Review: The Ocean in Winter by Elizabeth de Veer

The Ocean in Winter

by Elizabeth de Veer 

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 400

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The lives of the three Emery sisters were changed forever when Alex, eleven at the time, found their mother drowned in the bathtub of their home. After their mother’s suicide, the girls’ father shut down emotionally, leaving Alex responsible for caring for Colleen, then eight, and little Riley, just four. Now the girls are grown and navigating different directions. Alex, a nurse, has been traveling in India and grieving her struggle to have a child; Colleen is the devoted mother of preteens in denial that her marriage is ending; and Riley has been leading what her sisters imagine to be the dream life of a successful model in New York City. Decades may have passed, but the unresolved trauma of their mother’s death still looms over them creating distance between the sisters.

Then on a March night, a storm rages near the coast of northeastern Massachusetts. Alex sits alone in an old farmhouse she inherited from a stranger. The lights are out because of the storm; then, an unexpected knock at the door. When Alex opens it, her beautiful younger sister stands before her. Riley has long been estranged from their family, prompting Colleen to hire the private investigator from whom they’d been awaiting news. Comforted by her unexpected presence, Alex holds back her nagging questions: How had Riley found her? Wouldn’t the dirt roads have been impassable in the storm? Why did Riley insist on disappearing back into the night?

After her mysterious visitation, Alex and Colleen are determined to reconcile with Riley and to face their painful past, but the closer they come to finding their missing sister, the more they fear they’ll only be left with Riley’s secrets. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Three sisters lives take a drastic turn when the oldest, Alex finds their mother dead in the bathtub and at the age of eleven, eight and four, these girls all react differently from the loss of their mother and while the book takes place in the current day as they are adult women and they are all dealing with different problems in each of their lives.  

One of my favorite things is when an author allows each character to narrate their own chapters and each get the chance to share the story from their point of view - I love how each women talks about the past, but they each share their own struggles.  And I am always here for a story about family.  I love to read books about siblings and their reactions to their childhood and how they can grow up in the same house and have different experiences.  I also love to read about birth order and how that can impact a person as to where they line up in the family and I was making all sorts of conclusions about these sisters!

I am going to keep it vague here because the synopsis does a great job of describing the story without giving away some of the big and small plot points which are best to experience in the story.  

I really enjoyed how the author built this story and the characters and was even more excited to find out after completing that this was a debut novel and have a lot of hope that there is more to come 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.

Review: The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

The Venice Sketchbook

by Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 412

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Caroline Grant is struggling to accept the end of her marriage when she receives an unexpected bequest. Her beloved great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper…Venice. Caroline’s quest: to scatter Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she loved and to unlock the mysteries stored away for more than sixty years.

It’s 1938 when art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in romantic Venice. For her students, it’s a wealth of history, art, and beauty. For Juliet, it’s poignant memories and a chance to reconnect with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves whose future is already determined by his noble family. However star-crossed, nothing can come between them. Until the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever.

Key by key, Lettie’s life of impossible love, loss, and courage unfolds. It’s one that Caroline can now make right again as her own journey of self-discovery begins.

Kritters Thoughts:  Caroline Grant is dealing with the end of her marriage and the recent death of her great-aunt and with that death she inherited some interesting items - a sketchbook, some keys and a final request.  She heads to Venice to figure it all out.  In the same book, in a different time period, 1938, Juliet Browning is in Venice and a chance encounter changes her life forever.  

I loved how the reader knows the connection of the stories early on, but there are still things to figure out throughout the book.  The clues are provided at just the right time and they kept the book moving along.  When books have dual timelines, I always tend to like one over the other and with this one I loved them both equally.  I fell in love with all of the characters.  And then there was the character of the city of Venice.  It felt like something of its own that affected the plot and I could just picture it all and maybe even inquired about a trip to Venice - hopefully in the near future!

I love Rhys Bowen.  Great characters and plot and a fun historical story that takes you away from life and reality for just a moment!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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.

Review: An Invincible Summer by Mariah Stewart

An Invincible Summer

by Mariah Stewart

Publisher: Montlake

Pages: 373

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It was a lifetime ago that recently widowed Maggie Flynn was in Wyndham Beach. Now, on the occasion of her fortieth high school reunion, she returns to her hometown on the Massachusetts coast, picking up right where she left off with dear friends Lydia and Emma. But seeing Brett Crawford again stirs other emotions. Once, they were the town’s golden couple destined for one another. He shared Maggie’s dreams—and eventually, a shattering secret that drove them apart.

