I Just Came Here to Dance 
by Susan Mary Malone
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: White Bird Publications
Date of Publication: Sep 15, 2016
Number of Pages: 340

Paula Anne Fairbanks understands all about the unexamined life. And she likes hers that way—until her world gets ripped smooth apart.

Running from reality, Paula falls under the mythological yarns being spun on Diana Maclean's porch. Surely Paula's own choices aren't to blame for the summer of insanity she spends under the spells of Diana...who is, after all, known as the White Witch of Sociable, Texas.

I JUST CAME HERE TO DANCE, a modern allegory, waltzes atop the line between the creative and the crazy, the sacred and the maligned. Through myths it weaves together the multi-layers of personal Self with that of the collective whole. And finally, Paula Anne and the townsfolk learn the simplest of truths: that the fire's ashes produce wisdom and courage, just as the stories say.

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Murder in G Major
A Gethsemane Brown Mystery
by Alexia Gordon
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Paranormal
Publisher: Henery Press
Date of Publication: Sep 13, 2016
Number of Pages: 268

Stranded in Ireland after losing both a gig and her luggage, African-American classical musician Gethsemane Brown hopes to win her way back to the States by accepting a challenge: turn rowdy school boys into a champion orchestra. She's offered lodging in a beautiful cliffside cottage once owned by her favorite composer. The catch? The composer's ghost. He can't rest in peace until he's cleared of false charges of murder-suicide. Desperate after a quarter-century, he begs Gethsemane for help. A growing friendship with the charming ghost spurs Gethsemane to investigate. Her snooping provokes a long-dormant killer and she soon finds herself on the wrong sort of top ten hit list. Will Gethsemane uncover the truth as she races to prevent a murderous encore or will she star in her own farewell performance?

Click to Purchase: Amazon * Barnes & Noble *  iTunes * Kobo

​​NOT QUITE PERFECT
Not Quite Series, Book Five
Montlake Romance, Contemporary
September 20, 2016, First Edition
Paperback & Kindle

New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee delivers the fifth heartwarming, flirty novel in the wildly popular Not Quite series.

Mary Kildare knows how to read people. It’s both why she makes a great therapist and why she refuses to trust the average bachelor. Staying fiercely independent has been her primary relationship strategy—until wealthy playboy pilot (and commitmentphobe) Glen Fairchild reappears in her life. After a yearlong teasing tug-of-war, Mary and Glen test the waters of attraction, only to find that their physical chemistry runs deeper than flirtation.
​
At first, a bicoastal romance suits them both—especially since Glen can swoop in and whisk Mary away on one of his company’s planes. But no matter how close they get, they’re still three thousand miles apart. And when Mary’s life is threatened, Glen realizes the one luxury he doesn’t have is time. Can he close the distance between them before it’s too late?

BUY LINKS:  Amazon * ​B&N * BAM * ​BOOK DEPOSITORY

RIVERSIDE
by Brett Burlison
Genre: Thriller / Suspense / Action Romance
Publisher: Barton Creek Press
Date of Publication: January 4, 2016
Number of Pages: 348

It’s summer 1993 in Austin. Two young lovers decide to move in together and open a cafe only to be hindered by their own pasts, drugs, and bad guys from New Orleans. Set in Austin, Texas in the early nineties.

Bobby Patrick, abandoned by his mother as a child and by his alcoholic father during high school, wants a better life for himself and his true love, Katie. The couple decides to open a café and chase their dreams under the radiant Austin sunsets. There, the long, hot days of summer in inspire their passion--but complications arise when Katie's former love interest returns, bringing with him a whirlwind of trouble.

As Katie's dark past reveals itself, Bobby fears it could threaten all they have been striving for. Along with Katie's best friend, Sara, with whom Bobby has his own secret history, the couple becomes tangled up in a drug deal and falls under close watch by Austin police and New Orleans mobsters. 

Bobby must find a way to protect Katie, help Sara, and help himself to thousands of dollars from the ill-fated deal. If he can't, his future with Katie could be shattered forever. 

Part romance and part suspense story, Riverside is a tell-your-friends-about-it, good old-fashioned crime novel about a young couple struggling for the American dream, and the lengths to which they will go to protect it.

Click to Purchase: Amazon * Book People * iBooks * Author Website

Brett Burlison is a writer, lawyer, and Texan living in Northern California. He grew up in the piney woods of East Texas and went to school in Austin.

