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Book Review: Escape With Me (The O’Callaghans #3) by Kristen Proby  @Handbagjunkie

Escape With Me
(The O’Callaghans #3)
by Kristen Proby 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP/ Kobo

From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kristen Proby comes ESCAPE WITH ME, an all-new stand-alone novel in her beloved WITH ME IN SEATTLE SERIES!

Keegan O’Callaghan has been told he’s married to his pub. It’s true. He’s happiest when he’s pulling taps and filling drink orders, so long as he can keep an eye on his family and ensure that all is well. Bringing a woman into his life for anything but a pleasant, short-term romp isn’t even on his radar.

Until she comes running through his door, soaking wet and in a princess gown.

Isabella Harris ran out on her wedding, and she’s not even a little bit sorry. She may have loved her groom a long time ago, but standing there about to take her vows, she realizes it’s not right. And that’s all she needs to know. Four hours later, she finds herself on a tiny island outside of Seattle, walking into a random Irish Pub and locking eyes with the sexiest bartender she’s ever seen. But now what? She’s alone and broke, with only a wedding dress to her name.

Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Keegan can see that Izzy’s scared and alone. The job offer he extends is only until she gets back on her feet–he has no intention of keeping her.

But sometimes Fate has other plans…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… you don’t deserve to be the back-burner girl…You’re a front and center, rolling boil kind of girl.

 

Women. I can’t go a day without her, yet sometimes, I want to tumble her right into the sea.

 

“I can totally keep a secret,” she says, but I know better. “If you tell anyone, you won’t be my favorite anymore.” The smile leaves her face. “Well, that’s just mean.”

My Review:

 

This was a fun and engaging read while pleasantly low on conflict or angst. I enjoyed the delightful respite! The characters were endearing and hard-working and the storylines were relatable, easy to follow and detailed with amusing descriptions and scenarios.   I have enjoyed the books in the series I’ve been lucky enough to obtain, although I am a fairly recent convert to Ms. Proby’s coven, I have a lot of catching up to do!

 

 

About the Author

Kristen Proby has published more than forty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self-publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion and Romancing Manhattan Series.

Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two cats.

Connect with Kristen

 

Website: https://www.kristenprobyauthor.com/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2kBRdpj

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BD4vfq

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/684662744993031/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Handbagjunkie

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kristen-proby

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/handbagjunkie/

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/30ImsmP

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Book Review: Chasing The Sun (Angel Sands #7) by Carrie Elks @CarrieElks

CHASING THE SUN
(Angel Sands #7)
by  Carrie Elks

Genre: Small Town, Contemporary Romance
Release Date – January 20, 2021
Cover Designed by Najla Qamber
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AMAZON

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

 

A whirlwind is coming to Angel Sands…

Take a vacation from taking vacations. That’s Lydia Paxton’s plan when she arrives in Angel Sands to celebrate her baby niece’s christening. Organizing trips of a lifetime for her exclusive New York clientele has taken its toll. Now she just wants to kick back, relax, and spend time with her family.

But, as her sister tells her, Lydia always leaves devastation in her wake.

This time, the devastation goes by the name of Jackson Lewis.

As soon as he sets eyes on her, Jackson knows Lydia’s trouble with a capital T. The problem is, the attraction between them is off the scale.

It’s a good thing Jackson swore off relationships years ago. He’s certain he has it all under control. Until this confirmed workaholic finds himself the foster father of a stray dog and playing hooky from work thanks to Lydia’s influence.

And at night, she’s curled up next to him in his bed.

Now the clock is ticking. They have twelve days together and then she’ll be gone. All they have to do is NOT fall in love with each other.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

He has that little lost boy, bad boy combination women can’t resist. Women want to save him and ravage him at the same time.

Jackson wasn’t one for talking, especially not deeply. In the days she’d spent with him, she’d learned more from his silences than his sentences.

She was his kind of crazy.

Home wasn’t a town or a city or any physical location. It was the thing that filled your soul. The place in your heart filled with the people you love.

