Review- One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak

Today I'm going back to my early 2020 Netgalley backlist to pick up a book that I should have read right away.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 978-0778309468
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 4-7-2020
Length: 464pp
Source: Publisher/Netgalley for review
Buy It: Publisher/Amazon/B&N/IndieBound

ADD TO: Goodreads

Overview:

"A great book to finish off your summer reading."—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Some families we’re born into
Some we find for ourselves

When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for a genetic test, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half sisters she didn’t know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.

The women decide to dig into the mystery together at Serenity’s family cabin in Lake Tahoe. With Reagan navigating romantic politics at work and Lorelei staring down the collapse of her marriage, all three women are converging at a crossroads in their lives. Before the summer is over, they’ll have to confront the past and determine how to move forward when everything they previously thought to be true was a lie. But any future is easier to face with family by your side.

"This heartwarming story of sisters who bond as adults is sure to please...those who enjoy books by Susan Mallery and Debbie Macomber."—Library Journal

Don’t miss Brenda Novak’s latest book, When I Found You!

Sophia Rose Reviews Coldharbour Gentlemen by Ann Lee

Please welcome Sophia Rose back to the blog! Today she's reviewing a historical series debut, Coldharbour Gentlemen. Get ready for some Victorian hijinks in the English countryside.
Enjoy!

Coldharbour Gentlemen by Ann Lee

#1 Darking Hundred

Historical Fiction

Publisher:  Indie

Published:  11.1.21

ASIN:  B09KWHP3R3

Pages:  304

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: ebook

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads  

 

GoodReads Blurb:

Harry Steer just wanted a little adventure.
Be careful what you wish for.

Summer 1800. England is at war with France but in rural Surrey the conflict seems far away: the people of Darking Hundred are more concerned with the harvest and the price of tea.

Young Harry Steer sits trapped at his desk, cramming with his tutor before being sent away to school. But everything changes when he crosses paths with a band of smugglers sneaking past his house. Soon he’s joined their nighttime forays and finds adventure matching wits with the forces of the law.

At first Harry couldn’t be happier with his secret life, but as the net tightens around his companions he discovers the dark side of their illicit enterprise. His summer hijinks turn deadly serious for himself and everyone he loves. Harry will need all his brains and courage if he hopes to break free and find his way back to all that matters to him—home, family, belonging.

Coldharbour Gentlemen is a gripping tale of peril and heroism sure to touch readers of all ages.

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Similar to other monthly entertainment subscription services such as Netflix, which recently launched Netflix games, Harlequin Plus will give users access to movies and games, along with ebooks and print books delivered to your home. 

Sophia Rose Reviews-Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen

Today I welcome Sophia Rose back to the blog to review Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen a historical romantic suspense.
Enjoy!

Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen

Historical Romantic Suspense

Publisher:  Bethany House

Published:  12.7.21

ASIN:  B08XLNHC26

Pages: 441

Rating: 4.5

Format: eARC

Source:  Net Galley

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

GoodReads Blurb:

News of her brother's worrisome behavior spurs Miss Rebecca Lane to return home to her village. Upon her arrival, he begs her to go to nearby Swanford Abbey, a medieval monastery turned grand hotel rumored to be haunted. Feeling responsible for her brother's desperate state, she reluctantly agrees to stay at the abbey until she can deliver his manuscript to a fellow guest who might help him get published--an author who once betrayed them.

Soon, Rebecca starts seeing strange things, including a figure in a hooded black gown gliding silently through the abbey's cloisters at night. For all its renovations and veneer of luxury, the ancient foundations seem to echo with whispers of the past--including her own. For there she encounters Sir Frederick--baronet, magistrate, and former neighbor--who long ago broke her heart. Now a handsome widower of thirty-five, he is trying to overcome a past betrayal of his own.

When the famous author is found dead, Sir Frederick makes inquiries and quickly discovers that several people held grudges against the author, including Miss Lane and her brother. As Sir Frederick searches for answers, he is torn between his growing feelings for Rebecca and his pursuit of the truth. For Miss Lane is clearly hiding something. . . .

Showcase THE ANOMALY by Hervé Le Tellier

Today on the blog I'm featuring yet another fabulous offering from my favorite Indie, Other Press
a winner of the French Goncourt Prize, named a best thriller of the year by the NYT and Publishers Weekly, a best mystery/thriller of the month by Popsugar, and a most anticipated read of the year by Crimereads from award winning French author  Hervé Le Tellier. A Novel that is really high on my list.
Enjoy!

