reecaspieces

Overview

The New York Times bestselling author of the “otherworldly treat” (People) The Drowning Kind and The Children on the Hill returns with a spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who, after taking in her dying, alcoholic mother, begins to suspect demonic possession is haunting her family.

Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. But with it right around the corner and her husband busily decorating their cozy Vermont home, she has no choice but to face it. Then she gets the call.

Mavis, Alison’s estranged mother, has been diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. She wants to spend her remaining days with her daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. But Alison grew up with her mother’s alcoholism and violent abuse and is reluctant to unearth these traumatic memories. Still, she eventually agrees to take in Mavis, hoping that she and her mother could finally heal and have the relationship she’s always dreamed of.

But when mysterious and otherworldly things start happening upon Mavis’s arrival, Alison begins to suspect her mother is not quite who she seems. And as the holiday festivities turn into a nightmare, she must confront just how far she is willing to go to protect her family.

Review

Alison’s mother has been diagnosed with cancer. She wants to spend her last days with Alison and her family. Alison eventually says yes, but with an extreme amount of hesitation. There is so much trauma from her childhood and her abusive mother, Alison is torn on what is the right thing to do. And can she actually trust her mother to be around her children?

Well! My October has started strong! This book kept me on my toes! Let me tell you! Now, it is not going to be for everyone. And I am not a huge “horror” reader. I would not necessarily classify this as horror…I mean it is but it isn’t. You will have to read this to find out. I have read every single one of this author’s books and I have loved them all. She always has a “borderline” horror feel to her reads. So to say she is suspenseful is an understatement.

When this story started out, I was afraid I could not read it. It has some triggers that set off some childhood issues. But, as the story unfolded…I could not put it down. And the ending…GEEZ! Not to mention…THE DEMON! You heard me! THE DEMON!

Need a story that will rock your world…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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BookBub

The Roaring Days of Zora Lily

Author: Noelle Salazar

ISBN: 9780778305200

MIRA Paperback Original 

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

Book Summary:

Set during a period of rapid social and technological change, The Roaring Days of Zora Lily follows a struggling young seamstress from her long nights sewing costumes in the smoke-filled speakeasies of Seattle to designing gowns for Hollywood’s biggest starlets.

2023, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer’s label, leaving her to wonder—who is Zora Lily?

1924, Seattle: Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money, working her fingers to the bone just to survive. But at night, as she lies in the bed she shares with one of her three sisters, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin.

When her best friend gets a job dancing in a club downtown, Zora is lured in by her stories of music, glittering dresses and boys. She follows her friend to the underground speakeasies that are at once exciting and frightening—with smoke hanging in the air, alcohol flowing despite Prohibition, couples dancing in a way that makes Zora blush and a handsome businessman named Harley. It’s a world she has only ever imagined, and one with connections that could lead her to the life she’s always dreamed of. But as Zora’s ambition is challenged by tragedy and duty to her family, she’ll learn that dreams come with a cost.

Review

The Smithsonian museum is working on an exhibit featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As one of the curators is preparing one of the costumes worn by Greta Garbo, she makes an unusual discovery. The tag in the costume is fake. When the tag accidentally falls off the costume, it reveals the name, Zora Lilly. No one at the museum has ever heard of this costume designer.

To say I loved this novel us an understatement! I loved everything and everyone in it, especially Zora. She is struggling to keep her family together after her father’s accident and her brother’s death. She is giving up her life to make sure everyone is taken care of. Until…her best friend makes her go out on the town to a speakeasy. This opens more than one world for her.

This story captivated me from start to finish. Zora, Harley, the speakeasies, old Hollywood create a tale you do not want to miss!

AND ISN’T THIS COVER GORGEOUS!!!

Need a story that will transport you to the jazz age…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

Author Bio

Noelle Salazar was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she’s been a Navy recruit, a medical assistant, an NFL cheerleader, and always a storyteller. As a novelist, she has done extensive research into the Women Airforce Service Pilots, interviewing vets and visiting the training facility—now a museum dedicated to the WASP—in Sweetwater, Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found dodging raindrops and daydreaming of her next book. Her debut The Flight Girls, was an instant bestseller, a Forbes Hypable book of the month, and a BookBub Top Recommended book from readers. Her second novel, Angels of the Resistance: A Novel of Sisterhood and Courage in WWII was also published to wide praise including an Amazon Editors’ Fiction Pick of the Month. Noelle lives in Bothell, Washington with her family.

