The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner

Secrets, mistakes, and revelations abound in THE FOREVER SUMMER.

We meet the Bishop family with members having secrets from the past as well as the present.

We also meet family members that were not known to exist.

THE FOREVER SUMMER brings together an unknown half sister, a grandmother, and memories of a father the sisters never knew.

The generations of women and how they connected as strangers was wonderful, and the beach setting was perfect for the connections and story line.

THE FOREVER SUMMER was filled with character disappointments, but it was also filled with love and making family connections and approval very enjoyable.

I enjoyed the characters....especially Grandmother Amelia.  Amelia made everything pleasant and made everything and everyone come together. 

THE FOREVER SUMMER was an enjoyable read and filled with what women do best when they are together....nurture and care for each other. 

A heartwarming beach read...ENJOY when you get to read this book.  4/5

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

GIVEAWAY of FLIGHT PATTERNS, BLOG TOUR, and REVIEW of The Night The Lights Went Out by Karen White

A new town, a new home, a friend you really don't want, a blog that tells the town's gossip, and Merilee has to deal with all of this along with her divorced husband and his pregnant girlfriend.

Living in Sweet Apple, Georgia, seemed like a good town to start over and for the most part it was.

Merilee was renting a house on the property of the town's oldest citizen, Sugar Preston.  Sugar was portrayed as anything but sweet, but actually she was.

Merilee and Sugar became friends and shared stories from Sugar's childhood that made sense as to why Sugar was the way she was.

Sugar and quite a few town residents had secrets, and now that Merilee arrived in town, the anonymous blog writer had more ammunition for her daily posts and Southern sayings. 

As Sugar knew, there were more people in this town that had better stories than Merilee had.  Sugar's past was a soap opera in itself and filled with stories but no one dared to tell them except Sugar herself and many stories were told for the first time to Merilee.

Totally and completely enjoyed the characters and the story line of THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.  Sugar was very lovable, Merilee was sweet, and I didn't like Heather from the minute I met her. 

Readers of women's fiction will again be transported back to the days of Southern ​hospitality and then brought back to current day with women who keep secrets and have everything and like to flaunt it.

Ms. White has done it again with a marvelous story filled with wonderful characters with Southern charm​.  If you have ever read any of Karen White's books, you will love this book just like all of her books and not want to put the book down. 

I have LOVED all of Ms. White's books, but this has to be my all-time favorite. 5/5​

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

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GIVEAWAY OF FLIGHT PATTERNS

USA Entries

April 25 - May 2

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CONTEST HAS ENDED.
Thanks to everyone who entered.
The winner is:  Susan #4
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REVIEW LINK IS IN THE BOOK'S TITLE. 

The Widow of Wall Street by Randy Susan Meyers

Phoebe always was a girl who loved her books, and she found a husband who also loved his books, but a different kind than Phoebe loved.  Phoebe loved her school books, Jake loved his books that showed his money growing.

Phoebe married Jake at a young age, and Jake said he would always take care of her.  Jake's parents had been in some sort of trouble, and Phoebe's mother never liked him.

THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET follows Phoebe and Jake from their teenage years, through the years of marriage, and through the crisis ranging from 1960 to 20​10.

As Jake​'​s empire grew, Phoebe became dragged in as well, but only by talking up her husband's business and how well it was doing. 
 
The years went by, and Jake made money, but he was in over his head most of the time.  When Jake's empire tumbles, Phoebe, the loyal, compliant wife, tumbles with him. 

Readers who enjoy women's fiction, drama, and a strong female character will enjoy this book.

Ms. Meyers' marvelous writing pulls the reader into the high stakes of Wall Street, the power and lives of the wealthy, and reminds us of the saying:   “Money is the root of all evil.​“

I enjoyed THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET along with its tense moments and a truly thoughtful ending.  

ENJOY if you read this book.  5/5

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

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

Cameras, cameras, cameras....you never know when you may be on one or in a recorded news clip.
 
Virginia Knightly was the only female news person in her office…an office that seemed to be falling apart.  They needed a big story, and the new boss wasn't helping hold it together.
 
Virginia got demoted, and then a new face appears.  This new face takes the position of another of Virginia's friends on the news staff.
 
All this is happening while a huge news story about the murder of a high profile lawyer is taking place.  

Everyone is fighting for news, and a lot of people including the police force, politicians, and even the press were not being up front and honest about everything.  Meanwhile Virginia took on things she really shouldn't be doing alone.
 
THE CUTAWAY takes us into the world of TV news bringing out all the hard work and investigation reporters and newscasters do.
 
The characters are marvelous and so well developed that you can actually visualize them and consider them "real" people that you may even know. 

The story line held my interest and slowly but cleverly led you to the end along with many guesses as to who had "done it" without my actually guessing correctly.

An excellent debut that slowly drew the reader into the meat of the story line, gave hints to something bigger, and kept me reading.  4/5

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

The Widow's House by Carol Goodman

Clare and Jess Martin are struggling writers even though Jess has already had one book published.  They both want to continue writing, and Jess wants to make his second book a best seller, but their finances are holding them back.

