September Book Haul Part 2

Happy Saturday folks! As promised, here is part two of my September book haul. This was a fun book month! I received two review copies of fantasy books that I had my eye on from Orbit books which made this girl very happy.  All but two of the books (Capu & The Warmest December) came from my local Goodwill store which always makes my book heart sing. I also got some happiness overnight since a new book in an IR romance series that I follow was released. I'm going to have a good reading weekend!

Happy Reading!
Monica

(Review Copies from Orbit Books)

Amazon Actor-turned-detective Tennyson Hardwick has solved two high-profile deaths in Hollywood, but nothing has prepared him for a race to save a child’s life. 

Tennyson’s past in the sex game cost him his new girlfriend, and he brings her to Cape Town, South Africa—a scenic film destination and playground for the rich—to try to win her back. There Tennyson is hired as a bodyguard by superstar Sofia Maitlin when she visits an orphanage to adopt an African child. 

Months later, Maitlin offers Tennyson one of Hollywood’s hottest tickets—a job as a bodyguard at adopted daughter Nandi’s A-list celebrity birthday party. 

But the party is over before it begins. When Nandi’s birthday goes dreadfully wrong, it’s up to a guilt-ridden Tennyson to save a child’s life and reunite a Hollywood family. 

But how? He can’t go to the police, the FBI has threatened to arrest him, and Big Brother is monitoring his telephone calls. 

To find Nandi, Tennyson will have to rely on tips from his father—a retired LAPD captain—and a mysterious woman from his past, Marsha, who has already proven she can’t be trusted. His strongest lead is a deadly knife fighter known only as Spider. 

When his search for the missing child crosses Marsha’s covert investigation into a criminal gang with ties to South Africa, Tennyson knows that finding Nandi might cost him his freedom—or his life.

Amazon “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime." 

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

Amazon Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them—in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul—they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation.

Amazon The Cove and The Maze, the first two thrillers in the FBI series, for the first time together in one volume. 

In these exciting novels of intrigue and suspense, readers are introduced to Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock-and they'll watch the sparks fly as the agents' relationship heats up amid cases that could destroy everything they hold dear. 

The Cove-In this fast-paced page-turner, the daughter of a murdered high-powered lawyer seeks sanctuary in a quaint little town, only to learn she can't escape her past-or FBI Special Agent Dillon Savich. 

The Maze-Full of twists and turns, this cliffhanger teams Savich with new agent Lacey Sherlock in a case that leads them back to the murder of Sherlock's sister seven years ago-and puts both of their lives on the line. 

Amazon There are some things even forever friends can't fix. . .

Annette Goode Davis is a survivor. Life has often knocked her down, but she's never stayed there for long. To Annette, it's all about family and old friends like Rhoda O'Toole. And right now, Annette needs all the friends she can get. Because lately, her husband, Pee Wee, barely has the time of day for her. And she has no idea why. . .

Desperate to regain Pee Wee's affections, Annette goes on a crash diet, gets a makeover, and looks hotter than she has in a long time. Everyone notices--except Pee Wee. So when handsome Louis Baines showers her with attention, Annette finds herself having an affair and spending money on Louis like there's no tomorrow. But when she learns a terrible secret about her new lover, she realizes she's in way over her head. Soon Annette must face the fact that she may have destroyed the life she loved--and this time, not even Rhoda can help her make things right. . . 

Amazon With a lovely home and family, Annette Goode finally has it all. Heaven knows she paid her dues--from an abusive childhood to a rocky start as an adult. Annette's friend Rhoda knows too, for Rhoda has been both her savior and her greatest fear. Their relationship has survived some serious shake-ups. But now that things are good, someone apparently thinks they're a little too good. . . 

When Annette receives an anonymous--and menacing--birthday gift, it's just the beginning of a slew of hostile letters, vicious phone calls, and vile packages from a female who is obviously disguising her voice. Comforted by Rhoda and Rhoda's teenage daughter, Jade, Annette hopes the problem will somehow disappear. But when the threats extend to her child, Annette realizes the situation is dire. For soon her tormentor reveals exactly what she wants--and how it could destroy everything Annette has built. . .

Amazon Gayle Saunders and Patricia Reid have been lifelong friends, as close as sisters. When they were teens their dreams led them down separate paths and away from each other. But they reunited as adults, drawn back together by a bond of friendship that stood the test of time. 

