Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

 

My thoughts

This was such a beautiful story. A debut novel about a subject that is not talked about very much. A story that will draw you in and have you cringing at things that happened. A story about slavery in Alabama in the 1800s right before the Civil War. This one is about families during the time when black people were treated property. Not even as good as animals in many cases. Also the story of two friends during this time. And a love story....

Junie is a sixteen year old slave girl. She's the maid to a white girl, Violet McQueen. As you get to know this young lady you will see how much she grows. How she fights for what she wants even when it seems she is giving up or being lazy. 

Junie is Violet's maid. Though much darker that most housemaids, Violet seems to care for her. Claims she is her best friend. Yes they grew up together. Violet taught Junie how to read. How to write. They are almost as close as sisters. But they are not sisters. One is the maid and the other her master. 

I loved Junie. She was so full of hope and laughter. So full of life. When she meets Caleb her life changes. They fall for each other over a matter of months. Caleb is the slave to guests who came to stay with the McQueens for a week. Everyone's life takes a big turn after this visit. Including Violet and Junie. Violet is to marry and Junie doesn't want to have to leave her family. This is the way of things back then. In a heartbeat families were torn apart. A slave owner would decide to sell a slave and it didn't matter that they were someones child or mother. It was the way of things. A cruel heartless way of things.

This story is a lot. It's history. It's a love story. Maybe two love stories. It's a story of hope. Of finding ones self. Of new beginnings. A story of hope. Hope for better things...

Do not miss the Author's Notes at the end. So worth reading...

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHousePublishing, #Ballantine, for this ARC. 

About

A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms.

Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. Her daydreams are filled with poetry and faraway worlds, while she spends her nights secretly roaming through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie.

When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave, tethered to this world unless Junie can free her. She enlists the aid of Caleb, the guests’ coachman, and their friendship soon becomes something more. Yet as long-held truths begin to crumble, she realizes Bellereine is harboring dark and horrifying secrets that can no longer be ignored.

With time ticking down, Junie begins to push against the harsh current that has controlled her entire life. As she grapples with an increasingly unfamiliar world in which she has little control, she is forced to ask herself: When we choose love and liberation, what must we leave behind?

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

 

My thoughts

This is my second book to read by Fiona Davis. It definitely won't be the last. 

I loved this book. I was always interested in Egyptian history but haven't read many books at all about it. This one is a huge winner. It takes you into the digs in Egypt. The findings. The dust and dryness. The petty bickering among some of the archeologist at times. This story though is mainly about a female. 

In 1936 Charlotte Cross had begged her parents to allow her to go to Egypt. She wanted to be a part of the archeologist dig that could uncover Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh. Little did she know how much her life would change. 

Then we jump ahead to 1978 and meet Annie Jenkins. She's a young woman who has dedicated her life to caring for her mother. Her mother is not an invalid but is dependent on Annie for things. Annie works two jobs to pay bills. Her mother is busy looking for a husband. When Annie gets a job working for a Vogue editor her dreams come true. It's something she's always wanted. Her life is also going to change. A lot..

When Annie and Charlotte met and go to Egypt this book really takes off. A very intense search for a rare artifact that was stolen from the Met during the gala is pursued. Annie felt like it might have been her fault but Charlotte does not. They run into a lot of not so nice people and a few that just outright lie. But they don't give up.

Charlotte has a huge secret. She is also searching for something else. She shares this with Annie finally and together they go in search of something else. Charlotte has to confront a few people from her past in order to find answers.

This book is told from two timelines and keeps you wanting to know more. It tells you exactly what happened to Charlotte back in 1936 and how her parents were not there for her during the hardest time of her life. You are there when she finally gets some answers and will cry with her along the way. I love when a book does not leave anything untold and this one gives you everything you need.

I enjoyed this book so much. I loved the characters and the scenery was described to where you felt you was there. Both in Egypt and New York. Even at the Met Gala. In Annie's small apartment when her mother broke her heart. This book has so much feeling and is told in a way that you won't forget. If you love history this one is one to not pass up. It's perfection..

About

From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same.

