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Showing posts from June, 2024

Review: Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

Billie and Cassie were best friends at one point until other people and life came between them. Cassie is an influencer and married with a child, while Billie is single and doesn’t want children. Billie tries to be friends with Cassie, but they don’t have interests in common except for secrets from when they were younger. When Billie takes Cassie’s daughter without Cassie knowing, Cassie panics and desperately searches for her daughter. Billie returns the baby hours later and without harm, but Cassie wants to know who took her baby and presses everyone to find out.Everything eventually comes out and the friendship between Cassie and Billie ends forever. The characters were not likable in this story. Cassie came off as spoiled and superficial and Billie was needy and obsessive. The story dragged throughout and I felt that the plot was flat.  ⭐️.5 rounded up to ⭐️⭐️on Goodreads 

Review: Memory Lane by Becky Wade

Remy rescues a man from drowning in the ocean and nurses him back to health at her home on an island in Maine. The man upends her life for a bit, and she wants him up and out as soon as he is able to leave. The man, who’s name is Jeremiah turns out to be from one of Maine’s wealthiest families and a rich race driver himself. The relationship between Remy and Jeremiah grows from friendship to something more as Remy helps him get memories back and helps him connect to his family. Jeremiah struggles to remember the life he had and when he does remember, he wants some answers to some things that happened and Remy helps him with those things as well. Remy and Jeremiah had good chemistry and some good banter between them. Their romance was built up well and gave room for each character to shine. A well paced story with interesting characters that will hopefully be in the next book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: Anna of Kleeve by Allison Weir

The forth book about the wives of Henry V111 is about the German princess Anna of Kleeve. This is a fictional look about Anna’s life and how she survived the terror of Henry. Anna went to England to be the Queen but her reign was short because Henry did not like her and eventually fell for her maid, Katherine Howard. Anna is set aside and treated as the King’s sister. Throughout the rest of his reign,Anna has to worry her household and mediate between squabbles between servants. She has a secret child with her first love back in Kleeve, and Anna eventually brings her son to her household in England, even though his identity has to be a secret. Anna lives to see her friend Mary become Queen and she passes away in the home she loved. While a fictional telling of Anna’s life, the story was interesting and Anna comes to life through it. The historical details were well done and it is a credit to Anna that she survived Henry. The plot does slow at some points, but it was a good book.  ⭐️⭐️⭐

Review: While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden

Katherine is a dentist in New York in 1913 who is put in danger when a patient gives details of a bomb plot when he is given laughing gas. Katherine takes the is information to Jonathan, a police officer she knows who protects her at night when she gets off work. Jonathan looks into the information and it ties into violent attacks that are threatening the city. Truths are revealed and Katherine and Jonathan navigate their feelings for each other.  The story is fast moving and has interesting historical facts throughout. Jonathan has to confront telling the truth about who he is to Katherine and she has to learn to give grace to him. The romance was good, and the story ended well.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #christianfiction #historicalfiction #fiction 

Review: Here For The Drama by Kate Bromley

Winnie has written a play that she wants her boss, famous playwright Juliette Brassard, to read and give feedback on. When they go to London to help stage one of Juliette’s plays, Winnie has to focus on keeping her boss from annoying the play director too much. On top of that, Winnie has to date men from an online app in order to help Juliette with inspiration for her next play. Then Winnie meets Liam, the attractive nephew of Juliette and sparks fly between them.  The plot dragged in some places and there was unnecessary drama. The romance was good, but sometimes it felt rushed.

