This is the box of the Tiki puzzle.
This is the poster that came with puzzle.
This is an Aimee Stewart puzzle from the Buffalo company.
I did several of Aimee Stewart puzzles – they have all been
well made, easy to see where the pieces belong and
the perfect thickness. I would buy another one!
Author: Cynthia Ellingsen
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Fiction
Source: Bookouture ( Netgalley )
Goodreads: Two sisters who haven’t spoken for twenty years. One summer to bring a family back together.
Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together.
So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back.
At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship.
But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal?
An emotional and uplifting read about sisters, secrets and the family bonds that hold us together no matter how complicated they are, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe will love this.
Ope’s Opinion: Sisters, beach, and home renovations – all in one book is amazing! This book was easy to get into, the characters are relatable, and the renovations were written in a way that you could see it.
This emotional sister story took you on a journey through their childhood that brought them to present day. Their separation affected them each differently. Coming together made them each learn to see the other sisters perspective.
There was a romance going on in the background. I enjoy that relationship, but I really liked that the sisters relationship was the center of the book. The ending was good and wrapped everything up.
Author: Nicole Trope
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Thriller
Source: Bookouture ( Netgalley )
Goodreads: Sometimes, the most perfect families are hiding the most terrible secrets. How well do you know the people next door…?
Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new family, The Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and Josh seem so in love and their gorgeous five-year-old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald-green lawn.
But soon people start to notice: why don’t they join backyard barbecues? Why do they brush away offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they shut you out, rather than inviting you in?
Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out. As a tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, the dawn chorus is split by the wail of sirens. And one by one the families who tried so hard to welcome the Wests begin to realise: Hogarth Street will never be the same again.
Ope’s Opinion: This book is very intense. I liked how Nicole Trope gave us back ground on the characters. It made the story move slowly at times. I did not enjoy that children were part of this story, that was really hard to read.
The twist toward the end of the book was really interesting. I didn’t see it coming, which made it even better.
Came a thriller book!
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: January 4, 2022
Goodreads: A twisty, whip-smart debut thriller, as electrifying as the #1 New York Times bestseller The Girl on the Train, about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets.
Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way (after years of trying)—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class and meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be. Rachel doesn’t seem very maternal: she smokes, drinks, and professes little interest in parenthood. Still, Helen is drawn to her. Maybe Rachel just needs a friend. And to be honest, Helen’s a bit lonely herself. At least Rachel is fun to be with. She makes Helen laugh, invites her confidences, and distracts her from her fears.
But her increasingly erratic behavior is unsettling. And Helen’s not the only one who’s noticed. Her friends and family begin to suspect that her strange new friend may be linked to their shared history in unexpected ways. When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park.
Thank you Simon & Schuster!
Author: Catherine Walsh
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Romance
Source: Bookouture ( Netgalley )
Goodreads: Who could have predicted this? Being at the same wedding. In Ireland. There’s a reason one-night stands are one-night stands. You’re not supposed to see each other again, especially not when you’re the maid of honor, and he’s the groom’s brother…
Sarah Anderson has never been more excited about anything in her life. She’s going to her best friend’s wedding. And not just any wedding. An Irish wedding. Goodbye New York, hello rolling green hills and men with beautiful accents and twinkling eyes.
But Sarah should have known that not all guests are fairy-tale princes…
There’s the chinless Uncle Trevor, whose idea of small talk is to claim climate change is a conspiracy.
Then there’s Great Aunt Eileen, who doesn’t talk at all (she’s too busy replacing the hotel cutlery with her own set).
Worst of all, there’s Declan Murphy. Best man. Brother of the groom. And the man Sarah last saw naked.
Is there anything more mortifying than bumping into a one-night stand halfway across the world? Especially as Declan seems determined to embarrass Sarah at every turn. At least when the wedding’s over she’ll never have to see him again.
But, back in New York, Sarah finds the more she tries to forget Declan, the more she can’t shake the thought of that infuriatingly charming smile and the way he wears a tux…
Was he really just for one night only, or might Declan Murphy be The One?
Prepare to laugh until you cry with this perfect feel-good romantic comedy about taking a chance on love. Fans of Sophie Ranald, Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes won’t be able to put this down!
Ope’s Opinion: This was a solid 3.5 so I rounded up to 4 chairs. I liked Sarah and Declan, but I did get a little frustrated with the together, apart, together thing – it happened too often.
At the beginning it was fun to watch the two of them figure each other out, the middle moved a little slow, and the end had a surprise and a good ending. The last few chapters made the story so complete. Hard to believe this was Catherine Walsh’s debut novel. I would definitely read what she writes next.
