303 pages Publisher Lake Union Publishing Publication date August 30, 2022
ABOUT THE BOOK
In a deeply emotional novel of family, cultural heritage, and forgiveness, estranged sisters wrestle with the choices they’ve made and confront circumstances beyond their control.
Nona “Peaches” Davenport, abandoned by the man she loved and betrayed by family, left her Natchez, Mississippi, home fifteen years ago and never looked back. She’s forged a promising future in Chicago as a professor of African American Studies. Nona even finds her once-closed heart persuaded by a new love. But that’s all shaken when her father’s death forces her to return to everything she’s tried to forget.
Julia Curtis hasn’t forgiven her sister for deserting the family. Just like their mother, Nona walked away from Julia when she needed her most. And Julia doesn’t feel guilty for turning to Nona’s old flame, Marcus, for comfort. He helped Julia build a new life. She has a child, a career, and a determination to move on from old family wounds.
Upon Nona’s return to Natchez, a cautious reunion unfolds, and everything Nona and Julia thought they knew—about themselves, each other, and those they loved—will be tested. Unpacking the truth about why Nona left may finally heal their frayed bond—or tear it apart again, forever.
MY THOUGHTS
Nona “Peaches” Davenport has grown up, moved on and has no need for her family in Natchez, Mississippi. She knows she has all her stuff together living in Chicago as a professor of African American Studies. Having not been to see any of her family in fifteen years she’s satisfied to keep it that way but then she’s notified her father has passed away. Returning means, she can no longer hide from the past, she must confront it and head on. It’s not easy, it’s bitter many times. She deeply regrets not having visited her grandma these past years. As she returns the feeling of betrayal rears its head and the more, she finds out the harder it gets but confront the past she must. Seeing and knowing isn’t easy. A sense of betrayal but regained closeness and forgiveness make this a worthwhile read.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Cade Bentley is a novelist and editor who is also published as Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Abby L. Vandiver, as well as Abby Colette. When she isn’t writing, Cade enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. She resides in South Euclid, Ohio. For more information visit http://www.authorabby.com.
Some houses won’t let go of the past. Some people won’t, either…
When single mum Libby is offered a life-changing sum of money to clear out an old cottage in the woods, she expects dust and decay. She doesn’t expect a house full of secrets, a room full of birds, and a woman who refuses to leave.
The handsome but stressed architect who hired Libby is also a puzzle. Why can’t Ross empty Elm Cottage himself? What can he possibly see in Libby, who has been burned by love and is wary of attachment? How can they persuade the mysterious but kindly Isobel to move on?
As Libby is pulled into the cottage’s story, she must face up to her own deepest fears. Can she help Isobel, fight the past that haunts her, and learn to open her own heart to love once more?
Jane Lovering’s new novel is a delicious, romantic mystery where secrets, love and healing weave through every page.
Down on her luck Mum, Libby thinks it’s a dream come true when she gets a job clearing a house, but this house has secrets and it’s not letting go of them easily. Even more mysterious is the man who hired her, Ross an architect. Why can’t he just get on with it and empty the house himself? Heartbreaking and yet heartwarming all at once! I love the author’s books and have read quite a few of them. Yes, they’re romantic, relaxation books but make no mistake these books are not fluff. Each one has important thought-provoking issues. The book starts off ordinarily enough, but we meet a character that at first, I was unsure of them they seemed a bit frightening in a sense. But the more I got to know this character the less frightening they got, and I was intrigued by them and kept wanting to read more. I became emotionally invested in the characters and wanted to know more. I loved the characters and the setting and greatly look forward to reading more of the author’s books.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Author Bio –
Jane Lovering is the bestselling and award-winning romantic comedy writer who won the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel Award in 2023 with A Cottage Full of Secrets. She lives in Yorkshire and has a cat and a bonkers terrier, as well as five children who have now left home.
278 pages Publisher Regal House Publishing Pub Date Feb 06 2024
ABOUT THE BOOK
In a bleak Mississippi farmhouse in 1918, Leona Pinson gives birth to an illegitimate son whose father she refuses to name, but who will, she is convinced, return from the war to rescue her from a hardscrabble life with a distant mother, a dangerous brother, and a dwarf aunt. When, instead, her lover returns with a wife in tow, her dreams are shattered. As her brother’ s violence escalates and her aunt flees, Leona must rely on the help of Luther Biggs, the son of Leona’ s grandfather and one of his former slaves, to protect her child. Told against the backdrop of the deprivation of World War I, the tragedies of the influenza epidemic, and the burden of generations of betrayal, That Pinson Girl unfolds in lyrical, unflinching prose, engaging the timeless issues of racism, sexism, and poverty.
