- The Mitford Scandal

The Mitford Scandal

by Jessica Fellows

This is the third book in the Mitford Scandal series.focusing around the period from the late 1920s to early 1930s⁣.

Its 1928 and Louisa is still within the circle of Mitfords. There is a party where London’s high society people are attending. There was a tragic accident in that party after midnight and caused all guests to Leave. Right after that party Bryan Guiness Proposed to Diana Mitford. ⁣
Once Bryan and Diana were married, Diana asked for Louisa to be her maid.⁣
⁣
Louisa was having an exciting life , accompanying Diana to parties, traveling between paris, Venice and London. She was happy with this life until one night when she was dining in Paris there was a tragic accident . It was then that she realized there are similarities between the incident in London and this was when she started asking what was happening.⁣
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The story begins as a cozy mystery but didn't find any twist and turn towards the end.i like the the way the authors describe different locations and characters.⁣
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Many Thanks to @NetGalley and @minotaur_booka For the ARC.⁣

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-The Magnolia Sisters

                                 The Magnolia Sisters

                                    by Alys Murray

A fast and easy romance. I liked the farm flower setting, I pictured myself in that setting all through the book.. It is a sweet story about Harper Anderson and her sisters.

Harper lives with her parents and her two sisters. They started their business at the farm since they were teenagers.

Harper is the one running the family farm and is holding all the business  stresses and the one who is aware of its uncertain  financial future.

Luke and And his sister Annie are very close siblings , Luke is working at the family farm business helping Harper.

Harper and Luke get closer to each other and I really liked the way their romance flourishes.  I enjoyed the writing style,the author beautifully staged the detail and engaged the reader.

Many Thanks to NetGalley and bookoutour For the ARC.

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- When I Was You

When I was you

by Minka Kent

When I was you is a light thriller. I enjoyed the twists. The first half of the book is slow paced, but a bit more into the story and you can't stop reading it.

Brienne was brutally attacked when leaving work couple of months ago. Today she is afraid of leaving her house and spends most of her times at home. Trying to avoid being alone she decided to rent the upstairs room to Dr Niall Emberlin. As time goes by, she becomes attached to his friendship.

Soon Brienne discovers that someone else is using her identity. Someone from a real estate office called her about a property she has recently rented. Why would she rent an apartment if she already has a place of her own. She tries to find out who this other person is, but the more she investigates the more she gets confused. This other person who is leaving with her identity drives the same car, wears the same jewelry and she even drinks the same drink as her.

I enjoyed the setup of this book. I even liked the fact that Brienne made me mad and I was thinking why you don’t just call the police. The twists are amazing, and the characters were nicely developed.

If you like psychological thrillers, then this is a book that you will enjoy.

 Many thanks to Minka Kent for this gifted copy.

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- Only Lies Remain

Only Lies Remain

by Val Collins

This psychological thriller is set in Ireland. Danny Walsh, Aoife's father in law, has disappeared 15 years ago. while everyone believed he deserted his family all these years, today his remains are found. Police is suspecting Maura, his wife.

Aoife doesn’t believe that Maura had anything to do with it. she thinks the police department is not

investigating it the way they should. and is determined to find out what happened.

This is when she finds out that someone out there doesn't want her to do this. At this point her husband doesn’t want her to get involved in this situation anymore and her best friend is taking some distance from has become distant. Yet she doesn’t give up and wants to find out more about the secrets.

Val Collins has perfectly penned the story; the details get you hooked. The writing style is amazing, I felt like I can't trust anyone in this story. The plot is perfect, and it gets even better towards the end. The twist and turns are jaw dropping and the characters are perfectly developed.

Many thanks to Val Collins and Liz Psaltis at EHP Marketing for this gifted copy.

Book Review:

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- The Plum Tree

The Plum Tree

By Ellen Marie Wiseman

The plum tree is a story of death, survival and hope. A story that reminds us about Holocaust and most importantly reminds us that not all Germans were Nazis. This is a mesmerizing fictional memoir based on a true story.

 I admire the authors ability to handcraft details and stablish the setting. The detailed commencement of the story may be a slow paced read for some readers. Yet for me the events were very well described and I enjoyed the well narrated details.

Christine is a young German girl narrating the story. She fell in love with Isaac, A Jewish boy, on the eve of world war II.

