Author: lisascubby

Stuck in Manistique by Dennis Cuesta is a magical story about a man named Mark whose estranged Aunt Vivian has passed away and left her estate to him. This includes a Bed and Breakfast in Manistique, which is in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Michigan.

Mark, who lives in Chicago, decides not to open the Bed and Breakfast but rather sell it. But people begin knocking on the B&B’s door and Mark cannot turn them away. It does seem though once you check in, you don’t want to check out, or can’t check or some never check out…

Emily, who is a doctor is his first guest. After hitting a deer on the highway she must wait for her car to be repaired, She shows up looking for a room for one night. Thus begins Mark’s adventure with some pretty eccentric guests. While learning to manage a Bed and Breakfast he tries to learn about his aunt as his last correspondence with her was when he was a teenager. Emily soon begins to realizes she too has a connection to Vivian.

All strangers when they meet, the guest’s lives intertwine under the backdrop of a small cozy town where everybody knows everybody and the pie at Diner 37 is exceptional.

I had the feeling I was not reading a book, but watching episodes of a soap opera sitcom with the fast paced dialogue. It was an enjoyable read. The book will be available October 29.

The Hope Chest by Viola Shipman is a heart wrenching story about death, the importance of family, saying goodbye, but most importantly Hope.

Mattie Tice has had a wonderful life for the most part. She was a talented painter and garden designer who although was never blessed with any children has had the love of her life Don for the past 50 years. But Mattie is dying. She has ALS and with each passing day although her mind is razor sharp, her body is failing her. But she is not ready to let go.

Rose is a broken woman who has lost all hope. She lost both her parents, their fruit stand, and is hanging on by a thread trying to stay in the house she grew up. She is a single parent to young daughter Jeri.

Rose becomes the caretaker to Mattie when Don finally agrees he needs some assistance taking care of her. A long forgotten hope chest is uncovered in Mattie’s and Don’s lake home, Hope Dunes, which they are selling. Through items long forgotten in the chest, such as an apron, a vase and even an autograph by Judy Garland, Mattie begins to reconcile her life with death.

Rose begins to see hope from Mattie’s stories and Don who has been grieving the loss of his wife since her initial diagnosis, begins to have hope that she will be at peace and he will be with her again one day.

And a special lesson…sometimes you can have more than one family in a lifetime.

The Hope Chest captures the heartbreak of an illness such as ALS and all that comes with it from losing friends who don’t know what to say or do, to the effects such a condition has on the body and mind. But with all that said “hope” is the driving force in the story for each character as they face terrible challenges. This book will certainly tug at your heart.

The book is now out in paperback and kindle.

The Paris Secret by Lily Graham is a heartbreakingly beautiful love story which begins in the present and moves backwards to the 1960’s and to World War II France.

A young girl named Valerie at the age of 21 finds out her grandfather, Vincent Dupont, the owner of a bookstore in France gave her up at the age of 3 to live with her aunt in England. Although warned by her Aunt to not pursue the reasons why, Valerie goes to France under an assumed name to find out who her parents are and what happened to them during the Nazi Occupation of France. But more importantly why did her grandfather not want her.

The main character, if you will, is the bookstore which Vincent’s family has owned for generations and which was witness to many encounters, both good and bad. It is where Valerie will find not only all of her answers, but will also find love. It is the heart of the story.

This is an epic love story which will make you sad but also make you feel full of love and hope. I recommend all romantics and people who enjoy historical fiction to pick up a copy.

The book goes on sale October 4. Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Eleanor (Ellie) Wilde has an interesting profession. She rids houses of ghosts. She is a ghost hunter. Some call her a medium others like her brother Liam call her a fake. Ellie Wilde is a fake ghost hunter, Thus begins the book Seances Are for Suckers by Tamara Berry. Ellie, who is the breadwinner of their small family…only because her brother Liam decided to go into a real profession as a teacher… financially supports their other sister Winnie, (they are triplets), who has been in a catatonic state since a terrible accident years ago.

After her last exhausting exorcism Ellie is on her way to Mexico for some relaxation when she is hired by Nicholas Hartford a wealthy Englishman who flies her out to his ancestral estate in England to help his mother who believes there is a ghost (Xavier) whispering in her ear and wreaking havoc on the family,

Estate life is not all that it is cut out to be as we see at the Hartford Estate. The place is cold, dark and falling apart. The family pinch pennies and food is a necessity not a luxury. But the sherry does flow freely! And needless to say there are a cast of characters; Vivian, the aged mother who hears but does not see Xavier the ghost, Rachel the niece a teenager who is virtually a shut in, Fern the sister of Nicholas whose beauty is truly superficial, Cal, Fern’s wealthy boyfriend and of course, Thomas the butler/handyman.

Things immediately begin to go bump in the night and mayhem ensues. All but Nicholas thinks she is a real ghost hunter. Ellie must use her “powers” to figure out just who is ghosting who and how. And just how many ghost could there possibly be?

