Our Mother's Secret by Alison Ragsdale

 

My thoughts

Alison tends to write very emotional stories. The kind that make you cry hard. They touch your heart also. Make you take a deep breath and think about life. Sometimes her stories touch your life. Or a part of your life. This story is so sweet and so sad but also uplifting and beautiful. 

Mairi and Fiona are twins. Not identical but still twins. They know each other's thoughts. What each are feeling. 

Fiona is sick. She needs a kidney. Since she was a wee child she's suffered from this. Inherited from their mother. Now at thirty Fiona is running out of time. If she doesn't get a match she won't survive.

Mairi would do anything for her sister. Anything. She's not a match for the kidney transplant though. And she's pregnant. After suffering a miscarriage her husband Tom tries in every way possible to ensure that Mairi takes it easy and doesn't do anything that could make her lose this baby. 

When their mother Helen comes and tells Mairi a big secret things change. Mairi and Helen have always had a tumultuous relationship and this just adds more to than she thought possible. Mairi loved her dad more than anyone. He was her rock. When he died she felt the loss in a way she didn't think anyone would understand. And she knows that Fiona is hiding something from her too.

This book is truly a very emotional one. I loved the characters even when they aggravated me to know end. It made me stop and think of what I would do if Fiona had been my sister and I was pregnant. Would I do all that Mairi did. Would I put the baby at risk? I can't honestly answer that. I believe I would do anything to help my sister if she needed me. But risk my unborn child..... I'm glad I didn't have to make that choice.

Alison writes with a flair. A tendency to want you to be in tears. At least that is my opinion. She loves to through a big fat curve into a story that makes you gasp. Yes I did guess two bit things in this story but still.. It was so good. It had me in tears. Lots of tears. I hope my eyes can withstand all of that. 

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this arc. 

5 big stars...  

About

When my sister tells me time is running out for her life-saving transplant, tears roll down my cheeks. But she isn’t crying, she’s staring at our mother, who says words that will change my life forever. ‘It’s time for me to tell you the truth…’

I can barely breathe as my mother tells us there is a possibility that the father we adored might not be our birth father. Before I can process the secret she has kept from us, she takes my hand firmly in hers. ‘You have to find him Mairi, the other man. He is our last chance to save your sister.’

When I tell my husband Tom what my mother has asked me to do, I can see the pain on his face. All he wants is for me to rest and protect the precious life inside of me, the baby we hoped for all these years. How can I put my own happiness ahead of saving my sister’s life?

But finding the man my mother loved all those years ago is only the beginning. Because my sister is also hiding something, and it will change everything I thought I knew about our family. Am I truly prepared for what I will discover when I unravel the secrets of those I love the most? And will I be ready to make the most impossible choice of all?

Whisper Creek by Allison Brennan

 

My thoughts

This book will leave you feeling like you were in the fight of your life. The McKenna family did just that. They fought not only mother nature but men who wanted part of their land. By any means possible. 

Ellen McKenna was a widow. She had just lost her husband a year ago and was determined to keep their farm going. She was dealing with their children growing up and the loss of her husband was almost more than she could take. But Ellen is strong. She's very resilient and a good mother. 

A storm is coming and Ellen knows what all the rain will bring. So much flooding and being stranded. She does not want her children to go anywhere and she's determined to stay home. Her grandmother Penny is busy cooking. She's a stress cooker, so they will have plenty to eat during this storm. Determination though can't seem to keep everyone put. Things happen that makes everyone have to do things that take them away from their farm. Also there is something very wrong in the area. Home invasions are amiss. A man and his dog are shot. 

This story keeps you turning the pages to find out more. Will Avery make it home? Will Bobby be ok?

A family being held hostage. One girl who is wheelchair bound. What do these people want? It's pouring rain and everyone is on edge.  There is a lost cat that Bobby wants desperately to find. He's just a child and the cat seems to only trust him. And it's pregnant..... 

When the bad people come to the McKenna ranch their lives will be changed forever. Not only has someone been sabotaging things but whoever is doing it may be responsible for Ellen's husband's death. The people come to their farm to force Ellen to help save one's brother. She refuses until they let her know that they know where her daughter is. And Ellen is a nurse and just can't watch a person die. 