New York City, 1978: Eighteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.” Though Annie soon realizes she’ll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana’s capricious demands and exacting standards.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She’s consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening.

As Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they’re to have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.

Nothing Ever Happens Here(SPOTLIGHT) by Seraphina Nova Glass

 

Nothing Ever Happens Here

By Seraphina Nova Glass

On Sale: February 11, 2025

ISBN: 9781525831591

Graydon House Paperback

Price: $18.99

About the Book:

“A charming cast of characters, a twisty mystery, and a diabolical killer make Nothing Ever Happens Here impossible to put down. A riveting page-turner with a sly sense of humor.” —Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author of The Haters

Nothing ever happens in small towns…

When Shelby Dawson survives a harrowing attack that should have left her dead, she tries to move past it—for herself, and for her family. Fifteen months later, with the help of her best friend, Mackenzie, she finally feels safe again in the snowy Minnesota town she calls home. But when an anonymous note appears on her windshield bearing the same threats her attacker made, Shelby realizes that her nightmare has only just begun.

As new evidence surfaces, and a group of well-meaning senior citizens accidentally makes the case go viral online, the situation quickly goes from bad to worse. And with suspicious accidents targeting those closest to her happening all over town, Shelby can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. Fighting to stay one step ahead of disaster, she finds herself asking the question on everyone’s lips: Who attacked her that night?

But Shelby isn’t the only one with questions. Mackenzie’s husband, Leo, vanished without a trace on that terrible night, and over a year later, no one knows why. Until a deep dive into his finances reveals a history of debts, mismanaged funds, and hidden accounts—one of which is still active. Their suspicion that Leo is still alive only complicates things further, though, and when another person connected to Shelby goes missing, she’s caught in a race against time before her attacker becomes a killer.

3 

Florence

Fifteen Months Later

I read a story on the internet about how elderly people without hobbies are among the saddest sacks on earth, although I’m sure I have that wrong and they didn’t use the word “sacks.” Anyway, it went on to say how having hobbies could greatly reduce one’s chances of developing dementia. They didn’t give a percentage and I would have liked a percentage, because if it’s only a one percent chance reduction, well then, why bother? But I guess they wouldn’t have written the whole article, in that case, or used the words “greatly reduce one’s chances” for that matter either, would they? So I decided I would like a hobby. 

So, when I Googled “how to start a hobby” the first advice given was to break it into small steps so you’re not overwhelmed. For Christ’s sake, I didn’t Google how to embezzle diamonds from the Russian mafia, I was simply thinking I might take up cookie making or something. How could I get overwhelmed? Anyway…then I learned that professional cookie decorators call themselves “cookiers” and I just found the term so irritating I gave up on the whole thing. 

Then Millie told me I could knit with her and I told Millie that she’s shamefully cliché, and how does she not have carpal tunnel by now? And it’s not really a hobby, is it? She’d be sitting in front of the television watching Bonanza with or without her knitting in hand, so it’s quite mindless, and I don’t think a hobby should be mindless. Bernie has taken up winemaking, but his room smells like a boiled egg, so I don’t think he’s doing it right. It’s still at the top of my list, though. 

Gardening was a contender too. I was quite the gardener once, but the snow won’t melt until April, so that seems a long wait. I could be dead by then for all I know. But then Herb said I should make a podcast about gardening and share my wisdom with the world. This intrigued me—because I was once a news announcer on public radio, and in a way it’s a perfect idea. My love for plants and helping people learn, hmm. But how would one even begin? I just showed up and talked into a mic at the station, and that was long ago. I would need to figure out a lot of things, but learning it all would keep me busy, and maybe that’s a hobby all in itself. I was almost sold on the idea. 

But then something very serendipitous happened. I was at Murph Moyer’s funeral, which was such a sad occasion since Murph had just had a hair transplant he was very excited about, and had planned a trip to the Bahamas to swim with the pigs. I guess that’s a thing… He even bought a bottle of spray tan on Amazon, and then just like that, a fall on the ice on his way down to The Angry Trout for a pint one night and that was it. And now he looks orange in his casket, poor Murph, and he never even got to put his new hair to good use. It’s like that these days, though. When you get to be our age, you start receiving invitations to a lot more funerals. And part of you gets used to it, but the main part of you never does. 

