ORIGINS
BY NICOLE SALLAK ANDERSON
​Publication Date: October 1, 2019
Literary Wanderlust
Paperback & eBook; 229 Pages
Series: Song of the King’s Heart, Book 1
Genre: Historical Fiction



This is the lost story of Lord Ankhwenefer, known to the Greeks as Chaonnophris the Rebel, the last native Egyptian Pharaoh. The brilliance and heartache of his rebellion weave a tale that history has forgotten.

Until now.

In the year 205 B.C., after centuries of Persian and Macedonian occupation, a rebel king rises from the south to take ancient Egypt back unto native hands. He will battle the Ptolemy line for twenty years, and rule almost eighty percent of Egypt, yet in the end, history will never mention his name.

Born Prince Ankhmakis, the last in a line of native Egyptian kings, he is raised with one purpose—to help his father reclaim Egypt from the Macedonian occupiers and return their country to dynastic greatness. Fate, however, has its own plans. For lies and deceit live in the hearts of all involved, from his family to the priesthood, and the Greeks aren’t the only ones who seek to destroy him.

Natasa is in training to become the High Priestess of the temple of Isis. Her task is to strengthen the royal family with the magic of the goddess through love and pleasure. She never thought the connection between her and Ankhmakis could be so strong, or carry a power coveted by those lurking in the shadows. Nor did she know that the child they would create would have her own great destiny to fulfill.

Together, Ankhmakis and Natasa must defend the potential of their love from those who would seek to use it for their own gain. Theirs is a world of magic, power, riches, and lust, and there are those within the court who would do anything to keep Ankhmakis and Natasa apart. Between mystical forces, murder, and illicit schemes–only the gods know if they’ll survive.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

Praise for Origins
“ORIGINS is an enthralling, cinematic tale set in Ancient Egypt, seeping with magic, intrigue, treachery, and romance. I was hooked from the beginning and holding my breath until the very last page.” — Stephanie Diaz, author of the Extraction Series

“Nicole Sallak Anderson’s detailed research of costumes, history, and rituals illuminate a long-vanished culture and makes it interesting and she has skillfully breathed life into mere hieroglyphs turning them into vibrant people whose lives are filled with love, jealousy, intrigue, and ambition. A must-read for anyone fascinated by Egyptology or who just wants to read a great story.” — Nancy Lynn Jarvis, author of the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series and the PIP Inc. series.


Review: 
Egypt has been under Ptolomeic rule for centuries.  In 205 B.C., Prince Ankhmakis, the last in a line of native Egyptian kings, prepares for the war that will place the power back into his father's and the Egyptian's hands.  Ankhmakis' journey to be a successful soldier was filled with a lifetime of careful planning by those around him, demanding training, sacrifice and an incredible transformation through the love of Natasa, a High Priestess in Training for the Temple of Isis.  Ankhmakis and Natasa have an incredibly strong bond that only intensifies through their practice of Anit-Shadya.  With practice, they are able to astral project, protect one another and create a power for good.  However, there are many people working against them who covet their power and their love.

Ancient Egypt is brought to life in Origins: Song of the King's Heart. Egypt is under Greek rule and the passion of the Egyptian people shines through the writing.  Not much is known about Ankhmakis or his father, however a complete story is weaved out of what is known.  I loved reading about the belief system, magic and politics of the time.  The characters were full and easy to relate to for people living so long ago.  Ankhmakis' growth and willingness to do what is right for his home and family showed an amazing maturity.  Natasa was easily my favorite with her caring nature, sense of duty and abilities.  The practice of Anit-Shadya astounded me with the power that could be wielded through what the Egyptian's called sex magic.  The family dynamics that were created next to the political drama created the right amount of tension and intrigue throughout the story.  With a promise of more to come for these characters, I can't wait to read the next installment. 
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This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author

Nicole Sallak Anderson is a Computer Science graduate from Purdue University, and former CTO for a small Silicon Valley startup, turned novelist and blogger, focusing on the intersection of technology and consciousness. She currently lives in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains in California with her husband, where she raises goats and bees. She enjoys spinning, knitting, playing the bass, and dancing, particularly the tango.
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You can keep up with all her latest writing by following @NSallakAnderson on Facebook, Twitter and Medium or her website www.nicolesallakanderson.com. Feel free to contact her, she almost always answers to any query or comment!

