The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, & Karen White ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

The Glass Ocean is a historical mystery by three authors who have all written popular books on their own. When they team up, the result is bound to be great. This is a dual narrative novel that takes place in 1915 and present day. The two stories are intertwined throughout but there is a mystery that doesn't get solved until the end. The story is centered around the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Two of the main characters were on the ship and the other is trying to find out more about one of her ancestors.

The Orchid Throne by @JeffeKennedy | @SMPRomance ~ a Review & Excerpt

by MK French

Keep reading for an excerpt from chapter 1 after the review.

Lia is the Queen of Calanthe, an island nation that is still nominally independent thanks to her father's idea of betrothing Lia to the tyrant emperor Anure and supplying tithes. Other nations in their world had tried to fight back, and their nobility was decimated, people killed, resources pillaged. She will do anything to keep her people free from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland now that he is turning his attention to Calanthe. Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, was a slave since childhood in the mines, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs Lia’s fabled Abiding Ring to succeed, so the two are about to meet.

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates ~ a Review

by MK French

Hiram Walker was born into slavery, even though his father was the Virginia plantation owner. His mother was sold away and he continued to live on the property, his impressive memory being a trait that others want to maximize. He continues to live the life of the Tasked, until nearly drowning in a river. A mysterious power seems to have rescued him from death, and he is eventually caught up in the Underground and helping to free others from slavery. It's a difficult life, and Hiram wants to save those he cares about as well.

Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger ~ a Review

by MK French

General Tala was devastated by the war waged between the different kingdoms. Her homeland of Sanbuna included rituals to pact with animals, but she had gone over and above the usual shadepact prior to the war's end. Iron Prince Jimuro is all that's left of the Tomoda royal family and has to be escorted back to his homeland to be crowned the Iron Lord. There are factions within the Tomodanese that want to see Tomoda rule supreme again. In the meantime, Princess Xiulan of Shang had become a Li-Quan inspector and brought the Jeongsonese thief Lee in to help her track down the elusive Prince Jimuro in the hopes that she could present him to her father and become the heir of Shang.

Last Pen Standing by Vivian Conroy ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Good things come in threes and with her latest cozy mystery, Vivian Conroy more than delivers a good thing. Last Pen Standing is the first book in Conroy's new Stationery Shop Mystery series.

Castle of Concrete by Katia Raina ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"I shouldn't be here. Under the city of my dreams, during rush hour. Inside the blue train, rushing me toward New Life. Next to my mama whom I adore, whom I haven't seen in how many centuries." (p3)