Ten years ago today I started the journey of this blog!
It is hard to believe it has been this long. I have enjoyed the book community so much. I do miss BEA – it was fun to see everyone there. I added a Kindle to my reading this year, which has opened me up to many more books.
Thank you to all of you who follow me, who have encouraged me and who continue to be a part of my book community. Especially thank you to my daughter Kristin (www.krittersramblings. com), who started me on Goodreads and blogging. Thank you to my daughter Jenn, who is my IT for WordPress when I don’t understand what they changed.
Hopefully there will be many more years of books to come!
Goodreads: This is not a typical love story, but it’s our love story.
Anna wasn’t looking for love when Adam swept her off her feet, but there was no denying their connection, and she believed they would be together forever.
Years later, cracks have appeared in their relationship. Anna is questioning whether their love can really be eternal when a cruel twist of fate delivers a crushing blow, and Anna and Adam are completely lost to one another. Now, Anna needs Adam more than ever, but the way back to him has life-changing consequences.
Is a second chance at first love really worth the sacrifice? Anna needs to decide, and time is running out…
Ope’s Opinion: I’m not sure about this book. The beginning was really good. The love story was good, but in the middle somewhere was a whole story of some fantasy ( which I do not enjoy) and science I did not completely understand or enjoy.
I liked the characters in this story. Anna and Adam were ones you root for, Nell is a great best friend for Anna and Josh for Adam. There were a lot of heavy subjects.
The ending was not believable at all. Hard to say much else without giving it away, but it just didn’t feel real or possible at all.
These pieces fit together very well. The mat finish is really nice. My only wish is that there was a poster. Now I am ready to pack up and go to the beach!
Publication Date: May 31, 2022 Publisher: Ballantine Books
Goodreads: The Kingsley family is practically American royalty, beloved for their military heroics, political service, and unmatched elegance. When Joseph S. Kingsley III is born in 1960, he inherits the weight of that legacy. Growing up with all the Kingsley looks and charisma, Joe should have no problem taking up the mantle after his father’s untimely death. But he is also a little bit reckless, and can’t seem to figure out how to channel the expectations of an entire country.
No one ever expected anything of Cate, on the other hand. She, too, grew up in a single-parent household—just her and her mom scraping by in their small apartment. As a teenager, though, Cate is discovered for her looks. Modeling may be her only ticket out of the cycle of disappointment that her mother has always inhabited. Before too long, her face is everywhere, though she is always aware that she’d be a pariah in her social circles if anyone knew her true story.
When Joe and Cate’s paths cross, their connection is instant. What remains to be seen is whether their relationship will survive the glare of the spotlight that follows Joe everywhere. And just as they find themselves in the make-or-break moment, the tragedy that seems to run in Joe’s family right alongside all that privilege will repeat itself.
In a beautifully written novel that recaptures a gilded moment in American history, Emily Giffin tells a story of a love that may or may not have the power to transcend circumstances that seem arrayed against it… and the difficulty of finding your way to the place you belong.
Emily Giffin is one of my go-to authors. She writes such good stories with relatable characters. I am sure this will be another amazing book.
Goodreads: From the series that “fans of Susan Wiggs will find…to their liking” comes this irresistible story of a free spirit who falls for the last man she’d ever expect.
Just when recently evicted yoga instructor Faith Rotolo thinks her luck has run out, she inherits a historic mansion in quaint Sapphire Springs. Though Faith never imagined putting roots down anywhere, small-town life is growing on her, as is her fixer-upper house. If only her handsome new contractor, Rob Milan, would stop spoiling her daydreams with the realities of a major rehab…and his generally grouchy vibes.
A single dad of two, Rob doesn’t have much time for fantasy wish-list ideas his clients can’t afford. Then again, Faith’s creative energy might be exactly what he needs right now. But while Rob and Faith work to give her home the second chance it deserves, their spirited clashes wind up sparking a powerful attraction. As work nears completion, and Faith’s house becomes the shining jewel of the neighborhood, will she and Rob realize that they deserve a fresh start too?
Ope’s Opinion: It took me a bit to get into this story. Once I got into it, the story just kept getting better. This is the third in the series. Each book can be read as a stand alone, but you do revisit the past characters from the previous books.
It was really interesting to see the family history and the mystery that went along with it. The romance is a closed door romance – my favorite! You can feel the attraction without all the details.
The overuse of foul language didn’t add to the story and lost some of it’s impact when used too often. Having said that, it doesn’t keep me from wanting to reading Barb Curtis again.
Publication Date: June 21, 2022 Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Goodreads: From the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight!
She’s back.
Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She’s a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be—a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she’s done, you’ve likely lost everything.
Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat’s long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg’s true target is.
The Lies I Tell is a twisted domestic thriller that dives deep into the psyches and motivations of two women and their unwavering quest to seek justice for the past and rewrite the future.
What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?
Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!