In August I hope to read….
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Goodreads:
Two friends. One pact. The performance of their lives.
Hannah Abbott is stuck in a dead-end relationship and at a job she loves but that barely pays the bills. The four walls of her tiny New York City apartment have never seemed so small. She’s barely toasted her thirtieth birthday when her old college friend Will knocks on her door with an unexpected proposal.
Will Thorne never forgot the marriage pact he made with Hannah, but he also never imagined he’d be the one to initiate it. One ex-fiancée and an almost-career-ending mistake later, however, he finds himself outside Hannah’s door, on bended knee, to collect on their graduation-night pinky promise.
With both of their futures at stake, Hannah and Will take a leap of faith.
Now, all they have to do is convince their friends and family that they’re madly in love. As long as they follow the list of rules they’ve drafted, everything should go smoothly. Except Will has never been good with rules, and Hannah can’t stop overthinking the sleeping arrangements. Turning thirty has never been so promising.
Came a very interesting book.
If you are interested in the Kennedy family, this might be a read you won’t want to miss.
It will be published August 3, 2021.
Goodreads: Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald reveals the truth about Joseph P. Kennedy’s deeply controversial tenure as Ambassador to Great Britain on the eve of World War II.
On February 18, 1938, Joseph P. Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the Establishment was an understatement: known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his “plain-spoken” opinions and womanizing, he was a curious choice as Europe hurtled toward war.
Initially welcomed by the British, in less than two short years Kennedy was loathed by the White House, the State Department and the British Government. Believing firmly that Fascism was the inevitable wave of the future, he consistently misrepresented official US foreign policy internationally as well as direct instructions from FDR himself. The Americans were the first to disown him and the British and the Nazis used Kennedy to their own ends.
Through meticulous research and many newly available sources, Ronald confirms in impressive detail what has long been believed by many: that Kennedy was a Fascist sympathizer and an anti-Semite whose only loyalty was to his family’s advancement. She also reveals the ambitions of the Kennedy dynasty during this period abroad, as they sought to enter the world of high society London and establish themselves as America’s first family. Thorough and utterly readable, The Ambassador explores a darker side of the Kennedy patriarch in an account sure to generate attention and controversy.
Thank you, Michelle at St. Martin Press.
Author: Claudia Shelton
Publisher: CCS Writings, LLC
Genre: Fiction
Source: CCS Writings ( Netgalley )
Goodreads: Welcome back to Nature’s Crossing as the small community starts to expand… Where the new subdivision, Peaceful Lake Acres, is bringing jobs for the area, new friendships and chances to embrace the future.
Thirty-four-year-old widow Rylie Crawford is struggling to get Crawford Enterprises out of the red since discovering company funds have been embezzled. She’s determined to hold onto the company she and her deceased husband started years ago. When the TRED Corporation hires her to take over commercial sales in their new subdivision development, one stipulation is that she live in Nature’s Crossing for the duration of the contract. She hadn’t counted on the only accommodation left in town being the first floor of the house the TRED CEO owns. Neither had he.
After his father’s heart attack, Taylor Randolph was named CEO of TRED, the family’s nationally renowned land development company. Focused on expanding the environment-nature-friendly brand of the company, he’s spending most of his time at their newest development, Peaceful Lake Acres. He’s also hoping the small-town atmosphere of Nature’s Crossing brings him some peace. But when he’s forced to share his house with Rylie, he has more to keep under control than the recurring flashbacks from his time in the military.
Ope’s Opinion: This was an easy, enjoyable read. The characters were realistic, the story fun, and the setting felt like a little get away for me. I especially enjoyed the sisters relationship. This was the second in the series, but I did not feel like I was missing anything. It felt like a stand alone book.
As you know my take on romance books – I could have enjoyed this more if the explicit scenes were left out of this book. I felt like the story could have been complete without this part of the book, but I also know this part of some romance books.
There was a small twist at the end of the book that added to the story. I would like to read another book by Claudia Shelton.
These are the books that I purchased and hope to read this summer.
These were purchased on our beach trip.
Now I hope to have some quiet time and get to reading.
What are you reading this summer? I am always looking for a good read.
This is the box that this Master Pieces puzzle came in.
This is the poster that came with this puzzle.
The Surf Puzzle finished. It is 750 pieces. It is a little below average puzzle – the pieces are a bit thick. The colors are great! I might try Mater Pieces puzzle again.
Ope's Opinions 