The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer

 

My thoughts

This book is so good. I highly recommend it to all my book loving friends....

As everyone is saying, this is a book in a book. A story about a book. Two time frames and how each intersects eventually. I usually figure these things out quickly but even at the halfway point I was still guessing. I did get it but it did not in any way take away from the book. Not one bit!

This is a story about a young lady who takes a place where she practically grew up and decides to clean it up and live there. It was left to her cousin but he gave it to her. 

Recently finding out her husband and best friend are having an affair Fiona moves back home to  Wurimbirra. That is the name of the big house in New South Wales, Australia. People have always said that the place is haunted. Fiona has a hard time sleeping with all the nightly activities going on in the house. Unexplained activity at that. 

Fiona finds a book called The Midnight Estate and starts reading it. It's a story about a young man named Silas who lives in Australia but is from the US. California. He moved to California to be with the woman he fell in love with. While on a visit to California after learning his mother died Silas met a young lady, Marie. Marie is married and also very young. 

You get to know these characters well. How the story ends up being two stories in one is exceptional. This author outdid herself. I loved this book. I enjoyed getting to know each character. Getting to know the house and even the cemetery was great. You can't help but love these people. It took a bit to like Fiona's mother but she did grow on me once I learned her backstory. Tad is the uncle who left the house. Silas was the kindest person I've read about in a long time. I loved him. 

A well written story. A book about a book. What more do you need? 

Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for this ARC.

Five stars 

About

In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion—beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.

When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?

Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a family’s deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery.

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews

 

My thoughts

I always enjoy books by this author.

This was a very light read with a few intense moments to keep you on your toes. It also made me laugh out loud a few times. While I didn't really consider there to be a road trip in this story it was very good. Maybe "air trip"... 

Mary Kay Andrews wrote a beautiful story here. It has everything you need for a sweet summer read. Romance, intrigue, mystery, murder, laughter, and family drama. 

When Mary Helen Sullivan Dunagin dies her two daughters find out some things are not what they thought. Their mother it seems gave away lots of money to a preacher who took advantage of elderly people. Their family home was mortgaged, and she didn't have anything to leave them except a coffee can filled with money she had saved when she worked. For a trip.

Maeve and Therese just wanted the money but that was not how it was suppose to be. They decide to take the trip to Ireland to investigate a paining that has been in their family since forever. One that could potentially be worth a lot. 

Things are tense between the sisters. They don't get along all that well. Maeve took care of their mother when she fell ill. Therese never offered to help, or even come home at all. Therese was busy trying to be an actress. 

Both unemployed. Both broke. They take the money and go to Ireland. They find out quite a bit about their ancestry and Maeve finds love. A long way from home though. 

This is a very good summer read. It's a quick, mostly happy story. It has a couple of curves that will leave you holding your breath. It's well written and easy to follow. Told from the sisters perspectives in mostly alternating chapters. You really get to know the characters in this story. I liked them all. I loved the book. 

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC....

4.75 stars. 

About

The Queen of the Summer Read is back with her first novel in two years!

Maeve and Therese Dunigan are sisters—but the two have been estranged for years. They could not be more Maeve, a rule-follower and Therese, a rebel. But when their mother's death brings the family back together, the two find that they have inherited a painting—one that could be worth millions and could save each of them from their respective wolves at the door. The only issue is, the painting might be a fake and the only way the can solve the problem is to find the original. This means a road trip—to Ireland, to their family roots, and to a mysterious crime that occurred years ago. With tensions simmering, the two hit the road and find themselves on twisty lanes, in colorful villages, at local pubs, and with handsome men whose gift of the gab is surpassed only by their charm. Can Maeve and Therese find the real painting, remove a family curse, solve a cold case, and actually survive without killing each other? Join Mary Kay Andrews on a road trip that will entertain you for miles.

Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni

 

My thoughts

I loved this book. When will the next book be available? I need it now. Yes it ends on a cliffhanger. But it's so good too. 

This book was so much fun to read. Well written for a debut too. 

Setting 1927-1939 and told in a few months. Each chapter tells the time line or month and is told alternating between Viola and Sylas. 

This is a very active story. It has a lot going on so be warned. It's an enemies to loves book. A magical story. Family and family drama. Death. The story of Viola and Sylas. A few others too but mainly it's about Viola and Sylas. Their love. Their magic. Their storm of a relationship. In a school filled with a lot of bad things. Several students have gone missing and found dead. Also some parents. 

This is a very Grimm story. (a little play on words there.) ha ha There are ghosts and magical relics. Fighting. A lot as I said. But it's also very good. Easy to follow. 

