St. Martin’s Press

Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison

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every time

Pages: 304 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: July 24, 2018

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is the first Beth Harbison book I have read and I was pleased with the book. I am not a huge fan of ghosts or spirits but she did it very tastefully. By the end of the book I was almost wishing my Papaw would come visit me so I could tell him I love him one more time.

Willa’s husband died three years ago of a heart attack while working at their Ocean City, Maryland beach house. This summer she has decided it is time to put the beach house up for sale. She gets there and realizes a lot of work needs to be done on the inside and outside before she can put it up for sale. Not long after she arrives her husband’s spirit visits her. At first she thinks she is cracking up but the more she visits the more she realizes he is there for a reason. As the summer progresses her son, best friend and best friend’s daughter come to help her get the house in order and help her finally deal with her husband’s death. It is a summer of change for everyone.

I am not 100% sure that Willa’s husband’s spirit actually came to visit or her. I think in her grief she wished for a connection to him and conjured him up in her subconscious when she needed the connection to him. I believe there is a bit of Willa in all of us when we lose someone close to us. We want that person to be here with us and look for any sign to show is that they are here with us.

They relationship between Willa and her son Jamie is very believable. I was impressed with how much he grew in a few weeks at the shore with his mom especially when he got rid of the psycho girlfriend. The scary idea is the psycho girlfriend was so real. Sad to say my own son had one of those for a while. I was glad to read a story where the someone was strong enough to break it off and not keep dragging the relationship out continuously.

Every Time You Go Away is a tender, heart wrenching book that will make you think about how short life is and how quickly it can change.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

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baby teeth

Pages: 320 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: July 17, 2018

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Let me start off saying this book scared the beejeebies out of me. I still have not figured out who was more disturbed the mom, Suzette, or the daughter, Hanna. Alex, the dad, should run very far away from the both of them.

Hanna appears all sweet and angelic to everyone on the surface especially to her never-can-do wrong daddy. When she is alone with her mom she turns into the devil child. What makes this even harder is Hanna is mute. Her form of expressing herself is with screams, grunts and the occasional bark.

Suzette has lived a life of exclusion and loneliness due to her severe Crohn’s disease. She never felt complete until she met Alex. She loved the time when it was just the two of them loving and being each other’s whole world. She loves her daughter but the more her daughter becomes “unnormal” in her eyes the more she longs for it just to be her and Alex again.

This book was totally out of my norm. I like the occasional thriller that makes you think but one with a child who is seriously disturbed had me disturbed. Can a child so young really be as bad Hanna was portrayed? I pray I never meet that child.

If you are a puppy and rainbows kind of reader then I would say this book is not for you. If you want to try something new and want something that makes you think then grab this book when it comes out on July 17, 2018 in the USA.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Murder at the Mansion (Victorian Village Mystery #1) by Sheila Connolly

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murder at the mansion

Pages: 328 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: June 26, 2018

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Kate left her hometown of Asheford, MD after high school graduation and never really looked back until she received a call from her high school best friend asking her to help save the town. The only thing the town has going for it is the Victorian mansion owed by Henry Barton. One town council member, Cordelia “Cordy” Walker wants to rip everything out and turn it into an upscale hotel and run it herself. As Kate tours the mansion and starts putting together a plan, she finds Cordy dead on the mansion’s front steps. Who would want Cordy dead or maybe the question should be who doesn’t want Cordy dead? Can Kate solve the murder and save the town?

An excellent first book in a new series by Shelia Connolly. I am very excited to see how the series progesses. The premise of building the town into a Victorian Village is very interesting. Normally I am not a huge fan of American Victorian literature, classic or modern, but this series may just change my mind. The history that is woven in throughout the book is given to the reader in a knowledgeable way but so filled with boring facts that you get lost. I learned a lot about Clara Barton and her work outside of the Red Cross that I had no clue about. I want to read more about it but at the same time I don’t want to ruin any future plot lines of the series.

There is a little bit of a romance but it plays very lightly in the background. It in no way distracts from the murder mystery. I hope it stays that way for a couple more books in the series so we can continue to build up the characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Before and Again by Barbara Delinksy

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before

Pages: 416 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: June 26, 2018

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Let me start off with this statement: You will be thinking “what if that had been me” the entire time you are reading. It will make you think about your own distracted driving and letting your kids have their privacy with their own electronics.

Maggie Reid used to be Mackenzie Cooper in another life. Maggie, as everyone knows her in her small Vermont town, lives a quiet but fulfilled life. She works at the local spa as a makeup artist and lives with her two cats and dog on the outskirts of town. No one knows her past, that is until closet friend’s son is arrested for computer hacking. As Maggie becomes the stability her friend needs her own life starts spiraling out of control. Will she be able to keep her past in the past?