Buying her old family home and resettling in Wyndham Beach means a chance to start over for Maggie and her two daughters, but it also means facing her rekindled feelings for her first love and finally confronting—and embracing—the past in ways she never thought possible. Maggie won’t be alone. With her family and friends around her, she can weather this stormy turning point in her life and open her heart to the future. As for that dream shared and lost years ago? If Maggie can forgive herself, it still might come true.

Kritters Thoughts:  Maggie Flynn is a widow and isn't feeling at home in the city where her and her late husband made a home, with a reunion that takes her back to her hometown, she wonders if a move would "move" her into her next phase of life.  At the same time, her friends and her two daughters are going through drama of their own and the author gives them "screen time" to share with the readers their own struggles. 

For me this book had to live up to my current love of Mariah Stewart.  I have read a few books of hers and flew through them, so the pacing of this book was disappointing as at some moments it just meandered on.  It felt as though there were times where extra detail was given that could have been omitted and the need for action made it hard for me to concentrate on the story.    

The characters kept me reading this book.  I loved that the author not only concentrated on Maggie Flynn, but her friends and daughters.  There were moments when I was enjoying one daughter or the other better than Maggie's own story, but throughout the book, I loved the character development and interactions and was connected to them throughout the book.  

Before reading this book, I was a Mariah Stewart fan and although this book didn't live up to my love for her other books, I will definitely continue to read in her hopes of finding that initial spark!

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

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 42 out of 100

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.

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.

Review: Autumn Skies by Denise Hunter

Autumn Skies

by Denise Hunter

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  When a mysterious man turns up at Grace’s family-run inn, it’s instant attraction. But she’s already got a lot on her plate: running the Bluebell Inn, getting Blue Ridge Outfitters off the ground, and coping with a childhood event she’d thought was long past.

A gunshot wound has resurrected the past for secret service agent Wyatt Jennings, and a mandatory leave of absence lands him in Bluebell, North Carolina. There he must try and come to grips with the crisis that altered his life forever.

Grace needs experience for her new outfitters business, so when Wyatt needs a mountain guide, she’s more than happy to step up to the plate. As their journey progresses, Grace soon has an elusive Wyatt opening up, and Wyatt is unwittingly drawn to Grace’s fresh outlook and sense of humor.

There’s no doubt the two have formed a special bond, but will Wyatt’s secrets bring Grace’s world crashing down? Or will those secrets end up healing them both?

Kritters Thoughts:  The third in a series where I recommend starting at the beginning and read each book in a row.  

Three siblings have finished the renovations of an inn in their hometown after their parents passed away quickly and tragically.  Now running the inn, they have had a timeline as to when they would all move on to the next phases of their lives and it is coming up soon.  

The youngest sibling, Grace, was still in school when they lost her parents, but now she is 21 and operating her own business out of the inn and is ready to be a full fledged adult out of the watching eye of her siblings.  

Wyatt has moved to the small town to return to the scene of a crime and to confront the past in hopes that he can move into his future and the next phase of his career.    

As in most romance books the ending is inevitable, but the journey is the story.  I always appreciate a romance that throws in a twist and although I may have known it a little far ahead, it still made me gasp and I wanted to keep reading to find out how the characters would respond to the revelations.  

I loved this trilogy and hope to see many more to come from Denise Hunter.

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.

Review: Remember Me by Mario Escobar

Remember Me

by Mario Escobar 

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 384

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Historians refer to the Spanish Civil War as one of the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century. In 1937, at Mexico’s request and offer, nearly 500 children from Spain—remembered as Los Niños de Morelia—were relocated via ship to Mexico to escape the war’s violence. These children traveled across the sea without their families and were expected to return at the war’s end. No one could have foreseen another world war was on the way—or that that Franco’s regime would prevent the children from coming home. These enduring conflicts trapped the children in a country far from their homeland, and many never made it back.

Kritters Thoughts: My second encounter with Mario Escobar and this one was just as good as the first!  Focusing on the Spanish Civil War and the many communities that the fighting affected through three children as they have to flee their home country in order to find safety while their parents remind behind to fight the war.  A combination of a "road trip" story as the children are moving from one place to another and a historical fiction with a real focus on time and place and the feelings that time has on its survivors.  

I love a book about war that is focusing on children as not all books can take that viewpoint.  Marco Alcalade is a young boy that was given a large responsibility to take care of his two younger sisters as they flee Spain to Mexico in hopes of a safe place to escape their hometown in the middle of war.  I often while reading had to remind myself of Marco's age and his sister's ages as there were times where he was maybe presented a little bit older than he really was.  I know that Marco had to man up for this adventure, but there were just a few times where I wish the young adult in him could have come out more.    

