Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.

Friday, April 26, 2019

Night Beach by Joanne DeMaio (VBT: Book Review)

In association with Author Joanne DeMaio, Jersey Girl Book Reviews is pleased to host the virtual book tour event for Night Beach!






Book Review





Night Beach by Joanne DeMaio
Book 8: The Seaside Saga Series
Publisher: Independent Self Publishing
Publication Date: Paperback - February 24, 2019 / eBook - March 5, 2019
Format: Paperback - 273 pages
               Kindle - 3779 KB
               Nook - 695 KB
               Audible Audiobook - 7 Hours 5 Minutes
ISBN: 978-1790577071
ASIN (ebook): B07MGB31QL
ASIN (audiobook): B07NQQK9T3
BNID: 2940161444221
Genre: Women's Fiction


Buy The Book:


Buy The Series: The Seaside Saga Series
Book 1: Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans 
Book 2: The Denim Blue Sea
Book 3: Beach Blues
Book 4: Beach Breeze
Book 5: The Beach Inn
Book 6: Beach Bliss
Book 7: Castaway Cottage
Book 8: Night Beach
Book 9: Little Beach Bungalow (Pub Date: May 14, 2019)



Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review.


Book Description:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Castaway Cottage comes a novel as captivating as the moonlit sea.

Everything was in place for the perfect beachside gathering. Lace-wrapped jars hung from white chairs on the sand. Paper lanterns and tiki torches glimmered in the twilight evening. A rowboat draped with roses and vines waited in the wings. Love floated on the salt air.

Until the arrival of a mysterious guest named Shane Bradford, a lobster man with a tangled past in this little New England beach town.

Like a sudden sea breeze, the special evening quickly turns. And the residents of Stony Point must tread the darker water Shane brings to their Night Beach.



Book Excerpt: (Select The Preview Button)



My Book Review:

In Night Beach, author Joanne DeMaio transports the reader back to the tranquil seashore town of Stony Point, Connecticut, where the summer season is coming to a close. The reader will catch up with the lives of friends: Maris, Jason, Eva, Matt, Kyle, Lauren, Elsa, Cliff, Nick, Paige, Vinny, and Celia. In this installment of the popular Seaside Saga Series, the focus is on Kyle and Lauren, and the unexpected appearance of Kyle's estranged brother Shane.

Just like the ebb and flow of the tide, life brings issues and changes to one's life, but the bonds of friendship, sea air, and salt water are cleansing, they cure what ails you. For this group of old friends, the close of the summer season brings some bittersweet painful memories instead of a happy gathering, and a touch of deeply held familial secrets. As time heals all wounds, so does the sea air, and this group of friends lives by the credo: "salt air, not a care" and "cast away your troubles straight into the sea." The shimmering denim blue sea with its calming effect will offer them another summer season of hope, love, family, friendship, heartache, mistakes, forgiveness, redemption, and blissful new beginnings.

The reader will catch up with the friends as many changes have been occurring since their last visit: Elsa's newly renovated beach inn, Ocean Star Inn, is getting ready for the grand opening in September with Celia's help. Meanwhile, Maris continues to complete her late brother-in-law Neil's manuscript, while husband Jason is busy preparing for his new cottage renovation program on the local public television station, and has the approval from Mitch and Carol Fenwick to renovate their beach cottage, and feature it on his cottage renovation program. Finally, there is Kyle and Lauren, who planned a tenth anniversary vow renewal ceremony on the beach at the Ocean Starr Inn. However, their ceremony is abruptly called off that morning with the unexpected appearance of Kyle's estranged brother Shane. Alas ... mistakes, secrets, past painful issues, and a surprising cliffhanger will leave the reader impatiently waiting to read more about Shane in Little Beach Bungalow, the next installment in The Seaside Saga Series. So now that I have whet your interest in the beach friends latest comings and goings, drive under the railroad trestle and enter the enchanting beach town of Stony Point ... pull up a beach chair ... and visit with the close-knit longtime friends in author Joanne DeMaio's delightful novel, Night Beach.

The Seaside Sage Series is a heartwarming series of stories of friendship, family, painful secrets, new beginnings and second chances. Author Joanne DeMaio weaves a wonderful tale written in the third person narrative, that is set in the present with flashbacks to the past. The reader is transported to the tranquil seashore town of Stony Point, Connecticut, where they follow along with Celia, Maris, Eva, Matt, Jason, Kyle, Lauren, Nick, Elsa, and Cliff as the summer season draws to a close on their little tranquil coastal town.

