reecaspieces

THE SUNSHINE GIRLS

Author: Molly Fader

ISBN: 9781335453488

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Publisher: Graydon House

Overview

A cross between Firefly Lane and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a dual-narrative about two sisters who realize their mother isn’t who they’d always thought when a legendary movie star shows up at her funeral, unraveling the sweeping story of a friendship that begins at a nursing school in Iowa in 1967 and onward as it survives decades of change, war, fame—and the secrets they kept from each other and for each other.

A moment of great change sparks the friendship of a lifetime…

1967, Iowa: Nursing school roommates BettyKay and Kitty don’t have much in common. A farmer’s daughter, BettyKay has risked her family’s disapproval to make her dreams come true away from her rural small town. Cosmopolitan Kitty has always relied on her beauty and smarts to get by, and to hide a devastating secret from the past that she can’t seem to outrun. Yet the two share a determination to prove themselves in a changing world, forging an unlikely bond on a campus unkind to women.

Before their first year is up, tragedy strikes, and the women’s paths are forced apart. But against all odds, a decades-long friendship forms, persevering through love, marriage, failure, and death, from the jungles of Vietnam to the glamorous circles of Hollywood. Until one snowy night leads their relationship to the ultimate crossroads.

Fifty years later, two estranged sisters are shocked when a famous movie star shows up at their mother’s funeral. Over one rollercoaster weekend, the women must reckon with a dazzling truth about their family that will alter their lives forever…

Review

BettyKay has passed away and left two daughters, Clara and Abbie. Her two daughters are struggling in their lives and now with their mother gone, they just don’t have anything to hold them together. But at BettyKay’s funeral, the famous Kitty Devereaux shows up. Clara and Abbie are completely clueless. They had no idea their mother even knew this famous actress. But they soon find out secrets upon secrets about their mother and her life.

To say I loved this book is an understatement! This is a story I will be thinking about for years to come. BettyKay and Kitty have a friendship like no other. These two, along with Jenny, met as young nursing students. But as their lives twist and turn, these three have their ups and downs. But they always end up back together, even if it is with a few broken hearts and emotional damage.

I loved how the author unfolded the story. It reads like a mystery but it is so much more! BettyKay and Kitty both grab your heart! The emotions and the strength these ladies have to overcome everything life throws at them, and it throws a lot, is incredible. From Vietnam to Hollywood to a small midwestern town, these ladies are there for each other.

Need an emotional story you will not soon forget…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Author Bio:

MOLLY FADER is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets, The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season, and more than 40 romance novels under the pennames Molly O’Keefe and M. O’Keefe. She grew up outside of Chicago and now lives in Toronto.

Author Website: https://mollyfader.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/molly.fader

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mokeefeauthor/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MollyOKwrites?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Escreen-name%3AMollyOKwrites%7Ctwcon%5Es2 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18435981.Molly_Fader?from_search=true&from_srp=true

Buy Links:

BookShop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-sunshine-girls-original-molly-fader/18408170?ean=9781335453488 

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335453488_the-sunshine-girls.html 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sunshine-girls-molly-fader/1140810565?ean=9781335453488 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Girls-Novel-Molly-Fader/dp/1335453482/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sunshine+girls+molly+fader&qid=1668111685&sprefix=sunshine+girls+molly%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-1 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Sunshine-Girls/Molly-Fader/9781335453488?id=8292090795540

Book Summary:

A deliciously sly, compulsively readable tale about greed, power and the world’s most devious family.

When Alana Shropshire’s seventy-six-year-old father, Ed, starts dating Kelly, his twenty-eight-year-old nurse, a flurry of messages arrive from Alana’s brothers, urging her to help “protect Dad” from the young interloper. Alana knows that what Teddy and Martin really want to protect is their father’s fortune, and she tells them she couldn’t care less about the May–December romance. Long estranged from her privileged family, Alana, a hardworking single mom, has more important things to worry about.

