en-US Thu, 01 May 2025 11:18:10 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 30509033
Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate--and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before.

To get answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground ...]]> 368 Catherine Ryan Howard 1504757521 Tina 0 3.73 2016
author: Catherine Ryan Howard
name: Tina
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves: currently-reading, mystery-suspense-thriller, net-galley
review:

]]> 216865343
Hazel Blum, please report to the principal’s office. Hazel Blum.

When Hazel Blum’s father gets a tenured job at a prestigious college, she and her family relocate from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn to a middle-of-nowhere college town in Maine. With her mother, Claire, a clothing designer, and her father, Gus, an American Studies professor, Hazel and her eleven-year-old brother, Wolf, spend the summer at the town pool, where they acclimate to their new lives and connect with the town’s sprawling community. That is, until a dramatic fallout on the very first day of her senior year tips the fickle balance of idyllic Riverburg and impacts everyone in her family.

Tracking through the perspectives of each member of the Blum family, this relatable fish-out-of-water story handles big issues with great empathy and humor, capturing the love that unites one unforgettable family and the essence of life in small-town Maine. Emotionally deft, authentic, and compulsively readable, Hazel Says No is a debut novel not to be missed.]]> 352 Jessica Berger Gross 1335015124 Tina 0 to-read 4.13 2025
author: Jessica Berger Gross
name: Tina
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217387622 From New York Times-bestselling author Mark Kurlansky, a delectable novel following an ancient recipe for cheesecake as it spreads through the Upper West side-from the restaurant of a conniving landlord to the kitchens of the old-school New Yorkers he's trying to force out-and to the parties, feasts, and apartments they're not willing to give up that easily.

The Katsikases have found a home in New York. A Greek cheesemaking family who immigrated in hopes of opening a restaurant, they've found the perfect storefront on the up-and-coming Upper West Side. They decide to call it The Katz Brothers. (Close enough, they think.) The diner becomes a neighborhood favorite-until Art Katsikas begins buying up all the real estate he can, forcing out their old “regulars� and scheming to replace the neighborhood's strudel shops and artists with ritzy boutiques and the nouveau riche.

Meanwhile, at The Katz Brothers, the Katsikases rush to prepare for this new clientele by introducing a new “modern classical cuisine,� changing the diner's name to “Mykonos,� and deciding to serve “Cato's Cheesecake,� an ancient Roman recipe known to be the oldest ever found. Sure enough, the enigmatic recipe is a hit, even minted by the New York Times restaurant critic. Soon the cheesecake is all over the Upper West Side, and wild interpretations of Cato's vision appear at the parties, feasts, and bakeries of old New Yorkers struggling to keep their withering community alive. Sometimes laced with green M&Ms, sometimes with sage and spite, the cheesecake becomes a herald of change as the Upper West Side-and New York's food scene-are transformed for good.]]> 240 Mark Kurlansky 1639735720 Tina 0 to-read 5.00
author: Mark Kurlansky
name: Tina
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214151202 “The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.�

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.]]> 320 Clare Leslie Hall 166807818X Tina 4
This is a slow-paced heartbreaking story. About a married couple and a horrific tragedy. Some of the story is told in a "Before" segment when the wife was in love with someone else. Then the "1968" chapters begin and the wife's lost love re-renters the picture. Also in-between we have snippets of a "Criminal Trial" that is taking place in the present time. A little mystery as to what's happened and who is on trial.

I didn't get all the "feels" with the original love story but I've got to say the husband is a Saint. Sweet-heart of a guy! The tragedy is heart-wrenching. Towards the end I had to suspend a bit of disbelief. All in all a really great listen. The narrator's voice was perfect. The writing is deep and meaningful.]]> 4.41 2025
author: Clare Leslie Hall
name: Tina
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/30
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: audible, historical-fiction, mystery-suspense-thriller, audio-books
review:
Oh this was really good! The beginning started off a bit slow but then it just took off and I couldn't stop listening.

This is a slow-paced heartbreaking story. About a married couple and a horrific tragedy. Some of the story is told in a "Before" segment when the wife was in love with someone else. Then the "1968" chapters begin and the wife's lost love re-renters the picture. Also in-between we have snippets of a "Criminal Trial" that is taking place in the present time. A little mystery as to what's happened and who is on trial.

I didn't get all the "feels" with the original love story but I've got to say the husband is a Saint. Sweet-heart of a guy! The tragedy is heart-wrenching. Towards the end I had to suspend a bit of disbelief. All in all a really great listen. The narrator's voice was perfect. The writing is deep and meaningful.
]]> 230443142 Two families vacationing at a secluded lake resort are at the center of a chilling crime and mysterious disappearance in this twisty, unputdownable thriller

A stunning discovery�
Courtney Gray's tranquil family vacation is shattered when she hears a blood-curdling scream from the lakeside cottage next door. There she finds the lifeless bodies of her brother and sister-in-law. Her teenage niece Reese is nowhere to be found, while her nephew Wyatt lies asleep upstairs, unharmed.

A shocking investigation�
As the police descend on the quiet resort town, disturbing secrets about Courtney’s family start to emerge. When she learns that the town has secrets of its own, it makes her wonder if Reese is another victim in a brutal crime or if she’s the killer.

A truth no one could have imagined �
As Courtney begins to unravel the terrible mystery, she realizes that everyone around her has something to hide. And the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to see…]]> 368 Mary Kubica 0778387992 Tina 0 to-read 4.67 2026
author: Mary Kubica
name: Tina
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 123162583
Eden Miller’s world is crumbling. Her husband blindsided her with divorce, and her daughter barely speaks to her. In an impulsive decision to escape her present and revisit the past, she sends a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward.

One night twenty-three years ago changed the course of her life. It closed the door on Justin and opened the door to her husband, Dave. But what if Eden could have a do-over?

Eden begins an online relationship with Justin that awakens her in ways she never thought possible, and his voice and words make her take bold risks. But something’s off. He knows too much about her and her family…he’s been following her.

Eden is forced to awaken from her fantasy and look for answers—who really is the man on the other line? The truth about Justin—and about what happened that fateful night two decades ago—puts her and her family in a fight for their lives.]]> 242 Samantha M. Bailey Tina 0 3.43 2024
author: Samantha M. Bailey
name: Tina
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/28
shelves: currently-reading, canadian-author, mystery-suspense-thriller, net-galley
review:

]]> 25742135 24 Walt Disney Company Tina 5 MY PERSONAL CHILDHOOD CHALLENGE RE-READ FOR AUGUST

Oh, Aurora was always my favourite Disney Princess! ]]> 3.68 1959
author: Walt Disney Company
name: Tina
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1959
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/31
date added: 2025/04/27
shelves: 2022-challenge-childhood-re-reads, children-s, my-childhood-favourites
review:
MY PERSONAL CHILDHOOD CHALLENGE RE-READ FOR AUGUST

Oh, Aurora was always my favourite Disney Princess!
]]> 216958901 In 1974, a twenty-year-old Christie Brinkley was “discovered� outside a Paris phone booth, which set off a meteoric modeling career that would land her on the covers of hundreds of magazines and cement her legacy as an All-American icon. Although she’s lived more than fifty years in the public eye, the full story of her roller-coaster life has never been told.

Now, for the first time, Christie shares what life has been like, both in front of and behind the cameras, considering the girl she was alongside the woman she has become. Her stories are as heartening as they are eye-opening, as she recounts her most formative chapters, including the betrayal she experienced by her biological father as a child, her lifelong passion for art, her whirlwind career, her four tumultuous marriages—including her heartbreaking divorce from Billy Joel—and the harrowing experiences that almost cut her life short.

Through it all, Christie’s unwavering belief in the magic and mystery of life has been her guiding light, even during her darkest times. It is with this grace and gratitude that she tenderly chronicles the unexpected, unexplainable ways her life has unfolded, embracing every adventure and twist of fate along the traveling the world as a supermodel at the height of the model wars, living life on the road with her rock-star husband and their baby, starring in blockbuster movies and hit sitcoms, riding horses with cowboys, training with world-champion boxers, and even stepping into the spotlight on Broadway.

A bighearted, beautifully crafted memoir of resilience and self-discovery, featuring more than 100 photographs and never-before-seen pieces of Christie’s original artwork, Uptown Girl is the brave account of a life lived at full throttle and on full display.]]> 415 Christie Brinkley 0063385767 Tina 0 to-read 4.25
author: Christie Brinkley
name: Tina
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222376698
After being sidelined for a pesky gunshot wound, typist-turned-field agent Evelyne Redfern is ready for her next assignment with Britain’s secretive Special Investigations Unit. When a British Intelligence informant in Portugal mysteriously disappears just after hinting that he has vital information about German plans that could tip the balance of World War Two, Evelyne and her dashingly irksome partner, David Poole, are sent headed to Lisbon to find him.

Once they land, Evelyne and David aren't even able to leave the airport, before she discovers one of their fellow aeroplane passengers murdered and uncovers a diary with a clear link between the victim and their missing informant. With their mission in jeopardy before it can truly begin, Evelyne and David fight to keep their cover intact as they descend deeper into the shadows that surround Lisbon’s glittering collection of wealthy expats and dangerous spies. This case will test Evelyne and David’s training, charm, and wit―and their growing attraction for one another.]]> 304 Julia Kelly 1250865549 Tina 0 to-read 4.25 2025
author: Julia Kelly
name: Tina
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 63184770 Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the Globe and Mail and New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door.

"Lapena is a master of manipulation." --USA Today

Welcome to Stanhope! A safe neighborhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he's been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery's family declares her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn't feel so safe. And William isn't the only one on his street who's hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery's neighbors become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.]]> 336 Shari Lapena 0385698909 Tina 5 Oh just wow! 3.90 2023
author: Shari Lapena
name: Tina
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: canadian-author, mystery-suspense-thriller, net-galley, audio-books, libby-audiobooks
review:
Oh just wow!
]]> 218818943 From New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne comes a brand-new story about two women, a family secret and a lost manuscript that changes everything�

Raised by her literary icon father Carson Wells, Allison Wells always felt loved, even though her mother died when she was a teen. But when she takes a DNA test on a whim and discovers she has a sister that she’s never heard about before, it’s clear there are things her father never told her before he died. Determined to meet Juniper—her half sister—and unravel the truth of what happened all those years ago, Ali finds herself taking a job as Juniper’s intern. She’ll eventually figure out a way to tell Juniper the truth of their relationship. But she never could have imagined what would happen next�

Juniper Connolly has always been incredibly healthy…until she wakes up in the hospital after experiencing cardiac arrest, with her new—and recently fired—intern to thank for saving her life. It’s clear June needs to de-stress her life a little, so when Ali offers her the use of her family’s cabin in a small Wyoming town, June has no reason not to go. But when she arrives in the small town, her life will never be the same.

Under the wide-open spaces of the Wyoming summer sun, Ali and June will untangle the secrets and lies their lives were built on to discover who they really are and what family really means. But even more than that, they'll build a real relationship with one another and finally become sisters.Ěý

]]> 352 RaeAnne Thayne 1335467718 Tina 0 to-read 3.33 2025
author: RaeAnne Thayne
name: Tina
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 125153383
The four women soon discover the society is much more than an opportunity to chat about flowers. Rather, it offers them the chance to lend a helping hand to people whose lives need a bit of care and attention right along with their gardens.

Between pulling up weeds and planting sweet wattle, strelitzias and bromeliads, the women learn from each other that some roots go deep, and others, shallow; that seeds can lie dormant for a long time before they spring to life, and that careful tending is the key to lives and friendships that reach their full potential.]]> 432 Sophie Green 0733649432 Tina 0 to-read 3.74 2023
author: Sophie Green
name: Tina
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 224003835 Younger meets Writers and Lovers in this rollicking, sparkling, and funny romantic comedy that spans decades and generations of family in the publishing industry.

In the post-pandemic publishing industry, two rival editors are forced to share a “hot desk� on different days of the week, much to their chagrin. Having never set eyes on each other, they begin leaving passive-aggressive Post-it notes on the pot of their shared (and reviled) cactus. But when revered literary legend Edward David Adams (known as “the Lion�) dies, leaving his estate up for grabs, their banter escalates as both work feverishly to land this career-making opportunity. Their fierce rivalry ultimately forces them to make decisions about what role they want to play in the Lion’s legacy, as well as in each other’s lives.

As their battle for the estate gets more heated, we go back in time and are introduced to Jane and Rose, two strong, talented best friends trying to gain entry and make a mark of their own in the publishing world of 1980s New York at a time when art, the written word, and creative expression were all at their height and nearly within reach. But one fateful night during the blizzard of 1982 will change the course of one of their lives forever�

Set in both the nostalgic and electric vibrancy of 1980s Manhattan and contemporary New York’s post-pandemic high-rises, Hot Desk is a funny, sexy, unexpectedly moving novel that weaves a contemporary workplace romance with a gripping historical narrative and tackles important questions about appropriation, sexism, and who has the right to tell their story.]]> 368 Laura Dickerman 1668081091 Tina 0 to-read 5.00
author: Laura Dickerman
name: Tina
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222376586 All This Could Be Yours. In a different city every night, Tessa receives standing ovations from adoring fans while her husband Henry and their two children cheer her on from their brand-new dream house.

But there's a chilling problem with Tessa's triumphant book tour—she soon realizes she is being stalked by someone who's obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her perfect family back home.

Tessa fears the fallout from an impossible decision she once made—what felt like a genuine deal with the devil—appears to be coming due. And she’s realizing that every high-stakes bargain comes with a high-stakes price. If Tessa can't untangle who's threatening to expose her darkest secrets, she'll lose her career, her family—and possibly her life.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 368 Hank Phillippi Ryan 1250349990 Tina 0 to-read 5.00
author: Hank Phillippi Ryan
name: Tina
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 356047
As the novel begins, Nomi struggles to cope with the back-to-back departures three years earlier of Tash, her beautiful and mouthy sister, and Trudie, her warm and spirited mother. She lives with her father, Ray, a sweet yet hapless schoolteacher whose love is unconditional but whose parenting skills amount to benign neglect. Father and daughter deal with their losses in very different ways. Ray, a committed elder of the church, seeks to create an artificial sense of order by reorganizing the city dump late at night. Nomi, on the other hand, favours chaos as she tries to blunt her pain through “drugs and imagination.� Together they live in a limbo of unanswered questions.

Nomi’s first person narrative shifts effortlessly between the present and the past. Within the present, Nomi goes through the motions of finishing high school while flagrantly rebelling against Mennonite tradition. She hangs out on Suicide Hill, hooks up with a boy named Travis, goes on the Pill, wanders around town, skips class and cranks Led Zeppelin. But the past is never far from her mind as she remembers happy times with her mother and sister � as well as the painful events that led them to flee town. Throughout, in a voice both defiant and vulnerable, she offers hilarious and heartbreaking reflections on life, death, family, faith and love.

Eventually Nomi’s grief � and a growing sense of hypocrisy � cause her to spiral ever downward to a climax that seems at once startling and inevitable. But even when one more loss is heaped on her piles of losses, Nomi maintains hope and finds the imagination and willingness to envision what lies beyond.

Few novels in recent years have generated as much excitement as A Complicated Kindness . Winner of the Governor General’s Award and a Giller Prize Finalist, Miriam Toews’s third novel has earned both critical acclaim and a long and steady position on our national bestseller lists. In the Globe and Mail , author Bill Richardson writes the “There is so much that’s accomplished and fine. The momentum of the narrative, the quality of the storytelling, the startling images, the brilliant rendering of a time and place, the observant, cataloguing eye of the writer, her great grace. But if I had to name Miriam Toews’s crowning achievement, it would be the creation of Nomi Nickel, who deserves to take her place beside Daisy Goodwill Flett, Pi Patel and Hagar Shipley as a brilliantly realized character for whom the reader comes to care, okay, comes to love.�


This town is so severe. And silent. It makes me crazy, the silence. I wonder if a person can die from it. The town office building has a giant filing cabinet full of death certificates that say choked to death on his own anger or suffocated from unexpressed feelings of unhappiness. Silentium. People here just can’t wait to die, it seems. It’s the main event. The only reason we’re not all snuffed at birth is because that would reduce our suffering by a lifetime. My guidance counsellor has suggested to me that I change my attitude about this place and learn to love it. But I do, I told her. Oh, that’s rich, she said. That’s rich. . .

