Source: St. Martin's Press

#BookReview If a Poem Could Live and Breath by Mary Calvi @MaryCalviTV @StMartinsPress #IfAPoemCouldLiveandBreath #MaryCalvi #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview If a Poem Could Live and Breath by Mary Calvi @MaryCalviTV @StMartinsPress #IfAPoemCouldLiveandBreath #MaryCalvi #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: If a Poem Could Live and Breathe

Author: Mary Calvi

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Feb. 14, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A fact-based romantic speculative novel about Teddy Roosevelt’s first love, by Mary Calvi, author of Dear George, Dear Mary.

Studded with the real love letters between a young Theodore Roosevelt and Boston beauty Alice Lee—many of them never before published—If a Poem Could Live and Breathe makes vivid what many historians believe to be the pivotal years that made the future president into the man of action that defined his political life, and cemented his legacy.

Cambridge, 1878. The era of the Gilded Age. Alice Lee sets out to break from the norms of her mother’s generation. Women are fighting for educational opportunities and exploring a new sense of intellectual and personal freedom. Native New Yorker, Harvard student Teddy Roosevelt, is on his own journey of discovery, and when they meet, unrelenting currents of love change the trajectory of his life forever.

If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is an indelible portrait of the authenticity of first love, the heartache of loss, and how overcoming the worst of life’s obstacles can push one to greatness never imagined.


Review:

Sentimental, tender, and intriguing!

If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is a compelling, heart-tugging tale that sweeps you away to the late 1870s and into the lives of Harvard student Theodore Roosevelt and debutante Alice Lee Hathaway who, after meeting on an estate in Chestnut Hill, MA, quickly became friends, confidants, and partners until Valentine’s Day just over three years from the day of their marriage when tragedy strikes and Alice succumbs to an undiagnosed kidney infection while giving birth to their first child.

The prose is evocative and rich. The characters are multilayered, intelligent, and engaging. And the plot, infused with preserved love letters, is a fascinating tale about life, loss, family, friendship, history, emotion, determination, heartbreak, passion, and love.

Overall, If a Poem Could Live and Breathe is a beautifully written, enchanting tale by Calvi that does a remarkable job of highlighting her immense knowledge and research into this complex, historical figure who although lived to have an incredibly successful life, both politically and personally, never fully recovered from the sudden loss of his first true love.

 

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 Mary Calvi

MARY CALVI is a 12-time New York Emmy award-winning journalist and national anchor. Her in-depth research for her debut book, DEAR GEORGE, DEAR MARY: A Novel of George Washington's First Love, is the basis of a Smithsonian Channel documentary. Calvi lives in Yonkers, New York.

Photo Credit: Joe Panella.

#BookReview A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan @smpromance @StMartinsPress #SophieSullivan #AGuidetoBeingJustFriends #JansenBrothersSeries #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan @smpromance @StMartinsPress #SophieSullivan #AGuidetoBeingJustFriends #JansenBrothersSeries #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: A Guide to Being Just Friends

Author: Sophie Sullivan

Series: Jansen Brothers #3

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Jan. 17, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 7.5/10

A playful and emotional romantic comedy from the author of Ten Rules for Faking It

Hailey Sharp has a one-track mind. Get By the Cup salad shop off the ground. Do literally everything possible to make it a success. Repeat. With a head full of entrepreneurial ideas and a bad ex in her rearview, her one and only focus is living life the way she wants to. No distractions.

Wes Jansen never did understand the fuss about relationships. With a string of lackluster first dates and the pain from his parents’ angry divorce following him around, he’d much rather find someone who he likes, but won’t love. Companionship, not passion, is the name of the game.

When Hailey and Wes find each other in a disastrous meet cute that wasn’t even intended for them, they embarrassingly go their separate ways. But when Wes finds Hailey to apologize for his behavior, they strike a friendship. Because that’s all this can be. Hailey doesn’t want any distractions. Wes doesn’t want to fall in love.