I don't want to give a feature of the synopsis as you can read that. What I want is for you to grab this one if you love fantasy, magic, goth, or anything that goes along that line. It's so good. 

Dark Academia

Death Magic

Romance

Fantasy Romance

Mystery

Magic School

Enemies to Lovers

Revenge

Thank you Atria Books for this ARC

About

For fans of Naomi Novik and Kerri Maniscalco, a dark academia romantasy steeped in necromancy, forbidden love, and a twisty murder mystery set within the perilous halls of a magical institute, as a death mage who hates her magic and a poison mage who hates her are forced to work together to stop a killer before one of them is next.

Born with the ability to speak with the dead, Viola hates her magic. It killed her sister, Olivia, and if she doesn’t learn why, it will kill her too. Her only hope lies within the perilous walls of Gorhail Institute of Magic, where Olivia spent her final days.

There, Viola clashes with Sylas, a poison mage whose magic stems from three magical snakes. Immortal, tormented, and reckless, Sylas is tethered to a life he never asked for and haunted by guilt for his father’s death. His hatred for death mages runs deep, and he’s determined to keep Viola at a distance. But when an attack forces him to heal her, their fates become intertwined by a magical bond that threatens to upend his loyalties—and his common sense.

As more students start turning up dead, Viola and Sylas are drawn into an uneasy alliance that pulls them deeper into Gorhail’s treacherous passageways, where secrets fester beneath the stone and the dead do not rest. And as enemy lines begin to blur and their undeniable attraction grows, Viola and Sylas uncover a chilling someone is hunting mages for their magical relics, and if they can’t uncover the killer in time, Viola will be next.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 My thoughts

This was such a good book. How anyone could think otherwise is beyond belief. It has all the feels you need for a great story. Laughter, sadness, thriller, murder, insane asylum(mention), friends, family, and drama. Lots of neighborhood drama. 

Mabel lives alone but doesn't seem lonely. She's 81 years old and goes about her day as most her age would. She has several neighbors who seem curious even after many years of being her neighbor. A small girl lives there and things Mabel is wonderful. She just pops in to visit even when Mabel seems to not want her there. Each neighbor is a character themselves. Mabel's best friend Daphne has known her longest. She's always around. Both old ladies do have some colorful language at times. But in a funny kind of way. 

This book just hit my heart in a way that not a lot of books do. I adored Mabel. I felt so bad for her growing up. Her father was a tyrant.  He did not really like Mabel. Her mother seemed to like her but only when it was convenient. I kind of felt sorry for her but not completely. If that makes sense. 

Mabel went through so much growing up. She was bullied by kids at school. Molested by a teacher and blamed for it instead of him being blamed. She had an aunt that I adored too. Two kind of. 

While I did guess about one third of the way in what was real and what was not it didn't take away from the story. Just made me want to find out for sure. I was right... 

This book is so good. So well written. A very quick read too. I listened to an audio and the book was a BOTM choice. I'm so glad I chose it. 

Thank you St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley for this ARC. I loved it.

Five big stars....

About

Meet Mad Mabel.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, for sixty years--longer than anyone else. Aside from being a curmudgeon who minds everyone else's business, few would suspect that Elsie has a past that she has worked exceedingly hard at concealing. Because when it comes to murder, no one ever suspects little girls or old ladies. And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a little girl and now an old lady, has a strange history of people in her life coming to a foul end.

When a new little girl (talkative, curious, nosy) moves into the neighborhood and stops at nothing to befriend Elsie, her carefully-constructed life threatens to come crashing down as the secrets in Elsie's past start coming to light. Who was "Mad Mabel" fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a habit of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?

Told with Sally Hepworth's twists, humor, charm, and heart, MAD MABEL is novel that weaves past and present together--through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

 

My thoughts

I loved The Bright Years. A debut by this author. It was a very emotional and touching story. This one is even better. It's a tearjerker that will leave your eyes swollen and read. I was weeping through parts of this story. But it's also so good. One that I didn't want to put down.

When Leo tells April that he wants a divorce things start to burn. Literally. Their house is on fire and they are scrambling to get themselves and their two small children out. They watch helplessly as their kitchen and other areas burn. 

Leo gets a text that they can stay with April's parents. They love Leo as if he was their own. They also have no idea that there is a divorce on the table. April has a brother and a sister. April is the oldest. Her siblings love Leo also. He's an important part of their family. 

Deb and Billy are April's parents. They also have a secret that they haven't shared with their children. Billy has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Neither of them are sixty yet. They thought they would have a lot longer to make memories. 

This story is written between April, Leo, and Deb's POVs. A few secrets from Deb and Billy's past come about but nothing life shattering. Billy says things that he forgets are secrets. He starts forgetting so much. It's very heartbreaking. 