We’re Mennonites. After Dukhobors who show up naked in court we are the most embarrassing sub-sect of people to belong to if you’re a teenager. Five hundred years ago in Europe a man named Menno Simons set off to do his own peculiar religious thing and he and his followers were beaten up and killed or forced to conform all over Holland, Poland, and Russia until they, at least some of them, finally landed right here where I sit. Imagine the least well-adjusted kid in your school starting a breakaway clique of people whose manifesto includes a ban on the media, dancing, smoking , temperate climates, movies, drinking, rock’n’roll, having sex for fun, swimming, makeup, jewellery, playing pool, going to cities, or staying up past nine o’clock. That was Menno all over. Thanks a lot, Menno.
—from A Complicated Kindness]]> 256 Miriam Toews 0676978568 Tina 4 This is my third Personal Challenge book for 2025- Popular Canadian Books ]]> 3.55 2004
author: Miriam Toews
name: Tina
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: 2025-challenge-popularcdn-books, canadian-author
review:
This is my third Personal Challenge book for 2025- Popular Canadian Books
]]> 58482480
“A breathtaking story of an extraordinary friendship and the transcendent power of a mother’s love. Molly Fader has penned an unforgettable novel that is sure to be one of the year’s best.� —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil

A moment of great change sparks the friendship of a lifetime�

1967 Iowa. Nursing school roommates BettyKay and Kitty don’t have much in common. A farmer’s daughter, BettyKay has risked her family’s disapproval to make her dreams come true away from her small rural town. Cosmopolitan Kitty has always relied on her beauty and smarts to get by and to hide a devastating secret from the past that she can’t seem to outrun. Yet the two share a determination to prove themselves in a changing world, forging an unlikely, powerful bond on a campus unkind to women.

Before their first year is up, tragedy strikes, and the women’s paths are forced apart. But against all odds, a decades-long friendship forms, persevering through love, marriage, failure and death, from the jungles of Vietnam to the glamorous circles of Hollywood. Until one snowy night leads their relationship to the ultimate crossroads.

Fifty years later, two estranged sisters are shocked when a famous movie star shows up at their mother's funeral. Over one tumultuous weekend, the women must reckon with a dazzling truth about their family that will alter their lives forever…]]> 352 Molly Fader 0369717724 Tina 0 to-read 4.23 2022
author: Molly Fader
name: Tina
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 212431569
Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it’s a role she never applied to in the first place!

After she decodes the invitation’s hidden message with ease, the promise of her family secrets being revealed is too powerful a draw for the orphaned Destiny, who soon finds herself on Eerie Island. It’s a place whose inhabitants are almost as inhospitable as the tempestuous weather. The Scruffmores themselves turn out to be not much better, a snarled mess of secrets and motives connected by their mistrust for one another.

Their newly arrived guest proves to be just as much an enigma to them as they are to her. While Destiny slowly works to unravel the mysteries hidden throughout the ominous castle, she struggles to interpret disturbing nightly visions of what is to come. In the midst of cryptic ciphers, hidden passages, and the family’s magical heritage and line of succession, Destiny is certain of two things: one of the Scruffmores is going to die and she’s running out of time to stop it.

Interspersed with riddles and puzzles that both Destiny and the reader must solve, A Most Puzzling Murder is a one-of-a-kind mystery that will leave you guessing and gasping until the very last page!]]> 480 Bianca Marais 0778368602 Tina 0 to-read 4.25 2025
author: Bianca Marais
name: Tina
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214304169 Another unforgettable story, tying together past and present, from the bestselling author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris and The Royal Librarian

Berlin, 1933. The night skies are burning bright with huge bonfires of banned books. The Nazi party is swelling in number, Berlin is no longer a safe place for young Freya.

She can only watch on, horrified, as her beloved city falls to fascism � and the usually law-abiding Freya is forced to make a choice: continue being a bystander, or sacrifice herself to save the lives of others�

New York, present day. Maddie commutes home to her family to reset. Struggling to fully turn off from her work, she’s is shocked to come across a pre-war German diary amongst her Grandpa’s things. And when she starts to dig into the diary, Maddie’s shocked by what she finds.

And so begins a journey that will take Maddie beyond America as she searches for the truth about Freya, and how she changed people’s lives across the globe…]]> 352 Daisy Wood 0008699186 Tina 4
It's a dual time line story. Freya's life is changing in 1930's Berlin. Her beloved mother has just died and she must take over her sewing business. It's not something she really enjoys. She loves the arts and writing in particular. She gets a job in a prestigious Berlin theatre and begins to sew the costumes and makes new friends. She's frustrated with her father and brother and leaves to live in the theatre. Times are changing in Germany and Hitler's regime is causing havoc for many people. Freya finds herself resisting the regime and doing things she never thought she'd have to do. In the present timeline Maddie is visiting her Grandfather in California. She's helping to cleanup his apartment and they find her Great-Grandmother's diary written in German. This puts Maddie on a quest to find out about her and her heritage. She will discover many things. I liked the twist at the end!

This book was a welcome change for me as it focused on pre WW II and Germany and when Hitler was fear mongering his own people. He was imposing curfews and trying to control freedom of speech through the banning and burning of books. Stories like this are still important today. This is a reminder to us all to never make these same mistakes again.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy.

Published in the UK April 10, 2025]]> 4.13
author: Daisy Wood
name: Tina
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/17
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: net-galley, historical-fiction, dual-timeline
review:
I love Daisy Wood's writing. I've read all of her books except for one (The Royal Librarian..but I do want to read that one as well.) All her books are so well researched. I was very excited when the publisher granted me an early copy. I was not disappointed!

It's a dual time line story. Freya's life is changing in 1930's Berlin. Her beloved mother has just died and she must take over her sewing business. It's not something she really enjoys. She loves the arts and writing in particular. She gets a job in a prestigious Berlin theatre and begins to sew the costumes and makes new friends. She's frustrated with her father and brother and leaves to live in the theatre. Times are changing in Germany and Hitler's regime is causing havoc for many people. Freya finds herself resisting the regime and doing things she never thought she'd have to do. In the present timeline Maddie is visiting her Grandfather in California. She's helping to cleanup his apartment and they find her Great-Grandmother's diary written in German. This puts Maddie on a quest to find out about her and her heritage. She will discover many things. I liked the twist at the end!

This book was a welcome change for me as it focused on pre WW II and Germany and when Hitler was fear mongering his own people. He was imposing curfews and trying to control freedom of speech through the banning and burning of books. Stories like this are still important today. This is a reminder to us all to never make these same mistakes again.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy.

Published in the UK April 10, 2025
]]> 228142535 304 Maisie Thomas 1836332424 Tina 0 to-read 4.50
author: Maisie Thomas
name: Tina
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 224003670 This twisty and sinister thriller follows a New York art gallery assistant reckoning with her past and now trapped in a web of deceit after an up-and-coming painter is murdered—perfect for fans of Katy Hays and Julia Bartz.

November 2001: Chloe Harlow wakes up late, with hazy memories of the party the night before but no recollection of how she got back to her Brooklyn apartment. Ever since the terrifying and catastrophic terrorist attack, it seems she has been on a collision course with destruction.

When she finally arrives at the exclusive Upper East Side art gallery where she works, she is immediately called into her boss’s office. A pair of NYPD detectives greet her, also very curious to know how her evening ended…because the host of the party, a rising painter and the gallery’s newest artist, is dead.

Navigating both the sophisticated high-stakes art world and her personal life in burgeoning Williamsburg, Chloe struggles to piece together a complete picture of that lost night. As she digs deeper, inconsistencies emerge between what she remembers and what people tell her actually happened, and more questions are raised. Everything begins to feel like a conspiracy and maybe it is. Because Chloe is the only one who glimpses the secrets the murdered artist left behind, and the closer she gets to the truth…the more deadly it becomes.]]> 288 Kate Belli 1668093650 Tina 0 to-read 3.81
author: Kate Belli
name: Tina
average rating: 3.81
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59972550 From USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe comes a spicy Anastasia story full of secrets and betrayal, set among the glittering streets of New York City's Gilded Age.

In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.

After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.

Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.

As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.]]> 352 Joanna Shupe 0063310317 Tina 0 to-read 3.91 2025
author: Joanna Shupe
name: Tina
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 230933437 “No one does suburban paranoia like Shari Lapena.”—Ruth Ware

The new gripping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden–working from home that day–has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.]]> 352 Shari Lapena 0385699522 Tina 0 to-read 0.0 2025
author: Shari Lapena
name: Tina
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217182446 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Calamity of Souls comes David Baldacci’s newest novel, set in London in 1944, about a bereaved book shop owner and two teenagers scarred by the second world war, and the healing and hope they find in one another.

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via “Operation Pied Piper,� Molly has been away from her parents—from her home—for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: both her parents are gone.

Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where A book a day keeps the bombs away. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other—over the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seen—they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost.

But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is still reeling from a secret Imogen long kept from him while she was alive—something so shocking it resulted in her death, and his life being turned upside down.

As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.]]> 448 David Baldacci 1538742055 Tina 4
This was a buddy read with my friend, "Darlin' Darla" and I can say it was equally good in print as she very much enjoyed it in that format.

I do enjoy a lot of WW II Historical Fiction but I can understand how hard it is to write something new and refreshing for the genre. Safe to say the renowned David Baldacci has succeeded! He writes a sad but resilient story about three people drawn together at the worst possible time - War. Charlie lives in the East End of London with his Gran. They are struggling to survive through the war. Molly, lives in the west end of London in fashionable Chelsea. She has just arrived back from the countryside and finds herself pretty much alone. They both meet Ignatius Oliver, who is a widower and owns a bookshop in London. He could be hiding something but the two teenagers begin to get close to him at a time when they really need the strength of a grown-up.

There's many twists and turns in this story and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys wartime fiction. Please do check out my friend Darla's perspective of this wonderful story!

Publishes April 15, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Hachette Audio for granting me access to this Advanced Listening Copy.]]> 4.08 2025
author: David Baldacci
name: Tina
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/12
shelves: audio-books, netgalley-audiobooks, buddy-read-darla, historical-fiction, war-time
review:
This was fantastic on Audio! There are several narrators. Each narrator brings a good pace and unique tone to their character.

This was a buddy read with my friend, "Darlin' Darla" and I can say it was equally good in print as she very much enjoyed it in that format.

I do enjoy a lot of WW II Historical Fiction but I can understand how hard it is to write something new and refreshing for the genre. Safe to say the renowned David Baldacci has succeeded! He writes a sad but resilient story about three people drawn together at the worst possible time - War. Charlie lives in the East End of London with his Gran. They are struggling to survive through the war. Molly, lives in the west end of London in fashionable Chelsea. She has just arrived back from the countryside and finds herself pretty much alone. They both meet Ignatius Oliver, who is a widower and owns a bookshop in London. He could be hiding something but the two teenagers begin to get close to him at a time when they really need the strength of a grown-up.

There's many twists and turns in this story and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys wartime fiction. Please do check out my friend Darla's perspective of this wonderful story!

Publishes April 15, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Hachette Audio for granting me access to this Advanced Listening Copy.
]]> 227945196
I never anticipated Charlie Florek.

Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.

Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.

Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.

Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.]]> 336 Carley Fortune 0735247293 Tina 0 to-read 4.67 2025
author: Carley Fortune
name: Tina
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 228458188 The Hollywood Governess

An English rose with American dreams

Audrey Wade longs to escape her domineering father and the bleak streets of post-war Yorkshire. Hollywood glitters with glamour, freedom, and the promise of a life with her best friend Freddie. But when Freddie abandons her, Audrey is left to chase her dreams alone.

A Heartthrob with secrets

Rex Trent is more than Hollywood’s leading man. Charismatic and dangerously handsome, he’s adored by millions and watched by powerful enemies in a paranoid 1950s America. One wrong move could destroy him.

A romance born of ambition and betrayal

When Rex proposes, Audrey is swept into Hollywood’s glamour and high-stakes secrets. But she soon discovers Rex’s dark side and faces a cling to a man who may never love her, or risk everything to forge her own path?

A gripping new historical novel from a wonderful new voice. Perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins-Reid, Wendy Holden and Allison Pataki.]]> 376 Alexandra Weston 1836039956 Tina 3
Audrey Wade lives in Sheffield, England. It's 1946 and the war has ended and she is dreaming about running away to Hollywood with her best friend Freddie. Unfortunately Freddie has a secret and is banished from her life by her strict Father. By early 1950 Audrey is distraught. She decides to run away to Hollywood by herself. She finds a job as a secretary for a popular talent agent. There she meets one of the biggest stars of the time- Rex Trent. She's immediately infatuated. Before she knows it she's married to him and living her dream life. Or is she?

The idea of this story is very loosely based on Rock Hudson and his marriage to a secretary. I enjoy stories about old Hollywood and all its glamour. There's also a dirty side to Hollywood and it's exposed in this story. It's sad for both parties. Audrey in particular was very naive and innocent but I'm happy she finally got a back bone by the end of the novel.

Published March 28, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for granting me access to this Advance Readers Copy.]]> 4.06
author: Alexandra Weston
name: Tina
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: net-galley, historical-fiction
review:
I did like the story. It just didn't completely grab me. The writing is good and the premise was very enticing.

Audrey Wade lives in Sheffield, England. It's 1946 and the war has ended and she is dreaming about running away to Hollywood with her best friend Freddie. Unfortunately Freddie has a secret and is banished from her life by her strict Father. By early 1950 Audrey is distraught. She decides to run away to Hollywood by herself. She finds a job as a secretary for a popular talent agent. There she meets one of the biggest stars of the time- Rex Trent. She's immediately infatuated. Before she knows it she's married to him and living her dream life. Or is she?

The idea of this story is very loosely based on Rock Hudson and his marriage to a secretary. I enjoy stories about old Hollywood and all its glamour. There's also a dirty side to Hollywood and it's exposed in this story. It's sad for both parties. Audrey in particular was very naive and innocent but I'm happy she finally got a back bone by the end of the novel.

Published March 28, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for granting me access to this Advance Readers Copy.
]]> 216285239 From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes an epic tale of unrequited love that is by turns breathtaking, heartbreaking—and utterly unforgettable.

1946: World War II is over, and Emma Clarkson is poised to take flight. With dreams of attending university, she’s ready to leave behind the wild beauty of Sable Island, the only home she’s ever known. But when a handsome British sea captain is rescued from a nearby shipwreck, her destiny is forever changed.

Emma falls deeply in love with Oliver Harris, but their romance is not meant to be. Oliver returns to the sea, while Emma vows to forget him and pursue her own ambitions. When a handsome veterinarian arrives on the island to study the wild horses, Emma finds love again, but soon discovers that all is not as it seems�

1995: Mourning the death of her beloved grandmother, Joanna Griffin is shocked to learn that her grandfather once loved a young woman named Emma, but lies, betrayals, and catastrophic events separated them forever. As Joanna crosses an ocean to solve the secrets of her grandfather’s past, she learns that love is a powerful force, even mightier than the passage of time�

A shining thread of hope illuminates this epic tale of lost love and fallen dreams, set in the remote splendor of Nova Scotia and spanning decades.]]> 366 Julianne MacLean 1662519117 Tina 4 4.38
author: Julianne MacLean
name: Tina
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/31
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: canadian-author, historical-fiction, net-galley, dual-timeline
review:

]]> 216052751 Four dissatisfied sixties-era housewives form a book club turned sisterhood that will hold fast amid the turmoil of a rapidly changing world and alter the course of each of their lives.

By early 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan, Viv Buschetti, and Bitsy Cobb, suburban housewives in a brand-new "planned community" in Northern Virginia, appear to have it all. The fact that "all" doesn't feel like enough leaves them feeling confused and guilty, certain the fault must lie with them. Things begin to change when they form a book club with Charlotte Gustafson--the eccentric and artsy "new neighbor" from Manhattan--and read Betty Friedan's just-released book, The Feminine Mystique.

Controversial and groundbreaking, the book struck a chord with an entire generation of women, helping them realize that they weren't alone in their dissatisfactions, or their longings, lifting their eyes to new horizons of possibility and achievement. Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv are among them. But is it really the book that alters the lives of these four very different women? Or is it the bond of sisterhood that helps them find courage to confront the past, navigate turmoil in a rapidly changing world, and see themselves in a new and limitless light?]]> 384 Marie Bostwick 1400344743 Tina 4
It's 1963 in suburban America. Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte are all neighbours in Concordia. They form a book club and their first book is a new controversial one called,"The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Frieden. The book makes them question their lives, hopes and dreams at a time when women were very much at the mercy of their husbands. They soon start to refer to themselves as, "The Bettys" in honour of the author. The women all form a close bond and we follow all their lives for many months.

