reecaspieces

Overview

Indie Next Selection | Buzz Books Selection | POPSUGAR “Best New Books of October” | CountryLiving “Best New Books for This Fall” | Atlanta Journal-Constitution “10 Must Read Southern Books This Fall” | Booklist Queen “Most Anticipated”

From Patti Callahan, the bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis, comes another enchanting story that pulls back the curtain on the early life of C. S. Lewis.

“Where did Narnia come from?”

The answer will change everything.

Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics.

She prefers the dependability of facts—except for one: the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn’t have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a brand-new book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there’s no way she can refuse.

Despite her timidity about approaching the famous author, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories . . . stories of Jack Lewis’s life, which she takes home to George.

Why won’t Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother—the story behind Narnia—turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope.

Review

Meg is a student of mathematics at Oxford. When her terminally ill brother, George, asks her to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to him, it changes her perspective. George sends her on a quest to find out about Narnia. Meg ends up visiting C.S. Lewis or Jack, as he is called, at his home. This opens up a whole new world for Meg and George.

I have never been a huge fan of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.. GASP! But, I loved this book! It is truly magical and so well written! I enjoyed reading about Jack’s life and family! It adds a whole new perspective to a writer’s process. Add in George and his illness, and you have a fabulous tale you will not soon forget!

Need a book that will take you an an imaginary ride and possibly bring tears to your eyes…THIS IS IT!

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

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The Mother Next Door : A Novel of Suspense

Tara Laskowski

On Sale Date: October 12, 2021

9781525804700

Trade Paperback

Graydon House

$16.99 USD

352 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK

For fans of Lisa Jewell, Aimee Molloy, and Joshilyn Jackson, an upmarket suspense novel from a multi-award-winning author about a tightknit group of suburban mothers who invite a new neighborhood mom into their fold, and the fallout the night of the annual block party, when secrets from the past come back to haunt them…

The annual block party is the pinnacle of the year on idyllic suburban cul de sac Ivy Woods Drive. An influential group of neighborhood moms—known as the Ivy Five—plan the event for months.

Except the Ivy Five have been four for a long time.

When a new mother moves to town, eager to fit in, the moms see it as an opportunity to make the group whole again. This year’s block party should be the best yet… until the women start receiving anonymous messages threatening to expose the quiet neighborhood’s dark past—and the lengths they’ve gone to hide it.

As secrets seep out and the threats intensify, the Ivy Five must sort the loyal from the disloyal, the good from the bad. They’ll do anything to protect their families. But when a twisted plot is revealed, with dangerous consequences, their steady foundation begins to crumble, leaving only one certainty: after this year’s block party, Ivy Woods Drive will never be the same.

From award-winning author Tara Laskowski, The Mother Next Door is an atmospheric novel of domestic suspense in which the strive for perfection ends in murder…

Review

The Ivy Five is a group of neighborhood women who throw a huge Halloween bash every year. It is the block party to end all block parties. But this year is a bit different. These women start to receive threatening messages. Their secrets are about to be revealed. Will they survive what others do not know?!

I have never been a huge fan of novels about friends. I don’t know why…just not my thing. However, this novel may have changed all that! Talk about twisted and full of secrets. I thought I had it figured out…then it twisted again. Now, it does have quite a few characters. But the author did a great job with their individuality. This helped me to keep up with who is who and who did what!

The intensity just keeps building the more you read. Not only that…the questions just keep mounting. I swear…everyone has a secret they are hiding!

Need a good, twisted novel about friends…this is it! Grab your copy today!

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

AUTHOR BIO

TARA LASKOWSKI is the author of One Night Gone, which won an Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and Anthony Award, and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Left Coast Crime Award, Strand Critics’ Award, and Library of Virginia Literary Award. She is also the author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders, has published stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Mid-American Review, among others, and is the former editor of SmokeLong Quarterly. Tara earned a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MFA from George Mason University and currently lives in Virginia. Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @TaraLWrites.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Author website: https://taralaskowski.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tara.laskowski.9

Twitter: @TaraLWrites

Instagram: @taralwrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56555529-the-mother-next-door

BUY LINKS:

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-mother-next-door-a-novel-of-suspense/9781525804700

Politics & Prose: https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9781525804700

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mother-next-door-tara-laskowski/1138551311?ean=9781488078125&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7651142_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Next-Door-Novel-Suspense/dp/1525804707/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-mother-next-door-by-tara-laskowski-paperback/-/A-82219724

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-mother-next-door/id1547075567?id=1547075567&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

One More Page: https://www.onemorepagebooks.com/book/9781525804700

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-mother-next-door

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781525804700?aff=PublishersWeekly

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/The_Mother_Next_Door_A_Novel_of_Suspense?id=baYREAAAQBAJ&hl=en_US&gl=US

Overview

Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found–but she’s still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting.