I've always had a terrible fear of getting alzheimer's. Reading this made that fear rise again. This story is told in such a realistic way. Told with so much care and heart. This author did such a good job of bringing these characters to life. I liked them all. I was so happy that things worked for Leo. He had always felt so abandoned. So unloved. I'm sure he thought April was replacing him. 

This is such a heartfelt book. There was a few chuckles but a whole lot of tears. Very well written and presented in a way to make you feel each character. To get to know them. 

This book will definitely be in my top twelve books of the year. It's so good.

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC.

Five stars and would be more if I could.

About

From the author of The Bright Years, the story of April and Leo, a couple on the brink of collapse. When their house goes up in flames, family secrets and thorny histories emerge as they are forced to decide what is worth salvaging.

When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.

As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.

A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.

Seek The Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth

 

My thoughts

This was my BOTM choice and I received an ALC copy. Great narrations. They kept the story flowing and making me want more. I really enjoyed it so much. 

This is a dystopia book and I usually don't read that genre but it's so good. The only problem is..... A sequel. You're kidding right. I have to wait now for the next book. To find out what happens to Elegy Ahn? 

This book started out with someone leaving. I thought it was going to be all about him. It wasn't. Not all anyway. It's about a two women who have to fight. Each with their own agenda. One is fairly good. The other is not. Both it seems love the same man. The one they will need to win a war and save their people. 

It's hard to write this review because I could easily give things away and I sure don't want too. Just suffice it to say this is an action packed story. There is a love story but not to explicit. Actually one of the women is married and expected to fall in love with another...

Very well written. Filled with just the right amount of action. Some edge of your seat battles. Lots of characters to hold your interest. Some bad but most are good. 

And there is the fever....

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC. Also to BOTM for having it as a choice. 

Five stars! 

About

A new epic romantic, dystopian fantasy begins in Seek the Traitor's Son, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth

Elegy Ahn did not ask for destiny to find her.

She is happy with her life as a soldier, defending her small country from the Talusar, a powerful nation who worships a deadly Fever. A fever that blesses half of its victims with mysterious gifts.

But then she’s summoned to hear a prophecy–her, and the most ruthless of Talusar generals, Rava Vidar. Brought face to face, they learn that one of them will lead their people to victory over the other…but they don’t know which. And at the center of both of their fates: a man. A man that, Elegy is told, she will fall in love with.

In just one day, Elegy’s old life–her job, her purpose, and her future–is over. She and Rava are destined to collide, with the fate of their nations hanging in the balance. And when they do, only one will be left standing.

Elegy intends to make sure it’s her.

The Brunswick by Callie Murray

 

My thoughts

A heartwarming story of love, orphans, foster care, war (not explicit), family, and friends. 

This story is about a young lady named Cora. She runs The Brunswick. Her mother ran off and her dad stays in his room and is not quite right anymore. She is doing everything alone. She has friends and a best friend. But overall she does the work alone. Until Thomas comes along. He steps up and helps her. Together they work hard. Thomas was in medical school but moved to Georgia to be with his dad and brothers. 

The war is about to start and there are children in Austria who need saving. There are people who will go rescue as many as possible and bring them to The Brunswick for safe keeping. Hoping that soon their parents will follow. 

Thomas goes on the trip to help a man named George. Thomas is detained by the Nazis in Austria and goes through a lot. Cora is beside herself with worry as is his dad. 

This is a great story that will have you crying your eyes out in places. I did find a couple of chuckles. It's a very clean christian story. I think it could have used a touch of spice but that is not what happened. But it's a clean story. Not a preachy one though. No bible verses or anything to make me stop reading it. It was just a good clean story of hope and love. 

Anyone who does not appreciate what happened in Austria during this time has no heart. It was awful. Because someone is different they need to leave or be thrown in a camp. Killed. Tortured. Separated from the people they love. It is unexceptable. 

This was a quick read filled with a lot. It was very good. Well written and researched. 

For a debut you can't beat it. I think this author should be commended for this work of art.

Thank you NetGalley, Revel, and Uplit Reads for this ARC.

About

In 1939 Georgia, far removed from the war brewing overseas, Cora Cain's world feels small—and shrinking. There, she runs The Brunswick, her family's once-grand hotel, which is now struggling as the town's general store. When Thomas Watkins arrives seeking work and solace after his mother's death, a connection sparks between them. Through Thomas, Cora glimpses a life beyond obligation and her war hero father's unpredictable moods.

But everything changes when Cora's asked to turn The Brunswick into a sanctuary for Jewish refugee children fleeing persecution in Germany. As Cora and Thomas prepare for the children's arrival, they struggle to confront their pasts—and the prejudice of their neighbors—as their fragile hope is put to the test.

Meanwhile, in Vienna, ten-year-old Charlotte is offered refuge in America. But even with the horrors she sees around her, Charlotte wonders how her parents could possibly send her away. As war's shadow begins to reach small-town Georgia, each person must face what love demands and decide what they must hold on to and what they must let go.

Inspired by true events.

Two Kinds of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh

 

My thoughts

I've only read two other Eddie Flynn books by this author and enjoyed both. This one was so good. It kept me turning the pages to find out what was coming next. How was Flynn going to get this woman out of the situation. How would he prove her innocence..... Then what about his ex-wife and her husband. What would become of them...

Two cases. Both playing havoc on Eddie Flynn's nerves. Of course he could only handle one since they would both be tried at the same time. But his associates had things under control. All should work out fine. 

Eddie is defending a young woman named Elly Parker. Elly is accused of killing her husband of only six months and her longtime best friend. Elly had caught them in bed together. It went out viral on social media. Heard and viewed by millions of her followers. And him.

Elly always does an random act of kindness and urges her followers to do the same. Daily. But on this day her RAK does not exactly go as planned. Elly ends up in jail for murder. She did help someone. She didn't know he was setting her up. She didn't know that she was suppose to die too.

If you ever find yourself in need of a good lawyer you go to Eddie Flynn. He fights a good fight. Maybe a little crooked in places but he does fight for his clients. Eddie is the best.

I loved how this story played. How the characters interacted with each other and with the bad man/men. How the importance of family is shown throughout. This author is a terrific writer. He throughs you a story/case and does not let you sink. You have everything in front of you to hold your interest. 

This book did have two cases going on. Eddie played a part in each. He always gives it his all. 

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC. 

I would give it more than five stars if possible. It's that good. 

About

SHE HELPED A PERFECT A STRANGER. SHE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS THE PERFECT KILLER...

Elly Parker had everything.
Perfect husband. Perfect apartment. Perfect friends and the perfect job.
As an internet celebrity - famed for her random acts of kindness - everyone knew it.
So when a betrayal causes her to lose it all, millions of people are watching.

But even at her lowest, Elly will always help someone in need.
Which makes her the perfect target for a sadistic game.
Because as she soon learns, you can never trust a stranger - and a seemingly random encounter plunges her into a nightmare worse than she ever imagined.

The only person she can turn to is conman turned trial lawyer Eddie Flynn, who must take on a case where nothing is what it seems. With the most cruelly ingenious mind manipulating events from the shadows, everyone is in danger - including Eddie and his family.

The Hired Man by Sandra Dallas

 

My thoughts

This is what a good friend called "a well-crafted story." She was so right. It had me doing some head scratching in places where I did know who was bad. Who really did the horrible thing to a young girl. Who murdered her?

Yes this is a story of hardships. Of the dust bowl. Of a time when people had little. When people didn't seem to want to help strangers. Anyone they didn't know what to be treated as lower than. At least if they were deemed vagrants.

The Kessler family had it rough. But they also had each other and they were good people. They believed in helping others. When they hired Otis the town's people were upset. He was a vagrant. How dare they let him into the community. But Mrs Kessler was adamant about helping him.

When a young lady disappears and is later found dead everyone thinks it was Otis. Everyone except Mrs Kessler. But why was she so set on his innocence? What secrets was she keeping?

This book is both historical and has a thriller effect. Parts had me on the edge wondering who did what. I was so wrong. I did not figure out who it was. I was stunned. To say the least it was a pleasant surprise to not figure it out though. A very well written story keeps you guessing but not giving a thing away...

I loved this story. It was hard to read in places but so very good. Times were hard. Times were bleak. People were cruel. But eventually the rain did fall!!!!

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

Five stars....

About

The Dust Bowl sweeps a handsome stranger into a small Colorado town to dangerous effect

1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. Folks can barely remember a time when the clouds were filled with rain instead of dirt, and when the fields were green instead of brown. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families, especially on the women who bear the brunt of their husbands’ frustration and their children’s hunger, is everywhere.

When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy, and prejudice grip their neighbors–and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.

Full of period detail and Sandra Dallas’s trademark focus on the lives of women, The Hired Man entertains and ultimately surprises.

Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 

My thoughts

This is the best yet. This author took my breath away with this one. It's a sweet genteel story while also a heartbreaking heartfelt story. One that many may relate too. 

A love story. Family drama. Small town. Secrets. Lots of secrets. 

When Daisy Stevens, a NICU nurse, runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, to get away. To possibly make a new start, a few things happen. She meets a man. One she instantly has chemistry with. She helps a newborn baby, one she falls head over heels for. And she meets an old friend, one she may not really want to see. 

