November

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November started out not as a great reading month, but ending with a holiday weekend - I made up for it!  I completed my Goodreads annual goal in November, so all my December reading will be cherries on top!

1. AOC by Lynda Lopez

2. From a Paris Balcony by Ella Carey

3. My Name is Resolute by Nancy Turner

4. The Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

5. The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook by Jo Schaalman and Julie Pelaez

6. Aunt Ivy's Cottage by Kristin Harper

7. Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin

8. Blind Vigil by Matt Coyle

9. Home for Christmas by Holly Chamberlin

10. One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

11. The Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate

12. Starry Night by Debbie Macomber

13. Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini

14. Romancing the Holidays by L Austen Johnson

15. Vacation by Jane Green

17. Home for the Holidays by Sara Richardson

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 5,032

Where having I been Reading?:

New York City (3)

Paris

Boston, MA (3)

San Diego, CA

Maine

Scotland

New York

Colorado

 

Review: Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin

Glimmer As You Can

by Danielle Martin

Publisher: Alcove Press

Pages: 306

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Welcome to the Starlite. Let your true self shine.

1962. In the middle of Brooklyn Heights sits the Starlite: boutique dress shop by day, underground women's club by night. Started by the shop's proprietor after her marriage crumbled, Madeline's social club soon becomes a safe haven for women from all walks of life looking for a respite from their troubled relationships and professional frustrations. These after-hour soirées soon bring two very different women into Madeline's life--Elaine, a British ex-pat struggling to save her relationship, and Lisa, a young stewardess whose plans for the future are suddenly upended--irrevocably changing all three women's lives in ways no one could have predicted.

But when Madeline's ne'er-do-well ex-husband shows up again, the luster of Starlite quickly dampens. As the sisterhood rallies around Madeline, tension begins to eat at the club. When an unspeakable tragedy befalls their sorority, one woman must decide whether to hide the truth from the group or jeopardize her own hopes and dreams. 

Kritters Thoughts:  In the 1960s, in NYC, women were starting to find independence and tucked in a little out of the way spot, a boutique dress shop becomes a women's club at night and more than a club but a refuge for a menagerie of women.  Following multiple women through this book, the reader gets a glimpse of the life and times of different women as they navigate the changing world of the 1960s.

Often when I read a book that takes place in this time period, I get the sense of women being divided and staying in their homes and not having a social life beyond their families.  To read a book about an underground club and see real authentic women friendships of the time was so fun to read.  I loved that these women lifted each other up and encouraged them to aim high in whatever each of them were trying to achieve and they had this home base that would take care of them through the highs and the lows. 

Without a significant piece of history in this book, I didn't feel as though I learned a whole lot unlike when I read a book that has a significant historical event, but instead in this book, I got to zero in on the women of the time and the things they were experiencing.  This historical fiction book was more about the characters of the time than the events of the time and that was an interesting change from my typical historical fiction reading.  

This was a great debut and I hope for more from this author.    

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

With a a holiday weekend, I jam packed it full of holiday reading!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

The Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate

Starry Night by Debbie Macomber

Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini

Romancing the Holidays by L Austen Johnson

Vacation by Jane Green

Currently Reading:

Home for the Holidays by Sara Richardson

Next on the TBR pile:

The Perfect Love Song by Patti Callahan Henry

Review: Blind Vigil by Matt Coyle

Blind Vigil

by Matt Coyle

Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A friend arrested for murder. A vicious killer lurking in the shadows. A world of darkness.

Blinded by a gunshot wound to the face while working as a private investigator nine months ago, Rick Cahill is now sure of only one thing: he has to start a new life and leave his old one behind.

He’s still trying to figure out what that life is when his onetime partner, Moira MacFarlane, asks for his help on a case she’s taken for Rick’s former best friend. The case is simple and Moira only needs Rick for one interview, but Rick is wary of waking sleeping demons.

Ultimately, he goes against his gut and takes the case which quickly turns deadly. Rick’s old compulsion of finding the truth no matter the cost—the same compulsion that cost him his eyesight and almost his life—battles against his desire to escape his past.

The stakes are raised when Rick’s friend is implicated in murder and needs his help. Can he help the friend he no longer trusts while questioning his own lessened capabilities? His life depends on the answer as a shadowy killer lurks in the darkness.

Kritters Thoughts:  The seventh book in a series where I have only read book six that centers around a private investigator and former police officer, Rick Cahill.  He is living in San Diego and is called in by a friend to help get to the bottom of a mystery behind what he thinks is a cheating significant other.  A murder spins this story on its side and Cahill is determined to find the truth.    

In this series each book's mystery is self contained, so although I am missing some major plot points when it comes to Rick Cahill's personal journey, I was easily able to read book six and now book seven and feel as though I wasn't missing too much as each mystery happens and is solved within each book.  

