House of Beauty- Melba Escobar (Author), Elizabeth Bryer (Translator)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I also hate the ladies of Bogotá among whom I count myself, though I do all I can to stand apart. I hate their habit of using the term “Indians” to refer to people they consider to be from a low social class…. I hate so many things in so many…

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Career Criminal 1 (Volume 1) D Henderon

(Reviewed by Heidi A. Swan) “Without further thought, I removed the huge Rambo knife from my waistline and slit his throat from ear to ear…Meanwhile, Felicia was switching hotels faster than a fugitive on the run. It was rare to find a female selling crack especially as young as she was. “ This story of…

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The Everything Girl – L.E. Maleki, Holly L. Lörincz

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Staring at the massive set of doors in the dark grey stone façade, I knew once I entered my life would change. I’d be moving away from regular, clearly outlined banking duties to what sounded like a Hollywood manager’s job, making sure the all-powerful moneymaker showed up at meetings and his…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Five Night Stand – Richard J. Alley

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “There are four people as similar as they are unique—one at the end of his career, one lost in the middle, one who dreams of beginning, and the fourth, a child, not knowing what is ahead of him. None of them know for sure what awaits them; they’re all discontent, all…

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Vancouver Noir (Akashic Noir Series) – Sam Wiebe (Editor)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…Vancouver may seem idyllic. But living here is different---cold and baffling and occasionally hostile…locals see a heroin crisis…It’s ground zero for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a nationwide catastrophe involving the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of marginalized women. Money and status trample culture and…

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Former First Lady – Ebony Edwards-Ellis

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Barry and I were the anti-Obamas” “That means that I have the dubious honor of being the first First Lady to leave her husband after he left office. And all the mail I got after I left—fan mail, hate mail, and everything in between—wanted to know why I had done it…

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The Emissary (One Great Year Book 1) – Tamara Veitch, Rene DeFazio

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) The Emissary is a trilogy fantasy novel written about a group of supernaturals that come to earth in order to assist humans in welcoming what is known as the Great Year. Every twenty-six thousand years, the Atitalans, who are also known as the Emissaries, usher in the Great Year. The Emissaries…

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Death in Shangri-La (A Dotan Naor Thriller Book 1) – Yigal Zur (translated from Hebrew by Sara Kitai

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Would I have taken the bet if I’d known that as a result Israelis would be murdered, innocent people would die, the popular Israeli image would be shattered, India and Pakistan would be on the verge of a violent conflict that threatened to spiral into nuclear war, and the valleys of…

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Last Exit to Montauk – Phillip Vega

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Last Exit to Montauk is a romance novel  about two people who meet and how their relationship affects each other. The love story is set in  Long Island during the 1980’s. With that, comes everything we used to love from the 80’s and the author does a splendid job reminding us…

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Sydney Noir (Akashic Noir Series)- John Dale (Editor)

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Noir is as much a part of Sydney’s character as frangipanis and cockroaches, rusted iron lace and sandstone terraces, torrential rain and potholed roads.” “Crime and Sydney have always been inseparable: a deep vein of corruption runs beneath the surface of even its most respectable suburbs.” I can’t verify the accuracy…

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