There is a lot going on but it's very easy to keep straight. Between the natural disasters and the human ones we wonder what is going to happen to the McKennas. Will everyone be ok. Will Ellen and her brother in law be able to prove what needs to be proven.(I don't do spoilers) 

This was an excellent story. It shows a mother's love also. When Ellen takes her pregnant friend with her to hopefully get her daughter, Avery, you might think she's a bit off. But wouldn't any mother want her child with her. Safe and sound? I sure would. Flood or no I'd want to make sure my baby was ok... That made this one even more realistic.

Thank you St Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the arc. 

Five big stars.. 

About

Allison Brennan delivers a pulse-pounding thriller about one family fighting for their land against both human enemies and Mother Nature.

After the sudden death of her husband, Ellen McKenna is doing everything she can to keep her Texas farm afloat. She and her family hope to expand their operation, but times are tough and making ends meet is more expensive than she imagined, much less trying to grow. Many of their neighbors in Cooke County have thrown in the towel and agreed to sell their farms to a local businessman, but despite similar pressure, Ellen refuses to let her dreams die.

On top of the usual hardships, a series of recent storms has left the region partly flooded, and as the heavy rain begins again one morning, all the members of the McKenna family jump into action to protect their land and animals. Ellen’s oldest son discovers an injured dog—and the dog leads him to a man barely clinging to life, the apparent victim of a brutal home invasion. Then, Ellen’s younger kids go to check on a nearby neighbor and walk into a threat none of them saw coming.

Before anyone can figure out what’s really going on in their idyllic rural valley, the storm picks up again in intensity, and the McKenna kids find themselves in over their heads with no way to call for help. To protect her farm--and her family—Ellen must face down all the forces trying to tear them apart.

Allison Brennan's talent for twisty, tense pacing combines with a deeply drawn family drama and the unforgiving power of nature in this compelling standalone thriller.

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

 

My thoughts

I enjoyed this book very much. To me it was just the thing for this time of year. Maybe even more so if it was October, but right now it's what I needed. 

This is a story told in three parts. In two timelines. A kind of before and after story. One is Willamena's story, 1976, and the other is her granddaughter, Bailey, present day. It's a story of a small town with lots of, in my opinion, snooty people. Not all, but a lot. Especially the kids where Bailey went to high school. 

This has a love story going on too. A marriage of convenience also. There are some ghostly things going on but not in a scary way. 

I absolutely loved Willamena Wester. Her grandmother, Alice Wester, was not on my list of favorite characters at all. I understand that she thought she was protecting Willamena but she went too far. Enough already. Let that girl enjoy her life. Go to college. Marry who she loves.

Bailey was Willamena's granddaughter. Willamena encouraged her to leave. Go do something with your life. Go to college. Fall in love. She was the opposite of Alice. 

Bailey's dad called her home. Alice was not well and they needed to make amends. 

This story was so sweet. It had it's tense moments and there was an almost assault. But overall it was a very pleasant read. I read it pretty quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I also listened to the audio. Narrated by Marin Ireland. She did a good narration. Brought out the voices and kept me enthralled with the story.

Thank you St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

4.75 stars. 

About

Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home.

Every family has its secrets... The Wester women live inside theirs.

For decades, the women of Wester House have unsettled and fascinated their small, timeless North Carolina town. Their home is full of whispers, old griefs, and uncanny knowing. But when Willamena Wester reaches out to the granddaughter she once pushed away, long-buried truths begin to stir.

1976:
Restless young Willamena falls for a stranded musician who brings freedom and the promise of another life to her carefully controlled world. Their brief, incandescent love story promises to escape the pull of the Wester legacy until Willamena makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.

Present Day:
Returning home is the last thing Bailey Wester wants. Yet as she reconnects with Willamena, the grandmother she feared, Bailey begins to understand the love, heartbreak, and impossible choices that shaped the women in her family and realizes the past may not have been trying to haunt them after all.

A luminous novel filled with Sarah Addison Allen’s stunning prose and signature blend of romance, Southern charm, and wonder, Paper Ghosts reminds us that in order to have the future we really want, sometimes we need to live with the past, and not let go of it.

Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillippi Ryan

 My thoughts

This book was so good. I highly recommend it. Also, I guessed at quite a few people being the kidnapper. I didn't get it. I was way off.....

Two sisters survive a plane crash that took their mother. Bea and Eliza survived. Bea married and has an adopted daughter Piper. I adored Piper. She's very smart and is eleven. She loves books and stuffed animals. She's just adorable. Eliza has her for the week and as they are waiting for Bea to show Eliza wonders, aloud, why Piper has her remembrance dress with her. They are going to the cemetery for the annual remembrance of the parents they lost. Bea is not there. Bea hasn't shown up to get Piper...

