Book Review

A book review is a summary of my thoughts, feelings, and impression of a book.

#BookReview The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @smpromance @StMartinsPress #TheSummerGirl #ElleKennedy #AvalonBaySeries #SMPRomance #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @smpromance @StMartinsPress #TheSummerGirl #ElleKennedy #AvalonBaySeries #SMPRomance #SMPInfluencers Title: The Summer Girl

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series: Avalon Bay #3

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Jul. 18, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

College student Cassie Soul hasn’t spent an entire summer in Avalon Bay in years, not since her parents divorced and her mother spitefully whisked her away to Boston. Now that her grandmother is selling the boardwalk hotel that’s been in their family for five decades, Cassie returns to the quaint beach town to spend time with family, ring in her twenty-first birthday… and maybe find herself a summer fling.

On her first night in town, she finds the perfect candidate: Tate Bartlett, Avalon Bay’s fun-loving golden boy.

Tate, sailing instructor and lovable player, is no stranger to flings. In fact, he’s always down for a good time. But the moment he meets Cassie, he knows she’s not the girl you play games with. Cassie is gorgeous, hilarious, and, frankly, the coolest person he’s ever met. The last thing he wants to do is risk breaking her heart, and so he reluctantly puts her in the friend-zone… only to realize he made a huge mistake. Soon, his attraction to Cassie becomes impossible to ignore. He wants that fling now. Big-time.

And maybe even something more.

As Cassie and Tate walk the line between friends and lovers, they’re about to discover that their situation is the least complicated part of this equation. Because Avalon Bay is full of secrets—and their relationship might not survive when those secrets come to light.


Review:

Steamy, sassy, and tender!

The Summer Girl is a cute, sweet, delightfully charming rom-com featuring the kind, dependable Cassie Soul, who, after returning to Avalon Bay for the summer to celebrate her twenty-first birthday, spend some time with her maternal grandmother, visit with her father, and perhaps have a little fling, quickly discovers that as time goes on, and secrets are uncovered she may have more than just a passing fancy for life on the island and local boy Tate Bartlett.

The writing is witty and smooth. The characters are easygoing, supportive, and dependable. And the plot is an enchanting mix of life, friendship, tension, chemistry, self-discovery, emotion, familial drama, special moments, summer fun, happiness, taking chances, and unconditional love.

Overall, The Summer Girl is an amusing, lighthearted, perfect summer read by Kennedy that can definitely be picked up as a standalone novel, but as someone who absolutely adores this Avalon Bay series, I highly recommend you read them all.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

       

 

 

Thank you to SMP Romance – St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

#BookReview Wait for Me by Santa Montefiore @SantaMontefiore @SimonSchusterCA #WaitforMe #SantaMontefiore #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview Wait for Me by Santa Montefiore @SantaMontefiore @SimonSchusterCA #WaitforMe #SantaMontefiore #SimonSchusterCA Title: Wait for Me

Author: Santa Montefiore

Published by: Simon and Schuster on Jul. 18, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

From #1 internationally bestselling author Santa Montefiore comes a gripping new novel of enduring love and devastating secrets, sweeping across England during WWII to Australia five decades later, based on a true story.

Rupert promised he was going to come back. All Florence had to do was wait.

Cornwall, 1944
When Rupert Dash is declared missing, presumed dead during the Battle of Arnhem, his wife, Florence, is devastated. She can’t accept that he has gone from her life forever, and so when she finds a poem called ‘Wait for Me’ hidden in an old book, she believes it’s a sign from her husband. A promise that he will return to her.

London, 1988
Since childhood Max has suffered from a recurring nightmare. Surrounded by the horrific chaos of war, he has an urgent mission he knows he must complete. But time after time, the dream ends with him awaking in terror, his heart pounding from the horror of the battlefield. Desperate to understand why he is haunted by such terrible visions, Max embarks on a journey that leads him to Cornwall and a man named Rupert Dash.

Melbourne, 1995
Florence receives a letter from someone she has never met, who lives on the other side of the world. This stranger says he remembers a life that belonged to another before him. Could this be the one person Florence has waited fifty-one years to meet again?


