TLC Book Tours Book Review: Medium Dead

About Medium Dead

On Sale: April 14, 2015
Pages: 188
Published by : Alibi

Sure to delight readers of Jacqueline Winspear and Ellis Peters, Medium Dead features Queen Victoria herself—and she’s rumored to have slain a local psychic in Newton-upon-Sea. Now the task of clearing her name and catching the real killer falls to Dr. Alexandra Gladstone.

Under Victoria’s reign, women are barred from calling themselves physicians, but that hasn’t stopped Alexandra Gladstone. As the first female doctor in Newton-upon-Sea, she spends her days tending sick villagers in the practice she inherited from her father, with her loyal and sometimes overprotective dog, Zack, by her side.

After the corpse of village spiritualist Alvina Elwold is discovered aboveground at a church boneyard, wild rumors circulate through the charming seaside village, including one implicating a certain regal guest lodging nearby. Tales of the dead Alvina hobnobbing with spirits and hexing her enemies are even more outlandish—but as a woman of science and reason, Alexandra has no doubt that a murderer made of flesh and blood is on the loose.

Finding out the truth means sorting through a deluge of ghostly visitors, royal sightings, and shifty suspects. At least her attentive and handsome friend Nicholas Forsyth, Lord Dunsford, has come to her aid. Alexandra will need all the help she can get, because she’s stumbled upon dangerous secrets—while provoking a deadly adversary who wants to keep them buried.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: I love historical mysteries and the Alexandra Gladstone series is one I'm glad to have discovered. Medium Dead is the fourth book in this series. It is a stand alone novel, but in some cases I wished I could have read one of the previous books so I could get a better understanding of some of the relationships that were already established in this series especially Alexandra and Nicholas, because there's definitely something going on there.

This book is set in Victorian times and features Queen Victoria as a character and as a murder suspect!

Alexandra is the local doctor, though the times do not allow herself that. She's really a smart lady, as she should be for the job she holds. Her assistant, Nancy is really quite spunky too. Then there's Nicholas, Lord Dunsford, who is her love interest in a round about way. I say that because he's a peer of the realm and she's working class and though she's very good at what she does, Nicholas' mama does not approve.

They are setting out to discover who murdered the local medium, a lady found viciously slain in the local cemetery. The Queen is suspect and Nicholas' mom seems to know more about the killing than she lets on.

At under 200 pages, this story is rather fast paced. I loved the characters and setting of the story. I can't not mention the cover art to this book. It is so fantastically creepy. It's perfect for storyline.

I look forward to seeing what happens to Alexandra next and to read the previous books.

Rating: 5 flowers

About Paula Paul

Award-winning novelist Paula Paul was born on her grandparents’ cotton farm near Shallowater, Texas, and graduated from a country high school near Maple, Texas. She earned a BA in journalism and has worked as a reporter for newspapers in both Texas and New Mexico. She’s been the recipient of state and national awards for her work as a journalist as well as a novelist. Her previous novels featuring Dr. Alexandra Gladstone, includingSymptoms of Death, have appeared on bookstore and online bestseller lists. She is also the author of the Mystery by Design series, which she wrote as Paula Carter. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

To learn more about Paula, visit her WEBSITE.

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 Paula Paul’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, April 13th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, April 14th: 100 Pages a Day

Tuesday, April 14th: FictionZeal

Wednesday, April 15th: Fictionophile

Friday, April 17th: It’s a Mad Mad World

Monday, April 20th: Buried Under Books

Monday, April 20th: A Book Geek

Tuesday, April 21st: From the TBR Pile

Wednesday, April 22nd: Reading Reality

Thursday, April 23rd: The Reader’s Hollow

Monday, April 27th: Bibliophilia, Please

Monday, April 27th: Under a Gray Sky

Tuesday, April 28th: Bell, Book & Candle

Wednesday, April 29th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, April 30th: 2 Kids and Tired

Date TBD: Melina’s Book Blog

Date TBD: Psychotic State Reviews

TBD: Snowdrop Dreams of Books

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Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Book Blast: The Witch of Napoli

Join Michael Schmicker as his novel The Witch of Napoli is featured around the blogosphere, and enter to win a copy!

