family

The Guest in Room 120 by Sarah Ackerman

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I love Sarah Ackerman’s novels, so I was excited to get this new one (coming out in September 2025) through Net Galley. This tells three different stories that intertwine and are based on a historical event: the death of Mrs. Leland Stanford (of Stanford University).

I found this story so engaging and so fantastic that I had to do some research afterwards to see what had occurred in real life. I had never heard about this event before and found it fascinating. Historical fiction is such a great way to experience past events and other’s take on them. I highly recommend this one to those who enjoy historical fiction and historical mystery.

Here’s the scoop:

Description

From USA Today bestselling author Sara Ackerman comes a spellbinding dual-timeline novel set at Honolulu’s iconic Moana Hotel, where a real-life mysterious death in 1905 collides with a writer’s search for the truth one hundred years later. For fans of Ariel Lawhon and Fiona Davis

1905 As the mother of a university and a woman with an iron will, Jane Stanford has made her share of enemies. After a scare at her mansion in San Francisco and on the advice of her doctor, she flees to Honolulu and the fashionable new Moana hotel. But as fate would have it, the island is not as safe as it seems.

2005 Zoe Finch is a bestselling author who desperately needs a jump start on her next novel, and she makes a split decision to attend a writers’ conference at the Moana under an assumed name. As a storm brews offshore, she begins having nightmares that feel hauntingly real. Terrified, Zoe enlists the help of mystery writer Dylan Winters and, over the course of the week, races to uncover the shocking truth of what happened in the hotel one hundred years ago almost to the day.

1905 ‘Iliahi Baldwin’s life changes the moment she lands a job at the Moana. Newly hired and reeling from a tragic loss, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with the formidable Jane Stanford upon her arrival, which leaves young ‘Ili devastated when the unthinkable happens. ‘Ili knows things, but there are powerful people who need the truth to remain hidden, and to cross them could prove disastrous.

Inspired by the incredible true story of one of America’s most mysterious deaths, this is an unforgettable tale of betrayal and secrets that still echoes through the years.

More captivating stories from Sara Ackerman:

  • The Maui Effect
  • The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West
  • The Codebreaker’s Secret
  • Radar Girls
  • Red Sky Over Hawaii
  • The Lieutenant’s Nurse
  • Island of Sweet Pies & Soldiers

Thank you for my copy! Fun fact: I have stayed at the Moana! But I was not in Room 120.

HTP Tour for The Second Chance Bus Stop by Ally Zetterberg

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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 Two Perfect Couples by Renita D’Silva

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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

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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.

Bottom of the Breath by Jayne Mills

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I’m shouting it out today for a new novel that my friends at Wunderkind PR told me about: Bottom of the Breath by Jayne Mills.

For fans of Liane Moriarty and Maria Semple, this contemporary debut novel weaves together romance, mystery, and adventure as a woman travels to the Grand Canyon seeking answers after uncovering an old family secret.

After crashing into a devastating revelation, Cyd’s tranquil life on the Florida panhandle is further upended when she receives a letter announcing an inheritance from an estranged aunt. The inheritance contains mysterious “items of a personal nature” which Cyd must collect in person halfway across the country. In a last attempt to salvage her deteriorating marriage, Cyd agrees to travel with her husband on what he promises—and she questions—will be the trip of a lifetime.

As they set out, a hurricane threatens their hometown. Soon, fueled by the growing threat of the storm and the tension brewing between them, the couple’s long-suppressed problems erupt. Cyd digs deep for the courage to continue the journey on her own, unsure if either her home or her marriage will survive.

Once in Phoenix, Cyd learns the strange details of the inheritance and a decades-old family secret. But what was the whole truth? Clues and instinct lead Cyd to Sedona and then to the Grand Canyon. She descends into the vast chasm alone searching for answers to newly raised questions and age-old mysteries. She steps off the beaten path, literally, knowing she must make peace with her pain-filled past and her uncertain future.

