Erik Therme reached out to me and offered me a galley of his new novel: If She Dies. I’ve enjoyed Erik’s previous books, and he seems like a terribly nice person, so I was happy to read this one.
Here’s the overview:
How far would you go to right a wrong?
Nine months ago, Tess’s five-year-old daughter was killed in a car accident. The driver, Brady Becker, was sentenced to two years in prison. It didn’t make Tess’s pain go away.
Brady also has a daughter: A twelve-year-old named Eve who walks to Chandler Middle School every day. Tess knows this because she’s been watching Eve for the last three weeks. It isn’t fair that Brady’s daughter gets to live, while Tess’s daughter does not.
When Eve goes missing, all eyes turn to Tess, who doesn’t have an alibi. But Tess isn’t guilty.
Or so she believes.
This was a great read – suspenseful and fast-paced. However, I don’t think the jacket did it justice. At its essence, this book is about a women who is dealing with the loss of her child. Her grief is so tangible. At times this story was heart-breaking. At other times it was thrilling. I didn’t figure it all out in advance either – which is rare.
Erik has a way of capturing the human experience and the emotions that drive our actions, and he wraps this into his writing, creating believable and multi-dimensional characters.
Today I’m part of the Harper Collins blog tour for Susan Mallery’s new novel: The Vineyard at Painted Moon. This is story of a woman who has dedicated her life and career to her husband’s family’s vineyard and she now is facing some serious decisions about her future.
If you like what I call “family stories” with lots of interesting yet often flawed characters (but aren’t we all?), this would be a good choice! I always like a strong female protagonist and MacKenzie is just that.
I thought this would be the perfect beach read! (though I read it with about 18 inches of snow on the ground!). I absolutely LOVED the cover — reminded me of Napa!
Thank you for my galley and for making me part of the tour!
About the Book:
MacKenzie Dienes’s life isn’t perfect, but it’s as close as she could ever hope to get. Her marriage to Rhys, her best friend’s brother, is more friendship than true love. But passion is highly overrated, right? And she loves her job as the winemaker at Bel Apres, her in-laws’ vineyard. So what if it’s a family business and, even after decades of marriage and incredible professional success, she’s still barred from the family business meetings? It’s all enough…until one last night spent together leads to an incredibly honest—and painful—conversation. Rhys suggests that they divorce. They haven’t had a marriage in a long time and, while he wants her to keep her job at Bel Apres, he doesn’t think they should be married any longer. Shocked, MacKenzie reels at the prospect of losing the only family she’s ever really known…even though she knows deep in her heart that Rhys is right.
But when MacKenzie discovers she’s pregnant, walking away to begin a new life isn’t so easy. She never could have anticipated the changes it would bring to the relationships she cherishes most: her relationship with Barbara, her mother-in-law and partner at Bel Apres, Stephanie, her sister-in-law and best friend, and Bel Apres, the company she’s worked so hard to put on the map.
MacKenzie has always dreamed of creating a vineyard of her own, a chance to leave a legacy for her unborn child. So when the opportunity arises, she jumps at it and builds the Vineyard at Painted Moon. But following her dreams will come at a high price—one that MacKenzie isn’t so sure she’s willing to pay…
About the Author:
#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives―family, friendship, romance. She’s known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages. Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.
I’m happy today to take part in the Agora Books (UK) blog tour for Dead to Me by Lesley Pearse. I really enjoyed this historical fiction about two friends and their trials and tribulations during WWII in England. I loved the characters of Verity and Ruby and of course I love a happy ending (no spoilers – will there be one??). I didn’t like the character of the father. I felt he was a bit caricaturish. Overall, though, I loved this story of friendship!
Thank you for my copy to review and for making me part of the tour!
Overview:
Hampstead Heath, Spring 1935. Two girls meet by chance and become fast friends. They share their romances and heartbreaks, their struggles and dreams. But most of all, they share a sinister secret.
Upon their meeting, Verity and Ruby could not be more different: Verity is the epitome of money and class; Ruby lives a life of squalor and survival. Despite the disparity, an instant affinity forms a resilient bond between the two girls.
