10/10

#BookReview Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #AbbyJimenez #YoursTrulyBook #HBGCanada

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #AbbyJimenez #YoursTrulyBook #HBGCanada Title: Yours Truly

Author: Abby Jimenez

Published by: Forever on Apr. 11, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.

Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.

And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.

Review:

Charming, passionate, and absorbing!

Yours Truly is an uplifting, enchanting tale that takes you into the life of the hardworking, supportive Dr. Briana Ortiz who, after dealing with the stress of a divorce and the ongoing worry for her brother who is desperately in need of a kidney to survive, finds a little relief and lightness in her daily routine by exchanging letters with the unlikeliest of pen pals, the one man, Dr. Jacob Maddox who not only drives her crazy but may actually be the enemy in line to steal the promotion she’s been looking forward to for a very long time.

The writing is heartfelt and engaging. The characters are layered, supportive, and generous. And the plot is a touching tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, happiness, taking chances, growth, healing, tender moments, light drama, selflessness, romance, and new beginnings.

Overall, Yours Truly is another amusing, heart-wrenching, brilliant tale by Jimenez that had everything I look for in a contemporary romance novel and more. I loved the characters, I loved the storyline, and I loved the happy-ever-after ending. It is, without a doubt, one of my favourite reads of the year and should definitely be at the top of everyone’s must-read list for 2023.

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez is a Food Network champion, motivational speaker, and contemporary romance novelist living in Minnesota. Abby founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to open multiple locations in two states, won numerous Food Network competitions and amassed an international cult following. Abby has since turned her talents to penning novels. She loves a good book, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BlogTour #BookReview The Lost Song of Paris by Sarah Steele @sarah_l_steele @Mobius_Books #TheLostSongofParis #SarahSteele #MobiusBooksUS

categories: 10/10, Blog Tour, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BlogTour #BookReview The Lost Song of Paris by Sarah Steele @sarah_l_steele @Mobius_Books #TheLostSongofParis #SarahSteele #MobiusBooksUS Title: The Lost Song of Paris

Author: Sarah Steele

Published by: Mobius on Mar. 21, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback

Source: Mobius Books US

Book Rating: 10/10

‘For a moment she closed her eyes and imagined she was perched on the diving board at the Piscine Molitor, the sun beating down on her bare shoulders and the sound of Parisians at play beneath her. All she had to do was jump.’

1941. Darkness descends over London as the sirens begin to howl and the bombs rain down. Devastation seeps from every crack of the city. In the midst of all the chaos is a woman gripping a window ledge on the first floor of a Baker Street hotel. She is perched, ready to jump. And as flames rise around her, she is forced to take her chances.

1997. Amy Novak has lost the two great loves in her life: her husband, Michael, and her first love, music. With the first anniversary of Michael’s death approaching, Amy buries herself in her job as an archivist. And when a newly declassified file lands on her desk, she is astonished to uncover proof that Agent ‘Colette’ existed – a name spoken only in whispers; an identity so secret that it has never been verified.

Her discovery leads her to MI6 ‘godmother’ Verity Cooper – a woman with secrets of her own – and on to the streets of Paris where she will uncover a story of unimaginable choices, extraordinary courage and a love that will defy even the darkest days of World War Two . . .

Review:

Immersive, memorable, and moving!

The Lost Song of Paris is predominantly set in London and Paris during 1941, as well as present day, and is told from two different perspectives; Amy, a young widow and archivist who, after receiving a declassified file regarding a top female agent based in Paris during WWII, embarks on a mission to discover her ultimate fate and true identity, and Sophie, a young woman who is determined to do whatever it takes, even at the detriment of her own reputation and safety, to fight the Nazis and their occupation of the city she loves to call home.

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, love, tragedy, friendship, the horrors of war, and the power of music.

Overall, The Lost Song of Paris is an absorbing, poignant, beautifully written novel by Steele that does a wonderful job of showcasing the hard work, bravery, and danger involved in being an SIS officer in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. It’s now the second novel I’ve read and absolutely loved by Steele, 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 Mobius Books US for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sarah Steele

Sarah Steele is the author of USA Today bestseller THE MISSING PIECES OF NANCY MOON, THE SCHOOLTEACHER OF SAINT-MICHEL and THE LOST SONG OF PARIS.

