Book Reviews

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told To Me) Story by Bess Kalb I adored this book. It was sweet, it was honest, it was hurtful & understanding. A beautiful tribute to a relationship between Grandma/Granddaughter. I only wish I could’ve had a grandmother such as this. I also love the repeated quote (which I will always now remember) in the book...when the earth cracks....(you have to read it to know the rest).

I love the cover of this book!!! I  typically have moved away from the murder mystery Genre, but not completely. This is a convoluted serial killer in a small town whodunnit. Tom Kennedy loses his wife and decides to move himself & his son to a home in the town of featherbank. Soon after their arrival in the new town, a boy disappears in a manner that is strikingly similar to some murders that took place two decades ago. It seems Tom’s son Jake May have insight into the case and might be in danger. Can the investigators unwind the story in time to prevent more deaths?! Hurry & read this one, because another book by the author is out This year. 

Just when you think it’s ok to feel comfortable....plenty of creepy vibes in this book. Ellie and her husband are off to their cottage to enjoy time together while the kids are at camp. Ellie is kidnapped by a stranger who claims they’ve met previously and were meant to be together. Ellie has 3 chances to tell him his name or else..... Thanks for the ARC from abovetheTreeline.com I was able to get a sneak peek at this book. 

This will definitely be a favorite book for 2020. It’s a simple story of a family, a relationship between a brother & sister. Audiobook is read by Tom Hanks & he did an excellent job with the narration. If you tried to read the book & didn’t care for it, give it a 2nd try with the audiobook.

The Vanishing Sky by L. Annette Binder This thoughtful novel centers around WWII & the Huber family, in Germany, 1945. While the father’s memory fades, his wife struggles with her thoughts & emotions as her sons inevitably are called to serve the Nazi regime.  The father, Josef, was the hardest character for me to identify with. He was simply unresponsive to his family’s needs. The majority of the story centers around (mother) Etta’s struggles to continue on with her home life while she’s troubled over the health and well-being of her sons, Max and Georg. Max is to be returning from the war, while Georg is off to training camp.  Special thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Olive is really something else! Sometimes she’s really harsh, then insightful, patient, loving, thoughtful, reflective....She just keeps trying to be the best version of herself possible. Olive isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I appreciated my “time” with her. If you study Olive long enough you may find a tiny bit of yourself in her. This book is a look into the relationships in the town of Crosby, ME. There’s many stories of the people who live in the community and most stories, on some level, connect with Olive and demonstrate whether a person knows it or not our behaviors, direct or indirect, can effect the lives of others. 

ROMEantically Challenged by Marina Adair July 2020 publication.  Unfortunately for Anh Nhi Walsh (Annie), her (ex) fiancé has found his true love with someone else, but hasn’t planned a new wedding — just a new bride. Ouch! Not to mention, he’s using Annie’s ten thousand dollar deposit on the venue for his new wedding, in the same place, at the same time, on the same date! So it’s pretty understandable when Annie decides to uproot her whole life to create space between her, the ex, and the new bride to be. Annie grasps at the chance to start anew, taking a temp job, in Rome! But yes, it’s actually Rome, Rhode Island. Just when you think Annie can’t catch a break, she begins to find herself and a new life in Rome.   I enjoyed this book. It was sweet, honest, and heart wrenching all at the same time. I felt in a few instances the writing had abrupt changes that I didn’t understand. I was able to overlook abrupt scene changes because the writing style while the characters we...

If you’ve read Wingate before, this new novel will not disappoint. Published April 2020 from Ballantine Books. This book is fiction, but also based on historical events. The story begins on a plantation in Louisiana 1875. We meet main characters & learn the traits of their lives...Hannie a slave, Juneau Jane the master’s child born of a slave and half-sister to the master’s privileged daughter Lavinia. Many slaves were torn from their families regardless of age and this is what happened to Hannie. Hannie very much would like to be reunited with her long lost family. After following Juneau-Jane & Lavinia off the plantation, Hannie inquires of her family everywhere her journey takes the 3 traveling women. The same town, fast forward 1987 when first-year teacher Miss Silva comes to town. She needs to Learn to connect with her students, come to understand their lifestyle and in the process they all learn a little something through the Book of Lost Names. There are newprint ads thro...

This is a debut novel from Rachel Beanland published July 2020 from Simon & Schuster and is 320 pages. This book takes place in the summer, involves secrets & tragedy. Youngest daughter Florence comes home from college for the summer planning to spend the summer training for her swim of the English Channel. Eldest daughter Fannie is pregnant after having previously losing a premature baby soon after birth. Due to the delicate nature of Fannie’s pregnancy, her mother, Esther, decides to keep a tragic secret from Fannie. The story unfolds as Esther expects everyone around Fannie to help keep this tragedy from Fannie. How far would you go to protect someone you love?

