by Jasmyn | Jan 22, 2019 | Book Reviews, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Readers
I’m a big fan of shared worlds and cozy mysteries so when I saw that Sweet Promise Press was releasing the Funeral Fakers series shared world of unusual cozy-style mysteries, I jumped on board. Mourning Routine introduced me to the concept of what a funeral faker is – a person paid to show up at a funeral to mourn for someone they don’t know. But this particular job is a little different.
Kitty Crawford finds herself hired to play the part of the deceased’s girlfriend – a girlfriend that no one really liked. But as she gets to know the family, she begins to think there’s more to this death than it seems. Kitty begins to investigate with the unwelcome (but very handsome) help of the very man that ended her budding acting career.
I loved the playful feeling of Mourning Routine. There was a ton of great banter the characters, and the mystery, while not so mysterious, was fun to watch play out through Kitty’s eyes. I had a big question mark after one scene though, and it still bothers me after finishing the book. If you get something poisonous on your hands, how does throwing up help expel it from your system? Did I totally miss something? I feel like I might have, so feel free to jump in and tell me what it was.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Mourning Routine (Funeral Fakers #1)
Author: S.E. Babin
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Content Rating: PG
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Restrained Crying: $50
Banshee Wailing: $100
Crying & Rolling on the Ground: $150
Threatening to Jump in the Grave: $250
Uncovering a Murder Mystery: PRICELESS
Kitty Crawford reached for stardom and fell hard. Now, in desperate need of some way to make ends meet, she skulks back to her hometown of Asheville. Unfortunately, the employment offers are slim pickings for a has-been whose sole talent is being able to cry on cue.
That is, until one odd turn leads to another, which leads to the little-known profession of Personal Mourning. Here, the better Kitty can fake it, the more dollars she’ll find stacked up in her bereft bank account. Talk about a role she was born to play!
And townsfolk are just dying to hire her. Her first gig casts her as the bereaved girlfriend of one newly deceased Chase McCormick, someone she would never have dated in life. Still, Kitty will have to act like her life depends on it, because–OMG!–it does.
Can she perform an investigation that could turn out to be murder before she gets her own curtain call? Find out whodunit in this hilarious mystery series filled with fake tears and a very real body count… Order your copy and start reading today!
Mourning Routine is book one in The Funeral Fakers series. Each book stands completely on its own, but you’ll have more fun if you read them all together!
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by Jasmyn | Jan 21, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Romance
The King takes us back to the very first couple in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Wrath and Beth. I really loved these two, and I was excited to see an entire book revisiting their relationship and showing that there’s still life after the initial HEA. And that life isn’t always roses.
As the war with the Lessening Society rages on with no end in sight and the Band of Bastards has taken a toll on the king himself. When Wrath makes the announcement that he wants no children to follow him into this life, it comes at a time when Beth was deciding that children were something she desperately wanted to have.
I feel like this was one of the most “real” issues faced in the series so far. I imagine many married couples end up on opposite sides of the having kids coin for various reasons. It made them seem like like fictional characters or more like a couple that could be living right next door (minus the whole everyone is out to kill them part).
Both seek their friends and family for advice – some of which was quite on point and some of it was quite hilarious. There’s a lot to consider before bringing a child into the world, and I think Ward did an excellent job of highlighting that part of the relationship between Wrath and Beth.
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Title: The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12)
Author: J.R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Content Rating: R
Format: AudioBook
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Long live the King…
After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle—with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything—and everyone—at risk.
Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response—or the distance it creates between them.
The question is, will true love win out… or tortured legacy take over?
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by Jasmyn | Jan 17, 2019 | Readers, Romance
Title: Dare Me Again
Author: Shelly Alexander
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Content Rating: R
Making dreams come true is a red-hot challenge for two stubborn hearts risking it all on a second chance…
Hot-wired and restless, financial wizard Elliott Remington doesn’t turn down a dare. This time it’s to coordinate a service-dog boot camp for veterans at his family’s resort. Success means a one-way ticket to the West Coast to pursue his dream career. But it comes with a hitch: teaming up with his ex, who vanished on him ten years ago with nothing more than a kiss-off note.
