Sara Humphreys brings us an all new novel.. with firefighters.. mmmm..

Description:

The only fire he can't put out...
Jordan McKenna is back in town, and Fire Chief Gavin Maguire's feelings when he sees her after all these years are as raw as the day she left. Then he was just a kid wearing his heart on his sleeve. Now he spends every day trying to atone for the tragedy he couldn't prevent.

Is the torch he carries for her
Jordan's life has not exactly worked out the way she expected. A divorced mother of two with a failed acting career, Jordan's biggest concern about coming back to Old Brookfield was seeing her first love. But when a series of suspicious fires breaks out, Jordan and Gavin realize that dealing with the sparks between them may be the least dangerous of their problems.

Jordan McKenna ran fifteen years ago from an abusive father. She left behind her mom, her boyfriend, her friends. A clean break with no contact with them. She felt it was the only way. Now she is home again, with her two daughters in tow, after leaving an equally abusive husband. She's ready to start over, but not ready for Gavin. Top it off, her father is dying and with the dementia, he doesn't even remember her or the horrible way he treated her.

Fifteen years later, Gavin's feelings towards Jordan are still raw. As teenagers, they felt they would last forever, but then she was just gone with no word. Now she's back, and he has no clue how to feel about that. When he finds out why she left, his immediate response is to protect her. 

When Jordan's ex-husband starts snooping around, Gavin's protective feelings kick into high gear to take care of Jordan and her little girls, who he definitely has a soft spot for. But can these two work through their past to their happily ever after? Not only that, Gavin is the fire chief and someone is out setting fires willy nilly on the outskirts of town, and they are getting bolder. He needs to catch the firebug before someone gets hurt. 

I sat down to read this book last night and didn't put it down til I was finished... which was way past my bedtime! I would say, any Susan Mallery or Robyn Carr fans would love this book. (And everyone knows I absolutely adore Susan Mallery!) . I liked Jordan. She had been mentally beat down but managed to get away and start a new life with her girls. A good life at that. Gavin.... Don't tell my husband, but I kind of want a Gavin! He's so sweet with Jordan and her girls. Makes your heart melt. 

I cannot wait for the next installment in this series.. Gavin has four more brothers that I want to hear about! And I know Maddy will come back.. she and Ronan obviously have unfinished business.

Thank you, Ms Humphreys for a fantastic read!

An all new novel by Sandra Brown, "Friction"

Description:
Crawford Hunt wants his daughter back. Following the death of his wife four years ago, Crawford, a Texas Ranger, fell into a downward spiral that left him relegated to deskwork and with his five-year-old daughter Georgia in the custody of her grandparents. But Crawford has cleaned up his act, met all the court imposed requirements, and now the fate of his family lies with Judge Holly Spencer.

Holly, ambitious and confident, temporarily occupies the bench of her recently deceased mentor. With an election upcoming, she must prove herself worthy of making her judgeship permanent. Every decision is high-stakes. Despite Crawford's obvious love for his child and his commitment to being an ideal parent, Holly is wary of his checkered past. Her opinion of him is radically changed when a masked gunman barges into the courtroom during the custody hearing. Crawford reacts instinctually, saving Holly from a bullet. 

But his heroism soon takes on the taint of recklessness. The cloud over him grows even darker after he uncovers a horrifying truth about the courtroom gunman and realizes that the unknown person behind the shooting remains at large . . .and a threat. 

Catching the real culprit becomes a personal fight for Crawford. But pursuing the killer in his customary diehard fashion will jeopardize his chances of gaining custody of his daughter, and further compromise Judge Holly Spencer, who needs protection not only from an assassin, but from Crawford himself and the forbidden attraction between them. 

Sandra Brown really needs no introduction. With more than 60 novels to her name, many New York Times Bestsellers, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA, Ms Brown started writing.. the year I was born. I'm sorry, I don't mean to make her feel old, however, she has so many fantastic books that she has written. She started over 30 years ago, and yet she still brings us great books to this day.

I have to be honest, I stopped reading her a about five or six years ago. Her books had moved into this the woman was married, husband was trying to kill her, she ended up having an affair with the male lead character. Yeah, she was still married. That kind of irked me, so I stopped reading. BUT. Last year I picked up "Mean Streak" and even though it still had that same flow, I really enjoyed the book.

So when NetGalley put "Friction" up, I immediately requested it, and received it, yay!