When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a 100-year-old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island, it’s an opportunity to start over with her three daughters–Luna, Sapphire, and Clover. When two of her daughters go missing, she’s frantic. She learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse was once a prison for women accused of witchcraft. The locals warn her about wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. Liv is told wildlings are dangerous and must be killed.

Twenty-two years later, Luna has been searching for her missing sisters and mother. When she receives a call about her youngest sister, Clover, she’s initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers–except she’s still seven years old, the age she was when she vanished. Luna is worried Clover is a wildling. Luna has few memories of her time on the island, but she’ll have to return to find the truth of what happened to her family. But she doesn’t realize just how much the truth will change her.

Review

Liv has been commissioned to paint a mural inside an old lighthouse in Scotland. While she is there, she discovers the strange history surrounding the island and the lighthouse. The lighthouse was once a prison for witches.

Liv is a character which broke my heart with her struggles. She is trying to raise three daughters with very little money and no family to speak of. So when this opportunity arose…Liv jumped on it. And this job changes all of their lives!

This story is a little weird in places…or rather…not my usual genre. I love to read about witches but there are a few things in this tale that are just “out there”. However, there is a lot of history in the novel. That kept me reading and enjoying. Add in the creepy lighthouse on an island in Scotland and I was hooked!

Need a good story about witches for your creepy October read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

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

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Overview

I read Eight Perfect Hours in one sitting, in four perfect hours, because I couldn’t bear to put it down without knowing the ending. Lia Louis has become a must-buy author for me.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

In this romantic and heartwarming novel, two strangers meet in chance circumstances during a blizzard and spend one perfect evening together, thinking they’ll never see each other again. But fate seems to have different plans. From the acclaimed author of the “swoon-worthy…rom-com” (The Washington Post) Dear Emmie Blue.

On a snowy evening in March, thirty-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone.

All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence.

With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.

Review

Noelle is stranded on the highway. Her phone is dead and her mother is alone. She is completely stressing! Until a handsome American, Sam, knocks on her window to check on her. This leads to 8 hours together…stuck…these are the best 8 hours of Noelle’s sad life. When Sam and Noelle part the next morning, they know they will never see each other again. But, fate has a way of intervening.

Noelle is a person who tries to be the best for everyone. She is the full time caretaker of her mother and it is completely derailing her life. She is giving up so much to be everything to everyone.

Sam is an adventurer. He is strong and smart. As these two slowly realize they are meant to be together, it brings out their strengths. Especially Noelle!

This looks like a Christmas romance, but it is not. It is winter tale about two random people who keep randomly running into each other! It is adorable and perfect for a cold winter night! I laughed out loud in several places…especially with Noelle’s brother. You need to read this to find out!

Need a sweet romance with fabulous characters…this is it! Grab your copy today!

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

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Overview

You won’t be able to stop turning the pages!” —Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

Secrets, obsession and vengeance converge in this riveting thriller about an online dating match turned deadly cat-and-mouse game, from the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions on the 7:45

Think twice before you swipe.

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn’t that always what women think—that they’re the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she’s looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she’s not sure whether she’s the predator—or the prey.

Review

Wren has a date tonight. She is not a big dater. But, the guy on the Torch app quoted from one of her favorite authors. Adam is not a jock, like you usually see. He looks normal and just right for her. These two become an item…until Wren is ghosted. Then a private detective shows up. He is sure Adam is responsible for some other missing girls.

Wren is a character with a tragic past. Wren changed her name after the tragedy that took her family. She now has created a famous advice column/podcast called Dear Birdie. She also thinks she has her past well hidden. But, she is not as protected as she thought.

Bailey Kirk, the private detective, knows exactly who she is and he knows her past. He is determined to track down Adam. But, things go wrong! Very, very wrong!

This is the best book by this author…hands down! There are so many layers and twists and turns. I swear…I could not stop reading and when I could not read it for…well life…I was thinking about it.

Need a FANTASTIC thriller! RUN…DON’T WALK to get this one!

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

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