Special Edition Cover Reveal-Haunting Joy by Lena Goldfinch

About the Book

Joy’s new dress has a secret – one with a little supernatural history, one that’s a little more than she expected.

It all starts one ordinary afternoon, as seventeen-year-old Joy tries on some thrift-store clothes her grandmother gave her. The little white dress fits perfectly. Trouble is, now it won’t leave her alone. Soon Joy is swept up in an extraordinary journey to help a ghost complete some unfinished business. If only that didn’t involve Joy driving through dangerous intersections...or calling up her high-school crush, Nick...or getting stuck at a cemetery after dark.

Will Joy accept this ghostly challenge to be "more"? And just how far will she go to uncover the truth?

Light Paranormal Novella

 ~ Coming October 20, 2013

COVER REVEAL:

My Impressions: 

October is the perfect time to launch this book! Isn't October the month that is set aside for Ghosts and Goblins and everything spooky? I love the cover. The dress hanging there with the light giving it a bit of an "other-worldly" glow piques my interest. And while I am not a believer in Ghosts and Goblins I am definitely a fan of stories featuring Ghosts, Goblins and other Spooky Specters. AND I am a sucker for anything with the name JOY in the title as my youngest daughter is named Joy! With the flowers dotting the j and the i the font used for the title gives me the impression that the story is not scary, but maybe a bit more light-hearted. Having read Songstone by the same author I am looking forward to reading Haunting Joy. 

A Note About the Cover

The special edition (black and white) cover is for the paperback version of the book only, for some extra “spooky” fun. The purple and pink cover is for the e-book version.

Which cover do you prefer? The special edition(black and white) paperback cover or the purple and pink e-book version? I'm kind of torn as for the black and white edition I didn't fully see that the dress was hanging on a door with a latch. The door is more pronounced in the color photo. But in the black and white photo you get more of the affect of the light coming through the door and the dress...

About the Author/Cover Designer

Lena lives in a scenic small town in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and a very spoiled Black Lab. She writes fiction for young adults, mostly light fantasy with a healthy dose of "sigh-worthy" romance. You can visit her online at www.lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com.  

About the Blog Tour

Haunting Joy will be released October 20, 2013. To celebrate, there will be a blog tour October 22-31, complete with reviews, giveaways, and Halloween fun! Visit the blog tour page to keep up-to-date on the latest book and blog tour news, including information on how to purchase the special edition paperback when it’s available.

I will definitely be looking forward to reading Haunting Joy in October. How about you? Do you set aside October as the month to read Ghost/Scary Stories? 

 

Thread of Suspicion by Susan Sleeman

Luke Baldwin's company SatCom is on the line when someone hacks into his supposedly unhackable military program. Having sunk all of his money into this program, and his reputation on the line, Luke must convince Dani Justice that he is innocent of treason and that someone is out there trying to sabotage him.

Dani too has to do some convincing, with her family that is. Growing up the youngest sibling in the Justice family, Dani has had to fight over and over for her independence. Convinced that Luke is innocent Dani wants to take his case even though she knows that the other members of the Justice team will say no.

Much to both Luke and Dani's dismay there is an immediate attraction between the two. But Dani is leery of overbearing-take-charge men and Luke cannot allow a woman in his life until he is able to provide for her. When the hacker/killer continues to destroy the safety nets that they set up, the Justice siblings close ranks around Dani. Things proceed beyond either of their control and they are thrown together with Luke determined to keep Dani safe and Dani determined that she will not be over-run by another man in her life.

My Review:

From the first page THREAD OF SUSPICION had me sitting on the edge of my seat! The suspense had me stressed out and the romance was pretty sweet. I loved reading about another Justice sibling. I believe each book in the Justice Agency series could stand alone since this is the second book in the series that I have read and I actually started with the 3rd book in the series. I have the first two on my Kindle and plan to read them when I go on vacation soon. The author manages to keep the pace of the story moving quickly with no time for the reader to become complacent. For a fast-paced mystery/romance be sure to check out The Justice Agency series. I look forward to the next installment, I'm hoping that Derrick Justice has his day.

Other books in the Justice series:

Double Exposure
Dead Wrong
No Way Out

Visit author Susan Sleeman at her website HERE

Glittering Promises by Lisa T. Bergren

As the Kensington's and the Morgan's continue on The Grand Tour every precaution is being taken to keep the group protected from falling into the hands of Nathan Hawke. They are also trying to remain out of the spotlight so that Nathan and his group will not know where they are traveling to.

Cora's father, sensing that she has a head for business even though she is a woman, insists on teaching Cora every aspect of the business much to Andrew Morgan's dismay. Things are tense between he and Val which he blames on Cora.

A generous gesture by Cora has the group being introduced to Eleonora, a young widow who owns a vineyard. Eleonora invites the group to come visit her in Italy and they accept. Eleonora is quite attractive and catches the eye of the men in the group, including Will. This causes friction between Cora and Will.

When the group reaches Rome they are swarmed by reporters. Pierre shows up for one last attempt to win Cora's heart. Danger and tragedy await them in Rome. Will Cora and Will's love survive or will Cora's heart be wooed away by Pierre? 

My Thoughts:

With this being the end of the Grand Tour we can see how much the individuals have grown during the tour. Cora has found her place among her siblings and even has earned the respect of her father. I enjoyed the descriptions of the sites throughout the Grand Tour and even enjoyed some intrigue as Cora's life seems to be in danger throughout. I did find myself getting frustrated with Cora and Will's relationship. Jealousies and spats throughout had me wondering if this couple should really get together. All was settled to my satisfaction at the turning of the last page. If you are an armchair traveler, romance lover, historical fiction fan then The Grand Tour series will be the perfect series for you to read just as it was for me!