MY THOUGHTS
An amazing book written by an author that lives in the area she writes about so she’s familiar with the area. A southern very atmospheric book. Life was so much harder back then but that was their normal, they kept going. Taking place in rural Mississippi, it covers many social issues taking place back then including racism. I will be checking to see if the author has a new book out.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Gerry Wilson’s linked story collection, STORM WARNING, is forthcoming from Silent Clamor Press in October 2026. Her debut novel, THAT PINSON GIRL, was published by Regal House Publishing in 2024. Her first fiction collection, CROSSCURRENTS AND OTHER STORIES (Press 53, 2015), was nominated for the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Fiction Award.
A seventh-generation Mississippian and a child of the hill country she writes about in THAT PINSON GIRL, Gerry Wilson came of age during the turbulent civil rights era. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous journals.
81 pages Amazon Original Stories Pub Date Mar 01 2025
ABOUT THE BOOK
Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer.
It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.
MY THOUGHTS
Novella length but it packs a punch. It’s Valentine’s weekend but our mc’s are not looking for love. She’s sworn off men, he’s her across the hall neighbor and an arborist. Recently divorced he has trust issues himself. This forced proximity quick read is a fun with witty banter and a fast-falling romantic read.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Abby Jimenez is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of laugh-out-loud, pull-at-your-heartstrings romantic fiction. Her novels have sold over 1.5 million copies and been translated into 28 languages. Some of her favorite highlights include a Good Morning America Book Club pick, a BOTM’s Book of the Year Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. Before her writing career, Abby was in the national spotlight as a Cupcake Wars champion and founder of Nadia Cakes bakery, which has since gone on to win numerous Food Network competitions and amass an international following. She lives near Minneapolis with her husband, three daughters, and four dogs—all TikTok famous in their own right. Abby loves romance novels, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.
352 pages Publisher Bethany House Publishers Publication date May 6, 2025
ABOUT THE BOOK
After her brother’s entanglement with an Irish gang threatens their family’s safety, Alannah Darragh flees St. Louis and her troubled past, seeking refuge as a maid for the affluent Shanahan family. Alannah’s resolve to avoid romance is tested by the undeniable attraction she feels for Kiernan Shanahan. Determined to maintain her position and the safety it provides, she vows to resist the pull of her heart despite the growing bond between them and their undeniable chemistry.
In the wake of a devastating fire, Kiernan Shanahan sees a shrewd opportunity to invest in a clay mine and brickyard to aid the city’s rebuilding. To secure his venture, he seeks a wealthy bride with a substantial dowry. However, the matchmaker he consults has different plans. As danger looms and Alannah fights to keep her brother safe, Kiernan’s protective instincts draw them closer, but a future together seems too far out of reach. It will take a miracle–or a wager with the wily matchmaker–to form a match between the unlikely couple.
MY THOUGHTS
I really enjoy the author’s writing, and this series is a prime example of that. This is a special series, and I love how it’s Irish based with so many of the characters and the dialogue. Each book in the series reintroduces us to characters from previous books we’ve met, and the stories closely follow each other. Irish matchmaking series with closed door romance and marriage of convenience themes. I now have the last book in the series to finish.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Jody Hedlund is the best-selling author of over fifty books and is the winner of numerous awards. She writes sweet, clean romances with plenty of sizzle (but without the spice).
304 pages Publisher Bethany House Publishers Publication date November 18, 2025
ABOUT THE BOOK
Can a rundown bookmobile be the vehicle that brings two unlikely hearts together?
Little Creek’s bookmobile is more of a death trap on wheels than a vehicle of literary delights, and circulation librarian Hayley Holt is afraid it’s going to careen down a mountainside with her in it. Yet she sees it as a way to serve her community and be worthy of the liver transplant that saved her life as a child. However, her fears come true when the bookmobile breaks down and a rockslide traps her in the small hollow of Turkey Grove.
Reclusive mechanic Levi Redding lives in tiny Turkey Grove to get away from people. He can handle getting the bookmobile running again, but the endless chatter and unsettling touches from the vibrant librarian leave him overstimulated. When forced proximity leads to a misunderstanding, a note of apology begins an epistolary friendship, proving that sometimes the happiest of endings aren’t contained within the bindings of a book.
