reecaspieces

Overview

Pick up the novel everyone will be talking about. . . The flashy sequences of violence feel apt for TV (Netflix, along with Steven Spielberg’s production outfit and the Obamas’ media company, is working on a series), but the novel’s real draw is the quieter ache of a family torn apart.” —The Atlantic

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with King of Ashes, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

Indie Next pick for June 2025 • Library Reads pick for June 2025 • Book of the Month Club pick • Starred Library Journal • Los Angeles Times 30 Must-Read Books for Summer • NPR’s 10 books we’re looking forward to this spring • New York Post’s Must-Read New Thriller Books • New York Times’s 12 Summer Books We’re Looking Forward To • USA TODAY’s Most Anticipated Books of summer 2025 • The Atlantic’s 24 Books to Read This Summer • TIME’s 16 Most Anticipated Books to Read This Summer • People’s The 15 Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2025 • Vulture’s 28 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer • New York Times’s Books to Read This Summer • New York Times’s 4 Summer Books We’re Looking Forward To • Washington Post’s 30 Books to Read This Summer • New York Post’s 30 Best Beach Reads

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family—and the family business—together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.

Review

WOW! WOW! WOW! S. A. Cosby has done it again.

Dante has made some bad decisions. Thanks to these bad decisions, his dad is in a coma and his older brother, Roman, has had to come home. After Dante confesses to Roman his BIG mistakes, Roman is determined to try and get his brother out of this gigantic mess. But, Roman soon realizes, these real life gangsters are out for blood.

Let me start with saying, S. A. Cosby has some great prose. Even in the most tense moments of this book, he can make the reader smile with a sarcastic wit that just won’t go away.

To say that this author has become a favorite is an understatement. And this tale is one of his best. Now, it is intricate and yes, you have to pay attention. But it takes you on a wild ride through the underbelly of crime in the town of Jefferson Run.

Roman is one smart, creative man and the way he handles this situation is top notch. And don’t think he won’t break the law to protect his family! This is an intense story that will have you gasping for air in places and cringing with the trauma taking place.

Talk about a FANTASTIC narrator…Adam Lazarre-White is in my top 3 of narrators. He takes everything he narrates to a whole new level!

Need a fast moving tale which will keep you on the edge of your seat and may make you drop a tear or two….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

From New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne comes a brand-new story about two women, a family secret and a lost manuscript that changes everything…

Raised by her literary icon father Carson Wells, Alison Wells always felt loved, even though her mother died when she was a teen. But when she takes a DNA test on a whim and discovers she has a sister she never knew about, it’s clear there are things her father didn’t tell her before he died. Determined to meet Juniper—her half sister—and unravel the truth of what happened all those years ago, Ali finds herself taking a job as Juniper’s intern. She’ll eventually figure out a way to tell Juniper the truth of their relationship. But she never could have imagined what would happen next…

Juniper Connolly has always been incredibly healthy…until she wakes up in the hospital after experiencing cardiac arrest, with her new—and recently fired—intern to thank for saving her life. It’s clear June needs to de-stress her life a little, so when Ali offers her the use of her family’s cabin in a small Wyoming town, June has no reason not to go. But when she arrives, her life will never be the same.

Under the wide-open spaces of the Wyoming summer sun, Ali and June will untangle the secrets and lies their lives were built on to discover who they really are and what family really means. But even more than that, they’ll build a real relationship with one another and finally become sisters.

Review

I enjoyed this sweet story that pulls at your heartstrings.

Juniper is trying to let one of the young interns go. And in the blink of an eye, she wakes up in the hospital. She has had a heart attack and the intern, Alison, has saved her life. Next thing she knows, she is in Wyoming staying at Alison’s family cabin. She must decompress and no better place than the wide open spaces of Wyoming.

But…Ali has an ulterior motive to her invitation. She has discovered, through a DNA test that she has a sister. And that sister just happens to be Juniper.

I loved both Ali and Juniper. They are both so different. I love how their relationship grows throughout this tale. And don’t forget the romances blooming for both. This will keep the reader rooting for all involved.

This is narrated by Vanessa Johansson. I liked her. She did tend to get a little breathless in spots. But, they may have been just me.

Need a sweet, heartwarming read for a road trip…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel for a honest review.

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The Expat Affair

Kimberly Belle

On Sale Date: June 3, 2025

9780778310945

Trade Paperback

$18.99 USD

320 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:

USA Today bestselling author Kimberly Belle returns with an exhilarating new thriller about an American expat whose startling discovery plunges her into the glamorous but deadly world of Amsterdam’s diamond industry, and the one woman who may hold the answer. 

Rayna Dumont is getting a fresh start in Amsterdam. Following a nasty divorce, she takes a jet-setting new job and embraces the single life. All seems to be going well until she wakes up in the bed of Xander van der Vos, her one-night stand from the night before, only to find him brutally murdered in the room next door. To make matters worse, millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds are missing from his safe. Quickly, Rayna becomes the prime suspect and is thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse with forces beyond her wildest imagination.

