Category: 8.5/10

#BookReview The Rose Garden by Tracy Rees @AuthorTracyRees @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TracyRees #TheRoseGarden

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#BookReview The Rose Garden by Tracy Rees @AuthorTracyRees @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TracyRees #TheRoseGarden Title: The Rose Garden

Author: Tracy Rees

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 18, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

1895. Hampstead, London.

Olive Westallen lives a privileged, if rather lonely, life in her family’s grand Hampstead home. But she has radical plans for the future of her family – plans that will shock the high-society world she inhabits.

For her new neighbour, twelve-year-old Ottilie Finch, London is an exciting playground to explore. Her family have recently arrived from Durham, under a cloud of scandal that Otty is blissfully unaware of. The only shadow over her days is her mother’s mysterious illness, which keeps her to her room.

When Mabs is offered the chance to become Mrs Finch’s companion, it saves her from a desperate life on the canals. Little does she know that all is not as picture-perfect as it seems. Mabs is about to become tangled in the secrets that chased the Finches from their last home, and trapped in an impossible dilemma . . .

The Rose Garden is an absorbing and moving novel, perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies and Rachel Hore.

Review:

Rich, thought-provoking, and moving!

The Rose Garden is a compelling, character-driven story that sweeps you away to Hamstead, London, during 1895 and into the lives of several women from different backgrounds, Olive, Mabs, and Ottie, as they meet, interact, and form unlikely friendships that transcend social status and, ultimately, changes their lives forever.

The prose is vivid and smooth. The characters are multilayered, brave, and authentic. And the plot is a compelling tale of familial responsibilities, strength, duty, coming-of-age, friendship, love, danger, survival, and the roles of women in Victorian England.

Overall, The Rose Garden is a touching, fascinating, uplifting tale by Rees that I thoroughly enjoyed with its strong female characters, intriguing storyline, and insightful look into the complex, powerful bonds of friendship.

 

This novel is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Tracy Rees

Tracy Rees was the first winner of the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition. She has also won the Love Stories Best Historical Read award and been shortlisted for the RNA Epic Romantic Novel of the Year. A Cambridge graduate, Tracy had a successful career in non-fiction publishing before retraining for a second career practising and teaching humanistic counselling. She has also been a waitress, bartender, shop assistant, estate agent, classroom assistant and workshop leader. Tracy divides her time between the Gower Peninsula of South Wales and London.

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#BookReview Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #HerHiddenGenius #MarieBenedict #bookmarkedbylandmark

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#BookReview Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #HerHiddenGenius #MarieBenedict #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: Her Hidden Genius

Author: Marie Benedict

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Jan. 25, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie and The Only Woman in the Room.

Rosalind Franklin has always been an outsider―brilliant, but different. Whether working at the laboratory she adored in Paris or toiling at a university in London, she feels closest to the science, those unchanging laws of physics and chemistry that guide her experiments. When she is assigned to work on DNA, she believes she can unearth its secrets.

Rosalind knows if she just takes one more X-ray picture―one more after thousands―she can unlock the building blocks of life. Never again will she have to listen to her colleagues complain about her, especially Maurice Wilkins who’d rather conspire about genetics with James Watson and Francis Crick than work alongside her.

Then it finally happens―the double helix structure of DNA reveals itself to her with perfect clarity. But what unfolds next, Rosalind could have never predicted.

Review:

Captivating, insightful, and absorbing!

Her Hidden Genius is an informative, heart-tugging tale set in Paris and England between 1947 and 1958 that takes you into the life of Rosalind Franklin, a young woman from an influential Jewish family whose intellect and love of science drove her to forgo an easier socialite lifestyle to wade into a male-dominated, mostly exclusionary field where she used her exceptional knowledge and unparalleled work ethic in X-ray crystallography to identify the base, double-helix structure of DNA before it, ultimately, led to her premature death at the tender age of 37. 