This story is about a woman and man. A love story. A baby and lots of secrets. When Mason finds a baby abandoned in a dumpster and takes her to the local hospital he has no idea how his life is about to change. Who would do such a thing to a baby. (I did guess this one) 

This story is told from three povs. Daisy, Mason, and Aunt Tilley. Daisy is a NICU nurse. Mason a high school baseball coach. Aunt Tilley, who is hard to describe. 

Aunt Tilley is considered a bit out there. Ever since she lost her true love many many years ago she has not been the same. You never know if you will get the real Tilley or a character from her mind. But she is a gem. I loved her. She is possibly my very favorite character in this story. 

Daisy becomes the foster mom for the baby found. Her and Mason named her Maisy. But somewhere out there is Maisy's real mother. Her parents. 

This story has a few secrets that come out. One minute I would be laughing so hard, then bawling my heart out. The emotions were flying in all directions. It's so good. A story that grabs you in all the right places. Pulls you in and doesn't let go. Through all the family drama, all the ups and downs, this one is the perfect beach read. I enjoyed every twist. Every secret. It is just so good. 

Thank you Gallery Books for this ARC.

Five big stars...

About

“Queen of the beach read,” (Cosmopolitan) New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a heartfelt escape to coastal Carolina.

After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.

Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.

But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm. In a novel that proves that “Kristy Woodson Harvey is (the) go-to for elevated beach reads” (People), they will each learn that with love, understanding—and a community theater production of Hello, Dolly!—sometimes life conspires to bring us just exactly where we belong.

Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer

 

My thoughts

To me, this book was just beautiful. It was sad in places yes. But it was a beautiful friendship story. It was written with heart. I'm so glad I read this one. 

I love a book about older women. This one took my breath away. The two main characters, Joy and Hazel, are such special characters. They have been best friends since they were both eight years old. Both are fixing to turn ninety now. 

This book is about how one friend learns to let go of another. How to live life to the fullest even at eighty-nine years of age. While saying goodbye to her best friend who is dying of cancer. Yes it's heartbreaking but not in the way you think. Saying goodbye is hard but in this story it brings out a side of Joy that she never thought about trying. Doing things she would not have done before. While Hazel was always the outgoing of the two and never married it was Joy who settled into a life and took things that she should not have. Maybe the payoff was worth it. I don't know. I really liked Joy. She made me laugh and cry. Made me see life in a different way. How she befriended a new person in the neighborhood. How she faced up to a woman she knew had an affair with her husband. And finally how things with her daughter came out. I also loved her grandson Finn. He was such a good boy. 

This book is truly written in a way to pull you in and keep you turning the pages. I didn't want to put it down. It was a quick read for me. One I savored from start to finish. The things that Joy ended up doing had me holding my breath and laughing. She was truly a character. And her bestie Hazel was always there for her no matter what. Hazel had gone on many adventures over the years. Participated in protests. Gone to the ends of the world. Been held in a Russian prison. Then got sick and had to stop. Hazel was the kind of friend we all need at times. 

You get to know a few characters in this story. Some very good ones and a couple that you may not like to much. Written in a beautiful prose that had me spellbound. I absolutely loved this book and can't recommend it enough.

Five big stars 

About

From the bestselling author of The Collected Regrets of Clover comes a vibrant, heartfelt novel about friendship over the decades, self-discovery, and what it means to have a life well-lived.

Break the rules. Find your joy.

For over eighty years, Joy Bridport has played by the rules: she's been a devoted wife and mother, contributing to the community in her small Hudson Valley town. But her quiet existence is jolted when she learns that her best friend, Hazel, only has months left to live. Hazel has always been the more adventurous one of their duo, and she seems at peace with all that she’s squeezed out of her long life. Yet Joy realizes she can’t say the same.

Determined to live boldly and make the most of the time that she and Hazel have left together, Joy steps outside of her comfort zone—and into a bit of trouble. But as her foray into rule-breaking escalates into committing petty crime, Joy must consider what kind of legacy she wants to leave behind, and whether there's a way for her to embrace the liberation that "Bad Joy" offers without losing all that she holds dear.

Is it ever too late to become who we're meant to be? With laugh-out-loud hijnks and emotional heft, Good Joy, Bad Joy is a heartwarming and wise celebration of the choices we make, the friendships we cherish, and the lengths we go for love.

Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter

 

My thoughts

WOW... What a debut. This book took my breath away. Though I wish so much that the next book was available. I need to find out what happened. Where they are. What is going on. This was a fantastic debut...

