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07
May
2025

#BookReview A Thousand Natural Shocks by Omar Hussain @BlackstoneAudio #OmarHussain #AThousandNaturalShocks #BlackstonePublishing #BlackstoneInsiders

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction

Title: A Thousand Natural Shocks

Author: Omar Hussain

Published by: Blackstone Publishing on May 6, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Blackstone Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Omar Hussain’s dazzling debut, A Thousand Natural Shocks, is a mesmerizing meditation on trauma, memory, and identity wrapped in a high-octane thriller.

Dash, a reporter in Monterey, California, is desperate to outrun his past. During the day, he investigates the reemergence of a long-dormant serial killer. At night, he has become entangled with a criminal cult that promises a pill to erase his traumatic memory.

But as Dash begins to lose his memories—and his sense of self—he discovers a dark secret about the cult, one that would horrify its members. And soon he finds himself in a race against time to evade the cult, unveil the killer, and reconcile his past before his own memories fade away …

Review:

Intricate, gritty, and unsettling!

A Thousand Natural Shocks is a dark, compelling tale that takes you into the life of reporter Dash Hassan as his life begins to spiral out of control when he joins a wellness cult whose intentions are not quite what they seem, he overindulges in memory-erasing pills, and he triggers a serial killer to come out of retirement when he makes up a story in order to save his career.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are vulnerable, impulsive, and tormented. And the plot is an engrossing tale full of desperation, manipulation, family, troubled pasts, haunting memories, trauma, paranoia, death, and murder.

Overall, A Thousand Natural Shocks is a dark, atmospheric, promising debut by Hussain that kept me enthralled from the very first page and left me entertained, satisfied, and eager to read whatever his 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 Blackstone Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Omar Hussain

Omar Hussain is a writer from the San Francisco Bay Area currently living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He holds an MFA in creative writing from NYU. A Thousand Natural Shocks is his first novel.

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06
May
2025

#BookReview What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #WhatHappensInAmsterdam #RachelLynnSolomon #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance

Title: What Happens in Amsterdam

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Published by: Berkley on May 6, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Falling in love with your husband is anything but convenient in this steamy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Business or Pleasure.

Dani Dorfman has somehow made it to her thirties without knowing what she wants to do with her life. So when an office romance ends poorly and gets her fired, she applies for a job in Amsterdam, idly dreaming of escaping the mess she’s created, but never imagining she’ll actually get it.

Except she does. By the end of her first week in Amsterdam, she’s never felt more adrift or alone. Then she crashes her bike into her high school ex-boyfriend—and suddenly life is blooming with new opportunities.

Wouter van Leeuwen was a Dutch exchange student Dani’s family hosted, a forbidden love that ended in a painful breakup. Years later, there’s still sizzling chemistry between them, and okay, maybe a little animosity. More importantly, Wouter needs to be married to inherit a gorgeous family home on a canal—and when Dani’s job falls apart, she needs a visa. As the marriage of convenience pushes them together in unexpected ways, Dani must decide whether her new life is yet another mistake—or if it’s worth taking a risk on a second chance.

Review:

Romantic, humorous, and sentimental!

What Happens in Amsterdam is a sweet, amusing tale featuring the kind, unmoored Dani and the handsome, considerate Wouter as they discover that there may be more to their relationship than just history, pretence, convenience, and fake feelings.

The writing is honest and light. The characters are endearing, fun-loving, and supportive. And the plot is a delightful mix of life, love, family, friendship, patience, understanding, palpable attraction, scorching chemistry, tender moments, nostalgia, and second chances.

Overall, What Happens in Amsterdam is a heartwarming, engaging, satisfying tale by Solomon that I thoroughly enjoyed and which, in my opinion, is a great choice for anyone who loves a good romcom set in an idyllic locale that has a whole lot of hope, humour, and heart.

This novel is available now.

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

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Rachel Lynn Solomon

Rachel Lynn Solomon is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk, Weather Girl, and other romantic comedies for teens and adults. Originally from Seattle, she's currently navigating expat life in Amsterdam, where she can often be found exploring the city, collecting stationery, and working up the courage to knit her first sweater.