Review:

Captivating, poignant, and incredibly romantic!

Wait for Me is an absorbing tale set in England during the early 1940s and late 1980s as well as Australia in the mid-1990s that takes you into the lives of three main characters; Florence, a young woman who finds the love of her life in the brother of the boy she always had a crush on, Rupert, a newlywed who tragically loses his life on the battlefields of Holland, and Max a young man who suffers from vivid nightmares and detailed memories of a life lived and lost before his time.

The writing is passionate and moving. The characters are hopeful, hesitant, and endearing. And the plot is an engaging, touching, heartfelt tale about life, loss, friendship, family, hope, heartbreak, tragedy, destiny, fate, war, and love, all interwoven with a thread of the supernatural.

Overall, Wait for Me is an evocative, enchanting, immersive, beautifully written tale by Montefiore that I absolutely devoured, highly recommend, and will undoubtedly be one of the books I’m talking about for some time to come. It makes you smile, it makes you cry, and ultimately leaves you pondering if love has the power to calm, cure, unite, touch, and heal the soul, is it too far to imagine that it can also endure for more than one lifetime.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

     

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Santa Montefiore

Santa Montefiore’s books have been translated into twenty languages and have sold more than four million copies in England and Europe. She is married to writer Simon Sebag Montefiore. They live with their two children, Lily and Sasha, in London.

Photograph by Santa Montefiore

#BookReview Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery @erikamwriter @StMartinsPress #OurPlaceOnTheIsland #ErikaMontgomery #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery @erikamwriter @StMartinsPress #OurPlaceOnTheIsland #ErikaMontgomery #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Our Place on the Island

Author: Erika Montgomery

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jun. 13, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family’s rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life’s many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha’s Vineyard for a celebration of a different their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago…

For renowned chef Mickey Campbell, this wedding isn’t just a welcome excuse to return to the place she first learned to cook at her grandmother’s side. It’s also a chance to regroup while she figures out a way to tell her smoldering head chef boyfriend that she’s mismanaged their restaurant into the red.

Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her adored father three years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to welcome a new man into the fold―and she’s not certain her own thorny relationship with her mother will weather the storm of her upcoming marriage.

But everyone knows a woman’s heart holds more than meets the eye. For Cora, drawing her daughter and granddaughter back to Beech House isn’t just about a ceremony, but a chance to reveal a history she has kept close to her heart for decades. As the days leading up to the wedding unfold, secrets of Cora’s past come to light– a secret that will cause three generations of Campbell women to question marriage, motherhood, and ultimately learn to savor the delicious joy of following your own heart.

Told in dual timelines on the sumptuous beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, OUR PLACE ON THE ISLAND is the sparkling, romantic read of the season.


Review:

Captivating, heartfelt, and sentimental!

Our Place on the Island is an enchanting, tender tale that sweeps you away to the idyllic Martha’s Vineyard and immerses you into the lives of three generations of women from the Campbell family and all the wounds, secrets, smiles, tears, hurt, compassion, strength, and loyalty that surround them.

The prose is reflective and sweet. The characters are kind, considerate, and concerned. And the plot using a past/present, back-and-forth style, intertwines and unravels into a charming tale of familial dynamics, drama, emotion, secrets, love, loss, duty, heartbreak, introspection, passion, tradition, and new beginnings.

Overall, Our Place on the Island is a nostalgic, absorbing, uplifting tale by Montgomery that highlights the complex ties that bind us as family and reminds us that happy-ever-afters come in all different forms but rarely resemble those we read about in fairytales.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Erika Montgomery

A card-carrying cinephile and native New Englander, novelist Erika Montgomery lives with her family in the Mid-Atlantic where she teaches creative writing and watches an unspeakable amount of old movies. A Summer to Remember is her debut novel.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward @SimonSchusterCA #TheStAmbroseSchoolforGirls #JessicaWard #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward @SimonSchusterCA #TheStAmbroseSchoolforGirls #JessicaWard #SimonSchusterCA Title: The St. Ambrose School for Girls

Author: Jessica Ward

Published by: Gallery Books on Jul. 11, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

Heathers meets The Secret History in this thrilling coming-of-age novel set in a boarding school where the secrets are devastating—and deadly.

