reecaspieces

Overview

Attorney Madelyn Cummins has experienced her fair share of adversity, but the future looks bright for this young professional. She is surrounded by friends she considers family, construction is nearly completed on her dream home, her law practice is growing, and she is making a difference in the lives of her clients. But there is one case involving a prominent Minnesota auto magnate that has been particularly challenging. As the tension mounts, Maddie suffers an episode of transient global amnesia (TGA) and struggles to piece together the events that took place during the hours missing from her memory. In the days, weeks and months that follow, her nightmares reveal several shocking truths. She joins forces with women in her close-knit circle—a savvy paralegal, a sharp U.S. attorney, a no-nonsense FBI agent—to get to the bottom of a decades-old cold case.

Review

Maddie is a high powered attorney and her life is a dream…until she experiences an episode of transient global amnesia (TGA) and struggles to piece together the events that took place during the hours missing from her memory.

This story is extremely unique! I love when an author has me researching. Of course I had to look up TGA. As Maddie struggles, the story begins to twist and turn and takes the reader on a wild ride for sure!

Need a mystery with some major, twisty elements….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

From USA TODAY bestselling author of The Book Club Hotel, Sarah Morgan returns with a heartfelt story of friendship, finding yourself, and the surprising ties that bring us together. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Jennifer Weiner.

To the outside world, Imogen is a marketing dynamo. Her colleagues don’t know that while her high-achieving professional image is real, the happy childhood stories she spins are as fake as her pretend enthusiasm for Christmas. Working 24/7 has always been her solution to surviving the festive season—until burnout leads to a catastrophic blunder.

Suddenly, Imogen is handed a holiday gift she definitely doesn’t want: enforced time off work to recuperate. Then an invitation arrives from her favorite client, Dorothy, to stay at her guest cottage in the Cotswolds. From the thatched roof to the cozy open fireplace, Holly Cottage is a picture-perfect haven… Can it provide the fresh start Imogen so desperately needs?

For Dorothy, helping Imogen offers a longed-for chance to make reparations for her own past. But as her daughter Sara keeps reminding her, it brings risks, too. Yet Dorothy knows that only a leap of courage will allow her family to grow and heal. And perhaps this Christmas, with Dorothy’s help, the new life that Imogen is slowly piecing together could be better than anything either of them could imagine…

Review

Imogene is a marketing genius. She is great at her job because she has no family or home life. She works at all hours because she has no one. Well, except her mother who is verbally abusive and uses Imogene to support her misdeeds. Imogene has even gone so far as to lie to her co-workers. She even has fake photos on her desk of a dog and a family. So, when she makes a mistake one night at an event, her boss makes her take a vacation. This vacation changes her life.

Sarah Morgan has become a favorite for me, especially her Christmas novels. I loved last year’s book, The Book Club Hotel. And this book right is right up there with it!

I loved Imogene. She really has had a rough time. Her mother is a piece of work and Imogene struggles with self awareness and self esteem.

Enter Dorothy and her secret…you will have to read this to find out!

This story will take you through some emotional ups and downs and a family drama you won’t soon forget. Add in the sweet dog and the HOT veterinarian…and you have a magical, holiday story!

Need a good Christmas tale to get you in the spirit…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

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

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Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout comes a “stunner” (People) of a novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world.

“Tell Me Everything hits like a bucolic fable. . . . A novel of moods, how they govern our personal lives and public spaces, reflected in Strout’s shimmering technique.”—The Washington Post

With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and more—as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, fall in love and yet choose to be apart, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”

It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer Lucy Barton, who lives down the road in a house by the sea with her ex-husband, William. Together, Lucy and Bob go on walks and talk about their lives, their fears and regrets, and what might have been. Lucy, meanwhile, is finally introduced to the iconic Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive’s apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known—“unrecorded lives,” Olive calls them—reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning.

Brimming with empathy and pathos, Tell Me Everything is Elizabeth Strout operating at the height of her powers, illuminating the ways in which our relationships keep us afloat. As Lucy says, “Love comes in so many different forms, but it is always love.”

Review

Bob is an attorney and he has taken on a murder case in the quiet town of Crosby, Maine. Bob is also best friends with the acclaimed author, Lucy Barton. Bob introduces Lucy to Olive Kitteridge. This starts many afternoons of telling stories of other people and their lives.

