#BookReview The Tuscan Secret by Angela Petch @ReadForeverPub #ReadForever #ReadForever2022 #AngelaPetch #TheTuscanSecret

#BookReview The Tuscan Secret by Angela Petch @ReadForeverPub #ReadForever #ReadForever2022 #AngelaPetch #TheTuscanSecret Title: The Tuscan Secret

Author: Angela Petch

Published by: Forever on Apr. 5, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

This sweeping historical novel from a bestselling author follows the lives of two generations of women, the secrets they keep, their sacrifices for love, and the heartbreaking betrayals they encounter—perfect for fans of Kelly Rimmer and Natasha Lester.​

Il Mulino. An old crumbling mill, by a winding river, nestled in the Tuscan mountains. An empty home that holds memories of homemade pasta and Nonna’s stories by the fire, and later: the Nazi invasion, and a family torn apart by a heartbreaking betrayal.

Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within. The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: memories of homemade pasta, Nonna’s stories by the fire, and happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War II erupted and the Nazis arrived. Her mother fleeing her home to join the Resistenza and risking everything to protect an injured British soldier who captured her heart. But Anna is no closer to learning the truth . . . What sent Ines running from her adored homeland?

When she meets an elderly Italian gentleman living in a deserted hamlet, who flinches at her mother’s name and refuses to speak English, Anna is sure he knows more about the devastating secret that tore apart her mother’s family. But in this small Tuscan community, some wartime secrets were never meant to be uncovered . . .


Review:

Immersive, emotional, and vivid!

The Tuscan Secret is an absorbing, dual-timeline tale predominantly set in Tuscany during WWII, as well as the late 1990s that takes you into the life of Anna, a young woman who, after her own life seems to be in tatters, journeys to Italy after her mother’s death to unravel her family’s history and discovery the secrets of her mother’s past.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are feisty, brave, and determined. And the plot is an immersive, compelling tale about life, loss, family, secrets, desperation, tragedy, friendship, resistance, survival, first love, and the atrocities of war.

Overall, The Tuscan Secret is a moving, evocative, beautifully written tale by Petch inspired by real-familial events that I devoured from start to finish and is the perfect choice for anyone who enjoys a well-researched WWII time-slip story with a fresh perspective and a dab 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 Forever and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Petch

Angela Petch is a USA Today bestselling author and an award-winning writer of fiction–and the occasional poem. Every summer she leaves her home in West Sussex, England to reside in the Tuscan Apennines for six months where she and her husband own a renovated watermill which they let out.

Photo Credit: Mairi Thomas

#BookReview Desperation in Death by J. D.Robb @StMartinsPress #ForgotteninDeath #JDRobb #InDeathSeries #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Desperation in Death by J. D.Robb @StMartinsPress #ForgotteninDeath #JDRobb #InDeathSeries #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Desperation in Death

Author: J. D. Robb

Series: In Death #55

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Sep. 6, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author presents a gripping new thriller that pits homicide detective Eve Dallas against a conspiracy of exploitation and evil…

New York, 2061: The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two—but they’d been equally desperate.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene.

Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking—and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Her billionaire husband, Roarke, may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich. But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface she can barely control. No matter what, she must keep her head clear–because above all, she is desperate for justice and to take down those who prey on and torment the innocent.


Review:

Deviant, gripping, and sophisticated!

In this latest novel by Robb, Desperation in Death, we head back to New York during 2061, where NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her partner Detective Peabody now find themselves on a gruesome case involving a dead teen elegantly groomed and a missing girl who knows more about what the well-funded “Academy” is really a school for.

The writing is absorbing and meticulous. The characters are multilayered, persistent, and intuitive. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine methodically into a sinister tale full of deception, deprivation, manipulation, abuse, corruption, mayhem, violence, murder, and the disturbing, depraved world of sex trafficking.

It’s hard to believe that this novel, Desperation in Death, is the fifty-fifth book in the In Death  series, and even though I have not read close to even half of the books in this obviously well-loved, remarkable series, I have to say I think this is the best one I’ve ever read and my new all-time favourite in the series.