Here’s a bit about Jayne Mills:

Jayne Mills is a financial advisor who has secretly nurtured a lifelong dream of writing a novel. She expressed her literary aspirations through  Financial Wellness Monthly , a newsletter combining her interests in finance, yoga, and meditation. Additionally, she developed a program called The Wealth-Wellness Connection, designed to help people better understand their complex relationships with money. Jayne holds degrees in journalism and finance and is a registered yoga teacher. In recent years, her favorite way to vacation is as the navigator in a custom van (she hates talking maps) on a quest to visit every national park with her partner (he knows better than to  ever  let her drive) and their Border Collie, Elvis. She lives peacefully in St. Augustine, Florida.

Here’s a bit of what Wunderkind PR had to say that I found compelling:

Author Jayne Mills was inspired to write the novel after discovering a real life family secret and braids her true story into the mysteries in the novel. She is a yoga teacher, and weaves her yoga practices into the fabric of the narrative, making it a very personal work of fiction.  It is ideal for readers who gravitate toward healing narratives, emotional growth arcs, and stories where the landscape becomes a character of its own.

Sounds good, right? It’s definitely one I hope to read!

Find it at your favorite seller or online, in paper, kindle, or audio.

Abscond by Abraham Verghese

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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

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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!!

Harper-Collins Blog Tour for Reports of His Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by James Goodhand

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I’m here today as part of the Harper-Collins blog tour for this new novel: Reports of His Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by James Goodhand. I went into this one not really knowing what to expect, and I ended up really just loving this story. The main character, Ray, is thought to be dead (due to mistaken identity) and this gives him a chance to see how his life looks like to others and what others think of him. Coupled with flashbacks of his younger life we see how he came to be the gentle, reclusive individual he is. At times, this story reminded me of the writing of Fredik Backman, whom I really enjoy. I had read Goodhand’s The Day Tripper and enjoyed that as well.

Loved this one — and I hope you do, too!

Thank you for my copy and for the opportunity to join the tour!

Here’s the scoop:

REPORTS OF HIS DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED

James Goodhand

On Sale Date: July 1, 2025

Trade Paperback

9780778387466

$18.99 USD

336 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Due to a case of mistaken identity, everyone believes Ray Thorns to be dead — while he is still very much alive. In the aftermath, he’s forced to reflect on the impact he’s had on the world and those closest to him in this heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance, for fans of Dead Poets’ Society and It’s a Wonderful Life and readers of Fredrick Backman.

A lifetime ago, Ray “Spike” Thorns was a well-regarded caretaker on a boarding school’s grounds. These days, he lives the life of a recluse in a house rammed with hoarded junk, alone and disconnected from family or anyone he might have at one time considered a friend.

When his next-door neighbor drops dead on Spike’s doorstep, a case of mistaken identity ensues: according to the police, the hospital, the doctors—everyone—Spike is dead. Spike wants to correct the mistake, really he does, but when confronted with those who knew him best, he hesitates, forced to face whatever impression he’s left on the world. It’s a discovery that brings him up close to ghosts from his past, and to the only woman he ever loved.

Could it be that in coming face to face with his own demise, Spike is able to really live again? And will he be able to put things straight before the inevitable happens—his own funeral?

This is the best kind of feel-good fiction: it’s deeply affecting but full of clever mishaps and enough laughs along the way. It takes the message from Dead Poets Society and mixes it with the tragedy of It’s A Wonderful Life and tops it off with an ultimately loveable guy like in A Man Called Ove. The result is a heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Goodhand has written one adult novel, published by HarperCollins in the US, and two YA novels, published by PRH Children’s Books in the UK. His adult debut, The Day Tripper, was called “an essential, profound read” by The Washington Post. He lives in England.

SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: @goodhand_james Instagram: @james.goodhand

BUY LINKS: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/reports-of-his-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-original-james-goodhand/21769932

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reports-of-his-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-james-goodhand/1146225169

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Reports-Death-Have-Greatly-Exaggerated/dp/0778387461

Bookouture Blog Tour for WHAT EVERY MOTHER NEEDS by Emily Shiner

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I’m happy to be part of this thriller of a novel today! This was disturbing and suspenseful, and I honestly was not sure how it was going to turn out. Great for fans of psychological thriller and suspense, What Every Mother Needs is one you’ll find hard to put down!

