Monthly Archives: June 2019

A-Beach-Wish-cover

Review: A Beach Wish, by Shelley Noble

by

A-Beach-Wish-coverAbout the book, A Beach Wish

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 25, 2019)

New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble returns to the beach in her latest summer read about the family we create and the wishes we make that can shape us.

Zoe Bascombe has never said no to her family. When she blew her Juilliard audition, she caved to their wishes and went to business school. But when her mother dies and leaves instructions for Zoe to spread her ashes at a place called Wind Chime Beach, she defies her brothers and starts out for a New England town none of them has ever heard of and discovers a side of her garden club mother that her wildest dreams hadn’t imagined.

Zoe has another family.

Her first instinct is to run home. Instead she is caught in the middle of her feuding new relatives. With one family fighting among themselves and the other not speaking to her, Zoe must somehow find a way to bridge her new life with her old.

For the first time in her life, Zoe must make a stand for her family—both of them. If only she can only figure out how.

Her answer lies at Wind Chime Beach where for generations people have come to add their chimes to the ones already left among the trees. And when the wind blows and the air fills with music, their secrets, dreams, and hopes are sent into the world. There’s a message for Zoe here—if she has the courage to open her heart.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Shelley Noble AP Photo by Gary BrownAbout the author, Shelley Noble

Shelley Noble is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Whisper Beachand Beach Colors. Other titles include Stargazey Point, Breakwater Bay, and Forever Beach—a story of foster adoption in New Jersey—and four spin-off novellas. A former professional dancer and choreographer, she lives on the Jersey shore and loves to discover new beaches and indulge her passion for lighthouses and vintage carousels. Shelley is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Connect with Shelley:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Melissa A. BartellMy Thoughts

Shelley Noble has, over the years, become one of my go-to authors of beach books. I don’t mean this in a frivolous way, because she doesn’t write throw-away novels. Rather she’s a master of compelling family dramas that take place at or near beaches. This summer’s offering, A Beach Wish, is no exception. It’s a family drama that looks at the themes of blood family vs. chosen family, of nature vs. nurture, and of following your own dreams vs. staying on the path others choose for you.

Like many of Noble’s other works, this novel is centered around a beach, in this case Wind Chime Beach, that becomes its own character in the story. As much place as symbol, the beach is both a refuge and a place where one goes to confront one’s truth. It takes a lot to talent to endow a stretch of sand and water with that much presence and character, but it’s one of the ways the author really excels.

Speaking of characters, the people we meet in this novel read like real people. Quirky and flawed, sometimes even downright prickly, they are a group – an extended family, really – of individuals who are each well-rounded and dimensional. Lee, the musician who shares his secrets through his songs, Hannah, the would-be matriarch who is controlling but well-meaning, David, the photographer who buries his heart, Floret and Henry, keepers of the history, Noelle, Mel, and Eli, the younger generation, Eve, the innkeeper who is so much more, and Zoe, who is the POV character we first meet… all could easily populate the streets of any beach town we might visit. And their stories, if somewhat heightened because they’re in a novel, are still fairly plausible.

In A Beach Wish, Shelly Nobel has done once more what she has done before: crafted a warm and satisfying story that lets us look at yet another permutation of family, and come away wishing, just a little, that we were part of it.

Goes well with homemade cookies and iced tea.

TLC BOOK TOURSTour stops for A Beach Wish

Instagram Features

Tuesday, June 25th: Instagram: @tarheelreader

Wednesday, June 26th: Instagram: @reallyintothis

Thursday, June 27th: Instagram: @writersdream

Friday, June 28th: Instagram: @lauralovestoread

Saturday, June 29th: Instagram: @slreadsbooks

Sunday, June 30th: Instagram: @books.coffee.cats

Monday, July 1st: Instagram: @jessicamap

Review Stops

Tuesday, June 25th: A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, June 26th: Bibliotica

Thursday, June 27th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Friday, June 28th: Girl Who Reads

Friday, June 28th: Kritters Ramblings

Monday, July 1st: I Wish I Lived in a Library

Friday, July 5th: Instagram: @beritaudiokilledthebookmark

Monday, July 8th: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, July 9th: Books and Bindings

Wednesday, July 10th: Jathan & Heather

Thursday, July 11th: Tina Says…

Friday, July 12th: Reading Reality

BNR The Sisters, Texas PNG

Review: Genny’s Ballad (The Sisters #5) by Becki Willis (with Giveaway!)

by

BNR The Sisters, Texas PNG

About the book, Genny’s Ballad

  • Genre: Cozy Mystery / Romance / Women Sleuths
  • Publisher: Clear Creek Publishing
  • Date of Publication: October, 2017
  • Number of Pages: 258
  • Scroll down for giveaway!