After training in London as a classical pianist and violinist, Sarah joined the world of publishing as an editorial assistant at Hodder and Stoughton. She was for many years a freelance editor, and now lives in the vibrant Gloucestershire town of Stroud.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash @LauraSpenceAsh @CeladonBooks #LauraSpenceAsh #BeyondThatTheSea #CeladonBooks #CeladonReads #partner

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash @LauraSpenceAsh @CeladonBooks #LauraSpenceAsh #BeyondThatTheSea #CeladonBooks #CeladonReads #partner Title: Beyond That, the Sea

Author: Laura Spence-Ash

Published by: Celadon Books on Mar. 21, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Celadon Books

Book Rating: 10/10

A sweeping, tenderhearted love story, Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash tells the story of two families living through World War II on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the shy, irresistible young woman who will call them both her own.

As German bombs fall over London in 1940, working-class parents Millie and Reginald Thompson make an impossible choice: they decide to send their eleven-year-old daughter, Beatrix, to America. There, she’ll live with another family for the duration of the war, where they hope she’ll stay safe.

Scared and angry, feeling lonely and displaced, Bea arrives in Boston to meet the Gregorys. Mr. and Mrs. G, and their sons William and Gerald, fold Bea seamlessly into their world. She becomes part of this lively family, learning their ways and their stories, adjusting to their affluent lifestyle. Bea grows close to both boys, one older and one younger, and fills in the gap between them. Before long, before she even realizes it, life with the Gregorys feels more natural to her than the quiet, spare life with her own parents back in England.

As Bea comes into herself and relaxes into her new life—summers on the coast in Maine, new friends clamoring to hear about life across the sea—the girl she had been begins to fade away, until, abruptly, she is called home to London when the war ends.

Desperate as she is not to leave this life behind, Bea dutifully retraces her trip across the Atlantic back to her new, old world. As she returns to post-war London, the memory of her American family stays with her, never fully letting her go, and always pulling on her heart as she tries to move on and pursue love and a life of her own.

As we follow Bea over time, navigating between her two worlds, Beyond That, the Sea emerges as a beautifully written, absorbing novel, full of grace and heartache, forgiveness and understanding, loss and love.

Review:

Captivating, absorbing, and beautifully written!

Beyond That, the Sea is an emotionally-charged, moving tale that takes you into the lives of two families, Thompson and Gregory, as their worlds intertwine and collide after eleven-year-old Beatrix Thompson is sent to Boston to live with the Gregorys for the duration of the war causing unlikely friendships to be forged, loyalties to be stretched, heartache to be inevitable, and the meaning of home to be irrevocably changed forever.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are multi-layered, vulnerable, and torn. And the plot is a moving, coming-of-age tale about life, loss, friendship, heartbreak, guilt, grief, courage, hope, war, romance, regret, first love, and complex familial relationships.

Overall, Beyond That, the Sea is the perfect blend of historical facts, evocative fiction, and palpable emotion. It’s a bittersweet, affecting, tender tale that made me smile, make me cry, and resonated with me long after I finished the final page.

This novel is available March 21, 2023.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Laura Spence-Ash

Laura Spence-Ash’s fiction has appeared in One Story, New England Review, Crazyhorse, and elsewhere. Her critical essays and book reviews appear regularly in the Ploughshares blog. She received her MFA in fiction from Rutgers–Newark, and she lives in New Jersey.

Photo Credit: Beowulf Sheehan

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#BookReview Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall @HMarshallAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #LookingforJane #HeatherMarshall #SimonSchusterCA

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall @HMarshallAuthor @SimonSchusterCA #LookingforJane #HeatherMarshall #SimonSchusterCA Title: Looking for Jane

Author: Heather Marshall

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Mar. 1, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

For readers of Joanna Goodman and Genevieve Graham comes a masterful debut novel about three women whose lives are bound together by a long-lost letter, a mother’s love, and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose—inspired by true stories.