 

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 J. D. Robb

J.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke. Forgotten in Death (St. Martin's Press, September 2021) is the 53rd entry in the series.

#BookReview Paper Cup by Karen Campbell @PGCBooks @canongatebooks #PaperCup #KarenCampbell #PGCBooks

#BookReview Paper Cup by Karen Campbell @PGCBooks @canongatebooks #PaperCup #KarenCampbell #PGCBooks Title: Paper Cup

Author: Karen Campbell

Published by: Canongate Books Ltd on Sep. 19, 2022

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

What if going back means you could begin again?

Rocked by a terrible accident, homeless Kelly needs to escape the city streets of Glasgow. Maybe she doesn’t believe in serendipity, but a rare moment of kindness and a lost engagement ring conspire to call her home. As Kelly vows to reunite the lost ring with its owner, she must return to the small town she fled so many years ago.

On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she’d left behind for ever move closer with every step.

Full of compassion and hope, Paper Cup is a novel about how easy it can be to fall through the cracks, and what it takes to turn around a life that has run off course.


Review:

Poignant, heartwarming, and raw!

Paper Cup is a pensive, heart-tugging novel that takes us to Glasgow and into the life of Kelly, a homeless alcoholic estranged from her family who, after finding an engagement ring and witnessing a horrific accident, embarks on a journey south, meeting some interesting characters and visiting some historical places along the way, heading to Gatehouse of Fleet, Galloway to not only return the ring to its rightful owner but to finally confront the demons she fled from and the family she hasn’t seen in years.

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are vulnerable, flawed, and troubled. And the plot is a memorable tale of unlikely friendships, familial drama, poverty, homelessness, addiction, guilt, compassion, honesty, survival, mental illness, kindness, and ultimately finding your way home.

Overall, Paper Cup is an astute, touching, compelling tale by Campbell that does a beautiful job of reminding us that family is not always those just related by blood but rather those who love, care, support, and accept us.

 

This book is available on now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Karen Campbell

Karen Campbell is a Scottish novelist and former police officer. She is the author of seven novels, most recently The Sound of the Hours, which was a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month. She is a recipient of the Best New Scottish Writer Award and has led workshops for the Scottish Refugee Council, Amnesty, Moniack Mhor and Scottish PEN, among others. She has written for BBC Radio 3, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Glasgow Women’s Library, and was recently Writer in Residence at Dumfries and Galloway Council. She lives in Galloway, Scotland.

Photo courtesy of Canongate Website.

#BookReview An Italian Girl in Brooklyn by Santa Montefiore @SantaMontefiore @SimonSchusterCA #AnItalianGirlinBrooklyn #SantaMontefiore

#BookReview An Italian Girl in Brooklyn by Santa Montefiore @SantaMontefiore @SimonSchusterCA #AnItalianGirlinBrooklyn #SantaMontefiore Title: An Italian Girl in Brooklyn

Author: Santa Montefiore

Published by: Simon and Schuster on Nov. 8, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Dark secrets and hidden sorrows abound in Santa Montefiore’s spellbinding new novel set in war-torn Italy and the streets of New York.

‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES
 
New York, 1979
 
It is Thanksgiving and Evelina has her close family and beloved friends gathered around, her heart weighted with gratitude for what she has and regret for what she has given up. She has lived in America for over thirty years, but she is still Italian in her soul. 
 
Northern Italy, 1934
 
Evelina leads a sheltered life with her parents and siblings in a villa of fading grandeur. When her elder sister Benedetta marries a banker, to suit her father’s wishes rather than her own, Evelina swears that she will never marry out of duty. She knows nothing of romantic love, but when she meets Ezra, son of the local dressmaker, her heart recognises it like an old friend. 
 
Evelina wants these carefree days to last forever. She wants to bask in sunshine, beauty and love and pay no heed to the grey clouds gathering on the horizon. But nothing lasts forever.  The shadows of war are darkening over Europe and precious lives are under threat…


Review:

Thoughtful, moving, and immersive!