He practices law in San Francisco, and writes romantic suspense stories about young couples up against difficult odds.

TWITTER   WEBSITE  AMAZON   AUTHOR PAGE    

​Click to read part one, posted 9/13/16 on The Page Unbound
 
We carried our beers down the hall into her bedroom. Katie closed the door behind me and locked it. I finished off my beer and flopped down on the bed.
“Where’s Sara?” I asked.
“She’s with Daniel because he’s with Paul.”
“Paul’s back?”
“He came back night ’fore last.”
“What?”
“We were at the park yesterday mornin’, and there was Paul. Like nothin’. Just there. He just walked right up to all us and said, ‘Y’all goin’ swimmin’?’”
“Jesus. Was Sara there? I mean right there?”
“She was. I don’t know why she didn’t pee her pants. I would have. I wanted to, in fact, and it’s not even my deal. It’s hers. It’s always hers. But she just stood there with her mouth open. Why he does that to her is totally beyond me. But there it is.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. Y’all went swimmin’? As if everything was cool? Did anybody say—but first off, who else was there?”
“Lake.”
“Okay. Did Lake say anything to him?”
“Not at first. But once we went in and sat on the hill,
Lake asked him where he’d been.”
“What’d he say?”
“Said he’d been in Albuquerque workin’.”
“Paul . . . had been in New Mexico . . . working?”
“Yes, but he’d grown tired of the town and the sandstorms and decided to move back. He had driven all night and was just rollin’ into town and I s’pose a swim sounded good.”

A Mortal Song by Megan Crewe 
Publication date: September 13th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Sora’s life was full of magic—until she discovered it was all a lie.

Heir to Mt. Fuji’s spirit kingdom, Sora yearns to finally take on the sacred kami duties. But just as she confronts her parents to make a plea, a ghostly army invades the mountain. Barely escaping with her life, Sora follows her mother’s last instructions to a heart-wrenching discovery: she is a human changeling, raised as a decoy while her parents’ true daughter remained safe but unaware in modern-day Tokyo. Her powers were only borrowed, never her own. Now, with the world’s natural cycles falling into chaos and the ghosts plotting an even more deadly assault, it falls on her to train the unprepared kami princess.

As Sora struggles with her emerging human weaknesses and the draw of an unanticipated ally with secrets of his own, she vows to keep fighting for her loved ones and the world they once protected. But for one mortal girl to make a difference in this desperate war between the spirits, she may have to give up the only home she’s ever known.

“Megan Crewe’s A Mortal Song is engrossing from the first chapter. The world of the kami is beautifully fantastic and delicately drawn, and the switched-at-birth scenario made me instantly feel for both of these resilient, brave girls. A Mortal Song has lots of magic, lots of heart, and lots to love.” -Kendare Blake, author of Three Dark Crowns

A WIFE OF NOBLE CHARACTER
by Yvonne Georgina Puig
Genre: Women's Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
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Date of Publication: August 2, 2016
Number of Pages: 320

Thirty-year-old Vivienne Cally is wealthy in name only. Orphaned as a child and raised by a cold but regal aunt, Vivienne was taught to rely on her beauty and Texas tradition, and is expected to marry a wealthy and respectable man who will honor the Cally name. Friends with Houston's richest and most prominent families, she's a beloved fixture at the social events big and small, and suffers no shortage of access to some of the city's most eligible bachelors. Preston Duffin has known Vivienne and her set since childhood.  He's never shared their social aspirations or their status but is liked and respected for his sharp wit and intelligence. About to graduate from a prestigious architecture program, he is both fascinated and repelled by this group of friends he sits on the cusp of. He's long admired Vivienne's beauty and grace, but isn't sure he holds any place in such a traditional life. Intrigued by Preston's ambitions and the extent to which he challenges the only way of life she's ever known, Vivienne both courts Preston's attention, and rebuffs his critiques of her predictable and antiquated priorities and values. 

Inspired by Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, Yvonne Georgina Puig's A Wife of Noble Character shares the original novel’s astute social commentary at the same time that it illuminates the trappings and rewards of coming of age that are wholly unique to the twenty-first century. Charming and shrewd at once, this Texas love story takes readers from Houston to Paris and Switzerland and back again, and will speak to both fans of Wharton and anyone who has every struggled to find their way in life.

