Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week

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Warning:  Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.
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Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, has a permanent home now at Mailbox Monday
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Here is a shout out to the administrators:

Emma @ Word and Peace

Serena @ Savvy Verse and Wit

Martha @ Reviews By Martha’s Bookshelf

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THANKS to everyone for keeping Mailbox Monday alive.

Bookmail

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman

From Lynda Cohen Loigman, the bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters, comes a heartwarming story of two extraordinary women from two different eras who defy expectations to utilize their unique gift of seeing soulmates in the most unexpected places in The Matchmaker's Gift.

Is finding true love a calling or a curse?

Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.

Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?

Momentum by E. G. Slade

"Simply brilliant-no, complexly brilliant. I have never read a more absorbing, unflinching, intense embodiment of biographical fiction."

- Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Abundance, a Novel of Marie Antoinette and Ahab's Wife

"Elizabeth Slade has added a profound new book to the literature around Dr. Maria Montessori's life that takes readers on a first-person historical fiction narrative that embraces Montessori's personal life, her journey into motherhood, and ultimately, her humanity as the person behind this incredible movement."

- Mariana Bissonnette, author of Babies Build Toddlers

Momentum is a captivating historical novel about Dr. Maria Montessori, a brilliant woman who defied societal norms, becoming one of Italy's first female doctors and later revolutionizing education worldwide. Taking its bones from an actual diary written by Dr. Montessori in 1913 chronicling her first voyage to America, Momentum is a fictionalized retelling of that same journey. Written directly to her son, Mario, the novel illuminates their complicated relationship and how he came to be raised by others while she focused on her work. Momentum is a compelling portrait of a woman who overcame countless obstacles to leave a lasting impact on the field of education.

NetGalley books

The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman

Sometimes a family treasure hunt unfurls new paths in life.

The Russell family members all seem to have . . . gifts. Eldest sister Penelope naturally infuses strength or joy or love—whatever the wearer requires—into the fabric of the dresses she designs as a seamstress. Her younger sister, Lilith, is never without whatever she needs—despite the free-spirited and nomadic life she lives with her daughter. There’s always a person nearby who just happens to have an apartment available to rent, or a part-time job open, or a car to borrow just when they need it. And Lilith’s adult daughter, Mattie, always seems to trigger the perfect song to mysteriously start playing—whether from a radio in another room that was turned off or from a friend’s phone in their pocket. And at the heart of the family is their old Victorian home that sometimes seems to have a personality in and of itself.

When independent, artistic Mattie Russell finds herself back in the family home after her mother’s unexpected death, she has no intention of sticking around the small town, even though she has no future destination in mind. She’s used to living in a new city every couple of years with Lilith as her sole companion, and she’s especially hesitant to entangle herself in the Russell family secrets about their special giftings.

But during the reading of the will, the family is shocked to learn Lilith included a testamentary trust that requires Mattie to stay in Ivy Ridge long enough to complete a series of seemingly absurd tasks in order to claim her inheritance. While completing the tasks, Mattie discovers that her mother had a well-thought-out plan for her daughter that would lead Mattie to finding her birth father, teach her how to choose her own path, learn to keep her heart open for love, and discover that staying still long enough to sow seeds can produce a stunning garden and vibrant life.

This enchanting and whimsical tale of mothers and daughters, home, and love will open readers’ eyes to the magic all around them.

• Southern women’s fiction that features a heaping spoonful of magic and a dash of romance
• Stand-alone novel

The Patient by Cole Baxter

The things he fears the most are the ones inside his head.

Ten years ago, James Owens was convicted of a murder he couldn’t remember committing. Now, finally released from the mental institution where he’s served his time, he is placed under house arrest in the sprawling family home he has inherited from his father.

Living in isolation, visited only by his therapist, parole officer, and supportive but controlling twin Janet, he at least has something resembling peace. But he is still haunted by hallucinations, nightmares, and bizarre memories which may or may not be real.

Strange sounds in the house, and objects which disappear or are mysteriously damaged all add to his fear that he is sliding into uncontrolled insanity again.

But is he? Or is his fragile mental state being manipulated by someone with a sinister agenda of their own?

When tragedy strikes, James must go on a journey that will force him to confront the past – and the haunted depths of his own tortured soul.