Books, Books, Books, and a Cat

  You cannot help but fall in love with a Sarah Addison Allen novel! Five out of Five Stars! There is a house that over the generations has been filled with mysterious women who seem to know all there is about everyone in the town.  They use that knowledge to intimidate.  Willamena wants freedom from that lineage and wants to find her true love as well as an escape from a life already laid out for her.  Only things do not go as planned.  The story flash-forwards 5o years and the focus is on her granddaughter, Bailey.  Will Bailey break the long held tradition of the house and the generations of women who have ruled Hen Town? What I love most about Sarah Addison Allen stories is the magical touches that blend seamlessly with an intriguing story.  There were multiple character perspectives and each one added to a story that I did not want to put down.  I was most fascinated with the ghost aspect of this story.  There are mystery elements, surpr...

  4.5 Stars- Wow, that ending!  This is a dystopian novel that has an enemies to lovers plot.  It is a dark romantasy that is plenty spicy and will keep you on your toes with the many twists and turns.   This novel is about a world where the men particularly one man, have the power.  New Haven is controlled by a masked elite.  They have everything while the rest of the state is left in poverty.  People have had enough, especially Shadera, whose parents were killed by the Veyra. She is a mercenary or Daggermouth, who agrees to take out the president's son, Greyson.  He is the executioner of anyone who dares to break the Veyra's laws.  Only when Shadera goes to take Greyson out she hesitates and doesn't end up killing him. Now in a cruel twist of fate they are forced to marry one another.  As hidden truths and betrayals surface, the two must choose between destroying one another or joining forces to bring down the corrupt regime entir...

3.5 Stars- I've always wanted to be locked in a library but after reading this novel I am definitely rethinking that desire.  This was a very dark locked room mystery novel.  Told from several different points of view, there are 7 people who go on an after hours tour of a famous library only to find that they are trapped in it overnight.  Then the deaths start happening.   The 7 characters all have a reason for being on the tour but something is not quite right because things go horribly wrong .  Aria is seeing Jasper and she has high hopes for their relationship so when he surprises her with an after hours tour of a famous library how can she say no.  Except Aria knows this library very well and she promised never to go back there. Aria is the main character so we get her perspective the most.  I was rooting for her happy ending but still trying to figure out for sure if she was someone I should be wanting everything to go well for. The five othe...

 There is nothing better than a thriller that captures your attention from the beginning.  I really enjoyed the premise of this novel.  A secluded break up retreat in Sweden sounding like a novel I really wanted to read about.  Anyone who has ever gone through a break up can completely relate.   In this novel Isobel attends this retreat, not because she has gone through a break up but because she wants to uncover an excellent story.  There are rumors that people have disappeared and other nefarious activities might be taking place.  Isobel wants to make a name for herself so she goes to the HImlafall Clinic to find out what the real story is.  The only problem is things start going wrong right away.  She feels like she is being watched, her things go missing, and she is not prepared for the type of therapy that the clinic offers.  As the novel unfolds we learn that Isobel does have some of her own issues to deal with.   I ...

  Winthrop Island not only is a place for second chances but one that might even hold a pirate's treasure.  Lucy returns to her childhood summer home after her father's disappearance.  She is a widow and has a seven year old daughter. The property needs to be sold to pay off her father's debt but Lucy finds herself falling for her neighbor, Ben, an old flame.  The only problem is that mysterious and strange things begin to happen to Lucy and the house. Lucy has to figure out what she really wants or is she destined just to repeat the past. The novel is told using three different timelines.  There is the present with Lucy as a single mom, Lucy as a teenager, and a story set in Winthrop Island in 1717.   I really enjoyed all three perspectives.  I liked learning about teenage Lucy and what had happened with her friend Laura and Ben.  My favorite story line was the present.  Lucy had faced a lot in her personal life and trying to raise a ch...

  I absolutely adored this story!  It is historical fiction crossed with fantasy and amazing characters.  There is action, mystery, magic, and romance.  The cherry on top is that the main character is actually based on a real person.   Anne is an intelligent Duchess of Brittany who she is afraid to lose her land to France.  She has a plan that involves stalling the French emissary who has come to force her to marry the king of France.  She holds a unicorn hunt.  While on the hunt strange and mysterious things happen including meeting a man who claims to have been lost for 200 years. Anne must use all her wits to keep her family and subjects safe as well as hold on to her kingdom.  First of all, I read this book in two days as I did not want to stop reading.  Set in the Middle Ages, it has all the elements of a fairy tale yet it is so MUCH better!  There is a strong female character who is smart and who is the leader.  She ...

  Arrivals and Departures swept me away to the beautiful country of Greece.  However it is not what I would consider a beach read.  It was part mystery, and part family drama.  It absolutely captured my attention and I finished it in two days.   The novel follows the Perkins Family.  The main character was Lee.  She is a famous reality star, who has suffered a breakdown, and is trying to recover when she finds out that her sister, Reagan, has gone missing.  Reagan is a single mother in Athens, Greece, with two teenage daughters.  The daughters fear that their mother is caught up in a scam.  Lee is happy to save the day but finds that she still has her own demons to fight.   This novel was fast paced and I never grew bored.  I enjoyed learning about all of the Perkins family members and their particular quirks.  The novel was thought provoking and addressed many issues.  It definitely was not a light read but...

 These poems were a love song to nature.  I loved how the author sees the world and how reading these poems has given me a new appreciation for what I see.  There were some dark poems but there were a lot of uplifting ones as well.  I am not a big poetry reader but I enjoyed this collection.  I was grateful for the Author's Note at the beginning as it helped me to understand the place where she was coming from and her inspiration. I definitely recommend this poetry book to anyone who loves nature or just looking for a quick read to get you thinking.  Thank you to Dial Press Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

  Rewrite the Stars is a romance that any mother can relate to!   Marissa is a single mother who is trying to balance her kids, a famous ex-husband, and finding her spark in life.  She was a famous actress before her kids were born but took time off to be a full time mother and has not gone back to work because her son is autistic and requires extra stability and routine.  After her grandmother's death, she is left a cabin in the Poconos that she used to visit as a kid.  She decides to take her kids there to escape the Hollywood drama. While there she begins to find a chance at a comeback for herself.   I thought this was a great romance.  I loved the Hollywood connection and the fact that Marissa showed just how tough it is to be a mother but to also have a career.  It was incredibly relatable.  I liked that the novel showed the point of view of Marissa and Jesse.  I always find that this works best in a romance because I love...