Roses & Thorns

Roses & Thorns

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Bonita Faye by Margaret Moseley



Blurb:

When small town girl Bonita Faye's abusive husband, car salesman, and fishing guide Billy Roy is killed, she begins an adventurous new life that takes her from Poteau, Oklahoma to Paris and back again in a story of murder and redemption...and more murder...stretching over three decades.

About the Author:

Margaret Moseley was born in Oklahoma, reared in Texas and lived twenty years in Arkansas. Her resulting combined regional accent gives the reader of her best selling book and Edgar finalist Bonita Faye a unique flavor to her protagonist Bonita Faye's trials and tribulations. While the reader knows from the "get-go" that Bonita Faye killed Billy Roy up there on Cavanal Hill, it's a toss-up as to how she will spend the next forty years. Told in the first person, readers will laugh and gasp as Bonita Faye deliberately weaves and molds her future with the book's climax having her face another murderous decision!

Moseley writes very different mysteries, but whether her books involve a witness to a murder—Milicent LeSueur—or follow the sleuthing of Texas bookseller Honey Huckleberry—The Fourth Steven; Grinning In His Mashed Potatoes; A Little Traveling Music, Please—her writing is creative, whimsical and entertaining. Moseley currently lives in Texas with her writer/computer programmer husband Ron Burris and their two indescribable rescued Beagles, Matilda and Sadie.

Review by Rochelle:

I have never met such a lovable murderer. Bonita Faye is frying chicken perfectly when Deputy Sheriff Harmon Adams comes to the door to tell her that her husband’s been shot. He stays for lunch and is still there when the church ladies descend. I’m afraid I startled my neighbor when I got to this part, because I laugh out loud and I’d been reading so quietly by the elevator while I waited for my laundry, she hadn’t noticed me until I guffawed. But really, I just had to laugh.

“They just start coming to the house of death just as sure as if there were a steeple over it with a bell tolling a message, ‘Someone’s dead. Come one, come all. There’s food to be had and kitchens to clean. …

“Years later…my best friend Patsy and I made a pact. Whoever died first, the survivor would come and clean out the crumbs from the silverware drawer before the church ladies got there.”

Bonita Faye is one of those books that should come with a warning: “Choking Hazard! Do not eat or drink while reading this book.”

And that’s not even the coolest thing about Bonita Faye. It’s a masterpiece of language. Told in first person, the beginning of the book was a grammatical mess that kind of drove the editor in me nuts. The narrative was full of “ain’ts” and double negatives. “I ain’t never seen…” Grrr… But Bonita Faye is a high school drop-out living in Oklahoma in the late forties/early fifties. How could she possibly speak any other way? Eventually, she receives an education, and the quality of the narrative grows as Bonita Faye gains sophistication. The “ain’ts” and double negatives disappear.

I couldn’t put down Bonita Faye. She was warm, witty, and loveable, despite being a murderer. But it was “just a little murder.” And she planned to be sure whoever died first—her or her best friend Patsy—the silverware drawer would be clean.

Heat Rating:  G
Length:  240 Pages
Prices:
Print:
Hardcover:  $20.00
Paperback:  $11.99
Digital:  $2.99

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Sword of Deaths by Christopher Mannino


Blurb:

Susan Sarnio made a choice, and will spend the rest of her life as the only female Death. Last year she was bullied and ostracized. Now, to her complete bewilderment, four Deaths vie for her affection. Yet, something is terribly wrong at the College of Deaths. When a ship carrying scythe metal is attacked, many blame the newly-freed Elementals, but Susan knows the Elementals are innocent.

Shadows from the distant past come to light. Dragons circle the horizon, blood spills, and nothing is what it seems. Susan and her friends struggle to stop a war. They search for the fabled First Scythe, hoping to sway the balance, but who is the true enemy?

About the Author:

Christopher Mannino’s life is best described as an unending creative outlet. He teaches high school theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to his daily drama classes, he runs several after-school performance/production drama groups. He spends his summers writing and singing. Mannino holds a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Catholic University, and has studied mythology and literature both in America and at Oxford University. His work with young people helped inspire him to write young adult fantasy, although it was his love of reading that truly brought his writing to life.

Mannino is currently working on a sequel to School of Deaths as well as an adult science fiction novel.