Two girls are set to fight. To fight to the death. Only one will walk away. They become the best of friends. But will that help. Can one kill the other. This is a must too. One has to die to save the Kingdom. Or save the Queensland. 

There is a lot of magic. A love story in the making. A family filled with drama. Two girls who become friends. One a witch queen the other a princess. Both fighting for their home. The land they love. Two different worlds. 

Astrid is the last of her kind. A witch who must fight to the death. 

Skylar is a nobody. Until she isn't. She must fight to the death. 

These two young ladies have a destiny. They were not suppose to befriend each other. This is also a love story. A prince and a future queen.  It also has dragons. And a cat. A black cat. You just can't go wrong with this combination of characters. From the streets to the castle. The fighting. The loving. The training. This has it all.

I throughly loved this book. Now I can't wait for the next book....

5 stars. 

About

A debut high-stakes fantasy romance trilogy set against a once-in-a-generation duel to the death between rival witches and dragon riders as they battle to control the source of all magic in their kingdoms. Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and Quicksilver.

You duel or you die.

Astrid has always known she is destined to die. She is the last Nachstern witch and heir to the Queendom of Arturea, cursed by a centuries-old covenant to duel the heir to the Kingdom of Vatra for the source of all magic: the Heart. And now Astrid’s time is up. She is heading into enemy territory to face Prince Zryan, the most powerful dragon rider in eons, with only her familiar, her potions, and her wits to aid her. She is going to die, and any chance her queendom has of curing the Blight that’s ravaging the lands and killing her people will die with her.

Meanwhile, deep in dragon country, Skylar and her travelling troupe arrive in Vatra’s capital, ready to profit off the legions of spectators swarming to the city ahead of the duel. She despises the royals and all they stand for, especially as the King’s guard murdered her mother. But when her best friend disappears, suspected to have been taken in the conscription, her search takes her closer to the royals than she ever could have imagined.

As the duel looms over the kingdom, Skylar and Astrid’s fates intertwine. They must battle a growing rebellion, their inner demons, and ultimately, those they love most, to determine if together they will save—or doom—their world.

The Creek, the Crone, and the Crow by Leah Weiss

 My thoughts

This is the third book by this author. She has captured each beautifully. The lives in both other books, If The Creek Don't Rise and All The Little Hopes, are in this book. In character or in thoughts. I loved it, though If The Creek Don't Rise will probably always be my favorite. Sadie was such a character to love.

Baines Creek, deep in the Appalachian mountains, is where this story mostly takes part. With Kate Shaw the school teacher for the past ten years. Bridie Rocas the town healer/witch. Bridie still has many secrets. Then you meet Lydia Brown. A psychic who traveled to Baines Creek to see Bridie. Hoping to find answers. 

Kate and Lydia become friends. Kate moves away from the Baines Creek area after the closing of the school house. It's a one room school and of course with modernization they children have to travel to a new county school. 

In this book you get to know a little about Sadie's mother. About Sadie's child gone missing. Who has her and whether she will be returned. A few unanswered questions are revealed. And some tunnels under two graveyards. 

This book has a lot and I was very confused with a lot of it. I enjoyed it very much though. The ending chapters showed me a lot but I'm still scratching my head. I'll have to think about rereading this one for more clarity. But still it's very good. 

I hope this author writes more about this area and what happens with the people here. 

Do not miss any of this. The Reading Group Guide is great and the Conversation with the Author was magnificent. Read those for sure. 

Thank you NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark for this ARC.

4.5 stars 

About

An outsider to the Carolina hills inherits a gift that could change everything for her beloved village on the verge of dying out, from an author of whom NPR said writes "with a deep knowledge of the enduring myths of Appalachia...vividly portraying real people and sorrows." 

Welcome to Baines Creek, a town hidden deep in Appalachia, where one of the last one-room schoolhouses in America is on the brink of closing. It's summer 1980, and Kate Shaw has lived in Baines Creek for ten years. A skeptic by heart, she rejects superstition and the belief in Appalachian folklore, much to the chagrin of local legend Birdie Rocas, a lively and reclusive witch with a trove of secrets. Yet when Birdie dies and leaves Kate her collection of handmade books and a trunk of illuminated manuscripts and journals, Kate is thrown into world of things she doesn't understand. Enter Lydia Brown, a psychic with a curious birthmark whose visions stopped the day her parents died. Grief-stricken, without her gift, and in need of spiritual guidance, she travels to Appalachia in search of Birdie and the answers she might provide. 

The third novel by acclaimed author Leah Weiss, The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow is the tale of a powerful crone, two women cut from the cloth of loss, and a secret sisterhood of empowerment that may be the key to healing them all.