Review: Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper

Mae works to clean up celebrity messes and hide what they don’t want others to know. When her boss is gunned down, Mae looks for who did it. Her paths cross with her ex, Chris, who is a former cop and together they investigate something that cost a number of lives already. As they get closer to the truth, powerful forces in the dark underbelly of politics and entertainment try to stop them.  I liked the twist at the end but the rest of the story fell flat to me.  ⭐️⭐️

Review: The Reappearance Of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Bel was only a baby when her mother, Rachel, disappeared and she and her father has lived in the aftermath of that event for years. When a filmmaker decides to do a documentary about Rachel’s disappearance, Bel is less than thrilled to have to participate. The filming brings up difficult memories for Bel and her father, Charlie, who was acquitted of Rachel’s murder but some still harbor suspicions about him. One day Rachel reappears and upends Bels life. Rachel wants to pick up her relationship with Bel, but Bel suspects Rachel is hiding something. When her father disappears, Bel thinks it justifies her suspicions about Rachel, but Bel finds things are not what they seem. Bel finds out what really happened to Rachel and who took her and it changes Bel and her family.  The story had good twists and was paced well. I do think it would have helped to have Rachel’s viewpoint too and not just Bel’s, because I think it would have been better to show it through Rachel instead of her explainin

Review: When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer

Libby has to choose between tow lives in different eras: one is in Williamsburg in 1775 and the other is 1915 New York. In 1775 Libby and her mother run a printing shop and she has a man, Henry that she loves. In 1915 her mother forces her to wed a British aristocrat over Libby’s objections. Her mother in 1775 also had to decide between two time periods and gives advice to her daughter. When something happens that makes Libby choose the life she didn’t want, Libby has to rely on her faith to try to move forward with her life. A unexpected meeting will change Libby’s life for the better and gives her hope for love again. A great twist on the time travel trope, this story moves at a good pace. Well written and very interesting, this story kept me hooked. The characters were well written and the romance between Libby and Henry I liked and was glad it ended the way it did. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #christianfiction #fiction #historicalfiction 

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Luzia has a secret: she can use magic. When her mistress finds out she has Luzia perform for guests,which leads to interest in Luzia from some of her mistresses powerful friends. Luzia will be caught up in a dangerous political gamble and will have to use her magic and the help of a familiar, Guillen Santangel, to survive and evade the Inquisition. She also has to hide the fact she is Jewish and survive trials to test her magic, which is described by her mistress to others as miracles. Feelings between Luzia and Santangel flourish, and they have to deal with that complication as well.  This was a interesting story. I liked the historical setting of Spain in the sixteenth century. I liked Luzia and could feel the tension in her story. It was well written and a good paced story. Content warning: some descriptions of torture, a scene of burning at the stake, abuse, sexual situations, strong language ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Review: All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

This is the story of three women in turn of the century New York. Junietta, her daughter-in-law Sylvia and granddaughter Addy have to navigate through the society of Gilded Age New York City. When Sylvia’s husband suddenly dies, she tries to set up her daughter with a wealthy match so they can save their home from grasping family members. Junietta believes that Addy should have the freedom to choose what she wants to do with her life and that Sylvia should not have Addy marry for wealth. Both women have secrets in their backgrounds and Addy helps them both to find peace with the past. Addy wants to do what her mother wants, but she would like to have the freedom her grandmother wants for her. A very intriguing story and the characters were well written. The faith elements were good and I like the structure of what happened in the narrative. I liked that Sylvia had a love interest and I liked the love interest for Addy. The time period adds to the story and makes it interesting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Shadow Of The Storm (Out Of Egypt #2) by Connilyn Cossette

Shira and her family are Israelites who have left Egypt and following Moses to the Promised Land. Happy that her best friend Kiya is going to marry her brother Eben, Shira wants to help her family. When she helps a midwife deliver a baby, Shira finds out she has a gift for being a midwife. Her mother warns Shira that not all situations will turn out well, but Shira goes ahead and helps with deliveries. When a mother dies Shira feels guilty and takes a break from midwifery and to make it worse the woman who died was the wife of the man she has an attraction to,Ayal. She did not know he was married when Ayal kissed her, and Ayal feels guilty about the kiss he gave her when he was married. There is another woman, Dvorah, who is a midwife who resents Shira and her people and tries to sabotage her relationship with Ayal. Shira takes care of the children of Ayal and they become closer and eventually marry. With God’s help, both Ayal and Shira forgive each other and find peace and happiness.