Thursday, September 29, 2022

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman ~ My Thoughts @EllenMarieWise #TheLostGirlsOfWillowbrook @KensingtonBooks


The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Historical Fiction, 304 pages
Published August 30, 2022 by Kensington Books

Fact, fiction, and urban legend blend in this haunting story about a young woman mistakenly imprisoned at Willowbrook State School, the real-life institution later shuttered for its horrendous abuses.

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined.


   

My thoughts about The Lost Girls of Willowbrook ~~

(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 lines.)

First line—"People still search the woods for the remains of lost children."

I became a huge fan of Ellen Marie Wiseman after reading The Orphan Collector. That story blew me away. I waited with baited breath for her next one. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is also an amazing read.

Although the situations in this story are very disturbing, they were very real and show the circumstances that 'undesirable' children, and adults, had to endure. Wiseman brings the traumatic truths to life with the story of Sage and her twin sister, Rosemary. What the two girls had to endure is shocking but the same things happened to others, over and over. 

Woven into the story of life at Willowbrook is the mystery of what happened to Rosemary. As Sage tries to uncover the truth about her twin sister, she finds herself thrown into a world she never could have imagined. 

Like Wiseman's other books, this one opened my eyes to a world that I knew very little about and served as reminder that people need to be compassionate to all. Based on a true-life place, the Willowbrook State School, it is hard to imagine that people were treated like this. Thankfully the truth was uncovered and people's situations became better. 

Wiseman does a wonderful job of taking a very hard and disturbing time in our history and creating an enjoyable story that educates us all. I highly recommend The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.

I received a copy of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.

About the author


A first-generation German American, Ellen Marie Wiseman discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in NYS. She is a New York Times Bestselling author whose novels have been translated into twenty languages. 

Her debut novel, The Plum Tree, is loosely based on her mother’s stories about growing up in Germany during the chaos of WWII. The Plum Tree received much praise for its depiction of WWII and was named by Bookbub as One of Thirteen Books To Read if You Loved All the Light We Cannot See. Ellen’s second novel, What She Left Behind, was named a Huffington Post Best Books of Summer 2015. Her third novel, Coal River, was called "one of the most "unputdownable" books of 2015" by The Historical Novel Review. Her fourth novel, The Life She Was Given, was named A Great Group Reads Selection of the Women’s National Book Association and National Reading Group Month, and a Goodreads Best of the Month for July. Her newest novel, The Orphan Collector, comes out on August 4th, 2020. 

Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and two spoiled Shih-tzus, Izzy and Bella. When she’s not busy writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren. Find Ellen on Facebook at: www.Facebook.com/EllenMarieWisemanAuthor ~ Goodreads

Connect with Ellen


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Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Book Blitz! Whispers in the Waters by Sarah Chislon ~ Excerpt and #Giveaway! #WhispersInTheWaters @xpressotours

 

Whispers in the Waters by Sarah Chislon
Publication date: September 27th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery

Ladies don’t shame their families.

Ladies don’t confront Otherwordly threats.

Ladies certainly don’t admit some taint of the fae has touched their souls—unless they wish to find themselves confined to an Institution.

Gently-bred herbalist Jessa Caldwell is trying to be a lady. She conceals her true nature amongst her plants and her sketches—where she can almost shut out the whispers she alone hears. But a threat to her beloved aunt forces her from the comfort of home to a town perilously near an Otherworldly Crossing, with its ever-present risk of fae incursions.

To protect her aunt and the townsfolk she comes to care for, she must uncover the individual responsible for a series of increasingly dangerous attacks—but to find this saboteur will require embracing the part of herself she fears most, an act that could cost her dearly. In a world where Vigilists lock up fae-touched mortals, Jessa must decide if she’s willing to risk exposing her true nature to obtain the truth and protect those she loves.

Whispers in the Waters, a gaslamp fantasy novella, serves as the prequel to Tattoo of Crimson, the first book in the Blood of the Fae series. If you like quick-minded heroines who solve cases with logic and intuition, Otherworldly intrigues, and beautiful yet deadly fae, then you’ll love this mystery set in a world of manners and mythical monsters.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

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EXCERPT:

I rounded a bend, and the slight woman I’d seen in the stratesman’s shadow when we’d arrived in Milburn stumbled down the lane, her gown of muslin streaked with dirt and littered with forest debris. She clutched a ragged silk shawl around her shoulders, as though it could shield her from notice.