Eliza and Piper go through a whole lot of things. They are practically terrorized by things that are happening. They both wonder where Bea is and why has she left Piper. Has she been kidnapped or is she just deserting her daughter?

 

Eliza finds out a lot about her parents when she and Piper go to the family cabin. She hates this cabin but needs a safe place for her and Piper to go until she can find out what is going on and where Bea is. What she finds in the cabin is crazy. A book her father was writing at the time of the crash. And that her boss Whitney, who is a publisher, may have been having an affair??? It's a lot and Bea is determined to get to the bottom of it all. Then along comes their Aunt Margaret. She's the one who came to help them after their parents deaths. 

A lot of things happen but it's fairly easy to follow. Very well written and keeps you wanting more. A few twists and turns along the way and then a big surprise....

The narrator, Stevi Incremona​, did a great job. She kept each character separate and did Pipers character beautifully. Piper is a child and not all narrators can do that...

Also read the Acknowledgments... No, I never read an ending first. That would ruin it for me. I hate spoilers of any kind.... 

Thank you St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the arcs..

Five stars

About:

What happens when the past rises from the ashes to destroy you?

Eliza Ramsey and her sister Bea are the sole survivors of the fiery plane crash that killed their parents—and share a bond they vow is unbreakable. But now, eleven years later, on the exact anniversary of the tragedy, Bea fails to retrieve her pre-teen daughter from a sleepover at Eliza’s. Eliza knows her sister would never leave her precious Piper behind—even in her care—and fears the worst.

Piper is confused at her mother’s absence. Her father, Bea's recent ex, is out of town and uninterested in Bea’s whereabouts. Police are dismissive. But Eliza is terrified. Especially as it becomes clear that Bea might have planned her own disappearance.

The Ramsey’s lives have already crashed and burned once—and now, Eliza discovers she must protect her niece from the horrifying truth about her family’s sinister history—and together, they must prevent their lives from going up in in flames once again.

A missing influencer. Her frightened daughter. And a sister on a desperate search for a happy ending. But someone knows the deadly key to their shared past—and now won’t stop until they’ve written a terrifying final chapter. Mother, daughter, sister—stranger.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan

 

My thoughts

I received an ALC and ARC of this book. It's the second in the Annie Gore books. 

Annie is hired to find out what happened to her father. An estranged father. He's a faith healing, snake handling, minister in a small town called Brimstone Hollow in the Appalachians. Right off it seems someone does not want Annie poking around. While most seem friendly there is someone who doesn't want Annie there. 

There are several dead bodies and between the cops and Annie it seems maybe they are related somehow. It's her job to figure out if Ezra actually died from snake bites or if maybe someone else did it. And if so why....

The cops work well with Annie and most of the people help as much as possible. But there are some who are set on leaving the dead to rest in peace. 

During all that is going on Annie keeps having crazy dreams and doesn't get a lot of sleep. But she does keep trudging on and when the pieces finally start to click she is in danger. She has to fight for not only herself but for another man who is shot trying to help her. Annie is bitten by a timber rattler and if she doesn't get help she could die.  

Annie of course solves the case and finds out exactly who did what and why. From murder, drugs, snakes, religion, you will find out what was done and who did it. I can't say I was totally shocked to find out who did one killing. There was a couple of clues that jumped out at me. It did not in any way take away from the story though. 

I look forward to more by this author. More of the Annie Gore series. This one was a bit dark and dangerous but Annie did get what she was after....

I have to admit that the audio had parts I didn't like. Emily Pike Stewart did a great job. The one thing I didn't enjoy though was her singing. Not that she sounded bad, just I didn't enjoy that part. She should have just read it. She does have a lovely singing voice, I just don't like when a narrator sings....

Thank you St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio. 

5 stars for the book and 4.75 for the audio... 

About

Following her powerful debut in The Witch’s Orchard, private investigator Annie Gore returns in Brimstone Hollow, bringing readers back to the mountains that author Archer Sullivan, a ninth-generation Appalachian, knows so well.

There isn’t much that happens in the Appalachian Mountains that Private Investigator Annie Gore hasn’t seen. Before she was an Air Force Special Investigator, she was born and raised in those rolling hills, and lately Annie's cases have called her away from her Louisville office and closer to the small towns of her youth than she ever anticipated. But when her newest client asks if she’s ever been to a snake-handling church, Annie knows she’s about to enter unknown territory.

