The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet—until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation, and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.
Award-winning author Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling listen with this unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship and reveals that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.
Review
There is a scream that shatters the silence in the reading room at the Boston Public Library. A dead body of a woman has been discovered by a cleaning lady. This leads to four strangers, who just happen to be sitting at the same table, to become sleuths and fast friends.
I enjoyed the setting of Boston and the Boston Public library. It is now on the bucket list. The story itself is just ok. I had trouble connecting to the characters. But, I did enjoy the mystery and the convoluted way the author gets you to the killer!
The narrator, Katherine Littrell, did a pretty good job. She needs to work on her southern accent though.
Need a good book in a good setting…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
A stylish and suspenseful historical page-turner following an up-and-coming journalist who stumbles onto a web of secrets, deceptions, and mysteries at a popular new literary magazine–inspired by the true story of CIA intervention in Cold War American arts and letters.
New York City, 1953: Louise Leithauser’s star is on the rise. She’s filed some of the best pieces at her boyfriend Joe’s brand new literary magazine, Downtown (albeit under a male pseudonym), her relationship still makes her weak at the knees, and the science fiction romance she’s writing on the side, “The Lunar Housewife,” is going swimmingly. But when she overhears Joe and his business partner fighting about listening devices and death threats, Louise can’t help but investigate, and she quickly finds herself wading into dangerous waters.
As Louise pieces together rumors, hunches, and clues, the picture begins to come together–Downtown’s strings are being pulled by someone powerful, and that someone doesn’t want artists or writers criticizing Uncle Sam. Meanwhile, opportunities are falling in Louise’s lap that she’d have to be crazy to refuse, including an interview with America’s most famous living author, Ernest Hemingway. Can Louise stand by and let doors keep opening for her, while the establishment sells out and censors her fellow writers? As her suspicions and paranoia mount, Louise’s own novel “The Lunar Housewife” changes shape, colored by her newfound knowledge. And when Louise is forced to consider her future sooner than she planned, she needs to decide whether she can trust Joe for the rest of her life.
Peppered with cameos from real life luminaries such as Truman Capote and James Baldwin, and full of period detail and nail-biting tension, Caroline Woods channels 1950s New York glamour as Louise’s investigation brings her face to face with shocking secrets, brutal sexism, and life or death consequences. Deeply researched and propulsive, The Lunar Housewife is a historical thriller rich with meaning for modern readers.
Review
Louise is a writer. She has published several works under a male pseudonym for her boyfriend’s magazine. She is also writing a science fiction novel which is showing great promise. With her love life and her professional life going so well, it comes as a shock when she overhears a conversation. So, she starts to investigate and and ends up in dangerous territory.
Now, I am in the minority on this book. I read a few reviews and a lot of people loved this book. I, however, did not. This is a story which I enjoyed while I was reading it but, if I ever put it down, I didn’t want to pick it back up. I did not like either one of the main characters. Louise is wishy washy and Joe is just not a nice man. He does his best to cut Louise down to size on several occasions even going behind her back to make sure she didn’t achieve her goals and that just did not sit well with me.
I am also not a fan of the story within a story format. We get to read Louise’s novel throughout this novel. I will be honest…I skimmed a good bit of that part.
That being said…there was still something about this story which kept me reading. I did enjoy the name dropping and reading about Hemingway. I also enjoyed the time period and the mystery surrounding Joe.
Need a glamorous historical fiction novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
When Mia James is washed up on a beautiful, sun-drenched beach, she has no idea who she is or what happened to her. She doesn’t even recognize her own face–until her boyfriend, Piers, comes forward, providing her with an identity.
Piers is handsome and attentive, Mia’s home is huge and stylish, and her friends are eager to help her fill in the blanks. As Mia steps into the perfect life she was living before her accident, she should feel lucky to be alive. But she struggles to adjust, lost for words around people she is meant to know and love, grasping for clues about who she really is.
And as her memories slowly return, Mia realizes something is very wrong. Her neighbors are avoiding her, her emails have all been wiped, and she is haunted by the face of a woman standing by the water. Too many things just don’t seem to add up, and she begins to question those closest to her….
What if nearly drowning didn’t happen by accident?
How does she know who to trust, when she’s not even sure she can trust herself?
From the million-copy best-selling author of The Secret Mother and The Perfect Family, this completely addictive psychological thriller will have you racing through until the final jaw-dropping twist. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and The Wife Between Us, this book is for you.
Review
Mia has washed ashore and she has absolutely no memories. She doesn’t know who she is or how she ended up on the beach. But, as her flashbacks start to fill in the gaps, she realizes there is no one she can trust. Not even herself.
This was almost a 5 star read for me. But, the main character, Mia, is just a bit too naive, especially at the beginning. Yes, I understand she lost her memories and that is one of the most appealing parts of the book. But, she is so trusting…not sure a true person in this situation would be so unquestioning about certain situations.
