Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance
Source: Berkley ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: A woman inherits a beach house, along with a series of weekend guests, while butting heads with the irritable (and irritatingly handsome) man next door, in this sparkling new escape from Jane L. Rosen.
 
When a Zoom disaster upends Addison Irwin’s decade-long career at a posh Manhattan advertising agency, things look bleak for the thirty-something mid-western transplant. But an unexpected inheritance from an aunt she barely remembers—a property on Fire Island, complete with guest house and artist’s studio—changes everything.
 
While debating whether to stay or sell, Addison learns that she’s also inherited her aunt’s list of eclectic guests, tying her to the island for seven summer weekends. Eager to convince Addison to keep the house rather than let a new buyer build a monstrosity in its place, the neighbors welcome her to their laid-back community. Well, all except the moody guy next door, who seems intent on glowering his way through life.
 
Steadfast in her path since college, Addison is determined not to let this detour on Fire Island throw her off track. But soon, between the revolving door of weekend visitors and the up-and-down relationship with her neighbor (and his adorable dog), she finds herself in unfamiliar territory. Should she try to pick up where she left off—or embrace entirely new possibilities?

Ope’s Opinion: This was so much better than her book On Fire Island. This is one time when I am glad I gave an author another chance. These characters were relatable, fun to follow and had a good story line. I enjoyed Addison’s friends and their relationships. They were honest with her, even though they each had different opinions.

I did feel like Jane Rosen was trying to sell On Fire Island throughout this book. She kept referring to it and talking about it.

Depending on the story line, I may read another Jane L. Rosen.

Publisher: Storm Publishing
Genre: Thriller
Source: Storm Publishing ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: An unforgettable and emotionally charged story of two mothers whose lives are changed forever by a devastating accusation – and how far they’ll go to protect those they love.

I was so happy when my son, Knox, began dating my best friend’s daughter. Our kids grew up together and we used to joke, as we sipped wine and watched them play, that they’d get married one day. But when Knox came home late after a party, zipping his hoodie up to hide the scratches I caught a glimpse of on his collarbone, a chill went down my spine.

That night, our whole world shattered. Now, I hardly recognize my husband as he sweeps into action, calling in a hot-shot lawyer to defend our boy.

I love my son, but what if I don’t know him at all? It turns out, everything I thought I knew about my perfect family is a lie. And I’m about to discover just what I’ll do to stop it from falling apart.

This addictive novel will draw you deep into the heart of seemingly happy families and expose the dark secrets that lie within them. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Jodi Picoult and Celeste Ng will be utterly gripped by Such a Good Family.

Ope’s Opinion: This was such a great story – hard to read because it is so real and truthful. If you or someone close to you has been a victim of rape, this may be a hard story for you.

I feel like Caitlin Weaver did such a good job of showing the perspective of everyone involved and effected by Knox and Summer’s relationship. This story showed how one incident can change so many peoples lives.

It would have been a five chair for me, but I thought Caitlin Weaver could have come up with some other words beside “f” to show the emotions. In spite of this I am interested in reading another book by her.

Publisher: ForeFont Books
Author: Jerry Lathan
Contributor: Steven Manchester

Goodreads: The extraordinary story of a young fisherman who became the Founding Father of Christianity, the most influential and enduring institution in history.

2023 Paris Book Festival Winner · 2023 New England Book Festival Winner

He’s one of the most well-known figures in cultures around the world, etched into stained glass, painted in frescoes, even caricatured as standing at the gates of heaven with a long white beard and keys in hand. But long before he was portrayed as a venerated and untouchable figure, Peter was simply known as Simon, a twenty-something fisherman in a far-flung Jewish province controlled by the Roman Empire.

Loyal and faithful, impetuous and passionate, Simon’s quiet life is upended by the arrival of a man called Jesus of Nazareth, rumored to be the long-awaited Messiah who would rescue the Jewish people from oppression. When Simon meets Jesus, the mysterious man tells him, “You will be Peter,” a prophetic statement that would slowly transform Simon’s life. Eager to be free of the Romans, Simon joins Jesus in hopes that he can guard this leader who will, undoubtedly, build an army to challenge Rome. But as Simon waits for the army to form, he watches Jesus show a compassion for others Simon has never seen before. The miracles Jesus performs—healing the sick, feeding crowds of thousands—show not a display of military might, but of service and love.