Yet, as the outbreak of WWII rumbles throughout Britain, Verity and Ruby’s relationship starts to develop fault lines. Ruby finds herself blissful and in love, while Verity is haunted by a shadow from her past. Separated by more than just distance, the two friends struggle to maintain their relationship until Verity does the one thing she can never take back.
With Britain blitzed by the raging war, will Verity and Ruby find a way back to each other before it’s too late?
In this sweeping wartime saga of friendship and love, Pearse explores the depths of lifelong bonds, compassion, betrayal, and forgiveness.
About the Author
Lesley Pearse’s novels have sold over ten million copies worldwide and include, most recently, The Woman in the Wood, Dead to Me, Without a Trace, Survivor, Forgive Me and The Promise. Lesley lives in Devon and has three daughters and four grandchildren.
I’m thrilled today to take part in this interesting historical fiction novel’s tour about a woman who is seeking a new life and a current day woman who is navigating hers. I enjoyed the vivid writing and dual but intertwined stories. At first I thought this would be a book for my students, but it’s really targeted to an adult audience.
Here’s the overview:
Book Description: “I watched in awe as Miz Rosa stopped those men on the bus with her clear, calm “no” and I thought about that word. What if I said no? What if I refused to follow the path these White folks wanted for us? What if I kept this precious baby?
Montgomery, Alabama, 1955 On a cold December evening, Mattie Banks packs a suitcase and leaves her family home. Sixteen years old and pregnant, she has already made the mistake that will ruin her life and disgrace her widowed mother. Boarding the 2857 bus, she sits with her case on her lap, hoping that the driver will take her away from disaster. Instead, Mattie witnesses an act of bravery by a woman named Rosa Parks that changes everything. But as Mattie strives to turn her life around, the dangers that first led her to run are never far away. Forging a new life in a harsh world at constant risk of exposure, Mattie will need to fight to keep her baby safe.
Atlanta, Georgia, present day Ashlee Turner is going home. Her relationship in ruins, her career held back by prejudice, she is returning to the family who have always been her rock. But Ashlee’s home is not the safe haven she remembers. Her beloved grandmother is dying and is determined to share her story before she leaves…
When Ashlee finds a stack of yellowing letters hidden in her nana’s closet, she can’t help the curiosity that compels her to read, and she uncovers an old secret that could wreak havoc on her already grieving family. As she tries to make sense of what she has learned, Ashlee faces a devastating choice: to protect her loved ones from the revelations, or honor her grandmother’s wishes and follow the path to the truth, no matter where it may lead.
For readers of The Help, Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours comes a beautiful and heartbreaking novel about redemption, family secrets and the spirit of survival found at the hardest time.
Author:
Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary “career” began in junior high school with the publishing of her poetry. While Suzette pays homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison as legends who inspired her creativity, it was Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. The award-winning author of Taffy is a wife and mother of two teens, and she holds a culinary degree in pastry and baking. Mrs. Harrison is currently cooking up her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes.
If you know me, you know I love the author Melanie Benjamin. I especially loved her Aviator’s Wife and Swans of Fifth Avenue, though I’ve read all her books. This story tells the true story (with fictional characters) of the horrific and sudden blizzard of 1888, one which took the lives of many schoolchildren as it hit suddenly when schools were releasing in the afternoon.
Here’s the overview:
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Aviator’s Wife comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren.
“Melanie Benjamin never fails to create compelling, unforgettable characters and place them against the backdrop of startling history.” (Lisa Wingate, author of The Book of Lost Friends)
The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a punishing cold spell. It was warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota Territory to venture out again and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats – leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard blew in without warning. Schoolteachers as young as 16 were suddenly faced with life-and-death decisions: Keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn’t get lost in the storm?
Based on actual oral histories of survivors, this gripping novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers – one becomes a hero of the storm and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It’s also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It was Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured Northern European immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed them to settle territories into states, and they didn’t care what lies they told these families to get them there – or whose land it originally was.
