A Town Called Potato Reviewed by Ashleigh ✓ book blogger

Set on several other planets, this book required a lot of worldbuilding. And the author did not disappoint.

Read Full Review

Publishable By Death Reviewed by Ashleigh ✓ book blogger

I found this book to be extremely entertaining.

Read Full Review

(Not) In This Lifetime Reviewed by Ashleigh ✓ book blogger

Although I enjoyed this story very much, I don't really have much to say about it. The story was so engaging, I was able to look past its flaws to read the book in one night.

Read Full Review

Second Chance Option Reviewed by Ashleigh ✓ book blogger

While I found the story engaging, I was unable to connect to the characters.

Read Full Review

Louisiana Longshot Reviewed by Ashleigh ✓ book blogger

While I liked watching Fortune bumbling in an identity that goes against her very nature, I fell in love with Gertie. The Banana Pudding War (which, according to Gertie, was worse than the Civil War) had me laughing out loud.

Read Full Review

A Town Called Potato by Gary Blaine Randolph

A hard-boiled computer professional is plucked from the mean streets of Indianapolis. Well okay, Indianapolis streets aren’t really that mean. They can be rough, though. Especially during pothole season, which lasts about six months from mid-winter to whenever the city’s new budget year kicks in. Anyway, this guy is plucked and swept up into a web of interstellar crime when he is recruited into the Galactic Detective Agency. Can a mere Earthling track a killer across the stars before more lives are lost? Can he negotiate his way around other worlds and understand the ways of extra-terrestrial cultures? Can he even figure out how to use a bathroom designed for aliens? And can he uncover the mystery of A Town Called Potato?

Publishable By Death by A.C.F. Bookens

A bookstore, a grumpy newspaper woman, and a murder. Quiet St. Marin’s has just gotten a little more lively . . . and a little less alive. All Harvey Beckett wants to do is read books, help the residents of St. Marin’s find the perfect book for that moment, and snuggle with her hound dog Mayhem. But when the small, waterside town’s newest resident discovers the body of the community’s persnickety reporter in her bookshop storeroom on opening day, Harvey finds herself bound and determined to figure out the crime. Her task won’t be easy, though, since the town is flooded with visitors for the first annual Harriet Tubman Festival to honor the community’s most famous resident. Plus, a quiet but charming mechanic named Daniel isn’t helping with her concentration at all.

(Not) In This Lifetime by Rebecca Ouellette

Time Travel! 1980s! Rock 'n' Roll! Charlie North doesn't want to be a rock star, that was his overbearing father's dream. It is only out of a sense of parental loyalty that Charlie drags himself into seedy clubs and dive bars night after night, when he would rather be anywhere else. For years, he does this without hesitation, until a devastating nightclub fire forces him to question everything he thought he knew about his father, and himself. In the days following the fire, Charlie begins to dream about another band, long ago, and the tragic death of a beautiful girl he’s never met. Soon, they are all he can think about. He struggles to grasp onto any kind of logical explanation as he spirals out of control, consumed by feelings and memories not his own. It isn’t until he awakens one morning, in another time, 21 years in the past, that everything finally makes sense.

Second Chance Option by Elizabeth Spaur

He was looking for a fresh start. She was looking for a new path. Love is what happens when they least expect it. At loose ends after a medical discharge from the Navy, a call from Cade Maguire’s college coach gives him a new objective. Help save his alma mater’s football program. A gut-wrenching betrayal drove him from the game once. Can he finally stop running long enough to let go of the past and find his future? Veterinarian and genius Tess Gallagher has an abiding love for home and family, she’s spent her life taking care of everyone else. Doing what was right always came before doing what she wanted. When her younger brothers enter her in the American Ninja Warrior competition, can she finally stop hiding her true self from the world? Sparks ignite between Tess and Cade when she saves his injured dog and love is on the horizon when Cade’s new job is put in jeopardy before it even begins. Will Cade realize Tess is the second chance he really wants? Will Tess realize that Cade has always seen her for who she truly is? Will they realize that love is the only option that matters? Welcome to Second Chance Option, the first book in the Gridiron Knights series where football is king in King’s Folly, South Carolina and the locals have something to say about everything. When you come for a visit, you’ll never want to leave.

Louisiana Longshot by Jana Deleon

It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever—in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play. Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation might blow her cover and get her killed. Armed with her considerable skills and a group of elderly ladies the locals dub The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late.

