Category: 5-Stars

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 Book Review: A Village Secret by Julie Houston    @JulieHouston2 @AriaFiction

A Village Secret
by Julie Houston

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When Jennifer goes up to Cambridge University with her head full of the Romantic Poets, she never dreams that she will find her very own Byron. But then she meets gorgeous actor Laurie Lewis, and finds herself living a real-life love poem.

Fifteen years and two children later, Jennifer and Laurie’s relationship is starting to feel more like an epic tragedy. After a series of revelations turn her world upside down, Jennifer will do anything to keep her family together – even if it means moving hundreds of miles away to Laurie’s childhood home in Westenbury, Yorkshire.

As she reluctantly enters into village life – complete with interfering in-laws, new friends and a surprise delivery of alpacas – Jennifer is amazed to find herself feeling happy for the first time in years. But the village holds one last, devastating secret and Jennifer must decide once and for all what she wants her future to hold.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The last time I was on stage was when I was an angel in the Reception Nativity… I was already so pissed off at not being Mary, I broke my cardboard halo, took a swing at Joseph and got really told off by the old boot in charge. If you look at photos of me on stage, I’m scowling throughout and giving everyone black looks while I refuse to sing.

Net her? I turned to look at Laurie. Had Laurie actually said net her? As if Tod Mayhew had spent hours dipping his rod into a pond of potential marriage partners and had come up with a prize catch?

‘Call him Laurie,’ I suggested. ‘Everyone else does.’ Everyone except me, who now prefers wanker, pillock, bighead…

‘Protection?’ Janice laughed hollowly. ‘Laurie couldn’t protect the skin on a rice pudding.’

My Review:

 

I enjoy the clever wry humor and amusing yet perceptive observations in Julie Houston’s agile storytelling. She wrangles emotive insights into her narratives that set the perfect pitch and extra oomph to her tale. This story had a unique cast of characters with real-world problems and issues, as well as significant personal foibles and pitfalls. The storylines were engaging and held my interest, even when the characters were annoyingly weak or obtuse, as we all are at times.

 

 

Julie Houston lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire where her novels are set, and her only claims to fame are that she teaches part-time at ‘Bridget Jones’ author Helen Fielding’s old junior school and her neighbor is ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris. Julie is married, with two adult children and a ridiculous Cockerpoo called Lincoln. She runs and swims because she’s been told it’s good for her, but would really prefer a glass of wine, a sun lounger, and a jolly good book – preferably with Dev Patel in attendance.

 

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Book Review: Parks and Provocation (Green Valley Heroes #2) by Juliette Cross @Juliette__Cross @SmartyPantsRom

Parks and Provocation
(Green Valley Heroes #2)
by Juliette Cross

Amazon  / B&N /  BB

 

Lola Landry stares through the window of her locked car with the keys in the ignition and the radio blaring Beck’s “Loser.” While standing there and sweltering in the soupy Tennessee humidity, she wonders how her orderly life had crashed and burned so badly. Then her high school nemesis saunters up in all of his tall, strapping, fireman-to-the-rescue glory, slapping her with the humiliating proof that it can always get worse.

When the uber-confident Jedediah Lawson requests a date in return for popping her lock, a lightbulb goes off. Revenge is sweet. He would make the perfect victim—guest, that is—for her next podcast episode on Kiss and Tell. What shocks her is the casual way he not only agrees to the post-date interview on air, but ends up hijacking her audience and wooing them with his swoony, southern charm. Not even a low score on the date-o-meter can dissuade the man or keep her fans from demanding more of the charismatic Jed.

What’s worse, she secretly wants a second date with this man who is so different from his teenage self. His unwavering patience and dimpled smile erode her will, until she breaks the Kiss and Tell rules by agreeing to a second…and a third date. It’s a disaster. Not the date. They’re wonderful. The disaster is that she is falling for a man she once dubbed Jockstrap Jed.

