Review & Giveaway: Thick as Thieves by Sandra Brown

Thick as Thieves by Sandra Brown

Publication Date: August 25th 2020 by Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 448

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

About the book:

Twenty years ago in the dead of night, four seemingly random individuals pulled the ultimate heist and almost walked away with half a million dollars. But by daybreak, their plan had been shot to hell. One of them was in the hospital. One was in jail. One was dead. And one got away with it.

Arden Maxwell, the daughter of the man who disappeared all those years ago -- presumably with the money, after murdering his accomplice -- has never reconciled with her father's abandonment of her and her sister. After countless personal setbacks she decides to return to her family home near mysterious Caddo Lake, and finally get answers to the many questions that torment her. Little does she know, two of her father's co-conspirators -- a war hero and a corrupt district attorney -- are watching her every move.

Ledge Burnet, a rebellious teen at the time of the heist, evaded his jail sentence by enlisting in the army. Now he's back in town to care for his ailing father -- and to keep his eye on the county's corrupt district attorney, whom he suspects was the real murderer. Although the two are bound to silence because of the crime they committed together, each has spent years waiting and hoping that the other will make a fatal misstep. But the arrival of their elusive accomplice's daughter, Arden, who may know more about the missing money than she's telling, sets them both on red alert. She ignites Ledge's determination to expose the D.A.'s treachery . . . and sparks a desire he wishes to deny.

My Thoughts:

Arden is back in her small hometown after twenty years to find answers. A half million-dollar heist, a murder, and her father’s disappearance has left her with a lot of questions. Her reappearance doesn’t go unnoticed and unfortunately her return draws the attention of a nefarious person from the past. Does Arden know more about the theft and where the money went? Well, that speculation spells danger for Arden.

Ledge has had his own trouble in this little Texas town, but he’s paid his due taking military service in lieu of a jail term and come back home a hero. Mostly he keeps to himself, only staying in town to keep an eye out for his ailing uncle, but with Arden back the past comes back into full focus, and the trouble he’s managed to avoid comes roaring back up. Arden has no idea the hornet’s nest her presence stirs up, but Ledge knows, and he makes it his mission to keep her out of trouble’s sights.

I love Sandra Brown’s twisty mysteries! Her “heroes” are far from perfect, skirting the edge of right and wrong at times, but at the heart of things are good. Ledge is cast from that mold, and I couldn’t help but root for him! Oh, Ms. Brown writes the sexiest heroes! Ledge was raw masculinity, gruff, and not concerned with winning any popularity contest. Ledge and Arden are oil and water at first, yet the sparks of attraction fly between them making for a delicious push and pull until they finally succumb to irresistible forces!

I think it’s best to go in with any Sandra Brown with minimal knowledge and let her take you on a ride.   Keeps you hooked, she’s the queen of the cliffhanger chapter, and a twisty surprise or two! She kept me on the edge of my seat, and I usually end reading her stories straight through because I just have to know how it all turns out! She’s on my list of auto-buys and I think any suspense/thriller/romance fan will gobble Thick as Thieves up like I did!

4 Suns

A copy of Thick of Thieves by Sandra Brown to two winners has been provided by the lovely people of Grand Central Publishing. The giveaway is open to US and Canadian Residents only.  Fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Good luck!

Books From the Backlog #4

Books From the Backlog is hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books and it's a way to feature our neglected books on our bookshelf.  

This week I'm featuring a novella spun off one of my favorite books: On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves. I've had a copy of this book I think since it was released, which was back in 2013. I don't know why I haven't read it yet. It's on 160 pages. My husband even read it (On the Island is a fav of his, too!).  It has a 4.05 rating on Goodreads with 7,727 ratings, pretty impressive for a novella since they're usually rated lower, and still a high rating after seven years. Ratings seem to go down as the years go by, IMO.

Uncharted (On the Island #1.5) by Tracey Garvis Graves

Publication Date: July 2nd 2013 by Penguin

Source: Purchased

Pages: 160

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the book:

Tracey Garvis Graves - and Anna and T.J. - return in this companion novella to the New York Times bestseller On the Island

When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn't part of Owen's plans. The beautiful British girl - on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James - made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn't know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.'s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined. 

