Harper-Collin’s Blog Tour for THE PERFECT HOSTS by Heather Gudenkauf

I love being part of HTP blog tours – the books are always SO GOOD!

This was a suspense mystery centering around an explosion at a wealthy young couple’s gender reveal party. (Can we talk about gender reveals? These started after my own were born. They are really not my thing — it’s odd to me that people are so fixated on a baby’s perceived gender. Think of it — when you are expecting the first thing people ask is ‘do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?’ So interesting to me…).There was no dearth of suspects and the plot was rather twisty. I thought I had it all figured out — but I was wrong! I really liked the main character cop, Soldano. Let’s have a sequel with him – or better yet – a Netflix limited series!

Here’s the scoop:

The Perfect Hosts

Heather Gudenkauf

Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense

320 pages

About the Book:

A couple’s gender reveal party turns deadly and everyone is a suspect in this gripping thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest.

Is it a boy or a girl? They would die to know…

Madeline and Wes Drake have invited two hundred of their closest friends and family to their sprawling horse ranch for the most anticipated event of the year: a “pistols and pearls” gender reveal party so sensational it is sure to make headlines. But the party descends into chaos when the celebratory explosive misfires, leaving one woman dead and a trail of secrets.

As the aftershocks of the bloody party ripple across the small town, Agent Jamie Saldano is brought on the scene to investigate. Battling his own demons from the past, Saldano unearths a web of deceit spun around the Drakes. The appearance of some unexpected houseguests only deepens the mystery. And as tensions mount, it becomes clear that the explosion wasn’t just an unlucky accident. But who was the target, and why? As the shadow of a killer looms, the happy parents-to-be must unravel the truth before it’s too late.

About the Author:

Heather Gudenkauf is the critically acclaimed author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Weight of Silence, The Overnight Guest and Everyone Is Watching. She lives in Iowa with her husband and children. 

Social Links:

Website: https://heathergudenkauf.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Heather-Gudenkaufs-Books-259685275092/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathergudenkauf/ 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hgudenkauf/ 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/heather-gudenkauf 

Buy Links: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Hosts-Novel-Heather-Gudenkauf-ebook/dp/B0DQQ9BRLR 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-perfect-hosts-heather-gudenkauf/1146709766?ean=9780778360049 

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-perfect-hosts-original-heather-gudenkauf/22162822?ean=9780778360049&next=t 

Libro.fm: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488236150-the-perfect-hosts 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Perfect-Hosts/Heather-Gudenkauf/9780778360049 

Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-perfect-hosts-by-heather-gudenkauf/-/A-94483956?preselect=94481317#lnk=sametab 

Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/otherwise-engaged-a-novel/9780778387268.html  

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-perfect-hosts?sId=7c9b6427-a9f0-4dbf-824b-e63babdb3880 

AppleBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-perfect-hosts/id6739534386 

Thank you for my copy and for having me on the tour! Pick this one up today – Heather never disappoints!

Kelly Rimmer’s The Story Keeper

I’m WAY early on this one since it releases in July 2026, but I’ve recently had the opportunity (through Net Galley) to listen to the audiobook on this title. I love Kelly Rimmer’s writing and this was a family epic – focusing on a house in Australia and the family that lived there through the years. There’s a story within a story here, too.

Here’s the scoop:

“Kelly Rimmer is at her most skillful here… An emotional, haunting tale.” —Julia Kelly, internationally bestselling author of The Dressmakers of London

In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion—beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.

When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle’s library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own—a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?

Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a family’s deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery.

“Kelly Rimmer always delivers a poignant story with real characters who lodge themselves in your heart.” —New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin

Siho Ellsmore as the narrator does an excellent job of providing the nuances needed for each character, as well as the different accents.

You can pre-order this mesmerizing title now for next summer’s release.

Bookouture Tour for The Irish Nurse at the Lodging House by Natalie Meg Evans

I’m here today as part of the blog tour for a new historical novel by Natalie Meg Evans – The Irish Nurse at the Lodging House – the first in a new WWII series highlighting different women’s stories.

Here’s the scoop:

London, 1940. Walking up the steps of the lodging house at No. 34 Hill Street in Mayfair, Grace Whelan is full of hope, despite the bombs raining down on London every night. But is this the fresh start she craves, or will the family she’s desperately running from catch up with her?

