It Ends With Us

Posted on by
Reply

it ends

Author:  Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: New Adult
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:  Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters, It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

Ope’s Opinion:   Oh, My … This was an intensely great book.  It is really hard to review this book without talking about the spoilers.

The characters are very deep and realistic.  I personally do not know anyone in their situations, but I sure could feel their angst.  Colleen Hoover made me understand their circumstances.

I love the way this book ended, but now I would like a sequel.  I want to know where everyone is now.

705de-5chairs

Everything We Keep

Posted on by
2

everything we keep

Author: Kerry Lonsdale
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Mystery
Source:  BEA 2016

Goodreads:  Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

A luminous debut with unexpected twists, Everything We Keep explores the devastation of loss, the euphoria of finding love again, and the pulse-racing repercussions of discovering the truth about the ones we hold dear and the lengths they will go to protect us.

Ope’s Opinion: Wow!  This book really surprised me!  I just finished it and I am still absorbing the ending – not at all what I expected.  Please tell me there is a sequel to this book. I want to know where they all are now – even the background characters are interesting.

I am a slow reader and I read this book in two days.  It was so well written, that there were no wasted words or wasted dialogue.  The story goes into the past, when you need to know something to understand the present.  Just when you think this is going to be another predictable story line, Kerry Lonsdale takes you down another road.

I felt satisfied with the story until I read the epilogue – it threw me a little.  I am still soaking that part in…

5c675-4chairs

This Just In….

Posted on by
Reply

From Emer at MIRA.the marriage lie

Publication Date:  December 27, 2016
Publisher:  Mira

Goodreads:  Even the perfect marriage has its dark side… 

Iris and Will’s marriage is as close to perfect as it can be: a large house in a nice Atlanta neighborhood, rewarding careers and the excitement of trying for their first baby. But on the morning Will leaves for a business trip to Orlando, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt. Another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board, and according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers on this plane.

Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. But as time passes and there is still no sign of Will, she reluctantly accepts that he is gone. Still, Iris needs answers. Why did Will lie about where he was going? What is in Seattle? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to find out what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she receives will shock her to her very core.

I was so excited when this landed on my doorstep!!  Thank you Emer!!

Coming Soon….

Posted on by
Reply

…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In August I hope to read….

Can I see you

Publication Date: August 9, 2016
Publisher:  Berkley

Goodreads:  From the author of The Someday Jar comes a witty and warm novel about a matchmaker who’s an expert at matters of the heart—except when it comes to her own…

Matchmaker Bree Caxton has a 98% success rate, a book about to hit the stands, and an amazing boyfriend. Until, that is, he gets cold feet about their future and runs from their relationship.

Afraid no one will buy a book on love from a woman whose love life is a mess, Bree begs her one matchmaking failure, Nixon Voss, to pose as her boyfriend. But when they become a hit with readers, they must carry on their charade just a little longer. Fortunately, they’re both having fun…

But then Bree’s ex decides he wants her back and a newspaper presents a challenge that could expose the truth about her rocky love life. Now she must find the courage to embrace what is, or risk losing something much bigger than her reputation: her heart…

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

The Secrets She Kept

Posted on by
2

secrets

 

Author: Brenda Novak
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source:  BEA 2016

 

Goodreads:  Exciting, emotional, intense. The thrilling follow-up to New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak’s highly acclaimed The Secret Sister. The things that happen in families are always surprising and sometimes shocking! 

The rich and powerful Josephine Lazarow, matriarch of Fairham Island, is dead. The police say it’s suicide, but Keith, her estranged son, doesn’t believe it.

Keith bears scars—both physical and emotional—from his childhood, but he’s worked hard to overcome the past. After walking away from his mother and her controlling ways five years ago, he’s built a new life in LA. He’s also accumulated a fortune of his own. But as soon as he learns of his mother’s death, he returns to Fairham. He feels he owes it to his grandfather to put the family empire together again—and he’s determined to find his mother’s killer.

Problem is…coming home to Fairham puts him back in contact with Nancy Dellinger, the woman he hurt so badly when he left before. And digging that deep into his mother’s final days and hours entails a very real risk.

Because the person who killed her could be someone he loves…

Ope’s Opinion: The romantic and suspense of the story was well woven together.  The clues for the murderer did not really take me the person who did it.  The romance part was much too explicit for my reading taste.

The characters were interesting and likeable.  The descriptions made it so you could see what she was writing about, but the story itself seemed to bounce all over the place.

The romance ended the way you expected it to.   The murder part wasn’t obvious, but was believable.  This was the second in the series, but you could not tell while reading it.

