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I have been reading through every cozy mystery I can get my hands on. I still have a couple to read before summer comes to an end, but here are my top 5 cozy mysteries in case you are looking for a couple to finish your summer with.
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August 5, 2017
5 Cozy Mysteries to Wrap Up Summer With
by Donna Huber
I have been reading through every cozy mystery I can get my hands on. I still have a couple to read before summer comes to an end, but here are my top 5 cozy mysteries in case you are looking for a couple to finish your summer with.
I have been reading through every cozy mystery I can get my hands on. I still have a couple to read before summer comes to an end, but here are my top 5 cozy mysteries in case you are looking for a couple to finish your summer with.
August 4, 2017
#BookReview: Show No Weakness by Joyce M. Holmes
Review by MK French
Joely Sinclair is a single mother and social worker in Canada, and soon meets Cole Dennison, the new RCMP Corporal she has to work with. She is very emotional, and he is reserved, yet they still become involved and start a relationship. Her son Taylor looks up to Cole and bonds with him, but that's not enough to save the relationship when Cole refuses to emotionally engage. A crisis brings them back together, and Cole has to make some difficult decisions.
Joely Sinclair is a single mother and social worker in Canada, and soon meets Cole Dennison, the new RCMP Corporal she has to work with. She is very emotional, and he is reserved, yet they still become involved and start a relationship. Her son Taylor looks up to Cole and bonds with him, but that's not enough to save the relationship when Cole refuses to emotionally engage. A crisis brings them back together, and Cole has to make some difficult decisions.
August 3, 2017
Tautly Written: Rasputin's Legacy by Lee Jackson #YourLegacy
Review by MK French
During the Cold War, a rogue Russian agent wants to overthrow the USSR's government and control their military arsenal. The US sends the covert operator Eduardo Xiquez (Code named Atcho) to Siberia, but he is followed by a reporter convinced that he was involved in an assassination attempt and his fiancee, a former CIA agent, who is determined to save him.
During the Cold War, a rogue Russian agent wants to overthrow the USSR's government and control their military arsenal. The US sends the covert operator Eduardo Xiquez (Code named Atcho) to Siberia, but he is followed by a reporter convinced that he was involved in an assassination attempt and his fiancee, a former CIA agent, who is determined to save him.
August 2, 2017
New Books for August 2017
We've already featured several books that were among the first new releases of August. Be sure to check out our reviews for those books and then see below more great titles that'll hit the shelves this month.
August 1, 2017
An Excellent Read: Whispering in French by Sophia Nash
Review by Susan Roberts
"In a night sky salted with stars, the waxing moon unspooled its light over the jet's wing. Inside, disconnectedness settled over the passengers of the Air France night flight to Paris. And in those murky hours after the food carts lurched down the aisles, the die-hards began a third film, exhausted infants surrendered to sleep, and the travelers in business class retreated ever further into the luxury of elbow-room anonymity." p. 3
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.
I absolutely love reading books about France and this book was excellent.
Kate is an interesting main character – even though she is a psychologist trying to help her patients with life problems, her personal life is a mess and she doesn’t see much hope for her future.
She is divorced, estranged from her teenage daughter, has a mom she doesn’t get along with and is on her way to France to encourage her grandfather to sell his huge crumbling family villa.
He is in poor health and deeply in debt and she thinks that the only way to help him is to sell the home that has been in their family for centuries. As soon as she fixes everything in France, she can go back to America.
Life has a way of changing even the best of plans and the small-town village people and her memories of the wonderful summers that she spent at the villa make her re-think her plans. Will she be able to forgive herself and learn to live life to the fullest in France or will her self-doubts make her return to her unhappy life in America?
Take a trip to rural France in Whispering in French and find out how Kate decides to live the rest of her life.
As a child, Kate Hamilton was packed off each summer to her grandfather’s ivy-covered villa in southern France. That ancestral home, named Marthe Marie, is now crumbling, and it falls to Kate—regarded as the most responsible and practical member of her family—to return to the rugged, beautiful seaside region to confront her grandfather’s debts and convince him to sell.