Goodreads: Summer fiction at its page-turning best for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Holly Chamberlin, and Nancy Thayer! Colleen French, acclaimed author of The Summer I Found Myself, brings readers to Albany Beach, Delaware, where one woman must decide whether to seek out the daughter she gave up for adoption.
Each year, the start of summer brings bustle and much-needed tourist dollars to the little town of Albany Beach, Delaware. For Natalie Sullivan, this season is proving more stressful than others. It’s make-or-break time for the Irish pub her husband, Conor, recently bought with his brothers. Their two children are thriving, but she’s experiencing pangs of loss at the end of her childbearing years.
When sixteen-year-old McKenzie starts gushing about Bella, the new coworker at her summer job, Natalie suddenly finds her past and present in conflict. Bella, two years older than McKenzie, looks so similar that a customer remarks that they could be sisters. And when Natalie learns that Bella was adopted, she is propelled back into a heartbreaking decision. As a college student, Natalie became pregnant and put her baby up for adoption. Now, the more McKenzie talks about Bella, the more Natalie wonders: could Bella be her daughter?
Conor insists it’s a mistake to pursue the matter. Natalie’s child belongs to another family now; that was the agreement in the closed adoption. Still, Natalie can’t resist spending time with Bella. As their bond deepens, McKenzie accuses her mother of caring more for a stranger than for her, and Natalie begins imagining what it would be like to have Bella as a second daughter. What will the impact be if Bella really is her biological child? And if she isn’t, can Natalie embrace the joy and potential in her own family, without always wondering about what could have been?
Ope’s Opinion: This was a quick, easy read. There were some parts of it that were on repeat. I felt like Natalie ( the main character – the mother ) didn’t seem to think about how her actions were affecting the rest of the family.
The outcome was interesting. It was an unexpected ending.
Goodreads: Business tycoon, Weston Knox, focused on his career avoiding marriage and family since his mother died in childbirth until he met Kathleen. Now, he wants nothing more than to sweep his soon-to-be fiancé off her feet to live on private islands in exotic locations until he arrives to find her so ill she can barely stand on her own.
Fit, fabulous, and fifty make Kathleen Stein’s life perfect, especially since she’s about to marry the man of her dreams-a workaholic with no desire for children-when she discovers she’s pregnant.
Together, they must learn to navigate through fear of family, a high-risk pregnancy, troublesome family, friends, and a mischievous ferret to find their new happily ever after.
Ope’s Opinion: This is my second Ciara Knight book and I hope there will be more! She swept me away with this story. It was very fast paced. I would have enjoyed some more time with these characters.
The romance and pregnancy was the center of the story, but the friendships were just as important. All the women were strong, independent and had other interests along with their romances. The women also encouraged the men in their lives to support each other and have their own friendship.
This is the box that Gerty’s Garden puzzle comes in.
This is the poster – I always like having a poster to look at while doing a puzzle.
This is the Gerty’s Garden. The pieces are really nice to handle, it has a mat finish, and the pieces fit together really well. I really like Gibson puzzles – they are bit expensive and the shipping is high, but they are really worth it. It is a UK company. I did deal with customer service on a different puzzle and they were very responsive and helpful.
Author: Amy Clipston Publisher: Thomas Nelson Genre: Christian Fiction Source: Thomas Nelson ( Netgalley )
Goodreads:When a jilted romance novelist escapes to a small beach town, the last thing she expected to find was the start of an even better love story.
In the wake of a broken engagement and the death of her last surviving family member, romance novelist Maya Reynolds moves to the haven of Coral Cove, North Carolina, to take over her great-aunt’s toy store. Some of her grief is immediately eased by imaginative eight-year-old Ashlyn Tanner, who talks her into adopting a kitten and inspires Maya to create a princess tea-party room in the store.
Ashlyn’s dad, local veterinarian Brody Tanner, is quickly smitten by the newest resident of his hometown. As a single parent, he sacrifices a lot in order to give Ashlyn the world, so a romantic entanglement with Maya is not a distraction he is looking for.
As the three develop a deepening bond in the seaside town where Maya experienced some of her happiest childhood memories, clouds cast a shadow over Maya’s hope for the future: an impossible deadline looms over her next novel, a long-held secret by her late mother about Maya’s absent father comes to light, and Brody’s resolve to avoid romance seems unbreakable.
But together, they just might discover that sometimes happy endings happen outside the pages of Maya’s novels too.
Ope’s Opinion: This reminded me of a Hallmark movie. It was a sweet romance with a few conflicts along the way.
I was disappointed that Maya was not more independent. She felt the need to have a man and a family – she was not content to be alone until the right person came along. I did like Maya’s relationship with Ashlyn. I also enjoyed the story line of her looking for her father.
The ending is what you expect – happily ever after, but it came too fast after Maya’s feelings flop back and forth and Brody is all of a sudden willing to commit.
Ope's Opinions 