 

My Review:

 

Although I haven’t been lucky enough to read them all, this has been such a fun series with lovable characters, low angst, relatable issues, and engaging storytelling that continues on into each standalone installment. The couples are earnest, likable, and endearing people whom I would enjoy knowing.   The writing is easy to follow and enjoyable to read. Sigh, I can only hope Ms. Elks continues this series into perpetuity and decides to write a tale for every resident in this small beach town.

 

Excerpt

Flipping her hair over one shoulder, he brushed his lips against her neck. “Does that help?” he murmured softly.

That brief touch made her shiver. “Not really.”

He chuckled against her skin, kissing his way up to below her ear, his breath hot against her sensitive flesh. “How about this?” he asked, sliding his mouth to her jaw.

She wanted to turn, to capture his lips with hers, but he was holding her too tightly.

“Or this?” He ran his fingers through her thick hair, his gaze catching hers. His eyes were dark, needy, and sent a shot of electricity through her veins.

Pushing the straps of her dress down past her shoulders, his fingers teased her skin as he pressed his warm lips against hers. He took his time as he kissed her, his movements slow and sure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Elks Headshot

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children, and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

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Book Review: High Treason at the Grand Hotel (Fiona Figg Mystery #2) by Kelly Oliver @TLCBookTours @KellyOliverBook

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High Treason at the Grand Hotel
(Fiona Figg Mystery #2)
by Kelly Oliver

Amazon | B & N | IndieBound | GP 

 Publisher: Historia (January 5, 2021)
Paperback: 276 pages

Paris. 1917. Never underestimate the power of a good hat… or a sharp hatpin.

Sent by the War Office to follow the notorious Black Panther, file clerk turned secret agent Fiona Figg is under strict orders not to get too close and not to wear any of her usual “get-ups.”

But what self-respecting British spy can resist a good disguise?

Within hours of her arrival in Paris, Fiona is up to her fake eyebrows in missing maids, jewel thieves, double agents, and high treason.

When Fiona is found dressed as a bellboy holding a bloody paperknife over the body of a dead countess, it’s not just her career that’s on the block.

Her next date might be with Madame Guillotine.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I needed to straighten my desk and get my files in order. My father liked to say, outward order conceals inward turmoil. If so, my soul must be a cyclone. And if the reverse were true, the slobs in this office had the souls of monks.

 

Sitting behind his mammoth wooden desk, eyelids flicking, the petite Captain Hall looked like a turtle encased in its shell.

 

The only thing an admirer ever gave me was a head cold.

 

“If anything, the war teaches us to savor the moment.” She tightened the strings on her purse. Maybe she had a point. “Think of all those unfortunate women on the Titanic who waved away the dessert cart.” She winked.

My Review:

 

The headstrong and quick-witted filing clerk turned intrepid wartime spy Fiona Figg’s second adventure has her hopping to the continent and sampling the wares of Paris, which even in the straits of WWI was bustling far merrier than dreary old London. Fiona ignored all the dire warnings and sharp orders given to her to leave her “costumes” at home and packed more disguises in her luggage than actual clothing, so she couldn’t let them go to waste now could she? Her adoring visits to the costume shop remind me of the highly amusing yet bungling Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies.

She was to keep a low profile and merely gather information, no way! There was no holding her back as she was soon embroiled in several murders, thrown in a filthy jail cell with horrible men, and took on a side hobby of tracking a jewel thief and possible serial killer in her spare time when not hobnobbing with Mata Hari. I aspire to her bold level of daredevil audaciousness!

I have enjoyed Ms. Oliver’s wry humor and clever storytelling, she has amused and kept me well entertained for several days. I am now even more enamored with historical cozy mysteries after reading the first two of her series and am looking forward to the next planned installment when the Feisty Fiona Figg will be off to Austria behind enemy lines to meet the King and Queen at a royal ball. How thrilling!

My curiosity was further tipped by information tucked into the Afterward about several of the characters in the books being notables and real-life figures of the time. So, of course, a visit to my friend Mr. Google was required and I fell down an ever-familiar rabbit hole while looking up the infamous Mata Hari. Funny how that happens… Yet another case of amusing fiction leading me into an interesting history lesson.

