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.
Have you read, The Twelve Dogs of Christmas? It’s such an important book about dog rescue. You will pawsitively love it! Come see my review here on my other blog.
Happy Friday & welcome to First Line Friday! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line(s). Today I am featuring a cozy mystery publishing December 26 that I look forward to reading. I think this is the third in the series and I haven’t read any of them yet.
And this first lines are:
“Will we see you and Benny at the festival, Tanya?” My grandmother, Genevieve Bain sat at her dark wood folding table in Spice Isle Bakery, our family- owned business, early Friday morning.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The case in Olivia Matthews’s Coconut Drop Dead is going to be a tough nut to crack.
Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival is finally here, and Spice Isle Bakery is thrilled to be one of the event’s food vendors. After all, the Murrays have been attending the festival for years. Co-owner Lyndsay Murray hopes their West Indian pastries and finger foods draw people back to the bakery in Little Caribbean. She’s looking forward to having fun, connecting with customers, and celebrating with her family.
The day’s festivities are cut short when Camille, lead singer of an up-and-coming reggae band, dies. The police think it may be a tragic accident. But Lyndsay’s cousin Manny was close to Camille, and he believes someone cut her life short. Now Manny needs Lyndsay’s help to make sure a killer faces the music.
Let me know the first lines of the book closest to you.
Though you are just one person you are someone’s everything! Thank you for visiting today.
208 pages Ballantine Books November 27,2023 publication dategrab a copy here
ABOUT THE BOOK
Charlotte Pitt’s clever grandmother investigates the sudden disappearance of her dear friend in this chilling holiday whodunit by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.
Mariah Ellison, Charlotte Pitt’s grandmother, accepts her longtime friend Sadie’s gracious invitation to spend Christmas with her and her husband, Barton, in their picturesque village. But upon arrival, Mariah discovers that Sadie has vanished without a trace, and Barton rudely rescinds the invitation. Once Mariah finds another acquaintance to stay with during the holiday season, she begins investigating Sadie’s disappearance.
Mariah’s uncanny knack for solving mysteries serves her well during her search, which is driven by gossip as icy as the December weather. Did Sadie run off with another man? Was she kidnapped? Has someone harmed her? Frustratingly, Mariah’s questions reveal more about the villagers themselves than about her friend’s whereabouts. Yet in the process of getting to know Sadie’s neighbors, Mariah finds a kind of redemption, as she rediscovers her kinder side, and her ability to love.
It is up to Mariah to master her own feelings, drown out the noise, and get to the bottom of what occurred, all before Christmas day. With the holiday rapidly approaching, will she succeed in bringing Sadie home in time for them to celebrate it together—or is that too much to hope for?
MY THOUGHTS
I just love Anne Perry’s books, though I’ve only read the last 3 years Christmas books I can see I have quite a few to catch up on. Her books just have a different feel to them than many of the other mystery books I’ve read.
The books have a vintage feel to them, taking place during a slower time when neighbors had to meet up with each other to solve a disappearance. Mariah Ellison is delighted to visit her longtime friend Sadie and her husband Barton, in their picturesque village. After arriving, expecting to be invited right in by Sadie, she’s rudely told by Barton, Sadie has disappeared, and she can’t come in.
She takes things into her own hands by talking to their neighbors trying to investigate the vanishing. As the gossip accumulates all have something to say about Sadie, some not too nice. Some miss her.
One common thread shows up in the conversations, Sadie is not quite the person Mariah thought she was. Coming together the neighbors discover things about themselves. Despite the seriousness of the situation Mariah discovers a well of emotions including forgiveness, redemption and restoration.
With Christmas drawing ever closer will there be closure with joy ringing out or will uncertain times continue into the new year? I look forward to being transported back in time again to a slower time as I read more of her books.