MY THOUGHTS
The book has such a cute cover and with the title it would be super cute with a Valentine’s Day cover. Though this is the second book in the series it is my first by the author. I’ll now need to read the first. Such a fun theme for a story, a traveling bookmobile van, a very old one. I love this idea of bringing books to rural areas with no access to books. The characters are perfectly flawed which makes them more realistic and relatable. The story centers around the librarian driving the rat trap of a bookmobile. A rockslide during one of her delivery runs leaves her stranded in Turkey Grove and a whole lot happens before she can leave. One of the characters has sensory processing disorder. Different people have different triggers for this. A grumpy-sunshine romance, the romance is spot on you can feel the genuine connection the characters have with each other and the understanding they have for each other. We can see how much the librarian enjoys her job and really puts a lot into it. This gives you a real feel in this small-town charming country romance. I’d love to meet the characters again in another book in the series. I hope it continues.
I was given a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Winner of the Holt Medallion and Selah Award, Sarah Monzon is a stay-at-home mom who makes up imaginary friends to have adult conversations with (otherwise known as writing novels). As a navy chaplain’s wife, she resides wherever the military happens to station her family and enjoys exploring the beauty of the world around her.
320 pages Publisher Zebra Publication date April 26, 2022
ABOUT THE BOOK
Jessica Ann McKenzie—“Jam” to everyone in Honey Creek—has fulfilled her dream of owning the best restaurant for miles around. Serving candlelit dinners to every couple in town on Valentine’s Day is a reminder of another dream, one she’s just about given up on. Until, that very night, Sergeant Tucson Smith clambers out of the muddy river and onto her land, bringing the promise of something they’ve both been searching for.
When McCoy Mason crashes on Interstate 45, he doesn’t just bust up his Mustang, his leg, and his relationship. He also loses his prospects of a job and apartment in Houston. Honey Creek, home to his estranged grandfather, offers a temporary respite, a place to recover before moving on again. After all, what permanent use could a town so picture-perfect have for a man like him?
At sixty-seven, Charles H. Winston III lives by order and routine. One of his most cherished rituals is a regular lunch date with three lovely ladies at the Honey Creek Café, including the very proper Miss Lilly Lambert. But it’s not too late to surprise the whole town—or himself—by seizing a chance for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. And there’s no better season than spring, when the warm breeze blowing in from the Brazos River brings fresh hope and second chances to those who need them most . . .
MY THOUGHTS
Small town and charming Honey Creek, Texas has its fair share of a variety of residents but in this book in the series they seem to have caught the Love Bug! Jessica Ann McKenzie— “Jam” as she’s known to everyone has had her dream come true opening the best restraint around. While serving candlelit dinners by candlelight, she’s also serving up romance this Valentines Day and she’s so happy to see it. There are several different stories of love in this Valentine’s Day lovely romance. My favorite was the older couple and the youngest couple. A lot of different vibes and emotions going on. A little drama, a bit of confusion and a whole lot of love. Lovely series of which I’ve read several books in the series already.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR=
New York Times and USA Today’s bestselling author Jodi Thomas has published over 30 books in both the historical romance and contemporary genres, the majority of which are set in her home state of Texas. Publishers Weekly calls her novels “Distinctive…Memorable,” and that in her stories “[tension] rides high, mixed with humor and kisses more passionate than most full-on love scenes.” In 2006, Romance Writers of America (RITA) inducted Thomas into the RWA Hall of Fame for winning her third RITA for THE TEXAN’S REWARD. She also received the National Readers’ Choice Award in 2009 for TWISTED CREEK (2008) and TALL, DARK, AND TEXAN (2008). While continuing to work as a novelist, Thomas also functions as Writer in Residence at the West Texas A&M University campus, where she inspires students and alumni in their own writing pursuits.
413 pages Publisher Amistad Publication date February 8, 2022
The author of the award-winning Sally Hemings now brings to life Hannah Elias, one of the richest black women in America in the early 1900s, in this mesmerizing novel swirling with atmosphere and steeped in history.
A murder and a case of mistaken identity brings the police to Hannah Elias’ glitzy, five-story, twenty-room mansion on Central Park West. This is the beginning of an odyssey that moves back and forth in time and reveals the dangerous secrets of a mysterious woman, the fortune she built, and her precipitous fall. Born in Philadelphia in the late 1800s, Hannah Elias has done things she’s not proud of to survive. Shedding her past, Hannah slips on a new identity before relocating to New York City to become as rich as a robber baron. Hannah quietly invests in the stock market, growing her fortune with the help of businessmen. As the money pours in, Hannah hides her millions across 29 banks. Finally attaining the life she’s always dreamed, she buys a mansion on the Upper West Side and decorates it in gold and first-rate décor, inspired by her idol Cleopatra. The unsolved murder turns Hannah’s world upside-down and threatens to destroy everything she’s built. When the truth of her identity is uncovered, thousands of protestors gather in front of her stately home. Hounded by the salacious press, the very private Mrs. Elias finds herself alone, ensnared in a scandalous trial, and accused of stealing her fortune from whites. Packed with glamour, suspense, and drama, populated with real-life luminaries from the period, The Great Mrs. Elias brings a fascinating woman and the age she embodied to glorious, tragic life.
