reecaspieces

Famous in a Small Town

Author: Viola Shipman 

On Sale June 13, 2023

Publisher: Graydon House

Paperback Original

ISBN 978-1525804854

Price: $18.99

OVERVIEW

Fried Green Tomatoes meets Midnight at the Blackbird Café in USA Today bestselling author Viola Shipman’s FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN, a heartwarming story about intergenerational friendship and self-discovery, set in beautiful Northern Michigan.

In 1958, 15-year-old Mary Jackson became the first woman ever crowned the Cherry Pit Spittin’ Champion of Good Hart, Michigan, landing her in the Guinness Book of World Records, and earning her the nickname Cherry Mary. Nearly 80 years old at the story’s start, Mary runs The Very Cherry General Store, a business that has been passed through three generations of women in the family. While there is no female next of kin, Mary believes the fourth is fated to arrive, as predicted by “Fata Morgana,” a Lake Michigan mirage of four women walking side by side.

Becky Thatcher (yes, like the Mark Twain character), an Assistant Principal from St. Louis, has just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and heads to Good Hart for a healing girl’s trip with her best friend. When Becky drunkenly spits a cherry pit an impressive distance, Mary urges her to enter the upcoming contest, and wonders if Becky could be the woman she’s been waiting for. 

Inspired by, and paying tribute to, Michigan’s National Cherry Festival, to the Tunnel of Trees, to lake life, and to the beauty of intergenerational friendship, FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN is “full of summertime delight…and sweet, nostalgic charm” (Heather Webber, USA TODAY bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café). 

Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN is a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose.

Review

Cherry Mary is famous in her small town for being the best Cherry Pit Spittin’ Champion of Good Hart, Michigan. But, when Becky Thatcher from St. Louis shows up and threatens this champion’s record, Cherry Mary knows she is the woman she has seen in her dreams.

The characters are definitely people I know! I grew up down the road from an old store so I could just picture Cherry Mary and her old cash register. Cherry Mary is such a fantastic personality. I bet everyone who reads this novel knows someone in their life that IS Cherry Mary.

Viola Shipman has become one of my go to authors. I just love his stories. They always take me away! And this tale is wonderful.! I love all the St. Louis references….I mean…Ted Drewes! I love that place…and of course, Cardinals baseball! And he threw in a lot about Michigan. I felt like I was right there in this novel!

Need a good, small town, nostalgic tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

AUTHOR BIO

VIOLA SHIPMAN is the pen name for internationally bestselling LGBTQIA author Wade Rouse. Wade is the author of fifteen books, which have been translated into 21 languages and sold over a million copies around the world. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the working poor Ozarks seamstress whose sacrifices changed his family’s life and whose memory inspires his fiction. 

Wade’s books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show, Michigan Notable Books of the Year and Indie Next Picks. He lives in Michigan and California, and hosts Wine & Words with Wade, A Literary Happy Hour, every Thursday.

Social Links:

Author Website 

Twitter: @Viola_Shipman

Facebook: Author Viola Shipman

Instagram: @Viola_Shipman

Goodreads

Buy Links:

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/famous-in-a-small-town-viola-shipman?variant=40980279459874 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/famous-in-a-small-town-viola-shipman/1142722523  

BookShop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-champion-of-good-hart-viola-shipman/18794129?ean=9781525804854 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1525804855/keywords=fiction?tag=harpercollinsus-20

Overview

Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

“Clever and hopeful . . . a love letter to reading and the power that childhood stories have over us long after we’ve grown up.”—V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Make a wish. . . .

Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for. . . .

Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

. . . You might just get it.

Review

Lucy knows what it is like to be unwanted. As a child, her parents were not the best. She even ran away to meet one of her favorite authors, Jack Masterson. Jack’s books were her saving grace when she was growing up. Now she has a chance to help a child, Christopher. She wants to adopt him but she has no money and very little resources to get anymore. But, once again, Jack Masterson comes through. He has written his final novel. But, the only way to access this one copy is to win the contest. Can Lucy win?

Lucy is such a great character. My heart broke for her and Christopher. But, Lucy is determined to do what needs to be done. She steps out of her comfort zone to take part in this contest. She knows it is her best chance to adopt Christopher.

I fluctuated between four and five stars on this one. I settled on four, basically because it is a bit simple and predictable. However, it is magical in places. This is story about strength, love, overcoming obstacles and forgiveness. And the book references! Makes this old reader nostalgic!

Need a magical tale with a wonderful twist…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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Overview

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author’s terrifying new thriller about one man’s ice-cold malice, and one woman’s fight to reclaim her life.

Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan’s job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party—attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who’d been chatting her up at the bar—her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.

Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. “Luke” is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.

What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn’t his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan’s nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother’s home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn’t flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.

Review

Morgan has big plans. She wants to open her own bar so she has scrimped and saved and she is getting close to achieving her goal. But, when she lets the wrong person into her world, the dreams she had hoped for come crashing down. She loses all her money, her car and her home. But the worst thing to happen is the monster, Luke, killed her best friend.

