Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

Fabulous #BookReviews- The Keeping Place @MaeClair1, Zodiac Academy, That Second Chance, Riley Thorn and The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score


Spring is making an appearance in our part of the world- yay!

My life is fairly boring, lol, so let’s get right to the reviews. I’ve been reading a fantastic romantasy series, a paranormal romantic comedy, a contemporary, and a dual timeline from the amazing Mae Clair.

Click the covers to learn more about each title.

The posts on this site may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase using a link.

The Keeping Place Kindle Edition

by Mae Clair 

A member of the International Thriller Writers, Mae Clair is also a founding member and contributor to the award-winning writing blog, Story Empire. She has achieved bestseller status on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with several of her novels chosen as book club selections.

Nicole returns to Hornwood when new evidence indicates Janie’s death may have been a homicide. With the help of Detective Vin McCain, her high school boyfriend, Nicole begins to piece together what took place the night her sister disappeared—a task that further complicates her relationship with Glory and places Nicole in the crosshairs of a killer. One who will do whatever it takes to keep the truth about Janie’s death from being revealed.

Even if it means killing again.

Set in dual timelines, The Keeping Place explores the fate of twelve-year-old Janie Seabrooke on the night of her disappearance from a senior’s party she’s forced to attend with her older sister, Nicole. After the traumatic events of that night, Nicole blames her mother for making her babysit, her boyfriend for talking her into taking Janie to the party, her friends for not watching out for her sister, and mostly herself for letting anything happen to her baby sister. She leaves town and refuses to have contact with anyone for a decade, but a note from her ex- a detective now- brings the past and all those repressed feelings to the fore when Janie’s body is discovered, and the police term it a suspicious death.
Hollywood starlet- the girl who almost made it- Glory uses her fame to make her family’s restaurant successful and is a much-loved member of the small community of Hornwood. She has regrets, none more than the decision to work instead of staying home with her youngest daughter on a fateful night that will change their lives forever. And now, years later, the body is found, and Nicole is home. The time for secrets is gone and Glory doesn’t know if she will survive the fallout.
This is a multi-layered murder-mystery with a cast of complex characters, many with suspicious ties to Janie Seabrooke. There is also a televised suicide that seems to connect to Glory but leaves the police grasping at straws. I love the relationship between Glory and Chief Jude Beck. They are so cute together!
Filled with beautiful settings and a touch of paranormal, this is a page-turning read you’re sure to enjoy.

Zodiac Academy (12 book series)

Kindle Edition

by Caroline Peckham (Author) , Susanne Valenti (Author)

I’m a Gemini. Impulsive. Curious. Headstrong. A twin. Heir to a throne I know nothing about. And it turns out, I’m Fae.

But of course there’s a catch – all I have to do to claim my birth right is prove that I’m the most powerful supernatural in the whole of Solaria. And sure, technically that’s true as I’m the daughter of the Savage King. But the bit they didn’t put in the brochure was that every single Fae in this Kingdom would claim my throne if they could.

This series is a page-turning romantic adventure filled with a cast of captivating characters!

I have a tough time giving reviews for fantasy books as it is so easy to drop spoilers, but I did post a couple of highlights from the novels I’ve read (I’m up to and can’t stop!)

From Zodiac Academy Shadow Princess

Oh, wow. Talk about a traumatic ending!
This series is keeping me up way past my bedtime, lol. Tory and Darius are so damaged they can’t even see what’s right in front of them. It breaks my heart.
Darcy and Orion are in love, but outside forces are determined to keep them apart- maybe forever.
I need my HEA but these authors are not making it easy for our couples 🙂

From Zodiac Academy Fated Throne

Sacrifice

There are so many layers to this life-and-death action series. My heart aches for the Heirs and the Vega princesses. For every step forward they make in this deadly war, it seems as though the enemy has the very stars on their side.
I was angry with Darius’s stubborn attitude for most of the story, but then he made the ultimate sacrifice for his girl and I cried.
Though there are punctuation and editing errors throughout these books it doesn’t even matter because the story is that gripping.
I can’t wait for the next one!

This is seriously an unputdownable series!

That Second Chance (Getting Lucky Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Meghan Quinn

Amazon and USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

It was supposed to be an innocent night, celebrating my brother’s birthday. Nothing was supposed to go wrong. We’d vowed to be on our best behavior after all…

But it only took one rowdy night with my brothers to flip my world upside down. One unlucky encounter saddled us with a family curse and the promise of doomed relationships. I laughed it off immediately. “Yeah, right,” I thought. “A love curse. Ha!”

Boy, was I wrong.

