Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Harlequin Audio for the ALC and HTP Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Japanese Gothic in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Hanover Square Press / Harlequin Audio Published: April 14, 2026   Summary: In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds. October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his…

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The Tortoise’s Tale by Kendra Coulter #bookreview #debut

I purchased the print copy for my personal collection. Publisher: Simon & Schuster Published: November 4, 2025   Summary: A century of American history unfolds through the eyes of a giant tortoise with a heightened awareness for live music, the location of edible flowers, and the nuances of human behavior in this spellbinding debut novel. Snatched from her ancestral lands, a giant tortoise finds herself in an exclusive estate in…

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Ruby Falls by Gin Phillips #bookreview

Thank you Atlantic Crime, #partner for the advanced copy of Ruby Falls in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Atlantic Crime Published: March 3, 2026   Summary: One body. Five suspects. Total darkness. A tense, claustrophobic historical mystery set almost entirely underground at the onset of the Great Depression about the discovery of a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain, the unthinkable crime that happens in its caves, and…

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The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and KCCPR, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Stolen Queen in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Dutton / PRH Audio Published: January 7, 2025   Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back. Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student…

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The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced copy of The Show Girl in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: August 10, 2021   Summary: It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every…

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The Conjurer’s Wife by Sarah Penner #bookreview #shortstory

I obtained this e-book through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Amazon Original Stories Published: January 1, 2025   Summary: In nineteenth-century Venice, a young woman’s marriage to an illusionist hides secrets that go deeper than his spectacular acts. The stage is set for transformation in a mesmerizing short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary. In 1820s Venice, world-renowned magician Oscar Van Hoff confounds sold-out crowds…

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Circle of Days by Ken Follett #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Grand Central Publishing, #partner, for the finished copy of Circle of Days in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: September 23, 2025   Summary: From a bestselling author of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world’s greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT Seft, a…

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The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / HarperAudio for the ALC and Angela Books PR, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Fourth Princess in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio Published: February 10, 2026   Summary: From the internationally bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon comes a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China. Two young women living in a crumbling, once-grand Shanghai mansion face danger as…

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Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke #bookreview #debut

Thank you Knopf, #partner, for the advanced copy of Yesteryear in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Knopf Published: April 7, 2026   Summary: A traditional American woman, a beautiful wife and mother who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1805—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is…

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Punished by Ann-Helen Laestadius #bookreview #series #translatedbook

Thank you Scribner Books #partner, for the advanced copy of Punished in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Scribner Books Published: February 4, 2025 (first published January 2023)   Summary: From the internationally bestselling author of the “extraordinary” (Fredrik Backman) novel Stolen comes a harrowing story—inspired by true events—of five Indigenous children forced to attend a government-run boarding school in 1950s Sweden, revealing the emotional scars they carry thirty years later. In…

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The Mad Wife by Meagan Church #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm/Recorded Books, #partner for the ALC of The Mad Wife in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print copy for my personal collection. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark / Recorded Books Published: September 30, 2025   Summary: From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build―and the lies we…

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Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid #bookreview

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. Publisher: Ballantine Books Published: June 3, 2025   Summary: Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women…

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The Italian Secret by Tara Moss #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Dutton #partner, for the finished copy of The Italian Secret in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher:  Dutton / Penguin Audio Published: December 2, 2025   Summary: #1 internationally bestselling author Tara Moss returns with an immersive post-war mystery as glamorous investigator Billie Walker follows a trail of secrets to Italy’s sun-drenched Neapolitan coast Naples, 1943. Deep within a secret network of underground…

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The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased the book for my own collection and borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: S&S/Saga Press / Simon and Schuster Audio Published: March 18, 2025   Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians comes a tale of the American West, writ in blood. This chilling historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as…

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Bog Queen by Anna North #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC and Bloomsbury Books, #partner for the finished copy of Bog Queen in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Bloomsbury Books / Bloomsbury Publishing Published: October 14, 2025   Summary: The story of an anthropologist’s monumental discovery and the clash of civilizations it sets off over the fate of the land that holds us When a body is found in a bog in northwest England,…

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My Sister’s Shadow by January Gilchrist #bookreview

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, #partner, for the finished copy of My Sister’s Shadow in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Crooked Lane Books Published: March 18, 2025   Summary: Envy and desire infiltrate the lives of twin sisters in this dark, Gothic suspense set in England and New York City, perfect for fans of Laura Joh Rowland and Hester Fox. A mirror will never show you the truth.…

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Mini Reviews – Historical Fiction Edition #bookreview #historicalfiction #audiobooks