An Italian Girl in Brooklyn is a poignant, tender tale set in Northern Italy during 1934, as well as New York in 1979, that takes you into the lives of Evelina Pierangelini and Ezra Zanotti, two young lovers from different backgrounds and religions whose lives are unimaginably torn apart and changed forever when their homeland adopts and enforces Germany’s antisemitic regulations during WWII.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are brave, selfless, and resilient. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, forbidden love, tragedy, friendship, and the consequences, repercussions, and horrors of war.

Overall, An Italian Girl in Brooklyn is a beautifully written, sweeping saga by Montefiore that tugs at the heartstrings, makes you think of all those what-ifs, and ultimately reminds you that life is complicated, things often happen for a reason, and love is powerful and everlasting.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

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

 

About Santa Montefiore

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

Photograph by Santa Montefiore

#BookReview Be Your Everything by Catherine Bybee @catherinebybee @ThomasAllenLTD @AmazonPub #BeYourEverything #TheDAngelos #CatherineBybee #Montlake

#BookReview Be Your Everything by Catherine Bybee @catherinebybee @ThomasAllenLTD @AmazonPub #BeYourEverything #TheDAngelos #CatherineBybee #Montlake Title: Be Your Everything

Author: Catherine Bybee

Series: The D'Angelos #2

Published by: Montlake Romance on Nov. 15, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 348

Format: Paperback

Source: Thomas Allen & Son

Book Rating: 9/10

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee comes a romance about childhood friends who marry in Vegas and embark on a wild ride to find their happily ever after.

With two protective older brothers and a traditional Catholic Italian mother, it’s surprising that Chloe D’Angelo can manage a date without someone in the family naysaying her romantic choice. And Dante Mancuso…oh, no. Her brother’s best friend is not a dating-app right swipe.

But when they are left unsupervised on a late night in Vegas, all of that changes. Add in a Vegas wedding chapel and a couple of “I dos” and Chloe wakes up with a ring on her finger and a hangover. Dating Dante was always a secret desire, but marriage? The rift that this news would cause in her family has the both of them keeping their nuptials to themselves as they scramble to undo their Vegas mistake.

Dante knew the rules: Chloe was off limits. Only he can’t stop once his mind starts to believe she might be his forever. Just as their attraction deepens, Chloe flees to Bali, desperate to clear her head.

All Dante has to do is keep her brothers from killing him and convince her that they are meant for each other. But first, Dante has to find her.


Review:

Charming, uplifting, and sweet!

Be Your Everything is an intimate, alluring tale that takes you into the life of the supportive, troubled Chloe D’Angelo who, after drunkenly marrying the man of her dreams during a pit stop at a Vegas chapel, travels to Bali to indulge in some rest and relaxation, find some peace from her lovable but overbearing Italian family, and give her self some time and space away from the one man, her brother’s best friend Dante Mancuso, who always seems to break her heart.

The writing is crisp and light. The characters are charismatic, loyal, and endearing. And the plot is an enchanting mix of life, love, heartbreak, friendship, introspection, palpable chemistry, familial drama, sizzling chemistry, awkward moments, and swoon-worthy romantic gestures.

I’m not sure there’s a Catherine Bybee book out there that I haven’t enjoyed and that isn’t well written with the perfect mix of heart, hope, and heat, and Be Your Everything is no exception. I  loved the storyline, I loved the characters, 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 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.

#BookReview Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath @VirginiaHeath_ @smpromance @StMartinsPress #NeverRescueaRogue #VirginiaHeath #MerriwellSisters #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath @VirginiaHeath_ @smpromance @StMartinsPress #NeverRescueaRogue #VirginiaHeath #MerriwellSisters #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: Never Rescue a Rogue

Author: Virginia Heath

Series: The Merriwell Sisters #2

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Nov. 8, 2022

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Virginia Heath’s Never Rescue a Rogue, the next book in the Merriwell Sisters series, is filled with whip-smart banter, swoony romance, hilarious mishaps, and twisty reveals that will make you gasp and laugh in delight.

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle. But they do have one thing in common—the secrets they can’t risk escaping.

