HFVBTour for Anna Belfrage’s THERE IS ALWAYS A TOMORROW – Book 9 of the Graham Saga – with Giveaway!

December 12, 2017December 10, 2017 / drbethnolan / 3 Comments

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As always, I am beyond thrilled to be chatting about Anna Belfrage’s new book in the Graham Saga: THERE IS ALWAYS A TOMORROW. While all of the Graham books can stand alone as titles, I enjoy reading them in order. This time-travelling series is the only time travel books I truly enjoy (beyond Outlander) and I think that is due to Anna’s ability to capture incredibly realistic details, while creating relatable and very “human” characters, full of emotion, flaws, and lovable characteristics. This one was no exception. I immediately picked up where I left off with these characters, and enjoyed following their exploits.

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

Here’s the overview on this installment:

There is Always a Tomorrow by Anna Belfrage

Publication Date: November 5, 2017
Timelight Press
eBook & Paperback; ISBN: 9781788039666

Series: Graham Saga, Book #9
Genre: Historical Fiction/Time-Slip

There is Always a Tomorrow is the ninth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham.

It is 1692 and the Colony of Maryland is still adapting to the consequences of Coode’s Rebellion some years previously. Religious tolerance in the colony is now a thing of the past, but safe in their home, Alex and Matthew Graham have no reason to suspect they will become embroiled in the ongoing religious conflicts—until one of their sons betrays their friend Carlos Muñoz to the authorities.

Matthew Graham does not leave his friends to rot—not even if they’re papist priests—so soon enough most of the Graham family is involved in a rescue attempt, desperate to save Carlos from a sentence that may well kill him.

Meanwhile, in London little Rachel is going through hell. In a matter of months she loses everything, even her surname, as apparently her father is not Master Cooke but one Jacob Graham. Not that her paternity matters when her entire life implodes.

Will Alex and Matthew be able to help their unknown grandchild? More importantly, will Rachel want their help?

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

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Anna was raised abroad, on a pungent mix of Latin American culture, English history and Swedish traditions. As a result she’s multilingual and most of her reading is historical- both non-fiction and fiction. Possessed of a lively imagination, she has drawers full of potential stories, all of them set in the past. She was always going to be a writer – or a historian, preferably both. Ideally, Anna aspired to becoming a pioneer time traveller, but science has as yet not advanced to the point of making that possible. Instead she ended up with a degree in Business and Finance, with very little time to spare for her most favourite pursuit. Still, one does as one must, and in between juggling a challenging career Anna raised her four children on a potent combination of invented stories, historical debates and masses of good food and homemade cakes. They seem to thrive…

For years she combined a challenging career with four children and the odd snatched moment of writing. Nowadays Anna spends most of her spare time at her writing desk. The children are half grown, the house is at times eerily silent and she slips away into her imaginary world, with her imaginary characters. Every now and then the one and only man in her life pops his head in to ensure she’s still there.

Other than on her website, www.annabelfrage.com, Anna can mostly be found on her blog, http://annabelfrage.wordpress.com – unless, of course, she is submerged in writing her next novel. You can also connect with Anna on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

02_There is Always a Tomorrow

Monday, November 27
Review at A Holland Reads

Tuesday, November 28
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Excerpt at Locks, Hooks and Books

Wednesday, November 29
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Thursday, November 30
Feature at WS Momma Readers Nook
Excerpt at What Is That Book About
Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Friday, December 1
Review at Just One More Chapter

Sunday, December 3
Feature at T’s Stuff

Monday, December 4
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, December 5
Excerpt at A Literary Vacation

Wednesday, December 6
Feature at The Lit Bitch

Thursday, December 7
Feature at A Bookaholic Swede

Friday, December 8
Review at A Bookish Affair

Monday, December 11
Feature at View From the Birdhouse
Feature at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Tuesday, December 12
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Wednesday, December 13
Feature at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Thursday, December 14
Feature at Passages to the Past

Friday, December 15
Review at Book Nerd

Monday, December 18
Feature at A Book Geek

Tuesday, December 19
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, December 20
Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Thursday, December 21
Review at Broken Teepee
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

Giveaway!

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 2 eBooks & 2 paperback copies of There is Always a Tomorrow! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules:

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 21st. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Direct Link: https://gleam.io/vAREM/there-is-always-a-tomorrow

Christmas on the Coast by Rebecca Boxall

December 10, 2017December 10, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

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This was one of my many holiday reading picks from Net Galley this year. I really enjoyed this story that jumped between current day and WWII, as a woman reads her great-aunt diary.

Description

Can the secrets of the past be forgiven this Christmas?

