Release Day! Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie ~ My Thoughts #HaveYouSeenHer @CEMcKenzie1 @AtriaBooks

Congrats Catherine

on the release today of

Have You Seen Her!

Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie 

Mystery Thriller, 336 pages

Published June 27, 2023 by Atria Books

A thrilling and timely novel about three women with dark secrets whose lives intersect in the picturesque and perilous Yosemite National Park from the USA TODAY bestselling author of Please Join Us.

Equipped with a burner phone and a new job, Cassie Peters has left her hectic and secretive life in New York City for the refuge of her hometown of Mammoth Lakes, California. There, she begins working again with Yosemite Search and Rescue, where a case she worked a decade ago continues to haunt her.

She quickly falls into old patterns, joining a group of fellow seasonal workers and young adventurers who have made Yosemite their home during the summer. There, she meets Petal, a young woman living in a trailer with her much older wife, keeping a detailed diary of the goings on of the park, and Jada, a recent college graduate on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, documenting their journey on Instagram.

When these three women cross paths, Cassie’s past catches up with her, and the shocking consequences ripple out far beyond what any could have imagined in this unputdownable thriller.

My thoughts about Have You Seen Her ~~

(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—"'We're losing light!' Ben yells over the whir of the blades. 'We need to go!'"

Catherine McKenzie is one of my automatic must-read authors. I don't even need to know what the story is about, sign me up! And her stories never disappoint. Going into each one is a new adventure! 

Have You Seen Her grabbed me from the very first chapter—the intensity and the need to know what the heck was going on. And then the rest of the story just snowballed from there. How did Ben and Cassie get from point A to point B? 

The story is filled with interesting, sometimes a bit annoying, characters. I was intrigued as to how all of these people would tie together and the author does a great job of making them all relevant, even when they didn't seem to be at all. The twist totally caught me off guard, nope didn't see that coming. 

I loved everything about Have You See Her and highly recommend it. It will draw you in and have you shaking your head when you realize how devious some people can be. Check it out!

I received a copy of Have You Seen Her from Atria Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

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About the author

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill in History and Law, Catherine practiced law in Montreal for twenty years before retiring to write full time. An avid runner and skier, she's the author of numerous bestsellers including HIDDEN, FRACTURED, THE and the GOOD LIAR. I'LL NEVER TELL was a #1 Amazon Bestseller, a Globe & Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller, shortlisted for the Hugh McLennan Prize for Fiction and has been optioned for a television series by Paramount TV. Her 2022 release, PLEASE JOIN US, has been optioned by Fox Television.

Her next novel, HAVE YOU SEEN HER, will be released on June 27, 2023.

Connect with Catherine

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? June 26, 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

The Summer of Songbirds

by Kristy Woodson Harvey

print ARC

Pub date ~ July 11

Famous in a Small Town

by Viola Shipman

eARC

Pub date ~ June 13

The Second Chance Supper Club

by Nicole Meier

audiobook from my TBR shelf

What I recently finished

Have You Seen Her

by Catherine McKenzie

eARC

Pub date ~ June 27

Walking on Fire

by Kathryn Crawley

print ARC

Pub date ~ June 13

What I am going to read next

The Bookshop by the Bay

by Pamela Kelley

print ARC

Pub date ~ June 6

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!

This OR That Giveaway № 108 ~ The Beautiful Misfits by Susan Reinhardt OR The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce #TheBeautifulMisfits #TheUnlikelyPilgrimageOfHaroldFry

 

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 Beautiful Misfits

by Susan Reinhardt

ARC ~ Published March 2023

Eighty-four seconds can change your life. Or destroy it. Josie Nickels is an Emmy-winning news anchor, poised to rise through the ranks of television journalism. On a bitter March evening on live TV, the pressures and secrets burbling behind the closed doors of her ridiculous Victorian mansion explode and the overwhelmed journalist spills family secrets like a Baptist at altar call. The aftermath costs her much more than a career. It robs her of a beloved son—a preppy, educated millennial trapped in the deadly world of addiction. 

Desperate for a new start and a way to save her son, Josie packs up her pride, her young daughter, and accepts a new job slinging cosmetics at a department store make-up counter with other disgraced celebs. In the gorgeous mountains of Asheville N.C., known for hippies, healings, and Subarus, Josie is faced with a choice for her son: Take a chance on a bold, out-of-the-ordinary treatment plan for her son or lose him forever. This heart-wrenching and, at times, hilarious novel, will delight fans of book-club women’s fiction and inspire and give hope to those with addicted sons and daughters. 

