Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Book Round-Up. Yesterday, the world celebrated Booklovers Day. What is Booklovers Day? Simply put, it’s celebrating reading and books. It got me thinking about what books I’d recommend to fellow readers. To give my list some organization, I separated it into genres.
Baseball –
Ultimate Baseball Road Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums by Josh Pahigian (Author), Kevin O'Connell (Author)
The most entertaining and comprehensive guide to every baseball fan’s dream road trip—including every new ballpark since the 2004 edition—revised and completely updated!
Children’s Books –
Paddington's Finest Hour
by Michael Bond, R.W. Alley (Author) (Illustrator), Peggy Fortnum (Cover Design)
A brand-new title from Michael Bond chronicling new and exciting adventures of Paddington Bear!
Somehow Paddington always finds himself in extraordinary situations, so it is no surprise when he appears in a popular TV cooking show, finds himself on a stage giving one of his hard stares to a hypnotist, and performing some precarious tricks at Mr. Gruber’s birthday party.
For nearly sixty years, Paddington has enchanted readers around the world with his numerous misadventures and earnest good intentions. From master storyteller Michael Bond, and with interior illustrations by R. W. Alley, this new Paddington adventure will charm and delight readers of all ages.
Contemporary Romance –
xo, Zach by Kendall Ryan (Author)
The first time we met was at a party.
Your ex arrived to show off the person he'd left you for last month, and you asked me to pretend to be your date.
I was more than happy to help. You were attractive, smart and witty--and that kiss we shared? It left me wanting you for days.
The second time we met was in my office on campus where we were both surprised to discover you were the new master’s degree student in poetry that I would be working with. You promised to be professional. I did no such thing.
The late nights and intense study sessions spent alongside you majorly throw me off my game. I want you, and I fight with myself daily over this fact.
I know I'm crass, that my sexual innuendos and dirty mouth annoy you, but I live for those two bright spots of color in your cheeks. If that's the only reaction I can get out of you, I'll gladly take it.
You hate Mondays so every Monday I slip an anonymous poem into your bag and your smile gets me through the week.
I think I'm falling for you, and I know it's wrong. I know that I'm only supposed to be the adviser to your program and nothing more, but here's the thing. I think you're falling for me too.
xo, Zach
Crime Fiction –
Angelica: A Detective Mike Eiser Novel (The Detective Mike Eiser Series Book 4) by Clabe Polk (Author)
A LONG TIME AGO, ANGELICA VICETTI DID SOME VERY BAD THINGS WITH SOME VERY BAD MEN.
Now, eleven years later, she’s built a new life for her family, far from her old life in Las Vegas.
BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT TO COME CRASHING DOWN!
Angelica Vicetti of Las Vegas has become Angela Cassetta of Poplar Bluffs, just outside Atlanta, Georgia. She's built a successful real estate agency, and the son she rescued from Vegas when he was a youngster is now a high school baseball star and destined for great things.
But Antonio Scarpone, the mob boss in Vegas who forced her underground hasn't forgotten about her. A string of hit men are sent to kill her, but each time she saves herself and her son, with the help of her friends and Mike Eiser, a local Sheriff's detective who refuses to let Angelica die on his watch!
Things get more complicated, when one of the hit men becomes strangely important to Angela in a whole new way … and a team of Federal agents come to town and ratchet up the odds. Suddenly, sleepy little Poplar Bluffs is awash in blood.
ANGELA WILL HAVE TO TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGE AND BEYOND – INTO MURDER, KIDNAPPING AND LYING TO THE FEDS – TO SAVE HERSELF AND HER SON. BUT...CAN SHE SURVIVE THE FIGHT FOR HER FAMILY'S FREEDOM?
Historical Romance –
The Marquess and the Midwife: A Regency Romance by Alina K. Field (Author)
Once upon a time, the younger brother of a marquess fell in love with his sister's companion. He was sent off to war, and she was just sent off, and they both landed in very different worlds.
Now Virgil Radcliffe has returned from his self-imposed exile on the Continent to take up his late brother's title and discover the whereabouts of the only woman he's ever loved.
Abandoned by her lover and dismissed by her employer, Ameline Dawes has found a respectable identity as a Waterloo widow, a new life as a midwife, and a safe, secure home for her twin girls. Called to London at Christmas to attend her benefactress's lying-in, she finds herself confronted by an unexpected house guest--a man determined to woo her anew and win her again.
But, is loving the new Marquess of Wallingford a mistake Ameline cannot afford to repeat?
Historical Fiction –
The Lost Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell (Author)
An artist lost to history, a family abandoned to its secrets, and the woman whose search for meaning unearths it all in a sweeping and expressive story from the New York Times bestselling author of Letters from Paris.
Long, lonely years have passed for the crumbling Château Clement, nestled well beyond the rolling lavender fields and popular tourist attractions of Provence. Once a bustling and dignified ancestral estate, now all that remains is the château's gruff, elderly owner and the softly whispered secrets of generations buried and forgotten.
