Sunday, February 28, 2021

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake ~ My Thoughts #TheGuestBook

The Guest Book

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
Historical World War II Fiction, 490 pages
Published May 7th 2019 by Flatiron Books

An unforgettable love story, a novel about past mistakes and betrayals that ripple throughout generations, The Guest Book examines not just a privileged American family, but a privileged America. It is a literary triumph.

The Guest Book follows three generations of a powerful American family, a family that “used to run the world”.

And when the novel begins in 1935, they still do. Kitty and Ogden Milton appear to have everything—perfect children, good looks, a love everyone envies. But after a tragedy befalls them, Ogden tries to bring Kitty back to life by purchasing an island in Maine. That island, and its house, come to define and burnish the Milton family, year after year after year. And it is there that Kitty issues a refusal that will haunt her till the day she dies.

In 1959 a young Jewish man, Len Levy, will get a job in Ogden’s bank and earn the admiration of Ogden and one of his daughters, but the scorn of everyone else. Len’s best friend Reg Pauling has always been the only black man in the room—at Harvard, at work, and finally at the Miltons’ island in Maine.

An island that, at the dawn of the 21st century, this last generation doesn’t have the money to keep. When Kitty’s granddaughter hears that she and her cousins might be forced to sell it, and when her husband brings back disturbing evidence about her grandfather’s past, she realizes she is on the verge of finally understanding the silences that seemed to hover just below the surface of her family all her life.

An ambitious novel that weaves the American past with its present, The Guest Book looks at the racism and power that has been systemically embedded in the US for generations. Brimming with gorgeous writing and bitterly accurate social criticism, it is a literary tour de force. 


My thoughts about The Guest Book ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"'It's the usual story,' the man at the tiller reflected, regarding the beautiful derelict on the hill. 'At the end of old money there is real estate.'"

This book has a lot of redeeming qualities—great characters, a wonderful setting, the multi-generational family with lots of issues. I love these multi-generational sagas which allow me to really connect with the family members and watch them grow, and hopefully mature with age. 

The only negative I have about the book is the jumping around that happened. Without warning, I found myself in another time and place and it took some thinking to figure out where and when the author was taking me. Maybe that was the author's intent, to make the reader think a bit more? But I found it distracting. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and appreciated the author's ability to show the social and racial norms of the time period. I look forward to the next book by this author. 

About the author


Sarah is the author of the novels, Grange House, the bestselling The Postmistress, and The Guest Book; a chapbook of poems, Full Turn, and the artist book Runaway Girls in collaboration with the artist Robin Kahn. 

She lives in Washington DC with her husband, the poet Joshua Weiner, their two sons, and a little white dog.

Connect with Sarah


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Saturday, February 27, 2021

This or That #Giveaway Week 4 ~ Orphan Number 8 by Kim van Alkemade OR The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer #OrphanNumber8 #TheThingsWeCannotSay

 

I have sooooo many books! 

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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I read this book with my book group back in 2016. We all loved it and had a great discussion. I didn't review it at the time but it would have earned 5 ⭐s from me.

Orphan #8
by Kim van Alkemade
Paperback ~ August 4th 2015

In this stunning new historical novel inspired by true events, Kim van Alkemade tells the fascinating story of a woman who must choose between revenge and mercy when she encounters the doctor who subjected her to dangerous medical experiments in a New York City Jewish orphanage years before.

In 1919, Rachel Rabinowitz is a vivacious four-year-old living with her family in a crowded tenement on New York City’s Lower Eastside. When tragedy strikes, Rachel is separated from her brother Sam and sent to a Jewish orphanage where Dr. Mildred Solomon is conducting medical research. Subjected to X-ray treatments that leave her disfigured, Rachel suffers years of cruel harassment from the other orphans. But when she turns fifteen, she runs away to Colorado hoping to find the brother she lost and discovers a family she never knew she had.

Though Rachel believes she’s shut out her painful childhood memories, years later she is confronted with her dark past when she becomes a nurse at Manhattan’s Old Hebrews Home and her patient is none other than the elderly, cancer-stricken Dr. Solomon. Rachel becomes obsessed with making Dr. Solomon acknowledge, and pay for, her wrongdoing. But each passing hour Rachel spends with the old doctor reveal to Rachel the complexities of her own nature. She realizes that a person’s fate—to be one who inflicts harm or one who heals—is not always set in stone.

Lush in historical detail, rich in atmosphere and based on true events, Orphan #8 is a powerful, affecting novel of the unexpected choices we are compelled to make that can shape our destinies. 

