REVIEW: UNFORGIVEN BY SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY

MY REVIEW:

Will Tabitha’s crazy ex-husband find her or can she remain free? Will he put Seth and his family in danger?  Will Tabitha & Seth continue to care for one another or will they resign themselves to the fact that they can never be? And if they do continue to care for one another, which one will have to make the change to make themselves work? I loved how Shelley made me feel all of the anxiety and tension that the characters were dealing with. Besides all of that, there is also romance, forgiveness, and healing. A perfect way to spend the day on the couch with your favorite beverage, lost in the pages of UNFORGIVEN, a heart-tugging but beautiful story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Fresh Fiction. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

You can read my full review at:

https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=86715

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Ex-con Seth Zimmerman has spent the last three years making amends by helping the vulnerable in his former Amish community. Lately, this mission includes calling on Tabitha Yoder, whose divorce from her abusive husband has isolated her from the community. Even though she never comes out of her house to talk to him, Seth knows she watches him from the window while he chops wood, clears her driveway, and drops off food.   An uneasy friendship is just starting to take hold between them when small gifts begin to appear at Tabitha’s home–gifts that can only be from her ex-husband. Seth might be Tabitha’s only hope at maintaining her hard-won freedom from the man whose violent outbursts had almost cost her life. But coming to her rescue might mean he ends up behind bars once again.   Get swept up in this emotional story of two outcasts who may be each other’s only hope for happiness and redemption from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray.

Thank you for stopping g by and have a terrific Tuesday!🌞📚🌞

IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?📚

Good Afternoon!

It’s the start of another week. It’s Monday! What are you Reading is hosted by Kathryn from Book Date , this is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind. I’m hoping to squeeze in some of my books that I own but remain unread!

LAST WEEKS READS:

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Identity presents a suspenseful new novel of tragedy and trauma, love and family, and the evil that awaits.

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse―because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them―and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

CURRENT READS:

Two converging mysteries compel a woman’s search for the truth in a captivating novel about loss, love, family, and healing by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

Biographer Ellie Connor is in Gideon, Texas, to research blues singer Mabel Beauvais who, on the verge of fame, mysteriously disappeared more than forty years ago. Gideon holds another mystery for Ellie. It’s the truth about her parents—a restless mother who died young and a father she never knew. They are an unsettled piece of Ellie’s own past. Somewhere in this town is the answer to both of her quests.

No one is more accommodating than charismatic Laurence “Blue” Reynard, a local with deep roots in Gideon. Sexy and charming, he’s also getting under Ellie’s skin like a smooth jazz rhythm. Yet beneath his seductive facade is a soul damaged by loss. Tragic, wanting, and beautiful. So wrong for a woman just passing through town. If only his passion and vulnerability weren’t so irresistible.

As Ellie pieces together Mabel’s puzzling life and that of her father, Blue takes the surprising journey with her. What then for Ellie? Follow her instincts and say goodbye, or follow her heart?

READING NEXT:

Four women face the turning points of their lives in a warm and wise novel about choices and second chances by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

A loving wife and a mother of three accomplished children, forty-six-year-old Trudy Marino has an uncomplicated life—until she’s blindsided by her husband’s affair. But in Trudy’s close-knit neighborhood, she’s not alone in navigating the sudden surprises in a woman’s life.

Her neighbor Roberta has just lost her husband of sixty-two years and struggles with bittersweet memories and grief. Roberta’s granddaughter Jade is a divorcée who has taken up a cathartic new hobby to get over her cheating ex. And there’s Shannelle, whose creative aspirations are fracturing her marriage.

Then Trudy meets Angel, a sensual young man with the vulnerable heart of a poet who awakens her to invigorating new sensations. With a bracing confidence and three dear friends coming together in confusion, anger, and hope, Trudy is encouraged to take control of her life, to reflect on the choices she didn’t make, and to fulfill the youthful dreams she abandoned. As a new world opens up, Trudy can only marvel at where to go from here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

REVIEW: SEVEN SUMMERS BY PAIGE TOON

MY REVIEW:

Once I started reading SEVEN SUMMERS I discovered that there’s even more to this story than meets the eye. There’s an added layer to it that I absolutely loved but that I won’t mention because discovering it as you read is honestly the best. One of the things I love most about Paige  Toon’s writing is how deeply she makes me care for her characters and how strongly she makes me feel for them. Deception and pain, love and loss, secrets and truths, hope and redemption—they all twist and tangle together creating another unforgettable novel from one of the freshest and most trusted voices in romance. Finally, you need to read SEVEN SUMMERS.  It will surprise, shock, impress, grip and absorb you into its story. And those wonderful characters, how happy I am for having ‘met’  them! They will stick with me for a very long time. I just know the same thing will happen to you.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from  Fresh Fiction. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

You can read my full review at:

https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=86714

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Six summers to fall in love. One summer to change everything.

