reecaspieces

Overview

Sometimes the truth is found in a folktale.

1932. Cumberland Island off the coast of Southern Georgia is a strange place to encounter the opulence of the Gilded Age, but the last vestiges of the famed philanthropic Carnegie family still take up brief seasonal residence in their grand mansions there. This year’s party at Plum Orchard is a lively group: young men from some of America’s finest families who come to experience the area’s hunting beside a local guide, a beautiful debutante expecting to be engaged by the week’s end, and a promising female artist who believes she has meaningful ties to her wealthy hosts. But when temptations arise and passions flare, an evening of revelry and storytelling goes horribly awry. Lives are both lost and ruined.

1959. Reclusive painter Cleo Woodbine has lived alone for decades on Kingdom Come, a tiny strip of land once occupied by the servants for the great houses on nearby Cumberland. When she is visited by the man who saved her life nearly thirty years earlier, a tempest is unleashed as the stories of the past gather and begin to regain their strength. Frances Flood is a folklorist come to Cumberland Island seeking the source of a legend—and also information about her mother, who was among the guests at a long-ago hunting party. Audrey Howell, briefly a newlywed and now newly widowed, is running a local inn. When she develops an eerie double exposure photograph, some believe she’s raised a ghost—someone who hasn’t been seen since that fateful night in 1932.

Southern mythology and personal reckoning collide in this sweeping story inspired by the little-known history of Cumberland Island when a once-in-a-century storm threatens the natural landscape. Faced with a changing world, two timelines and the perspectives of three women intersect where a folktale meets the truth to reveal what Cumberland Island has hidden all along.

Review

1932. Cumberland Island off the coast of Southern Georgia is a strange place to encounter the opulence of the Gilded Age, but the last vestiges of the famed philanthropic Carnegie family still take up brief seasonal residence in their grand mansions there.

1959. Reclusive painter Cleo Woodbine has lived alone for decades on Kingdom Come, a tiny strip of land once occupied by the servants for the great houses on nearby Cumberland. When she is visited by the man who saved her life nearly thirty years earlier, a tempest is unleashed as the stories of the past gather and begin to regain their strength.

I enjoyed Cleo. She is talented, stubborn and eccentric. Cleo is a force to be reckoned with!

This story has some very pretty prose. It is just very slow and a bit wordy in places. I loved the setting of Cumberland Island. I learned a great deal about its history. I had no idea about Carnegie mansions there.

I also enjoyed some of the folklore. But, to me, and I am in the minority, this story could have some more action and less description. As I always say, read it for yourself and form your own opinion.

Need a historical fiction tale on Cumberland Island…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

Special Agent Alex Martel is thrown back into a deadly world of deception when a series of attacks threaten to incite World War III in this action-packed thriller.

While sailing across the Mediterranean, the megayacht Aurora is rocked with explosions, taken under siege by unknown assailants. On board are some of Europe’s wealthiest and most powerful political players, including the secretary general of Interpol, a high-ranking Finnish diplomat, and Special Agent Alex Martel—whose lethal sniper skills kick in to bring them safely to shore.

Someone is waging a ruthless campaign of attacks against Finland, one of NATO’s newest members, in an attempt to throw the Alliance into turmoil. Teaming back up with CIA agent Caleb, Alex is thrust into the middle of the fray, pursuing the villains from the waters off of Monaco to the Baltic Sea and home to American soil.

As the US is pulled deeper into the conflict, a global catastrophe seems inevitable. But who is really responsible for these escalating attacks on Finland? The Russians, or someone much closer to home? As new allies surface and old enemies reappear, Alex has no way of knowing who to trust—and she might only have one last shot to keep the world from going to war.

Review

Someone is waging a ruthless campaign of attacks against Finland, one of NATO’s newest members, in an attempt to throw the Alliance into turmoil. Teaming back up with CIA agent Caleb, Alex is thrust into the middle of the fray, pursuing the villains from the waters off of Monaco to the Baltic Sea and home to American soil.

I have read the first in the series. You can see my review here. And just like the first one, I LOVE ALEX! She is a bad a$$!

I enjoyed this one better than the first one. It just moves quicker. It is not necessary that you read the first one. This can be a stand alone. I do feel I knew more about Alex because of reading the first book in the series.

Talk about a few twists and turns and shoot’em ups! This book has all of the above. Lots of intensity, drama and mystery.

Need a fast pace thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

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

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Overview

Ten years after her mother’s death, Eliza Levinger never imagined she’d hear from her again. But then The Letter arrived.

Eliza’s world broke apart when she was sixteen and her mom died of cancer. Now, years later, she has rebuilt her life to include a director-of-development job at a nonprofit, a Manhattan apartment, and an easy-on-the-eyes bedroom buddy—just the kind of no-strings relationship she wants, even if it’s less than her best friend, Mo, thinks she deserves. But when Eliza’s dad dies unexpectedly, her beloved aunt Claude arrives at the shiva with a letter from her mom—to be opened only after her father’s death. Inside the letter? A bombshell.