Tell them you’re looking for Jane.

2017

When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a life-shattering confession in a stack of forgotten mail, she is determined to find the intended recipient. Her search takes her back to the 1970s when a group of daring women operated an illegal underground abortion network in Toronto known only by its whispered code name: Jane…

1971

As a teenager, Dr. Evelyn Taylor was sent to a home for “fallen” women where she was forced to give up her baby for adoption—a trauma she has never recovered from. Despite harrowing police raids and the constant threat of arrest, she joins the Jane Network as an abortion provider, determined to give other women the choice she never had.

1980

After discovering a shocking secret about her family history, twenty-year-old Nancy Mitchell begins to question everything she has ever known. When she unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she feels like she has no one to turn to for help. Grappling with her decision, she locates “Jane” and finds a place of her own alongside Dr. Taylor within the network’s ranks, but she can never escape the lies that haunt her.

Weaving together the lives of three women, Looking for Jane is an unforgettable debut about the devastating consequences that come from a lack of choice—and the enduring power of a mother’s love.

Review:

Absorbing, poignant, and heartrending!

Looking for Jane is a harrowing, moving novel set in Toronto between 1960 to 2017 that introduces you to three young women as they navigate the torment and fallout of a world where unwed mothers are sent to homes, deprived of basic necessities, coerced into relinquishing their parental rights, and unnecessarily punished viciously, babies are bought, adoption information is sealed, abortion is not legal and expensive back alley butchering is often the only choice, and an incredible network of caring professionals endanger themselves in order to provide safe options while rallying for change.

The prose is vivid and rich. The characters are strong, vulnerable, determined, and brave. And the plot told from multiple perspectives, is a compelling blend of life, loss, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, abuse, survival, motherhood, female friendships, pregnancy, infertility, and the history and legalities of abortion.

Overall, Looking for Jane is a compassionate, enlightening, timely tale inspired by true-life events that is a haunting reminder of just how much physical, psychological, and emotional abuse young unwed women endured and shockingly highlights that even though we’ve come so far in respect to women’s rights and body autonomy, in some respects, we still have a long way to go. It’s a book that ultimately needs to be read to appreciate just how well-researched, beautifully written, and extremely memorable it truly is.

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 The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #KateThompson #TheLittleWartimeLibrary #HBGCanada

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson @katethompson380 @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2023 #KateThompson #TheLittleWartimeLibrary #HBGCanada Title: The Little Wartime Library

Author: Kate Thompson

Published by: Forever on Feb. 21, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

An uplifting and inspiring novel based on the true story of a librarian who created an underground shelter during World War II, perfect for readers of The Paris Library or The Last Bookshop in London. 

London, 1944: Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city.

Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.

Review:

Captivating, rich, and inspirational!

The Little Wartime Library is a heartwarming, tragic, uplifting tale set in England during 1944 that takes you into the lives of Clara Button, a young, plucky librarian with a kind heart, and Ruby Munroe, a loyal friend and hardworking assistant, who after both suffering unimaginable personal loss work tirelessly to give the people and children of East London a sanctuary and source of escapism by moving the library destroyed by bombs at the start of the Blitz seventy feet underground into the haven and community created on the unused tracks of the Bethnal Green tube station.

The prose is evocative and rich. The characters are genuine, determined, and courageous. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into an alluring tale of life, loss, love, family, devastation, hardship, hope, friendship, adversity, self-discovery, wartime living, survival, and ultimately the power of books.

The Little Wartime Library is an insightful, poignant, engrossing read by Thompson that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into an absorbing, heart-tugging tale that is exceptionally atmospheric, beautifully entertaining and a true love letter to libraries and librarians everywhere.

