Rosepoint Publishing

The Strange Courtship of Kathleen O’Dwyer by Robert Temple – #BookReview – #Westerns – Five Star Publishing

Book Blurb:

“What would drive a woman in 1828 to head west across the Great Plains into the Rocky Mountains, risking death among hostile Native Americans, brutish mountain men, and wild animals? Why, the same reason as a man, of course–freedom. Like fur trappers of the early western frontier, Kathleen is a misfit. Growing up in the Irish slums of Boston and watching her mother die giving birth to a dozen children, Kathleen has decided to escape into a career as a school teacher, free of men; but when she sets out along the Santa Fe Trail for distant Nuevo Mexico, she finds that dry powder and steady aim are as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic.”

His Review:

A woman alone in the western territories is a dangerous endeavor. Kathleen O’Dwyer has ventured out west to pursue a teaching career in Taos. Romantic is not a word to describe the adventure. Wild animals, Apache, other tribes as well as lawless men all looked at Kathleen with admiration. At 5 feet 9 inches, she is tall for a woman and well-built.

Colson is a drifter who helps her along the way. He is a true western gentleman who does not take advantage of his size or looks. Kathleen is smitten but holds back her admiration feeling it may show weakness. She regrets being standoffish later. Her post at the schoolhouse in Taos was meant for a man. The town treasurer tries to bully her out of her salary and signing bonus. She will have none of it!

The environs around Taos and Santa Fe are wild with Osage and other Plains Indians the primary citizens. The Apache are particularly fierce and feel that dying in battle is a badge of honor to take into the afterlife. They take no prisoners except young girls and children. The others are simply killed, and their bodies left to the wild creatures and buzzards.

This story is well-written and contrasts the life of a married woman with that of a single woman. Survival is a constant struggle and the town’s people expect Kathleen to turn and run back to the east from whence she came. They do not know the real Kathleen! I enjoyed this book immensely and the comparison of her life to our lives today is remarkable. Enjoy the story and the read. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Westerns, Action & Adventure Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Five Star Publishing

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1432895664
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1432895662

Print Length: 228 pages
Publication Date: December 21, 2022
Source: Author request

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: (No info on this author)

The Book Woman’s Daughter (The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek-2 by Kim Michele Richardson – #Audiobook Review – #TBT

Award Nominee

Book Blurb:

Revisit the packhorse librarians of Kentucky with this stunning companion to the New York Times best seller The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.

In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.

Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way.

If Honey wants to bring the freedom that books provide to the families who need it most, she’s going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.

My Review:

The sophomore novel released in 2022 following The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek that I read and reviewed back in 2020 for the book club found a slightly less enthusiastic audience than did the debut. This review, also for the newly formed online book club at my library, generally confirms my view.

The follow-up focuses on Honey Mary Angeline Lovett, aged sixteen, and suddenly alone following the arrest of her parents for violation of the mixed races law. Her mother Cussy being a “Blue” sent to prison as was her father.

While Honey contends only with blue hands (and feet), she is still considered part of the race and at sixteen, a minor. In 1953 in Kentucky, Honey is abruptly staring at the possibility of being sent to a juvenile work facility.

She is not without a guardian who will provide for her though, shielding her from the courts, until the old woman dies—which isn’t long into the narrative.

Honey has resources of her own, however, having her folk’s cabin and quickly finding work as her mother did, being a book woman delivering books to the outliers.

The patriarchal society in which she lived left the men mad at her for taking a job they might have had. From one hardship to another, she manages to surmount each, finding supporters and a strong friend in the process, but another woman filling what would normally be a man’s position.

Honey solves one loggerhead only to confront another and each time finds a solution or one finds her.

I enjoyed the atmospheric descriptions of life in the mountains in that still sheltered and remote area. Her experience as a packhorse librarian has her meeting and dealing with many characters, the women hungering for any conversation or communication, books from the outside world, while the men are generally begrudging the time and interest of their women.

There are themes of domestic violence, religious fervor, racism, herbal medicine. For some reason, I just couldn’t seem to get into this one; had difficulty engaging with Honey, found my attention wandering, jumping to the next obvious direction, and was usually correct. Too predictable? Honey too good, too sweet? I’m sitting somewhere in the middle with this one. If you thoroughly enjoyed the first, you may very well enjoy this one. The narrator did a terrific job and will recommend the audiobook over an ebook.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
ASIN: B09HY61WGX
Listening Length: 10 hrs 29 mins
Narrator: Katie Schorr
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Book Woman’s Daughter [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

The Author: NYT and USA TODAY and L. A. TIMES bestselling author, Kim Michele Richardson resides in her home state of Kentucky. She is the author of the bestselling memoir The Unbreakable Child. Her novels include Liar’s Bench, GodPretty in the Tobacco Field. The Sisters of Glass Ferry and The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Kim Michele latest novel, The Book Woman’s Daughter, is both a standalone and sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.

You can visit her websites and learn more at:

http://www.kimmichelerichardson.com

#ThrowbackThursday

Rosepoint Reviews – February Recap – If It’s March—Is It Spring Yet?

Rosepoint Reviews-February Recap

February, as always, short and sweet with Valentine’s Day and one day warm enough we got our bikes out. So lovely, followed almost immediately, of course, by snow and freezing temps. This will continue for long enough to surprise the trees in bloom in March. It always does.

Besides the loss of a beloved pet and the weight on my heart, there is still the habit of feeding or walking the dog, engrained after seventeen years to overcome. It’s not an easy transition. Concentrating instead on juicing apples from the fruit market, making my own juice. There are abundant oranges as well, although this variety (Valencia) is neither the sweetest nor the juiciest. I’ve finally begun having successful air-fried offerings from the air fryer and whole meals from my pressure cooker—a real learning curve. Perhaps you can teach an old dog!

We managed to read or listen to a total of thirteen books in February, a mix of NetGalley reads, audiobooks, Indie authors, and requests from publishers. (Links below are to my reviews that include purchase info.)

February review book covers

The Last Camel Died At Noon by Elizabeth Peters (audiobook)
Sons of Liberty by Matthew Speiser
The Drift by C J Tudor (CE review)
Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt (my 5*)
Hearts and Dark Arts by Trixie Silvertale (audiobook)
All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay (CE review)
Welcome Aboard by Jessie Newton, Tammy L Grace (and six more)
Who Killed Jerusalem? by George Albert Brown (CE review)
The Bark of Zorro by Kathleen Y’Barbo
A Silent Understanding by Jean Grainger
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz (audiobook)
Path of Peril by Marlie Parker Wasserman (CE 5*)
Bakeries and Buffoonery by Elizabeth Pantley

Have you read any of the above? There is a variety as usual of genres that include historical fiction, legal thriller, fantasy, crime, women’s fiction, cozy mysteries, and even a touch of horror (Koontz). (I don’t normally read horror but am a Koontz fan.)

Favorite Book of the Month

Feedback from the CE regarding the books I’ve given to him has resulted in one he DNF’d (I finished) and one he couldn’t stop talking about or reading parts to me. I had several good books, but felt none gave me quite the rah-rah that Path of Peril gave to him. So that is February’s choice for Book of the Month.

Blogger Post

I didn’t have a lot of time to do blog hopping in February, but I did catch several of my favorites, including those from Jill at Jill’s Book Café. I particularly enjoy her feature “Five on Friday” in which she posts an interview with an author you may or may not know or read. Love the answers particularly to the question “Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?” Some very surprising choices!

My Reading Challenges page…As I mentioned last month, I managed to lose my entire 2022 Challenges page. Definitely doing an abbreviated page this year and still trying to keep it current. I have 25 books of a goal of 145 in Goodreads (two books ahead of schedule) and keeping a 97% feedback ratio in NetGalley.

March begins Reading Ireland Month 2023. I love participating in this challenge and usually include a poem (from my grandfather) or recipe along with reviews about Ireland or written by an Irish author. If you haven’t signed up yet, now’s the time!

Once again, thank you as always for reading and commenting on my posts. I appreciate the participation!

k-luv-u-bye

Bakeries and Buffoonery: Magical Mystery Book Club by Elizabeth Pantley #BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway #ParanormalCozyMystery

I am so delighted today to provide a review for you at my blog stop for Bakeries and Buffoonery by Elizabeth Pantley on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour.

Scroll down to enter your chance to win the Giveaway!

