Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

Release Date - November 2014 Fiona Harper Harlequin Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Originally released in the UK in 2013, Fiona Harper's Make My Wish Come True is now available in the U.S. It's a fun tale of two sisters who swap lives for a couple weeks during the holidays.  Juliet's goal has always been to make Christmas magical for her children. Since her divorce, things have gotten harder to handle, and she's looking forward to having just a little bit of help from her younger sister this year. Gemma has no idea how to break the news to her sister that she's jetting off the Caribbean for a magical holiday in a quiet holiday resort. Gemma's job working with movie stars has her feeling burned out and ready for some R&R. She's not looking forward to hearing Juliet flip out when she tells her. On that dreaded day, Gemma realizes that Juliet is burned out and offers to swap lives. Juliet can head the the Caribbean for some much-needed rest

Release Date - November 18, 2014 Raeanne Thayne Harlequin Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Raeanne Thayne's latest brings readers back to Cold Creek. This time, she's starting a trilogy with the Nichols sisters - Faith, Hope, and Celeste. The Christmas Ranch introduces Hope Nichols. After years of wandering the globe teaching English and other lessons to the less fortunate, Hope is back to spend the holidays with her still-grieving family. Her old sister, Faith, lost her husband in an unfortunate accident, and without his help running the family ranch, things have taken a turn for the worst. Hope is shattered when she learns they've shut down the town attraction - The Christmas Ranch. Once a year, the ranch is converted into a magical Christmas attraction, complete with reindeer. Hope announces she alone will get the Christmas Ranch open in time for the holiday season. With a lot of work to do, it's not going to be easy. Enter Rafe Santiago. The former Na

To celebrate the release of Elizabeth Hayden's Tree of Water, the publisher is sharing an excerpt of the book. Click here to read a chapter from this entry into the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme series. You can also win a copy of this juvenile fantasy novel by leaving a comment on this blog. To win a copy of Elizabeth Hayden's latest novel, you must be a resident of the United States or Canada, and your comment must be posted by 11/24/14 midnight EST.

Release Date - November 2014 Robert Dugoni Thomas & Mercer Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Once Tracy Crosswhite was a sharpshooter, alongside her younger sister Sarah. Things changed after a competition when she went off with her boyfriend and her sister promised to drive safely in the pouring rain one evening. Sarah was never seen again. Her murderer has been behind bars for two decades, but when Sarah's remains are finally found, evidence suggests he may not be the killer. Now a detective, Tracy teams up with an attorney, who happens to be a childhood friend, to unravel the sloppy investigative work from two decades earlier. My Sister's Grave kept me hooked to the end. I will not deny that I had a hard time putting the novel down, but there were still moments when I struggled with some aspects. The sloppy initial police work bugged me. There's also a revelation that comes later in the book, one I won't discuss in depth because it is a spoiler, but w

Release Date - October 21, 2014 Wilbur Smith William Morrow Book Review by Bob Walch If you enjoyed River God you’ll certainly really like this fifth title in the author’s “Egyptian” series. Taita, a freed slave and the Pharaoh’s advisor, is determined to destroy his country’s enemy, the mighty Hyksos. To accomplish this feat Taita will have to travel far from home, deal with innumerable obstacles and ,for good measure, keep tabs on the Pharaoh’s two sisters.    Since Wilbur Smith wouldn’t have it any other way, there’s plenty of action, passion and intrigue as his protagonist travels on this epic journey to make his master the most powerful of all the leaders in this corner of the world. A fast read, Desert God offers a smattering of politics, religion, and sociology set on a stage that harkens back to ancient Egypt but, in many respects, resembles modern political and military stagecraft. It seems some things never change!

Release Date - August 2014 Mary Kubica Harlequin MIRA Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Mary Kubica's The Good Girl is mainly told from three perspectives and two periods of time. As you get into the flow of things, it becomes easy to keep track, but I admit I had to keep notes at first to keep the story straight. This is a suspense about a young teacher who disappears. Her mother, Eve; the detective assigned to her case, Gabe; and the kidnapper, Colin, all tell the majority of the story. Eventually, Mia, the young teacher, joins in. Mia is a month from her 25th birthday when she disappears. Her father is a prominent Chicago judge. She and her mother have never been incredibly close. It's before the school where she works calls them to find out where she is, and even then, Mia's father is ready to write it off as Mia being rebellious Mia. Eve isn't as convinced. She knows Mia loves her job as an art teacher and something about this just doesn't feel right

About a year ago, I reviewed a book by Courtney Cole titled Before We Fall . It was part of the Beautifully Broken series and featured a brooding actor and the woman he never expects to fall in love with. If you haven't read any of Courtney Cole's series, now is your chance. Win an autographed copy of each of the books by visiting this Rafflecopter link .

Release Date - July 2014 Marcia Clark Mulholland Books Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth In what could, or even was, a story ripped right from the headlines, Marcia Clark's latest Rachel Knight novel is one that definitely brought out some emotions. The Competition is a book that once I started it, I just couldn't stop reading for even a second. This made for a very, very late night. As the district attorney in L.A., Rachel Knight's seen a lot of things, but a mass shooting at a local high school really hits home. It first appears that the shooters committed suicide after their murder spree, but evidence soon points to the fact that they made it look that way and they're still on the run. It isn't long before Rachel and investigators learn the killers wanted to outdo the shooters at Columbine. Worse, it looks as though the killers plan to reenact other horrific events, and to stop them, they'll have to get and stay one step ahead. The Competition