A Girl’s Worst Nightmare is Her Mother ...
Priscilla Martin. She’s the diva of Morning Glory Circle and a driving force in the quaint California town of Snapdragon. Overseer of garage sales and neighborhood Christmas decorations, she is widely admired. But few people know the real woman behind the perfectly coiffed hair and Opium perfume.

Family is Forever. And Ever and Ever ...
No one escapes Prissy’s watchful eye. No one that is, except her son, who committed suicide many years ago, and her daughter, Claire, who left home more than a decade past and hasn’t spoken to her since. But now, Priscilla’s daughter and son-in-law have fallen on hard times. Expecting their first child, the couple is forced to move back … And Prissy is there to welcome them home with open arms … and to reclaim her broken family.

The Past Isn’t Always as Bad as You Remember.
Sometimes it’s Worse ...
Claire has terrible memories of her mother, but now it seems Priscilla has mended her ways. When a cache of vile family secrets is uncovered, Claire struggles to determine fact from fiction, and her husband, Jason, begins to wonder who the monster really is. Lives are in danger - and Claire and Jason must face a horrifying truth … a truth that may destroy them … and will forever change their definition of “Mother.”

Maybe my mind is a bit weird but this was one of the best books that I have read so far this year. Prissy Martin is possibly more messed up than the whole Foxworth/Dollanganger families!

Now this isn't a story for everyone. The story touches on some pretty tough topics such as incest, emotional and mental abuse, sexual abuse and Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy. These topics, of course, are not easy topics to handle at all.  I definitely do not recommend this for everyone.

Prissy, from first appearances, is that annoying busybody of the neighbourhood. She is like a Stepford Wife, robotic in her dealings with anything that goes on in her cul-de-sac called Morning Glory. Everyone had their secrets and she knew them all. She despised them all for them, despite holding her own secrets. Many of these secrets being much worse than the neighbours secrets. As the novel went on, more and more was revealed. It was no wonder that Claire left as soon as she could.

Sadly Claire's husband Jason was blind to Prissy's mania and often thought his wife's reactions were pregnancy hormones. It took a long time for me to appreciate him as a character because of this. Claire, sometimes, was a little aggressive in her reactions. But after learning the secrets that even Claire was not privy to, it changed Prissy from mania to a complete detachment of reality. It was quite the story line and an exciting read too. I couldn't wait to find out what other skeletons could be dug out of the closet.

Tamara Thorne has collected ghost stories, true and fictional, since she saw her first Twilight Zone as a tot, and continues to this day. In addition to writing novels and stories of the paranormal, she also writes non-fiction and is an active ghost hunter. She makes her home in southern California with her husband and their feline family and when she’s not writing, can be found haunting ghost towns, phantom-filled hotel rooms, and other spooky places. Tamara loves to hear from her readers. Whether you have questions or comments or would like to share your own ghostly experience,come visit her at her website www.tamarathorne.com.

Alistair Cross' debut novel, The Crimson Corset, a vampiric tale of terror and seduction, was an immediate bestseller earning praise from veteran vampire-lit author, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and New York Times bestseller, Jay Bonansinga, author of The Walking Dead series. In 2012, Alistair joined forces with international bestseller, Tamara Thorne, and as Thorne & Cross, they write - among other things - the successful Gothic series, The Ravencrest Saga. Their debut collaboration, The Cliffhouse Haunting, was a bestseller. They are currently at work on their next solo novels and a new collaborative project.

In 2014, Alistair and Tamara began the radio show, Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE!, which has featured such guests as Charlaine Harris of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and basis of the HBO series True Blood, Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter novels, Jay Bonansinga of The Walking Dead series, Laurell K. Hamilton of the Anita Blake novels, Peter Atkins, screenwriter of HELLRAISER 2, 3, and 4, worldwide bestseller V.C. Andrews, and New York Times best sellers Preston & Child, Christopher Rice, and Christopher Moore.

Looking for the right gift for the book dragon in your life?
Check out Literary Book Gifts, a company that specializes in bringing books to life on men's and women's t-shirts, also totes and backpacks!

Titles include Jane Austin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, C.S. Lewis and more!

Alyssa D’Yaragen is just an elf trying to make ends meet. Thankfully, working as a freelance thief – a runner by the street name Lysistrata -- pays more than she would make in a month selling cell phones to retropunks at her antique shop. Though she’s low-tech, she has an advantage over her fellow larcenists. She has magic.

