The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

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The Pairing is another uniquely creative story by Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White and Royal Blue and my favorite, One Last Stop. It’s the love story between two friends who are bisexual who have known each other since childhood and become romantically involved, until one day while heading on the vacation of a lifetime together have an argument which ends up tearing them apart. It’s very funny and extremely adorable as well as charming. In my opinion also one of the main characters you may say, is the beautiful, imaginative scenery McQuiston creates for the reader to envision as the two characters trapse around Europe.

Theo and Kit had been best friends since childhood, then turned boyfriend and girlfriend. But after a horrible fight at the airport when they were going on a dream vacation to Europe to visit beautiful countries and eat their way through cities and towns, they break up. Never to see each other again.

But, a few years later, Theo has decided it’s time to take this trip no matter what. The ticket is expiring, and she could use a break from her chaotic life in California where she is the daughter of an all-famous acting family, (except her) who has decided to do life on her own and has not really been able to find exactly what her talent should be. But as soon as she boards the bus in Paris to begin the eating and drinking tour of Europe, she is taken aback when she sees sitting in one of the seats, her ex-boyfriend Kit. Now, the two must attempt to get along, play nice and try and stay away from each other so they can enjoy the trip.

But, of course, that begins to become extremely difficult as they start to remember what their relationship used to be and just how much they enjoyed each other’s company. So, as a joke, they decide to participate in a bet. But of course, things begin to go downhill because of jealousy and misinterpretations.

And then something starts to happen as they travel to beautiful areas with gorgeous scenery and delightful food and very wonderful friends they begin to make at each stop. But what about the bet? They both know this will never work. Kit, a chef in Paris and Theo a sommelier and catering company owner in California are not going to change their lives…are they? With so much to lose, how could whatever this is be a win?

The Pairing is an apt name for this enchanting, humorous wonderfully sensitive story with delicious food and beautiful scenery to admire in your imagination. The book will have you so delighted by the end that you will be booking your very own trip to experience what you have created in your mind’s eye!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sGriffin #ThePairing #CaseyMcQuiston for the advanced copy.

The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff

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Get your box of tissues out and leave them next to you! The Days I Loved You Most is an unforgettably heartbreaking, heartwarming love story which spans over fifty years. It’s the story of an elderly couple who fell in love as young children and fight hard to keep themselves together even when devastating obstacles stand in their way. They finally marry and think they will get their happily ever after, but of course, no marriage is perfect and the terrible awakening to children, money, regrets and deaths would put a strain on any relationship. But as a testament to their bond, just when they finally think they have figured it all out something horribly despairing and unfair will occur and rather than break them, will make them even stronger. Let me ask you a question…would you end your life if your soulmate and love of your life was diagnosed with a death sentence?

Evelyn and Joseph were childhood friends, turned crushes, turned lovers, turned married. They have always been in each other’s lives. They have raised three children into adults, worked hard at keeping Joseph’s family inn in the family and now are ready to sit back and relax and reap their rewards.

But today, as they gather their children and grandchildren around them, they make an announcement that will shock and stun all those who love then dearly. It has been discovered that Evelyn is very sick and dying. She does not have long to live. So, Evelyn and Joseph have decided to take one more year and enjoy their children and grandchildren and do some bucket list items and after the year they will die together by their own choice.

Of course, the children are angry, devastated and heartbroken, and some will try and make them change their minds, others will have their mind changed for them. During the progression of the last year, the reader is taken on a journey back in time to discover how this endless love came into existence and all the trials and tribulations they have all endured during the years. It will follow the passage of time of all their lives, and we will witness questionable attractions, many regrets, fights and even years long separations which are not understood.

But through all they have remained a family who love each other desperately and will help each other in any way possible. Although the years have sometimes been hard, their foundation may have cracked but it never broke and now as they all try and grab every single second, they can with each other, and grapple with the loss which is sure to come, is it possible to be at peace with this decision which Evelyn and Joseph have made?

The Days I Loved You Most is a powerful tribute to love and life everlasting, as well as the heartbreak of knowing you must let go of all you love in this world but knowing you will be together for eternity.

Thank you #NetGalley #ParkRow #AmyNeff #TheDaysILovedYouMost for the advanced copy.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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The Wedding People is a serious, funny, seriously funny story with enough drama and comedy to keep you hanging on every word. The plot deals with love, death, life, connecting with strangers, happiness and depression and change. It truly is an uplifting tale which will have the reader rooting for all the wedding people as they traverse through their problems and try to discover the importance in their lives.

