Lisa's Cubby

Number One Chinese Restaurant is Lillian Li’s first attempt at a novel.

The story follows the family who own the Duck House, the best Chinese restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, as well as some of the staff who have worked there for years.

The matriarch father has died and sons Jimmy and Johnny have taken ownership of the restaurant along with their mother who since her husband’s death has lost her desire for life.

Jimmy and Johnny each have troubled lives which include addictions and unhappy marriages. Their mother belittles both of them as much as she can and treats them both as employees of the restaurant rather than her children. Johnny has a teenage daughter Annie, whom he was once close to but finds little time for now that he is in charge of the Duck House. Annie misses her father and has sunk into a deep depression.

Jimmy decides to open his own restaurant which he believes will rival his father’s and will perhaps finally make his mother respect him. But he needs the capital for his plan to succeed.

Then we have the staff members Nan and Ah-Jack who have worked at the Duck House for decades and have been best friends from the moment they laid eyes on each other. Nan has a teenage son, Pat who has been expelled from school for setting a fire. Ah-Jack has a wife, Michelle, who is recovering from cancer and never leaves the house.

Although employer and employees, these people are all family and what affects one affects them all. The sense of desperation and sadness in their lives is palpable.

Although a good read, I felt a bit frustrated at the ending, feeling not every character had the closure I expected (or perhaps I needed). I don’t think I would recommend this book, but perhaps it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Haunted: Horror of Haverfordwest by G.L. Davies in not for the faint of heart! Which I clearly am!

This book is a true horror story where things REALLY did go bump in the night. Haunted is the prequel to author G.L. Davies’ own experiences in a house in Haverfordwest, Wales in which he stayed and almost died in. His first book A Most Haunted House came out in 2013 and was an e-book bestseller which chronicles his paranormal experiences, depression and drinking problem while living there.

After his book began to get noticed, a couple contacted him and said they had bought and lived in the same house back in 1989 and had similar experiences which nearly broke them up. After getting approval from the current owner of the house who does not actually live there, but rents it out, and under condition that the house and street would never be divulged, Davies confirmed the information of the couple only known as Dai and Anne, and their ownership of the house in the ’80’s. This is their story.

There experiences in the house range from a bathroom which was so cold you could see your breath, to noises coming from different rooms which would leave one to believe there were other people in the house. There is a tall shadow figure who seems to border on demonic who they call “The Angry Man”. Their radio and TV become filled with static for no reason and voices seem to be heard when the radio has this static. There are also visions Anne has of people who they believe to have lived in the house centuries prior and are trapped there.

I don’t want to give away anymore than I feel I should as I believe the reader should experience what the couple does first hand. This story gave me chills while reading it and chills as I thought about it as I walked my own house at night.

Haunted: Horror of Haverfordwest is just plain creepy! You have been forewarned! The book comes out December 1. Thank you #NetGalley #Haunted: Horror of Haverfordwest

Golden Child by Claire Adam is a book which will haunt you for days, as it has me. So much so I needed time to decompress and really think hard about the multifaceted story.

Set in Trinidad, the story follows the lives of twin boys, Peter and Paul, born to parents Clyde and Joy in a very rural area of the country. One twin, Peter, develops into an extraordinary child who excels at everything he does and with the temperament of a saint. The other twin, Paul, is seen as slow and odd with much social anxiety. Although unable to keep up with his brother in school, their mother insists on keeping the twins together in the accelerated classes so Peter can protect Paul.

One day Paul does not come home from a walk. Hence begins the disturbing, heart stopping climax to the story when their father must make a decision no parent would ever imagine ever having to make. A decision which when presented with life or death how does one choose? and can you ever be ready for the consequences of those actions.

I would highly recommend this book.

A special thank you to SJP for Hogarth on the advanced read. The book will be out on January 29, 2019. If you enjoyed this review please visit my blog at http://www.lisascubby.com for more reviews. Thank you and happy reading!

The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams is Book 2 in the Secret, Book & Scone Society series.

I am new to author Ellery Adams and came across her accidently last Christmas when I read Secret, Book & Scone Society.  She is also the author of a few other series books which when time permits I would love to delve into.  I enjoyed both books as well as her writing style and how she is able to combine a good cozy mystery with an uplifting feel good story.

The series is about Nora Pennington who arrived in Miracle Springs, North Carolina after fleeing her old life after a tragic accident occurred which not only changed who she is on inside, but she also carries the scars of her old life on the outside.

She opened a bookstore called Miracle Books and became friends with a group on women who each had their own sad or tragic past.  They named themselves the Secret, Book & Scone Society.

In The Whispered Word, Nora finds a girl named Abilene hiding in her bookshop.  Frightened and physically abused, she and her friends in the Society take her in and try to heal her.  They get her a job and find her a place to live.  The story of how she came to be in Miracle Springs is a mystery in itself.

In the meantime, one of Nora’s customers is found dead by suicide just as an antique dealership arrives in town. Residents, who just had a massive economic downfall are eager to sell their wares at the on-line store. Then another death occurs.  Who is Abilene? Was the first death really suicide? Could they possibly be connected? We begin to see the pieces of a very complex puzzle begin to fit together.

The Whispered Word does not disappoint.  It is a terrific mystery with lots of heart.  Each of the women in the Society have had pasts which they are still running from.

I would recommend reading the first book of the series first, although the second book does relay some of the details from the first.

Look for the book on November 27.  Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

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.

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