The Dreamslippers are a family of private investigators who solve crimes by using their ability to ‘slip’ into your dreams. But that isn’t easy. In Framed and Burning, they have to defend one of their own. Someone sets fire to Mick Travers’ art studio, killing his assistant, and Mick won’t give an alibi. His sister is convinced he’s innocent, but her granddaughter and the police aren’t so sure.
Author Bio
Lisa Brunette is the author of the Dreamslippers mystery series. Book One, Cat in the Flock, is an indieBRAG honoree title that has been praised by Kirkus Reviews, Midwest Book Review, Readers Lane, and others.
Brunette is a career writer/editor whose work has appeared in major daily newspapers and magazines, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle Woman, and Poets & Writers. She’s interviewed a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a sex expert, homeless women, and the designer of the Batmobile, among others.
She has story design and writing credits in hundreds of bestselling video games, including the Mystery Case Files, Mystery Trackers, and Dark Tales series for Big Fish and AAA games for Nintendo and Microsoft platforms.
She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from University of Miami, where she was a Michener Fellow. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in Bellingham Review, The Comstock Review, Icarus International, and elsewhere.
She’s also received many honors for her writing, including a major grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission, the William Stafford Award, and the Associated Writing Programs Intro Journals Project Award.
Brunette is a member of Mystery Writers of America and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
Granny Grace and Cat are dreamslippers, people with the ability to slip into other’s dreams. They decide to take a little vacation after their last case and head to Florida to spend some time with Grace’s brother Mark. But the visit doesn’t seem to be picking Grace up.
But when Mark is arrested and accused of starting the fire the killed his assistant and destroyed his artwork Grace and Cat step up to prove that Mark is innocent. But this is not going to be an easy case. Mark has a long list of people that don’t want him to succeed. Thankfully Grace and Cat can dreamslip, they are going to need all the help that they can get trying to figure out who started the fire.
This is a great, quick mystery. I loved both Grace, who doesn’t act anywhere near her age, and Cat, such a smart young lady. I loved how they took care of themselves and were strong characters. I love my mysteries with a little paranormal and I loved the dreamslipping. I really liked how dreams can be interpreted differently so you don’t just find out someone is dreaming of the fire, you have to slog through the information along with Grace and Cat. This is a great mystery with lots of potential killers and twists and turns.
This is a great paranormal cozy mystery. I loved this book and will make sure to keep an eye out for other books by Lisa Burnette.
The external drive containing the information for building a hologram machine is stolen and sold on the black market. Now someone has connected a new hologram machine to the Internet, forcing people to fight for their lives in an online fantasy game. Trapped inside this deadly scenario, seventeen-year-old Boston Manning learns that her weakness for tolerating abuse is stopping her from unlocking her elven powers. Can she overcome her character flaw or will she die trying?
In book 2 of the Holoquest Fantasy Series, Boston and Jason return with another action-packed, romantic adventure. Boston’s Quest will electrify your imagination as you experience elves, dwarfs, trolls, priests, vampires, and demons as you’ve never experienced them before.
About the Author
I am a professional writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in grammar. I have also attended several years of classes and workshops in screenplay writing at the Los Angeles Screenplay writer’s Expo.
I love suspenseful, action-adventures and clean, young adult, romance stories. I was born and raised in a small town in Idaho. I am the second out of six children. When I was in my early 20’s my mother was killed by a drunk driver. This one incident drastically changed my life. I have always had a passion for reading and writing fiction. Owing to a life long struggle with Dyslexia, early teachers discouraged me from pursuing a career in writing.
As I have spent over twenty-five years transforming my language disabilities into professional writing skills, God has honed my insatiable passion into an incredible vision.
“Um- why, why would we go to the Kissing Booth?” I asked as I fumbled to get the key into the ignition. He reached over, covered my hand with his, and slid the key in effortlessly. He chuckled, then leaned back in his seat and put on his seatbelt.
“Well, because we work at the Kissing Booth.” He smiled and bit his lip as realization dawned on my face.
Some days, it just does not pay to get out of bed.
It is a fact that our little town found a way to celebrate Ladybugs being our state insect while hosting a two week promenade fair that just happens to fall on and around Valentine’s Day. How sweet, right? All right, I confess, I’m bitter. *sigh* I don’t have a Valentine, sweetheart or anyone that I call the love of my life, though there is someone I wish that was but he doesn’t even know that I exist.