At the reception, I was chatting with Rosie and Susan by the punch bowl. We were sitting in metal folding chairs and holding little slices of white cake on napkins when I noticed Winny pouring a long pull of scotch into a Santa Claus coffee mug and sitting by herself next to a fake ficus in need of dusting. She was hunched over her drink, and I saw her dot her eye with the corner of a napkin, so I excused myself and went to sit with her. 

I could tell it wasn’t her first scotch because she had a glassy-eyed look and loose lips, but that’s a good thing. It was easy to get her to confide in me and tell me why she’d missed our bridge game last Tuesday and what in the world was the matter. I mean, I know her husband passed only a couple of months ago, of course. But he’d been battling severe diabetes complications and was in the hospital for who knows how long. He was even left unable to speak after a diabetes-induced stroke. Lord help him. It was a mercy, really, him passing. It was very expected. So I am quite surprised at what Winny tells me—that she thinks her husband was murdered and didn’t die of natural causes. Well, I had to set my punch on the floor next to me and rest my hand on my heart a moment. 

“Sweetheart, why would you say that? Otis was so sick, bless him,” I say to her, placing my hands on her knees. I thought she lost the plot, if I’m honest, but I was still going to be sympathetic. She picks at Santa’s chipping glitter beard and talks into her lap. 

“Something wasn’t right there,” she says with a haunted look on her face. 

“What do you mean, love?” I ask, trying to look in her eyes so she’s forced to look back at me, but she continues to mumble. And I suppose I would speak quietly too if I were saying the crazy thing she was about to say. 

“Someone there killed him,” she whispers. 

“At the hospital?” 

“Yes, Florence. I… Yes. I’m not just—I’m not crazy. I’m not making shit up.” 

“Of course you’re not, dear,” I say, but I don’t really mean it. “Well, did you tell the police?” I ask, because what else does one ask in this sort of situation? “Of course, but they don’t believe me. I can tell. They say they’ll ‘have a look,’ whatever that means, but I know when I’m being condescended to. They will not have a look. Plus that old detective Riley has a head full of chipped beef. Has he ever helped anyone solve anything in this town?” she asks, becoming louder and more agitated as she goes. She puts her mug down and takes a deep breath. 

To be fair, the only crime I can remember happening in the last few years in this town, besides petty bike theft or drunk fistfights, is the tragedy that happened to Mack and Shelby that terrible night last year, but I can’t blame Riley for that. It absolutely baffled everyone. He does have a head full of chipped beef though, I’ll give her that. 

“Why would you think something like that, love? You know all of the hospital workers,” I say, which is a given. She pretty much knows everyone around here. “You think one of them hurt Otis? That’s…” I stop, because I don’t know what to say. It’s absurd and makes me worry for Winny. I wonder if she’s gone around telling other people this sort of thing. 

“He told me,” she says, and since I know he was unable to speak, now I really zip my lip and just look over at the bottle of scotch on the refreshments table with a longing gaze, wondering how to kindly extract myself from the conversation. 

“Something’s goin’ on around here, Flor. Something is happening. First Shel and Mack, and poor Leo wherever the hell he really is. Now this.” It’s strange to hear someone say “poor Leo,” because the general, mostly unspoken consensus is that he’s a rat bastard who ghosted his wife. I hope I’m using that term correctly. Ghosted. Anyway, I wonder if it would be rude to lean over and pick a few cucumber sandwiches off of the table while she’s talking. I do hate to be rude, but I really am famished, and I know Liddy Wingfield made them, and she uses the pimento cream cheese on them, which is a dream. 

Before I can decide, Winny leans in conspiratorially. 

“Can I show you something?” she asks. 

“Of course,” I agree, giving up on my chance for a cucumber sandwich as she motions for me to follow her. The reception is at Dusty Waltman’s house because he and Murph were very good friends. I suppose he’s a nice enough man, I just can’t get past the urge to take a bottle of Pledge and a washrag after him each time I hear the name Dusty. Not his fault, I suppose, and his house is quite tidy, although too drafty for my taste. 

