Tag: book blogger

Categories
Uncategorized

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up.

As of yesterday, we are on a trip in Delaware. We are in Rehoboth Beach but will be traveling across the state, it’s so small. Yesterday we toured the Nemour’s Estate.

pics here

Last Week on the Blog

The Teacher’s Christmas Secret

First Line Friday

Blog Tour for The Midwife of Berlin by Anna Stuart

Cover Reveal for The Last Train from Paris

Happy Publication Day and Blog Tour for The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans

The Sunflowers Babushka Planted by Beatrice Rendon. Illustrated Children’s book

What I hope to read this week

A wonderful story of love, friendship and opening your mind and your heart to new possibilities that will enchant fans of Holly Martin and Heidi Swain.

The Copper Plough is at the heart of village life for the residents of Heritage Cove, and never more so than at Christmas, when the tree glows in the alcove and the smell of mulled wine carries out onto the street. So when new owners for the beloved pub arrive and decide to shake things up, not everyone welcomes the changes with open arms.

Local bakery owner Celeste is ready to keep an open mind. But she’s shocked to discover that one of the new landlords is Quinn, a former Navy sailor with whom she had a short but powerful romance years earlier.

Fate may have brought Quinn and Celeste back together, but life seems determined to keep them apart. Can the villagers learn to embrace the newcomers this Christmas? And will Quinn and Celeste find a way back to each other before snow falls over Heritage Cove?

Join new friends and old, as Christmas comes to Heritage Cove.

Amelia Riley and Ben Lawson have something in common – fathers who have kept secrets.

On the day of his father’s funeral, Ben’s life changes forever when a woman he’s never met shows up claiming to be his sister. As he investigates the past, Ben is shaken to discover that much of his life has been built on a carefully constructed foundation of his father’s lies. Needing answers, he agrees to visit Juniper Meadows, the ancestral estate owned and run by his long-lost relatives, the Travers family.

Arriving in the pretty Cotswolds countryside, the first person Ben meets is Amelia Riley. They are immediately drawn to one another, but Amelia has her own complicated ties to the Travers family. Her only goal is to set the past to rights so she can move on with a clean conscience.

As Ben starts to see the events of his childhood more clearly, he allows the warmth and fun he finds at Juniper Meadows to draw him in from the cold. But just as he’s contemplating setting down roots, Amelia is making plans to leave…

Chicago, early 1970s: Who does a woman call when she needs help? Jane.

The best-known secret in the city, Jane is an underground women’s health organization composed entirely of women helping women, empowering them to live lives free from the expectations of society by offering reproductive counseling and safe, illegal abortions. Veronica, Jane’s founder, prides herself on the services she has provided to thousands of women, yet the price of others’ freedom is that she leads a double life. When she’s not at Jane, Veronica plays the role of a conventional housewife—which becomes even more difficult during her own high-risk pregnancy.

Two more women in Veronica’s neighborhood are grappling with similar disconnects. Margaret, a young professor at the University of Chicago, secretly volunteers at Jane as she falls in love with a man whose attitude toward his ex-wife increasingly disturbs her. Patty, who’s long been content as a devoted wife and mother, has begun to sense that something essential is missing from her life. When her runaway younger sister Eliza shows up unexpectedly, Patty is forced to come to terms with what it really means to love and support a sister.

In this historic moment when the personal was nothing if not political, when television, movies, and commercials told women they’d “come a long way, baby,” Veronica, Margaret, and Patty must make choices that will change the course of their lives forever.

I wish you all a wonderful week. We will be in Delaware until Tuesday then homebound to take our new kitten to get neutered Wednesday.

Categories
Uncategorized

First Line Friday

Happy Friday & welcome to the First Line Friday hosted by Reading is my Super Power! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line. Today I’m featuring the first line of Christmas at the Cat Cafe by Jessica Redland. I just love her books they are so much fun. Have you read her adorable Hedgehog series yet?

FIRST LINES

“Tabby?” Matt called, knocking on the door of the empty flat. ” In the front room, I called back, crumpling up the protective plastic covering I’d ripped off the last of the cat beds I’d been unpacking.

ABOUT THE BOOK

It’s the most wonderful time of the year on Castle Street, and there’s a paw-some new business opening….

It had always been Tabby’s dream to work with cats and an inheritance from her beloved nanna has finally made that a reality. Idyllic Castle Street in Whitsborough Bay couldn’t be a better place for pastry chef Tabby to open a cat café with her boyfriend, Leon.

