Lisa Henson

Reading Ginny Andrews’ writing is like sitting down with a dear friend and just shooting the breeze. You know, if the breeze happens to include stories about yoga sessions gone wrong, adventures on the “yellow dog” (the school bus), and how not to react in an unexpected lockdown drill, among other shenanigans.

With wit and wry insight, Andrews regales the reader with tales of her missed cues and missteps in this journey we call life. I’ve often said that my epitaph will be “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” and I think Andrews might say the same. Even something as seemingly simple as rubbing some Bengay on the aches and pains of impending middle age turns hilariously, awfully funny. (And she had a coupon to buy the Bengay! She is my people!) Her monologues are filled with those things that have you wanting to crawl in a hole when they happen, but you know you’ll laugh at them. Eventually.

I think Ginny Andrews and I would be BFFs if we moved in next door to each other! Pizza and Dr Pepper and swappin’ stories for the win.

So if you’re one of those totally put-together people who’s never put a foot wrong, someone who always knows the right thing to say and the right way to act, this may not be your kind of book. But if, like me, you’ve said to yourself, “Well, that didn’t go the way I expected,” then I think you’ll be snort-laughing your way through Good Talk…Good Talk like I did, and you should read it immediately.

In Sweet Comfort, Gloria Bachman tied herself in knots to avoid owning up to her feelings for Mason Lassiter. (In case you’re wondering, I loved that book.) In Finding Comfort, will we see her finally admit how she feels?

I am so glad to be back in Comfort with Gloria, Kali, Lacy, the Bunco ladies, and the Knitters! Here we see Comfort going all out. They’ve got a gen-you-wine celebrity coming to town in Jazzy Mescal, and the head of the Chamber of Commerce has everyone jumping through hoops to get things small-town photo op perfect. Gloria has taken on the task of planning a mixer for the townspeople and the TV folks, but a blue norther blowing in during the evening sends everyone running for cover. The next day, when the storm has passed, a new storm is unleashed as the town learns Jazzy Mescal is dead.

Kimberly Fish gives us a heck of a ride trying to sort out this puzzle! Is it suicide? Is it murder? Does Comfort have a killer lurking in its midst? Drue has eyes for Jazzy’s father, Cadillac “Cal” Wilson, and she implores Gloria to figure out what really happened. Despite Gloria’s insistence that she’s no detective, she finds herself smack dab in the thick of things, chasing clues and trying to find patterns in the facts.

We see a lot of different threads skillfully woven into the story in addition to the main thread of the mystery. Gardner, Gloria’s frenemy from her Kerrville days, is in town, and she keeps popping up like a bad penny. She claims to want to make amends, but Gloria is having none of it. A supposed food writer for Texas Monthly is sniffing around, on top of all the press drawn to town by Jazzy’s untimely demise, and he claims to want to write about the food scene in Comfort, starting with Sweeties. What’s his real story, and why is Gardner hanging out with him?

As always, Fish gives us many characters to love and some to boo heartily, and she fills the pages with small-town charm. In this book, the care and concern people have for their own is on full display. Gloria may have questioned whether she really fit in, but here, her friends and neighbors make it clear that she is very important to them. And Gloria, after wiffling and waffling and driving herself bonkers with what ifs, finally has to own up to her attraction to, and feelings for, Mason. What does their future hold? Let me just say that Fish throws some details in here that make me love both Gloria and Mason even more! I just want to reach into the pages and hug them both. And there’s also a perfect setup for the third book in the series, and now I gotta wait. Whine, whimper. Waiting is haaaaard.

I’ll admit, I didn’t see the big reveal coming. Something I thought was a fairly minor part of the story turned out to be much bigger than I anticipated, and it made for some fantastic “couldn’t put it down” reading! Even when I thought everything was resolved, there were a couple of reveals yet to come in Comfort. How long do I have to wait for the third book?! That’s too long!

The bonds of friendship, people pulling together to support their own, the charms of a small town I dearly want to visit now, chocolate (because duh, chocolate makes everything better), and that sweet, sweet, slow-burn, second-chance romance for people just about my age. That makes Finding Comfort a whole lot of fun to read for this old girl!