For me, one of the things I really loved was reading a book set partly in Spain and listening to places that I visited be described.  I could really visualize some parts of this book and for me that makes the book come even more alive.  

There is one more book by Mario Escobar that I haven't read that has been translated and after reading this one, I may have to read it soon to say I am all caught up on his English work.  I love his plot, characters, time and place.  

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.

Review: Fragments of Light by Michele Phoenix

Fragments of Light

by Michele Phoenix 

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Cancer stole everything from Ceelie—her peace of mind, her self-image, perhaps even her twenty-three-year marriage to her college sweetheart, Nate. Without the support of Darlene, her quirky elderly friend, she may not have been able to endure so much loss.

So when Darlene’s prognosis turns dire, Ceelie can’t refuse her seemingly impossible request—to find a WWII paratrooper named Cal, the father who disappeared when Darlene was an infant, leaving a lifetime of desolation in his wake.

The search that begins in the farmlands of Missouri eventually leads Ceelie to a small town in Normandy, where she uncovers the harrowing tale of the hero who dropped off-target into occupied France.

Alternating between Cal’s D-Day rescue by two young French sisters and Ceelie’s present-day journey through trial and heartbreak, Fragments of Light poses a timeless question: When life becomes unbearable, will you press toward the light or let the darkness win?

Kritters Thoughts:  Ceelie has just battled cancer and while cancer brought someone into her life, a new friend Darlene, it also broke her marriage into pieces.  While her marriage is crumbling, Darlene asks Ceelie for a very large favor to help her find the father that abandoned her and help her find peace before she dies.  Will this mission also help her marriage.  Interspersed throughout this story are chapters that take place back at the tail end of World War II around D-Day.  These chapters help give the back story to Darlene's father, but also leave the reader hanging in the best way possible.

I love a story that has a current storyline and a past in the same book.  I love when those stories connect, but when it takes a moment to find out how they really connect.  It was obvious that this storyline would be the connection to Darlene's father, but I was glad that it took some digging to find out all of the details.

Currently, I am avoiding books with bad marriages and cheating spouses, just not loving those books right now, so I was sad to read all the things that happened in this relationship and almost naively ignored that plot point of this book! 

I liked the writing and the characters in this book.  I would just avoid one of the plot points in the story.  I would read another by this author and may read one real soon!

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.

Review: The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal

The Lost Girls of Devon

by Barbara O'Neal

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 352

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  It’s been years since Zoe Fairchild has been to the small Devon village of her birth, but the wounds she suffered there still ache. When she learns that her old friend and grandmother’s caretaker has gone missing, Zoe and her fifteen-year-old daughter return to England to help.

Zoe dreads seeing her estranged mother, who left when Zoe was seven to travel the world. As the four generations of women reunite, the emotional pain of the past is awakened. And to complicate matters further, Zoe must also confront the ex-boyfriend she betrayed many years before.

Anxieties spike when tragedy befalls another woman in the village. As the mystery turns more sinister, new grief melds with old betrayal. Now the four Fairchild women will be tested in ways they couldn’t imagine as they contend with dangers within and without, desperate to heal themselves and their relationships with each other.

Kritters Thoughts:  Do you know those books where the main character left home for one reason or another and has avoided going home for one reason or another and they are pushed to go home and must confront something - this is one of those books and I love this premise and will always!  

Zoe Fairchild left a small English town a long time ago and never returned for a few reasons.  When her friend has gone missing she returns to help with the search and must really reflect on the past in order to move into the future.  

With four generations of women in one book and all taking turns to narrate, I highly suggest a sticky note with a small family tree to help keep all the ladies straight.  Zoe is basically the main character, but her mother, grandmother and daughter each have their own stories and own things going on that make this book feel like a full story.

When describing this book to a few people I used these words - "This book is a mystery tied into a women's fiction book."  Although at times I felt as though the mystery wasn't completely realized, it did fit nicely into the larger story of a woman confronting the things she needed to confront about her past.  

I was surprised to realize when I finished this book that I have a lot of Barbara O'Neal's books on my want to read list on goodreads, but haven't read one.  I will have to fix this and read more soon.

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

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.

Review: The Summer House by Lauren Denton

The Summer House

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Sometimes it takes losing everything to find yourself again.

Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated, but a flyer at the grocery store for a hair stylist position in a local retirement community provides a refuge while she contemplates her next steps.

Rose Carrigan built the small retirement village of Safe Harbor years ago—just before her husband ran off with his assistant. Now she runs a tight ship, making sure the residents follow her strict rules. Rose keeps everyone at arm’s length, including her own family. But when Lily shows up asking for a job and a place to live, Rose’s cold exterior begins to thaw.