The prose is rich and smooth. The characters are intelligent, dedicated, and lonely. And the plot is a somewhat poignant tale of one woman’s personal and workplace relationships, struggles, disappointments, accomplishments, challenges, and achievements.

I have to admit, shockingly as a science major, that I knew very little about Rosalind Franklin when I started Her Hidden Genius, but Benedict did such a lovely job of blending historical facts with compelling fiction that I was left fascinated, impressed, and highly entertained, and more than a little intrigued to learn more about this strong-minded, extraordinary woman who has for far too long been overlooked or not credited for the remarkable impact she had on the twentieth-century advancements in science we all continue to reap the benefits of today.

 

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Marie Benedict

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a litigator at two of the country's premier law firms and Fortune 500 companies. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus on history and a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law. She is the author of New York Times bestseller The Only Woman in the Room, Carnegie's Maid, The Other Einstein, and Lady Clementine. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham @svwillingham @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #AFlickerintheDark #StacyWillingham #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham @svwillingham @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #AFlickerintheDark #StacyWillingham #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: A Flicker in the Dark

Author: Stacy Willingham

Published by: Minotaur Books on Jan. 11, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller, certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page.

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren’t really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?

In a debut novel that has already been optioned for a limited series by actress Emma Stone and sold to a dozen countries around the world, Stacy Willingham has created an unforgettable character in a spellbinding thriller that will appeal equally to fans of Gillian Flynn and Karin Slaughter.

Review:

Intricate, gritty, and unsettling!

A Flicker in the Dark transports you into the life of psychologist Chloe Davis, a young woman just reaching a point of contentment in her life she never thought she would achieve, until the past suddenly collides with the present and teen girls start to go missing and are found murdered in an eerily similar way to the six teens her father murdered one summer twenty years ago.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are complex, tormented, and unreliable. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth style intertwines and unravels seamlessly into an engrossing whodunit full of twists, turns, lies, deception, suspicious personalities, familial drama, depravity, violence, and murder.

Overall, A Flicker in the Dark is a devious, atmospheric, promising debut by Willingham that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me entertained, satisfied, and without a doubt eager to read whatever her deliciously sinister mind manages to come up with next. 

 

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 – Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Stacy Willingham

STACY WILLINGHAM, author of A Flicker in the Dark, worked as a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies before deciding to write fiction full time. She earned her BA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Georgia and MFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art & Design. She currently lives in Charleston, SC with her husband, Britt, and Labradoodle, Mako.

Photo by Mary Hannah Harte.

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#BookReview Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown @SandraBrown_NYT @GrandCentralPub #SandraBrown #BlindTiger

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#BookReview Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown @SandraBrown_NYT @GrandCentralPub #SandraBrown #BlindTiger Title: Blind Tiger

Author: Sandra Brown

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Aug. 3, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Romantic Suspense

Pages: 512

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The year 1920 comes in with a roar in this rousing and suspenseful novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown. Prohibition is the new law of the land, but murder, mayhem, lust, and greed are already institutions in the Moonshine Capitol of Texas.

Thatcher Hutton, a war-weary soldier on the way back to his cowboy life, jumps from a moving freight train to avoid trouble . . . and lands in more than he bargained for. On the day he arrives in Foley, Texas, a local woman goes missing. Thatcher, the only stranger in town, is suspected of her abduction, and worse. Standing between him and exoneration are a corrupt mayor, a crooked sheriff, a notorious cathouse madam, a sly bootlegger, feuding moonshiners . . . and a young widow whose soft features conceal an iron will.

What was supposed to be a fresh start for Laurel Plummer turns to tragedy. Left destitute but determined to dictate her own future, Laurel plunges into the lucrative regional industry, much to the dislike of the good ol’ boys, who have ruled supreme. Her success quickly makes her a target for cutthroat competitors, whose only code of law is reprisal. As violence erupts, Laurel and—now deputy—Thatcher find themselves on opposite sides of a moonshine war, where blood flows as freely as whiskey.

