Review: The Redwood Con by Reagan Keeter

The Redwood Con by Reagan Keeter

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: May 2020

When Liam Parker doesn't initially see the texts from his girlfriend, Elise, since he is at a place where he can't answer his phone. We he finally seems them, and tries to call her, he finds it strange that she isn't answering. He rushes to her house to find her dead from an apparent suicide. This doesn't seem like something she would do. The police don't believe that it is a suicide either and all evidence points to Liam as the number one suspect. Will he be able to clear his name or will he go down for a crime he didn't commit.

Thanks to Reagan Keeter and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This title hooked me from the beginning. I had to know what was going to happen next. I didn't know what to expect from this book. I didn't know if Liam Parker was a reliable character or not, but I was on his side. When the secret is revealed, I couldn't believe it.

Can you imagine being wanted for a crime you didn't commit? Too many times in life this happens. Liam Parker was determined not to let that happen to him. He was going to find out who was behind all of this even if it meant that he would put his own life in danger in order to do so. When his children are brought into the equation, it makes things even more difficult to deal with and to understand.

Reagan Keeter is a new to me author, but I will definitely be on the lookout for more of his books.

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To learn more about this book or to order a copy, click the book title below:

THE REDWOOD CON

May Readin' Round Up!!

I'm so glad that summer is almost here.  These past few weeks have been extremely busy and my reading and blogging have all taken a back seat.  My oldest daughter is graduating from Fifth Grad and you would think it was high school or college with all of the events they have going on.  Luckily this is the last week of school.  

I was still able to finish 8 books in May.  And I DNF'd my first book of the year, and I don't think I will go back to it.  

So here's what I read.  Click on any title, to read the full review of the books and on the book cover to order!!  

Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson.  3.5/5 stars This is the first book in the Sometimes in Love series.  I have the other 2 as well and can't wait to read those.

From their freshman year in college, Cassie and her friends may a promise to each other that they would take a European vacation five years after graduation. So that's is where they are. Finishing up their trip in Scotland and then London. All Cassie wants out of this trip is to end her dry spell in the bedroom, but as the trip comes to a close, it doesn't look as though that is going to happen. And then she sees the man she's be waiting for. A long-haired redhead in a kilt named Logan Reid. Could it be more perfect? Cassie throws all her inhibitions to the side and goes for what she wants. Will the be just a vacation fling or something much more.


The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 3/5 stars.  

Jeannette Walls led a very interesting life. Living most of it way below the poverty line and "doing the skedaddle" all over the country. Her parents didn't care much for rules or parenting. The book starts off with Jeannette burning herself at the age of 3 making herself food to eat. What three year old is using a stove? The book continues through her life with some outrageous and mind blowing events. This was a very interesting story that made me hug my kids a little tighter and be thankful for the family I have.



The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang 5/5 stars  I LOVED THIS BOOK!!  This is also the first book in a series. The Bride Test is the second book.

Stella Lane is an econometrician for whom, math is the most important thing. For Stella, her relationships with people aren't as great. Nearing her 30's and at the top of her game at work, her parents are encouraging her to find a boyfriend. But Stella has been on a few dates and even had sex, but none of it interests her. She doesn't like to be touched or to be dirty, so that complicates matters as well. On top of all of that, she as Asperger's, a form of autism. In order to get better at sex and people, Stella decides to hire and escort. When she meets Michael, things are a lot different with him. Is it because she is paying him or is it something else?



Stripped Bare by Frankie Love and C.M. Seabrook 4/5 stars.  Another first in a series.  The series is called Hammers and Veils and they are all novellas that go from meeting to long-term commitment very quickly.

Eli loves his little sister and he would do just about anything for her. So when she asks him to help her friend, Karis, fix up her bakery he is obliged to do the job. When Eli walks into the bakery, he sees the job is a lot more than he signed up for. But when he lays eyes on Karis, all thoughts about the work go out the window. He would do anything to help this pretty girl.



The Mister by E.L. James 3/5 stars.  Her first book since 50 Shades of Grey!!

Alessia Demachi has left her country of Albania in order to avoid being married to a violent man and is now in London. She is working for Maxim Trevelyan as his cleaner. She comes and does her job and then leaves. When she first spots Mister Maxim naked across his bed, she can't believe her eyes. And he has this wonderful piano in his apartment that she enjoys playing when he is not there. But life is not easy for Alessia and she is constantly looking over her shoulder so she is not found by the people who brought her here and are trying to traffic her.




