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Special Feature: You Grow, Gurl: A Lush Guide to Plant Parenthood by Christopher Griffin
Growing up, my parents owned a feed and seed store along with a nursery. Both of my parents and grandparents loved yard work and gardening. As a result, naturally I grew up hating gardening. I love how pretty flowers are and in the last few years I have grown a veggie garden from seed with my son. I have grown to enjoy gardening to some degree or another but I have yet to master the art of house plants. I literally murder every single house plant I have ever owned including cactus! However I am envious of those that are successful at house plants. In recent years there have been…
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Review: Under Lock and Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mysteries #1) by Gigi Pandian
I am usually up for a new cozy mystery series. I always find cozy mysteries relaxing and satisfying, they typically have charming main characters and mysteries that aren’t overly complicated or too dark so they make for nice relaxing reading for me. When I saw this one come across my desk for review I was super excited because it was a new book in a mystery series, and it had a bit of a Gothic twist. Not to mention it boasted a classic locked room mystery—-so think Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None. Mysteries that on the surface appear simple and at the same time…
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Special Feature: The League of Gentlewomen Witches (Dangerous Damsels #2) by India Holton
Say hello to the most odd ball mashup to hit bookshelves, the Dangerous Damsel’s series! I read the first book in this series last year and it was such a random mashup of things but it was the oddest mashup that I never knew I needed! There was a lot to enjoy in the first book of this series even if I was admittedly lost in the story and genre as it were. The combo of pirates, magic, romance, and tea was alluring so I found myself really excited to read the next installment of this series. While I couldn’t fit this one into my early spring review schedule, that…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: The Tsarina’s Daughter by Ellen Alpsten
In light of recent world events, there are a lot of eyes on Eastern Europe and Russian right now. As a huge fan of historical fiction I love exploring new cultures and new parts of history and Eastern Europe and Russian history have caught my eye over and over again in recent years but especially now. I want to know more and more about this area of the world and what their history is like. So many historical fiction novels are set in different Western settings like England, France, or the USA. All of these regions and history are more of less familiar to the average historical fiction reader but…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery
The second I saw this blue green water, I knew I needed this book in my beach bag! It’s that time of year when it’s cold and rainy still in the Pac NW and I find myself longing for some where warm and sunny with white sandy beaches. My husband and I traveled to Aruba during spring break a few years ago when it was pouring rain here in Oregon and we spent a week in paradise. When we came back I had never been so depressed! After that I decided to stick with reading about warm sunny places during the long cold wet months of February and March in…
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Review: The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery
It’s that time of year when we have had the ‘false spring’ week in Oregon and have then settled into 6 more weeks of winter. We had this absolutely beautiful week where it was sunny and 60-65 degrees—spring was in the air—until it wasn’t. Suddenly we were back to 40 degree temps with constant rain (like torrential down pour) and like many Oregonians we are all left longing for sunshine and warmer temps! So what is a surefire way to cure the longing in our hearts? A book set in a sunny location that offers a little bit of escapism and a whole lot of sunshine! Enter this lovely new…
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Review: The Lady Tempts an Heir (The Gilded Age Heiresses #3) by Harper St George
I fell in love with Harper St George’s series the second I opened the first book! Not only are the covers stunning with gorgeous dresses but the stories are sensual, romantic, and all around great reads. I actually kind of thought that the series would end after the second book since it’s the Gilded Age Heiresses series and there were only two sisters, but I was thrilled to see this book was coming out even if this book featured the brother of the two previous heiresses. I instantly jumped at the chance to review this one—in fact I had in on pre order for months as soon as I saw…
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Review: If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher
I don’t know what drew me to this book first, the hot fireman or the protagonist having a massive public meltdown! It’s like my dream some times to just have a complete meltdown where I give zero f*cks and just go off and still be able to keep my job and relationship but yet I have something to laugh about later. Am I right people? Basically I wish my life was a movie or a story some times where I could get away with that. Like go full on Waiting to Exhale and burn my ex’s stuff and still find love—that’s exactly what this book promises—literally! I was instantly drawn…
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Review: The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have been writing domestic thrillers for the last few years and I love this writing team! I especially loved their first novel together, The Wife Between Us. After reading that one I was super excited to check out the next book which was just ok for me but that said, I enjoyed their writing style and was eager to read other collaborations. When this book came up for review I was familiar enough with the authors names and the quality of novels they put out so I was obviously on board with a review. While the second book I read wasn’t my fav, it was…
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Review: Sisters of Night and Fog by Erika Robuck
I have read and enjoyed a couple of Erika Robuck’s books over the years. She has proven to me that she is a solid writer who doe wonderful research on her historical fiction novels. So I am typically on board for a review whenever one of her books comes across my desk for review! I really enjoyed Hemingway’s Girl and the Invisible Woman, though I didn’t love The House of Hawthorne as I had hoped, it was still full of great research and things to enjoy. When her latest novel came up for review, I was excited to see what topic and historical period she would go with next! The…