Month: June 2023

Summer Roommates is an inspiring lovely story about aging, agism, being stuck in your ways, the challenges women face as they grow older, companionships and of course love. The story takes the reader on a journey with four older women in their fifties up to their seventies, all strangers to each other who live in a house in Maine for the summer, most set in their ways and the challenges they endure to not only get along and understand each other, but to also begin to comprehend themselves.

Until recently, Sandra Pennington seemed to have it all. Two great children all grown up, a loving husband, terrific friends and the beauty of her coastal town in Maine. But with the death of her husband and now her best friend diagnosed with dementia and having to be put in a care facility, this past winter came with a loneliness she had never experienced.

So, Sandra decides, with the help of a realtor to open her home up for the summer to three older women for not only the comfort of having others around, but to see if perhaps she would like to continue this experiment in the future.

She goes through the applications and picks the three women.

Mary, a lawyer who has recently retired from the job she loved due to the stress of the company being sued. Although they were found not at fault, it took its toll on Mary who now just wants some down time to relax and rebuild herself to discover what she wants next in life. Never having children and not close to her only sibling due to being a workaholic, she feels the need to discover who she is now that she’s not working.

Amanda, who is a teacher decides she needs a vacation before the next school year starts. She has lived with her boyfriend Liam for eight years. They are comfortable together and both feel marriage is not an option. Although she feels independent, she does seem to rely on Liam a great deal. Liam for some reason thinks this time away would be great for her.

Patty, the oldest is the quietest yet dresses the loudest. She lives with her sister and brother-in-law as her income is inconsistent, because of fleeting jobs which has left her with hardly any money for her retirement, a fact her sisters insist on reminding her on a daily basis. This certainly was not the way she thought she would end up. All she ever wanted was to be married and have children. But she made poor choices when she was younger to needless to say, that ship has certainly sailed!

And with the cast of characters in place for the summer, as they try to cohabitate, there are some arguments, heated debates and discussions about life, friendship and even love. As the women begin to open up to each other, they also look inward. They soon bond and all try to imagine what their futures could be like. What they discover will change their lives forever.

Summer Roommates is an uplifting, wonderfully different take on aging with strong characters and unorthodox options for their futures. And why not? You are as young as you feel!

Thank you #NetGalley #KensingtonBooks #SummerRoommates #HollyChamberlin for the advanced copy.

The Spare Room is a hauntingly, juicy story which makes for the best kind of beach read! Its incredibly creative premise and shocking twists and turns will have you enthralled from beginning to end.

Set during the pandemic, Kelly and her fiancée Mike have been in lockdown together in Philadelphia. But when Mike suddenly decides he thinks they should postpone their wedding which they have been planning, Kelly not only doesn’t understand, but feels trapped having to stay with this man she thought she knew so well and wanted to spend her life with.

So, when a famous writer, Sabrina, a friend of Kelly’s from high school who she had reconnected with during lockdown offers the spare room at her and her husband Nathan’s secluded mansion in Virginia she jumps at the chance to get away from Mike. She and her cat Virgo hop on the next train.

On arriving, Sabrina can’t believe her luck! The grounds are lavish, the rooms gorgeous and Sabrina and Nathan are so helpful, understanding and kind. She and Virgo settle in nicely. Then, one night after a bit of too much drinking something happens to them Kelly never in her wildest dreams could ever imagine.

Kelly falls hard for this new type of relationship. This is just what she needs to take her mind of her Mike problems. But when she discovers she has not been the first woman to have been invited into their relationship and worse, the woman before her is missing, she begins to become nervous and confused.

She tries to rationalize the reason the woman is missing but keeps finding clues that not everything was as it seemed in the prior relationship with Sabrina and Nathan. But when a neighbor warns her about the couple, she realizes she has to find a way out. Something had to have happened that they are not telling her.

As things go from bad to worse, Kelly begins to think she will be the next person to disappear. How could she have left the only good relationship she has ever had for something this sinister? How does she leave without them catching on as to why. She must figure out a plan to get away!

The Spare Room grabs you from the first page and is an exciting and sensational read with shocking pivots in the story which will keep the reader captivated much like Kelly seems to be, with a jaw dropping ending you never would expect!

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #AndreaBartz #TheSpareRoom for the advanced copy.

