GONE AGAIN by Minka Kent

 

My thoughts

I read this author's book Unmissing and loved it. I could not wait to get into this one and boy is it a good one. Another book to keep you turning the pages. This was a quick read too as I devoured it. 

Celia tells her story in past and present. Her life is very sad for the first eighteen years. Her parents are into a very strict religious organization. I would call it nothing short of a cult. If you don't tow the line you get severely punished. I mean severely. Bad things happen to children that can't be controlled. Celia is determined to get away from this horrible life. After what happened to her you won't blame her either. After some of the things she experiences you will root for her to get away. 

Genevieve tells her story past and present also. Her's is not as bad as her older sisters. She doesn't experience the abuse her sister did. She just learned to fade into the distance. To be somewhat invisible. She did what she was told without any questions. 

Then there is Celeste. She's the baby of the family. The one I had so many questions about. I thought one thing about her and Celia but I was wrong. It was much worse. So much worse. 

After Celia's fortieth birthday party she gets a note that disturbs her greatly. She drives away to clear her head and runs into trouble she wasn't expecting. Everyone is looking for her and no one seems to know what happened to her. Could she have run... again. Be gone... again. 

This book will keep you turning the pages until the very ending. You will be guessing at who did what and why but I don't believe you will get it. I sure didn't and I usually do. I didn't like Genevieve at first. I thought she was a bit petty. But she did grow on me and I understand now why she felt the way she did. She had no idea why Celia truly ran. Their parents were awful but their dad was the devil. Some things she will find out make it clear. Everyone was affected by the actions he took.

Can these three sisters ever become close. Can they bury the past and move on. Will their be any justice for what some did. This book does not leave you hanging. You'll find out everything and more.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MinkaKent, #Thomas&Mercer, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars and I highly recommend it. It's really very good.

Synopsis

In this novel of escalating fear and suspense by Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent, a secret from a woman’s past unearths a lifetime of lies. How long can she run from the past?

On her fortieth birthday, Celia Guest has reason to celebrate. She has a loving marriage, a beautiful Connecticut home, and treasured friends. Celia has everything she’s ever wanted. But among the cards and well-wishes, she discovers a disturbing note: You don’t deserve any of this.

Who could be so cruel, so resentful, so…knowing? Then, in the early morning hours, Celia vanishes without a trace.

As suspicions and concerns rise among Celia’s friends, her sister Genevieve, with whom she shares a fractured and troubling bond, starts to piece together a shattered life that Celia fled from once before. As a foundation of lies begins to crumble, a terrifying childhood secret Celia thought was dead and buried comes to light.

Mailbox Monday

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

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists!!

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books, has a permanent home now at Mailbox Monday.

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Emma @ Words 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.

1: THE HOUSE BEYOND THE DUNES by Mary Burton

     Courtesy of the Publisher via NetGalley

2: BENEATH THE SURFACE by Kaira Rouda

     Courtesy of the Publisher via NetGalley

3: THE NEW MOTHER by Nora Murphy

      Courtesy of the Publisher via NetGalley

4: THE MADWOMEN OF PARIS by Jennifer Cody Epstein

     Courtesy of the Publisher via NetGalley

5: IN MY LIFE by Kay Bratt

     Courtesy of the author

IN MY LIFE by Kay Bratt

 

My thoughts

Each book in this series is better than the last. That is saying a lot as each is great. 

They are about a family. A family with lots of drama and some secrets. Some new loves may be developing along the way also. And the dogs. There are some stories about dogs that will take your heart. Both good things and some bad. 

Taylor is a cop who works hard. She's always helping others and putting herself last. She lets a few people walk over her at times but I have a feeling it will all work out in the last book. Everything will. I hope. I sure do hate to see this series end. It's been my favorite of this author's books and she's written some very good ones. This book has a lot going on. Family is at the center of all everything. Taylor's sisters seem to need her more than even they realize at times.  You get to know their mother more in this book.