I flew through this book. I even listened at work (a rare occurrence!). But I truly had to find out where this story was going. Plus, the ending did surprise me…that’s rare too! This story is fast paced and definitely intriguing!
The narrator, Katie Villa, is fabulous! Great job on the pacing and all the different voices!
Need a unique thriller with a surprise ending…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this audiobook from the publisher for a honest review.
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Sunrise Cove with a powerful, moving story about a young woman on a quest to find the truth about her father who learns the meaning of true love along the way.
Alone in the world, Tae Holmes and her mother April pretty much raised each other, but as Tae starts asking questions about the father she’s never met, April, for the first time in her life, goes silent. To make matters worse, Tae is dangerously close to broke and just manages to avoid financial meltdown when she lands a shiny new contract with an adventure company for athletes with disabilities and wounded warriors.
Her first big fundraiser event falls flat, but what starts out as a terrible, horrible, no-good night turns into something else entirely when Tae finds herself face-to-face with Riggs Copeland. She hasn’t seen the former Marine since their brief fling in high school, and while still intensely drawn to him, she likes her past burned and buried, thank you very much. Hence their friendship pact.
But when April oddly refuses to help Tae track down her father, it’s Riggs who unexpectedly comes to her aid. On a hunt to unlock the past, the two of them find themselves on a wild ride and learn a shocking truth, while also reluctantly bonding in a way neither had seen coming. Now Tae must decide whether she’s going to choose love … or walk away from her own happiness.
Review
April had Tae when she was just 15 years old. It has been just these two for a long time. Things are now starting to change for both of them. Tae has opened her own business and April is pursuing her photography work. However, things come crashing down around them when Tae discovers a life long lie!
Tae meets an old flame at her first big fundraiser which she is in charge of. Riggs throws her off balance like no one else. They had a brief fling in high school and neither one can forget it! However, Tae would like too…but the chemistry is just too strong.
Riggs and Tae are two of the best characters. Riggs is a former marine and he is HOT! Tae is tough in her own right. But, she is a softee at heart. I fell for both of these characters right off the bat! But, you will have to read this to find out if they can overcome what Tae thinks is a betrayal.
Jill Shalvis never disappoints! She has become my go to author for a lighthearted read with fantastic characters. And she has done it once again with this wonderful tale! And no one does snarky like this author. So, be careful reading this in public. I promise you…you will laugh out loud!
Need a fabulous book which will make you laugh out loud and
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Aidan Marlowe is the superstitious type. He’s been playing the same lottery numbers for fifteen years, never hitting the jackpot. Until now.
On the day of his wife’s funeral. Aidan struggles to cope with these two sudden extremes: instant wealth beyond his imagination and the loss of the only woman he’s ever loved, the mother of his twin children. But the money gives him and his kids options they didn’t have before. They can leave everything behind. They can start a new life in a new town. So they do.
But a huge new house and all the money in the world can’t replace what they’ve lost, and it’s not long before Aidan realizes he’s merely trading old demons for new ones. Because someone is watching him and his family very closely. Someone who knows exactly who they are, where they’ve come from, and what they’re trying to hide. Someone who will stop at nothing to get what they want…
Review
Aidan lost his wife and won the lottery all in the same day. He decides to escape his old life and he buys a new home in a new city. After his family moves into the new house, strange letters start to arrive. Then the history of the house comes to light.
This is a story in which I could have cared less about Aidan. This very seldom happens to me. But, he just did not click with my psyche, not one little bit. That being said…there was something about this story which kept me listening. And…I am glad I did. The ending is twisted! I saw it coming but I enjoyed the fall out!
The narrator, Gary Bennett, did a very good job. Sometimes children’s voices are not done very well. But, he did a good job with Aidan’s children. That will always be a measuring stick for me. If you get the child’s voice wrong…I will dnf an audiobook in a flash.
Need a good neighborhood thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
She has one last chance to prove she chose the right course for her life.
In 1908, young Dorothy Tuckerman chafes under the bland, beige traditions of her socialite circles. Only the aristocracy’s annual summer trips to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia spark her imagination. In this naturally beautiful place, an unexpected romance with an Italian racecar driver gives Dorothy a taste of the passion and adventure she wants. But her family intervenes, sentencing Dorothy to the life she hopes to escape.
Thirty-eight years later, as World War II draws to a close, Dorothy has done everything a woman in the early twentieth century should not: she has divorced her husband—scandalous—and established America’s first interior design firm—shocking. Now, Dorothy returns to The Greenbrier with the assignment to restore it to something even greater than its original glory. With her beloved company’s future hanging in the balance and brimming with daring, unconventional ideas, Dorothy has one more chance to give her dreams wings or succumb to her what society tells her is her inescapable fate.