Review: Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9) by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: March 8th 2016 by Ace

Source: Publisher and purchased audio book

Pages: 342

Narration Length: 10 hrs 7 min

Narrators: Lorelei King

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Goodreads

About the book: 

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?

I originally posted this on The Readers Den, but as part of my read along with Anne at Books of My Heart I'm posting my original review for Fire Touched here. Mercy Thompson continues to be one of my two favorite Urban Fantasy series' and I'm working my way through a third time. Every time I notice new things and love the story just a little bit more. The audios are perfection!

Re-read 3rd time June 23rd 2020

Re-read April 1st 2017

My Thoughts:
When the Fae let a monster loose, the Pack are called to take it down, since the police can’t make any headway and lives are at stake. Zee and Tad join in the fight bringing with them an odd, fire-touched boy named Aiden who seeks the Pack’s protection from the Fae. Taking in Aiden brings all kinds of risk and problems, but we all know Mercy and Adam would never turn their back on someone seeking safety. At the end of the battle, Mercy draws a line in the sand with the Fae, and claims the Tri-Cities as the pack’s territory saddling them with new responsibilities, protection of its citizens being one those. This has far reaching effects on the Pack which could result in an all out war with the Fae. Can Mercy and Adam defuse the situation all the while standing their ground? I was glued to the pages to find out!

As usual with the Mercy Thompson series, once I started Fire Touched I couldn’t put it down. The Fae are very much front and center in this installment, which dives into action and danger pretty quickly. The Fae are creepy and volatile for the most part, and I love getting a little more of their history and secrets when a Fae centered installment comes along. I was definitely thrilled to have grouchy Zee back, since we haven’t had much from him lately.

The dynamics of pack hierarchy and relationships continue to fascinate me. Adam makes a proclamation to the Pack and I was overjoyed! I felt it was a long time coming, and oddly enough, it had a unifying effect over the Pack. Adam and Mercy continue strongly united and very much in love, while still being interesting and hot together. Their bond warms my heart a more and more with every installment!

I’m always impressed how masterfully Mercy sizes up situations, uses her brain before speaking, (something I could do a little more of!) and comes out on top because of it!

Still can’t stand Christy! She makes my blood boil every time she’s in a scene. That Mercy doesn’t scratch her eyes out is a miracle in my opinion! Thankfully, Christy’s presence is kept to a minimum.

There were a couple of side stories that really grabbed my interest. I’d love to continue on with Thomas and Margaret’s story. Thomas is the vampire in Frost Burned who fought by Mercy’s side, and he’s accompanying Margaret, a fae, to meet with the Gray Lords. This is a story of unrequited love and I need more, please! Then there’s Sherwood Post, a werewolf Bran sent to Adam’s pack. He’s a bit damaged since he lost one of his legs, and feels sort of useless to the Pack. I won’t go further into his portion of the story, but I’m hopeful we get more of him in the future.

I’m addicted to anything Patricia Briggs writes, Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega are in my top five favorite Urban Fantasy series, and Fire Touched is another winner for me. Just makes me want to go back and read them all over again!

Sunday Post #87

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. 

All of California seems to be on fire. Sparked by lightening storms there are now more that 900,000 acres burned, the area bigger than the size of Rhode Island! Southern California, where I live, is finally getting some of the fires contained, but Northern California, where I am currently, is still pretty out of control. My thoughts and prayers go out to affected and especially to the firefighters! The temperatures have been way over triple digits for the last week and I can't imagine being outside with all that gear on! Very dangerous. The air quality is very bad! Here's a picture of the air on our drive up to our daughter's. So eerie!

Read:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

The Last Widow was intense and I had to skip ahead to make sure something didn't happen before settle in and read *listen* without being stressed out. Loved it! Love Will and Sara together! Life and Limb wasn't my favorite Freya Barker, but it was entertaining enough. Pleasantly surprised by Laura Drake's Cowboy For Keeps!