Even so, I follow Winny down his front hall with the brown plaid wallpaper and creaky wood floors, and we pull our coats from a pile of other sad-looking black and navy down coats draped over an old steamer trunk near the door and walk out into the frozen air. It’s so cold the snow is having trouble trying to fall, and it swirls around the lampposts in light, icy specks. Before I can complain about freezing to death, I hear “My Heart Will Go On” start to play inside, and now I’m happy to be out here, so I give her a minute as I shift from foot to foot and blow on my hands while she pulls something from her pocket. Why do they play songs like that at funerals? Everyone is already sad, and now I can hear sobs from inside. I hope they play “Another One Bites the Dust” at my funeral. And have it at a Dave & Buster’s, where everyone will get free mojitos and play free SkeeBall, and not in a drafty house with peely wallpaper and stale sheet cake. 

Winny finally fishes out whatever it is she’s been digging for, then shoves the pieces of a ripped-up sheet of paper at me. I take it, examining it and have no idea what the hell she’s playing at. 

“What is it?” I ask. She takes the papers back, swipes a layer of snow off of Dusty’s porch swing, and sits. I sit next to her, and she lays them out on her knees. 

“Look,” she says, and I do. I see a scrap with the words “Help me” scrawled across it, and another that reads “Trying to kill me.” But the words before it are torn away. She stares at me, waiting for a response. “Well, what is this?” I ask. “Otis wrote it. Look! This is the clearest one.” She puts a scrap on top of the others. It says, “You have to tell someone what’s happening here.” The last part says, “Warn Mack and Shel…” but the end of her name is torn away. 

“See,” she says, “and then it stops, like he couldn’t finish.” 

“I don’t… Why is this in scraps? Why would he write this?” I’m shivering from the cold, and my words come out in white puffs. 

“All I can think is that he was trying to get this note to me. Maybe something happened when I went home that last night, because he was gone by morning and he never had a chance to give it to me. And then I think back to all the people who were in the room when I was there, and maybe he couldn’t risk giving it to me then, but I was there so much it’s all a blur. I can’t keep it all straight. I found it just a few days ago in the wooly sweater he always wore over his hospital gown. It was sitting in a bag for weeks and then I went through it all and… God. He was begging for help. I’ll never forgive myself. Maybe he didn’t want someone to find he’d written it—someone he was afraid of. I don’t know,” she says, tears welling in her eyes as she pushes the paper shreds back into her pocket. 

“Why else would it be torn up?” she asks before I even have a chance to respond to all this shocking information. “I mean, that’s all that makes sense, right? For why it’s torn up? It’s like he was afraid of someone finding it, I mean why else? He was trying to warn me—to get help, and he was afraid the person who was after him would find it. I know how that sounds, but I have gone over this a million times in my head, and what other reason could there be?” 

“Shit” is all I manage to say. 

“My poor Otis, I couldn’t help him and he was all alone there with someone trying to hurt him. But who would want to hurt Otis? I mean, who in the world?” she says, and that’s exactly what I was going to ask. 

“And you told all of this to Detective Riley?” I ask. 

“Yeah right. What do you think he’d say—that Otis had a stroke and we didn’t know the extent of the damage, so this was probably some delusion or paranoia?” she says, and he would have a point, of course. “But I know my Otis, and he seemed different those last days. I know, of course, a stroke makes people different, but I still know him, Florence. I know him, and I saw his eyes change. Now I think it was fear, not just being sick, but…this…” She half motions to the papers in her pocket. 

“I can’t let it go. I can’t have his cries for help literally in my hand and blow it off as paranoia. I need to find out the truth. And fine, people can think whatever they want about me, but what about Mack…and poor Shelby Dawson. It was a warning to them too.” 

“You think he meant they’re in danger?” I ask. She closes her eyes and blows a cone of white mist into the frozen air, shaking her head. “I don’t know,” she says. “Yeah. Maybe.” 

“This could all be connected,” I sort of mumble to myself, thinking about any reason why, even if he was suffering from some delusion, he would bring Mack and Shelby into it. That’s pretty specific for a delusional man’s imaginings. Winny holds her head in her hands and I put my arm around her shoulder. We shiver together for a few moments. 