Real, relatable and impeccably researched, You Will Be Peter draws on the four Gospel accounts to weave Simon Peter’s story into one seamless tapestry. Readers get a front-row seat to Simon’s three-year walk with Jesus, as Simon watches the Son of Man feed the hungry, raise the dead, upend the status quo and challenge the elite during one of world history’s most pivotal seasons.

In perhaps one of the greatest miracles, we can see ourselves in Simon, this ordinary man Jesus chose to accompany Him. Simon wasn’t well-educated, but he was faithful and headstrong. Though he could rush to judgment and use a foul word from time to time, he was the kind of friend who loved fiercely and was doggedly loyal—until he wasn’t. Although he failed, Simon wasn’t cast away from Jesus’ mission. In fact, his failures and subsequent redemption made him a more empathetic and capable rock upon whom the Church was built.

With storytelling artistry that transports readers to the first-century world, with the sights, sounds, and smells of that time, You Will Be Peter shares an age-old story told from a new set of it’s possible for one ordinary person, however unlikely, to change the world forever.

Steven Manchester is an amazing author.
I have read several of his books.
If this subject interests you, I would say pick it up now.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christian / Mystery
Source: My daughter

Goodreads: Even though secrets lie off the coast of Rock Harbor, the truth will set Annie Pederson free—if it doesn’t kill her first.

Nine-year-old Annie Pederson’s life changed the night her sister was kidnapped. The two had been outside playing on a dock, and Annie never forgave herself for her role in her sister’s disappearance. Twenty-four years later and now a law enforcement ranger, Annie is still searching for answers as she grieves a new loss: the death of her husband and parents in a boating accident.

But Annie and her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, aren’t the only people in the town of Rock Harbor whose lives have been marred by tragedy. While managing the property around the Tremolo Resort and Marina she inherited, Annie discovers a dead body floating in the cold Superior surf and begins to work with the sheriff’s office to tie the death to a series of other mysterious reports in the area.

At the same time, her first love, Jon Dustan, returns after nine years away, reigniting the town’s memory of a cold case he’d been suspiciously linked to before he left to pursue his orthopedic residency. For the sake of her investigation and her heart, Annie tries to stay away. But avoiding Jon becomes impossible once Annie realizes she is being targeted by someone desperate to keep secrets from the past hidden.

In this new series, bestselling romantic-suspense author Colleen Coble returns to one of her most beloved towns, where familiar faces—and unsolved cases—await.

Ope’s Opinion: When I started reading this, I kept feeling like I jumped into the middle of a story. So I looked it up and found out it was the first one in the series. I was confused about how I was supposed to know about the past of a relationship when this was the first book.

Colleen Coble wrote Annie ( MC ) as so naive and trusting of everyone. She is unbelievable and not realistic about life in general.

This ended with a lot of unanswered questions because there are two more books. I am not sure I care enough to find out what the solutions will be.

Publisher: Storm Publishing
Genre: Thriller
Source: Storm Publishing ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Three mothers. Three secrets. One devastating scandal.

Anna has always been the quiet one, the soft-spoken mother who kept her head down and her secrets close. But when she’s thrown together with Maggie and Rhea on a PTA project, they begin to bond over wine and gossip, and slowly share the truths behind their picture-perfect lives.

As a relationship therapist, Maggie is struggling with the painful, embarrassing reality of her floundering marriage. Rhea, despite her wealthy appearance, admits her troubled past could resurface and shatter her perfect world. But it’s Anna who harbors the darkest secret, hiding the reality of her home life to protect the reputation of her husband – the school headmaster.