Phoebe Stone is a teacher, and she has decided to go to the famous Cornwall Inn wearing a beautiful dress to finish off her unbearably sad life. You see, she is divorced from the love of her life, also a teacher who cheated on her and ended up falling in love with someone else. As much as they tried, because of Phoebe, they had been unable to get pregnant something they both wanted desperately. She has not been able to finish writing her dissertation to get her PhD…for years, with everyone continually asking how it’s going. And finally, she comes home to her beloved cat Harry dead. And that is the final straw.

Now, as she stands in the lobby to check into the Inn, she realizes the others are checking in for a wedding that coming weekend. She overhears the conversations of some of the wedding people as to what the weekend will bring (with rolled eyes I might add). She discovers she is the only person at the Inn who is not one of the wedding people. Although dressed as such, no one knows.

When the bride to be Iris discovers she is at the Inn, she takes it upon herself, as Iris is quite the overbearing bridezilla, to go to Phoebe’s room to ask her to leave. When Phoebe explains she will not but will be out of her hair before the wedding, well, Iris basically blows a gasket!

As they sit and talk, something begins to happen. They begin to tell each other their deepest darkest fears and secrets. They start to bond over their similarly different ways of coping. And Phoebe begins to realize Iris and the wedding people may not be in a very good way, just as she too is feeling lost and lonely.

Iris invites Phoebe to one of the many, many wedding activities and Phoebe is introduced to the wedding people, the good, the bad, the drunk and the mother of the bride who is clearly Iris’s antagonist. You see, this wedding was supposed to happen before her father passed away. But he didn’t make it.

The more chaos the wedding people cause, the closer Phoebe and Iris become. But why? They are totally different people…or are they? And the closer Iris gets to her wedding, the closer Phoebe and Iris become to realizing certain things about themselves and each other. Are they now friends?

The Wedding People will break your heart, make you laugh, as you watch individuals learn about each other and grow, as they make life-changing choices and you will ponder the question, how on earth can two total strangers change each other’s lives as well as the wedding peoples for the better in just three days.

Thank you #NetGalley #HenryHoltandCo. #TheWeddingPeople #AlisonEspach for the advanced copy.

A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns

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A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death is just another charming, romantic comfort cozy murder mystery by the incredible Valerie Burns. It’s funny, there are murders to solve, interesting characters and an adorable English Mastiff named Baby. And if that isn’t enough, the main character owns a bakery, and one can almost taste and smell what they are baking!

Maddy’s new life as owner of Baby Cakes Bakery, the store her Aunt Octavia owned and which she inherited (along with her aunt’s dog…very big dog, named Baby) when she died under very mysterious circumstances.

Maddy’s life has finally settled down and she and Baby understand each other, sort of. Maddy has even been attempting to do some baking, as in her prior life she was a social influencer on social media. But when of all people, Brandy Denton, another social media influencer AND the woman who took her fiancé a doctor away from her visits this small town, Maddy goes ballistic on her. Unfortunately, the fight was caught on tape and put on social medial with many views. Of course this happens in Maddy’s bakery!

So, when Brandy shows us dead in the bakery, well unfortunately for Maddy, she becomes the prime suspect in her murder. Why does this keep happening to her? Her roommate, Sherriff April Johnson is taken off the case and the head honcho of the next town who Maddy has butt heads with in the past takes over and pressures her to confess. So does her own lawyer who keeps telling her he can work out a deal.

But, with a little help from her friends, her boyfriend Michael, the local veterinarian as well as the hardworking Baker Street Irregulars, friends of her beloved aunt and murder mystery buffs begin to collect clues.

But it doesn’t seem to be going well. Her ex-fiancé shows up as well as a mysterious stranger who informs Maddy that he has kept something her aunt gave him to give to her. But just as he is to meet her, something goes wrong.

With all this against Maddy, how will this end?

A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death will not disappoint. With so many moving parts, and a wonderful, surprising ending, which will excite Maddy and Baby fans, I suggest you sit and read this delightful story with a cup of coffee (or tea) with one of the recipes at the end of the book!

Thank you #NetGalley #Kensington #ValerieBurns #ACupofFlour,aPinchofDeath for the advanced copy.

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day

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Jamie Day, author of the wonderful thriller The Block Party has another juicy, can’t put down, dysfunctional family murder mystery. Filled with shocking surprises and secrets and a few dead bodies, it also includes a lovable protagonist whom everyone will root for because she is so deserving.