Based on the true story of famed designer Dorothy Draper, The Grand Design is a moving tale of one woman’s quest to transform the walls that hold her captive.
Review
Dorothy is a rebel! She has divorced her husband and has started the first ever design firm in America. Dorothy has now been tasked to restore some of the elegance to her old stomping ground, The Greenbrier. And she must do her best work. Her design firm is on the rocks and she needs this job to keep her and her employees afloat.
I love a novel based on a true story and Dorothy is an amazing woman. But, I felt like something was missing in the story. It is very well researched, however, it is just a bit slow and maybe a bit redundant in places. But, I am so glad I read it. I love to learn about women who decide not to follow the conventional and Dorothy definitely did life her way. She is smart and hardworking and she changed her stars!
Need a good historical fiction novel with a strong woman you probably never heard of…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Indie Next Pick “A smart and lively novel.” –Jess Walter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins “Austenesque…this goes down as easily as an Aperol spritz.” –Publishers Weekly
Meet the Geller sisters: Beck, Claire, and Sophie, a trio of strong-minded women whose pragmatic, widowed mother, Marti, will be dying soon and taking her secrets with her. Marti has ensured that her modest estate is easy for her family to deal with once she’s gone––including a provision that the family’s summer cottage on Mount Desert Island, Maine, must be sold, the proceeds split equally between the three girls.
Beck, the eldest, is a freelance journalist whose marriage looks more like a sibling bond than a passionate partnership. In fact, her husband Paul is hiding a troubling truth about his love life. For Beck, the Maine cottage has been essential to her secret wish to write a novel––and to remake the terms of her relationship.
Despite her accomplishments as a pediatric cardiologist, Claire, the middle daughter, has always felt like the Geller misfit. Recently divorced, Claire’s secret unrequited love for the wrong man is slowly destroying her, and she’s finding that her expertise on matters of the heart unfortunately doesn’t extend to her own.
Youngest daughter Sophie appears to live an Instagram-ready life, filled with glamorous work and travel, celebrities, fashion, art, and sex. In reality, her existence is a cash-strapped house of cards that may crash at any moment.
Enter C.J. Reynolds, an enigmatic southerner ex-con with his own hidden past who complicates the situation. All is not what it seems, and everything is about to change.
Review
The Geller sisters have been called together because of their mother’s death. Marti left a will and a video with a revelation for her girls. Can these girls overcome what life has to throw at them? These three sisters are so different. First is Beck. Beck is a journalist, want to be novelist. Her marriage is on the rocks but she is unsure how to fix it. Next we have Claire. She is a pediatric cardiologist and she has an unrequited love interest. Finally we have Sophie. Sophie is the “fly by the seat of her pants girl”.
Nothing like family to make you want to pull your hair out! I love these three sisters and their relationship. They are not afraid to tell each other what they think. But, when the time comes…they have each other’s backs and they learn to forgive and accept.
This story really had me all over the place. I really loved each and every character, even if I wanted to jerk one or two baldheaded because of a bad decision. And believe me…quite a few bad decisions were made by each! Add in the setting of Maine, and I was hooked! I really can see this being a binge series on Hulu or Netflix.
The narrator, Barrie Kreinik, is wonderful, especially on all the different voices.
Need a good, true to life family novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Kari Bell is a hard core loner. Her debilitating panic attacks have her dependent on potions, salves and thunder shirts for humans. She is summoned to a childhood home to bury her father and conceal her mother’s bloody secret. After that trauma, she buys a rundown ranch house surrounded by pasture and woodland at the end of an isolated rural road. Her two corgis and a Siamese cat are her world. In a single nightly dog walk, her fragile state of calm is gutted.
Set in an historic gossipy town whose glory days are behind it, Kari Bell’s homestead is on land that was once part of a grand plantation. Reggie Raintree, the last Raintree Plantation heir, has returned on a mission to locate and excavate ancient gold hidden somewhere on his family’s remaining acreage. All maps, however, appear to point to Kari’s little plot. Raintree wants it back.
In search of a mate, he posts an ad on a foreign bride website with the headline, “Looking for Love and Treasure.” He includes photos of an intriguing gold coin, but it’s not just any coin. It’s a coin so rare collectors call it, The Lost Love Coin. If authentic, its value is incalculable. Raintree and his Russian bride will stop at nothing to force Kari out. They bribe local officials, unleash mad dogs and cats to stalk her, steal her beloved Corgi and take her to court.
Kari must shed her loner skin, sleep with a gun next to her serenity candle and fight for what feels like home for the first time in her life all while looking for The Lost Love Coin.
In this woman’s story with a suspenseful backbone the twists are only matched by the secrets they reveal.
