Just for the Summer - Melody Carlson

 

This story had vibes of The Holiday though it was set in the summer. Who knew switching jobs with someone else could be so revealing,

Jacqueline and Ginny both have a lot to learn in this delightful tale. This one is set in Seattle and in Idaho which are worlds apart. Having grown up in Idaho and near Idaho Falls, I was delighted to have my state featured, but always get a little distracted when details aren't quite like what I know. That being said, this story was a fun and light summer read, but did have some strong emotional vibes

Jacqueline and Giinny could not be more different from each other. One relishes the glitz and the glamour and the other is a really hard worker that doesn't focus on the fashion.

What would a job switch be with romance in the new areas. The male protagonists were well written and had character all their own. I have read this author before and love the touristy destinations she writes about. I love the small town vibe.

There is conflict in the stories without it being overwhelming and unmanageable. I think this story worthy of other women's fiction summer reads that have come before it. This is a nice clean read with just the right touch of Christian influence

I received an early copy from the publisher on NetGalley and this is my honest review

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue - Jaime Jo Wright

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

 As the walls of the house at Predicament Avenue reveal their hidden truths, two women--generations apart--discover that fear and foreboding are no respecters of time.

In 1910, Effie James is committed to doing anything to save her younger sister, who witnessed a shocking murder, leaving her mute and in danger of the killer's retribution. Effie must prove what her sister saw, but when a British gentleman arrives, he disrupts Effie's quest with his attempts to locate his wife, Isabelle Addington, who was last seen at the supposed crime scene in the abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue. Just as Effie discovers what she seeks, she finds that the blood staining the walls will forever link her to a scandal she couldn't imagine, and to a woman whose secrets promise to curse any who would expose them.

A century later, Norah Richman grapples with social anxiety and grief as she runs her late great-aunt's bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue. But Norah has little affection for the house and is committed only to carrying out her murdered sister's dreams until crime historian and podcaster Sebastian Blaine arrives to investigate the ghostly legacy of the house's claim to fame--the murder of Isabelle Addington. When a guest is found dead, the incident is linked to Isabelle's murder, and Norah and Sebastian must work together to uncover the century-old curse that has wrapped 322 Predicament Avenue in its clutches and threatens far more than death.

 

BOOK REVIEW 

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue is a dual timeline book with an enthralling mystery or two. Jaime Jo Wright is masterful at spinning dual timeline stories and tying them together. This story is definitely a winner.

 The two stories are a delicate dance between the past and the future with one informing the other to the reader but hiding its mysteries from the main characters. Entwined in this delicious mystery is a story of healing and of moving forward with faith instead of fear. There is a tangled web of relationships that becomes unclear of who to trust and who to fear. The two mysteries have false trails and clues that make the reader second guess themselves, but lead to an ending that is satisfying to the reader, but perhaps a little open for the characters.

 Effie and Norah both find themselves pulled into a mystery that is beyond their ability to escape. Sebastian and Anderson willingly pull themselves into the mystery for their own reasons.

 The mysteries themselves unravel little by little in a way that is organic and keeps an air of suspense throughout the story.,

 I highly recommend this story to anyone who loves a good mystery, a clean read, and a story of faith and healing.

 I received an early copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

 

AUTHOR BIO

 

Jaime Jo Wright (JaimeWrightBooks.com) is the author of ten novels, including Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She's also a two-time Christy Award finalist, as well as the ECPA bestselling author of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau and two Publishers Weekly bestselling novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her family and felines.

 

The Ark and the Dove

 This was an interesting look at the possibilities experienced by Noah's wife and their family. It was written from several of their perspectives as they experience the building of the ark,  the flood, and the aftermath of that.

It shows  the perspectives of Noah's sons' wives and the difficulties they had leaving their families behind and eventually losing them to the flood because they would not believe.