What could possibly go wrong?


Review:

Engaging, heartfelt, and fun!

A Guide to Being Just Friends is an alluring, friends-to-lovers romance that transports you to the idyllic San Verde and into the lives of the hardworking, heartbroken Hailey Sharp, who is determined after a disastrous breakup to put all her time and effort into making her new salad shop a success, and the intelligent, successful Wes Jansen who is content with casual dating and determined to never fall in love.

The writing is witty and light. The characters are sweet, helpful, and friendly. And the plot is a charming blend of life, love, introspection, friendship, family, awkward situations, misunderstandings, undeniable attraction, and taking chances.

Overall, A Guide to Being Just Friends is an amusing, lighthearted, slow-burning tale by Sullivan that is the third and last book in the Jansen Brothers series, and even though it can definitely be read as a standalone, as someone who missed the first two novels in the series, I think I would have enjoyed this one even more if I had had the chance to read them.

 

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 Sophie Sullivan

SOPHIE SULLIVAN is a Canadian author as well as a cookie-eating, Diet Pepsi-drinking, Disney enthusiast who loves reading and writing romance in almost equal measure. She writes around her day job as a teacher and spends her spare time with her sweet family watching reruns of Friends. TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT is her romcom debut novel, but she's had plenty of practice writing happily ever after as her alter ego, Jody Holford.

#BookReview The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale @RKapelkeDale @StMartinsPress #TheIngenue #RachelKalpekeDale #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencer

#BookReview The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale @RKapelkeDale @StMartinsPress #TheIngenue #RachelKalpekeDale #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencer Title: The Ingenue

Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Dec. 6, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen’s Gambit in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge.

When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother’s unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother’s will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past–and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life–for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?

Set against a post #MeToo landscape, The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia’s childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.


Review:

Dark, dramatic, and disturbing!

The Ingenue is a gritty, suspenseful tale that takes you into the life of Saskia Kreis, a thirty-seven-year-old former piano prodigy who, after returning home after her mother’s death to find she’s been disinherited and that her mother has left her multi-million dollar mansion to an old family friend, decides to open up old wounds and discover just how inappropriate her teenage relationship was with this man and just how many others he may have also targeted.

The prose is taut and tight. The characters are vulnerable, consumed, and tormented. And the plot does a exceptional job of building tension and unease as it subtly intertwines and unravels an intricate tale of lies, secrets, abuse, control, manipulation, expectations, revenge, and redemption.

Overall, The Ingenue is an unsettling, compelling psychological thriller by Kapelke-Dale that delves into all the deep, dark secrets people keep even from those closest to them and raises the question of how well do you really know anyone.

 

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 Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Rachel Kapelke-Dale is the co-author of GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND (Penguin 2014), a memoir about the significance and nuances of female friendships. The author of Vanity Fair Hollywood's column "Advice from the Stars," Kapelke-Dale spent years in intensive ballet training before receiving a BA from Brown University, an MA from the Université de Paris VII, and a PhD from University College London. She currently lives in Paris.

Photo by author.

#BookReview The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker @JDenkerAuthor @smpromance @StMartinsPress #JayneDenker #TheRomComAgenda #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker @JDenkerAuthor @smpromance @StMartinsPress #JayneDenker #TheRomComAgenda #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: The Rom-Com Agenda

Author: Jayne Denker

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Jan. 10, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

You know how the story’s supposed to go…but love makes its own plans.

STEP 1: Find yourself
Leah Keegan is used to being alone, especially after taking care of her sick foster mother for the past year. But now there’s nothing keeping her in the sweet town of Willow Cove. It’s time to move on. Again.

STEP 2: Win back the one who got away
Eli Masterson thought he and Victoria were meant to be together until she decided to jet off to Rome for a year. Eli is determined to win her back. But how?