Photo by Dennis Heeringa

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05
May
2025

#BookReview Climbing in Heels by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas @StMartinsPress #ClimbingInHeels #ElaineGoldsmithThomas #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction

Title: Climbing in Heels

Author: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Apr. 29, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Climbing in Heels, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas’s debut novel, is a fictional tale of the rise of three secretaries at the hottest agency in 1980’s Hollywood, giving you a glimpse into the boys-will-be-boys club and the women who wanted a seat at a table where they were expected to serve. It’s the story of friendship, betrayal, survival, standing up when they pass you by, and saying I won’t go when they want you gone. And it’s also a story about how some of those women became very much like the monsters who trained them.

Meet Beanie Rosen, the fast-talking and even faster-thinking Valley girl who knows where she wants to go, and doesn’t care if she doesn’t look the part.

Mercedes Baxter, who learned early on how to leverage the monied friends of her monied friends’ parents until she found a foothold in Hollywood.

And Ella Gaddy, a sexy free-spirit anti-debutante from a white-glove Kentucky home who shakes up any room she walks into.

Read Climbing in Heels and watch these women meet, meld, fight, strategize and climb their way into your heart.

A rollicking tale of sex, drugs, and power – in heels.

Review:

Addictive, salacious, and entertaining!

Climbing in Heels is an immersive, provocative tale that takes you into the lives of the rich, glamorous, and famous, as well as the not-so-important people of 1980s Hollywood and reminds us that not everything is always as it seems and amongst all the designer clothes and extravagant mansions there’s also an abundance of sex, power, ambition, temptation, rivalry, jealousy, and deception.

The writing is effortless and fun. The characters are self-obsessed, relentless, and driven. And the plot is a captivating mix of life, love, fame, fortune, secrets, despicable behaviours, friendship, drama, and the intricacies of movie-making.

Overall, Climbing in Heels is an exciting, seductive, amusing tale by Goldsmith-Thomas that highlights her impressive behind-the-scenes knowledge of the motion picture industry.

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 Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas

ELAINE GOLDSMITH THOMAS began her career at the William Morris Agency and rose by the late 1980’s to become the Senior Vice President of the WMA, and later the Senior Vice President of ICM, guiding the careers of, among others, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Nicholas Cage, and Madonna. More recently, she has produced a broad, successful slate of films and television series including Maid in Manhattan, Mona Lisa Smile, Hustlers, Marry Me, Emily in Paris, The Fosters and many others.

Photo Credit: Ian Buiosi

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01
May
2025

#BookReview The Midnight Secret by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheMidnightSecret #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Noteworthy Book Releases

Title: The Midnight Secret

Author: Karen Swan

Series: The Wild Isle #4

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 1, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

If there’s one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it’s that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda – but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight – but only ever forsees her fellow islanders’ deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.

When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne’s bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there’s no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda’s evacuation.

But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and those closest to her are implicated.

On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn’t done with them yet.

Review:

Captivating, heart-tugging, and nostalgic!

The Midnight Secret is a compelling, beautiful tale that takes you back one last time to 1930 and into the lives of a handful of previous St. Kilda residents, including the kind Jayne Ferguson, as long-buried secrets come to light, love is lost and found, justice is finally served, and some get to make one final trip to the place they used to call home.

The prose is lyrical and rich. The characters are layered, loyal, and conflicted. And the plot is a captivating, heartwarming tale of life, loss, love, family, friendship, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, revelations, self-reflection, and forgiveness.

Overall, The Midnight Secret is a poignant, passionate, epic, historical fiction novel by Swan inspired by real-life events that is full of soul-searching dilemmas, dangerous situations, and complex, intriguing characters. And while it’s extremely bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing cast of characters I’ve come to be invested in over these last four novels, it is nevertheless a brilliant ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret.

Photograph by Alexander James

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30
Apr
2025

#BookReview Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas @StMartinsPress #ToughLuckNovel #SandraDallas #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction

Title: Tough Luck

Author: Sandra Dallas

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 29, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 288

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

In this homage to True Grit, a young woman makes a perilous journey west in 1863 in search of her gold-mining father.

