happy for you, though. It seems like a perfect fit for you.”
“Yeah, after all of the volunteering I’ve done with the children’s hospital, I want to be somewhere I can make a real difference, not just stuck behind a counter at Walmart or something like that.”
“And Sioux Falls isn’t very far away, so you can come back to visit pretty easily.”
“Exactly.” Morgan finished her sandwich and crumpled up the paper wrapping, then checked her phone. “Looks like Amanda is outside with her car. I suppose we should get going. Rapid City is supposed to get some snow tonight, and we want to be there before it hits.”
“Okay. I’ll walk out with you.”
The two of them threw their sandwich wrappers away and walked out the door. Morgan found Amanda’s car and walked up to it. Kayla smiled at Amanda when they made eye contact through the car window. As Morgan reached for the handle, she looked back. “Hey, Kayla, before I head off, have you actually met Amanda?”
“I think I saw her maybe once. Didn’t she pick you up from our sparring practice once?”
Morgan opened the door. “Hey Amanda, come out and meet Kayla.”
Amanda came around the car, her long black hair lying over her shoulders. “I finally get to meet the badass who took out those terrorists at the Union,” she said with a grin.
Kayla touched her collarbone and glanced away. “Yeah, that was me . . . and Olivia.”
“Kayla doesn’t really like to talk about it, Amanda,” said Morgan.
“Sorry, that didn’t come out right. It’s just . . . my brother was one of the people they shot and I wanted to thank you. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about Olivia. She was always kind to me.”
Kayla gave her a nod and a small smile, then turned to Morgan. “I really should get back to work.”
Morgan placed a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “Are you sure you can’t ride with us for a couple of laps around the block? I don’t really think my dad is running a stopwatch on your lunch breaks, especially since he knows you’re out with me. Just take it easy and enjoy the time we have together.”
Kayla laughed. “Not now, but we’ll all go out when you get back.”
“If you really have to get back, I’ll let you go.” Morgan pulled the door open and slid into the passenger seat as Amanda went back to the driver’s side.
“Have a safe trip!” said Kayla as she waved to them.
“We will! See you in a week!” Morgan waved.

# January 8th, 2018 #


Kayla sat upright at her keyboard and heard a knock at her office door. She turned around to see David, her boss and Morgan’s father, standing in the doorway. His brow was scrunched with worry, and his Bellamy-blue eyes had bags underneath.
“Kayla, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked.
“Sure. You look stressed. What’s wrong?”
“Have you heard from Morgan at all?”
Kayla shook her head. “Not since her ‘Happy New Year’ text a week ago. Why?”
David stepped into the room and pulled the door shut. “I haven’t heard anything from her either. I didn’t want to worry about it too much since she’s on vacation, and you know how she is about responding when she’s busy. But they were supposed to be back yesterday. I’ve tried texting and calling her a few times and haven’t gotten anything back.”
“Maybe she just lost her phone. I’m sure Deadwood was crazy that night.”
“I’ve talked to Amanda’s mom, and she’s not having any luck either. Somehow, I doubt they’ve both managed to lose their phones at the same time. And even if they did, they’d have called to let us know they were going to be coming late.”
Kayla frowned. It did seem strange that they would both drop off the grid simultaneously. “Do you think something’s happened to them?”
David shrugged and shook his head. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen anything in the news, at least.” He looked down and wrung his hands before looking back at Kayla. “Would you do me a favor and head out to the Black Hills to see if you can find her? I’d go myself, but I need to look after things here, and I don’t want to be the overprotective father if it’s nothing. I know you’re trying to wrap up this project, but it’s keeping me up at night to think that something could happen to her.”
Tears welled in his eyes and his voice caught in his throat. “I can’t lose Morgan, too.”
Kayla looked over at the photo of Olivia, with Morgan’s same sapphire eyes looking back at her. Kayla still hadn’t told David or Morgan that she had been the one to kill Olivia to spare her from a painful death after being poisoned. I can’t lose Morgan, either, Kayla thought.
“Yes,” she said as she stood up. “I’ll find Morgan. She’s the closest I have to a sister. Everything else can wait.”
“Really? Thank you so much, Kayla.” David wrapped Kayla in a tight embrace. “I always forget that you’re nearly my height until I hug you.”
Kayla returned the hug for a moment but quickly stepped back and glanced away from David. “You don’t need to thank me. You’ve lost one of your daughters already because of me.” Her voice trailed off. After a moment, she clenched her jaw and fixed his eyes with hers. “Now, I’m going to bring the other one back to you.”
“You know I don’t blame you for what happened to Olivia. I know you did your best.”
Kayla held up her hand to stop David from speaking. “I know you don’t blame me, but I blame me because it was my fault.”
He stepped toward her, but Kayla put a firm hand on his shoulder. “I don’t feel like arguing about it. Where do you think I should start looking for Morgan?”
David shook his head. “I don’t really have any clues to offer you. The last place I knew she visited is Deadwood. I don’t know anything more specific than that. She has some pictures up on Facebook, though. Maybe you could look through those to see if any of them would help.”
“I’ll do that. I’ll just head home now to start packing and thinking about where to look.”
“Yes, please. Get started as soon as possible.”
Kayla took a long stride through the door and turned toward the stairs to leave, then turned back. “David,” she said, causing him to look back at her, “I’ll find her. I promise.”