As fiery as her hair and as stubborn as her name, Rebel Tate did what she had to do—for Elliott’s sake and her own. A dog whisperer with a keen sense of survival, she’s lived a tough life. Here she is, back in Angel Fire Falls, doing what she loves, next to a man she’s never forgotten. While the flame between them still smolders, neither is ready to get burned.
For Elliott, trusting Rebel is a gamble. For Rebel, sharing the secrets that sent her running is a risk. Now, while finishing a job that could define both their futures, two hearts are about to collide—and a second chance at true romance could be the greatest dare of all.
Dare Me Again Excerpt
Copyright © 2019 Shelly Alexander
Rebel let out a heavy sigh and straightened. She’d wondered how long it would take for shit to get real. Maybe there was a hashtag for that she could use. “Go ahead. Just say it.”
He gave her a look that said he had no idea what she was talking about. “Say what?”
She crossed her arms. “Whatever’s on your mind. Whatever makes you feel better, because there isn’t just an elephant in the room. There’s an entire herd of elephants, and judging from the sound of your grinding teeth, they’re about to stampede.” She cocked a hip and waited. Waited for the very thing she’d tried to avoid years ago. His disapproval. His disappointment.
Regret washed through her. Breaking up with him through a note had been cruel. But at the time, it was her only option. If she’d told him the truth about her circumstances, if she’d told him about the horrible secret she was keeping for her dying mother, she was pretty sure he would’ve given up his scholarship and come home to go to community college on the mainland just to be her support system.
That would’ve been the only thing worse than him hating her for leaving him without an explanation.
So it was time to face what she’d done, even if it meant hearing harsh words from the only man she’d ever loved.
Instead, he stewed in silence. She wasn’t sure which was more awful.
His jaw hardened, and his eyes turned icy.
Yeah, the silence was much more awful.
“Go on.” She couldn’t stop her foot from tapping nervously against
the cement. “I’m a big girl. I can take it. I’ve been through much worse than a few scathing words from an ex-boyfriend.”
Rem moved to her side.
Elliott studied her, finally drawing in a deep breath. “It’s ancient history. Forget about it. I know I have.”
Oh.
Her foot tapping stopped.
“Let’s focus on the camp,” he said. “That’s all I care about. Then you and I can go back to our lives.”
She swallowed down the sting in her throat.
She thought he’d ask why, want answers, or just plain tell her off.
She’d been terribly wrong.
More than answers, more than having his say, what he obviously needed was for them to go their separate ways. Again.
Something sharp pricked at her heart. Breaking up had been the last thing she’d wanted, but what would a homeless teenager with no prospects have to offer a Wharton grad who was going to have a world of opportunities at his feet? Especially if the truth about what her mother had done ever came to light. So she’d broken up with him and told him to move on without her.
She just hadn’t realized how much it would hurt if she got what she’d asked for, even after all these years.
Catch up with the Angel Fire Falls series and get the first book, DARE ME ONCE, on sale for .99c now!
About Shelly Alexander
Shelly Alexander is an Amazon Bestseller in multiple categories and a 2014 Golden Heart® finalist. Shelly grew up traveling the world, earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and worked in the business world for twenty-five years. With four older brothers, Shelly and her sister watched every Star Trek episode ever made, joined the softball team instead of ballet class, and played with G.I. Joes while the Barbie Corvette stayed tucked in the closet. When she had three sons of her own, she decided to escape her male-dominated world by reading romance novels and has been hooked ever since. Now, she spends her days writing contemporary romances that are sometimes sweet, sometimes sizzling, and always sassy. She enjoys the arid climate of the beautiful Southwest where she lives with her husband and two toy poodles named Mozart and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
