Publisher: Love Inspired

#BookReview The Secret Society of Salzburg by Renee Ryan @ReneeRyanBooks @Harlequinbooks #TheSecretSocietyOfSalzburg #ReneeRyan #LoveInspired

#BookReview The Secret Society of Salzburg by Renee Ryan @ReneeRyanBooks @Harlequinbooks #TheSecretSocietyOfSalzburg #ReneeRyan #LoveInspired Title: The Secret Society of Salzburg

Author: Renee Ryan

Published by: Love Inspired on Dec. 27, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Harlequin Books

Book Rating: 9/10

London, 1933. At first glance, Austrian opera singer Elsa Mayer-Braun has little in common with the young English typist she encounters on tour. Yet she and Hattie Featherstone forge an instant connection—and strike a dangerous alliance. Using their friendship as a cover, they form a secret society with a daring goal: to rescue as many Jews as possible from Nazi persecution.

Though the war’s outbreak threatens Elsa and Hattie’s network, their efforts attract the covert attention of the British government, offering more opportunities to thwart the Germans. But Elsa’s growing fame as Hitler’s favorite opera singer, coupled with her secret Jewish ancestry, make her both a weapon and a target—until her future, too, hangs in the balance.

From the glamorous stages of Covent Garden and Salzburg to the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, two ordinary women swept up by the tide of war discover an extraordinary friendship—and the courage to save countless lives.


Review:

Compelling, intense, and absorbing!

The Secret Society of Salzburg is a charged, intriguing tale set between the mid-1930s to the end of WWII that takes you into the lives of Hattie Fetherstone, a young British artist with a love for opera and a kind heart, and Elsa Mayer-Braun, an Austrian operatic singer, who after befriending a devoted fan and discovering just how dangerous the world is about to become, creates a network with the help of her new friends to transport as many Jewish people as possible out of Nazi-occupied Europe to the safety of the United Kingdom.

The prose is fluid and rich. The characters are resourceful, loyal, and trustworthy. And the plot is a captivating mix of life, love, loss, secrets, passion, heartbreak, betrayal, tragedy, survival, danger, friendship, art, opera, and war.

Overall, The Secret Society of Salzburg is an enticing, heart-tugging, atmospheric tale by Ryan that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the feelings, lives, and personalities of the characters you can’t help but be fully engrossed and completely invested throughout.

 

This novel is available now.

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

                

 

 

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

 

About Renee Ryan

Renee Ryan grew up in a Florida beach town outside Jacksonville, FL. Armed with a degree in Economics and Religion from Florida State University, she explored various career opportunities, including stints at a Florida theme park and a modeling agency. She currently lives in Savannah, Georgia with her husband and a large, fluffy cat many have mistaken for a small bear.

#BookReview Her Darkest Secret by Jessica R. Patch @jessicarpatch @HarlequinBooks #HerDarkestSecret #JessicaRPatch #LoveInspired #HarlequinBooks

#BookReview Her Darkest Secret by Jessica R. Patch @jessicarpatch @HarlequinBooks #HerDarkestSecret #JessicaRPatch #LoveInspired #HarlequinBooks Title: Her Darkest Secret

Author: Jessica R. Patch

Published by: Love Inspired on Jun. 28, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Romantic Suspense

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Harlequin Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

When a cold-case serial killer returns, FBI special agent Fiona Kelly has one last chance to stop him before he claims the prize he’s always wanted—her.

The sight of a goose feather at a murder scene modeled after a children’s poem is enough to make FBI special agent Fiona Kelly’s blood turn to ice. Almost two decades ago, a feather was left with her sister’s body—and with every subsequent victim of the Nursery Rhyme Killer. Now he’s back. Only this time, his latest gruesome murder is a message to the only one who ever got away: Fiona.

Finding “Rhyme” is an obsession that’s fueled Fiona’s career—and destroyed her marriage to fellow FBI agent Asa Kodiak. Now Fiona and Asa have to put their past tensions aside and work together one last time. But Rhyme is watching, and catching this killer may force Fiona to reveal her biggest, darkest secret…the one only he knows.


Review:

Relentless, intricate, and addictive!

Her Darkest Secret is a sinister, action-packed thrill ride featuring the tenacious FBI special agent Fiona Kelly and the volatile FBI agent Asa Kodiak as they join forces to hunt the cold, calculating serial killer with a penchant for reenacting nursery rhymes that Fiona once, almost two decades ago, was the victim of herself.

The writing is taut and intense. The characters are meticulous, tormented, and persistent. And the plot is a suspenseful, engrossing whodunit full of twists, turns, lies, deception, revelations, familial drama, obsession, depravity, spirituality, violence, and murder.

Overall, Her Darkest Secret is an eerie, tortuous, fast-paced tale by Patch that was so much better than I ever expected, and one that did an exceptional job of highlighting that evil can live easily amongst us, often simply hidden behind masks of normality.

 

This book is available June 28, 2022.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Jessica R. Patch

Publishers Weekly Bestselling author Jessica R. Patch is known for her dry wit and signature twists. When she's not hunched over her laptop, you can find her cozy on the couch in her mid-south home reading books by her favorite authors, watching movies with her family, and collecting recipes to amazing dishes she'll probably never cook.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.