‘Parks and Provocation’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #2 in the Green Valley Heroes series, Green Valley Chronicles, Penny Reid Book Universe.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Ever since the layoff, my ego had been suffering from severe fracture lines, splintering into a million spiderweb breaks. I was holding it together with duct tape and a prayer, the most reliable of southern adhesives.

 

“Welcome to the annual man-meat show.” I was horrified and stupefied and in complete danger of swallowing my own tongue. I hoped there was a defibrillator in that ambulance just in case.

 

I bit my bottom lip, determined not to regret anything in the past. There was no use to it. Like my dad always told me, “Don’t waste your time looking back. You’re not going that way.”

 

Life is never fair. You just have to make roses out of shit-hills most of the time.

 

Meeting Jed’s family was like falling into a vortex and being squeezed tight by fluffy teddy bears and sharp-toothed piranhas at the same time.

 

My Review:

 

This was a cleverly written, fun, and frisky romp that kept me smirking, gasping, and seeking libation to rehydrate my desiccated body.   This engaging couple had a compelling yet tempestuous history as well as undeniable physical chemistry that singed the sheets.

My Kindle was smoking and my mouth was frequently parched. This was my first exposure to Ms. Cross’s delightfully delectable word voodoo as her listing looks primarily paranormal, a genre I don’t often peruse, although I can’t help but cross all my fingers and toes she churns out more of these clever Smartypants romantic comedies.

JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.
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Book Review: The No-Show by Beth O’Leary 

The No-Show
by Beth O’Leary 

 

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Three women who seemingly have nothing in common find that they’re involved with the same man in this smart new rom-com by Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare.

Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth.These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: They’ve all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up–Valentine’s Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they’ve all been stood up by the same man.

Once they’ve each forgiven him for standing them up, they let him back into their lives and are in serious danger of falling in love with a man who seems to have not just one or two but three women on the go….

Is there more to him than meets the eye? And will they each untangle the truth before they all get their hearts broken?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

There’s something about shiny things that appeals to Siobhan. Expensive jewelry, luxury lingerie, handsome men with perfect smiles. She knows they’re probably too good to be true, but she just can’t help wanting them all the same.

 

Is it one of those hangovers where your insides are all burny, like they’re mad at you and inflicting their punishment from the inside out?

 

“He cheese-grated the whole of the front of his body on the trunk of a sycamore,” AJ tells Miranda, leaning forward. “You should have seen the state of the man’s dick after that, it looked like a half-chewed stick of pepperoni.” “Salami,” Trey says sulkily. “Not pepperoni. Big salami. Girthy salami.”

 

I’m ninety-six, Colin. When you get to my age you don’t give enough of a shit about anything to have ‘objections.’

 

It makes her itch to think that she’ll never know the why behind it all. Miranda is just one of those people: she picks the label off her beer bottle, she itches mosquito bites. She can’t leave things alone.

 

My Review:

 

This tale was full of surprises. I am now totally enamored with Beth O’Leary as she is a wily minx who led me astray, and now I’m feeling an April fool. Her engaging and cleverly amusing storylines were unpredictable and expertly paced to keep my curiosity primed. I thought I had Joseph pegged, but I was so far off the mark I wasn’t even near the target. I adored these complicated characters, each was uniquely quirky, multi-layered, and well-textured. This agile storyteller has climbed to the top of my favorites list.

About the Author

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Beth O’Leary studied English at university before going into children’s publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being within reach of London, and wrote her first novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from work.  You’ll usually find her curled up with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).
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Book Review: At Least You Have Your Health by Madi Sinha   @MadiSinha @BerkleyPub

At Least You Have Your Health
by Madi Sinha 

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Behind the wholesome veneer of a wellness clinic lies a dangerous secret in this compelling women’s fiction novel from the author of The White Coat Diaries.


Dr. Maya Rao is a gynecologist trying to balance a busy life. With three young children, a career, and a happy marriage, she should be grateful–on paper, she has it all. But after a disastrous encounter with a patient, Maya is forced to walk away from the city hospital where she’s spent her entire career.