Review:

Twisty, gritty, and entertaining!

Blind Tiger is an engrossing, sinister novel that takes us to Foley, Texas during 1920 and into the life of former soldier Thatcher Hutton who, after a grievous misunderstanding, suddenly finds himself recruited as a part-time deputy investigating a complex case involving kidnapping, a potential murder, and an illegal, highly-successful bootlegging operation, all while fighting the attraction that seems to be brewing between himself and Laurel Plummer, a young widowed mother who may be caught up in something a little more enterprising than just farming with her father-in-law.

The prose is crisp and tense. The characters are flawed, multilayered, and hardy. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel seamlessly into a mysterious tale of mayhem, corruption, coercion, mischief, politics, criminal behaviour, dangerous situations, suspicious motivations, red herrings, deduction, violence, and murder.

Overall, Blind Tiger is an ominous, sophisticated, satisfying novel by Brown that has all the things I enjoy in her romantic suspense novels, along with the added bonus of a unique historical setting that provided the perfect backdrop for lots of action and adventure.

 

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty-nine New York Times bestsellers, including the #1 Seeing Red. There are over eighty million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-four languages. She lives in Texas.

 

Photograph courtesy of grandcentralpublishing.com.

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#BookReview The Bloom Girls by Amy Pine @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #TheBloomGirls #AmyPine

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#BookReview The Bloom Girls by Amy Pine @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #TheBloomGirls #AmyPine Title: The Bloom Girls

Author: Amy Pine

Published by: Forever on Aug. 3, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Gilmore Girls meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding in this humorous, multi-generational story about a mother and daughter who discover that life happens when you least expect it.

Gabi Bloom doesn’t believe in signs. She believes in photographic evidence, the view through her camera lens, and the snap of the shutter. It’s why she traveled to Europe—to satisfy her wanderlust and to kick off her photography career. But in Ireland, all of that changed when Gabi gazed into the impossibly blue eyes of an American bartender. She wasn’t prepared for their intense and immediate attraction, or the fact that she’d be bringing Ethan home with her . . . as her fiancé.

Gabi’s upcoming marriage is the cherry on top of her mother’s current predicament. Stumbling toward forty, Alissa is a pastry chef who raised her daughter single-handedly while Gabi’s father traveled the globe. Now her baby girl is getting married after a whirlwind romance and Alissa—well, Alissa is pregnant. Again. And not only is her ex the father, he wants her back. For good. Until she can figure out that part of the puzzle, Alissa is hiding her big little secret even as she helps Gabi plan a happily-ever-after wedding. But somewhere between disaster and hope, life might just bloom in a way that is breathtakingly unexpected . . .

Review:

Heartwarming, moving, and sweet!

The Bloom Girls is an intimate, sentimental tale that sweeps you into the lives of the Bloom family, Gabi, Alissa, and Matthew, as they confront the past, accept the things they cannot change, take chances, repair relationships, and embrace the future.

The prose is genuine and smooth. The characters are hesitant, supportive, and compassionate. And the plot is a tender tale about life, love, forgiveness, responsibilities, familial drama, parenthood, friendship, hope, second chances, and new beginnings.

Overall, I found The Bloom Girls to be a nostalgic, uplifting, charming tale by Pine, complete with strong female characters, a heartfelt storyline, and an insightful look into the complex ties that bind us as family. 

 

This novel is available now.

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

                

 

 

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

 

About Amy Pine

A librarian for teens by day and a writer by night, Amy Pine can't seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn't have it any other way. When she finds that twenty-fifth hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV to nourish her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. She hails from the far-off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.

Photo courtesy of read-forever.com.

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#BookReview Dream Keeper (Dream Team #4) by Kristen Ashley @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #DreamKeeper #KristenAshley #DreamTeamSeries

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#BookReview Dream Keeper (Dream Team #4) by Kristen Ashley @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #DreamKeeper #KristenAshley #DreamTeamSeries Title: Dream Keeper

Author: Kristen Ashley

Series: Dream Team #4

Published by: Forever on Nov. 30, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense

Pages: 544

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Spinning off from the bestselling Dream Man and Rock Chick series, this is the emotional and steamy contemporary romance fans of the Dream Team series have been waiting for!

