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#BookReview A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey @kristywharvey @uplitreads #AHappierLife #kristywoodsonharvey #gifted #uplitreads

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#BookReview A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey @kristywharvey @uplitreads #AHappierLife #kristywoodsonharvey #gifted #uplitreads Title: A Happier Life

Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey

Published by: Gallery Books on Jun. 25, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 10/10

A tender and touching novel about a young woman who discovers the family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer in North Carolina.

Present Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on the market—the home that Keaton didn’t know existed until now—she jumps at the chance to head south. Keaton’s grandparents died in a tragic car accident before she was born, so she’s eager to learn more about the family she never met. But even though she has help from her charming next-door-neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, Keaton soon finds that she has more questions than answers.

1976: After meeting her adoring husband Townsend, Rebecca “Becks” Saint James abandoned the life she knew and never looked back. Forty years later, she’s made a name for herself as the best hostess North Carolina has ever seen. Her annual summer suppers have become the stuff of legend, and locals and out-of-towners alike clamor for an invitation to her stunning historic home. But she’s struggling behind the façade. Becks strives to make the lives of those around her as easy as possible, but this summer she is facing a dilemma that even she can’t solve. And as the end of the season looms, she is brought to a decision she never wanted to make.

As both Keaton and Becks face new challenges and chapters, they are connected through time by the house on Sunset Lane, which has protected the secrets, hopes, and dreams of the women in their family for generations. For fans of Summer of ‘69 and The Notebook , Last Summer on Sunset Lane explores the power of family, the bonds of friendship, and the boundless nature of love.

Review:

Touching, sentimental, and bittersweet!

A Happier Life is a beautiful, heartwarming, affecting story that sweeps you away to Beaufort, North Carolina, and into a tale where friendships are developed, mysteries are solved, memories are cherished, secrets are unearthed, tears are shed, lives are remembered, and love is forged and savoured.

The writing is smooth and heartfelt. The characters are sincere, genuine, and lovable. And the plot is a delightful blend of heart, hope, humour, nostalgia, drama, and emotion.

Overall, A Happier Life is, ultimately, a story about life, love, loss, dreams, heartbreak, friendship, family, ageing, and finding happiness, and I absolutely loved it. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and in the end, it reminded me once again why Kristy Woodson Harvey is one of my all-time favourite authors.

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 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.

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#BookReview The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon @aharmon_author @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheOutlawNobleSalt #AmyHarmon #LakeUnion #FireflyDist

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#BookReview The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon @aharmon_author @FireflyDist @AmazonPub #TheOutlawNobleSalt #AmyHarmon #LakeUnion #FireflyDist Title: The Outlaw Noble Salt

Author: Amy Harmon

Published by: Lake Union Publishing on Apr. 9, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 367

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Firefly Distributed Lines

Book Rating: 10/10

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Harmon comes a sweepingly romantic tale of risk, redemption, and what happens when America’s most famous outlaw falls in love.

When infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy decides to go straight, he discovers that too many of the powerful men he crossed won’t let bygones be bygones. To have a chance at a new life, he’ll have to become someone else entirely.

A brief, fateful encounter with the celebrated singer Jane Touissant on the eve of his escape offers a glimpse of what might have been, but Butch disappears, leaving her behind, until their paths unexpectedly converge again in Paris.

Despite having discovered his true identity, Jane trusts the outlaw and enlists his protection on her upcoming American tour. Although Butch is reluctant to agree, fearing his sordid past may put the woman and her young son in danger, the salvation she offers is too hard to resist.

As they set forth on their journey, Butch’s past and Jane’s secrets put them at risk from threats far greater than the law, and this legend of the American West will have to decide what matters most—his life, his legacy, or the woman he loves.

Review:

Unique, tender, and thrilling!

