The Guilt of a Sparrow

by Jess B. Moore

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The Guilt of a Sparrow

Magnolia Porter has spent the entirety of her twenty-four years satisfying her mother’s guilt. She was the good girl to her troublemaking brother, Lucian – the one left behind to hold her mother together after he died. She is an invisible girl in a small town carrying the burden of her family’s loss and pain. Maggie was nobody trying desperately to be somebody.  

Cotton MacKenna is the one with the temper. Of the five MacKenna boys, he’s the one most likely to throw the first punch. Never mind all those fights were a decade ago, all in an attempt to save a sweet girl from her bullying older brother. Now, Cotton has grown up, with his own photography business, yet as the fourth in the line of MacKennas, he would only ever be known for his past. Time for a change.  

Maggie and Cotton are more than the labels placed on them, put there by their families, the town, and themselves.  

A meddling best friend. Bluegrass jams. Small town gossiping. Love, loss, and family ties. Learning how to be who you are outside of who you were told to be. With humor and plenty of romance, of course.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

The MacKenna clan was one short of a six-pack of boys… Some people loved them, for their good humor, musicality, and generosity. Others hated the lot of them, for their pranks, talent, and popularity.

Mrs. Albright. A horrible old biddy. White blue hair, deep set wrinkles, and an affinity at spreading ignorance.

“I am talking to Vincent on Monday, and he’ll ask her out, and before you know it they’ll have little tattooed kids running around.” “Tattooed kids?” I asked because I couldn’t help it. The idea was too funny. “He can’t have plain ol’ regular kids.” She deadpanned,

The silence felt like a real thing, something swimming in the air that I could grab at and come away with evidence in my hands.

I had no destination in mind, but whatever I was looking for, I hadn’t found it yet. That was the problem with running away, when your only goal was to leave something behind, but never to find something ahead.

 My Review:

I was stunned and awed to realize this masterfully crafted tale was the author’s first book. It was divine storytelling. I was quickly sucked into the Magnolia Porter vortex and there I remained, fully immersed and held fast by this highly skilled writer’s mesmerizing prose. Jess B. Moore has mad skills. The writing was evocative, unflinchingly insightful, and keenly observant, while the storylines were well-paced and cunningly honed. But the characters, oh I adored and ached for these deeply flawed characters and felt I knew them all too well. Jess B. Moore is definitely going to the top of my list as a new favorite and “Talent to Watch.”

Author Bio –  

Jess B Moore is a writer of love stories.  When she’s not writing, she’s busy mothering her talented and stubborn children, reading obscene numbers of books, and knitting scarves she’ll likely never finish.   

Jess lives in small-town North Carolina with her bluegrass obsessed family.  She takes too many pictures of her cat, thinking the Internet loves him as much as she does.  She is a firm believer of swapping stories over coffee or wine, and that there should always be dark chocolate involved.   

The Guilt of a Sparrow is her debut novel combining her interests in family, music, and small towns into a thoughtful tale of growing up and falling in love.  Her second book, Fierce Grace, follows similar themes in a whole new way and will be available later in 2018.   

Please leave a review to tell other readers what you thought.  Reviews are everything for writers! 

Social Media Links –
Website: https://jessbmoore.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorjessb
Twitter: http://twitter.com/authorjessb
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorjessb

 Where Hope Begins

by Catherine West

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Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 22, 2018)

Sometimes we’re allowed to glimpse the beauty within the brokenness . . .

Savannah Barrington has always found solace at her parents’ lake house in the Berkshires, and it’s the place that she runs to when her husband of over twenty years leaves her. Though her world is shaken, and the future uncertain, she finds hope through an old woman’s wisdom, a little girl’s laughter, and a man who’s willing to risk his own heart to prove to Savannah that she is worthy of love.

But soon Savannah is given a challenge she can’t run away from: Forgiving the unforgivable. Amidst the ancient gardens and musty bookstores of the small town she’s sought refuge in, she must reconcile with the grief that haunts her, the God pursuing her, and the wounds of the past that might be healed after all.

Where Hope Begins is the story of grace in the midst of brokenness, pointing us to the miracles that await when we look beyond our own expectation.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

This miserable moment… it feels freeze-framed. Forever cemented in memory—this one defining moment in my life when I realize all I’ve done, everything I’ve poured myself into, has been for naught.