But when Leon leaves her in the lurch, the pressure mounts for Tabby. With Christmas fast approaching, she has to open the café on her own – a daunting prospect, especially when she’s been hiding her health issues from the ones she loves.

Faced with local resistance to the café – and somebody seemingly determined that she won’t succeed – Tabby will need her friends, family and cats more than ever to recover her broken Christmas spirit and pull together for a Christmas miracle.

Will the cat café bring the festive joy to Castle Street as Tabby had hoped or will it be a cat-astrophe? And can the magic of Christmas on Castle Street mend Tabby’s broken heart as well as her business?

Escape with million-copy bestseller Jessica Redland this Christmas for the purr-fect festive treat!

What do you think, would you read this book? What is the first line of the book you’re currently reading? Let me know in the comments.

Categories
Uncategorized

Blog Tour for The Midwife of Berlin by Anna Stuart

I welcome you onto my blog today for the blog tour by Bookouture of The Midwife of Berlin by Anna Stuart.

ABOUT THE BOOK

THE MIDWIFE OF BERLIN: COMPLETELY UNFORGETTABLE AND TOTALLY HEARTBREAKING WW2 HISTORICAL FICTION by Anna Stuart

Auschwitz, 1943: I stroke my beautiful baby’s hair. It’s a miracle it’s blonde because it will keep her alive, it will keep her safe. Soon they will come and take Pippa out of Auschwitz-Birkenau – and out of my arms. But while there’s life, there’s hope I might find my daughter again…
An incredible story of one woman’s courage and determination to reunite her family in the aftermath of surviving Auschwitz.
1945, Berlin: Ester Pasternak walked out of the gates of Auschwitz barely alive. She survived against devastating odds, but her heartbreaking journey is only just beginning. In the camp, Ester gave birth to a tiny fair-haired infant, only for her precious baby to be snatched from her and taken to a German family. Now the war is over, Ester longs to find her little girl.
But Europe is in chaos, Jewish families have been torn apart and everyone is desperately searching for their loved ones. In every orphanage and hospital she visits, Ester searches the faces of tear-stained toddlers; each mop of blonde hair and pair of blue eyes she sees sets her heart racing…
But as the months and the years tick by, the possibility of finding her daughter shrinks smaller and smaller. And Ester starts to wonder if little Pippa is even safe, or whether the miracle that saved her has now put her in even more danger?
Will Ester ever be able to find the child whose tattoo matches her own? Or is she already too late…
A completely gripping and emotional WW2 novel of one woman’s bravery and determination to hold on to hope in a world torn apart by war. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Nightingale.

MY THOUGHTS

Though this book was so hard to read I am so glad the author has written it. We need to never forget those who were tortured during the Holocaust.

My heart aches for the people subjected to such inhumane treatment. I really don’t understand how they could treat another human being the way they did. Reading this book absolutely broke my heart. I have never read such a realistic book about Auschwitz!

Though hard to read it’s such an important story that needed telling!
A haunting story that will stay with me long after I’ve turned the last page.

I’ve always been able to count on realistic and heartbreaking historical fiction from the author that I must read.


As I flipped the pages, I was holding my breath praying for the safety of the characters.
Gripping and emotional, this author’s books are a must read for me. The strength and resilience the women show in a time of darkness is a shining example of bravery and the will to go on.


I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

BUY LINK: https://geni.us/B0C9MRGVJFsocial

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

AUTHOR BIO

 Anna Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name. Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels. Anna loves the way that writing lets her ‘try on’ so many different lives, but her favourite part of the job is undoubtedly hearing from readers. You can reach her on Facebook @annastuartauthor or Twitter @annastuartbooks. 

Thank you for stopping in. Have a beautiful day.

Categories
Uncategorized

 Cover Reveal for The Last Train from Paris

Welcome to my blog. Today I am delighted to reveal the cover of The Last Train from Paris. I just love the colors on this one.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Last Train from Paris

For Iris, each visit to her mother in St Mabon’s Cove, Cornwall has been the same – a serene escape from the city. But today, as she breathes in the salt air on the doorstep of her beloved childhood home, a heavy weight of anticipation settles over her. Iris knows she’s adopted, but any questions about where she came from have always been shut down by her parents, who can’t bear to revisit the past.

Now, Iris can’t stop thinking about what she’s read on the official paperwork: BABY GIRL, FRANCE, 1939 – the year war was declared with Nazi Germany.