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K lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he works as a software developer. In his spare time, when he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading, working out, playing video games, and spending time with his wonderful fiancee, Bobbi. Some of his favorite authors are Tom Clancy, George R. R. Martin, and Sarah Maas.
   
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Guest Post: Jessica Redmerski Shares 10 Weird Facts About Herself


Hey Bibliophiles!

Today I have the pleasure to host the amazing Jessica Redmerski on my blog! She's the author of the Everything Under The Sun, a post-apocalyptic romantic suspense novel! 


Jessica will be sharing 10 weird facts about herself, but before that, let me tell you a bit more about her. 




Jessica Redmerski is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and award winner who juggles several genres of fiction.

She also writes as J.A. Redmerski.



10 Weird Things About Jessica Redmerski

1) I’m terrified of heights, particularly airplanes or anything man-made (rides at the fair, elevators, tall buildings, etc.). But just thinking about being on a plane gives me anxiety!

2) I smoked for eleven years, until 2007 when my left lung collapsed and I spent five days in the hospital with a tube hanging out of my chest. It’s safe to say that I’ve never touched a cigarette since.

3) I used to love AMC’s The Walking Dead, watched it religiously, until they killed off Carl, and I haven’t watched an episode since! Yes, I’m THAT serious about my favorite characters.

4) I have such a strong sense of smell that I can smell the toxins and sickness coming off a person’s body who is running a fever.

5) I have a mild case of OCD and hypochondria.

6) I used to have a crush on Nomak from Blade II – yes, the character and not the actor who played him, though there’s certainly nothing wrong with him, either.

7) There will always be a huge place in my heart for 80’s music and movies.

8) I have seen the film, The Lost Boys, sixty-five times and at one point I could recite the movie from beginning to end, word-for-word.

9) I am the author of DIRTY EDEN. (Trust me, this fits perfectly on any list of weird things).

10) Years ago, I used to have dreams about fires and if I ever had them three nights in a row, something close to me would catch fire on the fourth day!



Genre: Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Suspense.



Thais Fenwick was eleven-years-old when civilization fell, devastated by a virus that killed off the majority of the world’s population. For seven years, Thais and her family lived in a community of survivors deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. But when her town is attacked by raiders, she and her blind sister are taken away to the East-Central Territory where she is destined to live the cruel and unjust kind of life her late mother warned her about.

Atticus Hunt is a troubled soldier in Lexington City who has spent the past seven years trying to conform to the vicious nature of men in a post-apocalyptic society. He knows that in order to survive, he must abandon his morals and his conscience and become like those he is surrounded by. But when he meets Thais, morals and conscience win out over conformity, and he risks his rank and his life to help her. They escape the city and set out together on a long and perilous journey to find safety in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Struggling to survive in a world without electricity, food, shelter, and clean water, Atticus and Thais shed their fear of growing too close, and they fall hopelessly in love. But can love survive in such dark times, or is it fated to die with them?


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Review: The Closed Case


Author: Amay Saxena. 
Genre: Mystery Thriller, Novella. 
Rating: đŸ«đŸ«đŸŹ


Hilda’s case was unfathomable. Mystery in itself. A case no one had control over. What one could do was – gape, act, and regret, or die.

Roy, a retired detective, discovers that his helper is abducted by a psychopath, who claims to be an admirer of his work. To save his helper, Detective Roy must travel to Mumbai, where he has some horrendous memories associated with his past, which he has been trying to shun. As Detective Roy arrives in Mumbai, he discovers that it is not just a kidnapping case, but this case is strongly connected to his dark past. A past – he never wish to revisit.
Created from one of the darkest secrets of the most ferocious periods in the world’s history, The Closed Case, is Detective Roy’s journey of unearthing the truth behind something instructable, darkling, and facinorous that might leave you mystified.


The cover is really basic and looks like a template cover. It's clear that the author did not really pay attention to the cover. 


The Closed Case sounded really interesting when I read the synopsis, and though the storyline was pretty good, the execution wasn't. 