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I just realized as I was getting this post ready, that I am offering two historical fiction books this week. This is a fairly new genre for me and I have discovered some fantastic books and authors. I read and reviewed this book when it came out in 2019. Another great 5 ⭐ read for me!


The Things We Cannot Say
by Kelly Rimmer 
ARC ~ October 17th 2019

In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century.

Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams instead of the day Tomasz returns from college in Warsaw so they can be married. But little by little, injustice by brutal injustice, the Nazi occupation takes hold, and Alina’s tiny rural village, its families, are divided by fear and hate. Then, as the fabric of their lives is slowly picked apart, Tomasz disappears. Where Alina used to measure time between visits from her beloved, now she measures the spaces between hope and despair, waiting for word from Tomasz and avoiding the attentions of the soldiers who patrol her parents’ farm. But for now, even deafening silence is preferable to grief.

Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative that weaves together two women’s stories into a tapestry of perseverance, loyalty, love and honor. The Things We Cannot Say is an unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.

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Friday, February 26, 2021

Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire by Jillianne Hamilton ~ My Thoughts #MollyMiranda


Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire

Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire by Jillianne Hamilton
Narrated by Alison Stinnett 
Audible audiobook, 4 hours and 56 minutes
Published December 16, 2020 by Tomfoolery Press

Professional, experienced contract burglar.
It’s not exactly something you can put on a business card.

Molly Miranda has made a successful living from “acquiring” valuables and delivering them to clients who pay buckets of cash for her unique services.

So what if she has to lie about her lavish lifestyle in Manhattan and her frequent trips out of the country? Molly has everything under control.

Things go astray when she knocks boots with her charming roommate right before taking off to Scotland with an untrustworthy wildcard on a job assignment that doesn’t go quite as planned.

It doesn’t help that this new partner-in-crime is super annoying. And attractive…

Join Molly on her hilarious adventures as she dodges bullets, trespasses, wears disguises, and steals her way into trouble.




My thoughts about Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"I kept my back to the wall, making sure my whole form was in the shadows. A museum employee switched a light on in the next room and rummaged in a metal locker."

This was such a fun book! It started off strong and immediately drew me in. I listened to this story on audiobook and the narrator was great—very pleasing to my ears. The main character, Molly, seems like she would be a fun person to know and the narrator totally nailed her youth and energy. She is the perfect voice for Molly. I found myself wanting to stay in her world. I think I finished listening to this book in record time. 

The story is awesome too. Molly is just trying to live her life, continuing to be the best thief she can be but obstacles, mainly one charming man thief, keep getting in her way. As her challenging adventures continue to unravel, she's a trooper and just keeps going, always ready for that next job.

Jillianne is a new-to-me author and Molly Miranda is a new character to me. I loved my peek into Molly's world and I will be checking out more about Molly and her fun and entertaining adventures. 

About the author


Jillianne Hamilton is the author of three novels and one non-fiction book. Her debut novel, Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire, was nominated for the 2016 Prince Edward Island Book Award.

Jill's first non-fiction book, The Lazy Historian's Guide to the Wives of Henry VIII, was published in 2018.

Jill lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island with her husband and corgi.

Connect with Jillianne


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Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Release Day! The Family Ship by Sonja Yoerg ~ My Thoughts #TheFamilyShip #TallPoppy

Congrats Sonja
on the release today of
The Family Ship!

The Family Ship by Sonja Yoerg
Print and e-book, 411 pages
Published February 23, 2021 by Lake Union Publishing

Chesapeake Bay, 1980. Eighteen-year-old Verity Vergennes is the captain of the USS Nepenthe, and her seven younger siblings are her crew. The ship—an oyster boat transformed into a make-believe destroyer—is the heart of the Vergennes family, a place both to play and to learn responsibility. But Verity’s had it with being tied to the ship and secretly applies to a distant college. If only her parents could bear to let her go.

Maeve and Arthur Vergennes already suffered one loss when, five years earlier, their eldest son, Jude, stormed out and never returned. Now Maeve is pregnant again and something’s amiss. Verity yearns to follow her dreams, but how can she jump ship now? The problem, and perhaps the answer, lies with Jude.

When disaster strikes and the family unravels, Verity must rally her sibling crew to keep the Nepenthe and all it symbolizes afloat. Sailing away from home, she discovers, is never easy—not if you ever hope to find your way back. 