CLICK FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS ON THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE

​Yvonne Georgina Puig's fiction and essays have appeared in Salon, Variety, Los Angeles Magazine, and The Texas Observer, among others. She holds a Masters in Professional Writing from USC. She lives in Santa Monica with her husband. 

INSTAGRAM * GOODREADS * TWITTER * WEBSITE

​Oh, how the years fly by!
A whimsical coloring journey. . .
& A whimsical inspirational journey . . .
by Annette Bridges
Genre: Inspirational Adult Coloring & Quote Books
Date of Publication: August 1, 2016
Publisher: Ranch House Press
# of pages: 72

Oh, how the years fly by! A whimsical coloring journey is an adult coloring book that features thirty vibrant original illustrations and quotes that will take you on an enchanting voyage of reflection. Be reminded of the simple pleasures that make you feel happy. Find the encouragement you need to nourish your soul and refresh your spirit. Get out your colored pencils or crayons and discover the stress relieving, calming pleasure of coloring.  

Oh, how the years fly by! A whimsical inspirational journey is a smaller hardcover full-color rendition of the coloring book featuring the same illustrations and quotes.

CLICK TO PURCHASE:
Coloring Book * Quote Book * Author Website-
-Spiral bound coloring book only available through website
Coming soon to the Ranch House Press Etsy Store!  

Annette Bridges is an author, publisher and women’s retreat host on a mission to help every woman realize her story is extraordinary, valuable and noteworthy.

Before writing books, this former public school and home school educator spent a decade writing hundreds of helpful, instructive, and lighthearted columns published by Texas newspapers, parenting magazines, websites, and bloggers.

Annette lives on a Texas cattle ranch with her husband John, dachshund Lady, and lots of cows. She can drive a tractor but only if wearing a fresh coat of lipstick and it’s not her pedicure day!
​
Annette loves to journal in color and create word art. She especially enjoys coloring with glitter markers. She looks forward to spending hours with her daughter coloring this book and giggling together as they remember their many happy adventures.

TWITTER * FACEBOOK * WEBSITE * INSTAGRAM * PINTEREST * YOUTUBE * AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE * LET'S COLOR OUR WORLD * YOUR BEAUTIFUL ESCAPE

Oh how lovely it is to color. It is therapeutic and with this book it is an all-around positive experience. The inspirational and motivational quotes were a fresh spin and the cherry on top of this sundae. To make myself sit down and do such a simple task as color helped with my stress, but the best part was the accomplishment once each page is finished. I was forced to make decisions though, which is usually quite a stressful situation, but with the book that came in the Color Your World Party Box it provided a cheat sheet. The hard cover book was a replica to the coloring book, but colored in! It also made a great kid book after I finished using it. I gave it to my six year old niece who enjoys all the intricate colors and reads it to me as a bedtime story. 

9/12 - Review - Hall Ways Blog
9/13 - Review - My Book Fix Blog
9/14 - Promo - The Crazy Booksellers
9/15 - Review - Missus Gonzo
9/16 - Video Guest Post - Texas Book Lover
9/17 - Promo - Momma On The Rocks
9/18 - Review - The Page Unbound
9/19 - Author Interview 1 - Margie's Must Reads
9/20 - Excerpt - It's a Jenn World
9/21 - Review - StoreyBook Reviews
9/22 - Free Download - Forgotten Winds
9/23 - Author Interview 2 - A Novel Reality
9/24 - Review - Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books
9/25 - Promo - Country Girl Bookaholic
9/26 - Review - Chapter Break Book Blog

THE GREENLEE PROJECT 
​by Amanda M. Thrasher 
Genre: YA / Contemporary / Cyber-bullying
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press
Date of Publication: October 31, 2015
Number of Pages: 206

Social media, cruel jokes, and bitter betrayal - watch your teens!

Greenlee Lynn Granger is about to find out how easily social media can be used as a malicious tool: a normal teen one day and ruined the next. Who knew a boy’s affections would turn her life into such a nightmare? Becoming a designated ‘project,’ a joke in front of the whole school, turns Greenlee’s life upside down. Relationships with her family and friends strained, she is forced to make mature decisions. Greenlee knows her choices will determine the future of her abusers. 
​
An emotional glimpse into the reality of cyber-bullying, The Greenlee Project showcases the all-too-common anonymous and cruel betrayals of others through social media, of such magnitude that it devastates a young teen, her friends, family, and the community. Cyber-bullying affects not just the victims, but everyone around them. After being the target of cyber-bullying, what Greenlee does next is shocking.