Nelda, Mrs. Wilkins had called her. Her palm dripped blood, and tears streaked her cheeks. For a moment, I remained rooted in place. If the townsfolk were to be believed, Nelda had brought a vengeful attack against Melle and her family. But the downcast lines of her body spoke of brokenness and distress, not malice.

“Nelda?” I hoped she wouldn’t take offense at the use of her given name from a stranger. I hurried forward. “You’re hurt. What happened?”

“I . . . I don’t know.” Nelda lifted her hand and watched as blood wept from it, one drop after another splatting against the dusty surface of the road. The wound cut deep.

Could Mrs. Wilkins have been right when she’d suggested madness? I shifted the bundle of clothes from one arm to the other. “Can I accompany you home and find someone to tend your injury?”

She laughed, a wild, off-key sound. “Home? I have no home.”

“Then where are you staying?” I lowered my voice in an attempt to soothe her. “I’ll help you there and fetch an herbalist, if it suits you.”

“Staying? No one will house me. Not after what’s happened at the mill.” She jabbed toward the trees with her uninjured hand. “I stay in the forest. At least here, I’m close. Close to where home used to be.”

I drew in a sharp breath. To live in the forest, this close to a Crossing? It was unthinkable. Otherkind might lurk anywhere, not to mention natural predators. Had the entire town truly forsaken her, simply because she’d wed the wrong man and he’d abandoned her? Or was there more that I missed? Society offered swift condemnation for those who failed to abide by its strictures, but other than a poor choice in a husband, what wrong had she done?

She swayed, and I rushed to steady her. “You can’t stay out here. You need proper shelter and someone to look at your wound. Come with me into Milburn, and we’ll find an herbalist.”

“No, I can’t.” She backed away, every scrap of color leeching from already-pale features. “No one here wants to help. They’d only try to lock me up!”

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About the author


Sarah Chislon lives in Virginia with her husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing, she’s homeschooling her children and running a web development business with her husband. As an avid reader and a lifelong story-weaver, she delights in creating fantastic worlds and exploring them alongside her characters.

Connect with Sarah

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Newsletter

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Release Day! A Brighter Flame by Christine Nolfi ~ My Thoughts #ABrighterFlame @christinenolfi #NetGalley

Happy Release Day!


Congrats Christina
on the release today of
A Brighter Flame!

A Brighter Flame by Christine Nolfi
Friendship Fiction, 301 pages
Published September 27, 2022 by Lake Union Publishing

She’s always wanted a sense of belonging. The last place she expects to find it is home.

Vale Lightner’s dreams turn to ash when the Pittsburgh bar she owns goes up in flames. Just like the past she escaped, very little seems salvageable. Facing unavoidable change, Vale returns to her hometown of Philadelphia to stay with her grandmother.

She knows that returning also means facing everything she left behind: a mother and stepfather who shunted her into the background from the day they married, and her charmed and favored half sister, Blythe, who has abandoned a perfect marriage and is now at a crossroads of her own. Everyone has their secrets, and this reunited family racked by them is about to reach a crisis point.

For a mother and her two daughters, this reunion is a chance for closure, newfound love, and forgiveness. As each of them reassesses her own memories of the past, only the truth can bring them together—in ways that could last forever. 

From the bestselling author of The Passing Storm comes a poignant novel about family secrets, healing, and the hope of second chances.


   

My thoughts about A Brighter Flame ~~

(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 lines.)

First line—"Vale awoke to the scream of sirens."

I have loved every book that I've read by Christine Nolfi. And I swear, each book is my favorite.... until her next one, that is. I'm always so excited when she publishes a new story. 

A Brighter Flame covers it all—trauma, secrets, family drama, friendship, relationships, sisterly competition and jealousy, love, healing, moving forward—you get the idea. And all of that is wrapped up with wonderful, interesting characters who came to feel like family to me. I felt all of the emotions, just like they did.

Drama rears its ugly head because of all of the family dysfunction and lack of communication. When the warring sisters are thrown together, secrets and truths start to be revealed. Working through them was a tough journey, even for me. Whew! Gotta love the 9 year old Natty, though, to make sure everyone gets along, whether they want to or not. I loved her! 

