Month: June 2024

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon

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Love You, Mean It is an adorable rom-com story with a wonderful plot, relatable characters and an inspiring ending which is, no spoilers… happy and satisfying!

Ellie Greco works at her family’s place of business, Greco’s Deli. This was never her plan. She had been going to college to become a clothing designer but felt obligated to abandon her dream when her dad died, and she had to come home to take over for him. So, she put her own ambitions aside to help her family navigate this sad situation.

But suddenly she discovers her family business could be in danger. A huge chain gourmet store called Mangia is trying to move into a building very close to the Greco Deli. If this does happen, they will never be able to compete with them. As they try to consider their next move, her sister mentions Theo Taylor, a boy her sister had dated back in college whose father owns the building. She suggests perhaps Ellie plead her case with him.

Enter Theo who Ellie takes a dislike to immediately. Theo comes from a very wealthy family whose father is not very liked. But he’s the property owner of the building and she will do anything to salvage their life’s work.

At Ellie and Theo’s first meeting which does not go very well, something occurs which leads Theo to end up in the hospital. Ellie feels terrible and decides she needs to stay with Theo in order to make sure he’s okay. She tells all the hospital personnel that she is his fiancĂ©. Theo wakes up and for a while does actually believe she is his finance.

But, after his recovery, he and Ellie decide to continue the charade in hopes that Theo’s father, thinking they are getting married and will become part of the family will do the right thing and cancel the deal.

But, of course, that’s not what happens, and Ellie and Theo find themselves in this awkward situation of having to pretend. Or…gulp…are they pretending? Humorous chaos ensues and they will certainly discover more about each other than they ever imagined.

Love You, Mean It is a lighthearted, uplifting read with wonderful messages about how life can change in an instant, but perhaps by believing in yourself you never have to let your dreams die.

Thank you #NetGalley #Dell #LoveYou,MeanIt #JillyGagnon for the advanced copy.

All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath

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All’s Fair in Love and War is the first installment in a new series, Miss Prentice’s Protegees. An adorable, funny, heartwarming story about a young governess who is too outspoken to get a job after her training, and the gruff naval captain who has suddenly been charged with taking care of his sister’s children and their large pet dog. The story, quite appealing, charming, romantic and adventurous tries to prove single women back in the day could hold their own against any man. And do so comically.

Georgia Rowe has just completed her training as a governess at Mis Prentice’s School for Young Ladies, but she can’t seem to get a job, unlike all her friends who she met at the school. You see, Georgia just doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut when future employees begin to interview her. She has been told she seems to intimidate those who are questioning her.

Harry Kincaid is a no-nonsense former Navy man who lives alone. He likes his quiet and peace. But when he arrives back to his house, he discovers his sister has dumped her three young children on his doorstep while she and her husband decided to go on a trip to Egypt. Felix is the oldest, Marianne the middle child and Grace the youngest. And oh, did I mention their puppy Norbert who is larger than all three children?

So, after a few horribly exhausting days, Harry decides he can’t do this, so he decides to seek out a governess for the duration of his sister’s trip. And that is when Harry and Georgia’s fate is sealed.

But their relationship certainly does not start off well. Harry does not appreciate Georgia’s teaching style or methods which are filled with outdoor amusement, laughter and curiosity. His idea of school is a classroom indoors with learning its only purpose and absolutely no dog tagging along for the lessons! No matter how much Norbert dislikes being alone and barks!

As they agree to disagree on just about everything, the one thing they both seem to notice is each other. But both realize pretty much from the get-go that a relationship could never work out. Right?

As they attempt to base their relationship on the children, they become even more enamored with each other. Georgia can’t see this ending well and Harry has too much baggage from his past. But All is Fair in Love and War, right? And there is a great deal of both in this wonderfully, light enjoyable read.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sGriffin #VirginiaHeath #All’sFairinLoveandWar for the advanced copy.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

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Ruth Reichl has had an amazing career in the food industry. The former editor of the late great Gourmet Magazine, and author of many non-fiction books, has now written a gloriously delightful story in The Paris Novel. It is uplifting, charming and magical and ripe for the picking!

When Stella’s mother Celia dies, she sadly is not very upset. Estranged from her and never having been pleased with her life choices, along with some terrible childhood memories, she barely has any feeling for the woman who raised her. Stella never knew who her father was and quite frankly was embarrassed by her mother’s lifestyle.

So, when Stella receives her inheritance from her mother, a one-way ticket to Paris, she immediately decides this is just Celia trying to control her from the grave. But when Stella’s boss convinces her to try and accept the ticket and maybe live outside of her very strict and routine oriented life, Stella agrees to go.

So as Stella arrives in France and is roaming the streets, she sees finds a vintage shop and sees a black Dior dress. She is somehow mesmerized by it. As she walks in the owner looks at her and say this dress has been waiting for you! And Stella does something she never would have ever done. She tries the dress on and buys it for an extraordinary amount of money. But…there’s something about this dress that makes her feel different.