Genny Cover2018 Best Mystery Series, Texas Association of Authors

By all accounts, everyone loves Genny.
So why does someone want her dead?

There’s something special about Genesis Baker, owner of The Sister’s popular New Beginnings Café. With her dimpled smile and twinkling blue eyes, Genny has practically the entire town eating from the palm of her hand. But Genny is hiding a secret. Despite her sunny disposition and golden touch, there is heartache in her past, and heartache, they say, comes in threes.

Heartache Number One: An unwelcomed customer shows up at New Beginnings. Apparently, the restraining order has lapsed.

Heartache Number Two: Genny’s arch nemesis from high school returns to town. Twenty years has done nothing to mellow the bitter feud between these two women.

Heartache Number Three: As Genny finally acknowledges her feelings for a younger man—sexy firefighter Cutter Montgomery—memories of her first love come back to haunt her.

On top of it all, someone is stalking Genny, determined to make her life miserable.

As it turns out, being kidnapped is only the beginning of her troubles… 

Book Five of the award winning The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series, voted Best Mystery Series by the Texas Association of Authors, three years in a row!

Buy, read, and discuss this book – and the whole series!

Buy the book on Amazon! $0.99 Kindle Countdown promotional pricing 6/22 – 6/28!

Buy all or part of The Sisters series from the author’s website | Check the series out on Goodreads

About the author, Becki Willis

LinkedIn ║ BookBub║ Amazon Author PageBecki Willis, best known for her popular The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series and Forgotten Boxes, always dreamed of being an author. In November of ’13, that dream became a reality.

Since that time, she has published numerous books, won first place honors for Best Mystery Series, Best Suspense Fiction, Best Women’s Detective Fiction, and Best Audio Book, won the 2018 RONE Award for Paranormal Fiction, and has introduced her imaginary friends to readers around the world.

An avid history buff, Becki likes to poke around in old places and learn about the past. Other addictions include reading, writing, junking, unraveling a good mystery, and coffee. She loves to travel but believes coming home to her family and her Texas ranch is the best part of any trip. Becki is a member of the Association of Texas Authors, Writer’s League of Texas, Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Professional Women, and the Brazos Writers organization. She attended Texas A&M University and majored in Journalism.

Connect with Becki

Website | Twitter | Goodreads  | Email | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube | LinkedIn  | BookBub | Amazon Author Page

My Thoughts

Melissa A. BartellCreepy ex-boyfriends, layers of mystery, hunky firefighters, supportive female friends, a cozy small-town setting, and apple turnovers – Genny’s Ballad, book five in Becki Willis’s The Sisters Texas Mysteries has all of that and more.

What more? How about a compelling plot that opens with bumps and grunts in the night and said hunky firefighter coming to the rescue. But while that’s a good beginning, a novel needs more than just an opening scene. Fortunately author Willis delivers. This is no ordinary cozy mystery. It’s got layered stories and nuanced characters, and it deals with the reality that the hopes, dreams, and loves we have when we’re young are not necessarily the hopes, dreams, and loves we get to keep, or choose to follow through with as we mature.

While I enjoyed that one of the many subplots involved the main character Genesis “Genny” Baker’s best friend Madison going through the joys and perils of her home (and life) being featured on a reality show about remodeling (and, by extension, Genny herself and many of their other friends) a scene I found particularly delicate and touching was one with an aging teacher who was clearly suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s. Working that into the story in a way that felt organic but still respectful of real people who live with such conditions speaks a lot to the author’s talent for writing believable characters.