Bob and Lucy’s friendship is very unique. Both are in long term relationships but their friendship almost seems to take precedence over their significant others. And lord have mercy…Olive Kitteridge is in rare form! She is truly one of the best characters ever.

Now, I am in the minority on this one. I absolutely loved Oh William! And I have read every book by this author. But, this one fell a bit short for me. I just had a hard time caring about what was going on. And as I always say, read the book yourself. You may love it! It has gotten tons of 5 star reviews!

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

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Overview

Explore this delightfully cozy and joyful novel of second chances at the most wonderful time of the year, from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Kelley.

A feel-good novel as delightful and comforting as a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night, The Christmas Inn is bestselling author Pamela Kelley’s most heartwarming and magical book yet.

Riley Sanders didn’t plan on losing her job as a content marketing manager right before Christmas. When she calls her sister Amy to vent, she learns that their mother has broken her leg and could really use some help at the inn. Riley decides to head home to the inn, nestled along the shores of Cape Cod, in time for the Christmas rush. She is happy to help and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.

When she gets there, she not only finds delicious cookies and a crackling fire to lift her spirits, but also the sense of family she’s been missing all along. There’s Franny, a woman who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters from her that she plans to use to open her up to new experiences on the Cape. And there’s Aidan, her high school sweetheart, now a widower, who is staying at the inn with his nine year-old son, Luke. What begins as a quick stay over the holidays to help her mom turns into something that means much more—a second chance at romance, a deeper sense of found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmastime on Cape Cod.

Review

Riley has lost her job and she decides to go home and help her mother at her inn on Cape Cod. Riley discovers that the Inn might be in need of some new marketing. She also soon discovers there might be more than Christmas in the air.

Riley is having a rough way to go with her job and her love life. But there is nothing like returning home to put a new outlook on her life, especially at Christmas time. And when she runs into her old flame, Aidan, the sparks are still there.

This story is a bit slow in places. Of course it is also predictable and it has some mundane details that I could have done without. But the setting of Christmas on Cape Cod is fabulous.

Need a sweet Christmas tale with a wonderful setting…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Book Summary: 

For fans of Elin Hilderbrand, a riveting exploration of family, sisterhood, and the transformative power of literature. When two sisters, one a free spirit at the helm of a rebellious book club, the other a conventional woman locked in the clutches of an unhappy marriage are forced into a reluctant reunion by their mother’s illness, they must confront past ghosts that rock the entire community.

Gia Rossi was considered a bit of a rebel in her small hometown of Wakefield, Iowa ever since she challenged the gaggle of well-meaning but misguided women from the PTA who’d insisted the high school English department, drop a number of “controversial” titles from the reading list. Gia had expected her favorite teacher to stand up for the books she loved by explaining why they were so important. Instead, just to avoid a fight, he’d caved in immediately, which was what had incited her to start The Banned Books Club.

That was the first time Mr. Hart had let her down, but it wouldn’t be the last. Because of him she left her hometown when she turned eighteen and graduated. But now, with her sister begging her to return home due to their mother’s failing health, Gia will come face to face with the beloved teacher who was fired after she reported him for sexual misconduct. Gia’s return has the town divided between those who believe her and those who believe she ruined Mr. Hart’s life. Even members of her beloved book club–who’ve continued to meet virtually over the years–aren’t sure who to believe.

Gia’s homecoming dredges up a lot of pain from her past. Her relationship with her sister has always been strained but there’s no denying that Margot has taken on the burden of caring for their mother and now it’s Gia’s turn to help. She’s grateful to have the time with her mother and to come to terms with what happened to her in high school. What she doesn’t expect is for her sister to use Gia’s arrival as the opportunity to pack up her kids and leave town to escape her emotionally abusive husband. With the support of an unlikely ally, Gia is able to prove that Mr. Hart really was to blame for his own downfall, supports her mother and her sister when they need her most and finds love and a future in the town she thought rejected her.

Review

I did expect more about books in this one because of the title. So, don’t let the title fool you.

This story follows Gia. Gia left home at 18 because of her high school teacher. He did something totally unforgivable and unexpected. It has divided the town. Now Gia is back. Her mother is dying of cancer and she has come home. But, things have not changed and Gia must be tough!