 

About Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent’s surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

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

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Book Review: Betrayal at Ravenswick (Fiona Figg Mystery #1) by Kelly Oliver @TLCBookTours @KellyOliverBook

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Betrayal at Ravenswick
(Fiona Figg Mystery #1)
by Kelly Oliver

•Publisher: Historia (March 10, 2020)
Paperback: 240 pages

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

 

What’s the best way to purge an unfaithful husband?

Become a spy for British Intelligence, of course.

Desperate to get out of London and determined to help the war effort, Fiona Figg volunteers to go undercover.

It keeps her from thinking about Andrew, her philandering husband.

At Ravenswick Abbey a charming South African war correspondent has tongues wagging.

His friends say he’s a crack huntsman. The War Office is convinced he’s a traitor. Fiona thinks he’s a pompous prig.

What sort of name is Fredrick Fredricks anyway?

Too bad Fiona doesn’t own a Wolseley pith helmet. At Ravenswick a murderer is on the prowl, and it’s not just the big-game hunter who’s ready to pounce.

Reader’s Favorite Award for Best Historical Novel

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Mr. Knox flashed a toothy smile, the kind that made nuns blush.

When Ernest laughed he sounded like a goose taking flight.

I admired the rose bushes, wishing I had a green thumb. I was too much of a city girl to grow anything except my hair…

In my opinion, her husband’s wandering eye seemed more in line with male maladies best cured by poison.

I could hear my father’s voice in my head, “Stiff upper lip, my girl, that’s the English way.” Wouldn’t he be surprised to see a mustache sprouting from mine?

The reflection in the mirror didn’t seem to belong to me, but to some long-lost twin, who looked like me but lived a parallel life more exciting than my own.

 

 

My Review:

 

This was my first time reading Kelly Oliver and I had to wonder, what took me so long? This was an enjoyable and entertaining historical cozy mystery set in 1914 England during WWI and written from the first-person POV of a female file clerk turned working in the War Office who was sent on a spy mission and having the time of her life. Just what a newly divorced woman shot of a philandering husband would need to relocate her identity and self-confidence. The entertaining storylines were rather complicated with a large cast of unusual and untrustworthy characters, but I enjoyed the chase and her multiple missteps.

While there wasn’t a vile cliffhanger to rankle and stir my ire, the tale did not fully resolve and will continue on through subsequent installments. I can live with that since I have the next volume locked on loaded on my beloved Kindle.

I obtained two new items to add to my ever-growing Brit Words and Phrases list with a rum do which is a messy circumstance plagued with bad luck, poor fortune, or deliberate sabotage. And a hair receiver, which Mr. Google informed me, along with colorful examples, was a small pot or jar with a hole in the top that was used in the Victorian era and was typically made of ceramic, bronze, or crystal. It was kept on the dressing table to store their personal hair after being collected from brushes and combs. Said hair was used in jewelry and art – umm, no thank you.

About Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent’s surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

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

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Book Review: Did My Love Life Shrink in the Wash? (The Callaghan Sisters #3) by Kristen Bailey @mrsbaileywrites @Bookouture 

Did My Love Life Shrink in the Wash?
(The Callaghan Sisters #3)
by Kristen Bailey

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP/ Kobo

Sure, my bedroom gets lots of action. It’s called snoring.

Will and I didn’t have a clue what we were signing up for. It turns out that there are loads we weren’t warned about:

1) You’ll spend more time spooning your child’s cuddly donkey than your own boyfriend.
2) Communication with your other half will be via post-it notes on the fridge, mainly telling him to buy more milk.
3) If you make the mistake of going to a nightclub you’ll nod off, drool, and be woken up by an angry bouncer.
4) In the middle of the night you’ll be begging Siri for advice on getting your baby to sleep. (Whale music doesn’t work.)
5) Sex is something that happened in another dimension.

But even if I feel like I’m waiting for my motherhood powers to come in the post, at least I’ve got Will. Our old life – festivals, sambuca shots, an actual sex life – might be a distant memory, but we can get through anything together, can’t we?

