Review: The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly (audio)

  Title: The Last Garden in England Author: Julia Kelly Narrator: Shiromi Arserio, Marisa Calin, Danielle Cohen, Katherine Littrell, Siobhan Waring Published: February 2021, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 10 hours 46 minutes Source: Publisher Summary: From the author of the international best seller The Light over London and The Whispers of War comes a poignant and unforgettable tale of five women living across three different times whose lives are…

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Review: Who Is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews (audio)

  Title: Who Is Maud Dixon Author: Alexandra Andrews Narrator: Therese Plummer Published: March 2021, Hachette Audio / Little Brown and Company Length: 9 hours 11 minutes / 336 pages Source: Audio – ALC via Libro.fm / Print – ARC via Goodreads Summary: For readers of The Silent Patient – a taut, twisty, character-driven suspense novel about a famous novelist and a small-town striver locked in a struggle for fortune…

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Review: Smoke Signal by Marie Benedict, Kate Quinn (audio)

Title: Smoke Signal Author: Marie Benedict, Kate Quinn Series: Audible Original Stories Narrator: Nicola Barber, Saskia Maarleveld Published: February 2021, Audible Originals Length: 1 hour 10 minutes Source: Personal copy Summary: Best-selling authors Marie Benedict (The Mystery of Mrs. Christie) and Kate Quinn (The Rose Code) join forces to tell the captivating story of how history’s most famous mystery writer crossed paths with one of Britain’s top secret code breakers…

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Review: Widowish by Melissa Gould

Title: Widowish Author: Melissa Gould Published: February 2021, Little A Format: Hardcover, 220 pages Source: Publisher Summary: Melissa Gould’s hopeful memoir of grieving outside the box and the surprising nature of love.When Melissa Gould’s husband, Joel, was unexpectedly hospitalized, she could not imagine how her life was about to change. Overwhelmed with uncertainty as Joel’s condition tragically worsened, she offered him the only thing she could: her love and devotion.…

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Review: The Half Sister by Sandi Jones

  Title: The Half Sister Author: Sandi Jones Published: June 2020, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 320 pages Source: Goodreads Summary:  Her arrival will ruin everything Kate and Lauren. Sisters who are always there for each other. But as they gather for their weekly Sunday lunch, a knock on the door changes everything. The new arrival, Jess, claims to be their half-sister, but that would mean the unthinkable . .…

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Review: Hadley & Grace by Suzanne Redfearn (audio)

  Title: Hadley & Grace Author: Suzanne Redfearn Narrator: Christina Traister, Sarah Naughton, Pete Simonelli Published: February 2021, Brilliance Audio / Lake Union Publishing Length: 10 hours 7 minutes / 347 pages Source: Audio via Brilliance Publishing / Print via Amazon Publishing Summary: The author of In an Instant delivers a heart-pounding and emotional roller-coaster ride of self-discovery in the tradition of Thelma and Louise.Needing to escape her abusive marriage,…

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Book Spotlight: Flowers of Darkness by Tatiana de Rosnay

Today, Tatiana de Rosnay’s latest novel, Flowers of Darkness, is being published and to celebrate, I’m helping the publisher get the word out.   Title: Flowers of Darkness Author: Tatiana de Rosnay Published: February 2021, St. Martin’s Press Format: Hardcover, 256 pages Summary:  From the internationally bestselling author of Sarah’s Key comes Tatiana de Rosnay’s Flowers of Darkness, a riveting and emotionally intense novel, set in a near future Paris,…

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Review: An Eye for an Eye by Carol Wyer (audio)

Title: An Eye for an Eye Author: Carol Wyer Series: Detective Kate Young, #1 Narrator: Henrietta Meire Published: February 2021, Brilliance Audio Length: 11 hours 49 minutes Source: Publisher Summary: A killer running rings around the police. A detective spiralling out of control. DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad…

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Review: The Berlin Girl by Mandy Robotham (audio)

  Title: The Berlin Girl Author: Mandy Robotham Narrator: Kristin Atherton Published: Audio – October 2020 Avon / Print – December 2020 Avon Length: 13 hours 17 minutes Source: Audio – via Library / Print via Publisher Summary:  From the bestselling author of The German Midwife comes the heart-wrenching story of a country on the brink of war, a woman who puts herself in the line of fire, and a…

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Review: The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

   Title: The Nature of Fragile Things Author: Susan Meissner Published: February 2021, Berkley Books Format: ARC E-copy, 384 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed. Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New…

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Review: The Owl Always Hunts at Night by Samuel Bjork