I also  liked that Genny was flawed. She didn’t like asking for help, and that meant that she put herself in harm’s way. It’s easy to write a protagonist who is perfect. To write a character who is imperfect and still really likeable, someone we want to root for, takes real craft.

And I did root for Genny to resolve her issues, and for Madison to resolve her cases, just as wanted all of the various romances to end successfully, because in a cozy mystery you get to solve the crime and have the perfect kiss, if the author has done her job, and Becki Willis has absolutely done her job. (Similarly, I wanted the less savory characters to get their comeuppance. I’m looking at you in particular Pembroke. You really annoyed me.)

Of course, I have to mention that Genny’s Ballad  is book five in an ongoing series, in which book eight has just been released. While it’s completely satisfying as a stand-alone read, it would be even more enjoyable within the context of the series at large.

Cuddling, coziness, and creative crime solving by strong women characters – Genny’s Ballad has it all.

Goes well with apple turnovers and fresh coffee.

GIVEAWAY

GRAND PRIZE: Signed Copy of Wildflower Wedding + $20 Amazon Gift Card
2nd Prize: $10 Amazon Gift Card

June 20-30, 2019

(U.S. Only) 

Giveaway Wildflower Wedding SMALL

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check Out the Other Great Blogs on This Tour

6/20/19 Chicken Scratch, #1 StoreyBook Reviews
6/20/19 When the Stars Fall, #2 Tangled in Text
6/21/19 Stipulations & Complications, #3 Max Knight
6/22/19 Home Again: Starting Over, #4 Reading by Moonlight
6/23/19 Genny’s Ballad, #5 Bibliotica
6/24/19 Christmas in The Sisters, #6 The Clueless Gent
6/25/19 The Lilac Code, #7 Hall Ways Blog
6/26/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 Book Fidelity
6/26/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 Carpe Diem Chronicles
6/27/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 Chapter Break Book Blog
6/27/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 The Librarian Talks
6/28/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 Forgotten Winds
6/28/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 Nerd Narration
6/29/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 That’s What She’s Reading
6/29/19 Wildflower Wedding, #8 Sydney Young, Stories

LoneStarBookBlogTours sm

LoneStarLitLife

Moon-Rush-cover-670x1024

Review: Moon Rush by Leonard David

by

Moon-Rush-cover-670x1024About the book, Moon Rush

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (May 7, 2019)

Veteran space journalist digs into the science and technology–past, present, and future–central to our explorations of Earth’s only satellite, the space destination most hotly pursued today.

In these rich pages, veteran science journalist Leonard David explores the moon in all its facets, from ancient myth to future “Moon Village” plans. Illustrating his text with maps, graphics, and photographs, David offers inside information about how the United States, allies and competitors, as well as key private corporations like Moon Express and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, plan to reach, inhabit, and even harvest the moon in the decades to come.

Spurred on by the Google Lunar XPRIZE–$20 million for the first to get to the moon and send images home–the 21st-century space race back to the moon has become more urgent, and more timely, than ever. Accounts of these new strategies are set against past efforts, including stories never before told about the Apollo missions and Cold War plans for military surveillance and missile launches from the moon. Timely and fascinating, this book sheds new light on our constant lunar companion, offering reasons to gaze up and see it in a different way than ever before.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

National Geographic | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Melissa A. BartellMy Thoughts

I’ve been a science fiction fan practically forever, but my love of science fiction led me to want to know the real story of our solar system. For years, the definitive view of the American space program has been Maury Chakin’s book From the Earth to the Moon, which is a detailed look at the Apollo missions (it’s worth a read, by the way).

But now, as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of that historic first moon landing, we are looking at the moon in a new light: as a possible launch pad for missions to Mars and eventually beyond.

In Moon Rush, science journalist Leonard David reminds of of the history  we have the moon, but also guides us toward the future, discussing science and technology in terms that are not simplistic but also don’t require that one be an actual rocket scientist to comprehend.

One thing I appreciated was that David highlighted the differences between NASA’s plan for our closest satellite (and possible sister planet) and the way private companies are looking at the new space race. Twenty-first century technology isn’t limited to government sources, and this book addresses the very real possibility of a privatized moon. How would that look? What could happen.

