Thursday, March 30, 2023

New release! The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis ~ My Thoughts #TheEchoOfOldBooks @bdavisauthor

Congrats Barbara
on the recent release of 
The Echo of Old Books!

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
Women's Historical Fiction, 443 pages
Published March 28, 2023 by Lake Union Publishing

Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.

With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.

My thoughts about The Echo of Old Books 

(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 arrives on a bright summer day. A large manila envelope with the word PRIORITY stamped in two places across the front in red ink."

I loved, loved, loved this book. A story about books and book lovers. You can't go wring with that combination! 

The Echo of Old Books first captured my attention by this beautiful cover. I just knew I had to read whatever was inside. And a book about books? Yay! And then there's the fact that I've already read a few of Ms. Davis' books, with several more on my TBR list. and loved them all. She is such a good storyteller! I figured this was a win-win all the way around. 

I fell for the characters Belle and Hemi and their tumultuous love story from the very start. I loved how the author revealed their relationship through the journals they wrote to each other, with the reader getting both sides of the story. 

I am also fascinated by the idea of books giving off  'echoes' of their previous owners and what their lives were like and the emotions they had while owning the book. What an interesting gift Ashlyn had. 

Like I said at the beginning, I really loved this book—everything about it—and it will stick with me for a long time. Of course, I highly recommend it and encourage you to put it on your TBR list. You will not regret it!

I received a copy of The Echo of Old Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

About the author


Author of The Secrets She Carried, The Wishing Tide, Summer at Hideaway Key, Love, Alice (Penguin/Berkley), When Never Comes (Lake Union), The Last of the Moon Girls (Lake Union), The Keeper of Happy Endings (Lake Union), and The Echo of Old Books. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Barbara

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | TwitterInstagram

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Monday, March 27, 2023

The Barlows by Joanne DeMaio ~ My Thoughts #TheBarlows @JoanneDeMaio

Congrats Joanne
on the recent release of
The Barlows!

The Barlows by Joanne DeMaio
Women's Saga, 228 pages
Published March 1, 2023 by Joanne DeMaio

From New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio comes The Barlows, Book 17 of The Seaside Saga.

Jason and Maris. To the residents of Stony Point, they're simply known as the Barlows. Their home is a shingled New England cottage on the bluff, where salt air breezes stir and gulls cry and spirits roam. But like wisps of sea fog, darkness has touched upon their lives this summer. Will light and love return to their old weathered cottage by the sea?

And The Seaside Saga continues.



My thoughts about The Barlows ~~

(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—"LISTEN. The sea demands it. Demands that you pay attention. That you sense it. Hear it. Acknowledge it. Watch it. Heed it."

I just love it when I can go back to visit the friends of the Stony Point community. There is plenty of drama among the clan but there's also lots of love and support among all of them. 

Relationships move forward, while some get stalled, but maybe that's for the best. Pranks are pulled but you know it's all in fun. I just love the camaraderie that they all have for one another. 

I love this whole series and The Barlows was another great reading escape for me. I can't wait for the next book so I can visit Stony Point again. If you have not picked up these books yet, you really should. You will come to love this community and these people as much as I do. 

Book #18, The Visitor, is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2023!

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


About the author


Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She enjoys writing about friendship, family, love and choices, while setting her stories in New England towns or by the sea.

Joanne’s books include the New York Times Bestseller Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans, the first in her ongoing and groundbreaking Seaside Saga. These eleven (and counting) novels journey with a group of beach friends, much the way a TV series does, continuing with the same cast of characters and their storylines from book-to-book.

Joanne’s winter novels have also received much acclaim. These heartwarming standalones are set in the same snowy New England town. Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes became a USA Today Bestseller, and has been featured in national magazines and Six Flags theme parks.

In addition, Joanne’s debut novel, Whole Latte Life, won first place in a competition at BookExpo America and was named a Kirkus Reviews Critics’ Pick. Her other novels have appeared in Redbook, First for Women magazine, Southern Living, USA Today and more. ~ Author's website

Connect with Joanne


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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? March 27, 2023 #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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Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a good week. 
Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

Twelve Hours in Manhattan
by Maan Gabriel
eARC
Pub date ~ April 18

The Scavenger's Daughters
by Kay Bratt
Narrated by Will Damron
 audio-book from my TB shelves

What I recently finished

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown: Adapted for Young Readers from the Best-Selling Novel
by Heather B. Moore & Allison Hong Merrill
print ARC
Pub date ~ April 11