Sutton Buchanan has her life in Savannah pretty much the way she likes it. She’s got her job, her friends, and her passel of guinea pigs. But when her mother calls to say her father has been injured on the job and will be laid up for a while, Sutton reluctantly heads back home to Beacon Hill. Back to help her parents and face her hateful sister, Sissy. Sissy has come back home after failing to make a splash in the modeling world, and she’s now engaged to marry Sutton’s teenage crush, Macon St. James.

Sutton would just as soon have a root canal with no anesthetic as spend time in the presence of either her sister or Holden St. James, Mason’s brother. As a teenager, she had the opportunity to hear what he and his family thought of her sister, her family, and it wasn’t flattering. When she’s thrown into regular contact with him for pre-wedding events, she finds herself fighting an unexpected attraction to him.

Having grown up in a small Southern town, I understand that there are some families that are like town royalty. They’re held in a certain awe. Even if Sutton’s family was comfortably middle-class or even upper middle-class, I can see how a family like the St. James family would be seen as a cut or two above, and interactions could be uneasy.

And I’ll tell you what, if I was Sutton Buchanan, I don’t know that I’d want to go back home, either. Sissy was a raging heifer who got her way about EVERYTHING. I grew up in a small Southern town. I’ve known people like that. They get what they want, when they want, and they don’t care who they trample in the process. And mom and dad apparently just let Sissy run roughshod over whoever she wants, including her own sister. I know that sometimes parents favor one child, but my heart really hurt for Sutton. Her parents loved her, sure, but a love that won’t protect you from a horrible sibling seems anemic at best.

And nobody seemed willing to rein Sissy in! Not her parents, not her fiance, nobody. The descriptions of wedding dress shopping had me alternately laughing and rolling my eyes. If I’d picked out some of those dresses like Sissy was eyeballing, my mama would have yanked a knot in my head and told me absolutely not.

Maxine was one of my most favorite characters in the book! She is the epitome of ride or die. She wanted to see Sutton happy, and she wasn’t above pulling some outrageous shenanigans to make Sutton’s wedding responsibilities a little less painful. Everybody needs a Maxine in their life.

Holden St. James was also a nice surprise. Sutton had what she thought was a legitimate reason to dislike him and his family (although Macon never seemed to be painted with that same brush, which was a little surprising). Even when Sutton seemed to be going out of her way to hold the past against him, Holden was a gentleman. As the story progressed, it became clear that he cared for her, and I was cheering for Sutton to get over herself and admit her feelings. Neither Holden nor Macon turned out to be what Sutton thought they were!

I’ll admit, as I read, I kept waiting for one of those rom-com twists where there’s a horrible misunderstanding, the newly fledged relationship is derailed, and boy has to fight to win girl back (or vice versa). And I thought I saw it coming. But Emily Mayer twisted the twist, and I was thrilled to see it. Sutton found her own inner Southern steel magnolia and put her foot down. Huzzah!

If you love a small-town Southern setting and a fun enemies-to-lovers romance with a side of dysfunctional family, you’ll enjoy Pretend with Me!

Carlie Walker gives us a zesty holiday-themed treat with The Takedown!

Sydney Swift is an undercover agent for the CIA. She’s very good at what she does. And she hasn’t been home in a very long time, because, well, undercover. She’s missed a lot of Christmases with her family. But this year is different. This year, the FBI has recruited her for a mission to take down organized crime heir Johnny Jones, so Sydney is going home for the holidays. Oh, did we mention that Sydney’s adored younger sister, Calla, is engaged to said organized crime heir? Yeah, there’s that. How will Sydney accomplish this without breaking her sister’s heart and without giving herself away to her family?

Walker gives us characters that are believable in their roles. I really liked Sydney. She’s a butt-kickin’ secret agent who loves her little sister deeply and will do anything to protect her. And it was hard not to like Nick, too, even when I wasn’t sure where his loyalties really lay. He was not what you’d really picture for a crime lord’s bodyguard – he had some surprising depth. Grandma Ruby was an absolute delight. I should be so spry and sassy when I’m her age! And Sydney’s relationship with Calla as a sister who’s been absent for far longer than she should was spot on.

