Search

Search only in certain items:

A Hint of Frost (Araneae Nation #1)
A Hint of Frost (Araneae Nation #1)
Hailey Edwards | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
4 of 220
Kindle
A Hint of Frost ( Araneae Nation 1)
By Hailey Edwards
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.

Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.

Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

I really love this story and I like the idea of this species that give spider spinning vibes. It’s an easy read and an easy story to follow a really pleasant read. Also Rhys yes please.
  
Chocolate Can Be Deadly
Chocolate Can Be Deadly
Kim Davis | 2025 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Death By Chocolate is Real
Emory has reluctantly agreed to cater a post Valentine’s Day bash. The hostess is horrible to Emory since she has a long-standing feud with Emory’s friend Tillie. The theme also puts her off since Dying for Chocolate hits a little too close to home given all the murders Emory has found herself involved in. Just as she is thinking that she might pull off the event, the hostesses new finance is found dead clutching one of Emory’s cupcakes. With the rumors of poison in a cupcake destroying her business, not to mention a cop that wants to arrest her, Emory has to find the killer. Can she do it?

I was so happy to be revisiting these characters. We don’t see much of a couple of the regulars, but the updates with the ones we did get to see were lots of fun. The mystery was engrossing, including good suspects and a climax I couldn’t put down. I did figure out one aspect early, but I didn’t have it all figured out. I enjoy the slightly different setting of Orange County since I’m in Southern California myself, but everything else still feels like a cozy. The book includes ten delicious sounding chocolate themed recipes, many of them gluten free. This book will find you turning pages and craving chocolate. If you want a good culinary cozy series, I highly recommend it.
  
    WeatherGeek Pro 2

    WeatherGeek Pro 2

    Weather and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    WeatherGeek Pro 2 is a premium weather application which brings the world’s most advanced weather...

Genteel Secrets
Genteel Secrets
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ever wonder what it would like to be a part of civil war or at the beginning of it. I have been interested in my own country’s battles and the war over slavery. That would be the Civil War that takes place in my America history.

I was have been born in the northern part of the civil war. Making me not have slaves. I would not be a slave owner. To me that owing other human beings is something which never happened. I am not one that ignore the fact that it happen though.

I would have let slaves be humans but that me. I know about my civil war in my American history. Genteel Secrets is about a woman that is forced to be a confederacy spy. It tell as story of someone that is against slavery but is born in the south and raised with slaves. It also tell the story of a Pinkerton detective.

The author does a good job portray what Washington and what some folk trying to help the south and some important events and people with helping the South win the Civil war. They seem to be against the government and Lincoln.

Will a northerner and Southern belle be able to survive and live a happy life? You will need to read to find out. If you are into American history this is also a good book to tell about south culture and a bit of the beginning of the Civil War.
  
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
Jaye Robin Brown | 2016 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
7
8.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a sweet, southern f/f romance. Set in Georgia, it deals with a lot of things young lesbians might have to deal with in the south - religion, bigotry, the stress of coming out or not coming out (or being forced back in the closet by a move to a small town)! It doesn't deal with any outright violence against our lesbian protagonists, and it just barely touches on drug use, eating disorders, and abusive relationships. Joanna has a mostly supportive family, even if they do ask her to hide her sexuality for her senior year in the new town. Jo reluctantly agrees to do so, but doesn't count on falling in love with a girl at her new school.

The book deals a LOT with religion and sexuality; Jo's father is a radio preacher, and she attends a baptist church in town with her stepmother and new grandparents. At one point - one of my favorite scenes in the book - she snaps, and calls out her classmates for thinking homosexuality is a sin, while they eat shellfish and have premarital sex.

I liked the book, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. I grew up Christian; I'm familiar with all the concepts in the book, but rather than progress to a kinder, more loving version of Christianity, I left it behind altogether. I'm glad that some people can reconcile religion with progressive values, but I can't. So it might be a good book for some, but not for me.You can find all my reviews and more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
Death Over Easy
Death Over Easy
Maddie Day | 2018 | Mystery
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Did Robbie Open Her Bed and Breakfast to a Killer?
Robbie Jordan, Pans ‘n Pancakes’ proprietor, has just opened the few rooms she’s been working on as a bed and breakfast, and it’s just in time for a visit from her father from Italy as well as the Bluegrass festival being held in the area. The biggest problem at the festival seems to be Pia Bianchi, a woman that annoys just about everyone who gets to know her. Then Pia’s body is found early one morning in a covered bridge in the area. With Robbie’s guests some of the police’s suspects, she finds herself in the thick of things again. Will she figure out what is going on?

This was a fun book in the series since it worked in several sub-plots that have been woven through the series – Robbie’s father and opening the bed and breakfast part of the business among others. These work themselves nicely into the mystery, providing a reason for Robbie to be involved and giving her access to gather clues. The suspects are great, and they provide us with some good twists before we reach the creative climax. The series has always featured some local (to southern Indiana) expressions to provide local color, but a couple of times, they started to annoy more than charm. Fortunately, those were rare moments that were over quickly. If you find yourself drooling over some of the food, you’ll be happy with the recipes at the end of the book.
  
40x40

MaryAnn (14 KP) rated Painter Place in Books

Nov 1, 2019  
Painter Place
Painter Place
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Christian
In June of 1985, Caroline Painter's uncle whisks her away from her island home at Painter Place to film an art video in the harbor village of Mevagissey. But instead of clearing her head, the young artist becomes entangled in adventure on the English Channel when she influences a rock star's contract and the media launches her into fame. When she returns home, she discovers a shattering secret that makes her question everything in her life. Can she trust the only one who says he understands?


My Thoughts: This is a wonderful story of a close-knit family. Living in an idyllic southern island setting. This is a story that is about trust, honesty, and purity. It's about our Christian character.


Caroline Painter is a talented young woman whose family has lived on the island since her relatives left England in the early 1600's. In the author's debut novel, she has given the reader an excellent reading experience. The story-line is full of wonderful characters that the reader will love, she brings the readers into the story with wonderful characters and lots of emotion. This is certainly a fairy tale story; with fast expensive cars and gifts, but one that the readers will love.


I appreciated when Caroline gave her testimony for Christ in the story which led others to Christ. The painter family has strong beliefs that they stand for, and value the rich family character.


I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading the next books in the series!
  
The Line (Witching Savannah, #1)
The Line (Witching Savannah, #1)
J.D. Horn | 2014
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Savannah is considered a Southern treasure, a city of beauty with a rich, colorful past. Some might even call it magical…

To the uninitiated, Savannah shows only her bright face and genteel manner. Those who know her well, though, can see beyond her colonial trappings and small-city charm to a world where witchcraft is respected, Hoodoo is feared, and spirits linger. Mercy Taylor is all too familiar with the supernatural side of Savannah, being a member of the most powerful family of witches in the South.

Despite being powerless herself, of course.

Having grown up without magic of her own, in the shadow of her talented and charismatic twin sister, Mercy has always thought herself content. But when a series of mishaps—culminating in the death of the Taylor matriarch—leaves a vacuum in the mystical underpinnings of Savannah, she finds herself thrust into a mystery that could shake her family apart…and unleash a darkness the line of Taylor witches has been keeping at bay for generations.



Ok so I have read a few books lately where a male is writing a lead female and have been so disappointed with them, not this time I loved the way Mercy is written I enjoyed the mix of supernatural and murder mystery plus the twists and turns. It was very well written and kept you wanting to read more even late into the night as it is now.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and really looking forward to book 2!