It was interesting perspective. I enjoyed the story though some of the perspective did not entirely line up with my perspective of Christianity. That being said, it was a well written story and I enjoyed reading it. The experiences were relatable with a world that feels much like the world that they experienced prior to the flood. The book felt relevant and was enjoyable.

I was sent an ARC by the publisher and this is my honest review. 

These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas

BOOK DESCRIPTION

 Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of Biltmore Estate. Now, when Biltmore Industries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn't have the creativity needed. But there's an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her--if only she can find her.

 To track the mysterious weaver down, Lorna sees no other way but to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her old life, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of long ago. She'll have to risk the job that shapes her identity as well as the hope of friendship--and love--restored.

 In this seamlessly woven historical tale, award-winning Appalachian author Sarah Loudin Thomas delivers a poignant novel of friendship, artistry, restoration, and second chances.

 MY REVIEW

 Set in North Carolina around the Biltmore estate, this is three separate stories entangled together by circumstances outside of control. 

We learn of Arthur, Gentry and Lorna who all worked on the Biltmore Estate as a part of training operation that also included weaving and woodworking. Arthur stayed around but expanded on his own business. 

While the stories were their own, they were very much intertwined. These characters learned from each other. Some of the lessons were difficult and others were unexpected. 

This book is written from all three points of view and it goes between what is their past and their present. Each has difficult circumstances brought about by the times and others in their world. The glimpses of the Biltmore estate are beautiful and the lives of the characters are rich and interesting. 

Ultimately their threads are entangled and eventually come together again in an unexpected and beautiful way, much like the cloth that is woven throughout the book. I enjoyed this story very much and the look into the lives of hardworking people that sometimes struggled with what it meant to survive. The messages of forgiveness and love are woven throughout, much like the characters. This was a beautifully written story and I would recommend it to others. 

I received an early copy from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest review.

AUTHOR BIO

 

Sarah Loudin Thomas (sarahloudinthomas.com) is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, including The Finder of Forgotten Things, The Right Kind of Fool, winner of the 2021 Selah Book of the Year, and Miracle in a Dry Season, winner of the 2015 INSPY Award. She worked in public relations for Biltmore Estate for six years and is now the director of Jan Karon's Mitford Museum. A native of West Virginia, she and her husband now live in western North Carolina. 

 

Never Fall Again by Lynn H Blackburn

 

Landry Hutton has spent three years rebuilding her life behind the secure gates of The Haven, an exclusive resort on the outskirts of Gossamer Falls, North Carolina. After serving as the artist-in-residence, Landry is finally ready to settle in permanently to give her daughter, Eliza, a safe home in which to grow up.

Former Marine Callum Shaw always knew he would someday join his family's construction business in Gossamer Falls. He longs for a family of his own but has almost given up on that ever happening. The beautiful artist who has hired him to build her new house is funny, gifted, and everything Cal could ever want in a partner, but he vows to keep his distance. He's loved--and lost--someone like her before.

When Landry's pottery is destroyed in a suspicious fire, it becomes clear that Landry and Eliza are in grave danger--but from whom? Cal will have to risk his heart again if he has any hope of protecting them.

I really enjoyed this story. The suspense was light, but just enough to keep the mind going throughout the book trying to figure it out. There were plenty of clues towards what was going on, but also lots of distraction. 

What was not light was the arc involving the romantic lead. Their chemistry was wonderful despite their insistence on wanting to be alone. It was clear from the beginning that they belonged together. This fact did not detract from the story, it enhanced it., I love the setting and the families in this story. A little bit of an age old feud just made things even more interesting. 

I felt for Landry and her daughter and I fell for Callum, who wouldn't. With just the right touch of growth, love and forgiveness as well as setting up the stories for several characters, I found this story to be absolutely wonderful and I would love to visit this town again. There is nothing better than a good romantic suspense when you need a good escape and this one offered the perfect opportunity,

As far as the suspense piece goes, I really did not see that coming. The romance was expected but felt organic. The story had the perfect touch. 