Cate, the mother of these four girls. She was wrongfully sent to prison many years ago. She was accused of murder by arson. She spent all that time locked up and very lonely. Not having much trust in anything or anyone. A real loner. Taylor found her and helped prove her innocence. Now Cate is trying to make a life with her daughters. She may just find that special someone also. We'll see. I hope so. She has a love for animals and gets a job at the local humane society. There is a lot of drama there also. Not with the employs but with some of the nuts that come in. 

There is a big murder in this book. A dad, son and best friend are killed in cold blood. Taylor and Shane are the leads on this one and won't stop until someone is caught. It is not one of those where you will figure out who did it. You won't. But they might. They work well together but I'm still rooting for Taylor and Sam. I want them to get together. 

Lucy is happy with the choices she is finally making also. Her son and her are living on a boat and making new friends. I think she's going to be a great mother. Of course she still needs Taylor's help and her mom, Cate's, love and understanding. 

You get to know a little more about Jo and her son also. And just a bit about Anna again. I worry about Anna. I don't think she's in a good place in her marriage. I'm afraid her husband is going to be a bit controlling and possibly a bit abusive. I hope not. We will see. 

This book was a fun read and a serious one that made me laugh out loud in a couple of places. One in particular. The word that one man used... "hippa-thesis." If you read or read the book you'll see what I mean. It had me laughing so hard. I could just picture this country, possibly a redneck, man saying that. 

This book is great. It has a bit of everything for you. I do hope we find out who hurt Taylor and he gets brought to justice. 

Thank you Kay Bratt for this beautiful series and this third book. I am very anxious to read the next one now. Not that I want it to end but it's that good.

Five big huge stars..

Synopsis

Hart's Ridge used to be such a quaint, peaceful little town but when Deputy Taylor stumbles upon a triple murder, she won't stop until she finds the ruthless killer.

Working a murder case is hard enough but when she is also trying to navigate a new relationship, not lose her dog, and also keep her own family straight, Taylor realizes she may have taken on more than she can handle. Something has got to give.

Deputy Taylor Gray is a young woman carrying the world on her shoulders as she does her best to solve mysteries (each inspired by a true crime), as well as fight to piece her fractured family back together. What will it take to convince her to step back and figure out what she needs?

WHAT'S NOT LOST by Valerie Taylor

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  What's Not Lost by Valerie Taylor
Category: Adult Fiction 18+  
Genre: Women's Fiction, Contemporary Romantic Comedy
Publisher:  Aspetuck Publishing, 324 pages
Release date:  February 7, 2023
Content Rating:  PG-13 + M. There is some bad language and references to sex scenes, but no explicit sex scenes.

Book Description:

Through the eyes of an overachiever, the schemes of a homewrecker, the magic of a bottle of wine, and a CAT, award-winning author Valerie Taylor propels this captivating and heart-warming romance to an unpredictable and delightful conclusion.

Kassie O'Callaghan is searching ... for herself and for answers. With her husband six feet under and an engagement ring on her finger, Kassie is convinced managing a company merger in Paris will complete her quest for recognition on her own terms. When she learns her fiancé's ex-girlfriend is pregnant, Kassie's dreams come tumbling down. At least for the moment.

Despite pleas from her younger fiancé to stay in Boston and a warning from her best friend forever of what's at stake should she leave, Kassie heads to Paris with courage and perseverance. There, she stumbles into a world of wine and roses as she tries to put the wisdom of her experience to the ultimate test.

​When a Greek businessman tries to rescue her, Kassie discovers-in life-it's not whether you win or lose, it's the way you love that counts.