Christmas is approaching on the island of Jersey, but Libby is feeling far from festive. Her police work and duties as vicar’s wife weigh heavily on her, she’s anxious about her troubled children, and now her best friend, Stella, has suddenly turned against her, citing a mysterious family grudge.

Libby is devastated by Stella’s unexpected coldness. But then her father shows her a diary written by her great-aunt Queenie, which sheds light on a long-hidden secret—one rooted in love, loyalty and betrayal. Writing during the Nazi occupation of Jersey in the winter of 1941, Queenie reveals a community torn apart by illicit romance, heartbreak and revenge—and by dark acts of fear and desperation.

The more Libby immerses herself in Queenie’s journal, the more she understands why its secrets still haunt her family and Stella’s. Christmas is a time of forgiveness, but is the treachery of their shared past too shameful to be forgotten?

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This was a fast and easy read, and it was so interesting to read about Jersey during the war. The modern day story didn’t capture my imagination as much as the “olden story” did, but the two stories intertwined for a nice conclusion. I’d like to look for more titles by this author!

Thank you for my review copy!

THE CLUE IN THE TREES by Marji Preus

September 16, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Description

Francie’s brother Theo has secrets—secrets Francie thinks she wants to know. But what if one of those secrets is that Theo is a murderer? To avoid considering that possibility, Francie plunges into her senior year at a small-town high school near Enchantment Lake in northern Minnesota. It’s a radical change from her private school in New York, but she hopes to keep an eye on her great aunts and maybe finally learn more about the mother she never knew. A small silver box seems to hold the answers, and she is determined to get her hands on it.

But when her long-lost brother turns up, so does a dead body, and once again Francie is drawn into a mystery. A long list of suspects, with Theo at the top, keeps her head spinning. When Francie herself becomes a suspect she starts to feel like she is walking on thin ice, but it isn’t until she is literally walking on thin ice that the pieces start to come together—and by then it may be too late.

In her previous adventure Enchantment Lake, Francie was thrown into northern Minnesota lake living: fishing, berry picking, lost kayaks and scary boat rides, poisoned hotdishes, exploding bulldozers, a forest fire . . . and murder. But if she thinks things have settled down, she’s in for a surprise. A new school with new friends (and a few enemies), a lead role in a play, an encounter with a giant muskie, archaeological twists, secret tunnels, thin ice, and a strangely sticky murder are all coming her way in The Clue in the Trees.

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I really enjoyed the first novel in this kids/YA series, ENCHANTMENT LAKE, so I was thrilled to get this new on via Net Galley. Francie continues her adventures and solves the mystery. I have to admit to enjoying the first book more than this one (not sure why – I think I found it easier to follow the plot line of the mystery) but both can stand alone and both are “clean reads” for the young people in your life who enjoy a mystery.

We are thinking of adding one of these titles to our reading list for middle school this year as the kids were asking for a mystery.

Thank you for my review e-copy! I have to say that every book I have ever received from University of Minnesota Press has been well-written, appropriate, and engaging.

Thank you!

FIVE WAYS TO KILL A MAN by Alex Gray

August 31, 2017August 27, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

My friends at Harper-Collins Publishing asked me if I’d like a kindle copy of Alex Gray’s FIVE WAYS TO KILL A MAN, her latest DCI Lorimer novel. I like this crime series, which is set in Scotland and has a “BBC” feel to it. I had read several, though not all, of the DCI Lorimer novels and enjoyed them all. They are fast-paced and well-plotted, but not overly graphic or gruesome.

Here’s the overview from Amazon:

DCI Lorimer must track down a malicious cutthroat inching closer to his own family in this atmospheric mystery from international bestselling author Alex Gray

An unpredictable killer is loose on the streets of Glasgow, experimenting with death. Beginning with brute force, the murderer moves on to poison and drowning, greedy for new and better ways to kill. Faced with a string of unconnected victims, DCI Lorimer turns to psychologist and friend Solomon Brightman for his insights. When Lorimer is also assigned to review the case of a fatal house fire, his suspicions are raised by shocking omissions in the original investigation. Some uncomfortable questions have been buried, but Lorimer is the man to find the answers.

As the serial killer gets closer to Lorimer’s family, can the DCI unmask the volatile murderer before the next victim is found too close to home?

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A lot of the same characters appear in this series, so they start to feel like old friends. Life goes on and people get married, babies are born, people die, all while Lorimer keeps solving crimes!

Highly recommended if you like crime novels!

Thank you for my review copy!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

July 24, 2017July 22, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I absolutely loved the book A MAN CALLED OVE, so I was thrilled to receive Backman’s latest book, Beartown, through Net Galley.

