Month: June 2019
A Lady’s Guide To Gossip and Murder by Dianne Freeman
A Countess of Harleigh Mystery #2
The Countess, Francis, is back in the second of this series. Now a widow with a full house in town, she has no desire to head for the country as most do in August. She isn’t hunting for birds or a husband.
Her younger sister is visiting from America and has brought a friend. Within a few short weeks, the sister announces she is going to marry a man she just met. Francis is worried. She doesn’t want her sister to marry someone she barely knows. Didn’t work out that well for Francis!
Along with her Aunt and her cousin Charles, she has her hands full. Charles is a lovely man but rather scattered. Francis has been encouraging him to see an acquaintance of hers, Mary Archer. Charles isn’t enamored of Mrs. Archer and picks a poor time to break off seeing her. The next day the poor woman is dead, murdered in her own home. Charles just became a suspect.
With help from her friend and neighbor, George Hazelton, she hopes to find something in the poor woman’s belongings that will clear Charles. What they find sends them in an entirely different direction!
I really enjoyed this one. Historical Fiction is a favorite of mine and Ms. Freeman has a style of writing that is so easy to read. The characters are quirky and fun. Francis and George may have something going on soon so I hope we don’t have to wait long for the next book!
NetGalley/ June 25th, 2019 by Kensington
After The End by Clare Mackintosh
Max and his wife, Pip, are a perfect couple. And added to their perfect lives is Dylan, their son. When Dylan is diagnosed with a brain tumor their lives are forever changed.
Pip spends every minute in the PICU and Max is back to work and struggling with not being with Pip and Dylan. After so many months the news they receive from the latest scan is not good. They have a decision to make and if they can’t make one, the NHS will.
This first half of the book was heartbreaking and I can’t imagine having to make a life or death decision for your toddler. What would you do? Do you let go? Do you fight, knowing you will lose?
The second half I was confused. It wasn’t clear to me that this was a What if? story. What if the judge says no? What if they judge says yes? I was confused right up until the end. That is when I figured out that each of them was telling the story of what their own outcome would be. But I really wanted to know which one happened.
NetGalley/ June 25th, 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
IN ALEXA’S SHOES by ROCHELLE ALEXANDRA *Blog Tour*
In the Fall of 1940, Alexa and her mother were taken by the Nazi’s. Stacked like cordwood in cattle cars on a train. Most would die and the rest would labor. If you were a pretty blue-eyed blonde, you could end up as the slave of a Gestapo head. If you were lucky you didn’t get beaten every day.
I enjoyed reading a first-hand account of Alexa and her family.
This is a true story told by her granddaughter. The story and what happened to her is a solid story. It’s true. At only 13, she must grow up very fast and learn to survive.
The writing was monotone. I didn’t feel any emotion behind the characters. A lot of it could benefit from more editing. I didn’t feel her fear or any emotion. It is a true story and one with a horrific topic and that felt as if there should have been some emotion in it. I didn’t feel any fear or horror or anything.
Killer in the Carriage House by Sheila Connolly
The Second in the Victorian Village Mystery Series
Kate Hamilton is back in her hometown of Asheboro, Maryland. Staying at the dead Cordelia’s B and B. Trying to save the town and its history from going under. The only thing that ever made money in the town was a shovel factory that has long closed. It as well as the fantastic Barton Mansion were left to the city to be sold.
As Kate gets ready to get down to business and find out where Barton’s money came from and go through all of his documents, people start popping up asking questions, about the research and what she has found. And when one of them turns up dead in the library things get dicey.
I have enjoyed this author’s works before however, this one was pretty flat. Kate isn’t a likable character. All of the characters seemed flat. Although the historical parts were interesting the people were not.
NetGalley/ July 9th, 2019 by Minotaur Books
BETHLEHEM by KAREN KELLY
From the 1920s to the 1960s, the Collier and Parrish families have been very close. Living a life of wealth and privilege as major players in the steel industry in Bethlehem, PA.
They do everything together. Their children do everything together. Life looks perfect and everything they touch is gold.
By the time Frank and Joanna Collier and their two small children come to live on the estate, his own father has died leaving his mother and grandmother alone. While Joanna isn’t at all on board with this plan and is quite miserable about it and who wouldn’t be? No one needs 3 strong women under one roof! Every new wife and mother wants to be the queen of their domain but Joanna is feeling like an unwelcome guest and with Frank up to his ears in the business, she finds herself wandering through the nearby graveyard and not only finds a mystery but a handsome stranger.
I will own up to being a bit overwhelmed with all of the characters in this tale. There were a lot. There were also a lot of secrets. Nothing was what I thought it was. At the beginning I found myself whining about another book with a weak and whiny main character. I am so glad I stuck with it because it was nothing like that! These women were all strong. They had to be. The secrets they carried weighed heavy on them for decades.
And in the end, I cried and cried. A tale of family, pain, secrets, forgiveness, and trust. Never has the saying, “We never know what is really going on behind closed doors” been truer.
A beautiful story!
NetGalley/ St. Martin’s Press July 09,2019
Once upon a Bad Boy by Melonie Johnson
A Sometimes in Love Novel
Sadie Gold is ready for something big after her soap opera tour. She wants to be taken seriously and not just seen as rich, spoiled and very well connected. When she is finally offered a part in a hit movie she is thrilled. Right up until she meets her stunt coordinator.
Bo Ibarra is hot, sexy and Sadie’s first love. After a decade the sparks are all still there. But they broke up for reasons that are still in play. The wrong side of the tracks, money, love is never easy. And on top of all of the issues they need to get past, Sadie has a secret she has been keeping all these years and now it’s out and there may be no way to find their way back to each other this time.
I loved the friends and other characters. Melonie Johnson is really good at writing love stories that feel real. And funny. I’m sure we will be seeing much more from this series.
NetGalley/June 25th, 2019 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks
