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The Women of Pearl Island 

350 pages Harlequin Trade Publishing Park Row December 7, 2021 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Set on a secluded island off the British coast, The Women of Pearl Island is a moving and evocative story of family secrets, natural wonders and a mystery spanning decades.

When Tartelin answers an ad for a personal assistant, she doesn’t know what to expect from her new employer, Marianne, an eccentric elderly woman. Marianne lives on a remote island that her family has owned for generations, and for decades her only companions have been butterflies and tightly held memories of her family.

But there are some memories Marianne would rather forget, such as when the island was commandeered by the British government during WWII. Now, if Marianne can trust Tartelin with her family’s story, she might finally be able to face the long-buried secrets of her past that have kept her isolated for far too long.

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MY THOUGHTS

I’ve had The Women of Pearl Island on my shelf for over 2 years and now that I’ve read it, I regret waiting so long.

This is a different read, an ending I couldn’t possibly have seen coming. A story that is a time slip, taking place in two time periods, 2018 and 1955. Set on a secluded island off the British coast, there are secrets, lots of secrets. You really feel locked in while reading this as it’s so hard to put down.

A young woman is hired as a personal assistant to an elderly woman who’s lived on this secluded island all of her life. There were family members at one time, now she lives with memories of the past and butterflies.


As we slide back and forth in the time periods the book takes on a surreal and mystical quality during the old lady’s musings when the past comes to life. The atmosphere changes as the book progresses but there is a foreboding feeling hovering over the book. The cover will fool you into thinking the book is one way, but the inside is different than you could imagine.


The author is very talented, and the presentation is excellent. You can vividly imagine the two time periods. A compelling read that will have more searching for more by this author.

Pub Date 07 Dec 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Polly Crosby grew up on the Suffolk coast, and now lives with her husband and son in the heart of Norfolk.

Polly’s third novel, Vita & the Birds, came out in May this year. Her first novel for young adults, This Tale is Forbidden – a dystopian fractured fairytale with hints of the Brother’s Grimm and The Handmaid’s Tale – is out in January next year with Scholastic.

In 2018, Polly won Curtis Brown Creative’s Yesterday Scholarship, which enabled her to finish her debut novel, The Illustrated Child. Later the same year, she was awarded runner-up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel. Polly received the Annabel Abbs Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of East Anglia.

Polly can be found on Twitter, Instagram & Tiktok as @WriterPolly

Website: pollycrosby.com

Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping in.

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The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater: (An Eerie and Fast-Paced Split-Time Mystery and Suspense Fiction)

354 pages Bethany House Publishers October 10,2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

It promises beauty but steals life instead. Will the ghosts of Barlowe Theater entomb them all?

Barlowe Theater stole the life of Greta Mercy’s eldest brother during its construction. Now in 1915, the completed theater appears every bit as deadly. When Greta’s younger brother goes missing after breaking into the building, Greta engages the assistance of a local police officer to help her unveil the already ghostly secrets of the theater. But when help comes from an unlikely source, Greta decides that to save her family she must uncover the evil that haunts the theater and put its threat to rest.

Decades later, Kit Boyd’s best friend vanishes during a ghost walk at the Barlowe Theater, and old stories of mysterious disappearances and ghoulish happenings are revived. Then television ghost-hunting host and skeptic Evan Fisher joins Kit in the quest to identify the truth behind the theater’s history. Kit reluctantly agrees to work with him in hopes of finding her missing friend. As the theater’s curse unravels Kit’s life, she is determined to put an end to the evil that has marked the theater and their hometown for the last century.

Grab a copy here

MY THOUGHTS

What I love about this author’s books is how atmospheric they are. In this dual timeline, you will feel like you are experiencing everything right there with the characters.
This is a fast-moving plot that will have you looking behind yourself as you’re reading. What was neat was that the historical part of the book is loosely based on a theater where the author lives. I love stories based on facts.

Barlowe Theater is where Greta’s oldest brother perished during its construction. Will she have to concede to another brother lost to her when he goes missing in the theater after breaking in with a few other boys?

Rumors of underground tunnels in the basement sound like the perfect place for the police to look for the boys. When they can’t find anything, theater owner Mr. Barlowe refuses to let Greta search.

I enjoyed reading about the opulence of the theater in its prime. With its velvet seat covers and drapes, vast size, and box seating for the rich, it sounds like a magnificent place to see a show.

During a ghost walk at Barlowe Theater, which social media influencer Madison hopes will boost ratings, she and a ghost-hunting host, along with Madison’s best friend Kit, decide to tour the theater and see if they can find evidence of the ghostly rumors that have been around for a long time. When Madison seemingly vanishes before their eyes at the theater, Kit becomes wrapped up in finding her best friend.

Logic seems to have gone out the window as searching the theater seems to bring no new clues, but things are getting creepier all the time with rumors swirling about ghosts and other eerie things in the theater.

Yes, the same theater where the boys went missing a century before. There is something or someone trying to keep them from searching and finding answers. Eerie, fast-paced, and no one is quite who they seem to be.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.”

THE AUTHOR

Jaime Jo Wright, multi award-winning author–including the Christy and Daphne du Maurier awards–is a coffee-fueled and cat-fancier extraordinaire. She has entwined her life with the legendary Captain Hook, residing serenely in Wisconsin’s rural woodlands. Her literary vocation involves penning chilling Gothic tales, a baffling change from that of Austenites, with a strong preference to the master of dark, Edgar Allan Poe. Two mischievous urchins adorn their family, who keep their mother on her toes – providing an exhilarating amount chaos.

Visit her at: http://www.jaimewrightbooks.com and listen to her podcast MadLit Musings on your favorite podcast player or at http://www.madlitmusings.com

Do you have a favorite book by this author?

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The Stranger Upstairs-“Most people wouldn’t buy an infamous murder house to renovate for fun” . . .

278 pages publisher Bantam publish date Sep. 12,2023

Grab a copy here

ABOUT THE BOOK

A therapist and self-help writer with all the answers, Sarah Slade has just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out, you can get a killer deal on a house where someone was murdered. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a decent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is just as filthy as the bloodstain on her bedroom floor.

But the renovations are fast becoming a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who wants to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her guts and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood’s horrifying past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and unexplained footsteps in the attic only confirms for Sarah what the rest of the town already knew: Something is very wrong in that house.

With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. But as she peels back the curling wallpaper and discovers the house’s secrets, she realizes that the deadly legacy of Black Wood House has only just begun.

MY THOUGHTS

Debut author, Lisa M. Matlin writes a psychological thriller that’ll keep you glued to the pages.
The “Death House” it’s called, the lovely Victorian mansion she buys to renovate and resell, flipping houses is all the rage now. She knows she can make a nice buck doing it. Never mind a murder took place here forty years ago and the neighbors know not to go anywhere near it.


That’s them and not her though, she’s a social influencer and A therapist and self-help writer, her blog posts about the renovations will boost her followers’ numbers immensely.


Never mind the house has putridly stale air from being closed up for forty years, very few windows and they don’t even open for a good airing.


I could visualize everything I was reading. The book is dark with a gothic feel to it.

From sleeping in a bloodstained room to sounds in the attic, creepy notes found around the house and feeling sicker and sicker all the time. She’s lost her mind; the evilness of the house consumes her. She’s gone into such a dark place, is it possible for an escape without hurting herself or others?

You can’t read this without feeling creeped out. It will have you wondering when you’re alone, what’s that noise, is there someone here. I wouldn’t advise reading this alone at night.

Something is very wrong in Black Wood House, everyone knows it. Will she become its next victim? Looking forward to the author’s next book.

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

What do you think? Would you read this book?

Have a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping in.