The Outlaw Noble Salt is a fresh, intricate tale that sweeps you away to the early 1900s and into the life of the infamous Butch Cassidy, who after years of robbing trains and staying just ahead of the authorities, decides to try and live a more lawful life in order to be worthy of a special woman and child who have managed to steal his heart.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are strong, determined, and loyal. And the plot is an intense, captivating tale of life, loss, love, bravery, strength, loyalty, danger, gunslinging, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Outlaw Noble Salt is a moving, evocative, beautifully written tale by Harmon inspired by real-life historical figures that I devoured from start to finish and is the perfect choice for anyone who enjoys a classic western story intermingled with a high dose of romance.

This novel is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to Firefly Distributed Lines for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amy Harmon

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in eighteen languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.

Amy Harmon has written fourteen novels including the USA Today Bestsellers, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as The Law of Moses, Infinity + One and the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue. Her fantasy novel, The Bird and the Sword, was a Goodreads Book of the Year finalist. Her newest release, What the Wind Knows, is an Amazon charts bestseller.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland @MandaGroup @UnionSqandCo #WhenCicadasCry #CarolineCleveland #MandaGroup #UnionSqandCo

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#BookReview When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland @MandaGroup @UnionSqandCo #WhenCicadasCry #CarolineCleveland #MandaGroup #UnionSqandCo Title: When Cicadas Cry

Author: Caroline Cleveland

Published by: Union Square & Co. on May 7, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Manda Group

Book Rating: 8/10

A high-profile murder case— A white woman has been bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tenson, this is not only a murder case, but a powder keg.

A haunting cold case— Two young women are murdered on quiet Edisto Beach, an hour southeast of Walterboro, and the killer disappears without a trace. Thirty-four years later the mystery remains unsolved. Could there be a connection to Stander’s case?

A killer who’s watching— Stander takes on Jenkins’s defense, but he’s up against a formidable solicitor with powerful allies. Worse, his client is hiding a bombshell secret. When Addie Stone reopens the cold case, she discovers more long-buried secrets in this small town. Would someone kill again to keep them?

Ideal for fans of mystery, suspense, and thrillers in the vein of Karin Slaughter’s Pretty Girls and Stacy Willingham’s A Flicker in the Dark, as well as for readers who followed the high-profile Murdaugh murder trial, held in the same small town as in When Cicadas Cry.

Review:

Duplicitous, intense, and atmospheric!

When Cicadas Cry is a fast-paced, sinister tale that finds small-town attorney Zach Stander defending Sam Jenkins, a local Black man who, after being found near the body of a white woman covered in the victim’s blood, suddenly becomes the number one suspect until Zach’s partner, PI Addie Stone manages to stumble across some strange connections between this present case an unsolved cold case from three decades ago.

The prose is fluid and tight. The characters are multilayered, relentless, and resourceful. And the plot unfolds quickly into a menacing tale of mischief, mayhem, corruption, manipulation, racism, coercion, deception, heinous violence, and murder.

Overall, When Cicadas Cry is a tight, intricate, engrossing debut by Cleveland that is highly entertaining and the perfect choice for anyone who enjoys a good mystery threaded with ongoing social issues and injustices.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Manda Group for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Caroline Cleveland

Caroline Cleveland is a labor and employment lawyer. A native South Carolinian, Caroline grew up in the Lowcountry and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991. This is her first novel.

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#BookReview The Secret History of Audrey James by Heather Marshall @HMarshallAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #HeatherMarshall #TheSecretHistoryOfAudreyJames #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview The Secret History of Audrey James by Heather Marshall @HMarshallAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #HeatherMarshall #TheSecretHistoryOfAudreyJames #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Secret History of Audrey James

Author: Heather Marshall

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Jun. 4, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Sometimes the best place to hide is the last place anyone would look.