Morgan ends up moving back home and in with her mother and grandmother. This is not where she wanted to be at this point in her life. She is struggling to make it all work and then she meets Miles. She begins to have a little hope. And here come the FBI again to tell Morgan that Luke has killed again. She knows he won’t quit until he kills her.

Talk about an intense read with fabulous characters! I loved Morgan and my heart broke for her. But in true Nora Roberts fashion, she brings in someone to help Morgan get through this insane life!

I have not read a Nora Roberts book in quite a while and for the life of me, I don’t know why…Because she always has some really good books. And this one is wonderful! Nora Roberts can really weave a great tale!

Need a great, edge of your seat read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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About The Book:

When Miranda Isaacs’s fiancé, Russ Steinmann, is being vetted for his dream job in the U.S. attorney’s office, the couple joke about whether Miranda’s parents’ history as antiwar activists in the Sixties might jeopardize Russ’s security clearance. But as it turns out, the real threat emerges after the attorney’s office discovers that Miranda was arrested for felony kidnapping seven years earlier – an arrest she’d never bothered to tell Russ about. 

 Miranda tries to explain that she was only helping her best friend, Ronit, in the midst of a nasty divorce and custody battle, take her daughter to visit her parents in Israel. Russ doesn’t see it quite as innocently. “I thought I knew you,” he says. Now, it’s not only Russ’s job at stake, but their marriage plans, too. 

 In a frantic search for allies to persuade Russ that she’s not a criminal, Miranda either makes the situation worse, or exposes other secrets and mysteries. Ronit has vanished. Russ’s mother isn’t particularly sympathetic and alludes to something thorny in Russ’s past. Meanwhile, Miranda’s stepfather – who has just revealed to her mother that he’s been having an affair — starts dropping cryptic hints about her biological father. On top of all that, Miranda is arrested again, this time for drunk driving.

With everything she thought she knew about the people she loves most, and even herself, upended, Miranda turns her focus to the things she is sure about. She must face the truth with her mother and with Russ, and do whatever it takes to save Russ’s job and their engagement.

Review

Miranda has failed to tell her fiancé, Russ, that she was arrested for kidnapping. It all comes out as he is being vetted for his dream job at the U.S. attorney’s office. Her sure future now looks less sure and her life is now in shambles. But, she is determined that Russ understands her reasoning and save her engagement. But, the more she works to prove herself the more secrets she discovers about her life.

Well, Miranda has found herself in a mess! Even though she makes things worse on more than one occasion, she never gives up. She fights!

Not only did I enjoy Miranda but I love how this author takes you through so many amazing historical events, the civil rights and the Iraq war, just to name a few. And the secrets…this is a maze of a tale and I enjoyed every minute of it!

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

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

About The Author:

For 30 years, Fran Hawthorne built a career as a journalist and award-winning nonfiction author, specializing in health care, finance, and the nexus of business and social activism. But all that was a detour: Since 2018 she’s published two novels, “The Heirs” and now her newest, I MEANT TO

TELL YOU, both from Stephen F. Austin State University Press. In her nonfiction life, her book “Ethical Chic” was named one of the best books of 2012 by Library Journal. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Newsday, Self, and many other publications, and she

also writes reviews for the New York Journal of Books.https://www.hawthornewriter.com/

Social Media:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hawthornewriter

Twitter: @hawthornewriter

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Overview

Glass weaves a taut web of suspicion, murder and revenge in this chilling tale.”—Liv Constantine, internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish, on Someone’s Listening

From the Edgar Award–nominated author of On a Quiet Street comes a shocking thriller about secrets…and the lengths some people will go to keep them.

Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets.

But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.

When a surge of disappearances brings the investigation to her door, Grace finds herself unwillingly at the center of it all and doing everything she can to keep her distance. Because Grace knows something…something that could change everything.And when the truth comes to light, getting justice for the vanished might be more than Grace can handle alone…

Review

Kira’s daughter is missing. And she is leaving no stone unturned. But she is not the only one missing from this quiet, Maine town. So, what is going on?!?

There are several main characters in this story, but Grace is the one that I enjoyed the most. Grace is a young lady that is down but not out. She has had major trauma in her past and so she lives for her solitude because she does not want anyone to know her secrets. Her pain is evident in everything she does but so is her strength!

The intensity just steadily builds as this novel moves along but it moves like a rocket. I read it in one day. So, if you need a vacation read, I highly recommend this one.

Need an intense tale that moves like lightning…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

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

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Overview

Winner of the Choix Goncourt Prize, Anne Berest’s The Postcard is a vivid portrait of twentieth-century Parisian intellectual and artistic life, an enthralling investigation into family secrets, and poignant tale of a Jewish family devastated by the Holocaust and partly restored through the power of storytelling.

January, 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques—all killed at Auschwitz.

Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine of this novel, is moved to discover who sent it and why. Aided by her chain-smoking mother, family members, friends, associates, a private detective, a graphologist, and many others, she embarks on a journey to discover the fate of the Rabinovitch family: their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris. What emerges is a moving saga that shatters long-held certainties about Anne’s family, her country, and herself.

Review

A mysterious postcard was delivered to the Berest home in 2003. It had the names of Ephraïm, Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques written on it. They were all killed at Auschwitz. Now, 15 years later, Anne is determined to find out who sent it and why.

Anne is not going to let the hesitancy of her mother stop her from finding out about her ancestors. Her mother is just not as interested in discovering the past as Anne. But Anne knows, she feels it in her heart, that she must do this, even if it opens old wounds.

This is a great story full of twists and turns, heartaches and powerful memories. I was captivated by the way this story unfolded. The author really creates a tale which is riddled with secrecy and questions.

Need a good novel full of family secrets and mysteries…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

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The Little Italian Hotel

Author: Phaedra Patrick 

On Sale June 6, 2023

Park Row Books

Paperback Original

ISBN 9780778387121

Price: $18.99

Book Summary:

When a relationship expert’s own marriage falls apart, she invites four strangers to Italy for a vacation of healing and second chances in this uplifting new novel from the author of The Messy Lives of Book People.

Ginny Splinter, acclaimed radio host and advice expert, prides herself on knowing what’s best for others. So she’s sure her husband, Adrian, will love the special trip to Italy she’s planned for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. But when Ginny presents the gift to Adrian, he surprises her with his own very different plan—a divorce.

Beside herself with heartache, Ginny impulsively invites four heartbroken listeners to join her in Italy instead while live on air. From hiking the hills of Bologna to riding a gondola in Venice to sharing stories around the dining table of the little Italian hotel, Ginny and her newfound company embark on a vacation of healing.

However, when Adrian starts to rethink their relationship, Ginny must decide whether to commit to her marriage or start afresh, alone. And an unexpected stranger may hold the key to a very different future… Sunny, tender and brimming with charm, The Little Italian Hotel explores marriage, identity and reclaiming the present moment—even if it means leaving the past behind.

Review

Ginny was on the air giving her advice to her listeners, when one of her callers outed her husband. Ginny was flabbergasted. But she soon realizes her marriage is on the rocks. On a whim, she invites total strangers to go on her anniversary trip to Italy. This trip turns into an eye opening experience!

This is a such a sweet and enjoyable read. I love all the characters. Each one has their own and very different grief that they are working through. Poor Ginny, she is completely blindsided by her husband and it opens her eyes to many problems, including some that may have been her fault. I love when a character recognizes that they are not perfect. Add in this beautiful setting and you have an all around joyful book about healing!

Need an invigorating story with the great charm of Italy…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

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

Author Bio

Phaedra Patrick is the bestselling author of several novels, including The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, which has been translated into twenty-five languages worldwide. Her second novel, Rise and Shine Benedict Stone, was made into a Hallmark movie. An award-winning short story writer, she previously studied art and marketing and has worked as a stained glass artist, film festival organizer and communications manager. Phaedra lives in Saddleworth, UK, with her family.

Social Links:

Author Website: https://www.phaedra-patrick.com/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/phaedrapatrick 

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

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14203653.Phaedra_Patrick 

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

Buy Links:

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-little-italian-hotel-phaedra-patrick?variant=40799581339682 

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-little-italian-hotel-phaedra-patrick/18772980?ean=9780778387121 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-little-italian-hotel-phaedra-patrick/1141998435 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778387127

Overview

SAY MY NAME is a true-crime story about a crime that never happened.

On the heels of a divorce, a midlist mystery writer returns to his hometown in Central CT and is dragged back into a decades-old, unsolved case involving former missing classmates to expose the horrific secrets of a quaint, idyllic New England town.

Fusing the modern domestic psychological thriller with popular unsolved mysteries (Girl on the Train meets In Cold Blood), this meta blend of true crime and fiction plays with expectations and perspective before its mind-blowing conclusion.

Review

This is a true crime novel…what??? Is this a thing…Yep! With Joe Clifford as the author, anything is possible. The main character, is a writer and he has decided to write a true crime book about the disappearance of twins from his hometown. Needless to say, this does not bode well for him. He is attacked on all fronts. But why? What exactly is he exposing?

This book is intriguing from start to finish. And the ending…oh boy! You better pay attention! Now, the only reason for the 4 star rating is the main character (which I don’t think his name is ever mentioned…hence the title of the book!) is a bit of a mess. He is researching a “true crime” book but he ignores all phone calls and unplugs a great deal. But, like I said…the ending opens a lot of truths!

I have read every single one of this author’s books. And I will continue to try and read every one he writes. He is so diverse and different in every book. And this one tops the diversity list. But, my favorite is still The Shadow People.

Need a good thriller with an ending that is not at all what anyone will expect…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

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

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