I listened to this on audio and it only enhanced my experience. It was very interesting to enter the world of 1963 where women were expected to keep the house clean, take care of the children and cook homemade meals every night. On the other hand many women were hooked on tranquilizers, stuck in loveless marriages, and could not even open a bank account without their husband's permission. Also weaved into the story were some real life events like the Martin Luther King March, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Even the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy made an appearance (loved that!)

I could very much see this book being made into a limited series. It sure would be fun to watch!

Publishes on April 22, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for granting me access to this Advanced Listening Copy.]]> 4.15 2025
author: Marie Bostwick
name: Tina
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: audio-books, netgalley-audiobooks, historical-fiction, women-s-fiction
review:
My first Marie Bostwick novel and I was very impressed! This is a gentle sort of "feminist" historical fiction story.

It's 1963 in suburban America. Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte are all neighbours in Concordia. They form a book club and their first book is a new controversial one called,"The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Frieden. The book makes them question their lives, hopes and dreams at a time when women were very much at the mercy of their husbands. They soon start to refer to themselves as, "The Bettys" in honour of the author. The women all form a close bond and we follow all their lives for many months.

I listened to this on audio and it only enhanced my experience. It was very interesting to enter the world of 1963 where women were expected to keep the house clean, take care of the children and cook homemade meals every night. On the other hand many women were hooked on tranquilizers, stuck in loveless marriages, and could not even open a bank account without their husband's permission. Also weaved into the story were some real life events like the Martin Luther King March, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Even the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy made an appearance (loved that!)

I could very much see this book being made into a limited series. It sure would be fun to watch!

Publishes on April 22, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for granting me access to this Advanced Listening Copy.
]]> 222376614 WITH OVER 1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD . . .

Chevy Stevens has garnered acclaim from literary giants,
including Stephen King who called THOSE GIRLS “incredibly scary and suspenseful� and Gillian Flynn who called STILL MISSING “utterly absorbing.�

With THE HITCHHIKERS, she forges new ground with a novel that will both terrify you and break your heart.

On the remote Canadian highways in 1976, Tom and Alice set out to heal their fractured marriage.
An RV, a new beginning, and the hope of recovery after a devastating tragedy.
Then they meet two young hitchhikers,
Ocean and Blue—a seemingly innocent couple who aren’t who they seem. . . .
They are Jenny and Simon.
And they have left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them.
Now Tom and Alice are trapped—prisoners in a deadly game, with nowhere to turn.
But as the tension builds and the lines blur,
the question becomes, In whose heart does evil truly lie?

A chilling, twist-laden ride to the final page—THE HITCHHIKERS is a master class in suspense and shock.]]> 384 Chevy Stevens 1250133653 Tina 0 to-read 3.98 2025
author: Chevy Stevens
name: Tina
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221598438 Three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

Restauranteur Paddy Swann was the life of the party until the day a man pushed him in the path of an oncoming train, leaving his twenty-something daughter Ash and wife Nina devastated. Shortly after Paddy’s funeral, the two women receive a surprise in the mail: a note and package from Nick Ratcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s, and a nondescript lighter that once belonged to him decades ago. This unexpected gift draws Nick and Nina closer together—much to Ash’s dismay.

Martha is a small-town florist with dreams of expansion. She lives with her second husband Al, her baby, and two sons from her prior marriage. But they never seem to have any money, and with his constant traveling for work, she feels like a single parent—especially when an emergency makes her realize something needs to change.

But Nick and Al may not be who they say they are, leading these three women on a shocking collision course, wishing they had heeded a warning: Don’t let him in.]]> 368 Lisa Jewell 1668202190 Tina 0 to-read 3.00 2025
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Tina
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 229260143 The Canadian Fall is a slow-burn psychological thriller.

When the leaves turn, so do the lies.

On an ordinary December morning in Toronto, a woman falls to her death from a high-rise, her body shattering the illusion of a city that never looks up. Was it an accident? Suicide? Or something far more sinister?

Ann McFadden has spent years playing the perfect wife in a marriage built on control, appearances, and silent suffering. Her husband, Mark, is a man obsessed with symbols of the right house, the right job, the right wife. But beneath the polished surface, Ann is suffocating. She knows she needs to escape. She just doesn’t know how.
Then, she meets him. The man on the trail. A stranger with eyes that hold secrets as deep as her own.

As the cracks in Ann’s life widen, long-buried truths rise to the surface, pulling her toward a choice she never imagined making. But when another woman takes the fall, literally, Ann realizes that some prisons don’t come with locks.

They come with consequences.

Somewhere in the pages of a missing manuscript, the truth is waiting to be found. But the closer Ann gets to uncovering it, the more dangerous her world becomes. Secrets don’t stay buried. The past never truly lets go. And someone will do whatever it takes to ensure this story never gets told.

When the leaves turn, so do the lives.]]> 233 Mitchell Lanigan Tina 0 to-read 4.53
author: Mitchell Lanigan
name: Tina
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 212919982 In this debut memoir from the bestselling author of The Bear and The Last Neanderthal, Claire Cameron confronts the rare genetic mutation that gave her cancer by investigating an equally rare and terrifying event—a predatory bear attack.

When Claire Cameron was nine years old, her father, a professor of Old English, told her he was dying. In the years after he was gone, she found a way to overcome her grief among the rivers and lakes of Algonquin Park, a vast Canadian wilderness area. Around that same time, in 1991, a couple was killed by a black bear in a rare predatory attack in the park. Claire was shocked and, never fully sure of what happened, the attack haunted her.
Ěý Ěý Ěý Now older, with children of her own, Cameron was diagnosed with the same kind of deadly skin cancer as her father. Caught in a second wave of grief, she was told by her doctor, “the ideal exposure to UV light is none.â€� No longer able to venture into the wilderness as she once had, with long scars on her back, she became obsessed with the bear attack in Algonquin Park again. How could terror rip through such a beautiful place? Could she separate truth from fiction? She headed north to investigate.
Ěý Ěý ĚýĚýClaire seamlessly weaves together nature writing with true crime investigation in this unflinching account of recovery. How to Survive a Bear Attack is at once an intimate portrait of an extraordinary animal, a bracing chronicle of pain, obsession, and love, and a profoundly moving exploration of how we can understand and survive the wildness that lives inside us.]]> 296 Claire Cameron 1039056369 Tina 4 4.20
author: Claire Cameron
name: Tina
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: audio-books, canadian-author, biographies-memoirs, netgalley-audiobooks, net-galley
review:
This book surprised me in a good way! I must admit that title and cover drew me in at first
]]> 211003837 For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.

Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of post-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval’s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.]]> 320 Kristin Koval 1250342996 Tina 4
I listened to the audio and it was brilliantly narrated by one of my favourite narrators- Thérèse Plummer.

It's essentially about a family and a terrible circumstance. The pacing in the middle of the story started to lag and it ended up with a big chunk of backstory that I felt was too long. However, this is a debut novel and I did enjoy the author's style of writing. She's very promising. This story will stay with me but it did leave me with some unanswered questions. Perhaps intentional but I wanted more closure.]]> 3.68 2025
author: Kristin Koval
name: Tina
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: audio-books, family, libby-audiobooks
review:
This one's tough for me to rate. The first 50% I was completely immersed in the story. It was a full 5 stars up to that point. I pretty much went in blind and I'd suggest that's the way to go with this one.

I listened to the audio and it was brilliantly narrated by one of my favourite narrators- Thérèse Plummer.

It's essentially about a family and a terrible circumstance. The pacing in the middle of the story started to lag and it ended up with a big chunk of backstory that I felt was too long. However, this is a debut novel and I did enjoy the author's style of writing. She's very promising. This story will stay with me but it did leave me with some unanswered questions. Perhaps intentional but I wanted more closure.
]]> 208954503 A captivating new historical novel from Madeline Martin, set in Victorian London about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.

You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society�

London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.

Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands� untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.

As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.]]> Madeline Martin Tina 0 to-read 4.56 2025
author: Madeline Martin
name: Tina
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 213870649 Set in Ireland during the turbulent early 20th century, Patricia Falvey's sweeping novel explores an unlikely friendship between two girls of vastly different backgrounds, as each tries to overcome the barriers set by class and birthright...

On a June morning in 1900, Rosie Killeen crosses the road that divides her family's County Mayo farm from the estate of Lord and Lady Ennis, and makes her way to the -big house- for the first time. Barely eight years old, Rosie joins the throng of servants preparing for the arrival of Queen Victoria. But while the royal visit is a coup for Ennismore, a chance meeting on the grounds proves even more momentous for Rosie.

Victoria Bell, Lord and Lady Ennis's young daughter, is desperately lonely. Though the children of the gentry seldom fraternize with locals, Lord Ennis arranges for Rosie to join in Victoria's school lessons. For Rosie, the opportunity is exhilarating yet isolating. Victoria's governess and aunt, Lady Louisa, objects to teaching a peasant girl. The other servants resent Rosie's escape from the drudgery of life below stairs. Bright, strong-willed Rosie finds herself caught between her own people and the rarefied air of Ennismore--especially as she grows closer to Victoria's older brother, Valentine.

As they near womanhood, the girls' friendship is interrupted. Victoria is bound for a coming out season in Dublin, and Rosie must find a way to support her family. But Ireland is changing too. The country's struggle for Home Rule, the outbreak of the Great War, and a looming Easter rebellion in Dublin all herald a new era. Not even Ennismore can escape unscathed. And for Rosie, family loyalty, love, friendship and patriotism will collide in life-changing ways, leading her through heartbreak and loss in search of her own triumphant independence.]]> 385 Patricia Falvey 1496753860 Tina 4
Victoria and Rosie meet as young children. Lady Victoria is an Earl's daughter from the, "big house" and Rosie's father is a land tenant. They meet by accident and then Rosie is summoned to the manor to take school lessons with Victoria and they become firm friends until one day Victoria must leave. It's time for, "the season" and Rosie cannot go. We then follow both girls lives over many years.

The story is told in 5 parts from 1906 until WW I. The School Days, Separation, Dublin, Rebellion and finally The Girls of Ennismore Homecoming.

The story is filled with rich Irish history. Both girls go through some hardships but will their friendship prevail? I enjoyed it a lot! ]]> 3.92 2017
author: Patricia Falvey
name: Tina
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: hoopla, historical-fiction, irish
review:
�️ A wonderful Irish story for St. Paddy's Day �️

Victoria and Rosie meet as young children. Lady Victoria is an Earl's daughter from the, "big house" and Rosie's father is a land tenant. They meet by accident and then Rosie is summoned to the manor to take school lessons with Victoria and they become firm friends until one day Victoria must leave. It's time for, "the season" and Rosie cannot go. We then follow both girls lives over many years.

The story is told in 5 parts from 1906 until WW I. The School Days, Separation, Dublin, Rebellion and finally The Girls of Ennismore Homecoming.

The story is filled with rich Irish history. Both girls go through some hardships but will their friendship prevail? I enjoyed it a lot!
]]> 36411207
After a public meltdown at Thanksgiving, Maxine finds herself not only divorced, but exiled to Scottsdale, Arizona. However, these desert boondocks will not be her end―only her Elba. The former beauty queen sets her eyes on a new crown: that of the Mrs. American Pie pageant, awarded to the nation’s best wife and mother.

Maxine only has one problem: to win the crown she’ll need to find―or build―a family of her own.]]> 368 Juliet McDaniel 1942645864 Tina 0 to-read 3.81 2018
author: Juliet McDaniel
name: Tina
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60655778 A family saga as heartbreaking as it is unforgettable. Canadian author, Lara Meredith, has written a debut novel that will bring you to tears and then make you smile.

A tangle of secrets, a life-changing decision, and two families determined to withhold what was never theirs to keep.

Shaken by the fallout from an ominous story, journalist Rayna Westcott seeks refuge on her family’s horse breeding farm for Thanksgiving. When an unnerving event leaves her emotionally stranded and confronting a cache of simmering regrets, the plan becomes simple; face her demons, reinvent her career, and run back to the city.

Despite warnings, she naïvely moves into Raspberry Cottage, a dwelling on the back of the Westcott estate. Although it offers temporary shelter to revive an old dream, it sits adjacent to Charlotte and Trent Jackson’s home, awakening thoughts of young love and roads not taken. Rayna soon finds it difficult not to notice the seemingly happy life of the Jacksons as she struggles to weave the tattered threads of her life back together in a world she no longer recognizes.

But when she uncovers a web of deceit, destined to crack the foundations beneath the two families, the unthinkable happens.

Instagram Reviewer @accidentalbookworm
Your ability to make a reader feel like they are in the book was just amazing. When I think about what to compare this book to, it's warm and fuzzy like a comforting Southern meal... a perfect rainy day read.]]> 304 Lara Meredith 1777580749 Tina 0 to-read 3.90
author: Lara Meredith
name: Tina
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 229004215
An isolated women’s shelter destined for tragedy.
An enraged husband hell-bent on revenge.

Wren Fern inherited two life-changing gifts the night her grandmother died: a sixth sense forewarning her of impending death and danger and an isolated farmhouse at the foot of Thunder Bridge.
Scarred by a violent past, Wren wastes no time transforming the property into Willow House, a financially struggling women’s shelter for victims fleeing domestic violence. While Wren acts as a lightning rod between the women and their abusive partners, she’s forced to make a choice when a new victim arrives who jeopardizes the security of the remote shelter. But Wren has vowed never to turn anyone away. It doesn’t take long before an unnerving string of events beset the refuge, and as the encounters become more menacing, the evidence is undeniable: a stalker has set their sights on Willow house.
Things unravel when a troubled resident with a devastating secret disappears in the middle of the night, leaving behind a mystery―and an enraged ex-husband hell-bent on revenge. As Willow House shifts into a lockdown, a chain of devastating events threaten Wren’s attempts to save her shelter, and her life.
With a shadowy menace lurking the unsuspecting halls of her beloved Willow, Wren must protect her residents while she figures out who is in danger―and who is the danger, because not everyone entering the shelter is looking for a safe haven.]]> 312 Lara Meredith 1777580765 Tina 0 to-read 5.00 2025
author: Lara Meredith
name: Tina
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220161280 Years after her best friend mysteriously disappeared from a remote New England island, a young woman returns in search of answers in this atmospheric and scintillating thriller from Jessa Maxwell, nationally bestselling author of the “deliciously entertaining� (Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon.

Orla O’Connor hasn’t been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend Alice disappeared from its shores without a trace—but with plenty of rumors.

Now, Orla returns to her family’s beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. The island and her best friend’s house next door, abandoned after her family left in grief, are stirring up memories she would like to avoid. Then there are the locals, always gossiping and watching Orla’s every move. Worst of all, David, Orla’s childhood crush and son of a wealthy Manhattan family, is back for the summer with his new, impossibly pretty girlfriend, Faith.

Faith suspects that David is going to propose but as soon as she settles into his family’s sprawling Hadley Island estate, she feels out of place. She anticipated a luxurious summer of fun and romance, but David is never around—lured into business conversations with his entrepreneur father from dawn to dusk. With nothing else to do, Faith begins to investigate the island’s dark past, curious about what really happened to Alice all those years ago.

Meanwhile, local Henry hasn’t left his house since the young girl went missing, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down. Except they never have. For years, Henry has had an endless supply of time to pursue his only hobby, watching the island from his telescope and recording the activities of its inhabitants. But Orla’s return has shaken him and lately he’s been seeing strange shadowy figures walking on the beach in the middle of the night and a light on in the upstairs window of the long-abandoned house of the missing girl.

When there’s another disappearance on the island, all three find themselves pulled into an eerie and twisty mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.]]> 288 Jessa Maxwell 1668070391 Tina 0 to-read 3.61
author: Jessa Maxwell
name: Tina
average rating: 3.61
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 209492361 A haunted woman stalked by a serial killer confronts the horrors of fairy tales and the nightmares of real life in a breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by a Bram Stoker Award–winning author.

It started the night journalist Briar Thorne’s mother died in their rambling old mansion on Chicago’s South Side.

The nightmares of a woman in white pleading to come home, music switched on in locked rooms, and the panicked fear of being swallowed by the dark…Bri has almost convinced herself that these stirrings of dread are simply manifestations of grief and not the beyond-world of ghostly impossibilities her mother believed in. And more tangible terrors still lurk outside the decaying Victorian greystone.