Charley works as a maid at the Precipice, a larger-than-life hotel in Maine. Her mother dead, her nana in a home for dementia which money wise is draining her dry, Charley has resorted to not so legal activities at the hotel to make ends meet.

Now, the owner of the resort, George Bishop has died, and his family are all invading her sanctuary to sort the will out. Charley is very nervous. She can’t afford to be let go or for them to find out her secrets. Also, as the family travels to the Precipice, they are informed there is a hurricane approaching and with all the guests having to be cancelled, she must now be there alone, with her friend and manager Rodrigo. To say she is nervous is an understatement.

But, when the cast of characters make their grand, and I mean grand entrances, well Charley is a mess. Hopefully these high society snobs won’t figure out what she has been doing.

The big family include: Iris, an ex-con, Vicki, married to Todd (who is kind of creepy), their young son Oliver who only speaks in rhymes, Faith who is married to Hope (you can’t make this up!) but Jamie Day did! and Quinn, the very, very handsome college age son of Vicki. Also arriving is the attorney. Because don’t all rich people travel with their attorney?

The chaos really begins when the will is read, and all the sisters realize they have been left barely anything and Todd who is a nobody seems to be left the bulk of everything! Needless to say, the sisters are in shock as is Charley.

Unfortunately for Todd, he dies that night, of what the police believe was a heart attack. Until the next morning, a discovery will not only change that idea, but pin sister against sister, greed against blackmail, and past secrets which seem to keep coming up and shocking everybody. All the while, this hurricane is in full force and nobody is able to leave, except through murder as it looks like another person bit the icy cold.

As the sisters turn on each other, Charley becomes the voice of reason, Oliver gives them creepy clues in rhymes and Quinn is stunned by the revelations of his mother and aunts. Needless to say, everyone is blaming everyone.

The big question for this big family is who is doing the killing? With so many reasons to dislike each other, it becomes hard to figure out who had the better motive. One Big Happy Family is one tumultuous murdering mystery. The story is very funny, yes even with murders happening, but also moving as more of their pasts are exposed, but don’t let any of that fool you…this story is deliriously deadly!

Thank you #St.Martin’sPress #JamieDay #OneBigHappyFamily for the advanced copy.

A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner

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A Novel Summer is a wonderful beach read, about…a beach town! Set in Provincetown, MA, it tells the story of three strong women who have known each other since childhood. Growing up in a small, close nit town, they promised no matter what to return to P-
Town every summer to be together. But, what always seems to happen, life and lives change and sadly friends go their separate ways.

So, when they finally do reunite you would hope the reunion would be special. But unfortunately, that is not the case with these three beloved friends. What does happen is they air their differences which include jealousy, heartbreak and tension. But this is also a very moving book about how friends who have become lost to each other can somehow, not easily, resolve their differences, move past obstacles and come together during crisis and even apologize and admit to past mistakes. And of course, there is romance!

When Shelby’s best friend Colleen, whose parents own the only bookstore in town, which she manages, called Land’s End implores Shelby to come home to help her, Shelby, an author with her first book out, living in New York City goes to her friend’s aid. You see Colleen is pregnant with twins and has been told she must take it easy.

Shelby has not been back to Provincetown for a few years and is hesitantly excited to go back. She realizes she has left some unfinished business behind. But, Colleen is more important. Unfortunately their friend Hunter, who herself is in publishing and is living in town is not very pleased with her return. Hunter is embarrassed as she feels Shelby used her life and secrets in her new book and everyone in town knows it. She wants nothing to do with her.

On top of all this, Shelby has a second book coming due and she has a bit of writer’s block. Oh and she now has to face her high school boyfriend, Justin whom she left to go to the Big City to become a writer. She realizes she has a great deal to make up for. but will they all be able to fix what is obviously broken, and also help keep Colleen calm?

But, there seems to be many obstacles at work which will keep them from obtaining their goals. With each, their lives begin to fall apart rather than come together. A Novel Summer is a sweet, second chance story, in so many ways, with romance, deceit, forgiveness and love.

Thank you #NetGalley #ParkRow #ANovelSummer #JamieBrenner for the advanced copy.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

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The Lost Story is a beautiful fairy tale for most ages which will not only tug at your heart and bring tears to your eyes, but also will have you falling in love with the most wonderful, strong, funny characters as they attempt to go to battle for each other against some very unlikeable enemies.