At least that’s what I thought until, one day, Will walked out on us… If I’m on my own (apart from Siri, obviously) can I do this whole parenting thing? Or I am destined to lose my sanity one sleepless night at a time?

A totally hilarious and absolutely relatable tale for anyone who has survived parenthood purely on microwave meals and wished for an IV drip of coffee to get them through! This uplifting page-turner will make your belly ache with laughter. Perfect for fans of Why Mummy Drinks, Sophie Ranald, and Sophie Kinsella.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Another wave of pain strikes me and I bellow out some feral crescendo through the ward. Wolves in London Zoo howl back in reply.

 

Midhusband Joe continues to talk from in between my arched legs. His face and the giant lamp down there are slightly disconcerting, like he’s mining for something.

 

And who calls a baby Leonard? That’s just cruel… And he wasn’t good-looking. Face like a cabbage. She’s just inviting that kid to be beaten up when he’s older.

 

‘Do the stretch marks ever fade?’ I ask. ‘Mine are dark red, I look like a tiger.’ ‘Own them. They’re your new warrior stripes.

 

Swimming?’ ‘Then I’d have to do my bikini line.’ ‘No, you don’t. I swim at the lido near Emma’s and there’s a lady who goes out with full pits and fanny. It sprouts out like alfalfa.’

 

‘Sean also looks like the sort of man who wears bad shorts in summer. Am I right?’ ‘Cargo, knee-length. Sometimes the ones with the zips so he can add some length if the weather gets cooler.’ ‘If you married that, I’d voice my objections at your wedding, just so you know.’

My Review:

 

Maternity, birth, and baby issues aren’t my jam and topics I typically avoid in my book selections.   But I couldn’t seem to pass this one up as I had read and delighted in the previous books in this series.   Needless to say, I have few regrets after diving into this riotously amusing tale and am just as enamored with this author’s clever wit and irreverent humor as I was before. I cackled and giggle-snorted at the outrageous scenarios and sharp visuals her wily and cunning selections of words conjured in my cranium. My face is actually a bit tired from smirking. As there are five oddly captivating and quirky sisters in this family, I will be eagerly awaiting the next sister’s odyssey.

And, score! I have two new additions to my Brit Words and Phrases list with norks – which are a woman’s breasts; and gubbins – which is a multitasker of a word as it has several meanings which include scraps, useless bits and pieces, gadgetry, and a foolish person. For most women of my age, norks are generally gubbins.

About the Author

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Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love, and family.

You can find out more about her on Twitter (@mrsbaileywrites), Instagram (@kristenbaileywrites), and Facebook.

 

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Book Review: The Forever Girl (Wildstone #6) by Jill Shalvis @JillShalvis @WmMorrowBooks

The Forever Girl
(Wildstone #6)
by Jill Shalvis 

Amazon  / B&N / GP / Apple

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis does it once again with a heartfelt story of family, forgiveness, and secrets that have the power to change the course of more than one life.

When Maze returns to Wildstone for the wedding of her estranged BFF and the sister of her heart, it’s also a reunion of a once ragtag team of teenagers who had only each other until a tragedy tore them apart and scattered them wide.

Now as adults together again in the lake house, there are secrets and resentments mixed up in all the amazing childhood memories. Unexpectedly, they instantly fall back into their roles: Maze their reckless leader, Cat the den mother, Heather the beloved baby sister, and Walker, a man of mystery.

Life has changed all four of them in immeasurable ways. Maze and Cat must decide if they can rebuild their friendship, and Maze discovers her long-held attraction to Walker hasn’t faded with the years but has only grown stronger.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

She’d grown up with big dogs, so she didn’t quite get the appeal of the little ones. They yipped. They had a Napoleon complex. Last week at the dog park, they’d terrorized a big dog into peeing on them.

 

She’d kept all this bottled in because . . . well, that’s what she did, always. There were lots of corked bottles of emotion deep inside her.

 

“Healthy relationships are about the three Cs.” “Calamity, cluelessness, and catastrophe?” Maze asked.

 

Somewhere along the way, she’d become the sidekick in her own story.