My thoughts about The Family Ship ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"PROLOGUE Jude 1962 Jude's earliest memory was of the day his sister was born, as if becoming a big brother made his brain decide it needed to start keeping track for the long run. As if a promise made at four was meant to be honored forever."

This story absolutely blew me away! Such great characters and such a unique, captivating story-line!

The Vergennes family is like no other family I have ever encountered before—in real life or on the pages of a book. This family of 10 has a ship in their front yard, and their lives are centered around living a shipshape existence. That is until the older children want to stretch their sails (see what I did there?) and try to live their lives outside the family ship.

The drama that continued to befall this family kept me turning the pages and the love that they had for one another endeared them all to me. As they struggled with the tragedies that happened to this close knit family and as they pulled together to support one another, I fell more in love with everyone. So much heartache, and so much love. 

Once again, Sonja has written a story that pulled me in, a story with a cast of individuals who captured my feelings, and my heart. I am totally amazed at the stories that she creates, stories that are so different from what is out there, and so different from her previous work. I know when I read one of her books, that I am going to be going on a journey that I have not been on before!

I highly recommend The Family Ship! I loved it! I loved the story, I loved the characters, and I loved the adventure that whisked me away, allowing me to escape to another time and place.

About the author


I grew up in Stowe, Vermont, the daughter of a ski instructor and a history teacher. In my first incarnation, I was a animal behaviorist who studied learning in blue jays, hyenas and kangaroo rats. I wrote a book about that. Now I make stuff up.

I've published several novels, including True Places, a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller. Yeah, typing that makes me smile because reaching readers is the point, right? My upcoming release, The Family Ship, earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Watch for it on February 23, 2021.

When I'm not writing or pretending to be writing, I run, garden, cook, eat, drink wine, then run some more. My husband and I live in central Virginia with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's quiet and pretty, like Vermont.

Connect with Sonja


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Release Day! Love at First by by Kate Clayborn ~ My Thoughts #LoveAtFirst

Congrats Kate
on the release today of
Love at First!

Love at First by by Kate Clayborn
Print and e-book, 320 pages
Published February 23, 2021 by Kensington

A sparkling and tender novel from the acclaimed author of Love Lettering, full of bickering neighbors, surprise reunions, and the mysterious power of love that fans of Christina Lauren, Sarah Hogle, and Emily Henry will adore.

Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling saw—or rather, heard—the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, he shared a perfect moment with a lovely, warm-voiced stranger. It’s a memory that’s never faded, though he’s put so much of his past behind him. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who’s uncannily familiar . . .

No matter how surprised Nora Clarke is by her reaction to handsome, curious Will, or the whispered pre-dawn conversations they share, she won’t let his plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, she sets out to foil his efforts with a little light sabotage. But beneath the surface of their feud is an undeniable connection. A balcony, a star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting—maybe it’s the kind of story that can't work out in the end. Or maybe, it’s the perfect second chance . . . 


My thoughts about Love at First ~~ 

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"The first time Will Sterling saw Nora Clarke, he could barely see at all."

This story drew me in from the prologue. There was a lot going on and the reader is introduced to the two main characters right from the start. I instantly felt a connection to them both and knew I wanted to find out more about their lives and their future connection. 

I didn't realize from that very endearing beginning that I would be introduced to a lot of interesting, quirky characters. I loved the community that surrounded Nora and then, eventually Will. Speaking of Will, he just wants to fulfill his uncle's will and get out of the apartment he inherited asap. Well, life might just have other plans. Did his uncle know what Will really needed even though he didn't know him? Or was this all a big mistake? 

The cute purple cover makes one think that this is going to be a light, fun, quick chick-lit read. But, oh, Love at First is so much more, so much depth. There are so many emotions in this story—friendship, loyalty, conflict, protectiveness, disagreements, fun, laughter, love, frustration. I loved the abundance of wonderful characters and loved the interactions between all of them. And remember I mentioned quirky—loved the quirkiness.  

This is the first book I have read by this author but I know it won't be the last. I enjoyed it so much and I'll be on the look out for her future stories. 

I received an ARC of Love at First from the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

About the author


Kate Clayborn is the critically acclaimed author of six novels. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Bookpage, and more. 

By day she works in education, and by night (and sometimes, by very early morning) she writes contemporary romances about smart, strong, modern heroines who face the world alongside true friends and complicated families. She resides in Virginia with her husband and their dog.


Connect with Kate


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Sunday, February 21, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 22, 2021 #IMWAYR

  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are! 