Suddenly, all of Eliza’s relationships are upended. Her brother is angry, her stepmother is threatening to disinherit her, and Mo—who has always been her rock—doesn’t seem to understand what she’s going through. But as Eliza struggles to cope with the shocking news, she finds an unexpected ally—her brother’s best friend, Josh—her high school crush, whom she’s tried hard to forget. It’s not in Eliza’s nature to trust . . . but maybe it’s time for that to change.

Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin, Katherine Center, and Jennifer Weiner, Dear Elizaexplores the meaning of family, the complexities of grief, and the beauty in finding your way again.

Review

Eliza has just received a letter from her deceased mother. The letter is a bombshell. Eliza’s father is not who she thought. Her mother had a one night stand with an old boyfriend. Now, Eliza is in a tail spin.

Y’all know I love a good family drama. And this one is full of secrets!

Eliza is a character which broke my heart. She is truly struggling with the news. And she does take the bull by the horns and searches out her “new” dad. But he is not the person she expects.

I love how this story just keeps twisting and turning around this letter. And this cover is a bit misleading…y’all know I very seldom read the blurb. This cover looks like it would be a romance…but oh no! It is not!

Needless to say…I really enjoyed this tale! The secrets, the emotions, the characters all lead you on a wild ride!

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

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

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Overview

Noelle Salazar has an unerring instinct for writing tough women with big hearts . .  . The Lies We Leave Behind is a globe-spanning wartime journey filled with pathos and heart!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

For fans of Kate Quinn and Beatriz Williams, this sweeping story follows a fearless nurse who must leave love behind when duty calls her back to the front.

Somewhere in the Pacific, 1943. Kate Campbell is a nurse who bravely flies back and forth from the front to rescue wounded soldiers, amid long days, harsh conditions and often dangerous weather. Driven by a deep personal need to help in the war effort, she is conflicted when an injury results in her reassignment to the relative comfort of the English countryside.

Love has never been part of her plan, but despite herself, she falls for an officer with three bullet wounds, startling blue eyes and a wicked sense of humor. For the first time, Kate sees a future far from the horrors of war and hate. But before she can pursue it, a secret from her past calls her to duty, and she’ll have to travel back into danger one more time to rescue a part of herself she’d left behind. But will she make it back? And will that future still be waiting for her if she does?

Review

Y’all! This book is in the top 5 of the best books I have read all year. I have read every book by this author and this one is…hands down…my favorite!

This story follows Kate. She is a flight nurse in WWII. She starts out in the Pacific theatre. She ends up breaking her leg and she gets sent home to NYC to recoup. When she returns to her commission, she is sent to the English Countryside. She ends up meeting a wounded soldier, William Mitchell.

Romance is just part of this story. There is Kate’s past. This slowly unfolds throughout this novel and it is not what you think. And when her past catches up with her…oh Lordy…you need to read this to find out.

I loved the dual timelines, the mystery, the intensity and the drama! Do not miss this one!

Need a fantastic book which will give you intensity and emotions…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

“A pure delight from start to finish! Williams, White and Willig are in top form in this clever, engrossing whodunnit with a heart.” –Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The New Couple in 5B

Agatha Christie meets Murder, She Wrote in this witty locked room mystery and literary satire by New York Times bestselling team of novelists: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White.

There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. Years ago, Presley purchased the castle as a showpiece for his brand and to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Now it seems, the castle has done him in…or, possibly, one of the castle’s guests has. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for literary Americans, finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists. 

The prime suspects are Kat de Noir, a slinky erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction. The women claim to be best friends writing a book together, but the authors’ stories about how they know Brett Saffron Presley don’t quite line up, and the detective is getting increasingly suspicious. 

Why did the authors really come to Castle Kinloch? And what really happened the night of the great Kinloch ceilidh, when Brett Saffron Presley skipped the folk dancing for a rendezvous with death? 

A crafty locked-room mystery, a pointed satire about the literary world, and a tale of unexpected friendship and romance—this novel has it all, as only three bestselling authors can tell it! 

Review

There’s been a sensational murder at historic Castle Kinloch, a gothic fantasy of grey granite on a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead—under bizarre circumstances—in the castle tower’s book-lined study. The three suspects are…Kat de Noir, a slinky erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction.

Now this is not your usual “3 W’s” book. This is pretty humorous in places. I especially liked the police interviews in the first half of the book. Several of these made me laugh out loud.

Then, there are the characters. Now, I was not a big fan of any of them until towards the end, and by then, I loved them all. Their friendship and their banter will have you grinning!

Add all this together with the wonderful setting of Scotland and you have a pretty enjoyable read.

Need a quick, fun read about murder…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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