Publication Date: January 15, 2015
Palladino Books
Formats: eBook, Paperback

Genre: Historical Fantasy



Italy 1899: Fiery-tempered, erotic medium Alessandra Poverelli levitates a table at a Spiritualist séance in Naples. A reporter photographs the miracle, and wealthy, skeptical, Jewish psychiatrist Camillo Lombardi arrives in Naples to investigate. When she materializes the ghost of his dead mother, he risks his reputation and fortune to finance a tour of the Continent, challenging the scientific and academic elite of Europe to test Alessandra’s mysterious powers. She will help him rewrite Science. His fee will help her escape her sadistic husband Pigotti and start a new life in Rome. Newspapers across Europe trumpet her Cinderella story and baffling successes, and the public demands to know – does the “Queen of Spirits” really have supernatural powers?

Nigel Huxley is convinced she’s simply another vulgar, Italian trickster. The icy, aristocratic detective for England’s Society for the Investigation of Mediums launches a plot to trap and expose her. The Vatican is quietly digging up her childhood secrets, desperate to discredit her supernatural powers; her abusive husband Pigotti is coming to kill her; and the tarot cards predict catastrophe.

Praised by Kirkus Reviews as an “enchanting and graceful narrative” that absorbs readers from the very first page, The Witch of Napoli masterfully resurrects the bitter 19th century battle between Science and religion over the possibility of an afterlife.

Praise for The Witch of Napoli

"Impressive...an enchanting, graceful narrative that absorbs readers from the first page." -Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Michael Schmicker is an investigative journalist and nationally-known writer on the paranormal. He's been a featured guest on national broadcast radio talk shows, including twice on Coast to Coast AM (560 stations in North America, with 3 million weekly listeners). He also shares his investigations through popular paranormal webcasts including Skeptiko, hosted by Alex Tsakiris; Speaking of Strange with Joshua Warren; the X-Zone, with Rob McConnell (Canada); and he even spent an hour chatting with spoon-bending celebrity Uri Geller on his program Parascience and Beyond (England). He is the co-author of The Gift, ESP: The Extraordinary Experiences of Ordinary People (St. Martin's Press). The Witch of Napoli is his debut novel. Michael began his writing career as a crime reporter for a suburban Dow-Jones newspaper in Connecticut, and worked as a freelance reporter in Southeast Asia for three years. He has also worked as a stringer for Forbes magazine, and Op-Ed contributor to The Wall Street Journal Asia. His interest in investigating the paranormal began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand where he first encountered a non-Western culture which readily accepts the reality of ghosts and spirits, reincarnation, psychics, mediums, divination,and other persistently reported phenomena unexplainable by current Science. He lives and writes in Honolulu, Hawaii, on a mountaintop overlooking Waikiki and Diamond Head.

Connect with Michael Schmicker on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The Witch of Napoli Book Blast Schedule

Monday, April 20
Susan Heim on Writing

Tuesday, April 21
Griperang's Bookmarks

Wednesday, April 22
Genre Queen

Thursday, April 23
History From a Woman's Perspective

Thursday, April 24
To Read, Or Not to Read

Monday, April 27
The Maiden's Court

Tuesday, April 28
A Chick Who Reads

Friday, May 1
Beth's Book Nook Blog

Giveaway

Two copies of The Witch of Napoli are up for grabs. To enter please complete the form below.

RULES

Giveaway starts on April 20th at 12:01am EST and ends at 11:59pm EST on May 1st.
Giveaway is open to residents in the US, UK, AUS/NZ only and you must be 18 or older to enter.
Winners will be chosen via GLEAM and notified via email.
Winners have 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Please email Amy @ hfvirtualbooktours@gmail.com with any questions.

The Witch of Napoli Book Blast

Book Review: Let Me Love You Again

Author: Anna DeStefano
Title: Let Me Love You Again
Publisher: Montlake
Publish Date: April 28, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 

An endearing series about love, family, and the magic of small-town life. Selena Rosenthal left behind her high school sweetheart, who was the love of her life, seven years ago.