I have to say, I think this is one of Ms Brown's best books ever. 

So, about the book. Crawford Hunt's life spiraled down after a major shootout at work and his wife died in a car accident. Amazingly, his baby daughter was not injured, but Crawford was in no shape to care for Georgia, so he gave legal care over to her grandparents. Now, four years later, Crawford's life is back on track, his job steady as a Texas Ranger,  and he wants his daughter back. Fate intervenes, however, when at the custody hearing, a shooter storms into the courtroom, killing the bailiff. Crawford acting instinctively and jumped in front of the judge, Holly,  to save her life. 

Crawford knows he has killed his chances to get Georgia back by his reckless behavior protecting the judge. At least that is how any court would see it. But something about Holly gets to him and after realizing that SWAT shot the wrong man, he has to keep her safe and catch the real shooter.

There are lots of twists and turns to this plot. It certainly kept me on my toes. I loved Crawford's character. His need to protect and the love for his daughter very apparent. Holly was a spitfire. She wasn't going to let a little shooting keep her down, even if it could still cost her her life. I can't wait to push this title to my library patrons.. even though I believe I have 30 people on the waiting list already for this! 

Mercedes Lackey sets on out a new adventure, a young adult dystopian fantasy novel Out Sept 2015

***********Thank You NetGalley for an advanced copy of this title**********
Description:
They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares. 

Monsters. 

Long ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were ripped open, and it's taken centuries to bring back civilization in the wake. Now, the luckiest Cits live in enclosed communities,behind walls that keep them safe from the hideous monsters fighting to break through. Others are not so lucky. 

To Joyeaux Charmand, who has been a Hunter in her tight-knit mountain community since she was a child, every Cit without magic deserves her protection from dangerous Othersiders. Then she is called to Apex City, where the best Hunters are kept to protect the most important people. 

Joy soon realizes that the city's powerful leaders care more about luring Cits into a false sense of security than protecting them. More and more monsters are getting through the barriers,and the close calls are becoming too frequent to ignore. Yet the Cits have no sense of how much danger they're in-to them, Joy and her corp of fellow Hunters are just action stars they watch on TV.

When an act of sabotage against Joy takes an unbearable toll, Joy uncovers a terrifying conspiracy in the city. There is something much worse than the usual monsters infiltrating Apex. And it may be too late to stop them

I've read some of Lackey's fantasy novels, and her Valdamar series scares me because I don't know where to start, but this novel looked so interesting, and different, than her usual that I just had to read it, and I am soooooo incredibly glad that I did!

Joy was raised on the Mountain, hunting since she was a small child for food and hunting the monsters that came through from Otherworld. With the help of her Hounds, she is a very talented hunter. But her uncle, from Apex City, has sent for her to join the Hunters school. She hates having to leave everything she knows, but she is excited to see Apex and join other Hunters.

Hunters have magic and call their Hounds... who don't always look like hounds, they can look like pretty much any kind of animal, to help them hunt the things that go bump in the night.. and day. Disturbing to Joy is that every Hunter has a vid channel, where citizens can watch the Hunters. More disturbing is that many of the hunts take place within the magical barriers of the city, however the vids show they are outside the barriers.

When one of Joy's mentors is hurt, Joy realizes that it was supposed to be her in that section. Someone was definitely after her. Politics have definitely gotten in the way of Joy wanting to protect the citizens and she has to find a way to stop whoever is after her .

I loved Joy. Her sense of loyalty to the people she protects is very strong, and her growing up away from the craziness of the city has instilled a sense of right in her that the Hunters raised in the city don't have. She is honest and innocent as well as being a darn fine Hunter. I cried right along with her when a Vampire killed her friend. And I want to see more of her relationship with Josh!  

This is kind of a crazy blend of dystopian and fantasy but it all seems to work well together. I really liked this book!

Thunder Point returns in an all new novel by Robyn Carr

Description:
Blake Smiley searched the country for just the right place to call home. The professional triathlete has traveled the world, but Thunder Point has what he needs to put down the roots he's never had. In the quiet coastal town, he can focus on his training without distractions. Until he meets his new neighbors and everything changes. 

Lin Su Simmons and her teenage son, Charlie, are fixtures at Winnie Banks's house as Lin Su nurses Winnie through the realities of ALS. A single mother, Lin Su is proud of taking charge and never showing weakness. But she has her hands full coping with a job, debt and Charlie's health issues. And Charlie is asking questions about his family history—questions she doesn't want to answer. 