They have exhausted their savings and are now looking for a new home that they can afford.  Unfortunately, everything is out of their price range.

But....when they have the offer to be a caretaker at Riven House in the town where they both went to college, where Clare grew up, and where their writing professor lived, they jump at the chance. Free lodging wasn't a bad deal either.

Who wouldn't want to re-connect with a famous writer who had been your college professor ?

The only "catch" is that the house is in utter disrepair and has many odd, creepy folks that live on the estate with the professor.

​The treasures Clare finds in the house as she is cleaning as well as the ghosts and the sounds that haunt the house​ caught my interest.
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THE WIDOW'S HOUSE has a gorgeous cover that pulls you in, and the story line along with the characters and what has happened and what currently happens at Riven House is intriguing.

A paranormal aspect is there, but it isn't over powering ​and ​​definitely ​adds to the book's​ interest.

It took me about 100 pages to get connected, but it was worth the wait​ as the family saga and secrets unfolded.​

​Along with the mystery and eeriness of the house, there is a mystery about who Clare's birth mother really was. 

Those readers who enjoy a mystery, a unique family, ghosts, family secrets, and a Gothic theme will enjoy THE WIDOW’S HOUSE.

Ms. Goodman has a marvelous writing style that will draw you in and have you easily connecting with the characters.  

The ending is quite good.  4/5

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

The Women In The Castle - Jessica Shattuck

Before,​ during​,​ and after the war Marianne was there to support everyone even though she had lost everything except her ​castle and her children.

Marianne previously lived in a castle with her husband, Albrecht and her children before the Germans took it over.  Her ​husband was a member of the resistance but was killed by the Germans along with other members.  His request was for Marianne to take care of the families of other members if he and his fellow members were killed.

Marianne complied with her husband's wishes and found two women including Benita who had married a man Marianne actually had loved at one time and who was a family friend.

These women and their children lived together and endured the hardships after the war as well as sharing their lives before and during the war.  

Marianne was an organizer, Benita was a follower, and Ania was a great help to Marianne.  All three women had endured a lot and were there for each other in their own way as they recovered after the war.

THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE gives us insight into how families lived in Europe before,  during, and after Hitler's regime.  ​The book ends with the year 1991.​

THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE is well written, well researched, and with authentic characters and descriptions that draw you in...descriptions that allow you to share the experiences every character is dealing with whether good or bad.​  Some of the experiences are quite grizzly.​

It took me a few chapters to get connected and to warm up to the characters, but once I did, I became fully involved with their lives as well as becoming familiar with yet another piece of WWII's history.

Historical fiction fans and women's fiction fans will love THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE.  Be prepared for a heart wrenching, but very thought-provoking read.

The historical aspect and the friendships between the three women draw the reader in and keep the pages turning while you also don't want the book to end.  4/5

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

Video courtesy of Harper Collins:
 
 

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff

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Click on Ms. Jenoff's photo for an interview with her.

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Noa was thrown out of her parents' home because she had become pregnant to a German soldier but needed to leave after the Germans took her baby.  As Noa made her way out of town, she came upon a train of Jewish infants left to die (talk about heartbreaking.)  

Noa took one of the babies, couldn't continue because they both were almost frozen, and then collapsed near the circus.  The circus members rescued Noa and the baby, but Noa had to perform on the flying trapeze with Astrid to earn her keep.

Even though Noa and Astrid worked together as a team on the flying trapeze, there was tension between them because Noa was terrified of flying especially since she almost fell to her death during practice one day.  The tension subsided as Noa tried harder to please Astrid and when Noa found out the reason Astrid hid from the Nazi soldiers.

The first time Astrid immediately and very quickly disappeared when the Nazi soldiers burst into the circus building, Noa knew something was going on.

How did they know she was Jewish?  Did someone tell on her?  The circus owner kept up a good front and steered the Nazi soldiers from the Jewish performers he was hiding, but it was stressful for all.

THE ORPHAN'S TALE is another beautifully written book by Ms. Jenoff revealing another not well-known fact about WWII.  The circus theme was quite interesting.  I wasn't aware of traveling circuses during that time, but it seems like the perfect way to help keep​ ​some of the Jewish community safe and hidden during the Holocaust.

​THE ORPHAN'S TALE smoothly flows from Noa's story to Astrid's as we learn about their lives and their secrets that they both are afraid to tell.​ Despite secrets, their friendship strengthens even though there is a thin line that may destroy it.

I truly enjoyed THE ORPHAN'S TALE as I have enjoyed all of Ms. Jenoff's books.  Ms. Jenoff has a marvelous way of writing a story based on the unpleasant facts of WWII. 

THE ORPHAN'S TALE had a different theme, and I always learn new things about the Holocaust when I read Ms. Jenoff's books.   

Ms. Jenoff always does exquisite research. You would think all has been known and written about WWII, but the circus assisting the Jewish people was interesting, enlightening, and wonderful to know how another group helped the Jewish people. 

Don't miss reading another heartbreaking but heartwarming book by Ms. Jenoff.  5/5

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

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Click here for a link to other blogs that have been on the tour.