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Blog Tour for Winter Magic on Railway Lane by Alison Sherlock

ABOUT THE BOOK

Winter Magic on Railway Lane

Join the residents of Railway Lane for one last magical adventure…

Globetrotting Libby Jacobs has lost her job but is looking forward to spending more time in her home village of Cranfield.

She dreams of turning her chocolate making hobby into something more permanent. There’s only one problem – Ethan Connolly.

Despite being soul mates growing up, Libby hasn’t been close to Ethan since their disastrous date at the school prom. But now he’s back and he has just what Libby needs… a large kitchen! But can they even bear to be in the same room together?

Ethan never stays in Cranfield too long as it reminds him of his parents’ terrible marriage. But when disaster strikes, he’s forced to stay and help realise his grandad’s dream of a Christmas train. Can the whole village help Ethan create a seasonal spectacular in time?

Can Libby confront her secrets and realise her dreams?

And can Ethan ever stop running from his past and trust his heart?

Perhaps the magic of winter on Railway Lane might just give Libby and Ethan a second chance after all.

MY THOUGHTS

I enjoy holiday books, and this one takes us through Halloween and Christmas. Having read one of the other books in the series I was familiar with some of the characters but always look forward to meeting new ones too.


I love the location this takes place in, so charming and how exciting to once again return to Railway Lane and its charming cottages. Being made redundant at work has Libby Jacobs with her feet firmly planted on the ground as she was an airline flight attendant and now, she’s not.

Returning home doesn’t leave her with a lot of down time as she had thought it would. She decides to pursue her dreams of becoming a chocolatier. Her former childhood friend and past love Ethan is also home again, and he has just what she needs, a large kitchen to pursue her dreams of chocolate making.

As memories surface from times past can this second chance at love really work or will it drift away like those first snowflakes? Reading about the steam engine and its resurrection was so much fun and it really makes me want to take a train trip.


We see a depth to the characters as they weigh their options and don’t just jump into getting back together again. The romance was sweet. I enjoyed the holiday descriptions. Though this is the last book in the series I look forward to seeing what the author will come out with next.

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

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

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alison Sherlock is the author of the bestselling Willow Tree Hall books. Alison enjoyed reading and writing stories from an early age and gave up office life to follow her dream. Her series for Boldwood is set in a fictional Cotswold village.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alison.sherlock.73

Twitter https://twitter.com/AlisonSherlock

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

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

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alison-sherlock

Have a lovely day. Thank you for stopping by today.

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Blog Tour Promo Post for When You Were Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson

ABOUT THE BOOK

When You Were Mine

One mistake could change their lives forever…

My life is a mess. My marriage is falling apart, and I’d hoped the arrival of our baby girl would bring us closer together. Yet, as she grows, I see less of a resemblance to my husband, stirring unsettling questions.

I was hoping a visit from my friend, Victoria would bring some stability. With her seemingly perfect life in Spain, she embodies hope for a brighter future.

But our reunion has taken an unexpected turn. And when a shock diagnosis shakes our family further, Victoria doesn’t know it yet, but she might just hold the key to saving our family.

But if I want her to help, a big secret has to come out. Revealing the truth risks everything – my marriage, our friendship, our families. Can we weather this storm, or will it shatter us beyond repair?

An emotional and powerful novel of motherhood, friendship and what family means to us all. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Susan Lewis.

Purchase Links

VISIT OTHER BLOGS ON THE TOUR

MEET THE AUTHOR

Born in Scotland, Emma-Claire travelled the world as the child of military parents. After almost 20 years in Spain, she returned to the UK with her husband, two daughters, and rescue dog, Pip. Emma-Claire worked as a journalist for English language magazines and newspapers in Spain and in 2015 launched The Glass House Online Magazine. When not writing emotional fiction, you can find her dreaming up new book ideas or wrapped in a blanket with a book in her hand. This is Emma’s second novel. You can find her at @ECWilsonWriter on Twitter.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ECWilsonWriter @ECWilsonWriter
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/ecwilsonauthor/ @ecwilsonauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ECWilsonAuthor @ECWilsonAuthor

Substack: https://substack.com/@emmaclairewilson/
Linktree:  http://linktr.ee/ecwilsonauthor

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A Noble Scheme (The Imposters Book #2): (An English Historical Romance with Mystery and Glamor)

349 pages Bethany House publishers March 19,2024 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the opulent and perilous world of high society’s most elite–and most dangerous–families, two investigators must set aside their broken hearts to uncover the truth.