“Carlie!” That’s my mom. I’m fixing to find out what booths we have this year at the fair that I’m going to be ‘forced’ to help run, just like every year. Last year we had the dunking booth. I’m so not kidding, after the first day, I threatened to pack up my Hello Kitty backpack with whatever I could fit in there and a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and run away until the end of this dang fair. My mother didn’t buy it for a second. We came to an accord though, I would finish being a dunking fool for the rest of the fair if she would buy me the new Orion SpaceProbe3 Altazimuth Reflector Telescope. Such an amazing piece of hardware.
“This is our booth.” She beamed and pointed over her shoulder. I closed my eyes and willed the image of the table with a red and white checked picnic cloth covering the top of it and a huge white sign on two poles over it with red letters that boasted KISSING BOOTH to be erased from my memory immediately.
From the Best-Selling Author that rocked readers with Perfectly Flawed, seduced with Sensual Silence and brought you two of her newest holiday releases, I’ll Be Home For Christmas and A Country Christmas; Shaunna Rodriguez is back again with her newest romance fairy tales are made of.
(Excerpt from Goodreads) There can only be one dominant life form on Earth.
In the remote African wilderness, a rainforest is dying. But something else has come to life: A newly evolved predator that has survived the depredations of mankind, only to emerge from its natural habitat faster, stronger, and deadlier than anything humanity has ever faced.
And it is no longer man.
My Review
5 stars
This story start out with Trey Gilliard. He is an explorer and likes nothing more than to be out away from people. He stumbles upon a new species of wasp. With deforestation, many species seem to be dying but the thieves, as they are called by the natives, have adapted and become more vicious than your normal wasp. And now they are spreading throughout the world. Humans are no longer the dominate species.
This is a very creepy story, I don’t know if I can look at wasps the same again. Most animal species are dying with hoe humans are treating this world but the thieves have evolved to be bigger, smarter, and will give humanity a run for its money.
I got sucked into this story and couldn’t wait to see how it went from there. Then when the thieves start spreading, I couldn’t help but cringe. I loved how they affect society, especially since we all think we are intelligent people and could handle anything. This story is amazing. I can’t wait to read Slavemakers to see what happens next.
I received Invasive Species for free in exchange for an honest review.
Slavemakers by Joseph Wallace
(Excerpt from Goodreads) Twenty years ago, venomous parasitic wasps known as “thieves” staged a massive, apocalyptic attack on another species—Homo sapiens—putting them on the brink of extinction.
But some humans did survive. The colony called Refugia is home to a population of 281, including scientists, a pilot, and a tough young woman named Kait. In the African wilderness, there’s Aisha Rose, nearly feral, born at the end of the old world. And in the ruins of New York City, there’s a mysterious, powerful boy, a skilled hunter, isolated and living by his wits.
As the survivors journey through the wastelands, they will find that they are not the only humans left on earth. Not by a long shot.
But they may be the only ones left who are not under the thieves’ control…
My Review
5 stars
20 years after the thieves have taken over the world, we join a few human survivors. In one group, 281 people have survived after taking a rare vaccine in Africa. They have built a boat and plan on exploring the ravaged world. More humans than expected have survived, unfortunately they have become the hosts for the thieves or are being controlled. True humans are far and few between. Will the last few humans survive or are they going to fall to the control of the thieves.
Although this book is a follow up to Invasive Species you can read it as a stand-alone book. In this book you are following multiple humans as they are surviving the thieves. Part are a group that took a questionable vaccine others have been surviving by the skin of their teeth. I love learning about hoe each person has found their own way to keep going with the threat of the thieves.
Invasive Species was a great thriller and Slavemakers is a great follow up. I was really surprised by the ending but it was perfect for the story. If you like apocalyptic/dystopian thrillers this book and Invasive Species are some that you need to check out.
(Excerpt from Goodreads) Human sacrifice, communities eaten from within, a vast mind blazing under the mud of Lake Titicaca; the rise and fall of empires cruel and kind.
In the Andes of a thousand years ago, the Huari empire is sick. Its communities are being eaten from within by a plague, a contagion that is not of the body but of something far deeper, a plague that has taken their collective spirit. Rooting out this parasite is a task that is laid upon Q’ilyasisa, a young woman from an obscure little village on the forgotten borders of the Huari empire. This impossible mission is imposed on her by a vast mind, a sentience that has ambitions to shape all human life. Her response to this entails confrontations on sacrificial pyramids, long journeys through the Amazonian jungle and the establishment of not just one but two new empires. Her legacy shapes future Andean civilisation until the arrival of the Spanish.