When Sarah Taylor arrives at the exclusive St. Ambrose School, she’s carrying more baggage than just what fits in her suitcase. She knows she’s not like the other girls—if the shabby, all-black, non-designer clothes don’t give that away, the bottle of lithium hidden in her desk drawer sure does.

St. Ambrose’s queen bee, Greta Stanhope, picks Sarah as a target from day one and the most popular, powerful, horrible girl at school is relentless in making sure Sarah knows what the pecking order is. Thankfully, Sarah makes an ally out of her roommate Ellen “Strots” Strotsberry, a cigarette-huffing, devil-may-care athlete who takes no bullshit. Also down the hall is Nick Hollis, the devastatingly handsome RA, and the object of more than one St. Ambrose student’s fantasies. Between Strots and Nick, Sarah hopes she can make it through the semester, dealing with not only her schoolwork and a recent bipolar diagnosis, but Greta’s increasingly malicious pranks.

Sarah is determined not to give Greta the satisfaction of breaking her. But when scandal unfolds, and someone ends up dead, her world threatens to unravel in ways she could never have imagined. The St. Ambrose School for Girls is a dangerous, delicious, twisty coming-of-age tale that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.


Review:

Sinister, atmospheric, and unpredictable!

The St. Ambrose School for Girls transports you back to 1991 and into the life of Sarah Taylor, a fifteen-year-old girl with severe self-loathing and mental health issues that reluctantly heads to an elite private girl’s school in Greensboro Falls, Massachusetts, where all she wants to do is muddle through and be left alone, but when the poplar mean girl gets her in her sights everything starts to spiral out of control, secrets are exposed, reputations are ruined, and someone ends up dead.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are damaged, secretive, insecure, and selfish. And the plot is a suspenseful, twisty, coming-of-age tale filled with friendship, drama, deception, jealousy, hatred, abuse, callousness, desperation, cruelty, and revenge.

I’m always intrigued when an author decides to write something a little different than what they’re well known for and so I was excited when I received this one. Would I say it’s as memorable as the novels found in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series? Probably not. Did I love it as much as one of my all-time favourite series, The Bourbon Kings? Definitely not. But Ward wasn’t writing it to be like either of these. And so, do I think The St. Ambrose School for Girls is an engrossing, tight, edgy, dark academia novel that’s highly entertaining and worth a read? I sure do.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jessica Ward

Jessica Ward is a pseudonym for the #1 New York Times bestselling author who writes as J.R. Ward and has over 20 million copies in print. She enjoys spending time in the Adirondacks and lives in the south with her family and her dogs.

Photo Credit: Andrew Hyslop

#BookReview Hello Stranger by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #HelloStranger #KatherineCenter #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Hello Stranger by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #HelloStranger #KatherineCenter #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Hello Stranger

Author: Katherine Center

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jul. 11, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 10/10

Sadie Montogmery has had good breaks and bad breaks in her life, but as a struggling artist, all she needs is one lucky break. Things seem to be going her way when she lands one of the coveted finalist spots in a portrait competition. It happens to coincide with a surgery she needs to have. Minor, they say. Less than a week in the hospital they say. Nothing about you will change, they say. Upon recovery, it begins to dawn on Sadie that she can see everything around her, but she can no longer see faces.

Temporary, they say. Lots of people deal with this, they say. As she struggles to cope―and hang onto her artistic dreams―she finds solace in her fourteen-year-old dog, Peanut. Thankfully, she can still see animal faces. When Peanut gets sick, she rushes him to the emergency vet nearby. That’s when she meets veterinarian Dr. Addison. And she’s pleasantly surprised when he asks her on a date. But she doesn’t want anyone to know about her face blindness. Least of all Joe, her obnoxious neighbor who always wears a bowling jacket and seems to know everyone in the building. He’s always there at the most embarrassing but convenient times, and soon, they develop a sort of friendship. But could it be something more?

As Sadie tries to save her career, confront her haunting past, and handle falling in love with two different guys she realizes that happiness can be found in the places―and people― you least expect.