A new opportunity arises when Maya enrolls her daughter at an exclusive private school and crosses paths with Amelia DeGilles. Amelia is the owner and entrepreneur behind Eunoia Women’s Health, a concierge wellness clinic that specializes in house calls for its clientele of wealthy women for whom no vitamin infusion or healing crystal is too expensive. All Eunoia needs is a gynecologist to join its ranks.

Amid visits to her clients’ homes to educate and empower, and occasionally to remove crystals from bodily orifices, Maya comes to idolize the beautiful, successful Amelia. But Amelia’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems, and when Amelia’s teenage daughter is struck with a mysterious ailment, Maya must race to uncover the reason before it’s too late. In the process, she risks losing what’s most important to her and bringing to light a secret of her own that she’s been desperately trying to keep hidden.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She adjusted her oversized black sunglasses, the ones she imagined made her look something like Audrey Hepburn but in fact made her look something like a very large hornet.

 

Tad used phrases like “leveraging our strategic partnerships” and wrote excitedly of his plans to target hospital advertising to “capture female patients in the 18-65 year old range.” The latter expression always made Maya picture Tad running through a field with a butterfly net, in pursuit of a panicked woman wearing no-slip socks and rolling an IV pole behind her.

 

What you have here at Hamilton is a group of very opinionated, very uptight parents who are trying to relive their childhoods through their kids… They want their kids’ days to be filled with unicorns and rainbows and the occasional diorama made out of a Jimmy Choo shoe box.

 

He was already on a toilet in one of the stalls, swinging his legs and loudly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. “And through the red sticks forest stands, a nation, and the frogs, invisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

 

“You should make sure to use birth control, even while you’re nursing.” “What about avocados?” a woman with short silver hair and a red leather jacket wanted to know. “What about them?” “If you put one in before sex, it works like a diaphragm. No?” Maya stared at the woman. “No. Please don’t do that.” “Oh my God, Heather,” the woman with the baby said, her hand on her forehead. “Your vag is not for serving guacamole!”

 

My Review:

 

This was a fun and giggle-snort-worthy read and a pleasant surprise. The engaging and humorously entertaining plotlines and narratives were liberally peppered with keenly observant insights of cultural differences and pressures as well as cleverly amusing humor and snark. I savored each well-textured and brilliantly nuanced storyline; even when the characters were disappointing and annoying me with their self-involved pettiness, narrow thinking, bigotry, and obsessive social climbing. This was my first exposure to the agile storytelling of Madi Sinha and I am now a devoted acolyte of this talented wordsmith.

About the Author

Madi Sinha is a writer and practicing physician who loves the nervous system, bookshops, tea with milk, and snarky conversation (but not necessarily in that order). She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.

 

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Book Review: Truth, Lies, and Mr. Grey (Three Mrs. Greys Book 2) by Shelly Ellis     @TLCBookTours @ellisromance

Truth, Lies, and Mr. Grey
(Three Mrs. Greys Book 2)
by Shelly Ellis  

Amazon  / B&N /  GP/ Apple / BB

Three women scorned, one wealthy, vengeful bigamist–and killer bad news no one saw coming. In Shelly Ellis’ shocking follow-up to The Three Mrs. Greys,a trio of betrayed wives finds that no one can be trusted— definitely not their wealthy, vengeful bigamist husband, and maybe not even themselves…

Diamond. Noelle. Vanessa. As Cyrus Grey recovers from a near-fatal shooting, the women who each thought they were his only wife are fighting hard to make new dreams—even if it means going one dangerous step too far…

On trial for Cyrus’s shooting, Diamond is determined to clear her name—and get back the husband she still loves. But uncovering the truth will reveal more secrets than she ever imagined. And unexpected desire is bringing them all too close to home…

