Review: The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck

The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck

Publisher: Zondervan

Pages: 374

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Two women separated by decades. Both set out to help others find their dreams when their own have crumbled.

It’s the early 1930s, but Cora Scott is walking in stride as a career woman after having inherited her great aunt’s wedding shop in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, where brides come from as far away as Birmingham to experience her famed bridal treatment. Meanwhile, Cora is counting down the days until her own true love returns from the river to make her his bride. But days turn into months and months to years. All the while, Birch Good continues to woo Cora and try to show her that while he is solid and dependable, he can sweep her off her feet.

More than eighty years later, former Air Force Captain Haley Morgan has returned home to Heart’s Bend after finishing her commitment to military service. After the devastating death of her best friend, Tammy, and discovering the truth about the man she loved, Haley is searching for her place in life.

When Haley decides to reopen the romantic but abandoned wedding shop where she and Tammy played and dreamed as children, she begins a journey of courage, mystery, and love.

As Cora’s and Haley’s stories intertwine through time in the shadow of the beloved wedding shop, they both discover the power of their own dreams and the magic of everyday love.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two women in two different times and one wedding shop.  The wedding shop was a place for women to get the all important dress they would wear on their wedding day.  A place for women to come together and celebrate each other at a very specific time in their lives - a special building that should and could stand the test of time.    

I liked that it took awhile before the reader finds out the connection between the two stories, other than the obvious one, the wedding shop.  I appreciated that in each storyline there were very different things going on in the wedding shop - the current storyline they are renovating and trying to save it while in the storyline from the past the shop is thriving and serving another generation of women with wedding dresses and other clothing needs.  

I didn't see the connection in book two for this to be deemed a series, but there were connections in this one.  A real estate agent from book two was in this one and Charlotte Rose from the first book makes a large appearance in this one.  I still am not sure if I would really count this as a series, they just didn't have as many connections and obvious shared things from book to book that I would like to see when it comes to a series.  Of course, this didn't alter my reading experience of the books, just something I noticed.

I am intrigued to read and review a novella in the series and see if/how it fits into the situation.

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

Review: The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

Publisher: Zondervan

Pages: 384

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  An old, forgotten chapel holds the key to love and forgiveness.

Retired hall-of-fame football coach Jimmy Westbrook never imagined anything would come of his labor of love—building a wedding chapel for Collette Greer, the woman he fell in love with in 1949. But now a realtor wants the land the chapel sits on, and he sees no reason to hang onto the past.

Photographer Taylor Branson is trying to make a life for herself in New York. Leaving her hometown of Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, she put a lot of things behind her, including her family’s string of failed marriages. When she falls head-over-heels for Jack Gillingham, a top ad man, their whirlwind romance and elopement leave her with doubts. Jack, while genuine in his love for Taylor, can never seem to find the right way to show her he really cares.

When a post-mortem letter from Taylor’s Granny Peg shows up, along with an old photo, she is driven to uncover family secrets and the secret to her own happiness, starting with an assignment to photograph an unknown, obscure wedding chapel back in Heart’s Bend.

Taylor begins a mission to convince Jimmy that the chapel is worth saving—and that forgiveness and healing might happen within the chapel’s walls . . . for both of them.

Kritters Thoughts:  A current storyline and one from the past intersect from the very beginning and center around an old wedding chapel that was built for a specific wedding that never happened and has never been used.  Jimmy Westbrook built this chapel for one bride in mind and when that didn't work out for many reasons it sat empty.  Taylor Branson who has long family connections to the small town where this chapel was built is called back to this small town to photograph the chapel for a magazine and as she is trying to build her portfolio she takes the job while in the midst of her own internal demons are brewing.    

This book had quite the cast of characters and I would suggest making a few notes at the beginning with some family trees and such to help keep them all straight!  Some of the cast is in both the present and past storylines, but there are some that are in just one or the other, so to have some notes could greatly help.  

In books with two storylines I always get nervous starting read them and hoping that I will like each one in their own right.  I did in this book, partly because they were so interconnected from the beginning.  I like when the reader knows very early on who is who and what is what and the reason as to why there would be two timelines.  There were still secrets and things to come out and be resolved, but it wasn't why these two were together in one book.  