Published Dec 2019. If you overlooked this title in 2019, definitely put it on your TBR! I loved this book because of the raw honesty. The way people make assumptions based on what they see, not what they know. Racist behavior can take place in many forms and people need to recognize these situations so they can be changed. I adored Briar the child in the book. She is sweet, kind, and honest. Amira, a young black woman who is trying to find her way in the adult world is the caregiver to Briar. Amira experiences many racist moments throughout the book at the hands of her employer and elsewhere and chooses many times to disregard the ignorance until it just cannot continue any longer. We see how subtle racism can be with just a spoken observation (“Your so pretty”), or how employers treat employees as less than and how a stranger can just be allowed to make an assumption & the condemnation of the victim can happen in an instant without judge and jury just because people make decision...

Super cute rom com. Total chic lit. I mean that in a good way.  I really enjoyed this book & would recommend this as a great beach read. Published in 2012 by The Dial Press. Main character Poppy loses her heir loom engagement ring & discovers a cel phone in the trash. This begins all the antics one might expect from using a “borrowed” phone and trying to hide the loss of the ring from her fiancé & family. 

Crossings published 7/28/20 St Martin’s Press. Really interesting fiction book centers around the premise of metempsychosis. The book can be read in two ways, that being sequential page turning or by following the Baroness sequence...jumping around when prompted. I opted for the Baroness style. I’d highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Kristin Harmel, Simon and Schuster Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC Digital Download for review. The Book of Lost Names is a highly anticipated book to be published July 2020. If you enjoy WWII historical fiction and enjoyed “The Nightingale” (Kristin Hannah) you absolutely must put this book on your 2020 must read -TBR list. The focus of this book is on the resistance, the forgery documents, and the children who were saved by so many. Great read!

This is a 400 page book published June 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks. Main character Caroline Shelby is having success with her career in New York as a fashion designer when disaster strikes & her world as she knows it, falls to pieces. In the aftermath, She returns to her hometown and begins to put her new life into motion. As it turns out, her best friends from her youth are also in Oysterville and reinventing their lives as well. You might expect there to be no secrets in a small town, but that’s not true of Oysterville. Through these secrets the Oysterville Sewing 🧵 Circle comes to life. Just as life is returning to “good” all is challenged again, but this time Caroline is ready to fight & not run. 

I can’t help but to “sing” this title to the tune of Brian Adams’s song “summer of ‘69!” I never read an Elin Hilderbrand book I didn’t like!  This book looks into the Levin Family’s traditional summer vacation in Nantucket and the lifestyles of 1969 through the lives of the Levin children. Only son of the family, Tiger, is off to war. While the 3 sisters are involved in other aspects of the time...stay at home mother, Blair, pregnant with twins; Kirby the middle sister is involved with the civil rights movement; and youngest child Jesse is coming of age in a time when everything is kept secret from her as she tries to manage life and prove she is a young adult. This is a 400+ page book and a great choice for a summer vacation trip. 

Life topics touched on in this novel include love & long term relationships, motivations for love, dating, marriage, and friendships. What you are capable of when facing tragedy and how far you will go to avoid confrontation to name a few. I’m glad the story unfolded the way it did all things considered. Sometimes what you think is your five year plan, doesn’t always turn out no matter how hard you try because sometimes things aren’t what they seem. I gave this book 4⭐️  It was published by Atria Books in March 2020. 

Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center. I loved this book. Main character Cassie Hanwell is a successful female firefighter living in Texas. She loves her crew mates & feels them to be family. On the night she is to accept an award, a public scandal occurs & Cassie is forced to change jobs, face diversity, consider the relationships of those she loves. Starting all over can be a key to a whole new life she never imagined. 4⭐️ Read. Great, easy read. 

#4stars #inthedarksoftearth #frankwatsonpoetry This is a great collection of #poems. My favorites in the collection: #madman, #branches, #segments, #dance, #duet, little red peach, #finesse, and Island of song to name a few. The inspiring art in the #collection is an added bonus and also very interesting to consider. I admit that I rarely read poetry, consider me a novice reviewer of this genre. If you’re interested in venturing into something new, I’m sure you’ll find something you like in this collection. Thank you to #Goodreads for the opportunity to win the #ARC. #comingsoon #plumwhitepress #bookreview #read #bookrecommendation

The Lamb family lives in a lovely mansion in London. They allow a couple to come for the weekend, which turns permanent. Then the Thomsen family moves in and oh what a tangled web they weave!!! I actually had to make a “family tree” to keep track of all the characters! Main character adopted child, Libby Jones, turns 25 and receives a letter she’s been expecting:  the revealing of her birth parents. She also unexpectedly learns that she has inherited a “house.”  This is where the whirlwind begins and Libby embarks on a journey which will change her life forever as she meets the families and discovers her connection to them.