Publisher: St. Martin's Press

#BookReview The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict @StMartinsPress #TheQueensofCrime #MarieBenedict #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict @StMartinsPress #TheQueensofCrime #MarieBenedict #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Queens of Crime

Author: Marie Benedict

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Feb. 11, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie—a thrilling story of the five greatest women writers of the Golden Age of Mystery and their bid to solve a real-life murder.

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.

Inspired by a true story in Sayers’ own life, New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict brings to life the lengths to which five talented women writers will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters as they unpuzzle a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels.

Review:

Mysterious, atmospheric, and entertaining!

The Queens of Crime is a menacing, action-packed tale that takes you back to London during 1930 and into the lives of five of the most successful female crime writers of the time, including Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie, as they join together to solve the murder of a young British nurse who vanished without a trace one day while on holiday with a friend in France.

The prose is descriptive and light. The characters are independent, intelligent, and intuitive. And the plot is a well-paced, captivating tale full of red herrings, amateur sleuthing, dangerous endeavours, deduction, secrets, deception, and female friendships.

Overall, The Queens of Crime is a cosy, enjoyable, satisfying tale by Benedict inspired by real-life historical figures that I devoured from start to finish and is the perfect choice for anyone who prefers their mysteries set in historical times.

 

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 Marie Benedict

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a litigator at two of the country's premier law firms and Fortune 500 companies. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus on history and a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law. She is the author of New York Times bestseller The Only Woman in the Room, Carnegie's Maid, The Other Einstein, and Lady Clementine. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy @christi_clancy @StMartinsPress #TheSnowbirds #ChristinaClancy #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy @christi_clancy @StMartinsPress #TheSnowbirds #ChristinaClancy #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Snowbirds

Author: Christina Clancy

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Feb. 4, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their “separate but together” partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.

When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time he’s really left her.

Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.

Review:

Slow-burning, reflective, and sentimental!

The Snowbirds is an honest, compelling tale that takes you into the life of Kim who, after thirty years and two kids with her partner Grant, is struggling with how she sees the rest of her life unfolding until Grant disappears one day on a hike and the reality of a life without him makes her reassess what she really wants.

The writing is rich and smooth. The characters are independent, discontent, and flawed. And the plot, using a past/present style, is an intriguing tale about life, love, family, friendship, parenthood, independence, introspection, marital tension, and new beginnings.

Overall, The Snowbirds is a simmering, insightful, mysterious tale by Clancy that reminds us that life is unpredictable and full of curve balls, and it’s how we approach and handle these highs and lows and ups and downs that truly make all the difference.

 

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

 

About Christina Clancy

CHRISTINA CLANCY is the author of The Second Home. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine and in various literary journals, including Glimmer Train, Pleiades and Hobart. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and lives in Madison, WI with her family.

Photo by James Bartelt.

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#BookReview The Housekeeper’s Secret by Iona Grey @iona_grey @StMartinsPress #TheHousekeepersSecret #IonaGrey #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The Housekeeper’s Secret by Iona Grey @iona_grey @StMartinsPress #TheHousekeepersSecret #IonaGrey #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Housekeeper's Secret

Author: Iona Grey

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 13, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

Duty, desire, and deception reside under one roof.

Standing in the remote windswept moors of Northern England, Coldwell Hall is the perfect place to hide. For the past five years, Kate Furniss has maintained her professional mask so carefully that she almost believes she is the character she has created: Coldwell’s respectable housekeeper.

It is the summer of 1911 that brings new faces above and below the stairs of Coldwell Hall―including the handsome and mysterious new footman, Jem Arden. Just as the house’s shuttered rooms open, so does Kate’s guarded heart to a love affair that is as intense as it is forbidden. But Kate can feel her control slipping as Jem harbors secrets of his own.

Told in alternating timelines from the last sun-drenched summer of the Edwardian Age to the mud-filled trenches of WWI, The Housekeeper’s Secret opens its door to a world of romance, the truths we hold onto, and the past we must let go.

Review:

Compelling, intense, and absorbing!

The Housekeeper’s Secret is a passionate, captivating tale set in England during the early 1900s that takes you into the life of Kate Furniss, a young housekeeper who, after fleeing an abusive husband and changing her name, finds her world turned upside down again when a handsome new footman arrives at Coldwell Hall who seems to be driven by secrets of his own. 

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are determined, vulnerable, and brave. And the plot, told through a mixture of letters and narration, is an intriguing blend of life, loss, secrets, surprises, heartbreak, betrayal, survival, danger, grief, war, friendship, violence, and forbidden love.