I am still thinking about this book days after I have finished. We all know the dangers of looking at our smartphones while driving. What we don’t always think about is what could happen to our lives if we cause a serious accident while doing so. We don’t think about the legal implications that could stem from the accident. We don’t think about the guilt that would eat us up from the inside outside. We don’t think how it would affect our family, close and extended. Maggie makes you think about all those things.

Barbara Delinsky is one of the greatest women’s fiction writers out there and this is the perfect summer read to pick up as you leave for vacation. Beware as you read you will not hear anything around you and you may forget you are cooking dinner.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

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lost

Pages: 368 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Published: June 19, 2018

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Loveday’s life has been hard since she was a child and to survive she found her solace in books. She’s carried that love into her adult life by tattooing her favorite first lines of books on her body and by working in a bookstore. When books start showing up in the store from her childhood she becomes terrified that someone has learned of her past. Is it time to share her heartbreaking past or run?

At first I could not get into the book and then all the sudden I could not put it down. It grows on you and then becomes a part of you. Loveday is a character that we can all relate to in someway whether the loss of parents in our youth or feeling like we do not fit in anywhere except between the pages of a book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Marten’s Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable

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jack

Pages: 544 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: May 29, 2018

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A historical fiction account of a love affair between JFK and Alicia Corning Clark which may have resulted in a love child.

Alicia is a Polish refugee who arrives in Hyannisport via Oklahoma to work as a maid for the Kennedys. Jack (a young JFK) becomes dazzled by her beauty and starts a romance that leads to an engagement. Jack’s father, Joe, has other ideas of who Jack should marry and it is not a maid from Poland. Over the years Alicia and Jack continue to see each other on the side but they each marry other people.

Alicia tries to become someone important but winds up rich in money but poor in family and friends as her life comes to a close.

I found this book fascinating as I have always enjoyed reading about JFK. This book sure has me rethinking what a great guy he was as he is portrayed as a playboy, slob and rude person his entire life. I believe I had my head buried in the sand as to his true character.

I felt sorry for Alicia as I cannot imagine being separated from my parents to go into hiding and then learning my father was killed in a concentration camp and my mother was only a shell of herself. I thought she was a strong person to leave her mother to try and get them a better life. She did the best she could. Money to her was important and that is how she saw a way to get her mom what she needed and later in life she used the money to make herself happy in the moment. She did one of the most selfless acts in letting someone else raise her baby as their own. She thought she was protecting the baby.

Does Alicia’s story have truth? I believe it does.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin’s Press. Any opinions expressed in the review are entirely my own.

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

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anna.jpg

Pages: 352 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: April 10, 2018

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Maggie has been married to Dr. Noah for several years and has settled into being wife and mom to Noah’s son, Caleb. In the blink of an eye their lives are changed forever with a single phone call from Maggie’s daughter Anna. A daughter she did not talk about due to losing custody after fighting post partum psychosis. Anna moves in and starts tearing the family apart until one night she is found dead on Noah’s porch and all signs point to him. Can Maggie forgive Noah and move forward or will she believe Noah killed Anna in a fit of rage? Where does the truth lie?

After Anna had me guessing until the very end and I was still in shock as I turned the last page. These stand alone novels are my favorite of Lisa Scottoline’s work but truthfully I don’t think you can read a bad book by her.

This book made me think about what I would do in the situations Maggie found herself in for the past seventeen years. Could I have just walked away after the custody hearing no matter what my ex and his lawyers said? I would like to think I would have fought until my death to be apart of my child’s life no matter my mental illness. Especially when I found myself better after taking time to heal. Could I open my home and life immediately after being away for 17 years with pretty much no questions asked? I find it surprising when spouses make decisions that change the entire family without discussing it with the other spouse. I am not saying don’t take your daughter in but get to know who she is now verses what you remember her being at several months old. Would I believe everything my daughter said about my husband, the man I have been living with for several years? Could I forgive my husband for the transgressions he supposedly did against my daughter? Could I forgive him for murder?

Your heart will be racing faster than you can turn the pages in this emotionally packed novel. If you have a weak heart, take caution, but read the book. You will not regret it. I am already looking forward to her next stand alone novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

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the family next door.jpg

Pages: 352 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: February 6, 2018

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

What do you get when you mix a little Desperate Housewives with Big Little Lies? You get The Family Next Door! This is a jaw-dropping, twisty tale that will have you gasping at every page.