 

Oh my God… I can’t go to jail, who’ll take care of Sammie? And plus there’s scratchy toilet paper in jail, and I’m too short for the orange coveralls they make you wear!

 

You don’t need to be in the beginning of a child’s story to change the ending.

My Review:

 

This story carried considerably more angst than any Jill Shalvis book I’ve ever read. Not that I’ve read a lot of them, but it was a noticeable difference when contrasted with the brilliance of her previous works that I’ve been lucky enough to lay my greedy and grubby hands on. The majority of said angst radiated out of the main character of Maze, who was difficult for me to warm up to as Maze took stubbornness to a new level of tenacious obstinance. I grew to care for her, although I still wanted to periodically give her a few smacks with my Kindle to disrupt her egocentrism.

As always, Ms. Shalvis’s writing was easy to follow, cleverly nuanced, well-paced, and amusingly engaging with a compelling cast of complex and quirky characters. The storylines and issues combated were relevant and relatable to many regardless of family situation, as every family unit has at least a few obnoxious members if not an entire limb on the family tree, or as in the case of mine, riddled with a plethora of pervasive pestilence starting from the root level and extending to the very top leaf.  😉

Author Info

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes warm, funny, sexy contemporary romances and women’s fiction. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she’s also a two-time RITA winner and has more than 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

WEBSITE |FACEBOOK |TWITTER |GOODREADS

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Book Review: The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous @EJRous 

 

The Perfect Guests
by  Emma Rous

 

Amazon  / B&N / GP/ Apple 

The USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair returns with another delicious, twisty novel—about a grand estate with many secrets, an orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a sinister game.

1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she’s truly part of the family…until they ask her to help them with a harmless game—and nothing is ever the same.

2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It’s strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she’ll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose.

In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she’d imagined—even with damage from a fire decades before—but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone…including her.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

Her thoughts are like darting fish, sparking across her mind and slipping out of reach.

 

My Review:

 

My first Emma Rous read and it was quite a complicated and twisty tale with lots of moving parts, secrets, and hidden agendas. The storylines were slowly constructed and cleverly nuanced over two timelines with a large cast of characters. The story threads were taut with tension and wound around themselves to weave what seemed like tangled knots, which ultimately became a complex tapestry while ensnaring my attention and endlessly provoking my curiosity with ever-evolving theories. Many of the main characters were elusive and an odd mix of peculiar and erratic in both timelines. This was a hard one to put down and my poor optical orbits feel like they have burned through to the back of my skull as I may have been reluctant to blink as I didn’t want to miss anything. All told, it was rather ingenious.

About the Author

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Emma Rous is the USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair. She grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal, and Fiji, and from a young age, she had two ambitions: to write stories and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge and worked as a small animal veterinarian for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives near Cambridge in England with her husband and three sons, and she now writes full time.

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Book Review: The German Girl by Lily Graham @lilygrahambooks  @Bookouture 

The German Girl
by Lily Graham

 

Amazon  / B&N /  GP

‘Our parents were taken. And if we go home, the Nazis will take us too…’

Hamburg 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home from school with her twin brother Jurgen. The mood in the city is tense – synagogues have been smashed with sledgehammers, and Asta is too frightened to laugh as she used to.

But when she and Jurgen are stopped in the street by a friend, her world implodes further. Her Jewish parents have been dragged into the streets by German soldiers and if she and Jurgen return to their house, they will be taken too.

Heartbroken at the loss of her parents, Asta knows they must flee. With her beloved brother, she must make the perilous journey across Germany and into Denmark to reach their only surviving relative, her aunt Trine, a woman they barely know.