Gemma Parks is known to the London elite as G. M. Parker, a columnist renowned for her commentary on the cream of society. Behind the scenes, she uses her talents to aid the Imposters in their investigations by gathering intel at events and providing alibis for the firm’s members through her columns. Yet her clandestine work would be more exhilarating if it weren’t for the constant presence of the gentleman who broke her heart.

Graham Wharton has never had eyes for anyone but Gemma, and she left his heart in tatters when she walked away from him. When the Imposters take on a new job to recover a kidnapped boy mistaken for his aristocratic cousin, Graham is determined to use the time with Gemma to not only restore the missing boy, but to also win back the only woman he’s ever loved. As they trace the clues laid out before them, Graham and Gemma must devise a noble scheme to save the boy’s life and heal their hearts.

MY THOUGHTS

I think this may be my favorite book of Roseanna’s. I say that about every book of hers though so I’m not too sure. This book was special though, it has so much I really liked about it.
This is the second book in the Imposters series.
Though the book may have started out slowly, it didn’t stay that way for long.


As a carry-over from the first book in the series we see many of the same characters that we know and love. Though this is the second book in a series, it may be read as a standalone having its own full story.


I started out the book not liking Gemma, she can be downright rude to Graham Wharton at times. She broke his heart. Through the many ups and downs, twists and turns the story unfolds for us.

There is a lot going on and the book pulls out all the stops as your heart feels so many emotions. One thing about the Imposters though is when they take on a case you know they won’t back down until the case is solved.

I can see why Gemma acted the way she did, the reveal surprised me. None of us know how we’ll act unless presented a situation such as this. The faith element was beautiful!


The book really has a lot to absorb as you read it. Such beautiful healing and forgiveness.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at http://www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

Have a beautiful day. Thank you for stopping in.

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Black History Month Read: My Name Is Ona Judge: An absolutely gripping historical novel 

322 pages Bookouture publisher 06 Sep 2022 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

New Hampshire, 1796. “My name is Ona Judge, and I escaped from the household of the President of the United States. I was the favored maid of George and Martha Washington, but they deemed me a slave and thought me property, and I hear ten dollars is offered as reward for my capture. Now I must write the truth that I have lived, and tell my story…”

Chincoteague, Virginia, present day. Rain soaks Tessa Scott as she runs from her car to the old, vine-covered property she has been called to survey. She’s too busy to accept a new job, but doing this favor for the grandmother of her childhood sweetheart delays a painful decision she must make about a future with her controlling boyfriend.

But when Tessa finds a tattered journal carefully hidden inside the house’s ancient fireplace, the tragic story of how Ona was ripped from her mother’s arms to live and work in the palatial Mount Vernon, and the heart-shattering betrayal that led her to risk her life and run, has Tessa spellbound. Could discovering this forgotten scandal at the heart of her nation’s history force her to confront her own story? As she races to reach the final page, will anything prepare her for the desperate moment when Ona’s captors find her again? Will it inspire Tessa to take ownership of her own life and set herself free?

MY THOUGHTS

This will be my last book I read this month for Black History month.
I’ve read some incredible books this month for it, and this is one of them.
The book is so well researched, the author vividly brings Ona Judge’s story to life.


This wonderful book honor’s Ona Judge, a black woman born into slavery, as she became old enough, she was the Lady’s Maid to Martha Washington, President of the United States wife. Even amongst the slaves there is a pecking order. When she displaced a slave a few years older than herself to become the president’s wife’s personal maid there was jealousy, threats and bodily harm done to herself.