I loved everything about this novel and Ms. Nolfi definitely has another hit on her hands. I loved all of the family drama and all of the love that came shining through. A Brighter Flame needs to go on your must-read list. You do not want to miss this wonderful story. I highly recommend it! 

I received a copy of A Brighter Flame from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.

About the author


Christine Nolfi is the award-winning and bestselling author of fifteen novels, including The Passing Storm, cited by Publishers Weekly as “Tautly plotted, expertly characterized, and genuinely riveting” and gold medal winner in general fiction, International Book Awards. Look for Christine’s 2022 release, A Brighter Flame.

Other works include The Road She Left Behind, a top book club pick by Working Mother and Parade magazines, and the award-winning Sweet Lake Series: Sweet Lake, The Comfort of Secrets, and The Season of Silver Linings.

Earlier works include Second Chance Grill, highly recommended by The Midwest Book Review and Treasure Me, recognized by the Next Generation Indie Awards and Put Your Heart in a Book Awards. The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge was cited by The Midwest Book Review as “Poignant and powerful, as much a saga of learning to survive, heal, and forgive as it is a chilling crime story, unforgettable to the very end.”

A native of Ohio, Christine now resides in South Carolina with her husband and their crazy wheaten terrier, Lucy. For more information, visit www.christinenolfi.com ~ Goodreads

Connect with Christine


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Monday, September 26, 2022

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? September 26, 2022 #IMWAY

       

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

What I'm currently reading

In the Shadow of a Queen
by Heather B. Moore
Pub date October 4

Jackrabbit Junction Jitters
by Ann Charles
Narrated by Lisa Larsen

What I recently finished

The Remembering Tree
by H.R. Mason
Pub date October 1

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
by Ellen Marie Wiseman

What I am going to read next

That's the Spirit!
(GhostWriter Mystery, #1)
by Mallory Pierce
Pub date October 5
Just in time for Halloween!

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Sunday, September 25, 2022

Release Day! The Promise of Christmas by Steena Holmes ~ My Thoughts #ThePromiseOfChristmas @steenaholmes

Happy Release Day!


Congrats Steena
on the release today of
The Promise of Christmas!

The Promise of Christmas by Steena Holmes
Holiday Fiction, 396 pages
Published September 25, 2022 by SH Press Inc

To save their small town from dying...they need a miracle...and some hot cocoa and cookies wouldn't hurt, too.

For the past two years, Ashley Tanner has been trying to keep her promise to revitalize the small mountain town of Innsbruck, but it’s starting to look like she’s failing as mayor, and failure is never an option for her.

She has one last ditch effort - but it’s going to take a lot of work and she’s not sure if she can convince everyone to give it a try.

Rather than become a ghost town, why not become a town focused around Christmas - one of the most magical times of the year? Who wouldn’t love to visit a town where everything is holiday related - from a classic Gingerbread Tea House to a Candy Cane Lane Campground?

Thankfully, those closest to her love the idea, but together, as a group, can they convince the rest of the town?

Just when she thinks everything is coming together, things start to fall apart, not just in her own life, but in those closest to her too. Feeling responsible, while surviving the destruction of her marriage, Ashley tries to find miracles for everyone in her life - after all, Christmas is all about miracles, right?

The promise of what Christmas can be to not only the town of Innsbruck, but to everyone close to her is the only thing keeping her going. Well - that and coffee.

If you love Christmas as much as Steena does, you’ll end up wishing you could visit this tiny town for yourself. After all - who doesn’t love gingerbread houses, sugar cookies, hot cocoa and sleigh rides through a gorgeous mountain side village?

  

My thoughts about The Promise of Christmas ~~

(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 lines.)

First line—"Candy cane wishes and mistletoe kisses...fireside dreams as hot cocoa steams... Christmas can't come soon enough for Ashley Tanna, not just because it's her favorite season but because of what the holiday promises."

First of all, isn't this cover amazing? I think it is so beautiful!

I absolutely love stories centered around the Christmas season. And I also love stories about small communities pulling together to make their town better. The Promise of Christmas has all of this and so much more.

I immediately fell in love with Ashley and this little community of Innsbruck. As Ashley struggles to keep her promise to the town she loves, she also struggles with the one person she is supposed to love. Will her decision make or break her marriage?