Beautiful Noelle has found happiness with new love Tariq. But Cyrus’ scheming confronts her with an unthinkable conspiracy—and an impossible choice to save all she hopes for…

As seemingly sweet suburban wife Vanessa helps Cyrus recover, she’s about to finish him off for good—and keep the expensive lifestyle she earned. But her manipulations will push her up against two relentless—and all-too-intimate—enemies…

Now with lethal agendas clashing, passions high, and everyone’s future on the line, which rules will each woman break to finally end the past—and who will survive to secure everything?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

With his horn-rimmed glasses, drab gray suit, and his leather satchel thrown over his shoulder, he had to be the nerdiest-looking Black man she’d ever seen in her life. Well, that wasn’t true. He was maybe a distant second to Steve Urkel. He had absolutely no swag and stood out like a sore thumb among all the other men in the room, making her laugh to herself.

 

“Mama, why do you insist on talking about regular people like they’re peasants?” “Because they are, as far as I’m concerned.” The older woman shoved her sunglasses back up the bridge of her button nose. “I didn’t marry three wealthy husbands because I was enamored with being ‘regular,’ sweetheart. I put up with a lot of bullshit so I wouldn’t have to be that anymore.”

 

She wondered why she hadn’t spotted the resemblance before. Maybe it was because their temperaments were so different. Whereas Darius came off cool and calm as a soothing creek in the forest, Tariq was a sleeping volcano, with bubbling magma just beneath the surface, ready to explode when you least expected it. Unfortunately for Darius, a creek couldn’t quell a volcano, no matter how hard he tried.

 

Tariq was a hustler. A survivor. A chameleon. Darius swore Tariq had nine lives— unfortunately, he suspected all those lives would be lonely ones.

 

My Review:

 

The conclusion to the saga was quite a riveting tale and had a rather bittersweet ending for my favorite characters, although some finally got what was due them. The entire cast of disagreeable and questionable characters from book one carried over with a few new additions added into the mix. The intriguing storylines were active, taut with tension, and well-honed with sharp imagery, bad decisions, and impending peril. The writing was emotive and on point, while peppered with liberal use of the “n-word” which I found rather unsettling as I have been conditioned to find any use of the pejorative quite jarring and oddly far more egregious than profanity.

About the Author

Shelly Ellis is an award-winning journalist, NAACP Image Award finalist, and acclaimed author of more than two dozen novels, including the Chesterton Scandal Series, The Gibbons Gold Diggers Series, and The Three Mrs. Greys Duology. She lives with her husband and daughter outside of Washington D.C. in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

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Book Review: Killer Instincts (Assassins in Love #1) by Tawna Fenske @tawnafenske

 

Killer Instincts
(Assassins in Love #1)
 by Tawna Fenske

 

Amazon / B&N / GP / BB

He’s a hired gun. A hardened killer. So how’d he end up bottle-feeding lambs for his best friend’s sister?

Dante didn’t set out to deceive. His favor for a pal in prison got him this farmhand job, and Jen needs help guarding more than her blueberries. Someone’s set on hurting her, and he’ll make damn sure they don’t. She can’t know who sent him or why he’s handier with a handgun than a hoe. But none of that matters more than keeping Jen safe.

To save the girl, he’ll have to pair old skills with new. A princess tea party and an old-fashioned gunfight? Why not. Grape stomping and grenades? Sign him up.

But as the enemy closes in, there’s one skill Dante finds he doesn’t have: The strength to walk away when the job is done.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“You have a goat named Scape and a horse named Maple?” Like he wasn’t already half in love with her. Jen’s cheeks pinken like he’s spoken out loud. “Scape Goat and Maple Stirrup, yes.” Her chin tips up. “Pony Soprano’s on loan to a kids’ petting zoo this week.” It’s official. She’s his dream girl.

 

“Gabor. Well, Ga-boar.” A pig pun like Maple Stirrup and Scape Goat. “I tried Eva and Magda, but she’s more of a Zsa Zsa.” The pig squeals behind him but stays on the couch. Maybe her hoof hurts, or maybe life’s better on a La-Z-Boy.