“Dark Sun, Bright Moon” explores the unique Andean metaphysic: not one of gods and heavens, but a cosmology developed over millennia of isolation, developed over generations by its practitioners but at constant war with the various state religions. It has been systematised from current beliefs, but is essentially authentic to them. As described in the book, therefore, this cosmology is a concrete thing, neither magic nor religion but a technology with a logic of its own that drives the story line. However, this is above all an adventure story in which credible people undertake rational if desperate acts in the face of extreme threat.
My Review
4 stars
This story is based in the Andes 1,000 years ago. The Huari Empire is suffering from a plague, but not necessarily a physical contagion. Q’ilyasisa is a young woman from a small little village that is given the task of finding out what is happening. We follow Q’ilyasisa as she tries to find a cure but ends up ending, starting, and ending different Empires before she finally finds one that will survive.
This is an epic story set in the Andes. As I read the story, I admit that I was a little lost but thanks to the appendix it was not for long. There is a lot happening in the story but it basically revolves around Q’ilyasisa. She starts out as a poor woman and this is her quest to become the founder of the Inca Empire.
I really liked all the information about the Huari and Incas and everyone in between. You can tell Oliver Sparrow has done lots of research and knows this information. This helped to draw me into this book. Once I started reading I had a hard time putting the book down. I wish history books were written like this, my knowledge of history would not be so lacking.
This is a great story that has peak my interest in the history of the Andes. It is a great story and I recommend everyone checking it out. I think it will surprise a lot of readers.
(Excerpt from Goodreads) Jason Tanner lives between two worlds. Problem is, only one is real.
Inside the hologram machine 17-year-old Jason has everything his heart desires, including a digital simulation of his dead mother. While outside the machine, he’s forbidden contact with everyone. Living within the shadow of a serial killer, Jason is captivated by the beautiful girl next door, Boston Manning. Disobeying his father, he secretly cultivates a relationship with her.
For Boston life is divided into those that have and those that have not. Displaced in a new high school, she is determined to have the life she’s always wanted. But will her choices hijack her dreams and plunge her into the treacherous clutches of a serial killer?
Shanae Branham
I am a professional writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in grammar. I have also attended several years of classes and workshops in screenplay writing at the Los Angeles Screenplay writer’s Expo.
I love suspenseful, action-adventures and clean, young adult, romance stories. I was born and raised in a small town in Idaho. I am the second out of six children. When I was in my early 20’s my mother was killed by a drunk driver. This one incident drastically changed my life. I have always had a passion for reading and writing fiction. Owing to a life long struggle with Dyslexia, early teachers discouraged me from pursuing a career in writing.
As I have spent over twenty-five years transforming my language disabilities into professional writing skills, God has honed my insatiable passion into an incredible vision.
My Reviews
5 stars
Jason Tanner lives with his brother and father. His father has invented a hologram machine and set it up so they don’t have to live with the grief of her passing. But Jason is starting to have a crush on the girl next door, Boston. This is strictly against his father’s orders of not talking to anyone. If trying to live between the hologram life and real life are not hard enough, Jason’s father is accused of being the Comfort Killer, a serial killer that specifically goes after those that are dying and is killed.
Someone has framed Jason and is trying to get his father’s discoveries and inventions. Detective Durante knows all the evidence looks like Jason is the killer but his gut tells him there is more to this story. The problem is since Jason lives in a holographic world how much of what is happening is real.
When I first read the blurb to this book I was intrigued. The blurb doesn’t really describe this story. After losing his mother to cancer, Jason’s father creates a holographic environment so they don’t really have to live without her. But someone wants this knowledge and they will stop at nothing to get it. After his father is killed, Jason goes on the run with his brother Isaac, and Boston. They are trying to stay out of the reach of the killer along with trying to prove their innocence.
I really like this story. There are so many twists and turns that I was constantly trying to figure out what was happening. Then there are some parts that you don’t really know if it is happening in reality or the holographic world. That added a new level to this already intense thriller.
I cannot wait to see what happens next in the second book, Boston’s Quest. This is geared to young adult but it will appeal to adults too.
Jason (This section is first person through Jason’s point of view.)
Friday, October 31st, night
Boston steps through the hole she created in the alder brush onto a patch of grass between a straw-bale wall and the woods.