After their mother dies, Haidie Richards and her younger brother, Boots, are put to work in an orphanage. Their father left four years earlier to find a gold mine in Colorado Territory, and since then he’s sent only three letters. Still, Haidie is certain that he is alive, has struck gold, and will soon send for them.

But patience is not one of Haidie’s virtues and soon she and her brother make a break for it. Boots and Haidie, disguised as a boy, embark on a dangerous journey deep into Western territory. Along the way, Haidie learns fast not only how to handle mules, oxen, and greedy men, but also that you are better off in a community. Hers includes a card shark, independent “spinster” sisters, and a very fierce dog. Once she arrives in Colorado and finds out the truth about her father, Haidie will need all her new friends for a get-even plot worthy of The Sting.

Filled with vivid period detail, colorful characters, and the irreverent voice of our scrappy heroine, Tough Luck celebrates both the tenacity of youth and the persistence of the heart in the great American West.

Review:

Heart-tugging, uplifting, and evocative!

Tough Luck is an absorbing tale set in 1863 that takes you into the life of Haidie Richards, a fourteen-year-old-girl who, after her mother dies and her older brother decides to sell the farm, escapes the orphanage with her little brother and does whatever she has to in order to make her way to Denver to find their estranged father who left years ago in search of riches in the west.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are strong, courageous, and resilient. And the plot is a tender tale of life, loss, heartbreak, determination, hardship, hope, secrets, survival, love, and friendship.

Overall, Tough Luck is an atmospheric, hopeful, captivating tale by Dallas that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, personalities, and lives of the characters you can’t help but root for them.

This novel is now available in paperback.

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 Sandra Dallas

Sandra Dallas, dubbed “a quintessential American voice” in Vogue Magazine, is the author of over a dozen novels, including Prayers for Sale and Tallgrass, many translated into a dozen languages and optioned for films. Six-time winner of the Willa Award and four-time winner of the Spur Award, Dallas was a Business Week reporter for 25 years covering the Rocky Mountain region, and began writing fiction in 1990. She has two daughters and lives with her husband in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado.

Photo Credit: Povy Kendal Atchison.

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29
Apr
2025

#BookReview Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick @PenguinCanada @PenguinRandomCA @doubledayca #FavouriteDaughter #MorganDick #PenguinReads #PenguinCanada

categories: 8/10, Book Review, General Fiction

Title: Favourite Daughter

Author: Morgan Dick

Published by: Doubleday Canada on Apr. 29, 2025

Genres: General Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

After her father abandoned Mickey and her mother for his new family, Mickey resolved never to think of him again. Years later, she’s fine without him. Yes, she drinks, but only sometimes—and, really, she can’t not. But with only $181 to her name, she’s not above attending some mandated therapy to access the not-insignificant inheritance he’s left her in the wake of his death. She’ll happily kneel at the Kleenex altar if it means she’ll soon be bingeing Bridgerton with a bottle of Russian Standard, five million dollars richer.

One town over, Arlo has more issues than most of her clients. Being a therapist has not prepared her for grief. She adored her father—his laughter, his charm, the smell of his cologne. She thought he adored her, too, but now he’s given his inheritance to a daughter no one knows, and Arlo is at a loss.

But unbeknownst to either woman, their problematic father had one dying wish, throwing them together on a crash course that will either break—or save—them both.

Review:

Intense, sobering, and thought-provoking!

Favourite Daughter is a perceptive, compelling tale that takes you into the lives of Mickey and Arlo, two young women who are both struggling to come to grips with the loss of their father, pasts filled with secrets and abuse, familial relationships that are strained and fractured, and a half-sister they’ve never met.

The prose is sombre and raw. The characters are complex, damaged, and burdened. And the plot uses a sensitive, reflective style to unravel all the personalities, motivations, and relationships within it.

Favourite Daughter is ultimately a novel about life, loss, family, secrets, grief, abuse, alcoholism, addiction, forgiveness, and the long-lasting effects of a dysfunctional childhood. It’s a well-written, emotional debut by Dick that does a great job of reminding us that everyone who enters our lives, no matter the length of time, impacts, shapes, and defines it.