Review
Kari has purchased a home next to an old plantation. She has set up her home business and she and her dogs are just living their life. Until, her home and her life are threatened. Reggie Raintree has moved back into his old property of the Raintree plantation. He has no intention of letting Kari or anyone else stay anywhere near his property. He is going to make sure Kari leaves and never returns.
This story starts strong! And I thought, what have I gotten myself into. I had to put it down for just a minute to breathe in that first chapter. But, I soon became captivated by this unusual tale. Now, I am not going to lie. There were times, especially when an animal was involved, that I thought…I can’t do this. There was just something about this story, I could not stop. I had to find out what was going on!
Kari is a character which is an introvert but she has a kick. She did make some “out of character” decisions. But, she is someone I enjoyed and rooted for. I wanted her to kick some butt and win this war!
Need a good novel which will have you wanting to know the truth…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the author for a honest review.
About The Author:
Susan Dennis lives in North Carolina and runs a management consultancy supporting public health research. In 2021, she published a memoir about her life and marriage to the photographer Charles Dennis titled, The Swing – A Muse’s Memoir About Keeping The Artist Alive. Her first novel, The Secret Field, is available April 1 2022. Further information about her books and Charles’ legacy can be found at www.susandennisauthor.com.
Three plucky women lift the spirits of home-front brides in wartime Britain, where clothes rationing leaves little opportunity for pomp or celebration—even at weddings—in this heartwarming novel based on true events, from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.
After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. Praying that her niece and nephew will be more hospitable than her brother had been, she arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business while staying in a quaint country village.
Her niece, Violet Westcott, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay—the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. But just as Cressida arrives, so does Violet’s conscription letter. It couldn’t have come at a worse time; how will she ever find a suitably aristocratic husband if she has to spend her days wearing a frumpy uniform and doing war work?
Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help—but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.
Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanizes the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves.
Review
This novel follows these three women, Grace, Violet and Cressida. Cressida is a dress designer. Her shop and her apartment were completely desiccated in a bomb. So, she has to bite the bullet and head to her brother’s estate. She has not seen her brother or his family in years. He did not approve of her life choices. So, when she arrives, she meets her niece and nephew for the first time in their adult life.
Cressida’s niece, Violet, is very sheltered and has no idea about the real world. Then there is Grace. Grace is the local vicar’s daughter. She is struggling to be exactly what everyone expects her to be. With the onset of the war, all three have extreme changes in life and their plans for the future.
Now, at the beginning of this book, I was not a big fan of any of these characters. But, they began to grow on me and I found all three amazing in the end! I especially love Cressida.
This story is a great tale about resilience, strength and hope. I enjoyed everything about this novel! I especially love how all three of these characters come into their own.
Need a great WWII novel with strong women characters…THIS IS IT!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
James Byrne’s The Gatekeeper introduces Dez Limerick in the most anticipated new thriller in years.
A highly trained team of mercenaries launches a well-planned, coordinated attack on a well-guarded military contractor – but they didn’t count on one thing, the right man being in the wrong place at the right time.
Desmond Aloysius Limerick (“Dez” to all) is a retired mercenary, and enthusiastic amateur musician, currently in Southern California, enjoying the sun and sitting in on the occasional gig, when the hotel he’s at falls under attack. A skilled team attempts to kidnap the Chief legal counsel of Triton Expeditors, a major military contractor – in fact, Petra Alexandris is the daughter of the CEO – but their meticulously-planned, seamlessly executed scheme runs into the figurative ‘spanner-in-the-works,’ Dez himself.
After foiling the attack, and with nothing better to do, Dez agrees to help Alexandris with another problem she’s having – someone has embezzled more than a billion dollars from her company and left very few tracks behind. But Dez is a gatekeeper – one who opens doors and keeps them open – and this is just a door of another kind. And the door he opens leads to a dangerous conspiracy involving media manipulation, militias, an armed coup, and an attempt to fracture the United States themselves. There’s only one obstacle between the conspirators and success – and that is Dez, The Gatekeeper.
Review
Dez is retired military, mercenary or something. He foils an attempt to kidnap the daughter of Triton Expeditor’s CEO. He agrees to help find the fault in the security detail surrounding Alexandris. The more he digs, the more he discovers…not all is as it seems at Triton.
Well! I have a new book boyfriend! I love Dez! He is a little bit of everything. But, I absolutely love his wit! He cracked me up quite a few times during this book! Now, the story itself is a bit far fetched…or maybe it’s not…in this political climate…I guess it could very well happen.
This novel is action packed! I did figure out quite a few parts of the plot and so I knew what was coming next in some of the scenes. But, I enjoyed this story from start to finish. I have to say…pretty dang good thriller
John Keating is the narrator and he is SPOT ON!
Need a good thriller with the fantastic Dez…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
reecaspieces 