Liv and Finn meet six summers ago working in a bar on the rugged Cornish coastline, their futures full of promise. When a night of passion ends in devastating tragedy they are bound together inextricably. But Finn’s life is in LA with his band, and Liv’s is in Cornwall with her family—so they make a promise. Finn will return every year, and if they are single they will spend the summer together.

This summer Liv crosses paths with Tom—a mysterious new arrival in her hometown. As the wildflowers and heather come into bloom, they find themselves falling for one another. For the first time Liv can imagine a world where her heart isn’t broken every autumn. Now Liv must make an impossible choice. And when she discovers the shocking reason that Tom has left home, she’ll need to trust her heart even more . . .

Thank you for stopping by and have a fantastic Monday!🌞📚🌞

REVIEW: THE CHARMED FRIENDS OF TROVE ISLE BY ANNIE RAINS

MY REVIEW:

THE CHARMED FRIENDS OF TROVE ISLE is a wonderful novel about letting go of the past and making amends. Of rediscovering what it’s like to be in love again, friendship and coming to terms with loss.  I read THE CHARMED FRIENDS OF TROVE ISLE straight through because the story is an easy read with engaging characters, a drama-filled plot, and a believable storyline.  Keep the tissues close by, trust me! I look forward to reading more from Annie Rains. Liz deals with some heavy situations, and several shocking revelations change everything for her. Hang on to your seats, trust me!! THE CHARMED FRIENDS OF TROVE ISLE is not my first book by Annie Rains and it surely won’t be my last!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Fresh Fiction. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

You can see my full review at:

https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=86713

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A powerful, uplifting story of female friendship and resilience—with just a hint of magic—as three young women whose bond was shattered years before by tragedy rediscover their connection, with the help of a long-lost gift they were meant to share.

Ten years after she left her hometown of Trove Isle, NC, Melody Palmer is back to receive an unexpected inheritance—her great aunt’s thrift store, Hidden Treasures. There, in a glass case beneath the register, Melody spies the long-lost charm bracelet she shared with her high school friends, Liz and Bri, and her younger sister, Alyssa. After a devastating prom night accident, it disappeared, and the girls’ friendship evaporated with it. Slipping the bracelet on her arm for safekeeping, Melody soon finds herself crossing paths with her former friends once more.

While Melody fled, Liz has stayed in Trove Isle, helping with her parents’ business instead of pursuing her photography goals. Guilt still weighs on her after that fateful night when they lost Alyssa. For Bri, the consequences were even more stark. After spiraling into self-destruction, Bri served four years in a women’s state prison and is about to be released—but can Trove Isle ever feel like home again?

Yet despite everything that’s changed, the promise that the bracelet once held—of adventures, achievements, love, and lifelong friendship—hasn’t quite faded. And together, they might yet find a way to reconcile their pasts and futures, one charm at a time . . .

Thank you for stopping by and have a fantastic Sunday!🌻📚🌻

HAPPY SUNDAY!☕

Good morning! Its 62 here, going up to 75. I’m going to get the bread machine going for Everything bagels in a little bit.  I need coffee first!  Today, I have laundry and the All Star Race tonight.  I plan on filling the rest of my time with reading.  Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!💜

Good-Morning-Wishes-For-Sunday

MY NETGALLEY HAUL THIS WEEK!😯

I tried not to go too crazy and here is what happened! This week I snagged six new books!  I still have five requests pending! Now to find the time to read them.

NETGALLEY:

Everything that was lost will be found again.