Read my reviews of the first two books in the Grand Tour series:

Glamorous Illusions
Grave Consequences

I received my copy of Glittering Promises from the publisher David C. Cook through NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion.

Dark Justice by Brandilyn Collins

Hannah and her mother have just spent a wonderful couple of days away and are now headed back to their home. Hannah decides to take a different way home. When they come upon an accident they pull over and try to help the old gentleman laying beside his car. He tries to tell them something before the ambulance arrives but all they understand is "don't tell anyone" and "Raleigh".

Hannah's mother is suffering from dementia and in her confused state has decided that the gentleman wants them to find his daughter in Raleigh. When Hannah and her mother arrive home Hannah finds a computer flash drive in her coat pocket that was not there earlier in the day. She decides to see what is on it. While looking at the images the doorbell rings. Two FBI men are there wanting to ask her questions. They make her very uncomfortable and she demands that they leave. When the local law enforcement asks her to come in to make a statement about the accident Hannah becomes paranoid finding that the FBI agents were not legitimate. Hannah doesn't know who to trust with a secret she barely knows anything about but that is so important someone would kill for it. Being pursued by people that will stop at nothing to find out what she knows Hannah takes her mother and tries to disappear in order to find anyone that she can trust.

Brandilyn Collins has written a scary tale of domestic terrorism that in reality can too easily be accomplished. DARK JUSTICE kept me on the edge of my seat and I believe I read it in one day! Hannah's quandary in whom she could trust along with her desire to keep her mother and daughter safe added to the tension of what was going on behind the scenes with the terrorists. I really liked that Hannah was strong enough to take care of "bad guys" and take care of her ailing mother who would have episodes of screaming fits that had me cringing even though I couldn't technically "hear" them. If you are a fan of suspense then I highly recommend DARK JUSTICE.

I received my copy of DARK JUSTICE from the publisher B&H through NetGalley. This is my honest opinion of the book.

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton

Another addition to the Kinsey Millhone collection. This time we learn a bit more about Kinsey's family that she never knew existed. She gets to meet some cousins that she wishes she didn't have which makes for some funny/tense moments in the book. She gets to solve a couple of murders and have an old love interest turn up. It was fun to once again visit the 80's where Kinsey has been since the debut of A is for Alibi. Reading about her having to grab handfuls of change to make calls from a phone booth, having to leave her door open so she could hear the ringing of her telephone while she was outside, and a description of a Walkman all had me reminiscing about "the good old days"! With the way Kinsey likes to keep her life uncluttered I could not imagine her living in 2013. Being attached to all of our electronic gadgets would send her over the edge! Three more books to go in the alphabet and the series will be over. Considering that it takes Sue Grafton a couple of years to finish each book, by my calculation we have about 6 more years to wait for the end of the series. While I am impatient for each book to come out I have to admit that because the author is not churning out a book every 6 months the series is well researched and she manages to keep the character fresh while still keeping her in the 80's. W is for Wasted was a solid addition to the series but yeah, I'm looking forward to Z!

I borrowed this book from my local library and was not required to write a review for it.

Andi Unexpected by Amanda Flower

Andora "Andi" Boggs and her older sister Bethany have come to live with their Aunt after the death of their parents. Both girls are still going through the grieving process and Bethany is less than happy that she and Andi are sharing a room. When Andi finds out that her father's room used to be the attic she asks her Aunt if she can move up there. The neighbor boy, Colin, comes to help Andi clean out the attic. When they discover a hidden trunk with Andora's name on it they find themselves in the middle of a mystery that they both want to find answers to. Who was the first Andora? And why won't anyone talk about her?

My Review:

 I am an absolute sucker for mysteries! From the time I started seriously reading on my own when I was 10, mysteries were my favorite genre. After having read The Appleseed Creek series by the same author I knew that I had to read Andi Unexpected and that I would not be disappointed. As a children's book Andi Unexpected was a quick read but not without great content. I found myself transported to childhood again as I followed Andi and Colin on their quest to find the answers to the original Andora. I would recommend this book to any 5th through 8th grader(even younger if they are mature readers and older if they don't mind reading about younger characters). Andi did find herself in a couple of tricky/dangerous situations that had me a little tense while reading, but that just added to the fun of the mystery. A great beginning to a new series by Amanda Flower!

A couple of scenes I liked in the book:

Andi's attire for church and Bethany's objection to it reminded me so much of my daughters. My youngest daughter would wear the exact same type outfit that Andi wore and my oldest daughter would comment pretty much the same way Bethany did. Made me laugh!

A scene I especially cracked up at was when Andi and Colin were talking to Miss Addy about the name Andora. Miss Addy commented,

"I miss names like Ruth or Mary or Rebecca. It's all Apple, Mango, and Pear these days. What, do people think they are making a fruit salad instead of naming a child?"

That had me laughing out loud as I am always on the lookout for those odd and unusual names that people tend to name their children nowadays. I share with a friend and we have a good laugh along with shaking of our heads in wonder. Miss Addy put it perfectly!

The Appleseed Creek Mysteries by Amanda Flower:

A Plain Death(not read yet)
A Plain Scandal
A Plain Disappearance

Amanda Flower has another series out, The India Hayes Mysteries, that I have not read yet.

I received my copy of Andi Unexpected from the publisher Zonderkidz through NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion.