So strange. Strange characters, strange interactions. The first 70% of this book was like a fever dream or like the weird disorientation you experience the first few seconds you awake from a long nap. After that it followed the same ole lesfic formula. If the characters had maintained their earlier strangeness this would have been 3 stars for me. I really enjoyed the straightforwardness afforded by their strangeness. It cut down on the silly drama caused by simple misunderstandings. There was also some metaphorical excess in the writing but it was tolerable. Anyway this was still a fairly enjoyable read.

Andrews and Austin have created a thrilling mystery in a lush setting surrounding not one but two romances.
This story is incredibly atmospheric. The setting and writing really drive the plot and the mystery throughout and give an eerie feeling that contributes a great deal to the story. Sometimes the story feels very supernatural and others it feels so realistic it is a fascinating balancing act.
I love the premise and delivery so much. It was really intriguing to follow Taylor though the mystery and her own personal discoveries.
Taylor's character is fantastic and I loved her as the main character. She goes through so much growth and transformation throughout the story while everyone else in the story knows more than her about what is going on in this sleepy little town.
Decade’s character frustrated me a bit. She has all the answers and expects too much of Taylor who has no answers and is trying to come to terms with her sexuality. I feel she is completely unfair in her expectations and interactions with Taylor which made it difficult to connect with her character.
Overall I really enjoyed the story. The romance was often sweet and slow, and the characters and atmosphere really made the story. I loved how the light supernatural aspect brought it all together.

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This was an interesting read. Any book with animals of any kind gets extra consideration from me. They add so much value to the storyline. The scenic descriptions were lovely, making you feel a part of it. The characters are well written and the touch of humor adds an additional flair. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Disgruntled, empty and uninspired, mystery writer Taylor took up her best friend’s offer of a respite to stay in the latter’s cabin in Minnesota. Grappling to resurrect her career due to writer’s block, a ten-year lacklustre failure of a marriage, Taylor was void of life. On the plane she met an enigmatic Angelique, who promised passion where she was headed.

In the small town not only teeming with fishes and bears, there were peculiar and menacing characters of all sorts amidst whispers and hushes of illicit affairs and a certain murder. Then there was the very enthralling Levade whom by all accounts should not have caught the eye of self proclaimed straight Taylor.

The book entails the journey that Taylor took in the quest to rediscover herself, and the fulfilment of a promise of passion.

I just reviewed White Horse Point by Andrews & Austin. #NetGalley

Novelist Taylor heads to a small town and a secluded cabin in order to finally finish the book she's been trying, and failing, to write. Taylor meets Levade, a beautiful and mysterious woman, and finds herself inexplicably drawn to her. But a murder in her past haunts her and a ghostly presence threatens to tip the balance in their lives.

I was fascinated by the description and really wanted to love this book, but it was a struggle to finish.
I felt like there was just too many components - too many people and plot lines and themes for me to totally get into the story. I liked Taylor but it was very hard to connect to her relationship with her neighbours and the townspeople or her love interest, Levade. The descriptions of the setting was probably my favourite parts of this book. Some of the quirky characters were a lot of fun as well. This was my first book by Andrews and Austin and I'll have to check out more in the future.


I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While I was super excited to read this book, I was unable to as I got approved after the release date and the book archived itself before I could download and read it. I will, however, be adding it to my wishlist as it is still something I'm very excited to read!

Stunned AKA HOW Did I Not Hear of These Incredible Authors Sooner?
Taylor is a bestselling author who is having a hard time with her latest novel. Her publisher insists that she go to her late Aunt’s cabin in REALLY rural Northern Minnesota to take some time away and finish the book. Levade is a beautiful horse trainer who spends the spring and summer in the lake house her late Aunt left to her. With her snow white horse and a giant cat for company, she pretty much tries to keep to herself. She loves to take her horse for midnight swims. When she meets the confusing writer who is staying across the lake from her, she is intrigued but knows the other woman needs to stay away, for everyone’s sake…

I loved this book and not just because it takes place about 5 hours from my back yard but because it was AMAZING! It was the first book I’ve read by Andrews and Austin but it will not be my last!! This book was divine! It had all the best things, a beautiful horse, a great cat, sexy women, a mystery, ghosts, psychic abilities and energies, soul mates and fantastic writing!! I adored the settings, the descriptions, the characters, how terrible the bad guy was, and even more how these lovely authors tied up loose ends and finished the story. And the feels… Oh my, the feels, happy, sad, angry, grateful, worried and pleased, love, super big awwws and lots of warm fuzzies! I was just amazed by how much I felt. I could not stop reading this book! I read it cover to cover, never minding the fact it was WAY past my bed time when I was done. It was all I could do not to turn on the computer and download another book by this dynamic duo. Let me tell you this though, it will not be long until I do just that. I have a feeling this pair could become quite addicting!

