Author: Empress DJ

Empress DJ AKA Honolulubelle is a Rabid Reader, Unabashed Reviewer, and All-Purpose Goddess
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Book Review: Starting Over at Acorn Cottage by Kate Forster

 

Starting Over at Acorn Cottage
by Kate Forster

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA /

B&N / iBooks / Kobo / GPlay

Buying a thatched cottage in the country may not be the usual cure for a broken heart. But after Clara Maxwell finds out her boyfriend and best friend have been sneaking around behind her back, packing her bags and leaving everything in London behind feels like it’s the only way forward.

Clara knew Acorn Cottage would be a fixer-upper… Yet in person, the cottage is less charmingly ramshackle and more a real health and safety concern. When Henry Garnett, her (rather handsome) new contractor, turns up with his little daughter Pansy and a van shaped like a cottage in tow, she isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. What on earth has she gotten herself into?!

Still, there is something strangely lovable about the people in the little village of Merryknowe, from Rachel Brown, the quiet, lonely girl who bakes magical confections for the tearooms, to Tassie McIver, a little old lady with a lot of wisdom and a penchant for reading tea leaves. And Clara can’t deny that Henry and Pansy are quickly worming their way into her heart…

With all the heartbreak of the year behind her, could Acorn Cottage be the fresh start Clara so desperately wants?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Clara had found the evidence in Judy’s kitchen while looking for a bowl for nuts, and she had wanted to put Giles nuts in the container there and then.

 

‘I knew the woman who lived there. Sheila Batt. Like name, like person. She was an old bat. Died in her bed upstairs. I am surprised they didn’t find her hanging from the eves by her toes.’ Clara made a face of horror but Tassie shrugged. ‘We all have to go sometime. Better to be in your bed than on the toilet like Elvis.’

 

‘I did think something was in the air today, as I had a very itchy left eyebrow.’ Clara peered at Tassie’s eyebrows, which were drawn on with an eye pencil. ‘What if the right one was itchy?’ she asked. ‘Left is a lady visitor, right is a gentleman visitor. I don’t think the right one is even functioning anymore.’

 

You don’t get to choose if you have a baby or not really. The baby chooses you. Some women aren’t ready to have them and that’s fine and some yearn for them so much they scare them away. I yearned. Still do sometimes, even though my insides are now pickled and George has been dead for thirty years.

 

My Review:

 

How have I not read this talented scribe’s work before?   I adore her! Goodreads reports twenty-six different books to her credit, where have I been? I am kicking myself for not noticing her stand-out skills sooner as I was an instant fan and an ardent devotee of her clever humor shortly after sinking into page one, and will also confess to savoring every perfectly chosen word and wittily written storyline ALL the way through. I giggle-snorted and gleefully wiggled in my chair with uncontainable delight at the unexpected nuances, captivating characters, and thoughtful little touches and perceptive insights that made this fabulous little tale a sublime and magical read. It was divine.

About the Author

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Kate Forster lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, two children, and dogs and can be found nursing a laptop, surrounded by magazines and talking on the phone, usually all at once. She is an avid follower of fashion, fame and all things pop culture and is also an excellent dinner party guest who always brings gossip and champagne.

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

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Book Review: One Dark, Two Light by Ruth Mancini

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Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / 

B&N / Kobo / GP

 

New Year’s Eve, London.

Outside the Hope & Glory pub, a man has been left to die. A victim of extraordinary violence, he will never walk or speak again. He remains in hospital for months, until criminal defense lawyer Sarah Kellerman walks onto his ward.

Sarah barely recognises the man she once worked with – he was honorable and kind – what was he involved in? Who wanted him dead? But in her race to uncover the truth, Sarah comes to realize there are two men in her life that she never really knew at all…

From one of crime fiction’s most compelling voices, One Dark, Two Light is where the personal and criminal collide, as Sarah works to bring dark secrets into the light.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

I’m not asking you for a favour, here, Andy. I’m asking you to be a father. It’s unconditional. There are no rewards, no prizes, no strings attached. We’re parents because we chose to be parents… I am not going to thank you for looking after your own son. If you truly believe that fathers are important enough to fuck up our lives, then stick around this time and be one!

