Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

Release Date - December 12, 2022 Genre - General Fiction, Women's Fiction What a completely touching, emotional story. Melissa Payne's story begins with Vega at her home in Colorado. She's a new mom and has breakfast all ready to go for her boyfriend, but he's disgusted that she overcooked his bacon and assaults her. She's still healing from her c-section and her late mom's voice rings clear - RUN. Vega spent many years helping her mom assist battered women, so she knows what to take and what to do next. She has no where to go and no friends to turn to, so she does the only thing she can and follows a postcard for a small town in Ohio that her mom always held onto. It's there that Vega hopes to start anew. Heff, the town's deputy, and Eve, a transgender farmer and store owner, who's been a victim of abuse and rose from the ashes, take Vega under their wing. Eve provides Vega with an apartment and repair work at her farm, Heff keeps a close eye over h

Release Date - March 11, 2019 Genre - Mystery Here's a book I'd tried to get into and failed, but I've circled back and it's actually a great mystery, though not too challenging to solve once the clues are in place. It's a hot summer's day in 1975, and Suzie and her cousin Cassie are late getting home. They opt to take the shortcut across the Greenway, a path with a mystical legend. Cassie somehow becomes unconscious and wakes to find her cousin missing. Twenty years later, Cassie has finally mustered the courage to return to the town where her life changed forever. All seems to be going okay until she wandered out to the Greenway and later learns another girl has disappeared. Townspeople are suspicious of the timing between this new disappearance and Cassie's return. The detective who investigated Suzie's disappearance offers to help Detective Mike Croft investigate both disappearances and see if they're related. Could Cassie have killed her cousin

 Release Date - February 14, 2023 Genre - Contemporary Romance I don't know what to say about this romance. It really doesn't seem to be for me is I guess the best place to start. My recommendation before you even get started is to read the prequel if it's included in your copy of the book. It helps a bit. After Susie Bowen's aunt dies and leaves Susie her run-down home, Susie gets to work clearing the clutter. While moving boxes, she finds a lot of water damage that requires the help of a professional. She doesn't expect her contractor to send Lars. Susie and Lars have history. They were best friends until Susie's boyfriend (Lars' best friend) dumped her in a very public, humiliating way. She hasn't seen Lars since and isn't particularly happy to see him right now, but her house needs repairs and Lars is there. The pair are shocked when Lars pulls out water-damaged sheetrock and finds some hidden divorce papers. They're divorce papers for Lars a

Genre: Historical Fiction Release Date: February 28, 2023 Shelley Read's new novel, Go As A River , is a heartbreaking tale of loss, love, and endurance.  Her mother and aunt's tragic death when she was young has impacted Victoria Nash's life. She grew up doing all of the household's domestic chores. She cooks for her father, uncle, and brother, as well as the farmhands they hire from time to time. She cleans, maintains the household, and has done so for years. Now 17, Torie is on her way into town to get her once-again drunk brother to bring him home when she encounters Wil Moon, a young drifter looking for a new start. Torie is smitten, but her father and brother immediately chase him off. They will not have a Native American hanging around. When townspeople accuse Wil of theft and he becomes wanted, only Torie knows where he is. But, tragedy soon strikes and she flees her family home realizing that if she stays, she's in danger. When she finally does return, her

Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: January 17, 2023 After a painful break-up, all Hailey Sharp wants is a fresh start and for her new salad cafe to become a success. Business is slow, however, and she needs something to change and fast. Enter Wes Jansen, the last thing Hailey needs distracting her is a handsome guy, but that's exactly what happens. She's determined to be friends with Wes and nothing more. That suits Wes fine. He's not the marrying type and never will be. Yet, there's something about Hailey that he cannot move past. He doesn't want to be more than friends, but he doesn't just want to be friends either. The chemistry between the two is undeniable from the start. But, for some reason, I really struggled to get into the characters. I never felt a fondness for them as I did with previous Jansen brother romances. I didn't dislike the story, but it didn't draw me in either.  I think I never truly liked Hailey. For someone who was all ab