What made this book so interesting above the typical detective mystery novel was that this character in this book was injured in the previous book in this series and he ended up blind.  Following a main character who is a private investigator while also living with a debilitating injury was just interesting in and of itself, but then to have him continue to do his job and help his friend get to the bottom of a murder was fascinating to follow.  

At some point, I would like to go back to the beginning and read the other books in this series because I have grown to love Rick Cahill as a character and his stubborn pursuit for the truth is enjoyable to read.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 119 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you are spending it with those you love.

Review: Postcards at Christmas by Imogen Clark

Postcards at Christmas by Imogen Clark

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 121

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  After discovering her mother’s secret life, Cara doesn’t have much faith in marriage.

So when the love of her life, Simeon, proposes, she struggles to say ‘I do.’ She adores him, but why risk the perfect relationship by signing on a dotted line that could ruin everything? If her parents’ marriage taught her anything, it was that a gold ring doesn’t equal happiness, and she has no desire to follow in their dysfunctional footsteps.

But maybe there’s a bigger picture after all. When a tragic accident brings yet more truths to the surface, Cara is forced to question everything she believes—and fears—about long-term love. And the answers aren’t obvious…

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series and I would suggest starting at book one because you will lose a lot of character development if you skip ahead to this one.  

Cara is living a great life with Simeon and early in the book he proposes and she hesitates due to her views on marriage.  She likes the life they currently have and is nervous to make any changes.  An extreme accident happens which makes her really rethink everything, so in this book she has some big decisions to make.  

I enjoyed this book more than the first and enjoyed Cara as a character more in this one than the first book.  I appreciated Cara's journey in this book and felt as though she made big changes.  

Although this book was significantly shorter than the first, I think the author made a good decision but limiting the amount of characters in this story and instead the story was told through Cara and her friend Beth, but the story really focused on Cara and the things she was going through in this book.  

The only thing I questioned about this book after completing was the title.  It didn't affect me enjoying the book, but I wish the postcards had been more prevalent than they were, it was snuck in, but I wanted more!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

 Ebook 2020 Challenge: 38 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Postcards From a Stranger by Imogen Clark

Postcards From a Stranger by Imogen Clark

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 348

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  A secret lies buried at the heart of her family—but it can’t stay hidden forever.

When Cara stumbles across a stash of old postcards in the attic, their contents make her question everything she thought she knew.

The story she pieces together is confusing and unsettling, and appears to have been patched over with lies. But who can tell her the truth? With her father sinking into Alzheimer’s and her brother reluctant to help, it seems Cara will never find the answers to her questions. One thing is clear, though: someone knows more than they’re letting on.

Torn between loyalty to her family and dread of what she might find, Cara digs into the early years of her parents’ troubled marriage, hunting down long-lost relatives who might help unravel the mystery. But the picture that begins to emerge is not at all the one she’d expected—because as she soon discovers, lies have a habit of multiplying . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  Cara has lived with her father in the same home her entire life.  She now works from the home making beautiful wedding dresses and is taking care of an ailing father.  With her father battling Alzheimer's she is prompted to find things that could comfort her father and to the attic she goes.  Finding a box that she has never noticed and finds some interesting postcards really starts the story going . . . 

The thing that I loved most in this book was that both Cara and Annie had the opportunity to tell their stories.  Cara was telling her story in the present day while Annie was taking it into the past to tell her story.  It took a moment to find out where the stories overlapped and the minute I found out, I appreciated each storyline even more.  

This book had a typical trope that is used in books like these where the older figure is going through a mental episode that keeps them from explaining something that the younger generation has found with secrets from the past.  I have read so many books where this takes place and I could be burnt out at this moment from these books, but I still love the concept where a young generation finds something and has to go figure out the truth.  

I enjoyed this book, but didn't completely love it.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

 Ebook 2020 Challenge: 37 out of 100

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Glad to be back in the reading groove - thankful for a quiet weekend full of reading!  I am so excited for all the holiday books that I will be reading in the next few weeks!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin

Blind Vigil by Matt Coyle

Home for Christmas by Holly Chamberlin

The Conscious Cleanse Cookbook by Jo Schaalman and Julie Pelaez

Currently Reading:

One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan 

Next on the TBR pile:

Romancing the Holidays by L Austen Johnson

Review: The Rejected Writers' Christmas Wedding by Suzanne Kelman

The Rejected Writers' Christmas Wedding

by Suzanne Kelman 

Publisher: CreateSpace

Pages: 198

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Southlea Bay's favorite sweethearts, Flora and Dan, are getting married and the members of the Rejected Writers' Book Club are excited to help. Especially the group's head honcho, Doris Newberry, who, much to Flora’s frustration, wants to control every detail, attempting to strong-arm Flora into accepting ridiculous wedding vows, wayward bongo players and into wearing a huge, old-fashioned wedding dress. But when a new resident arrives in town with information about Flora's past that threatens her chance of happiness, the overwhelmed bride-to-be disappears overnight. To find her, The Rejected Writers set off on yet another zany road trip adventure, this time to a make-believe Bavarian town. Where they meet lederhosen clad, young men, are entertained by oompah bands, go on wild sleigh rides, and sing in a yodeling competition. But when they eventually find the bride and the bridegroom learns the truth about her, will he still want to marry her or will all the wedding plans be in vain. 