A serial killer has claimed the lives of fifty-one women in the Chicago area. When Bri starts researching the murders, she meets a stranger who tells her there’s more to her sleepless nights than bad dreams—they hold the key to putting ghosts to rest and stopping a killer. But the killer has caught on and is closing in, and if Bri doesn’t answer the call of the dead soon, she’ll be walking among them.]]> 336 Cynthia Pelayo 1662513925 Tina 2
It's a good premise that just didn't really go anywhere. Briar Rose is grieving. Her mother has recently died and she's gone to live back in her childhood home. She believes it's haunted. She's not sleeping well. Partly due to her mother's death and partly due to the house. Her dreams become meddled where she can't tell the difference between reality and dream. I felt the same way reading it. Perhaps the story was meant to be like that and leave you wondering.

There's a lot going on in the story besides grieving. There's the retellings (several) of, "Sleeping Beauty," curses and legends and there's a serial killer on the loose in the neighbourhood!

Perhaps it's my recent grief but I just couldn't connect to this story. I encourage you to read other reviews as many others enjoyed it more than I did. Just not my cup of tea.

Published March 11, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for granting me access to this Advanced Reader's Copy.]]> 3.39 2025
author: Cynthia Pelayo
name: Tina
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, net-galley
review:
This one had so much potential but sadly didn't deliver for me.

It's a good premise that just didn't really go anywhere. Briar Rose is grieving. Her mother has recently died and she's gone to live back in her childhood home. She believes it's haunted. She's not sleeping well. Partly due to her mother's death and partly due to the house. Her dreams become meddled where she can't tell the difference between reality and dream. I felt the same way reading it. Perhaps the story was meant to be like that and leave you wondering.

There's a lot going on in the story besides grieving. There's the retellings (several) of, "Sleeping Beauty," curses and legends and there's a serial killer on the loose in the neighbourhood!

Perhaps it's my recent grief but I just couldn't connect to this story. I encourage you to read other reviews as many others enjoyed it more than I did. Just not my cup of tea.

Published March 11, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for granting me access to this Advanced Reader's Copy.
]]> 30658865

Margaret Laurence's most celebrated novel introduced readers to one of the most memorable characters in Canadian fiction. Hagar Shipley is stubborn, querulous, self-reliant, and, at ninety, with her life nearly behind her, she makes a bold last step towards freedom and independence.
ĚýĚýĚýĚý As her story unfolds, we are drawn into her past. We meet Hagar as a young girl growing up in a black prairie town; as the wife of a virile but unsuccessful farmer with whom her marriage was stormy; as a mother who dominates her younger son; and, finally, as an old woman isolated by an uncompromising pride and by the stern virtues she has inherited from her pioneer ancestors.]]> 352 Margaret Laurence 073525284X Tina 5 This is my second Personal Challenge book for 2025 -Popular Canadian books ]]> 4.09 1964
author: Margaret Laurence
name: Tina
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1964
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: 2025-challenge-popularcdn-books, canadian-author
review:
This is my second Personal Challenge book for 2025 -Popular Canadian books
]]> 222139778
A “Hollywood tale with heart� about a reimagined friendship between Marilyn Monroe and a young maid whose life will be changed forever, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sarah’s Key. (Adriana Trigliani)

Pauline, a young chambermaid who works at the legendary Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nevada, is asked to step in for a colleague and clean Suite 614. Although she was told the rooms were empty, a dazed, sleepy woman appears before her. This is Mrs. Miller, aka Marilyn Monroe, whose stay in Reno coincides with the breakdown of her marriage to Arthur Miller and the filming of what was to be her last film, The Misfits.

Set in the American West in 1960 where the mustang horses run wild, an unexpected friendship unfolds between the most famous movie star in the world and a young cleaning woman whose life will be changed forever through the course of a few weeks. A testament to the enduring power of female friendship and a reimagining of a side of Marilyn Monroe that has never been seen before.]]> 320 Tatiana de Rosnay 1538770962 Tina 0 to-read 3.94
author: Tatiana de Rosnay
name: Tina
average rating: 3.94
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 212375021 Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in � she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret � and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?]]> 385 John Marrs 166250649X Tina 0 to-read 3.95 2025
author: John Marrs
name: Tina
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 213570802 Ěý
1613: ĚýKing James â€� sixth of Scotland, first of England, son of Mary, Queen of Scots - has unified both countries under one crown. But the death of his eldest son, Henry, has plunged the nation into mourning, as the rumours rise the prince was poisoned.
Ěý
Andrew Logan’s heard the rumours, but he’s paid them little heed. As one of the King’s Messengers he has enough secrets to guard, including his own. In these perilous times, when the merest suggestion of witchcraft can see someone tortured and hanged, men like Andrew must hide well the fact they were born with the Sight.
Ěý
He’ll need all his gifts, though, when the king sends Andrew north to find and arrest Sir David Murray, once Prince Henry’s trusted courtier, and bring him a prisoner to London to stand trial before the dreaded Star Chamber.
Ěý
A story of treachery, betrayal and love�
Ěý

Praise for The Vanished

�Fascinating and immersive� I love a novel that deals with the many ways in which people keep their secrets’� DIANA GABALDON

�A hugely engrossing book and a complete world created’� IAN RANKIN

�The Vanished Days is an absolute tour de force of historical storytelling, tender and dramatic, gripping and authentic. Kearsley manages effortlessly to balance the epic sweep of the drama with telling moments of gentle characterization, all delivered in pitch-perfect style. I thoroughly enjoyed a perfect escape in these dark days’� JANE JOHNSON , author of The Salt Road and The Tenth Gift
Ěý
�An engrossing and deeply romantic novel of Scotland’s Jacobite rebellion’� RACHEL HORE

�This novel tells of a tender love story set amid the Jacobite rebellion. For readers unfamiliar with the twists and turns of this period of Scottish history, author Kearsley provides a helpful map, along with rich details of the protagonists. Courage in this era lies not in acts of heroic daring, but in steadfast pursuit of truth and justice. Perfect for fans of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlande r� WOMAN & HOME
Ěý
Ěý]]> 448 Susanna Kearsley 1464233594 Tina 3 4.00 2024
author: Susanna Kearsley
name: Tina
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: net-galley, canadian-author, historical-fiction
review:
I was excited to read another Susanna Kearsley novel. She's a
]]> 211004089
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty of life here, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, eighteen and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, seventeen, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; nine-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can’t stop turning back toward the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place.

Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, the characters must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.]]> 303 Charlotte McConaghy 1250827957 Tina 0 to-read 4.27 2025
author: Charlotte McConaghy
name: Tina
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218171641 Beloved New York Times bestselling author Karen White returns with a brand-new contemporary stand-alone novel about sisterhood, secrets and one woman’s reckoning with the past

As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she wasĚýstruck by lightning in the creeks near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, and always living in the shadow of her beautiful sister, Addie, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast, as far from her family as possible. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina, to help Addie care for their ailing mother.

As Phoebe’s return lures her back into deep-rooted tensions and conflicts, she is drawn toward Celeste, whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Their connection, woven through shared losses and hope, brings comfort to Phoebe, while Celeste’s adult grandson Liam resurrects complicated emotions tied to Phoebe’s past.

But the longer Phoebe spends in her childhood home, the more her recurring nightmares intensify—bringing her closer to the shocking truth that will irrevocably change everything. Unfolding against the lush backdrop of the South Carolina Lowcountry,ĚýThat Last Carolina SummerĚýis an unforgettable family drama and mystery about the unbreakable bonds of family and the gift of second chances.]]> 352 Karen White 0778310698 Tina 0 to-read 4.42
author: Karen White
name: Tina
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214101838 A researcher stranded in Antarctica receives a radio message that a nuclear war has broken out in this claustrophobic survival thriller, perfect for fans of The Martian, The Last Murder at the End of the World and Breathless.

It’s been four months since glaciologist Rachael Beckett left her husband and daughter to join an urgent research trip to a remote field station deep in the Antarctic. But after losing all communication with her crew at base camp, she’s trapped and alone â€� and running out of supplies. The only information she has about what’s gone so catastrophically wrong is an emergency radio broadcast playing on a a nuclear war has broken out, and Rachael might be the last survivor on Earth.Ěý

Abandoned and starving, all she has left is a fierce determination to stay alive in the extreme cold and perpetual darkness of the polar winter. The research she’s gathered about catastrophic climate damage means she holds the fate of the continent and the world in her grasp…if there’s even a world left to save.

Struggling with loneliness and grief over the unknown fate of her family back home, Rachael knows both her life and her sanity balance on a knife edge. As she battles to stay alive in unimaginable conditions, she soon discovers she’s not completely alone in the dark and cold–but she might wish she was…]]> 352 R.S. Burnett Tina 4
Rachael Beckett is an English arctic researcher stationed in Antartica. One day she hears a message on her transistor radio from the BBC informing her that the UK is under nuclear attack. The emergency message repeats every two hours. Rachael is all alone confused and terrified for her young daughter and husband at home. What can she do to stay alive on her own?

I'll leave it there as the less you know the better.

I could easily see this as a Netfix movie ]]> 3.58 2025
author: R.S. Burnett
name: Tina
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: audio-books, mystery-suspense-thriller, libby-audiobooks
review:
An intense debut thriller! A good book to read while it's still winter ❄️ Great on audio and quite a timely read and scary scenario!

Rachael Beckett is an English arctic researcher stationed in Antartica. One day she hears a message on her transistor radio from the BBC informing her that the UK is under nuclear attack. The emergency message repeats every two hours. Rachael is all alone confused and terrified for her young daughter and husband at home. What can she do to stay alive on her own?

I'll leave it there as the less you know the better.

I could easily see this as a Netfix movie
]]> 198670862 The Tea Rose.

It’s the summer of 1891, New York City, in the early days of Fiona Finnegan’s marriage to Nicholas Soames. Though their marriage is an unconventional one and the wounds of the past are not fully healed, the two best friends are happy together, consumed with chasing their dreams and building a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

When Fiona senses a quiet love blossoming between her widowed uncle, Michael Finnegan, and his neighbor, Mary Munro, she’s thrilled and hopes that MIchael will soon propose to Mary.

But one night, at a family supper, a surprise announcement tears these hopes asunder.

Will Mary be lost to a determined suitor? Or will Fiona and Nick find a way to unite two souls who belong together but are held apart by grief, pride, and too many words left unspoken?

Molly’s Letter is a love letter to family, friends, and the bonds that outlast loss, pain, and sometimes, even life itself.

Molly’s Letter is the first in a series of novella-length stories written straight from the heart by Jennifer Donnelly for readers of her Tea Rose saga. Each one is inspired by � and set within � the epic world of The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose, and The Wild Rose. Molly's Letter takes place during the events of The Tea Rose.]]> 130 Jennifer Donnelly Tina 0 to-read 4.17
author: Jennifer Donnelly
name: Tina
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 213664679 0 Brooke Shields 1250363969 Tina 4
Brooke is a little bit older than me but I feel I can so relate to her at this stage of my life. It was wonderful to hear her talk about women's health and menopause. YES! Thank-you! She also touched on her career and some "Hollywood" encounters and friends. That part was fun. I enjoyed her thoughts on the, "empty nest" (my youngest just moved across the country for school) and her changing relationship with her husband. I love how she's speaking out about ageism. She's helping to bring a voice and power back to women over 40 ]]> 3.93 2025
author: Brooke Shields
name: Tina
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: audio-books, libby-audiobooks, biographies-memoirs
review:
I love Brooke! She is so fascinating and funny and articulate! I just love listening to her speak so I chose the audiobook narrated by her.

Brooke is a little bit older than me but I feel I can so relate to her at this stage of my life. It was wonderful to hear her talk about women's health and menopause. YES! Thank-you! She also touched on her career and some "Hollywood" encounters and friends. That part was fun. I enjoyed her thoughts on the, "empty nest" (my youngest just moved across the country for school) and her changing relationship with her husband. I love how she's speaking out about ageism. She's helping to bring a voice and power back to women over 40
]]> 209823378
Hannah longs for the days when she used to be free, but now, she is a Jewish prisoner at Theresienstadt, a model ghetto where the Nazis plan to make a propaganda film to convince the world that the Jewish people are living well in the camps. But Hannah will do anything to show the world the truth. Along with other young resistance members, they vow to disrupt the filming and derail the increasingly frequent deportations to death camps in the east.

Hilde is a true believer in the Nazi cause, working in the Reich Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. Though they're losing the war, Hilde hasn't lost faith. She can't stop the Allied bombings, but she can help the party create a documentary that will renew confidence in Hitler's plans for Jewish containment. When the filming of Hitler Gives a City to the Jews faces production problems due to resistance, Hilde finds herself in a position to finally make a name for herself. And when she recognizes Hannah, an old childhood friend, she knows she can use their friendship to get the film back on track.]]> 480 Jennifer Coburn 1728277310 Tina 4
A very well-written and heart wrenching story! This is my first book by Jennifer Coburn but certainly not my last. Kudos to the meticulous research!

This story focuses on two women during WW II. Hannah and Hilde. Hannah and her Grandfather set off for, "Theresienstadt." They think they are going to a safe haven that is like a spa for Jews. They have been told it is, "Hitler's gift to the Jews." ]]> 4.20 2025
author: Jennifer Coburn
name: Tina
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: historical-fiction, jewish, net-galley, war-time
review:
4.5 *

A very well-written and heart wrenching story! This is my first book by Jennifer Coburn but certainly not my last. Kudos to the meticulous research!

This story focuses on two women during WW II. Hannah and Hilde. Hannah and her Grandfather set off for, "Theresienstadt." They think they are going to a safe haven that is like a spa for Jews. They have been told it is, "Hitler's gift to the Jews."
]]> 220161384 An English professor’s deadly past comes back to haunt her in this chilling and sexy thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Vi Keeland.

As a college English professor, Elizabeth looks forward to the start of each new semester teaching her creative writing seminar. At least until she reads chapter one of The Reckoning, a tale about a high school senior who has an affair with her teacher. To anyone else it would be the beginning of a great page-turner, but to Elizabeth it is the beginning of the end.

She knows this story. It’s all familiar because she lived it. The girl in the story was her best friend Jocelyn, and Elizabeth knows exactly how the story will end—with the professor dead. Because she was the one who killed him.

Someone knows what Elizabeth did twenty years ago and her secret is about to be exposed, but who is the mystery student submitting the chapters? In an effort to find out, Elizabeth returns to her Louisiana hometown where it soon becomes clear that no matter how many years have gone by, she can’t escape her past.]]> 288 Vi Keeland 1668047497 Tina 0 to-read 4.25 2025
author: Vi Keeland
name: Tina
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 223164418
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the "real story" through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary. But she can't stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So, after a decade of silence, she's telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

Inspired by the powerful love and hate that fuel Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, The Favorites is an exhilarating dance between passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win.]]> Layne Fargo Tina 3 "Daisy Jones & The Six" so I was all in! Then the sports aspect like, "Carrie Soto is Back" and I was so excited!

The writing is good and the audio was excellent with multiple narrators. Katarina Shaw and Heath Roch meet as young teenagers and become figure skating partners ⛸️ This is their love story through the years. My main problem I think was it was very slow paced. Some repetition too. I was still engaged in the story especially with the competitions. It's advertised as an, "epic love story" but I didn't feel that.

To me this felt a little YA (the couple was young) and perhaps that's why I didn't enjoy it as much. Plus there are some aspects that I don't really care for in my romances. Overall for me good but not great. Looks like I'm an outlier!]]> 4.07 2025
author: Layne Fargo
name: Tina
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: audible, audio-books, romance, sports-related
review:
This was a book I thought I would love but in the end just ended up liking. I love the biography/documentary format in the style of, "Daisy Jones & The Six" so I was all in! Then the sports aspect like, "Carrie Soto is Back" and I was so excited!

The writing is good and the audio was excellent with multiple narrators. Katarina Shaw and Heath Roch meet as young teenagers and become figure skating partners ⛸️ This is their love story through the years. My main problem I think was it was very slow paced. Some repetition too. I was still engaged in the story especially with the competitions. It's advertised as an, "epic love story" but I didn't feel that.