Logan Turner, a techie and fellow runner, offers to bring her in on a high paying run stealing data from megacorporation Americorp. She accepts, partially for the payout, mostly for the challenge. Things get complicated, though, when her ex-boyfriend Tristan McCullough shows up with apologies – and, infuriatingly, the perfect recon opportunity for the Americorp job. Adding more fuel to the bad-decision fire is the mysterious Seraphina Dubhan, and Alyssa finds herself falling hard for the enigmatic elf.

But when Alyssa suddenly becomes the target of mystical attacks, things stop being about the money and become all about survival. With others caught in the crossfire, she needs to find and stop the attacker before the Americorp job is ruined and she – or one of her friends – pays the ultimate price.

4.75

This was a wonderful blend of fantasy, myth and future. I love anything Fae, even though Alyssa is actually an elf. Close enough.
The elves have made themselves known to the human world and live side by side with them. Some favour the human world and have embraced the tech.

I loved that  Alyssa lived double lives. First life was owning a store front selling relics of the past and her second job is as a cat burglar. With her elf abilities, she was on a fast track to becoming one of the best. At least until she is put up against Logan who teaches her a few things.

When Logan was introduced, I was worried this was going to become one of those stereotypical new adult novel insta-love but the fact that Alyssa had no interest in Logan beyond working with him, that completely derailed all of that.
There was romance and I enjoyed that Alyssa toyed with the idea of either giving her ex another try or go for this sensual lady, Seraphina. She ended up picking Seraphina and the romance was quite evident without it taking over the whole story. I appreciate when authors do not turn their female leads into gooey pots of melted marshmallows when there is love involved.
It's just too bad that Seraphina duped Alyssa.

This is a fun story full of twists, turns, elves and fantastical assassins. I definitely recommend this to any urban fantasy readers.

Sarah Madsen is an author of many things, including novels, short stories, and RPG supplements. Slytherin. Consumer of gin cocktails and overpriced lattes. Enjoys dying her hair a different color every week and spending way too much time playing video games. Her debut novel, WEAVER’S FOLLY, a cyberpunky urban fantasy, is forthcoming from Curiosity Quills Press in Spring 2018.
When she’s not at Starbucks, you can find her on Twitter (@UnfetteredMuse), Facebook (facebook.com/SarahMadsenAuthor) or Wordpress (unfetteredmuse.wordpress.com).

Everyone has a breaking point. So begins Jon O'Bergh's suspenseful novel, The Shatter Point, an intriguing study of contemporary society wrapped inside a ghost story that is wrapped inside in a thriller. The novel confronts issues such as Internet celebrity, social media culture, and extreme thrills. But it also explores timeless issues of love, loss, and the ways in which we are haunted by our pasts. Weaving layers of truth and fiction, the story challenges our sense of reality with unexpected twists and turns.

Set in Southern California's Orange County and historic Pasadena, the plot follows two parallel sets of characters whose lives eventually intersect. Jada Mercer is used to getting her way, and she loves danger. When she meets Asher Williams, a sensitive musician in a band, she pressures him to prove himself through the rigors of an extreme haunt known as Horror Place. At the same time, the haunt's owners, Phil and Donna Woods, are locked in an escalating feud with neighbor Ruth Littleton.

The past intrudes in unwelcome ways for each character. Donna remains troubled by a previous marriage that turned sour when the husband became abusive. Her son Billy fears that he inherited his father's propensity toward violence. Feelings of inadequacy haunt Asher from his years being bullied. Ruth hides a series of traumatic incidents from her youth. Jada's craving for stimulation leads eventually to disaster. The terrifying consequences unfold step by step as the characters are pushed beyond the shatter point.

Much more than just a ghost story, the novel is a study of individuals under stress. The curious reader will discover different layers of reality versus fiction within the book. In a world haunted by the ghosts of the past—where reality is manufactured for popular consumption—how do we know what is real and what is fake, what is true and what is imagined? After the shatter point, the horror will become all too real.

Jon O'Bergh is an author and musician who loves a good scare. He was born in California and grew up in Orange County, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California at Irvine. A fan of ghost stories and horror movies, Jon came up with the idea for The Shatter Point after watching a documentary about extreme haunts. He has released over a dozen albums in a variety of styles, including the atmospheric album “Ghost Story.” After many years living in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., he now spends most of his time in Toronto.