Now, she and the once-rebellious Oliver Bowman are back in Chandlerville—after his foster father’s heart attack and Selena’s contentious divorce—to deal with her secrets, the recklessness that caused their breakup, and the almost-strangers they’ve become to each other and their families.

As soon as his father is stronger, Oliver must return to the successful career that helps support a new generation of foster kids. But he’s falling for Selena again, her daughter has a hold on his heart, and he can’t imagine leaving behind his brothers and sisters once again.

More attached by the day to their charming hometown and families, Selena and Oliver fall in love for the second time.

Has fate brought Chandlerville’s prodigal children together again…this time forever?

Review: Let Me Love You Again is a beautiful tale of second chances. It is book 2 in the Echoes of the Heart series, by the fabulous Anna DeStefano.

I thought Here In My Heart was wonderful, but Let Me Love You is even better.

What really drew me to this book was the fact that Oliver and Selena are far from perfect. Both are recovering addicts, but they have pulled their lives together. Oliver is doing is best to take care of the foster parents who made him who he is and Selena is doing her best to be a good mother to Camille.

These two were an item, but their teenage problems pulled them apart.

The struggles that these two have are very real. I have to admit to loving that Oliver really wants to be part of Selena's life, probably more than Selena is ready to have him in hers.

There's more to this story than just the rekindling of a romance. The big picture really focuses on the importance of family. Selena is coming to accept her mother, who she had a strained relationship with, as well as Oliver's family, The Dixons.

If you don't love the good hearted foster mom and dad, Marsha and Joe, there is something wrong with your heart. There is one scene with Marsha and Belinda (Selena's mom) that will tug and your heartstrings.

It was really wonderful to see the two families come together.

If you are a fan of family romance, this is definitely the book or series for you. I can't wait to see whose story is next.

Rating: 5 flowers

TLC Book Tours Book Review: About A Girl

About About a Girl

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harper (April 14, 2015)

Tess Brookes has always been a Girl with a Plan. But when the Plan goes belly up, she’s forced to reconsider.

After accidently answering her roommate Vanessa’s phone, she decides that since being Tess isn’t going so well, she might try being Vanessa. With nothing left to lose, she accepts Vanessa’s photography assignment to Hawaii – she used to be an amateur snapper, how hard can it be? Right?

But Tess is soon in big trouble. And the gorgeous journalist on the shoot with her, who is making it very clear he’d like to get into her pants, is an egotistical monster. Far from home and in someone else’s shoes, Tess must decide whether to fight on through, or ‘fess up and run…

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Review:  I hope it is summer and you have a beach chair and a girly drink with you when you read About A Girl. This is by far the best chicklit beach read ever!

Its whacky and not very realistic, but it is oh so very fun.

In between wanting to choke Tess and hug her, I was already trying to cast the characters in the book, for one of the best comedies ever. However, I'm not sure I want this made by Hollywood, because I want British actresses playing the parts.

I wonder if we could get Jenna Coleman to play Tess's bff Amy...maybe Karen Gillan as Vanessa? I wish I could figure out who would play Tess, because my mind sees her as Miranda Hart!

This book was..to keep in the Miranda Hart theme, "Such Fun!"

Tess, loses her job, sleeps with her best male bff, who she has been in love with for years, screws that up and assumes her rather evil flatmate's life.

So, yeah, hilarity has to ensue! And believe me, it does.

Tess was a character that I wasn't sure I would like at the beginning. In fact, for the first 50 pages or so, I didn't care for her much at all, but as the book went on, I really loved her.

Then there are the two guys in her life, Charlie, the bff from home and Nick the journalist she meets when she's pretending to be Vanessa. Both guys are less then perfect but an awful lot of lovable.

I loved that Tess' passion was photography and the relationship she cultivates with Al on the beach in Hawaii will endear her to you more.