To me this felt a little YA (the couple was young) and perhaps that's why I didn't enjoy it as much. Plus there are some aspects that I don't really care for in my romances. Overall for me good but not great. Looks like I'm an outlier!
]]> 45046527
Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?]]> 459 Jeanine Cummins Tina 5 audible, contemporary-fiction
I was hesitant to read this and decided on the audio version for this one. I really think it added to my enjoyment. The narrator was fabulous and I was completely captivated by Lydia's story.

This is a powerful and emotional story. In some ways it reminds me of the book, "The Hate U Give" because it is a fictionalized account of an important issue.

I understand that there is some controversy with this book but my rating is just based on my enjoyment of it. I read for entertainment and this was a fantastic piece of fiction.]]> 4.32 2020
author: Jeanine Cummins
name: Tina
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/24
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: audible, contemporary-fiction
review:
Wow! I think this was an outstanding 5 GLOWING stars!!

I was hesitant to read this and decided on the audio version for this one. I really think it added to my enjoyment. The narrator was fabulous and I was completely captivated by Lydia's story.

This is a powerful and emotional story. In some ways it reminds me of the book, "The Hate U Give" because it is a fictionalized account of an important issue.

I understand that there is some controversy with this book but my rating is just based on my enjoyment of it. I read for entertainment and this was a fantastic piece of fiction.
]]> 217245618 In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates...

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the "one . . . precious life" we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.]]> 336 Florence Knapp 0593833902 Tina 0 to-read 4.35 2025
author: Florence Knapp
name: Tina
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 198546400 You know she has been murdered. Can you stop it happening twice?

Two very different lives�

It is 2019 and Lily Jones is living her dream in LA. Sort of. It hasn’t quite turned out as she planned and instead of working as a movie producer, she is cleaning at the prestigious Beverly Hills Hotel. At least she gets to work in the renowned Paul Williams suite, site of the brutal murder of Honey Black 70 years ago, shrouded in rumour and dark glamour.

It is 1949 and Honey Black is about to hit the big time. She may have started out a country girl from Hicksville but now she is a star. And Hollywood had better watch out � nothing can stop her now!

One Hollywood murder�

After an accidental bump to the head, Lily finds herself in Hollywood, 1949. Like a dream come true, she is rubbing shoulders with the great and good of Tinseltown. Including Honey Black... Horrified, Lily realises that the actress has only two weeks left to live before she will be murdered.

Could this be why she has found herself in 1949?

To find the killer and stop them in their tracks?

A glamorous, time-slip murder mystery set in the Golden Age of Hollywood � All About Eve meets Back to the Future. Don’t miss this unforgettable read from bestselling author Lisa Hall; fans of Stuart Turton and cosy crime will love this!

'Glamorous, compelling and completely addictive, this sparkling page-turner is a total joy to read' B.P. Walter

'Brilliantly original, and entirely transportive, I was swept into the golden age of Hollywood, and I didn’t want to leave. What a start to a series.' Darren Sullivan

'Pacy, deceptive and addictive - a cracker of a book' Rebecca Thorne

'Clever and completely original...the characters will stay with you long after you finish reading this time-slip cosy crime mystery.' Diane Jeffrey

'It's amazing! Packed with Golden Age movie glamour and smart time-slip thriller twists. It's one of my top reads for 2023. I loved it!' Steph Broadribb

'The intrepid Lily Jones is a heroine to die for and I loved the evocation of 1940 Hollywood. I can't wait for the next installment.' Sarah Ward

'A flawlessly plotted, seriously addictive read brimming with intrigue, suspense, colourful characters and old-school Hollywood glamour, Lisa Hall's first time-hop crime mystery is an absolute triumph... Just LOVED it! More, please!' A.A. Chaudhuri

'From the moment I turned the first page, I was completely enthralled by the story's allure...a gripping and unforgettable read.' ����� Reader Review

'Loved this! I can confidently say this is now one of my favourites!' ����� Reader Review

'Clever and so original, it’s brilliantly plotted, with incredible characters. Highly recommend.' ����� Reader Review

'This book was so captivating it drew me in from the very first page. I read well into the night...]]> 337 Lisa Hall Tina 4
This British Author usually writes Psychological thrillers and I enjoyed her book, "Between you and me" so I wanted to give this one a try. It was on sale for $1.99 on Amazon and it was a fun little read!

It's a time-travel story between 2019 and 1949. In 2019 Lily has travelled to Hollywood from England. She wants to get into show business and is currently working at the ultra posh Beverly Hills Hotel. She's cleaning a luxurious suite where a famous starlet was stabbed to death in 1949. Lily bumps her head while cleaning the bathtub and somehow finds herself in 1949 in the suite of Honey Black. Lily feels she can help prevent the starlet's death and must figure out who is out to kill her before it's too late.

I love the Golden age of Hollywood and this story really transports you to that era. I feel like this had a cozy-mystery feel to it. It's a light and easy read that entertains.]]> 3.86 2023
author: Lisa Hall
name: Tina
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/13
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: historical-fiction, kindle, mystery-suspense-thriller, time-travel
review:
3.5 *

This British Author usually writes Psychological thrillers and I enjoyed her book, "Between you and me" so I wanted to give this one a try. It was on sale for $1.99 on Amazon and it was a fun little read!

It's a time-travel story between 2019 and 1949. In 2019 Lily has travelled to Hollywood from England. She wants to get into show business and is currently working at the ultra posh Beverly Hills Hotel. She's cleaning a luxurious suite where a famous starlet was stabbed to death in 1949. Lily bumps her head while cleaning the bathtub and somehow finds herself in 1949 in the suite of Honey Black. Lily feels she can help prevent the starlet's death and must figure out who is out to kill her before it's too late.

I love the Golden age of Hollywood and this story really transports you to that era. I feel like this had a cozy-mystery feel to it. It's a light and easy read that entertains.
]]> 211004123 The million-copy bestselling Queen of Twists Alice Feeney returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . .
. . . and revenge.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible � a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.]]> 306 Alice Feeney 125033778X Tina 3
Alice Feeney is one of my favourite authors so when this audio became available on Libby skip-the-line I was so happy!

This one really started off good. A missing wife and a grieving husband. He's offered some time away so he can write his book on a very remote Scottish island. Then he thinks he sees her there. Is she real or is he losing his mind? The first part was quite engaging but it did seem to slow down towards the half-way mark. The twists were good if very unbelievable. The book got a little too tangled for my liking.

The audio was excellent with Richard Armitage narrating most of it. I liked it but for me not up to par with Feeney's other works. "Sometimes I lie" continues to be my favourite by her.

But oh boy that creepy ending ]]> 3.63 2025
author: Alice Feeney
name: Tina
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: audio-books, favourite-authors, libby-audiobooks, mystery-suspense-thriller
review:
3.5 *

Alice Feeney is one of my favourite authors so when this audio became available on Libby skip-the-line I was so happy!

This one really started off good. A missing wife and a grieving husband. He's offered some time away so he can write his book on a very remote Scottish island. Then he thinks he sees her there. Is she real or is he losing his mind? The first part was quite engaging but it did seem to slow down towards the half-way mark. The twists were good if very unbelievable. The book got a little too tangled for my liking.

The audio was excellent with Richard Armitage narrating most of it. I liked it but for me not up to par with Feeney's other works. "Sometimes I lie" continues to be my favourite by her.

But oh boy that creepy ending
]]> 10086569 32 Allen Morgan 0919964788 Tina 5 children-s, canadian-author
This was another favourite pick in the winter for my Daycare children and subsequently later on with my own as well. It was originally published in 1985. The author was born in New York City but became a Canadian citizen in 1973 so I think we can both claim him ]]> 4.30 1985
author: Allen Morgan
name: Tina
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: children-s, canadian-author
review:
We are getting more snow today so I pulled out one more book from the basement storage bins!

This was another favourite pick in the winter for my Daycare children and subsequently later on with my own as well. It was originally published in 1985. The author was born in New York City but became a Canadian citizen in 1973 so I think we can both claim him
]]> 221179145
Lately, Julia Pritzker is beginning to think she’s cursed. She’s lost her adoptive parents, then her husband is murdered. When she realizes that her horoscope essentially foretold his death, she begins to spiral. She fears her fate is written in the stars, not held in her own hands.

Then a letter arrives out of the blue, informing her that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard - but her benefactor is a total stranger named Emilia Rossi. Julia has no information about her biological family, so she wonders if Rossi could be a blood relative. Bewildered, she heads to Tuscany for answers.

There, Julia is horrified to discover that Rossi was a paranoid recluse with delusions of grandeur, who believed herself to be a descendent of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. Julia is stunned by her uncanny resemblance to Rossi and even to Caterina, then she unearths eerie parallels between them, including an obsession with astrology.

Before long, Julia suspects she’s being followed, and strange things begin to happen. Not even a chance meeting with a handsome Florentine can ease her disturbed mind. When events turn deadly, she breaks with reality.

Julia’s harrowing struggle becomes a search for her identity, a race to save her sanity, and ultimately, a question of her very survival.]]> 400 Lisa Scottoline 1538769999 Tina 0 to-read 3.61
author: Lisa Scottoline
name: Tina
average rating: 3.61
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 217387994 From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a wealthy garden designer, her lonely widower, and the scrappy young gardener who smoothly steps into her life.

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.]]> 304 Mary Dixie Carter 1250790387 Tina 0 to-read 3.28
author: Mary Dixie Carter
name: Tina
average rating: 3.28
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 2021124 28 Ezra Jack Keats 0590030310 Tina 5 children-s
When I worked in Child Care this was a favourite book to pull out and read on the first day of a snowfall. It would sure get all the kids excited about playing in the snow. This 1962 children's classic and Caldecott Award winner is a delight. It's about all the excitement and imagination used to play in the snow. How cute when Peter sneaks a snowball into his coat pocket to bring inside his home! The illustrations are sweet and simple just like the snow play itself. It makes you want to go outside and just enjoy the simple pleasures of winter! ❄️⛄️❄️
]]> 4.18 1962
author: Ezra Jack Keats
name: Tina
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: children-s
review:
It's not our first snowfall of the year but it's out biggest! I dug this little gem of a book out of my basement and it's brought a smile to my face. Oh the memories!

When I worked in Child Care this was a favourite book to pull out and read on the first day of a snowfall. It would sure get all the kids excited about playing in the snow. This 1962 children's classic and Caldecott Award winner is a delight. It's about all the excitement and imagination used to play in the snow. How cute when Peter sneaks a snowball into his coat pocket to bring inside his home! The illustrations are sweet and simple just like the snow play itself. It makes you want to go outside and just enjoy the simple pleasures of winter! ❄️⛄️❄️

]]> 214151487 In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this sweeping, timely novel inspired by a remarkable and little-known true story.

Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal.

Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them�

The Women on Platform Two is a haunting, powerful story of feminine resistance and resilience that reminds us all of where we started—and how far we still have to go.]]> 336 Laura Anthony 1668047381 Tina 0 to-read 4.47 2025
author: Laura Anthony
name: Tina
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 212031069 From USA Today bestselling author Audrey J. Cole comes a harrowing thriller about a woman faced with the unthinkable, when her infant goes missing aboard a plane to New York.

Rushing back to her seat, Makayla Rossi is relieved that all’s still quiet. But when she checks on her sleeping baby, relief morphs into fear. The bassinet is empty.

Liam is gone.

It was a long flight from Anchorage to New York, and with every flight attendant busy, Makayla reluctantly ran to the restroom, asking a seat neighbor to watch her son. She stepped away for just a few minutes. Yet at thirty thousand feet, he still vanished.

Passengers and crew scour the plane to no avail, and since no one recalls seeing her with a baby, suspicions begin to mount about Makayla’s mental state. She’s certain this is nothing like her mother’s on-air memory meltdown. If only Jack, her husband, were there. He would believe her. A high-profile banker featured in Forbes, maybe he could even help.

But Makayla is squarely on her own. And she’ll have to think fast in order to find her son—before it’s too late.]]> 285 Audrey J. Cole 1662520700 Tina 4 3.74 2025
author: Audrey J. Cole
name: Tina
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/10
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: amazon-first-reads, mystery-suspense-thriller
review:
Oh this is good! I love the different setting and premise but you must suspend your disbelief!
]]> 218671849 “Terrific.”—ĚýStephen King onĚýWhistle

New York TimesĚýbestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.

Evil has a one track mind...

Annie Blunt has had an unimaginably terrible year. First, her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident, then one of the children’s books she’s built her writing and illustrating career on ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.

But Annie’s year is about to get worse.

Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed on their property. Annie is glad to see Charlie happy, but there’s something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night—she could swear she hears a train, but there isn’t an active track for miles—and bizarre things begin happening in the neighborhood. Worse, Annie can’t seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children’s book.

Grief can do strange things to the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she’s walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying…]]> 464 Linwood Barclay 0063436035 Tina 0 to-read 4.10 2025
author: Linwood Barclay
name: Tina
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214336229 It’s 1962, the dawn of the jet-set era. Hope takes flight for two Pan Am stewardesses navigating an adventurous new life in a novel about love, friendship, and escape by the bestselling author of The Memory of Us and Until We Meet.

Welcome to a glamorous gateway to the jet age.

Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell have different reasons for putting continents and oceans between themselves and their disparate pasts, but they have the same desire—to earn a coveted position on an elite team of stewardesses for Pan American Airlines. For Judy, running away from an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania is a risk she must take. And for Beverly, leaving behind the gilded cage of New York society will allow her to pursue a future of her own making.

Embracing the culture, etiquette, and strict rules of a thrilling and unpredictable new world above the clouds, Judy and Beverly are bound for faraway destinations and opportunities that other women dare only to dream about. But as they build a deep friendship, encounter love and danger, and discover what’s truly important, Judy and Beverly must also confront the secrets that could change their lives all over again—and forever.]]> 347 Camille Di Maio 1662523947 Tina 5 London, Paris, Rome, Athens! Oh, the possibilities! �️ I just loved this Historical Fiction story about two Pan American Airways stewardesses in 1962.

"Brains and beauty. That's what a Pan American Stewardess is, in that order."

It's a new age for flying and Pan American Airways is recruiting women of all cultures. They are striving to be a new future that is promoting permanent peace in the world. The ladies wear their uniform with pride because only the, "best of the best" are chosen.

It's 1962 and Judy needs to flee from an abusive marriage. Beverly, is leaving behind a world of privilege and longs for something more. These two women will meet during training and will form a deep friendship.

The writing is wonderful and the research is fascinating and top-notch. The book immerses you very quickly into the early 1960's. The fashions, foods, and music (yes Frank Sinatra's, "Come fly with me" has a special place in the story ]]> 4.15 2025
author: Camille Di Maio
name: Tina
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/05
shelves: historical-fiction, net-galley
review:
London, Paris, Rome, Athens! Oh, the possibilities! �️ I just loved this Historical Fiction story about two Pan American Airways stewardesses in 1962.

"Brains and beauty. That's what a Pan American Stewardess is, in that order."

It's a new age for flying and Pan American Airways is recruiting women of all cultures. They are striving to be a new future that is promoting permanent peace in the world. The ladies wear their uniform with pride because only the, "best of the best" are chosen.

It's 1962 and Judy needs to flee from an abusive marriage. Beverly, is leaving behind a world of privilege and longs for something more. These two women will meet during training and will form a deep friendship.

The writing is wonderful and the research is fascinating and top-notch. The book immerses you very quickly into the early 1960's. The fashions, foods, and music (yes Frank Sinatra's, "Come fly with me" has a special place in the story
]]> 462021 If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die.
Give away the green grass, give away the sky,
But don't give away my alligator pie!" You savored it as a child. You served it every night to your children. Now it's back-the tasty, delicious nonsense of Alligator Pie, in a collector's edition complete with the original artwork from the classic 1974 edition. Dennis Lee's wonderfully playful rhymes, along with Frank Newfield's memorable illustrations, have enchanted two generations of young readers. What better way could there be to discover the magic of books?]]> 64 Dennis Lee 1552633381 Tina 5 I've chosen a Personal Reading Challenge close to my heart this year. I'm going to try to read and highlight TEN popular Canadian books. This is my first one.

This book was first published in 1974. It won the, "Book of the Year Award" in 1975 by the Canadian Library Association. It's a Canadian Children's classic. A fun and silly collection of poetry by Dennis Lee. The poems mention many cities, and locations all across Canada. Lots of mentions of hockey and a Prime Minister too! Probably one of the most famous short poems is, "Willoughby Walloughby Woo" that was later made famous as a song by the popular Canadian Children's performer, Raffi. Just take a look at that awesome cover too! Little children everywhere will delight with these bouncy and silly rhymes.]]> 4.12 1974
author: Dennis Lee
name: Tina
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: 2025-challenge-popularcdn-books, canadian-author, children-s
review:
I've chosen a Personal Reading Challenge close to my heart this year. I'm going to try to read and highlight TEN popular Canadian books. This is my first one.