At its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents’ choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today – because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.
I could not stop listening to this book. It was so engaging and suspenseful, and I loved the characters of Raina and little Anette. It definitely had its heart-breaking moments. I was so struck by how the school teachers were forced to make life and death decisions that day, and many of the teachers were just children themselves. The narrator, Cassandra Campbell, is new to me and I LOVED her narration (this required a Norwegian accent at times). I just googled her and she’s narrated over 900 audiobooks! I probably do know her, actually. Regardless, she is awesome!! And Melanie Benjamin is awesome every day of the week as well!
I got this one with an Audible credit as I was too late to the party for Net Galley. So glad I did!
I’m happy today to be taking part in the blog tour for a new historical novel of WWII: The Girl from the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat. I’d classify this story as historical romance. It takes place during WWII in the Channel Islands, which, owned by Great Britain, were occupied by Germany during WWII. I actually had no idea that Germany had taken over any part of Britain, so I found this really interesting. Also it was new to me how men were conscripted to join the military for Germany. Life was not easy for those left behind. This story was at times heart- wrenching. I will say that, like always, I enjoyed the historical part more than the romance part, but overall this was a great and interesting historical read of WWII.
Don’t miss the author bio as she’s had an interesting life and has a direct connection to the Channel Islands!
Thank you for making me part of the tour! Harlequin tours never disappoint!!
Book Summary:
An extraordinary story of human triumph against impossible odds
The year is 1940, and the world is torn apart by war. In June of that year, Hitler’s army captures the Channel Islands–the only part of Great Britain to be occupied by German forces. Abandoned by Mr. Churchill, forgotten by the Allies, and cut off from all help, the Islands’ situation is increasingly desperate.
Hedy Bercu is a young Jewish girl who fled Vienna for the island of Jersey two years earlier during the Anschluss, only to find herself trapped by the Nazis once more–this time with no escape. Her only hope is to make herself invaluable to the Germans by working as a translator, hiding in plain sight wIth the help of her friends and community–and a sympathetic German officer. But as the war intensifies, rations dwindle, neighbors turn on neighbors, and Hedy’s life is in greater danger every day. It will take a definitive, daring act to save her from certain deportation to the concentration camps.
A sweeping tale of bravery and love under impossible circumstances, Hedy’s remarkable story reminds us that it’s often up to ordinary people to be quiet heroes in the face of injustice.
Jenny Lecoat was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, where her parents were raised under German Occupation and were involved in resistance activity. Lecoat moved to England at 18, where, after earning a drama degree, she spent a decade on the alternative comedy circuit as a feminist stand-up. She also wrote for newspapers and women’s magazines (Cosmopolitan, Observer), worked as a TV and radio presenter, before focusing on screenwriting from sitcom to sketch shows. A love of history and factual stories and a return to her island roots brought about her feature film Another Mother’s Son (2017). She is married to television writer Gary Lawson and now lives in East Sussex. The Girl from the Channel Islands is her first novel.
My friends at Smith Publicity offered me a mobi of this new crime/mystery novel and I’m reading it now. As you know, I love anything to do with theater (going to it, being in it, on stage or off) so this is a fun one for me!
Here’s the overview:
Description
A darkly humorous and edgy crime novel set in New York City in the late ‘80s, Blood Will Have Blood will appeal to fans of Elmore Leonard, the Coen Brothers, and Lawrence Block.
Seven years in New York, and that big break has yet to materialize for struggling actor and inveterate pothead Scott Russo. Performing in terrible, barely attended Off-Off Broadway productions, hopping from one soul-crushing job to the next, Scott slacks away in a pot-fueled haze and contemplates throwing in the towel on his anemic career. The only thing that keeps him going is the humiliation of returning home to Baltimore. That and his current theatrical gig: an idiotically bad production of Macbeth.
Broke and out of a job, Scott jumps at his friend’s offer to work for a pot delivery service, only to get caught in a web of brutal Irish gangsters, a charismatic psychopath, ruthless prosecutors, and clueless actors. As his theatrical and criminal worlds collide in mayhem, murder, and betrayal, Scott finds himself morphing into a bumbling and blood-stained Macbeth, on stage and off.
