Tag Archives: Berkley Books

Put a Ring on It

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Author: Beth Kendrick
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Chic Lit
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Goodreads: The author of New Uses for Old Boyfriends returns to the Delaware seashore town of Black Dog Bay, where one woman learns to put passion before practicality…

Brighton Smith doesn’t do outrageous. As an insurance actuary, it’s her job to assess risk and avoid bad investments. But when her fiancé calls to confess he’s married someone else on a whim (“I looked at her and I just knew!”), she snaps…

That night, at a local bar, Jake Sorensen—hot, rich, and way out of her league—buys Brighton a cocktail. At midnight, she kisses him. And by dawn, they’re exchanging vows at a drive-through chapel.

Brighton knows Jake is a bad bet, but she doesn’t care. After a lifetime of playing it safe, she’s finally having fun. Until the whirlwind romance gives way to painful reality…and Brighton finds out the truth about why a guy like Jake married a girl like her. With her heart on the line and the odds stacked against them, Brighton must decide whether to cut her losses or take a leap of faith that this love affair is one in a million.

Ope’s Opinion: This is the third in the Black Dog Bay series.  Although it could be read alone, it is so much more fun to start at the beginning.  I enjoyed this read, but not as much as the first two.

I really like the small town setting.  It was great to see some “old friends” from the previous books – that is kind of how they feel – like seeing someone you haven’t seen in a while.  This story line was a bit different from the first two, but I like that she ( Beth Kendrick ) isn’t using a formula to write each book.

I liked how the story was wrapped the up.  Thanks to my daughter, I have the next one on my shelf – I will be reading it soon.

Out Now

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Do you need a cozy mystery
to warm you up during this cold winter?

Goodreads:  A young winemaker is over a barrel when her new boyfriend is accused of murder in this delightful cozy mystery.

It’s fall in Boulder, Colorado, and the leaves aren’t the only things changing. Parker Valentine, owner of Vino Valentine, is finally settling in to her winery and her new relationship with Reid Wallace, a local chef. But their delicate pairing is endangered when Reid’s estranged family comes into town to celebrate the opening of his new restaurant.

Reid and his family are immediately at loggerheads, given their often acidic temperaments, but Parker still wants to make a good first impression. However, her efforts might be in vain when Reid’s sous chef is found dead in the alley behind the restaurant, and Reid is implicated in the murder. In order to save Reid, Parker will have to find the real killer, even if the truth is difficult to swallow.

You may want to start with the first one Killer Chardonnay –
it’s not necessary, but would be more fun!

Layover

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Author: David Bell
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Mystery
Source: Purchased

 

Goodreads:  In this high concept psychological suspense novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter, a chance meeting with a woman in an airport sends a man on a
pulse-pounding quest for the truth…

Joshua Fields takes the same flights every week for work. His life is a series of departures and arrivals, hotels and airports. During yet another layover, Joshua meets Morgan, a beautiful stranger with whom he feels an immediate connection. When it’s time for their flights, Morgan gets up to leave, leans over and passionately kisses Joshua, lamenting that they’ll never see each other again.

As Morgan slips away, Joshua is left feeling confused by what just happened between them. That’s when he looks up and is shocked to see Morgan’s face flashing on a nearby TV screen. He’s even more shocked when he learns the reason why–Morgan is a missing person.

What follows is a whirlwind, fast-paced journey filled with lies, deceit, and secrets to discover the truth about why Morgan is on the run. But when he finally thinks every mystery is solved, another rears its head, and Joshua’s worst enemy may be his own assumptions about those around him… 

Ope’s Opinion:  I bought this book while I was on vacation at the beach thinking I would read it when I got home to savor it.  I really like David Bells writing and his short chapters keep a book moving.  This one was a bit of a disappointment.  I do understand that this book is fiction, but you really have to suspend your reality in this one.  

What kept me reading was wanting to know how it would end, but I wasn’t anxious to get back to the book when I put it down.  The ending answered your questions, but it was not very satisfying.

Bring Her Home

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Author:  David Bell
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Mystery
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:  In the breathtaking new thriller from David Bell, bestselling author of Since She Went Away and Somebody I Used to Know, the fate of two missing teenage girls becomes a father’s worst nightmare….

Just a year and a half after the tragic death of his wife, Bill Price’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Summer, and her best friend, Haley, disappear. Days later, the girls are found in a city park. Haley is dead at the scene, while Summer is left beaten beyond recognition and clinging to life.

As Bill holds vigil over Summer’s bandaged body, the only sound the unconscious girl can make is one cryptic and chilling word: No. And the more time Bill spends with Summer, the more he wonders what happened to her. Or if the injured girl in the hospital bed is really his daughter at all.

When troubling new questions about Summer’s life surface, Bill is not prepared for the aftershocks. He’ll soon discover that both the living and the dead have secrets. And that searching for the truth will tear open old wounds that pierce straight to the heart of his family…

Ope’s Opinion: Wow!  This is my first David Bell book – I can’t wait to start reading his other books now! 

This book will grab you from the very beginning.  The chapters are short, so I kept thinking one more chapter…. One more.  It read really fast and the story was great.  I thought I knew who did it, then some thing happened ( no spoilers ), so I figured I was wrong.  Well, I was right, it just threw me off for a minute.  

