#BookReview Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #InvisibleGirl #LisaJewell

#BookReview Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #InvisibleGirl #LisaJewell Title: Invisible Girl

Author: Lisa Jewell

Published by: Atria Books on Oct. 13, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone returns with an intricate thriller about a young woman’s disappearance and a group of strangers whose lives intersect in its wake.

Owen Pick’s life is falling apart. In his thirties and living in his aunt’s spare bedroom, he has just been suspended from his job as a teacher after accusations of sexual misconduct—accusations he strongly denies. Searching for professional advice online, he is inadvertently sucked into the dark world of incel forums, where he meets a charismatic and mysterious figure.

Across the street from Owen lives the Fours family, headed by mom Cate, a physiotherapist, and dad Roan, a child psychologist. But the Fours family have a bad feeling about their neighbor Owen. He’s a bit creepy and their teenaged daughter swears he followed her home from the train station one night.

Meanwhile, young Saffyre Maddox spent three years as a patient of Roan Fours. Feeling abandoned when their therapy ends, she searches for other ways to maintain her connection with him, following him in the shadows and learning more than she wanted to know about Roan and his family. Then, on Valentine’s night, Saffyre disappears—and the last person to see her alive is Owen Pick.


Review:

Brisk, creepy, and addictive!

Invisible Girl is an unsettling, compelling, psychological thriller that delves into all the deep, dark secrets people keep even from those closest to them and raises the question how well do you really know anyone.

The writing is sharp and crisp. The characters are secretive, cunning, and troubled. And the plot builds quickly creating suspense and intensity as it unravels all the relationships, motivations, personalities, and behaviours within it.

Invisible Girl is, ultimately, a story of suspicious personalities, lies, deception, manipulation, familial drama, abuse, hatred, violence, and the danger-infused incel subculture. And like most of Jewell’s previous novels, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat with its multitude of twists, turns, and surprises right up until the final page.

 

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

 

About Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller Then She Was Gone, as well as I Found You, The Girls in the Garden, and The House We Grew Up In. In total, her novels have sold more than two million copies across the English-speaking world and her work has also been translated into sixteen languages so far. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

Photograph by Andrew Whitton.

#BookReview All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny @RaincoastBooks @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #AlltheDevilsAreHere #ChiefInspectorGamache

#BookReview All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny @RaincoastBooks @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #AlltheDevilsAreHere #ChiefInspectorGamache Title: All the Devils Are Here

Author: Louise Penny

Series: Chief Inspector Gamache #16

Published by: Minotaur Books on Sep. 1, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Raincoast Books

Book Rating: 9/10

The 16th novel by #1 bestselling author Louise Penny finds Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in the City of Light

On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man’s life.

When a strange key is found in Stephen’s possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.

It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.

A gruesome discovery in Stephen’s Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.

Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.

For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.


Review:

Thrilling, pacey, and action-packed!

In this latest novel by Penny, All the Devils Are Here, we head to Paris, France where Chief Inspector Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his extended family will find themselves uncovering long-buried family secrets, examining the inner workings of a company with suspicious intentions, and inadvertently investigating the murder of an engineer and the attempted murder of one of their own.

The prose is sharp and crisp. The characters are intuitive, loyal, and dependable. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel seamlessly into an engrossing tale of secrets, deception, familial drama, manipulation, corruption, greed, violence, and murder.

All the Devils Are Here is the sixteenth novel in the Chief Inspector Gamache series and whether it’s small-town mayhem, big-city crime, or newsworthy headlines it’s always an absolute indulgence and pleasure to sit back, open the cover and immerse yourself once more in an intricate mystery perfectly befitting this humanly flawed, intelligent, steadfast character who you can’t help but root for.

This novel is available now.

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

                  

 

 

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

 

About Louise Penny

LOUISE PENNY is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (seven times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.

Photograph by JEAN-FRANÇOIS BÉRUBÉ.

#BookReview The Twelves Dogs of Christmas (Pine Hollow #1) by Lizzie Shane @LizzieShaneAK @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #Forever20 #LizzieShane #PineHollow

#BookReview The Twelves Dogs of Christmas (Pine Hollow #1) by Lizzie Shane @LizzieShaneAK @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #Forever20 #LizzieShane #PineHollow Title: The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

Author: Lizzie Shane

Series: Pine Hollow #1

Published by: Forever on Sep. 29, 2020

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 357

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 10/10

A delightful holiday romance about a small-town single dad and an animal rescue owner as they try to find forever homes for a dozen lovable pups before Christmas.