“I believe you,” I say. 

“You do?” she asks, straightening up and looking at me with wet, desperate eyes. 

“If there’s some motherfucker out there responsible for this, we’re gonna find him,” I say. She puts her arms around me and cries while I hold her and tell her it’s going to be okay. 

And that’s the moment everything was set in motion. I didn’t know it then, but hunting a killer would become my new hobby, not gardening, as it turns out.

Excerpted from NOTHING EVER HAPPENS HERE by Seraphina Nova Glass. Copyright © 2025 by Seraphina Nova Glass. Published by Graydon House, an imprint of HarperCollins. 

About the Author: 

Seraphina Nova Glass is an assistant professor of instruction and playwright in residence at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches film studies and playwriting. Her novel On A Quiet Street was nominated for an Edgar Award, was a New York Times Summer Read, an Amazon Bestseller and Editor’s Pick, and also featured in the Boston Globe and Bustle. Publishers Weekly has named her “a writer to watch.” She’s also an award-winning playwright and holds an MFA degree in dramatic writing from Smith College and a second MFA in directing from the University of Idaho. She is a proud dog mom and loves to travel the world with her husband. She resides in Dallas, Texas.

Social Links:

Author Website: https://www.seraphinanovaglass.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seraphinanovaglass/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8061717.Seraphina_Nova_Glass 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seraphinasnovaglass/ 

Buy Links:

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/nothing-ever-happens-here-seraphina-nova-glass?variant=42521060835362 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=9781525836725&tag=hcg-02-20 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nothing-ever-happens-here-seraphina-nova-glass/1145581324?ean=9781525836725 

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/everyone-knows-something-a-thriller-original-seraphina-nova-glass/21448569?ean=9781525836725 

Every Precious and Fragile Thing by Barbara Davis

 

My thoughts

Barbara Davis is one of my favorite authors. I always look forward to a new book. She knows how to capture your heart. Your fears. Your everything. Whether it is a thriller or a love story she pulls you in and keeps your attention. This book is so good. So emotional and filled with so much. Another winner for sure...

When Mallory goes back home she has no idea what kinds of changes she is about to unfold. How much her life with me changed. 

Mallory is a social worker who just lost a young client to a brutal murder. Her boss advises her to go. To get away. To take a break. Mallory doesn't want to at first. She doesn't feel like she needs too. She reluctantly goes back to where her mother is. Her mother, Helen, helps people. She helps them to transition out of this life. They are dying and alone. It was a hard life for Mallory growing up and she has some resentment toward her mother. Quite a bit of resentment it seems. But Helen is determined to make things right. 

Ten years before, Mallory was engaged to marry Aiden. Aiden lived next door. He was an aspiring musician. He played the piano and was gifted. His mother, Estelle, didn't want him to marry Mallory. She wanted him to pursue the dream of playing and becoming famous. After a sudden loss he did leave. But his heart always belonged to Mallory. I didn't like Aiden a lot. To me he was a bit whiny. He should have stood up to his mother. But then there would not have been a story right. So it was written perfectly.. He left and ten years later they find themselves face to face again. What will happen now?? Can they make amends? Pick up the pieces and move forward? Or should they go their separate ways and just let that be it? 

Helen and Estelle were never friends. Until they are. It takes something truly awful but they do become friends. Helen has a few secrets in her life that she needs desperately to share with her daughter Mallory. And she needs to come to terms with things also. 

This is a beautiful story of love, loss, forgiveness, and starting over. A story that will keep you turning the pages. Make you believe in almost anything. Through the many tears and just as much laughter can these four make peace. Can one move on and the rest be ok with it? What secret is Helen hiding and will Mallory forgive her? Forgiveness is what matters most in some cases...

Thank you #NetGalley, #LakeUnion, #BrillianceAudio, for this ARC.  

About

A mother and daughter try desperately to reconcile just as a decades-old secret threatens to shatter their relationship forever in this powerful story from the bestselling author of The Echo of Old Books.