First, I need you all to know that I am pretty biased when it comes to Nicola Harrison novels. Her first, Montauk, was spectacularly beautiful. One of my favorite books of the year. With that said, Hotel Laguna not only matches the splendor and enjoyment of the first, but truly exceeds it. With a strong story which includes a mystery, long lost love, lessons in regret, with the focus on a strong woman who craves freedom during an era when that seemed impossible, it was certainly a cannot put it down read.

Hazel Francis was not afraid of much. She was from Kansas where during the war in 1942 she worked at Douglas Aircraft helping to build planes. With no family to go back to and a relationship she should never have begun, when the war was over, and they told her she should go back to her old life she chooses instead to start a new one by heading to California instead.

She finds herself in Laguna Beach, a beautiful artsy city with sun, sand and ocean. She ends up at a hotel called Hotel Laguna where she meets bartender, Jimmy, a go-getter who helps her as she tries to find a job as she has little money.

She applies for a vague position as the assistant and model to a cantankerous older famous artist, Hanson Radcliff. Although he is difficult and more than likely an alcoholic, he is known throughout the art community as a generous contributor. But Hazel soon learns Radcliff has many past secrets and regrets eating at him. As hard as she tries, she can’t seem to get him to open up. And the mystery deepens as she begins to learn more about Radcliff’s younger years.

Hazel on the other hand finds life in Laguna Beach wonderful! She begins her day with a swim in the ocean and through her association with Radcliff, becomes involved in the artist community which she loves. She and Jimmy bond as they share their dreams of what they would like their futures to become. Hazel, who dreams of working in the air industry, although clearly that would be frowned upon and Jimmy who someday want to own his own hotel as he has great ideas.

But when tragedy strikes and Hazel gives herself the choice to go back from where she came, the place she used to call home, or stay in Laguna Beach the place where she has found freedom and acceptance, she chooses home. But once there, she realizes home is sometimes not an actual place but it’s where your heart sings.

Hotel Laguna is a magnificent story with powerful messages such as forgiving yourself, letting go of regrets, living the life you choose to live and of course, love.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #NicolaHarrison #HotelLaguna for the advanced copy.

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure is a powerfully strong story with charm and bravery thrown in about a young girl, discarded by her parents as a child not only who was able to thrive, sometimes by sheer luck, but also to make a name for herself, stand up to men during war, misfortune, poverty, fear and imprisonment only to come out the other side learning the importance of kindness, family and love.

In 1931 Sally Brady was told by her parents to go and make money. She was a child living on the streets of Los Angeles. She somehow even at that young age convinces a married movie star to take her in and let her live with them. Thus begins Sally’s adventure.

When things begin to fall apart in the United States, they move to Italy where Sally at the age of seventeen becomes an anonymous gossip columnist to the rich and famous. She attends lavish parties and lunches and hob nobs with the powerful men in government. Her life is a fairytale. Until it all falls apart and she finds herself alone again.

When Mussolini declares war on the United States her life turns from bad to worse as she is unable to get out of Italy in time and becomes hunted as many Americans were who lived there at that time.

While this is happening to Sally, there is a family living in a remote area whose life is also being disrupted. Lapo, an Italian writer, his wife Eleanor who is American and their son, Alessandro who is the ripe age for military service see what’s occurring. They are able to get Eleanor out, but Lapo worries that Alessandro will have to fight in Mussolini’s war. He makes an agreement to write a favorable made-up autobiography of Mussolini who wants to be portrayed as a powerful hero if they leave his son alone. He reluctantly agrees but of course they renege, and Alessandro must fight in a war in which he does not believe.

In the meantime, Sally is trying to avoid being arrested and imprisoned and is doing everything in her power to hide. But she is finally caught and put on house arrest where she meets an elderly woman who changes her life.

How does this all come together you may ask? Well, Sally finds herself free, but trapped in Italy and must hide from the army where she meets some wonderful and surprisingly horrible characters. She is tortured as are many at this time, but they fight to live and pray America will take down this crazy dictator. While all this is happening, she starts to think of her own family and feels the pull to see them when and if she is able.

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure is quite a journey! For Sally and for the reader! It’s full of people willing to help during crisis and those who want to ruin the lives of those who don’t believe in the war, but also how the love of family never leaves a person no matter how many years go by. Oh, and did I mention if you can believe it, the story is very funny?

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #ChristinaLynch #SallyBrady’sItalianAdventure for the advanced copy.

The Last Drop of Hemlock is the continuation of the throw-back gum shoe murder mysteries where the city, New York in this case was ruled by paid off cops, mob type gangsters, prohibition speakeasys and jazz dance clubs. Women were seen and not heard and expected to make the men happy whatever it took.

