The Summer Swap by Sarah Morgan @harpercollins #bookreview #fiction

Overview

A recent widow’s plan to spend the summer in Cape Cod hiding from her interfering family is upended when she discovers her beach house has an unexpected guest, and the secret she’s been keeping about her marriage threatens to be exposed. Perfect beach reading for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emily Henry.

70 year old widow Cecilia Lapthorne can’t bear the prospect of a family party to celebrate her birthday and the memory of her husband, famous artist Cameron Lapthorne. They had a toxic marriage but stayed together for the children, and bound by a big secret. She runs away to the Cape Cod seashore cottage she owned with Cameron–it’s where they first fell in love–but she hasn’t returned since she discovered him cheating on her there (for the first time). No one in her family knows about it, so she will be perfectly, delightfully alone for the summer.

Except struggling artist Lily has been secretly crashing on the sofa of the seashore cottage for the last couple of weeks. Unable to make rent after dropping out of medical school to pursue her dreams of becoming an artist and working as a housekeeper in Cecilia’s Cape Cod enclave, she’s been illicitly camping at the cottage. Which isn’t a problem as it’s been unoccupied for years…until Cecilia unexpectedly shows up.

After the drama of discovering she has an unexpected house-guest has faded, Cecilia decides she’ll get along just fine with Lily for the summer. They form a tentative and powerful bond, based on shared love of art, but also the vulnerabilities they both share with each other. And when Todd, Cecilia’s beloved grandson (and the man who broke Lily’s heart in college) tracks her to the cottage, the three of them settle in for a summer of self-discovery, self-belief and second chances.

Review

Cecilia’s husband has passed away. She discovers he did not sell their Cape Cod home like he told her that he did! She has terrible memories of this home and she wants it gone. She leaves her birthday party…that she never wanted…and takes off to the cape. She soon discovers that she has and unexpected house guest, Lily.

Lily is such a sweet woman. She has given up medical school because it was just not for her. She moves to the cape and is cleaning houses and pursuing her art. She has been living in this abandoned cottage that she is being paid to keep up. No one is living there, so who will know! When Cecilia shows up and damages all of her husband’s paintings except one, Lily knows she must come clean.

This is one of my favorite times of the year…When all the new beach reads are released. Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite Christmas authors and yes, she writes books for the summer too!

This is such a good tale. It’s about family secrets, family drama and strength to overcome! Add in the wonderful characters and the location and you have an all around good tale!

Need a story to give you all the feels…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review

Author Bio:

Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She has sold more than 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives with her family near London, England, where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office. Visit her at http://www.sarahmorgan.com

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Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews @stmartinspress @macmillanaudio #bookreview #audiobookreview #smpinfluencers

Overview

This program includes a bonus conversation between the author and narrator.

“Narrator Kathleen McInerney exudes beach-read energy in this entertaining audiobook.”—AudioFileon The Homewreckers

Book your summer escape with a “mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance” (Publishers Weekly, starred) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Newcomer.

Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .

Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach listen with depth and heart.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Review

Traci Eddings was an “ain’t” but she married into The Saint. Then her husband was tragically killed in a plane crash. This left Traci running the St Cecelia, a resort on the coast of Georgia. Now, strange things are happening and her niece has been killed. Traci is not going down without a fight.

Talk about great characters! This book is full of them. And some of them I want to beat with a muddy stick!

Then there are all the plot twists! You have family drama, assault, murder and theft, all in one novel! Everyone needs to start their summer with Mary Kay Andrews! You will not be sorry!

The narrator is Kathleen McInerney. She narrates all of MKA books and she does a fantastic job!

Need a fabulous book to take to the beach or to just read wherever…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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The Evolution of Annabel Craig by Lisa Grunwald @randomhouse #bookreview #historicalfiction

Overview

A young Southern woman sets out on a journey of self-discovery as the infamous 1925 Scopes Trial tests her faith and her marriage in this moving novel from the author of Time After Time and The Irresistible Henry House.

“Lisa Grunwald is a national treasure. . . . An essential American story from a master craftsman.”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

I had never questioned a miracle, witnessed a gunfight, or seen a dead body. . . . I had thought I knew exactly what I wanted and what I didn’t. Before the summer was over, all that and much more would change.

Annabel Hayes—born, baptized, and orphaned in the sleepy conservative town of Dayton, Tennessee—is thrilled to find herself falling quickly and deeply in love with George Craig, a sophisticated attorney newly arrived from Knoxville. But before the end of their first year of marriage, their lives are beset by losses. The strain on their relationship is only intensified when John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the local high school.