 

My Review:

 

This was a confounding and complex plot with several complicated and well-nuanced storylines, frustrating and deeply flawed characters, and fatally compelling social issues. I was incensed and fully invested as the tale was ingeniously plotted, thrummed with tension, was maddeningly paced, and had me grinding my teeth and pulling at my ragged cuticles – yet I couldn’t put it down and huffed and hissed at any interruption to my reading.   I wanted to give every character a smack to the head with my kindle at some point as no one was fully trustworthy and everyone was tainted and to blame for something, just like in real life.   Except for me of course, as I have lived an exemplary life and have been a total delight to everyone I’ve ever met.  😉

About the Author

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Ruth Mancini is a criminal defense lawyer, author and freelance writer. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children.

Follow Head of Zeus:

Website: www.headofzeus.com

Twitter: @HoZ_Books

Facebook: @headofzeus

Instagram: @headofzeus

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Book Review: Clover Cottage (Love Heart Lane #3) by Christie Barlow

 

Clover Cottage
(Love Heart Lane #3)
by Christie Barlow

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA /

 B&N/ GP/ Apple

A page-turning new cozy novel in the bestselling Love Heart Lane series – perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Phillipa Ashley, and Milly Johnson!

Love Heart Lane – where friends are there for you no matter what.

When Vet Rory Scott inherits ramshackle Clover Cottage in the quaint village of Heartcross, Allie MacDonald just knows this is their happy ever after. A place to call home with the man she loves – it’s her dream come true!

Until Rory drops a bombshell. He loves Allie but he has dreams of his own to follow – to live and work in Africa. Clover Cottage will have to wait just a little longer…

Allie can’t imagine life without Rory, but she loves him too much to hold him back. And as he embarks on his adventure, Allie begins to rethink her own plans. She loves Rory and knows she wants him in her life, but maybe she can follow her own dreams too?

And always there, nestled in the beautiful village of Heartcross, surrounded by the people she loves, will be the place that will always bring them back to each other. Their forever home, Clover Cottage.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘Check my teeth,’ she said, slightly panicking. Rory’s eyebrows shot up as Allie clenched her teeth together and prised her lips open wide in some sort of weird twisty grimace. ‘What are you doing, you absolute loon? You look like some sort of constipated chimpanzee,’ said Rory, his eyes drawn towards Allie’s mouth. ‘Not that in the whole of my career have I ever had the pleasure of treating any constipated chimpanzees.’

 

‘A reality show –like the Kardashians?’ asked Isla, sitting up, knowing that brain-numbing TV was a must at her time of life. ‘More like the Karcrashions…’

 

My Review:

 

I’m was a bit slow on the uptake but I’ve caught on to the fact that Christie Barlow excels in writing about appreciably flawed yet well-meaning couples in flux, or amid critical transitions, and/or brain-slapping wake-up calls. And with this in mind, Clover Cottage was definitely on-trend.

Throughout most of the story, the main character of Allie was rigidly in her mindset of establishing a home and family and forever living in her small little village with her boyfriend Rory without ever venturing far from their little hamlet’s boundaries. Whereas, Rory had other long-held dreams and aspirations as well as a significant case wanderlust. While it wasn’t tense conflict, their differences were rising to the surface and placing them at odds with each other, in addition to other real-world issues and emotional peaks and valleys intruding on their energies.

I was invested in the storylines and quite taken with the unexpected twists and intriguing surprises that popped in as subplots. I’m already eager to see what Ms. Barlow has in store for her next installment with hints of a possible snake in the grass with nefarious intentions shaking up the sleepy village. I adore Ms. Barlow’s unique and vibrant sparks of creativity and felt her conception of the precious little alpaca competing in a dog show as a “pacapoo” was ingenious, as was her heart-squeezing and thoughtful ‘jar of memories.’ Sigh. More, please.

 

About the Author

Christie Barlow is the international bestselling author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty’s Countryside Dream, Lizzie’s Christmas Escape, Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm, Love Heart Lane and Foxglove Farm. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA, Canada & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organizations to improve their well-being.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christie_barlow/?hl=en

Website www.christiebarlow.com

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow

Facebook page Christie Barlow author

 

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Book Review: Foxglove Farm (Love Heart Lane #2) by Christie Barlow

Foxglove Farm
(Love Heart Lane #2)
by Christie Barlow

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / 

B&N / GP

 

Return to Love Heart Lane for friendship, romance and a community who will be there for you no matter what…Isla and Drew Allaway appear to have a perfect life – a strong marriage, two beautiful children and their picture-perfect home, Foxglove Farm.

But, new mum Isla is struggling.  She loves her little family but with Drew working all hours on the farm, Isla’s lonely.