It had been awhile from reading the first book in this series to this one and I still wonder what makes this book in a series with the first as there are no characters that overlapped or location, from what I can remember, so I am intrigued, but not a question that has to be answered.  Other than one being about a wedding dress and then about a wedding chapel, I wondered while reading this book why it was the second in a series.  

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

 Ebook 2020 Challenge: 45 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: From a Paris Balcony by Ella Carey

From a Paris Balcony

by Ella Carey 

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 298

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Heartbroken and alone, Boston art curator Sarah West is grieving the recent deaths of her parents and the end of her marriage. Ultrasensible by nature, she’s determined to stay the course to get her life back on track. But fate has something else in mind. While cleaning out her father’s closet, she finds a letter from the famous Parisian courtesan Marthe de Florian, dated 1895. The subject? Sarah’s great-great-aunt Louisa’s death. Legend has it Louisa committed suicide…but this letter implies there’s more to that story.

Determined to learn the truth, Sarah, against her nature, impulsively flies to Paris. There she’s drawn into the world of her flatmate, the brilliant artist Laurent Chartier. As she delves deep into the glittering Belle Époque to unravel the mystery, Sarah finds that her aunt’s story may offer her exactly what she needs to open up to love again.

Following Sarah in the present day and Louisa in the 1890s, this moving novel spans more than a century to tell the stories of two remarkable women.

Kritters Thoughts:  The third in a series that is loosely tied together, so I would suggest starting at book one, but there won't be any spoilers below as each book focuses on a different main character that makes appearances in the previous book.

With two storylines in different two different times, the reader knows from the beginning how they are semi linked, but as the story progresses we get more and more clues and more and more enlightened.  In 2015, Sarah is an art curator who is grieving the loss of both of her parents and a marriage that has come to a close.  She finds a letter that sends her on a chase throughout Europe to figure out the truth of her family.  In 1895, Louisa falls in love with a well known man and must become the quiet wife at a time where she is ready for change for women and wants to be a part of that change.  With mystery and intrigue, Sarah will find out where she came from and maybe that will influence her future. 

As a reader, I appreciated knowing how these two storylines were connected from the beginning.  We knew from the start that Sarah was connected in some way to the story of Louisa from a letter, but to slowly but surely get to the truth of the matter was a fun ride.  

There were times where I felt Sarah's story flipped and flopped between her pursuit for the truth and her pursuit of self and at times it didn't feel organic and almost whiplash.  I wanted more of Sarah and how her personal life really fueled the flame of her journey and how this may change her completely. 

As a lot of series feel complete as a trilogy, I will assume that this book completes the set.  I wouldn't mind following this author through another trilogy where the characters loosely connect and the stories weave in and out of past and present.    

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 117 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  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: Christmas Holiday House by RaeAnne Thayne

Christmas at Holiday House

by Raeanne Thayne 

Publisher: HQN

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  This New Year will bring widowed nurse Abigail Powell a fresh start in a different city. Excited about the chance to create an unforgettable Christmas for her young son in picturesque Silver Bells, Colorado, Abby has been hired to take care of her dear friend’s recuperating grandmother. But sprightly senior Winnie insists she doesn’t need looking after. What she does need is help decorating her historic mansion, Holiday House, for a seasonal town fundraiser. Abby warms to the festive task, but she’ll have to contend with her own personal Grinch: Winnie’s prickly grandson, Ethan Lancaster.

Ethan Lancaster is good at a lot of things. Relationships surely aren’t one of them. His ex-fiancée convinced Ethan he was incapable of love, and he believes her…up until the moment he impulsively kisses Abby. What is it about this vibrant woman and her sweet son that knocks his world off-kilter? He knows they’re leaving town after Christmas. He just didn’t expect they’d be taking a little of his heart with them. But as he and Abby work together on the magical Holiday House through the record cold weather, visions of a different future dance in his head…one filled with warmth, love and a new beginning for them both.