When Iris confronts her mother, she hits the same wall of pain and resistance as whenever she mentions the war. That is, until her mother tearfully hands her an old tin of letters, tucked neatly beside a delicate piece of ivory wool.

Retreating to the loft, Iris steels herself to at last learn the truth, however painful it might be. But, as she peels back each layer of history before her, a sensation of dread grows inside her. The past is calling, and its secrets are more intricate and tangled than Iris could ever have imagined.

The year is 1939, and in Paris, France a young woman is about to commit a terrible betrayal… 

A beautifully written and addictively compelling historical novel about the terrible choices ordinary people were forced to make in the horrors of World War Two. If you loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Nightingale, you will devour this book.

What readers are saying about Juliet Greenwood:

“This was fantastic! Perfect for a Kate Morton or Lucinda Riley hangover, this book will draw you in and won’t let go until you’ve read the last page. This book was unputdownable – fascinating characters, excellent writing, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. I loved every second of it.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I found myself reading chapter after chapter, unable to put it down. A first-time read by this author but certainly not the last.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“For readers of Kate Morton and Lucinda Riley, this book will be one of your favorites… A historical novel that will keep you reading until the end.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“An absolutely brilliant read. I could not put it down…I loved how the war changed everyone and it was a gripping story… I really loved it. Cannot recommend it enough.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Did everything that I was looking for… it left me wanting to read more from Juliet Greenwood.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pre-order Link – https://geni.us/290-al-aut-am

Publication Date: 23rd October 2023

And here is the reveal for you

Historical fiction is one of my all-time favorite genres and I can’t wait to read this one!

AUTHOR BIO

Juliet Greenwood is a historical novelist, now published by Storm Publishing. Her first novel was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize and two of her books reached the top 5 in the UK Kindle store. Juliet has always been a bookworm and a storyteller, writing her first novel (a sweeping historical epic) at the age of ten. She lives in a traditional cottage in Snowdonia, North Wales, set between the mountains and the sea, with an overgrown garden (good for insects!) and a surprisingly successful grapevine.

Social Media Links –

Storm:                   https://stormpublishing.co/

Website:              http://www.julietgreenwood.co.uk/

Facebook:            https://www.facebook.com/juliet.greenwood

Twitter: https://twitter.com/julietgreenwood

Instagram:           https://www.instagram.com/julietgreenwood/

Have a most delightful day. Thanks for stopping in today.

Categories
Uncategorized

Happy Publication Day and Blog Tour for The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans

I’m so delighted to welcome you onto my blog today for the blog tour of The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens. You can’t go wrong with a book filled with gingerbread!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens

The perfect cosy and uplifting romance to curl up with this winter!

In Mistletoe Gardens a legend exists: anyone who kisses underneath the mistletoe will be guaranteed another year of love…

When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds…just how hard can it be?

Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help – and fast!

Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny problem: Joss hates Christmas, gingerbread, and… well, just about everything else too.

Joss the Grinch makes it clear that her idea is ludicrous and pointless, but he reluctantly agrees to help with her plan.

Will the gingerbread house be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens? Or will Essie’s chance for a magical kiss under the mistletoe be lost forever?

Perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Kat French and Caroline Roberts!

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/Gingerbreadhousesocial

MY THOUGHTS

As with all of the author’s Christmas books, I’ve found this one to be drenched in Christmas descriptions and vibes and I mean this in a great way. I love a descriptive Christmas book.

Our main character works at her mom’s bakery and it keeps her quite occupied. I really loved the gingerbread facts at the beginning of each chapter. Not much more Christmassy than a huge gingerbread house.

This is exactly what our main character is trying to build, a life-size version of one, to try to save the beloved Mistletoe Gardens.

This is where we meet Mr. Grumpy, he hates Christmas and just about everything else. Is this where our Ms. Sunshine can come in and show him the holidays aren’t all that bad?


I loved reading about the kissing under the mistletoe tradition. I held my breath to see if Mistletoe Garden could be saved from those who want to get rid of the traditions and replace it with a shopping center.

With the holiday season you can expect the best type of magic to come around though. Fun, fantastic and an all-around charmer. I always look forward to the author’s holiday books!