When she discovers that Drew has been keeping secrets from her, Isla has to face losing the home they all love.
Can the Love Heart Lane community pull together once more to help save Foxglove Farm?  And can Isla save her home…and her marriage?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’m absolutely telling you my seventy-year-old gran is on Tinder and probably has a more active sex life than all of us put together…

 ‘I’ve got a match,’ squealed Rona. ‘Oh my … he’s got no teeth and looks like he would be better fitted in a police line-up … look!’ ‘I told you, you were swiping the wrong way … let’s have a look,’ chuckled Martha. ‘He’s not too bad, maybe a little overweight, bald and probably has his own teeth – well, the ones he has … well worth a date, I say.’

 

My Review: 

 

This was a more tense and angsty read than I was expecting, but thankfully a lively and feisty rolling stone of a grandmother and the unusual addition of an alpaca herd was on hand to provide periodic scenarios of comic relief from the marital and financial strife. Following a tragedy, Isla discovered that her husband Drew had been keeping devastating secrets, which yielded rather dire results and significant hurdles which caused the couple to struggle with nearly every aspect of their lives.

The original storylines were active, relatable, cleverly creative, and unpredictable while the writing style was easy to follow and engaging.   I enjoy Ms. Barlow’s characters and writing style so much I plan to dive right back in with the next installment in this series and her latest release of Clover Cottage. I’m hoping the cute little alpacas make a repeat appearance.  

About the Author

Amazon

Facebook

Goodreads

Website

​Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty’s Countryside Dream, Lizzie’s Christmas Escape, Evie’s Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm, Love Heart Lane and Foxglove Farm. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia.

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organizations to improve their well-being.

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Book Review: Summer at the Highland Coral Beach by Kiley Dunbar

 

Summer at the Highland Coral Beach
by Kiley Dunbar

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / 

Kobo/ GP

 

Escape to the Highland Coral Beach – where broken hearts can be healed

Beatrice Halliday needs a break from life. Booking a trip to the Highlands on a whim, Beatrice hopes learning Gaelic in a beautiful Scottish village might help her heal her grief after losing her baby, her husband and her much-loved job in a space of months.

But Port Willow Bay isn’t exactly as the website promised. Instead of learning a new language, she’s booked in to learn the ancient skill of willow weaving, her hotel room is Princess and the Pea themed (with a stack of mattresses for her bed!) and worse still, her tutor is Atholl Fergusson, grumpy landlord of the hotel where Beatrice is staying – and she’s the only one doing the course.

But as Beatrice finds herself falling in love with Port Willow Bay and its people, and as she discovers the kind heart beneath Atholl’s stony exterior, can she really leave?

Escape to the beautiful Scottish Highlands with this utterly romantic, feelgood book; one visit to Port Willow Bay and you’ll want to come back!

Fans of Sarah Morgan, Carole Matthews, and Holly Martin will be captivated.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘He and his wife didn’t get on, and she moved to the other side of the island once their son was at the high school. And every day he’d ride his bicycle over to visit her, and on Fridays he’d take a posy of flowers to her. They got on like a house on fire once they’d separated. It was quite the love affair, apparently.’ ‘And they never moved back in together?’ ‘And risk spoiling their romance? Goodness, no.’

 

I have a theory that nice, available Highland blokes who aren’t out grafting twenty-four-seven are like Brigadoon; one rises from the mists every one hundred years.

 

‘So, it’s manicure, facial, manscaping those brows and taming that chest wig that’s escaping his shirt?’ Beatrice whispered. Cheryl laughed. ‘Eee, I thought it was going to jump out and run up someone’s trouser leg when I first caught sight of that fuzz.’

 

Scottish tablet… A whole bag of sugar, large can o’ condensed milk, wee scrape o’ vanilla and a splash of whole milk. Then you boil it up until it looks like a raging furnace in the pan… You only know the stuff’s ready when the bubbles have risen to the top o’ the pan, your eyebrows are singed clean awf and you truly fear for your life… I’ve known folk lose fingers making the stuff. Melted, they were!

 

The girls at the Hub used to show me their dating profiles and the men they were matched to. They were a gruesome crop of middle managers with hairy backs, halitosis and three mobile phones and ten women on the go at once. Half of them have wives!

 

My Review:

 

Scotland is the land of my forbearers, so I do loves me a Scottish burr and this tale had lots of thick and juicy ones with an especially tasty one from a sexy redheaded knightly willow weaver. Atholl was divine!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to appreciate the main female character of Bea as at times she had been curt, critical, impatient, arrogant, and outright rude toward her Scottish hosts, and I was disappointed with her annoying and thoughtless behaviors. I didn’t seem to have that problem with the sexy Scotsman, he was a tender heart and a kind soul – and I adored him. The storylines and writing style were engaging, active, insightfully written, well-paced, and often cleverly amusing with unusual activities and misadventures by a cast of quirky and original characters.