If he can just make it to opening night…
Bio:
Thomas H. Carry’s previous novel, Privilege (Koehler Books, 2020), was an Amazon bestseller in satire fiction and named one of the best 100 indie novels of 2020 by Kirkus Review. Carry holds a doctorate in literature and has worked as a professional actor, educator, consultant, and bouncer. He lives in Manhattan with his wife.
Look for Blood Will Have Blood online or at an indie bookstore near you!
A powerful new novel set in a divided Naples by Elena Ferrante, theNew York Timesbest-selling author ofMy Brilliant FriendandThe Lost Daughter.
“There’s no doubt [the publication of The Lying Life of Adults] will be the literary event of the year.” (Elle)
Giovanna’s pretty face is changing, turning ugly, at least so her father thinks. Giovanna, he says, looks more like her Aunt Vittoria every day. But can it be true? Is she really changing? Is she turning into Aunt Vittoria, a woman she hardly knows but whom her mother and father clearly despise? Surely there is a mirror somewhere in which she can see herself as she truly is.
Giovanna is searching for her reflection in two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: a Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and a Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity. She moves between both in search of the truth, but neither city seems to offer answers or escape.
Named one of 2016’s most influential people by Time Magazine and frequently touted as a future Nobel Prize winner, Elena Ferrante has become one of the world’s most read and beloved writers. With this novel about the transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, Ferrante proves once again that she deserves her many accolades.
In The Lying Life of Adults, listeners will discover another gripping, highly addictive, and totally unforgettable Neapolitan story.
A Most Anticipated Book of 2020
The New York Times Book Review
Vogue
Entertainment Weekly
Elle Magazine
BuzzFeed
The Millions
The Seattle Times
USA Today
Town & Country
Thrillist
Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
Harper’s Bazaar
BookPage
Literary Hub
BBC Culture
I recently had the opportunity to listen to the amazing Elena Ferrante’s latest novel. Similar to her Neopolitan novels, but unique and a stand-alone, The Lying Life of Adults follows the coming of age events of Giovanna and the forces that shape her. Aptly read by Marisa Tomei, I enjoyed this story and look forward to what I assume will be a sequel!
Today I’m dishing about this really fascinating book about an author that I adored when I was a kid: Louise Fitzhugh. I loved Harriet the Spy, which I read in fifth grade. I remember finding it on a bookshelf at my sister’s house one summer. I wanted Harriet as my friend. My own friend and I started carrying notebooks around that summer so that we could take notes on people. We spent time “spying” and communicating our opinions on the adults in our world, often by leaving messages for each other in a small hole in the ground between our houses.
Needless to say, I was interested to join this tour and to find out about this author.
First, let me say that Louise Fitzhugh had a life quite different that I had imagined. She was progressive, unique, and totally her own person. She came from great wealth. However, her story left me a feeling sad. (No spoilers, I promise). By understanding Louise’s childhood and life, you can see how Harriet emerged.
This book is technically a biography and non-fiction, but it reads very easily. It is not dense or hard to get through. You will not use it as a doorstop (as I look fondly on my biographical tome of Ben Franklin).
Thank you so much for making me part of the tour and for my e-copy!
Here’s the scoop from Over the River PR:
Harriet the Spy, first published in 1964, has mesmerized generations of readers and launched a million diarists. Its beloved antiheroine, Harriet, is erratic, unsentimental, and endearing—very much like the woman who created her, Louise Fitzhugh. In SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LIE, Brody shares the lively story of the beloved children’s book author who was a progressive, anti-racist, transgressive, smoking and drinking lesbian who believed in the radical power of art.
