There's something about the lazy days of summer that beg even the occasional reader to pick up a book. Let the words transport you to another time or place, or help you on your journey in life. Here, four picks for summer reading.
High Heels and Handguns
Local author Lisa Heartman spins this tale about Kate Howard, a former Army Special Forces Sergeant, whose life as a one-woman personal protection detail comes with challenges. Wearing civilian camouflage while guarding high-profile clients is a dangerous game of rock, paper, hollow point. After an explosive and deadly end to her client’s reelection fundraiser, Kate must accept help from an unwanted source: the soldier she loved and left in Afghanistan, bloody, broken, and barely alive. Special Forces Officer Paxton Banks, Kate’s former captain—now an FBI agent—is assigned to investigate the attempt on her client’s life. After 10 years, old emotions and new threats whip Kate's world into complicated chaos. $10.99 at Amazon.com
Photographs by Barry M. Goldwater: The Arizona Highways Collection
Although Barry M. Goldwater is best known nationally as a U.S. senator and 1964 presidential nominee, his love of politics may have been surpassed by his passion for photography. He spent a lifetime carrying around a camera, documenting the people and places of his beloved state of Arizona, and, since 1939, hundreds of his photographs have appeared on the pages of Arizona Highways. Many of those photographs appear in this coffee table book, written by Robert Stieve and Alison Goldwater Ross, along with profiles of the senator. $29.99 at Amazon.com and GoldwaterFoundation.org
Get Real
“Fake it till you make it.” The old adage may be a hallmark of our personal/professional lives, but the truth is inauthenticity leads to dissatisfaction—and disaster. In this book, author Anna Crowe, founder and CEO or Crowe PR, helps you break bad habits and integrate authenticity with advice on how to infuse everything you do with authenticity, leading to a happier and more profitable life. Don’t fake it—use the genuine tools within (and what’s exclusively yours) to unlock the power of authenticity in your world. $15.99 at Amazon.com
Blossom in Winter
Petra, a Dutch-American girl and the only heir of finance tycoon Roy Van Gatt, has always had her life planned and supervised by her strict father, from her internship on Wall Street to her degree in economics at Columbia University. Everything falls apart when she develops a dangerous relationship with her father’s business partner and utmost confidant. A nobleman, known as an unrepentant heartbreaker, 23 years her senior, and who is, above all else, her godfather. This relationship will cost them everything. Written by Melanie Martins. $9.99 at Amazon.com