Review: We Hope for Better Things

We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

This was a new to me author, and after I finished this book, I added all of the author's work to my TBR.

The author managed to write about three different timelines, providing intriguing stories in each, and linking the three generations creatively. Another thing I appreciated is the sensitive way with which the author dealt with a difficult topic, which could easily be found as done and old, and brought this reader a story about racial conflicts, looking behind the skin, and challenges both parties of a mixed race relationship faced.

Nora's story was the strongest one for me and the one I enjoyed the most. Though Mary's was also strong, I did not like and agree with some of the choices she made.

*I listened to the audiobook on Scribd.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

When Detroit Free Press reporter Elizabeth Balsam meets James Rich, his strange request--that she look up a relative she didn't know she had in order to deliver an old camera and a box of photos--seems like it isn't worth her time. But when she loses her job after a botched investigation, she suddenly finds herself with nothing but time.

At her great-aunt's 150-year-old farmhouse, Elizabeth uncovers a series of mysterious items, locked doors, and hidden graves. As she searches for answers to the riddles around her, the remarkable stories of two women who lived in this very house emerge as testaments to love, resilience, and courage in the face of war, racism, and misunderstanding. And as Elizabeth soon discovers, the past is never as past as we might like to think.

Debut novelist Erin Bartels takes readers on an emotional journey through time--from the volatile streets of 1960s Detroit to the Underground Railroad during the Civil War--to uncover the past, confront the seeds of hatred, and discover where love goes to hide.

About the author:

ERIN BARTELS is the award-winning author of We Hope for Better Things, The Words between Us, All That We Carried, and The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water.

Erin lives in the capital city of a state that is 40% water, nestled somewhere between angry protesters on the Capitol lawn and couch-burning frat boys at Michigan State University. And yet, she claims it is really quite peaceful.

Find her online at erinbartels.com, on Facebook @ErinBartelsAuthor, and on Instagram @erinbartelswrites.

Weekend Wrap-Up: June 5th

 

 It’s Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Book Date.

A better week for reading, though I barely moved with my Paperback.  I took the boys to the library, we read a lot of children's' books, more than once!

Finished

(Reviews can be found under Book Review tag)

Currently reading

Next up:

What are you reading this week?

Book Spotlight Friday! The Bones will Speak

 

Book Beginnings and Friday56

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader and share a non-spoiler sentence or two.

This one grabbed my attention from the start and I'm expecting a good thriller.

The Bones will Speak

About the book:

Forensic artist Gwen Marcey has become the target of a serial killer who believes he's been appointed God's executioner.

In Copper Creek, Montana, Gwen Marcey is struggling to put together her life after cancer and divorce. When her dog retrieves a skull of a murder victim and leads her to the victim's grave, Gwen uses her forensic art ability to identify a serial killer. She is horrified to discover all the victims look like her fourteen-year-old daughter.

The murderer is a "lone wolf," a member of the terrorist group Phineas Priesthood—and he has a score to settle with Gwen. Unraveling the tangled Christian Identity movement, where race—not grace—provides salvation, Gwen is in a frantic rush against time. She must use all her skills to uncover the killer before he can carry out his threat to destroy her and everyone she loves.

*************************************************************

Book Beginnings

"THE BOMB KILLED FOUR PEOPLE."

Friday 56

Dave let out a deep sigh.  "We don't exactly investigate wolf attacks-"

"You'll want to investigate this one."

"Why?"

"Because I found a woman's body."

My thoughts so far

The first 40% flew by.  I'm enjoying it a lot more than book one. 

*************************************************************

Review: The Sweet Life

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher
My rating: 💛💛💛

Rating 3.5 stars

I was surprised that I did not connect with Dawn as much as I though I did - I'm also a big planner, working in the accounting field and likes to be in control. Though I did feel for Dawn, there was a long time I did not like the way so treated her mom. Her revelations at the end did turn the tide for me with connecting to her more and I liked the character growth she went through.

Marnie was vibrant, go with the flow character who definitely acted before thinking, but always wanted the best outcome for everyone.

This was a sweet story focused on emotional and spiritual growth. It was also interesting to learn a bit more about ice cream making and historical buildings.

Having faith is a lot like drawing close to a fire. You back away from it and the coals grow cold. You have to tend the fire for faith to grow.

