Monday, February 22, 2021
The Stills by Jess Montgomery
Reading this novel made me feel so much better about quarantine and the craziness of 2020 and 2021. I'm so glad that we aren't living in Prohibition right now! Also so grateful for my modern life in Appalachia and having broken through poverty.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
I'm hooked on the first four chapters and buying the book. Whose this Daniel guy and what is his angle?
Sips tea and squints eyes. Flips page.
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor — have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status . . .
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor — have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status . . .
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
Pub Date 09 Jun 2020
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Up for Air by Christina Berry
I've always had the rule of not sharing sexual partners or toothbrushes, but after this novel, damn if I ain't curious about the "what-ifs".
At a funeral on her 29th birthday, Ari takes stock of her life and comes to a startling conclusion: she’s not happy. Mired in a relationship that’s gone stale, she approaches her husband Greg about opening their marriage. To her shock, he agrees.
Ari throws herself headlong into an adventure through the bars and bedrooms of Austin. For the first time in her life she’s living in the moment – sex and kink, karaoke and drink – new friends, new lovers, new boundaries to cross. It’s all just innocent, no-strings fun…until she meets Alex.
Alex changes everything. While Ari and Greg grapple with their changing relationship, Ari struggles to control her heart. During hedonistic self- discovery, has she stumbled across love?
Book one of the Lost In Austin series, Up for Air is a sexy, funny, heartfelt romp through life, love, and adulthood.
At a funeral on her 29th birthday, Ari takes stock of her life and comes to a startling conclusion: she’s not happy. Mired in a relationship that’s gone stale, she approaches her husband Greg about opening their marriage. To her shock, he agrees.
Ari throws herself headlong into an adventure through the bars and bedrooms of Austin. For the first time in her life she’s living in the moment – sex and kink, karaoke and drink – new friends, new lovers, new boundaries to cross. It’s all just innocent, no-strings fun…until she meets Alex.
Alex changes everything. While Ari and Greg grapple with their changing relationship, Ari struggles to control her heart. During hedonistic self- discovery, has she stumbled across love?
Book one of the Lost In Austin series, Up for Air is a sexy, funny, heartfelt romp through life, love, and adulthood.
Pub Date 11 Feb 2021
Thursday, February 4, 2021
RomCom Author Panel
I was so happy to virtually attend the RomCom Author Panel event with Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System where Abby Jimenez, Helena Hunting, and Lyssa Kay Adams talk about writing and reading romance. Tune in at the 10:00 mark to hear my question answered! Abby and Lyssa's answer was so empowering.
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin
Evelyn is a strong, independent woman and is an inspiration to fight for what you believe in. I went down a rabbit hole because character names were so familiar to me and I needed to know more. The number of times I held my breath while reading caused hiccups; I regret none of it.
Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she'll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed--and wake up the folks back home.
In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind.
In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind.
Pub Date 02 Feb 2021
Monday, February 1, 2021
The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan
I enjoyed how the characters intertwined and how their stories converged with fate. This resonated with me—
“..it is only as teenagers that we plunge into love as if we were going to die the next day. The older we get, the more we hem and haw; as if time no longer mattered. Isn’t it funny?”
When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her…
Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking—that he was not the author of the second half of the book.
Anne-Lise can’t rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book—and isn't that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don't see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story.
Buy it here! 
When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her…
Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking—that he was not the author of the second half of the book.
Anne-Lise can’t rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book—and isn't that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don't see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story.
Pub Date 12 Jan 2021
The Garden of Promises and Lies by Paula Brackston
I didn't download this NetGalley book in time before the publish and archive date, but my local library came to the rescue with the audiobook. This was my first audiobook experience and I am so grateful to our libraries because being able to "read" while taking care of my toddler has been my newfound favorite thing.
I am absolutely enthralled with the Found Things series and can't wait for the next release! If someone would make a fanfiction copy of the spinner's book, my life would be complete. (Paula, please do write this as well. Also, could we create merch that involves teapots and such for you? I'm in, take my money.)
New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston's second novel in the Found Things series, Secrets of the Chocolate House, was called a "time-swapping romance [that] will please fans of Alice Hoffman" (Publishers Weekly). Now, Brackston returns to the Found Things series with a third book, The Garden of Promises and Lies.
As the bustle of the winter holidays in the Little Shop of Found Things gives way to spring, Xanthe is left to reflect on the strange events of the past year. While she's tried to keep her time-traveling talents a secret from those close to her, she is forced to take responsibility for having inadvertently transported the dangerous Benedict Fairfax to her own time. Xanthe comes to see that she must use her skills as a Spinner if she and Flora are ever to be safe, and turns to the Spinners book for help.
It is then that a beautiful antique wedding dress sings to her. Realizing the dress and her adversary are connected in some way, she answers the call. She finds herself in Bradford-on-Avon in 1815, as if she has stepped into a Jane Austen story.
Now in Xanthe's time, Fairfax is threatening Xanthe into helping him with his evil doings, and demonstrates all too clearly how much damage he is capable of causing. With Fairfax growing ever more powerful, Xanthe enlists the help of her boyfriend Liam, taking him back in time with her. It is a decision that might just ensure she prevails over her foe, but only by putting her life—and his—on the line.
Pub Date 15 Dec 2020
Casting Shadows by Dziyana Taylor
West Virginia has a piece of my heart, as do authors that write about it. The time pieces were beautifully interwoven and immersed me in her thoughts. Well done!
For two years, Rebecca Grimwood has been plagued by the same dream: an overturned ambulance vehicle, a long winding road, a motorcycle, and a man whose face she can’t make out. Dreams are just dreams, though, and she tries not to pay them much notice. Yet when a fortune teller tells Rebecca that her destiny involves a sacrifice, Rebecca seeks the answers she didn’t know she needed. To find them, she returns to the beginning: her old hometown of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
There’s always been something haunting about Harpers Ferry— maybe because it’s old Civil War ground, or the fact that ever since arriving, Rebecca has started seeing things she can’t explain. Things lurking in the shadows, in the farthest corners of streets, their voices whispering. Things out to get her. But one night, when a man named Derek saves her from certain death, Rebecca can’t help but feel that some good can come from the shadows.
For two years, Rebecca Grimwood has been plagued by the same dream: an overturned ambulance vehicle, a long winding road, a motorcycle, and a man whose face she can’t make out. Dreams are just dreams, though, and she tries not to pay them much notice. Yet when a fortune teller tells Rebecca that her destiny involves a sacrifice, Rebecca seeks the answers she didn’t know she needed. To find them, she returns to the beginning: her old hometown of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
There’s always been something haunting about Harpers Ferry— maybe because it’s old Civil War ground, or the fact that ever since arriving, Rebecca has started seeing things she can’t explain. Things lurking in the shadows, in the farthest corners of streets, their voices whispering. Things out to get her. But one night, when a man named Derek saves her from certain death, Rebecca can’t help but feel that some good can come from the shadows.
Pub Date 12 Jan 2021
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