Sydney’s efforts to charm Nick are wonderfully written. She’s determined to break him down to get to Johnny. Her little sister’s well-being is at stake. But could she be actually attracted to him? She fights it for all she’s worth, and there are twists in the plot that make you wonder who’s really doing the seducing here. And the snark! The funny! There were a couple of things that made me laugh out loud. Walker did a great job of infusing humor into her story.

When things finally click for Sydney and Nick (because you know they do), there’s a little more on-page spice than I look for in my books. It’s not an overwhelming part of the story. I’m mentioning it in case there are others who share my preference for clean romance that might like to know.

Carlie Walker gives us a zesty little treat with action, tension, enemies to lovers, plot twists, family relationships, and just the right amount of Christmas cheer! This book was really a lot of fun to read. If you’re looking for a quick holiday-themed read to take your mind off the stress that can build up this time of year, I strongly recommend The Takedown.

Thanks to Berkley and the author for a review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

If you ever wanted to focus your heart on the truth of Christmas, Angela Hunt’s Star of Wonder: An Advent Devotional to Illuminate the People, Places, and Purpose of the First Christmas is the book for you! This isn’t a “quick bite” devotional that you can read in a few minutes. Hunt delves deeply into biblical events and illustrates how they connect to Jesus as Messiah.

The book is divided into four parts: The Places of Christmas, The Prophecies of Christmas, The People of Christmas, and The Purpose of Christmas. I particularly liked the Prophecies section. Lately I’ve taken a more intense interest in how Jesus is the fulfillment of so many prophecies in the Old Testament, and this section of Star of Wonder fits right in with my studies. I also like Hunt’s focus on a couple of people that we might not necessarily think of in terms of Christmas. The fact that it goes beyond the expected is one of my favorite parts of this devotional!

Hunt ties in a good deal of Jewish history with the Christian faith here. I grew up in church. I’ve heard about Jesus since I was a wee girl. But the churches I attended when I was young never really made the connection of the Jesus we followed to the Jesus who was born into and a part of the Jewish culture. I can appreciate the richness of that tradition, and it informs my reading of Scripture to have information about Jesus’ historical and cultural background.

Each daily devotional includes “A Moment for Wonder” that gives you something to contemplate, and each closes with a prayer. I really like the prayers. Sometimes having something structured to pray helps me focus.

If you’re looking for an Advent devotional that lets you go beyond the traditional Christmas stories and songs, I highly recommend Star of Wonder.

Thanks to JustRead Publicity Tours and the author for a review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

Did anyone get the license number of that truck that just laid me out?! That’s this book. Y’all, Manning Wolfe has written an absolute banger of a novel with Dead by Proxy.

Byron Douglas is a respected criminal defense lawyer in New York City, and he’s very good at what he does. He’s retained to represent a defendant connected to the Irish Mob, charged with murder. When his client insists on testifying against Byron’s strongly worded recommendation, Byron is unable to live up to his reputation, and the jury finds his client guilty. Byron then finds himself in a heap of trouble, literally running for his life.

I burned through this book in significantly less than 24 hours. I could not put it down, because I had to know what happened! After his defeat in court, it doesn’t take Byron long to realize the Irish Mafia has him in the crosshairs, and he starts laying some pretty meticulous plans for dropping out of sight. I was impressed! If I were in fear for my life, I don’t know that I’d have the presence of mind to set things up the way he did. (That’s probably why he’s a better trial lawyer than I ever was, that whole preparation thing.) But no plan is perfect, and while he’s making enough playing poker to survive, he misses his legal career. When his cover is blown, Byron heads to Texas to see a judge – the father of his former best friend, Quinton Bell. The judge suggests that Byron takes on a life as Quinton, but will that be enough to protect him?

