Author Empi Baryeh's Blog

Happy Tuesday! It's time for another Prah, Constantine and Baryeh review. We went sweet romance with  Meant to Be (Sweetbriar Cove Book 1)  by Melody Grace. (PS. which is free at the time of posting this review) The Blurb Perfect for fans of Bella Andre, Susan Mallery, and Mary Kay Andrews, 'Meant to Be' is a gorgeously romantic feel-good beach read about a runaway bride searching for true love on Cape Cod... Poppy Somerville believes in happily-ever-after. It's the reason her romance novels have won devoted readers all over the world - and why she's broken off her engagement just weeks before the wedding instead of settling for less than true love. Escaping to her aunt's beach cottage in Sweetbriar Cove, Poppy is looking for inspiration to end her writer's block and finish her new book. She just wasn't counting on the handsome, gruff contractor making such a racket next door... Cooper Nicholson doesn't believe in soul-mates. He thought he'...

Happy Friday and welcome to another edition of Prah, Constantine and Baryeh Reviews (#PCBReviews). We went with a (Chinese) cosy mystery: Raining Men and Corpses (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 1) by Anne R. Tan. Here's the blurb : When it rains, it pours … and this amateur sleuth may be in over her head. Graduate student Raina Sun is trying to keep her head above water as the bills roll in when her dashing college adviser cons her out of several months of rent. Her quest to retrieve the money sets in motion a streak of even worse luck. First, she stumbles on her advisor's dead body and becomes a suspect in his murder. Next, the only man she's ever loved reappears as the lead detective to the case. Raina's having trouble interpreting his signals--does he want to reignite their passion, or just stay close to his prime suspect? Her life careens further out of control when her grandma shows up at Raina's postage-stamp-sized apartment, dragging a red suitcase an...

Hey, everyone. It's time for another 3-in-1 review from the review team of Prah, Constantine and Baryeh! (drumroll). We took a trip down paranormal lane with Maggie for Hire (Maggie MacKay Magical Tracker Book 1) by  Kate Danley . Here's the blurb My name is Maggie MacKay. When monsters show up in Los Angeles, I get the call to haul 'em back to the dimension where they belong. It's a living. But I just got word my uncle has teamed up with the forces of darkness to ruin my life. Actually, everyone's lives. Everyone's gonna die if don't find a magical object before the coming apocalypse. This is going to make the next family reunion a little awkward. Come along with me, my sidekick elf Killian, and my crazy family for a snarky urban fantasy adventure with attitude. WARNING: This book contains cussing, brawling, and unladylike behavior. Proceed with caution. My Review I am not the biggest fan of urban fantasy, and I prefer to consume par...

Happy December! It's my pleasure to bring you the final Prah, Constantine and Baryeh review for 2018. A December review is actually unusual, because we tend to take a break for the Holidays. Anyway, so we decided to feed our sweet teeth this time with a Christmas-themed romance titled Twelve Nights by Sharon Struth. Don't forget to check out reviews from Prah and Constantine . Here's the blurb For Erik Lindholm, it’s been a long climb to the top of his company. Now, as president he has the power to bring his vision to life and speed his company in bold new directions. If that means a complete staff overhaul, so be it. If that means firing the woman who left his heart in tatters fifteen years earlier, it’s a business decision, not personal… Beryl Foster is highly competent and respected by everyone at the office. But rumors of a big shake-up are rampant and—surprisingly, scarily—Beryl’s job as CFO is on the line. Fifteen years ago she made a decision to put ...

Hi folks! Happy Halloween month. We're back with our 3-for-1 review, so a fter you're done here, d on't forget to check out reviews from  Prah  and  Constantine .   We went to the wild west :-) and found Mail Order Bride: Mail Order Mayor by Ashley Walter .  Here's the blurb: Some mail-order brides have secrets... sometimes, so do their husbands.  Cadence Fairbanks was supposed to be a mail-order bride, until things went wrong.   She’d left her old life behind her and tried to start over, but the man she was supposed to marry is back.  He wants a second chance.  Cadence doesn't know if she loves him anymore.  Or does she?  Austin Wilkes has to prove himself to her.  But he’s got his own secrets, and he's still mourning for his first wife and child.  She's not sure she can trust him, but he's not sure he can trust her.  When the women of Angel's Reach start to go missing, Cadence vows to hu...

Hi folks. Another second month comes with a brand new 3-in-1 review. We went for something fun and paranormal - Wicked for Hire (Paranormal in Manhattan Mystery: A Cozy Mystery on Kindle Unlimited Book 1) Sometimes, the opportunity of a lifetime comes bustin' your door... without even offering to pay for the damages... Medical student Amanda Meyer thought she had her life all planned out until people started dying the moment they touched her. Being cleared of any wrongdoing didn’t stop the medical school from expelling her, and it didn’t rid her of the unfortunate nickname Grim Reaper. Luckily, having a rep as the harbinger of death isn’t a total resume killer. Rick Rowling, Special Agent for the FBI’s Paranormal Cases Division recruits her to work for the Bureau as a resident witch. But the sexy, brilliant, outrageous loose cannon proves to be just as untouchable as the mysterious creature or creatures that may be responsible for the seemingly unsolvable murder that becom...