  Title: The Owl Always Hunts at Night Author: Samuel Bjork Series: Holger Munch & Mia Kruger, #2 Published: June 2017, Penguin Group Format: Paperback, 368 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  The thrilling follow-up to Samuel Bjork s internationally bestselling I’m Traveling Alone, which The Wall Street Journal calls tense and smartly constructed.    When a troubled teenager disappears from an orphanage and is found murdered, her body arranged on…

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Review: The Secret Stealers by Jane Healey

Title: The Secret Stealers Author: Jane Healey Published: April 2021, Lake Union Publishing Format: ARC E-copy, 443 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  A female American spy in Nazi-occupied France finds purpose behind enemy lines in a novel of unparalleled danger, love, and daring by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Beantown Girls. Anna Cavanaugh is a restless young widow and brilliant French teacher at an all-girls school in…

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Review: Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology edited by Zibby Owens

  Title: Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology Author: edited by Zibby Owens Published: February 2021, Skyhorse Format: ARC Paperback, 312 pages Source: Publicist Summary:  JOIN AWARD-WINNING PODCASTER ZIBBY OWENS OF MOMS DON’T HAVE TIME TO READ BOOKS ON A JOURNEY FILLED WITH FOOD, EXERCISE, SEX, BOOKS, AND MORE.   It’s impossible to ignore how life has changed since COVID-19 spread across the world. People from all over…

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Review: Do No Harm by Christina McDonald

  Title: Do No Harm Author: Christina McDonald Published: February 2021, Gallery Books Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publicist Summary:  Emma loves her life. She’s the mother of a precocious kindergartener, married to her soulmate—a loyal and loving police detective—and has a rewarding career as a doctor at the local hospital. But everything comes crashing down when her son, Josh, is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Determined…

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Review: Black Coral by Andrew Mayne

  Title: Black Coral Author: Andrew Mayne Series: Underwater Investigation Unit, #2 Published: February 2021, Thomas & Mercer Format: ARC Paperback, 320 pages Source: Publisher via MB Communications Summary:  For a police diver in Florida, solving a cold-case mystery brings a serial killer out of hiding in a deep, dark thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist. Sloan McPherson and the Underwater Investigation Unit have discovered…

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Review: Blink of an Eye by Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen (audio)

    Title: Blink of an Eye Author: Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen Series: Kendra Michaels, #8 Narrator: Elisabeth Rodgers Published: February 2021, Hachette Audio / Grand Central Publishing Length: 8 hours 12 minutes / 343 pages Source: Audio – ALC via Libro.fm / Print – Hardcover via Publisher Summary: A #1 New York Times bestselling author and an Edgar Award winner team up to deliver this gripping new novel featuring…

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Blog Tour & Review: A Vineyard Valentine by Nina Bocci (audio)

Title: A Vineyard Valentine Author: Nina Bocci Narrator: Amanda Ronconi Published: February 2021, Audible Originals Length: 1 hour 40 minutes Source: Audible Summary: An unforgettable night of romance awaits in this funny, charming novella by USA Today best-selling author Nina Bocci! The annual Valentine’s Day singles soiree is always a big money-maker for Eloisa Giordono’s winery. What could be more romantic than looking for love at a quaint family vineyard…

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Review: Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

  Title: Finlay Donovan is Killing It Author: Elle Cosimano Series: Finlay Donovan, #1 Published: February 2021, Minotaur Books Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice (audio)

   Title: The Shadow Box Author: Luanne Rice Narrator: Nicol Zanzarella, Jim Frangione Published: February 2021, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer Length: 10 hours 36 minutes / 368 pages Source: Audio – via Brilliance Publishing / Print via Amazon Publishing Summary: The Amazon Charts bestselling author of Last Day delivers a haunting thriller about how far one wife is willing to go to expose the truth—and the lengths someone…

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Review: Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

  Title: Watch Over Me Author: Nina LaCour Published: September 2020, Dutton Books for Young Readers Format: Hardcover, 272 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  Nina LaCour delivers another emotional knockout with Watch Over Me, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the Printz Award-winning We Are Okay. Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes to the opportunity: living in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog…

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Review: Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins

  Title: Magpie Lane Author: Lucy Atkins Published: February 2021, Mobius Format: Hardcover, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  When the eight-year-old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers. As Dee looks back over her time in the Master’s Lodging – an eerie and ancient house – a picture of a high achieving but dysfunctional family…

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Book Spotlight: Masque of Honor by Sharon Virts

