Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Ice

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~




Book Details:

Book Title: ICE by Lauren Carr
Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Cozy
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: April 25, 2018
Narrated by: Mike Alger, Unabridged
Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
Content Rating: PG (It's a murder mystery and there is mild violence. Very mild swearing no F-bombs. No on-stage sex scenes.)

Book Description:

The clues for a close-to-the-heart missing person’s case heat up when Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on the cold case.

When Sandy Lipton and her unborn child disappear, the court of public opinion finds young Chris Matheson guilty. Decades later, the retired FBI agent returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion cast over him and his family has never lifted. With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on this cold case to uncover what had happened to Sandy and her baby and the clues are getting hot!

This was my first Lauren Carr book and it won't be my last.  I really enjoyed it!  Ice is the first in a new series, Cold Case Files.  I can't wait for the next one!

The very beginning of the story had me hooked right away.  I tried the entire time to solve the cold case myself and didn't come close.  Ice kept me on my toes and just when I thought I had it solved, it turned or twisted and left me wanting more.

Chris Matheson left town after school and ended up in with the FBI. After the death of his wife, he and his 3 daughters move back home to his mother's house.  Upon arriving at home, everyone starts talking about the past and Chris' involvement with his past girlfriend and her baby disappearance.

Chris' mother, Doris, urges him to join a book club of retired enforcement/judges/lawyers type called the Geezer Squad.  He finds out all to quickly that reading books has nothing to do with this club.  Doris urges him to adopt a police dog, Sterling.  I absolutely loved Doris and Sterling.

His ex-boss at the FBI is on bed rest and asks him to help with a case she is working too.  With the Geezer Squad's help, his mother's help, his ex-boss and Sterling, he is able to solve both cases.

The characters in Ice are so realistic, they seem to jump off the pages.  I truly enjoyed Lauren Carr's firsts book in the Cold Case Files series, Ice.

To read more audiobook reviews, please visit Lauren Carr's page on iRead Book Tours.


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About the Author:



Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram


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Saturday, June 2, 2018

Izzy As Is

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~


Synopsis: The party is over for bikini model Izzy Alvarez. For six years she’s made a good living by flaunting her God-given assets on runways and in front of cameras, but now as she approaches the big 3-0, the bodacious Latina is shocked to learn she’s aged out of the profession that’s kept her in mojitos, mani/pedis, and designer thongs. What’s a girl with a taste for the finer things in life and no marketable skills to do?

Getting a regular job is too boring to even consider, so Izzy decides to follow in the footsteps of her newly-engaged frenemy and become a trophy wife. Although she’s desperate and too broke to get a chipped nail fixed, Izzy still has standards for her future husband, which means no uggos, no vertically-challenged guys, and no geezers who need to pop a blue pill to perform in the bedroom. Enlisting the aid of her computer whiz nephew and her closest pals, Izzy goes on the prowl for a rich, marriage-minded man, encountering likely candidates in a lot of unlikely places.

The high life she’s dreamed of may be within reach when Izzy meets a charming, successful man who’s not only hotter than a steamy summer night in Miami, but ready to settle down. Now all Izzy has to do is make sure her loud, crazy Cuban family doesn’t scare off el hombre perfectooh, yeah, and squelch those pesky, romantic feelings she keeps having for the sweet, cash-strapped guy she's known forever.

Will Izzy’s hunger for money win out, or will her fiery heart demand to be heard?


One (or more) Sentence Summary: Izzy As Is was described to me as sassy, fun, romantic and a little bit spicy like a jalapeƱo. That sums it up!  I didn't care for Izzy at first. I thought she was too showy, only cared for herself, expected everyone to always fix her problems (money problems).  About a third of the way into the story, my opinion of Izzy changed.  She cared deeply about others (maybe not her older sister!) and really surprised me when she fixed her problem on her own.  She could have taken the easy way out but her heart won out.  Izzy As Is was a easy and fast paced read.  Given it is takes place in Miami, I thought it was a great read to kick off the summer!

Would I Read Other Books by the Author: I would like to read Mixing It Up, In Need of Therapy and Blame It on the Fame.  I have read and reviewed Twin Piques.


An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play she penned. (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she also starred in and tried to direct the production.)

Tracie's dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a "real" job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for12 years. When it ended, she decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. She is the proud winner of the 2017 Independent Press Award (Romantic Comedy) and a Bronze Medal in the 2017 Readers' Favorite Awards(Chick Lit).
 
Although Tracie swore she'd never write a sequel to any of her books, the character of Izzy Alvarez, who first appeared in In Need of Therapy,would not be denied. Izzy As Is is Tracie's fifth novel, and she hopes readers enjoy this return trip to Miami.