But when Ed and Kelly’s wedding is announced, Teddy and Martin kick into hyperdrive and persuade Alana to fly to their father’s West Coast island retreat to perform one simple task in their plan to make the gold digger go away. Kelly, however, proves a lot more wily than expected, and Alana becomes entangled in an increasingly dangerous scheme full of secrets and surprises. Just how far will her siblings go to retain control?

Smart, entertaining and brimming with shocking twists and turns, The Opportunist is both a thrill ride of a story and a razor-sharp view of who wields power in the world.

“The rich are different and Elyse Friedman brings the receipts in this twisty story of familial double crossings. The Opportunist is a visceral joy to read and Friedman’s storytelling has more levels than a superyacht. She never hides from the staggering truth that money, in fact, changes everything.” — Emily Schultz, author of Little Threats and The Blondes

“The Opportunist is a wry and unsettling novel featuring one of the most conniving families ever committed to paper. It’s a dark Highsmithian treat about love and greed and murder, and it will make your screwed-up family look like the von Trapps. I devoured it in one sitting. Highly recommended.” — Michael Redhill, author of Bellevue Square

“In The Opportunist, family brings unavoidable dangers. So does money. So does our memory of who we used to be. For her part, Elyse Friedman brings wit and pace and plenty of surprises to a novel you think you’ve figured out at least three or four times, but each time you’ll be thrilled when proven wrong.” — Andrew Pyper, author of The Residence and The Demonologist

Review

Alana has been approached by her brother return home and do something about her father. Alana has not even been in touch with her family in decades. But, her father has decided to marry his very young nurse. Alana’s brothers are having a complete hissy fit. Their inheritance is in jeopardy and they are not going to stand for it.

I usually do not get surprised by much…but this book had a twist that I did not see coming. Yep…it got me! I loved how this author manipulated the reader. And this family…they are something else. Greed is a powerful thing!

I am not going to talk about the characters because I might slip and give something away. Just know this is one messed up group of people and you think you know…but you don’t know. I am definitely going to have to read more by this author!

Need a twisted thriller with a surprise ending…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Author Bio

Elyse Friedman is a critically acclaimed author, screenwriter, poet and playwright. Her work has been short-listed for the Trillium Book Award, Toronto Book Award, ReLit Award and Tom Hendry Award. She has also won a Foreword Book of the Year Award, as well as the 2019 TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Jury Prize and the 2020 TIFF-CBC Screenwriter Award. Elyse lives in Toronto.

Buy Links:

HarperCollins.com 

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Social Links:

Author Website 

Twitter: @elysefriedman

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elysefriedman/?hl=en

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Overview

A haunting meditation on the bonds between mothers and daughters. Zeldis offers a fascinating look into historic New York City and New Orleans, and her skill as a storyteller is matched by her compassion for her characters. What a beautiful read.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace

“By turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, Kitty Zeldis’s The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights, set against the backdrop of the not-always-so-roaring Twenties, is an only-in-America story of reinvention, rising above tragedy, and finding family.”—Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of Band of Sisters

For fans of Fiona Davis, Beatriz Williams, and Joanna Goodman, a mesmerizing historical novel from Kitty Zeldis, the author of Not Our Kind, about three women in 1920s New York City and the secrets they hold.

Brooklyn, 1924. As New York City enters the jazz age, the lives of three very different women are about to converge in unexpected ways. Recently arrived from New Orleans, Beatrice is working to establish a chic new dress shop with help from Alice, the orphaned teenage ward she brought north with her. Down the block, newlywed Catherine is restless in her elegant brownstone, longing for a baby she cannot conceive.

When Bea befriends Catherine and the two start to become close, Alice feels abandoned and envious, and runs away to Manhattan. Her departure sets into motion a series of events that will force each woman to confront the painful secrets of her past in order to move into the happier future she seeks.

Moving from the bustling streets of early twentieth century New York City to late nineteenth-century Russia and the lively quarters of New Orleans in the 1910s, The Dressmakers of Prospect Heightsis a story of the families we are born into and the families we choose, and of the unbreakable bonds between women.