Pub Date 12 Sep 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

Author Bio –

Jaimie Admans is the bestselling author of several romantic comedies – including The Little Christmas Shop on Nutcracker Lane and The Chateau of Happily-Ever-Afters. She lives in South Wales and was previously published by HQ Digital.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks/

Twitter https://twitter.com/be_the_spark

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jaimieadmans1/

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JaimieAdmansNews

Have a wonderfully festive day and thanks for stopping in today.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Sunflowers Babushka Planted by Beatrice Rendon. Illustrated Children’s book.

32 pages ages 5-9 Capstone Editions Jan 1,2024 publish date grades K-3

About The Book

“When Tania was six years old, she and her parents fled Ukraine during World War II. For years they were refugees in Europe, displaced and without permanent residence. Finally, they found safe housing in a refugee camp, but what about home? Day by day, they stitched together new lives, but it wasn’t until a memory of Tania’s babushka and her beloved sunflowers that the family at last began to rebuild a sense of home.

This true account about debut author Beatrice Rendón’s grandmother offers a universal story of hope for refugees around the world.”

MY THOUGHTS

Based on the author’s family history from many years ago.
A young girl named Tania lives a simple life with her parents who live with her grandmother.

Their home is in Ukraine. When a war starts in Ukraine Tania becomes a refugee fleeing Ukraine with her parents for their families’ safety. Grandmother, too elderly to travel stays behind.

Wandering through Europe for years as displaced people during WWII, they wondered if they’d ever be able to go back to their country.

Sad but realistic we get a child’s eye view of the war with her thoughts. We see just how fragile and scary life can be for its youngest members.

For comfort Tania thinks about the sunflowers her grandmother has planted for beauty, Ukraine’s national flower.

Well executed story showing the fragility and uncertainty of times for children. This child was well loved and felt secure with her parents and was able to return to a normal life after the war. Beautifully illustrated which adds to the validity of the story.

Pub Date 01 Jan 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR

About the Author 

Beatrice Rendón was born and raised in the Midwest. She grew up hearing her family’s stories and how their resourcefulness and resilience helped them survive. She is a former classroom teacher and a lifelong lover of children’s literature. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their cat. This is her first book.

About the Illustrator

Originally from Poland, Olga Baumert studied fine art and jewelry-making before moving to the UK and earning a degree in graphic design and illustration from De Montfort University. Her art is inspired by great stories, interactions between people and nature, and open landscapes—especially ones with tiny figures hiding in them. Olga lives in Leicestershire, England, where she uses a mix of traditional techniques, including gouache, watercolor, acrylics, and colored pencils, to make her art.

Links

Have a wonderful day. Thank you for your visit today.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Heirloom: (Prequel to The Shunning, An Amish Christian Fiction Book)

327 pages Sep. 12,2023 publish date Bethany House Publishers

SYNOPSIS

This heartwarming prequel to The Shunning is a tender story of love, belonging, and the courage to move forward.

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother’s aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County’s Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.

Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara’s visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area’s eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?

MY THOUGHTS

I have read this author’s books since she started writing them. She is the one who started me reading Amish fiction. What I like about her books is how realistic they are. I love her writing style. The situations portrayed are realistic and believable. And I can always learn something about the Amish culture from her books. They are always very well researched.

Having read her book The Shunning and the rest of that series when it was first published many years ago, I was thrilled to see a prequel to this series in The Heirloom.

Clara Bender lives in Hickory Hollow, Indiana, and her widowed father is newly remarried. I didn’t like her new stepmother when we first met in the book. Her character is portrayed as unlikeable, as many stepmothers are portrayed. She doesn’t make much of an effort to get along with Clara or empathize with her.

Missing her mother, Clara reads some letters that were bundled away and sent from her aunt to her mother over the years. The two had a close and loving relationship. Clara contacts her aunt about a visit, as she wants to get to know her and hear more about her mother in her younger years.

I loved it when letter writing was popular and used to write and receive letters from my grandmother. The pretty stationery was always a treat to see. Clara’s father isn’t crazy about her going to visit her aunt because it’s a different church district and the rules are different in that district. He relents when she makes plans to stay for a short amount of time.

Once arriving, I enjoyed getting to know the aunt, and we see a bit of a timeslip as we are taken back in time to her aunt’s youth and get to meet some of the youngsters her aunt knew. Just like with today’s youth, there were the reliable and steadfast youth and the braggarts and show-offs. We see from this why the bishop back then made the rules so strict after some mishaps, and this explains why Clara’s aunt is the way she is and also why she doesn’t speak of this time period with anyone.