BUY THE BOOK:
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Meet the Author:

Six years retired, three years a published novelist, always a reader of good stories. Valerie Taylor was born and raised in Stamford, CT. She had a thirty-year career in the financial services industry as a marketer and writer. After her divorce, she spread her wings and relocated her career to Boston and then to Seattle. When she retired, she resettled in her home state to be near her two grown children and granddaughter. Taylor’s a member of the Westport Writer’s Workshop, the Independent Book Publisher’s Association, the CT Authors and Publishers Association, and the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association. She’s a published book reviewer with BookTrib.com. She enjoys practicing tai chi and being an expert sports spectator. With the expected release in February 2023, What’s Not Lost is the final season in the What’s Not trilogy. Her debut, What’s Not Said, was published in 2020, with the sequel, What’s Not True, following closely in 2021. Taylor’s next journey will be into the world of cozy mysteries.

​connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

WHAT'S NOT LOST Book Tour Giveaway

 

BETWEEN THE SKY AND THE SEA by Lisa Williams Kline

 

Read Free on Kindle Unlimited!

@LisaWilliamsKline @KateRockBookTours

#LisaWilliamsKline #KateRockBookTours #BookBlitz #BookTour

#dragonbladepublishing #shipwreck #historicalromance 

#Southernhistoricalfiction

One glance. A shipwreck. Can a love affair forged in peril sustain two independent spirits?

Lavinia Onslow, who delights in the freedom of managing her father’s millinery shop in the heart of Savannah, Georgia, has decided she may defy convention and not marry after all. Yet, in the summer of 1838, on board the elegant steamship Pulaski, bound from Savannah to Baltimore, she exchanges glances with an intriguing young man. What can ensue from a mere glance? Quite a lot, as legend has it. That very night, the boiler of the Pulaski explodes and the ship sinks, drowning most of its wealthy passengers. As Lavinia struggles in the water in her heavy dress, calling out for her father and thinking she will surely perish, someone dives in to rescue her, pulling her up next to him on a makeshift raft made of two deck settees. When she composes herself, she recognizes the intriguing man. There they float, alone but together, surrounded by ocean, thirty miles off the coast of North Carolina, desperate for a life-saving miracle.

Is the bond she feels for this stranger more than an instinct for survival?

Inspired by a legend --that may or not be true-- and set in the rich historic milieus of Savannah, New Orleans, and the coast of North Carolina, Between the Sky and the Sea explores how Lavinia Onslow’s desire to live as an independent woman transforms after surviving the wreck of the Pulaski.

Author bio

Lisa Williams Kline wanted to become a writer ever since second grade, when she wrote and illustrated “The Adventures of Little Horse and Little Lamb,” on large-lined paper. A graduate of Duke University, she is now the author of ten books for young people, including Eleanor Hill, winner of the North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award, Princesses of Atlantis, Write Before Your Eyes, One Week of You, the novella One Week of the Heart, and the five-book Sisters in All Seasons series. In 2022, her book of personal essays The Ruby Mirror was released by The Bridge, and in 2023, adult historical fiction Between the Sky and the Sea was released from Dragonblade Publishing, and contemporary women's fiction Ladies' Day was released from CamCat Books. Lisa lives with her veterinarian husband and two talented cats and a sweet chihuahua who played Bruiser Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical. Their daughters and their husbands visit frequently with their dogs and as can be imagined they have a howling good time.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE by Alex Finlay

 

MY THOUGHTS

I loved this book. It had so much going on that it took my breath away. The ending I did not see coming at all. Still wondering where the twins came from but it's not relevant to this story. It was just an all around good edge of your seat story. 

Children in the system. Living in a group home for foster children. Teens. At the right age for adults to basically take advantage of them. There was five children who you meet in this story. Each one coming from some type of loss to be left here by the state. Under the care of who I saw as a very uncaring man. His son was a bully and he did nothing to stop him. 

The story is told from several different characters. Each explains what is happening to them at the time. Someone is out to kill them and it takes them a bit to understand that it has something to do with the house they lived it.

It starts out with someone being shot. Multiple people shoot this person. You know who is pulling the trigger so no surprise there. Five children who live in this group home. Each pulls the trigger. Sealing them together with this secret forever. Thus the title: WHAT HAVE WE DONE!