Jammed into a truck with other refugees, Asta prays for a miracle to save herself and Jurgen. Crossing the border is a crime punishable by death, and what she and Jurgen must embark on a dangerous crossing on foot, through the snowy forest dividing Germany and Denmark. And when barking dogs and armed soldiers find Jurgen and Asta escape, she must hold on to hope no matter what. One day she will find her twin, the other half of herself. Whatever the price she has to pay…

A gripping and poignant read that will break your heart and give you hope. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah, and Catherine Hokin will be gripped by the story of a brave brother and sister seeking safety during one of the darkest times in our history.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Marta was Ingrid’s cousin. She was also the old man’s last helper. It was fair to say that it hadn’t gone well. It had ended with Marta refusing to ever darken Jürgen Anderson’s door, even if he died, and someone needed help moving his mouldering body …‘Even then – find somebody else,’

 

That was our surname – before I changed it after the war. It means swallow, like the bird…. My father used to say that the two of us were like our namesake – you know that swallows seldom rest, they spend most of their lives in flight? … Except of course we became birds without a nest to return to.

 

If I ever find out who your father is, you horrid brats, I’m going to send him my condolences!

 

There are people that should be sorry, but you’re not one of them.

My Review:

 

I must confess to being rather ignorant about the countries of Denmark and Sweden, other than a vague notion of where they rest on a map. Shortly after starting this missive I stopped reading and consulted my go-to all-knowing source, the font of all the important knowledge worth knowing, and my chief source of information – Mr. Google. Armed with a bit more reference and leaving many of my researched pages open, I returned to my rapt perusal of this poignantly written, heart-rending, and compelling tale.

Lily Graham’s moving and thoughtfully written account repeatedly bruised and squeezed my coronary muscle in a ruthless manner before breaking it completely and finally patching me up again.   I am ruined! Her evocative yet tensely striking storylines were expertly crafted with well-chosen words, which delivered a resounding emotional impact and hit all the feels from the carefree childhood of clever prankster twins to their traumatic escapes and distressing and harrowing adventures once separated.   I was quickly sucked into every new thread and felt familiar with each new locale with her vivid and haunting depictions. She has mad skills and an ardent new fangirl.

About the Author

 

Lily has been telling stories since she was a child, starting with her imaginary rabbit, Stephanus, and their adventures in the enchanted peach tree in her garden, which she envisioned as a magical portal to Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree. She’s never really got out of the habit of making things up, and still thinks of Stephanus rather fondly.

She lives with her husband and her English bulldog, Fudge, and brings her love for the sea and country-living to her fiction.

https://lilygraham.net/

https://www.facebook.com/LilyRoseGrahamAuthor/

https://twitter.com/lilygrahambooks

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Book Review: The Lake House (Love Heart Lane Series, Book 5) by Christie Barlow @ChristieJBarlow @rararesources

The Lake House
(Love Heart Lane Series, Book 5)
by Christie Barlow 

Amazon  / Apple / GP

There’s a newcomer to the village of Heartcross and she’s never been more in need of a friend. Ella is ready to start afresh ––and that could mean there’s love on the horizon in the form of the gorgeous Roman, the local water taxi driver. Every day Roman is there to ferry Ella to the restaurant on the other side of the lake and every night he makes sure she gets home safe. But Roman has secrets of his own…

Can the Love Heart Lane community offer Ella a chance of a new life? Or will the ghosts of her past catch up with her?

My Rating:

My Review:

 

Heartcross sounds a bit like Hotel California as once people come, they “never leave.” I adored the character of Roman, of course, he could only exist between the covers of a book as he is too good to be true. I’m enjoying this sweet series as the storylines are relatable, the characters are likable, and each book can stand alone quite well with the previously featured characters and locals continuing on with updated storylines in subsequent volumes. And no obnoxious cliffhangers insight. This is how a series should be!

 

About the Author

Christie Barlow is the author of ten bestselling romantic comedies including A Home at Honeysuckle Farm, Love Heart Lane and Clover Cottage. She lives in a ramshackle cottage in a quaint village in the heart of Staffordshire with her four children and two dogs.

Her writing career has come as a lovely surprise when Christie decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. Christie’s dream was to become a writer and the book she wrote to prove a point went on to become a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.

When Christie isn’t writing she enjoys playing the piano, is a keen gardener and loves to paint and upcycle furniture.

Christie is an ambassador for the @ZuriProject alongside Patron of the charity, Emmerdale’s Bhasker Patel. They raise money and awareness for communities in Uganda.