Overall, The Housekeeper’s Secret is an insightful, enticing, atmospheric tale by Grey 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 book 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 providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Iona Grey

Iona Grey has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in the rural North West of England with her husband and three daughters. She is the award-winning author of Letters to the Lost, and her new book The Glittering Hour is on sale October 17 2019 (UK) and December 10, 2019 (US).

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#BookReview Mind Games by Nora Roberts @smpromance @StMartinsPress #MindGamesNovel #NoraRoberts #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Romantic Suspense
#BookReview Mind Games by Nora Roberts @smpromance @StMartinsPress #MindGamesNovel #NoraRoberts #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Mind Games

Author: Nora Roberts

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 21, 2024

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Pages: 422

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Identity presents a suspenseful new novel of tragedy and trauma, love and family, and the evil that awaits.

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse—because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them—and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

Review:

Intricate, thrilling, and intense!

Mind Games is a complex, creepy thriller that takes us into the lives of the Fox family, especially Thea, as they continue to struggle with the actions, scars, repercussions, and tragedy caused by a serial killer with continual evil thoughts and intentions that are disturbingly readable by some members of the family.

The writing is brisk and tight. The characters are troubled, special, and vulnerable. And the plot unfolds and unravels quickly into a compelling tale of twists, turns, secrets, obsession, jealousy, vengeance, family, friendship, childhood trauma, unique talents, romance, and a dab of the supernatural.

Overall, Mind Games is another engrossing, heartwarming, suspenseful tale by one of my favourite authors that once again showcases her exceptional ability to delve into not only the psychological and behavioural actions of the most depraved of society but also those of the victims who have suffered or been permanently damaged by them.

 

This book 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 Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Come Sundown, The Obsession, The Liar, and coming in December 2017, Year One -- the first book in The Chronicles of The One. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

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#BookReview House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen @sarahpekkanen @StMartinsPress #HouseOfGlass #SarahPekkanen #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen @sarahpekkanen @StMartinsPress #HouseOfGlass #SarahPekkanen #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: House of Glass

Author: Sarah Pekkanen

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Aug. 6, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

On the outside they were the golden family with the perfect life. On the inside they built the perfect lie.

A young nanny who plunged to her death, or was she pushed? A nine-year-old girl who collects sharp objects and refuses to speak. A lawyer whose job it is to uncover who in the family is a victim and who is a murderer. But how can you find out the truth when everyone here is lying?

Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny – in the midst of her parent’s bitter divorce – and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel for children in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella’s mentor, a revered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.

From the moment Stella passes through the iron security gate and steps into the gilded, historic DC home of the Barclays, she realizes the case is even more twisted, and the Barclay family far more troubled, than she feared. And there’s something eerie about the house itself: It’s a plastic house, with not a single bit of glass to be found.

As Stella comes closer to uncovering the secrets the Barclays are desperate to hide, danger wraps around her like a shroud, and her past and present are set on a collision course in ways she never expected. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny’s murder. The mother, the father, the grandmother, the nanny’s boyfriend. Even Rose. Is the person Stella’s supposed to protect the one she may need protection from?

Review:

Ominous, edgy, and intricate!

House of Glass is a fast-paced, compelling thriller that takes you on a journey into the life of best-interest lawyer Stella Hudson as she juggles a new case involving a philandering husband, an extremely wealthy wife, a doting grandmother, a pregnant nanny who may or may not have accidentally fallen to her death, and a nine-year-old client who hasn’t uttered a word since the tragic event.

The prose is crisp and tight. The characters are secretive, protective, and vulnerable. And the plot is a complex, menacing tale of family, friendship, deception, lies, drama, manipulation, secrets, revelations, suspicious personalities, violence, and murder.

Overall, House of Glass is another suspenseful, twisty, intense tale by Pekkanen that does a remarkable job of highlighting that people aren’t always who they seem to be and that desperate people often do desperate things.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sarah Pekkanen

SARAH PEKKANEN is the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of four novels of suspense including The Golden Couple and The Wife Between Us, and the solo author of the thriller Gone Tonight. A passionate volunteer for rescue animals, she serves as an Ambassador for RRSA India and works hands-on in India to heal and vaccinate street dogs. She lives just outside of Washington, D.C., with her family.

Photo Credit: Kristina Sherk

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#BookReview The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish by Paula Brackston @StMartinsPress #TheHauntingOfHecateCavendish #PaulaBrackston #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish by Paula Brackston @StMartinsPress #TheHauntingOfHecateCavendish #PaulaBrackston #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish

Author: Paula Brackston

Series: Hecate Cavendish #1

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jul. 23, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish is book one in New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston’s new, magic-infused series about Hecate Cavendish, an eccentric and feisty young woman who can see ghosts.