The Promise of Christmas has great characters and is wonderfully written. I found myself wishing I could become a part of the community and call these people my friends. I loved how the town pulled together to create their own little Christmas village. How amazing would that be—Christmas everyday?

If you love Christmas stories, this definitely needs to go on your reading list. There is plenty of depth,  compassion, and love right along with all that wonderful holiday spirit. I highly recommend The Promise of Christmas.

I received a copy of The Promise of Christmas from the author and this is my honest opinion of the book.

About the author


NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author - Steena is the author of the heart wrenching Finding Emma series.

Her latest novel - Lies We Tell Ourselves - is out October 2020.

The Word Game was included in the Top 20 Novels to be Written by Women in 2015 by Good Housekeeping. The Word Game also won the 2015 USA Books Award for Best Fiction and her novel, The Memory Child was a finalist in the same category.

Steena Holmes grew up in a small town in Canada and holds a Bachelors degree in Theology.

In 2012 she received the Indie Excellence Award. Holmes was inspired to write Finding Emma after experiencing a brief moment of horror when she’d thought her youngest daughter was missing.

She currently lives in Calgary with her husband and three daughters and loves to wake up to the Rocky Mountains each morning. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Steena


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Saturday, September 24, 2022

This OR That #Giveaway № 74 ~ The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich OR Unexpecting by Lori Verni-Fogarsi #TheRecoveryAgent #Unexpecting

 

I have sooooo many books!

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

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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The Recovery Agent
(Gabriela Rose #1)
by Janet Evanovich
ARC ~ Published March 2022

Lost something? Gabriela Rose knows how to get it back. As a recovery agent, she’s hired by individuals and companies seeking lost treasures, stolen heirlooms, or missing assets of any kind. She’s reliable, cool under pressure, and well trained in weapons of all types. But Gabriela’s latest job isn’t for some bamboozled billionaire, it’s for her own family, whose home is going to be wiped off the map if they can’t come up with a lot of money fast.

Inspired by an old family legend, Gabriela sets off for the jungles of Peru in pursuit of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. But this particular job comes with a huge problem attached to it—Gabriela’s ex-husband, Rafer. It’s Rafer who has the map that possibly points the way to the treasure, and he’s not about to let Gabriela find it without him.

Rafer is as relaxed as Gabriela is driven, and he has a lifetime’s experience getting under his ex-wife’s skin. But when they aren’t bickering about old times the two make a formidable team, and it’s going to take a team to defeat the vicious drug lord who has also been searching for the fabled ring. A drug lord who doesn’t mind leaving a large body count behind him to get it.

The Recovery Agent marks the start of an irresistible new series that will have you clamoring for more and cheering for the unstoppable Gabriela Rose on every page. 


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Unexpecting
by Lori Verni-Fogarsi
ARC ~ Published March 2013

Shelley and David are a couple of almost-empty-nesters preparing to embark on the next stage of their life. They've just ordered white furniture and are planning the vacation they've waited their entire lives to take.

Their lives are catapulted in a completely different direction when Alexandra, seventeen and pregnant, shows up on their doorstep and announces that she's the daughter they never knew they had! Their life becomes filled with dilemmas as they add not only another child, but also a baby to a household that was just about to become serene.

Shelley feels like she no longer fits in anywhere and to top it off, having two teenaged girls suddenly plunged into being sisters and school mates is not exactly warm and fuzzy. When Alexandra's behavior becomes erratic, the couple is faced with even tougher decisions to make.

Hold on for an emotional yet witty ride as you join this family of characters in a story of love, loyalty, heartbreak, and humor that will stay with you long after you turn the last page!


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Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Release Day! The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman ~ My Thoughts #TheMatchmakersGift @lyndacloigman #NetGalley @StMartinsPress

Happy Release Day!

Congrats Lynda
on the release today of
The Matchmaker's Gift!

The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Jewish Historical Fiction, 320 pages
Published September 20th 2022 by St. Martin's Press

From Lynda Cohen Loigman, the bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters, comes a heartwarming story of two extraordinary women from two different eras who defy expectations to utilize their unique gift of seeing soulmates in the most unexpected places in The Matchmaker's Gift.

Is finding true love a calling or a curse?

Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.

Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?


My thoughts about The Matchmaker's Gift ~~

(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 lines.)

First line—"Sara was ten years old when she made her first match."

First of all, isn't this cover just amazing!? I absolutely love it! 