44727-3chairs

This Just In…

Posted on by
2

From Little Bird Publicity
Claire McLaughlin

snowfall

Publication Date: September 27, 2016
Publisher: HQN Books

Goodreads:  There’s no place like Haven Point for the holidays, where the snow conspires to bring two wary hearts together for a Christmas to remember 

It’s been two rough years since Andrea Montgomery lost her husband, and all she wants is for her children to enjoy their first Christmas in Haven Point. But then Andie’s friend asks a favor—to keep an eye on her brother, Sheriff Marshall Bailey, who’s recovering from a hit and run. Andie will do anything for Wyn, even park her own misgivings to check on her grouchy, wounded bear of a brother.

Marshall hates feeling defenseless and resents the protective impulses that Andie brings out in him. But when a blizzard forces them together for the holidays, something in Marshall begins to thaw. Andie’s gentle nature is a salve, and her kids’ excitement for the holidays makes him forget why he never wanted a family. If only he and Andie can admit what they really want—each other—their Christmas wishes might come true after all.

I really like RaeAnne Thayne, so I am expecting a great read!

From Kristin of Kritters Ramblings.

since she went away

Published: June 21, 2016
Publisher: NAL

Goodreads:  Three months earlier, Jenna Barton was supposed to meet her lifelong best friend Celia. But when Jenna arrived late, she found that Celia had disappeared—and hasn’t been seen again. Jenna has blamed herself for her friend’s disappearance every single day since then.

The only piece of evidence is a lone diamond earring found where Celia and Jenna were planning to meet, leading the national media to dub Celia “The Diamond Mom.” And even though Jenna has obsessively surfed message boards devoted to missing persons cases, she is no closer to finding any answers—or easing her guilt.

But when her son’s new girlfriend—who suddenly arrived in town without a past—disappears, a stricken Jenna begins to unwind the tangled truth behind Celia’s tragedy. And as long-buried secrets finally come to light, she discovers how completely lives can be shattered by a few simple lies.

This one looks really interesting!!

falling

Published: July 19, 2016
Publisher: Berkley

Goodreads:  The New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House, Jemima J, and Summer Secrets presents a novel about the pleasure and meaning of finding a home—and family—where you least expect them…

When Emma Montague left the strict confines of upper-crust British life for New York, she felt sure it would make her happy. Away from her parents and expectations, she felt liberated, throwing herself into Manhattan life replete with a high-paying job, a gorgeous apartment, and a string of successful boyfriends. But the cutthroat world of finance and relentless pursuit of more began to take its toll. This wasn’t the life she wanted either.

On the move again, Emma settles in the picturesque waterfront town of Westport, Connecticut, a world apart from both England and Manhattan. It is here that she begins to confront what it is she really wants from her life. With no job, and knowing only one person in town, she channels her passion for creating beautiful spaces into remaking the dilapidated cottage she rents from Dominic, a local handyman who lives next door with his six-year-old son.

Unlike any man Emma has ever known, Dominic is confident, grounded, and committed to being present for his son whose mother fled shortly after he was born. They become friends, and slowly much more, as Emma finds herself feeling at home in a way she never has before.

But just as they start to imagine a life together as a family, fate intervenes in the most shocking of ways. For the first time, Emma has to stay and fight for what she loves, for the truth she has discovered about herself, or risk losing it all.

In a novel of changing seasons, shifting lives, and selfless love, a story unfolds—of one woman’s far-reaching journey to discover who she is truly meant to be…

Another Jane Green – YAY!!! 

Love May Fail

Posted on by
Reply

love may fail

Author: Matthew Quick
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Fiction
Source:  BEA 2015

Goodreads:  Portia Kane is having a meltdown. After escaping her ritzy Florida life and her cheating pornographer husband, she finds herself back in South Jersey, a place that remains largely unchanged from the years of her unhappy youth. Lost and alone, looking for the goodness she believes still exists in the world, Portia sets off on a quest to save the one man who always believed in her—and in all of his students: her beloved high school English teacher, Mr. Vernon, who has retired broken and alone after a traumatic classroom incident.

Will a sassy nun, an ex-heroin addict, a metal-head little boy, and her hoarder mother help or hurt Portia’s chances on this quest to resurrect a good man and find renewed hope in the human race? Love May Fail is a story of the great highs and lows of existence: the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know (deep down) you are meant to be.

Ope’s Opinion:  Reading this was difficult with all the foul language.  If you took the foul words ( especially the “f” word ) out, this book would be at least five pages shorter.  For me the language was so distracting I almost quit reading a couple of times. I finally gave up.  I did not finish.

The characters did not make me feel sorry for them.  Bad things just kept happening, it made me depressed.  I did not find anyone I could relate to in this book.

1221d-2chairs

The Hopefuls

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Jennifer Close           hopefuls
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Fiction
Source: BEA 2016

 

 

Goodreads: When Beth arrives in Washington, D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn’t work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunch, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy’s star rises higher and higher, their friendship–and Beth’s relationship with Matt–is threatened by jealousy, competition and rumors.