Pub Date 07 Nov 2023 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Anne Perry 28 October 1938 – 10 April 2023
Anne’s publishing career began with The Cater Street Hangman. Published in 1979, this was the first book in the series to feature the Victorian policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife Charlotte. This is arguably the longest sustained crime series by a living writer. Murder on the Serpentine is the latest (32nd) in the series. She has now started a series featuring their son Daniel, beginning with 21 Days(2017).
In 1990, Anne started a second series of detective novels with The Face of a Stranger. These are set about 35 years before and features the private detective William Monk and volatile nurse Hester Latterly. The most recent of these (24th in the series) is Dark Tide Rising.
Anne won an Edgar award in 2000 with her short story “Heroes”. The main character in the story features in an ambitious five-book series set during the First World War, which were published between 2003 and 2007. Anne is now working on more titles in the Pitt and Monk series, both of which are under option.
None of her books has ever been out of print, and they have received critical acclaim and huge popular success: over 26 million books are in print world-wide. Her books have appeared on bestseller lists in a number of foreign countries, where she has also had excellent reviews. Her books regularly appear in the New York Times bestseller list, and have also been bestsellers in France, Germany and Canada. The Times selected her as one of the “100 Masters of Crime”, and in 2015 she was awarded the Premio de Honor Aragón Negro.
Moving into a different area, Anne has responded to requests for workshops and teaching by producing her first ‘how to write’ instructional DVD “Put Your Heart On The Page: An Introduction To Writing” and her much-loved tote bags which also carry that slogan. Both items are now available to buy direct from her website. “Developing Your Characters” is the third instalment in Anne’s instructional films.
350 pages August 30,2022 publication date Boldwood Books grab a copy here
ABOUT THE BOOK
After the end of a long-term relationship, local weather girl Bea Armstrong has been avoiding her family, and their inevitable ‘I-told-you-sos.’ But with Christmas fast approaching, she is finally on her way home to Charis House, the school in Sherwood Forest that her mum and dad run in their old family home. And to top it all off, the insufferable Henry Fairfax – who her parents have always wanted her to marry – has also been invited.
Relief comes in the shape of a last minute interview for her dream job. There are just a few minor problems… The interview is in Scotland, Bea has no car, and the snow is falling already. The only solution is for Henry to drive her – could this Christmas get any worse…
But during an unforgettable two day interview, a stay in a log cabin and a nightmare journey through the snow, Henry turns out to be nothing like she thought. And when Bea’s first love and recent ex shows up, Bea has a difficult choice to make…
Reading Beth Moran’s fabulous novels makes every day better. Feelgood, satisfying, with smart characters and gorgeous settings, it’s impossible not to fall in love with a Beth Moran story. Perfect for all fans of Jill Mansell, Julie Houston, and Jenny Colgan.
MY THOUGHTS
A fun, festive and tender holiday read. I read this one in a day. Bea Armstrong is our main character; she is the local weather girl and just ending a long-term relationship. Out with the old and in with the new, right? Bea isn’t so sure though when her old flame keeps promising her the moon but never delivers.
What a delight, she’ll be able to spend Christmas with her family, but a last-minute interview as a weather girl is in her way and she must go. Never mind the snow is piling up on her way to Scotland.
Bea has some important decisions to make. I enjoyed the characters and plot. This festive snowy read is perfect for this time of year, and it was such an engaging story.
Pub Date: 30 Aug 2022 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Beth Moran initially worked as a biochemist and then taught antenatal classes before becoming an author. She loves to write contemporary women`s fiction set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she lives with her family.
Hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?
CURRENTLY READING
RECENTLY FINISHED
READING NEXT
I’ve been doing some GoodReads reading challenges and they are really helping me get through my books. What about you, are you working on any reading challenges also?
I’m listing 5 books I’ve really enjoyed this year.
Before Mrs. Beeton and well before Julia Child, there was Eliza Acton, who changed the course of cookery writing forever.