This novel is available now.

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

Thank you to Penguin Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

About Morgan Dick

Morgan Dick is a writer from Calgary, Canada. Her short fiction has appeared in Grain, Geist, CAROUSEL, Cloud Lake Literary, The Prairie Journal, Vagabond City Lit, and The Humber Literary Review. Her debut novel draws from her time working in the mental health field.

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26
Apr
2025

#BookReview What Hunts Inside the Shadows by Harper L. Woods @torbooks #WhatHuntsInsideTheShadows #OfFlesh&BoneSeries #HarperLWoods #torbooks

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Fantasy

Title: What Hunts Inside the Shadows

Author: Harper L. Woods

Series: Of Flesh & Bone #2

Published by: Bramble on Mar. 18, 2025

Genres: Fantasy

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Source: Tor Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

Once, I fell in love with a man who deceived me.

For weeks, he stood by my side, twisting his words into pretty half-truths. He enraptured me with his smooth temptation, leaving no corner of my being untouched. He consumed my mind and my body, then finally claimed my heart for himself. But Caelum’s true identity is terrifying enough to bring me to my knees.

Then, I discovered the truth of who he is.

Caldris is whispered in the Nothrek wind. The legend we only speak of with hushed words, in shuttered rooms, for fear of drawing his wrath once again. His intentions are a mystery, his desires impure, and he seeks to shackle me to his side for all eternity. With the Wild Hunt as our guard, he points us back to where it all began: the village of Mistfell and the boundary where the Veil once shimmered in the wind.

Now, another secret crouches, poised to change everything.

The Mist Guard have been sworn to keep us from crossing into Alfheimr, and from treading Faerie soil, even if innocents must pay with their lives. They have orders to resurrect Mistfell’s shimmering barrier, but, once again, there’s a greater cost than what has been revealed. Once, the people of Northrek blamed me when the Veil fell.

Soon, they’ll want me to pay the price the magic requires.

Review:

Fantastical, fierce, and slow-burning!

What Hunts Inside the Shadows is a fervent, immersive tale that takes us back into the life of Estrella as her relationship with Caelum unfolds and develops further, she begins to realize everyone has something to hide, danger lurks around every corner, and it suddenly becomes very clear that the line between love and hate is extremely thin.

The writing is edgy and tight. The characters are consumed, devoted, and secretive. And the plot is a suspenseful tale of deception, manipulation, revelations, obsession, seduction, betrayal, violence and magic.

Overall, What Hunts Inside the Shadows is a creative, spicy, entertaining tale by Woods that kept me engaged from start to finish, and with its cliffhanger-type ending has undoubtedly left me counting down the days until I have the opportunity to read the third novel in the Of Flesh & Bone series to find out how this epic battle will continue.

This book is available now.

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

Thank you to Tor Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Harper L. Woods

Harper L. Woods is the USA Today bestselling fantasy romance alter ego for Adelaide Forrest. Raised in small-town Vermont, her passion for reading was born during long winters spent with her face buried between the pages of a book. She began to pass the time by writing short stories that quickly turned into full-length fiction. Since that time, she has published over 15 books and has plans for many more. When she isn't writing, Harper can be found spending time with her two young kids, curled up with her dog, dreaming about travel to distant lands, or designing book covers she'll never have enough time to use.

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24
Apr
2025

#BookReview The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer @BelindaBauerBooks @PGCBooks @groveatlantic #TheImpossibleThing #BelindaBauer #PGCBooks

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Title: The Impossible Thing

Author: Belinda Bauer

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Apr. 18, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner and Booker longlisted author Belinda Bauer comes this sweeping tale of obsession, greed, ambition, and a crime that has remained unsolved for a hundred years.

How do you find something that doesn’t exist?

1926. On the cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. A small girl—penniless and neglected by her family—retrieves one such treasure. Its discovery will forever alter the course of her life.

A century later. In a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort finds his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.

Review:

Suspenseful, simmering, and humorous!