I don’t want to hate Kevin. And I don’t, always. Just most of the time.

We’ve been in and out of counseling for the past ten years. Christian counseling. Psychiatric counseling. Family and couples counseling. I can quote books verbatim on how to put a family back together after loss, how to grieve, how to pray for your husband. I must have missed the one on how to keep him at home.

Brock Chandler is all straight white teeth and sparkling eyes and smiles like a movie star. And his voice sounds like Matthew McConaughey’s. Suddenly I can’t find mine.

He knew that kind of pain. That searing forest-fire heat that eventually fizzles to dormant embers but remains a threat, a slow burn, never fully extinguished and easily flammable.

Her idea of gardening is buying a flower arrangement from Whole Foods, putting it on the table, and waiting for it to die.

…we walk toward the house in step. It’s a practiced rhythm we’ve forgotten somehow, but it has not forgotten us.

My Review:

I was astounded by the level of deft handling, observant insight, and thoughtful sensitivity given to an abundant amount of heavy personal issues and unfortunate circumstances.  While my eyes may occasionally burn and sting, I am rarely moved to actual tears while reading, although this emotive and heartbreaking story had me sobbing, and more than once.  I was often annoyed with the characters’ selfish tendencies for denial, indecision, and procrastination, but most of us walking this earth are guilty of those same foibles at various times in our lives.  The premise and storylines were relevant, well-crafted, painfully heart-squeezing, and surprisingly engaging.  I’ve never read Ms. West’s work before and despite my discomfort and tendency to eschew religious themes, I was quickly immersed and fully invested in her superbly written tale, although I was conflicted in whom to root for.  Her writing style was smooth, easy to follow, and kept me reading far later than I expected.  I fully enjoyed and appreciated her wry humor, which was often stealthily dropped in unexpected places.  The characters were realistically flawed and as fleshed out and knowable as my next-door neighbor, maybe even more so.  I was definitely a Brock fan all the way through and far from joining team Kevin until he tore off a piece of the self-righteous preacher’s wife, and from then on I had to take him seriously, I just had to, as he sorta became my hero.  The ending was highly satisfying and although extremely sad, it was also the best possible outcome.

About Catherine West

Catherine West writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or reading books by her favorite authors. She and her husband have two grown children and one beautiful granddaughter. Catherine is the winner of the 2015 Grace Award (Bridge of Faith) and the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope & Love Reader’s Choice Award (The Things We Knew). Her most recent novel, The Memory of You, released March 2017 and Where Hope Begins releases in May 2018. Catherine loves to connect with her readers and can be reached at Catherine@catherinejwest.com.

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Echo Moon

 (A Ghost Gifts Novel  #3)

by Laura Spinella

Paperback: 428 pages

Publisher: Montlake Romance (May 22, 2018)

A past life, a past war, and a past love. Peter St John can’t foresee a future until he confronts his past sins.

When photojournalist Peter St John returns home after a two-year absence, the life he’s been running from catches up. For years his mother’s presence, coupled with Pete’s own psychic gift, has triggered visits to 1917. There, he relives battles of the Great War, captures the heyday of Coney Island on canvas, and falls in love with an enchanting and enigmatic songstress named Esme. Present-day Pete still pines for Esme, and his love endures…but so does his vivid memory of killing her.

When he discovers family heirlooms that serve as proof of his crimes, Pete will have to finally confront his former life. He also meets a young woman—who is more than what she seems—with a curious connection to his family. As century-old secrets unravel, can Pete reconcile a murder from his past before it destroys his future?

“Enthralling and imaginative, where the past intertwines with the present, Spinella masterfully delivers in the third and final installment of her Ghost Gifts trilogy. Echo Moon is filled with suspense, mystery, and romance, and kept me turning the pages and on my toes until the very end, an ending I didn’t see coming. I love unexpected twists! Fans, new and old, as Echo Moon can easily stand on its own, will devour Peter St John’s story. I sure did.” —Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everything We Keep

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

He longed for Esme the way you might want air in a sealed tomb.

I just saved you from a gang of boys with ideas that’d make nuns faint!

Listen to me when I tell you it won’t stop, Pete. The dead haven’t anything better to do.

