Back Home at Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy Book Review

This is a book I won through a giveaway hosted by Ms. Gilroy through Facebook.

While I am not one to read hot-and-heavy romance-type stories, Ms. Gilroy writes the kind of romance I enjoy reading ... that being "clean" romance. This is a story that takes us through Cat's trials as a young adult, making a mistake that led to the one great joy in her life, her daughter Amy. She returned back home to Firefly Lake to get herself together, to give Amy a chance at a better life and maybe a better education. Along the way back at Firefly Lake, she runs into an old school friend, Luc. Luc always was a protector of Cat when she would get picked on in grade school. Of course, now being adults, there is an underlying attraction between the two that each is afraid to act upon.

If you are looking for a clean, sweet romance, give this book a read!

The Darkest Secrets by Heather Wynter Book Review

I received an email from Ms. Wynter and in that e-mail she was looking for beta readers for which I was accepted. Ms. Wynter is a new author to me and I appreciate the opportunity to beta read “The Darkest Secrets.”

This is an entertaining tail of Amelia who lost her job at the FBI and joined the police department where her friends Trent and Brenda also worked. Amelia had a traumatic experience as a young child along with another young lady and was dealing with her past traumas, along with trying to be a better person herself. One of her major flaws is being late to work on an almost daily basis much to Trent’s disapproval as he was one who helped her get her job and took the slack for her. They were working on a case that involved the murder of a young lady and the FBI was called in, in the form of Gabe. Gabe happened to be the FBI agent who took Amelia’s old job so there was resentment there. This tale intertwines the lives of Amelia and Trent, Emma and her dysfunctional family, Anna one of the murder victims, Isabella another murder victim, as well as past traumas suffered by Amelia and Emma. Another story intertwined in this tale are some issues Amelia had to work out concerning her mother. While Amelia and Trent were working to solve the Anna’s murder, Amelia uncovered some secrets about her mother she knew nothing about.

Ms. Wynter does a fascinating job intertwining all these twists and turns, all culminating together in the end for a well-told tale. There is just the right amount of murder, police investigation, some soul searching on the part of Amelia, and maybe even just a hint of romance. If you have never read Ms. Wynter’s book(s), give her a try. I am sure you won’t be disappointed!