I will warn you, the ending leaves you hanging, not in the cliffhanger, something awful is going to happen to someone sort of way, but in the what will she do kinda way.

If you love British chicklit you won't want to miss this one.

I can't wait for the next book!

Rating: 5 flowers

About Lindsey Kelk

Lindsey Kelk is a writer and children's book editor. When she isn't writing, reading, listening to music, or watching more TV than is healthy, Lindsey likes to wear shoes, shop for shoes, and judge the shoes of others. Born in England, Lindsey loves living in New York but misses Sherbet Fountains, London, and drinking gin and elderflower cocktails with her friends. Not necessarily in that order.

Find out more about Lindsey at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: A Fright To The Death

A Fright to the Death (A Family Fortune Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (April 7, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-0425264485
E-Book ASIN: B00LMGK3WG

Synopsis

From the author of Be Careful What You Witch For, here is the newest Family Fortune Mystery, starring former cop Clyde Fortune, who—snowbound with her kooky family in a creepy castle—is climbing the walls and combing the halls, looking for a cold-blooded killer…

After their flight to Mexico is cancelled, Clyde and her detective boyfriend, Mac, end up snowed in with their families at a supposedly haunted hotel. Clyde’s tarot card reading mother, Rose, is making dire predictions for the weekend, and self-proclaimed pet psychic Aunt Vi is enchanted by the legend of the hotel’s ghost—until the power goes out and a body turns up.

With a hotel full of stranded suspects, Clyde will have to draw on all her skills—both the police ones she’d rather forget and the psychic ones she’d rather ignore—to solve the bone-chilling mystery before someone else gets iced…

Review: I discovered this series last year and I'm glad I did. This is another one the paranormal cozy series that I love.

I've mentioned that for the most part I'm burned out on most things paranormal, except when the relate to cozy mysteries.

This book is a little different from the last one as it is set at a haunted hotel! Such Fun!

I also loved that this is a "snowbound book," which was fun to read as we are bidding goodbye to that nasty kind of weather.

I love Clyde and Mac and their families. I also love that there's not a love triangle involved here, as that seems to be an "In" thing with cozy mysteries.

Can't wait for the next book.

Review: 5 flowers

About This Author
When I was ten years old, my two favorite things were climbing trees and reading. As a bonus, I discovered if I combined the two, I could hide from my mother when she wanted me to clean my room. Nancy Drew and I spent many afternoons solving crimes and avoiding chores. Eventually, I moved on to Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, and Stephanie Plum. I improved my housework-dodging ploys.

After many years in Michigan, I now live in Iowa with my husband, son and daughter. When I’m not writing or chauffeuring kids, I keep busy catering to the whims of a bossy bichon-shih tzu mix who wants to rule the world.

Author Links:

www.DawnEastman.com

Twitter – @DawnAEastman

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DawnEastmanAuthor

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6544185.Dawn_Eastman

Purchase Links
Amazon     B&N      Book Depository     Kobo     Google Play

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 6 – I Wish I Lived in a Library – Review, Giveaway

April 7 – Tea and A Book – Review, Interview

April 8 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

April 9 – Musings and Ramblings – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

April 10 – Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf; – Review, Giveaway

April 11 – A Blue Million Books – Interview

April 12 – Girl Lost In a Book – Review, Giveaway

April 13 – Book-n-Kisses – Review, Giveaway

April 14 – Griperang’s Bookmarks – Review, Giveaway

April 15 – deal sharing aunt – Review, Interview, Giveaway

April 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Guest Post

April 17 – fuonlyknew – Review, Giveaway

April 18 – Chloe Gets A Clue – Interview

April 19 – A Chick Who Reads – Review

TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Hurricane Sisters

About The Hurricane Sisters

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 7, 2015)

Hurricane season begins early and rumbles all summer long, well into September. Often people's lives reflect the weather and The Hurricane Sisters is just such a story.

