Format: Paperback

#BookReview The Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller @dcbiller @smpromance @StMartinsPress #HotelofSecretsNovel #DianaBiller #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview The Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller @dcbiller @smpromance @StMartinsPress #HotelofSecretsNovel #DianaBiller #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: The Hotel of Secrets

Author: Diana Biller

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Mar. 28, 2023

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

During ball season, anything can happen, even love.

It’s ball season in Vienna, and Maria Wallner only wants one thing: to restore her family’s hotel, the Hotel Wallner, to its former glory. She’s not going to let anything get in her way – not her parents’ three-decade-long affair; not seemingly-random attacks by masked assassins; and especially not the broad-shouldered American foreign agent who’s saved her life two times already. No matter how luscious his mouth is.

Eli Whittaker also only wants one thing: to find out who is selling American secret codes across Europe, arrest them, and go home to his sensible life in Washington, DC. He has one lead – a letter the culprit sent from a Viennese hotel. But when he arrives in Vienna, he is immediately swept up into a chaotic whirlwind of balls, spies, waltzes, and beautiful hotelkeepers who seem to constantly find themselves in danger. He disapproves of all of it! But his disapproval is tested as he slowly falls deeper into the chaos – and as his attraction to said hotelkeeper grows.


Review:

Enticing, adventurous, and fun!

Hotel of Secrets is a passionate, compelling tale that sweeps you away to Vienna during 1878 and into the life of Maria Wallner, a hardworking, intelligent young woman who embarks on a mission to do whatever it takes to get her family’s hotel refurbished in time to host the illustrious Hotelkeeper’s Ball, even if it means that with all the mysterious mishaps, accidents, and lack of money she may have to befriend and ask for help from the frustratingly handsome, American secret service agent Eli Whittaker who seems to be on a mission of his own.

The prose is smooth and light. The characters are resilient, independent, and resourceful. And the plot is an enchantingly scandalous combination of life, love, friendship, secrets, history, adventure, opulence, familial drama, wicked intentions, malevolent behaviours, tender moments, and delectable romance.

Overall, Hotel of Secrets is an entertaining, intriguing, satisfying read by Biller that was a pleasant surprise with its exceptional character development, swoon-worthy ending, twisty, action-packed storyline, and unique setting that’s often not found in this genre.

 

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Diana Biller

Diana Biller is the author of The Widow of Rose House and The Brightest Star in Paris. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys snuggling her animals, taking “research” trips abroad, and attending ballet class. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles.

Photo Credit: Lantz Simpson.

#BookReview A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins @MandaCollins @readforeverpub @HBGCanada @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2023 #MandaCollins #ASpinstersGuidetoDangerandDukes #LadiesMostScandalous

#BookReview A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes by Manda Collins @MandaCollins @readforeverpub @HBGCanada @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2023 #MandaCollins #ASpinstersGuidetoDangerandDukes #LadiesMostScandalous Title: A Spinster's Guide to Danger and Dukes

Author: Manda Collins

Series: A Lady's Guide #3

Published by: Forever on Mar. 28, 2023

Genres: Historical Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a lady in danger must be in need of rescue, but whether she wants to be rescued is up for debate—for fans of Evie Dunmore and Netflix’s Bridgerton from the bestselling author of A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem!

England, 1867: Miss Poppy Delamare is living a lie. To escape an odious betrothal, she fled to London where she’s been hiding as the unassuming secretary Flora Deaver. However, when her beloved sister is accused of murder, Poppy cannot leave her to the wolves. Only a most unexpected—and unwelcome—collision interrupts her journey home . . .

Despite a rather dismal first meeting, Joshua Fielding, the Duke of Langham, has no intention of abandoning a lady in need. But he’s not above asking a favor. A fake betrothal will give Poppy and her sister the power of the dukedom and protect Langham from the society misses intent on becoming his duchess.

Yet the longer the ruse goes on, the more Poppy and Langham realize how false their first impressions were—and the less pretend their engagement feels. But before Langham can propose in truth, their search reveals a tangled web of lies and betrayals. With time running out, can Poppy and Langham find the real culprit—before Poppy becomes the next victim?


Review:

Mysterious, romantic, and entertaining!

A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes sweeps you away to the British countryside during 1867 and into the life of the independent, reliable Poppy Delamare who, after discovering her sister is accused of murdering her conniving husband, quickly heads home to do whatever it takes to prove her innocence even if it means agreeing to a fake engagement with the handsome, arrogant Duke of Langham, Joshua Fielding.