And with that in mind, she goes to dinner with the dress on and has the most incredible experiences of her life eating oysters and enjoying a meal she never imagined existed. There, she meets an elderly gentleman named Jules who is a wealthy art collector who has lost his wife. He begins to tell her imaginative stories of his and his late wife’s lives. Stella is spellbound. They become friends and Jules begins taking her to place she never imagined going, eating at restaurants she had only heard about and looking at art she witnessed only in books.

Jules introduces her to the owner of a famous bookstore where writer’s and such work there, assist at the shop and sleep and eat for free. He calls then his “tumbleweeds”. There, she meets famous writers including some who knew her mother. She then begins to go down the rabbit whole of her mother’s life and even though she didn’t know she was really searching, discovers answers to questions she never even though about.

The Paris Novel is a one of kind extraordinary read. The reader is taken on a delicious journey of food, art, life and love. The backstory as to why Reichl wrote the book is just as incredible and heartwarming as the story itself.

Thank you #NetGalley #RandomHouse #RuthReichl #TheParisNovel for the advanced copy.

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis

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The Main Character is a soap-opera like page turner with secret after secret, mystery after mystery. Its characters, a group of friends and family who are not only flawed, but have underlying problems, some of which have never been spoken about. But a famous train ride will open the flood gates on those unspoken problems, and perhaps turn these pals against each other.

So, let’s begin:

Ginerva Ex is a best-selling author whose genre is to do a deep dive into someone’s life, interview their friends and family, discover the good the bad and the ugly of the person and create a main character out of their story and write a fictional account of what she has discovered. Unfortunately, her last two books did not sell very well and Ginerva has decided she perhaps needs someone who had already been in the spotlight.

Enter Rory, who was a television news anchor until she was let go recently. Unsure of what she will do next, Ginerva convinces her to be the next main character. Since Rory and Ginerva have had a history, Ginerva would only allow Rory to interview her each time one of her books was coming out, and was offering her an astronomical amount of money, she decides to say yes.

So, after three months of interviews with Ginerva, her brother Max who owns a company trying to create an Alzheimer drug, a condition her father unfortunately has, her best friend Caroline who now works for Max and others in her circle, the book is ready to be published and as a thank you Ginerva has decided to give Rory’s innermost group a vacation of a lifetime. The newly renovated Orient Express train is doing an Italian trip with stops.

But when the group finally gets together to board the train, she is shocked to see her ex-fiancé, Nate among the cast of characters. Confused and angry, she stuffs her feelings and tries to go with the flow and enjoy this incredible opportunity. What no one knows is Ginerva has planned this trip to expose all the dark secrets she has found that were hidden. She too has an agenda for this group.

Suddenly problems begin to occur. Rory is almost killed by a bolder, the book being published which they were all given copies all disappear, and the group begins to fight with each other.

But Rory finds a copy of the book and begins to read it. And she is stunned. What she begins to understand is that the no one is really who they say they are. This group of best friends since childhood have so many hidden agendas. What does she do now?

And then she discovers Ginerva’s hidden agenda… and her whole world explodes in front of her.

The Main Character is a juicy complex thriller with hidden secrets, unknown personality flaws and puzzles from the past that when pieced together will shock and astound. Trust me, it’s truly a killer of a book!

Thank you #Goodreads #Atria/EmilyBestlerBooks/TheMainCharacter#JaclynGoldis for the advanced copy.

A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge

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A Murder Most French is a delicious addition to the Tabitha Knight/Julia Child imaginative murder mystery series. The second to be exact, and hopefully not the last. The series revolves around a young American chef in training who becomes friends with the not yet too famous Julia Child, and they find themselves in extraordinary dangerous predicaments which they along with an eclectic funny cast try to assist the police in solving. All the while, Tabitha’s mentor, Julia, helps to teach her student how to cook mouthwatering dishes which the reader is fortunate enough to glimpse.

As the story opens, we find Tabitha and Julia at the French outdoor market buying ingredients for Tabitha’s dinner which she will prepare (hopefully correctly) for her Oncle Rafe and Grand-Pere whom she lives with while living in France.

When Julia invites Tabitha to the Cordon Bleu Cooking School where Julia is studying to watch a presentation on wine, never in either of their wildest dreams did they imagine they would witness a premiere chef open a very old, expensive bottle of wine, take a sip and drop dead!

Unfortunately, the bottle had been given to Tabitha to give to the chef by a young street boy. It was sealed and had a tag on it. But when the police arrive and confiscate the bottle, Tabitha realizes the label is missing. Why?

Of course, Tabitha becomes a suspect along with everyone else in the room and decides she must poke around to see how this could have happened. And of course, her detective frenemy tells her to stay out of it! And then a second chef is killed in the exact same way only this time the tag is still on the bottle. Finally, a clue! But what does it mean?