When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son’s birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that the two of them insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. Soon, the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line…


Review:

Scandalous, seductive, and fun!

Never Rescue a Rogue is a playful, heartwarming tale that sweeps you away to London during 1826 and into the life of Diana Merriwell, a young, clever journalist who is determined to keep her identity as “The Sentinel” a secret at any cost, even if it means befriending and helping the annoyingly handsome, newly appointed Duke of Harpenden, Giles Sinclair who seems to be inundated with troubles and devastating secrets of his own.

The prose is amusing and light. The characters are loyal, charming, and endearing. And the plot is a delightfully enchanting tale full of family, friendship, societal expectations, scheming behaviour, tricky situations, desire, illegitimacy, danger, and steamy romance.

Overall, Never Rescue a Roque is a fast-paced, enticing, highly entertaining read by Heath that is the second book in The Merriwell Sisters series and a novel that I absolutely adored.

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Virginia Heath

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Fortunately, the lovely people at Harlequin Mills & Boon took pity on her and decided to publish her romances, but it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

#BookReview Some Dukes Have All the Luck (Synneful Spinsters #1) by Christina Britton @cbrittonauthor @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2022 #ChristinaBritton #SomeDukesHaveAlltheLuck #SynnefulSpinisters

#BookReview Some Dukes Have All the Luck (Synneful Spinsters #1) by Christina Britton @cbrittonauthor @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForever2022 #ChristinaBritton #SomeDukesHaveAlltheLuck #SynnefulSpinisters Title: Some Dukes Have All the Luck

Author: Christina Britton

Series: Synneful Spinsters #1

Published by: Forever on Nov. 8, 2022

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 343

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

Ash Hawkins, Duke of Buckley, no more wants to marry than he wants a stick in his eye. As the owner of a gaming hell, he is all too aware the odds of a happy marriage are against him. But raising his three rebellious wards alone is proving more than he can handle. He needs to find someone who stands to benefit from a marriage of convenience as much as he does. Someone logical, clinical, and rational. And in a stroke of luck, he quite literally stumbles over just such a woman.

After years of ridicule for being more interested in bugs than boys, Bronwyn has accepted that she’ll never marry for love. Her parents, however, are threatening to find her a husband. Bronwyn doesn’t need any scientific research to show her Ash has secrets. But his proposal would give her the freedom to continue her entomology research and perhaps finally get published. Just as long as she can keep her mind on her work and off his piercing eyes, broad shoulders, and wicked, wicked tongue.


Review:

Enticing, scandalous, and witty!

Some Dukes Have All the Luck is set on the Isle of Synne during 1820 and features the intelligent, entomology enthusiast Bronwyn and the dashingly handsome gambling den owner Ash as they navigate three unruly wards in need of supervision, a marriage of convenience with unexpected consequences, and an abundance of undeniable attraction, respect and admiration.

The prose is amusing and light. The characters are focused, determined, and passionate. And the plot is a push-pull tale of life, love, trust, expectations, support, determination, familial drama, and class division.

Christina Britton is the author of one of my all-time favourite historical romance series, Isle of Synne, so when I heard she was writing a spinoff series I was over the moon, and Some Dukes Have All the Luck did not disappoint. It’s another engaging, entertaining, alluring read by Britton, and as always, I can guarantee I will be first in line to read whatever book she decides to write next.

 

This novel is available now.

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

               

 

 

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

 

About Christina Britton

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

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

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview A Curse of Queens by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #ACurseofQueens #kingmakerseries #kingmakerchronicles #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction

#BookReview A Curse of Queens by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #ACurseofQueens #kingmakerseries #kingmakerchronicles #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction Title: A Curse of Queens

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Series: The Kingmaker Chronicles #4

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Oct. 4, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Pages: 496

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

Discover an all-new adventure in USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Bouchet’s thrilling, white-hot fantasy series, The Kingmaker Chronicles!

The queen has been cursed, and no one knows who’s behind the plot to threaten the realm’s fragile peace. Desperate to help, Jocasta hatches a plan to find Circe’s Garden, a fabled island where she hopes to discover an antidote. But she can’t do it alone. She needs the strong arm and unflinching bravery of the warrior she’s loved since childhood—her brother’s right-hand-man and captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta.