I had not read any of Ms. Loigman's books before this one, although I do have one on by TBR shelf. This story has given me a taste of her beautiful and heartfelt writing so I'm excited to take that book off of the shelf and dive into it. 

The Matchmaker's Gift is dramatic, while at the same time, magical and full of love. And I adored every second of it. The story takes place in two different time periods, covering the life of Sara who discovered her matchmaking abilities at a very young age and Abby, her granddaughter, who seems to have inherited the matchmaking gift but is struggling to understand it. 

The two stories are intricately woven together as we learn how both women suffered and fought for the lives they wanted. Both were amazing women. I absolutely loved this story and will be recommending The Matchmaker's Gift to all.

I received a copy of The Matchmaker's Gift from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.

About the author


Lynda Cohen Loigman grew up in Longmeadow, MA. She received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. 

Her debut novel, The Two-Family House, was a USA Today bestseller and a nominee for the Goodreads 2016 Choice Awards in Historical Fiction. Her second novel, The Wartime Sisters, was selected as a Woman's World Book Club pick and a Best Book of 2019 by Real Simple Magazine. The Matchmaker’s Gift, her third novel, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in September of 2022.

Connect with Lynda


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Monday, September 19, 2022

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen ~ My Thoughts #OtherBirds @SarahAddisonAll #NetGalley @StMartinsPress


Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen 
Contemporary Women Fiction, Magical Realism, 304 pages
Published August 30th 2022 by St. Martin's Press

An enchanting tale filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go.

Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at the Dellawisp she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a young woman with a past, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and a lonely chef, and three ghosts. The sudden death of one of Zoey's new neighbors sets off a search that leads to the island's famous author and to a long-estranged relative of the sisters.

Each of them has a story, and each story has an ending which hasn't yet been written. 


My thoughts about Other Birds ~~

(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 lines.)

First line—"The empty wicker birdcage beside her began to rattle impatiently. Zoey gave it a sharp look as if to say they were almost there. It stopped."

It has been way to long since we were blessed with a book from Sarah Addison Allen but the wait was totally worth it! Other Birds was just the story I needed from her right now. 

Zoey drops herself right in the middle of a bunch of oldball, quirky neighbors at her deceased mother's condo. From the very first line, I knew this was going to be a magical trip through the lives of some amazing characters. I loved all of them and was fascinated to discover all of the secrets they were keeping while watching how they all came to mesh with each other.

If you are a lover of magical realism like I am, you're going to love this story that allows you to escape your life for a bit to enjoy some love, friendship, quirkiness, and a few ghosts. I highly recommend Other Birds! I loved it!

I received a copy of Other Birds via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.

About the author


New York Times Bestselling novelist Sarah Addison Allen brings the full flavor of her southern upbringing to bear on her fiction -- a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town sensibility.

Born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Allen grew up with a love of books and an appreciation of good food (she credits her journalist father for the former and her mother, a fabulous cook, for the latter). In college, she majored in literature -- because, as she puts it, "I thought it was amazing that I could get a diploma just for reading fiction. It was like being able to major in eating chocolate."

After graduation, Allen began writing seriously. Her big break occurred in 2007 with the publication of her first mainstream novel, Garden Spells, a modern-day fairy tale about an enchanted apple tree and the family of North Carolina women who tend it. Booklist called Allen's accomplished debut "spellbindingly charming." The novel became a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection, and then a New York Times Bestseller.

Allen continues to serve heaping helpings of the fantastic and the familiar in fiction she describes as "Southern-fried magic realism." Clearly, it's a recipe readers are happy to eat up as fast as she can dish it out.

Her published books to date are: Garden Spells (2007), The Sugar Queen (2008), The Girl Who Chased the Moon (2010), The Peach Keeper (2011), Lost Lake (2014), First Frost (2015) and Other Birds (August 30, 2022).

Connect with Sarah


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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? September 19, 2022 #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! 

**************************************

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

What I'm currently reading

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Jackrabbit Junction Jitters
by Ann Charles
Narrated by Lisa Larsen

What I recently finished

A Brighter Flame
by Christine Nolfi
Pub date September 27

The Matchmaker's Gift
by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Pub date September 20

Other Birds
by Sarah Addison Allen

What I am going to read next

The Remembering Tree
by H.R. Mason
Pub date October 1

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!
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