REVIEW: The Remains in the Pond by Ann Swann

Senior prom is the happiest night of Gabi's life. Her crush has just revealed that he is every bit as infatuated with her as she is with him. When he has a car wreck and is transported to the hospital in a coma, Gabi feels as if she's taken a knife to the heart. But his jealous cousin, Rose, sees her chance to give the knife an even harder twist. She convinces Gabi to meet her at a local parking spot outside town. It's a night that will change several lives forever. One of the girls will return, and one will become known as the remains in the pond.

This story is a little bit retro. In 1999 there were no cell phones. Cordless phones were the newest and greatest innovation. Those and answering machines. Wall mounted phones with long, curly cords were the norm. The World Wide Web was still years away. If you needed to use a phone when away from home, you could use the nearest pay phone. This was really fun to read…a blast from the past. Not so far in the past that it’s not relatable to us today, just enough to remind us of our own youth. Our own proms. The magic and glitter.

Awesome book! I loved the “mystery” and the romance story lines. It kept me reading, especially wanting to know WHO’s Remains were in the pond, and HOW Gabi was going to get out of this delima.. The author is very good at descriptions, I am picturing all of the chapters, as if I were right beside characters. Good job Ann!!!!!

I enjoyed this novel. Even though it is a fairly new released novel, it is based on life in the 90s – no cell phones, no technology really, except the sporadic mention of email. That threw me just a little bit, because I kept yelling out while reading for the characters to just use their smartphones, but they didn’t have them back then.

Other than that, this is a great novel. It has love, mystery, friendship, and finding yourself when you have no idea who you are or who you want to be. Life can be tricky in high school and right after. You are thrown into the adult world, without being surrounded by family and friends that you have had for the last 18 years. But life has a way of working itself out, sometimes when you least expect it.

This is a really great read, a wonderful mystery that starts after the crime happens and leads you down the path of the only suspect that the police have. It such a wonderful mystery story.

A must read....

5 stars

Ann Swann was born in the small West Texas town of Lamesa. She grew up much like Stevie-girl in The Phantom Pilot, though she never got up the nerve to enter the haunted house. Ann has done everything from answering 911 Emergency calls to teaching elementary school. She still lives in West Texas with her husband, Dude, one rescue dog, two rescue cats, and a part-time box turtle named Piggy. When not writing, Ann is reading. Her to-be-read list has grown so large it has taken on a life of its own. She calls it Herman.

Connect w/Ann on FB http://www.facebook.com/annswann.books or facebook.com/annswann.author
or on Twitter @ann_swann
Click the follow button to get updates on this page!

Books for all ages:
Stevie-girl and The Phantom Pilot was her first published book (Cool Well Press)
(Amazon Bestseller/ghost stories/scary stories)
Book Two was Stevie-girl and the Phantom Student
Book Three was Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Crybaby Bridge (Amazon Bestseller/ghost stories/scary stories)

Books for adults:
New Release - COPPER LAKE - Book 3 (Stutter Creek series)

All For Love - contemporary romance/women's fiction - 5 Prince Publishing (Amazon Bestseller/Literary Fiction)
Stutter Creek - romantic suspense - 5 Prince Publishing (Amazon Bestseller/Romantic Suspense)
Lilac Lane - romantic suspense - 5 Prince Publishing

Coming soon: Takers: Apocalypse in Eden (Book One)


Short fiction:

The Soul Gardener, was published in the anthology, Timeless, by Cool Well Press.

Chems, a speculative short story about a chemical zombie/soldier, is available on Amazon

The Fee, a horror story, is included in the FREE ASMSG anthology A WORLD OF TERROR on Smashwords (see Ann's Afterthoughts http://www.annswann.blogspot.com)

Justice Unleashed, a short story, is also available for FREE at Ann Swann - Suspense and More (http://www.annswann.blogspot.com)

Sleepaway Pounds, a short story mystery, in the anthology Seasonal, Sweet, and Suspenseful (Amazon)

Coldspot - Jitter Press (Amazon)

Lips - digital only - Fictionterrifica.com

REVIEW: My Sister's Intended (Serendipity) (Volume 1) by Rachael Anderson

For as long as Prudence can remember, it has been understood that her sister will one day wed the eldest son of their nearest neighbor. Such an alliance will benefit both families and bring a great deal of joy to all parents involved. 

Unfortunately, Prudence has never been able to feel as joyful. She believes her sister is mad to consider marrying a man she hardly knows, even if he will one day make her a countess. Titles and wealth shouldn't factor into matters of the heart, and as an aspiring romance novelist, Prudence cannot fathom how anyone could even think of settling for less than love. She certainly wouldn't, and she doesn't want her sister to either. 

Unable to stand by and do nothing, Prudence sets out to help the awkward couple discover the best in each other with the hope that they will eventually find love. What she neglected to foresee, however, was the possibility that she might fall in love with Lord Knave herself.

I'm a big fan of Rachel Anderson books she is such an amazing writer and I have read quite a few and never been disappointed.

I wouldn't change a thing about this book. Often when I read a book there is something I would change about it. That is not the case with My Sister's Intended. I love it just as it is.

This book if funny, entertaining, Rachael Anderson has yet to disappoint me. Read most of her books, and they are all good, but this one was the best!

Awesome book started and couldn’t stop!! Characters lively and fun. Loved Scamp and Brute!! Made me smile and laugh! I LOVE books that take me on a vacation from my life this book did that and I was sad to see the last page come. Looking forward to the next two books.

5 stars

A USA Today bestselling author of clean romance, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.