New Releases

Review: Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey

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01 love A sweet romance filled with intrigue and early 19th century charm.

I was completely taken in by the cover. It looked like something I would enjoy and I was right. So cute!!

SYNOPSIS
Juliana Telford is not your average nineteenth-century young lady. She’s much more interested in researching ladybugs than marriage, fashionable dresses, or dances. So when her father sends her to London for a season, she’s determined not to form any attachments. Instead, she plans to secretly publish their research.

Spencer Northam is not the average young gentleman of leisure he appears. He is actually a spy for the War Office, and is more focused on acing his first mission than meeting eligible ladies. Fortunately, Juliana feels the same, and they agree to pretend to fall for each other. Spencer can finally focus, until he is tasked with observing Juliana’s traveling companions . . . and Juliana herself.

From the very first chapter title and sentence, I was hooked. In fact, I read the first page to my kids, while they were eating lunch, and my daughter said she wants to read it. THAT right there is a good sign.

I was totally taken in by Juliana’s quirks. She seemed to get into trouble, without even trying. All she wants to do is stay out of the limelight and avoid any suitors, but the more she tries to be invisible the more she’s noticed, and sometimes not by the best people.

Spencer has a mission to do, and it doesn’t include falling in love. Actually, that’s the farthest thing from his mind. That is until he sets his eyes on a bewitching young lady with a talent for trouble.

There’s something to be said for the friends to lovers stories. Those are the some of the best. The heart wants what the heart wants and even if you, or anyone else, try and stop it, it always wins in the end.

“There are not enough superlatives in the English language to capture even a tenth of my emotions.”

~Melpomene

Release date: April 19th
Preorder Love, Lies and Spies

Review: The Promise by Robert Crais

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22169495I loved this series when it first came out. However, I soon found I didn’t much care for Elvis Cole…Joe Pike? Now that’s a different story! So I was very excited to see this one listed as a Joe Pike book. If you’re the same, don’t be. This isn’t a Pike novel. He’s only mentioned a few times and really plays no vital parts…if those scenes were erased the book would have read the exact shame. It’s pretty shameful really for the publishers to present it as a Pike novel as well as a Cole novel….

The story was good. We also come in contact with another interesting character, Joe Stone. Will be very interesting to see him in follow-up books. My feelings of Cole remain the same though. He just doesn’t inspire much in me. It’s only because I’m above downgrading a book simply because I hate a character (EASE UP, PEOPLE….that was a joke!!!!!) that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I was hoping that after a long break from this series (I do still try to pick up the Pike novels) that I would fall in love all over again with Crais…sadly that didn’t happen. This is an enjoyable read, but to be fair, it won’t be one I give another thought to now that I have finished the last page, ask me in two weeks what the finer points are and I won’t be able to say…Maybe it’s just because I’m older now, but I try to look for more in a book these days…

Until next time…

Urania

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Promise by Robert Crais

Review: The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

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26154406I stayed up until half past one in thee morning to finish this one. I read over 60% of it in one sitting. That never happens anymore. I can’t remember that happening in years. What an amazing read. I loved every word!!!!!!

This is a story that grabs you from the first page and just tightens its hold on you as every single page speeds by. The ending doesn’t disappoint either. The main character is a woman who goes on the run after she finds her husband dead. We soon figure out that this isn’t the first time she’s ran. As the story continues we start to see correspondence (emails) between her and a mysterious man from her past. It’s obvious that they love(ed) one another. It’s also obvious that they both have secrets. The emails they send back and forth made this a 5 star read for me. They were always short. They never gave much away. But man oh man, did they have your imagination racing out of control.

We might not know if the main character is innocent or not from the start of the tale, however, she soon finds herself in countless situations where she is far from innocent. I realise that these situations will put many off this book. I also sense that this is a love it or hate it book. If you live in a black and white world I don’t think you’ll enjoy this as much as I did. However, my moral compass has never been so clear. I don’t use the end result of a situation to determine the right or the wrong. Would this main character have resorted to some of the things she did if the circumstances were different? If she hadn’t resorted to them would she still be alive? Would others still be alive?