Kate makes her living as a psychologist and life coach, but her own life is in as much disarray as Marthe Marie. Her marriage has ended, and she’s convinced that she has failed her teenaged daughter, Lily, in unforgiveable ways. While delving into colorful family history and the consequences of her own choices, Kate reluctantly agrees to provide coaching to Major Edward Soames, a British military officer suffering with post-traumatic stress. Breaking through his shell, and dealing with idiosyncratic locals intent on viewing her as an Americanized outsider, will give Kate new insight into who—and where—she wants to be. The answers will prove as surprising as the secrets that reside in the centuries-old villa.
Witty and sophisticated, rich in history and culture, Sophia Nash’s novel vividly evokes both its idyllic French setting and the universal themes of self-forgiveness and rebuilding in a story as touching as it is wise.
Sophia Nash’s novels have won almost two dozen national awards including the prestigious RITA Award and two spots on the American Library Association's “Top Ten Romances of the Year.” Sophia was born in Switzerland, raised in France and the United States, but says her heart resides in Regency England. Her ancestor, an infamous French admiral who traded epic cannon fire with the British Royal Navy, is surely turning in his grave. Before pursuing her long held dream of writing Historicals, Sophia was an award winning television producer for CBS, a congressional speechwriter, and a nonprofit CEO.
website * Facebook * Twitter
Also available at HarperCollins and Barnes & Noble
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
"In a night sky salted with stars, the waxing moon unspooled its light over the jet's wing. Inside, disconnectedness settled over the passengers of the Air France night flight to Paris. And in those murky hours after the food carts lurched down the aisles, the die-hards began a third film, exhausted infants surrendered to sleep, and the travelers in business class retreated ever further into the luxury of elbow-room anonymity." p. 3
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.
 |
| August 2017; William Morrow; 978-0062471789 ebook, print (384 pages); women's fiction |
Kate is an interesting main character – even though she is a psychologist trying to help her patients with life problems, her personal life is a mess and she doesn’t see much hope for her future.
She is divorced, estranged from her teenage daughter, has a mom she doesn’t get along with and is on her way to France to encourage her grandfather to sell his huge crumbling family villa.
He is in poor health and deeply in debt and she thinks that the only way to help him is to sell the home that has been in their family for centuries. As soon as she fixes everything in France, she can go back to America.
Life has a way of changing even the best of plans and the small-town village people and her memories of the wonderful summers that she spent at the villa make her re-think her plans. Will she be able to forgive herself and learn to live life to the fullest in France or will her self-doubts make her return to her unhappy life in America?
Take a trip to rural France in Whispering in French and find out how Kate decides to live the rest of her life.
Buy Whispering in French at Amazon
About the Book:
Home is the last place Kate expected to find herself…As a child, Kate Hamilton was packed off each summer to her grandfather’s ivy-covered villa in southern France. That ancestral home, named Marthe Marie, is now crumbling, and it falls to Kate—regarded as the most responsible and practical member of her family—to return to the rugged, beautiful seaside region to confront her grandfather’s debts and convince him to sell.
Kate makes her living as a psychologist and life coach, but her own life is in as much disarray as Marthe Marie. Her marriage has ended, and she’s convinced that she has failed her teenaged daughter, Lily, in unforgiveable ways. While delving into colorful family history and the consequences of her own choices, Kate reluctantly agrees to provide coaching to Major Edward Soames, a British military officer suffering with post-traumatic stress. Breaking through his shell, and dealing with idiosyncratic locals intent on viewing her as an Americanized outsider, will give Kate new insight into who—and where—she wants to be. The answers will prove as surprising as the secrets that reside in the centuries-old villa.
Witty and sophisticated, rich in history and culture, Sophia Nash’s novel vividly evokes both its idyllic French setting and the universal themes of self-forgiveness and rebuilding in a story as touching as it is wise.
