Review: The Bontanist by L.K. Hill

The Botanist by L.K. Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



In the heat of the desert, Detective Cody Oliver inadvertently stumbles upon a strange garden adorned with exotic flowers. Upon closer inspection, he finds the garden is but a cover for the scores of bodies buried below. Soon, the small town of Mt. Dessicate plunges into chaos as journalists, reporters, and cameramen from across the nation descend upon the tiny, desert town to get a piece of the action.

Along with the media, a mysterious woman appears. She may be the only person who has come face to face with the killer, dubbed the Botanist, and lived to tell the tale. If Cody can't piece together a timeline of the land the crime scene is located on, decipher how the woman's mysterious past is connected to the killer, and bring the Botanist to justice, he may lose the people he values most

An interesting read. It was pretty easy to figure out who done what and who went where and with whom. I won this book and thought it sounded interesting so I read it. My only peeve was that we never really found out who the killer was and why he was killing. In this day and age it shouldn't be this hard to identify someone. The ending was a little bit of a let down. Not sure what happened with Alex's father and whether they ever told him who she was or not. There were several loose ends that I needed cleared up. I am going searching for the authors website to see if this a going to be a to series or no.
I give this 4 stars.



View all my reviews

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander

Today I'm excited to share the cover of On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander! This is the third book in the Bakeshop Mystery series and releases December 29th, 2015.

About the Book:

Welcome to Torte-a small-town family bakeshop where the treats are killer good.



It's the dead of winter in the sleepy town of Ashland, which means no tourists-and fewer customers-for Jules Capshaw and her bakery. But when she's asked to cater an off-season retreat for the directors of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, business starts heating up...until Jules finds a dead body in the freezer.



"An intriguing new series."-Reader to Reader



Someone at the retreat has apparently iced the bartender, a well-known flirt with a legendary temper-that is, before a killer beat him to the punch. Then, from out of nowhere, Jules's own ex-husband shows up at the shop-and soon becomes a suspect. With accusations piling up higher than the snow-and thicker than a chocolate mousse cake-Jules has to think outside the (recipe) box to find the real culprit...and make sure he gets his just desserts.



"A delectable tale of murder and intrigue."-Portland Book Review on Meet Your Baker

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N |  Powells 

-----------

Don't miss out on the first two books!

About the Author:

Ellie Alexander is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing pastry recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses nearby. When she’s not coated in flour, you’ll find her outside exploring hiking trails and trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter to learn more.

Twitter | Facebook

------------------------------------------

Giveaway:

Signed copies of Meet Your Baker and A Batter of Life and Death 

A signed cover flat of On Thin Icing

Gourmet Hot Chocolates 

Tea Assortment

Pound of Coffee

US only

Ends Aug. 10th

Prizing provided by the author, bloggers are in no way responsible.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Author Linda Bond Vlog Interview and $50.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest @ BBB

Entry-Form

Author Kerry Nietz Release Party and $40.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest @ BBB

Entry-Form

Author Sherilee Gray Release Party and $35.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest @ BBB

Entry-Form

Author E. J. Stevens Release Party and Amazon Gift Card Contest @ BBB

Go and enter.

Entry-Form

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Hollie Porter Builds a Raft by Eliza Gordon

---

Today we're excited to share the cover for Hollie Porter Builds a Raft, the sequel to Must Love Otters by Eliza Gordon! Hollie Porter Builds a Raft is an adult romantic comedy and releases this fall.

 

 

About the Book:

 

raft (noun): when two or more otters rest together,
often holding hands, so they don’t drift apart

Hollie Porter has put her old gig as a 911 operator and sad single girl in an attic-bound box, right where it belongs. She’s rebounded nicely from her run-in with Chloe the Cougar in the wilds of British Columbia, and this new life alongside concierge-in-shining-armor Ryan Fielding? Way more fun. After relocating to Ryan’s posh resort at Revelation Cove, Hollie embarks on an all-new adventure as the Cove’s wildlife experience educator, teaching guests and their kids about otters and orca and cougars, oh my.

 

When darling Ryan gets down on one NHL-damaged knee and pops the question of a lifetime, Hollie realizes this is where the real adventure begins. It’s all cake tasting, flower choosing, and dress fittings until a long-lost family member shows up at the Cove and threatens to hijack her shiny new life, forcing Hollie to redefine what family means to her. What is she willing to sacrifice to have one of her very own?

 

As Ryan’s words echo in her head—“Our raft, our rules”—Hollie has to face facts: a raft isn’t always tied together with blood and genetics. Sometimes it’s secured by love and loyalty… and occasional help from the clever creatures that call Revelation Cove home.

-----------------------

Don't miss out on the first book, Must Love Otters.

Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia | Barnes and Noble | iBookstore | Kobo

 

Also by Eliza Gordon:

Neurotica - Amazon (US) | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Kobo | Barnes and Noble Nook

 

About the Author:

 

 

Eliza Gordon has excellent taste in books, shoes, movies, and friends, and questionable sanity in the realm of love. Best leave that one alone. In real life, she’s an editor, mom, wife, and bibliophile and proud parent of one very spoiled tuxedo cat. Eliza writes stories to help you believe in the Happily Ever After; Jennifer Sommersby, her other self, writes YA and is repped by Daniel Lazar at Writers House.

 

GET IN TOUCH:

Website | Facebook | Twitter @eliza_gordon | Tumblr

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway:

One (1) $15 Amazon gift card & one (1) audiobook of Must Love Otters

INT

Ends Aug. 3, 2015

giveaway provided by the author, bloggers are not responsible for prizing

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Author A.S. Fenichel Interview and $50.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest @ BBB

Entry-Form

Review: Deal With The Devil by Cynthia Eden

Deal With The Devil by Cynthia Eden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Eric Pate is used to making his own rules—as the director of the PARA Unit, he is the boss. Everyone rushes to obey his commands, and no one knows his secrets. No one ever gets too close to him. But then he meets her.

