I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for this wonderful yet at times heart-breaking story about a mother and daughter: The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim. I loved this book so much!

Here’s the overview:

THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE (on sale: September 1, 2020; Park Row Books; Hardcover; $27.99 US/ $34.99 CAN). opens when Margot Lee’s mother, Mina, doesn’t return her calls. It’s a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous and invisible strings that held together her single mother’s life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.

Interwoven with Margot’s present-day search is Mina’s story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she’s barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.

I love stories that deal with family relationships and Asian culture, and some of my favorite authors are masters of portraying those familial bonds (e.g. Amy Tan, Celeste Ng, Lisa See). This was such a touching and well-written story. It made me cry! I think throughout, though, I was impressed that the character of Mina – while deceased for the entire novel – was still such a memorable and vibrant character. She was so relatable. I think that this was the strongest aspect of this remarkable debut novel: the development of the characters.

Strongly recommended! Thank you so much for including me in the tour and for my electronic ARC.

Here’s a bit about Ms. Kim and ways to get this book:

Buy Links: (provided by HC and not affiliated with BBNB)

Harlequin 

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Powell’s

Social Links:

Author Website

Twitter: @njooyounkim

Instagram: @njooyounkim

Goodreads

Author Bio: 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nancy Jooyoun Kim is a graduate of UCLA and the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s The Margins, The Offing, the blogs of Prairie Schooner and Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Her essay, “Love (or Live Cargo),” was performed for NPR/PRI’s Selected Shorts in 2017 with stories by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Phil Klay, and Etgar Keret. THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE is her first novel.

This was a thrilling and suspenseful read, at times heart-breaking, with a lot to talk about regarding how young women can be victims and yet blamed for crimes against them. I think it’d be a good bookclub pick if you like this genre.

To be honest, I had to suspend disbelief a few times as the “mysterious messages” kept appearing almost miraculously. I was waiting for some big twist, etc. but this was a straight forward story focused on righting the wrongs against this young teen and her family.

Here’s the overview:

In The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the “gripping and unforgettable” (Harlen Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.

Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.

The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

About the Author

MEGAN GOLDIN worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs. The Escape Room was her debut novel.

Thank you for my e-copy and for making me part of the tour!

The author of Getting Naked Later reached out to me. This sounds like a great book for Christians and one that I could have used about 20 years ago when I found myself unexpectedly single.

Here’s the overview:

Will I always be lonely if I end up alone?

You thought you’d be married by now, but you’re not. Even though your friends in relationships love to tell you that singleness is a gift, this gift comes with its share of fear, grief, and still-to-be-answered prayers.

Life coach and singer-songwriter Kate Hurley has been there, and now she encourages you to open yourself to new opportunities and relationships of all varieties. Getting Naked Later will help you…

• find family in your friends, church, and community
• stop viewing the pursuit of a partner as a formula that demands a solution
• hand over control of your life to God, finding peace in the knowledge that He has a plan for you

You don’t need to give up on romance, but you also don’t need to live on standby, expecting someone else to give your life meaning. Learn how to stop waiting and start embracing your life—right where you are.

Here’s some info on Kate:

About the Author

Kate Hurley is a worship leader, singer-songwriter, and teacher based out of Boulder, Colorado. She writes and has a passion to care for the poor through her art and her friendship. The mission statement for her life is “to paint an accurate picture of a passionate God.”  katehurley.com.

This sounds like a positive, Christian read for people who are examining themselves mid-life and wanting to life their best life.

Thanks, Kate, for reaching out to tell me about your work!

The good people at Books Forward sent me some info on a new historical fiction book that sounds interesting and fun: Hunting Teddy Roosevelt by James Ross.

Here’s the overview:

It’s 1909, and Teddy Roosevelt is not only hunting in Africa, he’s being hunted. The safari is a time of discovery, both personal and political. In Africa, Roosevelt encounters Sudanese slave traders, Belgian colonial atrocities, and German preparations for war. He reconnects with a childhood sweetheart, Maggie, now a globe-trotting newspaper reporter sent by William Randolph Hearst to chronicle safari adventures and uncover the former president’s future political plans. But James Pierpont Morgan, the most powerful private citizen of his era, wants Roosevelt out of politics permanently. Afraid that the trust-busting president’s return to power will be disastrous for American business, he plants a killer on the safari staff to arrange a fatal accident. Roosevelt narrowly escapes the killer’s traps while leading two hundred and sixty-four men on foot through the savannas, jungles, and semi-deserts of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, and Sudan.

Sounds interesting – a real mix of historical and fiction; however, sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction! I love HF because, unless you were there, no one really knows exactly what happened in the past.

Here’s some info on Mr. Ross:

James Ross has been at various times a Peace Corps volunteer, a Congressional staffer, and a Wall Street lawyer. His short fiction has appeared in numerous literary publications. He has appeared as a guest storyteller on the Moth Main Stage, and he has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He is a frequent contributor to, and sometimes winner of, the Jackson, Wyoming live story telling competition, Cabin Fever Story Slam.

Find this book at a bookstore near you, online at Amazon or your favorite online retailer, or ask for it at your library!

Thank you for sharing this book with me!