When the four Knightly brothers travel to New Orleans to celebrate Brix’s twenty-first birthday, they don’t expect to be cursed to never find love by a witch, but when Griffin’s wife dies within days of their return to Port Snow it suddenly feels all too real.
Two years later, volunteer fireman Griff rescues the cute and sassy Ren from a car accident and is drawn to the beautiful new math teacher, but fear of repercussions stops him from pursuing a relationship though his brothers keep throwing them together.
This is a cute slow heat romance between two people who deserve a second chance. The Knightly brothers are handsome, with big hearts- kinda perfect!

The Dead Guy Next Door: A Riley Thorn Novel Kindle Edition

by Lucy Score 

Lucy Score is an instant New York Times bestselling author. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism.

A nice, normal life. Is that too much to ask? For Riley Thorn it is.

Divorced. Broke. Living with a pack of elderly roommates. And those hallucinations she’s diligently ignoring? Her tarot card-dealing mom is convinced they’re clairvoyant visions.

Just when things can’t get worse, a so-hot-it-should-be-illegal private investigator shows up on her doorstep looking for a neighbor…who turns up murdered.

Fans of Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayor’s Agnes and The Hitman and Darynda Jones’s Charley Davidson series will love this fun, flirty fake fiancée romantic comedy.

Riley Thorn has always dreamed of being the normal one in her admittedly weird and wonderful family, but a psychic vision of her annoying next door neighbor getting shot forces her to try and save his ungrateful butt, throwing Riley into a series of crazy misadventures. And the arms of a hot investigator who doesn’t take no for an answer.

Nick Santiago is happy with his life as a private investigator. He picks his own hours and sleeping partners. He’s a free agent and that’s just how he likes it. Until he meets the sassy, sexy Riley and begins to think he’s met his match. If he can keep her alive long enough to convince her, that is.

This is a fun action/adventure romance filled with characters guaranteed to have you laughing such as the eccentric seniors in Riley’s rooming house, her wild-child parents, or the spiritual guide sent to help her learn how to use her psychic gifts.

I love the witty repartee between Riley and Nick- they’re so cute! There are four books in this series and I can’t wait to jump into !

I hope some of these tempt you, and don’t forget my new release, Finding Me, releases next week!

40 Replies to “Fabulous #BookReviews- The Keeping Place @MaeClair1, Zodiac Academy, That Second Chance, Riley Thorn and The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score”

  1. Jacquie, thank you for your wonderful and thoughtful reviews written with flair and a sense of immediacy! They all sound terrific! There are quite a few books with dual time lines and I love these so Mae’s is one I want to check out! Oh, are love curses in fashion? I just reviewed a book with this theme and this one here seems equally captivating! Happy Reading! 😀📚

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I liked the slant on a family drama that Mae tackled with this story, Annika. It’s heartbreaking how one decision can affect a life.
      Love curses in romance are a great trope because the protagonists have huge obstacles to overcome for their HEA.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Jacquie, congratulations on your upcoming release! I look forward to it. xo

    I love the idea of a dual timeline and can’t wait to read Mae’s book, too.

    All the reviews are informative, and I could see myself getting lost in these books pretty easily. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Wonderful reviews and spotlights, Jacquie. I loved The Keeping Place and join you in recommending it to all. I haven’t read the others, but I appreciate the heads-up on these books as well. Congratulations to each of the writers. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Gorgeous picture. I can’t wait for ours to bloom. Yay, spring! Great reviews, you have me tempted with the ZA series. I completely agree about The Keeping Place, a fantastic read. Happy almost book birthday. Eagerly awaiting it. Xo

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Denise 🙂 It publishes on my birthday, so we can celebrate together, lol.
      The ZA series is excellent. I practically ran through the first six books (and they’re huge!), then decided to take a break for a few reads. But I’m already itching to get back to the series and see what kind of mayhem they get into next!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I’m reading Mae’s book right now, Jacquie, and I’m already captivated (only on chapter 3!). Zodiac Academy sounds good to me – I like your comment about “captivating characters.” That’s always a make or break for me. Thanks for the reviews.

    And enjoy your flowers!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Mae never disappoints. The Zodiac Academy is excellent. There is open door sex, but the diverse cast of characters and the overarching theme of good over evil makes them well worth the read. Each book is around 600 pages but the story is so well developed it doesn’t feel like that- a huge kudos to the two authors (sisters!)

      Like

  11. I just picked up The Keeping Place recently and plan to get it in fairly soon. The other one that looks interesting to me is The Dead Guy Next Door.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. These all sound like keepers:) Mae always turns out a good story, but this time she’s outdone herself and I’m going to check out Zodiac right now;)

    Liked by 1 person

  13. How steamy is the Lucy Score book, Jacquie? Congratulations on the new book, I can’t wait to read it. I will have to refresh my memory of the first one.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.