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

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

 

About Kate Thompson

Kate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for women's magazines and national newspapers before becoming a novelist. Over the past ten years, Kate has written twelve fiction and nonfiction titles, three of which have made the Sunday Times top ten bestseller list. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons, and two rescued Lurcher dogs, Ted and Saphhie.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BlogTour #BookReview In Little Stars by Linda Green @LindaGreenisms @Mobius_Books #InLittleStars #LindaGreen #MobiusBooksUS

categories: 10/10, Blog Tour, Book Review, General Fiction
#BlogTour #BookReview In Little Stars by Linda Green @LindaGreenisms @Mobius_Books #InLittleStars #LindaGreen #MobiusBooksUS Title: In Little Stars

Author: Linda Green

Published by: Mobius on Feb. 7, 2023

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Mobius Books US

Book Rating: 10/10

In a divided northern England, love and hate are about to collide . . .

Sylvie and Donna travel on the same train to work each day but have never spoken. Their families are on different sides of the bitter Brexit divide, although the tensions and arguments at home give them much in common.

What they don’t know is that their eldest children, Rachid and Jodie, are about to meet for the first time and fall in love. Aware that neither family will approve, the teenagers vow to keep their romance a secret.

But as Sylvie’s family feel increasingly unwelcome in England, a desire for a better life threatens Rachid and Jodie’s relationship. Can their love unite their families – or will it end in tragedy?

Review:

Tragic, beautiful, and incredibly heart-wrenching!

In Little Stars is a poignant, pensive, emotionally-charged novel that takes you into the lives of a handful of people, including the families of eighteen-year-old Jodi and seventeen-year-old Rachid, as their worlds become irrevocably changed and shattered one fall day when a violent, fatal attack driven by ignorance leaves some devastated by loss, some overwhelmingly consumed with guilt, and some haunted and struggling to understand how to prevent these horrifying seeds of hatred from being able to blossom.

The prose is sobering and expressive. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are complex, consumed, and authentic. And the plot is an exceptionally absorbing tale of life, loss, family, friendship, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, heartache, parenthood, prejudice, violence, and interracial teenage love.

Overall, In Little Stars made me think, made me cry, and resonated with me long after I turned the final page. It’s an enthralling, impactful, hopeful story by Green that interwove exceptional character development with a bittersweet, immersive, heartbreaking love story, all steeped in an abundance of pain and tragedy.

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

 

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

 

About Linda Green

Linda Green is the bestselling author of ten novels, which have sold more than a million copies between them. Her latest novel, One Moment, was a Radio 2 Book Club selection, and her previous novel, The Last Thing She Told Me, was a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a Top 20 Sunday Times bestseller. She lives in West Yorkshire with her husband and son.

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#BookReview The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson @Sadeqasays @simonschuster @SimonSchusterCA #TheHouseofEve #SadeqaJohnson #SimonSchuster #SimonSchusterCA

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson @Sadeqasays @simonschuster @SimonSchusterCA #TheHouseofEve #SadeqaJohnson #SimonSchuster #SimonSchusterCA Title: The House of Eve

Author: Sadeqa Johnson

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Feb. 7, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster

Book Rating: 10/10

From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring and redemptive novel set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.

Review:

Insightful, thought-provoking, and memorable!

The House of Eve is a compelling tale that sweeps you away to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., during the early 1950s and into the lives of two Black women; Ruby Pearsall, a high school junior who dreams of winning one of only two scholarships so she can attend university and become an ophthalmologist until her love for a local Jewish boy puts a little wrench in her plans, and Eleanor Quarles, a Howard University sophomore whose love for a wealthy medical student and an unexpected pregnancy opens her eyes to a world she never knew existed and a social hierarchy she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to climb.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are genuine, multilayered, and vulnerable. And the plot is a beautifully written, poignant tale about life, loss, courage, hope, dreams, motherhood, poverty, racial discrimination, inequality, forbidden love, adoption, familial drama, and the heartbreak and struggles of infertility.

In 2021, Johnson’s previous novel, The Yellow Wife, was one of my favourite novels of the year, and it’s safe to say The House of Eve will be on that list for 2023. It’s a powerful, emotional, masterfully woven tale that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the personalities, feelings, and lives of the characters you can’t help but be completely absorbed and fully invested.