Northern England, 2010

After a tragic accident upends her life, Kate Mercer leaves London to work at an old guest house near the Scottish border, where she hopes to find a fresh start and heal from her loss. When she arrives, she begins to unravel the truth about her past, but discovers the mysterious elderly proprietor is harbouring her own secrets…

Berlin, 1938

Audrey James is weeks away from graduating from a prestigious music school in Berlin, where she’s been living with her best friend, Ilse Kaplan. As she prepares to finish her piano studies, Audrey dreads the thought of returning to her father in England and leaving Ilse behind. Families like the Kaplans are being targeted as war in Europe threatens.

When Ilse’s parents and brother suddenly disappear, two high-ranking Nazi party members confiscate the Kaplans’ upscale home, believing it to be empty. In a desperate attempt to keep Ilse safe, Audrey becomes housekeeper for the officers while Ilse is forced into hiding in the attic—a prisoner in her own home. Tensions rise in the house and the chance of survival diminishes by the day. When a shocking turn of events pushes Audrey to become embroiled in cell of the anti-Hitler movement – clusters of resisters working to bring down the Nazis from within Germany itself – Audrey must decide what matters most: saving herself, protecting her friend, or sacrificing everything for the greater good.

Inspired by true stories of courageous women and the German resistance during WWII, this is a captivating novel about the unbreakable bonds of friendship, the sacrifices we make for those we love, and the healing that comes from human connection.

Review:

Immersive, memorable, and moving!

The Secret History of Audrey James is predominantly set in Berlin and Northern England during 1938, as well as 2010, and is told from two different perspectives; Kate, a young woman who, after a tragic accident that leaves her marriage in tatters and her parents both deceased, decides to make a change and move out of London in order to visit a place her parents once loved and somehow start to heal, and Audrey, an elderly woman who, as her life is quickly coming to an end, finally shares her life story that was full of commitment, passion, heartache, courage, selflessness, pain, horrifying conditions, and unrequited love.

The prose is eloquent and rich. The characters are tenacious, resilient, and determined. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, regret, grief, love, tragedy, survival, friendship, the horrors of war, and the power of music.

Overall, The Secret History of Audrey James is an absorbing, poignant, beautifully written novel by Marshall that does a wonderful job of showcasing the hard work, bravery, and danger involved in being a resister in Germany during WWII. It’s now the second novel I’ve had the pleasure to read and absolutely love by Marshall, and I can guarantee that whatever she decides to write next will always hold a top spot on my TBR list.

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 Heather Marshall

Heather Marshall lives with her family near Toronto. She completed master’s degrees in Canadian history and political science, and worked in politics and communications before turning her attention to her true passion: storytelling. Looking for Jane is her debut novel.

Photograph by Amanda Kopcic.

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#BookReview All Our Tomorrows by Catherine Bybee @OverTheRiverPR @CatherineBybee @AmazonPub #AllOurTomorrows #TheHeirsSeries #CatherineBybee #OTRPR #Montlake

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#BookReview All Our Tomorrows by Catherine Bybee @OverTheRiverPR @CatherineBybee @AmazonPub #AllOurTomorrows #TheHeirsSeries #CatherineBybee #OTRPR #Montlake Title: All Our Tomorrows

Author: Catherine Bybee

Series: The Heirs #1

Published by: Montlake Romance on Jun. 18, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: OTRPR

Book Rating: 9/10

From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee comes the story of a reluctant billionaire who takes on his father’s empire, its dark secrets, and a fiery assistant he can’t get out of his head.

When Chase Stone’s estranged father dies, leaving his multibillion-dollar business to his children, no one is more surprised than him. Growing up outside of the high-stakes world filled with human vultures, Chase and his sister, Alex, are less than enthusiastic about stepping into their father’s shoes. That is until they learn of a half brother they didn’t know existed, and must find to share their inheritance with.

Piper Maddox was the elder Mr. Stone’s übercapable assistant—abruptly fired two weeks before his death. She knows everything about Stone Enterprises and the man who built it. But Piper has no desire to work for another member of the Stone family. Even one as down to earth as Chase.