Pine Hollow has everything Ally Gilmore could wish for in a holiday break: gently falling snow in a charming small town and time with her family. Then she learns some Grinch has pulled the funding for her family’s rescue shelter, and now she has only four weeks to find new homes for a dozen dogs! But when she confronts her Scroogey councilman nemesis, Ally finds he’s far more reasonable — and handsome — than she ever expected.

As the guardian of his dog-obsessed ten-year-old niece, Ben West doesn’t have time to build a cuddly reputation. But he does feel guilty about the shelter closing. So he proposes a truce with Ally, agreeing to help her adopt out the pups. As the two spend more time together, the town’s gossip is spreading faster than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. And soon Ben is hoping he can convince Ally that Pine Hollow is her home for the holidays. . . and the whole year through.


Review:

Warm, adorable, and cosy!

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is a tenderhearted, amusing rom-com that transports you to the small town of Pine Hollow, VT and introduces you to the overworked, broody Ben who is struggling to juggle a council position and the guardianship of his ten-year-old niece, and the kind, spunky photographer, Ally who will do whatever it takes to help her grandparents save their dog shelter and find homes for all the four-legged residents in need of a permanent family.

The prose is polished and light. The characterization is spot on with a cast of characters that are fun-loving, quirky, and endearing. And the plot is an irresistible blend of heart, humour, nostalgic moments, misunderstandings, family, friendship, tension, chemistry, attraction, spirited shenanigans, Christmas cheer, and a whole lot of puppy love.

Overall, The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is a heartwarming, feel-good, delightfully magical tale by Shane that I can say wholeheartedly is another one of my favourite holiday reads of the year!

 

This book is available now. 

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

       

 

 

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

 

About Lizzie Shane

Contemporary romance author Lizzie Shane was born in Alaska and still calls the frozen north home, though she can frequently be found indulging her travel addiction. Thankfully, her laptop travels with her and she has written her way through all fifty states and over fifty countries.

Lizzie has been honored to win the Golden Heart Award and HOLT Medallion, and has been named a finalist three times for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA Award®, but her main claim to fame is that she lost on Jeopardy!

#BookReview A Very Merry Match (Sunshine Valley #2) by Melinda Curtis @MelCurtisAuthor @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #Forever20 #MelindaCurtis #SunshineValley

#BookReview A Very Merry Match (Sunshine Valley #2) by Melinda Curtis @MelCurtisAuthor @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #Forever20 #MelindaCurtis #SunshineValley Title: A Very Merry Match

Author: Melinda Curtis

Series: Sunshine Valley #2

Published by: Forever on Sep. 29, 2020

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Melinda Curtis brings the spice for the holidays with this small-town romance featuring a woman who must maintain a secret identity and the man who begins falling for her.
This holiday season, kindergarten teacher Mary Margaret Sneed never imagined she’d be unwrapping…herself. But a burlesque side gig is the young widow’s only hope of paying off her late husband’s substantial debt. With her reputation and career on the line, she performs in disguise, under the stage name Foxy Roxy. But her secret identity is threatened when Roxy’s biggest fan turns out to be Mary Margaret’s biggest crush — the handsome-as-sin mayor of Preston!

Newly divorced single dad Kevin Hadley is prepping to make the jump from mayor to state assemblyman. He knows he should be settling down with someone quiet and practical, someone like Mary Margaret Sneed. The last thing Kevin needs right now is a steamy scandal. But he just can’t stop thinking about Foxy Roxy…and if Preston’s matchmaking Widows Club has their way this Christmas, Kevin won’t have to…

Includes a bonus novella by Hope Ramsay!


Review:

Cosy, amusing, and delightfully festive!

A Very Merry Match is a winsome, uplifting, wintery story that takes you into the lives of two main characters, Mary Margaret Sneed, a young, kindergarten teacher with a boatload of debt and some very intriguing side gigs, and the divorced, local golden boy, Kevin Hadley who is focused on raising his five-year-old son and has his sights set on political advancement.

The prose is witty and light. The characters are multilayered, endearing, and quirky. And the plot is an engaging tale of tender moments, humorous hijinks, self-discovery, friendship, family, community, happiness, love, a dab of mystery, and a little Christmas cheer!

Overall, A Very Merry Match is a quaint, charming, enjoyable, holiday read that will have you dreaming of snowflakes, hot chocolate, and some very scrumptious treats!

 

This book is available now. 