Together they can do the impossible. Yet with treachery brewing on Mount Olympus, one thing is clear: Thalyria and its new royals are still pawns in an epic game of power—one that might end in a War of Gods.


Review:

Complex, adventurous, and enthralling!

A Curse of Queens is an action-packed, seductive tale that takes us into the life of Jocasta, King Griffin’s younger sister and small-town healer who, after discovering the possible solution to the curse that binds her sister-in-law Queen Catalia and threatens overall peace in the kingdom, embarks on a treacherous journey to Circe’s Garden with the help of the one man who doesn’t seem to realize just how much he owns her heart, the talented and reliable captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta in the hopes of finally discovering the magical antidote that could save them all.

The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, fearless, and dependable. And the plot is a thrilling tale full of twists, turns, duty, danger, destruction, heartbreak, family, friendship, violence, tormented pasts, and unconditional love.

Overall, A Curse of Queens is a creative, passionate, epic fantastical novel by Bouchet that is brimming with dangerous quests, soul-searching dilemmas, sizzling romance, and complex, intriguing characters that once again kept me immersed and entertained from the very first page and is the perfect addition to the Kingmaker Chronicles series that I’m pretty sure I will never get enough of.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Amanda Bouchet

Amanda Bouchet grew up in New England where she spent much of her time tromping around in the woods and making up grand adventures in her head. It was inevitable that one day she would start writing them down. Drawing on her Greek heritage for the setting and on her love of all things daring and romantic for the rest, her debut trilogy, The Kingmaker Chronicles, took form. She writes what she loves to read: epic exploits, steamy romance, and characters that make you laugh and cry.

Her first novel, A Promise of Fire, won several Romance Writers of America chapter contests, including the Orange Rose Contest and the paranormal category of the prestigious Golden Pen.

Amanda is a French master's graduate and former English teacher. She lives in Paris, France with her two bilingual children who will soon be correcting her French.

Photo by Richard Beban.

#BookReview The Patient’s Secret by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @AmazonPub @ThomasAllenLTD #ThePatientsSecret #LorethAnneWhite #Montlake

#BookReview The Patient’s Secret by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @AmazonPub @ThomasAllenLTD #ThePatientsSecret #LorethAnneWhite #Montlake Title: The Patient's Secret

Author: Loreth Anne White

Published by: Montlake Romance on Mar. 8, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Thomas Allen & Son

Book Rating: 9/10

Secrets worth dying―and killing―for, in a novel of suspense inspired by a horrific true crime by Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author Loreth Anne White.

When the battered body of a female jogger is found beneath the cliffs of an idyllic coastal community, these perfect neighbors suddenly don’t seem so perfect…

Lily Bradley is a respected psychotherapist married to a distinguished professor. They live in a dream house with their two children in close-knit Story Cove. Lily lives a well-ordered life. Or so it seems. As a therapist, she knows everyone keeps things hidden. Even her.

Then sensual and free-spirited Arwen Harper rolls into town in her hand-painted VW van, her sixteen-year-old son riding shotgun. Overnight, Story Cove’s secrets are no longer safe. Because Arwen might know her new neighbors better than they know themselves.

Now someone is dead, and it looks like murder. Brutal and personal. The death invites the shrewd eye of Detective Rue Duval. Rue’s job is to expose secrets. But she’s also an expert at keeping them.

As the lives of three women become inexorably entwined, one thing is clear: when it comes to survival, ordinary people can do the most terrible things.


Review:

Unsettling, twisty, and intricate!

The Patient’s Secret is a tortuous, disturbing mystery that takes you into the lives of a handful of people, including the successful psychotherapist Lily Bradley, whose worlds get turned upside down when the bloodied body of a new arrival to the community is found shattered at the bottom of the cliffs leaving some residents devastated by loss, some overwhelmingly consumed with fear, some extremely worried the past will finally collide with the present, and all of them scrambling to keep their darkest secrets hidden and buried for good.