Once again Dorothea Benton Frank takes us deep into the heart of her magical South Carolina Lowcountry on a tumultuous journey filled with longings, disappointments, and, finally, a road toward happiness that is hard earned. There we meet three generations of women buried in secrets. The determined matriarch, Maisie Pringle, at eighty, is a force to be reckoned with because she will have the final word on everything, especially when she's dead wrong. Her daughter, Liz, is caught up in the classic maelstrom of being middle-age and in an emotionally demanding career that will eventually open all their eyes to a terrible truth. And Liz's beautiful twenty-something daughter, Ashley, whose dreamy ambitions of her unlikely future keeps them all at odds.

Luckily for Ashley, her wonderful older brother, Ivy, is her fierce champion but he can only do so much from San Francisco where he resides with his partner. And Mary Beth, her dearest friend, tries to have her back but even she can't talk headstrong Ashley out of a relationship with an ambitious politician who seems slightly too old for her.

Actually, Ashley and Mary Beth have yet to launch themselves into solvency. Their prospects seem bleak. So while they wait for the world to discover them and deliver them from a ramen-based existence, they placate themselves with a hare-brained scheme to make money but one that threatens to land them in huge trouble with the authorities.

So where is Clayton, Liz's husband? He seems more distracted than usual. Ashley desperately needs her father's love and attention but what kind of a parent can he be to Ashley with one foot in Manhattan and the other one planted in indiscretion? And Liz, who's an expert in the field of troubled domestic life, refuses to acknowledge Ashley's precarious situation. Who's in charge of this family? The wake-up call is about to arrive.

The Lowcountry has endured its share of war and bloodshed like the rest of the South, but this storm season we watch Maisie, Liz, Ashley, and Mary Beth deal with challenges that demand they face the truth about themselves. After a terrible confrontation they are forced to rise to forgiveness, but can they establish a new order for the future of them all?

Frank, with her hallmark scintillating wit and crisp insight, captures how a complex family of disparate characters and their close friends can overcome anything through the power of love and reconciliation. This is the often hilarious, sometimes sobering, but always entertaining story of how these unforgettable women became The Hurricane Sisters.

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Review: Dorothea Benton Frank is one of my favorite authors, and one that can't rightly explain to anyone the why of it. I find many of her novels to follow a formula, yet I gobble them up like a good bag of potato chips.

I love the Lowcountry setting. It always makes me wish that I were there.

There's always some huge drama in Frank's books and this one is no different. She's tackling date rape/domestic abuse here, and there's ALWAYS a cheating husband. What bugged me about this one is that Liz is really a doormat.

I preferred when her heroines were stronger, though I'll give her credit for writing characters that are absolute jerks. Ashley's senator boyfriend, gave the word jerk a new meaning. However when it comes to being a ditsy broad, Ashley took the cake. She claimed Jackie Kennedy was her idol, well, even Jackie had a backbone when it came to JFK's roving eye.

Even when she finally wises up she still wants to emulate someone other than herself. Yes, the character is 23, but it bugged me that she wanted to be like someone from the past, rather than herself.

Maisie was the only character I really liked and when you have a novel that revolves around three women, it makes the reading a bit hard. And even Maisie isn't perfect. I can't imagine a mother pushing a daughter to stay with a man that cheated like Clayton did. In my eyes, cheating is an unforgivable sin.

And while the whole underlying theme of this book was domestic violence, how everything tied together and even how it affected Ashley, it was too watered down to make an impact.

So, yeah, this wasn't my favorite of Frank's books, but it won't stop me from waiting for the next.

Rating: 3 flowers

About Dorothea Benton Frank

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She is the author of many New York Times bestselling novels, including Lowcountry Summer and Return to Sullivans Island. She resides in the New York area with her husband. Find her on the web at www.dotfrank.com, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: Dead Girl Blues

Dead Girl Blues
By Joyce and Jim Lavene

• Genre – Cozy Mystery (PARANORMAL)

When Nashville cop Skye Mertz and her husband, Jacob, are killed in a wreck, Skye is given the opportunity to come back for twenty years to raise her five-year-old daughter, Kate. With her ghostly mother-in-law’s help, Skye hopes to be there until Kate is old enough to take care of herself.

