Shattered by Dani Pettrey

Second book in this series...read it in ONE day...absolutely loving this series.  

From Booklist

This is Pettrey’s exciting follow-up to the adventure-filled Submerged (2012). Readers rejoin the McKenna family as they search for the real killer of the woman their brother, whose innocence looks dubious, is accused of murdering. Piper McKenna knows her brother is innocent and will do anything it takes to prove it. A family friend, Deputy Landon Grainger, will do anything it takes to protect Piper, so the two set off on a harrowing journey to track the true murderer. With the family backing them up from Yancey, Alaska, Piper and Landon set out from western Canada, traveling down to California and then back up to Oregon on their quest for the truth. Despite the mounting danger, the two start to question their feelings for each other. Will their search be for love as well as for justice? With the drama of an Alaskan winter as her setting, Pettrey once again blends suspense, romance, and mystery into a fast-paced story that will keep readers on their toes. --Carolyn Richard

Submerged by Dani Pettrey

This is my first foray into inspirational fiction, and truth be told, if I had known ahead of time that this was considered "inspirational" I probably wouldn't have read it.  A very wise librarian once told me that  you cannot condemn a genre until you have read it...wow is that true.  I picked this up because it was mentioned during a workshop I attended on romance fiction, and I actually really, really liked it.  First the mystery element is outstanding, the author did a great job of building suspense.  The romance was spot on, it created that wonderful fluttery feeling (and just left out the steamy part...which was actually refreshing).  Now if you are totally against any religious element in your novels, this is not for you...she doesn't drown you with it but it is definitely there.

Book Description via Amazon

A sabotaged plane. Two dead deep-water divers.

Yancey, Alaska was a quiet town...until the truth of what was hidden in the depths off the coast began to appear.

Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey again. She has a past, and a reputation--and Yancey's a small town. She's returned to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash and is determined not to stay even an hour more than necessary. But then dark evidence emerges and Bailey's own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.

Cole McKenna can handle the deep-sea dives and helping the police recover evidence. He can even handle the fact that a murderer has settled in his town and doesn't appear to be moving on. But dealing with the reality of Bailey's reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart, but she is not the same girl who left Yancey. He let her down, but he's not the same guy she left behind. Can they move beyond the hurts of their pasts and find a future together?

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper

So I was mildly embarrassed when my 13 year old daughters both said "MOM WHY ARE YOU READING THAT?!?!"  But that aside, I am in love with this series, it reminds me of Charlaine Harris' True Blood series (the books, NOT the tv show).  The writing is funny, the Alaskan setting is perfect and the characters absolutely make the book.    For fans of paranormal romance, this is one not to be missed!

Book Description via Amazon

Northern Exposure 

Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. 

For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question. 

If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer

Easy, breezy, fun read!

Book Description Via Amazon

The author of Conversations with a Fat Girl—optioned for HBO—returns with the hilarious and heartfelt story of a woman who must learn how to be the heroine of her own life—a journey that will teach her priceless lessons about love, friendship, family, work, and her own heart.

An account executive in a Mad Men world, Anna Wyatt is at a crossroads. Recently divorced, she’s done a lot of emotional housecleaning, including a self-imposed dating sabbatical. But now that she’s turned forty, she’s struggling to figure out what her life needs. Brainstorming to win over an important new client, she discovers a self-help book—Be the Heroine, Find Your Hero—that offers her unexpected insights and leads her to a most unlikely place: a romance writers’ conference. If she can sign the Romance Cover Model of the Year Pageant winner for her campaign—and meet the author who has inspired her to take control of her life—she’ll win the account.

For Anna, taking control means taking chances, including getting to know Sasha, her pretty young colleague on the project, and indulging in a steamy elevator ride with Lincoln Mallory, a dashing financial consultant she meets in the hotel. When the conference ends, Anna and Lincoln must decide if their intense connection is strong enough to survive outside the romantic fantasy they’ve created. Yet Lincoln is only one of Anna’s dilemmas. Now that her campaign is off the ground, others in the office want to steal her success, and her alcoholic brother, Ferdie, is spiraling out of control.

To have the life she wants—to be happy without guilt, to be accepted for herself, to love and to be loved, to just be—she has to put herself first, accept her imperfections, embrace her passions, and finally be the heroine of her own story.

A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon

Lovely, bittersweet read...it makes you want to take stock in your life and keep only what is important.


Book Description via Amazon

Reeling from her recent divorce, Gina Bellamy suddenly finds herself figuring out how to live on her own. Determined to make a fresh start—with her beloved rescue greyhound by her side—Gina knows drastic measures are in order.

First up: throwing away all her possessions except for the one hundred things that mean the most to her. But what items are worth saving? Letters from the only man she’s ever loved? A keepsake of the father she never knew? Or a blue glass vase that perfectly captures the light?

As she lets go of the past, Gina begins to come to terms with what has happened in her life and discovers that seizing the day is sometimes the only thing to do. And when one decides to do just that...magic happens.

The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

This was a very interesting story, really well written, with a very different premise; but I can't say too much more because I will give it away.  What I can say is that I read this in a couple of days...it is *that* good.  Also it is scary how much I identified with Kitty/Katharyn...scary.

Book Description via Amazon

A provocative and hauntingly powerful debut novel reminiscent of Sliding Doors, The Bookseller follows a woman in the 1960s who must reconcile her reality with the tantalizing alternate world of her dreams.

Nothing is as permanent as it appears . . .

Denver, 1962: Kitty Miller has come to terms with her unconventional single life. She loves the bookshop she runs with her best friend, Frieda, and enjoys complete control over her day-to-day existence. She can come and go as she pleases, answering to no one. There was a man once, a doctor named Kevin, but it didn’t quite work out the way Kitty had hoped.

Then the dreams begin.

Denver, 1963: Katharyn Andersson is married to Lars, the love of her life. They have beautiful children, an elegant home, and good friends. It’s everything Kitty Miller once believed she wanted—but it only exists when she sleeps.

Convinced that these dreams are simply due to her overactive imagination, Kitty enjoys her nighttime forays into this alternate world. But with each visit, the more irresistibly real Katharyn’s life becomes. Can she choose which life she wants? If so, what is the cost of staying Kitty, or becoming Katharyn?

As the lines between her worlds begin to blur, Kitty must figure out what is real and what is imagined. And how do we know where that boundary lies in our own lives?