The Echo of Old Books
by Barbara Davis
eARC
Pub date ~ March 28

The Widow
by Kaira Rouda
Narrated by Donna Postel, George Newbern, & Nancy Wu
audio-book from my TB shelves

Belle Mer
by Luanne Rice
Narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya
audio-book from my TB shelves

What I am going to read next

The Golden Doves
by Martha Hall Kelly
eARC
Pub date ~ April 18

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Saturday, March 25, 2023

This OR That #Giveaway № 97 ~ Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis OR Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter #WeddingGirl #OddMomOut

 

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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Wedding Girl
by Stacey Ballis
Paperback ~ Published May 2016

You’ve Got Mail meets Julie & Julia in this foodie fiction from the author of Recipe for Disaster.

Top pastry chef Sophie Bernstein and her sommelier fiancé were set to have Chicago’s culinary wedding of the year…until the groom eloped with someone else in a very public debacle, leaving Sophie splashed across the tabloids—fifty grand in debt on her dream wedding and one-hundred percent screwed on her dream life. The icing on the cake was when she lost her job and her home…
 
Laying low, Sophie moves in with her grandmother, Bubbles. That way, she can keep Bubbles and her sweater-wearing pug company and nurse her broken heart. But when Sophie gets a part-time job at the old-fashioned neighborhood bakery, she finds herself up to her elbows in dough and reluctantly giving a wedding cake customer advice on everything from gift bags to guest accommodations. Before she knows it, she’s an online wedding planner. It’s not mousse and macarons, but it pays the bills. But with the arrival of unexpected personal and professional twists, Sophie wonders if she’s really moving forward—or starting over from scratch...

Includes Recipes

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Odd Mom Out
Bellevue Wives #1
by Jane Porter
Paperback ~ Published September 2007

Following her highly successful title Flirting with Forty, Jane Porter returns with another entertaining tale of a bohemian, single working mother who finds herself at odds with the stay-at-home, alpha moms.

Advertising executive Marta Zinsser is no poster child for her wealthy Seattle suburb-and nothing could please her more. This former New Yorker wears combat boots, not Manolos, and drives a righteous Harley hog instead of a Mercedes SUV. Now she's launching her own agency in this land of the Microsoft elite, even though her ten-year-old daughter wishes she'd put on a sweater set and just be normal.

Can this ex-urbanite remain uniquely herself without alienating the inner circle of smug, cookie-cutter executive wives? And when push comes to shove, can she stop being the proud odd mom out and take a chance at something frighteningly-and tantalizingly-new?

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Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Release Day! The Last Port of Call by Elizabeth Bromke ~ My Thoughts #TheLastPortOfCall @ElizabethBromke

Congrats Elizabeth
on the recent release of 
The Last Port of Call!

The Last Port of Call by Patricia Sands
Friendship Fiction, 161 pages
Published March 20, 2023

Set sail to new adventures and escapes with eight best-selling authors in the exciting new Sail Away series!

Marie Stern is two things she doesn't want to be: freshly divorced and turning fifty. But if that isn’t bad enough, the messy dissolution has cost her much of her life savings and many of her friends.

So, the newly single Marie moves back home with her mother, a ornery octogenarian with a penchant for entering to win radio contests. Once back, Marie realizes her mom is in worse shape than she expected. Joan needs help, and Marie worries she was almost too late...

When Joan Stern’s adult daughter returns home, the timing couldn’t be worse. After entering and losing thousands of vacation contests over the years, the retired hairdresser has hit the jackpot. She just won two tickets to an all-expense-paid Alaskan cruise for a week. And she already promised the ticket to her boyfriend.

Marie doesn’t think it's wise for her mother to travel, especially on a cross-country boat trip. She's ready to put the kibosh on things, but it's too late. Not only is her mother going on this vacation, but she's taking with her a secret boyfriend. That is, until he dies, leaving Joan with one extra ticket and a zest for life so powerful that Marie must either pray that Joan doesn't fall overboard, or...

She can join her mother before the ocean liner reaches its last port of call.

Will the mother-daughter duo embark on a wild ride, full of laughter and tears and second chances? Or will they drown in their respective sorrows?

Drift into the beauty of Alaska aboard the Opal of the Seas in this feel-good and feisty women's fiction about a mother and daughter, life and love by USA Today bestseller, Elizabeth Bromke.

My thoughts about The Last Port of Call 

(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—"'Enjoy this one.' Marie Stern taps a finger on Moby Dick then gives the worn paperback a gentle push. 'It's a classic.'"