 

He’s never met a woman so delicate and daring, so fragile and fierce.

 

“You’re a hitman.” He flinches. “I prefer ‘bodyguard.’” “And I prefer ‘princess,’ but I’m a goddamn farmer, okay?” Jen huffs a breath. “You’re an assassin.” It’s just semantics, and he knows he shouldn’t argue, but— “Security professional.”

 

“Didn’t go well?” “Nope.” A pause. “Cover’s blown?” Dante flinches but keeps walking. “Yep.” “Had a hunch when she stalked past muttering how all men should be castrated at birth.”

 

“Do you really love me?” “Yes.” No hesitation. “Really?” “More than anything.” He takes a step closer, arms opening to enfold her. “More than chili or Cheez-Its or my Ruger Mark IV Hunter.” “More than Cheez-Its?” She draws back and gives him a skeptical look. “Sounds serious.” “You have no idea.”

 

My Review:

 

This was a fun, lively, smirk-worthy read and I loved every cleverly written word of it. The storylines were engaging, vastly entertaining, and actively paced with crisp and cunningly snarky humor that caused a few giggle-snort eruptions during my rapt perusal. I haven’t had this much fun in ages and am eagerly awaiting the next installment.   This wily author has more than redeemed herself for that demonic cliffhanger of a prequel, which now that I think about it, was rather ingenious.

About the Author 

Website 
Amazon
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter 
Instagram

 

When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.

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Book Review: What Lovers Do by Jewel E Ann @JewelE_Ann

What Lovers Do
by Jewel E Ann

Amazon  / BB

 From bestselling author, Jewel E. Ann, comes a hilarious secret lovers story that redefines the meaning of friendship. 

Shep’s found the female version of himself … and he thinks she’s perfect—perfectly unavailable.

Everyone loves Shep, the charismatic employee at Scottsdale’s newest pet store. He has shared custody of his two dogs with his annoying ex-wife and a smile that can disarm most women.

Except … Dr. Sophie Ryan.

What starts out as a disastrous first meeting, involving a coffee catastrophe and mistaken flirting, turns into an unconventional friendship.

Fake phone sex.

Dog park dates.

And eighteen holes of golf.

The problem? Sophie’s taken herself out of the dating pool for a mysterious reason, imprisoning Shep in the friend zone for eternity.

As their competitive personalities hit a boiling point, the gloves come off and so do their clothes. When Sophie’s “real” life threatens their relationship, can Shep let go of his past to chase the one that might get away?

 

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Nora covers her mouth and snorts. “You had me. I honestly thought you had connections to royalty.” “I do.” I check my teeth in the oval mirror on the wall. “My mom is a royal pain in my ass.”

 

I sometimes miss the woman I married, but I never miss the woman I divorced.

 

“Stop talking about my nipples.” “You brought them up. Don’t get me wrong, I was hoping you would. Like… really hoping. I’ve been meaning to compliment you on them. That day at the store, I wanted to give them a slow clap or something special like that. Maybe a ribbon like at the state fair.”

 

“You should have been a politician.” “Because I’m a gifted orator?” “Because you’re full of shit.”

 

It’s nearly impossible for lovers to end and still be friends. Casually falling out of love is as likely as finding a unicorn at a petting zoo.

 

I’m spending way too much time thinking about all the ways I could make you leave my house and at least half of them involve your body being unresponsive and lacking a pulse.

 

My Review:

 

Jewel E. Ann has obviously been blessed by the ink fairies with divinely clever word skills and has graced us with another deftly written, engaging, and profoundly funny tale that hit all the feels. It was better than eating crackerjacks and finding a prize in every handful. The storylines were well-paced, brilliantly contrived, and laced together with sparkling irreverent humor that had me barking aloud at my kindle. I adored these well-nuanced characters and was rooting for them all the way.