STEP 3: Become a romantic hero
Changing Eli’s physical appearance is easy, but to turn Eli into the sophisticated-yet-vulnerable ideal man, his girl pals force him to watch classic rom-coms. And take notes.

STEP 4: Fall in love?
Inadvertently drawn into the makeover scheme, Leah ends up being Eli’s guide through the wild world of meet-cutes and grand gestures. Even though she believes Eli doesn’t need to change a thing about himself. Even though she just might be falling for Eli . . . and Eli falling for her.


Review:

Uplifting, charming, and cute!

The Rom-Com Agenda is a heartwarming, comical tale that takes you to the idyllic town of Willow Cove, New York and into the life of the hardworking, kind Leah Keegan as she grieves the loss of her foster mom, struggles to make ends meet, continually plans for when she can finally afford to move away and start a new life, inadvertently befriends a group of locals who take her under their wing, and tries to hide a growing attraction for a man who, unfortunately, longs to marry another.

The writing is witty and light. The characters are sweet, friendly, and endearing. And the plot is an amusing blend of life, love, introspection, friendship, family, embarrassing moments, awkward situations, misunderstandings, undeniable attraction, and taking chances.

Overall, The Rom-Com Agenda is a humorous, charming, engaging read by Denker that pays homage to all the greatest rom-coms and does a lovely job of mixing some tender moments with some lighthearted fun.

 

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

 

About Jayne Denker

Jayne Denker is the author of romantic comedies, including The Rom-Com Agenda and the Welcome to Marsden series. When she's not hard at work on another novel (or, rather, when she should be hard at work on another novel), she can usually be found frittering away stupid amounts of time on social media.

Photo by Elizabeth Torgerson-Lamark.

#BookReview A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones @Darynda @smpromance @StMartinsPress #AHardDayForAHangover #DaryndaJones #SunshineVicram #StMartinsPress #smpinfluencer

#BookReview A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones @Darynda @smpromance @StMartinsPress #AHardDayForAHangover #DaryndaJones #SunshineVicram #StMartinsPress #smpinfluencer Title: A Hard Day for a Hangover

Author: Darynda Jones

Series: Sunshine Vicram #3

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Dec. 6, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Romantic Suspense

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for good.

Like we said, the new day can take a hike.


Review:

Lighthearted, quirky, and highly entertaining!

A Hard Day for a Hangover is a playful, engaging, suspenseful tale that takes us back to Del Sol, New Mexico, one last time and into the life of Sunshine Vicram, police chief extraordinaire, as she once again has her hands full with robberies, assaults, murders, an escaped convict, a town flasher, a pregnant racoon, a daughter indulging in first love, and a childhood sweetheart she may finally get to settle down with.

The writing is witty and sweet. The characters are sharp, supportive, and endearing. And the plot is an enticing mix of friendship, family, danger, drama, tension, attraction, community, intrigue, violence, spirited mishaps, romance, and a little heat.

Overall, A Hard Day for a Hangover is the third and final story in the Sunshine Vicram series, and even though it’s more than a little bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing gang of characters I’ve come to know and love over these past three novels, it is nevertheless a superb ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

This book is available now.

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

               

 

 

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

 

About Darynda Jones

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. She currently has two series with St. Martin's Press, the Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of more than 25 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview The Villa by Rachel Hawkins @LadyHawkins @StMartinsPress #TheVillaNovel #RachelHawkins #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview The Villa by Rachel Hawkins @LadyHawkins @StMartinsPress #TheVillaNovel #RachelHawkins #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Villa

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Jan. 3, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 288

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8/10

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.


Review:

Compelling, ominous, and unpredictable!

The Villa transports you into the life of cosy mystery writer Emily Sheridan who, after recently battling illness and a nasty divorce, heads to an Italian villa at the invitation of her childhood best friend and successful self-help author Chess Chandler, where the past will collide with the present, long-buried secrets will be unearthed, and the infamous murder that occurred on the property in 1974 and was the inspiration for the classic, celebrated horror novel, Lilith Rising may finally be solved.