You'll meet Jenna. She's married to the love of her life. She has two step-children and she once worked for an organization that took out people. She was groomed from the age of fifteen and finally got out. Finally has a good life. Then it all starts to fall apart. Someone is threatening her and her family if she doesn't do what she is told. She has to take out someone or else!

Donnie is a musician. He is also a bit of a drunk. He never truly got over his life. He's been drinking since he was a kid. But one night he falls off a cruise ship. One that he was playing in a band on but was fired from said band. Did he jump or was it something more sinister? 

Nico is a tv personality. He is in charge of a reality tv show called The Miners. Someone tricks him and leaves him for dead in the pits of the dark mine. He knows there is not much time and he has no cell signal at all. Very little battery life also. What will become of him? 

These three will have to work together to find out who wants them dead and why. Could it be linked to what they did twenty-five years ago. Could it be the son of the man they killed? 

Ben was on track to be a federal judge when he was murdered. He was one of the children from the group home also. He worked very hard to pull himself up and do what he did with his life. He left behind a wife and child that he loved dearly. He had no secrets from his wife either.... Who killed him and why.

There is also Artemis. Artemis was the quiet one. The inventor. The one that grew up to be very rich. He was also in the group home. You'll get to know him also. 

Then you get the twins. Casey and Haley. Both evil to the core. They love inflicting pain and horrors on people. They seem to get off by tortuous acts. Who are they and where did they come from. What do they have to do with the children, now grown ups, from the group home. 

You'll find out everything. You will cringe from some of the things that happen in this book. You'll root for the kids to make it. For the grownups to make it. For some to live. I have to admit that I wanted a couple of these characters to be killed. They really do deserve it. 

I loved the three initial story tellers. Jenna, Nico and Donnie. They are solid and very likable in their own ways. I don't think any one of them deserved to go through anything. 

This book is very good. It's edge of your seat good. It's not what I thought it was going to be after reading a few other reviews. It wasn't dark. It contained no acrobat actions. Nothing out of the ordinary for a good thriller. Lots of fighting and some bloody parts sure. What did you expect. It's a Finlay book. A good Finlay book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AlexFinlay, #StMartin'sPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4.25 stars. Grab it. It's that good.

SYNOPSIS

In this “top-notch mystery thriller” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from Alex Finlay, What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever.

One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2023:• BookPage • BookBub • E! News • Go BookMart • Goodreads • PopSugar • The Every Girl • She Reads • Beyond the Bookends

A stay-at-home mom with a past.
A has-been rock star with a habit.
A reality TV producer with a debt.
Three disparate lives.
One deadly secret.

Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, having forged a bond through the abuse and neglect they endured as residents of Savior House, a group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down—after the disappearance of several kids—the three were split up.

Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live accomplished—if troubled—lives. They haven’t seen one another since they were teens but now are reunited for a single haunting reason: someone is trying to kill them.

To survive, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their shared past—a past that holds the secret to why someone wants them dead.

It’s a reunion none of them asked for . . . or wanted. But it may be the only way to save all their lives.

What Have We Done is both an edge-of-your-seat thriller and a gut-wrenching coming-of-age story. And it cements Alex Finlay as one of the new leading voices in thrillers today.

THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL by Meagan Church

 

MY THOUGHTS

I've read a few emotional books in my time. Some that really kept me weeping all the way through. This is one of them. This is emotional on a whole new level though. I learned a few things while reading this book. A few things that we all should know and prevent from ever happening again. 

This is fourteen year old Leah Payne's story. It's told with her voice. Her thoughts and her feelings. Her pain. Her losses. Her heart. It will absolutely break your heart. The sad thing is that this happened in this country. Way to many times. I thought other countries were bad trying to create the perfect race. While this is not in so many words about creating the perfect race, according to the people who did this, it actually is. Using Eugenics to keep anyone from having a child. To sterilize women. To sterilize a child. It is beyond cruel. It's inhumane. No one has the right to decide who is not smart enough to have a child. Who is not good enough. It's just wrong on so many levels. This book will take you there and many more places. 