“Who’s there?” a girl calls from a blanket a short distance off to our right.
I shut off the flashlight and step through beside her, waiting for her instructions.
“Don’t worry, honey.” The male voice is coming from the same direction. “Whoever it is can join us. We’re just getting started.”
Boston drops the machete and bolts back into the woods heading down the trail. I switch on the flashlight and shine it at the voices. The creep that attacked Boston last night and a pretty blonde girl are sitting together on a blanket spread out beside the straw-bale wall. The girl is frantically buttoning her shirt. Hard-edge squints against the light. He’s getting around well, with a cast on his leg.
I pick up Boston’s machete and her backpack and trail her to the car, where she’s trembling in the driver’s seat. Confused by the sudden change of plan, I throw her stuff in the backseat, climb into the passenger side and wait for her to explain herself.
She stares out the front window for the longest time. Then she tosses her mask in the backseat and starts the engine.
“What are you doing?”
Her face is pale as a ghost when she looks at me. “That’s Candice with Ricky.”
I know that her statement is supposed to mean something to me, but it doesn’t. “Who’s Candice?”
“She’s the girl I was going to warn about Ricky.”
“You can still—”
“What?” Her tone is acid. “Tell my friend that the guy she’s making out with tried to rape me last night?”
“Yeah.” I don’t understand what she’s afraid of. If I were Candice, I’d want to know that I was hanging out with a rapist. “Wouldn’t you want to know?”
“But what if Candice doesn’t believe me? What if Ricky says those horrible things about my mother and calls me a slut, again?”
I’m not aware of any horrible things about her mother. “You’re not a slut.”
“Thanks.” She lowers her chin. “If that’s true, then why’d your brother take pictures of me?”
“Because he’s messed up and doesn’t understand people need to be respected.”
Her voice cracks when she speaks. “Why’d your dad let him?”
“Because he doesn’t know how to fix Isaac so he only focuses on his invention, hoping that we’ll be all right on our own.”
She looks at me. “Why didn’t you stop him?”
She’s accusing me of being the bad guy? I feel my pulse throb in my neck as I try to keep the anger out of my voice. “I saw the pictures of our neighbors that you threw away in your room. You didn’t take those pictures because you thought they were sluts, did you?”
Her body goes rigid. “Of course not.”
“My brother likes you.” I touch her hand and her muscles relax. “I should have stopped him, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to upset him. Just like you don’t want to upset Candice.”
She draws her hand away from me. “So you’re saying I should go back!”
“Only if you really believe I should have stopped Isaac.”
She glares at me and turns the radio up so loud that the music destroys any chance of further conversation. After several minutes, she grabs the machete from the back seat and shuts off the radio. “I’m not scared!”
“I know.” But I don’t know. My heart is racing like I’m riding a fifty-foot wave.
Switching the headlights on, she presses on the gas pedal and speeds down Daemon’s driveway. Nearing the back of the maze, she turns onto the grassy section and plows through the edge of the woods moving towards Ricky and Candice. Branches crack and break against the windshield and scrape the side of the car until she stops in front of her targets. Bursting from the vehicle with the machete in one hand and the mini recorder in the other . . .
I received DiSemblance for free from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
In Canada (The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse – 1) by Gwyneth Jane Page
(Excerpt from Goodreads) PJ Mouse, an adorable little stuffed animal, was lost and alone until young Emily heard his cries for help. Now, along with his new family, PJ gets to travel the world-discovering exciting new places and people along the way! Come join PJ on his first adventure across Canada as he hikes on a glacier in the Rockies, finds a salt lake in the prairies, and walks on the ocean floor in Nova Scotia.
My Review
5 stars
PJ Mouse falls out of a bag into a puddle. He cries and cries for help until a little girl, Emily hears him and rescues him. PJ then follows along with Emily’s family on their vacation across Canada. He has his adventures along with the family on a glacier, in a lake, and even Niagara Falls.
This is the cutest book! The illustrations look like they are done in watercolor or color pencil. They beautifully depict the places Emily’s family and PJ travel to along with PJ’s adventures. The stories are very easy to read for beginning readers and short adventures for a quick bedtime story.
This book would make any child happy for a book to read and to have read to them. This is the first in a series and I am excited to find out what happens in the next book.
To purchase The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse: In Cananda make sure to visit Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and Gwyneth Jane Page’s website.