Review

The laws have changed in New Orleans. It is no longer legal for Bea to ply her trade. So, she and her young charge, Alice, move to NYC. Bea has an ulterior motive. She is searching for someone. She is searching for the child she put up for adoption.

This story follows three women, Bea, Catherine and Alice. And all three have their ups and downs. And let me tell you…this book is an emotional roller coaster ride! Catherine will break your heart. Bea will have you rooting for the underdog. And Alice will have you watching her grow up right in front of your eyes!

I was captivated by this story. I loved these characters strengths and their weaknesses! This book will have you crying and then shouting for joy all in the same chapter!

Need a quick, emotional read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the author for a honest review.

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Release Date: September 6, 2022

About The Book:

Five years after the war, Amie Stilwell, a photo interpreter for an Allied unit in England, returns to her hometown in Maine. Jobless and discouraged but stubbornly resourceful, she’s starting over in the same coastal village where her life once went so wrong. Waiting for her is Shibby Travis, the surrogate mother with whom Amie never lost touch. But the unexpected also awaits…

A silent, abandoned boy is found with a note from a stranger pleading that he be watched over. Amie and Shibby take him in, but the mysteries multiply when a Boston socialite is found dead in a nearby barn and an old friend, believed to be a casualty of war, suddenly reappears.

Trained to see what others cannot, to scan for clues, and to expose enemies, Amie uses her skills to protect a child, solve a crime, and find the motive behind a veteran’s masquerade. But through the hazy filter of a town’s secrets, Amie must also confront her own painful past.

Review

Amie has returned from the war to her home town on the coast of Maine. She is reconnecting with her foster mother, Shibby, when sweet, silent little boy is abandoned with a note pinned to his chest. Amie and Shibby take him in and Amie goes to work trying to find out more about him. Then a socialite is found dead and everyone is a suspect!

There are a lot of moving parts to this story and it just kept getting better and better as I moved along. I enjoyed the small town Maine setting in post war 50s. Plus, the mystery and all the secrets really keeps the reader guessing. And Amie….she is one of my favorite characters. She is tip top smart! I never knew about photo interpreters. I loved learning about this area of the war. And of course I had to look it up!

Need a good mystery full of secrets…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher of a honest review.

About The Author:

Joy Jordan-Lake is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of nine books, including Under A Gilded Moon; A Tangled Mercy, an Editors’ Choice recipient from the Historical Novel Society; Blue Hole Back Home, winner of the Christy Award for Best First Novel; and two children’s books. Raised in the foothills of the southern Appalachians, she lived nearly a decade of her young adult years in New England, which she still misses―and jumps at every chance to visit. She holds two master’s degrees and a PhD in English and has taught literature and writing at several universities. Now living outside Nashville, she and her husband are startled to find the kids in college and launching careers, with only the ferocious ten-pound rescue pup still living at home full-time. Joy loves to connect with readers. You can visit her at www.joyjordanlake.com.

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyjordanlakebooks

Instagram: https://instagram.com/joyjordanlake_books

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joyjordanlake

ANGELS OF THE RESISTANCE: A WWII NOVEL

Author: Noelle Salazar

ISBN: 9780778386797

Publication Date: November 29, 2022

Publisher: MIRA

The second WWII novel by Noelle Salazar, bestselling author of the THE FLIGHT GIRLS, follows two teenage sisters in the Netherlands who are recruited as part of the Dutch Resistance effort against the Nazis. Inspired by true events, this moving story about ordinary young women who become extraordinary heroes will appeal to fans of Pam Jenoff and Kate Quinn.

Netherlands, 1940. In the small town of Haarlem, fourteen-year-old Lien lives a simple life with her mother and sister in a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city. Elsewhere in Europe bombs are falling, but the pall on their house is more from the recent loss of their baby sister as a result of an accident Lien believes she could have prevented than from the oncoming war. Until the Nazis invade the Netherlands and their lives are overturned once more.