 

 Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today best-selling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance. 

 

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Book Review: THE LYING CLUB by Annie Ward @_Annie_Ward

THE LYING CLUB
by  Annie Ward

BookShop/ Harlequin / B&N / Amazon / B-A-M / Apple / Powell’s / GP / BB

ISBN: 9780778389408

Publication Date: March 22, 2022

Publisher: Park Row Books

From the acclaimed author of Beautiful Bad comes an explosive new novel of revenge, murder, and shocking secrets—where the victims aren’t who you might think. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Lucy Foley, and Liv Constantine.

 

Three women. Two bodies. One big lie…

 

A tangled web of lies draws together three women in this explosive thriller of revenge, murder, and shocking secrets.

At an elite private school nestled in the Colorado mountains, Natalie, an office assistant, dreams of having a life like the school moms she deals with every day. Women like Brooke—a gorgeous heiress, ferociously loving mother, and serial cheater—and Asha, an overprotective mom who suspects her husband of having an affair. Their fates are bound by the handsome assistant athletic director Nicholas, whom Natalie loves, Brooke wants and Asha needs.

But when two bodies are carried out of the school one morning, it seems the tension between mothers and daughters, rival lovers, and the haves and have-nots has shattered the surface of this isolated, affluent town—where people stop at nothing to get what they want.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Reade was an undeniably handsome seventeen-year-old. He played lacrosse in the spring, wrestled in the winter, and was the captain of the soccer team in the fall. To Natalie, he looked like the sort of boy who would go on to pledge a good fraternity, major in economics with a minor in sexual assault, and eventually become a businessman like his dad. Had his circumstances been less affluent, she assumed he would have been just fine because of his looks alone. There was always Chippendales, reality television, and porn.

 

Everyone had problems with everyone.  The whole bunch. Every single last one of them had a reason to hate the other. Sometimes it felt like I was trying to do my job in a shark tank.

 

My Review:

 

There was a lot to unpack with this tautly written tale which featured a plethora of itchy elements that kept me on edge and debating the motivations and veracity of the entire cast of characters. And there was quite an oddly compelling and uniquely vile assortment to sift through.

The storylines were uncomfortably realistic, edgy, and disquieting. I had full-on cold prickles and was so immersed in her characters’ narratives I often found myself flinching during perusal. This was my second time falling into a well-contrived Annie Ward enclave of ghastly humans, torrid secrets, and twisty intrigue, and while I’m looking forward to many more, I need a spa day to release a boatload of tension and knots in my neck.

Annie Ward is the author of Beautiful Bad. She has a BA in English literature from UCLA and an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Her first short screenplay, Strange Habit, starring Adam Scott, was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Jury Award winner at the Aspen Film Festival. She has received a Fulbright scholarship and an Escape to Create artist residency. She lives in Kansas with her family.

 

 

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Book Review: The Sweetheart Locket by Jen Gilroy  @JenGilroy1 @orionbooks

The Sweetheart Locket
by Jen Gilroy

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP / BB

What if the key to your present lies in the past?

London, 1939
On the eve of the Second World War, Canadian Maggie Wyndham defies her family and stays in England to do her bit for the war effort. Torn between two countries, two men and living a life of lies working for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Maggie’s RAF sweetheart locket is part of who she is…and who she isn’t.

San Francisco, 2019
Over twenty years after Maggie’s death, her daughter Millie and granddaughter Willow take a DNA test that’s supposed to be a bit of fun but instead yields unexpected results. Willow has always treasured her grandmother’s sweetheart locket, both family heirloom and a symbol of her grandparents’ love story. But now she doesn’t know what to believe. She embarks on a search for the truth, one she doesn’t know will reveal far more about herself…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

In wartime, life sped up and was lived in snatches and you had to make the most of what you had, when you had it.

 

My mother says, “experience is what we call the accumulation of our mistakes.”

 

Her cousin was a young soul. Since childhood, Saffy had darted through life like a dragonfly in a summer meadow, landing in pleasant places and, apart from her parents’ tragic deaths which she’d been too young to remember, her way untouched by shadows.

 

Something the war had also taught her was that the truth wasn’t always best. Rather, it was elastic and sometimes you had to lie to save yourself and those you cared about.

 

Family wasn’t always the people you were connected to by blood, but also those who came into your life by chance and stayed by choice.

 

My Review:

 

This was an absorbing, heart-rending, and intriguing dual-timeline and multiple POV narratives between family members in WWII England and modern times. The storylines were original, engaging, well contrived, historically and culturally accurate, and laced with modern-day family tensions and 1940’s wartime dangers, and a sense of impending peril.

Unexpected revelations, family secrets, cultural concerns, clandestine operations, and identity issues were insightfully and thoughtfully explored in both timelines. I cared about the characters and was riddled with curiosity about what was to become of them.

The writing has emotive, perceptive, easy to fall into, and kept a smooth scroll of sharp visuals sparking across my gray matter. Ms. Gilroy is not only an agile storyteller but a wily one full of surprises.

 

About the Author

I write sweet romance and uplifting women’s fiction—warm, feel-good stories to bring readers’ hearts home.

A Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award, I live in small-town Ontario, Canada with my husband, teenage daughter, and floppy-eared rescue hound.

I love reading, ice cream, ballet, and paddling my purple kayak.

 

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Book Review: One Hundred Intentions (Aspen Cove #20) by Kelly Collins @kcollinsauthor

 

One Hundred Intentions
(Aspen Cove #20)
by Kelly Collins

 

Amazon /  BB

Aspen Cove welcomes you back for more love, hope, and happily ever afters…

Author Reese Arden has been hiding most of her life. Some would call her a wallflower, but she’s the root of that flower, hidden far beneath the soil, where no one sees her, hears her, or shames her. Her lifelong stutter has silenced her, but when she moves to Aspen Cove, she vows to give herself a new beginning and find the courage to be heard. An encounter with a handsome hitchhiker spurs her inquisitive writer’s brain. Tucked inside his pocket, next to his heart, is a mysterious pink envelope. Could this man be her muse?

The army created Brandon Fearless; he’s a protector at heart and driven to succeed. When his sister, and only living relative, passes unexpectedly, his world crumbles. Tasked with clearing out her apartment, he comes across a pink envelope that holds the secrets to her hidden illness. Inside is a note asking her to go to Aspen Cove. Dealing with the pain of not being there when she was alive, he promises not to abandon her in death. Her quest becomes his, but what will he find when he gets there?

A woman building a future. A man unearthing his past. Will what they uncover lead to heartbreak or true love?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… she needed her muse to return. Without her, no words hit the paper, and no words meant no money. No money meant no future. Without money, she’d be living with her mother until they both needed walkers.

 

He was big and burly and had been told occasionally that if he wasn’t smiling, he looked like he was prepping for murder.

 

It wasn’t often she found someone who put her at ease. Then again, she spent most of her time with her mom and that woman made her want to cut her tongue out.

 

A good PI is like a good bra. It’s working behind the scenes, but it’s holding up its end of the bargain.

 

“Who needs a boyfriend when you have a dog like that.”… She sipped her wine and smiled. “Well, as far as the opposite sex goes, he’s been the kindest and most loyal. On a sour note, he farts in bed, and licks himself at all hours.”

 

My Review:

 

I adored this couple as much as I am enamored with their creator.   Kelly Collins has never failed to put a smirk on my face, cause occasional eruptions of giggle-snorting, and raise my pulse rate all in the same chapter. The engaging storylines and smooth writing style had an easy and pleasant flow with humorous descriptions, color small-town characters, and sage and insightful observations. I always enjoy my visits to Aspen Cove and will never tire of this quirky small town.

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

 

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International bestselling author of over 30 novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.