I received an early copy from the publisher via netgalley and this is my honest review.

Hidden Yellow Stars - Rebecca Connollly

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Based on the true story of two World War II heroines who risked everything to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium.

Belgium, 1942

Young schoolteacher Andrée Geulen secretly defies the Nazis in Belgium, who are forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Andrée is not Jewish, but she feels a maternal connection to her students, who are living in constant fear, and decides to take action. No child should have to suffer under such persecution. But what can one woman do against an entire army?

Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who works with the Committee for the Defense of Jews in Belgium, a clandestine resistance group tasked with hiding children from the Gestapo. She wants to recruit Andrée because her Aryan appearance can provide crucial security measures for their efforts. Andrée agrees to join and begins work immediately by adopting a code name: Claude Fournier.

Together, Andrée and Ida, and their undercover operatives, work around the clock to move Jewish children from their families and smuggle them to safety through the secret channels established by the resistance. As each child is hidden, Andrée commits to memory their true name and history. Someday, she vows, she will help reunite as many of these families as she can.

But with the Gestapo closing in and the traitorous Fat Jacques who has turned from ally to enemy and is threatening to identify and expose any Jew he meets, Andrée and Ida must work even harder against increasingly impossible odds to save as many children as possible and keep them safely hidden—even if it might cost them their own lives.

BOOK REVIEW

There are stories that are fun to read and are a lovely escape, this isn't one of those. This is a story that needed to be told and MUST be read. This is the story of two women, one an atheist and one a non practicing Jew who find themselves wanting to do more in Belgium during the occupation of Germany during WWII. This is a story that could have been easily overlooked.

This is a well-researched, emotionally charged historical fiction based on true people and true events. This is heart pounding in the near misses with keeping little ones safe.

The perception of these two women shows the gamut of what people believed and how a change in an idea could be all it took to save these children. It highlighted the brave people that did the hiding on behalf of those being hunted. Sometimes, it allowed the parents a chance to hide, knowing their children were being saved. Sometimes it meant only a small part of families being saved.

If you don't read any other WWII novel, you should read this one. In remembrance of these two very real ladies and the sacrifice that they made in order to save children. It also very much highlights the organization that they worked with to accomplish this.

Rebecca Connolly was masterful in her research and depictions. I was able to feel the suspense, the fear, the hope, and the relief when there was success. I also felt the despair of these parents who had to let their children go to let them live in a time where their world was turned upside down.

AUTHOR BIO

Rebecca Connolly is the author of more than two dozen novels. She calls herself a Midwest girl, having lived in Ohio and Indiana. She's always been a bookworm, and her grandma would send her books almost every month so she would never run out. Book Fairs were her carnival, and libraries are her happy place. She received a master's degree from West Virginia University.

While doing research for this book, she discovered information about her own family history, including the fates of several unknown family members who perished in the concentration camps of World War II.

A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane.

 London, England, 1860

When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.

 Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara's dismay. When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe. Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer's trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself--at any cost.

MY REVIEW

This Victorian book was wonderful. It was full of fun and adventure. It had a little romance and a little mystery. It was a little steampunk with automatons.

Clara is a part of a wealthy family and she is trying to hold that family together after the death of her grandmother. Her grandfather hires an apprentice who goes by Mr. Arthur as he has his own secrets and is trying to reinvent himself.

Grandfather fancies himself a matchmaker and sends the two, along with Clara's mother on the trip of a lifetime, It is a mystery to figure out, but also there to figure out is Clara learning to live again, Mr. Arthur learning to trust again, and both of them discovering truths about God and themselves. 

This is a Christian fiction with a strong message about trusting in God even in the darkest moments. With all the wonder of the story, the lessons about God are well done and a perfect fit within the story. It is a magical tale with a few twists and turns along the way.

I hated to put this one down for the real world around me. It was a beautifully written escape to a world of wonder and possibility within Clara's life. 

This is definitely on a list to read again. I received an early copy from the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest review.,