Christine's family were starving and staying in an air raided shelter through the bombing. Her father was sent to Russian front. She was worried about her family and stood tall for them. At the same time  she was also worried about Isaac and was willing to do everything it takes for him.

I believe a good book can stimulate different feelings. Feelings like love, hate, empathy… . and The Plum Tree was the one for me.

This touching story made me angry, made me cry and at points I felt  all the emotions that  Christine went through. It will stay with me forever.

Many Thanks to Ellen, for a gifted copy and for giving me a chance to read this book.

Book Review:

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- Athena's Choice

Athena's Choice

by Adam Boostrom

The story is set in 2099, a year that all men and many women were killed by a virus call the Y virus. So, the planet is run by women, who are forming new nations and governments.

There are so many people are not happy with this situation and would like to know what happened and how they can fight this virus to bring back men in the society.

Athena Vosh is a 19-year-old girl living in the year 2099. When the male gnome project was sabotaged, they needed help to find out who stole the genome that was assigned to help this process.

Athena's help is enlisted in finding out who stole this genome, yet she didn’t know why she is chosen. she has been having strange illustrative dreams that may deliver some awareness.

she happens to find the truth about things that lead her to a choice that can change her future forever.

It becomes her choice men or no men.

I enjoy science fiction and books about modern and future technology. I found the story and the details very captivating. I believe the Science Fiction portion of the story is mesmerizing. The book features insight regarding gender and feminism.

I recommend this book to those enjoying technology and Science Fiction

Many thanks to Adam Boostrom  and @athena_choice for this gifted copy.

Winner of the 2019 National Indie Excellence Award for Visionary Fiction.

Winner of the 2019 Maxy Award for Science Fiction.

Finalist for the 2019 NIEA for Science Fiction.

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-The Bridge of little Jeremy

The Bridge of Little Jeremy

By Indrajit Garai

The story’s main character and narrator, Jeremy, is a young teenager who is way mature for his age. His independence   and maturity is because of the ongoing situation in his life. For years now his mother is working long hours and he knows that they are tight on money, they never have enough food in the fridge and sometimes he knows his mother lies about eating at work. He is really worried about his mother and he is selling his sketches, but he can’t tell his mother that he is selling them. He is saving the money for the time she needs it.

Leon, the German shepherd is his trusted bodyguard and his best friend.

Jeremy has heart condition and must go through another heart operation because the valve doesn’t work the way the doctors wanted.

The story develops very slowly and that might not be attractive to some readers, yet I enjoyed the pace of this book. The story is set in Paris and the author has perfectly described and penned all the details about Paris.

The empathy and kindness between Jeremy, hi mom and Leon is unique and admirable. There were several moments that Jeremy’s philosophical words reminded me of The Little Prince.

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and I really liked it.

I liked the character, the plot, the finely described detail and the story.

Many thanks to Indragit Garai and Estelle for sending me this gifted copy.You can see more reviews on:

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- Dovetail

Dovetail

By Karen McQuestion

This is one of the greatest fiction books I have read recently. The story is set in Pullman, a small town in Wisconsin and has dual story-line. The first, is in 1916 that is told by Pearl and the second is in 1983 that is the time Joe who is Pearls grandson.

Pearl is the second oldest of seven daughters living with their father and has recently lost their mother because of influenza. the oldest sister, Alice, is the one keeping the household together, always moving from the garden to the kitchen taking care of all the chores. She is a sweet girl who is trying to take care of her sisters and their father. She plays piano very well and is the pianist on Saturday nights for the Victory Theater. Pearl, on the other was the dreamy sister who didn’t want to do housework and was mostly doing things she likes to do.

Joe is at the Trendale Psychiatric Treatment Center. He is going through therapy because of the repeated disturbing nightmares that he has, that make him shout while sleeping which is scaring his family (he lives with his father, stepmother and his sister Linda). His father decided to send him to this mental institute to get help and get better. The therapy is not really helpful, but his doctor believes he is a risk to himself and others and he is nowhere near to be discharged.

Joe is in a group therapy when he is being called because his grandmother and her lawyers is waiting for him outside and want to check him out. “Joe rose to his feet, puzzled. There was no way someone had come to check him out, and especially not his dads’ mother, who’d died before he was born” (Chapter two, page 10).

Karen has perfectly handcrafted details in this book. I felt like I was part of the story. The characters are thoroughly developed, and the story is very well penned. For me it was a page turner and I enjoyed every single page. I loved this book and will recommend it to those enjoying a good fiction.