Nurse Grace Whelan’s Irish accent isn’t out of place on the hospital wards in the East End. But she hides it, and so much more, when her work takes her to the other side of the city. Her roommates at the lodging house and her potential beau, RAF pilot Owen, can never know the secrets she’s keeping about her family…

The three girls may share a room in the cosy lodgings, but they are very different. Jess is a country girl not used to the city, and Betony is adjusting to life without her aristocratic father’s money. But as they go through terrifying air raids and family heartbreak together, a sisterhood starts to form.

Until Grace’s criminal brother tracks her down, looking for money. And when it’s revealed she’s not the only one involved with Owen, the scandal threatens to tear the three apart for good.

Devastated, Grace is torn. Will she lose her new friends as quickly as she found them? Or can confessing all her secrets bring them closer together, as the war comes to their doorstep?

A heart-wrenching story full of love, loss and friendship during the darkest times. This wonderful new series is perfect for fans of Jean Grainger, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe.

I liked this one a lot but just know that it’s part of a larger series, so don’t expect resolution for everyone on the last page!

Thank you for having me as part of the tour and for my copy. I look forward to the next book in the series and seeing these characters’ stories continue.

About the Author:

Natalie is a RITA nominated, USA Today best-selling author of ten historical novels: The Dress Thief, The Milliner’s Secret, The Wardrobe Mistress, A Gown of Thorns, The Secret Vow and The Paris Girl (featuring sisters, Katya and Tatiana.) Two further novels are set in southern Italy: Into the Burning Dawn and The Italian Girl’s Secret, both featuring young women facing tough choices.

The Girl with the Yellow Star takes the reader to wartime Cornwall and introduces Gwenna and little Lotti, the motherless child who comes unexpectedly into her life. The Locket is a split timeline novel featuring Irene, a country girl living next door to a new American airbase and her grandaughter Ruby who uncovers Irene’s lost past. The Paris Inheritance is her latest novel, a split timeline between an English painter caught in Paris by enemy occupation and Hope, an Englishwoman who comes to France looking for a new life. Both women are on the knife edge of life-changing events. Natalie writes page turning stories of wartime, love and challenging choices.

From February 2025, look out for Natalie’s country house crime novels under the name Kay Blythe. One and the same, Natalie/Kay aims to delight the reader with immersive, twisty historical adventure. Happy reading!

HTP Tour for A Killer Motive by Hannah Mary McKinnon

In this thriller for fans of Ashley Elston and Jeneva Rose, a manipulative kidnapper gives a true crime podcaster one week to locate her brother’s best friend. If she succeeds, she’ll learn the truth about her brother’s disappearance six years ago, but if she fails, his friend will die.

You never know who’s listening.

To Stella Dixon, sneaking her teenage brother out of their parents’ house for a beach party was harmless fun—until Max disappeared without a trace.

Six years later, Stella’s family is still broken, and she can’t let go of her guilt. The only thing that keeps her going is helping other families find closure through A Killer Motive,her true crime podcast.

In a bid to find new sponsors and keep making episodes, Stella goes on a local radio show. But when she says on air that if she had just one clue, she’d find Max and bring whoever hurt him to justice, someone takes it as a challenge.

A mysterious invitation to play a game arrives, with the promise that if Stella wins, she’ll get information about what happened to Max. Stella thinks it’s a sick joke…until Max’s best friend vanishes. And she’s given new instructions: tell nobody or people will die.

Desperate and unable to trust anyone, Stella agrees. But beating a twisted, invisible enemy seems impossible when they make all the rules…

I’m thrilled to be part of the Harper-Collins tour for this new suspenseful thriller by Hannah Mary McKinnon. This one was hard to put down! I do love true crime podcasts, so that appealed to me as well. If you love this genre (and staying up late reading!), then this one is for you!

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour.

About the Author:

Internationally bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. Her suspense novels include THE REVENGE LIST, ONLY ONE SURVIVES, and A KILLER MOTIVE, which is her eleventh book. Her work has been optioned for the screen, and she also writes holiday romantic comedies as Holly Cassidy. Hannah Mary lives near Toronto, Canada with her husband and three sons. You’ll find her on social media as @hannahmarymckinnon, and please visit www.hannahmarymckinnon.com for more.

