Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford

Before the Internet and cell phones.

Before women were seen as being more than secretar​ies​.

RADIO GIRLS takes us back to the ​era of the ​wireless ​radio ​and the BBC.​  Loved the history.​​  Loved learning about the development of radio, the shows, and hearing that some listeners were afraid of the wireless.​

The time period is authentically portrayed​, and Hilda Matheson, a real historical figure, is ​one of the main characters.  Hilda Matheson was The Director of Talks at the BBC and always had very interesting people on her show.

Maisie was ​another main character and also ​a terrific character.  I enjoyed ​h​er spunk and how she ​carried out her harried​, but enjoyable​ job every day​. 

​RADIO GIRLS was a pleasant, educational read.​  The cover is quite charming and drew me in immediately.

Anyone who enjoys the era between WWI and WWII and sharing the lives of women and their fashionable clothing and lifestyles will thoroughly enjoy RADIO GIRLS.  All the glitz and glamour of the era shines through as you learn the history of the BBC.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Since She Went Away by David Bell

Jenna lives with worry and heartache since she feels responsible for the disappearance of her friend, Celia.

They were to meet, but Jenna was delayed as usual, and when Jenna did arrive at their arranged meeting place, Celia wasn't there and was no where to be found.  Three months later, she was still missing.

​Secrets and clues kept popping up, but led to dead ends for the most part.  Besides Jenna being completely involved in the first disappearance, her son had a girlfriend who then disappears and might have a connection.​  What the connection may have been or if there really was one added intrigue.

SINCE SHE WENT AWAY is the first book I have read by Mr. Bell.  His writing easily flows and pulls you along.  The characters  could easily be going through some of the problems they are encountering in real life.​​  Social issues were addressed as well as the problem of “who done it” and “where are they.”

SINCE SHE WENT AWAY​ was a tense read with characters that were believable as well as shady and scary.  It was difficult to decide who you could trust and whose story to believe.

The ending had a good twist with hints that led me down the wrong path as I read.

ENJOY if you read SINCE SHE WENT AWAY.  It is a well-written page turner that has you finishing the book before you know it.  5/5

​I received this book free of charge and without compensation from the publisher in return for an honest review.​

A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Falling in love with a younger man while you are still married and then having a younger woman come along wasn't the best thing to happen to Mrs. Theresa Marshall.

A CERTAIN AGE began with an excerpt from a murder trial then moved to alternating chapters and told of the life of high society and how they adapted social protocol to whatever they wanted.

We follow Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Marshall, Captain Rofrano, and Miss Fortescue in the scandalous antics they were all involved in. Decisions had to be made and​​ Sophie Fortescue had the most difficult decision, even though her father was the one that would be making the decision about who she was to marry.

Ms. Williams again perfectly portrays the time period and how women in wealthy families really didn't have a choice about choosing their spouse. After the marriage proposal was made, an investigation into the Fortescue family adds another layer to the book. The Fortescues are not who they say they are, and a house that Mr. Rofrano grew up in was part of their secret.

Once the secret was revealed and Sophie Fortescue was more outspoken, the book heated up with an ending that was oh so good with an unexpected twist.  

I enjoyed the characters, but Mrs. Marshall and Mr. Fortescue were my least favorites.  Mr. Fortescue was too controlling, and Mrs. Marshall was too sneaky for me.

A CERTAIN AGE was beautifully written as all of Ms. Williams’ books even though it took me a while to get connected, but it was still enjoyable.

The book's cover is stunning, and the book is patterned after an opera titled Der Rosenkavalie.  

ENJOY if you read A CERTAIN AGE.  4/5 

Love Summer...Love My Basil

My basil is nice and dense, and the leaves are getting big.  I have some growing along the side of the house and two planters full.

I can't have a proper garden because the deer eat everything.  Thankfully they don't like basil, but I still keep it close to the house.  :)

I snipped some basil off today so they grow larger and fuller.

I wash it, dry it on a paper towel, and then freeze it unless I am making something that day.

I found out the secret to my homemade sauce is the basil. I always thought it was garlic, but basil is the key.  Of course I use garlic too.

Oh....I also ONLY use Dei Fratelli Crushed tomatoes...nice and thick.

We have a lot of good cooks out there as well as readers...what do you think the secret to delicious sauce is?  :)

The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

 

 

Neely is back, and her bakeshop is a pleasant, delicious, heartwarming way to spend an evening of reading.

The smells, the visuals of the baked goods, and the taste of everything Ms. Fertig describes makes your mouth water.

THE MEMORY OF LEMON begins with a difficult bride who can't decide on her wedding cake flavor and venue.  Neely just can't "taste" her personality and choose the perfect flavor for the bride. There is something familiar for Neely about the venue the bride chooses, but she can't place it.