From her lavish home in the heart of the city, Willow Prins is enraptured by the case. The wife of Thomas Prins, CEO of the House of Prins and Xander’s former boss, Willow is too familiar with what it’s like to be the outsider in the elite world of luxury goods. But as the House comes under scrutiny, tensions rise in her already strained marriage and Willow starts to wonder if Rayna might be the solution she’s been looking for.

As both women dive into the dark underbelly of the diamond industry, their hope for survival hinges on navigating a web of power and revenge. And as Rayna fights to clear her name, will she unravel the truth or find herself another victim?

Review

Talk about an intricate tale. This all starts with a murder but then it all boils down to the hunt for diamonds.

This story is told by Willow and Rayna.

Rayna has a one night stand with Xander. And when she wakes up…he is dead. Xander worked for the Prins. The Prins own a huge diamond business.

Then there is Willow. Willow is married to the CEO of The House of Prins. But as the House comes under scrutiny, tensions rise in her already strained marriage and Willow starts to wonder if Rayna might be the solution she’s been looking for.

Clear as mud…trust me the author creates a compelling story that takes you to the ground floor of the diamond industry and keeps you intrigued with great characters and high stakes risk!

The narrators are Jennifer Jill Araya; Marni Penning and let me tell you…they nailed this book.

Need a complex story of murder and family dysfunction…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kimberly Belle worked in marketing and nonprofit fundraising before turning to writing fiction. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Kimberly lived for over a decade in the Netherlands and currently divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam. She is the bestselling author of over eight novels, including The Marriage Lie, Dear Wife, The Personal Assistant, and The Paris Widow. 

SOCIAL LINKS:

Author website: https://www.kimberlybellebooks.com/

Facebook: @KimberlyBelleBooks

Twitter: @KimberlySBelle

Instagram: @kimberlybellebooks

BUY LINKS:

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-expat-affair-original-kimberly-belle/21808290?ean=9780778310945&next=t 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-expat-affair-kimberly-belle/1146225159?ean=9780778310945 

Books A Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Expat-Affair/Kimberly-Belle/9780778310945 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Expat-Affair-Kimberly-Belle/dp/0778310949/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IvAb3N0krDkJ9eBnGljkkzUM9aETiiwPv6qLX2OHRW4mZ98vBh03AWt_4VgoN1wN1Ncfa6AMSamfQST0Aztl7kTTOgvsOuYnkvhS_dSZr282K-h_UCSkJ00lsFa_WOQ55fmExSrG0l-80op6Oom_jHHi3a-n4IzkPEYMoaFct0WGnpwViBNAmCQ4mfxA7wCJSvB-0jEWh7fsrFoxDgQWXu5Q1zCjkww63gBaYnCWEEo.auYtewIhonoiaxWcU2bgAfyYRGzX76TkNTYmhRO6mU8&qid=1746551092&sr=8-1 

Overview

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killers…

Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.

After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.

She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.

Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she’s willing to risk her life again if that’s what it takes to stop the horror.

Review

Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.

After Sloan is shot. She goes through a myriad of emotions. And no one does this better than Nora Roberts. She creates some of the best emotional characters. And Sloan definitely has her share of drama. And this also leads her to be a target for a set of serial killers.

However, I was not a fan of the “evil people” in this novel…yes I know I am not supposed to be. But, they just seemed a bit elementary. And their banter is just terrible.

I usually get Nora Roberts’ books on audio because I absolutely love this narrator. January LaVoy is excellent!

Even though this is not my favorite Nora book, it is still a good story full of great characters!

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

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Overview

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a powerful novel about family, the weight of secrets, the choices we make, and the repercussions of the decisions made for us.

When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be.

As months turn into years without word, Jayne and her husband, Rodger, a rising journalism star, strive to give the children the opportunity to flourish and feel loved. When Jayne and Rodger finally have a child of their own, a seemingly stable home is built. But then, after nearly a decade, Bunny resurfaces and sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives.

As adults, their children try to reassemble the pieces and solve the mystery that has always haunted them. Who were their parents? What really happened between them? And who is ultimately to blame for the destruction? But will the answers they seek set them free—or lead to something far more damaging than anyone imagined?

Review

When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be.

Bunny is a piece of work! She abandons her children with her sister, Jayne, and she does not return till years later. But Jayne, has taken these children under her wing and raised them to the best of her ability. It has not been easy by any means. But Jayne did what she was supposed to do. Then Bunny betrays her in the worst possible way.

This is a bit slow moving. Plus, it has a good many details that you do not necessarily need. But, Jayne is such a great character. And she does make some major mistakes. Add in all the secrets…you need to read this to find out.

Now I did struggle between 3-4 stars. It just drags off and on throughout the book. And as much as I liked Jayne…I hated her husband and Bunny just as much. But it does redeem itself in the end!

This is narrated by Helen Laser. She did a great job with all the different voices, especially between Bunny and Jayne.

Need a family drama full of betrayal…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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