Kritters Thoughts:  Abigail Powell and her five year old son are in the midst of a big move after they have endured the tragic loss of their husband and father.  Before the big move, she takes a detour to help her friend's grandmother, Winnie, who had an injury and needs help making the holidays special for her community.  This could be a healing stop and maybe even may really detour their plans!

This book was one of the highlights of my Christmas reads.  I loved Abigail and Ethan as characters and Abigail's son was the perfect comic relief and brought such light and life to the story.  I loved that there were two love stories in this book and that they each took very different paths.  The author expertly weaved in and out of them and gave each couple their own story and their own time to build.  

Rarely do I reread a book and rarely do I reread a romance, but could this be the one that stays in my annual rotation for each holiday season.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 112 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 Children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie

The Children of Red Peak

by Craig DiLouie 

Publisher: Redhook

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  David Young, Deacon Price, and Beth Harris live with a dark secret. As children, they survived a religious group's horrific last days at the isolated mountain Red Peak. Years later, the trauma of what they experienced never feels far behind.

When a fellow survivor commits suicide, they finally reunite and share their stories. Long-repressed memories surface, defying understanding and belief. Why did their families go down such a dark road? What really happened on that final night?

The answers lie buried at Red Peak. But truth has a price, and escaping a second time may demand the ultimate sacrifice.

Kritters Thoughts:  Five young people survived a horrific day in the middle of nowhere as their parents and the adults around them died in a large religious ritual.  One of the five has committed suicide and as the remaining gather and as the fifteen anniversary is upon them, they reenter each other's lives and they decide they must confront the past in order to all possibly heal and move forward.  

Harkening back to my college days where I minored in Religious Studies, I have always had an interest in the study of religions and religious groups and how they form, how the leader emerges and how the followers find their leader and choose to follow.  Through the flashbacks in this book, I appreciated watching this group form and morph and change as their leader kept receiving "callings."  

Without spoiling too many things, I will agree with the reviews I read after I finished and say that I am very disappointed by the ending.  I didn't want a complete resolution, but I wanted more than the author gave.  I reread a few parts to make sure it wasn't me reading lazy and I just felt as though there was something missing to make the ending feel a bit more like a conclusion.  

After finishing the book, I went and looked into the author and am intrigued to see if something from his backlist could intrigue me to read more by him.  Have you read anything by him?  Where should I go from here?

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 116 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Redhook Books.  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 Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick

The Forgotten Sister

by Nicola Cornick 

Publisher: Graydon House

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  1560: Amy Robsart is trapped in a loveless marriage to Robert Dudley, a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Surrounded by enemies and with nowhere left to turn, Amy hatches a desperate scheme to escape—one with devastating consequences that will echo through the centuries…

Present Day: When Lizzie Kingdom is forced to withdraw from the public eye in a blaze of scandal, it seems her life is over. But she’s about to encounter a young man, Johnny Robsart, whose fate will interlace with hers in the most unexpected of ways. For Johnny is certain that Lizzie is linked to a terrible secret dating back to Tudor times. If Lizzie is brave enough to go in search of the truth, then what she discovers will change the course of their lives forever.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two time frames, 1560 and Amy is in a loveless marriage to a man who may send their lives into a tail spin and set the course for Amy to make some big decisions that could affect generations to come.  In the present day, Lizzie Kingdom is caught in a public scandal and while she wants to hide away, she is forced to confront the scandal and see if she can solve it to clear her name.  

When I read books with two time frames, I tend to like one over the other, but in this one, I liked them equally, but separately.  I didn't find the overlap for a long time and each storyline could have been its own story and I didn't feel as though they honestly affected the other until the bitter end and I wished they had "interacted" earlier.  

For me the one thing that made reading this book so difficult was the duplicating of names from one time frame to the other.  After finishing the book, I understand why it was done, but while reading it made it difficult to remember who was who and taking notes while reading the book was at times distracting from the reading experience.  

I have only read one other Nicola Cornick and there are a few in her backlist that intrigue me, so I may need to find them and make a determination on my thoughts on her catalogue.  Have you read her?  What is your favorite from her?