Book Details

Bakeries and Buffoonery: Magical Mystery Book Club
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Small Midwestern Town
Independently Published (February 15, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BLLCTKCM

Book Blurb

It’s a magical book club! When this group chooses a book, magic happens. The mystery comes to life, and they find themselves part of the story. To exit the book and get back home, they need to solve the mystery and reach The End.

This time, the club chooses a book called The Great Cake Rivalry, because, well … cake! They read the back cover and it’s unanimous. So off they go into another grand adventure into a town aptly named Frosting.

Frosting is a rural town in an idyllic setting. The people live quiet lives most of the year. But in the spring, things change. The Annual Cake Competition becomes the focus of every man, woman, and child. They take this competition seriously. The cakes are spectacular. The festival is fabulous. For a week there are contests featuring all kinds of cakes. The people of the community become official tasters and vote for the winning cakes in each category.

The grand finale is a display of finely decorated cakes, made by the town’s bakeries. The winner of the best design receives a prize package that would make any baker dizzy.

Sadly, this event has been tainted. Once a year, each one different, but all somehow related to this event, a person is murdered. The main investigator is stumped, but that could be because he’s an inept buffoon.

Can the book club help the people of this community figure out who is causing this disturbing pattern of deaths, and stop another murder from happening? Can they figure out why some of the citizens dress so oddly, and why they always wear those unique backpacks? All while they fill themselves to the brim with cake, of course.

My Review

My first book in this series, Book 4, was quite the intro to the Magical Mystery Book Club! Not just a book club whose members must choose a new book to discuss, but one that would present a challenge in solving a mystery as each of the eight members will journey to the actual setting and become part of the characters of the book. They cannot return home until they solve the mystery.

This book lands them in a little town called Frosting where they are gearing up for their annual bake competition. While that sounds deliciously fun, it gets serious as they begin the investigation into the who or why someone connected to the competition is murdered.

The author reaches deep into folklore with this installment, borrowing ancient myths, then adds her own boundless imagination to create a fantasy so well described you could almost believe it’s real. (I’ve read of the phenomena in other books, but these depictions add chilling depth to the vision.)

The characters are brought to life in relatable scenes while descriptions of the baked masterpieces leave you drooling, imagining the confection’s beauty and taste. The characters vary wildly, including Frank, the Siamese who easily converses with people who don’t even blink at the prospect. Mollie, the ghost who is still discovering new and wonderful modern-day accruements.

Of course, it was easy for me to identify with the character of Vee who loves riding her motorcycle (didn’t that hit close to home!) and meets someone with the same love.

Yes, there are the twists and turns that have you considering multiple suspects. But even then, it’s hard to reach out and grab that one piece of evidence that would lead the reader to a viable perp. A baker who could kill the competition? Can this cake-baking competition be that serious?

Absolutely!

“…the main reasons for murder are love, lust, loathing, or loot,”…

I thought it amazing, the number of cake samples they could eat and still look forward to more cake. However, the aroma descriptions had me looking for something sweet too, so, yeah, I could see how that might happen.

It’s a well-paced and plotted narrative filled with wonderfully imaginative scenes, some paranormal as well as fantasy, but it all works so well it almost becomes normal. The banter and dialogue often include believable humorous back and forth.

Fast, unusual, engaging and entertaining. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you’ll surely find this one unique with a paranormal element.

Giveaway

Sign up for your chance to win two books—the first book in each series, paperback or eBook in this Rafflecopter giveaway.

About the Author

Elizabeth Pantley is the internationally bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents, published in over twenty languages.

She simultaneously writes the well-loved Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the new Magical Mystery Book Club series.

Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books. Visit her and sign up for her newsletter at www.nocrysolution.com

Author Links:

Website: https://www.nocrysolution.com/books/
Newsletter Sign-up: https://www.nocrysolution.com/mailing-list/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinyfallsmystery/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-pantley

Purchase Link – Amazon

Thank you for visiting my stop on the tour!

Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this cozy mystery!