The book follows the daily life of Ona as she is at Washington’s home Mount Vernon, always on call as a lady’s maid, following every whim Matha has and even having to bow down and answer to the grandchildren of Martha that were younger than her. It was disheartening to see the violent behavior the slaves were subject to in Washington’s care. Though most tried to please you couldn’t defend yourself with words and had to demurely keep the eyes lowered and heaven help you if you were learning to read or write. This was punishable by beating to death.


Having more than her fill Ona Judge makes an escape to freedom but will she be caught, and freedom taken away?


This dual timeline has in modern times Tessa Scott in Chincoteague, Virginia, surveying a property of the grandmother of an old boyfriend as a favor. Ready to leave she spots an old diary stuck in the fireplace and she grabs it to look at later.

Upon further inspection she realizes it’s details of Ona Judge’s life, her struggles and ultimate betrayal. The book gives her the courage to find the help she needs to leave a controlling relationship.
The book fascinatingly is based on actual people and events and gives the respect and honor Ona Judge deserved.

Pub Date 06 Sep 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary “career” began in junior high school with the publishing of her poetry. While Mrs. Harrison pays homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison as legends who inspired her creativity, it was Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. Harrison prefers happy endings, but loves creating flawed characters and storylines with intricate layers and depth, offering readers unexpected plot twists. The award-winning author of Taffy is a wife and mother who holds a culinary degree in Pastry & Baking. Mrs. Harrison is currently cooking up her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes.

WANT A FREEBIE FROM ME?

Enjoy a deleted scene from my latest novel, My Name is Ona Judge, when you sign-up for my newsletter!

Let’s Connect: https://www.sdhbooks.com/

Thanks for stopping in. Have a wonderful day.

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STACKING THE SHELVES

Photo by Pegah Sharifi: https://www.pexels.com

STACKING THE SHELVES

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! And audiobooks. Don’t forget audiobooks! Hosted at Reading Reality.

NETGALLEY GRABS

LIBRARY CHECKOUTS

Husband’s book checkout

Husband’s book checkout

I didn’t really add a lot to my shelves this week. I’m finishing up a book from 2021 for Berkley from NetGalley. I’m also starting to read books for my blog tours for next month then I’ll be concentrating on books either taking place in Ireland or having to do with St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, I do have a few to read from publishers on NetGalley who don’t like you to be late with their reviews but not naming names 🙂

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping in.

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The Traitors: A brand new thrilling locked-room murder mystery for 2024

270 pages One More Chapter publisher February 1,2024 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

You are cordially invited to the Beechwood Castle for a night you’ll never forget…

Six people find a thick cream envelope on their doorstep. Inside is an invitation to spend 24 hours in a crumbling manor house and be in with the chance to win a portion of one million dollars. The catch: Beechwood Castle was the site of one of the most horrific murders in modern history.

The smell of blood, decay and death still hangs heavy in the air.

Six people walk into the house. One of them is an imposter, all of them are traitors, which of them will survive the night?

Photo by Damir Mijailovic: https://www.pexels.com

MY THOUGHTS

The Traitor is a fast-paced mystery I read in a few hours. It sounds like a plot you’ve heard before, 6 people get an invite to stay overnight in a crumbling mansion deep within the Indiana woods with a chance to win their share of a million dollars. The catch? Gruesome murders took place there years ago and they are still whispered about to this day.

These murders have never been solved and teens dare each other to go there at times. We meet the characters getting the invite and get a bit of a background on each of them. Atmospheric and creepy. “Six people walk into the house. One of them is an imposter, all of them are traitors, which of them will survive the night?”


You can vividly picture the mansion as you’re reading, from the bloodstained floors to the musty smell in the closed off rooms. As the characters try to figure out who the imposter is the tension builds.


The setting is creepy and gothic. When things start to happen, the characters start to blame each other, and it causes friction and chaos setting the frenzied pace as we continue further into the book.