I'm glad to discover this is the first of a series, because the ending ended with a lot of hope and promise of great things to come.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she's on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought).

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she's not about to let her only child suffer alone--even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month.

Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town's tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything's better with ice cream.

Her exasperated daughter knows that she's the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother's impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn't get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken . . . don't they?

Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod--a place where dreams just might come true.

About the author:

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling, award winning author of fiction and non-fiction books about the

Old Order Amish for Revell Books, host of the radio-show-turned-blog Amish Wisdom, a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazine.

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, who was raised Plain. A theme in her books (her life!) is that you don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate the principles of simple living.

Suzanne lives in California with her family and raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To her way of thinking, you just can't life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

Monthly Recap: May 2022

 

 I first saw this monthly reflections idea on: Christian bookshelf reviews

May was a bit of a slower reading month on the audiobooks due to more meetings, but I enjoyed what I've read and looking forward to June:

What I've read:

(Reviews can be found under Book Review tag)

Paperback:

What I would like to read in June:

Currently Reading:

Upcoming reads (hopeful):

Did I buy any new books?

Bought:

Another BAD BAD month of buying!  Really need to get control over this so that I can actually start reading all my books in the next 10 years!

Did I read everything I wanted too?

No, had to carry over a lot to June (and sadly apart from A Singular and Whimsical Problem, it is everything I carried over to May 🙀):

ARC/Netgalley update:

ARC/Netgalley books downloaded this month:

ARC/Netgalley books read and reviewed:

How was your month?

Review: A Singular and Whimsical Problem

A Singular and Whimsical Problem by Rachel McMillan
My rating: 💛💛💛

Cute but meaningful

This was a short, cute cozy mystery novella but it dealt with an important subject.

Already looking forward to the next antics of Jem and Merinda.

View all my reviews

About the book:

Christmas, 1910. Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts would be enjoying the season a lot more if they weren’t forced to do their own laundry and cooking. Just as they are adapting to their trusty housekeeper’s ill-timed vacation, they are confronted by the strangest mystery they’ve encountered since they started their private investigation firm.


In this bonus e-only novella, what begins as the search for a missing cat leads to a rabble-rousing suffragette and the disappearance of several young women from St. Jerome’s Reformatory for Incorrigible Females. From the women’s courts of City Hall to Toronto’s seedy docks and into the cold heart of the underground shipping industry, this will be the most exciting Christmas the girls have had yet…if they can stay alive long enough to enjoy it.

About the author:

Rachel McMillan is the author of The Herringford and Watts mysteries, The Van Buren and DeLuca

mysteries, The Three Quarter Time series, The London Restoration and The Mozart Code. Her non-fiction works including Dream Plan Go: A Travel Guide for Independent Adventure and A Very Merry Holiday Movie Guide. Rachel lives in Toronto, Canada and is always reading.

Review: Moving Target

Moving Target by Lynette Eason
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

This was one crazy story and the story took me again on a rollercoaster ride and kept me in the dark right till the end. Maddy and Quinn is two characters who have been through so much already during this series, and now a serial killer is throwing them into more serious circumstances.

The relationship between Quinn and Maddy was much like their escape from the serial killer - giving readers heart stopping scenes where you are left with the hope of a happy ending.

*I listened to the audiobook on Scribd and enjoyed it a lot!*

1st Review after my 1st read 

Review book 1: Always Watching

Review book 2: Without Warning        

View all my reviews

About the book:

When Maddy McKay and Quinn Holcombe don't show up for Quinn's surprise birthday party, his friends know that something is very wrong. Their search turns up little beyond evidence that Quinn and Maddy just decided to take off for a long overdue vacation. But it soon becomes apparent that they did not leave of their own accord.

Maddy awakens in a cement room with no idea where she is. But it's not long before she realizes she's in the clutches of a madman exacting revenge by hunting. His prey of choice? Humans. Now Maddy and Quinn must run for their lives, hoping to find their killer before the next game begins. Because if they don't win this game, they die.

About the author:

Also see Author Discovery: Lynette Eason

Lynette Eason grew up in Greenville, SC. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and then obtained her masters in education from Converse College. Author of twenty inspirational romantic suspense books, she is also a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). In 1996, Lynette married "the boy next door" and now she and her husband and their two children make their home in Simpsonville, South Carolina."