Ope’s Opinion: This felt like I was reading Beth’s diary.  She was telling me what was going on, but I didn’t really feel drawn into the story.

I could relate to Beth’s struggle of moving to a new place and attempting to make friends, find a grocery store and feel at home. I just recently moved and some of those adjustments were more difficult then others.

Since I live outside of DC, I did enjoy hearing about all the landmarks I recognized.  It was fun to hear the behind the scenes of political life too.

c229c-3chairs

This Just In….

Posted on by
Reply

These two books are from Kristin of Kritters Ramblings.sweetheartPublished: May 16, 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Goodreads:  The poignant story of what happens when a woman who thinks she’s lost everything has the chance to love again.

Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey’s feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.

Kristin knows what I like to read, so I am expecting this to be a good one!

spaces between

Publication Date: June 14, 2016
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Goodreads:  Return to Butternut Lake with the newest from Mary McNear, whose heartfelt and powerful stories have made her a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Here, the complicated bonds of sisterhood are tested, long-kept secrets are revealed, and love is discovered…all during one unforgettable summer at the lake.

Two sisters couldn’t be more different. Win organized and responsible; Poppy impulsive and undependable. Win treads cautiously and plans her life with care; Poppy bounces from job to job and apartment to apartment, leaving others to pick up the pieces. But despite their differences, they share memories of the idyllic childhood summers they spent together on the shores of Butternut Lake. Now, 13 years later, Win, recovering from a personal tragedy, has returned to Butternut Lake, settling into a predictable and quiet life.

Then, one night, Poppy unexpectedly shows up on Win’s doorstep with all her worldly possessions and a mysterious man in tow. And although Win loves her beautiful sister, she wasn’t expecting her to move in for the summer. Still, at first, they relive the joys of Butternut Lake. But their blissful nostalgia soon gives way to conflict, and painful memories and buried secrets threaten to tear the sisters apart.

As the waning days of summer get shorter, past secrets are revealed, new love is found, and the ties between the sisters are tested like never before…all on the serene shores of Butternut Lake.

Back to Butternut Lake!!  Should be fun!

Darkness the Color of Snow

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Thomas Cobb                         darkness
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Mystery
Source:  BEA 2015

Goodreads:  A haunting, suspenseful, and dazzlingly written novel of secrets, corruption, tragedy, and vengeance from the author of Crazy Heart—the basis for the 2009 Academy Award-winning film. An electrifying crime drama and psychological thriller in which a young cop becomes the fulcrum of a community’s grief and rage in the aftermath of a tragic accident.

“What happened is what happened, and the effects of it rippled out continuously. How could you stop the rippling of water?”

Out on a rural highway on a freezing night, Patrolman Ronny Forbert sits in his ten-year-old Crown Victoria cruiser trying to keep warm and make time pass until his shift ends. Then a familiar beater Jeep Cherokee comes speeding over a hill, forcing the rookie cop to chase after it. The driver is his old-friend-turned-nemesis, Matt Laferiere, the rogue son of a man as beaten down as the town itself.

Within minutes, what begins as a clear-cut arrest for drunk driving spirals into a heated struggle between two young men with a troubled past and ends in a fatal hit and run on an icy stretch of blacktop. The only witnesses are Officer Forbert and Laferiere’s three drinking buddies inside the Jeep.

As the news spreads around Lydell, a small upstate burg near the state line, Police Chief Gordy Hawkins is certain that Ronny Forbert followed the rules, at least most of them, and he’s willing to stand by the young cop. Finding the driver of the car that hit Laferiere, the judicious police chief tries to keep the situation from escalating dangerously out of control. But in a town like Lydell, where jobs are scarce and everyone is hurting, a few people—some manipulative, some just plain greedy—see opportunity in the tragedy.

Over the course of six days, as uneasy relationships, dark secrets, damning lies, and old grievances reveal themselves, the people of this small, tightly woven community decide that a crime must have been committed, and that someone—Officer Ronny Forbert—must pay a price, a decision that will hold devastating consequences for them all.

Evocative, atmospheric, and powerful, Darkness the Color of Snow is a portrait of decency and desperation, ambition and pragmatism, heated passion and cool calculation—of ordinary American lives.

Ope’s Opinion:  I understand that foul language in this setting is probably common, but I do feel like the author still over used it.  The story it’s self was well written. It is set in the present, but continues to go back in time, so you understand how each character ended up where they are.  The characters fit a small town setting, where relationships are complicated.

The beginning of the book really draws you in with a police officer making a routine stop, that is anything but routine.  You can’t help but want to know where it is going to go and how everyone will react to the circumstances around that stop.  It moves fast.

The ending was a let down and the epilogue didn’t really wrap things up.

44727-3chairs