Hello folks, and welcome to the second Prah, Constantine and Baryeh review of the year 2018. I start today's post with an announcement. Prah, Constantine and Baryeh reviews will now be posted bi-monthly. The reason? Life gets in the way, unfortunately, and this has affected how many books we can commit to reading as a group. We still aim to bring you our honest 3-for-1 reviews! Our last read was, Crane by Stacey Rourke, a paranormal. Here's the Blurb The Horseman is unending, his presence shan’t lessen. If you break the curse, you become the legend. Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep. What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you? Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover ...

The Blurb (A standalone Mirror Lake Christmas novella) Here comes a charming standalone Christmas novella by Amazon bestselling author Miranda Liasson. Fans of both Mirror Lake series will recognize familiar elements and people along the way. It’s two days before Christmas and bestselling children’s author Grace Alberts needs to fulfill a promise—to make it to a book signing for the kids at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the place that did so much for her during a very rough time. But the weather’s getting awful and all flights are cancelled out of Boston, where she’s wrapping up her book tour. Then in walks her annoying but extremely sexy ex-husband, who (as usual) thinks he’s got all the answers. Graham Walker just stopped by to get a book signed for Grace’s biggest fan, his niece, and wish Grace a Merry Christmas—why not? But he soon finds himself troubleshooting her dilemma. He’s got a Range Rover that can plow through a hundred-year Nor’easter. He’s even head...

Hi everyone! It's PC&B time again (hmmm...still working on it, guys). We read The Bookshop on Autumn lane by Cynthia Tennent, and as usual you get 3 reviews for the same book (links to the other reviews at the bottom). THE BLURB While some young women would jump through hoops to claim ownership of a bookshop,  free-spirited Gertrude “Trudy” Brown wants nothing to do with the rundown store her late Aunt Gertrude left her.  Having suffered from dyslexia all her life, books aren’t exactly her friends. With not much more than a collie dog who’s scared of his own shadow, and a rusty but trusty ’74 Beetle, Trudy arrives in the tiny town of Truhart, determined to sell off her cumbersome inheritance as quickly as possible…    But Trudy is not the only stranger in town. Christopher “Kit” Darlington, a professor of American Studies at Cambridge, is searching for an elusive manuscript—and he secretly thinks Trudy’s ramshackle bookshop might hold the key to its ...

I had a what's this day moment, which is why this post didn't go up yesterday with Prah and Constantine 's reviews (remember to check those out, if you haven't already). So our book of choice was The Librarian by Christy Sloat. Here's the blurb He’s from 1892 England, she’s in a small library in 2017. And that's just the start of their troubles. Emme never meant to stay in Maine. She'd come only to find a librarian for her Gram's library, a custodian for the collection of mysterious books she'd promised to protect. On a dark, wintery night, alone in the library, she takes her first glance into one of the antique novels and finds herself transported to 1892 England staring into the eyes of handsome and dashing hero Jack Ridgewell. As each chapter passes she learns you can truly fall in love with a character in a book, that book boyfriends are real and Emme must choose between the real world, and his. When the last page is read he's gone and...

We're still loving on historicals, so we selected Snow White Red-Handed (A Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery Book 1) by Maia Chance . Here's the blurb: Miss Ophelia Flax is a Victorian actress who knows all about making quick changes and even quicker exits. But to solve a fairy-tale crime in the haunted Black Forest, she’ll need more than a bit of charm… 1867: After being fired from her latest variety hall engagement, Ophelia acts her way into a lady’s maid position for a crass American millionaire. But when her new job whisks her off to a foreboding castle straight out of a Grimm tale, she begins to wonder if her fast-talking ways might have been too hasty. The vast grounds contain the suspected remains of Snow White’s cottage, along with a disturbing dwarf skeleton. And when her millionaire boss turns up dead—poisoned by an apple—the fantastic setting turns into a once upon a crime scene. To keep from rising to the top of the suspect list, Ophelia fights through a bramble o...

After, dabbling in paranormal for our last review, we decided to go for a historical romance - and we selected Second Chance Marquess by Jessica Jefferson Here's the short and sweet blurb: When Wilhelmina Turner’s younger sister runs off with a young Lothario, she has no choice but to turn to the notorious rake who broke his promise and her heart, for assistance. George Bartlett, the Marquess of Chesterton, hasn’t forgotten the woman who hurt him so many years ago, but can’t deny her request, knowing that his brother’s reputation and fortune is at risk. A series of misfortunes leave the straight-laced widow and committed bachelor stranded, sharing both close quarters and old secrets. But when morning comes, will this unlikely pair find a second chance at love?