Absolutely action packed and that ending, I would have never seen that coming. An author now that I’ll be looking out for more of her books.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carissa Ann Lynch is the USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of Whisper Island, She Lied She Died, My Sister is Missing, Without a Trace, Like Follow Kill, The One Night Stand, the Flocksdale Files series, Horror High series, Searching for Sullivan, Midnight Moss, Shades and Shadows, and This Is Not About Love. She resides in Floyds Knobs, Indiana.

Have a terrific day and thanks for stopping in.

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Stacking the Shelves

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-heart-keychain-on-top-of-stacking-of-books-159712/

STACKING THE SHELVES

Stacking the Shelves is hosted at Reading Reality It lets us show off the books we’ve acquired in the past week whether it may be from the library, NetGalley, borrowing from a friend, bought or whatever.

MY LIBRARY HAUL THIS WEEK

In nineteenth-century Scotland, following the death of his mother during surgery, Robbie decides to take revenge on the surgeon who performed the operation, Dr. Robert Knox, and in the process, makes a gruesome discovery about the lengths the medical profession will go to advance its knowledge of anatomy.

From the incomparable master of horror and suspense comes an electrifying collection of contemporary literary horror, with stories from twenty-five writers representing today’s most talented voices in the genre.

A collection of fourteen fantasy stories by well-known authors, set in an alternate universe where romance and technology reign and featuring automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never existed.

These are my daughter’s books. Mine are below.

In the midst of World War II, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter, Sally, on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again. Sister Nesta James, a Welsh-Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese, she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed. After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness, and determination.

“The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865-1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life.”–

This is my husband’s library check out.

First rate … a fascinating adventure story … the interest never flags.” –San Francisco chronicle. In his most desperate moment, Adolph Hitler issues an impossible order to an disgraced war hero and his commandos. The mission: invade the very heart of England and kidnap Winston Churchill–or kill him. Far from the thunder of war, in a quiet seaside village called Studley Constable, a beautiful widow and a cultured IRA assassin undertake preparations for the ultimate act of treachery. On November 6, 1943, Berlin gets the coded message: “The eagle has landed.” Tightly plotted and bristling with suspense. The eagle has landed is a masterpiece of espionage and commando action, a searing drama of the courage and deceit of those who paid the price for Hitler’s most daring plan.

Pictures of the Hagerstown, Maryland library I go to.

Interior Design image of Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown MD by Jeffrey Sauers of Commercial Photographics

I love this skylight as you climb the stairs to go to the nonfiction section upstairs.

Interior Design image of Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown MD by Jeffrey Sauers of Commercial Photographics
Interior Design image of Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown MD by Jeffrey Sauers of Commercial Photographics
Exterior image of Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown MD by Jeffrey Sauers of Commercial Photographics

You could say I love going to the library each week 🙂

NETGALLEY GRABS THIS WEEK

Read and reviewed on the blog already

Read and reviewed on the blog already

No book mail this week. It’s just as well!

-Have a great week all. Thanks for stopping in.

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TOP TEN TUESDAY

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TOP TEN TUESDAY

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.

This week’s theme is bookish goals for 2024.

This is the first year I’m setting goals for myself as a reader. I’ve always read a lot but this year I don’t want to just randomly read. I’ve done a lot of reading for authors in the past and that will continue but I’m cutting back on accepting requests.

Cut back on NetGalley requests this year. I’ve done this and will continue to do so. So many books I’ll want to request when I look at my backlist, I see a similar book so cutting back has become easier.

My NetGalley percentage several years and (mumble) books ago was at 80%. Less than a week ago I got it to 76% after being at 75 for what seems like forever. I’m not going to set a percentage I want to get to but I just want it to continue to move upwards.

Read all of my NetGalley 2021 backlist which is as far back as my books go. I joined in 2017. I’ve read 3 so far.