England, 1835. London is awash with thrilling new ingredients, from rare spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them. When Eliza Acton is told by her publisher to write a cookery book instead of the poetry she loves, she refuses—until her bankrupt father is forced to flee the country. As a woman, Eliza has few options. Although she’s never set foot in a kitchen, she begins collecting recipes and teaching herself to cook. Much to her surprise she discovers a talent – and a passion – for the culinary arts.
Eliza hires young, destitute Ann Kirby to assist her. As they cook together, Ann learns about poetry, love and ambition. The two develop a radical friendship, breaking the boundaries of class while creating new ways of writing recipes. But when Ann discovers a secret in Eliza’s past, and finds a voice of her own, their friendship starts to fray.
Based on the true story of the first modern cookery writer, Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen is a spellbinding novel about female friendship, the struggle for independence, and the transcendent pleasures and solace of food.
Cora Matthews’s life is a mess. A broken engagement and the unexpected death of her mother have left her wondering if things will ever return to normal. Whatever “normal” is.
It certainly isn’t what she finds at Moonberry Lake. After she receives her family’s dilapidated lakefront lodge as an inheritance–with a surprising condition attached–Cora finds her life overrun by a parade of eccentric neighbors who all have something to say and something to teach her.
As Cora works to put her life back together, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the past, open her heart to love, and embrace the craziest version of family and home she could ever have imagined.
“An uplifting novel about the power of small-town community.”
“My darling B, my heart, my soul. I only wish we’d had longer. Longer to search for the daughter that I should never have given up. The daughter that I should have been brave enough to keep, brave enough to tell you about, brave enough to tell the world about.”
London, Present day. As Ella looks down at a faded black and white photograph of an unknown woman and child alongside a yellowing piece of sheet music, she wonders how the two things can possibly relate to her own family. The items were left for her family at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers whose babies were adopted.
Soon Ella learns that the photograph was taken on the picturesque Greek island of Skopelos, nestled in the turquoise calming waters of the Aegean sea, and that the woman in the photo holds the key to her family’s heritage. As she opens up to her new flame Gabriel, he tells her that she should go to the island to unravel the mystery and that he will wait for her.
Though Ella is torn she decides to go and once there, she discovers a heart-wrenching story of a royal family forced to leave their country for a new life in London, and of a girl with a unique talent for music who captured the heart of a young violinist but was forced to leave him and London behind for the sake of her family.
When Ella discovers the sacrifice made by the two young lovers and comes face to face with her forgotten Greek family, will their story give her the courage to follow her own heart back to London and Gabriel, or will the beauty of the island capture her heart and lead her to a new love altogether?
A totally addictive and heart-breaking novel about the strength of family ties and never giving up on true love. Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.
England, 1942. ‘It has to stay secret,’ he whispers, placing the locket around her neck. ‘If they find it, they’ll send me away.’ As she holds the locket, glinting in the moonlight, she can’t hold back the tears. ‘I just wish we didn’t have to hide…’
When farmer’s daughter Irene meets Theodore at a village dance, sparks fly instantly. The war has brought him all the way from Louisiana to build a US airbase just across her father’s fields, but as they sway together, there is nothing else in the world. Only his gentle touch and his deep brown eyes.
But being together comes at a price. As Theodore is Black, the might of the US Air Force is against them, and all the members of the little village community disapprove of their relationship. And they will all go to terrible lengths to tear the two young lovers apart…
Decades later, heartbroken Ruby is back at her family’s crumbling farmhouse for the first time in years, after the loss of her beloved grandmother Irene. The roof has fallen in, family photographs are damaged – and her grandmother’s jewellery is nowhere to be found.
When Ruby uncovers her grandmother’s waterlogged diaries, she discovers that Irene treasured one piece of lost jewellery above all. A locket from a man called Theodore. And the missing locket holds the key to unravelling a heartbreaking secret that changed her grandmother’s life…
Is someone in the village hiding the locket to keep the truth about Irene and Theodore buried? And can Ruby find a way to honour her grandmother’s memory – or in digging up the pain of the war, will she tear her family apart?
