Saturday, January 7, 2023

This OR That #Giveaway № 86 ~ The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson OR The Night Shift by Natalka Burian #TheOperaSisters #TheNightShift

 

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 Opera Sisters
by Marianne Monson
ARC ~ Published September 2022

Based on the true story of the Cook sisters, who smuggled valuables out of 1930s Nazi Germany to finance a daring, secret operation to help Jews find hope for a new life in England
 
British sisters Ida and Louise Cook enjoy their quiet, unassuming lives in south London. Ida writes romance novels, and Louise works as a secretary. In the evenings, the sisters indulge in their shared love for opera, saving their money to buy records and attend performances throughout England and Europe, becoming well-known by both performers and fellow opera lovers.

But when Hitler seizes power in 1933, he begins targeting and persecuting German Jews, passing laws that restrict their rights and their lives. The sisters continue their trips to the German opera houses, but soon, Jewish members of the opera community covertly approach the sisters, worried that they will be stripped of their wealth and forced to leave their homes and the country. Danger looms on the horizon, threatening to spill across all of Europe’s borders.

Ida and Louise vow to help, but how can two ordinary working-class women with limited means make a difference?

Together with their beloved opera community, the sisters devise a plan to personally escort Jewish refugees from Germany to England. The success of the plan hinges on Ida and Louise’s ability to smuggle contraband jewelry and furs beneath the watchful eyes of the SS soldiers guarding various checkpoints. But how many trips can they make before someone blows a whistle? Or before the final curtain falls on Germany’s borders?

The Opera Sisters is a riveting and inspiring novel of two unlikely heroines whose courage and compassion gave hope to many Jews desperate to escape Nazi persecution.


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The Night Shift 
by Natalka Burian
ARC ~ Published July 2022

Only by traveling into the past can Jean discover a happy future…

Hidden behind back doors of bars and restaurants and theaters and shops all over New York City are shortcuts—secret passageways that allow you to jump through time and space to emerge in different parts of the city. No one knows where they came from, but there are rules—you can only travel through them one way and only at night.

When Jean’s work friend Iggy introduces her to the shortcuts, it’s to help shorten her commute between her night shifts bartending and her work at an upscale bakery. Jean is intrigued but has a hard time shaking the side effects—the shortcuts make her more talkative, more open to discussing her past and recalling memories she’s tried hard to forget.

When Iggy goes missing, Jean believes it’s related to the shortcuts and his growing obsession with them. But as she starts digging into their origins, she comes to find a strange connection between herself and the shortcuts. A shimmering, propulsive novel set in New York City during the early aughts and across time, The Night Shift shows that by confronting the past can we reshape our future.  


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Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Release Day! The Villa by Rachel Hawkins ~ My Thoughts #TheVilla @LadyHawkins

Happy Release Day!


Congrats Rachel
on the release today of
The Villa!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins 
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, 288 pages
Published January 3rd 2023 by St. Martin’s Press

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.


My thoughts about The Villa ~~

(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—"Somewhere around the time she started calling herself 'Chess'. I realized I might actually hate my best friend."

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked up The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. I just know that every story of hers that I have read has blown me away. The storyline and the intensity of her characters and events always propel me thorough her stories. 

The Villa did not disappoint. A story within a story is revealed as Emily and Chess go away for a vacation in a villa in Italy. It will be nice to get away and reconnect, maybe work on their respective creative careers. Little did they know that their lives would mirror those of events of the past. That's where the intensity comes in. 

The two storylines, the present and the fateful summer of 1974, weave an intriguing tale of love, jealousy, distrust, and death. Will history repeat itself? 

I highly recommend The Villa. But be prepared to lose yourself in the story to the detriment of life all around you. You will not be able to put it down! 

I received a copy of The Villa via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

About the author


Born in Virginia and raised in Alabama, Rachel Hawkins has been writing since Kindergarten when her first book, a tense thriller involving a unicorn, a witch, and a princess, was called, “very imaginative!” by her teacher and “a searing work of genius” by her mother.

Since then, Rachel has written over a dozen books for children and adults (sadly all unicorn-free thus far), and been published in more than twenty countries. As Rachel Hawkins, she wrote the New York Times bestselling The Wife Upstairs, a Southern Gothic twist on Jane Eyre that the Southern Review of Books called, “a thrill ride,” and Entertainment Weekly dubbed, “a gothic thriller laced with arsenic.” Her latest thriller, Reckless Girls, also debuted on the New York Times list with Kirkus calling it, “a soapy, claustrophobic page-turner.”

When not writing modern Gothic thrillers as Rachel Hawkins, she also pens paranormal romantic comedies under the name Erin Sterling. Her debut romance, The Ex Hex, was a Book of the Month pick as well as a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.

Rachel currently lives in Auburn, Alabama with her husband, son, and five cats. (Yes, five. She knows.). In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and picking up an assortment of creative hobbies she will give up on after a week or two. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram. ~ Author website

Connect with Rachel


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Monday, January 2, 2023

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? January 2, 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 Blue Window
by Suzanne Berne
Pub date ~ January 10

Golden in Death
(In Death #50)
by J.D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen

What I recently finished

Hart's Ridge
(Hart's Ridge #1)
by Kay Bratt
Pub date ~ January 10

The Villa
by Rachel Hawkins
Pub date ~ January 3

The Rowdy Coyote Rumble
by Ann Charles
Narrated by Lisa Larsen

Stockholm
(Getaway #3)
by Catherine Steadman
Narrated by Samara Naeyminull

What I am going to read next

The Saints of Swallow Hill
by Donna Everhart

I really love my reading life!

What are you reading this week?

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Sunday, January 1, 2023

Welcome Aboard! FREE Prologue Novella ~ New Series ~ 8 Stories by 8 Amazing Authors! #WelcomeAboard

Welcome Aboard by Jessie Newton, Tammy L. Grace, Ev Bishop, Kay Bratt, Violet Howe, Judith Keim, Patricia Sands, and Elizabeth Bromke

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

Pack your bags and get ready to set sail on a variety of cruise ships...all without leaving home! Experience the waves, the wind, and the call of the birds in the Sail Away series with a sneak peek of the Sail Away Series in this prologue novella. 

Each bestselling author will take you on a sea adventure filled with friendship, healing, some romance, and all the heartfelt storytelling you crave.

My thoughts about Welcome Aboard ~ 

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 the whole tale. 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!

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

Happy New Year! And a Look Back on My Reading Life of 2022

I love Goodreads for tracking my books and for discovering new books to read and new authors to follow. I especially love how I can get graphics that let me look back on my reading year. 


It is always interesting to look back on the year via the montage that I can create for the year. It's like a trip down memory lane as I look back on all the wonderful books I read.

Take a look, maybe you'll find a few that you will want to add to your TBR list.

My books-read-in-2022 montage

The Rowdy Coyote Rumble
Hart's Ridge
The Villa
Welcome Aboard
One Last Secret
The Last Thing He Told Me
Vendetta in Death
Love and War
The Maidens
Lessons in Chemistry
A Christmas Star
Before Ever After
The Circus Train
Last Circle of Love
So Long, Chester Wheeler
The Great Jackalope Stampede
Wish
No Names to Be Given
The Personal Assistant
Where We Fall


Susan (The Book Bag)'s favorite books »
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