After a month's break, we decided to change directions a bit and sink our teeth into some vampires (pun intended), so we read  Guardian of the Grail (Immortal Blood Book 1) by Elena Bryce . Here's the Blurb: Ivy's Quest: Protect the Grail, evade the Hunters, don't fall for the bad boy immortal, he bites! A fast paced adventure to get the Holy Grail to safety; battling hunters, vampires and a deadly ancient evil. Action packed urban fantasy with paranormal romance. Before vampires, they were Guardians, drinking the sacred blood of the Holy Grail, and sworn to protect it through the ages. When Lachlan Thorn is entrusted with the task of relocating the Grail to a castle in the Scottish Highlands, he requires the help of a witch to conceal it on the perilous journey. Unfortunately for him, the only one available is Ivy, who is untrained and a descendant of the woman who broke his heart. For Ivy, helping to protect the Grail gives her a chance to do something good ...

Hi good people! It's a brand new month and time for another Prah, Constatine and Baryeh Review ***Applause*** Well... it's actually a Prah and Baryeh event this month, since Cathrina Constantine is busy preparing for the release of her brand new book, Incense and Peppermint (more on that next week). Okay, to the business at hand. We read Pumpkin: a Cindermama Story by Ines Johnson in February. Here's the blurb Single mother Malika “Pumpkin” Tavares lost faith in fairytales after she fell for a toad. Now she believes she’s not cut from the storybook, heroine cloth and searches for Mr. Good Enough amongst the sidekicks and supporting men of the town. Love at first sight isn’t a cliche for town royalty Armand “Manny” Charmayne. For generations the Charmaynes have spotted their soulmates by seeing a golden aura the first time they laid eyes on The One. When Manny meets Pumpkin he sees…nothing, but sparks fly off the Richter scale. The more he gets to know her the more...

I am so thrilled to post on Valentine's day! Thanks for stopping by amidst preparations for big dates and events tonight! As always, we try to  pick something that's relevant to the season, so naturally we went with a book that's all about Cupid's day:  Challenging Miss Valentine by Cindy K. Green. Before I go any further, here's the blurb : For one mad moment Ella Valentine steps outside her comfort zone and ends up caught in a lie and saddled with a new boss who she suspects might be losing his mind. Now he has her enacting insane acts of espionage while trying to catch the culprit who has embezzled money from their company. Charles "Charlie"Murray II might be heir to the Murray family dynasty, but he'd rather be off creating than running the CFO office. However, if he can discover who's been stealing from the company then he just might attain the position of his dreams or will he sacrifice it all to be with Ella.

So for Halloween month, we went with the season and read a Halloween themed romance, His Halloween Kisses by Kathy Bosman. Here's the blurb Ali’s never been so scared. She’s housesitting for a colleague on Halloween night, but the lights have gone out, and terrible noises and crashes send her imagination into overdrive. When her brother’s friend comes to her rescue, he kisses her in the dark three times. Once back in the light, Ali is embarrassed at allowing him to kiss her. Byron tries to ignore his strong attraction for Ali, especially seeing he’s not ready for a relationship. When Ali finds out why, she runs away, but life has other plans. What can bring them together? Fate, faith, or the memory of his Halloween kisses?

Happy October and welcome to another 3-in-1 review!  Last month we read a Love Built to Last: (Fireflies ~ Book 1)  by Lisa Ricard Claro. The Blurb She can’t let go of her dead husband…  Maddie Kinkaid believes her late husband, Jack, gives her advice on everything from ordering a pizza to hiring a carpenter, so when she finds Caleb Walker’s business card on Jack’s desk, she’s convinced that he’s the guy to remodel her kitchen.  He can’t decide if she’s worth the risk…   Caleb is a single father, and protecting his young son means avoiding romantic entanglements. But there’s heat in every kitchen, and sparks ignite between Caleb and Maddie—until disaster strikes. When Jack goes silent, Maddie’s guilt consumes her, and it looks as if she and Caleb will never find their happily-ever-after—at least, not without a little help from Jack…  LOVE BUILT TO LAST began as the award-winning short story Fireflies, and is now the first novel i...

We're at it again! Last month we read Hot Pursuit , a romantic suspense by Lynn Raye Harris .  It had been a while since I read romantic suspense, so I was eager to read this when it came up for a vote. I totally used my veto powers (insert evil laugh here). Okay, I didn't really veto but I asked very nicely. Okay, enough rambling. Let's get on with this review.

Hey world. Happy August! If you're a Monday-is-the-first-day-of-the-week kinda person then this is probably a great month for you since the first of the month was also a Monday.  Anyway, let's get to the business at hand, which is another Prah, Constantine and Baryeh review!  Last month we chose Hitched by Kendall Ryan.

We’re back again this month with a new book and three reviews for you. We chose an African American novella: A Breath of Fresh Air by Kalyssa Powell.