Lily and Rose form an unlikely friendship, and Lily’s salon soon becomes the place where residents share town gossip, as well as a few secrets. Lily soon finds herself drawn to Rose’s nephew, Rawlins—a single dad and shrimper who’s had some practice at starting over—and one of the residents may be carrying a torch for Rose as well.

Neither Lily nor Rose is where she expected to be, but the summer makes them both wonder if there’s more to life and love than what they’ve experienced so far. The Summer House weaves Lauren K. Denton’s inviting Southern charm around a woman’s journey to find herself.

Kritters Thoughts:  Lily finds herself in a small town in Alabama and has given up everything to follow her husband for his job.  When in the first few pages he leaves her in the worst way (no spoilers!) and she must make some big life decisions and fast.  Rose has lived the majority of her adult life in a community built for retired living and she has been running it without being a part of the community and just maybe she should drop her rough exterior and be a part of a community!

I was hesitant at first to pick up and read this one as I am consciously avoiding books with cheating and divorce and that sort of life things as I am just not enjoying those plotlines right now.  But because I was already a fan of Lauren Denton I wanted to give this one a chance and I am glad I did as the cheating and divorce are really only encapsulated in the first few pages and the rest of the book focuses on Lily's life and a coming of age for a character who may be a little older than your typical coming of age!  I also loved the addition of Rose and her storyline as it added just a little something extra to the whole book.  

This book solidifies my love of Lauren Denton.  If she can take a subject that I tend to avoid and write a story that I can fall in love with with characters that are jut delightful to follow, then I am a fan!

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

 Ebook 2020 Challenge: 52 out of 100

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.

Review: Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter

 Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter 

Publisher: Thomas Nelson 

Pages: 320

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Rising Hollywood star Mia Emerson is looking for a safe place to land in the wake of a public breakup and scandal, and she finds it in the lake town of Bluebell, North Carolina—the location of her canceled honeymoon. She wants nothing more than to hide and wait for the tabloids to die down.

Soon after her arrival at the Bluebell Inn, Mia meets Levi Bennett, who runs the inn along with his two younger sisters. Drawn to one another from the start, Mia trusts Levi to keep her location from the press, and Levi confides in Mia about the financial state of the inn—a secret he’s been keeping from his sisters.

When Mia and Levi discover an old journal that hints at a rare diamond necklace hidden in the inn, they set off on a treasure hunt to find the long-lost heirloom. What they don’t expect to surface are feelings they thought were safely locked away. Mia and Levi must decide if falling in love again is too big a risk—or if it will uncover a treasure of its own instead.

Kritters Thoughts: The second in a series and although this book centers around a different sibling, I would completely suggest starting at book one.  This book focuses on the older brother Levi and an up and coming Hollywood star Mia Emerson.  Levi came home to help his sisters renovate their home into an inn and is contemplating returning to Colorado and the life he had before the tragedy and in walks Mia.  Mia is escaping some drama that she got wrapped into in California and needs a quiet place to regroup.

As in the first book, this is a romance story with a great plot.  As this is by a Christian fiction author, the romance story lacks the sexy times scenes that you can see in most romance books.  I like this because then the author can't lean on a sexy scene to move the plot forward, instead there is plot and creative scenes where the characters interact and woo and flirt!  Also as in the first book, this one has secrets that when revealed could possibly cause drama and I enjoyed reading to see how the characters were going to react and if they could overcome the situation.

There will be a bit before the third in this series releases and I can finish the trilogy and am assuming that this third book will focus on the youngest sibling, Grace and her story as she is now a high school graduate and must make some big life choices!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

 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.

Review: The Ingredients of You and Me by Nina Bocci

The Ingredients of You and Me

by Nina Bocci

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pages: 304

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After selling her famous bakery back in New York, Parker Adams visits Hope Lake, Pennsylvania, to figure out her next steps. And soon she’s wondering why she ever loved city life in the first place. Between the Golden Girls—the senior women who hold court—and Nick Arthur, her equally infuriating and charming former flame, Parker finds a community eager to help her get her mojo back.

But even though Hope Lake gives her the fresh start she’s been looking for, Parker discovers that it’s not so easy to start over again with Nick. Their chemistry is undeniable, but since Nick is a freshly taken man, Parker is determined to keep things platonic. With a recipe for disaster looming, Parker must cook up a new scheme, figuring out how to keep everything she’s come to love before she loses it all.

Kritters Thoughts:  The third in a series where I highly suggest you start at the beginning as each book builds on another.  In each book there are different main characters, but they show up in each other's books and they all take place in a small town.  