More importantly, though, David’s writing retains the one thing all we space buffs share: a sense of hope and wonder. Moon Rush is about science and technology in space, yes, but it’s also about possibility.

Goes well with: mango-peach iced tea, sliced apples, and sharp cheddar cheese.

TLC BOOK TOURSTour Stops

Tuesday, May 21st: Instagram: @dropandgivemenerdy

Thursday, May 23rd: Thrill me. Chill me. Reads.

Friday, May 24th: Instagram: @createexploreread

Tuesday, May 28th: Just a Secular Homeschooler

Tuesday, May 28th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Monday, June 3rd: Man of La Book

Thursday, June 6th: Jathan & Heather

Friday, June 7th: Real Life Reading

Monday, June 10th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Monday, June 17th: Bibliotica

Wednesday, June 19th: Instagram: @shereadswithcats

summer-on-mirror-lake

Review: Summer on Mirror Lake, by JoAnn Ross

by

summer-on-mirror-lakeAbout the book, Summer on Mirror Lake

Hardcover: 384 Pages

Publisher: HQN; Original edition (June 11, 2019)

Summertime is the best time to lose yourself in the romance of Honeymoon Harbor…

When he lands in the emergency room after collapsing at the funeral of a colleague and friend, Wall Street hotshot Gabriel Mannion initially rejects the diagnosis of an anxiety attack. But when warned that if he doesn’t change his adrenaline-fueled, workaholic lifestyle he could end up like his friend, Gabe reluctantly returns to his hometown of Honeymoon Harbor to regroup.

As he adjusts to the sight of mountains instead of skyscrapers, Gabe discovers advantages to this small Pacific Northwest town he once couldn’t wait to escape. But it’s irresistible librarian Chelsea Prescott who, along with the two foster children she’s taken under her wing, makes slowing down seem like the best prescription ever.

Over the course of their summer romance, Gabe gets a taste of the life he might have had if he’d taken a different path. But with his return to New York City looming on the horizon, he’ll have to choose between the success he’s worked tirelessly for and a ready-made family who offers a very different, richly rewarding future…if he’ll only take the risk.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

JoAnn-Ross-300x200About the author, JoAnn Ross

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JoAnn Ross has been published in twenty-seven countries. A member of Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll of bestselling authors, JoAnn lives with her husband and three rescued dogs — who pretty much rule the house — in the Pacific Northwest.

Connect with JoAnn:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

melysse2019.jpgx100My Thoughts

If you want a summer read with depth and heart, JoAnn Ross’s Summer on Mirror Lake is it. Set in the charming Pacific Northwest village of Honeymoon Harbor (one of those towns that doesn’t really exist, but you totally wish did), this is a charming romance with a dash of social justice thrown in.

Main Characters Chelsea the librarian and Gabe the Wall Street mogul-turned-recreational-shipwright who works too hard come together in the way of all summer romances, when the former asks the latter to show the summer library kids what he’s doing (building a reproduction Viking ship). Chemistry ensues. Where the depth and social justice comes in are in the story of two sisters who are in the hands of a foster mother who means well, but doesn’t have a ton of time.

Author Ross has created a vibrant community in Honeymoon Harbor, one that makes you want to step inside the pages of the the book and spend a long weekend sipping coffee at a sidewalk cafe, and poking around the galleries and cute shops. As well, she has created a collection of dimensional, believable characters, led by Chelsea and Gabe, but not limited to those two people.

Far more than a fluffy romance or your typical beach read, this book is a romance with meaning.

Goes well with hot coffee and a slice of peach pie.