When Charlie enlists Blake's help to escape his overprotective mother, Lin Su resents the interference in her life. But Blake is certain he can break through her barriers and be the man she and Charlie need. When faced with a terrible situation, Blake comes to the rescue, and Lin Su realizes he just might be the man of her dreams. Together, they recognize that family is who you choose it to be.

Lin Su has been taking care of her son Charlie on her own for fourteen years. She is content to keep on doing that. She loves her job working for Winnie being her home health nurse. Winnie and her family are fantastic, and the let Charlie hang around. She knows the job won't last forever, but she will certainly do her best and enjoy it while she can. 

Charlie meets the new neighbor and can't stop talking about him. Blake is an Ironman, a famous athlete. He's also pretty nice. When Charlie has a major asthma attack due to a short ride on Blake's bike, Lin Su pretty much flips out. Charlie's asthma has always kept him down. 

Lin Su isn't fond of Blake, because he tried to tell her that a little exercise wouldn't hurt Charlie. Charlie is her son and she knows what is best. But after Charlie is chased by a couple of jerk guys, Blake comes to the rescue. He also helps out when her home is broken into and trashed. He confronted the guys and got Lin Su's treasure box out. Now, certainly the guy can't be too bad.

Lin Su relents and allows Blake to start training Charlie. It was supposed to help him build up his stamina, and then his asthma would be a lot better. Behind Lin Su's back, Charlie decides to go looking for their family. Lin Su was adopted and her family disowned her when she had Charlie and insisted on keeping him. Charlie tells Blake what he is doing and Blake makes him promise to tell his mother. 

Lin Su and Blake's relationship grows and everything is great... until Charlie finally tells his mom about finding their family and she flips out. SHE is his family. They other people don't matter. They didn't want them. When Lin Su finds out that Blake knew about it, she is furious he kept that kind of secret from her. 
Can they repair their relationship with such a breach of trust? 

Well, of course, its Thunder Point! We know we will get a happy ending. I wasn't too fond of this series when it began, but it has certainly grown on me. With all the old characters and new characters and everyone helping everyone. I kind of want to live here. 

Sharon Sala returns with the next installment in the Secrets and Lies series.

Description:
If only it had been something else that brought Lissa Sherman and Mack Jackson back in touch after so many years. Something—anything—other than the murder of Mack's father. Even worse, Lissa's car had been used as the murder weapon. 

Thirty-five years ago, four friends went out joyriding and ended up in a terrible accident that left one dead and the others with no memory of that awful night. Now two more people, including Mack's father, have been murdered, and if the lone survivor knows why they're being targeted, she's not talking.  

Even as Lissa and Mack find themselves drawn together in the midst of tragedy, the mystery deepens when someone comes after Lissa, too. Is the danger to her tied to the other deaths, or are two killers at work in town? Now Mack has to fight an unknown attacker as well as his feelings for Lissa, but it may be that he can't win either battle.

Lissa certainly didn't expect to find Pete Jackson dead underneath her car when she went to pick it up from the shop. She is devastated, thinking that her vehicle killed her old boyfriend's dad. And now Mack will be coming home. 

Mack comes home, shocked about his fathers death. When it comes out that it wasn't an accident, that someone murdered his father, and that Lissa is being stalked by a very depraved person, Mack decides he is going to stick around and help Lissa and hopefully find out who killed his dad. Mack finds a letter from his father telling him that if he had the letter, then he was dead. And he needed to be looking into an accident that happened years ago after Pete's high school graduation. One friend who had been in the accident was already dead, and another, the police chief's mother, was certainly in danger. 

Mack and Lissa were a couple all through high school. When Lissa became pregnant, they were both scared but excited. But rumors spread that Lissa had an abortion. When he confronted her and asked if she was still pregnant, she told him no. Unfortunately, he didn't wait around for an explanation, but instead took off. Ten years later, Mack finds out what really  happened and can't believe how wrong he was. His best hope is that, even ten years later, that Lissa can forgive him. Because he still loves her.

And the climax of the story.. Oh. My. Gods. What a cliffhanger! I'm on my toes because now I have to wait to find out what happens! What a great story you have brought us, Ms Sala. Can't wait for the next one!