I somehow overlooked this title in my Net Galley list, but I’m SO glad I discovered it! I loved this story of a group of women who, over many years, are connected by their love and dedication to a garden on an English estate. Such a lovely story and such memorable characters! I love Julia Kelly’s writing; this story reminded me of another beloved author: Kate Morton. If you enjoy this type of historical fiction, don’t miss it!
Thank you for my review e-galley!
Description
From the author of the international bestseller 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 all connected by one very special place.
Present day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden.
1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a triumph, but the gardens—and the people she meets—promise to change her life forever.
1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton, on the other hand, is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life now that her home has been requisitioned and transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But when war threatens Highbury House’s treasured gardens, these three very different women are drawn together by a secret that will last for decades.
In this sweeping novel reminiscent of Kate Morton’s The Lake House and Kristin Harmel’s The Room on Rue Amélie, Julia Kelly explores the unexpected connections that cross time and the special places that bring people together forever.
I love J. Courtney Sullivan’s beautiful writing, so I was excited to get The Cliffs to read and review. This was a totally engrossing story, part a ghost story, part a story of a woman’s life and her connection to an old house in the town where she grew up. It seems it has been chosen for Reese’s Book Club, so I’m sure you will hear more about this title. I loved it, though, and couldn’t put it down!
Here’s the scoop:
Description
REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers
“A stunning achievement, and J. Courtney Sullivan’s best book yet. Sullivan weaves a narrative that’s fascinating and thought-provoking. I literally could not put this book down.” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times best-selling author of Hello Beautiful
On a secluded bluff overlooking the ocean sits a Victorian house, lavender with gingerbread trim, a home that contains a century’s worth of secrets. By the time Jane Flanagan discovers the house as a teenager, it has long been abandoned. The place is an irresistible mystery to Jane. There are still clothes in the closets, marbles rolling across the floors, and dishes in the cupboards, even though no one has set foot there in decades. The house becomes a hideaway for Jane, a place to escape her volatile mother.
Twenty years later, now a Harvard archivist, she returns home to Maine following a terrible mistake that threatens both her career and her marriage. Jane is horrified to find the Victorian is now barely recognizable. The new owner, Genevieve, a summer person from Beacon Hill, has gutted it, transforming the house into a glossy white monstrosity straight out of a shelter magazine. Strangely, Genevieve is convinced that the house is haunted—perhaps the product of something troubling Genevieve herself has done. She hires Jane to research the history of the place and the women who lived there. The story Jane uncovers—of lovers lost at sea, romantic longing, shattering loss, artistic awakening, historical artifacts stolen and sold, and the long shadow of colonialism—is even older than Maine itself.
Enthralling, richly imagined, filled with psychic mediums and charlatans, spirits and past lives, mothers, marriage, and the legacy of alcoholism, this is a deeply moving novel about the land we inhabit, the women who came before us, and the ways in which none of us will ever truly leave this earth.
I’m happy today to be part of the tour for a new suspenseful novel: The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle. I think this book would make an amazing movie or limited series! It was suspenseful and exciting, but I also could not put it down since there were so many twists and turns.
Here’s the scoop:
THE PARIS WIDOW
Author: Kimberly Belle
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9780778307976
Format: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing / Park Row Books
From USA Today bestselling author Kimberly Belle comes a deliciously twisty new thriller following a married couple vacationing in Paris whose trip takes a dark turn when the husband goes missing, dredging up secrets from both of their pasts, perfect for fans of THE PARIS APARTMENT.
When Stella met Adam, she felt like she finally landed a nice, normal guy – a welcome change from her previous boyfriend and her precarious jetsetter lifestyle with him. She loves knowing she can always depend on Adam, which is why when he goes missing during a random explosion in Paris, she panics. Right after what is assumed to be a terrorist attack, she’s interviewed live on TV by reporters, begging anyone who knows anything about her husband’s whereabouts to come forward and is quickly dubbed “The Paris Widow.”
As the French police investigate, it’s revealed that Adam was on their radar as a dealer in the black market for priceless antiquities, making deals with very high-profile and dangerous clients. Reeling from this news and growing suspicions about her husband, Stella can’t shake the feeling that she’s being followed. And with Adam assumed dead, she realizes that whoever was responsible for the bombing will come after her next. Everything – and everyone — that Stella has tried to keep in her duplicitous past might be her only means of survival and finding out what really happened to Adam.
An irresistible and fast-paced read set in some of Europe’s most inviting locales, THE PARIS WIDOW explores how sinister secrets of the past stay with us – no matter how far we travel.
Author Bio:
Kimberly Belle worked in marketing and nonprofit fundraising before turning to writing fiction. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Kimberly lived for over a decade in the Netherlands and currently divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam. She is the bestselling author of The Marriage Lie, Three Days Missing, Dear Wife, as well as The Last Breath, The Ones We Trust,Stranger in the Lake, My Darling Husband, and The Personal Assistant.