But three years into her twenty-year service to Abraham Lincoln Jones, the man who gave her the extra time, Skye is beginning to think life might have been easier before she died.

Abe asks her to investigate the murder of his sorcerer, Harold the Great, a man who was a victim of too many snakes. And the Life Extended People (LEPs – a nice term for zombies) who work for Abe have begun turning into ghosts and disappearing. Only Lucas, the possibly evil, amnesiac sorcerer who lives with Skye and her family, can save her from being the next victim of the deadly curse.

To make matters more complicated, Skye has found a lead in solving the riddle of her husband’s death. She has never believed Jacob died as a result of the crash, but hasn’t been able to prove it. Many other people have lost their lives in the same lonely stretch of highway that he did three years before. Skye goes against Abe’s express wishes to discover the truth with a crazy man bent on vengeance.

Review: Another great series by my favorite cozy author duo. I don't know how they do it. I really don't. This is book two in the "Taxi For The Dead" series.

This book is more a paranormal mystery. I like to dip my toes in something different every now and then and I don't read much in the paranormal genre anymore, so I thought I'd give this series a go, because I love the authors so much.

I'm glad I did. They prove again that they can write anything.  They do a little bit of paranormal in their Ren Faire Mysteries, but nothing like this.

Skye and Lucas are a great couple and I love Abbie as the ghostly mother in law. Skye is one of Abe's LEPs given 20 years of extra life to raise her daughter and she helps bring in the LEPs when their time is up. (Not all of them come willingly.) She's a zombie Stephanie Plum!

There's a sort of double mystery going on here, maybe even triple. The first one involves Skye finding out who killed Abe's sorcerer. (Abe is the man who turned Skye into the sort of zombie that she is, or rather LEP -life extended people) Then there's the LEPs that are turning to ghosts and draining Abe's powers.  Lastly, she's still trying to figure out what killed her husband Jacob after their car crash.

This is really a different take on a cozy mystery and even Zombies with a few werewolves tossed in. If you haven't read a book by this husband and wife team, you should start with this series, it is one of their best.

Rating: 5 flowers

About The Authors

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

Author Links

www.joyceandjimlavene.com 

www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene 

http://amazon.com/author/jlavene 

https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene

Purchase Link:
Amazon

First Book in Series
Broken Hearted Ghoul (Taxi for the Dead Paranormal Mysteries) (Volume 1)

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Book Review: The Amish Bride Of Ice Mountain

Author: Kelly Long
Title: The Amish Bride Of Ice Mountain
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publish Date: Nov 14, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 

The Amish Bride

Like most Mountain Amish girls, Mary King has always dreamed of her wedding day. But she never imagined that a sudden, irresistible kiss would result in marriage to the handsome Englischer professor studying her unique community. Or that doing the truly honorable thing means keeping their relationship chaste so both she and Dr. Jude Lyons can someday go their separate ways.

But when Mary accompanies her husband-in-name-only to Atlanta to meet his wealthy, overbearing family, she's tempted more than ever by Jude's kindness, humor--and vulnerability. And when a wrenching misunderstanding causes her to return heartbroken to her remote Appalachian home, she's certain she's lost the real love they have found...and the shared future she's come to want so much. But a crisis of more than faith will work surprising miracles--and show Mary that love is strong enough to make the impossible come true.

Review: The Amish Bride Of Ice Mountain isn't your typical Amish fiction. This book deals with real issues and even intimacy between a man and his wife. Because most Amish fiction falls under "Christian fiction" you don't get much beyond a kiss in those books.

Don't get me wrong, there's no hot and heavy Amish sex scenes going on here, but Kelly does allow you to see that Amish people have romantic/and sensual feelings too.

It wasn't always an easy read, because the Amish in this community aren't like the Amish you read about from places like Lancaster, PA or Sugarcreek, OH. These people are mountain people and some of their ideas are very backwards. Mary and Jude are married because he had the audacity to kiss her.

Mary was really a unique character. She embodied innocence in most things,except her feelings for Jude.