Where to begin…Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell disappeared in a West Virginia forest as teenagers. After many massive searches and attempts to find the lost boys, hope was lost. No clues were ever discovered. As mysteriously as they disappeared, six months later Jeremy and Rafe walk back out of the woods to the shock of the not only their parents, but the whole town. Rafe does not remember anything about his time in the forest, and Jeremy chooses to keep it that way.

Now, years later, the boys are men and have gone their separate ways. Rafe lives alone in a cabin and loves art, still with no memory of what occurred all those years ago. Jeremy is now a missing person’s advocate who seems to have a gift for finding lost or missing people.

One day, a girl named Emilie Wendell walks up to Jeremy and begins pleading with him to find her sister Shannon, a sister up until recently she didn’t know she had, who seems to have disappeared into the same forest as Jeremy and Rafe. A teenager, she for all accounts was a budding writer. She had been abducted. Her abductor had been found dead, but Shannon was gone.

Jeremy and a reluctant Rafe agree to take Emilie’s case and thus begins a magical, fantastical journey as the three begin their quest to find Emilie’s sister in the forest in which they too had disappeared. What happens to them all is for the most part, pure joy, and love and excitement. Yes, there are those who hate them and want them dead, but there are also those who want to make amends and protect them.

I will not say much about their journey, as I don’t want to spoil the wonderous discoveries, funny situations and of course the danger they are in. What I will tell you is at the end of the story; I had tears in my eyes.

The Lost Story is a lovely, wonderous, imaginative tale with extremely lovable, quirky characters but is also filled with heart and soul. I am truly glad I was able to find this lost story! And hopefully it will go on for a long time!

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #MegShaffer #TheLostStory for the advanced copy.

On The Surface by Rachel McGuire

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On The Surface is a palpitating, what on earth happened, who did it with layers of mystery, psychologically flawed characters all cushioned around social influencers and how to up viewership and money. Are you ready?

Dani Fox and Sawyer Stone run a little YouTube channel called Sailing With The Foxes. They have been traveling by sailboat and documenting their experiences. Although viewership is low and slow, and they are running out of money, and getting a bit sick of each other, they keep trying to figure out ways of gaining attention. Because with more viewers comes more money.

But their dreams all stop when one night after going to a party on another boat, Dani disappears the next day and Sawyer doesn’t remember what happened the night before. While everyone seems concerned, Sawyer knows Dani. She has probably just gone off for some alone time.

Then the police receive some disturbing information which seems to indicate that Sawyer who seems to be an alcoholic and was becoming abusive towards Dani could have harmed her. When they find a bloodied dress hidden on the boat, well the Bahamian Police suspect he killed her.

While the investigation is going on, Dani’s disappearance is not only turned into a top news story, but podcaster, true crime followers and YouTubers all begin to focus on the mystery with tips and conspiracies. But still no Dani. What could have happened? Did Sawyer kill her or did she drown. One thing for sure, they begin to dig up information on Sawyer which makes his look even worse if that’s at all possible!

Unfortunately, Sawyer was not the only one who had secrets. So did Dani.

As the search continues and some of the unhinged true crime people descend upon the Island, Sawyer is now the center of attention. But all he can think of is…how can he make some money? Unfortunately, if he goes to jail, there will be no fortune.

On The Surface will keep you guessing as to what really happened as each twist is revealed and secrets exposed. But in the end, the likes, clicks and algorithms will be more important than any missing person. What would you do to keep your numbers up? Kill?

Thank you #NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks #OnTheSurface #RachelMcGuire for the advanced copy.

https://www.amazon.com/Surface-Rachel-McGuire/dp/1639108157/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2G1UV3T0732LD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7TygUNEE_yV3N0cTefoLj82MyUIiMIMhHZHUkw4NmzE.xnq7ZkbziIh-0T1tj6Dl75epG36X4mFcVS2w0blQF6g&dib_tag=se&keywords=on+the+surface+rachel+mcguire&qid=1728406823&sprefix=%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

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Ladykiller checks all the boxes for a masterful exciting mystery, suspense story with well-developed characters, so well developed you can’t seem to trust any of them, all with flawed personalities and unsightly behavior. You will gasp as you begin to discover the truth which was hidden right in front of your eyes!

When Gia invites her best friend Abby to Sweden to meet her new husband Garrett, someone Gia met and married weeks after the death of her father and someone Abby feels perhaps is not right for her friend, she decides not to go. Although she adores Gia, she just isn’t ready for this next chapter in Gia’s life. But, when Abby discovers Gia’s brother, Benny has been invited and is going as well, that changes her mind. You see Abby and Benny have had crushes on each other since childhood.