The writing is taut and tight. The characters are self-indulgent, secretive, and vulnerable. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth, past/present style, intertwines and unravels effortlessly into a machiavellian tale full of manipulation, deception, lies, drama, jealousy, secrets, revelations, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, The Villa is a twisty, intense, sinister tale by Hawkins that does an excellent job of delving into the complex dynamics that exist between friends and highlights just how toxic, parasitic, and dangerous some of those relationships can turn out to be.

 

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 Rachel Hawkins

Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, as well as multiple books for young readers, and her work has been translated in over a dozen countries. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.

Photo by John Hawkins.

#BookReview Desperation in Death by J. D.Robb @StMartinsPress #ForgotteninDeath #JDRobb #InDeathSeries #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Desperation in Death by J. D.Robb @StMartinsPress #ForgotteninDeath #JDRobb #InDeathSeries #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Desperation in Death

Author: J. D. Robb

Series: In Death #55

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Sep. 6, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

The #1 New York Times bestselling author presents a gripping new thriller that pits homicide detective Eve Dallas against a conspiracy of exploitation and evil…

New York, 2061: The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two—but they’d been equally desperate.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene.

Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking—and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Her billionaire husband, Roarke, may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich. But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface she can barely control. No matter what, she must keep her head clear–because above all, she is desperate for justice and to take down those who prey on and torment the innocent.


Review:

Deviant, gripping, and sophisticated!

In this latest novel by Robb, Desperation in Death, we head back to New York during 2061, where NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her partner Detective Peabody now find themselves on a gruesome case involving a dead teen elegantly groomed and a missing girl who knows more about what the well-funded “Academy” is really a school for.

The writing is absorbing and meticulous. The characters are multilayered, persistent, and intuitive. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine methodically into a sinister tale full of deception, deprivation, manipulation, abuse, corruption, mayhem, violence, murder, and the disturbing, depraved world of sex trafficking.

It’s hard to believe that this novel, Desperation in Death, is the fifty-fifth book in the In Death  series, and even though I have not read close to even half of the books in this obviously well-loved, remarkable series, I have to say I think this is the best one I’ve ever read and my new all-time favourite in the series.

 

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 J. D. Robb

J.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke. Forgotten in Death (St. Martin's Press, September 2021) is the 53rd entry in the series.

#BookReview Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath @VirginiaHeath_ @smpromance @StMartinsPress #NeverRescueaRogue #VirginiaHeath #MerriwellSisters #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath @VirginiaHeath_ @smpromance @StMartinsPress #NeverRescueaRogue #VirginiaHeath #MerriwellSisters #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: Never Rescue a Rogue

Author: Virginia Heath

Series: The Merriwell Sisters #2

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Nov. 8, 2022

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

Virginia Heath’s Never Rescue a Rogue, the next book in the Merriwell Sisters series, is filled with whip-smart banter, swoony romance, hilarious mishaps, and twisty reveals that will make you gasp and laugh in delight.

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle. But they do have one thing in common—the secrets they can’t risk escaping.

When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son’s birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that the two of them insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. Soon, the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line…


Review:

Scandalous, seductive, and fun!

Never Rescue a Rogue is a playful, heartwarming tale that sweeps you away to London during 1826 and into the life of Diana Merriwell, a young, clever journalist who is determined to keep her identity as “The Sentinel” a secret at any cost, even if it means befriending and helping the annoyingly handsome, newly appointed Duke of Harpenden, Giles Sinclair who seems to be inundated with troubles and devastating secrets of his own.

The prose is amusing and light. The characters are loyal, charming, and endearing. And the plot is a delightfully enchanting tale full of family, friendship, societal expectations, scheming behaviour, tricky situations, desire, illegitimacy, danger, and steamy romance.

Overall, Never Rescue a Roque is a fast-paced, enticing, highly entertaining read by Heath that is the second book in The Merriwell Sisters series and a novel that I absolutely adored.