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

Click on cover for Goodreads link

I was excited to get a copy o f Blacklisted! It's the "good girl matched up with bad boy" romance troupe and I can't wait. I had to buy a copy of The Silent Wife after finishing The Last Widow. E-copy and audio book. Both The End of the World Running Club and The Last featured on Heather's Top Ten Tuesday and they sounded really good so I downloaded library audio copies.

Watched:

Yep, back to Heartland.

How was your week?

Review: Cowboy For Keeps by Laura Drake

Cowboy For Keeps (Chestnut Creek #3) by Laura Drake

Publication Date: July 28th 2020 by Forever

Pages: 353

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

About the book:

There's not much that could rattle a cowboy like Reese St. James. But when his twin brother dies in a car accident, Reese is stunned to discover he has a six-month old niece, Sawyer. Wanting to make up for lost time, Reese heads down to Unforgiven, New Mexico, to bring her home. He doesn't plan on Sawyer's guardian giving him any trouble, but the intriguing, independent woman is turning out to be more than he bargained for.


Lorelei West had given up hope of having a family of her own until her sister's tragic death brought little Sawyer into her life. And now there's no way she's going to let Reese take her away. Lorelei knows hotshot, good-looking cowboys like him -- she's dated enough of them -- and she intends to stand her ground. Yet the more time Reese and Lorelei spend together, the harder it is to deny the attraction building between them. But opening their hearts to a baby is one thing -- can they also open their hearts to the possibility of a happily-ever-after?

My Thoughts:

Reese and Lorelei are thrown together when their siblings die, Reese’s twin brother and Lorelei’s younger sister, and leave a baby behind.

Lorelei grabs up baby Sawyer and finds comfort in having a baby to love while grieving the loss of her sister. Lorelei has always wanted a family but had pretty much given up being thirty-seven with no romantic prospects.  However, her happy future with the baby is threatened when Reese shows up wanting Sawyer, too. He’s rich and has the means to make things difficult, but they get to know each other while getting to know Sawyer. 

Even though Reese and Lorelei don’t seem to have much in common, underneath it all they share similar feelings of being second best in comparison to their sibling.  While Lorelei always felt loved, she felt like the lesser of the sisters. Patsy was charming, shiny, and magnetic, Lorelei’s always been the steady and unremarkable one. Reese and his twin were very different, and their father saw Reese’s difference as weakness. Carson was always the courageous, take the bull-by-the-horns kind of cowboy, whereas Reese was always more careful and excelled in the business side of their ranch. Sharing some of their vulnerabilities created a deeper bond between them. There’s an immediate physical attraction between the two, but they resist the pull because of the complications being Sawyer’s only family left. Lorelei doesn’t know if Reese is just interested in her or the idea of a ready-made family and Reese is initially afraid to screw things up and forever damage his future with Sawyer.

This is the first time I’ve read Laura Drake and I really enjoyed the new experience. Perfectly imperfect characters, likeable and relatable with their flaws and insecurities. I rooted for both Reese and Lorelei in the journey towards a HEA!  The town of Unforgiven might’ve been a little shabby at first glance, but it was full of character and love at the heart. I think any fan of Carolyn Brown or Carly Bloom will love Ms. Drake’s brand of cowboy romance. Cowboy For Keeps is the third in the series, but I didn’t read the previous two and had no trouble diving in here. I think each can be read as a standalone.

 4 Suns

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Should be Adapted in Netflix Shows/Movies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic.

This week we are asked to find ten Books That Should be Adapted in Netflix Shows/Movies. There are a lot of stories I love but I had to consider: Would they adapt well to the TV/movie screen? I think these have the potential to be amazing on the big or little screen:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

Red Hill by Jamie McGuire:

Red Hill is an end-of-world-scenario/zombie type of story, but it focused on a few trying to survive and get to the ones they love.

The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone:

Another end-of-the-world-scenario, but this time insane killer spiders (my worst nightmare ever!!) threaten life as we know it. It was intense and such a great series!

City of the Lost (Rockton #1 & the rest of the series) by Kelley Armstrong:

Another amazing series! An off-the-grid town, refuge for those on the run from an abusive ex, stalker or punishment from a non-violent crime (so they say) but not all is as it seems. Rockton has been a dangerous place for some, which is why they need a homicide detective, Casey Duncan to come up and help. She's got her own secrets, but the town sheriff and her end up making a brilliant team in and out of work! 