The prose is witty and sharp. The characters are resourceful, vulnerable, and passionate. And the plot is a fulfilling blend of family, friendship, danger, desire, societal expectations, scheming behaviour, tricky situations, awkward moments, secrets, attraction, and true love.

Overall, A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes is another humorous, charming, adventurous addition to the Ladies Most Scandalous series by Collins, complete with characters I couldn’t help but root for and a swoon-worthy ending that left me smitten, satisfied, and hopeful that there’s still a lot more to come!

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Manda Collins

Manda Collins grew up on a combination of Nancy Drew books and Jane Austen novels, and her own brand of historical romantic suspense is the result. A former academic librarian, she holds master’s degrees in English and Library & Information Studies. Her novel Duke with Benefits was named a Kirkus Best Romance of 2017. She lives on the Gulf Coast with two lazy cats, a very spoiled Shih Tzu, and more books than are strictly necessary.

Photograph courtesy of read-forever.com.

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

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

Author: Sarah Steele

Published by: Mobius on Mar. 21, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback

Source: Mobius Books US

Book Rating: 10/10

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

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

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

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


Review:

Immersive, memorable, and moving!

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

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

Overall, The Lost Song of Paris is an absorbing, poignant, beautifully written novel by Steele that does a wonderful job of showcasing the hard work, bravery, and danger involved in being an SIS officer in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. It’s now the second novel I’ve read and absolutely loved by Steele, and I can guarantee that whatever she decides to write next will always hold a top spot on my TBR list.

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

 

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

 

About Sarah Steele

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

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

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

 

#BookReview The Good Luck Cafe (Somerset Lake #4) by Annie Rains @AnnieRainsBooks @ReadForeverPub @KayePublicity #KayePublicity #ReadForever #Forever2023 #AnnieRains #TheGoodLuckCafe #SomersetLakeSeries

#BookReview The Good Luck Cafe (Somerset Lake #4) by Annie Rains @AnnieRainsBooks @ReadForeverPub @KayePublicity #KayePublicity #ReadForever #Forever2023 #AnnieRains #TheGoodLuckCafe #SomersetLakeSeries Title: The Good Luck Cafe

Author: Annie Rains

Series: Somerset Lake #4

Published by: Forever on May 25, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Kaye Publicity

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Moira Green is perfectly content with her life. She has a rewarding career and plenty of wonderful friends, including the members of her weekly book club. Then everything in her life goes topsy-turvy when the town council plans to demolish the site of her mother’s beloved café to make room for much-needed parking. Moira is determined to save her mother’s business, so she swallows her pride and asks Gil Ryan for help.

Moira and Somerset Lake’s mayor were good friends once, the kind who could laugh at everything and nothing at all. Until one night changed everything between them. And now, with Gil supporting the council’s plans, Moira is forced to find another way to save Sweetie’s—and it involves campaigning against Gil. Going head-to-head in a battle of wills reveals more than either of them are ready for, and as the election heats up, so does their attraction. But without a compromise in sight, can these two be headed for anything but disaster?


Review:

Warm, charming, and sweet!

The Good Luck Cafe is an amusing, tenderhearted, small-town romance that transports you to the idyllic Somerset Lake and into the lives of the dependable, kind Gil who is content being the local mayor and living close to his family but would love for the girl he’s always had a crush on to finally give him a chance, and the feisty, strong-willed Moira who is determined to do whatever it takes to stop the town council from tearing down her mother’s shop even if it means asking for help from the one man who used to be one of her best friends a long time ago.

The writing is cosy and light. The characters are supportive, helpful, and fun-loving. And the plot is a delightfully adorable mix of family, friendship, touching moments, adversity, attraction, chemistry, community, and swoon-worthy romance.

Overall, The Good Luck Cafe is a spirited, heartwarming, satisfying tale that touches on the importance of communication, teamwork, love and taking chances. It’s a wonderful addition to the Somerset Lake series by Rains, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed there’s still at least one more book still to come.

 

This book is available now.

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

       

 

 

Thank you to Kaye Publicity and Forever for gifting me a copy in an exchange for an honest review.

 

About Annie Rains

Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author who writes small town love stories set in fictional places in her home state of North Carolina. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children.Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author who writes small town love stories set in fictional places in her home state of North Carolina. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children.

Photograph courtesy of Read-Forever Website.