I collected several fun new Scottish words to add to my British Isles Word List with ceilidh – a traditional Scottish social gathering usually with dancing, braw – fine, and birling – spinning around like the logs in their Highland games.

About the Author

Kiley is Scottish and lives in England with her husband, two kids, and Amos the Bedlington Terrier. She writes around her work at a University in the North of England where she lectures in English Literature and creative writing. She is proud to be a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a graduate of their New Writers’ Scheme.

Kiley’s third novel, Summer at the Highland Coral Beach (coming 27th March 2020) The first of the Port Willow Bay series is on Pre-order right now!!

One Summer’s Night was Kiley’s first novel (published by Hera Books) and is on sale now!
Don’t forget there’s also a fabulous audible audiobook narrated by Eilidh Beaton.

Kiley’s cozy, sexy-swoony, very snowy festive rom-com Christmas at Frozen Falls is on sale NOW too!

Social Media Links 

https://twitter.com/kileydunbar

https://www.facebook.com/KileyDunbarAuthor/

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Book Review: Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

 

Eight Perfect Murders 
by Peter Swanson

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU /

B&N / HarperCollins

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (March 3, 2020)

“Swanson rips us from one startling plot twist to the next… A true tour de force.” —Lisa Gardner

“Fiendish good fun.” —Anthony Horowitz

From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne’s Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox’s Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald’s The Drowner, and Donna Tartt’s A Secret History.

But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. There is a killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leave more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Books are time travel. True readers all know this. But books don’t just take you back to the time in which they were written; they can take you back to different versions of yourself.

 

The thing is, and maybe I’m biased by all those years I’ve spent in fictional realms built on deceit, I don’t trust narrators any more than I trust the actual people in my life. We never get the whole truth, not from anybody. When we first meet someone, before words are ever spoken, there are already lies and half-truths. The clothes we wear cover the truth of our bodies, but they also present who we want to be to the world. They are fabrications, figuratively and literally.

 

Fiction is so much better than reality. I know. I’ve been alive a long time.

My Review:

 

Peter Swanson is a devilishly clever and diabolically talented evil genius. I feel comforted by the fact I live far, far away from his neck of the woods as he scares me, and more than just a bit. This multi-layered, complicated, absorbing, and smartly written book was laced with unforgettable and truly unlikable characters who were also inexplicably compelling and complex. The storylines were multifaceted, maddeningly paced, and deviously irresistible. I loved it and am eagerly looking forward to his next offering but would caution his neighbors to stay sharp and keep the noise down.

I was provided with a review copy of this well-crafted tale by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

Peter Swanson is the author of five novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and his most recent, Before She Knew Him. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine. He lives outside of Boston, where he is at work on his next novel.

Find out more about Peter on his website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Book Review: Gravitate (Brooklet Dreams #3) by C.A. Harms

Gravitate
(Brooklet Dreams #3)
by C.A. Harms

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

I was the ultimate bachelor. I enjoyed my wild life, the late nights, and the fact that I had no commitments. My job and my freedom were all I needed.

Or so I thought.

Chloe was sweet and kind, and the way she got so flustered in my presence was adorable. That smile of hers did things to a man. And her laugh? It was infectious.

She had this gravitating pull that was irresistible.

She was younger, sweeter, and too innocent for a guy like me. But none of that mattered because she also possessed the power to make any man want things he’d never really given himself a chance to even think about.

But there was one thing that held me back. One thing that made me question the feelings I held for her.

She was my best friend’s cousin.

To make matters worse, she had an army of men around her that were ready to defend her if needed. And let me tell you, being on the opposite end of that line was enough to make any sane man pause.

But the more time I spent time with her, the faster all the reasons I should hold back disappeared.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but a woman who was suffering from rejection and humiliation, well, that was a dangerous combination. We could be vindictive, and yes, even overdramatic, but how was I supposed to look at him and not remember…

 

Needing her full attention, I committed the sin of all sins in a woman’s kitchen, and I grabbed the spoon and bowl from her hands. When her mouth fell open and she narrowed her eyes at me, I knew I better speak fast or run.

 

Margie was the town gossip; anything she’d heard, she added to it and told it to anyone who would stop long enough to listen. The object of the game was to be polite but never offer any bits of information that were not necessary.