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 115 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Harlequin.  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: My Only Child by Sam Vickery

My Only Child

by Sam Vickery

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 283

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  There he is, my baby boy. His eyes are closed, his tiny rosebud mouth is pursed in sleep. My eyes well up as I catch a whiff of his newborn skin and I swallow back a wave of emotion. I should feel happy, I should feel grateful, but all I can think about is everything I just lost…

It’s a miracle when Katherine’s baby boy is born healthy. But his twin sister doesn’t survive, and when Katherine is told she can’t have any more children the loss is almost too much for her to bear.

Katherine always saw herself having a big family: she remembers how the loneliness of being an only child used to overwhelm her, and she is desperate to adopt a sibling for her son.

But her husband Davis won’t agree. He worries that Katherine will struggle when the new baby arrives. What if growing their family only adds to the grief she feels over losing her little girl? What if this breaks their marriage apart?

And Katherine is forced to make a choice. Give up the second child she has always dreamed of or risk losing the family she already has?

Kritters Thoughts:  Told through two perspectives, Hazel, a woman who had quite a life story that slowly but surely comes out through the book.  Katherine, her daughter who has just become a mother, but through a rough birth experience, her dreams of a large family are forever altered.  

With two women sharing their stories, this book felt so full and true and relatable.  Although not a mother myself, I appreciated the mother daughter relationship and the push and pull that happens between mothers and daughters from birth into childhood and then eventually into adulthood.  I can relate to how two women have to evolve to be able to go through all of these stages and sometimes it isn't completely successful!  

Although there are secrets to be revealed in this book, I didn't feel as though the author reminded the reader of the things they didn't know constantly!  The secrets were revealed in just the right timing and I enjoyed reading about how the characters reacted when the secrets were divulged to them.  

An opus that focuses on mother daughter and the ups and downs that can happen in a lifetime.  I really liked how Sam Vickery built characters that made me want to know where they would end up, makes me want to read more and dive into more stories by this author.  

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 114 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  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: Perfectly Impossible by Elizabeth Topp

Perfectly Impossible

by Elizabeth Topp 

Publisher: Little A

Pages: 314

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Anna’s job is simple: prevent the unexpected from happening and do everything better than perfectly. An artist at heart, Anna works a day job as a private assistant for Bambi Von Bizmark, a megarich Upper East Side matriarch who’s about to be honored at the illustrious Opera Ball.

Caught between the staid world of great wealth and her unconventional life as an artist, Anna struggles with her true calling. If she’s supposed to be a painter, why is she so much more successful as a personal assistant? When her boyfriend lands a fancy new job, it throws their future as a couple into doubt and intensifies Anna’s identity crisis. All she has to do is ensure everything runs smoothly and hold herself together until the Opera Ball is over. How hard could that be?

Kritters Thoughts:  Anna lives and works in New York City.  Her job is to complete all the tasks from her boss who is one half of a well known couple and they are set to be honored by the big name Opera ball.  With this honor comes a host of things which Anna will be responsible for completing!  

I love a good behind the scenes kind of book and through Anna's eyes you see the inner workings of prominent NYC family and the ups and downs of their business and their marriage.  As my husband can say sometimes - "rich people problems" and there are times where I love that in a book.  

I appreciated that a large part of the book was about her career and also her hope to jump start a side hustle with her art.  I felt as though the book lacked a little with the ins and outs of her relationship.  It didn't feel consistent throughout the book, it came in and out and I would have loved more consistency in seeing the relational side of her life in the book.  

As an executive assistant I can sometimes handle personal things for the person I work with, but nothing to the degree of the character in this book, but there were many times during this book where I could relate in one way or another to the drive to get something done that seems near impossible!  I loved this book, it was a great escape from the current, hard news of the world.  Grab this book and be prepared to soar through the story quickly.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Blankenship PR.  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.

October - the heart of fall

source

October was a great reading month.  A lot of quiet weekends curled up with a dog in my lap and a book in hand.  I am settling into this fall/winter season with a list of books that I hope to read and a happy avoidance of all the things that are happening out in the real world!