Gia, who is a writer, is in Greece at the moment with her new husband trying to get the family estate in order and fixed up. Thier father when he died left nothing to his children and Gia although she thinks she married well, has never been one to not spend and is comfortable living the life of the rich and famous. Her plan is to fix up the estate sell it and bank the cash to live on for herself.

While in Greece, Gia begins a second manuscript. This is a memoir about her life in Greece fixing up the place, being with her new husband as well as other tidbits of the goings on in her life with a bit of flirty embellishment (those type of books sell better) including Gia and Garrett meeting a couple while dining and discovering their boat broke down and are awaiting for it to be fixed but there is nowhere for them to stay. Gia immediately invites them to stay at the estate, hoping for some excitement for her book. But unfortunately, what actually happens as the reader discovers through chapters of the manuscript is how the cracks begin to show in not only her marriage, but with this young couple staying there.

Meanwhile, Abby is getting ready to leave for Sweden when she receives an ominous email. Someone has sent her a prompt or threat, she’s not sure about a past situation. They say they know Abby lied. Abby thought that secret had been long buried, and she and Gia were safe.

But when Abby and Benny land in Sweden, there is no Gia. They receive a text allegedly from Gia which says she fell ill. But something is off and the two decide to go to Greece and see Gia. But what they find is a mystery. Nothing. No Gia, no husband, only her manuscript.

Abby starts to read the story, which of course the reader already knows, or think they do, and the mystery of what happened at the house only deepens. But not everything is as it seems and with the discovery of hidden secrets, unmistakable clues and lies, so many lies, it all begins falling into place which makes for a shocking ending.

Ladykiller was quite the killer of a book!

Thank you #Bantam #NetGalley #KatherineWood #Ladykiller for the advanced copy.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

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What on earth do you do when your college English professor gets you pregnant at the young age of twenty, then leaves you high and dry because of course he is married and has children, and you can in no way afford the cost of a baby as you can’t afford the cost of yourself? You can’t ask your dysfunctional divorced parents for help, that’s for sure. In this absolutely hysterical, heartwarming, very unconventional story, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, creativity becomes the key! To everything!

Margo decides to have the baby and now she has very serious money issues. The father will have nothing to do with her, and she gets fired from her job at Hooters because she needs to breastfeed and take the newborn, Bodhi with her to work because she cannot afford childcare. But…it’s a Hooters!

Where are her parents you may ask? Well, her mother has found a boyfriend who is very religious, and she hopes to make him her husband, so she’s out, as well as the fact that her mother really didn’t mother her anyway. Her father is a former famous wrestler who has just gotten out of rehab for the hundredth time, and she is not close to anyway seems like a very unlikely choice, and when two of her three roommates move out, she is just plain out of luck.

That’s when her dad, Jinx, comes knocking at her door because he needs a place to stay and promises he will stay clean for room and board and babysitting. Well, that sounds great to Margo. With one problem solved, she now needs to figure out how to make some money and fast.

When someone mentions a new platform called Only Fans where you create a profile (fake) and they pay to see and hear what you want to put out there, Margo hesitates, for about a minute and decides this would be a good way to be able to stay with her baby and make money at the same time. And make money she does! Of course, she tells no one, especially her parents about her new venture.

She suddenly realizes she’s good at this gig. She even comes up with another idea and teams up with a couple of influencers and that takes off as well! Although not really accepted practice she even begins to crush on one of her “clients”, but the good thing about hiding behind a fake persona is you can fake it till you make it, and they have no idea!

She’s managing it all, taking care of Bohdi, working, making money and spending time with her dad until it all comes crashing down around her. Suddenly the State wants to take her baby away because of her job. But this job is not only making her money but helping her support her son in more ways than she ever thought she would be able.

If she leaves her job, they won’t take her son, but then she won’t be able to afford what he needs. How can they do this? Why are they doing this? She needs a new plan. And boy does she get even more creative!

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a laugh out loud story about a young naive woman, who took on the system, not knowing much, but knowing no one, absolutely no one was going to take her baby away from her. But the story is much more than just about a determined woman. It’s about heartbreak, feeling you are worth nothing, disappointment in yourself as well as others, but realizing if you find the right community, anything and everything is possible.

And even better news Apple+ is going to do a series and Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer will star! Can’t wait!

Thank you #Goodreads #WillamMorrow #RufiThorpe #Margo’sGodMoneyTroubles for the advanced copy.