 

There was no denying it. Even Grace herself understood how wound up she was… Each of us all gave her advice on how to scratch the itch. I had a feeling if this all kept up, whomever the man was that finally got past her guards, she’d end up killing them by sexual exhaustion.

  

My Review:

 

C.A. Harms has a devoted fangirl for life, as I adore her clever brand of snark, wit, and sizzling style. The storylines were original with emotive tones that were equal parts sweet, angsty, amusing, and steamy. This was an engaging and well-balanced tale that frequently had me smirking and/or turning up the fan and seeking out liquids for re-hydration.   Although he was somewhat clueless, this installment to the series featured a sexy fireman/construction worker packed with muscles. Swoon, sign me up to volunteer for their next fundraiser. No wonder his loony-tunes stalker couldn’t stay away.

 

About The Author

 

I am an Illinois girl, born and raised. Simple and true. I love the little things; they truly mean the most. I may have a slight addiction to my new Keurig—oh my, that thing is a godsend. And so fast too. I have two children who truly are the greatest part of my days, and their faces never fail to put a smile on my face. I have been married to my best friend for seventeen years and looking forward to many more.

I am one of those authors that adore my readers. I love to hear from you. After all, it is because of each one of you that I continue to write.
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FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCAHarms/
INSTAGRAM: Instagram.com/authorcaharms/
NEWSLETTER: http://bit.ly/1xsgHCS
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/C.A.-Harms/e/B0…

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Book Review: Lemon Drizzle Mondays at the Little Duck Pond Café (Little Duck Pond Cafe #9) by Rosie Green

Lemon Drizzle Mondays at the Little Duck Pond Café
(Little Duck Pond Cafe #9)
by Rosie Green

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

Molly Hooper has a secret. It haunts her dreams and casts a dark shadow over life with her gorgeous three-year-old daughter, Eva. Arriving in Sunnybrook has given her a glimpse of sunshine.

The Little Duck Pond Cafe crew seems so welcoming and there’s even the chance of a new job. Baking delicious cakes have always taken Molly to a happy place, so the job – at the glorious Brambleberry Manor Cafe – might just be perfect for her. It would mean she and little Eva could finally put down some roots at last.

But is Sunnybrook the sanctuary Molly is searching for? Or will the past come back to haunt her, wherever she hides?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘Married forty-two years. And we’ve never had an argument serious enough to consider divorce. Murder, yes. But divorce, never.’ Her face is completely deadpan.

Arlene picked on Lisa because she was shy and had long red hair. The nicknames wore her down – things like Garfield and Fire Crotch.

 I suppose I must be sex-starved. One sniff of an attractive man and my heart starts racing as if I’m on the Dive Bomber ride at the fair.

 Kindness is love made visible… That’s what my lovely granny used to say.

Honestly, you kids don’t know the half of it. Do you have any idea at all how traumatising it is to see the skin on the back of your hands waving about under a hot air hand dryer?

  

My Review:

 

This sweet series continues to introduce new and enticing characters with realistic concerns and situations that easily captivate and ensnare my interest as well as squeeze my heart. Ms. Green expertly peppers her engaging narratives with equal servings of perceptive insights and amusing slices of wry humor from a quirky and oddly interesting cast of new and familiar characters. My new favorite is Bertha – I adored her comedic deadpan humor and feistiness.

I scored big time with three fun new additions to my Brit List with plonker – a fool, servery -a counter or service hatch were food is served, and damp squib – a dud/failure/or something that doesn’t work as expected.

About the Author

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.

Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’.

Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger involved at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

Rosie’s series of novellas is centered around life in a village cafe. The latest, ‘A Winter Wedding at the Little Duck Pond Cafe’, is out now.

Rosie has also written a full-length, standalone book, ‘Snowflakes over Moondance Cottage’, out now.

Follow Rosie on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988

 

 

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Book Review: The Sea of Lost Girls by Carol Goodman

The Sea of Lost Girls
by Carol Goodman

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N / HarperCollins

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 3, 2020)

In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Shari Lapena, and Michelle Richmond comes a new thriller from the bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages—a twisty, harrowing story set at a prestigious prep school in which one woman’s carefully hidden past might destroy her future.

Tess has worked hard to keep her past buried, where it belongs. Now she’s the wife to a respected professor at an elite boarding school, where she also teaches. Her seventeen-year-old son, Rudy, whose dark moods and complicated behavior she’s long worried about, seems to be thriving: he has a lead role in the school play and a smart and ambitious girlfriend. Tess tries not to think about the mistakes she made eighteen years ago, and mostly, she succeeds.