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

 

       

 

 

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

 

About Melinda Curtis

Melinda Curtis is the USA Today bestselling author of light‐hearted contemporary romance. In addition to her Sunshine Valley series from Forever, she’s published independently and with Harlequin Heartwarming, including her book Dandelion Wishes, which was made into a TV movie - Love in Harmony Valley, starring Amber Marshall. She lives in Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley with her husband - her basketball-playing college sweetheart. While raising three kids, the couple did the soccer thing, the karate thing, the dance thing, the Little League thing and, of course, the basketball thing. Now when Melinda isn’t writing and Mr. Curtis isn’t watching college basketball, they do the DIY thing.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Christmas on Reindeer Road (Highland Falls #2) by Debbie Mason @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #Forever20 #DebbieMason #HighlandFalls

#BookReview Christmas on Reindeer Road (Highland Falls #2) by Debbie Mason @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #Forever20 #DebbieMason #HighlandFalls Title: Christmas on Reindeer Road

Author: Debbie Mason

Series: Highland Falls #2

Published by: Forever on Sep. 29, 2020

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

Sparks fly between an L.A. career woman and a former Army Ranger in this delightful enemies-to-lovers romance from the USA Today bestselling queen of small-town love stories.
 
Welcome to Highland Falls, a small town where love is always in the air.
 
In just a few months Abby Everhart has gone from being a top LA media influencer to an unemployed divorcée living out of her car. So inheriting her great-aunt’s homestead comes at the perfect time. Abby heads to Highland Falls, North Carolina, to spruce up Honeysuckle Farm before putting it on the market for some much-needed cash. But instead of finding a charming getaway, she discovers a serious fixer-upper, complete with a leaky roof, overgrown yard, and a reclusive — albeit sexy — man living on the property.
 
Ex-Delta Force soldier Hunter MacKenzie has faced war and loss, but nothing has quite prepared him for an outgoing redhead who’s determined to turn his life upside down. Hunter doesn’t want to get involved with anyone, especially a city girl who plans to sell the only place he’s ever felt at home. But the sparks between them are undeniable. Spending time with Abby is easy. Convincing her to stay for good is another matter entirely.

Review:

Sweet, jolly, and heartwarming!

Christmas on Reindeer Road is a charming, tender tale that takes us back to Highland Falls and into the life of the determined, kindhearted Mallory Maitland as she meanders through all sorts of highs and lows, from losing her husband, fighting for custody of her two stepsons, moving to a new town, starting a new job, and fighting the undeniable attraction she feels for her neighbour, the widowed chief of police, Gabriel Buchanan, who’s busy single-handedly raising three boys of his own.

The prose is light and smooth. The characters are focused, supportive, and compassionate. And the plot is an alluring tale about loss, life, love, family, friendship, community, parenthood, romance, wintery shenanigans, self-discovery, taking chances, and moving on.

Overall, Christmas on Reindeer Road is an amusing, uplifting, entertaining tale by Mason that is perfect for anyone who enjoys a holiday romance that is not only heartfelt but also exceptionally cute and funny.

 

This book is available now. 

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

 

       

 

 

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

 

About Debbie Mason

Debbie Mason is the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series and the Harmony Harbor series. The first book in her Christmas, Colorado series, “The Trouble with Christmas,” was the inspiration for Hallmark’s “Welcome to Christmas.” Her books have been praised by RT Book Reviews for their “likable characters, clever dialogue, and juicy plots.” When Debbie isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family in Ottawa, Canada.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch @GrandCentralPub #BeaKoch #GrandCentralPub

#BookReview Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch @GrandCentralPub #BeaKoch #GrandCentralPub Title: Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency

Author: Bea Koch

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Sep. 1, 2020

Pages: 262

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

Discover a feminist pop history that looks beyond the Ton and Jane Austen to highlight the Regency women who succeeded on their own terms and were largely lost to history — until now.


Regency England is a world immortalized by Jane Austen and Lord Byron in their beloved novels and poems. The popular image of the Regency continues to be mythologized by the hundreds of romance novels set in the period, which focus almost exclusively on wealthy, white, Christian members of the upper classes.
 
But there are hundreds of fascinating women who don’t fit history books limited perception of what was historically accurate for early 19th century England. Women like Dido Elizabeth Belle, whose mother was a slave but was raised by her white father’s family in England, Caroline Herschel, who acted as her brother’s assistant as he hunted the heavens for comets, and ended up discovering eight on her own, Anne Lister, who lived on her own terms with her common-law wife at Shibden Hall, and Judith Montefiore, a Jewish woman who wrote the first English language Kosher cookbook.