An absolutely breathtaking World War Two story about the power of love in the face of adversity, and how the tragic consequences of war can echo through generations. Fans of Fiona Valpy, The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See will be addicted to this incredible read.
Two Sisters. One Single Event. A Family Changed Forever.
At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly–and innocently–draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.
After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see–or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily’s missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters–including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie’s life.
Bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse weaves a complex and suspenseful tale dripping with intrigue, romance, and Southern charm.
I’ve found that historical fiction books are the ones that are the most heartfelt books I read. While I do enjoy contemporary books, I didn’t read them at all until a few years ago. I used to only read historical fiction but then I need a break from some of the heavy stories in historical fiction.
Are your unread books filling your shelves and piling up on the floor?
Then The Backlist Reader Challenge is for you!
Hosted byThe Bookwyrm’s Hoard Dates of Challenge:January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024 Challenge Sign-Up/Details:Click Here
#BacklistReader
Rule #1 – Books have to be published before 2023 AND they must already be on your TBR list or pile. Rule #2 – No Re-Reads : Compromise: you can only count a book you have read before IF (a) you haven’t read the book in the past 10 years, AND (b) you can’t remember much about it.
I am going to set a goal of 15 backlist books. Hopefully I can read more. I’ll track them here.
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.
Christmas will be here before we know it and I’m not ready. What about you? I still have gifts to wrap and baking to do. I always do my baking 2 days before Christmas, otherwise it’ll all get eaten. The kiddos are off school on the 21st and return January 2nd. Summer vacations and holiday breaks aren’t as bad as they used to be because they are older now with the youngest one now being 12. Our oldest son and his wife are expecting twins, and we all are greatly looking forward to the birth. Due date February 8 but they won’t let her go past 37 weeks they said. These are our first grandchildren, and the anticipation is high. We have about 24 hours of rain coming in today and tomorrow so a soggy time will be had. Have a great week and let me know how things are with you.
380 pages Zondervan publisher July 5,2022 publish date
ABOUT THE BOOK
Abigail’s Amish life has always followed a certain path . . . until an Englisch woman disrupts all she’s known to be true.
Growing up Amish, Abigail Bontrager often felt like a square peg in a round hole. Her pie crusts always turned out tough. Her stitches always ran crooked. She was clumsy. Not ideal for an aspiring Amish wife and mother, but her faith and love of her family, which are so much more important, are solid. Plus, her relationship with the attractive and kindhearted Owen Kurtz is moving in the right direction.
Owen is part dreamer, part entrepreneur. His friendship with Abigail has gradually blossomed into a sweet and loving courtship. Inspired by the hope of a future with the girl of his dreams, he decides to take the next step in building a business of his own—in the promising new industry of growing sunflowers.
When an outsider claiming to be Abigail’s birth mother abruptly enters her life, Abigail’s world comes crashing down. Confused and upset, she is determined to discover who she really is. Her journey of discovery leads to the possibilities of a new life waiting for her in the Englisch world. But is this new life really worth giving up everything and everyone she’s known? How can Abigail and Owen follow their hearts—and God’s plan—when these new paths now lead them into the unknown?
MY THOUGHTS
Kelly Irvin has written such a heartfelt book so full of emotions. Amish woman Abigail Bontrager has never felt she’s fit in with the other Amish in her community; a terrible baker and she can’t sew a straight stitch. Then she gets earth shattering news, she’s been adopted into her Amish family as a baby and her parents are English.
Mad at her adoptive parents, she’s confused and wants answers as to why they’ve never told her this information. Leaving her adoptive parents and Amish boyfriend she knows to be comfortable in life she must explore this English side of herself.
Her experience in the English world is so eye opening, the clothing feels uncomfortable, and she doesn’t feel covered enough, everything is faster, brighter, louder and more open. There are not the rules and restrictions she is used to, and her faith becomes severely tested especially when she starts dating an English man.
How will Abigail handle the pressures of the outside world, will she crave the less restrictions in this new fast life, or will her family and faith pull her back home? Such a beautiful story of a young woman following her heart while letting God lead the way.