THE MEMORY OF LEMON has familiar characters and brings the warmth of the characters back as we share Neely's life as a baker who knows what flavor cake and icing you are, as a woman getting a divorce, as a woman who is in charge of carrying for her grandmother, as a woman whose father wants to reconnect after 20 years, and as a woman who wants to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart.

I enjoyed reconnecting with the characters. The book can be read as a stand alone, though.

THE MEMORY OF LEMON is another sweet read but also a read that has some not-so-sweet aspects for Neely.

ENJOY when you read THE MEMORY OF LEMON.  

My not-perfect rating is because the flashbacks were a bit confusing.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Giveaway and Spotlight of The Reporter's Story by Joyce Strand

All Information In This Post is Courtesy Of The Author And The Publisher.

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About The Reporter’s Story

A house burglary in 1912 San Francisco that the victim denies happening piques Emma Matheson’s reporter instincts. Why would a not-so-wealthy businessman deny that recovered loot was his and forego collecting his $8,000 worth of stolen jewelry? Why did he fire his maid and butler who originally reported the theft? The more she pursues the burglary that wasn’t a burglary, the more she sees it as a major story, involving murder, intrigue, and smuggling. Can she solve it and write the story that could project her to become the world-famous reporter she so covets? Or will she become one of its victims?

Additional info about Emma:  Emma Matheson is a young woman determined to be a star front-page reporter despite the bias against women in her day.Her mother died when she was born. She was reared by her father who runs a newspaper in Sacramento. She grew up learning about the newspaper business. Her father valued education and insisted she attend university before starting her career. She is bright, determined, a great writer — but a bit naive.

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About Joyce Strand:

Long version:

Joyce T. Strand is the author of who-done-it contemporary and historical mysteries set in California. All of her published six novels are inspired by actual events and/or real people, although they are definitely fictionalized.

Her first three contemporary mysteries feature protagonist Jillian Hillcrest, a public relations executive who encounters murder and mayhem at her Silicon Valley company. Jillian’s boss, Brynn Bancroft, solves the next two mysteries when she leaves her position as Chief Financial Officer to run a winery in Sonoma.
  

In Strand’s first historical mystery, a Superior Court Judge strives to discover the truth behind the mystery of a robbery-murder in a small California town in 1939. In her newest mystery, THE REPORTER’S STORY, a house burglary in 1912 San Francisco piques a young reporter’s instincts that leads to intrigue and murder.

Strand headed corporate communications at several biotech and high-tech companies in California's Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. Unlike Jillian, however, she did not encounter murder in her career. Strand lives with her two cats and collection of cow statuary in Southern California, and enjoys exploring and writing about the growing wine region in the Ramona Valley near San Diego.

Short version:

Joyce T. Strand is the author of who-done-it contemporary and historical mysteries set in California. All of her published six novels are inspired by actual events and/or real people, although they are definitely fictionalized.

Strand headed corporate communications at several biotech and high-tech companies in California's Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. Unlike her protagonist Jillian Hillcrest, however, she did not encounter murder in her career. Strand lives with her two cats and collection of cow statuary in Southern California, and enjoys exploring and writing about the growing wine region in the Ramona Valley near San Diego.

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Social Links:

Webpage       

Blog            

Facebook       

Goodreads    

Twitter:  @joycetstrand      

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Where to Purchase: 

Following are the links on Amazon for the pre-order of THE REPORTER'S STORY.  They don't have them linked together yet, but eventually will happen. 

Kindle

Paperback

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Giveaway:

 1^st Prize: Kindle Fire 7” WiFi 8GB Black plus e-book or paperback copy of The Reporters Story

2^nd Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card and ebook or paperback copy of The Reporters Story

3^rd Prize: ebook or paperback copy of The Reporters Story

ENTER HERE.

The author will be choosing the winner not me. :)

Nice Prizes - Good Luck!!

Liar, Liar by M. J. Arlidge

Four separate, deadly fires all within two days' time​.  Was it one person or was it a team?  The police department was baffled.

Each fire was planned and carefully calculated with deaths occurring in three​ of the four fires and the horrible terror that accompanies the thoughts of how each person died​.

The arsonist was elusive and clever,​ and the police force ​wasn't able to apprehend who did it or find similarities when it came to who and why that specific house was chosen as the target​.  Helen Grace, top police woman, ​was always top-notch at her job, but nothing good was happening with this case.

LIAR, LIAR is the first book I have read by M. J. Arlidge and ​I ​enjoyed the brief chapters, the characters, and the tension that built as the book continued.  ​M. J. Arlidge skillfully worded each sentence and situation and made the fear​ and frustration​ caused by the fires very real​.​
            ​ ​
LIAR, LIAR was ​an anxious, edgy, non-stop read simply because of the frightening subject​.  ​Every time I thought I knew who the arsonist was, I was wrong.​

Reading LIAR, LIAR would be best during the day​light hours.  The ending is outstanding, and quite a surprise.   