But time has a way of exposing history's dark stains, and when American photographer Cady Drake finds herself drawn to the château and its antique carousel, she longs to explore the relic's shadowy origins beyond the small scope of her freelance assignment. As Cady digs deeper into the past, unearthing century-old photographs of the Clement carousel and its creators, she might be the one person who can bring the past to light and reunite a family torn apart.
History –
Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea by Robert K. Massie (Author)
In a work of extraordinary narrative power, filled with brilliant personalities and vivid scenes of dramatic action, Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Dreadnought, elevates to its proper historical importance the role of sea power in the winning of the Great War.
The predominant image of this first world war is of mud and trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, poison gas, and slaughter. A generation of European manhood was massacred, and a wound was inflicted on European civilization that required the remainder of the twentieth century to heal.
But with all its sacrifice, trench warfare did not win the war for one side or lose it for the other. Over the course of four years, the lines on the Western Front moved scarcely at all; attempts to break through led only to the lengthening of the already unbearably long casualty lists.
For the true story of military upheaval, we must look to the sea. On the eve of the war in August 1914, Great Britain and Germany possessed the two greatest navies the world had ever seen. When war came, these two fleets of dreadnoughts—gigantic floating castles of steel able to hurl massive shells at an enemy miles away—were ready to test their terrible power against each other.
Their struggles took place in the North Sea and the Pacific, at the Falkland Islands and the Dardanelles. They reached their climax when Germany, suffocated by an implacable naval blockade, decided to strike against the British ring of steel. The result was Jutland, a titanic clash of fifty-eight dreadnoughts, each the home of a thousand men.
When the German High Seas Fleet retreated, the kaiser unleashed unrestricted U-boat warfare, which, in its indiscriminate violence, brought a reluctant America into the war. In this way, the German effort to “seize the trident” by defeating the British navy led to the fall of the German empire.
Ultimately, the distinguishing feature of Castles of Steel is the author himself. The knowledge, understanding, and literary power Massie brings to this story are unparalleled. His portrayals of Winston Churchill, the British admirals Fisher, Jellicoe, and Beatty, and the Germans Scheer, Hipper, and Tirpitz are stunning in their veracity and artistry.
Castles of Steel is about war at sea, leadership and command, courage, genius, and folly. All these elements are given magnificent scope by Robert K. Massie’ s special and widely hailed literary mastery.
Mystery –
Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories: A Hercule Poirot Collection with Foreword by Charles Todd (Hercule Poirot Mysteries) by Agatha Christie (Author)
At last, a single volume that gathers together all of the short stories featuring Agatha Christie's most famous creation, Hercule Poirot. The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century—and, in his own humble opinion, is "probably the greatest detective in the world."
In this complete collection of more than 50 stories, ranging from short tales to novellas, Poirot faces violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings, and thefts—all solved with his characteristic panache. Only Agatha Christie could have devised cases worthy of Hercule Poirot's skill and "little gray cells."
Paranormal –
Raven's Peak (World on Fire Book 1) by Lincoln Cole (Author)
A quiet little mountain town is hiding a big problem. When the townsfolk of Raven's Peak start acting crazy, Abigail Dressler is called upon to discover the root of the evil affecting people. She uncovers a demonic threat unlike any she's ever faced and finds herself in a fight just to stay alive.
Abigail rescues Haatim Arison from a terrifying fate and discovers that he has a family legacy in the supernatural that he knows nothing about. Now she's forced to protect him, which is easy, but also to trust him if she wants to save the townsfolk of Raven's Peak. Trust, however, is something hard to have for someone who grew up living on the knife's edge of danger.
Can they discover the cause of the town's insanity and put a stop to it before it is too late?
Paranormal Romance –
Debriefing the Dead (The Dead Series, #1) by Kerry Blaisdell (Author)
The only thing Hyacinth wants is her life back. Literally. She and her sister were murdered by Demons, leaving her young nephew, Geordi, to his father’s family in the brutal Sicilian Mob. Then Archangel Michael offers her a deal: recapture a powerful rock the Demons stole, and she can live long enough to find Geordi a safe home. Refuse, and she’ll continue up (or down) to the Afterlife.
So, slightly more alive than dead, she heads for Turkey and the Demons, taking Geordi, her mysterious neighbor Jason, and a sexy dead guy only she can see with her. But the hardest part won’t be battling Demons, meeting Satan, or dodging Middle Eastern customs—it will be later, when Geordi is settled, and Michael rips her away again. How can she abandon her nephew? Or can she outwit the angel of death himself, and stay with Geordi forever?
Romantic Comedy –
Molly's Misadventures by D.E. Haggerty (Author)
I’m having the suckiest day ever. First, my father, aka Mr. Grumpy Pants, calls to say his nurse just walked out on him. Likely story. I rush home to pack, only to walk in on my husband getting it on with his younger, skanky secretary. Unfortunately, my quick weekend trip home to fix Dad’s problems turns into a stay of a few weeks. Luckily, I’ve got Danny, the neighbor boy I’ve had a crush on since I was a dorky, braces-wearing, nose-buried-in-a-book teenager, and a brand-spanking new blog to keep my mind off things. Before I know it, I’m writing product reviews of vibrators and getting questioned by a store rent-a-cop at the world’s worst date ever. All while trying to figure out how to take things with Danny to the next level. Not to complicate things or anything, but my boss decides to give me an ultimatum—come back in four weeks or don’t come back at all. How in the world did my life get so complicated?