The writing is brisk and sharp. The characters are tormented, scarred, and vulnerable. And the plot, told from alternating POVs and using a back-and-forth style, is an eerie whodunit full of twists, turns, lies, deception, familial drama, mental illness, adultery, depravity, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Patient’s Secret is another fast-paced, gripping, sophisticated tale by White that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me chilled, satisfied, and curious to see what her devious mind could possibly 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 Thomas Allen & Son for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Loreth Anne White

Loreth Anne White is an award-winning, bestselling author of romantic suspense, thrillers, and mysteries.

A three-time RITA finalist, she has also won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall, in addition to being a Booksellers’ Best finalist, a multiple Daphne Du Maurier Award finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner.

A former journalist and newspaper editor who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing, you will find her skiing, biking, or hiking the trails with her Black Dog.

#BookReview That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall @Leciacornwall @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #ThatSummerinBerlin #LeciaCornwall #UplitReads #gifted

#BookReview That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall @Leciacornwall @uplitreads @BerkleyPub #ThatSummerinBerlin #LeciaCornwall #UplitReads #gifted Title: That Summer in Berlin

Author: Lecia Cornwall

Published by: Berkley Books on Oct. 11, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 9/10

In the summer of 1936, while the Nazis make secret plans for World War II, a courageous and daring young woman struggles to expose the lies behind the dazzling spectacle of the Berlin Olympics.

German power is rising again, threatening a war that will be even worse than the last one. The English aristocracy turns to an age-old institution to stave off war and strengthen political bonds—marriage. Debutantes flock to Germany, including Viviane Alden. On holiday with her sister during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Viviane’s true purpose is more clandestine. While many in England want to appease Hitler, others seek to prove Germany is rearming. But they need evidence, photographs to tell the tale, and Viviane is a genius with her trusty Leica. And who would suspect a pretty, young tourist taking holiday snaps of being a spy?

Viviane expects to find hatred and injustice, but during the Olympics, with the world watching, Germany is on its best behavior, graciously welcoming tourists to a festival of peace and goodwill. But first impressions can be deceiving, and it’s up to Viviane and the journalist she’s paired with—a daring man with a guarded heart—to reveal the truth.

But others have their own reasons for befriending Viviane, and her adventure takes a darker turn. Suddenly Viviane finds herself caught in a web of far more deadly games—and closer than she ever imagined to the brink of war.


Review:

Compelling, vivid, and absorbing!

That Summer in Berlin is a captivating tale predominately set in Berlin in 1936 that takes you into the lives of two main characters; Viviane Alden, a young woman who turns down the marriage to a duke in order to pursue her passion for photography, and Tom Graham, an undercover journalist and illegitimate son of a Scottish Earl who under the guise of reporting on the Summer Olympics, recruits his friend and fellow British acquaintance to help him secretly spy and discover if Germany is slyly preparing to start another world war.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are independent, spirited, and brave. And the plot is an evocative tale of life, loss, love, self-discovery, war, secrets, friendship, determination, betrayal, family, espionage, and romance.

Overall, That Summer in Berlin is an intriguing, absorbing, atmospheric tale by Cornwall that does a lovely job of blending historical events, intense emotion, and thought-provoking suspense.

 

This novel is available now.

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Thank you to Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lecia Cornwall

was born in the wrong century. I must have been. I’ve always been more comfortable with history than modern life—except for essential modern conveniences like flush toilets, hot running water, immersion blenders, and iPads.
Originally from Ontario, I now call the foothills of Canada’s Rocky Mountains home. I am the author of sixteen novels. The Woman at the Front (October 2021) was my first historical fiction title. It is being followed by That Summer in Berlin, coming this October! I write full time, love gardening (though many plants come to my house just to die), knit (and purl!), adopt stray creatures (usually cats), and create magical worlds from cardboard, paint, and glue. If I’m not at my desk working on my next book, you can find me walking my dog ( Andy, the indefatigable chocolate Lab) by the Bow River, or volunteering at a local museum.

Photo credit: Laurie MacBrown