This was an incredible story of a small town that is centered on its hockey team, the inhabitants, and the repercussions of the actions of one night. It’s memorable and somewhat haunting. But what amazes me about Backman’s books is that they are SO perceptive of human nature. He writes so eloquently, yet simply, of human feelings and actions. While he is the consummate writer, he is truly an observer of human nature as well.

So glad that I received this to review – thank you! Highly recommended!

Please note: some may find the act of violence in this book (and subsequent effects) disturbing/unsettling.

Here’s the overview:

Description

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

DEVOTION by Meg Kerr

July 10, 2017July 12, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

A few months ago, Prism Publishers in Canada sent me a pdf of Meg Kerr’s new novel DEVOTION, a continuation of Pride and Prejudice. Thank you!!

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Here’s the overview:

After answering in her first novel Experience some burning questions that Pride & Prejudice fans have always asked — just how happy ever after were Elizabeth and Darcy following their wedding? And what became of the other Bennet sisters?— in her companion novel Devotion Meg continues the story of the Darcy family, with particular attention to Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana.

Devotion follows the now 20-year-old Georgiana Darcy. While her brother sets out without her knowledge to secure her a husband, Georgiana, upon receipt of a long-delayed letter, embarks on a secret journey—leading to a chance meeting with a charming yet wicked young man with nefarious intentions.

The story is full of intrigue, romance and humour, it also brings to the forefront stories of some other characters first introduced in Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice, including Caroline Bingley and Pen Harrington, and seamlessly introduces new characters while maintaining the integrity of Austen’s beloved classic tale.

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I have to be honest, now, and say that normally I detest these types of novels as authors rarely “get it right” (remember – I spend my spare time cavorting around the home of the Alcott’s and I consider Louisa May a kindred spirit. No one has captured LMA’s storytelling skills to date.).

I have to say that I loved this story! I loved the writing and was amazed by how well Ms. Kerr captured the nuances of 19th century style. I enjoyed the storyline and I think that others who love Austen will, too.

FROM JULY 15-JULY 19, 2017 YOU CAN GET DEVOTION FREE FOR YOUR KINDLE VIA AMAZON! Woot!

Here’s a bit about her (I want her to visit Boston so I can show her Orchard House and we can talk about the 1800’s. I will wear my hoop skirt!):

What do you do when you live in the twenty-first century but a piece of your heart lies in the nineteenth? If you are author Meg Kerr you let your head and hand follow your heart. With her love of country life—dogs and horses, long walks in the woods and fields, dining with family and neighbours and dancing with friends, reading and writing and the best conversation—and her familiarity with eighteenth and nineteenth century history and literature, Meg has a natural gift to inhabit, explore and reimagine the world that Jane Austen both dwelt in and created, and to draw readers there with her.

Her forthcoming book, Devotion, will be available in the summer of 2017.

Here are a few videos of Meg talking about her novel – check them out!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/472d9xav1c9qprc/DEVOTION_3TheOthers.mp4?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l8uxexsw4qsz6pz/DEVOTION_2MrDarcy.mp4?dl=0

THE ROANOKE GIRLS by Amy Engel

July 6, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I found this title on Net Galley a while ago, and received an e-copy. It was a compelling and suspenseful read, but also disturbing.

Here’s the overview:

Description

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”

After her mother’s suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother’s mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran…fast and far away.

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between Lane’s first Roanoke summer and her return, The Roanoke Girls shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

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Trigger warning: disturbing sexual content

This is a well-written mystery novel with a storyline that is (hopefully) a bit hard to believe. I would have liked it better if I hadn’t found it so (wait for it —- ) disturbing! I’d love to hear from others who read it, too. Recommended for those who loved VC Andrews back in the day…

THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN by Ellen Marie Wiseman

June 20, 2017June 14, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Another book I “wished” for on Net Galley – and was lucky enough to receive! – was THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN by Ellen Marie Wiseman. I had been hearing good things about this story of a girl who joins the circus. This was a really memorable read, interesting yet disturbing, and eventually I felt haunted by the ending. But – it was soooo good! If you like historical fiction, and can handle the disturbing child neglect/abuse, then you should check out this novel!

Description

From acclaimed author Ellen Marie Wiseman comes a vivid, daring novel about the devastating power of family secrets—beginning in the poignant, lurid world of a Depression-era traveling circus and coming full circle in the transformative 1950s.

On a summer evening in 1931, Lilly Blackwood glimpses circus lights from the grimy window of her attic bedroom. Lilly isn’t allowed to explore the meadows around Blackwood Manor. She’s never even ventured beyond her narrow room. Momma insists it’s for Lilly’s own protection, that people would be afraid if they saw her. But on this unforgettable night, Lilly is taken outside for the first time—and sold to the circus sideshow.