About the Author:
Sophia Nash’s novels have won almost two dozen national awards including the prestigious RITA Award and two spots on the American Library Association's “Top Ten Romances of the Year.” Sophia was born in Switzerland, raised in France and the United States, but says her heart resides in Regency England. Her ancestor, an infamous French admiral who traded epic cannon fire with the British Royal Navy, is surely turning in his grave. Before pursuing her long held dream of writing Historicals, Sophia was an award winning television producer for CBS, a congressional speechwriter, and a nonprofit CEO.website * Facebook * Twitter
Also available at HarperCollins and Barnes & Noble
Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with her on Facebook.
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
July 31, 2017
#BookReview: Lift And Separate by Marilyn Simon Rothstein #MondayBlogs
Review by Susan Roberts
I loved the main character in this book, Marcy Hammer. She's the kind of character that is so well written and so real that you feel like you could sit down and have a cup of coffee with her.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.
Marcy's problems were the same problems that lots of women share. After 33 years of following all of the rules of her time - getting married (and staying married for 33 years), giving up her job and her future to take care of her husband and kids, waiting on her husband hand and foot and going along with all of his decisions - Marcy finds herself alone after her husband leaves her for a young lingerie model. At first, all she wants is to get him back, to forgive him and have their marriage get back on track. The big question throughout the book is whether she will get back with her husband and go back to the way things had been for 33 years or whether there was a real tough core under that woman who wants to fly on her own and do all of the things that she missed doing.
Watching her mature and learn to take on life as it is, makes Life And Separate a fantastic book to read. There are parts that are laugh out loud funny and overall, it's a great book to read with a good message on how to find happiness in life and how to find your strength in adversity.
Buy Life And Separate at Amazon
Striking out on her own is difficult at first, but Marcy manages to find traces of humor in her heartbreak. Even while devastated by Harvey’s departure, she still has her indomitable spirit and her self-respect. She has no intention of falling apart, either, even when her adult children drop a few bombshells of their own and she discovers a secret about her new, once-in-a-lifetime friend. Life may be full of setbacks, but by lifting herself up by her own lacy straps, Marcy just may be able to handle them all.
For more than twenty-five years, Marilyn Simon Rothstein owned an advertising agency in Connecticut. She grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from New York University, began her writing career at Seventeen magazine, and married a man she met in an elevator.
Marilyn received a master of arts in liberal studies from Wesleyan University and a master of arts in Judaic studies from the University of Connecticut.
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Also available at Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today!. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
I loved the main character in this book, Marcy Hammer. She's the kind of character that is so well written and so real that you feel like you could sit down and have a cup of coffee with her.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.
 |
| December 2016; Lake Union Publishing 978-1503940307; ebook, audio, print (304 pages) women's fiction |
Watching her mature and learn to take on life as it is, makes Life And Separate a fantastic book to read. There are parts that are laugh out loud funny and overall, it's a great book to read with a good message on how to find happiness in life and how to find your strength in adversity.
Buy Life And Separate at Amazon
About the Book:
Marcy Hammer’s life has been turned upside down. Her husband, the head of a global brassiere empire, didn’t think twice about leaving her after thirty-three years of marriage for a 32DD lingerie model. Now Harvey the Home-Wrecker is missing in action, but Marcy’s through thinking about what a cliché he is. What she needs now is a party-size bag of potato chips, a good support system, and a new dress.Striking out on her own is difficult at first, but Marcy manages to find traces of humor in her heartbreak. Even while devastated by Harvey’s departure, she still has her indomitable spirit and her self-respect. She has no intention of falling apart, either, even when her adult children drop a few bombshells of their own and she discovers a secret about her new, once-in-a-lifetime friend. Life may be full of setbacks, but by lifting herself up by her own lacy straps, Marcy just may be able to handle them all.
About the Author:
Marilyn received a master of arts in liberal studies from Wesleyan University and a master of arts in Judaic studies from the University of Connecticut.
Facebook * Twitter
Also available at Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble
Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with her on Facebook.
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today!. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
July 30, 2017
Light-Hearted Romance: Links by Lisa Becker
by Donna Huber
Lisa Becker does a great job of making a standard rom-com trope feel fresh and fun in Links.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free ebook was provided for an honest review.
I can be pretty harsh when it comes to overused tropes in romance novels and when Links started out I thought I would be rolling my eyes at the "been there, done that" storyline. Not only was a pleasantly surprised at how much I was enjoying the story, I ended up naming this one of the best romantic chase stories I've ever read.