Recruited by their late father’s friend, Lien’s older sister Elif reluctantly joins the Dutch resistance movement. Spurred by the injustice of the Nazis’ treatment of Dutch citizens as well as a terrifying bombing of their small town, and forever seeking atonement for her baby sister’s death, Lien begs to join as well. The sisters’ youthful, innocent looks and ability to disappear into a crowd make them the perfect resistance soldiers. Together with a handful of like-minded youth, including the gallant Charlie with whom Lien forms an instant connection, the sisters are trained and begin to carry out missions, from distributing and collecting information to moving Jewish families from hiding places to luring and killing influential Nazis. The toll of the war and their work is evident in their collective psyches, and Lien starts to make mistakes that could cost her and her newfound friends their lives. Until one very personal mission shows her that the atonement she desperately seeks for her sister’s death cannot be found at the end of the barrel of a pistol, but must be found from within her heart.

Review

Lien and her older sister, Elif, are recruited to be in the Dutch resistance. Both are very young, so they are perfect for passing messages and other various forms of espionage. But, Lien struggles with the death of her young sister. She feels it is her fault so she tends to take unnecessary risks. This invariably puts everyone’s lives at stake.

I really enjoyed the setting of the Netherlands during WWII. Now, I did feel there are a good many day to day, unimportant details in this story. But, that is a minor issue. The characters and the setting kept this novel moving for me.

I loved Lien. She is one tough young lady. And her struggles just enhance the story and create a bond with the reader. She and her sister make a great team. And these two young ladies grew up on the pages of this book.

Need a unique WWII novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Author Bio:

Noelle Salazar was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she’s been a Navy recruit, a medical assistant, an NFL cheerleader, and always a storyteller. When she’s not writing, she can be found dodging raindrops and daydreaming of her next book. Her first novel, The Flight Girls, was an instant bestseller, a Forbes, Woman’s World & Hypable book of the month and a BookBub Top Recommended book from readers. Angels of Haarlem is her second novel. Noelle lives in Bothell, Washington, with her husband and two children.

Author Website: https://www.noellesalazar.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noellesalazar

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noelle__salazar/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noelle_salazar 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18424925.Noelle_Salazar

Buy Links:

BookShop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/angels-of-the-resistance-a-wwii-novel-noelle-salazar/17845985?ean=9780778386797 

Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780778386797_angels-of-the-resistance.html 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/angels-of-the-resistance-noelle-salazar/1141412268?ean=9780778386797 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Resistance-Novel-Noelle-Salazar/dp/0778386791/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=angels+of+the+resistance+noelle+salazar&qid=1668110740&sprefix=angels+of+the+%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-1 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Angels-Resistance/Noelle-Salazar/9780778386797?id=8292090795540

Overview

An inheritance that comes with a warning.

Ashley Brooks’s life isn’t working out as planned. After years of struggling to make it in Hollywood, she’s still waiting for her big break. When fate leads her to the doorstep of legendary casting director Louisa Lake George, Ashley thinks her luck is about to change: the prickly old pro knows about a role she’s perfect for. The aspiring actress never gets to thank her, though, because the day after the audition, Louisa is dead. The bigger shock—she left all her money to Ashley.

Louisa’s grown children arrive stunned and ready to fight. Her nephew tries to play peacemaker, while Ashley grapples with why Louisa would leave her fortune to a stranger—and whether she should keep it. But Ashley quickly discovers everyone, including the dead woman, is hiding something, and it’s a race to get to the truth before someone else winds up dead.

Review

Ashley is a wanna be star! She has only had a few bit parts since moving to Hollywood. She is struggling with where her life is going. When her dog runs away from her one evening and ends up at a creepy house, Ashley’s life takes a big turn. The question is…is it for the better?!?!

Louisa Lake George is a retired talent agent and her chance meeting with Ashley sparks a unique idea. She is going to help Ashley find the right job for her. But, Louisa passes away and leaves her large estate to Ashley. WHAT?!? Ashley is a sweet, young lady. So, when she finds out she inherited a large amount of money from someone she just met, she knows something is just not right.