Read my thoughts here

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

(Harold Fry #1)

by Rachel Joyce

Paperback ~ Published March 2012

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Fiction (2012)

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn't seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.

Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage. Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live.

Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside. Along the way he meets one character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him - allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years.

And then there is the unfinished business with Queenie Hennessy.

Read my thoughts about Maureen, book #3 in this series

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The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop ~ My Thoughts #TheGirlsOfSummer @WhatKatieBWrote @stmartinspress

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

Mystery Thriller, 320 pages

Published June 6, 2023 by St. Martin's Press

"That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me."

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.

Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.

Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma––and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story.

My thoughts about The Girls of Summer ~~

(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—"It's too hot to be outside for long. Sweat is starting to dampen my scalp, thickening in the roots of my hair and pooling in the crevices of my collarbone."

This story was so much more than I thought it was going to be when I started it. I thought this book about a few girls enjoying some summertime fun was going to be a delightful, light read. The Girls of Summer is so much more than that. 

Rachel and Caroline spent a few weeks backpacking on vacation and ended up on an island with other adventurous girls. This trip changes Rachel's world! When she becomes involved in a love affair with a handsome, caring man, her life will never be the same. So much drama! But is any of it real?

Fast forward fifteen years and she travels to the same island with her husband and slams headlong into her past. How is all of that going to be reconciled with her present? 

The Girls of Summer is a dramatic, intense adventure that shines the light on women and the men who take advantage of impressionable young souls and makes us question if what we remember is actual fact or just what we want to believe. This was such a great read! 

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

About the author

My debut novel The Girls of Summer will be publishing with Penguin Random House, Transworld in the UK and Macmillan, St. Martin's Press in the US in 2023. My fiction writing is represented by Ariella Feiner at United Agents.

Connect with Katie

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter

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Book Blitz! Beach Please by Melanie Summers ~ Excerpt and #Giveaway! #BeachPlease @MJSummersBooks @XpressoTours

 

Beach Please by Melanie Summers
(Paradise Bay, #6)
Publication date: June 22nd 2023
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

A hilarious and heartwarming story that’ll have you snort-laughing, swooning, and sighing with happiness…

Lola Gordon’s dreams of a thriving surf shop were shattered when her ex vanished with all the money in their business account, leaving her on the brink of losing everything. With the bank set to auction off her beloved shop and its contents in just six weeks, Lola is desperate to find a solution.

When news of an exciting treasure hunt sweeps through the island, Lola sees it as her last chance to reclaim her surf shop and rebuild her life. There’s just one obstacle standing in her way: she needs a boat.

Enter Aidan Clarke, a disillusioned Canadian expat seeking solace in the tranquil shores of Paradise Bay. Having recently discovered his fiancée’s infidelity with his brother, Aidan wants to be alone. So when his parents decide to visit and hunt for a house near his seaside cottage, Aidan realizes he must create an illusion of happiness.

He proposes a deal to Lola: he’ll provide the boat she needs if she agrees to pose as his live-in girlfriend.

As Lola and Aidan set sail on their adventure, the lines between fiction and reality blur, and their fake affection starts to feel all too genuine.

Join Lola and Aidan as their dreams are tested, their hearts are mended, and a sun-kissed romance awaits…

Beach Please is a closed-door rom-com with a bit of heat and a fair bit of cursing. It stands alone (although to get the full treasure hunt experience, it’s best to read Whisked Away first) and comes complete with maps, colourful graphics, and a whole lot of ice cream.

Goodreads | Amazon

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EXCERPT

“Aww, you two look so sweet,” his mom says. “I need to get a picture of you together.”

We both sit up and Aidan puts his arm around me, pulling me in. I rest my head on his shoulder and smile, my heart pounding and my stomach fluttering for some strange reason. I don’t want either of those things to happen. Yes, he’s hot, but he’s also a fussy neat freak and we have absolutely no future together.

“You two are going to have the most beautiful children,” she says, still holding the phone up.

My face flames at that thought and I can’t help but feel a tug of guilt for lying to them like this.

“Did you get the shot, mom?” Aidan asks.

“Nuts,” Ginnie says. “The camera was aimed at me the whole time. One second.”

“Sorry about this,” Aidan murmurs.