But Vivian Kelly, our smart and feisty heroine is not having any of those. She along with her police buddy Leo Green have another nailbiter on their hands and will do everything in their power to help Vivian’s friend.

Bea, a singer at the dance club, the Nightingale where Vivian works is in extreme distress. Her uncle Pearlie, new to the town has died. It has been ruled a suicide, but Bea has her doubts. She comes to Vivian to ask her help to find out the truth.

So, Vivian with the help of Leo begin to look into what happened and something sure smells fishy. They find a bottle of brandy in the deceased’s apartment along with missing money. Vivian and Leo think that more than a suicide occurred here.

They decide to go to the coroner’s office with the brandy bottle and discover that it was laced with a megadose of poison. They begin to investigate and learn that many people in the neighborhood where Vivian and her sister Florence live have been receiving threatening letters if they did not sell certain items they have worth money and leave the money at a drop.

Vivian soon becomes deeply immersed in who would do such a thing to people who can barely afford to put food on their table. But all this changes when her own sister, Florence receives one of the letters. And with the help of Leo and the owner of the Nightingale, Honor, Vivian must become a burglar.

The clues just make no sense, but the more Vivian investigates the more she realizes Bea may not like what they believe could have happened. But her only goal is to keep her sister alive and stop the letters and threats to those who don’t have anything.

The Last Drop of Hemlock is an exciting good old-fashioned who done it. It has intrigue and mystery. The only difference is in this series women seem to be in charge and are the ultimate brave detectives with some help from a few men. Although this is the second book of the series, it certainly could be read as a stand-alone. I eagerly await the next installment.

Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheLastDropofHemlock #KatherineSchellman for the advanced copy.

Five Total Strangers is an exceptionally different type of psychological thriller. The plot, which is really unknown to the reader, makes for more creative and imaginative images in your mind as you try and figure out what is happening and where the story is going.

Mira is coming home to spend Christmas with her mother. Her parents are divorced, and she has been living with her father in California in order to go to high school where her focus is on art. But she is also heading home to comfort her mother whose sister passed away at this time last year. She knows her mother needs her even though she is remarried.

But a threatening blizzard seems to be making the visit impossible. She finds out her next flight has been cancelled and she has no way of making it back home. But then she bumps into her seatmate, Harper, who has rented a car with a person she met in line, Brecken, and they are making the journey from New Jersey to Pittsburgh. Along with them are two other strangers they seem to have picked up along the way, Josh who is on crutches and Kayla who just seems very quiet.

Mira must make a quick decision and although her gut tells her this doesn’t feel right, something is off with this group, she decides to accept the ride with these strangers. She needs to see her mother, especially when she discovers she’s been keeping secrets from her.

What starts out as a normal car ride, soon turns into a nightmare. With the deteriorating road conditions, they get pushed off the highway. They make the decision to go another route which Mira knows is even more dangerous.

Then they stop for gas, and everything turns even worse. First Mira sees a strange man near the vending machines. The station insists they pay cash only and Harper discovers her wallet is missing. Brecken makes a quick decision which will spiral the group into an even worse mess.

Suddenly more personal items begin to go missing. It’s clearly one of them, but who? They are total strangers…aren’t they? Someone is lying!

But for what purpose?

Five Total Strangers will keep you not only guessing, but speed-reading to the end, and what an incredible ending to this thrilling story! One takeaway…never, ever accept a ride from a stranger! Your life could depend on it!

Famous in a Small Town is another Viola Shipman awe inspiring story where empowered women learn that self-discovery can happen at any age. It tells the story of generations in one family which is made up of mostly women and how they cope with the men in their lives who want to disrespect them. It follows another young woman’s journey on her own road to finding out where she belongs and shows the intersection of these people and the joy, they all bring to each other when they find themselves and each other.

Mary Johnson is now 80 years old. She owns the Very Cherry General Store in a small town in Michigan which does much more than sell cherries. She is quite famous in her own right for winning the cherry spitting contest years ago, a feat no one has yet to break. The store has been run by the women in her family for years and she is the only woman left as she had a son and now has a grown grandson. Mary worries what will happen to the store and her legacy.

Mary’s life was not easy. She had an abusive, alcoholic husband who she feared. She had two best friends, one who let her down years ago and she no longer speaks to. But Mary has a good heart and years ago had a vision that someone would come along and take care of the store to keep the legacy going. And at Mary’s age she feels perhaps this really is the end of the line.