Desperately needing financial security, Piper agrees to return so long as kissing up to Chase and accepting unwanted advances were not part of her job description. A task that becomes a serious hurdle for both of them. Piper and Chase scramble to find the third Stone sibling before the media does, sharing secrets along the way. Secrets that can bring them together or tear them irrevocably apart.

Review:

Sexy, sincere, and sophisticated!

All Our Tomorrows is a heartfelt, alluring tale that features the sweet, wary Piper and the handsome, capable Chase as they navigate a relationship that includes a shared secret and a common goal, a family mired in drama and troubles, smouldering tension, and undeniable attraction.

The writing is smooth and fluid. The characters are enigmatic, intelligent, and loyal. And the plot is an irresistible mix of family, friendship, revelations, deception, secrets, introspection, tender moments, passion, emotion, and swoon-worthy romance.

Overall, All Our Tomorrows is another tender, playful, charming read by Bybee that has, without a doubt, become one of my new all-time favourites and is an absolutely brilliant start for this new Heirs series.

This novel is available now.

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

     

 

 

Thank you to OTRPR and Amazon Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Catherine Bybee

Catherine Bybee is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-five books that have collectively sold more than three million copies and have been translated into twelve languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite series, the Weekday Brides series, and the Most Likely To series.

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#BookReview Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner @NatalieMJenner @StMartinsPress #EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye #NatalieJenner #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner @NatalieMJenner @StMartinsPress #EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye #NatalieJenner #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Author: Natalie Jenner

Series: Jane Austen Society #3

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 14, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry’s last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job in as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

Review:

Complex, compelling, and immersive!

Every Time We Say Goodbye is an alluring, atmospheric tale set in Italy, predominantly during 1955, that immerses you into the life of British screenwriter Vivien Lowery who, after having her latest London play fail miserably with reviewers, travels to Rome to start a new career using her writing talents in the film industry while also discovering the fate of her late fiancé who never made it back from the war.

The prose is seamless and expressive. The characters are compassionate, intriguing, and scarred. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel effortlessly into a vivid tale of life, loss, family, friendship, self-discovery, regret, grief, sacrifice, love, war, and the glitz and glamour of cinematic theatre in the 1950s.

Overall, Every Time We Say Goodbye is a lush, intriguing, absorbing tale by Jenner that does a lovely job of blending historical events, palpable emotion, and thought-provoking fiction.

 

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Natalie Jenner

Natalie Jenner was born in England and emigrated to Canada as a young child. She obtained her B.A. and her LL.B. from the University of Toronto, where she was the 1990 Gold Medalist in English Literature at St. Michael's College, and was Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1995. In addition to a brief career as a corporate lawyer, Natalie has worked as a recruiter, career coach, and consultant to leading law firms in Canada for over two decades. Most recently Natalie founded the independent bookstore Archetype Books in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. A lifelong devotee of all things Jane Austen, "The Jane Austen Society" is her first published novel.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview Swift River by Essie Chambers @SimonSchusterCA #SwiftRiver #EssieChambers #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview Swift River by Essie Chambers @SimonSchusterCA #SwiftRiver #EssieChambers #SimonSchusterCA Title: Swift River

Author: Essie J. Chambers

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Jun. 4, 2024

Genres: General Fiction, Historical Fiction

Pages: 304

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

It’s the summer of 1987 in Swift River, and Diamond Newberry is learning how to drive. Ever since her Pop disappeared seven years ago, she and her mother hitchhike everywhere they go. But that’s not the only reason Diamond stands out: she’s teased relentlessly about her weight, and since Pop’s been gone, she is the only Black person in all of Swift River. This summer, Ma is determined to declare Pop legally dead so that they can collect his life insurance money, get their house back from the bank, and finally move on.

But when Diamond receives a letter from a relative she’s never met, key elements of Pop’s life are uncovered, and she is introduced to two generations of African American Newberry women, whose lives span the 20th century and reveal a much larger picture of prejudice and abandonment, of love and devotion. As pieces of their shared past become clearer, Diamond gains a sense of her place in the world and in her family. But how will what she’s learned of the past change her future?