SOCIALS:

Website: www.HannahMaryMcKinnon.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon (@hannahmarymckinnon)

Instagram: www.instagram.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon/ (@hannahmarymckinnon)

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HannahMMcKinnon (@hannahmmckinnon)

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/15144570.Hannah_Mary_McKinnon

BookBub: www.bookbub.com/authors/hannah-mary-mckinnon

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/hannahmarymckinnon 

BUY LINKS: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-killer-motive-original-hannah-mary-mckinnon/22162887?ean=9780778387671&next=t 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-killer-motive-hannah-mary-mckinnon/1146736156 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Motive-Hannah-Mary-McKinnon/dp/0778387674/ref=sr_1_2?crid=6QUMBB8S34K6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rDBFQrZ6aRL2zZB6SyrpXBpFVSMff3Wm4eB2K9_k0ZahuMlBofAepGkRXGyPEQiGcM1av8Vhd9tl5P3BSjrfliaSjHpD3ujoaxmI19wraXMRNgStEqcMMbqqFjJkVjDFGBz7OFkNnw-VHth7IQ6x8JVlmY6SpUPhN_WnRQH_8AL0slnrSWQwZI7OOfkjw4lJXNx6kTaf3qnQnf5TRt2GfHwIIZcp6GlqMUBjEJ7s3cc.niWihIMfgACLuQCLNy2cDTBPr8NXwQKbgmLEXObpRxs&dib_tag=se&keywords=a+killer+motive&qid=1756399729&sprefix=a+killer+motive%2Caps%2C206&sr=8-2 

HTP Tour for The Second Chance Bus Stop by Ally Zetterberg

I loved this sweet and touching novel, focusing on several main characters whose paths are inter-related. Each one has their own journey in this story and each one is what I can “perfectly imperfect”. This one is bound to be one of my favorite reads this summer. I’d love to see it made into a film!

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Here’s the scoop:

The Second Chance Bus Stop

Ally Zetterberg

On Sale Date: August 19, 2025

9780778387626 

Trade Paperback

$18.99 USD

352 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:

For fans of Frederik Backman and Phaedra Patrick, a heartfelt and moving multiple POV tale that follows Sophia, who’s trying to save her favorite uncle’s flower shop; Blade, a devoted son looking for his mother’s long lost love; and Edith, who’s trying to hold on to her memories for as long as she can, from Ally Zetterberg, author of The Happiness Blueprint.

Edith has Alzheimer’s. The idea that she might someday forget her son, her life, even herself plagues her constantly. So there is something important she must do before the disease robs her of her memories: she has to find Sven, the love of her life whom she was supposed to meet on a bus stop bench twenty-seven years ago and run off with, but he never showed.

Her son, Blade, is struggling to keep an eye on her, to keep her safe. His mother’s full-time caregiver, he resents the fact, if he’s being honest, that he gave up his career and most of his life to look after her. But what wouldn’t he do for his mother? Track down her decades old flame so that she has a chance to finally understand why he never showed all those years ago, before her mind fails her? Sure, he can do that.

Sophia is desperately trying to keep her business afloat. Her uncle — her favorite person in the world — left his flower shop to her and her brothers after he died, but she seems to be the only one interested in keeping it; they would rather sell. But she can’t let that happen, can’t let the memory of him and the times they shared fade away. All she has to do is land a big job, big enough to show her family not only is the business worth saving but she’s the one to do it. So when an opportunity comes along that takes her all over Sweden, she can’t say no.