He’s perfect—but he can’t be hers.

Pepper Hannigan is determined to keep any romance off the table—and out of her bedroom—while her daughter Juno is still young. Sure, a certain handsome commando is thoughtful, funny, and undeniably hot, but Pepper’s had her heart broken before, and she won’t let it happen again. Not to her or her little girl, even if this hero could melt any woman’s resolve.

Augustus “Auggie” Hero can’t deny his attraction to beautiful, warm-hearted Pepper or how much he wants to make a home with her and her little girl, but Pepper’s mixed signals have kept him away. That is, until Juno decides to play matchmaker. Her efforts finally bring Pepper into his arms, but they expose the danger Pepper is in. To protect Pepper and Juno, Auggie will have to live up to his last name and prove happy endings aren’t just for fairy tales. 

Review:

Provocative, sassy, and fun!

Dream Keeper is a steamy, engaging tale that features dancer and single mom, Pepper Hannigan who happens to be next up on Lottie’s setup list, but between her religiously consumed extended family, her poor past history with faithful men, and always putting her daughter’s wellbeing first she’s a little hesitant to give the handsome, commando Augustus Hero a real shot at her heart.

The writing is seductive and sweet. The characters are protective, supportive, and committed. And the plot is an alluring mix of friendship, family, drama, sisterhood, danger, palpable attraction, sizzling tension, and sweet romance.

Overall, Dream Keeper is another touching, spicy, exciting addition to a series that is not only seductive, enticing, and exceptionally entertaining, but one I definitely can’t get enough of.

 

This novel is available on November 30, 2021.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Kristen Ashley

Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA. She nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!).

Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).

Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.

And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.

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#BookReview Legacy by Nora Roberts @smpromance @StMartinsPress #Legacy #NoraRoberts #smpromance #smpinfluencers

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#BookReview Legacy by Nora Roberts @smpromance @StMartinsPress #Legacy #NoraRoberts #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: Legacy

Author: Nora Roberts

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 25, 2021

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Pages: 434

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author presents a new novel of a mother and a daughter, of ambition and romance, and of a traumatic past reawakened by a terrifying threat…

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial—as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…

Review:

Simmering, satisfying, and suspenseful!

Legacy is a slow-burning, sinister tale that takes you into the life of Adrian Rizzo, who, after meeting and surviving her father’s attempt to murder her at the age of seven, has grown into a confident young woman with a close-knit circle of friends, a successful business, and an extended family who love her dearly, but things are not as rosy as they appear and a psychopathic poet with a long-standing fixation on Adrian seems to be getting more obsessed and dangerous by the day, and the safest place for her to be might just be in Maryland with her grandfather and childhood friend.

The writing is intricate and tight. The characters are well-developed, complex, and loyal. And the plot is an engaging mix of friendship, family, obsession, danger, secrets, love, hatred, mayhem, and romance

Overall, Legacy is another solid, enticing, charged outing by Roberts that has everything I look for in a romantic suspense novel and more.

 

This book 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 Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Come Sundown, The Obsession, The Liar, and coming in December 2017, Year One -- the first book in The Chronicles of The One. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview The Orphan House by Ann Bennett @annbennett71 @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #TheOrphanHouse #AnnBennett

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#BookReview The Orphan House by Ann Bennett @annbennett71 @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #TheOrphanHouse #AnnBennett Title: The Orphan House

Author: Ann Bennett

Published by: Forever on Oct. 5, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Two women uncover the secrets of the past in this emotional and poignant story that’s perfect for fans of Lisa Wingate and Kristina McMorris.
 