A History Of Murder by Brook Peterson

Once a booming gold town, now a quiet tourist spot with a history of murder! When Chloe Martin makes the long overdue trip to Jericho Falls, Nevada, to check on her grandma, she doesn’t plan to stay long. In fact, she has every intention of hightailing it right back to Idaho and leaving the historic mining town she loves to hate, for good. But then, a man turns up dead in the flower bed and memories about lost loves and lost lives begin to surface. To complicate matters, Chloe finds herself in a love triangle almost as tricky as the mystery she has to solve. Will Chloe be able to solve the murder and get them all out of trouble? Just as important--will she finally find peace in Jericho Falls?

Reality Dreamers by K.M. Frost

Dreams or Reality... Which would you choose? "There's another horrible scream, a lot closer this time, and then I can feel the ice cold fingers brushing the back of my neck, just like in my nightmare... I know there's no way to escape the Entities, but we keep running. What else can we do?" Fifteen-year-old Jonas Hartley shouldn’t be having nightmares anymore, but that doesn’t stop them from coming. Every night, the dreams get worse—until he meets the Reality Dreamers. Normally, Jonas would avoid this strange trio of teenagers, but when he realizes one of them is a mysterious girl he’s seen in reality, he decides to stick around for a while, curious about what they’re doing in his dreams. But curiosity isn’t always harmless. The Reality Dreamers are hunted by dark beings called Entities, products of a dark world with many secrets. Too late, Jonas realizes he may have gotten himself into something much larger and much darker than he ever could have imagined...

Autumn Nights: 10 Stories to Skitter Up Your Spine by Various

Hot summer days fade, and the chills of autumn begin. Leaves wither and fall, trees lay barren, and darkness descends earlier each evening. While people seek shelter in warm, cozy confines, the hair-raising denizens of the night come out to play. The hollow winds carry more than the skittering sounds of dead leaves… Ten creepy tales that will leave you checking your windows and tucking yourself safely under the covers await in this book. Perfect for lingering evenings around the campfire, or golden afternoons with a blanket and warm apple cider, the third installment of the Autumn Nights Charity Anthologies is brimming with creepy crawlies. Not only are the stories low on gore and safe for readers 16 and up, but your purchase will help your fellow humans. All royalties from this anthology will be donated to RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit that purchases bulk medical debt and pays it off for those most in need. No family should have to choose between medical care and a home. The Skittering by Mallory Kelly Dreamweaver by Jaecyn Boné Deathbed Confessions Are Not Beholden to NDAs by Frank L Tybush V New Life by Helen Whistberry The Sublime Desdemona Scarlet by Jacob Klop Prey by Brendon Pohner The Nest by Fay Lane The Bitten Rush by L.T. Ward Pandora’s Attic by Jerusha René The Protectors by A.W. Wang *These stories are intended to be safe reading for Young Adults and Adults alike, with no graphic/explicit violence or sexual situations. In this book, The Bitten Rush does have the trigger warning of addiction. Each book in the series can be read in any order, as there is no relationship between the stories from one book to the next. Want to start with this one and help relieve crushing medical debt? Go for it!

Remember the Dawn by A. M. Macdonald

Starlight. Steel. Ahryn and Ezai must unite. Ten years ago, the Starsingers--tyrannical magicians who draw their power from the stars--suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of an ancient order of magic-resistant peacekeepers. Their rebellion quelled, their magic controlled, the five families of starlight magicians have been forced to live in a fragile truce with the starless commoners...until now. When an assassin begins killing Starsingers, the defiant peacekeepers are blamed, for who else could slay a magician? EZAI is a storied peacekeeper. He has been tasked with finding the true killer, and he must do so before the balance of power is disrupted. But the Starsingers plot against him. AHRYN is the eldest child of an Astral House, and she alone survives the murder of her family. She seeks justice, but the other families wish to use her fury, and her family's legacy. As another war approaches, Ezai and Ahryn form an unlikely alliance. Together, they must unlock a secret of the past and find the assassin before it's too late, for a greater evil looms.

By the Light of Embers by Shaylin Gandhi

It's 1954, and twenty-two-year-old Lucia Lafleur has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. While sock hops and poodle skirts occupy her classmates, she dreams of bacteria and broken bones—and the day she’ll finally fix them. ​ After graduation, a letter arrives, and Lucia reads the words she’s labored a lifetime to earn—"we are pleased to offer you a position at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine." But in the midst of her triumph, her fiancé delivers a crushing ultimatum: forego medical school, or forego marriage. ​ With fractured hopes, she returns home to Louisiana, expecting nothing of the summer of '54 but sweet tea and gumbo while she agonizes over her impending choice. There, she unexpectedly befriends Nicholas, a dark-skinned poet whose dignity and intellect are a salve to her aching heart. Their bond, initially forged from a shared love of literature, soon blossoms into something as bewitching as it is forbidden. ​ Yet her predicament deepens when a trivial misunderstanding between a local white woman and a black man results in a brutal lynching, and the peril of love across the color lines becomes chillingly real. Now, fulfilling her lifelong dream means relinquishing her heart—and escaping Louisiana alive.