A story of first friendships, family secrets, and finding the courage to let go, Swift River is a sensational debut about how history shapes us and heralds the arrival of a major new literary talent.

Review:

Raw, atmospheric, and insightful!

Swift River is a descriptive, moving novel that sweeps you away to New England in 1987 and into the life of biracial teen Diamond Newberry, the only young girl of colour in her whole small town who, after her father suddenly disappears in 1980, struggles to come to grips with her burgeoning weight and a constant sense of being adrift and disconnected due to a lack of relationship and any knowledge into her paternal ancestry.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, lonely, and adrift. And the plot is a heart-tugging, compelling tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, poverty, prejudice, racism, community, courage, desperation, self-reflection, and coming of age.

Overall, Swift River is a rich, gritty, absorbing tale by Chambers that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be enthralled, emotional, and invested from start to finish.

 

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 Essie J. Chambers

Essie Chambers earned her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from the MacDowell Vermont Studio Center, and Baldwin for the Arts. A former film and television executive, she was a producer on the documentary Descendant, which was released by the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company and Netflix in 2022. Swift River is her debut novel.

Photograph by Christine Jean Chambers.

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#BookReview The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd @ElleryLloyd @harperbooks #TheFinalActOfJulietteWilloughby #ElleryLloyd #HarperBooks

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#BookReview The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd @ElleryLloyd @harperbooks #TheFinalActOfJulietteWilloughby #ElleryLloyd #HarperBooks Title: The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby

Author: Ellery Lloyd

Published by: Harper Books on Jun. 11, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Harper Books

Book Rating: 9/10

Some women won’t be painted out of history . . .

Everybody knows that in 1938, runaway heiress artist Juliette Willoughby perished in an accidental studio fire in Paris, alongside her masterpiece Self Portrait As Sphinx.

Fifty years later, two Cambridge art history students are confounded when they stumble across proof that the fire was no accident but something more sinister. What they uncover threatens the very foundation of Juliette’s aristocratic family and revives rumors of the infamous curse that has haunted the Willoughbys for generations.

But what does their discovery mean? And how is it connected to a brutal murder in present-day Dubai?

A tale of love and madness, obsession and revenge, The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby unravels the riddle posed by a Sphinx who refuses to reveal her secrets . . .

Review:

Unpredictable, tortuous, and layered!

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a captivating, suspenseful tale set in both Cambridge and Paris during 1938, 1991, as well as the present day, that sweeps you away and immerses you into the lives of two women; Caroline Cooper, a student of art history who at the urging of her mentor decides to include the notoriously lost painting of an artist whose life suddenly came to an end shortly after the only night it was ever exhibited, and Juliette Willoughby, a painter who perished with her lover in a fire soon after completing a famous piece of sphinx surrealism.

The prose is rich and lyrical. The main characters are inquisitive, determined, and resourceful. And the plot is a captivating, mysterious saga filled with life, loss, love, familial drama, heartbreak, secrets, lies, deception, moral dilemmas, Egyptology, sorrow, and tragedy.

Overall, The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a well-written, exceptionally detailed, cunning puzzle by Lloyd that kept me intrigued from the very first page and is the perfect choice for anyone who loves historical fiction stories interwoven with compelling mysteries.

 

This novel is available now.

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

             

 

 

Thank you to Harper Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ellery Lloyd

Ellery Lloyd is the pseudonym for the London-based husband-and-wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos. Collette is a journalist and editor, the former content director of Elle (UK), and editorial director at Soho House. She has written for the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the Sunday Times. Paul is the author of two previous novels, Welcome to the Working Week and Every Day Is Like Sunday. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich. They are the authors of People Like Her and The Club.

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#BookReview The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #TheRomCommers #KatherineCenter #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #TheRomCommers #KatherineCenter #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Rom-Commers

Author: Katherine Center

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jun. 11, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 10/10

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

Review:

Addictive, charming, and fun!