Religious/Spirituality –
The Holy Bible, King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also known as the King James Bible (KJB) or simply the Authorized Version (AV), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604 and completed in 1611.The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament.
A note from Mrs. N: I know many of you may object to this recommendation. Please give it a chance. Inside the Bible, you’ll find more inspiration and motivation to get you through your day than any other book. Open yourself up to its words and messages.
Science Fiction –
Pearseus Bundle: The Complete Pearseus Sci-fi/Fantasy Series by Nicholas C. Rossis (Author)
Ancient Greece—in space
Could you save the woman who killed your son?
Combining fantasy with science fiction, Pearseus is filled with passion, warfare, and betrayal. Described as "ancient Greece in space," it gives readers who want a different kind of fantasy an exciting new series to devour.
Terrified of an ominous prophecy and spurred on by a shadowy advisor, a cruel ruler sends the young son of her favorite General to be executed. Soon, however, she must beg the grieving father to save the country from an invading army. Now, the General faces a stark choice between revenge and honoring his vows, unaware that his son's fate and that of the entire planet are inextricably linked.
This bundle includes all books from the best-selling sci-fi fantasy series, voted as one of the 100 Indie books you should read before you die, plus bonus material.
Science Fiction Romance –
The Key: Project Enterprise Book 1 by Pauline Baird Jones (Author)
She’s a stranded soldier. He’s an alien castaway. Can their love save a galaxy torn apart by war?
Sara Donovan knew her top-secret expedition would be dangerous. But she never imagined she’d end up separated from her crew and stranded on an alien planet. When the smoke from her crash landing clears, she’s surprised to find a marooned resistance fighter ready to lend a hand. In a war-torn galaxy, Sara refuses to give her trust lightly… especially when she risks exposing the strange abilities she’s kept hidden since childhood.
Kiernan Fyn survives day by day on the hopes of exacting revenge on the warlord who murdered his wife. Sara is his ticket off the desolate rock to a new better future…until she’s targeted by hostile forces who thinks she holds the key to a long-lost civilization. In a fight for their lives, sparks fly as Sara and Fyn attempt to decipher their hidden connection with the powerful key before their ruthless enemies distort its power for galactic domination.
The Key is the first novel in the phenomenal Project Enterprise sci-fi romance saga. If you like interstellar chemistry, fast-paced action, and sprawling space operas, then you’ll love Pauline Baird Jones’ award-winning epic.
Suspense –
Viable Threat (Outbreak Task Force) by Julie Rowe (Author)
Special Forces soldier and medic Walter River would give anything to snatch more than a few seconds of down time to see if he can rattle the no-nonsense and incredibly hot Dr. Lloyd he's protecting, but dodging explosions, snipers, and student radicals who've unleashed a lethal bio-engineered microorganism have made that almost impossible. Maybe he'll get a chance—if he can figure out how to keep them both alive.
CDC microbiologist Ava Lloyd races to find a cure for a bio-terrorism organism sweeping El Paso. The few stolen moments with her very hunky bodyguard River have been explosive, but no matter how alluring he is, she can't afford to get distracted. The clock is ticking, people are dying by the hundreds, and once this crisis is solved, they'll both be off on their next assignment, thousands of miles apart.
Young Adult –
The Du Lac Chronicles (The Du Lac Chronicles #1) by Mary Anne Yarde
Winner -- N.N.Light Award for Best Romance 2016.
Bronze Medal Winner -- Circle Of Books Rings Of Honor Awards 2016
Finalist -- The Golden Box Book Publishing Golden Book Award 2017
“It is dangerous to become attached to a du Lac. He will break your heart, and you will not recover.” So prophesies a wizened healer to Annis, daughter of King Cerdic of Wessex. If there is truth in the old crone’s words, they come far too late for Annis, who defies father, king, and country to save the man she loves.
Alden du Lac, once king of Cerniw, has nothing. Betrayed by Cerdic, Alden’s kingdom lies in rubble, his fort razed to the ground and his brother Merton missing, presumably dead. He has only one possession left worth saving: his heart. And to the horror of his few remaining allies, he gives that to the daughter of his enemy. They see Annis, at best, as a bargaining chip to avoid war with her powerful father. At worst, they see a Saxon whore with her claws in a broken, wounded king.
Alden has one hope: When you war with one du Lac, you war with them all. His brother Budic, King of Brittany, could offer the deposed young king sanctuary—but whether he will offer the same courtesy to Annis is far less certain.
The Du Lac Chronicles has a recommended reading age of 16+
Have a must-read before you die you’d like to recommend? Share in the comments below and don’t forget to share using the buttons below. See you next week!
MRS N, Book Addict