1934: Connie Burroughs loves living in the orphanage that her father runs in the English countryside. Exploring its nooks and crannies with her sister, hearing the pounding of a hundred pairs of feet on the wooden stairs, having a father who is doing so much good. But everything changes the day she sees him carrying a newborn baby that he says he found near the broken front gate. A baby she recognizes . . .

Present Day: Arriving at her father’s beloved cottage beside the Thames, Sarah Jennings is hoping for peace and quiet, and an escape from her difficult divorce. But when she finds her father unwell and poring over boxes of files on the orphanage where he was abandoned as a child, she decides to investigate his elusive past herself.

The only person left alive who lived at Cedar Hall when Sarah’s father was there is Connie Burroughs, but Connie sits quietly in her nursing home for a reason. The sewing box under Connie’s bed hides secrets that will change Sarah’s life forever, uncovering a connection between the two women that has darker consequences than she could ever imagine.

A heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting tale inspired by the lives of the children who lived at the author’s great-grandfather’s orphanage

Review:

Pensive, tense, and emotive!

The Orphan House is an engaging, mysterious tale that sweeps you away to the idyllic village of Weirfield and immerses you into the lives of two main characters, Sarah Jennings, a young woman who, after heading to her father’s home to regroup after her marriage falls apart, finds herself taking care of her father, purchasing a historic home, and endeavouring to rebuild a new life in a house that needs a lot of work and seems to contain a lot of hidden surprises; and Connie Burroughs, an elderly woman who, after a recent fall and subsequent move to an assisted-living facility, decides to let the memories she’s been protecting and her father’s long-buried secrets finally come to light.

The prose is evocative and expressive. The characters are focused, troubled, and attentive. And the plot, set in both the 1930s as well as present-day, is a tender, heartfelt mix of life, love, family, friendship, self-reflection, history, abuse, power, negligence, community, new beginnings, and second chances.

Overall, The Orphan House is a hopeful, absorbing, reflective tale by Bennett that, with its compelling storyline and endearing characters, I’m sure glad I didn’t miss.

 

This novel is available now.

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

                

 

 

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

 

About Ann Bennett

Ann is the author of several historical novels about WWII. She has a Law degree and works full time as a lawyer. Since her early twenties she has spent as much time as possible travelling in the region. She's married with three sons and lives in Surrey.

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#BookReview The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond @michellerichmon @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheWonderTest #MichelleRichmond

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#BookReview The Wonder Test by Michelle Richmond @michellerichmon @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheWonderTest #MichelleRichmond Title: The Wonder Test

Author: Michelle Richmond

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Jul. 6, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 430

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Escaping New York City and the espionage case that made her question everything, recently widowed FBI Agent Lina Connerly returns home to sell the house she has inherited in tony Greenfield, California. With her teenage son Rory, Lina hopes to reassemble her life, reevaluate her career, and find a clear way forward. Adrift and battling insomnia, she discovers that her father’s sleepy hometown has been transformed into a Silicon Valley suburb on steroids, obsessed with an annual exam called The Wonder Test. When students at her son’s high school go missing, reappearing under mysterious circumstances on abandoned beaches, Lina must summon her strength and her investigative instincts, pushing her own ethical boundaries to the limits in order to solve the crimes. Meanwhile, an old espionage case called Red Vine keeps calling her back into the fold. While Lina struggles to balance her new role as a single mother and the complex counterintelligence puzzles she is so adept at solving, Greenfield’s shadowy dangers creep closer to her own home.

A searing view of a culture that puts the wellbeing of children at risk for advancement and prestige, and a captivating story of the lengths a mother will go for her son.

Review:

Suspenseful, edgy, and chilling!

The Wonder Test is a brisk, menacing tale that introduces us to FBI agent Lina Connerly, a recent widow who, after both the loss of her husband and her father, moves to Silicon Valley where her teenage son can attend the prestigious, local public school and she can tidy up her father’s affairs. But when her son’s girlfriend Caroline goes missing on the eve of the annual “Wonder Test”, and the case looks eerily similar to that of three other students who previously vanished without a trace only to reappear a week later naked, bald, and malnourished, this idyllic spot suddenly seems a little less perfect and danger seems to be lurking around every corner.