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

 

My thoughts

I've read and loved so quite a few of this author's books. This one is great. I was on the edge during most of it. I did know who the serial killer was though. I figured that out fairly early. It did not take away from the story and I did not see that ending coming. I would not have guessed the other part....

This was a quick read for me.

Jules is a high school cheerleader. She's from the more prominent part of town and is very beautiful. She is of course dating a football player. She also has detention with a boy. Quinn is his name and you will love him.

Quinn is also a high school kid. He's from the poor side of town and is very quite. He wants to go to college but does not see that happening as he has to be there for his little brother. His mom works and has a fairly sorry excuse for a boyfriend. Quinn's dad is dead. His little brother is disabled and the only other family is his Uncle Pat. 

There is a serial killer who abducts girls on May First. Always on May first. He's called the May Day killer. Sometimes he lets his victims go. He calls them "One of the lucky ones." But he keeps their license. He tells them if they say anything he will come back and get them. He took Jules. He did horrible things to her. Then he let her go. She could not identify him. She also could not tell anyone. Her life was forever changed.

This story goes from year to year. Each told by alternating characters of Quinn and Jules. How their lives intersect. What each does in life. What they go through. How they end up. 

I thought this story was truly great. It was truly awful at the same time. Awful because of the things that happened to the girls. To Quinn's mother. To Jules's sister. To all the families who lost someone. I adored Quinn. I also loved Jules. Both of these characters made it into my heart. What each went through was so sad. How they ended up after all of it was great. 

There was a couple of things that felt a bit rushed, or not explained before hand, but it was still a great story. The other two characters, Lucy and Carrie, were victims also. I thought both were portrayed perfectly. One a bit goth and the other a preacher's daughter. 

This author always captures my attention and keeps me wanting more. 

The books comes out in May. Be sure and grab it. It's very good.

The audio is perfect. The two narrator's did a great job. Ari Fliakos and Brittany Pressley.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio,  and, St Martin's Press, for this ARC.

4.75 stars 

About

Every Year He Comes For Them.

On one fateful night in 1992, the lives of two seventeen-year-olds are changed and intertwined forever. Quinn Riley, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, is arrested after he innocently tries to break up a fight but ends up nearly killing someone. Jules Delaney, high school royalty, survives an attack by the elusive and terrifying May Day Killer—a serial predator who strikes every May 1st in midwestern small towns.

A year later, Jules is struggling with trauma and guilt, tormented by one question: Why was I spared? Quinn is newly released from juvenile detention and returns home to fresh the unsolved murder of his mother.

Over the next decade, their lives are revisited on a single day each year—May 1st. As secrets unravel and the paths of Quinn and Jules collide, two mysteries edge closer to the truth. All the while, the May Day Killer is still out there—and the clock is racing toward another May 1st.

The Anniversary is an utterly compelling story of the hunt for a serial killer. But it’s also a heartfelt—and heartrending—novel about fate, innocence lost, and two souls who find that sometimes being broken is the only way for the light to get in.

Blade by Wendy Walker

 

My thoughts

I'm a huge fan of Wendy Walker's books. I've not read one yet that disappointed me. There is always an edge. Always a thrill. And always tears to be shed. This one is excellent. A real page turner. I usually shy away from books about sports. This one drew me in and didn't let go until I turned that last page.


A book about ice skaters. Where they stayed and what they did. The competitions and the friendships made. Even enemies made. There is always a bit of jealousy in any competition. This story puts it all out there. How children are treated when away from home. When staying with an adult who can pick and choose whatever and whoever she wants. This is a very complex story about girls competing for championships and hopeful olympic placement. Girls who compete against each other but are still there for each other in so many ways.

The author takes you into the depths of the ice skating world. The trials each puts on themselves. How lies can ruin a life. How doing good can make you or break you. What happens when you are away from family. When tragic events take shape. Girls who are truly not ready to take on the tasks of acting grown up. Partying. Having grown ups put up barriers for them. These girls are just children who want to skate. Yes they want to win but mostly they just want to be loved and accepted as they are. Whether they pass of fail.

You get to know some of these girls and yes this is fiction but loosely based on things that do happen. Adults who take advantage of these kids. Both women and men. Seems there is a lot of abuse. In most every way.

My heart broke for these young girls. Yes they wanted to skate but they didn't want to be hurt. Lied too. Taken advantage of.

This is about a murder. A young girl who is accused of this murder. It looks bad for her. Of course it does. Her lawyer went to this same school fourteen years earlier. Ana knows what it was like. As does this girl's mother. Grace is in so much trouble. Accused of murder. Murder of a well liked man. Her mother, also lived here before. Back when the girls were training to be olympic ice skaters. Now Grace and Ana have to fight to find out who did what and why. Grace doesn't want to say anything. She doesn't trust anyone. Least of all Ana...