Mothers and daughters—always an interesting and sometimes, stressful dynamic. And then to take that dynamic onto a cruise ship, where there is no getting away from each other. Yikes! 

Joan wins a cruise for two and definitely does not expect to take her daughter along. Her situation changes and it seems like the two of them are going to be spending some quality time together. Will either of them survive the week?

This was a fun cruise for me—maybe not for them—as I watched their two personalities clash. Putting two strong women together always makes for an interesting storyline. 

I'm a huge fan of this series and I highly recommend Last Port of Call, as well as this whole series, as an escape and as a way to experience the fun of a cruise or two, or eight. 

I received a copy of The Last Port of Call from the author and this is my honest opinion.

About the author


Elizabeth Bromke writes women's fiction and heartwarming romance. In her stories, she weaves together family dynamics and the triumphs and trials of modern relationships. Echoes of the past flavor her books with nostalgia.

Elizabeth lives in the mountains of Arizona. There, she enjoys walking, reading, and cooking with her husband, son, and their sweet Golden-mix, Winnie. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Elizabeth

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Get ready to set sail on the trip of a lifetime! Eight amazing authors have come together to create this fun series, each book set on a cruise ship but with individual stories and characters. I have read a few of these authors, and love them already. Some are new-to-me authors but I'm excited to give their books a try. 

Welcome Aboard contains the prologue to each story so the reader can get a taste of the story before it comes out. I have to admit that I am intrigued by all of them and can't wait to read all of the stories. Some of the characters have already grabbed my heart. 

You can snag Welcome Aboard for free right now. Check it out and then sit back and wait in anticipation for each release, like I will be. I know it's going to be fun!


Welcome Aboard is available for FREE on Amazon.
Get your copy now and get started on this fabulous series!

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★ Don’t miss a Sail Away book! ★

Book 1: Welcome Aboard – prologue book

Book 2: The Sound of the Sea by Jessie Newton

Book 3: Uncharted Waters by Tammy L. Grace

Book 4: A Not So Distant Shore by Ev Bishop

Book 5: Caroline, Adrift by Kay Bratt

Book 6: Moonlight On the Lido Deck by Violet Howe

Book 7: The Winning Tickets by Judith Keim

Book 8: Lost At Sea by Patricia Sands

Book 9: The Last Port of Call by Elizabeth Bromke 

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Monday, March 20, 2023

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? March 20, 2023 #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 Echo of Old Books
by Barbara Davis
eARC
Pub date ~ March 28

The Widow
by Kaira Rouda
Narrated by Donna Postel, George Newbern, & Nancy Wu
audio-book from my TB shelves

What I recently finished

The Last Port of Call:
Elizabeth Bromke
eARC
Pub date ~ March 22

Yet You Cry When It Hurts
Susan Kaye Quinn
eARC
Pub date ~ March 9

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
by Marie Benedict
print from my TBR shelves for a challenge

What I am going to read next

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown: Adapted for Young Readers from the Best-Selling Novel
by Heather B. Moore & Allison Hong Merrill
print ARC
Pub date ~ April 11

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Saturday, March 18, 2023

This OR That #Giveaway № 96 ~ My Ex-Life by Stephen McCauley OR The God Game by Danny Tobey #MyExLife #TheGodGame

 

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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My Ex-Life
by Stephen McCauley
ARC ~ Published May 2018

The time for Stephen McCauley's breakout novel has come and My Ex-Life is it in a major way. A delicious novel for fans of Tom Perrotta, Maria Semple, and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney about how sometimes the only way to move forward is to go back.

David Hedges’s life is coming apart at the seams. His job helping San Francisco rich kids get into the colleges of their (parents’) choice is exasperating; his younger boyfriend has left him; and the beloved carriage house he rents is being sold. His solace is a Thai takeout joint that delivers 24/7.

The last person he expects to hear from is Julie Fiske. It’s been decades since they’ve spoken, and he’s relieved to hear she’s recovered from her brief, misguided first marriage. To him.

Julie definitely doesn’t have a problem with marijuana (she’s given it up completely, so it doesn’t matter if she gets stoned almost daily) and the Airbnb she’s running out of her seaside house north of Boston is neither shabby nor illegal. And she has two whole months to come up with the money to buy said house from her second husband before their divorce is finalized. She’d just like David’s help organizing college plans for her 17-year-old daughter.

That would be Mandy. To quote Barry Manilow, Oh Mandy. While she knows she’s smarter than most of the kids in her school, she can’t figure out why she’s making so many incredibly dumb and increasingly dangerous choices.