THE LONDON RESTORATION
BY RACHEL MCMILLAN
Publication Date: August 18, 2020
Thomas Nelson
Paperback, eBook, & Audiobook
Genre: Historical Fiction


From author Rachel McMillan comes a richly researched historical romance that takes place in post-World War II London and features a strong female lead.

Determined to save their marriage and the city they love, two people divided by World War II’s secrets rebuild their lives, their love, and their world.

London, Fall 1945. Architectural historian Diana Somerville’s experience as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park and her knowledge of London’s churches intersect in MI6’s pursuit of a Russian agent named Eternity. Diana wants nothing more than to begin again with her husband Brent after their separation during the war, but her signing of the Official Secrets Act keeps him at a distance.

Brent Somerville, professor of theology at King’s College, hopes aiding his wife with her church consultations will help him better understand why she disappeared when he needed her most. But he must find a way to reconcile his traumatic experiences as a stretcher bearer on the European front with her obvious lies about her wartime activities and whereabouts.

Featuring a timeless love story bolstered by flashbacks and the excavation of a priceless Roman artifact, The London Restoration is a richly atmospheric look at post-war London as two people changed by war rebuild amidst the city’s reconstruction.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

Review: 
During World War II Diana Foyle and Brent Sommerville are hastily married before Brent ships out as a stretcher bearer.  While Brent is away, Diana wants to do anything to help bring him back safely.  With her experience in architectural history and her specific love of Christopher Wren churches, Diana is recruited as a codebreaker for Bletchley Park M16.  All of her work there is classified and when Diana discovers that Brent has returned from the war and is injured, she needs to put off their reunion for another five weeks while she completes a task.  Finally reunited, Diana and Brent are both changed from their experiences during the war and neither of them can talk about it.  Diana still has a special task to complete: to find  an agent named Eternity who is using Diana's favorite churches as rendezvous points.  Diana is determined to finish the job, but her involvement places Brent in danger alongside her. 


Set in Post World War II London, The London Restoration explores the devastated churches that were bombed during the war as well as the effects of war on relationships.    Through Diana's eyes and her unique love of architecture I was able to envision, not only what was left of the churches, but the beauty they still held.  Diana's work at Bletchley Park opened my eyes to another important role that women held during World War II intercepting messages and breaking codes that were sent directly to the Allies.  In addition, the women were not allowed to talk about their roles in any capacity.  The writing bounces back and forth between Diana and Brent's experiences during the War and 1945, when they are both battling inner demons as well as Eternity. While understanding what each character went through during their time apart is pivotal to the story, the transitions in time felt a little clunky to me and sometimes I had to backtrack to see if I was reading about the character's past or present.  Brent's experience during the War adds another layer to the secrets being kept as well as an important reminder of the mental health of Veterans.  The hunt for Eternity, the artifacts and codes kept my interest level up and the suspense heightened.  However, at the heart of the story is a marriage; and how secrets can change the marriage, but trust can make it stronger. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ​

​About the Author

Rachel McMillan is the author of The Herringford and Watts mysteries, The Van Buren and DeLuca mysteries and The Three Quarter Time series of contemporary Viennese romances. Her next work of historical fiction, The London Restoration, releases in Summer 2020 and takes readers deep into the heart of London’s most beautiful churches. Dream, Plan, Go (May, 2020) is her first work of non-fiction. Rachel lives in Toronto, Canada and is always planning her next adventure.


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About the Book: 
SHE WEARS THE MASK
BY SHELLY STRATTON
Publication Date: August 11, 2020
Paperback & eBook; 262 pages
Genre: Historical/Women’s Fiction

No one can ever really know what lies behind the mask . . .
Gripping and moving, She Wears the Mask is a novel about two women from two very different worlds, both burdened with secrets from their pasts, who form an unexpected bond…

1950s Chicago: Angelique Bixby could be one of many fresh-faced sales girls working along the Magnificent Mile, but she’s unique. She’s a white woman married to a black man in 1950s Chicago, making her stand out among the tenements on the South Side where she lives. Despite the challenges the couple faces, they find comfort and strength in their love for one another. Angelique is content, as long as she has her Daniel by her side and their baby in her arms, until she loses them both—one to death and the other to dire circumstances.

