Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie


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Children’s Fantasy With Something Extra

One of my baby pictures.

Kimber here. Reminding you that one of us has long maintained that some of the best writing in all literature is children’s literature. Not sure what that means. Methinks it may have something to do with puppies. But if Mom likes it, so do I!

And lemme tell ya, she really liked a “Juvenile Fiction” book she recently read. Totally out of the blue. Never heard of the book or the author before. They just kinda jumped off a shelf at the library right into her book bag. Ya know how that happens sometimes, right? Well. What a find!

I’ll let Her Momness tell you more:

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‘Mr. Magenta’ Colors Outside the Lines

Mr MagentaMr. Magenta

By Christopher  Bowden

Langton & Wood, 2022

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

Pages: 174

Via: Book Blog Tour

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“It was almost as if she (Aunt Flora) had laid a trail of apparently random clues to draw him in and maintain their relationship beyond the grave. When would she let him go?”

Torn-up photos of headless men. A hidden book with a cryptic inscription. A painting of an east coast town. References to a “Mr. Magenta.” All factor into this cozy blend of mystery, history, theatre, and family, with a touch of romance. 

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‘The Liar in the Library’: Omelet for Who?

The Liar in the Library

By: Simon Brett

Published by: Severn House Publishers LTD, Surrey, England, 2017

Genre: Fiction – Crime Fiction/Humor/Golden Age of Crime Fiction/Spoof

Pages: 183

Via: Library

Summary:

When a West Sussex retiree accepts an invitation from an old friend to attend an Author’s Lecture at the local library, Jude has no idea she’s about to be implicated in his subsequent murder. As evidence stacks up against her, Jude must enlist the aid of her prickly neighbor and fellow amateur sleuth, Carole Seddon. Can the two amateur sleuths solve the murder and clear Jude’s name before she winds up in the slammer?

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‘When the Day Comes’: Better Than Bacon?

When the Day Comes

By Gabrielle Meyer

Publisher: Bethany House, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction/Christian Fiction/Romance

Pages: 364

Via: Author Request

We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When’s the last time you finished a book and just wanted to go, “Ahhhh”? Or in one furry case, decided the tome is almost better than bacon? Almost. (Hi, Kimber.)

Well. Gabrielle Meyer’s When the Day Comes is that kind of book. Here’s why:

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Is ‘To Be Where You Are’ One Mitford Too Far?

“I thought maybe it was just me,” frowned Her Momness. “Then I read some other reviews. And it’s definitely not ‘just me.’ So there!”

Here’s why Mom found To Be Where You Are so disappointing. (The short version).

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6 Best Reads of Summer

Whoosh! Or Whoof! Where did summer go? Mom and I were just getting used to long days and more sunshine. Before I could bark twice at the Powder Puff sauntering by on her afternoon walk, the season is done-ski. That makes Mom and me kinda sad, if ya know what I mean. (Summer winding down. Not the Powder Puff.)

Summer Wrap-Up

Anywho, since we recently posted a list of Summer Stinkers (as in, Do Not Waste Your Time, Do Not Collect $200 or even a penny), one of us thought now would be a good time to do a Summer Wrap-Wrap thingy. Like when we highlight our favorite reads from the summer. Books with heart. Solid writing. Something to say that matters. You might be surprised how hard books like that can be to find these days. Or maybe not?

Anywho again. Here are our 6 Best Reads of Summer (in no particular order). Drum roll please…

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‘Among the Innocent’ is Un-Put-Downable!

“The former chief believed Harrison had chosen death over being accused of murder. Now the real killer had returned. The clock was ticking.”

 

Among the Innocent

By Mary Alford

Revell, 2022

Genre: Crime/Murder Mystery/Thriller/Romance/Christian Fiction

Via: Author Request

Pages: 295

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Un-Put-Downable.”

That’s a new word Mom and I just made up. You already know what it means. So here’s the scoop on this gripping and intense barn burner. We couldn’t put it down!

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High Octane Action Fuels ‘Sleeping Bear’

Sleeping Bear: A Thriller

By Connor Sullivan

Published by Emily Bestler Books/Atria Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2021

Genre: Fiction – Action/Adventure/Thriller/Spy Novel

Pages: 388

Via: Library

Note: Occasional foul language.

What’s the last book you read that whizzed by like greased lightning? That grabbed you from chapter one and didn’t let go until the last page? The action-packed, high octane thriller Sleeping Bear is that kind of a book.

A Page Turner

I was going to read “a few chapters” just to get a feel for the story. Next thing I knew, I was 59 chapters in and goin’ for broke! Talk about a “page turner”!

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Pride & Prejudice Revisited in ‘Miriam’

Miriam*

By Linda O’Bryne

Page Count: TBC pages 

Genre : Historical

Today we’re doing a spotlight of this Jane Austen-ish book by British author Linda O’Bryne:

About the Book

Many years have passed since the dramatic events of Pride and Prejudice.  In The Cousins of Pemberley series we follow a new generation of heroines – cousins with lives as different and interesting as those enjoyed by their mothers.
 
Mary Bennet – overlooked, laughed at, despised – married a missionary and vanished into a life of service out in Africa.  
 
But now Miriam, her daughter, is coming to England, disliking everything she has been told about her family.  
 
Her aunts and cousins are expecting someone quiet, dull and bookish, just like her mother, not the quick-tempered, impulsive girl who arrives.  
 
How can this adventurous girl with her desire for freedom possibly fit into their well ordered world?  
 
And what havoc will she cause as she tries?  
 
Miriam is the third book in the Cousins of Pemberley series,

About The Author

Fiction has always been my go-to world, a place of entertainment, excitement and imagination – I am told that I wrote my first story when I was four about a lady who had twenty children! Sadly it has been lost for posterity.

I have been writing all my life in the time I could spare from having a “proper job”, mostly for children under the name of Linda Blake, stories of ballet dancers, pony riding and talking animals! Not all in the same book!

But my love of romance, a great tendency to say “What if..?” and the endearing characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice have now resulted in a series of books that will take the reader forward to the next generation of heroines. 

I am retired, live in Kent and am a keen member of my local drama group.  Directing and acting take up a lot of my time – I have been given the onerous task of writing the Christmas pantomimes – but I still need to cope with a large garden, doing daily battle with the heron who thinks my pond is his own breakfast buffet and keeping in touch with friends and family scattered all over the world.  

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram

 

Note: We did not receive this book in time to read and review. So we’ll leave that to you. *Also, the cover for this book was “under wraps” when we were wrote this post, hence its absence. 


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‘Little Dirt Road’ Offers PNW Pizzaz

Little Dirt Road

Bad Men on Whidbey Island

By Ted Mulcahey, 2022

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 242

Via: Book Blog Tour

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kimber the Magnificent here.

Bet you’re wondering why Mom and I agreed to jump on the blog tour for this murder mystery/action/adventure thingy. Glad you asked. We joined for two main reasons:

  1. The sub-title. As Californian transplants to the Pacific Northwest, Mom and I know exactly where Whidbey Island is. Ditto Bellevue, San Diego, and most of the other West Coast settings for this clever action/adventure/whodunit. But the Real Reason for joining the tour? See below:
  2. Emma the German shepherd. (You know who voted for that furry friend, right?)

So…

The Story

Kevin and Jenne (“Jenny”) O’Malley are “trouble magnets.” You won’t find that on their business cards. But the Washington-based interior designers seem to draw trouble wherever they go, even on vacation. That’s what happens when a cantankerous ex-client turns up dead in their room at a swank lodge in Napa Valley.

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