When David flies east, they find themselves living under the same roof (one David needs to repair). David and Julie pick up exactly where they left off thirty years ago―they’re still best friends who can finish each other’s sentences. But there’s one broken bit between them that no amount of home renovations will fix.

In prose filled with hilarious and heartbreakingly accurate one-liners, Stephen McCauley has written a novel that examines how we define home, family, and love. Be prepared to laugh, shed a few tears, and have thoughts of your own ex-life triggered. (Throw pillows optional.)

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The God Game
by Danny Tobey
ARC ~ Published January 2020

You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

With those words, Charlie and his friends enter the G.O.D. Game, a video game run by underground hackers and controlled by a mysterious AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone-screens and high-tech glasses, the teens’ realities blur with a virtual world of creeping vines, smoldering torches, runes, glyphs, gods, and mythical creatures. When they accomplish a mission, the game rewards them with expensive tech, revenge on high-school tormentors, and cash flowing from ATMs. Slaying a hydra and drawing a bloody pentagram as payment to a Greek god seem harmless at first. Fun even.

But then the threatening messages start. Worship me. Obey me. Complete a mission, however cruel, or the game reveals their secrets and crushes their dreams. Tasks that seemed harmless at first take on deadly consequences. Mysterious packages show up at their homes. Shadowy figures start following them, appearing around corners, attacking them in parking garages. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win?

And what of the game’s first promise: win, win big, lose, you die? Dying in a virtual world doesn’t really mean death in real life—does it?

As Charlie and his friends try to find a way out of the game, they realize they’ve been manipulated into a bigger web they can’t escape: an AI that learned its cruelty from watching us.

God is always watching, and He says when the game is done.

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Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Release Day! Scent of Magnolia by Ashley Farley ~ My Thoughts #ScentOfMagnolia @AshleyWFarley

Happy Release Day!


Congrats Ashley
on the release today of
Scent of Magnolia!

Scent of Magnolia by Ashley Farley
Women's Friendship Fiction, 314 pages
Published March 15, 2023 by AHF Publishing

“A riveting new family drama by the queen of southern fiction.”

Scout Montgomery has turned her search for her missing brother into a career. She finds her professional life as a homicide detective meaningful, but her personal life is nonexistent. She’s stuck in the past. In order to move on, she must find closure. When she returns home to Alabama for the death of a childhood friend, she uses her acquired investigative skills to discover new clues concerning her brother’s disappearance.

Beneath Kate Baldwin’s public persona as fashion designer lies a young woman carrying a heavy burden of guilt. Her relationship issues and inability to find happiness stem from the secret she’s been keeping for nearly two decades. She yearns to reveal the truth–an unexpected trip home to her childhood home in Alabama provides the opportunity—but doing so will destroy the lives of the people she cares about the most.

June Montgomery is married to a prominent politician, lives in a magazine-worthy home, and leads an active social life. But she lives in constant fear the past will come back to haunt her. She approaches Scout’s homecoming with trepidation. Her daughter has the power to unravel the seams of her intricately crafted lies.

When family and friends reunite, old hostilities resurface and the discovery of new evidence regarding Ford’s disappearance endangers lives.


My thoughts about Scent of Magnolia ~~

(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 lines—"Scout adds her unmarked car to the cluster of Seattle's first responder vehicles parked haphazardly at the crime scene." 

Oh my gosh. Hold on to your hat when you start this one. This is a story full of family drama, lies, secrets, abuse, affairs, estrangement, missing family members, and lost friendships. I'm sure I forgot to list even more of the hard situations that are within the pages of this book. There is so much there! 

Scout dedicates her life to finding missing people because she knows the trauma of missing someone you love. Her brother went missing many years ago and she's never given up. Getting the phone call to come home because one of her best friends from childhood has died has sent her into a tailspin as the past comes slamming back at her. Will she finally get some answers or will her digging drive her family and friends further away? 

Scent of Magnolia is an intense story with so many secrets and lies that you never know what is going to be revealed next. Once again, Ashley has created a wonderful, interesting world that captured my heart and attention until the very end. I loved every bit of it and I can't recommend it enough. This is family drama at it's finest. 

I received a copy of Scent of Magnolia from the author and this is my honest opinion.

About the author

Ashley Farley

Ashley Farley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her bestselling Sweeney Sisters series has touched the lives of many.

Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she's lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, a piece of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry, where she still calls home. Through the eyes of her characters, she captures the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kindhearted folk with lazy drawls that make the area so unique. For more information, visit www.ashleyfarley.com ~ Goodreads

Connect with Ashley


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