England, 1881. Hereford cathedral stands sentinel over the city, keeping its secrets, holding long forgotten souls in its stony embrace. Hecate Cavendish speeds through the cobbled streets on her bicycle, skirts hitched daringly high, heading for her new life as Assistant Librarian. But this is no ordinary collection of books. The cathedral houses an ancient chained library, wisdom guarded for centuries, mysteries and stories locked onto its worn, humble shelves. The most prized artifact, however, is the medieval world map which hangs next to Hecate’s desk.

Little does she know how much the curious people and mythical creatures depicted on it will come to mean to her. Nor does she suspect that there are lost souls waiting for her in the haunted cathedral. Some will become her dearest friends. Some will seek her help in finding peace. Others will put her in great peril, and, as she quickly learns, threaten the lives of everyone she loves.

Review:

Atmospheric, whimsical, and action-packed!

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish is a creative, thrilling novel that takes you to Victorian England and into the life of Hecate Cavendish, a young woman who, after starting her new job as a librarian assistant at the Hereford cathedral, quickly finds herself spending her days enthralled by a magical map, surrounded by supernatural creatures, investigating odd occurrences, communing with lost souls, protecting sacred texts, and trying her best to keep the dead away from the living.

The writing is rich and dark. The characters are spunky, inquisitive, and fearless. And the plot is an adventurous tale about life, loss, friendship, family, secrets, deception, action, wandering spirits, danger, and magical realism.

Overall, The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish is an imaginative, passionate, fantastical start to a new series by Brackston that is bursting with soul-searching dilemmas, a dab of romance, dangerous endeavours, and complex, endearing characters.

 

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 Paula Brackston

PAULA BRACKSTON is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and The Little Shop of Found Things, among others. Paula lives with her family in the historical border city of Hereford in the beautiful Wye valley. When not at her desk in her writing room, she enjoys long walks with the dog in a sublime landscape filled with the imprints of past lives and ancient times.

Photo Credit: Skyla Holman

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#BookReview Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne @StMartinsPress #LennyMarksGetsAwayWithMurder #KerrynMayne #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Mystery/Thriller
#BookReview Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne @StMartinsPress #LennyMarksGetsAwayWithMurder #KerrynMayne #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder

Author: Kerryn Mayne

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jul. 9, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life.

She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm each day, buys the same groceries for the same meals every week, and owns thirty-six copies of The Hobbit(currently arranged by height). The closest thing she has to a friendship is playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friendsreruns.

And Lenny Marks is very, very good at not remembering what happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child. The day a voice in the back of her mind started whispering, You did this.

Until a letter from the parole board arrives in the mail–and when her desperate attempts to ignore it fail, Lenny starts to unravel. As long-buried memories come to the surface, Lenny’s careful routines fall apart. For the first time, she finds herself forced to connect with the community around her, and unexpected new relationships begin to bloom. Lenny Marks may finally get a life–but what if her past catches up to her first?

Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming, Kerryn Mayne’s stunning debut is an irresistible novel about truth, secrets, vengeance, and family lost and found, with a heroine who’s simply unforgettable.

Review:

Surprising, captivating, and sweet!

Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is a heartfelt, absorbing tale that takes you into the life of Lenny Marks, a socially awkward, Hobbit-loving teacher who, after receiving a letter from a parole board, struggles to come to grips with a past she thought she knew with the darker one that seems to be slowly seeping into her consciousness from memories she has suppressed for a very long time.

The writing is tender and light. The characters are quirky, endearing, and well-developed. And the plot is a compelling, hopeful tale of life, loss, secrets, resilience, abuse, friendship, revelations, childhood trauma, violence, self-identification, and moving on.

Overall, Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is a twisty, charming, moving tale by Mayne that is a wonderful reminder that even after suffering the most unimaginable cruelty and tragedy, humanity still has the innate ability to hope, heal, and live healthy lives.

 

This book is available now. 

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

 

       

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in an exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kerryn Mayne

Kerryn Mayne is an author, former wedding photographer, and current police officer. When not at work attempting to solve crime, she is writing about it or preparing an endless stream of snacks for her four children. Kerryn lives in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, children and a highly suspect lovebird. She only owns 11 copies of The Hobbit (for now). Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder is her debut novel.