Jubilee PD Officer Wiley Pope thinks he’s ruined things with Linette Elgin. He hasn’t seen or heard from the local nurse since their date gone wrong. But when Wiley’s trip to the bank turns into a robbery with Linette as one of the hostages, his training and protective instincts kick into full gear. A heroic bullet to his armor-protected chest is enough for Linette to forgive Wiley’s past mistakes and begin anew.

While his love for Linette grows daily, Wiley finds himself in over his head when a murder investigation is linked to Pope Mountain. If that wasn’t enough, a woman from Wiley’s father’s past abandons her seven-year-old daughter at the police station in an attempted money scheme. But the minute the woman signs over her parental rights, Wiley and Linette welcome the wary little girl into their family and show her what real love looks like.

One impulsive decision changes the lives of two best friends forever in a powerful novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling author of The Last Caretaker.

If Lark and Mikki didn’t have each other, they’d have nothing in this miserable town. So the best friends stick together, working night shift at the highway travel stop, going nowhere fast. Until a stranger drops in, heading for Florida, and Mikki impulsively leaves with him, never to be seen again.

Eight years later, Lark is finally getting her life back together for the sake of her young daughter and Mikki’s lovably prickly grandma, who can no longer care for herself. People have almost stopped blaming Lark for Mikki’s disappearance, and she’s engaged to the nicest guy on highway patrol. But when the stranger who drove Mikki away reappears and asks for her, nobody knows what to believe.

As the search reignites, Lark fights to find out whether Mikki is really missing or doesn’t want to be found. But piecing together the chain of events set into motion that fateful night could threaten everything—and everyone—Lark has left.

A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court—she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows.

Five years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the killing of her company’s chief scientist who threatened to go public with allegations of corporate fraud. Keera knows Jenna too well. When she was a kid, Keera saw Jenna for what she was: a manipulative and frighteningly controlling sociopath. Now, with only circumstantial evidence against Jenna, Keera is willing to bury any trepidation she might have to defend a woman she believes, this time, to be innocent.

As the investigation gets underway and disturbing questions arise, Keera puts her trust in a client who swears that this time she’s telling nothing but the truth. If this is all just another devious game, Keera might be working to set a murderer free.

From the author of Before I’m Gone comes an intensely affecting romance about love, loss, and second chances, sure to elicit a good ugly cry.

Grayson Caballero sees the glass half-empty. Born with a life-threatening heart defect, he’s been living on borrowed time. The uncertainty of tomorrow makes him push people away, helping Grayson to avoid any real commitment.

Then he meets Reid Sullivan and falls madly in love. The two work together at the Wold Collective, Grayson as a project manager and Reid in HR. They even live in the same apartment complex. But Grayson continues to keep his distance, despite their obvious attraction. And Reid’s not interested in waiting around.

When Grayson collapses at a basketball game, Reid learns he’s been keeping secrets from her. Now his life hangs in the balance…and a stranger from Boston holds the key to his survival.

Nadia Karlsson makes a life-changing decision after her husband, Rafe, is involved in a tragic accident near Harvard Square. Her choice will unwittingly alter the course of Grayson’s future—and tie his fate unexpectedly to her own.

A disappearance and a dead body put Cork O’Connor’s family in the crosshairs of a killer in the twentieth book in the New York Times bestselling series from William Kent Krueger­, “a master storyteller at the top of his game” (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

The disappearance of a local politician’s teenaged daughter is major news in Minnesota. As a huge manhunt is launched to find her, Cork O’Connor’s grandson stumbles across the shallow grave of a young Ojibwe woman—but nobody seems that interested. Nobody, that is, except Cork and the newly formed Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police. As Cork and the tribal officers dig into the circumstances of this mysterious and grim discovery, they uncover a connection to the missing teenager. And soon, it’s clear that Cork’s grandson is in danger of being the killer’s next victim.

From the internationally bestselling author of Shotgun Lovesongs comes a rugged feel-good valentine, a small-town novel for readers who still believe in sunset triumph and second chances.

Charlie and Vivian’s marriage did not work. The love was there, but there were too many problems, too many struggles. After parting ways, Charlie took off to work on the railroad, becoming accustomed to California living, and Vivian stayed in their small midwestern town, raising a daughter from her next marriage all on her own. For all they knew, the marriage was over, their love story never to be rekindled.

Have an awesome day and thank you for stopping by! ☔📚📚☔