This book was first published in 1974. It won the, "Book of the Year Award" in 1975 by the Canadian Library Association. It's a Canadian Children's classic. A fun and silly collection of poetry by Dennis Lee. The poems mention many cities, and locations all across Canada. Lots of mentions of hockey and a Prime Minister too! Probably one of the most famous short poems is, "Willoughby Walloughby Woo" that was later made famous as a song by the popular Canadian Children's performer, Raffi. Just take a look at that awesome cover too! Little children everywhere will delight with these bouncy and silly rhymes.
]]> 214151644 The author of The Lost English Girl returns with a heartfelt new novel about estranged sisters who inherit their late mother’s dress shop in World War II London.

Isabelle Shelton has always found comfort in the predictable world of her mother’s dressmaking shop, Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions, while her sister Sylvia turned her back on the family years ago to marry a wealthy doctor whom Izzie detests. When their mother dies unexpectedly, the sisters are stunned to find they’ve jointly inherited the family business. Izzie is determined to buy Sylvia out, but when she’s conscripted into the WAAF, she’s forced to seek Sylvia’s help to keep the shop open. Realizing this could be her one chance at reconciliation with her sister, Sylvia is determined to save Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions from closure—and financial ruin.

Through letters, the sisters begin to confront old wounds, new loves, and the weight of family legacy in order to forge new beginnings in this lyrically moving novel.]]> 432 Julia Kelly 1668032724 Tina 0 to-read 4.29 2025
author: Julia Kelly
name: Tina
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 204850575
From breakfasts, picnic lunches and dinners, to coronations and state banquets, Cooking and the Crown showcases an abundance of beloved royal recipes for all seasons and occasions. Sophisticated creations feature alongside dishes of surprising simplicity, combining historical insights with modern tastes.
Each chapter is accompanied by fascinating tales of royal kitchens, chefs and culinary traditions. Weaving together material from the royal archives, contemporary accounts and personal insight, Tom Parker Bowles paints a vivid picture of royal tastes and traditions, as far back as Victorian times.

CONTENTS INCLUDE:

Breakfast
Queen Camilla's porridge; Herrings fried in oatmeal; Kedgeree

Lunch
Salmon fishcakes; George V's curry; Buckingham Palace mutton pies

Tea
Queen Mary's birthday cake; Sandwiches a la Regance; Welsh teabread

Dinner
The King's wet martini; Oeufs drumkilbo; Sardine diable savouries

Pudding
Bombe Glacee Princess Elizabeth; Rod grod; Mango melba]]> 240 Tom Parker Bowles 1783256060 Tina 0 to-read 3.88
author: Tom Parker Bowles
name: Tina
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 210296778
Josephine Reynolds never imagined she'd be a widow in her midthirties. Grieving and barely able to contemplate one more night alone, she carelessly wishes she'd never been born. At the exact same moment, her inbox dings with an it's a link from her sister that lists local foreclosures, and, to her immense surprise, she sees her great-grandmother's house listed and immediately conspires to reclaim it.

But as Josephine restores her great-grandmother's home to its original glory, she comes to realize not everything is as it seems. Replacing the modern front door with the original hand-carved and solid wood one, she notices minuscule words carved into the edging. As she speaks the words aloud and opens the front door with its original key, Josephine finds herself transported back almost one hundred years ago to a 1920s party thrown by her great-grandmother Alma.

A shocked Josephine fears she is losing her mind. Has her grief caused her to lose touch with reality? But it quickly becomes clear that her life and future--thanks to her throwaway wish--hinge on one single moment that happened almost one hundred years ago. The two parallel timelines start blending together, and Josephine witnesses her present life disappearing right before her eyes.

She can only hope it's not too late to save her own future.]]> 320 Jennifer Moorman 1400343631 Tina 3
In the present day Josephine Reynolds is recently widowed and trying to put her life back together. With help from her sister she decides to purchase her old historic family home just outside of Nashville. As she begins to organize and refurbish the home she finds a secret trap door in the basement and it surprisingly opens and there in all it's glory is a "speakeasy" from 1927. Soon she finds herself in that world and she needs to save her Great-Grandmother from a terrible fate.

This story has a good mix of historical fiction with time-travel and romance. I just found it a little slow-moving but it did entertain.

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Harper Muse for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy.

Available January 14, 2025 and onwards]]> 3.93 2025
author: Jennifer Moorman
name: Tina
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: net-galley, historical-fiction, time-travel
review:
This is my first book by Jennifer Moorman and I enjoyed her writing style a lot! It's a good story with a dual-time line.

In the present day Josephine Reynolds is recently widowed and trying to put her life back together. With help from her sister she decides to purchase her old historic family home just outside of Nashville. As she begins to organize and refurbish the home she finds a secret trap door in the basement and it surprisingly opens and there in all it's glory is a "speakeasy" from 1927. Soon she finds herself in that world and she needs to save her Great-Grandmother from a terrible fate.

This story has a good mix of historical fiction with time-travel and romance. I just found it a little slow-moving but it did entertain.

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Harper Muse for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy.

Available January 14, 2025 and onwards
]]> 8200557 The Invisible Bridge tells the story of a family shattered and remade in history’s darkest hour.]]> 786 Julie Orringer 0307593711 Tina 5 4.21 2010
author: Julie Orringer
name: Tina
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2011/03/02
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: historical-fiction, favourites, jewish, war-time
review:
May I suggest this fabulous book for today? Always Remember! International Holocaust Day 2025
]]> 46000754 A powerful novel about a gutsy showgirl who tries to conquer her past amongst the glamour of 1960s Las Vegas--and finds unexpected fortune, friendship, and love.

It was unimaginable. When she was eight years old, Lily Decker somehow survived the auto accident that killed her parents and sister, but neither her emotionally distant aunt nor her all-too-attentive uncle could ease her grief. Dancing proves to be Lily's only solace, and eventually she receives a "scholarship" to a local dance academy--courtesy of a mysterious benefactor.

Grown and ready to leave home for good, Lily changes her name to Ruby Wilde and heads to Las Vegas to be a troupe dancer, but her sensual beauty and voluptuous figure land her work instead as a showgirl performing everywhere from Les Folies Bergere at the Tropicana to the Stardust's Lido de Paris. Wearing costumes dripping with feathers and rhinestones, five-inch heels, and sky-high headdresses, Ruby may have all the looks of a Sin City success story, but she still must learn to navigate the world of men--and figure out what real love looks like.

With her uncanny knack for understanding the hidden lives of women, Elizabeth J. Church captures both the iconic extravagance of an era and the bravery of a young woman who dances through her sadness to find connection, freedom, and, most important, herself.

Advance praise for All the Beautiful Girls

"A riveting novel, at once raw and tender, of a woman's struggle to heal the wounds of a devastating childhood . . . Elizabeth J. Church makes us feel Ruby Wilde's pain and root for her to survive. This is a heartbreaking story, passionately told."--Ellen Feldman, author of Next to Love

Praise for Elizabeth J. Church's The Atomic Weight of Love

"Oh, what an incandescent debut! Church follows one extraordinary woman who is brave to enough to challenge the times, take defiant wing, and chart her own extraordinary flight path. The Atomic Weight of Love is so engrossing I couldn't wait to read another page, and so alive I never wanted the story to end."--Caroline Leavitt, author of Is This Tomorrow

"A tightly crafted novel."--The New York Times Book Review

"Exquisite . . . the beautifully written story of a woman who must negotiate the tricky terrain of love, responsibility, ambition, and sacrifice. . . . It shows the impossible choices women faced--and still face--between family and self."--Tara Conklin, author of The House Girl

"What does love require of us? How does one strike a balance between compromise and self-fulfillment? In her debut novel, Church writes to these issues in a style that is thoughtful and elegant. . . . Church hits the mark in this emotionally driven debut."--Library Journal

"A striking story of a woman forced to choose between the future she desires or the path society insists she take." --Harper's Bazaar

"An elegant glimpse into the evolution of love and womanhood."--Kirkus Reviews]]> 336 Elizabeth J. Church 0008267979 Tina 0 to-read 3.84 2018
author: Elizabeth J. Church
name: Tina
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60391792
The'New York Times' best-selling Queen of Twists returns…with a family reunion that leads to murder.

After years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker’s entire family is assembling for Nana’s 80th birthday party in Nana’s crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. Finally back together one last time, when the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. Then at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows�

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide comes in and all is revealed.

With a wicked wink to Agatha Christie’s 'And Then There Were None', 'DAISLY DARKER's unforgettable twists will leave listeners reeling.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2022 Alice Feeney (P)2022 Macmillan Audio]]> Alice Feeney Tina 4
The Darker family have gathered for their Nana's 80th birthday party. Nana, is a famous children's author. She has one son and an ex-daughter-in-law. Her three granddaughters are all named after flowers. Rose, Lily and Daisy ]]> 3.95 2022
author: Alice Feeney
name: Tina
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: favourite-authors, libby-audiobooks, mystery-suspense-thriller
review:
Enjoyed this one on audio! Kudos to the great narration. The writing once again is top-notch. This is a clever "ode" to the old Agatha Christie novels.

The Darker family have gathered for their Nana's 80th birthday party. Nana, is a famous children's author. She has one son and an ex-daughter-in-law. Her three granddaughters are all named after flowers. Rose, Lily and Daisy
]]> 223975869 Thousands of people believe that Princess Diana is alive.

“At this very moment she's undoubtedly renting an apartment in Paris.�
� Prince Harry, Spare
When she was a girl, everyone said she acted like a Duchess.
So they called her Duch.

Is Duch back?

In a hospital in Paris, a woman in her 60’s has lost her memory. All she knows is that her name is Diana.

But she also knows secrets only Princess Diana could know. She wears a locket bearing pictures of William and Harry. And her best friend from boarding school has vouched for it’s Duch.

Has the People’s Princess really come back, or are thousands suffering from Diana Derangement Syndrome?

There’s no doubt about In Paris, a tall, silver-haired lady with blue eyes, a shy, bemused smile, and a posh English accent, is beguiling crowds, raising consciousness, and giving King Charles a right royal headache.

In a hilarious, fast-paced chronicle of three eventful weeks in Paris and London, JB Miller weaves a heartfelt social satire of royals at war.

â€ĆŕłÜł¦łó has pathos, joy and humorâ€� It takes a masterful writer to create this complex and beautiful dream, and Miller is a master!â€�
� Jennifer Clement, author of Widow Basquiat
and President Emerita of PEN International

�Duch works on so many farce, satire, page-turner, reportage, cultural commentary, counterfactual history, punch line. It rings true with all its implausible narratives and has a surprising affection and respect for the royals, for each of their private and royal selves.�
� John Donatich, author of Ambivalence, A Love Story

]]> 291 J.B. Miller Tina 0 to-read 3.58
author: J.B. Miller
name: Tina
average rating: 3.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219386830 Two sisters living on Martha's Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women—a spectacular novel inspired by true events from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls.

2024. Mari lands on the storied shores of Martha's Vineyard, fresh off the heels of her mother's funeral, with plans to meet the famous painter, Elizabeth Devereux. She is there to paint, but few understand why the notoriously reclusive Ms. Devereux would agree to take Mari on. It soon becomes clear that her teacher brought Mari there for a She holds the key to Mari's past and among this magical island's sandy beaches and the shimmering ocean, the history of her family and their fateful connection to this place becomes clear.

1942. The Smith sisters, still reeling from the explosion of war and their brother's enlistment, are left to care for their family's Martha's Vineyard property—alone. Briar, the rambunctious younger of the two, begins to suspect that a German U-boat lurks on the horizon, spying on a neighbouring Army base. Ginny, the eldest, dreams of being a writer in New York and falls headlong into a passionate romance with a British Navy Officer. When they start up a book club that pores over Armed Service Editions, what begins as an attempt to bolster the war effort by getting books into the hands of soldiers becomes a powerful means of connection for the women who have been left behind to fend for themselves. But when a German soldier washes ashore, one who claims to have knowledge of their brother's whereabouts, paranoia seeps Who can they trust? And who among them is telling the truth?

Traversing time to tell a remarkable story of the power of literature to unite communities, acclaimed author Martha Hall Kelly's epic novel explores one of America's most renowned locales and its role at the forefront of the greatest war humankind has ever known.]]> 336 Martha Hall Kelly 038569704X Tina 0 to-read 4.33 2025
author: Martha Hall Kelly
name: Tina
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221045989 Three women’s lives intertwine in the yarn aisle of a craft store.

Grieving the unexpected loss of her beloved grandmother, Marin wants to honor her grandmother's memory by teaching herself to knit. While shopping for yarn, she's overcome with grief, and is comforted by a grandmotherly woman who offers her knitting lessons.

Reeling from her husband's betrayal, Heather decides to pick up her old knitting hobby to distract her thoughts. At the craft store, she can't find the yarn she needs to finish a project and breaks down in tears. A sweet older woman lends an ear and invites her to her home to knit.

Retired Spanish teacher and avid knitter Frida volunteers to knit socks for deployed service men and women. What is supposed to be a simple trip to the craft store to stock up on yarn turns into something more when she runs into not one, but two crying women in the yarn aisle. Inviting strangers into her home is not something she would normally consider, but when the Lord speaks, Frida listens.

The three women settle into their knitting journey together and become good friends. One day, a card arrives from a soldier who received their care package, turning Marin’s world upside down. And Heather receives shocking news that threatens to derail her healing journey.

Will Frida's prayers and encouragement be enough to keep the knitting club together?]]> 309 Andie Young Tina 4 book-sirens, women-s-fiction A very touching story ❤️� 4.53
author: Andie Young
name: Tina
average rating: 4.53
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: book-sirens, women-s-fiction
review:
A very touching story ❤️�
]]> 214986213 1956, Malibu, Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation.

Then one early morning Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone?

As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own. But it’s a fragile pact and one little spark could send it all up in smoke…]]> 352 Susan Meissner 0593332865 Tina 0 to-read 3.66 2025
author: Susan Meissner
name: Tina
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 15571617 Novelization of film. 128 Ellery Queen Tina 4 3.57 1941
author: Ellery Queen
name: Tina
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1941
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves: my-childhood-favourites, old-mystery-suspense-thriller-horro
review:

]]> 204208184
Nora Crowell wants more than her sister’s life as a wife and mother. As WWI rages across the Atlantic, she becomes a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corp. But trouble is looming and it won’t be long before the truth comes to light.

Having lost her beloved husband in the trenches and with no-one else to turn to, Charlotte Campbell now lives with his haughty relations who treat her like the help. It is baby Aileen, the joy and light of her life, who spurs her to dream of a better life.

When tragedy strikes in Halifax Harbour, nothing for these two women will ever be the same again. Their paths will cross in the most unexpected way, trailing both heartbreak and joy its wake…]]> 376 Donna Jones Alward 0008647046 Tina 5
This was my last book of 2024. A very emotional and compelling story.

Based on an actual event that occurred during the Great Halifax explosion in 1917.

Highly recommended for lovers of historical and wartime fiction. Canadian setting and author ]]> 4.32 2024
author: Donna Jones Alward
name: Tina
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: canadian-author, historical-fiction, libby, war-time
review:
4.5 *

This was my last book of 2024. A very emotional and compelling story.

Based on an actual event that occurred during the Great Halifax explosion in 1917.

Highly recommended for lovers of historical and wartime fiction. Canadian setting and author
]]> 197993980
When Cordelia accepts the post of head librarian in Silver Town Library, her mother is more than a little disapproving. The East End has high levels of poverty and illiteracy, and her mother says it’s no place for a woman of her status.

But Cordelia is determined to make a difference in these times of strife, and along with her colleagues, Jane and Mavis, she begins to help the local community, making sure everyone knows what the library can offer them.

And maybe even a romance will blossom, giving Cordelia the strength to make it through the chaos and destruction that constantly threatens their livelihood.

Against a background of war, air raids and rationing, it becomes clear the library is more than a building filled with books - it is the beating heart of a community refusing to be torn apart.