I received this book for free from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
In Queensland (The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse – 2) by Gwyneth Jane Page
(Excerpt From Goodreads) Come join PJ on this, his second adventure, along the coast of Queensland, as he snorkels at the Great Barrier Reef, chats with a Loggerhead turtle in the midst of a great undertaking, and explores the tropical rainforest – until he ha to be rescued by one of the local friendly wildlife.
My Review
5 stars
PJ Mouse is off again, this time he is going to Australia. He starts off on a plane with his own passport and suit case on his way to Queensland. While in Australia he is going to visit the Great Barrier Reef and meets a turtle that helps him back to his family. He then goes to a rain forest and meets a lorikeet among other adventures that he finds himself on.
This is a great sequel to PJ’s first adventure in Canada. I loved the illustrations, they are absolutely beautiful. This is a great book to teach kids about different things in Australia. It is perfect to read to a child or have them read to you.
I love this series. You get great information and wonderful pictures. I can’t wait to see what PJ does next.
I received this book for free from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Gwyneth Jane Page
Hi. I lived all over the world as a child….Boston and San Francisco in the USA, Vancouver and Montreal in Canada, England, St. Lucia, Peru. I settled in Vancouver to attend Simon Fraser University and get my MBA in accounting and marketing. As an adult, married with 4 children, I have worked from home in order to raise my children and we have continued to explore our world. It is a fantastic place. In my books I hope to share my love for our planet and the peoples, places and animals that are a part of it. As children explore with PJ Mouse they will learn of some amazing places, interesting facts, and cool animals. I hope you will come and explore and learn with me, and PJ Mouse.
The Next Book in the PJ Mouse Series by Gwyneth Jane Page
The next book in the series is set in England. The Travel Adventures of PJ Mouse – In a Small Corner of England just came out in November. The book stands independently for place, but I do continue the character development of the series. At the end of Book One, I introduced our cat, Fuzzy Beast, and at the end of Book Two I introduced Star Bear, my son’s stuffed animal that also goes everywhere with us. In book three I develop Star Bear’s character and the relationship between him and PJ. The cat also plays a role in this new relationship.
There is so much to see and do in England that it was quite challenging to keep the book to a length that is not too overwhelming for kids. I have set it in a ‘small corner of England’ and tried to write on places that people may not know about but that are definitely worth a visit. I did include London in the book but it is only one chapter out of the eight.
In some ways each book is quite different. For instance, in Queensland there is lots of wildlife, so PJ meets all sorts of animals, and Queensland is tropical, so the book is about beaches, rainforests, snorkeling and so forth. In England it is quite difficult to find any wildlife and the book is more about hikes, bike rides, history and the overall charm of the place.
Book Four in the series is in New Zealand. I have already written it, but we have not yet started the artwork. New Zealand is different again. There is not much wildlife, but the country itself is fascinating. It has glaciers, fiords, bubbling mud, hot streams, volcanoes and extreme sports; lots of ways for PJ to be getting into scrapes.
The next book that I have just started is set in Italy. One never knows what is going to happen in a book until it is written. Things occur to you as you write, specially with funny incidents and character interaction. Italy has it’s own flavour that is different from other countries, but I am sure PJ will learn lots and have a good time. I hope my readers do too.
Murdock Rocks Sedona (Matt Murdock – 7) by Robert J. Ray
(Excerpt from Goodreads) Wealthy investors in Sedona, Arizona, are dropping like flies—more accurately, lead weights. They are falling down staircases and off mountainsides, decks, and hiking trails. With so many similar “accidents,” the victims had to have been pushed. Other than their wealth and weakness for beautiful young women, what the falling men had in common was a financial interest in Sedona Landing, a historic hotel in Oak Creek Village. They also shared a long history with the chief investor, billionaire Axel Ackerman. Fearing that he too will plunge to his death, Ackerman hires Matt Murdock and Helene Steinbeck to investigate.
During his climb to the top of the heap, Ackerman crushed scores of rivals and broke many hearts. The culling of his “Crew” of investors is clearly personal. So who among this crowded field of enemies would orchestrate such a byzantine scheme of revenge? To keep their client safe, Matt and Helene will have to be on their best game. Too bad their last case in Taos took such a heavy toll, particularly on Helene, and caused a rift in their fragile bond.
Murdock Rocks Sedona is the seventh book in the Matt Murdock Murder Mystery series, which began with Bloody Murdock.