Starkiller: The Merry Maids Book Three by Stefanie Contreras ✓ author

Alyvia Tippin is not a fan of big changes, and yet that's all her life has been since leaving the Academy. Now that she's discovered more about her abilities, the Council seems determined to add even bigger changes to her life. Despite The Merry Maids' protests, the Council wants Alyvia to train with the Shadows, to figure out how her Amplifier skills could be useful to their team. At least she can stop worrying about her best friend now that she knows he is one of the Shadows. As The Merry Maids' quest to find the Starkiller pieces nears completion, their course is set to collide again with Maks, and all of the horrors Lyv thought she left behind when she escaped Cayberra. Change is inevitable. Alyvia just hopes her team can survive.

Piecefinder: The Merry Maids Book Two by Stefanie Contreras ✓ author

Alyvia Tippin is slowly finding her way as the Courier for The Merry Maids but their last mission on Jubilee broke open something in her memories that couldn't stay buried. It's time to tell her team where their Courier came from, and the truth isn't pretty. She isn't the only one with stories to tell. For The Merry Maids, the past can't seem to stay in the past as the team is targeted by people they know. Their deadly scavenger hunt in search of the disassembled Starkiller pieces is being haunted by people The Merry Maids used to trust. When Alyvia left behind the safety of the Academy, she didn't realize how risky it would be to follow her dream of flying among the stars. Now that The Merry Maids are becoming the family she always wanted, there is nothing she wouldn't risk for them. Even if the risk is to herself.

Sin Eater by Amanda Denham

Two years ago, Jayde Holloway discovered that she had the power to erase memories in the worst way possible: by accidentally wiping her best friend Jenny’s at the end of their senior year. Now, shut off from the world, Jayde exists solely for her role as the Sin Eater, an entity who can take away a person’s every bad memory if they so wish… for a price. Jayde hates the lonely life that she’s dealt, especially under her strict boss Jak, who consistently keeps her under his watchful eye through blackmail: a constant reminder of all of her mistakes. When she must travel back to her hometown, Jayde secretly befriends two siblings with a haunted past of their own. As her own painful memories begin to overwhelm, Jayde must make a choice: remain chained to a familiar but hurtful past, or reveal all of her darkest secrets for what could be a better future.

A Broken Kind of Love by Colleen Young

⁣⁣After Delia’s parents abandoned her and her sister at a young age she spent her childhood dreaming of a better future. As an adult, Delia finally has everything she’s ever dreamed of - a husband, three great kids, surrounded by the love and stability that she craved as a child. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Mitch has retired from the Army nursing mental and physical battle wounds from his time spent overseas. In his second career as an EMT, he takes solace in saving lives and running from the regrets in his past. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ One fateful night Mitch and Delia’s path’s cross, changing the course of their lives forever. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Will these two be able to find their way to A Broken Kind of Love?

Asphalt Chasers by Bree Hall

Ellie and her mom were going to leave their small-town Kansas life behind and hit the road, trek over the black asphalt of Route 66, and head north when they reached the Pacific. They were going to experience all of the zany roadside attractions along the way. They were going to surf every break between Santa Monica and Rockaway Beach. Ellie promised they would climb into her mom’s ’87 VW and do all of those things. She promised. But it was too late. Ellie’s mom was already dying of cancer when she made Ellie promise and she died before their journey could even begin. Now, five months later, Ellie is haunted by the promise she made. But she is determined to get to the Oregon Coast on the route they planned, even though she’ll have to do it on her own, even though her dad forbid it. She will do anything to ensure the promise be fulfilled.Ellie isn’t the only setting out on the road.Enter Luke, the tall, handsome, basketball stud who runs in Ellie's crew. He's had a crush on Ellie since he moved to tiny Wheat Hill in the ninth grade, but when he finally gets the guts to try and tell her how he feels, she's already started her journey. Luke quickly enlists the help of his and Ellie's three kooky friends and they all hit the highway in the hopes of catching up to Ellie. Will Ellie fulfill her promise? Will Luke tell her how he feels? Or will they just keep chasing the asphalt of the road into oblivion, never reaching its end?