I have never had the pleasure of reading any novels by Andrews and Austin until I picked up White Horse Point. I’m glad I got this book because I did enjoy reading the story, even though I found a few glitches in the tale.
First the good things about the novel, and there are a lot of these.
The story itself is awesome and well written. I love how the intrigue/mystery aspect of the book starts out with little hints and gradually increases as you keep reading. The story is told in first person though the eyes of mystery writer Taylor James, so everything we see is through her perspective. This is also well done. I liked how the paranormal aspect of the story is incorporated into the tale as well. The authors use it to add to the mystery and to help the romance in the story.

For the most part, the characters are well written, though this is the area where I felt there were glitches, mostly with Taylor. By the end of the first chapter or two, I thought I had a pretty good idea of this character’s personality. Then she traveled to the lakehouse and started behaving in a manner I didn’t think was correct for the character as I saw her. I can’t give examples without using spoilers, but there were several times I wanted to yell at Taylor, “What the hell are you doing?!” I understand some of those actions probably had to be done to move the mystery and danger in the plot along, but it still felt wrong for that character.

Overall, I feel this is a very good intrigue and thriller novel with a lovely romance added in, and I enjoyed reading it. I will also be looking for more from these authors.
I’m giving this a 3.5 star rating and moving it to 4 stars overall.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

So sorry I DNF this one.
This one is just not my cup of tea.
I saw these authors on a zoom bookathon (which was fantastic btw) and I was interested in them and their book. Unfortunately I found the writing a bit cutesy and descriptions of everything a bit over top and unnecessary. (Field of sunflowers as tall as a 10 year old boy)
The story took too long to start and grab me. Too many books to review...too little time to spend on one that doesn't interest me.
But I commend them for reigniting their writing flame and hopefully their next story will suit my fancy.

Not very engaging in making you understand the characters or the story....could not really follow what is going on.

Romance laced with mysticism set in the woods of Minnesota.

Taylor's life is on hold. Seemingly stuck in her NYC apartmebt. Recently divorced from an abusive relationship. A writer blocked for years. Her publicist sends her off to northern Minnesota for quiet and a new environment to break the cycle. There Taylor finds more than she bargained for: mystery, affairs, homicidal neighbors and, if course, passionate romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book in spite of the homophobic hairs raised by reading the blurbs in the introductory pages. I initially chose the book because of the horsey cover and title and the summary seemed to promise at least a smidgen of that heavenly manure fragrant perhaps only to those who never outgrew their childhood horse fevers. The book didn't get into the whole lesbian aspect until just past the halfway mark and even though there was some jaw dropping material included I'd say it was well written and tastefully done. A mystery with a supernatural elements, White Horse Point has just enough horse power to keep even the straight equestrians reading to the finish line.

This book was a good read. It has some very good parts, and some parts which could have been better.

Pros:
Excellent chemistry between main characters - The chemistry is instant and dazzling.
Fun side characters which you remember - Sometimes a side character is introduced but you forget about them until they appear the next time and you have to scroll back to remember them. This is not the case in White Horse Point. The side characters are quirky and memorable.
Good minor paranormal elements - This book combines slight paranormal parts which is presented in a realistic setting. I find this is rarely as well executed as it is in this book.
Different types of sexual encounters - This book contains excellent sex, bad sex and it has sexual assault. Excellent sex is usually well described in books, but I appreciate how the author tackles the bad sex and the sexual assault.

Cons:
Confusing main character - Sometimes I found it hard to understand the logic behind Taylors choices. She's presented as a woman who's been through a lot and have started to see her own value, but it feels like her choices haven't got the memo.
Abrupt and weird ending - The book had an excellent place to end the book where it felt natural. But instead of the HEA it continues on for several more chapters which sometimes feels like they are written by a different writer.
Cover - The cover doesn't really feel like it captures the feeling of this book.

To sum it up: I like most parts of this book, but I feel a good book I idea could have been executed better.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

I thought this was pretty good bedtime reading. Not too serious that I was kept awake by danger or soul-searching, but engaging enough that I read far past when I intended to stop.

Taylor has some issues, hence, her publicist/agent sends her away to "finish the damn book" (which is odd, you'll see). At times, I wanted to smack her upside the head! I didn't really connect with her. Honestly, I didn't really connect with any of the characters.

What kept me engaged were the slight paranormal aspects, the coincidence layered into the plot and wondering if Taylor would ever finish the damn book. Frank kept me wondering as well. (His arc was quite well done.) All of the characters were unique and memorable (except for Sam's deputies, whom I also wanted to smack. You'll see.) But the horse...HE stayed with me.

I'm glad I was granted an ARC so that I could provide this rambling review. Thank you to A&A for writing this entertaining, quirky and memorable book. Thank you to BSB for letting me review it.
I think this is one I'll add to my 'Read Once A Year' shelf.

This was a quirky little book. There were parts I thought were quite clever, which I enjoyed, but other parts not so much. This book is really coming down in just the okay category for me. It was an entertaining enough way to spend my night social distancing, but it’s not a book I would go out of my way to recommend to people.

I am not that familiar with the authors Andrews and Austin. I read their book Summer Winds maybe eight years ago. What I can remember of it I enjoyed it quite a bit and was going to be on the lookout for some new releases by them. Unfortunately, that never happened because they didn’t write a new book. After a little over a decade, they are finally back with this book. For that fact alone, I was excited to read this book of their return. Also for that fact, I wish this would have worked a little better for me.

