JB's Bookworms with Brandy Mulder

“Huzza!”  Toasting a New Nation, 1760-1815 Timothy Symington Genre:  Nonfiction/History Publisher:  McFarland Books Date of Publication:  September 29, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-4766-9315-6 Print ISBN: 978-1-4766-5056-2 ebook ASIN: BOCK62JP5L Number of pages: 273 Word Count: 125,000.  Drinking toasts to the American Revolution and beyond! During the early years of the United States, toasts captured popular sentiments regarding people and events.  Sometimes they were used to spread national ideology and partisan political views.  They could even be “weaponized” against political opponents, such as during the bitter election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in 1800.  “Huzza!”  Toasting a New Nation, 1760-1815 is a retelling of the familiar historical narrative, but toasts are used to tell the story of the events and people between the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Amazon      Mcfarland Books Guest Post What inspired...

30th Anniversary of the 1994 Delta Ice Storm Edition Thriller Date Published: January 26, 2024 "Gritting, unexpected, and hard to put down." - Midwest Book Review Rook’s on the run in the most dangerous storm in decades. When a brush with the law goes from bad to worse, can she escape druggies, crazies, and killers?   Abandoned by her now-ex-boyfriend at a dive bar in the middle of nowhere, the last thing resilient Rook Kellum needs is the local sheriff confiscating her I.D. when one phone call could expose her true identity and the reason she is on the run from the law. So when she’s trapped by a deadly ice storm that destroys the Mississippi Delta, the twenty-year-old fugitive has a plan: get everyone drunk, steal back her license (and a madman’s car), and get the hell out of town. It is only when Rook escapes to a secluded cabin does she discover she isn’t the only one in need of rescue. As she fights her way o...

Book Details: Book Title: A Gateway to Hope: Hope Series, Book 1 by E.C. Jackson Category: Adult Fiction 18+, 296 pages Genre: Inspirational Romance Publisher: E.C. Jackson Release date: June 19, 2015 Content Rating: PG + M. These books contain mature themes. This novel catches your attention in a dramatic opening and holds your attention while you follow the ups and downs of a love story. It is a rarity to find a romance that focuses on the fine tuning of character building and adjustments couples have to make for their relationship to work, particularly while also trying to hold onto faith and personal convictions. There is a place in this day and age for well written literature that goes against the grain of popular media. - review by Catherine Ndhovu Book Description: Twenty-one-year-old Neka is a bit of an introvert, she also happens to be stunningly beautiful. When she discovers her friend James is about to be dumped, she sees the perfect opportunity to escape from her quiet...

    Book Details: Book Title :    Dead Letters by P.J. Murphy Category :  Adult Fiction (18+), 349 pages Genre :   Mystery, Literary Fiction Publisher :   P.J. Murphy Release date:    May 2023 Content Rating :   PG-13 +M.  The book is not violent, and swearing is infrequent. There  are a number of references to ghosts, but the atmosphere is more gothic than scary (with one exception) . However, it is a book  aimed squarely at adults , with  references to  depression and mental illness. Book Description: “If you want to find me, search within these pages.” Bestselling author Richard Debden is missing. The only clue: a copy of his unpublished final novel delivered to his ex-girlfriend, Amy. When those closest to Richard reunite for his memorial, Amy turns to Chris, his former best friend, to help unravel the mystery. Could Richard still be alive and in need of their help? Richard’s manuscript te...

  Medical Thriller / Historical Mystery Date Published: Sept. 21, 2023 Publisher: Books Fluent Narrator: Scott Graff Run Time: 9 hours, 8 minutes Dr. Randall Archer is a misfit.... ....in the brutal blue-collar home where he grew up. ....as a 16-year-old escaping to college, then medical school, on a full scholarship to Harvard. ....in the highest echelons of Boston society, where the woman he marries and the blueblood research partner with whom he shares his laboratory belong. Even Archer’s brilliance as a pathologist catapults him into direct and dangerous conflict with the medical establishment he fought so hard to join. As the Great Depression presses down around him, Archer teeters at the edge of a precipice. He must choose between his hard-won career and the sacred oaths he took as a doctor and scientist—before all his choices are lost forever. Review by Jena Baxter The Human Trial ⭐⭐⭐ This is...

Viscount Overboard by Misty Urban (Ladies Least Likely, #1) Published by: Oliver Heber Books Publication date: December 5th 2023 Genres: Adult, Historical Romance, Romance When the war-scarred Viscount Penrydd washes up in 1799 Newport minus his memory, Gwenllian ap Ewyas decides not to tell him he owns, and threatened to sell, the property she’s made a refuge for her and other lost souls. Gwen found healing from her haunted past by making St. Sefin’s into a sanctuary for the hurt and abandoned, and she’ll do anything to preserve the place—including lie to the English lord who owns it until she can win him to her cause. But making Penrydd her stableboy is a dangerous game, especially when he’s a target for an outside menace moving into Newport. Even more unsettling for Gwen, under the scars and arrogance is a man she can admire and possibly love. But as shadows from both their pasts appear at St. Sefin’s, Gwen risks losing her livelihood, her home, and her heart when Penrydd learns j...