  Title: Masque of Honor Author: Sharon Virts Published: February 2021, Rosetta Books Format: Hardcover, 400 pages Summary:  In this coming-of-age tale set in early 19th century America, two sons of the Virginia aristocracy risk it all to defend their dreams and determine their own destinies.  General Armistead Mason and John “Jack” Mason McCarty are brothers-in-law, second cousins and descendants of founding father George Mason IV. Ambitious and headstrong, together…

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Review: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

  Title: The Paris Library Author: Janet Skeslien Charles Published: February 2021, Atria Books Format: ARC Paperback, 368 pages Source: Publisher Summary: Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife. Paris,…

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Review: A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe (audio)

Title: A Hundred Suns Author: Karin Tanabe Narrator: Angela Dawe, Emily Ellet Published: April 2020, Macmillan Audio / St. Martin’s Press Length: 13 hours 39 minutes / 400 pages Source: Audio via Library / Print via Publisher Summary: An evocative historical novel set in 1930’s Indochine, about the American wife of a Michelin heir who journeys to the French colony in the name of family fortune, and the glamorous, tumultuous…

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Review: The Princess Spy by Larry Loftis

  Title: The Princess Spy Author: Larry Loftis Published: February 2021, Atria Books Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  The international bestselling author of the “exciting, suspenseful, inspirational” (Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Code Name: Lise weaves another exceptional and thrilling hidden history of an ordinary American girl who became one of the OSS’s most daring spies in World War II before marrying into European…

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Review: Silent Voices by Patricia Gibney

 Title: Silent Voices Author: Patricia Gibney Series: DI Lottie Parker, #9 Published: February 2021, Bookouture Format: ARC E-copy, 451 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary:  The hall was empty and dark. She felt for the switch on the wall, but another noise caused her to pause. Was it from upstairs? That’s when she heard the whoosh of sound. The flutter of material. Right before she felt the push between her…

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Review: Every Waking Hour by Joanna Schaffhausen

  Title: Every Waking Hour Author: Joanna Schaffhausen Series: Ellery Hathaway, #4 Published: January 2021, Minotaur Books Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages Source: Publisher Summary:  After surviving a serial killer’s abduction as a young teenager, Ellery Hathaway is finally attempting a normal life. She has a new job as a rookie Boston detective and a fledgling relationship with Reed Markham, the FBI agent who rescued her years ago. But when…

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Review: The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

  Title: The Devil and the Dark Water Author: Stuart Turton Published: October 2020, Sourcebooks Landmark Format: Hardcover, 463 pages Source: Personal copy Summary:  A murder on the high seas. A detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. It’s 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with…

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Review: After Everything by Andrea Nourse (audio)

Title: After Everything Author: Andrea Nourse Narrator: Emily deKanter Published: December 2020, Andrea Nourse Length: 9 hours 22 minutes Source: Author Summary: All Abby Rhodes wants is a chance to pursue her songwriting dreams. When she leaves her husband on Christmas Eve and puts their Missouri hometown in her rearview mirror, she heads straight to Nashville and onto the doorstep of her estranged father. But in typical Abby fashion, nothing…

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Review: This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith (audio)

Title: This Close to Okay Author: Leesa Cross-Smith Narrator: Kamali Minter, Zeno Robinson Published: February 2021, Hachette Audio / Grand Central Publishing Length: 9 hours 46 minutes / 320 pages Source: Audio – ALC via Libro.fm / Print – Hardcover via Grand Central Publishing Summary: From the award-winning Southern writer who Roxane Gay calls “a consummate storyteller” comes a cathartic novel about the life-changing weekend shared between two strangers: a…

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Review: UNSUB by Meg Gardiner

  Title: UNSUB Author: Meg Gardiner Series: UNSUB, #1 Published: June 2017, Dutton Format: Hardcover, Source: Personal copy Summary:  A riveting psychological thriller inspired by the never-caught Zodiac Killer, about a young detective determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier. Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood…

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Most Anticipated Releases of the Month: February 2021

  Back again with my five most anticipated releases coming out this month. That’s not to say that I’m not excited about all the books that are being released this month, but these are just the ones that really stand out in my mind for some reason – either because I have loved the author’s previous books or it’s a debut novel and sounds amazing. Again, sometimes I will have…

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Month in Review: January 2021

  Well, we made it through the first month of the new year! Reading-wise, there have been some amazing books published already this year and it looks like there are a whole lot more to come…which is good. My big goal this year is to try to have a good mix of current books and old ones. I have quite a few backlist review books that for whatever reason I…

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