Kritters Thoughts:  The third book in a series with a large cast of characters and for me this was my favorite book of the series.  With the sweetest of plots as one of the characters, Flora is getting married to Dan, a man the group met in the first book on their interesting road trip and these two don't have a smooth ride to the alter, of course not!

Flora is probably my favorite character out of the whole group.  I love everything about her.  She is sweet and kind and just adds a breath of fresh air to this group.  I am not quite a fan of most of the members, so I loved this book that focused on Flora.  As almost always happens in a romance book, Flora has a few things in her past that will resurface in the most interesting of ways and it threatens her road to happily ever after.  The will they/won't they always works in romance books and keeps the reader flipping pages (quickly) to the end.  

My favorite book out of this bunch, but I am glad to see this series end here on a high note.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 96 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Rejected Writers Take the Stage by Suzanne Kelman

Rejected Writers Take the Stage

by Suzanne Kelman

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 288

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After months of playing the lottery and hoping for an uptick in her dog-boarding business, Janet’s friend Annie must face the inevitable: the bank is foreclosing on her family farm. But thanks to the Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Annie doesn’t have to face it alone. With just a few weeks to raise the $20,000 that she and her fifty rescue dogs need to avoid becoming homeless, the writers need a fund-raiser, and fast. Much to Janet’s horror, Doris has another crazy plan.

In a moment of inspiration, their fearless leader declares a solution: a musical extravaganza. No one in the group has ever produced a musical, but Doris will not be deterred—they’ll write it together. And with Flora, who has never sung a note in her life, as the lead and Janet as their reluctant director—along with a hypochondriac costume designer, a pyrotechnics enthusiast, and Janet’s very pregnant daughter pitching in—what could possibly go wrong?

To produce a miracle for Annie, Janet and her friends will work around the clock holding auditions, concocting elaborate costumes, and getting a little too close to blowing themselves up—but will it be enough?

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series with this ladies as they are up to new antics.  One of their own is in a financial mess and they are bound and determined to help her keep her family's home and the rescue dog operation that she has built there.  Doris, the head of the group, has a grand idea to put on a show as a fundraiser in a local theatre that needs some renovation.  They can fix up the building and put on a show and help Annie save her home and her organization.  Of course with these ladies, things don't go smoothly . . .

I liked this book better than the first as I felt it had a great plot and rhythm, but for me I just don't love the characters.  All seem too over the top and almost ridiculous in nature and I just couldn't connect with one of them.  Part of it may be the difference in age, but also could be that there are so many of the ladies and I didn't feel as though you get to know any one of them on a deeper level.  

I will say the thing that made me like this book more was Flora's story.  The ups and downs of her romance were reminiscent of a typical romance story and I enjoyed her journey as she met Dan in the first book and as their relationship progressed through this one.  

I will read and review book three of this series tomorrow.  

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 96 out of 100

Review: The Rejected Writers' Book Club by Suzanne Kelman

The Rejected Writers' Book Club

by Suzanne Kelman 

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 272

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Librarian Janet Johnson is puzzled when she is invited—and practically dragged—to her first meeting of the Rejected Writers’ Book Club. This quirky group of women would much rather celebrate one another’s rejected manuscripts over cups of tea and slices of lemon cake than actually publish a book. But good friends are exactly what Janet needs after moving to the small town of Southlea Bay, Washington. Just as the ladies are about to raise a teacup to their five hundredth rejection letter, they receive bad news that could destroy one member’s reputation—and disband the group forever. To save the club, Janet joins her fellow writers on a wild road trip to San Francisco in search of the local publisher who holds the key to a long-buried secret. As they race to the finish line, they’ll face their fears—landslides, haunted houses, handsome strangers, ungrateful children—and have the time of their lives. 

Kritters Thoughts:  A bunch of ladies have found a common bond as they love to write, but have received all sorts of rejection letters from all sorts of publishers.  They have now found joy in the rejection and have plans when they hit a certain number of letters, but a publisher is threatening to end the joy.  The ladies must go on a road trip to confront this publisher and change their mind!