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 for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sadeqa Johnson

Sadeqa Johnson is the award-winning author of four novels. Her accolades include being the recipient of the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award and the USA Best Book Award for best fiction. She is a Kimbilo Fellow, former board member of the James River Writers, and a Tall Poppy Writer. Originally from Philadelphia, she currently lives near Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and three children.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson @sariahwilson @ThomasAllenLTD @KayePublicity @AmazonPub #TheChemistryofLove #SariahWilson #Montlake #KayePublicity

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson @sariahwilson @ThomasAllenLTD @KayePublicity @AmazonPub #TheChemistryofLove #SariahWilson #Montlake #KayePublicity Title: The Chemistry of Love

Author: Sariah Wilson

Published by: Montlake Romance on Feb. 1, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 348

Format: Paperback

Source: Kaye Publicity, Thomas Allen & Son

Book Rating: 10/10

True love requires a little research and development in a funny, heart-racing romance by Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of The Paid Bridesmaid.

How can Anna Ellis, a geeky, brilliant, and hopelessly smitten cosmetic chemist possibly win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams—who also happens to be her boss? The answer is Craig’s empathetic (and handsome) CEO half brother, Marco. The makeup mogul knows Craig for the ridiculously competitive rival he is. Whatever Marco has, Craig wants. That can be Anna, if she’s game to play.

All Anna and Marco have to do is pretend they’re falling in love and let the rumors begin. If the experiment in attraction works, a jealous Craig will swoop in and give Anna her happily ever after—if it weren’t for one hitch in the plan. There’s more to Marco than meets the eye. With every fake date, Anna’s feelings are starting to become dizzyingly real.

Blame it on chemistry. It’s unpredictable, exciting, and occasionally combustible. If Anna and Marco are really falling in love, who are they to argue with science?

Review:

Quirky, adorable, and addictive!

The Chemistry of Love is a sweet, humorous, steamy tale featuring the creative, talented cosmetic chemist Anna and the hardworking, considerate CEO Marco as they discover quite quickly that there may be a lot more to their relationship than just convenience, pretence, deals, and fake feelings.

The writing is amusing and sweet. The characters are charismatic, supportive, and endearing. And the plot is an enchanting tale bursting with witty banter, shameless flirting, red-hot chemistry, tender moments, self-discovery, family, friendship, kindness, light drama, and unconditional love.

Overall, The Chemistry of Love is another delightful, engaging, highly entertaining tale by Wilson that has everything I look for in a lighthearted rom-com and more. I loved the characters, I loved the meet cute, I loved the storyline, and I loved the happy-ever-after ending.

This novel is available now.

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

       

 

 

Thank you to Thomas Allen & Son and Kaye Publicity for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sariah Wilson

USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children . She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with two cats named Pixel and Callie, who do not get along. (The cats, not the children. Although the children sometimes have their issues, too.)

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The Sisters We Were by Wendy Willis Baldwin @WLBaldwin @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheSistersWeWere #WendyWallisBaldwin #bookmarkedbylandmark

categories: 10/10, Book Review, General Fiction, Women's Fiction
#BookReview The Sisters We Were by Wendy Willis Baldwin @WLBaldwin @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheSistersWeWere #WendyWallisBaldwin #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Sisters We Were

Author: Wendy Willis Baldwin

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Jan. 17, 2023

Genres: General Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 10/10

Pearl and Ruby’s choices drove them apart.

Finding their way back to each other might be the only way forward.

The weight of their family secrets could not have shaped Pearl and Ruby Crenshaw any differently. Ruby’s a runner, living in Dallas and only reluctantly talking to their mother, Birdie, when she calls from prison. Pearl is still living in her mother’s fixer-upper and finds herself facing a line in the sand: her weight is threatening to kill her. She’s hundreds of pounds beyond the point where she can celebrate her curves or benefit from the body positivity movement, and unless she takes drastic action, the future looks dire.

But when Ruby’s buried rage explodes in a hilariously viral way, the mistake has life-altering consequences. Now the sisters are back living under the same roof and forced to put the pieces of their separate lives together again. Funny, cinematic, and bursting with heart, this is a story of hope and redemption that celebrates the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Review:

Sincere, memorable, and sweet!