Clear all of my Christmas/Winter books off my NetGalley shelf, so all from 2021, 2022 and 2023. I’ve read 5 so far.

Keep up with my GoodReads challenges I’m doing. These challenges have really helped me clear books off my shelves and I need to stop forgetting about them.

Read blog tour books sooner when I get them. Sometimes I wait until the day before my stop on the blog tour to read them and then I don’t even want to read them because I feel pressure to read them.

Sign up for less blog tours. I’ve already started doing this in the past few months of the last year and will continue to do it so I can read books I already have.

Go to less book sales.

Allow myself to read books I get from NetGalley when I want to, for the most part. If I get a book that publishes in 2 months, and I want to read it now I’m going to and not wait to read it closer to the date of publication.

Read longer books. I have several books over 400 pages and several over 500 pages. Longer books can feel like they are dragging but I want to read some of them and get them off my shelf.

I’m sure there are more bookish things I want to do this year but I can’t think of them right now.

Have you made bookish goals for yourself this year?

Enjoy your day. Stay safe and warm. We got snow again last night and it’s snowing now. I’m not going anywhere near it.

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Bookish challenges for 2024

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I’ve made a few bookish challenges for myself to follow this year. I belong to several Goodreads groups and do challenges through them from listed prompts. But these are just challenges I’ve made for myself to move some books off my to read mountain.

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READ ALL MY CHRISTMAS/ WINTER BOOKS FROM NETGALLEY

I have 6 books from 2021

I have 18 books for 2022

I have 36 books for 2023

I have 2 books for 2024

The books I’ve mentioned above are all Christmas/Winter books I’ll be reading in 2024 because I read Christmas books all year long and do a Christmas in July where I’ll be posting a lot of them.

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READ MY COMPLETE 2021 BACKLIST FROM NETGALLEY

MY NetGalley list broken down is as follows for 2021:

January 0

February 0

March 1

April 3

May 1

June  2

July  6

August 1

September 11

October 8

November 7

December 8

Can I read all of these in 2024? Yes, I believe I can. Thanks to all who have shared their challenge plans with me on your blogs. I believe you can accomplish your goals. Here’s to lots of learning and fun reading in 2024 for all of us.

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BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG

BOOKS FROM THE BACKLOG

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

This week’s neglected book

ABOUT THE BOOK

When a deed to an apartment in Paris turns up in an old attic trunk, an estranged mother and daughter must reunite to uncover the secret life of a family matriarch—perfect for fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and The Beekeeper’s Daughter.

Hannah Bond has always been a bookworm, which is why she fled Florida—and her unstable, alcoholic mother—for a quiet life leading Jane Austen-themed tours through the British countryside. But on New Year’s Eve, everything comes crashing down when she arrives back at her London flat to find her mother, Marla, waiting for her.

Marla’s brought two things with her: a black eye from her ex-boyfriend and an envelope. Its contents? The deed to an apartment in Paris, an old key, and newspaper clippings about the death of a famous writer named Andres Armand. Hannah, wary of her mother’s motives, reluctantly agrees to accompany her to Paris, where against all odds, they discover great-grandma Ivy’s apartment frozen in 1940 and covered in dust.

Inside the apartment, Hannah and Marla discover mysterious clues about Ivy’s life—including a diary detailing evenings of drinking and dancing with Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, and other iconic expats. Outside, they retrace her steps through the city in an attempt to understand why she went to such great lengths to hide her Paris identity from future generations.

A heartwarming and charming saga set in the City of Lights, Lost in Paris is an unforgettable celebration of family and the love between a mother and a daughter.

Why I haven’t read it yet

I remember being so excited to get approved for this book on NetGalley but yet it still sits there. I’ve even checked the paperback of it out of the library several times and still haven’t had a chance to get to it yet. This is one of my 2021 NetGalley books which I am making a big effort to get ALL of them read next year. Goodbye 2021 NetGalley books! Look for my review coming up sometime next year. 🙂

Thank you for visiting today. Which older book on your shelf would you like to get read soon?