Book source ~ Review copy. My review is voluntary and honest.

Aubrey Harrison is a student at Texas A&M. The night of Chilifest she leaves the party to head home and swerves to avoid hitting a deer. Ok, side note here from Auntie Carol: never swerve to avoid hitting an animal unless you have plenty of clear space to do so AND you are not traveling at a high rate of speed. Because of this very reason - she runs off the road and flips her truck, ending up in the hospital and in a coma. Seriously. Hit the deer instead. You’re less likely to be hurt. Ok, back to the review.

Aubrey wakes up in San Antonio in 1836. Yep. 1836. She is still Aubrey Harrison, but not the Aubrey these people know. I have no idea what happened to the 1836 Aubrey. Maybe they really are one and the same? Time travel is so confusing. So, now 2018 Aubrey is in 1836 and that would be bad enough, but she finds out that the Battle of the Alamo is only a few weeks away. And we all know what happened then. Should Aubrey try to change the future? Can she even do that? She could probably change a small detail here and there, but a battle so monumental? Dilemma!

This is a fascinating concept, but I found a good portion of the beginning to be too slow for my tastes. It takes a while to build up speed, but when it does it was well worth the wait. Aubrey does a good job of straddling two time periods and not going bonkers. Then there’s Tapley, who looks so much like Lee, a classmate back in 2018. I’m not going to give away anything about this story because you’ll want to discover it for yourself. If you like time travel love stories then this is one you won’t want to miss.

Book source ~ Review copy. My review is voluntary and honest.

Gabriel, Sheila, and wonder dog Orson are in Florida contemplating a nice stress-free vacation when Sheila suddenly gets an urgent call for help. And by call, I don’t mean by conventional means. Sheila is a witch and she hears the call in her head. So, they haul ass for Maine where danger awaits. And Sheila’s aunt. Who may or may not be dangerous.

Wait…has it really been nearly 4 years since I read book 1, Tail and Trouble?! Because it doesn’t feel like it. I opened this book up and dove right in, no refresher needed. Oh, how I love Gabriel, Sheila and Orson. Especially Orson. Who doesn’t love a smartass “talking” dog?! There’s two new characters added here, Sheila’s wacky aunt Mona and Mona’s old lover, Rett. I hope we see more of these two because I think they have more to share with us.

If you like great characters, humor, danger, magic, freaky villains, and a talking dog (I mentioned Orson, right?) then don’t hesitate to pick up this book. While you’re at it, you might want to snag book 1, too! It’s not needed to follow this tale, but why would you want to miss out on their 1^st adventure? Again, talking dog. And magic. Go now!

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

When Karis Hylen decides to give up dating and be a crotchety hermit she had no idea it would save her life. Her recent antisocial behavior comes in handy when a new virus starts killing people and the east coast gets quarantined. Alone in New York City with no transportation she holes up in her apartment building. But as the weeks drag on, the emptiness and quiet starts to get to her. Good thing she has her loyal companion Zeke with her to keep her grounded. But when her supplies start running precariously low, she knows she has no choice but to make for the quarantine border in Loveland, Iowa. How the hell is she going to get out of the city and all the way there when she has no wheels?

Put in an impossible situation, Karis has to survive not only physically, but mentally. This isn’t just a story about how she keeps herself and Zeke safe and fed. It’s about her mental state and coming to terms with how she has lived her life and how she will move forward if she makes it out of this situation alive. It’s at times heart breaking as well as heart pounding and completely enthralling. I kept thinking, would I know what to do in a situation like this? Do I have knowledge buried in my brain that could help? I think so. While it could drag a little bit in spots, it was hard to put down. I wanted to see what Karis had to deal with next. If you like apocalyptic stories then I highly recommend this. Especially since Karis is older than your typical main character in this type of story. At 38 she has some experience to pull from. I have to tell you, this book stuck with me long after I finished it. And I’m sure my family got sick of me telling them all about it. LOL So, grab it now and let me know what you think.

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

Cass Adams has come a long way since she buried her husband in the yard. She’s got a man who loves her. Okay, so he was her brother-in-law, but now he’s her baby daddy. And she has a dog who she named Dog. But one thing she isn’t happy about are the visions that came with her pregnancy. She keeps seeing her best friend Maryanne dying. Well, shit. It was bad enough seeing and chatting with the occasional dead person, but now she’s having visions of future conversationalists? Ugh. And then the unthinkable happens. A super tornado hits her home town and nothing will ever be the same again.

I cannot tell you how much I love Cass Adams and her whole weird life in the small town of Deacon, Kansas. If you haven't read book 1, They Call Me Crazy and book 2, Call Me Daddy, you don’t need to. You can enjoy this book without having read a single word of what came before. But why the fuck would you want to do that?! Books 1 & 2 are awesome! Small town shenanigans, several POVs, and a touch of the paranormal added gives this a full-bodied read like you wouldn’t believe. Kinda like Fat Tina and her gentleman’s club. And I’m going to tell you a secret. I never really liked Maryanne so I wasn’t too upset about Cass’s visions about her. There. I said it. If you haven’t read this series then stop, drop, and roll. Oops. No. I mean, stop what you are doing and grab them up. I guarantee you will fall into Cass’s world and not want to come home.

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

Al Quinn is a retired detective for the Sheriff’s Department, but somehow his old boss, Sheriff Clayton, keeps managing to pull him in when he needs a really good detective. He calls them “favors” but each time Al and his lady friend Fergie (retired detective of the Austin PD) have nearly been killed doing these little favors for Clayton. But this one seems relatively straight forward and harmless. He just needs to go talk to someone who says they saw a chupacabra, reassure them that the department will look into it, and go on his merry way. If you’ve read any of the other Al Quinn stories, you know this just isn’t going to be that simple. But first he needs to find a con-woman who stole the cancer fund money from the hospital charity drive that his brother Maury and sis-in-law Bonnie were running before their boss fires them for it. Retired, his ass.

I love Al and his merry band of misfits. When a new book comes out I can’t wait to see what Al is going to be investigating and how Fergie, Maury, Bonnie, and Tanner will help. Baby Al isn’t going to be much help in this one because, well, he’s no Baby Yoda. Ok, that reference will not work for anyone who isn’t watching The Mandalorian, but I don’t care. LOL

Al and Fergie have an impossible task of finding this fraudster woman. It’s like she’s disappeared off the face of the planet. But Al is stubborn and he likes a good puzzle, so away he and Fergie go trying to track down a ghost. I love the way one thing leads to another thing then another and suddenly there are guys trying to kill Al and Fergie. How the hell did that happen?! Like any good detective Al follows the trail and relies on his gut as well. Fergie has years of experience to contribute and she’s no wilting flower. There’s action, mystery, and awesome characters - I love this world!