The East End by Jason Allen 4/5 stars

It's Memorial Day weekend in the Hamptons and as usual the Sheffield family is opening their summer home for their family and a slew of guests over the weekend. When the patriarch of the family, Leo Sheffield, decides to arrive at the house a day earlier with a friend, he isn't expecting the night to turn out the way it does. His friend ends up dead and their are witnesses and pictures of what happened. But if the truth is revealed it could ruin him and his family forever. Corey is a townie and the son of Gina who has worked for the Sheffield's for the past 12 years. He is one of the witnesses to what happened at the Sheffield house. Will he be able to keep the secret?



The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick 3.5/4 stars

Martha Storm volunteers at her local library, several days a week. Helping out with the book club and re-shelving the books. One day as she is going to the library for an author event, she sees a man leaving something at the library entrance that is addressed to her. When she opens it up, it's a book dedicated to her from her grandmother, 3 years after her passing. How could this be? What secrets does this book hold? Is her grandmother really dead, or is she still out there somewhere? Martha is determined to find out what is going on and the more she finds out about her past, the more it shapes her future.




The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister 4/5 stars

Scent is the strongest sense tied to memory. One smell can conjure up a whole moment in your life, that you thought you had completely forgotten about. "When you change a scent, you change the memory..."(Quote taken from advanced copy)

Emmeline and her father live on a remote island. It's just the two of them and Emmeline has learned all she knows from her father, but the greatest thing she has learned, is how to use scents to determine what is going on in the world. Cut off from the rest of society, people are just objects in books, and her father is the only other physical person she knows. When she turns 13 and is forced into the "real" world, she quickly discovers that it's more than scents that she will need to make it in life.



The Guest Book by Sarah Blake

Thank you to Flatiron Books for an advanced copy of this book.  I read this book for 10 days and maybe got through the fist 150 pages of this nearly 500 page book.  It's about a family that buys and island near New York and how over the years the younger generation did not want to take care of it.  It didn't grab my attention.  Another thing that bothered me about the book, it changed from past to present day(maybe), but there was never any indication of that.  That was troublesome because the characters throughout the generations had the same name.  I don't think I will go back to this book in the future.



So that about sums it up.  I'm happy with what I got through.  Here is what I plan to read in June:

April Readin' Roundup!!

Happy May my fellow readers!!  How is your Spring or Fall going so far?  School is almost done for the kids and they are starting to feel it.  This April I was able to finish 8 books.  While I read some authors that are familiar to me, the stories I read this month weren't my favorites.  Although, I did discover a new favorite.  The best book I read this month was The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves.    That was the only book that garnered a 5 star from me.  I had three 4 stars, two 3.5 stars, one 3 star, and one surprising 2 star.  Here is are the books I read with a brief description.  Click on the title to read my full review.

 The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

5 Stars
Annika Rose is a beautiful woman living in downtown Chicago. She is 32 years old and she is pretty happy with her life. When she is reunited with Jonathan, her first boyfriend who had disappeared from her life 10 years ago, her world is turned upside down. She has grown so much since the last time she saw Jonathan, but she still has feelings for him. When they decide to give things another try, Annika and Jonathan learn more about themselves and each other than ever before. Will love win this time, and is Annika really different from the girl he used to know.


Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
4 Stars
Mary Addison was nine years old when she allegedly killed 3 month old, Alyssa Richardson. Now, it's 6 years later and Mary finds herself pregnant with her own child. She doesn't want anyone to take the baby from her, but who would allow a baby killer to keep a baby. Mary is now living in a group home for juvenile girls. When she turns 18, who knows what is going to happen with her. She has always been a smart girl and is determined to turn her life around and make something of herself, for her and Bean(what she calls the baby). Mary doesn't talk much, but when she finds a way that may help her to keep the baby, she starts talking about that night and filling in gaps that the police were always missing in the story. Will Mary be able to walk away from these charges for good, or will they stick?


Promises to Keep by Jane Green
4 Stars
Callie and Steffi are sisters and they could not be more different. Callie is a mother of two, a wife and a photographer, living in the New York suburbs. Callie is a city girl through and through and is enjoying her life with her rock star boyfriend and cooking at a vegan restaurant. At some point in life, things change, and things for this family are about to change in a very big way. Will Steffi see the light at the end of the tunnel and finally decide to settle down her life, or will she continue to live by the seat of her pants? Will Callie continue to live her life with her husband always gone and bearing most of the responsibility of the children?