His eyes were set so close Esmerelda thought he could be his own one-eyed act.

Caroline thinks she meditates. Translation, three hours of binge watching Dexter.

My Review:

All three books in this series have been astoundingly well-crafted, ingeniously plotted, cleverly written, and tantalizingly unpredictable.   While I rapturously enjoyed all three books, Echo Moon was the most intriguing, complicated, and riveting of the bunch. I had to read it slowly to ensure that I retained all the twisty and cryptic clues, but more so that I could savor every well-chosen word. The storyline cleverly brought together all the unique characters and their talents, foibles, and leftover mysteries from the previous installments, and incorporated them with new and complex issues that had been tormenting the main character of Pete since childhood.

I rarely read paranormal or otherworldly genres but I was stunned by the realization of how much I was enjoying the creative and unusual concepts that are so agilely put forth in this series in such a believable and plausible manner. I am in awe of Ms. Spinella’s wordcraft. She has mad skills and I greedily covet her cunning wordplay. I found all her characters to be well drawn, endearingly quirky, and enticingly detailed, with my favorite being her “redheaded actress who ate like a lumberjack.” I read all three books in succession and have basically been living this family for close to a week. I am already mourning the loss of their company.

About Laura Spinella

Laura Spinella is the author of the Ghost Gifts trilogy—including Echo Moon, Foretold, and the #1 Kindle bestseller Ghost Gifts—as well as the highly acclaimed Unstrung and the award-winning novel Beautiful Disaster. She is a two-time RITA finalist who consistently receives reader and industry praise for her multifaceted characters, emotional complexity, and intriguing storylines.

Spinella lives with her family near Boston, where she can always be found writing her next novel. She enjoys hearing from readers and chatting with book clubs. Visit her at www.lauraspinella.net.

Connect with Laura

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Foretold

 (A Ghost Gifts Novel  #2)

by Laura Spinella

Laura Spinella’s Ghost Gifts trilogy continues as Aubrey’s otherworldly talents—and a visit from a former lover—threaten to tear apart her family.

A mysterious death in a muddy swamp, missing children in different states…psychic Aubrey Ellis and her partner, investigative reporter Levi St John, have their hands full. The added strain of raising their son, who struggles with his own psychic gift, pushes life to the brink of collapse.

Enter Zeke Dublin—Aubrey’s first love from her carnival past. Tensions escalate when it’s clear that the attraction between them is alive and well. But as Levi discovers disturbing clues about the body pulled from the swamp, he begins to suspect Zeke’s sudden presence is more than coincidence.

As Aubrey’s uncanny abilities take an unsettling turn, she fears that this time her own child is in danger. Who can Aubrey trust to help solve the unknowns surrounding her life—the father of her son, or a man who’s always understood the deepest secrets of her psychic gift?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

If it was possible to be silent on top of silent, that’s what she was doing. Unfortunately, it backfired, and silence translated into a loud confession.

Dylan—a curly-haired kid with fat dimples and bright eyes—burped loud enough to rattle bric-a-brac.

My Review:

The mystery and intrigue were increasingly compelling in depth and breadth, with additional twists, unique complications, unpredictable detours, and remarkable discoveries.   The tautly written and complex storylines were deviously well constructed and maddeningly paced and along with the prickly and contentious relationship between the main characters; I was on edge and anxious for elucidation and resolution. The massive amount of clues was daunting yet more puzzling was their cryptic nature which required keen attention and concentration. I was rapt to my Kindle and hugely annoyed when my traitorous eyes demanded I stop for sleep. I had been a bit conflicted about Zeke throughout, but the sweetness of his final story broke my heart. I am more than eager to dive into book three, Echo Moon.

About Laura Spinella

Laura Spinella is the author of the Ghost Gifts trilogy—including Echo Moon, Foretold, and the #1 Kindle bestseller Ghost Gifts—as well as the highly acclaimed Unstrung and the award-winning novel Beautiful Disaster. She is a two-time RITA finalist who consistently receives reader and industry praise for her multifaceted characters, emotional complexity, and intriguing storylines.

Spinella lives with her family near Boston, where she can always be found writing her next novel. She enjoys hearing from readers and chatting with book clubs. Visit her at www.lauraspinella.net.

