Review: Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renee Rosen

Last year I was part of this cover reveal and since then I have been eagerly awaiting this book! Like many many many girls, the makeup brand Estee Lauder is considered the gold standard in skin care and cosmetics. Growing up, my mother and grandmother always wore Estee Lauder make up and perfume. It was expensive for a girl who was experimenting with makeup but as I grew up, and became an adult with more of a ‘style’, it was also my go to brand.

This was the book that I didn’t know I needed. I never once considered the person behind this famous cosmetics brand until this book came across my desk for review. As soon as I saw the book, I knew it was one that I needed to read because I love a good old fashion story of hard work and perseverance. The woman who became Estee Lauder sounded like she had this amazing tale of hard work and sacrifice that was just itching to be told!

Renee Rosen is also such a phenomenal story teller and I knew that this book would feature great research as well as a well crafted story. If you haven’t read anything by Rosen, this is an excellent opportunity to read about a truly remarkable women in history and see first hand how much research Rosen has done for a book like this. A couple of years ago, I read The Social Graces by Rosen and loved it, this book lived up to my expectations and I cannot recommend this book enough!

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Review: Deep Tide (The Texas Murder Files #4) by Laura Griffin

I completely binge read all of Laura Griffin’s books late last year into 2023. I fell in love with her fast paced thrillers that also contained some romance to keep things interesting. Needless to say I had this one on my radar for months before it came out. I loved the other books in the series and was excited to see which characters from previous books would get their own story in this one. These books do not need to be read in order but you will see a few familiar characters making appearances thought out the series.

For example, this book features Layla Breda who owns a coffee shop in town and has two brothers who are also cops. The bothers have had their own stories in the series and we have met Layla in passing in other books, but there is nothing from the other books that would impact a new readers experience if they are new to this series. Griffin does an amazing job introducing new stories and bringing in new and old characters without spoiling any parts of other books. If you are a new reader and are worried about grabbing this book and being lost—have no fear you will be perfectly fine jumping around.

One of the things I love most about Griffin’s books is that you never know what you are going to get. Sometimes you might get a serial killer mystery, other times it might be organized crime, while others might include a military coverup. I always feel like I am getting something new and refreshing. I love the excitement that a new Griffin book brings and this one was no different!

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Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry

I absolutely loved Emily Henry’s debut novel Beach Read. But you know, sometimes those amazing debut novels don’t always mean the author will be able to replicate that magic in follow up books. Before I decided to make Emily Henry an auto buy author, I decided to give check out her second book, People We Meet on Vacation, a try and see how the sophomore novel went. It was a great second novel and enough to confirm me as a big fan. But it was truly her novel Book Lovers that made Emily Henry an auto buy author for me!

Seeing her latest novel Happy Place was coming out this spring, it was simply a no brainer that I would read it. She is now a confirmed favorite author of mine and I was looking forward to this book so much. Henry has a wonderful voice that is funny, poignant, relatable, and charming. Readers won’t be able to get enough of Henry once they get their hands on any one of her books. Henry’s books have a way of making modern readers feel seen and understood as the characters try to navigate their lives and their romances which are clearly two very different things in Henry’s books.

These books aren’t chick lit or women’s fiction but they have more substance than some traditional romances. They have this great mix of all these genres that could almost make a whole new genre. I love how much there is in each book to sink your teeth into and this book was just another excellent book in a series of excellent books by this author! This will no doubt be THE READ for the summer so make sure you secure a copy for yourself today!

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Special Feature: Murder on Bedford Street (Gaslight Mystery #26) by Victoria Thompson

If you are a cozy mystery fan then you not doubt have seen Victoria Thompson and her Gaslight Mystery series SOMEWHERE! Her series is incredibly popular with historical cozy fans and with good reason! I have read a few throughout the series over the years and they are always a well constructed mystery with likable characters and tons of Victorian charm! Thompson has branched out to other book series as well but this one remains her most popular, as we are on book number 26 in the series.

I have been able to jump around in the series for the most part but like with any well established series, there are characters and relationships that are established throughout the books. I don’t know that I would say reading the books in order is an absolute must, but obviously helpful to understand the more broad themes of the books, plot and characters. For those of you who do not want to go back and read 25 books before this one, I think that the author generally does a good job focusing on the mystery and explaining important parts of character relationships and how they connect to the larger storylines. So not required but encouraged to read the series as a whole.

For this particular book I wasn’t able to fit it into my review schedule but I can say that early readers are loving this one! Many are noting that the book has lots of twists and turns that will keep readers engaged and entertained. I know that Thompson does spin a great mystery and no doubt this one delivers on the well crafted mystery part! If you are a cozy fan, this book series needs to be on your radar. This latest installment is out now so be sure to pop by and take a look!

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Special Feature: Bear With Me Now by Katie Shepard

I am always on the look out for new up and coming authors and this debut novel by Katie Shepard caught my eye for a couple of reasons. One I love that it takes place in the Montana wilderness and two, I love how traditional gender roles in romantic comedies are going to get flipped! In most romance books or romantic comedies, it’s almost ALWAYS the woman who is saved by a man, but in this book Teagan is going to be saved quite literally by Darcy and I am so excited to read something like. this!

In this book, Teagan seems like he is going to be the more emotionally vulnerable one this books and I am SO EXCITED for that! I am also looking forward to the mental health angle in this book. A lot of books tend to shy away from some of those harder topics but in this book it sounds like the author is going to meet things head on and address some of those topics like addiction, trauma, and anxiety. I am really excited to see how this one unfolds and see how the author balances the book with romance and come comic relief.

While looking at books for your spring and summer reading, I think readers will want to keep this one in mind. It addresses some big issues not normally seen in the romance genre and it also takes traditional roles of characters in the genre and flips the script making the woman the savior of the man and I am so here for that! If you are looking for a brand new author with a bold story telling style, then I think this book is going to be for you and I am super excited to read it a little later on this spring!

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