Here’s the scoop:

Book Description:

She’s what every mother needs. But can you trust her?

Charlotte: Since my husband Lawrence died it’s just me and our sweet baby girl Jordan. It’s so hard raising her alone. Then Sophie shows up at my door. She says she is Lawrence’s sister… and she seems like a blessing in disguise. But with her in my house, looking through my things, it’s going to be difficult to keep the secrets about my marriage hidden…

Sophie: Charlotte didn’t recognize me. That isn’t surprising. She seems frantic, and I know she’s not sleeping. I hear her tossing and turning while I rock her baby to sleep. When Jordan stares up at me with those big blue eyes, my heart melts. Charlotte doesn’t deserve such a gorgeous child. Not after what she did.

It’s clear to anyone that Charlotte isn’t coping. All she needs is a little push to send her over the edge… And then I’ll finally get what I really came for.

Both of these women are liars. One of them is a killer. Who is really in danger in this house?

Perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and The Girl in Seat 2A, this totally addictive psychological thriller will have you up all night!

Author Bio:

Emily Shiner always dreamed of becoming an author. After spending years devouring stacks of thrillers, she decided to try her hand at writing them herself. Now she gets to live out her dream of writing novels and sharing her stories with people around the world. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains and loves hiking with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs.

It’s nice to meet you!
https://www.facebook.com/authoremilyshiner/
https://www.instagram.com/authoremilyshiner/

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Emily Shiner here: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/emily-shiner/

Buy Link: NOT affiliated with BBNB

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0F3FTJX3Zsocial

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

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

Gaelic & Garlic: A Boston Love Story by Mike Bernard

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I’m shouting it out today for a new novel by local-to-me writer Mike Bernard: Gaelic and Garlic: A Boston Love Story. As someone with a full Irish father and a full Italian mother, this one spoke to me!

Completing the Boston Irish Belt Trilogy along with Dorchester’s CROSSING THE SAGAMORE and Southie’s THE CROSSING GUARDS, comes Charlestown’s GAELIC & GARLIC: A Boston Love Story.

Among the most overlooked ethnic problems in the country was the division between Irish and Italians. Historically two of the poorest immigrant communities, they clashed on everything from jobs to housing to politics. As rivals, both were always treated with suspicion and fear. No Italian boy would ever bring an Irish girl home to dinner, and the Irish were even less welcoming.

When East Boston’s Antonio Domenicio Riccardo Maximilianus PrestiDiGiovanni meets Charlestown-tough Margaret Katherine Philomena Coventina O’Shaughnessy (for a combined total of 39 syllables!) they have no idea how their lives are intersected. Richie and Mary Kate both live in a world where things should have been – but one simple decision changed the whole trajectory of their lives.

GAELIC & GARLIC is a heartwarming and hilarious story about discovering love when you least expect it, and finding comfort in family and traditions.

Family.

It’s what makes us different and what helps us stick together. We’re Italian first and foremost. Or we’re Irish. Or English. Or Spanish. Or Asian. Doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, to the outside world we’re loud and boastful and clannish and full of ethnic pride. But the truth is, we’re bonded by the best and worst of ourselves. The devotion, the blind faith, the disappointment, the ball-busting, the insanity, the passion – we’re the sum of all of it and that’s why we hold each other close. It’s family, and families are tricky. There is so much there that can flatten us, knock us to our knees and then help us rise and stand tall. If nothing else, we have each other, because when it really matters, families stick together. No one stands a chance if they’re alone.To the Irish and Italian in all of us.

Sláinte and Alla Salute!

Mike Bernard

About the Author:

Mike Bernard is a multi-optioned screenwriter and author. His work has been recognized internationally in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, PAGE International Screenplay Competition, NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL and Los Angeles Screenplay competitions. His ‘midlife crisis’ writing career began when his children and his money went off to college – checks made out to Loyola University Maryland (x2) and Assumption College respectively.

Mike is a graduate of Providence College and Boston College High School. He resides on Cape Cod with his wife Michele.

He spends his summers losing to someone twice his age in Pickleball, and his winters aimlessly roaming the aisles of Home Depot.