For social worker Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is a calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, Mallory retreats to her childhood home on the Rhode Island coast to contemplate her future. Instead, she’s confronted by her past, not only in the renewed tensions with her mother but in the unexpected appearance of a familiar face―and the wrenching losses that drove her away a decade ago.

Helen Ward’s home is filled with precious keepsakes from her patients, a testament to decades spent caring for the terminally ill. Her work has always come first, though, leaving little time to connect with her daughter. Over the years, the rift between them has become a chasm, so when Mallory appears unannounced, Helen sees it as an opportunity to repair their broken relationship.

But hidden among Helen’s mementos are the keys to her past…and a terrible secret that threatens to destroy the fragile new trust between them forever.

Isola by Allegra Goodman

 

My thoughts

This is the second book I have read by this author. Sam being the first and I enjoyed it so much. 

Quote: I never knew my mother. She died the night that I was born, and so we passed each other in the dark...

This one is breathtaking. It's prose is beautiful and enchanting in ways. Sad and abusive in other ways. The love story is one that will sweep you away. The struggles will captivate you. Hold you hostage. Make you cringe. And in so many ways give you hope.

This story is based on an actual female. Set in the 16th century when things were not good at all for females. Men dominated them completely. This is Marguerite's story. And what a story it is...

Marguerite was born into a privileged life. She had riches. But both of her parents had passed away and she was left with a guardian. Roberval was not a nice man. He was at least gone much of the time. But he was spending Marguerite's inheritance and eventually left her broke. She had to leave her childhood home. Travel with him on a ship. 

Marguerite met and feel in love with Auguste. Auguste was Roberval's secretary. They were not suppose to fall in love. It angered Roberval. During the voyage to the new world he banished them to an island. They did what they could to survive. Ultimately Marguerite was alone after the loss of Auguste and Marguerite's maid Damienne died. Marguerite had to fend for herself. She learned how to hunt, fish and kill predators. She became a very resilient and much strong woman. But she was still fearful of much.

You get to know Marguerite as she grows. As she is saved and faces some demons from her past. As she is reunited with her community. How she is welcomed back. What all she endured comes out in this story. And she has an audience with the queen. 

This is a story that enthralled me. Kept me reading until the very last word. It's like no other I have read and I enjoyed it so much. Most of the characters were so likable. The graphics were written in a way that made you feel the cold. I felt I was on that island with Marguerite. The fear she felt and the total sadness she went through. She lost everyone. I shed a lot of tears in parts of this book. Both the sad parts and the happy. Marguerite didn't deserve what she went through but she sure came out so much stronger.

Be sure and read until the very last page. The Author's Note is filled with things you will want to know. I'm so glad this author bought her sons the books she got this idea from. It's such a good story. A must read...

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHouse, for this ARC.   

About

A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this epic saga of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam.

Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian’s servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished and abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue.

Once a child of privilege who dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she’d never before needed.

Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola is the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival.

A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler

 

My thoughts

A new author for me. This is my first book to read by this author and I will be looking for more...

A quote from this book: 

"There were only so many years when a child believed in magic, and that was something. Something precious, really. To still believe in magic."

I love this quote. So many parents forget this one. Let your babies stay babies as long as they can. The world is too cruel for them to act grown. Let them enjoy not having worries. <3 

This story was so good. So deep and light at the same time. How to deal with a lost love... Forty years later.

Charlie and Vivian were once married. Very much in love. Then they weren't. They moved on. Away from each other. New lives. But Charlie never forgot Viv. His Viv. He knew he was the one that caused her so much pain and unhappiness. What he wouldn't do to rectify that. Yes it's taken him forty years but that kind of made it the more romantic. They are both in their sixties and living their own lives. Charlie will do whatever it takes to win back Viv's love...

Vivian is living with her daughter and two granddaughters. She takes care of the girls while her daughter works. She doesn't have much but it's her life. She never dreamed that Charlie would come back into her life and she's not so sure she wants him too. It wasn't that great the first time around. He hurt her. Broke her heart. But should she give him a chance? Her daughter and granddaughter's think she should.