Photo Credit: Kelly Dwyer Portraiture

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#BookReview Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner @NatalieMJenner @StMartinsPress #EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye #NatalieJenner #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner @NatalieMJenner @StMartinsPress #EveryTimeWeSayGoodbye #NatalieJenner #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Author: Natalie Jenner

Series: Jane Austen Society #3

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 14, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry’s last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job in as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

Review:

Complex, compelling, and immersive!

Every Time We Say Goodbye is an alluring, atmospheric tale set in Italy, predominantly during 1955, that immerses you into the life of British screenwriter Vivien Lowery who, after having her latest London play fail miserably with reviewers, travels to Rome to start a new career using her writing talents in the film industry while also discovering the fate of her late fiancé who never made it back from the war.

The prose is seamless and expressive. The characters are compassionate, intriguing, and scarred. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel effortlessly into a vivid tale of life, loss, family, friendship, self-discovery, regret, grief, sacrifice, love, war, and the glitz and glamour of cinematic theatre in the 1950s.

Overall, Every Time We Say Goodbye is a lush, intriguing, absorbing tale by Jenner that does a lovely job of blending historical events, palpable emotion, and thought-provoking fiction.

 

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 Natalie Jenner

Natalie Jenner was born in England and emigrated to Canada as a young child. She obtained her B.A. and her LL.B. from the University of Toronto, where she was the 1990 Gold Medalist in English Literature at St. Michael's College, and was Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1995. In addition to a brief career as a corporate lawyer, Natalie has worked as a recruiter, career coach, and consultant to leading law firms in Canada for over two decades. Most recently Natalie founded the independent bookstore Archetype Books in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs. A lifelong devotee of all things Jane Austen, "The Jane Austen Society" is her first published novel.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #TheRomCommers #KatherineCenter #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction
#BookReview The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #TheRomCommers #KatherineCenter #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Rom-Commers

Author: Katherine Center

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jun. 11, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 10/10

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

Review:

Addictive, charming, and fun!

The Rom-Commers is an amusing, feel-good, enemies-to-lovers romance that takes you into the lives of both Emma Wheeler, a young aspiring screenwriter who has selflessly put her dreams on hold in order to provide round-the-clock care for her debilitated father until the opportunity of a lifetime leaves her once again contemplating more, and the broody, handsome Charlie Yates who has the career of his dreams writing action films for Hollywood until he’s required to write a dreaded rom-com and must reluctantly accept the help from a woman who may finally challenge his long-standing views on relationships and love.

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

Overall, The Rom-Commers is another enchanting, optimistic, brilliant tale by Center that is the perfect blend of heart, hope, humour, and heat and is undoubtedly one of the must-read novels for summer 2024.

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

 

About Katherine Center

Katherine Center is the author of several novels about love and family: The Bright Side of Disaster, Everyone Is Beautiful, Get Lucky, and The Lost Husband. Her books and essays have appeared in Redbook, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, and Real Simple—as well as the anthologies Because I Love Her, CRUSH, and My Parents Were Awesome. Katherine is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. She lives in Houston with her husband and two sweet children.

Photo by Skylar Reeves.

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#BookReview The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer @mikkibrammer @StMartinsPress #TheCollectedRegretsOfClover #MikkiBrammer #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, General Fiction
#BookReview The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer @mikkibrammer @StMartinsPress #TheCollectedRegretsOfClover #MikkiBrammer #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Collected Regrets of Clover

Author: Mikki Brammer

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 21, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, General Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?

From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story––and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.

Probing, clever, and hopeful, The Collected Regrets of Clover is perfect for readers of The Midnight Library and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine as it turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life.

Review:

Absorbing, heartfelt, and sweet!

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a heartwarming, compelling tale that takes you on a journey into the life of Clover Brooks, a death doula who after helping many people pass into the next life and compiling and reviewing a list of their regrets, finally discovers the importance of taking chances, embracing change, and finding contentment.

The prose is light and hopeful. The characters are complex, authentic, and supportive. And the plot is a delightful tale about life, loss, family, kindness, love, self-discovery, happiness, romance, grief, death, and moving on.

Overall, The Collected Regrets of Clover is a tender, uplifting, nostalgic tale by Brammer, complete with strong, endearing characters, a touching storyline, and an insightful look into remorse and the unbreakable ties that bind us to those we love.

 

This book is available in paperback now. 

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

 

       

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me a copy in an exchange for an honest review.

 

About Mikki Brammer

Mikki Brammer is an Australian journalist based in New York City, by way of France and Spain. She writes about design, architecture and art for publications such as Architectural Digest, Dwell and ELLE Decor. The Collected Regrets of Clover is her debut novel.

Photo Credit: Mark Wickens

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