This story goes from before to now. From before to after. Told mainly from Ana's POV. You will find out all you need to know.

I was immersed in this book. Couldn't look away. I throughly enjoyed it. I cried. I cringed. I even laughed a bit. I never figured out who the killer was.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

4.75 stars.

About

From USA Today bestselling author—and former competitive skater—Wendy Walker comes a chilling psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of elite figure skating.

Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making—until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado.

Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime—Grace Montgomery. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace’s guilt, and she’s days away from facing charges of first-degree murder.

But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “Orphan.” With a blizzard raging outside, and time running out for Grace, Ana is determined to uncover the truth—even if it means exposing her own secrets that she buried here long ago.

Family Drama by Rebecca Fallon

 

My thoughts

I almost didn't finish this one. It was not a fast paced book at all. It was intense and did keep pulling at me. I just didn't want a DNF. I am glad I finished it now. The ending truly made up for so much. I did think this book was well written. The author put her heart and soul into it I'm sure. For anyone to say it is poorly written is just wrong. It's slow for the first several chapters but interesting.

This family is definitely troubled. A man who raised his twin children almost alone. Their mother died of cancer when they were very young. Before that, she was not really there. She was a soap star. She was away for most of their lives. I do believe she loved her children and her husband. I know he loved her. No doubt about it. Al was a good guy. He supported his wife's career even though he truly wanted her to stay home. Not to travel. To be his wife and their children's mother. But she wanted to be a star so he supported it. Al was truly a keeper.

This one starts out with the twins watching as their mother's body is lowered into the sea. She wanted to be buried that way and Al was doing just that. 

This story takes you back and forth between when the twins, Viola and Sebastian, experience their mother's burial and when their mother is in California working on a soap opera. All that happens in those years is told. It's definitely a drama but not a bad one. 

I think the author really did a good job. This one kept me reading. I never thought about putting it down. I did start to DNF it a couple of times. That was just crazy though. I highly recommend this book. It's got so much to keep you reading. It's family. It's drama. It's twin crazy. A mom and dad problem. A soap opera. A love between an older man and younger woman. Actually that is twice. Al is several years older than Susan. But it seemed like their love was at first sight, in a way. Al really flipped over her. Susan's sister, Sadie, didn't much like Al but she was crazy over the twins. 

The last few chapters of this one made me weep. I was crying so hard while reading about Susan's death. How the twins were with her while she was sick. How her son seemed to love his mom more than anything. They didn't know their mom was a star. They had no idea she was ever in a soap opera. 

Yes this book started out a bit slow but it did grow on me. I am glad I read it. I liked the characters. Mostly. I was angry at Susan for leaving her family for a soap opera but that was what she wanted. Her career. She had a right to do that. Her children could be selfish but that was understandable too. They lost their mother at such a young age. This is one to make you think...

A debut novel. I give this author a lot of credit for writing such a heartfelt story. 

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

4 stars. 

About

A vibrant debut and powerful meditation on family, motherhood, and the cost of holding on to your dreams, reminiscent of Ann Napolitano.

In New England, Susan Bliss is a young mother married to a professor.
In LA, Susan Byrne stars in a soap opera beloved coast to coast.
Decades after she’s gone, her twins have no idea of their mother’s fame. But the past can’t stay hidden forever.

It’s 1997, and snow is blanketing a New England beach. Two befuddled seven-year-olds watch as their mother’s body is tipped overboard a crumbling boat. A Viking funeral, followed by a raucous wake. A send-off fit for soap opera Susan Bliss.

Fifteen years earlier, Susan is a blazing, beautiful young woman, passionate about her art. It’s impossible not to fall in love with her, and so Alcott, a practical professor, does—hopelessly. And so begins the love story of Susan’s two-paneled an unconventional, jetlag-filled arrangement that takes her back and forth between her life in New England as a wife and mother to young twins to the bright lights of Los Angeles, where she becomes the beloved star of a daytime soap.

In the present, Susan’s twins grow up in the shadow of her all-consuming absence. Sebastian, a sensitive artist, cleaves to her memory, fascinated with the artifacts of her starry past. Viola, resentful of her mother’s torn allegiances, distances herself from the memories of her. But when Viola runs into her mother’s old costar Orson Grey—now a renowned Hollywood star—she finds herself falling deeply in love with him and begins to put together the pieces of a mother she never really knew.

Sharp, assured, and beautifully written, Family Drama is a story told in double-helix, with intertwined timelines that explore the different versions of ourselves we share with the world and with each other.