Anyone who enjoyed the Ellie Haskell series by Dorothy Cannell will enjoy this heartfelt, very funny quirky story with some romance and craziness thrown in.

I hope this is the first in a series of Ellie Wilde books. The book will be out October 30.

This is Me is a warm hearted look at the life of Chrissy Metz who plays Kate Pearson on the NBC hit show This is Us. The book chronicles her rise to stardom from her childhood of being verbally and physically abused, through many life lessons in which she persevered only to come out with a positive spirit and attitude. The book is full of many words of wisdom which she now lives by.

Born in Gainesville, Florida, Metz’s father left her family when she was 8. Her mother became a single parent to three young children trying to make ends meet with many jobs. It was only later in life Metz realized the reason her mother would just sit with them at dinner and not eat was because there was not enough food.

When her mother married Metz’s stepfather Chrissy thought she had found the dad she had never had. But sadly he proceeded to abuse her both verbally and physically. Metz, who has been plus size her who life, began at the whim of her stepfather having to get the scale out and weigh herself only to have him belittle and hit her because of her size.

While in High School she gravitated towards the drama and chorus clubs and at the age of 17 moved to Los Angeles to try her luck in Hollywood. She became a talent agent and married, but as her marriage was breaking up she began a soul-searching journey on how to get what she really wanted and be what she chose to be on her own terms.

There is a chapter in the book called Hurt People Hurt People which sums up so much of her life and to me was a significant aha moment.

There are many lessons to take away from this autobiography/memoir/how to book by a survivor of abuse who fought hard to rise above–something some people can never do. These are her life lessons.

If you enjoyed this post please follow me on my book review blog at Lisascubby.com.

Lovers of the Hannah Swenson murder/recipe series will certainly be in for a real treat with Joanne Fluke’s lasted release in the series, Christmas Cake Murder.

This book veers from Fluke’s usual mystery as it opens with our heroine Hannah Swenson still in college, her sister Michelle and her friend Lisa in High School, her sister Andrea pregnant with her first child and sadly with Hanna’s dad’s recent passing. During the story we learn how Hannah moved from a college student to a bakery owner. A great backstory idea I might add!

Intertwined is a story about a Lake Eden elderly resident, Essie Granger. She has fallen on hard times and the whole community comes together to create a fundraiser called the Christmas Ball which is a party she had attended years ago. They also try to duplicate a Christmas Cake Parade in which there are multiple cakes with candles walked around the room….see all the yummy recipes which are gathered in the book for holiday baking ideas.

Essie had dabbled in writing years ago and Hannah finds her notebooks and begins to read them and hence begins the Christmas Cake Murder.

As with all of Fluke’s books recipes are attached to many of the chapters, a few I will be trying for sure. Oh, and reader beware! DO NOT READ THIS WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY!

The Christmas Cake Murder is a fast-paced enjoyable cozy mystery waiting to be read with a cup of hot chocolate and some yummy cookies. The book will be out September 25, 2018.

Hunting the Saturday Night Strangler by C.M. Wendeboe is a Bitter Wind Mystery,  This thriller begins with the murder of a young woman witnessed by an unknown sheep stealer.  And that’s only the first chapter.
Arn Anderson, a former homicide detective who has retired to Wyoming and his roommate Anna Maria Villarreal, a TV reporter soon find themselves involved in a case which has dead bodies piling up and many suspects.

With so many clues, one thinks they have it finally figured out and then something else happens.  This book was definitely a page turner with an exciting and satisfying ending.  The characters are quirky and enjoyable, especially the three house mates Arn, Danny and Anna Maria who you would not expect to ever belong together.

This book is a mystery, thriller I could not put down.  Please look for Hunting the Saturday Night Strangler in October of 2018.

Ellie Kemper is an actress who was on the TV sitcom The Office and who now stars in the Netflix hit show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  In her first book of very funny essays titled My Squirrel Days, Kemper who is from the Midwest, writes about her upbringing in a small town and her decision to try and break into showbusiness.  Along the way she fell in love and had a child. She also has had interactions with many celebrities.

If you are a fan of Kemper, as I am, the book reads as she sounds and speaks, meaning she writes in quirky fun language while always keeping  the reader in the loop.

The first essay titled “Hero” in which she tries to make her reader understand why she tried very hard to emulate and impress an assistant teacher back in grammar school who left such an impression on her she still do this day has a stuffed animal she received from her is adorable. The book’s title comes from another essay in which Kemper tries to outfox a squirrel.  One of my favorite essays is “Daughter” in which she decides to impress her parents by washing their car with brillo pads. And the reason is brilliant.

My Squirrel Days is a very fun read about the life so far of a very funny woman/comedian/TV personality/wife/mother.  I highly recommend this book.

Look for My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper this October.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the advanced copy.