The Sisters We Were is an intimate, uplifting tale that sweeps you away to Austin, Texas and immerses you into the lives of the Crenshaw sisters, Pearl and Ruby, as they must finally accept the things they cannot change, make risky, life-altering decisions, confront a past littered with tragedy and heartbreak, repair fractured relationships, and embrace a future that doesn’t involve running away or eating for solace.

The writing is effortless and polished. The characters are multi-layered, genuine, scarred, and courageous. And the plot, including all the subplots, skillfully intertwines and unravels into a delightfully touching tale about life, love, loss, guilt, grief, family drama, secrets, friendship, happiness, self-discovery, romance, the day-to-day struggles of morbid obesity, and the special bonds that exist between sisters.

Overall, The Sisters We Were is a beautiful mix of hope, heart, and healing that is not only a humorous, emotive, lovely novel by Willis Baldwin but one which I don’t think anyone could possibly read and not be completely absorbed and utterly moved.

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Wendy Willis Baldwin

Author and freelance writer Wendy Willis Baldwin is a natural born storyteller. Her communications background includes broadcasting, marketing, talk radio, and sales. A native of Texas and a graduate of Texas Tech University, Wendy is a recent empty nester now living on a farm in New England, with one husband, three dogs, and thousands of honeybees. She is the co-host of the Life After Fat Pants Podcast.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2022 #NatashaLester #TheThreeLivesofAlixStPierre #HBGCanada

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester @HBGCanada @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2022 #NatashaLester #TheThreeLivesofAlixStPierre #HBGCanada Title: The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre

Author: Natasha Lester

Published by: Forever on Jan. 10, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Format: Hardcover

Source: Forever, HBG Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

New York Times bestselling author Natasha Lester delivers an unforgettable story of an orphan turned WWII spy turned fashion icon in Paris—perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Fiona Davis.
 
Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
 
After an Allied victory that didn’t come nearly soon enough, Alix moves to Paris, ready to immerse herself in a new position as director of publicity for the yet-to-be-launched House of Dior. In the glamorous halls of the French fashion house, she can nearly forget everything she lost and the dangerous secret she carries. But when a figure from the war reappears and threatens to destroy her future, Alix realizes that only she can right the wrongs of the past …and finally find justice.

Review:

Sincere, vivid, and engaging!

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is a gripping, heartfelt story set predominantly in Switzerland and France between 1942 and 1947 that takes you into the life of Alix St. Pierre, a young woman who spends the last few years of the war working for the OSS as a spy in Bern helping to create a secure courier line for the Italian partisans, and the next few years post WWII working as hard as she can to make the new Maison Christian Dior a worldwide phenomenon as his Directrice of the Service de la Presse while also using her spare time to hunt down the Nazi informant who shattered her world and left her responsible for the needless slaughtering of nine lives, two of whom she deeply cared for.

The prose is polished and eloquent. The characters are driven, tormented, and resilient. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel effortlessly into a sweeping saga of life, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, secrets, espionage, danger, survival, tragedy, friendship, and a touch of romance.

As a historical fiction lover for the past few years Natasha Lester’s books have been some of my all-time favourites, and even though I didn’t think it was possible to love another one of her books more than the ones I’ve already read, she proved me wrong. The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is an unbelievable story that captured me from the very first page, and not only did I devour it, I absolutely loved it!

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Natasha Lester

Natasha Lester is a USA Today, internationally best-selling author. Prior to writing, she worked as a marketing executive for L’Oreal, managing the Maybelline brand, before returning to university to study creative writing.

Her first historical novel, the bestselling A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald, was published in 2016. This was followed by Her Mother’s Secret in 2017 and The Paris Seamstress in 2018. The French Photographer is her latest book (note: this will be published as The Paris Orphan in North America in September 2019).

Natasha's books have been published in the US, the UK, Australia and throughout Europe. She lives in Perth, Western Australia with her 3 children and loves travelling, Paris, vintage fashion and, of course, books.

Photograph courtesy of Goodreads Author Page.

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