Perfect Girl

by

Tracy Banghart

A haunted house, a huge storm, no cell service, wifi, or electricity: the perfect setting for a sleepover!

Perfect Girl is a new young adult horror novel by author Tracy Banghart, who pulls out all the stops to create the perfect backdrop for an innocent sleepover gone wrong. Realistic teen characters dealing with authentic, real-world problems are inadvertently caught up in someone’s deadly obsession with finding the perfect girl.

As if high school isn’t hard enough already? 

The main character, Jessa Morgan, exudes cheer, charm, and kindness, but underneath, her joy is just a façade. She’s an extreme people pleaser, and her carefully curated, perfect persona is approaching its breaking point. While facing the fears the night brings, Jessa also confronts her overwhelming need to be all things to all people, which has been fueled from childhood by her mother’s hopes and high expectations. However, she’s not the only one in her circle who’s struggling. Alexis is bi, and it’s killing her that she hasn’t been able to reveal this to her parents. Another friend, Tiny, who has drifted away from their close-knit group, is secretly trapped in an abusive relationship with an older guy. Even Jessa’s brother, Josh, is dealing with issues. Long ago, he abdicated his role as the responsible firstborn to his younger sister, and he is also struggling with living up to his parents’ impossibly high expectations. With Jessa doing all the heavy lifting, he may have just given up even trying to match her successes at home and school. 

There’s a sweet mutual crush developing between Jessa and Ryan, Josh’s best friend, but she’s too embedded in adhering to the standards of behavior from a more conservative time. She won’t make the first move, and he’s being held back by something that won’t let him clearly indicate his interest in her. But eventually, the courage is mustered to speak up. 

In a concurrent storyline, six high school girls in nearby York have gone missing in as many months. The ongoing events of one such disappearance unfold through the eyes of the sixth missing girl. The storylines eventually converge, and the horrific truth is shocking. 

The author establishes a tense, suspenseful setting with Jessa’s secluded house, which is mostly jokingly said to be home to a female teenage spirit, and her parents’ overnight absence. Situated on the edge of a woods with spotty cell service, at the best of times, Jessa and her sleepover guests, her brother, and his friend, Ryan, are further isolated when major storms roll in and take out the electricity. I was quickly caught up in the story, surprised by the plot twists, and entertained from start to finish. 

I recommend PERFECT GIRL to readers of young adult horror stories and thrillers. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

A Bad Bout of the Yips

From the Case Files of Steve Rockfish, #3

by

Ken Harris

A riveting crime fiction tale I was unable to put down!

A Bad Bout of the Yips is the third book in author Ken Harris's crime fiction series featuring PI Steve Rockfish. From the start (of this book or any in the series), readers old enough to know will immediately feel his kinship with the old-school investigators and the nod to and nostalgia of the classic PI television shows from the 1970s, such as The Rockford Files. If you loved those shows, this is the series for you! If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is still a series you'll want to give a look-see. 

Steve Rockfish is a cool customer, a tough guy, and he needs to be in his line of work, especially as he's going up against the mob in this real estate development-themed crime fiction tale. His young partner, Jawnie McGee, is still reeling after the previous book's events. This normally steadfast and stand-up gal shows some vulnerability in her fragile state, but although she struggles early on to regain her footing, she comes on strong later in the story. 

This third book has multiple storylines, some involving old nemeses that harken back to previous books. However, the third time's the charm as storylines converge and are wrapped up. The Baltimore and other Maryland and New Jersey settings were comfortable yet fresh (I'm just done to death sometimes with Chicago and NYC). I loved the cultural nods and the guessing game to identify the source of the references with Lynn. 

The case that lands Rockfish and McGee in dutch involves a lesbian couple who have purchased a rundown miniature golf business out from under the nose of a large real estate development corporation with mob ties. Immediately after taking possession, threatening messages appear, and an escalating series of vandalism plagues the property, including anti-gay slogans spray painted across the buildings and inflammatory fliers pepper the neighborhood to stir up trouble with the locals. What follows on the way to resolution are twists and turns, tense action and danger, told with a riveting vim and vigor that I found myself smiling as I read, completely engaged and unable to put the book down until the last page was turned. 

I recommend A BAD BOUT OF THE YIPS to readers who enjoy crime fiction, old-school PI heroes, a Baltimore setting, and fans of the previous novels in the series. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

Teacups and Temptations

by

Kate Ellington

Thoroughly enjoyable, sweet romance!

Teacups and Temptations is a new historical romance by Kate Ellington, and I was thoroughly charmed by the fun, young protagonists and their innocent yet ill-considered plans for an unchaperoned month-long stay at a country home. The story is lighthearted, with plenty of amusing and innocent escapades and cautiously developing romantic feelings, perfect for an entertaining and satisfying sweet romance.

Molly Merriwether and her best friend, Caroline Darby, have waited with great anticipation for their planned visit to Waverly Hall so Caroline can further her acquaintance with the eligible son of the house, Benedict Clarke, with whom she’s exchanged letters since meeting the previous summer. But when they are finally on their journey, their chaperone, Caroline’s Aunt Hazel, falls ill but sends the girls ahead with the belief that Benedict’s parents will be there to ensure all the proprieties are met. However, when the girls reach Waverly Hall, they discover the elder Clarkes are away with only Benedict, his older brother, Frederick, and a school friend, Roger, to host them. Molly and Caroline convince themselves that since Aunt Hazel will surely be along in a day or so, it would be alright for them to remain at the house alone with the young men, and besides, who would ever find out?