They say life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. While Edith is desperately trying to hold on to her memories, she discovers friendship in a young woman who sits with her daily at the bus stop. While Blade is looking high and low all across Sweden for Sven, he learns to embrace his relationship with his mother more fully and see her for everything she is and is not. While Sophia is fighting to keep her uncle’s dream alive, she comes to terms with the way her parents treated her as a child, and the therapies forced upon her in response to her autism diagnosis. Life is happening all around them, and it’s a delight to watch these different stories unfold, to watch how their lives change, all while they were busy with something else. And much like with life, there’s so much good to be found in these pages.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ally Zetterberg is a British-Swedish writer. She spent ten years working internationally as a fashion model before becoming a full-time mum. Being neurodivergent herself and the mother of a child with Type 1 Diabetes, she is passionate about writing relatable characters and representing those living with medical conditions in commercial fiction. She speaks four languages and spends her days doing her best not to muddle them up.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Author website: https://www.allyzetterberg.com/

Twitter: @AllyZetterberg

Instagram: @allyzetterbergauthor

BUY LINKS: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-second-chance-bus-stop-original-ally-zetterberg/21769955?ean=9780778387626&next=t&affiliate=397 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-second-chance-bus-stop-ally-zetterberg/1146225177;jsessionid=269C2C305F28A336FD28B0BE4C0DF856.prodny_store02-atgap06?ean=9780778387626&st=AFF&2sid=HarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC_7310909_NA&sourceId=AFFHarperCollins%20Publishers%20LLC 

Books A Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9780778387626?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&AID=10747236&PID=7310909&cjevent=fa1489686ef211f0817e04a40a82b820 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0778387623/keywords=satire?tag=harpercollinsus-20 

Bookouture Blog Tour for The Tapes by Kerry Wilkinson

Book Description:

‘If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’

Eve is clearing her father’s house when she finds an old cassette player and a box of tapes. Though grieving, she smiles at the spark of nostalgia.

One tape is labelled ‘Eve’ – in her mother, Angela’s, scrawled handwriting. She disappeared for good more than ten years ago.

The tape whirrs. A voice crackles. ‘My name is Angela’. Tears fill Eve’s eyes at the familiar voice, at the thought this message is just for her. But the next words make her heart pound.

‘If they say I’m missing, I’m not. If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’

Desperate for answers, Eve has no one left to ask – only a box of tapes that could lead to the truth. But the more she listens, the more she realises she can never go to the police…

Because Eve’s mother had her own secrets. But what if her killer is still out there? And what if Eve is next?

An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller that will have you racing through the pages late into the night! Anyone who loves Shari Lapena, John Marrs or Lisa Jewell will be totally addicted.

I really loved this mystery thriller; I think I was drawn to it because of my fixation on true crime and true crime podcasts. I found this one so engaging and perfectly paced. Wilkinson is an experienced writer, but this was the first novel I’ve read of his; I definitely will look for more!

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Author Bio:

Kerry Wilkinson is from the English county of Somerset but has spent far too long living in the north. It’s there that he’s picked up possibly made-up regional words like ‘barm’ and ‘ginnel’. He pretends to know what they mean.

He’s also been busy since turning thirty: his Jessica Daniel crime series has sold more than a million copies in the UK; he has written a fantasy-adventure trilogy for young adults; a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter and the standalone thriller, Down Among The Dead Men.

https://kerrywilkinson.com/


Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Kerry Wilkinson here: https://www.bookouture.com/kerry-wilkinson

Buy Link: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0FFH4CSRGsocial

Bookouture Blog Tour for Two Perfect Couples by Renita D’Silva

I’m on the blog tour today for a new psychological thriller that is SO twisty and SO fast-paced that it left me breathless! The twists and turns kept coming in this story and I couldn’t put it down. It’s the perfect summer escape!

Here’s the scoop:

We seem like perfect families. But our secrets must never come out…

I trust my best friend Lydia with my life. We share everything, even the things we can’t tell our husbands. So when we go on a beach holiday together, it’s a dream come true. One night, we treat ourselves to dinner on the beach with our husbands while our children sleep soundly in the cottage behind us.

But when I go to check on them, my entire world shatters. My son’s bed is empty, the window wide open, his favourite teddy left between the crumpled sheets. I stifle a scream as my worst nightmare comes true. My little boy is gone. It’s all my fault.

As the police question us, Lydia gives me a nervous look. She’s the only one who knows I’ll have to lie. Because there’s something about my son that not even my husband knows. And if anyone discovers the truth, they’ll never let me see my darling boy again.

No one can find out my secret. No one knows just how far I’ve gone to have the perfect family. And I will stop at nothing to get my son back…

A completely addictive thriller that will keep you flipping the pages into the early hours of the morning. Perfect for fans of Shalini Boland, Sue Watson and K.L. Slater.