The census from my book club was three five star reviews, my four star review, while the remaining half dozen said they couldn’t make it past the first fifty pages because it was too sad. Although that might have something to do with the majority of ladies in my book club being seniors who are surrounded by death, but they barely wanted to talk about the book because it was too sensitive of a subject. ​

​The subject of discussion became death and transposing the books theme of reincarnation into the groups’ individual lives. There were several stories exchanged of how widows and daughters could sense their husbands and fathers in spirit, once as a dragonfly, and another through a penny. We moved on to reincarnation of dogs to wonder which of our dogs have impacted us so much that we might find them again in another one of their life cycles. 

Well I had no idea before my book club meeting that this book was becoming a movie. I might have teared up a little while watching it for the first time, knowing now what some of the scenes will be leading to. I can guarantee that I will cry during this movie and most probably will try to go with my book club, so my husband is saved from attending a tear-jerker with me.

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, this touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8 year old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders, will he ever find his purpose? Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh out loud funny, this book is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

Hardcover, 319 pages
Published July 6th 2010 by Forge Books
Current GoodReads Rating: 4.33 Stars

Championship bull rider Nick Wilde is the face of Montana Pro Rodeo, with all the acclaim and fans he can handle. But is that enough? Contemplating his next career move, he’s come home to his family’s cherry orchard—and to his childhood crush, helicopter pilot Harper Stone. But Harper’s not quite the sexy, badass girl he once lusted after. Recently widowed, she’s broken in two. Wanting to help her move on, Nick finds himself aching for the kind of stability he never had as a child.

True love comes once if you’re lucky, and Harper already had her shot. An accident took her husband eighteen months ago and left only pain and guilt in his place. Now Nick is waking up her body and heart to everything she might still have to gain…or lose. A second chance is more than she thinks she deserves. But with a man like Nick doing the persuading, maybe it’s time to try.

Kindle Edition, 302 pages
Published August 23rd 2016 by Montlake Romance
Current Goodreads Rating: 4.58 Stars

TEXAS IN HER OWN WORDS (Second Edition)
by Tweed Scott
 
Genre: Texas / General Interest
Publisher: Tejas Publishing
Date of Publication: June 16, 2016
Number of Pages: 336

Texas in Her Own Words is a peek into the Texas psyche. It explains why Texans are the way they are . . . where all that attitude comes from. This work is the result of a statewide search for what author Tweed Scott calls the “T-Chromosome.” Texans are different but why?  Scott went statewide to find the answers to three basic questions. 1) What makes Texas special? 2) Why is this place so different than anywhere else on the planet? 3) If and when it applied, what does it mean to you personally to BE a native Texan?
​
Scott shares some remarkable answers with you throughout the book. In the end, he learned that all Texans share four traits or attributes. When you finish this book, you will understand why Texans are the way they are. IF you are a native Texan, chances are you will find some of yourself between the covers of this book. It’s a fun read.

CLICK TO PURCHASE   Amazon * Texas Trading Post * Tejas Publishing

MAYHEM: Three Lives of a Woman
by Elizabeth Harris
 
Genre: Historical Literary Fiction
Date of Publication: October 5, 2015
Publisher: Gival Press
# of pages: 130

Mayhem: Three Lives of a Woman is a literary novel with a historical setting that engages issues of gender, vigilantism, recovery from trauma, and nostalgia for the rural and small-town past.
 
Two stock-farmers in 1936 Texas are accused of castrating a neighbor. Mayhem is the story of their crime and its consequences–the violent past and standard gender relations that enable it, and its economic displacement of the modest, well-connected woman who occasions it.

Around the edges of the story, an authorial narrator admits why she fictionalizes this past and shapes the novel as she does.

CLICK TO PURCHASE:  Amazon   IndieBound

I have never read a book quite like Mayhem. It started off a bit intimidating with the introduction of so many separate families and how they each played a role in each others life. I was scared how I was going to keep track of them all. Some were not so friendly to one another and it explained how they kept their distance from each other and some made a point to even marry into families to keep the neighborly respect.