For those of you who doesn’t know what a Dovetail is (including me before reading this book), when Pearl’s father was making each one of the seven sisters a hope chest to keep their wishes and secrets he used Dovetail joints to hold the chest together. The corners of the chest are contented with dovetail joints. The edges are cut in a pattern so one side slides into the other.

Thank you, Karen McQuestion, for giving me a chance to be amongst the first readers enjoying this amazing story.

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-The Queen's Fortune

The Queen's Fortune

A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire

by Allison Pataki

I’ve read Desiree’s story years ago, a book called Desiree by Annemarie  Selinko which was published in 1951. I requested this book in hope of adding to my knowledge.

The Queens fortune pictures Desiree’s complex character who is facing impossible choices.

Desiree Clary must save her family as the French revolution destroys the country and her only answer is Napoleon Bonaparte a young military prodigy whose brother is married to Julie, Desiree’s sister.

Their love and passion are irresistible and leads to Desiree becoming the queen of Sweden.

Allison Pataki has handcrafted details in this book. But the narrative didn’t quite hand together as it might have.  a well written historical fiction takes you back to the era in which it is set, and I didn’t have that feeling reading this book.

If you are interested in Napoleonic wars and history, you might want to read it.

Despite the authors note at the end of the book, the book didn’t do justice to desires story. I love historical fiction and this one just didn’t do it for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

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- Trash

Trash
by Oliver McKie Brown

This is a short story, a dark and descriptive shorty story with twists and turns written from a serial killer’s Viewpoint.

I have to say this book is a page turner. The author’s degree in criminology and psychology and his legal system experience has helped a lot in bringing this serial killer to life. The writing style is very good and attracts the reader’s attached right from the beginning.

Our main character is a serial killer with a dark past who had a hard and miserable life growing up. A tortured and harassed kid with a sloppy mother before turning to a Sycamore Strangler. He then ends up in a foster care because of his mother’s situation and eventually wants to save teenage girl to stop them from turning into someone like his mother. he is trying to save girls from becoming another TRASH.

The feeling of success after saving the first girl and as he thinks clearing her soul, makes him want to save more girls until he meets Sunshine. This is were I had no idea on what’s going to happen next. 

 I enjoyed this book till the end. Although the ending can be a bit disturbing, yet it satisfies the reader.

Trash is a  perfect twisted thriller and I do recommend it to those who enjoy thrillers.

Many thanks to the author and the wonderful Quintillion Reads team for the ARC.

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-Pass Me By (BFF #1)

Pass Me By (BFF #1)

By Kyra Fox

This is my first book by Kyra and won’t be my last. I had fun time reading this book.
The main character of the book are Zoe and Ma. Zoe is a Harvard university graduate with a PHD in Chemical Physics.

Zoe is 25 and is having a tough time finding the right man who loves her and does not feel weakened by her accomplishments.

Mac is 27 Mechanic who left school when he 15 and stated working at an auto shop. After years of hard work, he has saved enough to study part time to get his Mechanical engineering degree.

When Zoe meets Mac, they start their relationship with several steamy moments. although when they first started to date Mac wanted to end the relationship when he found that Zoe is not a technical assistant but a community college professor.

Despite Mac’s love for Zoe something is holding him back and that is his secretive past that he is not ready to share with Zoe.

A very well written book with nicely developed character.


Many thanks to Kyra Fox for the ARC.

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-The Confetti Pact

The Confetti Pact

By Lilly Bartlett

This is my first book Lilly Bartlett (aka Michele Gorman). I had fun time reading this book.

It is a romantic Comedy featuring a bride and a missing groom.

Nelly is an Instagram influencer who is heartbroken when her fiancé announces that he is not ready to get married.

Nelly is meeting up with Jenny, a friend from the magazine which has paid off her wedding and running a special about her big wedding day. Jenny brings a Colombian friend called Rafael. Who’s in need of visa or there is a risk that he will be deported soon.

Nelly doesn’t want to lose the contract and sees Rafael as an opportunity to still get featured on the magazine. Thus, she offers Rafael a deal to marry him. She calls it a business transaction Once this deal is made Matt (Nelly’s ex-fiancé) returns in hop of having her back.

I found this book funny and enjoyed it.

Many thanks to Lilly Bartlett (aka Michele Gorman) for the ARC.

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