#BookReview Goodnight from Paris by Jane Healey @healeyJane @ThomasAllenLTD @AmazonPub #GoodnightfromParis #JaneHealey #LakeUnion #ThomasAllen

#BookReview Goodnight from Paris by Jane Healey @healeyJane @ThomasAllenLTD @AmazonPub #GoodnightfromParis #JaneHealey #LakeUnion #ThomasAllen Title: Goodnight from Paris

Author: Jane Healey

Published by: Lake Union Publishing on Mar. 7, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 413

Format: Paperback

Source: Thomas Allen & Son

Book Rating: 9/10

In Nazi-occupied France, an American film star takes on the most dangerous role of her life in a gripping novel about loyalty and resistance, inspired by a true story, from the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Secret Stealers.

Paris, 1939. Hollywood actress Drue Leyton, married to Frenchman Jacques Tartière, lives as an expatriate in love. But when her husband is dispatched to Brittany to work as a liaison for the British military, Drue finds herself alone with her housekeeper, adrift and heartsick in her adopted city. With her career and fame forty-five hundred miles away, Drue accepts an opportunity that will change her life forever.

Befriended by seasoned wartime journalist Dorothy Thompson and urged on by political operative Jean Fraysse, Drue broadcasts radio programs to the United States. Her duty: shake America from its apathy and, as Nazis encroach and France is occupied, push for resistance and help from the US. As Drue and Jean fall under suspicion, Hitler sends his own message: when Drue’s adopted country is conquered, she will be executed.

In a Paris that is no longer safe, Drue’s political passion is ignited. She’s prepared to risk anything to fight the enemy no matter how dangerous it gets—for her, for everyone she loves, and for everything she’s fighting for.


Review:

Captivating, heart-tugging, and absorbing!

Goodnight from Paris is an immersive, tender tale set in Nazi-Occupied France during WWII that follows American actress Drue Leyton Tartière who, after her husband heads off to Brittany as a liaison for the British military, takes a job working for Jean Fraysse at Paris Mondiale broadcasting the true horrors of war to the American people while also doing whatever she can, even at the detriment to her own safety, to help as many downed Allied pilots as possible escape the enemy and find their way home.

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are brave, vulnerable, and strong. And the plot is a compelling blend of life, loss, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, betrayal, survival, danger, grief, war, friendship, romance, and selflessness.

Overall, Goodnight from Paris is a bittersweet, affecting, atmospheric tale inspired by real-life events that sweeps you away to another time and place and does an exceptional job of reminding you that survival of any form takes unimaginable sacrifice, enormous courage, and exceptional strength.

This book is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Thomas Allen & Son & Amazon Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jane Healey

Jane Healey is the author of three historical fiction novels. Her novel THE BEANTOWN GIRLS was a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller. Her latest novel, THE SECRET STEALERS, was an Amazon First Reads Editor’s Pick, one of the New York Post’s Best New Books in April 2021 and was a Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choice pick.

Jane has given presentations about the history behind her novels to hundreds of libraries, book clubs and organizations around the country, including through the Jewish Book Council Network and the American Red Cross. She is also the host of Historical Happy Hour, a monthly webinar and podcast featuring premiere historical fiction authors and their latest novels.

A graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University, Jane shares a home north of Boston with her husband, two daughters, and two cats. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, running, cooking, and going to the beach.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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

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

Author: Laura Spence-Ash

Published by: Celadon Books on Mar. 21, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Celadon Books

Book Rating: 10/10

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

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

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

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

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

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


Review:

Captivating, absorbing, and beautifully written!

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

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

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

This novel is available March 21, 2023.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Laura Spence-Ash

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

Photo Credit: Beowulf Sheehan

#BookReview Make a Wish by Helena Hunting @helenahunting @smpromance @StMartinsPress #MakeAWishNovel #HelenaHunting #SparkHouseSeries #SMPRomance #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Make a Wish by Helena Hunting @helenahunting @smpromance @StMartinsPress #MakeAWishNovel #HelenaHunting #SparkHouseSeries #SMPRomance #SMPInfluencers Title: Make a Wish

Author: Helena Hunting

Series: Spark House #3

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Jan. 24, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Ever have a defining life moment you wish you could do over? Harley Spark has one. The time she almost kissed the widowed father of the toddler she nannied for. It was so bad they moved across the state and she never saw them again.

Fast forward seven years and she’s totally over it. At least she thinks she is. Until Gavin Rhodes and his adorable now nine-year-old daughter, Peyton, reappear at a princess-themed birthday party hosted by Spark House, Harley’s family’s event hotel. Despite trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she can’t help but notice how unbearably sexy he looks in a tutu. Add to that a spontaneous hives breakout, and it’s clear she’s not even remotely over the mortification of her egregious error all those years ago.