But Mary has not yet met school administrator, Becky Thatcher, yes that is her name, who at the beginning of the summer broke up with her long-time boyfriend who really never treated her as an equal and usually lived off Becky’s money, who seems to have decided he likes this arrangement and doesn’t want to get married. Her parents seem to like him more than her and insists he stay part of the family.

She also has realized she perhaps chose the wrong profession. Her parents, who have never, ever thought outside the box always told her women worked as a teacher, got married and had children. Well, Becky realizes that shipped has sailed and decides she needs to come up with a new plan. Of course, her parents are horrified. She wishes she could be more like her grandparents who lived for adventures and lived life to the fullest! So, Becky and her best friend Q decide to go on a road trip to be with just each other, no men, no family and everything spontaneous.

But when Becky accidentally meets Mary, some kind of magic happens to each of them. They seem like old souls who were always meant to know each other. Becky not only is drawn to the town and the store, but she seems to have the same knack as Mary for spitting those cherry pits pretty far.

With the help of Mary’s grandson who has come for a visit, they all work together to not only help Mary at the store but prepare for a very special anniversary faire for the annual cherry pit spitters. As they all begin to understand each other and help each other find out what they are really missing in life, the bond they all have grows stronger and Becky realizes THIS is the life she has always wanted. But can this woman who has never done anything uncalculated in her life just up and move and work harder than she ever has for herself and nobody else?

She feels this is where she belongs, but just doesn’t know why just yet. But with the help of these strangers, now family she discovers the vision of who she wants to be lies in this small town in this store and with these people.

Famous in a Small Town is a delightful story with lovable characters, beautifully strong women inside and out with their grace and stubbornness which only makes them able to endure all that is thrown their way.

“[A] charming coastal tale.”—KATIE COURIC MEDIA

“Fans of nostalgic small-town charm and quirky characters will love Viola Shipman’s latest book for summer.”

—READER’S DIGEST, Best Summer Books 2023

“Famous in a Small Town is a beautiful reminder to…fully embrace the magic that lives inside you.”

—Heather Webber, USA Today bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café

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

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

Author Website 

Twitter: @Viola_Shipman

Facebook: Author Viola Shipman

Instagram: @Viola_Shipman

Goodreads

Thank you #NetGalley #GraydonHouse #FamousinaSmallTown #ViolaShipman for the advanced copy. You can pick up a copy now at the cites below:

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

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

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

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

How To Kill Men And Get Away With It is horrifically comical! Narrated by a woman killing men, in a sincere unapologetic voice, who by the way, the reader will fall in love with and root for as she takes us on her “spree”. It’s so sadistic that it’s fun!

Kitty Collins is an influencer whose best friends are all influencers. She is very rich and is very polite to her followers, although she doesn’t really care about them. But the one thing she has a distaste for is men who treat women badly. This unfortunately stems from her terrible childhood where she learned a few things. Although she does try to control her urges, she just can’t seem to stop killing them. And she’s good at it.

She always gets away with it.

What started out innocent enough has become a second job. After she takes care of a man who ghosted one of her best friends, she decides to put herself on a dating app and be the Robin Hood of the broken-hearted. Not that anyone asked her to.

Kitty does have a few problems. She has an on-line stalker who seems to allude to the fact they know what she is doing, which kind of annoys her. How could they know? Also, she has just started dating a philanthropist named Charlie who she begins to fall for, the first since her disastrous last relationship which ended up with her ex cheating on her. This can be quite the downer when you’re kind of killing men and he comes knocking at your door!

But Kitty is smart and is able to juggle her two separate lives. Until she makes a mistake and kills an innocent person. Oops! So she goes into therapy, leaving a few things out of course!

All Kitty really wants is a normal life with someone she adores and who is good to her. And she has definitely found that in Charlie, but there is still one unfinished job she must do before she retires and when things start to go wrong, she is worried this will all blow up on her face!

How To Kill Men And Get Away With It is simply an entertaining read, yes, about murder, but you can’t help but laugh out loud at Kitty’s great adventure! I must say, author Katy Brent killed it!

Thank you #NetGalley # HarperCollins #HowToKillMenAndGetAwayWithIt #KatyBrent for the advanced copy.

You Can Trust Me is a con game gone crazy! You root for the crooks who are two lifelong scammers whose newest ruse turns into a stunningly horrible mess. Filled with unexpectedness, sadness and an incredibly exciting storyline this thriller will take over your life as you impatiently wait to find out the truth…who is really conning who?