Thank you William Morrow, #partner for the finished copies of The World’s Fair Quilt and Where the Rivers Merge and MBC Books, #partner for the finished copy of The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club, in exchange for my honest reviews. Thank you also to Libro.fm and PRH Audio for the gifted ALCs.     These are some historical fiction books I actually read over the summer and while I…

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Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd #bookreview #audiobook #series

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Murder at Gulls Nest in exchange for my honest review.  I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: April 8, 2025   Summary: A cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears 1954: When her former novice’s dependable…

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Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Berkley Pub, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Before Dorothy in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley / Penguin Audio Published: June 17, 2025   Summary: The greatest journey is the one you least expect…Kansas 1932 When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily Gale must become a mother overnight. Her sister’s orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately…

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Murder by Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge #bookreview #audiobook #series

I borrowed this audiobook from the library. Publisher: Kensington Books / Highbridge Published: September 26, 2023   Summary: In this engaging historical mystery, Agatha Christie’s ever-capable housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, not only keeps the celebrated author’s English country home in tip-top shape, she excels as an amateur sleuth. But when a murder-themed game goes awry, can she outfox the guilty party? “A murder will occur tonight at Beecham House . . .”…

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The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / PRH Audio for the ALC of The Gatsby Gambit in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print copy for my collection. Publisher: Viking / Penguin Audio Published: April 1, 2025   Summary: A clever, transporting murder mystery, The Gatsby Gambit explores a world of class, money, glamour, and foul play—and reimagines some of America’s most beloved literary characters Greta Gatsby has at last graduated from her…

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Hunter’s Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor #bookreview #series

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Hunter’s Heart Ridge in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: August 5, 2025   Summary: In this sequel to Taylor’s lyrical series debut, Agony Hill, Detective Frank Warren and his formerly CIA-connected neighbor Alice Bellows return to investigate the death of a diplomat. It’s November of 1965 and the second weekend of Vermont’s regular deer season. Vermont State…

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The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley #bookreview

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark, #partner, for the finished copy of The King’s Messenger in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Published: March 4, 2025   Summary: For fans of Diana Gabaldon and Philippa Gregory, courtly rivalry and intrigue… 1613:  King James – 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,…

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Isola by Allegra Goodman #bookreview #audiobook #bookclubread

I purchased this book for my own collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: The Dial Press Published: February 4, 2025   Summary: A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this epic saga of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam. Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an…

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The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.Fm / HarperAudio for the ALC and William Morrow, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Phoenix Pencil Company in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: William Morrow / HarperAudio Published: June 3, 2025   Summary: In this dazzling debut novel, a hidden and nearly forgotten magic—of Reforging pencils, bringing the memories they contain back to life—holds the power to transform a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, and…

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One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver #bookreview #bookseries

Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of One Final Turn in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: June 3, 2025   Summary: The fifth and final installment in the Electra McDonnell series brings safecracker Ellie on a mission across World War II-era Europe to Lisbon, Portugal to rescue a key group of escaped POWs. Ellie McDonnell is about to embark on her most perilous mission…

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Blonde Dust by Tatiana de Rosnay #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and Tandem Collective Global / Grand Central Publishing, #partner, for the finished copy of Blonde Dust in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Audio Published: June 3, 2025   Summary: “A lovely portrait of female friendship, loss, and the unexpected ways in which a life can change. Haunting.”— Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Women…

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The Sirens by Emilia Hart #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced e-copy of The Sirens in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: April 1, 2025   Summary: A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine 2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night…

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Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix #bookreview #audiobook #bookclubread

Thank you Libro.fm/PRH Audio for the ALC of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the book for my own collection. Publisher: Berkley / PRH Audio Published: January 14, 2025   Summary: There’s power in a book… They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden…

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The Parisian Chapter by Janet Skeslien Charles #bookreview #audiobook #simonandschusteraudiooriginal

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio, #partner, for the ALC of The Parisian Chapter in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: May 27, 2025   Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade comes a charming and cinematic multi-cast audiobook following a young woman from Montana who lands a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of…

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A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you UpLitReads & Berkley Pub, #partner, for the finished copy of A Map to Paradise in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley / Penguin Audio Published: March 18, 2025   Summary: 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…

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Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall #bookreview #audiobook #WRC2025

Thank you BookSparks #partner, for the finished copy of Broken Country in exchange for my honest review.  Back with the final book in the @booksparks Winter Reading Challenge. I have loved being an ambassador this season…& I hope you enjoyed the books I shared with you!⁣ Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: March 4, 2025   Summary: “The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants…

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The Antidote by Karen Russell #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm/PRH Audio for the ALC and Knopf, #partner, for the finished copy of The Antidote in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Knopf / Random House Audio Published: March 11, 2025   Summary: From Pulitzer finalist, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, and bestselling author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. A gripping Dust Bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town The Antidote opens on…