Now Pat and Gayle co-own the Ell & Me Company, a business they founded based on a character Gayle created years ago for her daughter. Things are going well, but real-life dramas ensue as each must face issues from the past in order to protect the future. 

Pat and Marcus look like the perfect twenty-first-century couple -- smart, talented, each at the helm of a high-profile enterprise and at the top of their game. But behind closed doors their marriage is challenged by the stresses of a two-entrepreneur household. Will their professional pursuits leave them time for each other and a family, or carry them into the arms of others? Will a paternity claim prove to be too much of an obstacle to overcome? 

Gayle faces her own family drama and struggles to maintain control of her life. Despite dating other men, has she ever really gotten over her ex-husband, Ramsey, the gambler who left her and their daughter, Vanessa, in financial ruin? Gayle bends over backward to provide a stable, comfortable home for Vanessa, and support her dream of becoming a dancer. And Vanessa, a rebellious and hurtful teen, seems just as devoted to making Gayle pay for every mistake she has ever made. And what ever happened to Ramsey? 

Amazon Imagine America devastated by a vast killer plague that moves from coast to coast. Imagine the countryside destroyed and great cities decimated as the entire population desperately and futilely seeks safety. Imagine then an even greater evil rising to threaten the survivors---and a last embattled group of men and women coming together to make a last stand against it.

Amazon Buoyed by the lyrical, redemptive voice that distinguished McFadden's acclaimed debut novel, this new book tells the powerful, deeply moving story of one family and the alcoholism and abuse that marked their lives forever. Moving fluidly between the past and the present - between a young girl choosing which belt she'll be whipped with each night and her older self at the bedside of her dying father - it is an ultimately cathartic tale of hope, healing and forgiveness.

Amazon Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. 

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. 

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. 

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Amazon When Felix Brewer meets Bernadette “Bambi” Gottschalk at a Valentine’s Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative—if not all legal—businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi’s comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes.

Though Bambi has no idea where her husband—or his money—might be, she suspects one woman does: his mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she’s left to join her old lover—until her remains are eventually found.

Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women. And at the center is the missing man Felix Brewer.

Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.

Amazon Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.

Amazon (This is a new release that I bought via Amazon) In July 1994, a new, tourist-friendly, Las Vegas attracts the rich and infamous for high-rollers decadence. For young, business savvy Shannon ‘Shae’ Dennis, Vegas is prime for her business--adult entertainment. Shannon employs the most beautiful temptress in the country and caters to the nightlife. Life is good, and money is flowing. Shannon is living out her dream. Carlo Giordani, a ruthless enforcer for the Battaglia Mafia clan, has traveled to America to reunite with the beautiful and elusive Shannon. For more of the excitement and fun-loving adventure she once wet his sexual appetite for during her brief visit to Southern Italy. Their passion explodes. No sexual desire is left unexplored. As his heart becomes irreversibly connected to hers, there is a dark side to Las Vegas that only Carlo could have foreseen. An evil watches, waits, and one by one Shannon’s girls begin to disappear as young girls are found murdered on the Vegas strip. Is there a serial killer? And what is his connection to the free-spirit Shannon Dennis? Carlo must race against time to save her and her friends for a predator unseen. And in the process convince the woman he desires that being a man of violence doesn’t mean he’s incapable of love.

Amazon (I really enjoyed this one and will be doing a review of it soon.) Twenty two years have passed since Kellas, once Captain of the legendary Black Wolves, lost his King and with him his honor. With the King murdered and the Black Wolves disbanded, Kellas lives as an exile far from the palace he once guarded with his life. 

Until Marshal Dannarah, sister to the dead King, comes to him with a plea-rejoin the palace guard and save her nephew, King Jehosh, before he meets his father's fate. 

Amazon Behind every myth, there's a spark of truth...

There's nothing special about Ben Garston. He's just a guy with an attitude in a beat-up leather jacket, drowning his sorrows in a downtown bar. Or so he'd have you believe.

What Ben Garston can't let you know is that he was once known as Red Ben. That the world of myth and legend isn't just a fantasy, as we've been led to believe. And he certainly can't let you know the secret of what's hiding just beneath his skin...

But not even Ben knows what kind of hell is about to break loose. A centuries-old rivalry has just resurfaced, and the delicate balance between his world and ours is about to be shattered.