And then one more morning she gets a text at 2:50 AM: it’s Rudy, asking for help. When Tess picks him up she finds him drenched and shivering, with a dark stain on his sweatshirt. Four hours later, Tess gets a phone call from the Haywood school headmistress: Lila Zeller, Rudy’s girlfriend, has been found dead on the beach, not far from where Tess found Rudy just hours before.

As the investigation into Lila’s death escalates, Tess finds her family attacked on all sides. What first seemed like a tragic accidental death is turning into something far more sinister, and not only is Tess’s son a suspect but her husband is a person of interest too. But Lila’s death isn’t the first blemish on Haywood’s record, and the more Tess learns about Haywood’s fabled history, the more she realizes that not all skeletons will stay safely locked in the closet.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I could feel the waves of emotion radiating off her like blast waves from an explosion.

 

It’s called a tuck box, my mother had told me, it’s what all the kids take to boarding school. As if I were going to Hogwarts and not being sent away in shame.

 

It’s the quickest, lightest touch of the lips on mine, but it shifts something in me, like the moon pulling an internal tide.  

  

My Review:

 

Goodreads lists twenty-four novels after this talented wordsmith’s name, and shame on me, this is the first one I have chanced to pick up. It was fantastic! The premise and writing style were gripping, unfailingly intriguing, super twisty.   The compelling storylines hosted a bevy of unlikable yet curiously enticing and prickly characters that kept my curiosity lashed to a well-honed edge and made me itch, as they were either close to or well over the edge of being… icky, but that was not always readily apparent.   I cringed, flinched, chewed my cuticles and wanted to hiss at any interruption that dared to disrupt my perusal. Sigh, Ms. Goodman has a rabid fangirl on her hands. More, please!

I was provided with a review copy of this unusually absorbing tale by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.

About the Author

Carol Goodman is the critically acclaimed author of fourteen novels, including The Lake of Dead Languages and The Seduction of Water, which won the 2003 Hammett Prize. Her books have been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her family, and teaches writing and literature at the New School and SUNY New Paltz.

Find out more about Carol on her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Book Review: The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn

The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant
by Kayte Nunn

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU /

B&N / HarperCollins

 Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 3, 2020)

A cache of unsent love letters from the 1950s is found in a suitcase on a remote island in this mysterious love story in the tradition of the novels by Kate Morton and Elizabeth Gilbert.

1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther’s prison but soon surprisingly becomes her refuge.

2018. Free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker embarks on a research posting in the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast. When a violent storm forces her to take shelter on a far-flung island, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters. Captivated by their passion and tenderness, Rachel determines to track down the intended recipient. But she has no idea of the far-reaching consequences her decision will bring.

Meanwhile, in London, Eve is helping her grandmother, a renowned mountaineer, write her memoirs. When she is contacted by Rachel, it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to reveal secrets kept buried for more than sixty years.

With an arresting dual narrative that immediately captivates the reader, The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant is an inspirational story of the sacrifices made for love.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Beneath a pewter sky and afloat on an even darker sea, she was reminded of Charon, the ferryman of Hades, transporting newly dead souls across the Acheron and the Styx.

 

“You have the blood of a lizard.” He released her and placed his palm below her collarbone. “There is a stone where a heart should be.”

 

I suppose I am drawn to broken things. As a boy I loved to fix, to repair and restore. The same goes for me now, except it is people not toys.

 

It might not have been the right decision, but it was the only one I knew how to make.

 

  

My Review:

 

This expertly crafted and slowly unfolding tale was a heart-squeeze and a half, and I didn’t mind that one bit. Spanning two timelines over sixty years apart, this engaging book was a hybrid of genres being equal parts women’s fiction, mystery, and historical fiction. The plot was intriguing, multi-layered, well nuanced, and deftly paced. I was captivated by these complex characters as well as Ms. Nunn’s smoothly rendered writing style, which was poignant, insightful, and hit all the feels. My attention and curiosity were well and truly captured but while my brain cells stayed abuzz, my poor coronary muscle took some abuse. But I’d gladly do it all over again and hopefully will soon as I see Ms. Nunn has a respectable listing I need to acquaint myself with.

I was provided with a review copy of this absorbing tale by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

Kayte Nunn is a former magazine and book editor, and the international bestselling author of four novels, among them The Botanist’s Daughter and The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant. Originally from Britain, she has also lived in the USA, and now resides in Australia, in Northern New South Wales, with her family.

Find out more about Kayte at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.