The Impossible Thing is a crafty, twisty tale set in Yorkshire during the early 1920s, as well as present-day Wales, that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Celie, a young girl from an impoverished family who, due to her size, ends up retrieving one rare guillemot egg each year for thirty years for a wealthy collector, and Patrick Fort, a man with special talents who, after “Weird Nick” his friend and neighbour is burglarized, offers to help hunt down and retrieve the fancy wooden box containing a red egg that surprisingly was the only thing stolen.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters are quirky, charming, and determined. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, is a captivating tale full of red herrings, amateur sleuthing, dangerous endeavours, deduction, secrets, deception, and the fascinating world of oology.

Overall, The Impossible Thing is another creative, amusing, beautifully written tale by Bauer that was not only entertaining and nostalgic but also thoroughly enjoyable and interesting.

This novel 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 Belinda Bauer

BELINDA BAUER is the award-winning author of seven previous novels that have been translated into twenty-one languages. She won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Crime Novel of the Year forBlacklands, the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award forRubbernecker, and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award for outstanding body of work. Her previous novel, Snap, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She lives in Wales.

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23
Apr
2025

#BookReview The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page @BlackstoneAudio #SallyPage #TheSecretsOfFlowers #BlackstonePublishing #BlackstoneInsiders

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Title: The Secrets of Flowers

Author: Sally Page

Published by: Blackstone Publishing on Feb. 25, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Blackstone Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the author of the phenomenal bestsellers The Keeper of Stories and The Book of Beginnings comes an utterly beautiful and uplifting novel.

One year on from the death of her husband, Emma feels no closer to moving forward with her life. Seeking distraction, she quits her job and begins working at the local garden centre.

Here, Emma begins to open up and finds herself attending boss Les’ talk on the Titanic. Intrigued, Emma sets out to research who would have arranged the flowers on-board.

Alongside her story unfolds the tale of a stewardess on the Titanic, who Emma can’t help but feel connected to…

With an array of inspiring and heart-warming characters, this is a novel of friendship, unexpected connections, and of hope.

Review:

Captivating, rich, and absorbing!

The Secrets of Flowers is predominately set in England during the early 1900s, as well as present day, and is told from two different perspectives. Emma, a grieving widow who endeavours to discover everything she can about the person responsible for arranging the flowers on the Titanic, and Violet, a young woman whose life takes an unexpected twist when she becomes a stewardess on one of the most famous ocean liners ever.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are troubled, determined, and endearing. And the plot is a moving tale about life, love, loss, emotion, betrayal, family, friendship, heartbreak, guilt, grief, hope, and regret.

Overall, The Secrets of Flowers is a heartwarming, alluring, compelling tale by Page that highlights the beauty and power of flowers and is a wonderful choice for anyone who enjoys a dual timeline story with both a sliver of mystery and a touch 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 Blackstone Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Sally Page

After studying history at university, Sally moved to London to work in advertising. However, in her spare time she studied floristry at night school and eventually opened her own flower shop. She soon came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and eventually she began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, she continued her interest in writing when she founded her fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk.

In her debut novel, The Keeper of Stories, Sally combines her love of history and writing with her abiding interest in the stories people have to tell. Sally now lives in Dorset. Her eldest daughter, Alex, is studying to be a doctor and her youngest daughter is the author, Libby Page.

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22
Apr
2025

#BookReview Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #GreatBigBeautifulLife #EmilyHenry #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance

Title: Great Big Beautiful Life

Author: Emily Henry

Published by: Berkley on Apr. 22, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years–or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Review:

Addictive, charming, and fun!

Great Big Beautiful Life is an amusing, feel-good romance that takes you into the lives of both Alice Scott, a young aspiring novelist who is determined to finally get her big break writing the biography of the infamous Margaret Ives, and the broody, handsome Hayden Anderson who has the career of his dreams and is looking to write one more successful book until he’s required to compete for the job against a woman who may finally challenge his long-standing views on life and love.

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

Overall, Great Big Beautiful Life is another enchanting, optimistic, delightful tale by Henry that is the perfect blend of heart, hope, humour, and heat and is undoubtedly one of the must-read novels for summer 2025.

This novel is available now.

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

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Emily Henry

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

Photo by Devyn Glista/St. Blanc Studios.

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