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The Undoing of Violet Claybourne by Emily Critchley #bookreview #audibook

Thank you Libro.fm/Recorded Books for the ALC and Sourcebooks Landmark, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Undoing of Violet Claybourne in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark / Recorded Books Published: March 4, 2025   Summary: 1938. Gillian Larkin is used to going unnoticed, until she is sent away to school and befriended by her roommate, the vibrant and spirited Violet Claybourne. As the Christmas holidays approach, Gilly…

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Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw #bookreview

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark #partner for the finished copy of Follow Me to Africa in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Published: February 25, 2025   Summary: Historical fiction inspired by the story of groundbreaking paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, FOLLOW ME TO AFRICA is a sweeping, dual-timeline story of intergenerational friendship, a meditation on the beauty of the natural world, and a celebration of the women who pave the…

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The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced e-copy of The Queens of Crime in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: February 11, 2025   Summary: The New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie returns with a thrilling story of Christie’s legendary rival Dorothy Sayers, the race to solve a murder, and the power of…

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The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez #bookreview #audiobook

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Ecco / Harper Audio Published:  March 5, 2024   Summary: An epic novel of the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there. It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built.…

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The Kennedy Girl by Julia Bryan Thomas #bookreview

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark #partner, for the advanced e-copy of The Kennedy Girl in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Published: January 14, 2025   Summary: From esteemed author Julia Bryan Thomas comes a novel for readers who loved the fashion and glamour of The Second Life of Mirielle West and the clandestine intrigue of The Secrets We Kept, showcasing a journey to France through the eyes of…

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The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang #bookreview

Thank you HTP Books #partner, for the advanced copy of The Lotus Shoes in exchange for my honest review.  Publisher: Park Row Books Published: January 7, 2025   Summary: An empowering, uplifting tale of two women from opposite sides of society, and their extraordinary journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love and triumph. 1800s China. Tightly bound feet, or “golden lilies,” are the mark of an honorable woman, eclipsing beauty, a rich…

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By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Random House, #partner, for the advanced copy of By Any Other Name in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Random House / PRH Audio Published: September 10, 2024   Summary: From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to…

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Conclave by Robert Harris #bookreview #audiobook #moviethoughts

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I listened to this audiobook via my Spotify membership. Publisher: Vintage Books / Random House Audio Published: August 6, 2024 (Originally Published September 22, 2016)   Summary: The Pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world’s most secretive election. They are…

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Sister Stardust by Jane Green #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you HTP Books/Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced copy of Sister Stardust in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Hanover Square Press / Harlequin Audio Published: April 5, 2022   Summary: In her first novel inspired by a true story, Jane Green re-imagines the life of troubled icon Talitha Getty in this transporting story from a forgotten chapter of the Swinging ’60s  …

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The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche #bookreview

Thank you to Kathleen Carter Communications, Park Row Books, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Stone Witch of Florence in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Park Row Books Published: October 8, 2024   Summary: Ancient sorcery. Magic gemstones. Only one woman can save a city in ruins… 1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile.…

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The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press #partner for the finished copy of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: October 8, 2024   Summary: It’s never too late for new beginnings. On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs—an active senior community…

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When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton #bookreview #audiobook #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Berkley / Blackstone Audio Published: April 9, 2019   Summary: In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life – and heart – to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of Next Year in Havana. Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz…

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The Briar Club by Kate Quinn #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you William Morrow, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Briar Club in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my collection. Publisher: William Morrow/Harper Audio Published: July 9, 2024   Summary: A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the…

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Mud Season by Sarah Stewart Taylor #bookreview #shortstory

I obtained this e-book through my Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Publisher: Minotaur Books Published: June 11, 2024   Summary: Enter the world of 1960s Bethany, Vermont in this suspenseful short story featuring characters from the forthcoming Agony Hill. It’s mud season in Bethany, Vermont. As spring nears, the thawing ground and melting snow-pack has created muddy, impassable roads. It’s not unusual to see a driver pushing their car or going for help.…

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The Women by Kristin Hannah #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the finished copy of The Women in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection. Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio Published: February 6, 2024   Summary: Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative…

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Jackie by Dawn Tripp #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Goodreads /Random House #partner, for the advanced copy of Jackie in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library. Publisher: Random House Published: June 18, 2024   Summary: In this mesmerizing novel about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, acclaimed author Dawn Tripp has crafted an intimate story of love and power, family and tragedy, loss and reinvention. The world has divided my life into three: Life…

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A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Uplit Reads / Gallery Books #partner, for the advanced copy of A Happier Life in exchange for my honest review. Publisher: Gallery Books / Simon and Schuster Audio Published: June 25, 2024   Summary: Present Day: Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on…

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