Ella Lancaster is tired of being a prisoner. She escaped one hell just to find herself in another, but Eric doesn’t consider her containment with his agents as punishment. He actually thinks it is a form of protection. But Eric is so very wrong. Ella doesn’t need protecting, not for anyone or anything.

But when the PARA Unit comes under attack, Ella and Eric both find themselves battling a supernatural beast that they never expected. Forced to join forces, to make a deal, Ella and Eric are soon fighting side-by-side, and their attraction for each other can’t be contained or controlled. Hot. Wild. Consuming. Ella’s deal with her devil is soon taking over her life.

And as Eric falls deeper and deeper under the mysterious Ella’s spell, his legendary control begins to crack. The beast that he has kept chained so carefully inside rises to the surface. Unfortunately, when the devil loses his control…there is real hell to pay.


I have been waiting for Eric's story for so long. He starts out in this series as a person with a stone cold personality but as this series has progressed we see him opening up more and more. In this story his legendary control and facade crack wide open. I was so excited to learn what he really is and am still wondering what all he is. But I've learned as I read Cynthia's books that we learn bits and pieces as we go. Yes this one is a standalone story but it's made more enjoyable if you've read the others.
And man Ella is one of my very favorite heroines of this author. With her history I can understand that when she says no more she means it. She is also quite capable of standing up to Eric which is what he needs. He's not going to be able to control her at all.
Also seeing all the secondary characters from previous books was fantastic. Was nice seeing how some of them have some of them have got on after their books.
I give this book 5 stars and was given this book by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. Here's hoping that there are more books in this world.




View all my reviews

 

Hope your fourth is happy, family filled, and most of all safe.

 

 



Shades of Treason Release Day and Giveaway

Shades of Treason
(An Anomaly Novel, #1)
By Sandy Williams

Blurb: 

Ash would have given her life to save her teammates.

Instead, they gave their lives to save hers
Lieutenant Ramie Ashdyn is an anomaly, a person whose genetic makeup makes her stronger and smarter than the average human. She’s pledged her life to protect the Coalition, an alliance of thirteen planetary systems, but when a top secret operation turns bloody, she’s charged with treason and the brutal executions of her teammates.

The Coalition needs the information Ash’s team stole on their last mission, so they send in Commander Rhys “Rest in Peace” Rykus to get it. He’s the man who’s responsible for turning Ash into an elite soldier... and he’s a man who isn’t, never was, and never will be in love with the woman he trained. Or so he tells himself.

Ash wants nothing more than to clear her name and be the woman her former instructor wants her to be, but the enemy who killed her teammates did more than frame her for treason and murder: they telepathically silenced her mind, preventing her from saying anything that might point to the truth about what happened.

Now Ash is trapped and set to be executed, the truth dying with her. Unless she can prove her innocence. But taking that path could destroy the Coalition she’s sworn to preserve and protect...

Available for purchase at 

Excerpt

“Please.” Ash’s voice was so raw, so striated with emotional pain, that Rykus wasn’t sure if

the jolt he felt through his heart was her will breaking or his.
She had never uttered that word in his presence before. He was almost certain she’d never

used it in her life. It wasn’t part of her vocabulary. It would have been seen as a weakness on her home planet, just as it would have been a weakness on  Caruth.

But the word was a submission, complete and irrevocable. All her walls were down. She was pleading for his help.
She was pleading for his help, and he was hurting her.
He released the pressure on her arm.
A moment passed. Then another. Then Ash’s green eyes opened.
She stared at him. He stared at her.

 

It felt as if he’d been sucked into another dimension, one where the loyalty training had flipped the axis of the universe. Instead of her being bound by his wishes, it was the other way around. She held his free will in her hands. He could feel it missing in the center of his chest. His heart beat within the hollow space, lost, unable to orient itself, but one command, one word from her, could make everything right again.

Her lips parted. No sound came out, though he waited for it, waited for some command he could carry out for her. Is this what it felt like to be a loyalty trained anomaly? He wasn’t in control. He wasn’t thinking reasonably. If he had been, he wouldn’t have been this aware of how her body fitted with his. He wouldn’t have been able to picture himself lowering his mouth to hers. He could almost taste her. He wanted to taste that beauty mark to the right of her lips.
He allowed himself one weakness. He drew his thumb over the small, dark spot. It was real.
As real as the woman lying beneath him. He’d seen Ash naked once before. He’d tried not to focus on her body back then, but he wanted to focus on it now. He wanted to take his time surveying every inch of it.

And he wanted her beneath him, vulnerable to his touch, his presence. Ash was always in controlof herself. He wanted to see her shatter…




 About The Author

Sandy Williams has lived and breathed books all her life. When she was a teen, she was always the first to finish her class assignments so that she could read as much as possible before the bell rang. Her grades didn't suffer (much), and she was able to enroll in Texas A&M University. She didn't sneak in novels there, but her college lecture notes are filled with snippets of stories. After she graduated, she decided to turn those snippets into novels.

Sandy writes books with high-octane action adventure infused with a strong romantic element. She is best known for The Shadow Reader novels, an urban fantasy romance series about a human who can both see and track the fae. When she’s not reading or corralling her twin boys, she enjoys playing EuroGames like Dominion, 7 Wonders, and Agricola.

 

You can find Sandy at 

         

 

 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 Presented By