I hope I have you intrigued enough to give this book a try. It won’t take you long to figure out if it’s for you or not…

Also, please, Ms Lutz, can we have more of Blue? I can’t say I loved her. Hell, I don’t even know if I liked her. I was certainly a bit scared of her. I think her moral compass was navigated by completely different ways than the main characters, however, she did intrigue me and I would love to hear more of her story…

Until next time…

Urania

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Musing: A go-to author disappoints

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 Many of us have those go-to authors … writers we follow on social media so we know exactly when their latest book will hit the shelves AND when it’ll be available for preorder. I scour NetGalley for my faves because I’m too impatient to wait for the publication date! 

What happens when you finally get one of those yummy advance copies? Or you wait up for your preorder to appear on your kindle? You eat it up, right? Maybe stay up all night, or stick a virtual bookmark in whatever you’re currently reading so you can get to THIS ONE. The one you’ve been waiting for. 

Until it disappoints. That awesome writer did something different this time. And maybe some people like it, but you don’t. You can’t stand it but you keep reading because it’s GOT to get better, right? It’s by a wonderful author, after all! Aaaaaannnnnndddd it doesn’t get better. You muddle through, and then you hope it doesn’t happen with the next book by this writer. 

I don’t want to name names, but my latest disappointment included off-kilter character development and a weird/disjointed storyline. I thought the hero was just bizarre, and I was unsympathetic toward the heroine. What a downer after all those I loved by a favorite author. 

What’s your latest disappointment? 

-calliope

Review: Midnight Lily by Mia Sheridan

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01 mid A devastatingly haunting story about two young people who were so lost inside themselves until they discovered the key to being found, each other. This book made these feelings reach deep into your soul and scare you. That is why it’s so haunting.

SYNOPSIS
Holden Scott is the prince of professional football. At least he was before he lost it all . . . or more to the point, before he threw it all away. Now he’s out of a job, out of the public’s good graces, and perhaps just a little out of his mind. So when a friend offers up his remote lodge in the wilds of Colorado, giving Holden some time away to get his life back on track, he can hardly say no. The last thing he expects is to see a beautiful girl in the woods—one wearing a white, lace dress who appears in the moonlight, and leaves no footprints behind. Is she a dream? A ghost? A product of his muddled imagination? Or something entirely different?

Midnight Lily is the haunting love story of two lost souls reaching for each other in the dark. A tale of healing, acceptance, and the worlds we create to protect our own hearts. It is a story of being lost, of being found, and of being in the place between.

These two people are such beautiful characters, even in the midst of their trials. So hard to read it and not FEEL. My stomach was in knots and my heart broke over and over. Such pain. They’ve suffered so much and they cope the only way they know how. I wish I could say more, but it would totally ruin the beauty that is this book.

“We will never be perfect or without flaws, the lives we’ve been given are not like that. But, Lily, in my heart, you are perfect for me. Perfectly mine. And I’m yours.”

Without saying too much, I’ll end with this. I’m a big fan of Mia’s writing. I’ve come to expect a certain “type” of romance story, but this was nothing like that. Twisted and yet not. Wrong and yet right. Messed up and yet perfect.

~Melpomene

Buy Midnight Lily

Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

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What can I say about Ruta Sepetys other than she’s amazing?  She has this amazing ability to take a piece of history and weave a complex, compelling piece of fiction around it.  Her latest masterpiece is no exception.

The year is 1945, the place is Prussia.  The war is winding down, but the horrors of it are not.  As thousands of refugees attempt to make their way to safety, we are introduced to several of them.  They each have a story to tell, and secrets to keep.  Their paths converge as one in an attempt to survive.

There’s Joana, a selfless nurse whose only goal is to save people.  There’s young Emilia, harboring a secret far beyond what we are led to believe. And Florian, the knight in shining armor who saves her.  And Alfred Frick…what can I say about him?  He’s shady and secretive and more than a bit unstable.  Is he really going to help save the others from sure death?

Time and again, tragedy strikes in one form or another.  Until finally, towards the very end, the biggest tragedy of all befalls Joana and Emilia and Florian and the others.  And yes, even Alfred Frick.  Some will survive, some will not.

Yet again, historical fiction written by a gifted author has given me new knowledge while telling an outstandingly brilliant story.  The tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff  was a real thing, while the tragedy of our characters was not.  But the author makes us feel as if the entire story truly happened.  And that’s exactly what exceptional books do…

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  Salt to the Sea

 

Review: From Bags to Riches by Sandra D. Bricker

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I like these Jessie Stanton novels. Jessie is a young woman who was burned by her no-good cheating ex husband, but made a new life for herself based on her love and talent for fashion merchandising. 