You will also find out the meaning of the title which had me puzzled until the end.  

ENJOY!!  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Spotlight of The Good Divide by Kali VanBaale

Announcing The Good Divide, a new novel from Kali VanBaale, American Book Award Winning Author

This book sounds VERY good.  I hope you enjoy the spotlight and get to read the book. 

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**ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER.**

Kali VanBaale’s second novel, The Good Divide, forthcoming from MG Press in June 2016, is the story of Wisconsin farm wife Jean Krenshaw, forced to confront a ten-year- old family secret when her brother-in-law Tommy, who lives next door, marries leery newcomer Liz. 

PRAISE:

Advance praise and reviews have already been pouring in: “This is the novel I was waiting to read.”
—Laura Kasischke, The Life Before Her Eyes 

“The Good Divide surprises with the depth of...heartache, the intensity of the torments and jealousies that its characters succumb to, or survive.”
—Caitlin Horrocks, author of This is Not Your City 

“VanBaale serves up romance, deception, and a final, surprising retribution. The backdrop is a Wisconsin dairy farm, but the subject is the wounded recesses of the human heart.”
—Pamela Carter Joern, author of In the Reach and The Floor of the Sky 

“With gentle echoes of Richard Yates and Sherwood Anderson, The Good Divide...conveys the chaos and complications of domesticity—[it] is sure to make your heart simultaneously swell and splinter.”
—Mathieu Cailler, author of Loss Angeles 

“VanBaale masterfully captures that crazy mystical spirit of farm folklore. Dark and delicious reading for those of us who love best the characters who’ve earned their baggage.”
—Jennifer Wilson, author of Running Away to Home

DESCRIPTION:

In the lush countryside of Wisconsin, Jean Krenshaw is the ideal 1960’s dairy farm wife. She cooks, sews, raises children, and plans an annual July 4th party for friends and neighbors. But when her brother-in-law Tommy, who lives next door, marries leery newcomer Liz, Jean is forced to confront a ten-year-old family secret involving the unresolved death of a young woman.

With stark and swift prose, The Good Divide explores one woman’s tortured inner world, and the painful choices that have divided her life, both past and present, forever. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kali VanBaale’s debut novel, The Space Between earned an American Book Award, the Independent Publisher’s silver medal for general fiction, and the Fred Bonnie Memorial First Novel Award. She is also the recipient of a State of Iowa Arts Council major project artist grant. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Milo Review, Northwind Literary, The Writer and several anthologies. 

Kali earned an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has been an assistant professor and Visiting Writer at Drake University. She lives outside Des Moines with her husband and three children. 

WHERE TO BUY:

List price: $15 Print / $4.99 eBook Release Date: June, 2014
The Good Divide can be reserved for $1 preorder at 20% off the list price.  

Distribution
Ingram, Amazon, Lulu, iBooks, Kindle Books, Nook Books.
All purchasing information and links can be found at http://midwestgothic.com/2015/01/the-good-divide-by-kali-vanbaale/

Giveaway and Spotlight of Dying To Be Beautiful Mystery Series by M. Glenda Rosen

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

M. Glenda Rosen is the author of The Woman’s Business Therapist: Eliminate the MindBlocks and RoadBlocks to Success, and award-winning My Memoir Workbook. 

For over fifteen years, she helped numerous authors develop and market their books, and presented writing programs in New York, The Hamptons, New Mexico and Carmel, California, on “Encouraging and Supporting the Writer Within You!” 

She's the founder and owner of a successful marketing and public relations agency for twenty-five years.

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M. Glenda Rosen's Web Site:
http://www.dyingtobebeautiful.com/

M. Glenda Rosen's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/MarciaGRosen

M. Glenda Rosen's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/writermysteries

M. Glenda Rosen's Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=✓&search%5Bfrom_nav%5D=true&query=M.+Glenda+Rosen

Dying to Be Beautiful Book 1 Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29295731-dying-to-be-beautiful-mysteries?from_search=true&search_version=service

Dying to Be Beautiful Book 2 Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29864465-dying-to-be-beautiful-fashion-queen?from_search=true&search_version=service

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

Dying to Be Beautiful tour site:
http://dyingtobebeautifulblogtour.blogspot.com

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ABOUT  THE BOOKS:

Dying to Be Beautiful Book 1 Summary

Saturday Morning, 6:00am
The head in the sink stared up at her. Darcy Monroe, the owner of a popular, chic hair salon was used to this. Only this time, the head was there without a body.
Chapter One: The Murder
As a Private Investigator, Jenna Preston had been hired to help solve murders, insurance fraud, cheating spouses and more. This was a new one for her.
She received what could only be described as a hysterical call from Darcy Monroe, owner of a popular, upscale hair salon in The Hamptons. A head without its body was rolling around in one of her shampoo basins.
Almost five-feet, five-inches tall, always looking taller in her two- or three-inch heels, Jenna had long red hair, blue eyes and was often seen driving around the East End in a white jeep, and in recent years, with her Irish setter sitting next to her.