Connect with Laura

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Ghost Gifts

 (A Ghost Gifts Novel  #1)

by Laura Spinella

All Aubrey Ellis wants is a normal life, one that doesn’t include desperate pleas from the dead. Her remarkable gift may help others rest in peace, but it also made for an unsettling childhood and destroyed her marriage. Finally content as the real estate writer for a local newspaper, Aubrey keeps her extraordinary ability hidden—until she is unexpectedly assigned the story of a decades-old murder.

Rocked by the discovery of a young woman’s skeletal remains, the New England town of Surrey wants answers. Hard-nosed investigative reporter Levi St John is determined to get them. Aubrey has no choice but to get involved, even at the terrifying risk of stirring spirits connected to a dead woman’s demise and piquing her new reporting partner’s suspicions.

As Aubrey and Levi delve further into the mystery, secrets are revealed and passion ignites. It seems that Aubrey’s ghost gifts are poised to deliver everything but a normal life.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She’d given up on calling it prayer years ago. Prayers were meant to be answered. So far, Missy’s had not been.

In five years he’d exhibited all the spontaneity of a wet match.

He’d watched his mother paint her whole face, kind of like a human paint-by-numbers. She could even do it with a cigarette in her hand, though she repeatedly insisted it was her last one.

He wore metal through so many pieces of flesh that Levi imagined unhooking them would cause the punk rocker to fall apart.

My Review:

I immediately tumbled into this captivating and consuming tale during page one and practically loathed reaching the last page, as I didn’t want to leave the story behind.   Thankfully I have the next two books to hopefully sate my appetite for this talented mastermind’s cunning word voodoo. Her clever storylines and skillfully adroit writing style were ingeniously crafted, lushly detailed, and highly evocative. It was sublime.

About Laura Spinella

Laura Spinella is the author of the Ghost Gifts trilogy—including Echo Moon, Foretold, and the #1 Kindle bestseller Ghost Gifts—as well as the highly acclaimed Unstrung and the award-winning novel Beautiful Disaster. She is a two-time RITA finalist who consistently receives reader and industry praise for her multifaceted characters, emotional complexity, and intriguing storylines.

Spinella lives with her family near Boston, where she can always be found writing her next novel. She enjoys hearing from readers and chatting with book clubs. Visit her at www.lauraspinella.net.

Connect with Laura

Website | Facebook | Twitter

The Cottage on Lily Pond Lane

Part 1 – New Beginnings

by Emily Harvale

#LilyPondLane

Goodreads

Amazon US / UK

.

Mia Ward is amazed to be told she has inherited her great-aunt Matilda’s thatched cottage in the tiny seaside village of Little Pondale – especially as Mia didn’t know she had a great-aunt Matilda.

She’s even more astonished to discover she’ll only inherit the place if she actually lives there for one year. Mia’s a city girl at heart, not to mention she’s afraid of water, so the fact the cottage backs on to a sandy beach, is not, in her opinion, a bonus.

But Mia’s struggling to pay her rent since being fired for inappropriate behavior at the office party, and her boyfriend’s also dumped her. When her best friend, Ella and Ella’s brother, Garrick offer to help her move and settle in, Mia decides to see this as a new beginning.

It may also be the start of an exciting adventure because now Mia wants to know just who, exactly, was great-aunt Matilda. And she’s determined to find out. But it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to make sure Mia doesn’t stay in Little Pondale….

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She felt about as welcome to the south coast of England as the German Luftwaffe had been in the Second World War.

They’re all so twee I half expect a beautiful princess, together with seven vertically challenged men, singing songs and carrying pickaxes, to march down the York stone paths.

The closest you’ve ever been to a tree is sitting on a wooden chair.

Oh deary me. I’m talking ten chickens at a time, aren’t I?

Justin Lake? He’s the local baker and his buns are the best for miles around. And I don’t just mean the buns he bakes… He’s in one of those male stripper dance groups in his spare time.

We’re all fairly certain the grandmas of those three young bucks spent the night under the same blanket, if you get my drift.