Author Bio:

Renita grew up in a picturesque coastal village in the South of India, the oldest of three children. Her father got her first story books when she was six and she fell in love with the world of stories. Even now she prefers that world, by far, to this.

https://www.facebook.com/ RenitaDSilvaBooks/

https://www.instagram.com/ renita_dsilva/

https://twitter.com/ renitadsilva

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Renita D’Silva here: https://www.bookouture. com/renita-dsilva

Buy Link: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon:  https://geni.us/B0F8CVCNC1social

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

I know everyone is reading The Women by Kristin Hannah this summer (I’ve read it, too!) but I dialed it back to find some Kindle reads I had that I had not gotten to, and rediscovered this title, The Four Winds. It’s kind of a modern-day Grapes of Wrath. I loved the main character, Elsa, in this novel and I loved the imagery in this book, telling of the Dust Bowl in the Depression years. Hannah’s depiction of a marriage gone sour was compelling and at times painful to read. Elsa is strong, though, and her children are, too.

Here’s the scoop:

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

Highly recommended if you enjoy Kristin Hannah novels!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy.

Abscond by Abraham Verghese

If you have a Prime membership on Amazon, there is a short story out that is free (audiobook, too) called Abscond. This was so beautifully written with amazing imagery. It’s only 38 pages so it’s a quick one. I know this author best for his novels (e.g. Cutting for Stone) so it was fun to read something short by him.

Here’s the scoop:

Fate challenges a boy to find his place in the world in a powerful short story from Abraham Verghese, the New York Times bestselling author of The Covenant of Water.

It’s a New Jersey summer in 1967, and thirteen-year-old Ravi Ramanathan has the makings of a tennis prodigy. His surgeon father encourages his ambition, while his mother dreams of their only child following his father’s path. Surrounded by his parents’ love, Ravi chafes a bit at their daily routines and little traditions. Then one unexpected day, everything changes. Realizing how much he took for granted, Ravi must grow up overnight and find a new role in the life of his family.

Shout-out for: The House on Rondo by Debra J. Stone

Today I’m shouting it out about a new book that my friends at University of Minnesota Press told me about: The House on Rondo by Debra J. Stone.

Here’s the scoop:

A young girl reckons with the demolition of a Black Saint Paul neighborhood to make way for the Interstate in the early 1960s

When thirteen-year-old Zenobia has to leave her friends and spend the summer at Grandma’s while Mama recovers from a stroke, life seems so unfair. But then the eviction letters start arriving throughout her grandparents’ neighborhood, and white men chalk arrows to mark the gas and water lines, and a new world of unfairness unfolds before her. It’s 1963, and Zenobia’s grandparents’ house on Rondo Avenue in Saint Paul—like all the homes in this thriving Black community—is targeted for demolition to make way for the new Interstate Highway 94.

As Zenobia gradually learns about what’s planned for the Rondo neighborhood and what this means for everyone who lives there, she discovers how her story is intertwined with the history of her family, all the way back to Great Grandma Zenobia and the secrets Grandma Essie held close about the reason for her light skin. With the destruction of the neighborhood looming, Zenobia takes a stand on behalf of her community, joining her no-nonsense neighbor, onetime cowgirl Mrs. Ruby Pearl, in a protest and ultimately getting arrested. Though Zenobia is grounded for a month, her punishment seems of little consequence in comparison to what is happening all around her. Even though the demolition continues, she is proud to discover the power and connection in protesting injustice.

The House on Rondo captures the heartbreak, resistance, and resilience that marks a community sacrificed in the name of progress—a “progress” that never seems to favor Black families and neighborhoods and that haunts cities like Saint Paul to this day. As Zenobia learns what can be destroyed and what cannot, her story teaches us that joy, community, and love persist, even amid violence and loss.

This book publishes this fall (October, 2025). Thank you for the opportunity to give this story a shoutout. I thought it sounded like a good one for younger readers, so University of Minnesota Press kindly gifted a copy to my friend who is the Head of School of Mother Caroline Academy, an all-girls school in Boston, MA. Thank you!!