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After what the people of Texas have been going through recently, I've decided to NOT complain about our weather so much. At least up here in the north we are prepared for the extreme cold and lots of snow. I can't even imagine what they're going through. My heart goes out to everyone affected and I hope things are turning around for them. 

We got a surprise visit by our son, DIL, and 6yo grandson on Saturday. They wanted to deliver the Valentine's Day present our grandson made for us. He wrote and illustrated a book for us and gave us a piece of his canvased artwork. BTW, that piece and his other paintings could be worth something someday, he's very talented for a 6yo. Just sayin'. 😉😍

We stood outside on the patio in the cold, with masks on. They didn't want to come in the house because hubs and I are really close to getting our vaccinations (YAY!) and they didn't want to chance giving us the virus. So it was a shorter visit that we would have liked, but it was so great to see them in person! 💖

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 
Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

Into the Blue
(By the Sea #3)
by Kay Bratt
Pub date March 19

The Debt Collector: Wraith. Season 2
(Debt Collector #10-18)
by Susan Kaye Quinn
Narrated by Emily Ellet
I LOVE this series! I loved listening to Season 1 and am so excited to be listening to Season 2 now.

What I recently finished

Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire
(Molly Miranda #1)
by Jillianne Hamilton
Narrated by Alison Stinnett

Too Good to Be True
by Carola Lovering
Pub date March 2

You Knew the Price
(Nothing is Promised #2)
by Susan Kaye Quinn
Love this series ~ read my thoughts here

What I am going to read next

Her Dark Lies
by J.T. Ellison
Pub date March 9

I really love my reading life!
What are you reading this week?

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Saturday, February 20, 2021

This or That #Giveaway! Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney OR 29 Seconds by T.M. Logan #SometimesILie #29Seconds

 

I have sooooo many books! 

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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I read and reviewed this book when it came out in March 2018. It seemed like when it came out, there were a lot of books at that time dealing with lies and liars. They were all intriguing and this one was so, so good! It was a 5 ⭐ read for me.


Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney 
Hardcover ~ Pub date 3/13/18

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me:
1. I’m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie.

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can’t move. She can’t speak. She can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller asks: Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth? 

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This second book was a super intense read for me. I loaned it to a couple of friends to read and they thought the same thing. Those 29 seconds! OMG! Another great 5 ⭐ read for me!


29 Seconds by T.M. Logan
ARC ~ Pub date 9/10/19

From the bestselling author of Lies comes 29 Seconds, a sensational new thriller that explores what happens when a split second thought of revenge takes on a life of its own.

“Give me one name. One person. And I will make them disappear.”

Sarah is a young professor struggling to prove herself in a workplace controlled by the charming and manipulative Alan Hawthorne, a renowned scholar and television host. The beloved professor rakes in million-dollar grants for the university where Sarah works—so his inappropriate treatment of female colleagues behind closed doors has gone unchallenged for years. And Sarah is his newest target.

When Hawthorne's advances become threatening, she’s left with nowhere to turn. Until the night she witnesses an attempted kidnapping of a young child on her drive home, and impulsively jumps in to intervene. The child’s father turns out to be a successful businessman with dangerous connections—and her act of bravery has put this powerful man in her debt. He lives by his own brutal code, and all debts must be repaid. In the only way he knows how. The man gives Sarah a burner phone and an unbelievable offer. A once-in-a-lifetime deal that can make all her problems disappear.

No consequences. No traces. No chance of being found out. All it takes is a 29-second phone call.

Because everyone has a name to give. Don’t they?

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Thursday, February 18, 2021

Release Day! You Knew the Price by Susan Kaye Quinn ~ My Thoughts #YouKnewThePrice


Congrats Susan
on the release today of
You Knew the Price!

You Knew the Price by Susan Kaye Quinn
(Nothing is Promised #2)
ebook,  137 pages
Published February 18, 2021 by Twisted Space LLC

The choice you make is the future you create.

Climate-driven plagues haunt humanity, and it’s Regional Director Zuri Hill-Gray’s job to keep the clean-energy grid running.

Zuri has the perfect life—a beautiful home on the Hillstead, a loving family, and a powerful job keeping the LA Basin’s grid humming. If only she didn’t see the ghost of her dead twin in the mirror. Her grief-counselor husband understands too much, her Aunties Cora and Vivian smother her to excess, and her mother can’t look at her daughter without seeing the half that’s missing. Zuri can’t begin to face her sister’s little daughter—to Ruby, Zuri is the ghost.

