It's Monday! What Are You Reading? August 9, 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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My 90yo MIL passed away last month. My husband, the oldest of 4 and the only one into genealogy, volunteered to bring home her pictures and sort through them. We brought home tubs and tubs, boxes and boxes of pictures. It's been great seeing some old, old ones of his grandparents, greats, and older when they were little, pictures we have never seen before. Luckily, someone back then wrote on the backs, otherwise we would have no idea who these people are. 

But we've also discovered tons of pictures, mostly more current, that were saved that should have been trashed from the get-go—blurry, thumbs in the pic, scenery (no idea where they were), people we don't know. 

We started going through all of our own pictures when my FIL passed 5 years ago. We could see the writing on the wall, so to speak. We didn't want to do the same thing to our own kids. 

How about you, are you a picture taker-saver?

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

Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

Mexican Gothic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Ruby Blue

(Ruby Blue #1)

by Julie Cassar

Narrated by Mysti Jording

What I recently finished

The Perfect Family

by Robyn Harding

Pub date 8/10

The Perfect Son

by Lauren North

The Next Wife

by Kaira Rouda

Narrated by Megan Tusing, Teri Clark Linden, Stephen Graybill, & Rachel L. Jacobs

What I am going to read next

Lady in the Lake

by Laura Lippman

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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This OR That #Giveaway Week 23 ~ The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter OR The Guest Book by Sarah Blake #TheKeptWoman #TheGuestBook

 

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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The Kept Woman

(Will Trent #8)

by Karin Slaughter

ARC ~ Pub date September 2016

Read my thoughts here.

Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future.

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him.

With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn't belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller -- a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption. 

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The Guest Book

by Sarah Blake

ARC ~ Pub date May 2019

Read my thoughts here.

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. 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Release Day! Sail Away by Ashley Farley ~ My Thoughts #SailAway

  Happy Release Day!!

Congrats Ashley
on the release today of
Sail Away!

Sail Away by Ashley Farley  

Series: Palmetto Island #4

Southern Fiction, 114 pages

August 3, 2021 by Leisure Time Books

Three women form a village to help a friend in need.

Becca has embarked on the most important mission of her life. She trusts no one, and she’s running out of time. On a whim, she rents a beach cottage on Palmetto Island for the summer. She’s searching for a solution to her problem. Help comes in an unexpected friendship with the young woman next door.

Hannah has three months to plan her dream wedding. While she’s eager to marry the man of her dreams, she finds the logistics of combining households and the details of organizing her event overwhelming. When she learns of a new friend’s crisis, she drops everything to come to her aid.

Sidney forges ahead with her successful career as a chef, while her heart remains in the past. On impulse, she reaches out to her old boyfriend on social media, and they rekindle their relationship. Chemistry between them still exists. But is it enough? Can she live with her secret? Or will she risk her happiness by revealing the truth?

Amelia is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She seeks therapy in order to put the past behind her. Do all her problems stem from her abusive marriage? Or is something missing from her life? Will she give up the possibility of a future with the love of her life to fulfill another dream?

The paths of these four women collide in a dramatic conclusion. Farley once again reminds us that family is more than blood ties. 

Jump on board for a wild ride of adventure with the continuation of the bestselling Palmetto Island Series. Be sure to download Muddy Bottom, the series novella prequel, for FREE. 

      

My thoughts about Sail Away ~ 

(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—"Ethan leads Hannah by the hand, out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk to the horse-drawn carriage waiting on the curb."

Oh my gosh! I love this series so much. And Ashley has once again pulled together a great cast of characters to create another amazing story on Palmetto Island. 

Four very different women come together, each with their own baggage and issues, and are there for each other, to support one another and be the best kinds of friends that they can be.  

Sail Away will tug on your heartstrings and make you want to see the good in all people. There is definitely some drama and conflict among the four women but watching them work through the issues was totally worth it. Such a heartwarming story! 

I adore this Palmetto Island series.  You are going to want to start with the first one and binge-read your way through the whole series—beautiful story-lines, interesting characters, plenty of drama, love, and support, as well as an amazing setting. What more could you ask for? 

I highly recommend Sail Away, as well as this whole series!

I received an ARC of Sail Away from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Muddy Bottom 

(Palmetto Island Book prequel novella)

 is FREE!

Change of Tides

Read my thoughts here.

Lowcountry on My Mind

Read my thoughts here.

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About the author

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

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

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Release Day! Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens ~ My Thoughts #DarkRoads #NetGalley

  Happy Release Day!!

Congrats Chevy
on the release today of
Dark Roads!

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

Women's Crime Fiction, 374 pages

Published August 3rd 2021 by St. Martin's Press

The acclaimed and beloved author of Still Missing is back with her most breathtaking thriller yet.

The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.

Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer—who’s claimed another victim over the summer.

One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived—and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back—and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance… 

      

My thoughts about Dark Roads ~ 

(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—"No one ever wakes up thinking, I'm going to die on a dark road tonight, but that's the point, isn't it? You're young and free, with your entire life ahead of you."

Intense! Totally intense! I couldn't read this fast enough.... and then at one point I had to stop reading to catch my breathe, and recover from what was happening. Whew! 

This was my first book by Chevy Stevens and I now understand why she is such a popular author. Her books will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you look around every corner. I am so glad that I finally read one and got a taste of her work. I can't wait to dive onto more of her stories! She will definitely be a must-read author for me now. 

I highly recommend Dark Roads for an exciting summer thriller read. Make sure you have plenty of time before you start because you will not be able to put this one down. 

I received an ARC of Dark Roads from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

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About the author

Chevy Stevens lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and daughter. When she’s not working on her next book, she’s hiking with her two dogs on her favorite mountain trails and spending time with her family. Chevy's current obsessions are vintage airstreams, Hollywood memoirs, and all things mid-century modern.

Chevy's debut novel, Still Missing, was a New York Times bestseller and won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. Her books, including Those Girls which Stephen King called "incredibly scary" have been published in more than thirty countries. Her seventh novel, Dark Roads, will be released summer 2021. Please visit her at www.ChevyStevens.com. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Chevy

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? August 2, 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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How can it be August already?? The kiddos will be heading back to school soon—it seems like summer just got here. Time flies by so quickly the older we get, doesn't it? 

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

Happy reading!

What I'm currently reading

The Perfect Son

by Lauren North 

The Next Wife

by Kaira Rouda

Narrated by Megan Tusing, Teri Clark Linden, Stephen Graybill, & Rachel L. Jacobs 

What I recently finished

Getting Lucky

(Asheville Brewing #3)

by A.R. Casella & Denise Grover Swank 

The Orphan's Tale

by Pam Jenoff

Narrated by Jennifer Wydra & Kyla Garcia 

What I am going to read next

The Perfect Family

by Robyn Harding 

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!