Review:

Swoon-worthy, sassy, and uplifting!

Hello Stranger is an absorbing, heart-tugging tale that takes you into the life of struggling portrait painter Sadie Montgomery as she juggles a disastrous, life-changing complication after surgery, a loyal companion in need of some emergency care, and an unfortunate blossoming attraction to not only the kind, caring veterinarian Oliver, but also her rude, cocky neighbour Joe.

The writing is sentimental and engaging. The characters are layered, supportive, and patient. And the plot is a touching tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, happiness, healing, taking chances, growth, revelations, tender moments, light drama, selflessness, misunderstandings, romance, new beginnings, and the ups and downs of living with prosopagnosia.

For the past few years, Katherine Center’s books have topped my must-read favourites list, and even though I didn’t think it was possible to love her books any more than I already did, she proved me wrong once again. Hello Stranger made my heart ache and smile all in just 336 pages, and not only did I absolutely adore it, but it might just be, dare I say it, one of my all-time faves!

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katherine Center

Katherine Center is the author of several novels about love and family: The Bright Side of Disaster, Everyone Is Beautiful, Get Lucky, and The Lost Husband. Her books and essays have appeared in Redbook, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, and Real Simple—as well as the anthologies Because I Love Her, CRUSH, and My Parents Were Awesome. Katherine is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. She lives in Houston with her husband and two sweet children.

Photo by Skylar Reeves.

#BookReview The Resurrectionist by Paul T. Scheuring @paultscheuring @PRbytheBook #TheResurrectionist #PaulTScheuring #PRbytheBook

#BookReview The Resurrectionist by Paul T. Scheuring @paultscheuring @PRbytheBook #TheResurrectionist #PaulTScheuring #PRbytheBook Title: The Resurrectionist

Author: Paul T. Scheuring

Published by: One Light Road Inc. on Apr. 8, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 327

Format: Paperback

Source: PR by the Book

Book Rating: 8.5/10

It’s 1820, and the physicians of London are on fire to unlock the secrets of human anatomy, some consorting with criminals to get their scalpels into a fresh body. Job Mowatt has become such a criminal—a body snatcher, a resurrectionist. The wages are just enough to keep his brilliant daughter, Ivy, clean and safe in London’s worst slum. When anatomist Percival Quinn asks Job to dig up a rare specimen—the wife of a powerful and dangerous man—Job knows instantly he is inviting trouble, but knows, too, that the payment would allow Ivy to escape the brief, miserable existence that awaits women of her class. All it will take is a single night’s work. A single night that will bring Job deeper into darkness and closer to death than he has ever been. Lords and ladies in their glittering mansions, six-bottle men and opium eaters in foul tenements, they all take their secrets to the grave…and sometimes the resurrectionist brings them back.


Review:

Ominous, vivid, and gritty!

The Resurrectionist is an eerie, sinister, absorbing tale set in London in the 1820s at a time when the city was bustling, scavenging was prevalent, respectability meant everything, and a shortage of cadavers for anatomical research created a need for those with a stomach to dig in the dirt and retrieve the flesh and bones of those recently buried.

The prose is meticulous and tight. The characters are hardened, troubled, and resourceful. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, is a menacing tale about life, loss, tragedy, desperation, survival, manipulation, abuse, deviance, violence, class disparity, body snatching, and murder.

Overall, The Resurrectionist is a dark, gothic, intense novel by Scheuring that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into a suspenseful mystery that is deliciously atmospheric and disturbingly entertaining.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PR by the Book for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Paul T. Scheuring

PAUL T. SCHEURING has been a working writer, director, and producer for Hollywood since 1999. He has written numerous projects for film and TV, including FOX’s popular Prison Break, A Man Apart starring Vin Diesel, and Den of Thieves. He wrote and directed The Experiment starring Academy Award winners Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, and served as a producer alongside Ridley Scott on Klondike, a series he created and co-wrote. Scheuring lives in Northern California with his wife and two children. The Resurrectionist is his second novel

  

#BookReview The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey @kristywharvey @uplitreads @SimonSchusterCA #thesummerofsongbirds #kristywoodsonharvey #SimonSchusterCA #gifted

#BookReview The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey @kristywharvey @uplitreads @SimonSchusterCA #thesummerofsongbirds #kristywoodsonharvey #SimonSchusterCA #gifted Title: The Summer of Songbirds

Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey

Published by: Gallery Books on Jul. 11, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada, Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 9/10

Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process in this moving new novel from the New York Timesbestselling author of The Wedding Veil and the Peachtree Bluff series.

Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for, and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.

Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.

But in spite of their personal problems, nothing is more important to these songbirds than Camp Holly Springs. When the women learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.


Review:

Absorbing, nostalgic, and sweet!

The Summer of Songbirds is an uplifting, compelling tale that takes you into the life of three childhood friends, Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart who, after discovering that the place they met and holds such a special place in their hearts, Camp Holly Springs, is about to be lost join together to do whatever they can to raise the money Aunt June needs to keep this summer sanctuary for girls open for generations to come.

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are creative, reliable, and loyal. And the plot is a heartfelt, delightful mix of friendship, family, heartbreak, introspection, support, forgiveness, tragedy, loss, drama, community, new beginnings, tender moments, and love.

Overall, The Summer of Songbirds is a sophisticated, sensitive, romantic tale by Harvey that once again highlights her innate ability to delve into all the psychological and emotional dynamics that exist between friends and reminds us just how meaningful, important, and powerful female friendships can truly be.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

 

Thank you to Uplit Reads & Simon Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the USA TODAY bestselling author of six novels, including Feels Like Falling, The Peachtree Bluff series, and Under the Southern Sky. A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism, her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications including Southern Living, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, Domino, and O. Henry. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. Her work has been optioned for film and television, and her books have received numerous accolades including Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Beach Reads, Parade’s Big Fiction Reads, and Entertainment Weekly’s Spring Reading Picks. Kristy is the co-creator and co-host of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction. She blogs with her mom Beth Woodson on Design Chic, and loves connecting with fans on KristyWoodsonHarvey.com. She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband and son where she is (always!) working on her next novel.

Photo by Jay Ackerman.

#BookReview What’s a Duke Got to Do With It (Synneful Spinsters #2) by Christina Britton @cbrittonauthor @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #ChristinaBritton #WhatsADukeGotToDoWithIt #SynnefulSpinisters

#BookReview What’s a Duke Got to Do With It (Synneful Spinsters #2) by Christina Britton @cbrittonauthor @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #ChristinaBritton #WhatsADukeGotToDoWithIt #SynnefulSpinisters Title: What's a Duke Got to Do With It

Author: Christina Britton

Series: Synneful Spinsters #2

Published by: Forever on Jul. 11, 2023

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Four years ago, a scandal cost Miss Katrina Denby everything. Now, companion to the irascible Lady Tesh and in possession of wonderful friends, she believes her luck has finally changed. Until the man responsible for her ruination returns to England and promptly dies in a fall from her bedroom window. Now the life she had begun to build for herself is in shambles. And not only is she ostracized and vilified, but her friends are suffering as well because of their association with her. Katrina will do anything to gain respectability again and protect those she cares for. But her plans to marry one of the few men who will still have her despite the stain on her name and lack of fortune are thrown into turmoil with the arrival of the only man Katrina ever loved. A man who is now about to become engaged to another.

Sebastian Thorne, Duke of Ramsleigh, was a carefree rogue when he first met and began to fall in love with Katrina. But his father’s horrible actions forced him to give up on his dreams of a future with her. Now, after years of trying to save the dukedom, there is only one option left: to marry, and marry well. But though he has nearly secured the woman—and her fortune—necessary to protect the people who are counting on him, his future father-in-law sends him on one final errand to earn his blessing. What Sebastian doesn’t expect while seeing that job through, however, is Katrina—or that his feelings for her have not faded. In fact, they have only grown stronger, Katrina’s hold on his heart even more powerful than before. With both of their futures on the line and so many lives at stake, will their passion for one another lead to the ruin of them both—or give them a happiness they never dared to dream of?