I think it could've been a pretty great read if the author had splurged a bit and gotten a professional editor to look over the manuscript before publishing. 

I really liked the storyline, but it was a pain to read redundant sentences, some of which were also riddled with grammatical errors. 

So yeah, I'd give the author a thumbs up for the effort, but also advise him to work on the editing a bit more. 








Interview: Meghyn King, Author of Scarred


Hey guys!

Today I had a fun little chat with Meghyn King, author of the gorgeous book you can see above, Scarred! 


Before I let you take a peek at the interview, let me introduce you to Meghyn! 




Meghyn King was born in a small Australian town where sugar cane burned hot and the working mills smelled sweet. Growing up in Ayr, Queensland, didn't give her many options in friends, but she preferred to create her own anyway. Through the multiple stories she began to write as a child, her characters ranged in age, ethnicity, and gender, with one common attribute with each story: it involved a romance.

She writes with a cat for company and music for inspiration. You'll often find her lost in her imagination, surfacing only for food and a good conversation.



If you had to choose one character from one of your books, which one would you want to be?

Scarred is my debut novel in the het romance genre, so I don’t have many to choose from. Haha. But I definitely love Scarlett. I think she’s the kind of character that you either hate or love, very strong willed and confident, everything I’m not. She’s happy with her curves and I wish I could say the same!

Who are the top five authors who have inspired you to keep writing?

First, the ones who REALLY matter to me. My friends. Brooke Edwards, Ki Knightly, and Susan Reeves. They’ve inspired me to write, to keep going, even when I wanted to give up. Then there’s a couple of well known names: JK Rowling and Stephen King. Why? Because they are humble and kind and truly and utterly care about their stories. They prove that anything is possible if you dream it.

What would you rather drink while writing, tea or coffee?

Neither! I don’t drink coffee or tea. I prefer Coke. I know, I know, it’s bad for you. Haha.

Do you have any pets? If yes, tell us about them!

I do! I have one very spoiled cat who thinks of herself as a writer as well (AKA, she sits on my keyboard as soon as I turn my back. When I come back, I find my manuscript has a lot of extra letters in it.)

Tell us something about your current work in progress?

I’m working on a couple of different stories, but the one that I have the biggest word count on is a mafia romance. I’ve always wanted to write a mafia romance and I’m putting it into action!
What's your favourite quote/line from one of your books?

“We learn things as we get older. You learned to be confident in yourself, I learned to be truthful with myself.”
I think it’s a poignant comment because as we grow older, we realize that the only person’s opinion that matters is your own. You need to be happy with yourself before someone else can accept you for who you are.
If you had to describe your writing style in five words, what would you say?

Oh this is a hard question! I asked a friend to answer it for me because I’m coming up blank. She gave me easy (as in easy to read), realistic, three-dimensional characters, emotional.
What's the worst thing that happened to you as a writer? Any funny/scary anecdotes to share?

I honestly don’t think I’ve had anything BAD happen to me as a writer. I think everything that happens is a learning experience and there isn’t anything bad about it. Although I haven’t personally experienced it yet though, I imagine finding your book on a free download site would be absolutely heartbreaking. We put so much work and time into our stories and to have your hard work be given away for free is devastating.
As I always ask almost every author I interview, are you a plotter or a pantser?

Usually I’m a pantser, but Scarred gave me hell and I had to sit down and plot where I was going with it.
Would you rather fight a dragon or a serial killer?

Pfft. Serial killer! Who wants to hurt a sweet little dragon??



Genre: Contemporary Romance.



Scarlett Prescott wasn’t always confident in her curves. Growing up in a small town where she’d been mocked and taunted for the way she looked left her with plenty of hidden scars. She fled Ponchatoula, Louisiana, within days of graduation and found herself somewhere along the way. Her worth would never be defined by someone else again.

When her sister’s wedding drags Scarlett back to town, her former bully-turned-police officer pulls her over just past the town line. Gorgeous and enigmatic, Ethan Antonelli has definitely grown up in all the right, and unexpected, ways. He might not be the same bully, but Scarlett still takes fierce pleasure in showing him one night worth of everything he missed out on.

What Scarlett doesn’t expect is the slow blossoming feelings as Ethan showers her in that small-town chivalry and romance she’d spent her teen years longing for. His heart belongs to Ponchatoula, and hers isn’t going to make leaving when the wedding is over easy.


2 Paperbacks and 5 eBooks of Scarred up for grabs!


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A Tiny Bookish Survey! :)

Hiya Everyone! I'd love to know what you're looking for in a Book Blog, so I can improve myself! What kind of blogs wo...