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Review: The Witches of Cambridge by Menna van Praag
I have been a fan of Menna van Praag’s writing for some time now! I’ve read all of her books and they always get me in the mood for spring reading. Van Praag’s novels are always full of whimsical magic, romance, and interesting women characters. One of my favorites is The House at the End of Hope Street…..I love how she incorporates unique women lead characters and let’s the reader discover them in an interesting world/story of her creation. Her latest novel, The Witches of Cambridge, is similar to her other novels…..a charming, magical read full of interesting characters, women, and romance!
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Review: Christmas at the Vicarage by Rebecca Boxall
With the holiday season in full swing I was looking for a book that would help me get into the Christmas ‘spirit’ this year. I’ve been kind of hit and miss with my holiday reading over the years but each year I try to find a holiday book that gets me in the Christmas mood. This year I saw this book all over Goodreads so I was eager to pick it up. I don’t read a ton of modern romances, let alone modern holiday romances so I was anxious to try something new. Rosamunde hasn’t been to Potter’s Cove or seen her family in fifteen years. After a heart break…
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Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton
Alice Edevane grew up in a charming lake house on Cornwall coast just after the Great War. Cornwall is a mystical place that inspires imagination and welcomes thoughts of magic. A perfect place to inspire a young girl to write. Alice always knew she wanted to be a writer and living in a large home full of people with their own ‘stories’ she couldn’t help but write them down. But one summer, the unthinkable happens….her brother disappears without a trace never to be seen again. Alice thinks she knows what happened and for the next seventy years she harbors extreme guilt. Now a successful mystery writer, Alice buries her secret deep…
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Spotlight Feature: THE BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN by Jeanne Mackin
The Beautiful American by Jeanne Mackin Publication Date: June 3, 2014 NAL/Penguin Group Formats: eBook, Paperback, Audio 352 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction As recovery from World War II begins, expat American Nora Tours travels from her home in southern France to London in search of her missing sixteen-year-old daughter. There, she unexpectedly meets up with an old acquaintance, famous model-turned-photographer Lee Miller. Neither has emerged from the war unscathed. Nora is racked with the fear that her efforts to survive under the Vichy regime may have cost her daughter’s life. Lee suffers from what she witnessed as a war correspondent photographing the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps.…
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Review: Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey
Cat Jordan is about to get the surprise of her life when she opens a mysterious letter from Paris. Cat has been working as a photographer and basically lives a very bohemian lifestyle. She has a boyfriend, Christian, who she has been with for a while who is much different than she is…..his family is very wealthy and he is very traditional. Basically they are complete opposites but it seems to be working….ish. Well Cat finally decides to open the mysterious letter, only to find that she has inherited something…..from a woman she has never heard of! Side note, why can’t this sort of thing happen to me?! Cat calls…
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Review: The Middle of Somewhere by Sonja Yoerg
Intense is about the only word I can use to describe this novel! This book is about one woman’s quest to find herself on the John Muir trail in the western U.S. for 18 day of backpacking. Liz Kroft’s 30th birthday is coming and she is literally heading for the hills. Liz, is in conflict over secrets she harbors and is suffering remorse over her past actions. Her emotional baggage weighs her down more than her backpack, but a three week trek promises the solitude she craves—at least until her inexperienced hiker boyfriend, Dante, decides to tag along. She is clearly less than happy about that situation. His broad moral streak makes…
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Review: At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen
Maddie has not idea that New Years Eve 1942 is going to be a day where everything in her life changes The belle os the ball and Philadelphia society is married to Ellis and lives a life of shelter and privilege. While there is a war raging across the pond, Maddie and her husband Ellis aren’t really that in touch with it. Ellis and his best friend Hank should be enlisting in the war like all the other men their age but they both have medical conditions and aren’t allowed to join. Ellis’s father is beyond ashamed of his son’s inability to enlist and reminds Ellis of it on a…
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Review: Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor
Emily Dickinson is one of America’s most beloved poets. But who was the woman behind all that passion and genius? This book offers a glimpse (albeit a fictional glimpse) into the life of Emily and her life as a recluse in Amherst, Massachusetts. The story alternates between Emily’s POV and that of her new Irish maid, Ada. Ada has left her family in Ireland in favor of seeking employment in a prosperous new world. When she lands her job at the Dickinson residence as a’ maid of all’, she knows she is fortunate to be in with such a well to do family. Emily and Ada quickly hit things off and…
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Review: The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
It’s summer time in small town America. In the panhandle of West Virginia, Layla is cut off by her wealthy family in the middle of the Great Depression. She is forced to find a job with the Writers Project writing the history of Macedonia, a small town in West Virginia. While working, she will board with the Romeyn family and where we will meet two other main characters: Jottie and Willa. Layla’s assignment is to write the official history of the town, she learns there are plenty of secrets in the town, not to mention plenty of colorful characters. She begins investigating the town and her inquiries force the Romeyn family,…
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Review: The Seven Sisters: A Novel (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley
Lucinda Riley is an author who has long been on my radar to read. Her covers are always stunning and are always set in exotic locations. When this book came across my desk for review, I had to agree. Who could say no to that eye catching cover and a story set in Rio? Maia D’Apliese is the eldest of the six sisters and they all have been adopted by a wealthy billionaire. They grew up in their father’s home on the shores of Lake Geneva. But now that he has passed away, they are all following his dying wish….getting back to their own roots. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue as…