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

 

About Virginia Heath

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Fortunately, the lovely people at Harlequin Mills & Boon took pity on her and decided to publish her romances, but it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

#BookReview Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese @Laurie_Albanese @StMartinsPress #HesterNovel #LaurieLicoAlbanese #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese @Laurie_Albanese @StMartinsPress #HesterNovel #LaurieLicoAlbanese #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Hester

Author: Laurie Lico Albanese

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Oct. 4, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 10/10

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Edinburgh for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they’ve arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward’s safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country’s complicated past, and learns that America’s ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel’s story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a “real” American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of “unusual” women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.

A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England’s witchcraft trials.


Review:

Absorbing, multilayered, and moving!

Hester is an expressive, compelling tale set in Scotland and Salem during both the early 1800s and 1662 when religious condemnation and fear of the unknown was rife, women with special abilities were labelled witches, the Underground Railroad was working tirelessly to give slaves the freedom they so rightly deserved, cruel and barbaric behaviour towards women who didn’t conform to what society deemed norm was still acceptable, and love still managed to blossom everywhere even under the most unlikely of circumstances.

The prose is evocative and rich. The characters are strong, resilient, and haunted. And the plot is an engrossing tale about life, loss, friendship, family, determination, courage, self-identity, sexism, prejudice, poverty, survival, romance, and the beauty of colour.

Overall, Hester is a book you have to read to truly appreciate just how atmospheric, alluring, and beautifully written it is. It grabs you from the very first page and does a remarkable job of blending historical facts with captivating fiction that’s both intriguing, creative, and exceptionally immersive, especially for those who, like myself, are fans of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

 

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 Laurie Lico Albanese

Laurie Lico Albanese has published fiction, poetry, journalism, travel writing, creative nonfiction, and memoir. Her books include Stolen Beauty, Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir, Lynelle by the Sea, and The Miracles of Prato, co-written with art historian Laura Morowitz. Laurie is married to a publishing executive and is the mother of two children.

#BookReview The Revenge by Tijan @TijansBooks @smpromance @StMartinsPress #TheRevenge #Tijan #TheInsidersTrilogy #smpromance #smpinfluencers

#BookReview The Revenge by Tijan @TijansBooks @smpromance @StMartinsPress #TheRevenge #Tijan #TheInsidersTrilogy #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: The Revenge

Author: Tijan

Series: The Insiders #3

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Sep. 13, 2022

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Young Adult

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

The Revenge is the taut, edgy, sexy, explosive conclusion to The Insiders trilogy by New York Times and USA Today bestseller Tijan!

Bailey and Kash were used to living in the shadows. Now they are thrust into the public eye. Together, they can do anything, but undeniable danger and seemingly insurmountable challenges threaten the love and passion that binds them.

1. Bailey is reeling from the greatest loss she has ever suffered.

2. Enemies are closing in.

3. Even bigger secrets and twists are coming to light.

Win or lose, for Bailey and Kash, everything is on the line.


Review:

Charged, crafty, and alluring!

The Revenge is a captivating, action-packed tale that picks up right where The Damaged left off, with Bailey continuing to struggle with her grief over the sudden, tragic loss of her mother and Kash continuing his relentless pursuit of the one man consumed with taking him down, his cold, calculated maternal grandfather.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are suffering, committed, and determined. And the plot is an enticing mix of friendship, family, danger, drama, heartbreak, revenge, support, desire, and love.

Overall, The Revenge is the third and final story in The Insiders Trilogy, and even though it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the characters I’ve come to know and love over these past three novels, it is nevertheless a satisfying ending to an entertaining series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

 

This book is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to SMP Romance – St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Tijan

Tijan is a New York Times bestselling author who writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She's written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and Ryan's Bed among others. She is currently writing to her heart's content in north Minnesota with an English Cocker Spaniel she adores.

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