I enjoyed reading about fixing the heirloom quilt and its repair process.

After acclimating herself to her new homestead in the Lancaster area, she and her aunt would like her to stay longer. Also, the new beau she has wants to grow closer to her. He is a strong man of faith. I enjoyed seeing how Clara and her aunt drew closer in their relationship with each other and with God. Clara goes through some uncertainty when she decides she wants to make this her permanent home, and her father can’t agree to her staying in Lancaster for many reasons. Because of her upbringing, she will not disobey her father. But God always has our best interests and will bring us through our trials and tribulations.

This is an excellent book. This author, with her steadfast faith, never fails to write an inspirational book.

I was given a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Beverly Lewis (beverlylewis.com), born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 19 million books in print. Her stories have been published in 12 languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today. Beverly and her husband, David, live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, making music, and spending time with their family. –This text refers to an alternate kindle edition edition.

Enjoy your day. Thank you for your visit today.

Categories
Uncategorized

Can’t Wait Wednesday

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted here to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

I know this book isn’t for everyone. It’s a nonfiction book. To me the book sounds fascinating and the women in it smart and very helpful. This week I choose:

THROUGH THE MORGUE DOOR

256 pages Publishes 13 Feb, 2024 University of Pennsylvania Press

Preorder Here

About This Book

In 1934, at the age of fourteen, Colette Brull-Ulmann knew that she wanted to become a pediatrician. By the age of twenty-one, she was in her second year of studying medicine. By 1942, Brull-Ulman and her family had become registered Jews under the ever-increasing statutes against them enacted by Petain’s government. Her father had been arrested and interned at the Drancy detention camp and Brull-Ulman had become an intern at the Rothschild Hospital, the only hospital in Paris where Jewish physicians were allowed to practice and Jewish patients could go for treatment.

Under Claire Heyman, a charismatic social worker who was a leader of the hospital’s secret escape network, Brull-Ulmann began working tirelessly to rescue Jewish children treated at the Rothschild. Her devotion to the protection of children, her bravery, and her imperviousness in the face of the deadly injustices of the Holocaust were always evident—whether smuggling children to safety through the Paris streets in the dead of night or defying officers and doctors who frighteningly held her fate in their hands. Ultimately, Brull-Ulmann was forced to flee the Rothschild in 1943, when she joined her father’s resistance network, gathering and delivering information for De Gaulle’s secret intelligence agency until the Liberation in 1945.

In 1970, Brull-Ulmann finally became a licensed pediatrician. But after the war, like so many others, she sought to bury her memories. It wasn’t until decades later when she finally started to speak publicly—not only about her own work and survival, but about the one child who affected her most deeply. Originally published in French in 2017, Brull-Ulmann’s memoir fearlessly illustrates the horrors of Jewish life under the German Occupation and casts light on the heretofore unknown story of the Rothschild Hospital during this period. But most of all, it chronicles the life of a truly exceptional and courageous woman for whom not acting was never an option.

Would you read this book?

Have a best day and stay cool. Thanks for stopping by.

I’ll do a follow for a follow.

Categories
Uncategorized

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday’s topic this week is WATER. I have lots of books with water on the cover so let’s get to it. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

In this heartwarming small‑town romance, can three months, two planning projects, and a meddling grandmother finally make two high school hate crushes see just how right they are for each other? 

Can first love truly have a second chance when two high school sweethearts find themselves working together to save their respective businesses in this charming, laugh-out-loud retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion?

When Bea Fernsby discovers her fiancé’s eyes have been wandering, she calls off the wedding and hits the road. The village of Heartcross in the Scottish Highlands is about as far away from home as she can get, and when she stumbles into the ideal summer job at The Little Blue Boathouse and meets gorgeous vacationer Nolan Hemingway, things finally start looking up.

Now, as an old mystery surfaces and Bea and Nolan band together to find out what happened to his late grandfather’s one true love, fate throws Bea some unexpected curveballs…and promising opportunities.

After two young women’s deep bond is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In The Ladies of the Lake, the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging.

Amanda Cox is living in New York with a non-committal boyfriend and a student loan that threatens to crush her. That is, until she enters a raffle for a manor house in the British countryside of Northumberland – and wins…

When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.

Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past.

The next gripping and heartbreaking WWII historical fiction novel from international bestseller, Mandy Robotham.

Pianist: NOUN. Informal. A person who operates or controls a radio transmitter – often in code.