There was a bit of the story about two thirds of the way through that I felt was a wild goose chase and didn’t add to the other part of the story.  The end revealed some things I was not expecting ( this is good ), but everything came to a conclusion.

The Next Always

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Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Romance
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Goodreads:  #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts introduces you to the Montgomery brothers – Beckett, Ryder, and Owen – as they bring an intimate bed-and-breakfast to life in their hometown.

The historic hotel in Boonsboro has endured war and peace, the changing of hands, and even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major face-lift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect in the family, Beckett’s social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen.

After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town’s bookstore. Though busy and with little time for romance, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett’s transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look…at both the building and the man behind it.

With the grand opening inching closer, Beckett is happy to give Clare a private tour – one room at a time, in between blueprint meetings and kindergarten pickups. It’s no first date, but these stolen moments are the beginning of something that could arouse the secret yearning that resides in Clare’s independent heart – and open the door to the extraordinary adventure of what comes next…

Ope’s Opinion:  Nora Roberts usually catches me on the first page and keeps my attention – not this time.  For the reader that is strictly a romance readers, you might enjoy this – it has some steamy parts ( too much for me ) and the romance moves quickly – I am more of a slow moving relationship reader.  

There was too much foul language ( seemed to just be stuck in there ).  I hope not to spoil too much, but there is a ghost – really not my cup of tea.  So I won’t be continuing with this series.

If you enjoy all of the above – give it a read and hopefully you will enjoy it.

I Was Told It Would Get Easier

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Author: Abbi Waxman
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Fiction
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:  Squashed among a bus full of strangers, mother-daughter duo Jessica and Emily Burnstein watch their carefully mapped-out college tour devolve into a series of off-roading misadventures, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

Jessica and Emily Burnstein have very different ideas of how this college tour should go.

For Emily, it’s a preview of freedom, exploring the possibility of her new and more exciting future. Not that she’s sure she even wants to go to college, but let’s ignore that for now. And maybe the other kids on the tour will like her more than the ones at school. . . . They have to, right?

For Jessica, it’s a chance to bond with the daughter she seems to have lost. They used to be so close, but then Goldfish crackers and Play-Doh were no longer enough of a draw. She isn’t even sure if Emily likes her anymore. To be honest, Jessica isn’t sure she likes herself.

Together with a dozen strangers–and two familiar enemies–Jessica and Emily travel the East Coast, meeting up with family and old friends along the way. Surprises and secrets threaten their relationship and, in the end, change it forever. 

Ope’s Opinion: My daughter liked this book so much, she pre-ordered a copy for me!  We are both fans of Abbi Waxman.  She really knows how to bring characters alive and make you feel like you are there.

This mother / daughter story reminded me of the days my girls were looking at colleges. Seems we all have our own agendas and aren’t sure we should share what we think and feel.  Those growing pains are difficult.

The ending wrapped things up.  I am ready for another Abbi Waxman book!

Meg & Jo

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Author: Virginia Kantra
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Retelling Fiction
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Goodreads:  The timeless classic Little Women inspired this heartwarming modern tale of four sisters from New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

The March sisters–reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth–have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger.

Meg appears to have the life she always planned–the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters.

One thing’s for sure–they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.

Ope’s Opinion:  If you are a fan of Little Women – you will definitely want to pick this book up.  I just saw Little Women in the theatre, so it was interesting to read this book right after that.   I enjoyed comparing the movie to the book in my head while I was reading it.

Virginia Kantra wrote a sequel called Beth & Amy.  I am not sure if the story picks up where this one left off or are we going to see the same story from Beth & Amy’s perspective?  I think I would have preferred to have all four little women in one book.

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

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Author: Abbi Waxman
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Fiction
Source:  Purchased

Goodreads:  The author of Other People’s Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings delivers a quirky and charming novel chronicling the life of confirmed introvert Nina Hill as she does her best to fly under everyone’s radar.

Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own…shell.

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.

When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all–or mostly all–excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

Ope’s Opinion:  Oh, so many great things to say about this book.   My daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings liked this so much she recommended I buy a copy, so I did!  It was worth every minute of time I spent with it and every penny ( maybe more ) I spent to purchase it. 

If you are a book person, who likes to read about other book people, book stores and bookish things – go buy this one!    You will enjoy it from the beginning to the end.

The relationships in this book were so much fun to read and watch grow. Nina was a wonderful character I won’t soon forget.  I relate to her love of being alone with her books.

It was a feel good book.  The ending was exactly what I wanted.

 

The Sunshine Sisters

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Author: Jane Green
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

 

Goodreads:  The New York Times bestselling author of Falling presents a warm, wise, and wonderfully vivid novel about a mother who asks her three estranged daughters to come home to help her end her life.

Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters.

As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother’s overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mother s criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother’s fame, while her marriage crumbled around her.

But now the Sunshine Girls are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy are all going through crises of their own, their mother s illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears and they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all.

Ope’s Opinion: This was a good read about sisters and a mother that was difficult.  It was interesting to see how each sister related to the mother and how they coped with that relationship being so unpredictable.

The beginning was fun to see a small part of their lives, at different ages, so you got an idea of each sister.  The present time moved faster and was more enjoyable for me.

The ending was predictable and wrapped in nice little package.

Side Note:  The “f” word was over used and unnecessary.  If this offends you, I would not recommend this book.  I found it distracting and irritating.