Summer and Leo are nomads. That is the two women live off the grid in Summer’s Land Cruiser scamming anybody and everybody in order to pay their bills and survive. Summer is older than Leo and treats her like the younger sister she never had. She has taught Leo everything she has learned about ripping people off. Summer had a very unconventional upbringing whose mother was a wandering gypsy type. Summer not only never knew her father but didn’t even know her last name or her birthday. Her mother “released her” to the universe when she was very young, and Summer grew up fast and learning how to survive.

Leo ran away from home after her happy home-life turned tragic. When the two met they knew they were kindred spirits and have worked together for five years. But Leo is getting antsy and wants to take their work outside of California. Summer is not so sure as she doesn’t even have a Social Security card.

Enter IT billionaire Michael Forrester. Leo feels like she can create the ultimate con by making him fall for her and if he does there is no limit to the amount of money and items she can take from him. Summer is unsure and warns Leo this may be a bit over her head, but with Leo insisting, her only advice to her be careful.

So, Leo sets up an accidental meeting with Forrester who she finds not only nerdly handsome but sweet and kind who wants to give her the world on a silver platter. But when he invites her to his private island for the weekend because he has a business seminar going on and wants to be with her as well, she jumps at the chance. Without informing Summer she heads off to what she thinks will be the best weekend of her life.

And then Leo disappears.

When Summer doesn’t hear from Leo, she realizes that something has gone terribly wrong. As she retraces Leo’s steps, she discovers the plan to go to his private island. So, Summer takes it upon herself to con her way to the island to search for her friend. But right from the start something doesn’t feel right. Cell phones are taken away and there is no boat or air service back to the mainland until the end of the weekend. But most importantly, there is no sign of Leo.

As Summer begins to try and track her friend, she begins to see people are hiding information and lying. But why? When she finally finds proof that at some point Leo was on the island, unfortunately it’s too late. She’s been found out and must now use every tool in her arsenal to learn if Leo is still alive or has conned her and left for better swindles.

And that’s when You Can Trust Me becomes a rollercoaster ride gone wrong and the reader begins to anxiously await getting off the ride. With so many highs and lows and shocking revelations the pit in your stomach will not go away until you are finally off the island…I mean, the ride! Grab this exciting nail biter of a book as soon as you can. I’m not trying to con you!

Thank you #NetGalley #Bantam #WendyHeard #YouCanTrustMe for the advanced copy.

When Lari Ramires’ grandmother dies after a short illness her family’s bakery Salt which had been struggling to begin with is now passed down to her mother who is a widow and is completely overwhelmed with work and bills. With all this happening their tiny neighborhood of Olinda in Brazil is being stalked by a superstore which is trying to drive all the small businesses out of town.

To add to the anxiety, their rival shop across the street, Sugar, who Pedro Molina’s family owns, and who is Lari’s nemesis as the families have been at war for decades, seems to be spreading terrible rumors about Salt and jobs are being cancelled.

You see, years ago the two bakeries had been one but there was a terrible falling out between the two families and they separated and not only have never spoken again, but take any opportunity to insult each other.

But now that Lari’s grandmother is gone and she wants to help her mother in the bakery, her mother will not have it. She insists Lari be the first Ramires to go to college and go into accounting just as her father did. But Lari does not want this. She wants to bake, but not only does she not know how, she’s can’t even boil water!

When Lari and Pedro suddenly find themselves in an after-school cooking class, where Pedro is the leader things begin to change. The two rivals suddenly find themselves talking (behind their families backs) and learning that they may actually like each other. As they work together, secretly knowing their families would kill them, they soon discover each of the bakeries are at risk of closing.

They concoct a plan to try and save both their bakeries. But unfortunately, the history of the families continues to haunt them. They don’t quite trust each other completely and must somehow work together with this realization. They know what they are about to do will certainly cause chaos in both families, but they are determined to somehow pull it off.

What will happen when the families find out what they are doing? These two families are always on the verge of punishing each other! To know their children are not only speaking but are friends would be devastating. What will they do to Lari and Pedro? Will they ever be allowed to see each other again? They have been through so much separately and together and learned so many lessons they don’t want to never see each other again!

Salt and Sugar is a story of dreams, determination and learning to be who you are. It shows how in some instances children are thrown into adult issues without really understanding why. It explains how just one tiny embarrassing moment can change someone’s life forever. But the true moral of the story is forgiveness.