The story itself is full of family drama for both characters, from a near rape to strange family issues with both mother and father and ex girlfriends.

That in itself should prove to you that this isn't your typical Amish setting. So if you are looking for a book where everything is peachy keen, then you might want to look elsewhere. Some might describe this book as edgy, but I don't really think so. In more ways it is real or at least the blinders are taken away. Not all Amish people are nice and Long portrays that well with the scene with Isaac, even though things change at the end.

Some things are wrapped up to easily for me though. I felt that some drama could have been cut back or more explanations given. I found this to really be the case with Josh's father Ted, and even his ex, Carol. I would have also enjoyed getting to know Mary and Jude's families a bit better.

I did love the Ice Mountain setting, which is a real place in PA, and one that I hope to visit at some point in my life.

This was an enjoyable read for those that want a little more from their Amish fiction. I look forward to reading Joseph's story next.

Rating: 4 flowers

Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: Chef Maurice & A Spot of Truffle

CHEF MAURICE and a Spot of Truffle

by J.A. LANG

Cozy Mystery (British, Culinary)

Number of Pages  228

Release Date: April 7, 2014

There is a free prequel available on Amazon right now.Chef Maurice and the Rather Fishy Tale: A Chef Maurice Mystery Short Story

Synopsis:

It’s autumn in the Cotswolds, and Chef Maurice is facing a problem of mushrooming proportion.

Not only has his wild herb and mushroom supplier, Ollie Meadows, missed his weekly delivery—he’s missing vital signs too, when he turns up dead in the woods near Beakley village.

Soon, Chef Maurice is up to his nose in some seriously rotten business—complete with threatening notes, a pignapping, and an extremely well-catered stake-out.

Can he solve Ollie’s murder before his home-made investigation brings the killer out for second helpings?

Review: There's so much to say about this short little cozy.

1. OMG the cover is precious. I would have picked this book up based on the cover alone! Really! How adorable is it!!!!

2. It is a quick read. Perfect for a lazy afternoon or late night reading.

3. Chef Maurice is really awesome, especially for people that like foodie fiction. He's a bit self centered, but he's oh so lovable.

4. Its the first book in the series, so no guilt about starting into an established series and getting lost. (There is a short story that's a prequel to the series though)

5. As you might have guessed from the cover, there is a pig!!!!! And the parts of the story written in Hamilton's point of view are fabulous.

6. There's a great relationship between Patrick and PC Lucy. Their first date is really laughale!

All I can say, is this British cozy is really not one to miss.

Rating: 5 flowers

About This Author

J.A. Lang is a British mystery writer, and author of the Chef Maurice Mysteries series.

She lives in Oxford, England, with her husband, an excessive number of cookbooks, and a sourdough starter named Bob.

Author Links:

Webpage: www.jalang.net

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JALang

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JA-Lang-Author/1557634614471851

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TOO2QW8/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TOO2QW8/

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/ebook/chef-maurice-and-a-spot-of-truffle

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chef-maurice-and-a-spot-of-truffle-ja-lang/1121687602?ean=2940151553179
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/book/id968424324

Googleplay:https://play.google.com/store/books/details/J_A_Lang_Chef_Maurice_and_a_Spot_of_Truffle?id=7lS0BgAAQBAJ

Goodreads Book link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24955619-chef-maurice-and-a-spot-of-truffle

Giveaway details

Prize: Win a signed copy of Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle, as well as an extremely cuddly Pillow Pet Pig (RRP $19.99)!
Open to US and UK residents.
Further details at: http://www.jalang.net/chef-maurice-giveaway/

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 8 – Shelley’s Book Case - Review, Interview

April 9 – Babs Book Bistro - Review

April 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Interview

April 11 – readalot – Review

April 12 – Melina’s Book Blog  Review

April 13 – Back Porchervations – Review

April 13 – A Chick Who Reads – Review

April 14 – The Gal in the Blue Mask – Review

April 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review

April 16 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Review

April 17 – Tea and A Book – Review, Interview

April 18 – Community Bookstop – Review

April 18 – A Cozy Girl Reads – Review