'a brilliant read - the sort of book you can immerse yourself in completely ... You couldn’t read the story without it reaching your heart, or without wanting to know what will become of these women' Fran Smith, author of The Painted Penny Stamp]]> 250 Patricia McBride 1785139851 Tina 4
Three ladies that come from different walks of life come together to work in an east end London library in 1940. Lady Cordelia is an educated and strong woman. She's an aristocrat who is the new head librarian for, "Silver Town" library in the east end of London. There she meets two other women who are working in the library. Mavis, is a single mother with a grown son who is troubled and is a soldier fighting in the war. Jane, is a married women with a small daughter whose husband is also away fighting on the front. Together these women will bond and become great friends.

I can't wait to read more about these ladies and the adventures that await them. A strong first book!]]> 4.41
author: Patricia McBride
name: Tina
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: audio-books, historical-fiction, hoopla-audiobooks, war-time
review:
I really enjoy WWII historical fiction. Add in the mix of ladies working in a library and it's got to be a hit! This is the first in the series and I'll surely continue on. It's light and wholesome Wartime fiction but it does involve some serious issues.

Three ladies that come from different walks of life come together to work in an east end London library in 1940. Lady Cordelia is an educated and strong woman. She's an aristocrat who is the new head librarian for, "Silver Town" library in the east end of London. There she meets two other women who are working in the library. Mavis, is a single mother with a grown son who is troubled and is a soldier fighting in the war. Jane, is a married women with a small daughter whose husband is also away fighting on the front. Together these women will bond and become great friends.

I can't wait to read more about these ladies and the adventures that await them. A strong first book!
]]> 220239075 New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction, with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart

Alice isn't like the other Storm siblings. While the rest stayed to battle for their parents' approval, attention, and untold billions, she left, building her own life beyond the family’s name and influence. Nothing could induce her to come back, except the shocking death of her larger-than-life father. Now back on the family’s private island off the Rhode Island coast, she plans to keep her head down, pay the last of her respects, and leave the minute the funeral is over.

Unfortunately, her father had other plans. The eccentric, manipulative patriarch left his widow and their grown children a final challenge--an inheritance game designed to humiliate, devastate, and unravel the Storm family in ways both petty and life-altering. The rules of the game are clear: stay on the island for one week, complete the tasks, receive the inheritance.

One week on Storm Island is an impossible task for Alice. Every corner of the sprawling old house is bursting dysfunctional chaos: Her older sister’s secret love affair. Her brother’s incessant mansplaining. Her sister-in-law’s unapologetic greed. Her younger sister’s obsession with "vibes". Her mother’s penchant for stirring up competition between her children. And all under the stern, watchful gaze of Jack Dean, her father’s enigmatic, unfairly good-looking, second-in-command. It will be a miracle if Alice manages to escape the week unscathed.

A story about the transformative power of grief, love, and family, this luscious novel is at once deliciously clever and surprisingly tender, exploring past secrets, present truths, and futures forged in the wake of wild summer storms.]]> 400 Sarah MacLean 0593972252 Tina 0 to-read 4.27 2025
author: Sarah MacLean
name: Tina
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 205098644 In a dark thriller from USA Today bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey, a TV reunion brings costars back for the drama and betrayals their viewers once craved—and this time, the stakes are deadly.

Ivy Westcott fled LA as her acting career imploded. In a flash, she lost her first love and chosen family—her Hello, Juliet castmates. But she never discovered who turned her closest friends against her. Now the whole world knows her as #PoisonIvy.

A decade later, Ivy is horrified when a celebrity exposé thrusts the Hello, Juliet cast back into the limelight, dredging up the old scandals she hoped to escape. Desperate for a fresh start and some financial stability for her mother and manager, Ivy agrees to participate in a top-secret reunion episode.

Ivy’s poised for a comeback, but past betrayals become a present danger when she and the man who once broke her heart find their costar dead.

Determined to find justice and clear her name, Ivy must tear down the facades of cast and crew to uncover chilling secrets that have plagued the Hollywood set from day one. Or she could be the next to die.]]> 301 Samantha M. Bailey 1662513577 Tina 0 to-read 4.19 2025
author: Samantha M. Bailey
name: Tina
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214152174 A Knight in Shining Armor Jude Deveraux's beloved bestseller has captivated readers the world over; now in a special edition featuring new material, this timeless love story greets a new generation. Abandoned by her lover, thoroughly modern Dougless Montgomery finds herself alone and brokenhearted in an old English church. She never dreamed that a love more powerful than time awaited her there...until Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, a sixteenth-century knight, appeared. Drawn to him by a bond so sudden and compelling that it defied reason, Dougless knew that Nicholas was nothing less than a a man who would not seek to change her, who found her perfect just as she was. But she could not know how strong were the chains that tied them to the past -- or the grand adventure that lay before them.]]> 400 Jude Deveraux 1668064944 Tina 0 to-read 3.80 1989
author: Jude Deveraux
name: Tina
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 123255143
The funniest, happiest, most emotional romantic comedy you will ever read. With a small twist!

What’s the small twist? You’ll have to read it to find out. But let’s just say, you’ve never read anything like this before.

WARNING: Be prepared for many happy tears. And a lot of laughter.

For fans of:
Jojo Moyes, Cecelia Ahern, Sophie Kinsella, Nick Hornby and Richard Osman.

FROM THE 1 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR]]> 363 Suzy K. Quinn Tina 0 to-read 4.56
author: Suzy K. Quinn
name: Tina
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195342176 2024 on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ should make an interesting and varied catalogue of books to inspire other readers in 2025.

For those of you who don't like to add titles you haven't actually 'read', you can place 2024 on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ on an 'exclusive' shelf. Exclusive shelves don't have to be listed under 'to read', 'currently reading' or 'read'. To create one, go to 'edit bookshelves' on your 'My Books' page, create a shelf name such as 'review-of-the year' and tick the 'exclusive' box. Your previous and future 'reviews of the year' can be collected together on this dedicated shelf.

Concept created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir.
Description: Fionnuala Lirsdottir
Cover art: Paul CĂ©zanne, The House with the Cracked Walls, 1892-1894
Cover choice and graphics by Jayson]]> Various Tina 5 4.15 2024
author: Various
name: Tina
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: audio-books, historical-fiction, mystery-suspense-thriller, women-s-fiction, romance
review:
As I reflect on my reading choices for 2024; I can see I really gravitated towards Historical Fiction and Wartime stories. I was happy to see a great number of my favourites were authors from my home country
]]> 217498069 A brilliant, kaleidoscopic new cultural history of Diana, her many lives and the world she created

�This book is about layers of mythology and the people connected to them. It is less a biography of Diana, more the story of a cultural obsession told via an exploration of “Dianaworld�, the sprawling, ever-evolving precinct of her various lives—public and private, real and imagined.�

In February 1981 a 19-year-old nursery teacher’s assistant overnight became globally famous. In a frenzy of excitement, jumping every barrier of language and class, a new, overwhelming icon was conjured up.

This is a guide to Dianaworld � the extraordinary hall-of-mirrors through which one young woman, the world’s media, the royal family, and everybody else stalked one another. Fashion-plate, breeder of heirs, role model, fantasy object, saint and sinner, Diana gripped the minds of millions of people in ways which were unique, complex and distressing. After her death, chased by paparazzi through a Paris traffic tunnel, an estimated 2.5 billion people watched her funeral.

Edward White examines Princess Diana as the complex figure she a scion of a great aristocratic house, wife of the future king, mother of his heirs, an inspiration and delight to countless people for many years. And yet, of a human being inevitably and woefully underequipped either to deal with the horrors of the House of Windsor or control, or even lightly supervise, the Dianaworld she and others had created. This is a wonderful book, both admiring and incredulous, exuberant and melancholy.]]> 385 Edward White 014199990X Tina 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Edward White
name: Tina
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 13052413 108 Eugenia Riley Tina 0 to-read 3.84 2011
author: Eugenia Riley
name: Tina
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199531989 Knives Out gets a rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers Christmas romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-Time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don’t kill each other first.]]> 293 Ally Carter 0063276682 Tina 4
Ethan and Maggie are rival mystery writers. They don't like each other...or so they think! They are summoned for a stay at a secluded mansion in the Scottish highlands. The invitation comes from the legendary mystery writer Eleanor Ashley. Early on she goes missing and Maggie and Ethan come together to try to solve her disappearance.

There are many twists and turns as they try to solve the "crime." There are many suspects. Halfway through I started listening to the audiobook and the narrations are top-notch! I wonder if this will become a series and Ethan and Maggie will start to solve more crimes together? I'd be all in for that!]]> 3.92 2024
author: Ally Carter
name: Tina
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/24
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves: christmas, audible, cozy-mystery
review:
Just love that title and cover! It's a cute little cozy mystery with a splash of romance. It started off a little slow for me but it quickly drew me in. If you like the game or movie, "Clue" you are sure to enjoy this one.

Ethan and Maggie are rival mystery writers. They don't like each other...or so they think! They are summoned for a stay at a secluded mansion in the Scottish highlands. The invitation comes from the legendary mystery writer Eleanor Ashley. Early on she goes missing and Maggie and Ethan come together to try to solve her disappearance.

There are many twists and turns as they try to solve the "crime." There are many suspects. Halfway through I started listening to the audiobook and the narrations are top-notch! I wonder if this will become a series and Ethan and Maggie will start to solve more crimes together? I'd be all in for that!
]]> 220226736 From the creator of the 2017 film All I Wish comes the heartbreaking story of two strangers searching for the truth about their families—and discovering a secret that will change their lives forever.

Jane’s father is far from perfect. But his sudden death brings crushing grief. As Jane grapples with her pain, life delivers another blow ... a stack of letters pointing to a secret life. A life her father shared with another woman…who may have had his child.

Across the country, sixteen-year-old Adam is self-destructing. His adoptive parents never intended to show him the unsigned letters from his birth mother, but he is desperate for answers, even if they hurt.

Jane and Adam are on a collision course, but not for the reasons we might suspect. Because the letters do not tell the whole story. What is true is that Adam and Jane are both looking for a woman who does not want to be found.

A family saga spanning two decades, this emotional story explores how good things can grow from the ashes of old scars.]]> 325 Susan Walter 1662523505 Tina 0 to-read 4.50
author: Susan Walter
name: Tina
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 180200145


Eighteen-year-old May Gallagher is beautiful but restless, and longs for the freedom to live her own life, to decide her own destiny. Mollycoddled as the only remaining child of middle-class parents in the suburbs, she sneaks out to the theatre when she can. She is mesmerised by the captivating actor Peter Cullen, and wishes she could enjoy a more bohemian life.



The Great War is taking all the boys away, and the promise that it will all be over by Christmas is ringing more hollow with each passing month.



Her parents would be appalled if they knew she’d befriended the enigmatic Peter, who was from the wrong side of the city, but there is something about him that intrigues May.



When catastrophe strikes Peter, it’s to May that he turns, and in that moment she knows her life will never be the same again.]]> 284 Jean Grainger Tina 4
This is my second Jean Grainger novel and I love her writing! I listened to this one on audio and it included an excellent cast of three narrators as well as the author herself! The book that I listened to had a different cover and was dubbed, "The Aisling Series" Book One. I think this series was previously called, "Cullen's Celtic Cabaret."

What a storyteller Grainger is! It's 1915 and we meet Peter Cullen. He's an aspiring actor from Dublin, Ireland whose family is very poor. His Father is a drinker and is merciless. Peter meets May Gallagher, a girl from the other side of Dublin. Her family is wealthy and she hides the fact she is seeing Peter. As the Great War looms Peter enlists and leaves his family (and namely his Father) behind. He continues to write to May and they keep in touch while he is away. At the Warfront he meets some interesting characters. Nick Gerrity, is an aristocrat from England who is fleeing his family as he is shunned because he has a stutter. He does not want anyone on the warfront to know his real identity but he is also a gifted pianist. There's a Spaniard, named Ramon who is also musically inclined. Also, a man from London named, Enzo who has Italian heritage and can dance. There's also a Scotsman affectionally called, "Two-Soups" who is a comedian. They become friends of sorts and begin to entertain the troops. After the war they all go to London and form, "Cullen's Celtic Cabaret." There they are joined by Celine, A French girl they had previously met, Aida, who is Ramon's friend who is a dancer and Betty who is, "Two-Soups" girlfriend.

I was completely immersed in this story from the beginning. It was a 5 star book right up until that epilogue. It left me confused and I rewound it a couple of times. It's random to introduce completely new characters but perhaps it's gearing up for Book 2 that I will most certainly read.

Audio Publication October 3, 2024

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for granting me access to this Advance Listening Copy.]]> 4.26
author: Jean Grainger
name: Tina
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: historical-fiction, netgalley-audiobooks, war-time, irish, audio-books
review:
4.5 *

This is my second Jean Grainger novel and I love her writing! I listened to this one on audio and it included an excellent cast of three narrators as well as the author herself! The book that I listened to had a different cover and was dubbed, "The Aisling Series" Book One. I think this series was previously called, "Cullen's Celtic Cabaret."

What a storyteller Grainger is! It's 1915 and we meet Peter Cullen. He's an aspiring actor from Dublin, Ireland whose family is very poor. His Father is a drinker and is merciless. Peter meets May Gallagher, a girl from the other side of Dublin. Her family is wealthy and she hides the fact she is seeing Peter. As the Great War looms Peter enlists and leaves his family (and namely his Father) behind. He continues to write to May and they keep in touch while he is away. At the Warfront he meets some interesting characters. Nick Gerrity, is an aristocrat from England who is fleeing his family as he is shunned because he has a stutter. He does not want anyone on the warfront to know his real identity but he is also a gifted pianist. There's a Spaniard, named Ramon who is also musically inclined. Also, a man from London named, Enzo who has Italian heritage and can dance. There's also a Scotsman affectionally called, "Two-Soups" who is a comedian. They become friends of sorts and begin to entertain the troops. After the war they all go to London and form, "Cullen's Celtic Cabaret." There they are joined by Celine, A French girl they had previously met, Aida, who is Ramon's friend who is a dancer and Betty who is, "Two-Soups" girlfriend.

I was completely immersed in this story from the beginning. It was a 5 star book right up until that epilogue. It left me confused and I rewound it a couple of times. It's random to introduce completely new characters but perhaps it's gearing up for Book 2 that I will most certainly read.

Audio Publication October 3, 2024

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for granting me access to this Advance Listening Copy.
]]> 42273384
Christmastime 1939 introduces the reader to the Christmastime Series. Set in Brooklyn, we meet the young widow Lillian Hapsey and her two sons, Tommy and Gabriel. Even though the Christmas season is just around the corner, Lillian has no Christmas spirit. Alone, unhappy with her job, and plagued by financial concerns, Christmas has become a burden to her.

Overshadowing everything is the war in Europe. Despite the setbacks, Lillian is determined to give her sons a happy Christmas. Can she rekindle her girlhood love for the holiday season? Rediscovering her touchstone just might be the key to unlocking the excitement and magic of Christmas.]]> 158 Linda Mahkovec Tina 4 4.19
author: Linda Mahkovec
name: Tina
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: christmas, short-stories, buddy-read-darla, historical-fiction
review:
This is a short prequel to the Christmastime series. I really enjoyed it!
]]> 195884532
England offers a world of possibilities, but with audiences desperate to hear them perform, everyone only too happy to put the awful war years behind them, the Irish troupe finds themselves facing their biggest challenge yet.

Ireland makes yet another bid for freedom, and British soldiers are dying there. Despite their successes in England, they are now met with resentment and hostility. Their once adoring fans have turned against them, fuelled by a vengeful theatre owner seeking revenge.

With their reputation in ruins and their future uncertain, they have no choice but return to Ireland, but can they make the show work in a country torn apart by political and military upheaval? Will Ireland embrace their theatrical antics, or will they reject it as improper?

Follow the members of Cullen's Celtic Cabaret as they navigate the treacherous landscape of 1920s Ireland, where their talents may be their only hope of survival.]]> 266 Jean Grainger Tina 0 to-read 4.42
author: Jean Grainger
name: Tina
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 53819302
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And NoemĂ­, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> Silvia Moreno-Garcia Tina 3
I started off listening to this story on a rainy and grey day on a morning walk. It was very atmospheric and it helped to put me in the Halloween mood. The cover is glorious!