 My Review:

New Beginnings was a fun, light, and engaging start to a new series. I flew right through this first installment and am eager to delve into Part 2, Summer Secrets, next. The characters are highly likable and people I would enjoy spending time with.   The storylines are well-written, amusing, and pleasantly entertaining with a bit of a mystery as to exactly who Mia’s long-lost Auntie and sudden benefactor really was. I’m enjoying their discoveries as well as the transitions the city girls are facing by moving into a well-appointed thatched cottage in a rural seaside village with Llamas, no cell reception, and a gossipy housekeeper who spins superstitious tales of witchcraft and has a pet white rat named Prince Gustav. What fun!

Now get ready for Part Two:

Goodreads

Amazon US / UK

Author Bio –

Having lived and worked in London for several years, Emily returned to her hometown of Hastings where she now spends her days writing… and chatting on social media. Emily is a Member of the SoA, a PAN member of the RWA and a Pro Member of ALLi. She’s an Amazon bestseller and a Kindle All Star. Emily loves writing and her stories are sure to bring a smile to your face and a warmth to your heart.

Emily says, “I write about friendship, family and falling in love. I believe in happing endings.” When she isn’t writing, she can be found enjoying the stunning East Sussex coast and countryside, or in a wine bar with friends, discussing life, love and the latest TV shows. Chocolate cake is often eaten. She dislikes housework almost as much as she dislikes anchovies – and will do anything to avoid both.

Social Media Links – https://www.facebook.com/emilyharvalewriter

https://www.twitter.com/emilyharvale

https://www.instagram.com/emilyharvale

A Sin Such as This

by Ellen Hopkins

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Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Atria Books (May 29, 2018)

In this gripping follow-up to Love Lies Beneath, #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins’s “fabulous, sex-filled masterpiece of mystery and romance” (Library Journal, starred review), beautiful, wealthy Tara Lattimore’s story continues when her sinful past threatens to derail her current marriage—and her sanity.

Tara thought she was finally settling down when she married the handsome Dr. Cavin Lattimore. Just as she was willing to overlook his gambling habits, she discovers his secret meetings with Sophia, his gorgeous ex-girlfriend and his son Eli’s occasional girlfriend. Life gets even more complicated when Tara’s niece, Kayla, starts hooking up with Eli. In a matter of weeks, Tara has reluctantly gone from rich, single San Francisco professional to Lake Tahoe housewife managing her niece’s whiplash moods, while resisting her stepson’s tantalizing sexual advances.

Adding to the family drama is her younger sister, Melody, who’s having a serious marital breakdown, which means she might know something about her husband Graham and Tara’s brief dalliance years ago. As Tara’s fragile trust in her family teeters, timed with the arrival of certain people from her past, she also can’t shake the feeling that someone’s watching her. Baiting her.

Tara has always considered herself a tough, self-made woman after surviving a childhood defined by poverty, abuse, and neglect. For years, she suffered from the sins of others. She committed a few of her own. Now she wonders if the misdeeds of her past are about to catch up with her—and if she can ever outrun them.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Nice guy? Kill me now… A nice guy is roughly the equivalent of a decent girl. They’re like comfort food. Satisfying, but in all the wrong ways.

 

Worry causes wrinkles, and no one’s attracted to those.

 

My Review:

 

Mind blown!   I had actually started to panic as after another intriguing yet slow build during this well-crafted and engrossing, yet maddeningly paced addictive tale, the storyline exploded at the 97% mark and I gasped as my heart seized in fear of another heinous cliffhanger. I was grinding my teeth, blinking hard, and ready to foam at the mouth! But, thankfully, I stumbled through an action-packed final 3% that left me so breathless I needed to read that 3% again much slower to absorb it all. W.O.W. Ellen Hopkins is a master storyteller who is also an evil genius and a wily minx. Her tantalizingly twisted yet alluring characters with their shady half-truths and bewitching storylines kept me 100% engaged yet somewhat itchy throughout.   I had formed numerous wild theories of how the story would conclude but would never have dreamed up how all those little tightly woven threads knitted themselves into this finale. My gray matter will never be the same.

About Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thirteen young adult novels, as well as the adult novels Triangles, Collateral, and Love Lies Beneath. She lives with her family in Carson City, Nevada, where she founded Ventana Sierra, a nonprofit youth housing, and resource initiative.

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Love Lies Beneath

 (Love Lies Beneath #1)

by  Ellen Hopkins

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Amazon / B&N