Review: Our House by Louise Candlish

This is another book thats been all over my Instagram for the last month or so. I was approached a few months ago to read it and put it on my calendar for late summer and then moved on to other books.

When it came time to read this one, I had kind of forgotten about it but then I started seeing these posts on Instagram and was like ‘OMG I need to read this book!’. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be reading this one, and soon! So I started to get excited!

There’s nothing unusual about a new family moving in at 91 Trinity Avenue. Except it’s her house. And she didn’t sell it.

When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she’s sure there’s been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern coparenting arrangement: bird’s nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. Continue reading “Review: Our House by Louise Candlish”

Special Feature: NOT HER DAUGHTER by Rea Frey

This mystery novel will be up for review on my blog here in the fall but until there I wanted to do a special feature since it came out just yesterday, 8/21. Take a minute and read this tantalizing summary and tell me you aren’t excited to read this one too?

You know it’s going to be good when someone has already secured the rights for a TV/film adaption, which you can read all about here! 

Emma Grace Townsend. Five years old. Gray eyes. Brown hair. Missing since June.

Emma Townsend is lonely. Living with her cruel mother and clueless father, Emma retreats into her own world of quiet and solitude.

Sarah Walker. Successful entrepreneur. Broken-hearted. Abandoned by her mother. Kidnapper.

Sarah has never seen a girl so precious as the gray-eyed child in a crowded airport terminal—and when a second-chance encounter with Emma presents itself, Sarah takes her, far away from home. But if it’s to rescue a little girl from her damaging mother, is kidnapping wrong?

Amy Townsend. Unhappy wife. Unfit mother. Unsure she wants her daughter back.

Amy’s life is a string of disappointments, but her biggest issue is her inability to connect with her daughter. And now she’s gone without a trace.

As Sarah and Emma avoid the nationwide hunt, they form an unshakeable bond. But her real mother is at home, waiting for her to return—and the longer the search for Emma continues, Amy is forced to question if she really wants her back.

Emotionally powerful and wire-taut, Not Her Daughter raises the question of what it means to be a mother—and how far someone will go to keep a child safe.

About the Author

Rea Frey is the author of four nonfiction books. Her debut novel, NOT HER DAUGHTER, will be released by St. Martin’s Press August 21, 2018.

When she’s not exercising, mothering, adulting, wifing, eating, or writing about herself in the third person, you can find her hard at work on her next book and ghostwriting for other people.

Read more at reafrey.com.

Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

This was a book that I originally passed on but then changed my mind. I have been seeing this book all over my Instagram and I caved under the peer pressure!

When I passed on it, it was mostly because my review schedule was really tight for August, but I had also been reading a ton of thrillers and I was kind of ready for a break. But as I said, I have zero self control sometimes so I caved and decided to review this one and fit it in when I could.

As luck would have it, I finished one of my August books suer early so I was able to fit it in sooner than expected, and I was happy that I could because the more I saw it on Instagram the more I wanted to read it!  Continue reading “Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena”

Special Feature: Murder at the Flamingo (A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery #1) by Rachel McMillan

I was so sad that I couldn’t fit this one in to my review schedule for the summer, so I opted to do a special feature instead! This looks like a promising new mystery series with an intriguing duo!

About Murder at the Flamingo

  • Series: A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery (Book 1)
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 10, 2018)

“Maybe it was time to land straight in the middle of the adventure…”

Hamish DeLuca has spent most of his life trying to hide the anxiety that appears at the most inopportune times — including during his first real court case as a new lawyer. Determined to rise above his father’s expectations, Hamish runs away to Boston where his cousin, Luca Valari, is opening a fashionable nightclub in Scollay Square.  When he meets his cousin’s “right hand man” Reggie, Hamish wonders if his dreams for a more normal life might be at hand.

Regina “Reggie” Van Buren, heir to a New Haven fortune, has fled fine china, small talk, and the man her parents expect her to marry. Determined to make a life as the self-sufficient city girl she’s seen in her favorite Jean Arthur and Katharine Hepburn pictures, Reggie runs away to Boston, where she finds an easy secretarial job with the suave Luca Valari. But as she and Hamish work together in Luca’s glittering world, they discover a darker side to the smashing Flamingo night club.

When a corpse is discovered at the Flamingo, Reggie and Hamish quickly learn there is a vast chasm between the haves and the have-nots in 1937 Boston—and that there’s an underworld that feeds on them both. As Hamish is forced to choose between his conscience and loyalty to his beloved cousin, the unlikely sleuthing duo work to expose a murder before the darkness destroys everything they’ve worked to build.

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Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About Rachel McMillan

Rachel McMillan is a history enthusiast, lifelong bibliophile, and author of the Herringford and Watts series. When not reading (or writing), Rachel can be found at the theater, traveling near and far, and watching far too many British miniseries. Rachel lives in Toronto where she works in educational publishing and is always planning her next trip to Boston. Facebook: RachKMc1; Twitter: @RachKMc; Instagram: RachKMc.

Connect with Rachel

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Instagram tour:

Monday, July 16th: @alittlebookishlife

Tuesday, July 17th: @ladyofthelibrary

Wednesday, July 18th: @thebooksellersdaughter

Thursday, July 19th: @jennblogsbooks

Friday, July 20th: @kim_reads

Saturday, July 21st: @pnwbookworm

Sunday, July 22nd: @brookesbooksandbrews

TBD: @dropandgivemenerdy

Review tour:

Monday, July 23rd: Reading Reality

Tuesday, July 24th: Book by Book

Wednesday, July 25th: Jessicamap Reviews and @jessicamap

Thursday, July 26th: Fiction Aficionado

Friday, July 27th: Blooming with Books

Friday, July 27th: Broken Teepee – spotlight

Monday, July 30th: Black ‘n Gold Girl’s Book Spot

Tuesday, July 31st: Running Through the Storms

Wednesday, August 1st: What is That Book About – guest post/Q&A

Wednesday, August 1st: Fiction Aficionado – author Q&A

Thursday, August 2nd: By the Book

Friday, August 3rd: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Monday, August 6th: Reader’s Cozy Corner

Tuesday, August 7th: Reflections from my Bookshelf

Wednesday, August 8th: Write Read Life

Friday, August 10th: From the TBR Pile

Friday, August 10th: The Lit Bitch

Monday, August 13th: Books & Bindings

Tuesday, August 14th: Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Wednesday, August 15th: @ladyofthelibrary

 

Review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Her Royal Spyness #12) by Rhys Bowen

The Royal Spyness mystery series is one that has been gifted and recommended to me more times than I can count. I literally have three copies of the first book from my mom because she keeps forgetting that she already recommended it to me.

So clearly it’s a book that people want me to read. I just haven’t thought about it when I am looking for something to read. I am no stranger to Rhys Bowen’s books though. She writes beautifully and I love reading her stand alone books!

Finally, after all this time, I picked up a Royal Spyness mystery…..about twelve books too late!  Continue reading “Review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Her Royal Spyness #12) by Rhys Bowen”