July, 1940

Blitz-ridden London: Marnie Fern’s life is torn apart when her grandfather is killed in an air raid. But once she discovers that he’d been working undercover as a radio operative – or Pianist – for the Dutch resistance, Marnie knows she must complete his mission – no matter the cost…

When western novelist Sadie Goodwin must pen a romance novel to rescue her lackluster sales, there’s only one tiny problem: she’s never been in love.

Desperate to salvage her career, Sadie accepts an invitation to hole up at her friend’s beach duplex for the summer and devote herself to this confounding genre. After all, where better to witness love than on the beautiful South Carolina shore?

A mesmerizing novel about three generations of women who have lost each other—and the quest to weave them back into a family.

An immersive historical tale spanning the life stories of three women, The Woman Beyond the Sea traces the paths of a daughter, mother, and grandmother who lead entirely separate lives, until finally their stories and their hearts are joined together.

A gripping, heartbreaking story of two sisters in occupied Jersey during WWII – one a nurse, who is transported to Nazi Germany, the other, who volunteers for the island’s resistance movement – from the author of The Child on Platform One. Perfect for readers of The Nightingale and The Midwife of Auschwitz.

I can’t wait to get to all these books. They look and sound marvelous. I am a cover lover I’ll admit. Any of these on your tbr list? Have you read any of these?

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping in.

Categories
Uncategorized

Her Secret Hope (A Season in Pinecraft Book #3): (An Amish Christian Romance Series about Living Fully, Friendships, Heartbreaks, and Finding Love) by Shelley Shepard Gray

304 pages November 7,2023 publish date Revell publisher

ABOUT THE BOOK

Almost two years after Lilly Kurtz first traveled to Pinecraft, Florida, with friends, she’s decided to make a fresh start there. She’s ready to be new-and-improved Lilly, a Lilly without a past, a Lilly with no secrets. At first, everything goes well. She gets a job, her coworkers feel like family, and she enjoys reconnecting with her friends. But it turns out the past is reluctant to be left behind.

When Lilly meets hardworking farmer Eddie Byler, she can’t get him off of her mind. But then she discovers that Eddie actually lives just a few miles from her hometown in Ohio. Lilly knows that he’s not going to like it when he finds out what secrets she’s been running from. And she knows she could never follow the man she’s falling in love with back to a place where she’s never felt accepted.

Will Lilly have to give up on love in order to find peace? Or could it be that love is actually the solution to all of her problems?

MY THOUGHTS

When I saw Shelley’s latest release in the A Season in Pinecraft series available I just had to grab it and read in less than a day. Never mind that it doesn’t release until November I wasn’t waiting to read it!

I’ve loved this series and getting to know the girls who met on a bus in an ice storm on the way down to Pinecraft. This happened in the first book. Each book in the series has taken us through the girls’ friendships and meeting their beau, marriage and them settling into adult life.

I enjoyed reading the descriptions of Pinecraft, Florida and its Amish population and how they’ve adapted to life there. This book is about Lilly Kurtz, leaving her old life behind is not quite as easy as she thought it would be. Secrets seem to come to light when you least expect it, but will it put a damper on her new budding relationship with hardworking farmer Eddie Byler?

Eddie and his grandmother, November have traveled from Ohio for a vacation. I’ll say November is unlike any Amish woman I’ve read about. She’s sassy and I love her character.

Lilly is happy, she’s found work at an inn and gets along well with the other employees and the owner. When she is blamed for an incident beyond her control at work who will she have to fall back on? I have really enjoyed this series; I think it may be my favorite by the author and greatly look forward to her next series. I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Pre-Order Here

THE AUTHOR

Shelley Shepard Gray is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author. She’s published over a hundred novels and has over a million books in print. She currently lives in northern Ohio and writes full time.

Shelley lives just an hour from Holmes County, where many of her Amish-themed novels are set. She currently writes contemporary romance and Amish fiction for a variety of publishers. When not spending time with her family or writing, she can usually be found walking her two dachshunds on one of the many trails in the Cleveland area.

She also bakes a lot, loves coconut cream pie, and will hardly ever pull weeds, mow the yard, or drive in the snow.

Shelley also spends a lot of time on line! Please visit her website, http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com to find out her latest news or to sign up for her newsletter. Shelley can also be found on FaceBook, Instagram @shelley.s.gray, or on Twitter @ShelleySGray.

Enjoy your day. Thank you for stopping in.