1990s Washington, D.C.: Angelique Crofton is a woman of privilege. A rich, aging beauty and mother of a rising political star, she has learned to forget her tragic past. But now that she is facing her own mortality, she is finally ready to find the daughter she left behind, remember the young woman she once was, and unearth the bittersweet memories she had long ago buried.
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Jasmine Stanley is an ambitious lawyer—the only black woman at her firm. She is too busy climbing the corporate ladder to deal with her troublesome family or their unresolved issues. Tasked with Angelique’s case, Jasmine doesn’t know what to make of her new client—an old debutante with seemingly too much time and money on her hands. Jasmine eagerly accepts the challenge though, hoping if she finds Angelique’s long-lost daughter, it will impress the firm’s partners. But she doesn’t count on the search challenging her mentally and emotionally. Nor does she expect to form a friendship with Angelique, who is much more like her than she realizes—because Jasmine is harboring secrets, too.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

​Review:
Angelique Bixby is braving the streets of 1950's Chicago.  After her husband Daniel's death Angelique has had trouble supporting herself and newborn, Ella Jean.  Living on Chicago's South Side as a white woman married to a black man has not been easy.  Feeling she has no other choice, Angelique leaves her child with a respected family and tries to move on with life.  Years later, Angelique has remarried into a family of privilege.  She has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer and wants to amend her  will to include the daughter she left behind.  Angelique hires Jasmine Stanley, an ambitious, rising star at her law firm.  Jasmine's has been asked to keep strict confidentiality with Angelique's task.  At first, Jasmine believes that Angelique is another stuck up debutante, however as she digs into Angelique's past, she realizes that they are more alike than they seem; both women hold onto life altering secrets.

She Wears the Mask is a story about secrets, identity and family.  The characters were well developed and I could feel the heartbreak as Angelique made the most difficult decision of her life as well as the emotional weight of the secret Jasmine carried.  The writing skillfully worked across dual timelines divulging bits of Angelique's history as we learn about her present circumstance as well as unraveling the history of pain in Jasmine's family without giving everything away early on. I do wish we got to see a little more of Angelique's story at the end. Along with the themes of reconciling the past are themes of  gender, race and the perceptions and weight that the color of your skin can carry.  Overall, She Wears the Mask is an intense and absorbing plot and interesting characters.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author
As long as she could remember, Shelly Stratton (who also writes under the penname Shelly Ellis) has wanted to be an author. In college, she studied journalism and started out as a crime reporter for a small local newspaper. Now she is an editor at a trade journal.

She became an author when she was selected as one of four finalists in the BET Books First-Time Writers Contest when she was 19 years old. The prize was having her first short-story romance published in an anthology.

Since then, she has authored ten books and has been nominated for various awards, including a NAACP Image Award® in the Literary Fiction Category, an African American Literary Award in the romance category, and a RT Reviewers’ Choice Award.
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Shelly lives in Maryland with her husband and their daughter. She loves to paint, read, and watch movies.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

THE GIRL FROM VICHY 
BY ANDIE NEWTON
Publication Date: August 13, 2020
Aria Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction

1942, occupied France.

As the war in Europe rages on, Adèle Ambeh dreams of a France that is free from the clutches of the new regime. The date of her marriage to a ruthless man is drawing closer, and she only has one choice – she must run.

With the help of her mother, Adèle flees to Lyon, seeking refuge at the Sisters of Notre Dame de la Compassion. From the outside this is a simple nunnery, but the sisters are secretly aiding the French Resistance, hiding and supplying the fighters with weapons.

While it is not quite the escape Adèle imagined, she is drawn to the nuns and quickly finds herself part of the resistance. But her new role means she must return to Vichy, and those she left behind, no matter the cost.

Each day is filled with a different danger and as she begins to fall for another man, Adèle’s entire world could come crashing down around her.
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Adèle must fight for her family, her own destiny, as well as her country.

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | APPLE | BARNES AND NOBLE | GOOGLE PLAY | KOBO

Review:
Adèle Ambeh desperately flees her home the night before her wedding.  She has been betrothed to Gerard, a collaborator and ruthless member of the Vichy police in 1942, France.  Adele is given a letter by her mother and sent to the  Sisters of Notre Dame de la Compassion.  On her way, Adele meets Marguerite, a postulant also heading to the convent.  The two get off to a rocky start, but once at the convent, Adele finds her place leading the delinquent girls that have been placed with the sisters.  However, something seems off at the convent and when Adele is brought into their confidence she becomes a member of the Resistance.  Earning the name Catchfly, Adele dives into danger and puts herself right back into the situation she ran from in order to help her country.  


Passionate and engaging, The Girl from Vichy tells a riveting story of the very real Alliance nicknamed Noah's Ark in France during WWII.    Adèle's character is vivid, strong and thoughtful.  The writing kept me intrigued through all of  Adèle's journey from her narrow escape to her imprisonment, I felt like I was part of the action and clearly able to see everything through Adèle's eyes.  I was intrigued about this part of France's history as I did not know much about France at this time, the Free Zone and it's leadership under Petain.  The Resistance activities kept up the suspense as it divided  Adèle's family and put her in grave danger with Gerard.  I was constantly amazed by  Adèle's creativity and bravery when standing up to the Regime.  I loved the themes of friendship and family and loyalty that run throughout the story.  The romantic aspects of the story were done just right, not taking over the story line but adding another layer of daring to Adele's activity during with the Resistance.  In addition, though Adèle's character was fictional, the historical aspects of the story were well researched and fit into Adèle's story line.  With amazing female protagonists and an exciting plot, The Girl from Vichy is a breathtaking historical fiction read about France during World War II.

This book was received for free in exchange for an honest review. 

About the Author

Andie is an American writer living in Washington State with her husband and two boys. She is the author of The Girl I Left Behind (Aria 2019) and The Girl from Vichy (Aria 2020). She has a Bachelor’s degree in History from Washington State University and a Master in Teaching. She would love to say she spends her free time gardening and cooking, but she’s killed everything she’s ever planted and set off more fire alarms than she cares to admit. Andie does, however, love spending time with her family, trail running, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.

Andie would love to be a guest at your next book club! You can find discussion questions for her novels on her website www.andienewton.com.

You can also find Andie on 
​Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, and Goodreads.

Tribulation

Jaydeep Shah
(Cops Planet #1)

Publication date: June 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Suspense, Thriller

Goodreads Amazon
When a couple celebrates their eleventh marriage anniversary at their old mansion far from the city of Naples, Florida, they begin experiencing paranormal events. While trying to find out the truth of what’s happening, they encounter a girl wandering in the mansion.
She is the girl whom the couple never wanted to see again in their life.
Surrounded by their sinful past and the girl’s deathly traps, the couple tries hard to escape the mansion. But they are stuck. There is no way out of the mansion. Every second, they approach their end.
There are many secrets buried in the mansion—about the girl, about the couple, and about their past.
Tribulation is a masterpiece of suspense, a thriller with some mild elements of horror from the imagination of Jaydeep Shah.



Review:
Six yaears ago partners Alex and Casie hatched a cruel plan to murder Ana, a young accountant, for her father's holdings. Now, Casie receives a strange phone call that forces her to return to the mansion where it all happened.  As Casie and Alex celebrate their eleventh wedding anniversary they experience a series of strange events.  At the center of the events is a woman they expected to never see again.  Ana has returned to make Casie and Alex pay for her tribulations.

Diving right into the action, Tribulations was a heart pounding read from the very beginning.  There has been a murder, but we don't know of who or the reasons surrounding it.  Casie and Alex are an interesting couple, power hungry, driven, sadists with absolutely no scruples.  Ana is painted as their exact opposite, caring, polite and moral.  Combining these characters makes for an intriguing, disastrous and fast-paced trial of pain and punishment.  There was a sense of something paranormal throughout the story, but it never quite manifests.  There would definitely be another layer of excitement for me as well as some more explanation of motives if this element is incorporated.  As the story moves, an element of mystery is brought in with a separate game that law enforcement might be playing.  Ending on a cliffhanger, I'll definitely have to find out what happens to this group moving forward.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author:
Jaydeep Shah is the author of gripping romance, horror, thriller stories. He also writes non-fiction pieces about inspirational topics related to social issues. He is the author of more than half a dozen books.
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In addition to those books, Jaydeep releases young adult fiction stories under a pen name, JD Shah. The Shape-Shifting Serpents’ Choice is his first young adult flash fiction written under that pseudo name and published online by Scarlet Leaf Review in their July 2019 issue.
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When Shah is not writing, he wanders around Jersey City, spends quality time with friends and family, and cooks delicious food.




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