The prose is intricate and tight. The characters are inquisitive, tenacious, and intelligent. And the plot unravels and intertwines effortlessly into a sinister tale of deception, manipulation, secrets, power, privilege, revelations, gossip, grief, deviance, and malicious intentions.

Overall, The Wonder Test is a shrewd, sharp, intense thrill ride by Richmond that highlights just how dark, dangerous, and ruthless some people can truly be, especially when driven to conceal an underworld filled with lust, greed, and sinful proclivities.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Michelle Richmond

Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and story collections, including The Marriage Pact, Golden State, The Year of Fog, and Hum. She received the Truman Capote Prize for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Short Story. Her books have been published in thirty languages. She lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

Photo by Nick Elliott.

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#BookReview The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheAtticonQueenStreet #KarenWhite #TraddStreet #UplitReads #gifted

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#BookReview The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White @KarenWhiteWrite @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #TheAtticonQueenStreet #KarenWhite #TraddStreet #UplitReads #gifted Title: The Attic on Queen Street

Author: Karen White

Series: Tradd Street #7

Published by: Berkley Books on Nov. 2, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Women's Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Return to the house on Tradd Street for one last time as the bestselling series featuring psychic medium Melanie Trenholm comes to a hauntingly spectacular finale.

After the devastating events of the past few months, the last thing Melanie Trenholm wants is to think about the future. Why, when her husband, Jack, has asked for a separation—a separation that might have been her fault? Nevertheless, with twin toddlers, a stepdaughter leaving for college soon, a real estate career to resume and a historic home that is still being restored, Melanie doesn’t have much time to wonder where it all went wrong—but that doesn’t stop her from trying to win her husband back.

Their relationship issues are pushed aside, however, when longtime nemesis, Marc Longo, comes to them with a proposition: allow their Tradd Street house to be used as the filming location for the movie adaptation of Marc’s bestselling book, and he will help Jack re-establish his stalled writing career. Despite Melanie’s hesitation, Jack jumps at the chance. But Melanie’s doubts soon prove to be well founded when she uncovers ulterior reasons for Marc wanting to be back in their house—reasons that include a hidden gem so brilliant that legend links it to the most infamous jewel of all, the Hope Diamond.

But Melanie has an unexpected ally in protecting the house and its inhabitants—the ghost of a Civil War era girl warns her of increasing threats to her family. But she’s not the only spirit who is haunting Melanie. A malevolent ghost seems determined to stop Melanie from investigating the decades-old murder of a friend’s sister, and this spirit will stop at nothing to protect its secrets—even from beyond the grave.

Melanie and Jack must work together to find the answers before evil spirits of past and present destroy everything they love.

 

Review:

Rich, atmospheric, and satisfying!

The Attic on Queen Street is a quirky, mysterious, entertaining tale that takes us back into the lives of Melanie, Jack, and the whole Trade Street gang, including a few intriguing newcomers, as they work on repairing fractured relationships, begrudgingly allow a movie production crew onto their property, and use the help and guidance from those long past once again to solve and close some tragic, unfinished cases.

The prose is vivid and descriptive. The characters are eccentric, lovable, and clever. And the plot is a well-paced, quirky tale full of amateur sleuthing, scandalous behaviour, treasures, ghosts, history,  suspects, deduction, and an abundance of southern charm.

The Attic on Queen Street is the seventh and last novel in this wonderful series by White. And even though it is a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the lovely gang we’ve come to know and love over the last seven novels, it has been an absolute pleasure to be able to indulge in all the mystique, adventure, mishaps, and romance that’s happened on Tradd Street over the entire series.

 

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 providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen White

Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of 28 books, including the Tradd Street series, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband near Atlanta, Georgia.

Photo by Marchet Butler.

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