Except Gavin seems oblivious to her inner turmoil. So much so that he suggests they get together for lunch. For Peyton’s sake, of course. It’s the perfect opportunity to heal old wounds. Or it could just reopen them. This is one of those times Harley wishes she could see the future…

With her signature charm and sense of humor, bestselling author Helena Hunting creates a novel about love, family, and second chances in Make a Wish.


Review:

Big-hearted, engaging, and swoon-worthy!

Make a Wish is a charming second-chance romance between the driven, spirited Harley and the sweet, hardworking, single father Gavin as they discover that time has not changed the deeply-rooted friendship and sizzling attraction they felt for each other seven years ago and is perhaps something that could be even more if only they’d take a chance on it.

The writing is passionate and heartfelt. The characters are kind, supportive, and dependable. And the plot is a delightfully enchanting tale about family, friendship, tension, chemistry, healing, self-discovery, parenthood, special moments, happiness, taking chances, and unconditional love.

Overall, Make a Wish is an amusing, lighthearted, adorable tale by Hunting that is the third and final book in the Spark House series and even though it can definitely be read as a standalone novel, as someone who absolutely loves this series, I would highly recommend you read them all.

 

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Helena Hunting

Helena Hunting is the author of The USA Today and NYT bestselling PUCKED Series. She lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes everything from romantic sports comedy to new adult angst.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview The Maid’s Diary by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @AmazonPub @ThomasAllenLTD #TheMaidsDiary #LorethAnneWhite #MontlakeRomance #ThomasAllen

#BookReview The Maid’s Diary by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @AmazonPub @ThomasAllenLTD #TheMaidsDiary #LorethAnneWhite #MontlakeRomance #ThomasAllen Title: The Maid's Diary

Author: Loreth Anne White

Published by: Montlake Romance on Mar. 1, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 380

Format: Paperback

Source: Thomas Allen & Son

Book Rating: 9/10

Kit Darling is a maid with a snooping problem. She’s the “invisible girl,” compelled to poke into her wealthy clients’ closely guarded lives. It’s a harmless hobby until Kit sees something she can’t unsee in the home of her brand-new clients: a secret so dark it could destroy the privileged couple expecting their first child. This makes Kit dangerous to the couple. In turn, it makes the couple—who might kill to keep their secret—dangerous to Kit.

When homicide cop Mallory Van Alst is called to a scene at a luxury waterfront home known as the Glass House, she’s confronted with evidence of a violent attack so bloody it’s improbable the victim is alive. But there’s no body. The homeowners are gone. And their maid is missing. The only witness is the elderly woman next door, who woke to screams in the night. The neighbor was also the last person to see Kit Darling alive.

As Mal begins to uncover the secret that has sent the lives of everyone involved on a devious and inescapable collision course, she realizes that nothing is quite as it seems.

And no one escapes their past.


Review:

Sophisticated, ominous, and riveting!

The Maid’s Diary is a highly suspenseful, character-driven thriller that takes you into the life of Kit Darling, a young maid whose obsessive compulsion to snoop may finally have caught up with her when her latest wealthy clients, the Rittenbergs, are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their secrets from the past hidden for good.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are complex, secretive, and troubled. And the plot is a devious, sinister tale full of twists, turns, lies, deception, manipulation, suspicions, revelations, corruption, mayhem, obsession, and familial drama.

Overall, The Maid’s Diary is a tortuous, sinister, unnerving tale by White that kept me guessing from the very first page and, as always, was deliciously surprising, relentless and absolutely bursting with misdirection.

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 gifting me a copy 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 The Lost English Girl by Julia Kelly @The_Julia_Kelly @SimonSchusterCA @GalleryBooks #TheLostEnglishGirl #JuliaKelly #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Lost English Girl by Julia Kelly @The_Julia_Kelly @SimonSchusterCA @GalleryBooks #TheLostEnglishGirl #JuliaKelly #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Lost English Girl

Author: Julia Kelly

Published by: Gallery Books on Mar. 7, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

The acclaimed author of the “sweeping and beautifully written novel” (Woman’s World) The Light Over London weaves an epic saga of love, motherhood, and betrayal set against World War II.