Book Tour

Map courtesy Free Images

Path of Peril by Marlie Parker Wasserman – #BookReview – #TraditionalDetectiveMysteries – Level Best Books

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Would the assassins plotting to kill Theodore Roosevelt on his visit to the Panama Canal succeed? Until this trip, no president while in office had ever traveled abroad. White House secretary Maurice Latta, thrilled to accompany the President, could not anticipate the adventures and dangers ahead. Latta befriends watchful secret service agents, ambitious journalists, and anxious First Lady Edith Roosevelt on their hot and humid trip, where he observes a country teeming with inequalities and abounding in opportunities. Along the way he learns about his own strengths-what he never imagined he could do, and what he discovers he can’t do.

Theodore Roosevelt did visit Panama in 1906, accompanied by White House staffer Maurice Latta. Interweaving the stories of real-life characters with fictional ones, Path of Peril imagines what the newspapers feared to report and what historians never discovered about Roosevelt’s risky trip.

His Review:

Being an Under Secretary to a U.S. President is not an easy task. The title secretary connotes a person setting down with the president to take dictation and process correspondence but Theodore Roosevelt was a dynamic individual who found it very difficult to stay in one place. Noted for his exploits in Cuba with the Rough Riders among other adventures, he ran most of his staff ragged.

France has failed to complete the Panama Canal and Teddy went with a cadre of Secret Service Agents and other dignitaries to assess the progress of the canal. This was the first time a standing president departed from the continental United States. The trip was fraught with peril as many people felt that no government was the best government. Anarchists around the world planned ways to eliminate this bothersome President.

Ms. Wasserman develops a very intriguing tale of intrigue as a number of people try to eliminate this dynamic President. The problem for his security details was his penchant for rushing off in different directions with his security detail in tow attempting to keep him safe. Assassins could be anywhere and vigilance is the name of the game.

Panama during the visit is a virtual sweatshop and enjoys rain every day. Mud is everywhere and the project is monumental. Many of the workers are from the islands around Panama and the workers are divided into segregated groups. The golden group is the whites and the silver group is those other than whites. Panama is an independent country and diplomatic relationships between Panama’s government and the President need to be maintained. Meanwhile, the anarchists are plotting to eliminate this up-start President.

C E Williams This book does not disappoint in the movement of events. Read and enjoy this writer’s talents. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Details:

Genre: Traditional Detective Mysteries, Historical Thrillers, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Level Best Books

ISBN-10: ‎ 168512240X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1685122409

ASIN: B0BSXWCQ1F
Print Length: 320 pages
Publication Date: January 17, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Marlie Parker Wasserman writes historical crime fiction. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and sketching. After spending decades in NJ, she has settled in Chapel Hill, NC with her husband Mark.

Blogger, Bookblog, Bookblogger

Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas Book 1) by Dean Koontz – #Audiobook Review – #TBT – #thriller #suspense

Book Blurb:

Meet Odd Thomas, the unassuming young hero of Dean Koontz’s dazzling New York Times bestseller, a gallant sentinel at the crossroads of life and death who offers up his heart in these pages and will forever capture yours.

“The dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Sometimes the silent souls who seek out Odd want justice. Occasionally their otherworldly tips help him prevent a crime. But this time it’s different.

A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde of hyena-like shades who herald an imminent catastrophe. Aided by his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Odd will race against time to thwart the gathering evil. His account of these shattering hours, in which past and present, fate and destiny, converge, is a testament by which to live—an unforgettable fable for our time destined to rank among Dean Koontz’s most enduring works.

My Review:

So good it was brought back a second time?

Not sure, but it appears this originally released in 2003 in print form. I can find no current audiobook cover (although there are numerous print covers) and a new release is now dated May 2, 2023. I’m a Koontz fan, not necessarily a horror fan and read his Jane Kawk series as well as (most recently) The Darkest Evening of the Year and The Good Guy. (Neither of the latter was part of a series and they released in 2007.) Both of those were heavily pocked with the Koontz sense of humor as well as his uncanny sense in the development of his characters, a nuance at a time, right down to nervous tics and tells.

Well!

Then I get into this one, a series with seven books, several at the fourth installment level, and once again find a storyline that I’m hard-pressed to turn off. Narrated superbly by David Aaron Baker who also narrated the others in the series as well as Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent, he manages to convey the voices, inflections, and tension beautifully.

