Hello all my reader friends!
Things have been so so busy with me lately in my personal life that it’s been a little hard to find time for my book work. At the end of July I decided to put my notice in at the Jeep dealership I had my day job at because I was hired to work full time at a nearby horseback riding school and farm as their Business, Horse, Facility, and Social Media Manager! It’s a dream job for me, though it has proven to be more physical than I’m used to in a day. I’m definitely tired at the end of the day like I’ve never been before. But on with the book news!
Book Reviews
I read some really good books this month! First up was “The Lilly of Ludgate Hill” by MiMi Matthews. It is the third book in her Belles of London Victorian Era series, and I absolutely love every book so far!
Technically, I read this one in July but since I didn’t have time to put together a proper newsletter for everyone last month, I’m including it in this month. I’ve been on a horse-centered Historical Fiction kick, which is actually a lot harder to find than I thought it would be, so that is how I came to pick up this series in the first place. This is the third book!
I absolutely love MiMi Matthew’s horse and friendship centered series! They have just the right amount of romance to keep me interested and not turn me off by being overly sentimental. There’s always an element of “will they, won’t they” to keep me guessing! You can tell the series is written by an avid horse lover, which is why I picked up the series in the first place.
I loved that this one brought two childhood friends together as lovers. Two who had almost married before but then had to overcome their past hurts from each other to find each other again. The main character had a great amount of independence and sass over her lover that it kept me laughing and say “Yes, girl! That’s right!” through the whole book.
If you love horses, friendship, and soft romance then the Belle’s of London series is for you! I can’t wait for the last book to be released.
I find it very hard to find horse fiction for adults that are of good quality, but I am really glad that I found “The Giver of Stars” by Jojo Moyes!
The story centers around a group of women who become packhorse librarians. They go into the rural mountains of Kentucky to deliver books to those too far to come to the library. Books and horses? Yes, please! Each character was so unique and had so much depth to them. I loved getting to know each of the packhorse librarians throughout the story. These women were somewhat outcasts in their town, so the fact that they could all come together and make fast friends was really nice to see.
The romance in the story was second fiddle to friendship and horses, which is just what I like. I really don’t love sappy love stories or predictable love stories. This was anything but! I was really happy with the way each romance story played out.
Reading this story made me want to learn more about these packhorse librarians, who were real women during the depression. I highly recommend this story. It was one of the best books I’ve read in a while.
I am currently reading “An Echo in the Bone” from the Outlander series as I slowly make my way through this gigantic saga. I love these books. The author does such a great job of providing so much detail that you feel like you’re there. I often find myself wondering “how in the heck would she even know that?!” So I can’t imagine the amount of research it takes to put one of these books together. Now that I am on book seven and the two main characters are older, I think in their fifties, the intimate romance scenes have dwindled down and the focus is on the family and history unfolding, which is what I absolutely love! They are in America right at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and I can’t get enough of the drama and detail. I highly recommend this series, although it is a real huge commitment.
Writing In Progress
I am still plugging away SLOWLY on my very own and first Historical Fiction (that is horse-centered, you know…since it’s so hard to find these books!) I am in the editing process and am about 75% of the way done. Then, I will do one final read-through before publishing. I am hoping and planning to have it out this Fall 2024! Keep a look out in the next newsletter for a more accurate release date.
Anastasia feels like her life is falling apart when her lover abandons her and her baby. With her tail between her legs she returns to her overbearing mother’s home in Northwest Indiana to try to start over. Determined to provide for herself and not have to rely on anyone else ever again, she heads to her late father’s horse and carriage dealership, only to find her mother sold it along with all the horses, including her father’s prized stallion! Desperate for money, she begs for a job as one of their salesmen. As Anastasia tries to make her way in a man’s world, she vows never to fall in love again and to only focus on providing a good life for herself and her daughter, but love always finds a way. A handsome banker who does business with the dealership helps Anastasia to reclaim her purpose in this world. He not only tries to win her heart, but tries to win back the life she lost as well. Can Anastasia earn her father’s business back and find his beloved stallion before it’s too late? Find out this Fall in “When Dealing with Horses”!
I’m so excited to get this book out there. Though a lot of it is fiction, a good chunk of it is based on my own experience as a single mother entering the car dealership business as a salesman.
Free and On Sale eBooks for August
Here are the many links to the hundreds of eBooks that are free or on sale for the rest of this month. Most of these links expire at the end of August, but some continue on into September. There are so many talented indie authors out there! So, stock up your eReaders for that cozy fall reading time that’s coming up.
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Thank you for reading through my newsletter! I hope you found some great books to read. Whose ready for fall?! I know I am (although we are getting hit with a 95 degree day this week, so it’s not very fall like…) Enjoy your reading!
Alex Apostol 