This was my first read by Ms. Belle and I’m sure it won’t be my last. I liked her writing which flows well and has vivid descriptions. I could picture the scenes but also felt the emotions.
Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour!
2018 Audie Award Finalist for Multi-Voiced Performance
From Taylor Jenkins Reid, “a genius when it comes to stories about life and love” (Redbook), comes an unforgettable and sweeping novel about one classic film actress’ relentless rise to the top – the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jump-start her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late ’80s and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds – revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love – Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
Written with Reid’s signature talent for “creating complex, likable characters” (Real Simple), this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means – and what it takes – to face the truth.
Oh I loved this story, which I listened to while driving, and the various characters in it. It is so memorable! It’s the heyday of Hollywood, the story of a rags-to-riches actress, with a love story that runs throughout. It’s historical, yet current. So much dialogue and yet beautifully written, it’s one I won’t soon forget.
I got mine via Audible. As I listened I thought it would make a great movie or limited series and I hear it will be – on Netflix!
I love the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal, so I was thrilled to get the latest installment. These mysteries are so interesting as I learn a lot about espionage during WWII. I love the character of Maggie and how she is a strong, independent woman and so smart! Susan MacNeal has great pacing in her works and is definitely a writer who does her research.
Here’s the scoop — and is this really the LAST book in this series??? I guess we will wait and see….
Description
All will be revealed in this no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer—and possible double agent—Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany’s nuclear program.
“Intrepid Maggie Hope’s high-stakes mission is fraught with danger and moral questions. . . . A heartfelt story.”—Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris
Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill’s secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she’s learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who’s long held her heart.
British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany. She’s shaken. An assassination is unlike anything she has ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture.
At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel, a spy in her own right with ambiguous loyalties, has requested a mysterious meeting with the British ambassador in Madrid—and has requested Maggie join them. As the two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg, but is faced with betrayal and a threat more terrifying than losing her own life.
Maggie desperately wants to find her happily-ever-after, but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves—with fateful implications for the future of the free world.
I’m thrilled to take part in the Harper-Collins blog tour for the new novel The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé. This story had a true Gothic feel to it, and I enjoyed the somewhat creepy ambience and mysterious atmosphere it held! I also loved the strong female protagonist.
The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can’t be contained.
A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence’s father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.
Intercepting her father’s latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield’s library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.
Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled, until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realizes with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield’s wife–which may hold the clue to her fate…
Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England.
Author Bio:
KUCHENGA SHENJÉ is a writer, journalist, and speaker with work on many media platforms, including gal-dem, British Vogue and Netflix. She has contributed short stories and essays to several anthologies, most notably It’s Not OK to Feel Blue (and Other Lies), Who’s Loving You and Loud Black Girls. Owing to a lifelong obsession with books and the written word, Kuchenga studied creative writing at the Open University. Her work is focused on the perils of loving, being loved and women living out loud throughout the ages. The Library Thief is the ultimate marriage of her passions for history, mystery and rebels. She currently resides in Manchester, where she is determined to continue living a life worth writing about.
PRAISE:
“Shenjé rightfully joins a distinguished line of authors who love books and secrets and know exactly how to combine the two.”—Booklist
“A tantalizing read that swells with secrecy and intrigue. It’s hard to believe that Kuchenga Shenjé writes of the past, and not of the present. A beautifully and skillfully written debut.”—Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of Queenie
“Shenjé shines a light on LGBTQIA+ love and people of color in Victorian England… Fans of Sarah Waters and Bridget Collins might have in Shenjé a new author to add to their TBR lists.”—Library Journal
“Powerful, sagacious and warm, The Library Thief is both a gripping, multi-layered mystery and a gorgeously absorbing novel that demanded I return to its pages whenever I had the audacity to set it down. Without a doubt, Shenjé’s wholly original debut has bestseller written all over it.“—Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure
“A compelling novel that starts as a mystery and grows into a coming-of-age story, examining identity, belonging, loneliness and friendship within the restrictive and stifling world of late Victorian society. The Library Thief is filled with fantastically drawn characters and with a love of books that shines through the prose.”—Katie Lumsden, author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall
“If this book’s a thief of anything—it was my attention. I was hooked, the story opening with the tantalizing traditions of a gothic mystery and then unfurling in unexpected directions, threading themes of identity, sexuality and a woman’s impossible choices into an intricate web of mysteries that would not let me go.”—Cari Thomas, international bestselling author of Threadneedle
Thank you so much for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!
I’m always thrilled to be part of the Harper-Collins blog tours, and this fall there were SO MANY good books from which to choose.
If you know me, you know I like suspenseful mysteries that are not overly violent/gory, so The Vacation was the perfect blend of mystery and suspense for me!
This was my first John Marrs book, but it won’t be my last. I know he is a favorite author of many readers. I did find that there were a lot of characters in this novel (and I read on my kindle so I can’t easily flip back), but it was suspenseful, which is something I love for my late night reading!
Thank you for my ePub and for making me part of the tour!