Foreshadowing today’s culture wars, the trial against Scopes is a spectacle unlike any the country has seen. William Jennings Bryan—a revered Southern politician—joins the prosecution, pitting himself and his faith against the renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow. Journalists descend in a frenzy, thrusting the town and its citizens into the national spotlight. And when George joins the team defending Scopes, Annabel begins to question both her beliefs and her vows.

As the ongoing trial divides neighbor against neighbor, it also divides the Craigs in unexpected ways. But in the midst of these conflicts—one waged in an open courtroom, the other behind closed doors—Annabel will discover that the path to her own evolution begins with the courage to think for herself.

Review

Annabel was orphaned at the age of 16. She proceeded to work at the local hotel in Dayton, Tennessee. She meets and falls madly in love with a lawyer named George Craig.

George is an up and coming lawyer in Dayton. he takes on a murder case, and wins. But then something happens! You will have to read this to find out! It sends George into a spiral. But, then along comes the John T. Scopes case. John has been arrested for teaching evolution. This gives George new life.

There is so much I had forgotten about this case! I enjoyed this novel because it brought it all back to the front! Lord how things have changed and how they have not. We are still trying to fight what we teach our kids in school.

And Annabel definitely comes into her own and I loved her.

Need a good historical fiction tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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All Secrets Die by Dale M. Nelson and Andrew Watts #audiobook @dreamscapeaudio #espionagethriller

Overview

When a techno-terrorist group threatens to break encryptions on a global scale, a CIA officer must take matters into his own hands to save a world held hostage.

A massive security breach in China. CIA operations compromised in Turkey. Undercover ops breaking down the world over. A techno-terrorist group dubbed “Archon” has unleashed a terrifying new technology that can break any encryption. Humanity’s secrets are about to be laid bare, and global order tilts toward chaos.

Up against a doomsday clock, CIA officer Colt McShane hatches a desperate plan: infiltrate Archon, capture one of the terrorist group’s leaders, and force them to divulge the kill switch. But when Colt arrives just in time to see his target assassinated, he realizes that the stakes have been raised. Someone else is killing the terrorists and targeting their technology. And the question is: are they friends, or a new, and even more dangerous, enemy?

Aided by the beautiful and mysterious Ava Klein—an operator in a covert organization known only as Trinity—Colt must stay one step ahead of all who want him dead: international terrorists, government agents, police. Even those he once called friends can no longer be trusted.

Because in a world where power is built on a foundation of secrets, unlimited truth is the most destructive force of all…

USA Today Bestselling author Andrew Watts teams up with Dale M. Nelson to bring you another chapter in The Firewall Spies, a technothriller series that mixes the political espionage of Jason Matthews with the thrills and adventure of Mark Greaney.

Review

Colt is a CIA operative. He is going to have to infiltrate a terrorist group. He must succeed or more lives will be lost and the USA office of president will be compromised.

Now, this is an espionage thriller. This usually means there is quite a bit of set up to the story. This part might have been better for me if I had read the others in this series first. It is a long, slow start to this tale. BUT, and this is a capital BUT! The last half of this novel moves like lightning. AND! Now I am really worried all of this could happen🤦🏻‍♀️!

The narrator, Michael Wolfe, is probably the reason I stuck with this book.

Need a good espionage thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

Purchase Here

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Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols @macmillanaudio #bookreview #audiobookreview

Overview

A small town in coastal Maine is shaken to its core by a serial killer in this crime novel from Peter Nichols, bestselling author of The Rocks

In scenic Granite Harbor, life has continued on—quiet and serene—for decades. That is until a local teenager is found brutally murdered in the Settlement, the town’s historic archaeological site. Alex Brangwen, adjusting to life as a single father with a failed career as a novelist, is the town’s sole detective. This is his first murder case and, as both a parent and detective, Alex knows the people of Granite Harbor are looking to him to catch the killer and temper the fear that has descended over the town.

Isabel, a single mother attempting to support her family while healing from her own demons, finds herself in the middle of the case when she begins working at the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, and Alex’s daughter, Sophie, were best friends with the victim. When a second teenager is found murdered, the body left in the same manner as the first victim, both parents are terrified that their child may be next. As Alex and Isabel race to find the killer in their midst, the town’s secrets—past and present—begin bubbling to the surface, threatening to unravel the tight-knit community.

At once a binge-worthy thriller and a captivating portrait of the social fabric of a small town, Granite Harbor evokes the atmosphere of HBO’s Mare of Easttown with a villain reminiscent of Thomas Harris’s Silence of the Lambs.

Review

In Granite Harbor Maine, a local teenager has been found brutally murdered. Enter Alex Brangwen! He is a failed novelist turned detective. He is determined to find out who has destroyed his peaceful town.