MY THOUGHTS
Extensively researched, the fascinating and compelling read based on the life of Hannah Elias. Her life started out with a humble and poor background with mixed race parentage. Born in Philadelphia in the late 1800’s she’s done some things she’s not proud of, things she’d rather forget, and she assures herself she’ll never return to jail again but she does several more times. Living in the poorhouse she vows to do whatever it takes to get out. She turns to the world’s oldest profession and becomes a highly paid sex worker. She climbs the ranks and has some very high paying callers. Wickedly smart she listens when she is told how to invest her money and becomes the richest black woman in the world at that time period. From buying a boarding house to many prime New York prestigious real estates including luxurious mansions she is set. Until the day the bottom drops out there is a murder outside of her door and she is being taken to court for supposed blackmail. She is being accused of blackmailing her 84-year-old white lover and we see this play out in court. Before this though the warrant for her arrest has a mob at her door crying for her to turn herself in. We feel her terror as her door is broken down near midnight. It’s all spectacularly played out, the glamour, the rise and fall from power, wealth and drama. An addictive read that kept my attention throughout.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Barbara Chase-Riboud (born June 26, 1939) is an American visual artist, bestselling novelist and award-winning poet.
Established as a sculptor, Chase-Riboud attained international recognition with the publication of her first novel, Sally Hemings (1979)
Things Past Telling is a remarkable historical epic that charts one unforgettable woman’s journey across an ocean of years as vast as the Atlantic that will forever separate her from her homeland.
Born in West Africa in the mid-eighteenth century, Maryam Prescilla Grace—a.k.a “Momma Grace” will live a long, wondrous life marked by hardship, oppression, opportunity, and love. Though she will be “gifted” various names, her birth name is known to her alone. Over the course of 100-plus years, she survives capture, enslavement by several property owners, the Atlantic crossing when she is only eleven years of age, and a brief stint as a pirate’s ward, acting as both a spy and a translator.
Maryam learns midwifery from a Caribbean-born wise woman, whose “craft” combines curated techniques and medicines from African, Indigenous, and European women. Those midwifery skills allow her to sometimes transcend the racial and class barriers of her enslavement, as she walks the razor’s edge trying to balance the lives and health of her own people with the cruel economic mandates of the slave holders, who view infants born in bondage not as flesh-and-blood children but as investment property.
Throughout her triumphant and tumultuous life Maryam gains and loses her homeland, her family, her culture, her husband, her lovers, and her children. Yet as the decades pass, this tenacious woman never loses her sense of self.
Inspired by a 112-year-old woman the author discovered in an 1870 U.S. Federal census report for Ohio, loosely based on the author’s real-life female ancestors, spanning more than a hundred years, from the mid-eighteen-century to the end of America’s Civil War, and spanning across the globe, from what is now southern Nigeria to the islands of the Caribbean to North America and the land bordering the Ohio River, Things Past Telling is a breathtaking story of a past that lives on in all of us, and a life that encompasses the best—and worst—of our humanity.
MY THOUGHTS
This is Maryam Prescilla Grace—a.k.a “Momma Grace” ‘s story all 112 years of it. It starts at the end of her life, and goes through her life as she reminisces winding up back at the end again. Very character driven. A young child forced to grow up way before her time, you could never say she had an easy life but smart as could be she adapted to whatever life presented to her. She had a choice, be weak, soft, an easy target or not. She didn’t take the easy way in life as she was a survivor. Kidnapped from her African homeland forced to make an Atlantic crossing at only eleven years old. A voyage that saw the death of her sister, her protector. Enslaved by several masters, a wise woman taught her the midwifery skill that would have her in high demand for the rest of her life. A skill that would take her from being sure she couldn’t do it to being highly skilled and respected amongst the blacks and whites alike. No stranger to hardships and personal loss she sees loved ones sold away and pass on. Strength and resilience, the best and the worst of humanity as the story is played out. Loosely based on the life of an amazing woman and her family the author found through her research Excellent and highly recommended!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Sheila Williams is the award-winning author of several acclaimed novels, including No Better Time, Things Past Telling, The Secret Women, Girls Most Likely, The Shade of My Own Tree, On the Right Side of a Dream, and Dancing on the Edge of the Roof—the inspiration for the Netflix film Juanita, starring Alfre Woodard.