Janet Johnson is the main character in this book and she recently moved to this small, quiet town in Washington State in hopes to change the rhythm of her life.  She takes a job as the librarian and this job will bring her into the book club and will send her on the craziest of adventures.  What was supposed to be a road trip for just her to visit her newly pregnant daughter ends up being so much more.  

I typically like road trip books for their antics, but for me this one was just ok.  There were a few moments where I thought the ladies got into a little too much and was ready for them to get to their destination and for that to be the story, so I may have rolled my eyes a few times.  I really loved the senes that took place as they get to San Francisco and get to complete their mission.  

I will be reviewing the next two books in this series in the next two days.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 94 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

by Lori Nelson Spielman

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 400

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Since the day Filomena Fontana cast a curse upon her sister more than two hundred years ago, not one second-born Fontana daughter has found lasting love. Some, like second-born Emilia, the happily-single baker at her grandfather’s Brooklyn deli, claim it’s an odd coincidence. Others, like her sexy, desperate-for-love cousin Lucy, insist it’s a true hex. But both are bewildered when their great-aunt calls with an astounding proposition: If they accompany her to her homeland of Italy, Aunt Poppy vows she’ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her eightieth birthday, and break the Fontana Second-Daughter Curse once and for all.

Against the backdrop of wandering Venetian canals, rolling Tuscan fields, and enchanting Amalfi Coast villages, romance blooms, destinies are found, and family secrets are unearthed—secrets that could threaten the family far more than a centuries-old curse.


Kritters Thoughts:  Two stories that perfectly weave in and out, one in current day as Emilia is taking a big trip to Italy with her great-aunt Poppy and her cousin Lucy as they try to reverse a curse on their family that has impacted second daughters for generations and generations.  The other storyline goes back in time to a young Poppy as she is trying to fall in love with the family curse looming over her shoulder.  

I love a story with two storylines and I love when the reader knows from the beginning the link between the two, but doesn't know everything and there are still great details to evolve as the story goes on.  It also helps when the characters are great to follow and I quickly fell in love with all three of the main ladies and couldn't wait to keep reading to see where they would each end up and if they could end this crazy curse that this family has been passing on from daughter to daughter.  

Another "character" in this book was the setting.  Italy is probably my top place that I would love to visit, so the way the author wrote this setting, made me want to visit it even more - probably didn't help reading it during COVID quarantine when travel doesn't seem anywhere in the future.  I felt the romance that could happen in this ancient city and reading this book made me google images so I could "see it for myself." 

This was my second read by Lori Nelson Spielman and I loved this one just the same as the other.  I only have one in her backlist that I want to read soon to complete my read of her work.  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Two weeks worth of reading with a busy weekend last weekend and a busy week!  

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

AOC by Lynda Lopez

From a Paris Balcony by Ella Carey

My Name is Resolute by Nancy Turner

Currently Reading:

The Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

A Timeless Christmas by Alexis Stanton

Next on the TBR pile:

Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin

Review: The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck

The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck

Publisher: Hauck House

Pages: 150

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  December comes to quaint Hearts Bend, Tennessee, with a blanket of white and the glitter of Christmas lights.

For JoJo Castle there is no place like home. Her onetime love of adventure ended when her life in the big city came crashing down. Now that she’s home, she never wants to leave again.

Country music sensation Buck Mathews has charmed the world with his smile and his music. However, news of his mother’s illness brought him home to Hearts Bend for the holiday season.

Working with her cousin Haley in The Wedding Shop, JoJo has no aspirations of love. But when her high school crush returns to town, her buried feelings surface.

Busy with his career, Buck hasn’t had time for family and friends, much less love. Seeing JoJo in The Wedding Shop reminds him there are things more important than his career.

But JoJo and Buck have opposing life goals, and there’s no middle ground. Can love, especially the kind that touches hearts at Christmas, overcome her fears and his quest for greatness?

With the help of a very special wedding dress, there just might a Christmas miracle.

Kritters Thoughts:  A novella in a series that takes place in the small town in Tennessee in a wedding shop that is quaint and cute.  This novella focuses on JoJo Castle who is related to the owner of the bridal shop and has returned to this small town after an incident scared her in the big city.  Buck Mathews has returned home for the holidays to be with his family and take a break from his country music life and he remembers JoJo and wonders if their worlds can fit together now.

With romance books, I typically don't enjoy when they are shortened and crammed into a small space like a novella.  It can feel like instalove and whiplash fast, so I like when the author adds in a troupe that this couple has known each other and this is a remeeting of sorts because it gives history without extra pages.  

I loved the hurdles that JoJo and Buck had to figure out to even see if they could have a future.  Sometimes romance books don't feel close to reality, but for me this one did as this couple had to figure out how their life's ambitions would align before they could even think about starting a relationship.

I like this book, but I would completely suggest reading the books in this series before this one so there is a little context to this story.

Rating:  definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 59 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.