Leah was living her life with her daddy in North Carolina. Going about her daily life happy and content. While they were basically poor they did have a lot. They had each other. They had a roof over their heads and her daddy had a job. Yes they lived on the Barnas' property but Leah's daddy worked for them. She played with their son Jesse. Went to school with him. He was her best friend. Her mother died after she gave birth to her. She bled to death. Her daddy raised her and taught her to be a good child but also let her experience freedom. Be alive and happy. Until the unthinkable happened. Then she had to go live with a foster family. But she didn't have any idea what she was in store for. Being a "helpmate" instead of a typical foster child. The Griffins were a typical family. They had money and a nice life. Three children and a home. Plenty of food and each other. 

Leah goes through so much from Mrs Griffin. The woman is cruel. Evil mean. She puts Leah in what can only be described as a closet out back with room only for a bed and dresser. One tiny window. All Leah is there for is to cook, clean and help with the youngest child. Leah is a hard worker and only wants a family. To be accepted. She also wants to go back home. She puts up with physical and mental abuse from Mrs Griffin. While the other children seem to love her, especially the youngest, Leah is not at all happy. She tries so hard to please this woman. The final straw comes when she over hears Mrs Griffin and another snooty woman taking at the cotillion. She finds out that the woman her her sterilized. 

This story takes you on a very emotional ride. Through so many tears. The things this teenage girl goes through is so sad. What makes it worse is it is based on an actual event. This author's aunt. You will learn about her in the "Author's Note" at the end. It's heartbreaking what happened and in some cases it seems still happens. This book is well researched so don't think it's not real. That it never happened. It did. It needs to never happen again. No matter what.

Quotes that hit me: 

'ALL I HAD LEFT IN ALL THE WORLD WAS MY QUILT AND THE PICTURE I'D TAKEN FROM THE DRESSER BEFORE WE'D WALKED OUT THE DOOR THAT MORNING.'

'THE THING ABOUT KIDS. ADULTS ALWAYS TRY TO TELL THEM TO GROW UP, ACT THEIR AGE, THAT THERE'S NO SENSE IN CRYING. BUT KIDS KNOW THAT SOMETIMES THE ONLY THING TO DO IS LET THE TEARS WASH OUT OF YOU. SOMETIMES TEARS ARE THE ONLY WORDS WORTH SHARING."

 

Yes, this is a very emotional story. It does have a couple of very sweet parts and a couple of chuckles but overall it's based on actual events and it's heartbreaking. It's horrible. It's one you need to read.

Publishes March 28th of this year.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MeaganChurch, #SourceBooksLandmark, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this story.

Five huge stars and a very high recommendation. Read it with a new box of Kleenex. You will need them.

SYNOPSIS

"Unforgettable, this a powerful debut to savor." — Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

A searing book club novel for fans of Where the Crawdad's Sing and The Girls in the Stilt House following one girl fighting for her family, her body, and her right to create a future all her own

Some folks will do anything to control the wild spirit of a Carolina girl...

For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is as simple as it is free. Devoted to her lumberjack father and running through the wilds where the forest meets the shore, Leah's country life is as natural as the Loblolly pines that rise to greet the Southern sky.

When an accident takes her father's life, Leah is wrenched from her small community and cast into a family of strangers with a terrible secret. Separated from her only home, Leah is kept apart from the family and forced to act as a helpmate for the well-to-do household. When a moment of violence and prejudice thrusts Leah into the center of the state's shameful darkness, she must fight for her own future against a world that doesn't always value the wild spirit of a Carolina girl.

Set in 1935 against the very real backdrop of a recently formed state eugenics board, The Last Carolina Girl is a powerful and heart-wrenching story of fierce strength, forgotten history, autonomy, and the places and people we ultimately call home.