This is a “toaster oven”, age-gap romance. I’m not sure of what the younger characters age was, either I missed it or it was never said. I just know one of the characters was in her 40’s and she mentioned the other woman being younger quite a few times as it became a concern for her. Besides the romance this is almost a teeny tiny thriller? I’m putting that question mark there because I’m trying my best to label this. I was going to say mystery, but what happens isn’t much of a mystery, but there is some excitement so I think calling it a little, baby thriller might work better. There is also a little bit of a ghost story to tie in some history, but I’m still trying to figure out if it was enough of a ghost story to put the paranormal tag on this or not. And on top of all that, this book had a little humor too.

In listing all those categories this book fits in, I think it was all a little too much. This book would go from witty and clever to the point that I have a big smile on my face, to “oh crap, what the hell?!” It was this odd mix that I just don’t think all worked together. And because of me feeling like this didn’t all mesh together, I found myself only liking parts of the book instead of the whole book. There are a lot of good ideas here, they just didn’t all come together like I hoped.

This book is in first person in the POV of Taylor. I did like Taylor quite a bit. Most of the funny moments and some great dialogue lines came from her. There were a few times she said something and I thought ‘what a great comeback’. At times she was really well written. Other times she acted like a complete idiot. For instance like not caring about her personal safety at all. And just like another reviewer pointed out, women living in New York City, they know better than that.

When it came to the romance I struggled a bit. I was all for Taylor finding a love interest but I wasn’t crazy about her choice. Taylor is in her 40’s, never even thought about being with a woman before, and her potential interest wants a commitment after a few kisses. Her love interest was one fast U-Hauler and I just wanted her to cut Taylor some slack instead. Not only that but she sent Taylor a ton of mixed messages and I kept wanting to tell Taylor ‘it’s just not worth it’. And for Taylor’s part she seemed to either be obsessed or trying to grow a backbone so she wouldn’t be so messed with. I just didn’t feel like this was the way to start a new relationship with a potential “soul-mate”.

I did just complain quite a bit but this book did have its good parts. There were some witty and even humorous parts like I mentioned, and also some exciting scenes that kept me turning the pages. I just think this story was trying too hard to do too much, so I can’t say that it was anymore more than just okay. Since I did enjoy the book Summer Winds, I would give these authors another read for sure.

It has taken me a little bit to write this review because I really needed to think about how I felt about it. The verdict is that it was OK. There were parts that I liked and other parts that I found perplexing.

So what did I like - I liked the mystery surrounding the story. I mean who doesn't love a sexy ghost? I also like the chemistry between the two mains. What bothered me about this one is you take a woman from NYC and put her in the boonies and she loses herself. What I mean by that is she does the dumbest crap! I mean would any new Yorker make some of the mistakes she made? I'm not from NYC and I would not make those same mistakes. It really didn't seem believable. Also, the book was a little drawn out.

Anyway, I give this one 3 stars.

This book is ok, it tells a half-fantastic half-mystery story, in which there are some spiritual beings who have a certain role in the evolution of the plot.

The two main protagonists are a writer who has lost her inspiration, whose name is Taylor, and a mysterious woman withdrawn from the world of her own free will, who is named Levade.

Taylor, obeying her editor, arrives at a cabin in a town in the Northwoods, a cabin that had belonged to an aunt of hers who has passed away and of which she has memories of her childhood spent there. And since her arrival and without knowing very well how or why she feels an attraction to Levade, who is a somewhat elusive woman who lives on the other side of the lake, in front of her cabin.

The story mixes the ghosts of people who lived in that town, their hidden stories that give meaning to some things that happen in the current time with a somewhat sordid plot that envelops the inhabitants of that town that Taylor arrives at. There is certainly some tension but not total surprise in the development of the story. Some specific event from the past can be unexpected.

And as far as romance is concerned, because since Levade is so evasive and hesitant and Taylor seems to be a little up in the clouds too, it remains on a normal level.

So strange. Strange characters, strange interactions. The first 70% of this book was like a fever dream or like the weird disorientation you experience the first few seconds you awake from a long nap. After that it followed the same ole lesfic formula. If the characters had maintained their earlier strangeness this would have been 3 stars for me. I really enjoyed the straightforwardness afforded by their strangeness. It cut down on the silly drama caused by simple misunderstandings. There was also some metaphorical excess in the writing but it was tolerable. Anyway this was still a fairly enjoyable read.

I've read 'Summer Winds' by these authors and I've really enjoyed it but this book is something else. I think the word that describes it best is beautiful. I feared that there is maybe a little bit too much mystery in it for me but that wasn't the case. It's just a touch and it makes the story so much better and unique. You just have to love the main characters, but not only them. The image in my head of Sass sleeping on her head is hilarious. I really enjoyed the way it's written. First person and this dry and witty humor. I cracked up so many times! And just so mention it again: the love story is really beautiful.