If you read romance, you have read the nerdy high school girl that was ignored by the hot guy grows up to be the hot woman he doesn't remember from school story a dozen time. In a nutshell, that is the story of Links.
Charlotte tutored twin brothers in high school and had a crush on one them. Garrett thought he was God's gift to women and Charlotte was just the tutor. Many years later, Garrett is a professional golfer and still thinks he is God's gift to women. That is until a random run in with a beautiful woman, that his family all seem to know, makes him want so much more than a one night stand. Charlotte is a successful writer and has no intentions of being just another notch on Garrett's bedpost. However, she has never quite got over her crush. Will she be able to keep Garrett firmly in the 'friends' category?
The chase trope can usually go one of two ways. 1. The characters are just friends one page and then getting married on the next (zero chase). Or 2. Oh my gosh! Will they just get together already? (drawn out, with obstacle after annoying obstacle).
Lisa Becker nailed the timing. She didn't rush Charlotte and Garrett into a relationship, but it never felt drawn out to the point of boredom for the reader. It felt natural, how a relationship like this would really play out. There is still plenty of fun to be had while the characters get to know one another.
I had one fear while reading Links which you know often comes up in plots where the guy has a playboy past and the girl is still a bit insecure from her days as a nerd. So as to not spoil it for those not as familiar with romantic tropes I'll call it The Misunderstanding. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and ruin the book for me.
The shoe did drop, but thankfully Becker didn't draw it out too long - she definitely has story timing down pat in this one. Unfortunately, The Misunderstanding wasn't believable and I was little mad that Charlotte would jump to that conclusion given the woman it involved. As the reader, you know what she is seeing is not what she thinks she is seeing. While she (and I) believed Garrett capable of it, I couldn't believe she thought her friend would do that to her.
Overall, Links is a great light-hearted story that would make the perfect book for wrapping up summer.
Buy Links at Amazon
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
Lisa Becker does a great job of making a standard rom-com trope feel fresh and fun in Links.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free ebook was provided for an honest review.
 |
| August 2017; Desert Breeze Publishing; ebook (229 pages); romance |
If you read romance, you have read the nerdy high school girl that was ignored by the hot guy grows up to be the hot woman he doesn't remember from school story a dozen time. In a nutshell, that is the story of Links.
Charlotte tutored twin brothers in high school and had a crush on one them. Garrett thought he was God's gift to women and Charlotte was just the tutor. Many years later, Garrett is a professional golfer and still thinks he is God's gift to women. That is until a random run in with a beautiful woman, that his family all seem to know, makes him want so much more than a one night stand. Charlotte is a successful writer and has no intentions of being just another notch on Garrett's bedpost. However, she has never quite got over her crush. Will she be able to keep Garrett firmly in the 'friends' category?
The chase trope can usually go one of two ways. 1. The characters are just friends one page and then getting married on the next (zero chase). Or 2. Oh my gosh! Will they just get together already? (drawn out, with obstacle after annoying obstacle).
Lisa Becker nailed the timing. She didn't rush Charlotte and Garrett into a relationship, but it never felt drawn out to the point of boredom for the reader. It felt natural, how a relationship like this would really play out. There is still plenty of fun to be had while the characters get to know one another.
I had one fear while reading Links which you know often comes up in plots where the guy has a playboy past and the girl is still a bit insecure from her days as a nerd. So as to not spoil it for those not as familiar with romantic tropes I'll call it The Misunderstanding. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and ruin the book for me.
The shoe did drop, but thankfully Becker didn't draw it out too long - she definitely has story timing down pat in this one. Unfortunately, The Misunderstanding wasn't believable and I was little mad that Charlotte would jump to that conclusion given the woman it involved. As the reader, you know what she is seeing is not what she thinks she is seeing. While she (and I) believed Garrett capable of it, I couldn't believe she thought her friend would do that to her.
Overall, Links is a great light-hearted story that would make the perfect book for wrapping up summer.
Buy Links at Amazon
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
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