As one of the owners of the successful romance-only bookstore The Ripped Bodice, Bea Koch has had a front row seat to controversies surrounding what is accepted as “historically accurate” for the wildly popular Regency period. Following in the popular footsteps of books like Ann Shen’s Bad Girls Throughout History, Koch takes the Regency, one of the most loved and idealized historical time periods and a huge inspiration for American pop culture, and reveals the independent-minded, standard-breaking real historical women who lived life on their terms. She also examines broader questions of culture in chapters that focus on the LGBTQ and Jewish communities, the lives of women of color in the Regency, and women who broke barriers in fields like astronomy and paleontology. In Mad and Bad, we look beyond popular perception of the Regency into the even more vibrant, diverse, and fascinating historical truth.


Review:

Light, insightful, and fun!

Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency is an informative, intriguing look into the importance and influence of a bold, noteworthy set of women from the regency period on the literature we indulge in and enjoy every day.

The writing is educative and descriptive. The characters are intelligent, independent, and driven. And the novel is a fascinating, enlightening tale about the intricacies of the higher echelons of Regency society and the women who were plucky enough to pave the way for the feminist ideals of today.

Overall, I found Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency to be a quick, easy, fascinating treat full of facts and illustrations of a group of women who were certainly ahead of their time and without a doubt an inspiration for us all.

 

This novel is available now.

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

                      

 

 

 

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

 

About Bea Koch

Bea Koch is one of the owners of The Ripped Bodice, the only independent bookstore in the US dedicated to romance. In addition to being a groundbreaking bookseller, Bea graduated from Yale with distinction as the last Renaissance Studies major and received an MA in Costume History from NYU: Steinhardt. She is the proud mother of dog Fitzwilliam Waffles. He has more followers on Instagram than she does.

Photograph courtesy of Grand Central Publishing Website.

#BookReview Piranesi by Susanna Clarke @BloomsburyPub @RaincoastBooks #Piranesi #SusannaClarke

#BookReview Piranesi by Susanna Clarke @BloomsburyPub @RaincoastBooks #Piranesi #SusannaClarke Title: Piranesi

Author: Susanna Clarke

Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing on Sep. 15, 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Pages: 272

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Raincoast Books

Book Rating: 10/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality.

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

For readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.


Review:

Unique, memorable, and beautifully mystifying!

Piranesi is an enthralling, moving, creative novel that takes you into the life of a man unsure of his name but known as Piranesi by “The Other”, and who resides in a house, or prison of sorts, where the earth, sea, and sky meet in the vast corridors of time, space, whiteness, magic, statues, tranquillity, and isolation, and mystery lurks around every corner.

The writing is eloquent and sophisticated. The characters are curious, lonely, and intelligent. And the compelling plot sweeps you away into an intricately woven tale of magical realism that touches on life, solace, sacrifice, and survival.

Piranesi is, ultimately, a mesmerizing, haunting, well-written story by Clarke that is a powerful page-turner where the space between the words resonates as loudly as the words themselves.

This novel is available now.

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

                  

 

 

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

 

About Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke was born in Nottingham in 1959, and spent her childhood in Northern England and Scotland.

She studied philosophy, politics and economics at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford and taught in Turin and Bilbao for two years, before becoming an editor at Simon and Schuster in Cambridge, working on their cookery list. She is the author of seven short stories and novellas, published in anthologies in the USA. One of her short stories, ‘The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse’ was published in a limited edition, and her story 'Mr. Simonelli or The Fairy Widower' was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award 2001.

In 2004, her first novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, was published. It tells the story of two magicians in early 19th-century London and was shortlisted for the 2004 Guardian First Book Award and the Whitbread First Novel Award.

Susanna Clarke lives in Cambridge. Her most recent book is The Ladies of Grace Adieu (2006), a collection of short stories.

Photography courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester @Natasha_Lester @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #Forever20 #NatashaLester #TheParisSecret

#BookReview The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester @Natasha_Lester @readforeverpub @grandcentralpub #ReadForever #Forever20 #NatashaLester #TheParisSecret Title: The Paris Secret

Author: Natasha Lester

Published by: Forever on Sep. 15, 2020

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 496

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 10/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan comes an unforgettable historical novel about a secret collection of Dior gowns that ties back to the first female pilots of WWII and a heartbreaking story of love and sacrifice.