Ange, Fran, Essie, and Essie’s mom, Barbara all live on Pleasant Court. The ladies are friendly but not too friendly so they know each other’s business. That is until Isabelle moves in the house across the street from Essie. Isabelle is single and gorgeous. The ladies are skeptical at first that she may try to steal their husbands but then they are convinced she is gay. Why else would a single, beautiful lady move onto a street full of families?

As Essie and Isabelle’s friendship deepen the secrets start to unravel and come out much to everyone’s surprise. Is the darkest secret of all the one most hidden or the one hidden in plain sight?

Come for a visit to Pleasant Court and find out for yourself.

I have this on my to-be-read shelf for months and am kicking myself for waiting so long. I found myself up way too late night and getting up extremely early just to finish this book. I’ve heard Sally Hepworth compared to Liane Moriaty and the critics are right. I can see this made into a mini-series for TV.

The story starts out with Essie leaving her newborn baby, Mia, in her pram in the local park. Essie comes home after having coffee at the local coffee shop and her mother Barbara asks where is the baby. Thankfully Mia is ok but Essie is not and spends some time in the hospital healing from post-partum depression. Essie fears this will return when she has her second baby, Polly. The story picks up from here and goes in a direction I never expected. My jaw flopped open at one point of the book and I am not sure I closed it until after I closed the book.

If you are looking for something to read until Big, Little Lies comes back on the air you need to pick up this book from you favorite bookseller or library. You will be happy you did.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy in exchange for a review in my own honest words.

 

 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

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the great alone.jpg

Pages: 448 (E-book)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: February 6, 2018

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

An emotional and gripping read that will keep you up all night.

The book opens with 13 year old Leni listening to her parents arguing. Leni reflects how this normal in her home especially since her dad came home from Viet Nam. Her dad is notified a comrade he served with in Viet Nam has left him his homestead in Alaska. Leni’s dad thinks the best thing for his family is to move to the homestead and learn how to live off the land and provide for themselves. He tells them it will help him emotionally. Off the family goes to Alaska in the VW van with nothing more than the clothes on their backs pretty much. We follow Leni and her family as the learn what it takes to be a true Alaskan and a family that is riddled with abuse with nowhere to go.

I cried happy and sad tears as I read late into the night each night. Last night I read until my eyes could not focus as I wanted to finish the book. Just like she did with The Nightingale, I questioned what I would do in similar circumstances and if I had to the guts and strength to survive what the female characters survive. How much are you willing to love someone whether it be blood or not? Is blood love the strongest of love? You will find yourselves wrapped up in the characters so much that you will take a moment to refocus and remember where you are in the real world.

The description of the wilds of Alaska is beautiful but at the same time Hannah is not afraid to show the ugliness of Alaska either. Alaska is not for the faint of heart. It takes a special person to survive.

Run to the nearest bookstore, library or e-reader and pick up your copy today and make the time to read it over the weekend. I think you will be glad you did.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review in my own words.

Curses, Boiled Again (Lobster Shack Mystery #1) by Shari Randall

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curses boiled again

Pages: 309 (eBook)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: January 30, 2018

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Allie has come home to her Aunt Gully in Mystic Bay while healing from a broken ankle. While home, she helps her aunt out at The Lazy Mermaid cracking lobsters and serving up the most delicious lobster rolls around. For the first time in the local festival’s history they are partnering up with YUM Productions and hosting the Best Lobster Roll contest. Unfortunately, before the judge’s can get to Aunt Gully’s lobster roll the judge’s are taken sick and one dies. Will Aunt Gully go down for the crime or can Allie prove who is the real killer?

This is a fantastic start to a new series. You will fall in love with Allie and Aunt Gully from the start. Aunt Gully is a hoot. Nothing and I mean nothing gets this women down. She puts on her happy face everyday and thinks of ways to fill people’s tummies with her yummy lobster roll and hot. creamy chowder. I am telling you I wanted to crawl into the book and have some myself.

Allie is spunky and loves her Aunt Gully more than life itself. She will let nothing stop her from proving her aunt’s innocence. As for Allie’s sister, Lorel, the jury is still out on how I feel about her. She got on my nerves always having her head stuck in her phone and constantly thinking of ways to promote The Lazy Mermaid. I understand that is her job but sometimes you have to put the phone down and your job on hold to take care of family.

I am so excited to learn that the second book comes out in July 2018. I have already marked it on Amazon to watch for it to be released.

Hurry, stop by The Lazy Mermaid and see what I am talking about as I think you will enjoy your visit as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy to read in exchange for my honest review in my own words.