Which is why she’s running away to work, again, on the anniversary of her sister’s death.

Then a power engineer walks into Zuri’s office and claims someone is stealing energy from Power Island One—and they’ve tried to kill her to cover it up. The more Zuri digs, the more it’s clear someone’s been tinkering in the shut-down fusion labs. They’re going to dangerous lengths to hide it, and it’s been happening right under her nose. Which is how Regional Directors lose their jobs.

Zuri’s already lost her better half—she can’t afford to lose this, too.

You Knew the Price is the second of four tightly-connected novels in a new hopepunk series. It’s about our future, how society lives on invisible things, like electricity and trust, that are far too easy to break… and how our most difficult moments are often when we discover the only path forward is healing not just ourselves but the world.



My thoughts about You Knew the Price ~~ 

I love this series! I have to admit that book #1, while it was amazing, sort of left me confused, what with all the engineering references. The engineering world is just not something I'm very familiar with. I loved the characters though and they pulled me into the story. 

Well, let me tell you, book #2 blew the story open for me! I don't know if it's because of what the Midwest is going through right now with the power outages and the rolling power grids., but I get it now. 

This installment features a different character, Zuri, and I loved learning her backstory and discovering her badass character underneath it all. I can't wait to see what she does in book 3. 

Susan Kaye Quinn has done it again. She has created a world that took me out of my comfort zone, educating me to a whole new world. I highly recommend this series! Give it a try!

Book #3, Of Kindness and Kilowatts, comes out on April 15, 2021. 


Read my thoughts about Book #1 here.


About the author


Susan Kaye Quinn is a rocket scientist turned speculative fiction author who now uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from young adult science fiction to adult future-noir, with side trips into steampunk and middle grade fantasy. Her bestselling novels and short stories have been optioned for Virtual Reality, translated into German, and featured in several anthologies.

She writes full-time from Chicago, inventing mind powers and dreaming of the Singularity.

Chat with her about our coming robot overlords on Facebook.

Find all of Susan's books on Amazon


Connect with Susan


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Monday, February 15, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 15, 2021 #IMWAYR

  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are! 

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It's been super, super cold here this past week. One digit temps and minus temps overnight. And that's not even taking into account for the wind-chill temps. Unbelievable! Because–you know–in South Dakota, we have wind! It was -22 when I got up this morning. Brrrrr!

Otherwise, an uneventful week. Same ol' same ol'. Pick up groceries, prescriptions, don't go anywhere else. Because of the cold.... and of course, COVID! We did get take out for Valentine's Day. There's a local Chinese place in town that we just love so we picked up from there to treat ourselves. Yum!!  

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 
Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

You Knew the Price
(Nothing is Promised #2)
by Susan Kaye Quinn
Pub date 2/18

Molly Miranda: Thief for Hire
(Molly Miranda #1)
by Jillianne Hamilton
Narrated by Alison Stinnett
I won this from a new-to-me author so I'm not sure what to expect. Have you read her books? 

What I recently finished

Obsession in Death
(In Death #40)
by J.D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen

The Children's Train
by Viola Ardone

Love at First
by Kate Clayborn
Pub date 2/23

What I am going to read next

Too Good to Be True
by Carola Lovering
Pub date 3/2

I really love my reading life!
What are you reading this week?

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Sunday, February 14, 2021

Book Blitz! House of Diamonds by Amber Jakeman ~ Excerpt and #Giveaway! #HouseOfDiamonds

House of Diamonds

House of Diamonds by Amber Jakeman
(House of Jewels, #1)
Publication date: February 10th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A heartwarming, emotionally satisfying contemporary Australian romance with an international flavour, by Amber Jakeman.

A fresh start. An instant enemy. But Stella is determined.

Sparkles fly when former office manager Stella Rhees, 30, flees a failed affair with her old boss, Damian. Determined to run her own show, she pursues her dream of creating and selling her own jewellery.

The problem? She’s opened her jaunty stall directly outside the famous Huntleys House of Jewels at the very moment handsome James Huntley the Third, 33, asks her to move so he can stage a publicity stunt. Feisty Stella won’t budge.

Despite a mutual physical attraction, Stella and James become instant enemies, their rivalry fanned by a social media war.

While Huntleys appears prosperous, it’s facing bankruptcy, and James’s mother and playboy brother are squandering the family fortune overseas.

James finds Stella and her fresh ideas irresistible, and she becomes the catalyst for him to change Huntleys’ path of self-destruction. He offers her a job, but how can she accept when she’s vowed to never fall into the old trap of falling in love with the boss?