This book takes place in a small town in the mountains of Mexico. It is the 1950's and Noemi is summoned by her father who proceeds to tell her he has received a distressing letter from her cousin, Catalina who has recently married and moved away from the family. He would like her to go and check on her cousin to make sure everything is alright with her. Noemi leaves behind the big city and travels to a remote town in the mountains. She arrives at High Place, the new home of her cousin. It is a crumbling old estate manor. She meets her cousin's new husband and in-laws and begins to feel something is off with them.

I was attracted to the premise of the story and I must say that I usually do not read many horror/gothic novels. I listened to this one and the narrator was pretty good. Very breathy and gothic sounding but I think that added to the story for me.

I think this book moved a little too slow for my liking although it did pick up the last quarter or so. I could see this book being made into a movie. If you are a horror/gothic fan I do think you will enjoy it. It was just a little too strange for me.]]> 3.53 2020
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: Tina
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/31
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: audible, mystery-suspense-thriller
review:
3.5*

I started off listening to this story on a rainy and grey day on a morning walk. It was very atmospheric and it helped to put me in the Halloween mood. The cover is glorious!

This book takes place in a small town in the mountains of Mexico. It is the 1950's and Noemi is summoned by her father who proceeds to tell her he has received a distressing letter from her cousin, Catalina who has recently married and moved away from the family. He would like her to go and check on her cousin to make sure everything is alright with her. Noemi leaves behind the big city and travels to a remote town in the mountains. She arrives at High Place, the new home of her cousin. It is a crumbling old estate manor. She meets her cousin's new husband and in-laws and begins to feel something is off with them.

I was attracted to the premise of the story and I must say that I usually do not read many horror/gothic novels. I listened to this one and the narrator was pretty good. Very breathy and gothic sounding but I think that added to the story for me.

I think this book moved a little too slow for my liking although it did pick up the last quarter or so. I could see this book being made into a movie. If you are a horror/gothic fan I do think you will enjoy it. It was just a little too strange for me.
]]> 210473630 From the internationally bestselling author of Coming to Find You and My Husband's Wife comes another edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a harrowing crime, the long-buried secrets surrounding it, and the explosive uncovering of the truth.

18-year-old Janie has the world and her bright future ahead of her. She's about to leave behind the small seaside town she's known all her life to embark on a career in London in book publishing and couldn't be more excited. She'll miss home—especially her dad. They've only had each other since her mother died years earlier. But she's about to start her life and she can't wait.

She's on her way home after her last early dawn swim in the bay when the peaceful stillness of the quiet Tuesday morning is suddenly shattered. A white van careens around the corner and onto the quiet street Janie is riding her bike along, and in one swift moment, her life is forever changed, and her dreams of a new life destroyed. She's brutally run-down by the van and left for dead on the street.

Twenty years later

Robbie Manning, international pop superstar and all-around good guy, answers the front door of his palatial home to a pair of police officers who inform him that he's being arrested for the attempted murder of Janie White. Everyone knows the horrifying story of Janie and what happened to her, and the mystery of who could have done such an awful thing has rattled the world for the last twenty years. But as word of Robbie's arrest spreads, no one—including Robbie's family—can believe it; Robbie is upstanding, a model citizen and family man. He couldn't possibly have committed a hit-and-run that left a young woman paralyzed and unable to speak.

Robbie doesn't deny the accusations. He's been waiting for the truth to come out for the last two decades, and he's ready for his punishment. He deserves it after what he did to Janie . . .

. . . But what if there's more to the story? What if someone else knows what really happened that day?

Janie may be the only one who can reveal the truth—if they can get her to tell her side of the story.]]> 473 Jane Corry 0385700687 Tina 4
In 2004 Janie is riding her bicycle home after swimming seaside. She is hit and left for dead. Fast forward to 20 years later when a famous English singer is arrested for the accident.

This one was very engaging and I was immersed in the story. There are a few characters and scenarios introduced that are happening at the same time as the trial. I think the less you know about this one the better. Some things at the end just became a little too much and convenient but it didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. It's a good one!

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for granting me access to the Advance Reader's Copy.

Published today!]]> 3.73 2024
author: Jane Corry
name: Tina
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, net-galley
review:
Oh Jane Corry can certainly write a very compelling novel! I believe it's my first one by her and it won't be my last.

In 2004 Janie is riding her bicycle home after swimming seaside. She is hit and left for dead. Fast forward to 20 years later when a famous English singer is arrested for the accident.

This one was very engaging and I was immersed in the story. There are a few characters and scenarios introduced that are happening at the same time as the trial. I think the less you know about this one the better. Some things at the end just became a little too much and convenient but it didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. It's a good one!

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for granting me access to the Advance Reader's Copy.

Published today!
]]> 203751785
Annie Jones works hard designing windows for iconic New York City department store Lawson's Finest. So when her Christmas window display gets upended by some rambunctious kids on Christmas Eve, the all-too-realistic store Santa gives Annie a little decorating tip on how to start over. With help from friendly security guard Braden Tate, Annie repairs the damage and heads home. But when she wakes the next morning, she's bewildered to find that it isn't Christmas day at all, but Christmas Eve all over again.

Trapped in a time loop, Annie doesn't know how she'll ever make it back to the present. Luckily, she has an infinite number of chances to get things right. As little everyday choices bring her closer to Braden and to Christmas day, Annie starts to picture what her new life� one full of friendship, love, and community—could look like.

Praise for The Holiday

"Fans of Hallmark movies will appreciate this wholesome holiday offering." —Library Journal

"Baird excels at capturing the warmhearted and somewhat kooky dynamic� This is a delight." —Publishers Weekly]]> 397 Ginny Baird 1728276942 Tina 3 "Miracle on 34th Street" I was all in ]]> 3.35 2024
author: Ginny Baird
name: Tina
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/10
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: audio-books, christmas, buddy-read-darla, hoopla-audiobooks
review:
When I heard that this story had bits of inspiration from my favourite holiday movie, "Miracle on 34th Street" I was all in
]]> 205804549 Mac Barnett and Sydney Smith team up for an unforgettable celebration of Christmas.We all know that Santa makes everyone’s dreams come true every Christmas, but it turns out that he needs a little help getting into the holiday spirit himself. Instead of letting Santa get right back to work after he returns home to the North Pole on Christmas morning, his loyal elves want to make sure he experiences the same Christmas cheer he provides for others. With the perfect tree, lots of delicious treats, and, of course, presents, Santa experiences the magic of Christmas for the very first time.Beloved children’s book creators Mac Barnett and Sydney Smith have unveiled Santa unlike ever seen before, and as a result, created a merry new Christmas classic.]]> 40 Mac Barnett 0593524977 Tina 0 to-read 4.17
author: Mac Barnett
name: Tina
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216519206 A heartwarming, magical story of a modern woman lost in time who must assist two unlikely strangers in untangling the lies surrounding their lives if she wants to return to her own time and place.

When a snowy accident topples Madeline Drake through a slip in time, she wakes to find herself in tiny, turn of the century, Bethlehem, Wyoming, far from her hectic existence. And as much as it is a shock to her, her arrival immediately upends the tenaciously rooted lives of the town’s odd collection of lost souls.

But the rules are clear—she must stay until Christmas before the door home will open. Having never been much for rules, Madeline begins an all-out campaign to return sooner rather than later, only to find that her arrival has unwittingly upended the lives of the town's kind and shy postmistress, Ninny Minch, and that of sharp-tongued and reclusive widow, Savannah Clarke.

While helping anyone other than herself doesn't come easily to her—and despite Madeline’s best efforts to avoid entanglements—fragile bonds of friendship form between this improbable trio. Much to Madeline’s surprise, she discovers that trust and acceptance once given, may be strong enough to untangle even the most darkly held secrets.

Including a few of her own.

As Christmas draws near, Madeline finds herself so entwined in Bethlehem’s currency of wishes and hope, she starts to wonder if this small town might hold the keys to a life of purpose and empowerment like she’s never imagined. And when the door does open, will she be brave enough to step through it and leave everything and everyone behind?

If you are looking for a warm and cozy holiday read, one to share with your dearest friends, your book club, and your family, O Little Town of Bethlehem is sure to delight. Don't miss out on this wonderful love story to friendship.]]> 614 Elizabeth Boyle 1733676589 Tina 0 to-read 4.51
author: Elizabeth Boyle
name: Tina
average rating: 4.51
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222180242
"The Priest, the Boy and the Slug" is a fable deviously disguised as a fairy tale, with elements of horror, humor and magical realism, all blend in together in a hauntingly beautiful genre-defying story that can enchant youth and adults alike.]]> 22 Sirius Imnot Tina 5 short-stories Wow! Fedo, you sly one 4.19
author: Sirius Imnot
name: Tina
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/05
shelves: short-stories
review:
Wow! Fedo, you sly one
]]> 213885376
This re-telling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, set in Glasgow in the 1930s, brings a refreshing twist to a familiar tale.]]> 151 Mary Lay 1739451791 Tina 0 to-read 4.17
author: Mary Lay
name: Tina
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 29959046
She turned the picture of the Christmas card over with her frozen hands, a pretty picture of a family gathering at Yuletide. How different from her own life; stiff with cold on the icy cobbles, aching for shelter . . .

When her father dies leaving Alice and her ailing mother with only his debts, the two grieving women are forced to rely on the begrudging charity of cruel Aunt Jane. Determined to rid herself of an expensive responsibility, Jane tries forcing Alice into a monstrous marriage. And when Alice refuses, she is sent to work in a grand house to earn her keep.

Finding herself in sole charge of the untameable and spoilt young miss of the house, Alice’s only ally is handsome Uncle Rory, who discovers that Alice has talents beyond those of a mere servant. But when someone sets out to destroy her reputation, Alice can only pray for a little of that Christmas spirit to save her from ruin . . .]]> 497 Dilly Court 0008137390 Tina 5 superbly narrated! I was deeply immersed into the story and couldn't stop listening.

The story is set in London during the Victorian era and I could certainly feel the historical setting. The descriptions and details were vivid. Alice's father has recently died. Her Mother's health is failing and they have been left basically penniless except for a treasured "Christmas Card" that her Father gave her. She keeps it close to her as it depicts a happy family at Christmas and its illustrations are lovely. They are forced to move in with her strict Aunt who is very unkind. Alice begins to work for an affluent family and is put in charge of their naughty daughter, Flora. She also meets Flora's adored Uncle Rory and together they try to help Flora. Alice is a sweet person. She truly wants to help and set things right and that puts her in danger many times.

To me this book was reminiscent of a "saga" type of story although it was not set over many years but instead set over many months. A lot happened. There was never a dull moment and it was ever so heartwarming. There is some Christmas in this story but it is not the main focus. The "Christmas Card" later becomes an interesting aspect of the story. I will definitely read another Dilly Court novel in a heartbeat!]]> 4.28 2016
author: Dilly Court
name: Tina
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: audio-books, christmas, hoopla-audiobooks, historical-fiction
review:
My first Dilly Court and I loved her writing! I listened to the Audiobook and it was superbly narrated! I was deeply immersed into the story and couldn't stop listening.

The story is set in London during the Victorian era and I could certainly feel the historical setting. The descriptions and details were vivid. Alice's father has recently died. Her Mother's health is failing and they have been left basically penniless except for a treasured "Christmas Card" that her Father gave her. She keeps it close to her as it depicts a happy family at Christmas and its illustrations are lovely. They are forced to move in with her strict Aunt who is very unkind. Alice begins to work for an affluent family and is put in charge of their naughty daughter, Flora. She also meets Flora's adored Uncle Rory and together they try to help Flora. Alice is a sweet person. She truly wants to help and set things right and that puts her in danger many times.

To me this book was reminiscent of a "saga" type of story although it was not set over many years but instead set over many months. A lot happened. There was never a dull moment and it was ever so heartwarming. There is some Christmas in this story but it is not the main focus. The "Christmas Card" later becomes an interesting aspect of the story. I will definitely read another Dilly Court novel in a heartbeat!
]]> 192728
Imagine a Victorian England village in the Cotswolds where very little out of the ordinary ever happens . . . except at Christmas time.

This year, Edward Haddington, a lowly candle maker, is visited by a mysterious angel. That angel silently imparts a precious gift—a gift that’s bungled and subsequently lost. The candle maker and his wife, Bea, struggle to find the gift.

And when they do, they have to make a difficult choice. Who among their community is most in need of a Christmas miracle?

Join inspirational author Max Lucado and experience anew the joy of Christmas.

BONUS: Includes a sneak preview of Max’s novel, Miracle at the Higher Grounds Café!]]> 183 Max Lucado 1595541470 Tina 4
While I don't always read Faith based stories I do enjoy some at Christmas time. This was a meaningful message and it was a buddy read with Darla and that made it even more special. Please be sure to check out her beautiful review as I know this was a memorable story for her.

*Christian lit]]> 4.10 2006
author: Max Lucado
name: Tina
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: audio-books, buddy-read-darla, christmas, hoopla-audiobooks, short-stories
review:
A heartfelt faith based Christmas tale. It's a short story that is set in Victorian times. About a candlemaker in a small village in England who receives a visit from an angel who blesses his candle. He then gives it to a neighbour and the man's troubles are lessened. So this begins a tradition in the little village where an angel appears to a candlemaker every 25 years and blesses a special candle. When a new preacher arrives he is skeptical of this tradition. This is the year the angel is due back. Will the tradition continue and will he believe?

While I don't always read Faith based stories I do enjoy some at Christmas time. This was a meaningful message and it was a buddy read with Darla and that made it even more special. Please be sure to check out her beautiful review as I know this was a memorable story for her.

*Christian lit
]]> 63851914
When Ellie travels to Manhattan for an apprenticeship,Ěýshe meets the charmingly eccentric James Denny at a historic boarding house. He claims to be a Broadway actor waiting for his lost love. When Ellie offers to help search for her, it leads to old secrets and adventure...]]> 140 Margo Laurie 1739898109 Tina 4
Ellie is from Scotland. She goes to New York City on a 3 month apprenticeship to learn how to design old-fashioned fans. It's her Great-Aunt's family business. She needs more affordable lodging and her Aunt suggests an old and historic boarding house. There, Ellie will meet a man who seems strange but yet sweet. She will learn a story from him that is hard to believe!

This story is perfect for Christmas because it's magical. Will you have to suspend your disbelief? Yes, but that's part of the charm. I can highly recommend this short novella!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full-length novel on Ellie! Perhaps about a romance with Marcus? ]]> 4.02 2022
author: Margo Laurie
name: Tina
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: kindle, christmas, short-stories
review:
This story was charming and unique all in one. I wanted to try this Christmas novella by my GR friend Margo Laurie for quite some time. There was no pressure whatsoever by her for me to read it. I picked it up mainly because of the premise. I was not disappointed! This was a great little story and I love Margo's writing style.

Ellie is from Scotland. She goes to New York City on a 3 month apprenticeship to learn how to design old-fashioned fans. It's her Great-Aunt's family business. She needs more affordable lodging and her Aunt suggests an old and historic boarding house. There, Ellie will meet a man who seems strange but yet sweet. She will learn a story from him that is hard to believe!

This story is perfect for Christmas because it's magical. Will you have to suspend your disbelief? Yes, but that's part of the charm. I can highly recommend this short novella!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full-length novel on Ellie! Perhaps about a romance with Marcus?
]]> 220372694 19 Thibault Busschots Tina 4 short-stories
This is about a newly dating couple who would like to share a meal together. That meal is "Chana Masala." There are some funny mishaps along the way...will this couple get their meal? Is the way to a man's heart really through his stomach? You will have to read this one to find out! Savvy writing!

How cool to find out through the author's notes that two of my other GR friends have helped him along the way. Rosh, who keeps encouraging him to keep polishing up on his craft, and Marquise who was an inspiration to the story! Keep writing Thibault because I'll certainly keep reading your stories ]]> 3.94
author: Thibault Busschots
name: Tina
average rating: 3.94
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: short-stories
review:
Oh my this was cute and ever-so entertaining! Not to mention that wonderful cover! Thibault is my GR friend so I wanted to read one of his short stories. I did it all on my own. He ever so graciously never asked.

This is about a newly dating couple who would like to share a meal together. That meal is "Chana Masala." There are some funny mishaps along the way...will this couple get their meal? Is the way to a man's heart really through his stomach? You will have to read this one to find out! Savvy writing!

How cool to find out through the author's notes that two of my other GR friends have helped him along the way. Rosh, who keeps encouraging him to keep polishing up on his craft, and Marquise who was an inspiration to the story! Keep writing Thibault because I'll certainly keep reading your stories
]]>