Beast by C.M. Seabrook
4 Stars

Abbott Savage is very mercurial. But one constant in his life has been his love for London. He loves her so much that he knows he's not right for her. Giving her to his best friend, Kyle. Now Kyle has died and London is pregnant with his child. What is Abbott to do? He doesn't want anyone else to take care of London, but he has so many demons in his past, he's not sure if he can take care of her himself.



Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer
3.5 Stars
Meghan Gerard is sick. There is no rational explanation for why she keeps getting sick. She has seen countless doctors and she has no diagnosis. Is she making herself sick, is her mother making her sick? What is going on in this girl's life that is making her body shut down. After finding a doctor that may have finally found out what is wrong with Meghan, other doctors are convinced that it's all in her head or her mother is experiencing Munchausen by proxy. What is real and what is psychosomatic?




Before We Were Wicked by Eric Jerome Dickey
3.5 Stars
Ken Swift is a young college kid, just trying to pay his way through school and life without having enormous debt. His job isn't exactly on the legal side, but it helps him to survive and once he's done with school, this job will be done too. When he is working one night at Club Fetish, reminding the owner that he still owes for his thriving club, he meets Jimi Lee. Jimi Lee is a beautiful Ethiopian woman who he can't keep his eyes off of. She feels the connection too and before long they are at his apartment dancing in other ways. Even though Ken is forbidden fruit in the eyes of Jimi's strick Ethiopian family, she can't stay away from him and soon enough, she'll be joined to him forever.



You'd Be Mine by Erin Hahn
3 Stars

Clay Coolidge and Annie Mathers are country singers. Clay is kind of a bad boy and the only way his record label has agreed to keep him on, is if Annie agrees to go on tour with him for the summer. Annie is a great singer, but her parents were in the business and she's not sure if she wants to follow in their footsteps. But when Clay shows up on her doorstep, she feels like she has no choice but to join him. Being on tour the two learn things about each other, they don't like to share with the world. Will this tour help them to find the healing they are both needing, or will it just make things worse.



His Demand by Lisa Renee Jones
2.5 stars
Gabe Maxwell doesn't like redheads or relationships, but when he meets Abigail, all of that goes out the window. But Abbie, as he likes to call her, isn't as sweet and innocent as she may seem. She has a past that could get both of them hurt. Abbie's ex is a billionaire and determined to make her life a living hell just to get what he wants. Gabe has enough of his own money to fight any man who wants to hurt Abbie or her family. But what Gabe doesn't know can hurt him and Abbie doesn't want to see that happen.



So that's all for April.  I have quite a few books that I plan to read in May and I will be participating in 3 blog tours this month.

BLOG TOURING BOOKS:

May 7th:  Getting Hot with the Scot by Melonie Johnson.  
May 10th:  The East End by Jason Allen
May 20th:  The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister (The publisher has given me a hard copy to giveaway, details for that coming soon)

Here are the other books, I have planned to read in May.  I don't think I'll be able to finish them all, but here's hoping!!!

The Mister by E.L. James (don't judge me)

Stripped Bare by C.M. Seabrook & Frankie Love

The Inn at Hidden Run by Olivia Newport

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake

Only Ever Her by Marybeth Whalen

Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews

The Perfect Lie by Lisa Renee Jones

Waisted by Randy Susan Myers

Smitten by the Brit by Melonie Johnson

                                  

Added Bonus!! Here are books that are scheduled to be released in May that I have added to my TBR and look forward to reading some time in the near future. 

The Night Before by Wendy Walker I have read all of Wendy's previous books and I am very sad I didn't get an ARC of this one as I have her previous titles.  Emma in the Night  and All is Not Forgotten

I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney.  I enjoyed her book from last year, Sometimes I Lie

There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon  Last year I listened to When Dimple Met Rishi and this book is a sequel.

Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson.  As you see, her previous novel Allegedly I reviewed last month.  Her stories leave you with question marks over your head, so I'm really looking forward to this one. 

I can't wait to hear about what you read in April, and what your May TBR looks like.  Tell me all about it in the comments below.  

Happy Reading!!!