The Rom-Commers is an amusing, feel-good, enemies-to-lovers romance that takes you into the lives of both Emma Wheeler, a young aspiring screenwriter who has selflessly put her dreams on hold in order to provide round-the-clock care for her debilitated father until the opportunity of a lifetime leaves her once again contemplating more, and the broody, handsome Charlie Yates who has the career of his dreams writing action films for Hollywood until he’s required to write a dreaded rom-com and must reluctantly accept the help from a woman who may finally challenge his long-standing views on relationships and love.

The writing is light and tender. The characters are supportive, kind, and genuine. And the plot is an entertaining, alluring mix of life, love, family, friendship, guilt, grief, trauma, trust, responsibilities, happiness, self-reflection, tricky moments, undeniable attraction, and romance.

Overall, The Rom-Commers is another enchanting, optimistic, brilliant tale by Center that is the perfect blend of heart, hope, humour, and heat and is undoubtedly one of the must-read novels for summer 2024.

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.

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#BookReview Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin (translated by Hildegarde Serle) @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #ForgottenOnSunday #ValeriePerrin #PGCBooks #EuropaEditions

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#BookReview Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin (translated by Hildegarde Serle) @EuropaEditions @PGCBooks #ForgottenOnSunday #ValeriePerrin #PGCBooks #EuropaEditions Title: Forgotten on Sunday

Author: Valérie Perrin

Published by: Europa Editions on Jun. 14, 2024

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 316

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

An unforgettable story about an unlikely friendship and about healing the wounds of a broken past from the million-copy bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers.

Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and her cousin Jules since the death of her parents. As a nursing assistant at a retirement home, she spends much of her days listening to her residents’ stories. 

After bonding with Hélène, an almost 100-year-old resident, the two women slowly reveal their stories to one another. Whilst Justine helps Hélène to relive her memories of love and war, Hélène encourages Justine to confront the secrets of her own past, and the loss she keeps buried deep within. 

One day, a mysterious phone detailing a shocking revelation shakes the retirement home to its core. At once humorous and melancholic, Valérie Perrin’s novel depicts the consequences of undeclared love and, in her inimitable way, portrays once again how the past is never really past.

Review:

Captivating, melancholic, and sensitive!

Forgotten on Sunday is a heart-tugging, character-driven tale set in France during the 1930s, as well as present day, that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Justine, a young nursing aide who after being raised by her grandparents from an early age after the sudden loss of her parents, spends her days caring for the elderly and writing down all the stories they choose to share, and Hélène a ninety-six-year-old woman who as her life slowly comes to an end reveals a well-lived life that was bursting with passion, pain, tragedy, and war.

The prose is elegant and rich. The characters are troubled, sympathetic, and endearing. And the plot is a moving tale about life, love, loss, lies, emotion, betrayal, family, friendship, secrets, heartbreak, guilt, grief, hope, and regret.

Overall, Forgotten on Sunday is another immersive, touching, astute tale by Perrin that highlights once again her innate ability to delve into all the messy emotional and psychological entanglements that exist between family members, lovers, and friends, and proves why year after year her novels garner enormous amounts of high praise.

 

This book is available now.

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Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Valérie Perrin

Valérie Perrin was born in 1967 in Remiremont, in the Vosges Mountains, France. She grew up in Burgundy and settled in Paris in 1986. Her novel The Forgotten Sunday (2015) won the Booksellers Choice Award and the paperback edition has been long-selling best-seller since publication. Her English-language debut, Fresh Water for Flowers (Europa, 2020) won the Maison de la Presse Prize, the Paperback Readers Prize, and was named a 2020 ABA Indies Introduce and Indie Next List title. It has been translated into over thirty languages. Figaro Littéraire named Perrin one of the ten best-selling authors in France in 2019, and in Italy, Fresh Water for Flowers was the best selling book of 2020. Perrin now lives in Normandy.

Photo © Valentin Lauvergne

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