In Night Beach, Author Joanne DeMaio easily captivates her readers' attention with this beautifully written tale through a seamless and flowing storyline, and with a wonderful description of a tranquil beach setting that wraps itself around the reader like a sun-warmed beach towel. The characters draw you into their lives with a strong emotional pull, their complexities and flaws are true-to-life, it is easy to relate to them with compassion, empathy, and hope. With a mixture of intrigue, suspense, drama, humor, heartache, hidden secrets, romance, and a strong bond of friendship, this story takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride revolving around Kyle and Lauren's ruined vow renewal ceremony, and an intriguing glimpse into Kyle and Shane's estranged brotherly relationship that will easily keep you turning the pages. But alas, author Joanne DeMaio has teased her readers with a surprising cliffhanger ending that will simply leave them wanting more!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I looked forward to catching up with this special group of close-knit friends. It's like you're a summer visitor, and the beach friends envelop you in a warm hug and offer up enough smiles, laughter, and fun-filled beach bliss as their summer adventures unfold.

Night Beach is an intricate story of interweaving friendships, life events, and deep family secrets and drama. It is a wonderful story that continues to demonstrate the power of the magical sweet salt air that will cure what ails you.


RATING: 5 STARS 




About The Author




Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She enjoys writing about friendship, family, love and choices, while setting her stories in New England towns or by the sea. Night Beach is her newest novel. Currently at work on her next book, Joanne lives with her family in Connecticut.


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Thursday, April 18, 2019

Hide Not Seek by D.E. Haggerty (Book Review)




Hide Not Seek by D.E. Haggerty 
Book 3: The Not So Reluctant Detectives Series 
Publisher: Independent Self Publishing
Publication Date: April 18, 2019
Format: eBook - 223 pages 
               Kindle - 918 KB
               Nook - 294 KB
ASIN: B07NYSCT6W
BNID: 2940155985334
Genre: Cozy Mystery / Romantic Suspense 


BuyThe Book:


Buy The Series: The Not So Reluctant Detectives Series
Book 1: Finders, Not Keepers
Book 2: Picture Not Perfect
Book 3: Hide Not Seek



Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review.



Book Description:

I know who you really are. 

Pru has a secret, which she has no plans to reveal – ever. But after a woman is murdered and all clues point to her, she has no choice but to disclose her true identity. When her revelations thwart the killer’s plan to frame Pru for murder, the killer begins stalking her. With each note he sends, he gets closer. The police are stumped. Pru wants to run away. She really, really wants to run, but Ajax has found the woman of his dreams and he’s not letting her go anywhere. He can be patient. In the meantime, he’ll protect her with his life. Pru isn’t feeling very patient, and her friends, Mel and Terri, are definitely not willing to wait until the police discover who the stalker is. The three friends take matters into their own hands and jump headfirst into the investigation. 

Will Pru and her friends uncover her stalker before he turns his violence on Pru?



Book Teasers:








My Book Review:

In Hide Not Seek, the third book in The Not So Reluctant Detectives Series, author D.E. Haggerty continues to weave a delightful cozy mystery series that follows the amateur investigative adventures of best friends and co-workers Terri, Melanie and Prudence.

Pru's secretive past has come back to haunt her. Someone has tried to set Pru up for the murder of a local woman, but that's not all. Pru has a stalker who is leaving her notes, and she is ready to high-tail it out of Milwaukee, but Pru's special guy Ajax isn't going to let her run away, he is determined to keep her safe. And when you have a friend like Melanie who is determined to find the stalker, Pru has no chance but to go along with friends Mel, Terri, Ryder (Terri's private investigator boyfriend), Owen (Melanie's police officer fiance), and Ajax, as they embark on a murder investigation adventure that is sure to find the murderer / stalker before it turns deadly!

Hide Not Seek is a thoroughly entertaining cozy mystery that will keep the reader engaged as they follow the humorous trials and tribulations of Melanie, Terri, and Prudence on their latest amateur investigative adventures.

This was such a fun book to read! The reader can't help but get drawn into the quirky trials and tribulations and intriguing suspense that Pru and friends encounter as they fly by the seat of their pants during their latest murder / stalker investigation.

In this latest installment of The Not So Reluctant Detective Series, the reader finally gets to read Pru's story, one that is filled with enough past secrets that will keep you wondering who she really is. I really enjoyed Melanie's sassy humor and wit, you can't help but laugh as this feisty chick coerces her friends to embark on another investigation adventure through her tireless determination, and when you add in the hilarious antics that follows these three cheeky chicks and their boyfriends, you get a delightful cozy mystery that will leave you wanting more! And if the murder /stalker investigation isn't enough, the reader will enjoy the romantic angst that Pru and Ajax share as they go through the trials and tribulations of their blossoming romantic relationship.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I really loved how the author used clever English Literature quotes at the beginning of each chapter.

Cozy mystery fans, I would highly recommend that you read the entertaining The Not So Reluctant Detective Series, you won't regret it!



RATING: 4 STARS 






About The Author




I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic before returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where, in between tennis matches and failing to save the world, I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.


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