The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker:

 Beautiful scenery, great positive character growth, and a hate-to-love romance. I had flashbacks of Northern Exposure, a series I was obsessed with back in the 90s, but this romance was so much better!

The Guest List by Lucy Foley:

Very reminiscent of an Agatha Christie murder mystery. A beautiful location, glamorous guests, but underneath all that glitters is a dark, and tragic story leading to murder. Oh, this could be so good on film!

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves:

This is one of my all-time favorite stories! Two people stranded on a deserted island, trying survive, having no idea how long they'll be stuck there. A romance where the woman is several years older, something I'm a little hesitant about usually (don't throw rocks, I feel how I feel), but it totally worked here! This is a little like Castaway, but not dismal and depressing! 

After Sundown by Linda Howard & Linda Jones:

A solar flare changes life as we know it. The power grid is down for the foreseeable future. Sela steps up to help her to little town of Cove Mountain survive, and there are many threats: natural and human!  Enter Ben, a prepper for all intents and purposes. Not a social guy but he's got a soft spot for Sela. Another end-of-the-world type of scenario, a trope I've been drawn to for years, but even more so with this whole Covid insanity. Suspenseful and oh-so-relatable!

This Side of Murder (Verity Kent #1 & the rest of the series) by Anna Lee Huber:

Post WWI in England, Verity Kent deals with the tragic losses that many young women did at that time, but Verity covertly helped the Allied Forces and now struggles to shift back into "normal" life. A mystery, romance and a twist that I was happy knowing going in. 

This is such an interesting time in history, and I love it when it's done right on screen. Visually it can turn out so beautiful, costumes, and such.

Mean Streak by Sandra Brown:

Mean Streak was my first Sandra Brown novel, but far from my last. Mean Streak continues to be my all-time favorite from her. The romance and mystery were a cut above. She is the queen of the surprise twist, and I think this story would be amazing on film!

Sustained by Emma Chase:

Who doesn't love a good old hate-to-love romance? This one was sooo much fun!  Hilarious, heartwarming, and the kids were priceless! This would be a crack up rom-com with heart.

Which books do you think should be adapted into Netflix shows/movies?

Sunday Post #86

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. 

I'm getting this post up late, because heck, I was too tired to finish up last night! It's been a busy week! We flew in from Montana early Monday morning and went straight to work from the airport. I had three hours sleep the night before because we had a 4am leave time to get to the airport and I woke up at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep with my head full of things I had to do.  Of course my work week ended up being busy. 

It's been soooo hot here in Southern California and the heatwave is here to stay for a while! It was a 111 F yesterday and I got up sort of early (7am) to run. It was 85 degrees at 7:30! AnNeedless to say I didn't have a whole lot of energy and only ran the flats and downhills. And it doesn't even cool down in the evenings! I went outside at 9:30 last night and it was 96 degrees! It's supposed to be 112 on Tuesday with a real feel of 115! Every day until the 28th is forecasted to be above 100 degrees.  I officially object to Summer! Can we skip it next year?

I did a couple of chores this weekend I'd been putting off for a long time, like cleaning a silver set that I've neglected for like two years. I never use, so I think about putting it away somewhere, but it was an anniversary gift from my husband when we married two years.  Interesting selection for a twenty-three year old, right? I loved it! Back then all things Laura Ashley, fancy and antiques were very in.

Varnish-free!

Read:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

This came in the mail Friday and I'm not even sure what it's about other than a cowboy, lol! I do love my cowboy romances and this will be the first time reading A.J. Pine. Anyone else read anything by her?

Watched:

Yay! Finally something other than Heartland to show. Although, I did watch that too, but I'm sure everyone was bored seeing it week after week. I only watched the first two episodes and I liked it. My husband is in love with Joanna Garcia, thinks she is sooo pretty, which she is. And Britney Spears' little sister is "the other woman"?! Wow, I must be getting old!

How was your week?