This third installment is probably my favorite– mostly because it’s the most romantic! The love stories don’t necessarily take a front seat, because there’s a lot going on in Jessie’s life; but the romance doesn’t take a back seat either. Besides the ex husband, Bricker writes men who adore the women in their lives, who blow off steam by getting back to nature (surf’s up), and who serve others as a way of serving God. 

Not a preachy novel by any means, Bricker uses upheaval in Jessie’s life to show how a faithful circle of support can make all the difference. Jessie’s girlfriends love her unconditionally and help her focus on her business. The God-fearing men who surround Jessie help her focus on her heart. 

In the end, the good guys win in ways we don’t usually think about, and the heroine learns to lean on a new person for the really important things in life. 

-calliope 

Buy FROM BAGS TO RICHES

Review: A Girl’s Guide to Moving On by Debbie Macomber

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A Girl’s Guide to Moving On is a REFRESHING look at getting over someone, developing a support system, and meeting new people. 

I so appreciated that Nichole and her mother in law Leanne leaned on each other and really loved each other. Making them live so close to each other was a little forced, perhaps, but it made the rest of the story flow: Nichole running into Leanne during a tough time, Leanne babysitting Nichole’s young son, etc. 

The ex-husbands are slimeballs, but I guess even slimeballs have redeeming qualities. Macomber does a good job allowing for situations where the reader might sympathize with them, yet not quite take their side. 

As a romance fan who adores a good happily ever after, I’ll tell ya that Nichole’s friend Rocco was a terrific hero. He may not have outwardly shown sophistication or refinement on a regular basis, but he certainly demonstrated it at the end when it truly mattered. Likewise for  Leanne’s friend Nikolai. Nikolai knew when to step back and when to step up, and I could’ve just cried over all the bread baking going on. Read it, you’ll see. You might want to start baking bread for – and breaking bread with – someone special, too. 

-calliope

Buy A GIRL’S GUIDE TO MOVING ON

Review: Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood

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All authors tell a story, using their written words to weave a tale. And many are really very good at it. But it’s the rare author who creates a narrative so compelling, so lyrical, that the reader simply cannot pull away. T. Greenwood is one of those authors for me.

Something tragic happened to Tess many years ago.  We know it involved a child, and we know that it’s forever changed her.  But other than that, we are left to find out as the story progresses.

So when she claims to see a lost child out on the road one evening, the reader isn’t sure what to think.  Is it her imagination playing tricks on her yet again?  Or did she really see a disheveled, bleeding four-year-old on a dark country road?  She had been drinking, after all.  But everyone believes her.  At first.  A search commences, but when nothing is found, not even a body, doubts start to creep in.  Still, Tess knows what she saw and is steadfast in her commitment to find the child.  At all costs, even.  Her marriage and reputation are at stake, but she won’t be swayed in her determination.

I’ve loved absolutely everything from this author, and her newest book is no exception. Her stories are always captivating from the beginning until the very end. Full of life experiences that could happen to anyone, they make you think “What if…” So grab this one. Enjoy. And then go read her others!

~Thalia

Buy it Now:  Where I Lost Her

Review: Written on My Heart by Morgan Callan Rogers

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I loved this book about young newlyweds struggling to prioritize their marriage, children, employment, roots, and friendships. Dottie and Florine have a close, sisterly relationship based on honesty and support. Bud and Glen base theirs more on beer than honesty, and Morgan Callan Rogers outstandingly illustrates their desire to balance machismo and independence with responsibility and growth. I enjoyed seeing the men develop and regress, and then finally take the steps forward to become better men. 

The women change, too.  Through the grace and lovingkindness of her mother in law, Florine discovers the best way to demonstrate love to Bud… without compromising her values. Dottie grows in confidence and is able to be her authentic self — and a happier person. 

I adored this study on the ebb and flow of relationships, set in “local” down Maine. I liked the intertwined mystery, the ever-presence of Florine’s late mother, and the constance of children’s joy and a mother’s wisdom. 

-calliope

Buy WRITTEN ON MY HEART