Manning Wolfe does a masterful job with courtroom settings and litigation know-how. I was on the prosecution side of the bar, but I can tell you, her descriptions of the process are spot on. And I know defense attorneys are generally not highly regarded except by the people hoping for a not guilty verdict, but I appreciated that she had Byron/Quinton not being a total jerk in court. He conducted himself with professionalism and he did the best he could to provide a zealous defense to someone who was a pretty despicable person.

She also does a phenomenal job of writing a thriller that will have you chewing your nails to the quick. The tension absolutely never lets up. Quinton is constantly looking over his shoulder, second-guessing himself. He’s been made once before. Is a new identity enough to keep the eyes of the Irish off him? And even when he thinks it’s okay to draw a breath, that maybe he isn’t on their radar for a minute or two, he has to navigate life basically wearing someone else’s skin. Who can he trust? Who can he just relax and be himself with? Who can he tell his secret to? I can only imagine that keeping people at that kind of distance is exhausting.

I’m not going to tell you the whole story. That’s Ms. Wolfe’s job, and I certainly can’t do it better than she can. I will tell you this: there were things I didn’t see coming, and Judge Bell does a whole lot of stuff that I’m pretty sure violates more than one judicial canon. I know desperate times call for desperate measures, and he did what he thought was best to help Byron. But man, Judge Bell rolled some pretty big dice and hoped no one called him on any of it. And he calls himself an officer of the court. I wasn’t sure whether I really liked his character or not as the story went on!

Find yourself a comfy spot and settle in, because once you start Dead by Proxy, you won’t want stop until you get to the end. It’s a great beginning to the Proxy Legal Thriller series, and there’s a heck of a cliffhanger at the end that will leave you in a froth to get your hands on the next book!

Silent Stars is the conclusion to Brett Armstrong’s Tomorrow’s Edge trilogy. I haven’t read the first two books, Day Moon and Veiled Sun, and I feel like I would have benefited from knowing the full background of events and characters. I was able to follow along well enough to enjoy the story, though.

Elliott is desperate to bring his grandfather’s plans to completion. The missing files continue to elude him, though, and when he learns of something even bigger, even more terrifying than Project Alexandria, he has to adjust his plans. The Babel Initiative must be stopped at all costs, for if it comes to pass, it will be the end of humanity as we know it. Elliott works with known allies and joins with some he doesn’t know in an effort to bring down Dr. Almundson’s horrifying scheme. One big unknown is The Informer, someone who has appeared to Elliott and his compatriots only as a digitally disguised figure who’s given to speaking in Shakespearean quotes. Is the Informer someone who can be relied upon, or is he part of a trap being laid for them?

The book is one big adrenaline rush. Elliott and Lara run from danger to danger, with only brief interludes of rest, until they face the final battle. I shared Elliott’s anxiety as he tried to discern who he could trust. I felt the tension as he worked to manipulate technology in their self-driving vehicle to keep them hidden from the network, to avoid capture by the powers that be.

The author’s faith is clearly on display here. Some stories hint at Christianity. This one has it in full view, and Elliott’s belief in God is an integral part of his character. Now, his isn’t the pat-answer, have-it-all-under-control variety of faith. He makes mistakes (as our pastor is fond of saying, “None of us walk on water,” and I think Elliott would agree that he does not). He runs from what he feels God nudging him to do. He chooses poorly and has to deal with the consequences of his choices. But he doesn’t give in to temptation when promised that things will fall his way if he’ll just renounce his faith in God. He holds fast when it counts most, and God is faithful. I’ll tell you what, I was cheering at the big climax of the book, and what the characters experienced reminded me that yes indeed, God is faithful, and He never leaves us or forsakes us.

Dystopian vibes in a near future, nail-biting tension, characters working through and living out their faith even in the face of overwhelming opposition, a vividly constructed sci-fi world that isn’t too hard to imagine becoming a reality – if these things appeal to you, I highly recommend Silent Stars and the entirety of the Tomorrow’s Edge trilogy. I’m glad I had the opportunity to get to know the works of Brett Armstrong. I’ll be reading more!