Social Links:

Author Website: https://www.noellesalazar.com/ 

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noelle_salazar 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18424925.Noelle_Salazar

Buy Links:

HarperCollins.com: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-roaring-days-of-zora-lily-noelle-salazar?variant=41016586567714 

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-jazz-girl-original-noelle-salazar/19574911?ean=9780778305200 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-roaring-days-of-zora-lily-noelle-salazar/1143092714?ean=9780778305200 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778305201/keywords=historical%20fiction?tag=harpercollinsus-20 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9780778305200

Overview

Finding the truth seems impossible when her own dark past has her seeing lies everywhere she looks…

From the outside, criminal psychiatristDr. Madeline Pine’s life appears picture-perfect—she has a beautiful family, a successful mental health practice, and a growing reputation as an expert in female violence. But when she’s called to help investigate a mysterious death at a boarding school for troubled teenage girls, Madeline hesitates. She’s been through tragic cases before, and the one she was entangled in last year nearly destroyed her…

Yet she can’t turn away when she hears about Charley Ridley. After Charley was found barefoot and in pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine on campus, the police ruled her death a tragic accident. But the private investigator hired by her mother has his doubts. If it were Madeline’s daughter who died, she’d want to know why.

Arriving at the secluded campus in upstate New York, Madeline’s met by an unhelpful skeleton staff and the four other students staying on campus during winter break. Each seems to hold a piece of the puzzle. And everyone has secrets—Madeline included. But who would kill to protect them?

Review

Dr. Madeline Pine has been called in the help investigate the death of a young lady at a boarding school for troubled teenage girls. Madeline has had her own tragedies and she is very hesitant to take on this case. But, as soon as she hears about how Charley was discovered, she knows she must at least show up and check it out. Little does Madeline know, this may destroy her in more ways than one!

The setting of the secluded school and eerie grounds made this story for me AND the secrets…all the secrets! However, this story is a bit chaotic. I was confused the whole time. It does come together with a big twist. I just felt it could have been portrayed in a better way.

Need a creepy tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

Purchase Here

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Bookbub

Overview

“Narrator Kathleen McInerney will have listeners believing in miracles.”—AudioFileon The Santa Suit

From Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckersand The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.

“Nobody does Christmas like Mary Kay Andrews.”―Debbie Macomber

“Cozy up with Santa’s favorite novelist!”―Adriana Trigiani

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.

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

Review

Kerry’s dad has had a health scare and he cannot go up to NYC to sell their Christmas trees this year. So, Kerry must drive their old RV up and help her crusty older brother. Kerry thought her days would be full of selling trees and other mundane details. She never dreamed how the Christmas spirit would surround her and the whole neighborhood.

No one can transport me quite like Mary Kay Andrews. She always has the best characters! I know everyone of them…and I grant you…you do too. I could just picture Kerry, Queenie and of course the old RV.

This is a tale you do not want to miss. It is heartwarming and uplifting, especially when Kerry pulls the neighborhood together to help one of their own…and no you do not want to miss this ornery old coot!

This story is narrated by Kathleen McInerney and she is excellent. As most of y’all know, a trigger for me is the way a child’s voice is portrayed. Kathleen pulls it off expertly!

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

I rethink novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Chirp

BookBub

Overview

Ava Morgyn’s The Witches of Bone Hill is a spellbinding, romantic novel about family secrets and two young women who discover they’re Nordic witches.

Cordelia Bone’s meticulously crafted life and career in Dallas are crashing down around her thanks to a philandering husband with criminal debts. When her older, carefree sister, Eustace—a cannabis grower in Boulder—calls to inform her that the great aunt they never met has died and they must travel to a small town in Connecticut to deal with the estate, she sees an opportunity to unload the house and save herself.

But once there, the sisters learn they are getting much more than they bargained for. The Victorian mansion they stand to inherit is bound in a dynasty trust controlled by their late aunt’s aging attorney, who insists they retain and inhabit the house but keeps them in the dark about the peculiar rituals of their ancestors. Not to mention a sexy, tattooed groundskeeper with a shrouded past who refuses to leave the carriage house and a crypt full of dead relatives looming at the property line.

As both women grapple with their current predicament, they come face to face with a haunting family secret, the truth of what happened to their mother, and the enemy that’s been stalking them from the shadows for generations. In a twisting torrent of terror and blood, the sisters must uncover the power within them to heal their fractured relationship, reverse their mysteriously declining health, and claim the lineage they wanted to escape but now must embrace if they are to survive at Bone Hill.

Review

Cordelia’s life is falling apart. Her husband has cheated on her and racked up tons of debt in her name. She is about to lose it all. Then she is notified of her great aunt passing away in a small Connecticut town. She and her estranged sister head up there to take care of her aunt’s estate. Little do they know…a family secret is looming!

This story is a little bit of everything…family drama, murder, secrets, ghosts, and of course, witches. I enjoy how this tale manipulates the reader. There were times I was afraid it was about to be a horror book, then it twisted again.

I fell for both Cordelia and her sister Eustace. Both of these ladies are so different. And their interactions with each other is classic sibling love!

Need a good witching tale for Halloween season…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review

Purchase Here

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