Born in 1928, Fitzhugh was raised in segregated Memphis, a rebellious daughter of Southern socialites who fled to New York at the first opportunity. There, she discovered the lesbian bars of Greenwich Village and the art world of postwar Europe; her circle of friends included members of the avant-garde like Maurice Sendak and Lorraine Hansberry. Above all else, Fitzhugh valued creativity and honesty. Her novels, written in an era of political defiance, are full of resistance: to liars, to authority, to conformity, and even—radically, for a children’s author—to make-believe. Fitzhugh herself lived her life as a dissenter—a friend to underdogs, outsiders, and artists—and her masterpiece remains long after her death to influence and provoke new generations of readers. As a children’s author and a lesbian, Fitzhugh was often pressured to disguise her true nature. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LIE tells the story of her hidden life and of the creation of her masterpiece, which remains long after her death as a testament to the complicated relationship between truth and secrecy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Leslie Brody is a creative writing professor and well-regarded biographer. The San Francisco Chronicle praised Irrepressible(Counterpoint Press, 2010)—her biography of Jessica Mitford—saying, “Brody has made the world a better place by telling her saga so skillfully.” And Maya Angelou stated, “Leslie Brody reintroduced me to a friend I loved so dearly; told me stories about events I did not participate in, and it makes me jealous. Thank you for the book.” Since 1998, she has taught Creative Nonfiction in the Creative Writing Department at the University of Redlands.
I’m here to write about a new YA book out this month that was a fantastic read — One of the Good Ones. This story, told in several different voices and across time, centers on three sisters and the ties that bind them. Middle sister Kezi is a social media influencer and social activist when she is arrested during a protest. Her family is told that she has died in police custody when a fire breaks out at the jail where she is held. Happi, the youngest, is striving to be an actress and her tensions run hot with her sisters and her family. She is self-centered and strong and determined to succeed. Reeling from Kezi’s death, the remaining two sisters decide to head out on a road trip that Kezi had planned using the “Green Book” for Black motorists published in the first half of the 20th century. This book provided a guide to “safe stops” for Black motorist and their families seeking gas, food, and lodging while driving through America (on Route 66) in the days of segregation and sundown towns. I found this fascinating as this was based in fact – a fact that I did not know. This story has peaks and valleys and subplots and also some twists and suspense. I can’t say more without spoilers, but I’d highly recommend it to high schoolers and adults who enjoy YA (like me!). There is so much to talk about regarding racism, prejudice, and the overarching issues of how we blame the victim or turn them into a martyr. This was a thoughtful and provoking read.
Thank you for having me be part of the tour and for my review e-copy!
ONE OF THE GOOD ONES
By Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
On Sale: January 5, 2021
INKYARD PRESS
Teen & Young Adult; Prejudice & Racism; Siblings; Self-esteem & Reliance
978-1335145802; 133514580X
$18.99 USD
352 pages
About the Book
A shockingly powerful exploration of the lasting impact of prejudice and the indomitable spirit of sisterhood that will have readers questioning what it truly means to be an ally, from sister-writer duo Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, authors of Dear Haiti, Love Alaine.
ISN’T BEING HUMAN ENOUGH?
When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sister Happi and their family are left reeling in the aftermath. As Kezi becomes another immortalized victim in the fight against police brutality, Happi begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered. Perfect. Angelic.
One of the good ones.
Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind—why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed?—Happi and her sister Genny embark on a journey to honor Kezi in their own way, using an heirloom copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide. But there’s a twist to Kezi’s story that no one could’ve ever expected—one that will change everything all over again.
About the Authors
MAIKA MOULITE is a Miami native and the daughter of Haitian immigrants. She earned a bachelor’s in marketing from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of Miami. When she’s not using her digital prowess to help nonprofits and major organizations tell their stories online, she’s sharpening her skills as a PhD student at Howard University’s Communication, Culture and Media Studies program. Her research focuses on representation in media and its impact on marginalized groups. She’s the eldest of four sisters and loves young adult novels, fierce female leads, and laughing.
MARITZA MOULITE graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s in women’s studies and the University of Southern California with a master’s in journalism. She’s worked in various capacities for NBC News, CNN, and USA TODAY. Maritza is a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania exploring ways to improve literacy in under-resourced communities after being inspired to study education from her time as a literacy tutor and pre-k teacher assistant. Her favorite song is “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