England, 1939: The Penrose sisters couldn’t be more different. Skye is a daring and brash pilot, and Liberty the one to defy her at every turn. Even if women aren’t allowed in the Royal Air Force, Skye is determined to help the war effort. She’s thrilled when it reunites her with her childhood soulmate, Nicholas. She’s less thrilled to learn Nicholas is now engaged to an enigmatic Frenchwoman named Margaux Jourdan.

Paris, 1947: Designer Christian Dior unveils his glamorous first collection to a world weary of war and grief. He names his debut fragrance Miss Dior in tribute to his beloved sister Catherine, who forged a friendship with Skye and Margaux through her work with the French Resistance.

Present Day: Fashion conservator Kat Jourdan discovers a priceless collection of Dior gowns in her grandmother’s vacant cottage. As she delves into the mystery of their origin, Kat begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her beloved grandmother.


Review:

Evocative, rich, and absorbing!

The Paris Secret is an alluring, highly affecting tale predominantly set in England during WWII, as well as 2012, that takes you into the lives of two main characters; Skye Penrose, a young flier who through grit and determination becomes one of the first woman pilots for the Air Transport Auxillary during the war; and Kat Jourdan, a young fashion conservator who unwittingly unravels a family history littered with secrets, heartbreak, and heroism when she stumbles across a closet full of vintage Dior dresses in her mother’s Cornwall cottage.

The prose is charged and emotive. The characters are courageous, multilayered, and strong. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into a sublime saga of life, loss, family, tragedy, expectations, sacrifice, secrets, self-discovery, friendship, enduring love, fashion, and an insightful look at the important roles and contributions that women had and made during the war.

Overall, The Paris Secret is an exceptionally atmospheric, beautifully written, impactful novel that sweeps you away to another time and place and immerses you into the lives of such enticing characters you can’t help but be thoroughly moved and engrossed. It is no surprise that Natasha Lester has quickly become one of my all-time favourite authors with The Paris Orphan being one of my must-read novels for 2019 and now The Paris Secret being on the top of that list for 2020.

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Natasha Lester

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

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

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

Photograph courtesy of Goodreads Author Page.

#BookReview The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkestEvening #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves

#BookReview The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @PGCBooks #TheDarkestEvening #VeraStanhope #AnnCleeves Title: The Darkest Evening

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: Vera Stanhope #9

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Sep. 8, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

From Ann CleevesNew York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV showscomes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel.

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.


Review:

Intricate, clever and engrossing!

In this splendid ninth installment in the Vera Stanhope series, The Darkest Evening, Cleeves has written an unpredictable, pacey, police procedural that sees quirky Det. Insp. Vera Stanhope immersed in a new murder investigation close to her estranged family home, Brockburn, when during a cold blustery evening she unexpectedly happens upon an abandoned car on the side of the road with a door left wide open and a toddler crying inside.

The writing is polished and precise. The characters are eccentric, secretive, and methodical. And the plot is a compelling tale full of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, obsession, deduction, duplicity, manipulation, familial drama, and murder. 

Overall, The Darkest Evening has an intriguing, well-developed storyline with exceptional character development, and is another fantastic addition to this shrewd, compulsive, well-loved series.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is the author behind PBS’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before becoming a crime writer. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series, and in 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside, England.

#BookReview One by One by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #OnebyOne #RuthWare

#BookReview One by One by Ruth Ware @RuthWareWriter @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #OnebyOne #RuthWare Title: One by One

Author: Ruth Ware

Published by: Scout Press on Sep. 8, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 7.5/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?


Review:

Intense, pacey, and suspenseful!

One by One is a menacing, locked-door thriller that sweeps you away to a secluded chalet in the French Alps and into the lives of nine people employed or formerly employed by the social media company, Swoop, and two chalet employees as they grapple to survive an avalanche that leaves them stranded without power or cell service and a killer amongst them who seems determined to wreak revenge at any cost.

The prose is precise and clear. The characters are multilayered, self-absorbed, and secretive. The setting is a character in itself with its claustrophobic environment and isolation. And the plot told from dual perspectives unfolds and unravels quickly into an ominous tale full of jealousy, hatred, deception, greed, manipulation, desperation, obsession, violence, and murder.

Overall, One by One is a taut, atmospheric, action-packed whodunit that could have had a few more twists and a little less predictability but was nevertheless intriguing from start to finish.

 

This book is available now.

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

 

About Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware grew up in Sussex, on the south coast of England. After graduating from Manchester University she moved to Paris, before settling in North London. She has worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language and a press officer, and is The New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark WoodThe Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game. Her latest book, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, will be available in May 2018. She is married with two small children.