TLC BOOK TOURSJoAnn Ross’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, June 3rd: Bookmark Lit

Monday, June 3rd: @nerdybooknurse

Monday, June 3rd: @angelareadsbooks

Tuesday, June 4th: Pacific Northwest Bookworm and @pnwbookworm

Wednesday, June 5th: Book by Book

Thursday, June 6th: Reading Reality

Friday, June 7th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, June 10th: Romancing the Readers

Monday, June 10th: @_ebl_inc_

Tuesday, June 11th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, June 12th: Booked on a Feeling

Thursday, June 13th; Bibliotica

Friday, June 14th: A Chick Who Reads

Monday, June 17th: A Holland Reads

Wednesday, June 19th: Amy’s Book-et List

Thursday, June 20th: Why Girls Are Weird

Friday, June 21st: The Lit Bitch

Monday, June 24th: @simplykelina

Tuesday, June 25th: Seaside Book Nook

Wednesday, June 26th: Jathan and Heather

Thursday, June 27th: Lori’s Reading Corner – excerpt

Friday, June 28th: @cassies_books_reviews

One-Minute-Later-cover

Review: One Minute Later, by Susan Lewis

by

One-Minute-Later-coverAbout the book, One Minute Later

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 11, 2019)

International bestselling author Susan Lewis’ riveting, unforgettable novel of a woman whose life changes in an instant and the handsome young man with whom she shares a secret history—perfect for readers of Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult and Susan Wiggs.

How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering…

Vivi Shager is living her dream. Raised with drive and ambition by a resolutely single mother, Vivi has a thriving law career, a gorgeous apartment in London, and a full calendar that keeps her busy at work and at play. Then on the day of her twenty-seventh birthday, an undiagnosed heart condition sends Vivi’s prospects for the future into a tailspin. After escaping her roots nearly a decade ago, she’s forced to return to her childhood home to be cared for by her devoted and enigmatic mother. Vivi has always known the woman is hiding something and now she’s determined to find out what it is. Though her condition makes her fragile and vulnerable and she’s afraid of what may happen, her spirit remains strong. Then comes an unexpected ray of light.

Josh Raynor, a local veterinarian who his sisters claim is too handsome for his own good, brings a forbidden love to Vivi’s world. Josh and Vivi are soon inseparable, unaware of the past their families share. All Vivi knows is that Josh is wrestling with a demon of his own…

Then quite suddenly the awful truth is staring Vivi in the face and it changes everything.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Susan-Lewis-AP-Photo-by-Antony-Thompson-thousandwordmedia-dot-comAbout the author, Susan Lewis

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of more than forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense, and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, James; stepsons, Michael and Luke; and mischievous dogs, Coco and Lulu.

Connect with Susan:

Website | Facebook

Melissa A. BartellMy Thoughts

This novel is a somewhat sad, extremely honest family drama that centers around organ donation, but adds in a complex mother-daughter relationship as well (as if those are ever simple). Through the main character, Vivi’s eyes, it also examines the differences between our expectations and our realities.

I felt the author created extremely realistic family dynamics. The way returning to your childhood home makes you feel less than an adult was very relatable to me, even without the twist of a chronic illness. As well I felt crafting the story so it took place in two time periods was a deft move letting us have more scope than just Vivi’s immediate surroundings.

While parts of this book are a bit harrowing, overall, I think this is a meaty novel that is well worth the read, and can certainly provide catharsis for women with difficulty relating to their own mothers or their own adult daughters.

Goes well with a glass of red wine, crisp apples and sharp cheddar.

TLC BOOK TOURSTour Stops for One Minute Later

Instagram Features

Tuesday, June 11th: Instagram: @jennsbookvibes

Wednesday, June 12th: Instagram: @readingwithmere

Thursday, June 13th: Instagram: @reallyintothis

Friday, June 14th: Instagram: @crystals_library

Saturday, June 15th: Instagram: @writersdream

Sunday, June 16th: Instagram: @theoxfordcommamomma

Monday, June 17th: Instagram: @storiesandcoffee

Tuesday, June 18th: Instagram: @tarheelreader

Review Stops

Tuesday, June 11th: Bibliotica

Wednesday, June 12th: bookchickdi

Thursday, June 13th: Girl Who Reads

Friday, June 14th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Monday, June 17th: I Wish I Lived in a Library

Tuesday, June 18th: Booked J

Wednesday, June 19th: Literary Quicksand

Thursday, June 20th: Kahakai Kitchen

Monday, June 24th: Books and Bindings

Tuesday, June 25th: Brooke’s Books and Brews

Wednesday, June 26th: Into the Hall of Books

Thursday, June 27th: Comfy Reading