My Review
4 stars
Matt and Helene are in Sedona to relax from their last case. But things are tense between the two of them and know knowing how to fix it they keep doing their own things. Helene is giving some lectures and is approached to find out who is killing off investors in hotel Sedona Landing. She refuses unless Matt’s name is on the contract.
Someone is intent on taking out these rich investors that have an eye for the ladies. She has thought it through and has a specific list and some help in taking care of these guys. The questions is if she will finish her list before Matt and Helene figure out who she is.
This is my first book from author Robert J. Ray and I have to say that I’m very impressed. I got sucked into the story and couldn’t wait to see who the killer was and their motive. I also felt for Matt and Helene. There is something wrong in their relationship and it doesn’t look like either know how to go about fixing it so they just keep trudging along.
There were lots of twists and turns to this story and I will admit that I didn’t know who the killer really was until the end. If you are looking for a great mystery story I recommend getting yourself a copy of this book. Now I’m off to start this series from the first book, Bloody Murdock.
A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story by A.J. York
(Excerpt from Goodreads) A fully illustrated Christmas story that will make your heart sing!
Upstairs in the Anderson’s attic there is chatter coming from the Christmas, Easter and Halloween boxes. Someone new has arrived. Tallulah the Christmas Fairy wakes to find herself attached to the top of a tree. She soon makes friends and has a magical first Christmas. Once the festivities are over, Tallulah finds herself in the attic with the other decorations from Easter and Halloween. Each year they watch the seasons change as they wait excitedly for their turn to go downstairs. Until one day new boxes appear and then the unthinkable happens. A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story is a magical and uplifting tale for the whole family.
My Review
5 stars
This story is about all of the decorations for several holidays in the attic. We follow along when Tallulah, the Christmas Fairy joins the group. They spend time in the attic until it is each of their holidays to be brought down into the house. But things change over the years until one year they are not brought down.
This is a great story about how the decorations feel. What would it be like to be a decoration that one comes down for a little while every year? How would you feel if suddenly you are no longer part of the tradition?
If you are looking for a wonderful story for kids and adults alike for the Christmas season look no further. This would be a great tradition to read to your kids or grandkids around Christmas time.
I love A.J. York’s stories and when I saw this one was up for review I could send out my request fast enough. You will love A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story. Make sure to check out her other books too.
To purchase A Fairy Extraordinary Christ Story, or for more information make sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and A.J. York’s website.
I received A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Check out the wonderful trailer for A Fairy Extraordinary Christmas Story.
(Excerpt from Goodreads) A beautifully written collection of short stories from critically acclaimed Pacific Northwest writer Justin Bog, Hark—A Christmas Collection explores the range of emotions surrounding the holidays. From melancholy to madness, loss and despair to hope and forgiveness, these six tales shimmer with feelings, some we’d rather stuff away, that Christmas can evoke.
Within Hark—A Christmas Collection, a retired police officer faces another Christmas Eve while bitter recollections haunt his every turn, a lonely businesswoman plans to seduce Santa Claus one Christmas Eve, a widow grows anxious searching for a misplaced present she intended to send to her ungrateful sister, a woman can’t keep the images of her past—these ghosts—from haunting the life she chooses to live; while attending a Christmas party in Sun Valley, Idaho, a bookstore clerk and his partner are taught a lesson most un-holidaylike, and, in the final story, a couple portrays Mr. & Mrs. Claus in their small island town holiday festivities and face a grim diagnosis together.
Set in colorful locations around the United States, from Anacortes, Washington, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Sun Valley, Idaho, each tale focuses on people who struggle to make good choices, learn lessons, and maybe even find peace during the holiday season.
A bonus story, Poseidon Eyes, from Booktrope’s upcoming reissue of Sandcastle and Other Stories—The Complete Edition, is included.
My Review
5 stars
This is a collection of six stories revolving around Christmas. But the part I loved is the variety of emotions that is brought into each one. Most people think of Christmas and think of wonderful family gatherings, parties, and presents. This is not true for everyone and this collection of stories shows that really well. This is a great collection that has a police officer reliving a turning point in his life, how adults can affect children, and a Christmas party full of tension.
I won’t say they are dark stories but they have more realistic when compared to other traditional Christmas stories. All of the characters will draw you into their stories and will leave you smiling or with a tear in your eye depending on which one you read.
This is a great collection that I think everyone should read, even if it’s just to remind them that not everyone has a sparkly and super happy Christmas.
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