Formats/Prices: 99¢ EBOOK SALE (June 1-30, 2016), $14.99 paperback Genre: Mystery Pages: 140 Release: February 1, 2016 Publisher: Lulu ISBN: 9781483445304
 
Amazon buy link:
http://www.amazon.com/Dying-Be-Beautiful-Mysteries-Without-ebook/dp/B01BTMZA16?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes and Noble link:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dying-to-be-beautiful-mysteries-m-glenda-rosen/1123451946?ean=9781483445304

iTunes link:
https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/dying-to-be-beautiful-mysteries/id1082721139?mt=11

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Dying to Be Beautiful Book 2 Summary

Monday, 6:45am

Kevin Larson swam in his pool nearly every morning. Going on sixty-five, he prided himself on being in good shape.

Walking toward the small pool house, off to the left of the pool, he noticed a light was on. He was certain he turned it off the night before. Strange, he thought.

Even stranger, lying in a different sort of pool—blood—was his long time friend and lover, fashion designer Andre Yellen. Yellen was stuffed into one of the gowns he had designed and a wearing a blond wig.

The gown had been auctioned off the night before at a huge Hamptons fundraiser.

People in the Hamptons were certainly dying to be beautiful.
 
Amazon buy link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1483449157?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes and Noble link:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dying-to-be-beautiful-mystery-series-m-glenda-rosen/1123791641?ean=978148344915

iTunes link:
https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/dying-to-be-beautiful-mystery/id1114048910?mt=11

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The tour's official site is:

http://dyingtobebeautifulblogtour.blogspot.com

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GIVEAWAY:

Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY  ($25 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash)

 CLICK HERE a Rafflecopter giveaway

The hosting site will be choosing the winner...Best of Luck.

The Girls In The Garden by Lisa Jewell

Moving into a garden park community after their beautiful home was burned down definitely was a change for Pip and Grace as well as their mother Clare.

They lost everything in the fire and had to start from scratch. They also lost their father but not to the fire.

The park and specifically its residents were quite odd.  The main characters were teenagers who could run free and do whatever they wanted in their park gardens.

There are a lot of present and past secrets hiding among the residents that keep up the intrigue from the first few sentences that tell of a young girl found in the bushes either unconscious or dead.​

THE GIRLS IN THE GARDEN was more about the characters and their personalities rather than having a plot. It was quite an unconventional book but the oddity of the book is what kept me reading.

Pip was my favorite character. She tried to stay away from the "gang" and not participate in all the bizarre happenings of the teenagers.  A few of the adults were definitely different too and seemed to have the biggest secrets.

If you enjoy a different read with different characters along with a bit of a mystery, THE GIRLS IN THE GARDEN is definitely a read you will enjoy.  

The book's suspense and the guessing who caused the young girl to be found in the bushes was non-stop until the last word on the last page.  4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Flight Patterns by Karen White

Georgia vowed she would never return home after she and her sister had words and parted ways ten years ago.

But....never say never.  James, a client of Georgia's looking for a special Limoges China pattern changed it all because Georgia had to go home to look for a similar piece that she remembers her grandmother had, and James went with her.

FLIGHT PATTERNS pulled me in immediately with the marvelous writing style of Karen White and the interesting research done on Limoges China and beekeeping.

Learning about china patterns and the nature of bees couldn't have been more enjoyable.

I absolutely loved FLIGHT PATTERNS and enjoyed the characters.

Georgia was a bit aloof but likeable.  

I was a bit perturbed with Maisey's negative attitude.  

Becky was simply adorable, and Grandfather was wonderful. 

Birdie was an odd, mysterious character. 

James was every bit the gentleman and very likeable.

My favorite part was the mystery behind the connection between the Limoges soup cup and Georgia and Maisey's family and James' family. 

FLIGHT PATTERNS is a beautiful book about family, reconnecting, and has the added bonus of a few family secrets. The secrets are quite good.  :)

The beekeeper's quotes at the head of each chapter were thoughtful and interesting, and the inspiring quotes throughout the book were marvelous. 

Another lovely, enjoyable, memorable read that won't disappoint fans of Karen White and women's fiction. 

Do not miss reading FLIGHT PATTERNS. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for a honest review.