Christie loves to hear from her readers and you can get in touch via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Social Media Links –

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

Twitter @ChristieJBarlow

Facebook page Christie Barlow author

 

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Book Review: Beneath Cornish Skies by Kate Ryder  @KateRyder_Books @rararesources 

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Beneath Cornish Skies
by Kate Ryder

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP

To an outsider, Cassandra Shaw‘s life looks perfect. She lives in a beautiful, luxurious house in the English countryside, with a handsome, wealthy boyfriend who insists she needn’t do a day’s work in her life. But Cassie knows that something is not right. Her boyfriend has grown colder, treating her more like a housekeeper than a future wife. And her time feels empty and purposeless.
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Cassandra has always been riddled with insecurities and self-doubt, but, just for once, she decides to take a chance on a new beginning. She answers an advert for a live-in nanny, dog walker, cook, and all-around ‘Superhuman’ for a family living in a rambling manor house on the rugged North Cornish coast. The work is hard and tiring, but Cassie has never felt so fulfilled.
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As Cassie learns to connect with the natural beauty unfolding around her, Cornwall starts to offer up its secrets. Soon, Cassie starts wondering if she was drawn to this isolated part of the coast for a reason. Why was she guided to Foxcombe Manor? What are the flashes of light she sees in the valley? Is it her imagination or does someone brush past her? And who is the mysterious man living deep in the woods?
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A beautiful romance with a hint of ghostliness, Beneath Cornish Skies is for anyone who has ever longed to start their lives again.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

It’s odd how a relationship can end on such a seemingly small, inconsequential incident. But that’s what happened, and however many times I went over the minutiae of our life together there was never any satisfactory explanation as to how we had unravelled so spectacularly without my noticing.

 

People are usually unaware of the chains of cause and effect created by their actions, but life is a blending of choices that opens doors to new experiences. Essentially, we are constantly reshaping our futures… Just remember, Cass. You may not be able to control the wind but you can control your sails.

My Review:

 

This was a moody and atmospheric hybrid women’s fiction/romance with ghostly paranormal undertones and a varied assortment of generations of British characters. The storylines were vividly etched with lush descriptions and brain-snagging details while also providing interesting lessons on Cornwall history, marine biology, and botany. I was simultaneously entertained and educated, which rarely happens!

The main character of Cassandra/Cass initially resided in the lap of luxury yet she was not fulfilled and realized her life was shallow and without real joy. I personally don’t know a thing about enduring a luxurious lifestyle but do know how easily one can fall into slogging through a repetitive cycle of dull day-to-day numbness and ignoring troublesome issues we chose not to deal with. However, I cannot see myself turning a blind eye to repetitive, blatant, and overt betrayal and struggled with Cassandra’s continued pull towards a man who had callously and insultingly admitted to doing so. She needed a few pinches and maybe a connection with my favorite purple crocs to her backside to jar her head loose. But that is just me – and I can be fierce. Just ask my quivering husband; I keep the little man in fear.   😉

About the Author

 Kate Ryder is an award-winning, Amazon Kindle international best seller who writes timeslip and romantic suspense in a true-to-life narrative. On leaving school she studied drama but soon discovered her preference for writing plays rather than performing them! Since then, she has worked in the publishing, tour operating, and property industries, and has traveled widely.

Kate is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors. In 2017, she signed a 4-book contract with Aria (a digital imprint of award-winning independent publisher, Head of Zeus).

Summer in a Cornish Cove, a contemporary romantic suspense set on the Lizard Peninsula, gained her a nomination for the RNA’s 2018 Joan Hessayon award, while its standalone sequel, Cottage on a Cornish Cliff, reached the heady heights of #2 in Kindle Literary Sagas.

‘Secrets of the Mist’, a mysterious timeslip romance, not only achieved #1 Kindle bestseller flags in the UK, Canada, and Australia but also reached #49 in Amazon UK Paid Kindle. In the original, self-published version (The Forgotten Promise) it was awarded the first Chill with a Book “Book of the Month”.

Originally hailing from the South East of England, today Kate lives on the Cornish side of the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.

Social Media Links