When the three women stumble upon a scandal the school has gone to great lengths to bury, Anna is caught in an impossible dilemma. With the centennial gala approaching, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to expose the truth. Because doing so could wreck all of their perfect lives in one instant…

In this gripping tale of scandal, deception, and female solidarity, three women discover the steep price of perfection and the unshakable strength of friendship. A riveting, emotional story that will captivate fans of Big Little Lies, Lucinda Berry and Jodi Picoult.

Ope’s Opinion: This is my second book by Caitlin Weaver and I am ready for her next one. I really enjoyed the flow and tension in the book. It made me want to keep reading long after I needed to stop to get to other things in my life.

The three strong women characters were relatable. They were unlikely friends, but Weaver wrote it in such a way that made me believe in them. The support each of these women gave to each other was awesome.

I am ready to read whatever Caitlin Weaver decides to write next.

Publisher: Forever
Genre: Romance
Source: Forever ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: From the cohost of the award-winning Forever35 podcast comes a dreamy, laugh-out-loud summer romance that asks: What do you do when the life you’ve planned isn’t what you’ve dreamed?

Clara Millen’s life is spiraling out of control: her dream job is a nightmare, she’s resoundingly single, and it’s been years since she’s taken some time off. Thankfully, the last problem she can fix—this year she’ll join her friends on their annual summer vacation to their beloved childhood sleepover camp for a much-needed escape.

But when Clara arrives at Pine Lake Camp, she faces yet another unwelcome change: the owners are retiring and selling the property. The news turns her plans for revelry into a night of reminiscing . . . and prompts a surprise heart-to-heart between Clara and Mack, her old camp nemesis and constant competitor, who’s still just as annoying (and annoyingly handsome).

Soon the campfires aren’t all that’s throwing off sparks. And when one wildly passionate night turns into two (then too many to count!), Clara begins to wonder if she and Mack could have a future together. But when Clara’s boss finally offers her everything she’s worked so hard for, Clara will need to decide if the life she’s always wanted is the life that makes her feel truly alive

Ope’s Opinion: This is just barely a three chair. The characters go back to camp where they were together when they were fifteen years old. Throughout the time they revisited camp, they acted like they were fifteen again. I kept yelling at them to grow up.

Mack and Clara were they main characters. They were the most immature and frustrating. Their constant push and pull towards each other got really old, really fast. They were so self centered.

The foul language was splattered through the whole book.

The ending was exactly what you would expect.

Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance
Source: Berkley ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Lifelong best friends spend a fateful summer discovering what might happen if they were to be something more in this radiant, heart-clenching adult debut.

Laniah Thompson is a homebody who craves privacy. Issac Jordan is internet famous and spends his days followed by paparazzi. She runs a small business with her mom in her hometown. He runs an international brand.

And they’ve been best friends since childhood.

When Issac comes home to Providence for the first time in months and discovers Laniah’s dream is slipping out of reach as she and her mom struggle to pay the bills at Wildly Green, their natural hair store, she refuses to take a dime from him. And so, he does what any self-respecting best friend would do: tells the world they’re dating.

Suddenly business is booming, and Laniah agrees to his ridiculous plan to pretend to be lovers for the course of the summer. Just long enough to catch the eye of an investor and get her dream back on track, like she helped him do so many years ago, he reminds her.

Too soon, though, Laniah knows she’s playing with fire, because for as long as they’ve been friends there’s an undeniable pull they’ve never given in to. And as the lines between art and life—real and pretend—blur, it becomes harder and harder to see where friendship ends and something else begins….

Told over the course of three sizzling summer months, A Love Like the Sun is about shared history, those who make us our bravest selves, and love in its many forms.

Ope’s Opinion: This book is somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3. Parts of were really good and others were not.

The first few chapters were confusing. I was not sure where the author was going with the story line. Later in the book, those chapters came back into the story line. It was sort of a side story that could have been left out. It did not add to the story.

A sweet romance happened and I was enjoying the book. The tension between Laniah and Issac was written so well. It seemed like a tender friendship turning to a romance.

Then all this sexual fantasy and steamy explicit detailed sex was written that could have just been left out. I was skimming so much of this part.

It felt like two different authors wrote the book – one a sweet romance the other a lot of steamy scenes. This part of kind of ruined it for me.