Review:

Playful, passionate, and charming!

What’s a Duke Got to Do With It is a heartwarming, enticing tale that sweeps you away to the Isle of Synne during 1821 and into the life of Katrina Denby, a kind young woman who, after having her reputation left in tatters due to the careless amorous actions of the Lord of Landon and having consigned herself to the role of companion to Lady Tesh, has her life turned upside down when after four years of absence she finds herself face-to-face with the only man she’s ever wanted more with, the dashingly handsome Duke of Ramsleigh, Sebastian Thorne, who unfortunately at present seems to be doing whatever he can to secure his engagement to a wealthy heiress in order to save his own dukedom from financial ruin.

The prose is sweet and light. The characters are loyal, supportive, and engaging. And the plot is an entertaining tale full of family, friendship, societal expectations, tricky situations, tender moments, desire, trust, steamy romance, and second chances.

Overall, What’s a Duke Got to Do With It is a swoon-worthy, uplifting, delightful read by Britton that I absolutely devoured and which is a fantastic addition to what is hands down another must-read series for me by one of my all-time favourite historical romance authors.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

            

 

 

Thank you to Forever & Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Christina Britton

Christina Britton developed a passion for writing romance novels shortly after buying her first at the tender age of thirteen. Though for several years she turned to art and put brush instead of pen to paper, she has returned to her first love and is now writing full time. She spends her days dreaming of corsets and cravats and noblemen with tortured souls.

She lives with her husband and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area. A member of Romance Writers of America, she also belongs to her local chapter, Silicon Valley RWA, and is a 2017 RWA® Golden Heart® Winner.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Fear the Silence by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza #FeartheSilence #RobertBryndza

#BookReview Fear the Silence by Robert Bryndza @RobertBryndza #FeartheSilence #RobertBryndza Title: Fear the Silence

Author: Robert Bryndza

Published by: Raven Street Publishing on Jul. 6, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 374

Format: Paperback

Source: Robert Bryndza

Book Rating: 9/10

“Do you believe Will took his own life?”

The question echoed off the white tiles in the hospital’s cold, cavernous morgue, and I studied my husband in peaceful repose. I leaned down and put my forehead against his. Silent tears ran down my cheeks. They felt hot, and he felt so cold. It was five days since his death, and my grief felt heavy, like a vast, dark mass pushing down on me.

When Maggie’s husband, Will, is shot dead in their London home, she thinks he is the victim of a burglary until the police tell her the shocking news that Will was the one who pulled the trigger.

Maggie is consumed with grief and questions. Will wasn’t suicidal and had so much to live for.

After the funeral, Maggie travels to their holiday home on a small Croatian island to escape London. She finds a disturbing letter written by Will, containing clues to a dark secret.

As Maggie puts the pieces together, she discovers Will’s death is connected to someone from his past… Someone who will go to extreme lengths to keep Maggie silent.

Three can keep a secret… If two of them are dead.

The international multi-million bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice is back with his first stand-alone thriller, a heart-racing, hold-your-breath read that will keep you hooked until the very last page.


Review:

Captivating, clever, and well-crafted!

Fear the Silence is an elaborately plotted, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of Maggie Kendall, a trauma surgeon who, after her husband is found dead by a gunshot wound believed to be self-inflicted, heads to their holiday home on the isolated Croatian Island of Tišina, only to discover that her husband had secrets, dangerous secrets that someone is willing to do whatever it takes and kill whoever they have to in order to keep them hidden and silenced forever.

The writing is sharp and tight. The characters are persistent, vulnerable, and resourceful. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale full of secrets, surprises, revelations, deception, corruption, manipulation, power, mayhem, mischief, violence, and murder.

Overall, Fear the Silence is an exceptionally menacing, intricately woven, highly entertaining mystery by Bryndza that may be the first stand-alone thriller novel he’s ever written, but which still has all the twists, turns, suspense, in-depth character development, and great pace we’ve come to know and love from all his previous successful series.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Robert Bryndza for providing me with a copy in exchange for an review.

 

About Robert Bryndza

Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over four million copies in the English language.

His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).

Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller.

Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls, has just been published.

Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.

#BookReview You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza @jopiazza @SimonSchusterCA @AtriaBooks #YouWereAlwaysMine #ChristinePride #JoPiazza #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza @jopiazza @SimonSchusterCA @AtriaBooks #YouWereAlwaysMine #ChristinePride #JoPiazza #SimonSchusterCA Title: You Were Always Mine

Author: Christine Pride, Jo Piazza

Published by: Atria Books on Jun. 13, 2023

Genres: Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

Cinnamon Haynes has fought hard for a life she never thought was possible—a good man by her side, a steady job as a career counselor at a local community college, and a cozy house in a quaint little beach town. It may not look like much, but it’s more than she ever dreamed of or what her difficult childhood promised. Her life’s mantra is to be good, quiet, grateful. Until something shifts and Cinnamon is suddenly haunted by a terrifying “Is this all there is?”

Daisy Dunlap has had her own share of problems in her nineteen years on earth—she also has her own big dreams for a life that’s barely begun. Her hopes for her future are threatened when she gets unexpectedly pregnant. Desperate, broke, and alone, she hides this development from everyone close to her and then makes a drastic decision with devastating consequences.

Daisy isn’t the only one with something to hide. When Cinnamon finds an abandoned baby in a park and takes the blonde-haired, blue-eyed newborn into her home, the ripple effects of this decision risk exposing the truth about Cinnamon’s own past, which she’s gone to great pains to portray as idyllic to everyone…even herself.

As Cinnamon struggles to contain old demons, navigate the fault lines that erupt in her marriage, and deal with the shocking judgments from friends and strangers alike about why a woman like her has a baby like this, her one goal is to do right by the child she grows more attached to with each passing day. It’s the exact same conviction that drives Daisy as she tries to outrun her heartache and reckon with her choices.

These two women, unlikely friends and kindred spirits must face down their secrets and trauma and unite for the sake of the baby they both love in their own unique way when Daisy’s grandparents, who would rather die than see one of their own raised by a Black woman, threaten to take custody.


Review:

Touching, thought-provoking, and graceful!

You Were Always Mine is a beautifully written, affecting tale that takes you into the life of Cinnamon Haynes, a thirty-four-year-old Black woman who, after befriending a nineteen-year-old white girl at the local park, has her life turned upside down when Daisy suddenly decides to leave her newborn blue-eyed baby girl abandoned for Cinnamon to find and raise as her own.

The prose is reflective and intentional. The characters are flawed, scarred, and authentic. And the plot is a compelling tale of friendship, family, race, discrimination, marital discord, childhood trauma, courage, hope, heartache, secrets, motherhood, foster care, culture, socioeconomic disparities, and the complex dynamics of interracial adoption.

Overall, You Were Always Mine is an insightful, nuanced, captivating tale by Pride & Piazza that reminds us that life is complicated, messy, challenging, short, heartbreaking, as well as all those other special moments and lovely times that happen in between especially when it comes to being a mother, either biological or adoptive, to a child.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Christine Pride

Christine Pride is a writer, editor, and longtime publishing veteran. She’s held editorial posts at many different trade imprints, including Doubleday, Broadway, Crown, Hyperion, and Simon & Schuster. As an editor, Christine has published a range of books, with a special emphasis on inspirational stories and memoirs, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. As a freelance editorial consultant, she does select editing and proposal/content development, as well as teaching and coaching, and pens a regular column—“Race Matters”—for Cup of Jo. She lives in New York City.

Photograph by Christine Han

About Jo Piazza

Jo Piazza is a bestselling author, podcast creator, and award-winning journalist. She is the national and international bestselling author of many critically acclaimed novels and nonfiction books including We Are Not Like Them, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, The Knockoff, and How to Be Married. Her work has been published in ten languages in twelve countries and four of her books have been optioned for film and television. A former editor, columnist, and travel writer with Yahoo, Current TV, and the Daily News (New York), her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York magazine, Glamour, Elle, Time, Marie Claire, The Daily Beast, and Slate. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in economics and communication, a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, and a master’s in religious studies from New York University.

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