Her most recent novel, No Better Time, is an engrossing historical tale that shines a light on the little-known story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion—the only unit comprised entirely of women of color to serve overseas during World War II. The book was named a February 2024 “Books We Can’t Wait to Read” pick by The Root, a Black History Month selection by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a BookSparks Book Club pick.
Williams’s 2022 novel Things Past Telling was a New York Times Book Review Summer Reading Pick and a Washington Post “10 Noteworthy Books for March” selection. It also earned spots on Bookworm’s Best Books of 2022 list and Book-ish’s “Books by Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read.”
Her previous novel, The Secret Women, was featured as a top beach read by TIME, Woman’s World, Parade, and more in the summer of 2020.
In addition to her fiction, Sheila Williams is also a librettist. Fierce, her original opera created in collaboration with composer Dr. William Menefield, made its world premiere at Cincinnati Opera in July 2022. Inspired by the lives of Cincinnati-area teenage girls, the production was developed with community partners WordPlay Cincy, The Music Resource Center–Cincinnati, and i.imagine.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Sheila now lives in northern Kentucky. She continues to write stories that explore the complexities of identity, resilience, sisterhood, and self-discovery.
Foxmore’s inaugural Christmas fayre will be the toast of the town – or the downfall of their relationship…
Harriet is facing her second Christmas on her own since her husband walked out. With little child support, she’s struggling to manage financially.
When Owen, a passionate environmentalist and popular blogger, overhears Harriet bemoaning her situation, he challenges her to only buy second-hand until Christmas. What she doesn’t know is that Owen is reporting her journey anonymously to all his followers…
Though the challenge is proving successful, it’s not without its troubles. Can Harriet really keep her children and bank balance happy this way? How will she react when she finds her life documented online?
MY THOUGHTS
Haven’t read one of the author’s books in several years and this just brings it home why I love the author’s books so much. The author has written a feel good, wonderful book but yet at the same time touches on some important topics such as environmentalism, veganism, bullying and going green/not wasting. A mother and her two children, a girl 11 and her several years younger brother are having a difficult time of it financially after her husband left. Rolling into town in his home, a camper van is Owen, a passionate environmentalist and popular blogger along with being a vegan. He overhears Harriet, the young mother talking to her boss at the diner saying how strapped for money their family is this Christmas season. Environmentalist Owen then challenges Harriet to go until Christmas without buying anything new for herself or her family. She’s not used to buying used but accepts the challenge but he’s sure she won’t be able to keep her end of the bargain. It’s not easy especially when her daughter needs a dress for an important fancy birthday party she’s been invited to. The daughter is bullied relentlessly after the birthday party, and you feel really bad for her. Absolutely no excuse for bullying, it at times has tragic results but we do finally hear the other girl’s side of the story and get a better understanding of what’s going on. Waste not want not is the theme for the story and I enjoyed it a lot. Then as an American the book talks about a boot sale, okay I’m thinking of boots you wear on your feet, but it then went on to describe people selling out of the back of the boot in a big field, with or without a table. Figured out they were taking about what we call a flea market. Also, in the zero-waste store in the book they have toothpaste tablets. Never heard of it but what a great idea to use a predetermined amount and not waste. Other no waste instances were included. The book was fun and entertaining, and I’ll be reading the rest of the books I have by the author.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Lilac Mills lives on a Welsh mountain with her very patient husband and incredibly sweet dog, where she grows veggies (if the slugs don’t get them), bakes (badly) and loves making things out of glitter and glue (a mess, usually). She’s been an avid reader ever since she got her hands on a copy of Noddy Goes to Toytown when she was five, and she once tried to read everything in her local library starting with A and working her way through the alphabet.
She loves long, hot summer days in the garden, and cold winter ones snuggled in front of the fire, but whatever the weather she’s usually writing or thinking about writing, with heartwarming romance and happy-ever-after always on her mind.
Lilac has published twenty-one books to date, twenty of them with Canelo. Her latest book, Summer Escapes on the Scottish Isle, was released in July 2025, with another in the Coorie Castle Crafts series out in January 2026.
Lilac also writes under the pen names Liz Davies and Etti Summers
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