Liverpool, 1935: Raised in a strict Catholic family, Viv Byrne knows what’s expected of her: marry a Catholic man from her working-class neighborhood and have his children. However, when she finds herself pregnant after a fling with Joshua Levinson, a Jewish man with dreams of becoming a famous Jazz musician, Viv knows that a swift wedding is the only answer. Her only solace is that marrying Joshua will mean escaping her strict mother’s scrutiny. But when Joshua makes a life-changing choice on their wedding day, Viv is forced once again into the arms of her disapproving family.

Five years later and on the eve of World War II, Viv is faced with the impossible choice to evacuate her young daughter, Maggie, to the countryside estate of the affluent Thompson family. In New York City, Joshua gives up his failing musical career to serve in the Royal Air Force, fight for his country, and try to piece together his feelings about the family, wife, and daughter he left behind at eighteen. However, tragedy strikes when Viv learns that the countryside safe haven she sent her daughter to wasn’t immune from the horrors of war. It is only years later, with Joshua’s help, that Viv learns the secrets of their shared past and what it will take to put a family back together again.

Telling the harrowing story of England’s many evacuated children, bestselling author Julia Kelly’s The Lost English Girl explores how one simple choice can change the course of a life, and what we are willing to forgive to find a way back to the ones we love and thought lost.


Review:

Immersive, moving, and sweet!

The Lost English Girl is a captivating, heart-wrenching tale set in Liverpool during WWII that takes you into the life of Viv Byrne, a young catholic girl who, after making a mistake with a local Jewish boy whom she marries in name only to protect her family’s reputation, struggles to raise her child alone under the roof of her cruel, judgemental parents until she is coerced into sending her daughter to the British countryside to live for the duration of the war leaving her wracked with heartbreak, guilt, and a determination to do whatever she can to build a new life for them for when she returns.

The prose is vivid and smooth. The characters are resilient, brave, and endearing. And the plot is a poignant, compelling tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, tragedy, grief, parenthood, friendship, duplicitous behaviours, and the horrors and hardships of war.

Overall, The Lost English Girl is a hopeful, heartwarming, affecting tale by Kelly inspired by true-life events that is a wonderful choice for anyone who loves to be swept away into a well-written historical fiction novel that delves into the unimaginable sacrifices and deeply emotional choices people often must make during times of war.

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 Julia Kelly

Julia Kelly is the award-winning author of women's fiction and historical romance books about the extraordinary stories of the past. She also writes fast-paced contemporary sports romance as Julia Blake. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London.

Photograph by Scott Bottles.

#BookReview Rogue by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #RogueBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Rogue by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #RogueBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa Title: Rogue

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series: Prep #2

Published by: Bloom Books on Mar. 7, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 430

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

From New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy comes the return to Sandover Prep, where secrets lurk in the dark and no one is safe when they come into the light.

It’s been a long time since Casey Tresscott has felt like her life was her own. After the car accident that nearly cost her everything, she’s used to her family’s coddling and the relentless whispers at school, no matter how much they sting. After all, she’s found a safe harbor in her budding relationship with Sandover’s golden boy, Fenn Bishop…or so she thinks.

Beneath Fenn’s pretty, party-boy surface is a dangerous truth about the night Casey almost died. He thought lying to her was the right thing to do, but when the secret shakes loose, he just might lose her for good.

Because Casey is done being taken advantage of.

Grasping for the control she’s been missing, Casey finally snaps―telling off her bullies, gallivanting with rebels and playboys, and shirking her headmaster father’s strict curfews, despite the consequences. A desperate Fenn must ally with his stepbrother RJ and the other Sandover delinquents to uncover the full story of Casey’s accident and the ones responsible if he hopes to win her back.

But what happens if Casey is no longer the same girl he first fell for? Is there any hope for their future if she’s gone rogue for good?


Review:

Mysterious, scandalous, and spicy

Rogue is an addictive, alluring tale that transports you back to Sandover Prep right where Misfit leftover and into the life of Headmaster Tresscott’s youngest daughter Casey as she struggles to discover what really happened the night she almost died, finally confronts the bullies who taunt her day in and day out, and must decide if the boy of her dreams is worth giving a second chance.

The writing is intriguing and smooth. The characters are tormented, hedonistic, and impulsive. And the plot is a clever, captivating mix of mayhem, mischief, friendship, family, heartbreak, desire, teenage drama, first loves, and introspection.

Overall, Rogue is a highly entertaining, delectable treat that is another fantastic addition to what is ultimately turning out to be an absolutely binge-worthy, scandalous Prep series by Kennedy.

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

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

 

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

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