In Samantha’s Mailbox:
Title: Lost in the Light
Author: Mary Castillo
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: DETECTIVE DORI ORIHUELA is on the verge of losing everything: her badge and now her sanity. Under investigation for a fatal shooting and recuperating from a bullet wound, she concentrates on restoring up her dream home – a 120 year-old Edwardian mansion. Expecting a few creaky stairs and drafty rooms, all of Dori’s beliefs on life and death are challenged when she not only sees a ghost, but he asks her to find a woman named, Anna.
The ghost and former bootlegger, Vicente Sorolla is trapped in the house where he was brutally murdered in the fall of 1932. By discovering what happened to the woman he loved and died to protect, both Vicente and Dori learn the undying power of love.
Dori and Vicente’s unlikely friendship takes us back to the waning days of Prohibition in San Diego and the dusty barrio of National City. Mary Castillo’s new novel, featuring the wild Orihuela family that first delighted readers in Names I Call My Sister, weaves romance, history and mystery into a humorous, touching and unforgettable story.
Title: November Surprise
Author: Laurel Osterkamp
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: • Twenty years
• Six presidential elections
• One consuming love affair
For Lucy Jones, the distinction between love and politics is hazy at best. Both can be all-consuming, and either can lead to a heart-breaking loss or an exhilarating win. Whatever the case, if you’re seen as a loser, you probably are one. Lucy first learns this lesson in 1988, when she’s a shy girl, battling a high school bully and rooting for Dukakis. Through the years Lucy will experience stunning victories and agonizing defeats as she makes the choices that define her. Meanwhile, she also struggles to define her relationship with Monty, who comes in and out of her life like the changes in public opinion. Is Monty simply a one-night stand, a kindred spirit, or the love of her life? And by 2008, can he offer her a change to believe in?
Over the course of twenty years and six presidential elections, Lucy grows and adjusts with the times. Filled with snarky political and pop-culture references, November Surprise is about the journey we take to believe in a candidate, in love, and in ourselves.
November Surprise is a companion piece to Campaign Promises, which is free on Amazon. They can be read in either order. Both have a liberal slant.
Title: Falling For You
Author: Heather Thurmeier
Received: Via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: Newly single Cassidy Quinn is thrilled to be a contestant on the new reality dating show The One. But her excitement turns to horror when the gorgeous bachelor turns out to be her ex-boyfriend. Seeing Brad again makes Cassidy realize she might not be as “over him” as she thought—and then she meets hunky cameraman Evan Burke.
After watching his brother lose his wife in a tragic accident, Evan vows never to fall in love. But following Cassidy around as her personal cameraman makes him question his decision, and resisting her gets harder with every sunbathing, bikini-wearing day.
Cassidy and Evan begin a forbidden affair while her ex-boyfriend tries to win her heart back one groping, awkward moment at a time. If Cassidy can manage to stop falling off horses (literally), stop falling onto her ex-boyfriend, the bachelor (yes, literally), and stop falling in love with backstage playboy Evan, she might still make it through the show without becoming a tabloid sensation.
But soon Cassidy must choose between the ex who broke her heart and the cameraman who might never love her back. For Cassidy, this reality show just got real.
In Sara’s Mailbox:
Title: What Lies Behind
Author: Cynthia Hill
Received: Cynthia Hill
Synopsis: What Lies Behind is quite different from Idol Hands, and is more of a historical fiction-style book. It actually takes place both in the present, and in the early-to-mid 20th century. It is told from the perspective of a grandmother, Lillian, and granddaughter, Lisa, in alternating perspectives. Lillian’s story begins with her childhood in 1920s Toronto, moving through her life as a young society bride during WWII and through the scandal and tragedy of her adult years. Lisa, from the present, struggles with her own romantic life while also trying to understand the grandmother with whom she never felt close, even as Lillian is now in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. After a shakeup in her own life, Lisa makes a discovery that may finally bring Lillian’s secretive past to light.
August 12, 2012