Here’s the overview:
THE VACATION Author: John Marrs ISBN: 9781335006042 Publication Date: 12/19/2023 Publisher: Hanover Square Press 18.99 US | 23.99 CAD
Venice Beach, Los Angeles. A paradise on earth. Tourists flock to the golden coast and the promise of Hollywood. But for eight strangers at a beach-front hostel, there is far more on their minds than an extended vacation. All of them are running from something. And they all have secrets they’d kill to keep…
This holiday-set read is a compulsive and addictive thriller, perfect for fans of T.M. Logan.
Author Bio:
John Marrs is an author and former journalist based in London and Northamptonshire. After spending his career interviewing celebrities from the worlds of television, film and music for numerous national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time author. His books include No1 bestseller and Netflix series The One, The Passengers, award winning What Lies Between Us and The Good Samaritan. Follow him at www.johnmarrsauthor.co.uk , on Twitter @johnmarrs1, on Instagram @johnmarrs.author and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johnmarrsauthor.
I’m happy to be a stop of the blog tour for Amber and Danielle’s new novel: Perfect Little Lives. I will admit that it took me a bit to get into this novel, in part because I was expecting a different type of read in the beginning (I thought it started in the past with the murder) and I was also not prepared for the level of “spiciness”, but once I got into it, I enjoyed it. For me, it felt like a “new age” genre read, which can sometimes be a challenge for an over 55 gal like myself!
ON ASHER LANE, SOME SECRETS ARE WORTH KILLING FOR…
Simone’s mother was murdered when she was thirteen. When her father was convicted, everything changed. Overnight, Simone went from living in a wealthy white neighborhood to scraping by.
Ten years later, Simone has given up on her dreams and lives a quiet life, writing book reviews and getting serious with her boyfriend. But with a true crime documentarian hounding her for a scoop and a surprise encounter with her childhood next-door neighbor, Hunter, the past seems set on haunting her. And after Hunter reveals that his father and her mother had a years-long affair, Simone is determined to find out who really killed her mother.
Simone is convinced that all evidence points to Hunter’s father, a renowned judge who had everything to lose if his affair—and his nascent love child—came to light. Playing the game from all sides, Simone enlists Hunter’s help in her investigation into his family—whether he realizes it or not. But is she so desperate for closure that she’ll risk imploding her carefully rebuilt life?
Authors’ Bio:
Amber and Danielle Brown both graduated from Rider University where they studied Communications/Journalism and sat on the editorial staff for the On Fire!! literary journal. They then pursued a career in fashion and spent five years in NYC working their way up, eventually managing their own popular fashion and lifestyle blog. Amber is also a screenwriter, so they live in LA, which works out perfectly so Danielle can spoil her plant babies with copious amount of sunshine. Their debut Someone Had to Do It, was a Library Reads pick.
Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!
If you know me, you know I love my kindle. I can boost up the size of the print and not need my glasses and I can read when I wake up in the middle of the night (instead of staring at the ceiling and worrying about various things). However, summer is the best time for reading printed books for me because, as an educator, I have lots more time to read during the day and/or read when I’m not exhausted and bleary-eyed.
So – I recently gathered some of my paper books that I’ve been saving for summer and lined them up for a tbr pile picture:
Squee! I’ve got a little bit of everything in here — from Tudor times to a cozy mystery to some YA to a non-fiction laugh a minute memoir from a Little House on the Prairie cast member. Of course I have about 25 things on my kindle, but I’ll be getting to these while the days are long and there’s time to relax with a good book!
So – I’ve been a bit off the grid lately what with the holidays and our family cruise to the Bahamas; but I’ve been reading more than ever!
Before we move on to 2017, though, I want to share my favorite books of 2016. I read well over 100 books, with my favorite genres being historical fiction, mystery, fiction, and YA.
Here, in no particular order, are my top personal reads of last year:
Historical Fiction:
THE VATICAN PRINCESS by C.W. Gortner
THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Melanie Benjamin
FLIGHT OF DREAMS by Ariel Lawhorn
LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly
GIOCONDA by Lucille Turner
PROMISED TO THE CROWN series by Aimie Runyan
PORTRAIT OF A CONSPIRACY by Donna Russo Morin
THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS by Juliette Fay
THE TEA PLANTER’S WIFE by Dinah Jefferies
THE GERMAN GIRL by Armando Lucas Correa
THE GIRL FROM VENICE by Martin Cruz Smith
Fiction:
MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON by Elizabeth Strout
ONE IN A TOWN CALLED MOTH by Trilby Kent
THE WHOLE TOWN’S TALKING by Fannie Flagg
Mystery:
THE MURDER OF MARY RUSSELL by Laurie R. King
I LET YOU GO by Claire Macintosh
THE QUEEN’S ACCOMPLICE by Susan Elia MacNeal
THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena
YA/Kids:
ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainbow Rowell
WOLF HOLLOW by Lauren Wolk
GOLDFISH by Nat Luurtsema
TELL ME THREE THINGS by Julie Buxbaum
All these books are reviewed on my blog, along with many others that I enjoyed!