As Tabitha and Julia go down Alice’s rabbit hole of trying to figure out just what is happening, they soon learn of tunnels under the restaurants which store vintage and expensive wines brought over by the German during the war. Could this be a clue?

As Tabitha takes the reigns and Julia cooks the meals, Tabitha, against the advice of the lead detective with whom she has a love-hate-love relationship with finds herself in a dangerous situation as she discovers the killer is on to her.

A Murder Most French is a wonderfully humorous story with a delightful plot, scrumptious recipes (which are from Julia Child) and of course, a surprise ending. As I wrote when I reviewed the first book in the series, Mastering the Art of French Murder, as you read, please hear Julia’s words as you know she would say them. It makes the story even better!

Thank you #NetGalley #Kensington #ColleenCambridge #AMurderMost French for the advanced copy.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

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Once again Hepworth has created an incredibly complex, can’t put down psychological thriller in which her characters, secretly traumatized from their childhood which has carried over into adulthood, must face their past once again and deal with the lives they created.

Jessica, Nora and Alicia have been bonded since their childhood living in a foster home. Although not real sisters in the sense of having the same parents, their history connected them forever.

They were each foster children who were taken in as young girls to the Wild Meadows foster home in which Miss Fairchild, a never married bitter woman was their “mother”. Clearly mentally unstable, she hid it well. But, unbeknownst to anyone, what was occurring in the home was not only physical but emotional torture. They lived in fear and were afraid to say anything. Miss Fairchild was brutal. Locking them in a basement, eating off floors and making them feel useless was a daily event. All they had was each other.

But finally, as teenagers, they were able to get away from her and start new lives, but through it all, remained sisters, still taking care of each other no matter what the situation they got into. Deep down, they never forgot what happened to them and of course it affected their lives in ways they perhaps were not completely aware.

Then unexpectedly they are each called by a detective from the small town where they grew up and were told that bones had been discovered under the Wild Meadows foster home. Their nightmare house. They needed to come back to they could be interviewed.

As they travel together to a town, they never wanted to step foot in again once they left, they tell us their stories about their childhoods and how they tried to protect each other, and we learn of their adult lives and what secrets they now have which were possibly deep down inside caused by what happened to them.

When they get there, they each relive the horror in their own ways, but more importantly they need to know whose bones were under the house. Are they to blame? Did they do something by leaving when they did that caused this to happen?

And as sisters they will come together and face the good, the bad and the ugly of their pasts and try if they could help figure out if they missed something or someone all those years ago.

Darling Girls will shake you to the core with its suspenseful story and stunning ending as we all discover the mystery of whose bones lay under the house where they found each other, but where their lives were changed forever.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #SallyHepworth #DarlingGirls for the advanced copy.

You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen

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You Know What You Did will leave you breathless! From the first page until the thrilling unexpected ending, this psychological thriller will grab you in an unimaginable, yet completely satisfying way. The story, which is told in different pieces throughout the character’s life, will have the reader surprised by the twists and turns the narrative takes.

Annie (Anh Le) Shaw had a very difficult childhood, we will learn. The daughter of a single mother (Me) with mental illness who abused her in so many heartbreaking ways. But even after all that when Annie married and had her own daughter, she had her mother live with them in a house on their property where her mother continued the emotional abuse.

But, when her mother dies, it throws Annie into a tailspin. She knows her husband who adores her and understands her and whom she relies on loves her, but she feels her daughter who is fifteen now seems to hate her. Of course, Annie does not want to repeat the pattern of abuse she endured, but her daughter seems to be distancing herself from Annie and will not tell her why. And Annie is jealous of her husband’s relationship with their daughter which seems so special.

Annie’s career as an artist was one bone of contention with her mother. She felt Annie was doing nothing with her life, even though she had a good career. So, when Me dies, she takes on a large project first to take her mind off Me’s death, but also to prove to herself she is worthy of her career.

But she soon begins to notice differences in herself almost immediately. She reverts back to her old ways, with her anxiety and severe OCD. She also thinks she is hallucinating and begins to not remember events. She sees the bond with her daughter deteriorate further.

Then the benefactor whom she has been working for disappears and Annie thinks she may have done something wrong. But the worst happens when Annie wakes up one morning in a bed in a hotel next to an injured man who is not her husband. Her life begins to explode.

She then starts to relive experiences she had while living in Japan with her then boyfriend, now husband. Those odd memories make her realize, perhaps she did do these other things. And when the police get involved, and her husband is away on assignment, things go from bad to worse.

Why can’t she remember? All the while she begins to alienate her daughter as she starts to feel as if she is now beginning to act just like her mother. Did she do something back in Japan and now? How does she reconcile her life, with her daughter and without her mother? What did she do?

You Know What You Did is a sharp, twisty story about complicated relationships, love, fear and death. It will mesmerize and shock and you will love every horrifying minute!

Thank you #NetGalley #Dutton #YouKnowWhatYouDid #K.T.Nguyen for the advanced copy.