Poor Odd Thomas, aptly named, and obviously a throwback, as a twenty-year old who is definitely older than his years. He is a short-order cook in Pico Mundo and a darned good one with a rep to uphold. His soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, is aware of his “gifts.” He has a contingent of allies that includes Elvis. (Yes, Elvis, who this August is mourning his mother.) He has a penchant for seeing ghosts. He knows things. He gets messages. Some are not good. This one is horrible.

He must do something.

Fortunately, he is not unknown to the local police and one in particular listens to Odd. He’s previously provided help. Hopefully, Odd will be able to help prevent the promised carnage. He’s seen The Fungus Guy. He’s alarming and a serious problem.

Despite his being Odd, very odd, he is likable, immensely empathetic.

I suppose you could call this a horror genre. It has a high creepy factor that includes supernatural beings (called bodachs), and of course, there is Odd’s own unique abilities that he uses for good. I liked both he and Stormy, but then again, Koontz isn’t known for his romances, so something’s going to change. And you won’t like it.

Or perhaps I’m the only one that didn’t see this book back in 2003, or the movie that subsequently came out in 2013 starring Anton Yelchin—so cute—I can see he is the perfect Odd Thomas. (Unfortunately, Yelchin died in 2016 at the age of 27.)

Will I seek a second in this series? Most likely. I’m definitely intrigued. Did you read the books? See the movie? Did it turn you into a Koontz fan?

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Supernatural Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
ASIN: B0BRBNQ2KJ
Listening Length: 11 hours
Narrator: David Aaron Baker
Publication Date: May 2, 2023 (huh?)
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Odd Thomas [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

The Author: Dean Koontz, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirits of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

The Narrator: David Aaron Baker (born August 14, 1963) is an American actor whose credits stretch across theater, film, television and audiobooks.

#ThrowbackThursday

David Aaron Baker photo courtesy Playbill

A Silent Understanding: The Kilteegan Bridge Story Book 5 by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – Historical Irish Fiction

in Historical Irish Fiction

Book Blurb:

Kilteegan Bridge, Co Cork, Ireland. 1975

Lena Kogan is thrilled when her son Emmet invites her to the opening of his first building in San Francisco. It’s awkward that she will be staying with Emmet’s father Malachy Berger, but he’s in a serious relationship now, and anyway, he knows how Lena feels about Eli, so surely they can just be friends.

Her sister Emily, is less adventurous. She’s happy to stay at home with her family and a thriving business, that is until her daughter Nellie drops another bombshell on her about what she plans to do next. A move nobody could have anticipated and few support.

Her brother Jack is living contentedly on his farm with Skipper, until a couple of late-night visitors cause them to risk everything they’ve guarded so carefully. Intervening to help could mean exposure in a state where men like them are on the wrong side of the law, but some things are just too important to ignore.

In this final book of The Kilteegan Bridge Story, the O’Sullivans come to a silent understanding of each other and of themselves.

My Review:

I’ve read each of the episodes in this series and must admit that Book 4 (When Irish Eyes are Lying) hit hard and unexpectedly. So it was with some trepidation that I began Book 5.

This installment in the Kilteegan Bridge series brings back the tragedy with Lena and Eli, the story of Nellie and her ill-fated visit to San Francisco and continued the sweet and tentative interest between Emmet and Wei. It also sees additional development with Rosa Abramson and her pursuit of WWII reparations for Jews. Following Malachy’s new knowledge of his father’s and grandparents’ involvement in the theft of property during that time, he volunteers a project that would benefit the people as well as involve his biological son, Emmet.

In the meantime, new characters Katie and Maggie O’Neill are runaways from the local Catholic orphanage where their treatment is less than loving. But they cannot continue to hide with Jack and Skipper, two bachelors, and given their relationship must find other safe quarters for the young girls.

While the author’s books can get complex with multiple sub-plots, each is interwoven within the tight family and small rural, primarily Catholic-based community. Nellie has decided on a vocation unexpected that shocks her mother. Nellie’s new BFF, Sister Martina becomes a solid sympathetic character as well as one who provides a consistent story with that sense of humor we’ve come to expect of a Jean Grainger novel. (Wish I’d known about St Columbanus, the patron saint of motorcycles, back when I was riding my motorcycle, but have to admit St Michael kept his hand on me more than once.)

The atmospheric visions of rural Irish life that include an enormous family line that extends in all directions provide a gripping and emotional plot. It is a well-paced and complicated storyline that manages to confront a number of topical domestic issues.