Katie May has been estranged from her father—one of Appalachia’s last infamous snake handling preachers—for twenty years. But when Katie finds out he’s been fatally bitten, and a funeral was held within twenty-four hours, she questions whether someone deliberately rushed the process. Despite Annie’s doubts, she takes the case. After all, when she looks at Katie, she sees a version of a girl who needs to understand her father in order to understand herself.

As she navigates the hidden hollers and dangerous secrets of this insular Eastern Kentucky town, Annie works fast, hoping to find the truth in record time for her client—and before too many memories from her own childhood surface. But it soon becomes apparent that someone wants Annie’s investigation to stop—by any means necessary.

God's Country by William Kent Krueger

 

My thoughts

This author is definitely one of my favorites. He's my top favorite male author. The books this man writes bring you right into the heart of the story. Keep you wanting more and give you things to think about. This series is great. I do need to go back and read some of the earlier books though. I have every one on my kindle. 

In this installment of the Cork O'Connor books Cork goes on a trip with the men in his family. They run into trouble and Cork meets two men who will forever change him. Make him doubt all he believed about himself. I cringed while reading parts of this book. The brutality of what the Kennedy brothers do will have you holding your breath. The older brother is way more hostile and cruel than his younger brother but both are responsible for what happened. One through not trying to prevent things. The other by being a cruel mean hearted man. Even though he was raised by a very brutal man who abused him, there is no excuse. None. I just can't give any clearance to anyone being so mean that they will kill good and decent human beings. 

This book takes you through a whole lot and you start to feel like you are there. In a canoe going through beautiful waterways and stopping for the night to camp in gorgeous ares. It just came alive to me. But as that did so did the brutality of what happened along the way...

Well written. Well lived. A breathtaking look at how our surroundings and childhood may make us who we are as adults. Maybe...

This is book #21 and I look forward to book #22....

Thank you Atria for this eARC...

5 stars. 

About

From the New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember, a new mystery in the wildly popular Cork O’Connor series.

Cork O’Connor, preparing for a family trip into the Boundary Waters, is troubled by ominous visions about his future. Ignoring the warnings, he uncovers signs of violence while searching for his missing friend, Cordell Bishop. Soon, he is forced to negotiate with dangerous criminals, the Kennedy brothers, who are seeking their late father’s hidden stash.

Facing escalating danger and difficult choices, Cork grapples with his darkest instincts as he helps others escape and eventually takes justice into his own hands. God’s Country is an action-packed thrill ride that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin

 

My thoughts

May these pages remind you what women have always known-that love is power, kindness is strength, and the care of a friend is the best gift life will ever offer.

This book is so good. This is a quote from the end of the book. The Pages from the Grimoire
Be sure to read the Author Note. Lots of great info.

The audio was so good. It was executed to perfection. Distinguished between the characters like a pro. Well done.

An excellent story with two timelines a few hundred years apart. How they interact and are related. This book has two powerful women who help each other when death is imminent. If not one will cease to exist. Just disappear as if she never was.

How men ruled women by calling them witches if necessary. How love can sometimes prevail after many years.

The witch trials were horrible. The thought that women could turn on each other so easily is beyond my comprehension. Maybe to save themselves from being labeled a witch.

Thank you Harlequin Publishing and Harlequin Audio for the arc.

About

Two women, bound by blood and betrayal, must break silence across centuries—or be silenced forever, in the dazzling new novel by New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin.

Lilith Legare’s life is unraveling. Since her mother’s death, strange things have been happening - plants turn toward her touch, animals linger in her path, and the birthmark on her arm has started tingling. Worse still is her recurring nightmare of being burned alive at the stake.

Her search for answers brings her from Savannah to England, to the decaying Brackenmere Manor where the past blurs with the present. There, Lilith discovers a legacy she never asked for and along with it, the threat of peril. History must be rewritten, or she too will die.

In 1645 Suffolk, Sybil Brantham stands accused as a witch. An educated, wealthy widow, she is branded a threat by men who fear her independence. As arrests begin and suspicion abounds, Sybil must protect her younger sister, even as betrayal takes root within her household.

Across centuries, Lilith and Sybil are bound by blood and by danger. To save themselves, and each other, they must confront the silence that has stolen women’s power for generations—and dare to claim their voices before it’s too late.