Molly is the youngest child and only daughter in her family with three older brothers who have, undoubtedly, helped shape her confident and bold personality and, most assuredly, fueled her unique interest in seeing the inside of a tavern for herself. She naively risks her reputation and that of her best friend, Caroline, when she champions their plan to remain at Waverly Hall when they discover the parents of Caroline’s potential beau are not in residence when they arrive sans an ailing Aunt Hazel, who had been left to recuperate at an inn.

Molly is determined that her friend should have the opportunity to get to know Benedict, the young man her parents have tentatively selected as her match, trusting no one will ever find out they stayed under the same roof with three eligible bachelors without a proper chaperone. While the five young people play fast and loose with the proprieties (Molly does get to visit a tavern!), they conduct themselves with proper decorum.

I enjoyed the typical girl talk between Molly and Caroline about the progress of Caroline’s and Benedict’s relationship and the fun and, often, awkward moments Molly shared with Roger and his loving and loyal companion dog, Penny. The back and forth, ups and downs, and restrictions on behavior maintain a delightful tension, as does the interesting side story involving the maid, Kitty, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Lane. While the romances aren’t love at first sight, the characters have to work out their feelings for themselves before pursuing their hearts’ desires; these slow-burn relationships kept me fully engaged and hoping for a HEA.

I recommend TEACUPS AND TEMPTATIONS to readers of historical romances.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.

The Best General in the Civil War

by

Conrad Bibens

Fictionalized yet riveting story of the life of General George Thomas and his service to the Union during its most critical times.

The Best General in the Civil War by Conrad Bibens is the fictionalized yet riveting story of the life of General George Thomas and his critical contributions in service to the country before, during, and immediately after the Civil War. The author has General Thomas tell his own tale from childhood to post-Civil War using the device of an imaginary writing of a memoir, as dictated to his wife, Frances Kellogg Thomas, in response to an inflammatory newspaper article five years after the end of the war. In truth, Thomas destroyed his personal papers prior to his death. 

While the name of George Thomas has been overshadowed by that of Ulysses Grant and William Sherman, many historical observers and scholars of the war paint Thomas as the true reason for many of the Union’s critical victories. Readers are presented with the facts from Thomas’s perspective about his experiences during the war. His words are those of a proud and confident storyteller, giving voice to his successes and disappointments, many of which came at the hands of supposed friends and representatives of the government of which he served. I came away with a very different view of what this war was like, with details of dismissed strategies and missed opportunities, miscommunications, ineffective leadership, and poor decisions on both sides of the conflict. Battles are tense and exciting and described with a clear choreography that even I, unskilled and uneducated in such, could follow and envision. 

The story is as exciting as any adventure tale, often evoking emotional responses to events long past, especially when discussing the gut-wrenching decisions our ancestors made to stay with the United States or secede. The tale brought to life the fact that these fighting men had all been classmates or had served together previously before facing each other from opposite sides. It is often pointed out that families were split apart, with brothers fighting brothers, but usually, this is intoned in very general terms. This book names names, families where this actually occurred, making this tragedy personal and all the more heartbreaking. I didn’t know that President Lincoln himself had a brother-in-law who sided with the Confederates and was killed in action fighting against Union troops. Thomas was separated from his entire family save one of his brothers for the rest of his life and vilified by the people of his home state of Virginia for staying true to his military oath. 

I recommend THE BEST GENERAL IN THE CIVIL WAR to readers of historical fiction, especially those interested in the Civil War. 

Content warning: slavery, war, death, Ku Klux Klan

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Book Blog Tours.

Death in the Ozarks

Sally Witherspoon Mystery, #1

by

Erik S. Meyers

Murder at the biker bar!

Death in the Ozarks is the first novel in author Erik S. Meyers's entertaining Sally Witherspoon Mysteries and is a fine debut for the series. The author creates a great small hometown vibe and introduces readers to a direct and confident new amateur sleuth. 

Sally Witherspoon, a transplant from Atlanta, Georgia, has been in Berry Springs, Arkansas, deep in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, for 15 years. In that time, she has built herself a successful second career as the owner of a biker bar with the help of her old college friend and business partner, Bill Arnold. When she discovers Bill's body behind the bar after closing one Saturday night, she is understandably invested in finding his killer. Still, I felt she was way too eager and convinced she was the only person who could solve the case. 

The plot moves quickly, with Bill's murder occurring early in the story, and Sally wastes no time jumping into investigator mode. The author does a great job developing the town of Berry Springs, presenting the leading citizens and secondary characters through their appearance at Sally's Smashers biker bar during the opening chapter, and additional residents are introduced as they are encountered during her investigation. The author also does justice to the scenic Ozark setting, and the plethora of bikers typically found enjoying the forested mountain byways. 

I recommend DEATH IN THE OZARKS to cozy mystery readers, especially those who like bikes, bikers, biker bars, and the beauty of the Ozark region. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.