More than two decades later, nineteen-year-old Julia Blackwood has inherited her parents’ estate and horse farm. For Julia, home was an unhappy place full of strict rules and forbidden rooms, and she hopes that returning might erase those painful memories. Instead, she becomes immersed in a mystery involving a hidden attic room and photos of circus scenes featuring a striking young girl.

At first, The Barlow Brothers’ Circus is just another prison for Lilly. But in this rag-tag, sometimes brutal world, Lilly discovers strength, friendship, and a rare affinity for animals. Soon, thanks to elephants Pepper and JoJo and their handler, Cole, Lilly is no longer a sideshow spectacle but the circus’s biggest attraction. . .until tragedy and cruelty collide. It will fall to Julia to learn the truth about Lilly’s fate and her family’s shocking betrayal, and find a way to make Blackwood Manor into a place of healing at last.

Moving between Julia and Lilly’s stories, Ellen Marie Wiseman portrays two extraordinary, very different women in a novel that, while tender and heartbreaking, offers moments of joy and indomitable hope.

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Some readers may find the alternating points of view confusing, but each story was moving along a tangent where you know they would eventually converge.

If I had one issue, it’s that I like a happy ending that is neat and tidy.

This one still haunts me…

Thank you for my review copy!

You can find this book on Amazon where I am an Associate. It publishes in late July:

IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE by Christina June

June 11, 2017June 10, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Net Galley has a section where you can “wish” for a book — it’s not readily available for request or to all audiences. Well I wished and got this one – and I’m so happy I did! While this is billed as a “Cinderella story”, I found it to be a well-written and insightful YA novel about a teen girl dealing with coming of age issues. I’ll be recommending it to my 14 year old and to my middle schoolers.

Description

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night, which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client. If Tatum is reading his emails right, her virtual Prince Charming is funny, smart, and talented—and he seems to think the same about her. Too bad he’s spending his summer across the ocean in Ireland…not that Tatum would be allowed to go on a date anyway.

But over the course of the summer, Tatum will learn that sometimes going after what you want means breaking all the rules. And when Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way. A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, Christina June’s IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Thank you SO MUCH for making me part of the “wishes granted” group. I feel like Cinderella!

You can find this book at your local library or favorite indie — or online at Amazon, where I am an Associate:

The Hollywood Daughter by Kate Alcott

May 21, 2017 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I love books by Kate Alcott, so I was thrilled to see that she wrote one about the heyday of Hollywood. The Hollywood Daughter is told from the point of view of the daughter of a publicist who represents, among others, Ingrid Bergman. Jesse idolizes Ingrid Bergman and when Bergman comes to her school to film The Bells of St. Mary, Jesse’s strict Catholic upbringing and her Hollywood family life collide.

Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker and A Touch of Stardust, comes a Hollywood coming-of-age novel, in which Ingrid Bergman’s affair with Roberto Rossellini forces her biggest fan to reconsider everything she was raised to believe

In 1950, Ingrid Bergman—already a major star after movies like Casablanca and Joan of Arc—has a baby out of wedlock with her Italian lover, film director Roberto Rossellini. Previously held up as an icon of purity, Bergman’s fall shocked her legions of American fans.
Growing up in Hollywood, Jessica Malloy watches as her PR executive father helps make Ingrid a star at Selznick Studio. Over years of fleeting interactions with the actress, Jesse comes to idolize Ingrid, who she considered not only the epitome of elegance and integrity, but also the picture-perfect mother, an area where her own difficult mom falls short.
In a heated era of McCarthyism and extreme censorship, Ingrid’s affair sets off an international scandal that robs seventeen-year-old Jesse of her childhood hero. When the stress placed on Jesse’s father begins to reveal hidden truths about the Malloy family, Jesse’s eyes are opened to the complex realities of life—and love.
Beautifully written and deeply moving, The Hollywood Daughter is an intimate novel of self-discovery that evokes a Hollywood sparkling with glamour and vivid drama.

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There are lots of themes in this book, and they are all wrapped up in the era of Hollywood and the events of the 1940’s and 50’s. I love love love reading about Hollywood, and this was a fun read in this respect. However, there is a whole lot more to this book, and some of it is symbolized in Jesse’s relationship and reliance on her Catholic faith. Her Catholicism plays a pivotal role in the novel and at first I wondered why. It comes to represent (or at least I feel it does!) her relationship with her parents. When she was young, she accepted everything they told her unquestioningly and she had a blind faith in her own father, as she did in her church. Disappointments prevailed and by adulthood Jesse finds herself isolated both from her mother and from the church. It was an interesting parallel.

Highly recommended if you enjoy books of this time period as I do!

Thank you for my review e-copy, received via Net Galley!