1. Return to Virgin River by Robyn Carr

2. The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook by Ashley Craft

3. Home at Summer's End by Alys Murray

4. The House by the Lake by Ella Carey

5. The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson

6. When You Were Mine by Kate Hewitt

7. Rescue You by Elysia Whisler

8. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

9. Female Firebrands by Mikaela Kiner (audiobook)

10. The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

11. Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendeslberger

12. The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck

13. Undaunted by Kara Goldin (audiobook)

14. A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

15. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Steena Holmes

16. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

17. Perfectly Impossible by Elizabeth Topp

18. Miracle Creek Christmas by Krista Lynne Jensen

19. My Only Child by Sam Vickery

20. The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick

21. The Children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 6,715

Where having I been Reading?:

California (2)

Connecticut

Colorado

Virginia

England

Finland (2)

San Francisco, CA

Chile

Minnesota

Upstate NY

New York City, NY

Washington

London

Happy Halloween

source

Although not my favorite holiday, 

I get excited that the holiday season can start now!

Review: The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

The Sun Down Motel

by Simone St James 

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 327

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

Kritters Thoughts:  Two timelines which at times were hard to keep straight, but they went hand in hand.  One in 1982 where Vivian is on her way to NYC and ends up stopping in a small town of Fell, NY and ends up as the night clerk at a motel.  In 2017 her niece Carly goes to this small town to figure out the mystery of her missing aunt and maybe even solve a few other mysteries at the same time.  

For me the hardest part about reading this book was keeping straight the investigation that Vivian ends up doing of the mysteries that had just occurred before she arrived into Fell and the investigation that Carly ends up doing where she concentrates on Vivian's disappearance, but the other missing ladies come into play during the book.  This was one of those books that I took a bit of notes to keep the storylines straight.  

I don't want to spoil some key ingredients to this book, so I will keep this light and brief.  I read a lot of mystery/thrillers, but for me this book almost felt close to the horror side of things.  There was definitely some grit and gore, but more - just don't want to spoil things!

For more than one reason, this book is the perfect read to pick up for a Halloween weekend.  It took place in November in 1982 and I suggest you read it in the fall season for peak enjoyment!  

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 113 out of 100

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: The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck

The Witch Hunter

by Max Seeck 

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A bestselling author’s wife has been found dead in a gorgeous black evening gown, sitting at the head of a formally set dinner table. Her most chilling feature—her face is frozen in a ghastly smile.

At first it seems as though a deranged psychopath is reenacting the gruesome murders from The Witch Hunter, the bestseller written by the victim’s husband. But investigator Jessica Niemi soon realizes she’s not looking for a single killer but rather for dozens of believers in a sinister form of witchcraft.

They know her every move and are always one step ahead. As the bodies start piling up, Jessica knows they won’t stop until they get what they want. And when her dark past comes to light, Jessica finds herself battling her own demons while desperately trying to catch a coven of killers before they claim their next victim. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Roger Kopnen is a famous author and the final book in his trilogy has just been released.  While he is away promoting this book, his wife is found dead in their home and looks similarly to something from one of his books - is he a suspect or is someone trying to frame him?

This was a book that was translated and I am not sure if it was in the translation or in the editing from the book that I received from Netgalley, but I was missing some information that would have put some context to a few of the chapters that went back in the past of one of the investigators - Jessica Niemi.  I wish I had some more info as it would have helped place these in the context of the greater story.

I hate to spoil mystery/thrillers because the ending is pretty vital for the story, but I am not sure I even still know the outcome of all the dead bodies?!  I could have missed something, but this didn't affect my feelings of the book in the end.  No matter the outcome of who dun it, the way that the bodies piled up and the clues that unfolded, I enjoyed the pacing and the way the author put together the mystery in the story.

I think I would try the next in the series when it is available because I would like to see where Jessica as a character ends up.

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

Ebook 2020 Challenge: 107 out of 100

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: 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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A great weekend with a day with beautiful weather and one day full of rain which both warranted some great reading time!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Steena Holmes

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

Perfectly Impossible by Elizabeth Topp

Miracle Creek Christmas by Krista Lynne Jensen

Currently Reading:

AOC by Lynda Lopez (audiobook)

My Only Child by Sam Vickery

Next on the TBR pile:

The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick