Colleen’s Kindle: January 2023 Reads

I met many new authors on my book tour in December 2022, which led me to some new reads! Let me introduce you to some novels I absolutely loved reading this month! ❤

As usual, please click on the book image to find the book on Amazon.com.

Jealousy of a Viking, by V.M. Sang

Leave it to me to start with the second book in the series. I still have to read the first book, but “Jealousy of a Viking” was so good I had to share my review now.

My Recommendation:

This story takes place in Britain around the time the Danes and Saxons occupied the territory.

We’re introduced to Helgha, a young woman trained in the healing arts who, through chance, meets Erik, a wealthy nobleman. They fall in love, which sets off a series of events that dictate Helgha’s path in life.

Erik’s status prohibits a marriage between the two, but he battles her father anyway, and kills him. Desperate to keep Helgha, he escapes with her. He thinks by making her his mistress, it will solve all their problems. Of course, Helgha has no say in the matter. Besides, she loves Erik. In no time, she bears him two children.

When Erik’s family forces him to marry within his own class, Helgha is overcome with jealousy. She concocts a few brews that have a devastating effect on his wife’s pregnancies. Whispers of Helgha being a witch surface, and she flees for her life with her two small children.

She finds refuge with the Saxons, and is introduced to Christian teachings. As Helgha grows within herself and her new culture, her personality changes and she learns from her mistakes.

This book was a real page turner for me. I enjoyed Helgha’s story, as it encompassed many of the pagan elements and mythologies I like to read about. This book also deals with the plight of women, the struggles of pregnancy, childbirth and miscarriage during this period of history.

V. M. Sang Blog: https://aspholessaria.wordpress.com/

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Death in a Red Canvas Chair: A Rhe Brewster Mystery (Rhe Brewster Mysteries Book 1) by N. A. Granger

My Recommendation:

Meet Rhe Brewster, a nurse, a police consultant, and a wonderful wife and mother. She wears many hats, but still finds time to be a great neighbor and friend.

Actually, I found Rhe to be a realistic and interesting character. She has an insatiable thirst for getting to the truth, even when it gets her into trouble.

Of course, it helps when your brother-in-law is also the chief of police. That, and the fact her nursing degree helps her understand medical terms. She grew up in this small town on the Maine coast. You know small towns. Everyone knows each other and each other’s business. But that kind of knowledge is necessary to solve this recent murder.

So, when a nasty stench leads Rhe to discover a gruesome corpse on the soccer field of one of her son’s games, you know it’s going to get interesting.

There’s plenty of intrigue to suck you into Rhe’s fast-paced world. This is a satisfying, cozy mystery with loveable characters. I look forward to reading the next two books in this three-book series.

N. A. (Noelle) Granger’s blog: https://saylingaway.wordpress.com/about/

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The Retreat, by Nicola Marsh

My Recommendation:

A gothic tale with links to Vikings and a Nordic curse lured me into this novel from the beginning.

The story is told in a dual timeline which filled the back story in nicely.

We’re introduced to Lucy Phillips, a New York librarian who lives with her mother, Ava. An agoraphobic, the mother never leaves the house.

So when Ava dies after being run over by a bus, Lucy has plenty of questions. When she identifies the body, Lucy discovers a Viking tattoo on the heel of her foot she has never seen before. Lucy knows nothing of her mother’s past. What could have happened to her to cause her to live the way she did?

Lucy researches the Viking image, which leads her to a place called Arcania. The house is creepy, but she stays at the retreat hoping to learn more about her mother.

The owner, Cora Medville, appears to be welcoming, but Lucy senses something more. By the time the strange hauntings started, I was hooked. I couldn’t put the book down.

This novel is a haunting tale of long held family secrets. Twisted into the mystery is a Viking artifact that promises untold riches. If you love spooky stories, you will enjoy this book.

Nicola Marsh Blog: https://www.nicolamarsh.com/

➡️ NOTE: A bonus at the end of the book, the author included a free download from Book Funnel for an alternate ending. I downloaded the book and used the Send to Kindle app to upload the “mobi” file to my Kindle Fire.

I received a notice from Amazon Kindle Support saying:

Thank you for using the Send to Kindle service to send personal documents to your Kindle library. We noticed that the following document(s), sent by you are in MOBI (.mobi, .azw) formats:  * Bonus scene for THE RETREAT - Nicola Marsh.mobi


We wanted to let you know that Send to Kindle will soon remove the ability to send MOBI (.mobi, .azw) files to your Kindle library. Any MOBI files already in your library will not be affected by this change. MOBI is an older file format and won’t support the newest Kindle features for documents. Any existing MOBI files you want to read with our most up-to-date features for documents will need to be re-sent in a compatible format.

Compatible formats now include EPUB (.epub), which you can send to your library using the new Send to Kindle for Web, the free Kindle app. We will be adding EPUB support to the Send to Kindle desktop app for PC and Mac. 

If you have any questions, please visit our help page or contact our Customer Service team. 

Regards,
Amazon Kindle Support

So, it looks like Amazon is finally making the switch to ePub. This is good to know for authors.

That’s it for this month. See you in February!

 If you have your book listed on BookBub, I will add my review there also! Click HERE to follow me! (Colleen M. Chesebro) Let me know in the comments if you follow me so I can follow you!

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