This story was told in the past tense, which is my least favorite point of view. In my opinion the author can not pour out their heart as easily, which as a result has the story feeling a bit more distanced. I did enjoy in this novel the use of the authors' sporadic first person opinions and insight thrown in to point out foreshadowing instances and give us warnings as the story unfolded.

A few chapters into the story, it starts to really reel you in, pun intended, as the daily chore of bringing in the fishing line seems to be assigned permanently to Evelyn, the obstacle in the story is introduced. The rest is history as once the hook is set, you are a goner. The story flew by after the introductions and it was hard to put the book down. This was a great, short novel and entertaining to be put back into that time frame and experience the characters morales and trepidations.

Elizabeth Harris is the author of Mayhem: Three Lives of a Woman (2015), which won the Gival Press Novel Award and was a finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Best Fiction (2016). Mayhem has been reviewed with enthusiasm, praised as essential cultural Texana, and compared to fiction of Katherine Anne Porter, Wendell Berry, Cormac McCarthy, and Annie Proulx for its style and its penetration of the Western myth. Harris’s first book The Ant Generator (1991), a short story collection, was chosen by Marilynne Robinson for the prestigious John Simmons Award from the University of Iowa Press. Some of her stories have been anthologized in New Stories from the South, Best of Wind, The Iowa Award, and Literary Austin. Two other novel manuscripts of Harris’ have been recognized in national competitions. 
 
Harris grew up as Betsy Hall on the east side of Ft. Worth, where she became an avid reader. Her father was a journalist, a former editor of The Daily Texan in 1930-31 who worked for the now-defunct Ft. Worth Press and Pittsburgh Press, and she recalls former newswomen—who had become reporters during World War II—as personal inspirations and role models. She went to high school in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, and to Carnegie-Mellon and Stanford Universities. She taught fiction-writing at the University of Texas at Austin and counts many friends and writers among her former students. She and her husband are birders and football fans. Visit Elizabeth Harris at www.elizabethharriswriter.com

Check out the other great blogs on the tour! 
8/15 - Review - Hall Ways Blog
8/16 - Author Interview - The Crazy Booksellers
8/17 - Guest Post - All for the Love of the Word
8/18 - Review - Margie's Must Reads
8/19 - Author Interview - It's a Jenn World
8/20 - Excerpt - Kara The Redhead
8/21 - Review - My Book Fix Blog
8/22 - Promo - Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Books
8/23 - Author Interview - Reading By Moonlight
8/24 - Review - Forgotten Winds

​DEADLY ENCOUNTER (FBI: Task Force) by DiAnn Mills
Genre: Romance / Suspense / Christian
Publisher: Tyndale House
Date of Publication: August 1, 2016
Number of Pages: 376

Airport Ranger volunteer Stacy Broussard expected a peaceful Saturday morning ride around the perimeter of Houston’s airport. What she encounters instead is a brutal homicide and a baffling mystery. Next to the body is an injured dog, the dead man’s motorcycle, and a drone armed with a laser capable of taking down a 747.

Though FBI Special Agent Alex LeBlanc sees a clear-cut case of terrorism, his past has taught him to be suspicious of everyone, even witnesses. Even bleeding-heart veterinarians like Stacy. But when her gruesome discovery is only the first in a string of incidences that throw her life into a tailspin, Alex begins to wonder if Stacy was targeted. As a health emergency endangers Stacy’s community, and the task force pulls in leads from all directions, Alex and Stacy must work together to prevent another deadly encounter.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Author Interview 3

I was able to go to the It Ends with Us book signing event yesterday held in Houston, Texas and I will say that because of this event, it might have been the first time I've ever wished the weekend away so it could be Tuesday already. I had met Colleen Hoover once before, at the RT Convention in Dallas last year, but I was new to reading and had only experience one of her books. She was already on my favorite author list, but with only reading a dozen or so authors at that time, she didn't have much competition. 

I can proudly say after finishing all her books and adding hundreds of other authors to my list, that she still holds my number one spot. She has become my magical Ellen though and I was terrified to meet her after gaining so much appreciation towards her and getting to know her over social media for the last year and a half. After meeting her, she didn't dissapoint. She's so grounded and appreciative and loves what she does. I love her as a person just as much as I love her books. Below is the author question and answer segment from the book signing yesterday. I also emailed her and asked her a few questions of my own and will post the feedback with my review in a few days after I can fully digest what I just read and try to translate my emotions into words.