 

ISBN-13:  978-1-63542-169-9
Publisher: Other Press
Release Date: 11-23-2021
Length: 400pp
Buy It: Publisher/ Amazon/ B&N/ IndieBound

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

Winner of the Goncourt Prize and now an international phenomenon, this dizzying, whip-smart novel blends crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller as it plumbs the mysteries surrounding a Paris-New York flight.

Who would we be if we had made different choices? Told that secret, left that relationship, written that book? We all wonder—the passengers of Air France 006 will find out.

In their own way, they were all living double lives when they boarded the plane:
Blake, a respectable family man who works as a contract killer.
Slimboy, a Nigerian pop star who uses his womanizing image to hide that he’s gay.
Joanna, a Black American lawyer pressured to play the good old boys’ game to succeed with her Big Pharma client.
Victor Miesel, a critically acclaimed yet largely obscure writer suddenly on the precipice of global fame.
About to start their descent to JFK, they hit a shockingly violent patch of turbulence, emerging on the other side to a reality both perfectly familiar and utterly strange. As it charts the fallout of this logic-defying event, The Anomaly takes us on a journey from Lagos and Mumbai to the White House and a top-secret hangar.
In Hervé Le Tellier’s most ambitious work yet, high literature follows the lead of a bingeable Netflix series, drawing on the best of genre fiction from “chick lit” to mystery, while also playfully critiquing their hallmarks. An ingenious, timely variation on the doppelgänger theme, it taps into the parts of ourselves that elude us most.

Showcase Longing and Other Stories By Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Translated by Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy

Today I'm excited to bring you a new release from Columbia University Press from One of the most eminent Japanese writers of the twentieth century, Jun’ichirō Tanizaki. He is most known for his post war novels like The Makioka Sisters and The Key, Tanizaki made his debut in 1910. Inside the pages of Longing and Other Stories readers will find three of his early stories of family life.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9780231202152
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Release Date: 1-4-2022
Length: 160pp
Buy It: Publisher/ Amazon/ B&N/ IndieBound

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

“Longing” recounts the fantastic journey of a precocious young boy through an eerie nighttime landscape. Replete with striking natural images and uncanny human encounters, it ends with a striking revelation. “Sorrows of a Heretic” follows a university student and aspiring novelist who lives in degrading poverty in a Tokyo tenement. Ambitious and tormented, the young man rebels against his family against a backdrop of sickness and death. “The Story of an Unhappy Mother” describes a vivacious but self-centered woman’s drastic transformation after a freak accident involving her son and daughter-in-law. Written in different genres, the three stories are united by a focus on mothers and sons and a concern for Japan’s traditional culture in the face of Westernization. The longtime Tanizaki translators Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy masterfully bring these important works to an Anglophone audience.

Showcase Girls Before Earls by Anna Bennett

Happy 2022 everyone! To start off the new year I'm showcasing a new historical romance release from St. Martin's Press, first in Anna Bennett's new Rogues to Lovers series, Girls Before Earls.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9781250793911
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: 12-28-2021
Length: 320 pp
Rogues to Lovers #1
Buy It: Amazon/ B&N/ IndieBound

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

Girls Before Earls is the delightful first novel in the Rogues to Lovers series from romance author Anna Bennett.

WHAT A GIRL WANTS
To survive her difficult childhood, Miss Hazel Lively relied on two things: a tough exterior and a love of books. Now, she’s realized her life-long dream of opening a school for girls. She’s hoping the wealthy families who summer at the shore will entrust their daughters to Bellehaven Academy—and help pay for less fortunate students. All Hazel must do is maintain a flawless reputation. It’s a foolproof plan…until a handsome earl strides into her office.
WHAT AN EARL NEEDS
Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, has had a monstrous headache since the day his teenaged niece became his ward. She’s already been expelled from two London schools, but Blade is determined to enroll her at Bellehaven Academy, where she’ll be out of his hair. If only he can convince the buttoned-up—and unexpectedly intriguing—headmistress to take a risk.
LEAD TO AN IRRESISTIBLE DEAL
Blade makes an offer that’s impossible for Hazel to refuse, but she has one condition: the earl must visit his niece every other week. Soon, Blade discovers there’s more to Hazel than meticulous lessons. Their sparring leads to flirtation…and something altogether deeper. But the passion that flares between them poses a threat to Hazel’s school and Blade’s battered heart. They say a good thing can’t last forever, but true love? Well, it just might…