reecaspieces

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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Overview

A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of books that bring them together, by the bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London.

In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job. She and her beloved daughter Olivia have always managed just fine on their own, but with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her with a job.

When the threat of war in England becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In the wake of being separated from her daughter, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, and a renewed sense of purpose through the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing and the work at the lending library forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.

Review

Emma and her daughter, Olivia, are struggling. Emma’s husband has died and she cannot make ends meet. She finally gets a job at the Boots’ Booklover’s Library. Then the war comes and everything changes once again.

Emma truly breaks my heart in the beginning. She is sad, she is struggling and she just wants to do what is right. When she gets the job, things start to look up. Then the war comes. This creates so many issues for Olivia and Emma.

I loved how this story played out. Oh and the wonderful book references! Not only is this tale traumatic in so many ways, but it is also joyous! You must read this to find out.

I have read several books by this author and all of them are super good! So, add all of them to your list!

Need a wonderful historical fiction tale with great book references…THIS IS IT!

Grab your copy today.

About the Author:

Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into over twenty-five different languages.

Social Links

Author Website: https://madelinemartin.com/ 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadelineMMartin 

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12062937.Madeline_Martin 

Purchase Here

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-booklovers-library-madeline-martin?variant=41311560695842 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335000399  

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-booklovers-library-madeline-martin/1143849745  

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-booklover-s-library-original-madeline-martin/20392302