Review by Rochelle:

Sword of Deaths is book two in a trilogy. While School of Deaths ended with the villain escaping, I felt Mr. Mannino tied up the loose ends very nicely at the conclusion. It was so nice to see the first book in a series end without a cliff-hanger. I wish I could say the same for the second book. I’m afraid I’ve deducted a rose for that.

Otherwise, it was good to return to the Deaths’ school. Susan is still the object of suspicion and hatred, but in her second year at the school, she has more people defending her. In fact, four boys now have crushes on her. And, she has a girlfriend—an Elemental who can slip in and out of the school unnoticed now provides Susan with some much-needed female companionship.

Susan still wonders about her connection to the only other female death, Lovethar, and the Dragon Key, but now she has a shortage of scythe metal and another artifact to worry about—the First Scythe. What power does it hold and can it help the Death’s overcome their metal shortage? Unfortunately, those answers lie in the third book. Darn it! Mr. Mannino’s writing is otherwise excellent. His characters are layered, the books are fast-paced, and the reader cares enough about what happens next to come back for more without a cliff-hanger ending. Just one loose thread would have brought me back, anyway.

Heat Rating:  PG
Length:  289 Pages
Prices:
Print:  $10.95
Digital:  $5.95

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle

Sunday, February 21, 2016

False Pretences by Rosemary Morris



Blurb:

Five-year-old Annabelle arrived at boarding school fluent in French and English. Separated from her nurse, a dismal shadow blights Annabelle’s life because she does not know who her parents are.

Although high-spirited, Annabelle is financially dependent on her unknown guardian. She refuses to marry a French baron more than twice her age.

Her life in danger, Annabelle is saved by a gentleman, who says he will help her to discover her identity. Yet, from then on nothing is as it seems, and she is forced to run away for the second time to protect her rescuer.

Even more determined to discover her parents’ identity, in spite of many false pretences, Annabelle must learn who to trust. Her attempts to unravel the mystery of her birth, lead to further danger, despair, unbearable heartache and even more false pretences until the only person who has ever wanted to cherish her reveals the startling truth, and all’s well that ends well.

About the Author:

Rosemary Morris was born in 1940 in Sidcup Kent. As a child, when she was not making up stories, her head was “always in a book.”

While working in a travel agency, Rosemary met her Indian husband. He encouraged her to continue her education at Westminster College. In 1961 Rosemary and her husband, now a barrister, moved to his birthplace, Kenya, where she lived from 1961 until 1982. After an attempted coup d’état, she and four of her children lived in an ashram in France.

Back in England, Rosemary wrote historical fiction. She is now a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Historical Novel Society and Cassio Writers.

Apart from writing, Rosemary enjoys classical Indian literature, reading, visiting places of historical interest, vegetarian cooking, growing organic fruit, herbs and vegetables and creative crafts.

Time spent with her five children and their families, most of whom live near her, is precious.

Review by Rochelle:

Anyone who follows Roses & Thorns knows I shy away from historical romance because I absolutely hate anomalies—things like the use of modern jargon in period pieces. But this book was a Christmas gift, and I’m familiar with Ms. Morris, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m so glad I did. As you can see, I found no anomalies and no modern jargon.

Annabelle is eighteen when she runs away from school on the eve of her wedding to a much older man. A handsome stranger named Roland rescues her from highwaymen and identifies himself as her fiancé. When they spend the night in separate rooms at an inn, she’s so innocent, she doesn’t understand why he wants the innkeeper’s daughter to sleep in her room as a chaperone. Not having a mother to talk with her on the night before her wedding, she has no clue what sex is, and she remains innocent until her wedding night. The next morning they encounter a truly odious man whom she dubs “The Toad.” She later learns he is really her fiancé.

Annabelle also worries that her status as an orphan may compromise Roland’s social standing. She’s heard the girls at school speculate that she may have been born “on the wrong side of the blanket.” And then she learns from the woman Roland hired as her ladies’ maid that there are kidnapping charges pending and a reward posted as a result of her disappearance from school. The maid tries to blackmail her, but Annabelle runs away hoping to find out who her birth parents are, who her guardian is, and why they wanted her to marry “The Toad.” She also hopes to persuade them to allow her to stay married to Roland, the man she loves.

Again, I found no glitches in this tale. The characters were well-drawn, and I rooted for them from beginning to end. Even when Roland lied to Annabelle, I always knew he did so to protect her, not to deceive. It was a page-burning mystery that I had difficulty putting down, and a truly delightful read.


Heat Rating: PG-13
Length: 218 Pages
Price: $5.95

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists  receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle