Throwback Thursday Book Edition - 12 December 2019

 Welcome to Throwback Thursday: Book Edition, a weekly meme hosted by Taylor Fenner's Bookish World.

How It Works:

Each week we'll go through our Goodreads stats and throwback to what book we were reading on that specific date years earlier and what we thought about it then.

The Witness

Standalone

by Nora Roberts

Format I Read In: Paperback

Pages: 538

Published: April 2, 2013 by Berkley

Blurb:

In her stunning new novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts proves why no one is better “when it comes to flawlessly fusing high-stakes suspense with red-hot romance” (Booklist).

Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.

Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance security systems programmer, her own protection is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town.

The mystery of Abigail Lowery and her sharp mind, secretive nature, and unromantic viewpoints intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and professional level. And while he suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, Gleason is accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, not the powerful and dangerous men who are about to have him in their sights.

And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.

Throwback Questions

Started Reading: December 11, 2013

Finished Reading: December 14, 2013

My Rating: 4 Stars

Shelved as on Goodreads: Read 

Have You Reread This Book?: No

Would You Reread This Book?: No

Do You Still Own This Book?: No

Have I Read Other Books By This Author Since Reading This Book?: Yes

Things You Remember Liking About this Book:

I like that the main character is super smart. She reminds me of a female Spencer Reid. 

Favorite Character:

Brooks

Throwback Thursday Book Edition - 21 November 2013

Welcome to Throwback Thursday: Book Edition!

How It Works:

Each week we'll go through our Goodreads stats and throwback to what book we were reading on that specific date years earlier and what we thought about it then.

Dark Witch

The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy Book 1

by Nora Roberts

Format I Read In: Paperback

Pages: 342

Published: October 29, 2019 by Berkley

Blurb:

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.
With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

Throwback Questions

Started Reading: November 19, 2013

Finished Reading: November 23, 2013

My Rating: 5 Stars

Shelved as on Goodreads: Paranormal, Witches

Have You Reread This Book?: No

Would You Reread This Book?: Yes

Do You Still Own This Book?: Yes

Have I Read Other Books By This Author Since Reading This Book?: Yes

Things You Remember Liking About this Book:

The setting (County Mayo Ireland), the Wiccan/witchcraft influences, Iona's found family (both biological and friends), Iona and Boyle's chemistry.

Favorite Character:

Iona

#BookMail Thursday #24

This #Bookmail Thursday was completely not my idea... my grandmother wanted the new Nora Roberts novel, so I merely ordered that and another book she wanted from Amazon while ordering a candle making kit for myself. This is this week's book mail...

Come Sundown by Nora Roberts and The Good Widow by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

About Come Sundown:
A novel of suspense, family ties, and twisted passions from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Obsession...

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it’s kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don’t talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she’s dead. But she isn’t. She is not far away, part of a new family, one she never chose—and her mind has been shattered…


When a bartender leaves the resort late one night, and Bo and Cal discover her battered body in the snow, it’s the first sign that danger lurks in the mountains that surround them. The police suspect Cal, but Bo finds herself trusting him—and turning to him as another woman is murdered and the Longbows are stunned by Alice’s sudden reappearance. The twisted story she has to tell about the past—and the threat that follows in her wake—will test the bonds of this strong family, and thrust Bodine into a darkness she could never have imagined.

About The Good Widow

Bestselling authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke make their suspense debut in this twisty, emotional thriller.

Elementary school teacher Jacqueline “Jacks” Morales’s marriage was far from perfect, but even in its ups and downs it was predictable, familiar. Or at least she thought it was…until two police officers showed up at her door with devastating news. Her husband of eight years, the one who should have been on a business trip to Kansas, had suffered a fatal car accident in Hawaii. And he wasn’t alone.

For Jacks, laying her husband to rest was hard. But it was even harder to think that his final moments belonged to another woman—one who had left behind her own grieving and bewildered fiancé. Nick, just as blindsided by the affair, wants answers. So he suggests that he and Jacks search for the truth together, retracing the doomed lovers’ last days in paradise.

Now, following the twisting path of that fateful road, Jacks is learning that nothing is ever as it seems. Not her marriage. Not her husband. And most certainly not his death…

Yes, I'm Still Waiting On...
Signed Copies of:
- Roar by Cora Carmack
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
- The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
- Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
-Obsidian and Stars by Julie Eshbaugh

-Sexy Stranger by Kendall Ryan

Contemplating:
I got a $5 Amazon Gift Card, so I'm contemplating buying this book:

About Given to the Sea:
Kings and Queens rise and fall, loyalties collide, and romance blooms in a world where the sea is rising—and cannot be escaped.

Khosa is Given to the Sea, a girl born to be fed to the water, her flesh preventing a wave like the one that destroyed the Kingdom of Stille in days of old. But before she’s allowed to dance an uncontrollable twitching of the limbs that will carry her to the shore in a frenzy—she must produce an heir. Yet the thought of human touch sends shudders down her spine that not even the sound of the tide can match.

Vincent is third in line to inherit his throne, royalty in a kingdom where the old linger and the young inherit only boredom. When Khosa arrives without an heir he knows his father will ensure she fulfills her duty, at whatever cost. Torn between protecting the throne he will someday fill, and the girl whose fate is tied to its very existence, Vincent’s loyalty is at odds with his heart.

Dara and Donil are the last of the Indiri, a native race whose dwindling magic grows weaker as the island country fades. Animals cease to bear young, creatures of the sea take to the land, and the Pietra—fierce fighters who destroyed the Indiri a generation before—are now marching from their stony shores for the twin’s adopted homeland, Stille.

Witt leads the Pietra, their army the only family he has ever known. The stone shores harbor a secret, a growing threat that will envelop the entire land—and he will conquer every speck of soil to ensure the survival of his people.


The tides are turning in Stille, where royals scheme, Pietrans march, and the rising sea calls for its Given.

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #21

         This week I'm diving into a book I've been looking forward to reading for months...

The Obsession by Nora Roberts

Blurb:

“She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.” 

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton. 

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

Why I Chose This Book / What I Think So Far:

Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors and when I read the blurb for this book, all the way back in November when I was on Barnes and Noble's website doing some Christmas shopping for my grandmother I knew I had to get this book. Waiting five months for its release was tough but I can't wait to dive into this book. So far I'm only about a page in since I've been busy working on my own work-in-progress, but the first page grabbed me and I feel sad that I haven't been able to spend more time reading over the past few days. My plan is to curl up this afternoon and get lost in The Obsession.