This book centers around Parker Adams who has just recently sold her bakery to a large company and isn't sure what she wants to do next.  She ends up in the small town that her best friend has just moved to and Charlotte is establishing herself as a florist and Parker decides its a good place to land for the time being.  Nick Arthur is a part of a friend group that has been together forever and to bring a girl into this group could be close to impossible, so Nick hasn't dated a ton, could Parker be the one to be his love and fit in the group.  

I have LOVED this series.  They are great storylines in a small town with minimal sexy times.  Each book has a great plot which I love even though its a romance and you know where the story will end, these journeys are so worth the read.  

I hope this series continues, I enjoy each one of the books in their own unique way.  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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.

Review: The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski

The Socialite

by J'nell Ciesielski

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 368

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  As the daughter of Sir Alfred Whitford, Kat has a certain set of responsibilities. But chasing her wayward sister, Ellie, to Nazi-occupied Paris was never supposed to be one of them. Now accustomed to the luxurious lifestyle that her Nazi boyfriend provides, Ellie has no intention of going back to the shackled life their parents dictate for them—but Kat will stop at nothing to bring her sister home.

Arrested for simply trying to defend himself against a drunken bully, Barrett Anderson is given the option of going to jail or serving out his sentence by training Resistance fighters in Paris. A bar owner serves as the perfect disguise to entertain Nazis at night while training fighters right below their jackboots during the day. Being assigned to watch over two English debutantes is the last thing he needs, but a payout from their father is too tempting to resist. Can Barrett and Kat trust each other long enough to survive, or will their hearts prove more traitorous than the dangers waiting around the corner?


Kritters Thoughts:  Another World War II historical fiction, but this one felt unique and different.  Two sisters are in Paris, France and one has become quite close to a Nazi general and the other is trying to get her sister out and return to the safety of their family home.  With secrets galore this story is about love and family in a time that isn't easy for France and the world.  

I have read many a book set both in this time and this place, but this one felt so different from the crowd.  Through the eyes of the privileged, but they interact with all sorts of people in the book.  This sounds weird to say, but I loved reading of their interactions with Hitler and his wife.  The dinner at his home and their conversations were so interesting.  I don't know that I have ever read a historical fiction book that had him included in the story.  I believe it was right for the author to include him since her lover would obviously have interacted with him and I am thankful that the author gave us the reader that inside glimpse.  

The story was a great combination of women's fiction with a good mystery inside.  The pacing was so great, I just kept reading and reading.  It had the feel of a great heist at the end and I loved that part.  

This was my first read from J'nell Ciesielski and I will have to check out her backlist to read another one or more.


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 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.

Review: One Little Lie by Colleen Coble

One Little Lie

by Colleen Coble

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth. 

When Jane Hardy is appointed interim sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama, after her father retires, there's no time for an adjustment period. He is arrested for theft and then implicated in a recent murder, and Jane quickly realizes she's facing someone out to destroy her father.

They escaped from a cult fifteen years ago, and Jane has searched relentlessly for her mother—who refused to leave—ever since. Could someone from that horrible past have found them?

Reid Bechtol is a well-known journalist who makes documentaries, and his sights are currently set on covering Jane's career. Jane has little interest in the attention, but the committee who appointed her loves the idea of the publicity.

Jane finds herself depending on Reid's calm manner as he follows her around taping his documentary, and they begin working together to clear her father. But Reid has his own secrets from the past, and the gulf between them may be impossible to cross.

It started with one little lie. But Jane Hardy will do everything in her power to uncover the truth.


Kritters Thoughts:  Before reading this book I was already a Colleen Coble fan, so I went into this book with some expectations and she lived up to them!  

Jane Hardy is the interim sheriff for a small town in Alabama when her father retires.  She is thrown into the life of a sheriff and almost immediately she has some crazy cases that hit her desk and one of her detectives believes her father to be at fault and wants to pursue him heavily and she must stay impartial while being a daughter and the sheriff.  

I loved Jane Hardy as a character.  I could tell that this was the first in the series as this book was setting the ground work with the characters for the following books to come.  A lot of the book was character development with the cases taking a back seat to their development.  I didn't hate this fact, just felt a little different from the typical mystery thriller books with such a focus on the main characters.  

Just to warn anyone before they pick this one up, Colleen Coble is a Christian fiction author and some books there are minimal references to her faith, not so in this one, so if you try to avoid books with religious references, you may need to avoid this one.  The plot and everything is so good, so I would still recommend this one, just with the one caveat.  


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.