This book takes you deep into their lives. How things were. What broke them apart. How they meet again. What Charlie is willing to do to prove his love. And to kiss her again. He thinks she is the most beautiful woman alive. If that's not true love what is? He has made money over the years and wants more than anything to take care of Viv. To help her. But she doesn't really want his money. She just wants to be loved. Can they find that again after forty years? Will that Forty Year Kill be rekindled? 

I loved this book so much. I loved Charlie and Vivian. They both are so likable and so perfect for each other. I rooted all the way for them. Even when some secrets were revealed I rooted for love to win. But did it?....

Thank you #NetGalley, #Sourcebooks, #SourcebooksLandmarkm for this book. 

About

From the critically acclaimed author of Shotgun Lovesongs comes an exquisitely written, small-town story about one couple's hard-won second chance at love, forty years after their divorce.

Charlie and Vivian parted ways after just four years of marriage. Too many problems, too many struggles, even though the love didn't quite die. When Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years later, he's not sure what he'll find. He is sure of one thing -- he must try to reconnect with Vivian to pick up the broken pieces of their past. But forty years is a long time. It's forty years of other relationships, forty years of building new lives, and forty years of long-held regrets, mistakes, and painful secrets.

A brave and triumphant exploration of redemption and sunset triumph, A Forty Year Kiss is a once-in-a-lifetime love story, written with dazzling lyricism and remarkable clarity of spirit, from a celebrated author at the top of his game. It's a literary valentine that promises to be a love story for the ages.

Come Fly With Me by Camille Di Maio

 

My thoughts

This was an unexpected delight. I've not read anything about being a stewardess before and this was so good and so well researched. You could tell that a lot of love went into writing this novel. It was a book that will stay with me a good while. 

Two women who could not be more different. Both wanting to escape their lives. Their pasts. One from an abusive tyrant of a husband. The other from her overbearing father.

Judy was married to man who loved to put his hands on her. He didn't want her to have any friends or family. Not even children. As that would take away from him. Her life was to revolve completely around him and what he wanted out of the marriage. She had to give up all of her hopes and dreams. He was a smooth talker when wooing her. He captured her heart completely and then changed after they married...

Beverly came from wealth. She never lacked for anything. Other than the love she craved from her parents. It was like she was an accessory for them rather than their child. At times her mother could be warm but for the most part she just seemed to ignore her daughter. Her father had her life all planned out. Get married to a rich man and let them combine power. Beverly had other ideas. 

Both young women wanted to become Pan Am Stewardesses. Each for very different reasons. They become the very best of friends in their journey. Claiming to be sisters even though they were not related. They were both only children. Both wanted to find a better kind of life. One with happiness and real love.

This book gave me so many good feels. A little bit of tears too. Ok a lot of tears at one point. Deep love that would last a lifetime. I laughed and cried. I felt such hope for these two young women. They were the perfect match. They rooted each other on no matter what lay ahead. They complimented each other. They both found love and happiness. Then tragedy hit. One was lost... 

This story is told from each ladies point of view. You get to know them well. This book was so good. So emotional in every way. I learned a lot about being a Stewardess for Pan America in the sixties. The author did a great job of researching and letting you know in her Author's Notes at the end. Don't miss that part. 

Thank you #NetGalley, #LakeUnion, for this ARC.

About

It’s 1962, the dawn of the jet-set era. Hope takes flight for two Pan Am stewardesses navigating an adventurous new life in a novel about love, friendship, and escape by the bestselling author of The Memory of Us and Until We Meet.

Welcome to a glamorous gateway to the jet age.

Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell have different reasons for putting continents and oceans between themselves and their disparate pasts, but they have the same desire—to earn a coveted position on an elite team of stewardesses for Pan American Airlines. For Judy, running away from an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania is a risk she must take. And for Beverly, leaving behind the gilded cage of New York society will allow her to pursue a future of her own making.

Embracing the culture, etiquette, and strict rules of a thrilling and unpredictable new world above the clouds, Judy and Beverly are bound for faraway destinations and opportunities that other women dare only to dream about. But as they build a deep friendship, encounter love and danger, and discover what’s truly important, Judy and Beverly must also confront the secrets that could change their lives all over again—and forever.