Pub Date 05 Jul 2022 I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Best-selling novelist Kelly Irvin’s latest Amish romance, Every Good Gift, debuted in February 2023. The third novel in the Amish Blessings series takes place in Yoder and Haven, Kansas. The series takes a look at adoption in Amish communities. The first book, Love’s Dwelling, won second place in the Selah Awards contest in the long contemporary romance category. The series follows the Amish of Sky Country series, which featured Amish communities in Northwest Montana affected by wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres in the state in recent years. The first book, Mountains of Grace, debuted in August 2019, and delves into the impact on not only an Amish man and woman, but also a smoke jumper, a sheriff’s deputy, and a young English woman forced to confront her past because of the fires.
Kelly also writes romantic suspense novels. Her most recent forays into this genre include Trust Me, Her Every Move and Closer Than She Knows, all set in San Antonio and South Texas. Publishers Weekly says of Closer Than She Knows, “this brisk, smoothly written thriller from Irvin pits court reporter Teagan O’Rourke, a murder mystery lover, against a cunning and vicious serial killer. Fans of serial killer fiction with a Christian slant will be satisfied.”
Of Tell Her No Lies, The Library Journal says, “Irvin creates a complex web with enough twists and turns to keep even the most savvy romantic suspense readers guessing until the end. Known for her Amish novels, this two-time Carol Award finalist shows that her talents span subgenres from tranquil Amish stories to rapidly paced breathless suspense.”
Kelly is also the author of the Every Amish Season series, which included four books that chronicle the lives of Amish widows who are in different seasons in their lives. These women are linked by life altering experiences that bring them together as wives, mothers, and grandmothers in the small town of Jamesport, Mo. The first book, Upon a Spring Breeze, received critical acclaim from the Library Journal: “A moving and compelling tale about the power of grace and forgiveness that reminds us how we become strongest in our most broken moments.”
Kelly Irvin is also the author of The Amish of Bee County series, which includes the critically acclaimed The Beekeeper’s Son. Publishers Weekly called the first book in the series a beautifully woven masterpiece and Romantic Times Magazine called Kelly a storyteller extraordinaire. It was followed by The Bishop’s Son and The Saddle Maker’s Son, which is an ECPA bestseller.
A two-time ACFW Carol finalist, Kelly’s novellas have been included in numerous anthologies, including An Amish Summer, The Amish Christmas Gift, An Amish Market, an Amish Christmas Love, and Amish Quilt, An Amish Reunion, An Amish Picnic, and An Amish Christmas Bakery.
She also penned the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Hope Amish series, both published by Harvest House Publishers. Love Still Stands, the first book in the New Hope series, debuted in September 2012, and the follow-up, Love Redeemed, released March 1, 2014. The final book in the series, set in Branson, MO., was A Plain Love Song, released in July 2014.
The Bliss Creek Amish series, set in Kansas, includes To Love and to Cherish, A Heart Made New, and Love’s Journey Home.
In the New Hope series, familiar characters from Bliss Creek move to Missouri to start a new district and a new life.
The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the ACFW San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers, as well as Sisters in Crime and Women’s Fiction Writers Association.
A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly wrote nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso, where she was exposed to culture and language that serves as fodder for her fiction writing. She has written hard news, features, entertainment pieces, restaurant critiques, editorials, and weekly columns. Writing awards include the Silver Star Award from the Texas Mental Health Association for articles pertaining to mental health and numerous awards in news, feature, and editorial writing from the Texas Press Association and Texas Press Women.
Kelly retired in 2016 from her position of 22 years as public relations manager for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department, where her duties included writing and designing an employee newsletter, writing news releases, collaborating on marketing campaigns, coordinating ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings, coordinating press conferences, updating the web site, and acting as a media spokesperson.
Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for 35 years. They have two children and four grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and poetry, read books by her favorite authors, and visit the babies.
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