For Stella and James to find their Happily Ever After, each must overcome personal demons, take risks and learn to trust the other. In this delightful first book of the House of Jewels series, will this dazzling couple ever work out how to put a Huntley engagement ring to its proper purpose?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

iBooks | Kobo

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EXCERPT:

What? Move? Why would she move? She’d only just finished setting up. It had taken her months to prepare, and so much time just that morning, arranging her earrings and bracelets. What on earth could he mean?

“… just for a short time, thank you,” he said.

Her hackles rose. However handsome he might be, with that sun-kissed brown hair, and that way of smiling just on one side, as if life was a bit of joke as long as he was in control, he had no right to push her around.

“Actually, Mr …”

“Huntley. James Huntley.” He tipped his head back a little, indicating his connection with the three-storey building behind him, and she turned and read the ornate sign. Huntleys House of Diamonds.

Stella sighed. She didn’t reconfigure her whole life, resigning and moving here from Perth on the other side of the country, only to fall into the trap of obeying the next handsome man. No. She’d been there and done that. For too long. She’d been totally, pathetically, at the mercy of her boss Damian’s demands.

Obeying handsome men was a bad habit she’d finally kicked, hadn’t she?

This new Stella was strong and independent, she reminded herself. Stella now worked for herself, trusted only herself and obeyed only herself. She would no longer be told what to do by men who assumed she’d comply. So, whatever this man wanted, and however attractive he might be – and he was, quite attractive, every bit as good-looking as Damian, his hair more fair, and with a bit of a wave at the front, and those eyes – intense – she knew she had every right to stand her ground. And she would.

He waited expectantly, but she was only just ready to trade. With customers gathering, she needed to sell, sell, sell – and not waste another moment. Her licence to trade wasn’t a give away. It would take her months to pay back the loan she’d taken out to pay for it.

He lifted one hand up toward the side of her stack of display trays, as if to test his strength against its weight, to simply push her stall away. She could swear she saw his healthy bicep flex beneath that high quality pale grey woollen fabric.

How dare he! The flame of defiance inside her flashed fire. No. She would not be shoved away.

“Stella Rhys, Mr Huntley,” she answered, keeping her voice low and controlled, and extending her own hand to be shaken. His was smooth, the hand of a businessman, as cool as her own. It was a fine handshake, pleasant even.

Her mother would have fun reading this palm, she thought, smiling. It was a mistake. He must have interpreted her smile as acquiescence. Nodding and smiling in return, he held her hand just a moment longer than necessary.

“Thanks, so much, Stella. These stalls… There was nothing here for months, and suddenly you appear! Today of all days. It’s so good of you to move. Just for an hour or so.” He gave her the full blue gaze again and smiled.

For a moment Stella weakened, but she remembered the advice of Fritz, ther nearest stallholder, who’d welcomed her to the mall only that morning.

“I’ve been here nearly thirty years, young lady,” Fritz had said. “Seen a thing or two in my time. Seen stalls come and seen them go. Can be tough out here on the mall. Don’t you let anyone push you around.”

Stella knew the terms of her licence. Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm. Right here. So she lifted her sunglasses and fired back a dose of her own dark eyes – bright, quick and determined.

“Actually, James,” she began, amiably enough, with a hint of steel. She gestured at the small crowd gathering to admire her unusual brooches, rings, earrings and pendants, all laid out so temptingly in the bright sunshine. Her excitement ratcheted up a notch. Behind James, two older women, sisters perhaps, were pulling out their purses. Her first customers! It was James who needed to move, so she could trade.

“Look. This is my business, James – ‘Stellar,’” she continued, polite yet firm, her voice steady. “And I’m not moving it. Not at all. I don’t mean to be unreasonable; nothing personal; but as I see it, the Huntleys property boundary begins at the edge of your doorway. The mall here is public space, and this patch is mine.”

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About the author


Partial to sunsets, picnics and poetry, feel-good fiction writer Amber Jakeman was a journalist, ghost writer and editor before succumbing to her addiction to uplifting endings.

She writes from her tiny apartment on the edge of Sydney Harbour, creating wholesome historical and contemporary romance with an international flavour.

When not writing, Amber enjoys time with family and friends, sailing with her husband, travel, walking and savouring other writers' creations.

Amber Jakeman acknowledges Australia's first storytellers and offers respect to Aboriginal people past and present and to their descendants.

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