Alex is a character which is not as tough as you would expect a police detective to be. I mean…he was a novelist in a past life. He also lets his ex-wife run over him. Until…he doesn’t. When his own daughter goes missing, he is a bear!

This story is a bit slow, especially in the beginning…I mean you have got to have a good set up… right?!?! And these characters really pull you in to this guessing game! And to be honest, I did not figure out who the killer was until the author wanted me to know.

Now, this has some pretty gruesome scenes in this tale. So, if that is a trigger…you have been warned.

The narrator, Peter Ganim, is one of my favorites. He has been a narrator of quite a few books I have enjoyed.

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

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

Purchase Here

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All Secrets Die by Dale M. Nelson #audiobook @dreamscapeaudio #espionagethriller

Overview

When a techno-terrorist group threatens to break encryptions on a global scale, a CIA officer must take matters into his own hands to save a world held hostage.

A massive security breach in China. CIA operations compromised in Turkey. Undercover ops breaking down the world over. A techno-terrorist group dubbed “Archon” has unleashed a terrifying new technology that can break any encryption. Humanity’s secrets are about to be laid bare, and global order tilts toward chaos.

Up against a doomsday clock, CIA officer Colt McShane hatches a desperate plan: infiltrate Archon, capture one of the terrorist group’s leaders, and force them to divulge the kill switch. But when Colt arrives just in time to see his target assassinated, he realizes that the stakes have been raised. Someone else is killing the terrorists and targeting their technology. And the question is: are they friends, or a new, and even more dangerous, enemy?

Aided by the beautiful and mysterious Ava Klein—an operator in a covert organization known only as Trinity—Colt must stay one step ahead of all who want him dead: international terrorists, government agents, police. Even those he once called friends can no longer be trusted.

Because in a world where power is built on a foundation of secrets, unlimited truth is the most destructive force of all…

USA Today Bestselling author Andrew Watts teams up with Dale M. Nelson to bring you another chapter in The Firewall Spies, a technothriller series that mixes the political espionage of Jason Matthews with the thrills and adventure of Mark Greaney.

Review

Colt is a CIA operative. He is going to have to infiltrate a terrorist group. He must succeed or more lives will be lost and the USA office of president will be compromised.

Now, this is an espionage thriller. This usually means there is quite a bit of set up to the story. This part might have been better for me if I had read the others in this series first. It is a long, slow start to this tale. BUT, and this is a capital BUT! The last half of this novel moves like lightning. AND! Now I am really worried all of this could happen🤦🏻‍♀️!

The narrator, Michael Wolfe, is probably the reason I stuck with this book.

Need a good espionage thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

Purchase Here

Audible

Amazon

Chirp

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Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies by Catherine Mack @macmillanaudio #audiobook #audiblebook

Overview

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

“Quick, captivating, and oh-so-much-fun! This delicious mystery is as spellbinding as Knives Out.”—Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of the Finlay Donovan series

All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series—is that too much to ask?

Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life—the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can’t get out of her life—Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.

Contending with literary rivals, rabid fans, a stalker—and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly—theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.

Review

Eleanor Dash, best selling author, wants to finish this book tour and get home and kill off her main character, Conner. She has had enough of him, in her books and in real life. So, when Conner (real life Conner!) insists that someone is trying to kill him, no one really believes him. But strange things start happening and it just might land Eleanor in jail!

This is a novel by Catherine McKenzie, writing as Catherine Mack. I have been a fan of this author since I read her first novel, Spin. She has changed genres quite a few times…Romance, and women’s fiction then on to suspense and thrillers and now, this tale. This is more of a cozy mystery style.

I enjoyed how Catherine Mack portrays the narrator of this little jaunt through Italy. The narrator is the best selling author, Eleanor Dash. And she is very close, not quite, but close to a hot mess. She is a bit self centered and egotistical. So, you can just imagine some of her comments…these had me laughing out loud!

Now, this is not my favorite by this author but I did enjoy the hunt for the killer…did I figure it out…yep! But y’all it is a fun read! It has great characters, good setting, and cute quips!

The audiobook narrator, Elizabeth Evans, is impressive. Lots of characters and she distinguishes them all!

Need a 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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Someone Saw Something by Rick Mofina @harlequinbooks #bookreview #thriller

Overview

Mofina expertly weaves together an anguishing story of a family’s trauma with a propulsive, twisty thriller that pays off to the very last page.”
—Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author

A missing child is every parent’s worst nightmare.

For journalist Corina Corado, it’s a terrifying reality.

When six-year-old Gabriel vanishes from Central Park, his mother, news anchor Corina Corado, is desperate for answers. Who would take her son—and why?

Detectives suspect there’s a connection to the barrage of hate mail Corina’s received over the years. In her line of work, it’s not unusual for agitated conspiracy theorists to send messages that threaten violence…or worse. But as the investigation deepens, the secrets that Corina, her husband, Robert, and her stepdaughter, Charlotte, have kept start to unravel.

As the truth behind Gabriel’s disappearance emerges, Corina must race the clock to track down her missing child…before paying the ultimate price.

Review

Charlotte picked up her brother from school. They are walking home through the park and Gabriel is playing with his toy plane…until he is gone. He is missing!

This used to be a trigger for me, a child missing. I could not read a book with this trope when my children were little. This story still had me in knots! I cannot fathom a mom going through this.

This novel is intense, intriguing and…I am not going to lie…terrifying in places. The only reason for the 4 star rating, I felt the conversations, in some places, were a bit canned. But, the intensity has me on the edge of my seat!

Needs a tale which will have gasping for air…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Eight Weeks Later by G.T. London @suzyapbooktours #bookreview

Overview

A key to paradise isn’t the same thing as entry.
After a tumultuous childhood, Roy Fernsby now runs a quaint London coffee shop that his friends frequent, cycles on Sundays . . . and keeps his distance from romantic relationships. Though Roy’s charming and well-liked, being single suits him—if only because it helps him avoid the sting of abandonment. Besides, Roy likes his life exactly as it is.

Then a lawyer in Hawai’i calls Roy to inform him that he’s just inherited a beach house in Nalu from his grandparents. There’s just one problem: a former foster child, Roy never knew he had grandparents.

Review

Roy has been raised in foster care and was finally adopted. So when a lawyer calls and tells him he inherited a house in Hawaii, he is flabbergasted. He had no idea he even had a family!

Roy is a character which I fell for right from the first. He is a bit rough around the edges but he gradually begins to loosen up (who wouldn’t in this beautiful state!). I love how his plans change the longer he stays and how love just might be in the cards.

I love a good family mystery this novel has one of the bests! PLUS…the great setting of Hawaii!

Need a good search for the truth tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson @recordedbooks #historicalfiction #bookreview

Overview

Drawing on the little-known true story of one tragic night at an Ozarks dance hall in 1928, this beautifully written novel, told through interwoven narratives generations apart, is a thrilling tale of love, loss, and reinvention.

At birth, Violet and Rose Flowers were identical, save for a tiny bluish-purple mark gracing Violet’s slender neck. By nineteen, their temperaments distinguish them, as different as the flowers their mother named them for—Violet, wild, and outgoing, and Rose, solitary and reserved. Still, they are each other’s world. Then, on a sweltering, terrible August night in 1928, an explosion rocks Lamb’s Dance Hall in Possum Flats, Missouri, engulfing it in flames, leaving one twin among the dozens dead, and her sister’s life forever changed.

Fifty years later, Daisy Flowers is dumped on her grandmother Rose’s doorstep for the summer. A bright, inquisitive fifteen-year-old, Daisy bargains her way into an internship at the local newspaper—where she learns of the mysterious long-ago tragedy and its connection to her family. Rose, now the local funeral home director, grows increasingly alarmed as her impulsive granddaughter delves into Possum Flats’ history, determined to uncover the horrors and heroes of the fiery blast.

For a small town, Possum Flats holds a multitude of big secrets, some guarded by the living, some kept by the dead. And through Rose, Daisy, Dash—a preacher who found his calling that fateful night—and others, those ghosts gradually come into the light, forcing a reckoning at last.

This audiobook is narrated by Jim Frangione, Andrea Gallo, L.J. Ganser, Laura Knight Keating, Christina Moore, and Graham Winton.

Review

Daisy’s mom has dropped her off with her grandmother at Possum Flats, MO. This is absolutely not where she wants to be. She ends up with a job for the summer at the local newspaper. She uncovers a tragedy in this small town and no one has ever talked about it. She writes a series of articles about this tragedy that killed several young people. This causes numerous secrets to come out of the past!

I really enjoyed Daisy. She is a go getter and she does not let grass grow under her feet. She went after the internship at the small town newspaper and got it! This gave her a purpose. I also felt like it helped ease her pain of her mother (you will need to read this to find out!). She definitely stirs up trouble for this close knit small town and uncovers quite a few secrets and causes some major drama!

Now, I did figure out one of the secrets and you will too. But, that did not stop me from loving everyone in this tale!

Y’all know I love an audiobook which has several narrators. This one is narrated by Jim Frangione, Andrea Gallo, L.J. Ganser, Laura Knight Keating, Christina Moore, Graham Winton. And this team of talented narrators made this story so real!

Need a good historical tale with a family twist…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

Purchase Here

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