Enter the family…yep…you guessed it. No one is happy! But, the more the family starts to question, the more things are not adding up! And you will have to read this to find out!

Wow! And I thought my family was nuts! This one takes the cake! It’s been quite a while since I have had a good family production! I loved this one!

Need a quick family drama…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the author for a honest opinion.

About The Author:

The winner of the (not terribly) prestigious WIFTS screenwriting award for All I Wish, the film she wrote and directed starring Sharon Stone (currently streaming on Netflix), Susan Walter is excited to add “first time novelist” to an eclectic resume that includes “failed concert violinist,” “unwatchable TV news reporter,” and “dazed mother to two teenage girls.” Groomed to be alone in a room for hours on end by a childhood spent practicing violin, writing a book came naturally to Susan, and her husband is hopeful she will finally have a reason to use her computer for something more productive than watching Red Sox baseball. A native of Boston, she suppresses her irresistible accent to avoid stink eye from sports fans across Los Angeles, where she now resides. She has an AB in government from Harvard, which she thus far fails to put to good use, and enjoys skiing, lazy bike rides, and wicked strong coffee. Susan has a book deal with Lake Union. Her second book, a thriller about a struggling actress who inherits a fortune from a stranger, is scheduled for publication in fall 2022.

Read more about Susan in her self-indulgent guest column for Talkhouse Magazine, found here: https://www.talkhouse.com/what-makes-a-director/

Susan Walter was born in Cambridge, MA. After being given every opportunity, but failing to become a concert violinist, she attended Harvard where she studied forms of Government and played in the orchestra. After graduating in 1991, she quit the violin for good and moved to Los Angeles to work in film and television production. Upon realizing writers were having all the fun, she transitioned to screenwriting. She made her directorial debut in 2018 with the film “All I Wish” starring Sharon and Stone, which she also wrote. Good as Dead is her first novel.www.susanwalterwriter.com .

Social Media:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/susie_filmmaker

Twitter: https://twitter.com/susie_filmmaker

Newsletter: https://www.susanwalterwriter.com/contact 

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3GK0lQJ 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KjjxH0 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/susan-walter

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Overview

Secrets, suspense, and a missing sister—who may not want to be found—are at the center of Briana Cole’s latest enthralling multicultural drama. Will appeal to fans of psychological suspense, gritty drama, and fans of De’Nesha Diamond, Kiki Swinson, Saundra, Wahida Clark, Ashley & JaQuavis, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Shelly Ellis.

“That’s not my sister.” Overwhelmed by shock and relief, those are the only words Deven can muster when she is called to identify the body of a suicide victim. A body she was informed was her sister, Kennedy. But as she stares at the lifeless stranger, she’s filled with questions: Who is this woman? Why was Deven listed as family? And most important, where is Kennedy? Her intuition tells her just one thing: this can’t be a total coincidence.

Desperate to put the pieces together, Deven launches her own investigation. Soon, she finds herself tangled in a web of secrets and lies so twisted that it blurs the lines between fact and fiction. And between the sister she thought she knew and the one who seems to have many hidden, dangerous lives. But only Kennedy would have the answers to increasingly urgent questions. Just one possibility is clear: Kennedy isn’t missing. Maybe she just doesn’t want to be found. And maybe you can never truly know another person. Even your own sister.

Review

Deven is determined to find out where her sister is. She knows it is not the dead body in the morgue. But she just can’t prove it. Everyone believes she is dead but NOT Deven. And the further Deven delves into Kennedy’s disappearance, the more questions she has.

Deven is not a quitter, I will give her that. I enjoyed her tenacity. And the history of these two young ladies….even though they are sisters…their lives were so different!

I have never read this author before. How I have missed her…who knows!?!? But I loved this twisted tale. I had no idea who to believe. When Deven said “That is not my sister!”…I knew I was about to be in for a wild ride.

The narrator, Diana Blue, is spot on! She kept the intensity and the drama up at the perfect level!

Need a good mystery which will have you questioning everything…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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