“It’s fine, really,” I say, even though it’s not fine because the longer our bodies are pressed together like this, the more I’m enjoying it. If I’m not careful, I’m going to wind up feeling very confused about what we’re actually doing here, and with us about to spend who knows how long alone together on his boat, I definitely can’t afford to be getting confused. I remind myself that he’s solidly anti-relationship. I remind myself we have nothing in common. I remind myself that the last thing I need right now is a man. And yet, the smell of his skin and the feeling of his arm around me is suggesting otherwise.

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About the author

Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.

Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.

In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally - then she'll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for 'K' Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn't require makeup and/or nylons).

Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she's not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken 'from above'. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something--more like just staying until they turn the lights off.

She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.

Connect with Melanie

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? June 19, 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

Walking on Fire

by Kathryn Crawley

print ARC

Pub date ~ June 13

The Second Chance Supper Club

by Nicole Meier

audiobook from my TBR shelf

What I recently finished

The Belonger: A Novel

by Mary Kathleen Mehuron

Pub date ~ June 13

My thoughts coming soon

The Girls of Summer

by Katie Bishop

Pub date ~ June 6

My thoughts coming soon

What I am going to read next

Have You Seen Her

by Catherine McKenzie

eARC

Pub date ~ June 27

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!

This OR That Giveaway № 107 ~ Sycamore Row by John Grisham OR Splattered Blood by Michael A. Draper #SycamoreRow #SplatteredBlood

 

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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Sycamore Row

(Jake Brigance #2)

by John Grisham

Paperback ~ Published October 2013

Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten, will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier.

The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row?

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Splattered Blood

by Michael A. Draper

Paperback ~ Published December 2011

The Chief of Internal Security for New England's professional basketball team, the Highlanders, is found dead in his office, with a suicide note and conflicting evidence of foul play. Refusing to believe he would have had reason to kill himself, and frustrated with the slowness of the police force's progress on the case, Johnny's widow, Roseanne, and best friend, Randy, launch a renegade investigation of their own. 

Aided by Roseanne's brother Graham, a fiercely protective loose cannon, they dig up evidence that Johnny, just previous to the date of his death, was running his own undercover investigation into the drug overdose of a star player for the Highlanders. The amateur detectives find themselves mixed up with a ruthless gang of mobsters, many of whom are responsible for the drug trade-and a string of violent murders - from Washington, D.C. to Boston. When their quest takes a gruesome and deadly turn, the three wonder if they're in over their heads. 

A gritty tale in the vein of Dennis Lehane and Robert B. Parker, Splattered Blood keeps readers guessing, with suspense and retribution on every page.

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Drop your answer in the comments and enter the giveaway!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? June 12, 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 Girls of Summer

by Katie Bishop

e-ARC

Pub date ~ June 6

The Second Chance Supper Club

by Nicole Meier

audiobook from my TBR shelf

What I recently finished

The Visitor

(The Seaside Saga #18)

 by Joanne DeMaio

e-book from author for review

Read my thoughts here

The New Mother

by Nora Murphy

eARC

Read my thoughts here

Missing in Death

(In Death #29.5)

by J.D. Robb 

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

 audiobook from my TBR shelf

Tangled Vines

(Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters #2)

by Kay Bratt

Narrated by Kate Rudd

audiobook from my TBR shelf

What I am going to read next

The Belonger: A Novel

by Mary Kathleen Mehuron

Pub date ~ June 13

print ARC

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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

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

This OR That Giveaway № 106 ~ The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison OR The Cutaway by Christina Kovac #TheButterflyClues #TheCutaway

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 Butterfly Clues
(Lost Girls #1)
by Kate Ellison

Paperback ~ Published February 2012

Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

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The Cutaway

by Christina Kovac

Paperback ~ Published March 2017

“The Newsroom meets Gone Girl” (Cosmopolitan) in this stunning psychological thriller featuring a young television producer investigating the disappearance of a beautiful Georgetown lawyer—perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.

When brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly, “a tenacious, lovable heroine” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), receives a disturbing “MISSING” notice on her desk related to the disappearance of a beautiful young attorney, she can’t help but suspect that the lawyer may be at the heart of something far more sinister. When she realizes that she is the only one at her studio who seems to care, Knightly decides to investigate on her own.

Risking her career, her life, and perhaps even her own sanity, Knightly dives deep into the dark underbelly of Washington, DC business and politics in an investigation that will drag her mercilessly through the inextricable webs of corruption that bind the press, the police, and politics in our nation’s capital.

Harkening to dark thrillers such as Luckiest Girl Alive and Big Little Lies, The Cutaway is a ravishingly suspenseful thriller.

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