At this point, having fully engaged in previous installments, there are issues most readers will want to see settled as they hope. The conclusion neatly gathers all remaining strings left hanging or unresolved and carefully addresses each issue and in the Epilogue quietly closes all disturbing threads. As with all families, particularly large extended ones, there are multiple and private issues, and within the family perhaps while quietly acknowledged—still remain private.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the author and publisher that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. Currently on pre-order.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publisher: Gold Harp Media
ASIN: B0BRNYGRM5
Publication Date: March 1, 2023
Source: Author ARC

Title Link: A Silent Understanding (Amazon)

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[truncated—please see her full bio on her Amazon author page]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

Enjoy your day

The Bark of Zorro (Gone to the Dogs Book 4) by Kathleen Y’Barbo – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Valentine’s Day, aka National Singles Awareness Day

Book Blurb:

Who Is Spray Painting the Dogs in Brenham, Texas?

Cozy up with your favorite pooch and unwind with a small-town mystery in book 4 of the Gone to the Dogs series.

Strange happenings are afoot in Brenham, Texas, as dogs start showing up at the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic with a Z spray painted on them. The cops blame pranksters, while pet owners are blaming each other. Receptionist Cassidy Carter uses her social media expertise to try to get the culprit caught on camera, but Texas game warden, Justin Cameron, thinks online media attention is the last thing this case needs. It’s bad enough he’s currently being followed around by reality TV cameras. When Cassidy’s post goes viral, more dogs are found painted and her new home gets marked with a big Z too. How could her good intentions have backfired so badly?

Gone to the Dogs series:
Off the Chain by Janice Thompson
Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson
The Bark of Zorro by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Every Dog Has His Day by Janice Thompson
New Leash on Life by Kathleen Y’Barbo

My Review:

Once again I blundered into a series that is written by more than one author. I’ve read neither author before but thinking this is a good start, as I certainly enjoyed it.

It’s a sweet read, entertaining, and of course my big draw—dogs.

In this case, however, one is discovered having had a “Z” painted on the side of him. The main character, Cassidy Carter, is the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic’s office manager involved in the Second Chance Ranch Dog Rescue, all round gofer. So it is when the regular person in charge of taking an abandoned dog call is otherwise occupied, Cassidy goes to find the dog. She does and in hazardous conditions.

Later also involved is game warden Justin Cameron. Justin apparently has an unwelcome entourage—a television reality show in which he’s involved. I won’t call this inst-love, but it supplies the romance part of the cozy theme mystery.

I liked the dogs in the storyline as well as the inclusion of humorous highlights, not so much Justin. He bothered me as being too hovering, controlling, and for me the red flags popped up. Not so for Cassidy apparently as, of course, he is gorgeous, sexy, and studly.

In the meantime, there appears more than one dog sporting painted “Z”s on their furry sides and it’s time to zero in on the perp. I did have a little problem with the reveal—another of those who do not appear in the plot throughout the book. No way to have guessed who.

The pacing is fine and it’s wholesome. I liked Cassidy except for the CYA she issued more than once regarding her position being “just an office manager.” Maybe so, however, the setting is interesting, the characters (for the most part) engaging, and I’ll likely seek a second in the series.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance, Cozy Mysteries
Publisher: Barbour Publishing Inc

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1636095178
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1636095172

ASIN: B0BFCFNG8S
Print Length: 256 pages
Publication Date: April 1, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: KATHLEEN Y’BARBO is a Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of more than one hundred books with two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she is a member of the Texas Bar Association Paralegal Division, Texas A&M Association of Former Student and the Texas A&M Women Former Students (Aggie Women), Texas Historical Society, Novelists Inc., and American Christian Fiction Writers. She would also be a member of the Daughters of the American Republic, Daughters of the Republic of Texas and a few others if she would just remember to fill out the paperwork that Great Aunt Mary Beth has sent her more than once.

Kathleen and her hero in combat boots husband have their own surprise love story that unfolded on social media a few years back. They make their home just north of Houston, Texas and are the parents and in-laws of a blended family of Texans, Okies, and three very adorable Londoners.

To find out more about Kathleen or connect with her through social media, check out her website at http://www.kathleenybarbo.com.