This tale has more than one story line going at once and Brenda Novak handles it masterfully. Not only is there a story surrounding Gia, there is also one surrounding her sister, Margot.

Margot has decided to leave her verbally abusive husband. She needs Gia to make this occur. And I don’t want to give anything away…so, y’all need to read this to find out!

I enjoyed this tale. The characters, the drama and the little bit of romance thrown in, is a great mix!

Need a book that is more than a romance…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review

Author Bio:

Brenda Novak, a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a five-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader’s Choice, the Bookseller’s Best, the Bookbuyer’s Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she’s raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit http://www.brendanovak.com.

Social Links:

Author website: https://brendanovak.com/ 

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12937.Brenda_Novak 

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

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

Buy Links:

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-banned-books-club-brenda-novak 

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-banned-books-club-original-brenda-novak/20991020

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-banned-books-club-brenda-novak/1144493947?ean=2940190812299 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Banned-Books-Club-Novel/dp/0778387321 

Overview

In this riveting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me, estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal…

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-
made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death. 

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

With Laura Dave’s trademark combination of soulful suspense and evocative family drama, The Night We Lost Him is a riveting page-turner with a heartbreaking final twist that you will never see coming.

Review

Liam owns a huge hotel conglomeration, has three ex wives and keeps everyone separated. So, when he falls to his death outside his cliff side home, everyone assumes it was accidental. But, it doesn’t take Sam and Nora long to figure out this may have been murder.

As with all Laura Dave books, this is a slow burn! And Lord have mercy, I had a lot of suspects!

Nora is a bit of a conundrum. She is driven in her work but she pushes everyone who loves her away. She is not close to any of her siblings so, when her brother Sam drops into her life with a question about their father’s death, Nora is extremely reluctant. But she soon grasps the challenge and she never lets go!

This story unfolds in a unique way and the characters and situations just keep you so intrigued.

Need an all around good murder mystery….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

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

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Overview

From the winner of the National Jewish Book Award

Theodore “Teddy” Hartigan is the scion of a wealthy Washington, D.C. family who place him into a comfortable job at the State Department and a placid diplomat’s career. In 1938, as Hitler’s inexorable rise continues, Teddy is re-assigned to the US Consulate in Amsterdam to replace fleeing staff.

Teddy’s job is to process visa applications, and by 1939, refugees from Nazi-conquered Poland, Austria, and other countries are desperate to secure safe passage to America. As Hitler sweeps through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Holland, the screws tighten and law after virulent law is passed to threaten the lives, indeed the very existence of the Jewish people. When Teddy and his girlfriend Sara are introduced to an orphaned young girl named Katy, who has been abandoned on the grounds of a nursery school, they agree to adopt her. Teddy comes to realize that he holds the key to saving lives, whether five, fifty, or five hundred—and makes the dangerous and selfless decision to join with underground groups and use his position at the Consulate to rescue those with no other avenue of escape.

Powerful and dramatic, National Jewish Book Award winner Ronald H. Balson’s A Place to Hide explores the deeply-moving actions of an ordinary man who resolves, under perilous circumstances, to make a difference.

Review

I love how this story unfolded! Teddy, is telling his story to a reporter in exchange for finding out who she is. She was sent to safety as a baby during the war. She knows nothing about herself. Teddy has connections and wants to leave behind his story for his grandchildren.

This is a unique tale told in two different time lines. It has lots of history that I had no idea about. Y’all know this is my favorite time period. But the setting of Amsterdam in the war is unusual. I did not know a lot of details of what happened in this area of the world.

Teddy works for the US consulate and he is in charge of all the visa applications. So, you can just imagine that his job is stressful. He ends up falling in love with a young Jewish girl and they have adopted an abandoned child. This leads them to help hide quite a few children when they are invaded by the Nazis. So, emotions run rampant in this novel.

The only reason for the four star rating is that I felt the ending was rushed. I wanted a bit more. This is minor, it just didn’t quite feel finished.

The narrator, Fred Berman, did an excellent job. There are quite a few different characters throughout this novel and he had a unique voice for every one.

Need a good WWII novel set in Amsterdam…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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