Book Spotlight Fridays! Second Time Around

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.  First Line Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Reading is my Superpower that asks you to share the first sentence of the book you're reading.

This is a sweet contemporary with an older main character. 

Second Time Around

About the book:

Who doesn't love a second chance?

When empty nester Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is to sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property in order to complete his plans to redevelop the funky town's business district into a soulless, cookie-cutter outdoor mall, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself.

With a lot of hard work and a little bit of help, Mallory makes incredible progress turning the store into an eclectic home d�cor shop called Romancing the Home--all while trying to ignore the depressing and decrepit apartment she's living in on the second floor. When the shop catches the eye of a popular renovation TV show producer, Mallory is thrilled--until it becomes clear that her apartment is to be part of the segment as well.

She's tempted to abandon her dreams and the town under a cloud of shame. But perhaps there's more to Grayson than meets the eye. Can he swallow his pride, change his plans, and help Mallory romance her own home--and possibly her life?

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

Book Beginnings

Everyone moves on.

Friday 56

Mallory looked upward again and, for a split second, she believed she saw her grandmother winking.

My thoughts so far

If you enjoy contemporary fictions featuring older characters, you will enjoy this one.  It is sweet with little focus on romance, but more on the main character finding her feet after relocating. 

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Review: Beneath His Silence

Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

This was a strong debut for a new gothic author. I enjoyed this story and trying to find out what is going on and how everything will end.

I was totally captivated in the period and the relationship development between the main characters. And the underlying atmosphere that something dangerous is lurking behind the corner, made this mystery plot one which will keep readers up late at night.

I will read any new books published by this author, and if you enjoy Gothic Regency romance stories, you should read this book.

The audiobook is also very well done if you prefer that version.

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


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About the book:

Will Seeking Justice Lead to Her Own Demise?
 
A Gothic-Style Regency Romance from a Promising Young Author
 
Second daughter of a baron—and a little on the mischievous side—Ella Pemberton is no governess. But the pretense is a necessity if she ever wishes to get inside of Wyckhorn Manor and attain the truth. Exposing the man who killed her sister is all that matters.
 
Lord Sedgewick knows there’s blood on his hands. Lies have been conceived, then more lies, but the price of truth would be too great. All he has left now is his son—and his hatred. Yet as the charming governess invades his home, his safe cocoon of bitterness begins to tear away.
 
Could Ella, despite the lingering questions of his guilt, fall in love with such a man? Or is she falling prey to him—just as her dead sister?

About the author:

HANNAH LINDER resides in the beautiful mountains of central West Virginia. Represented by Books &

Such, she writes Regency romantic suspense novels. She is a double 2021 Selah Award winner, a 2022 Selah Award winner, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). 

Hannah is a Graphic Design Associates Degree graduate who specializes in professional book cover design. She designs for both traditional publishing houses and individual authors, including New York Times, USA Today, and International bestsellers. She is also a local photographer and a self-portrait photographer. 

When Hannah is not writing, she enjoys playing her instruments—piano, guitar, and ukulele—songwriting, painting still life, walking in the rain, and sitting on the front porch of her 1800s farmhouse. To follow her journey, visit hannahlinderbooks.com. 

Can't Wait Wednesday! Expired Hope

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and looking forward to reading more from this series. This one releases Apr 2023.

About the book: Expired Hope

She battled every fire she ever faced.
He’s risking everything for the chance to belong.

Veteran and therapist Natalie Atkinson watched her Army career explode in her face. All she ever wanted was to help people carry their burdens. Seeking a new future in Last Chance County doesn’t start so well when she’s the one being rescued from a client’s burning house. To make matters worse, now she’s stuck evaluating the truck and rescue squads for the fire department. When the chief overhears why she left her last job, she’s determined to prove to him and her boss that she’s still the right therapist to assess his crew.

No matter if success takes everything she’s got.

Fire Chief Macon James is the right man for the job. He doesn’t need a therapist interfering with the running of his crew or putting his position in jeopardy when a counselor is what tore his family apart. He’s got to get his firefighters to be a team, and he can do it without Natalie’s help. After an explosion destroys her car, it quickly becomes clear she might need him as much as everyone thinks he needs her. If these two stubborn hearts will surrender, they could have everything they want.

Or it could all go down in flames.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Under Fire

Under Fire by Lynn H. Blackburn
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

Since the first book, there was this chemistry between Zane and Tessa and readers had to wait until the final book in the series to see what is keeping them apart.

This book had emotional depth due to the subject matter of alcoholism and the effects on those dealing with the disease and especially those with loved ones which struggles with this addiction. I felt that the author tackled this subject with the hard facts but also sensitivity.

The suspense kept my attention, but I did wonder about the plausibility of it and the ending was a bit mellow for all the hype in the beginning.

There was a few loose ends, like -what is the reason that Bruce lives on the street – there was the expectation of more coming for this reader.

This was a great conclusion to the series. I loved the characters from the Dive Team Investigation series playing roles in this one and hope these secret service agents will pop up in future series as well.

Review: Unknown Threat 

Review: Malicious Intent

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


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About the book:

USSS Special Agent Zane Thacker has landed his dream assignment protecting the president of the United States. When the president plans a fundraiser at the exclusive estate of a political supporter in Raleigh, Zane is thrilled to be working again with Special Agent Tessa Reed, his best friend--and the woman he desperately wishes could be more.

Though Tessa almost lost everything, she battled her demons and came out on the other side healthy and healed. But when her role as the liaison between the Raleigh office and the president's protective detail wrenches her past back into the present, her greatest failure threatens to come to light.

Zane refuses to let Tessa go through this alone. But can he stand by the woman he loves and protect the president from a mounting threat at the same time?

Sparks fly as award-winning romantic suspense writer Lynn H. Blackburn closes out her Defend and Protect series with this explosive tale of secrets kept, lies exposed, and relationships restored.

About the author:

Lynn H. Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in South Carolina with her true love, Brian, and their three children.

Her Dive Team Investigations series includes Beneath the Surface and In Too Deep (a Fall 2018 Okra Pick and 2019 Selah Award finalist). The conclusion to the series, One Final Breath, releases in September 2019. She is also the author of Hidden Legacy and Covert Justice which won the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel.

Top Ten Tuesday: TTT Rewind: 389. Books With My Favorite Color On the Cover

Join in the Top Ten Tuesday fun! Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I am rewinding back to 2018 with this topic. : 389. Books With My Favorite Color On the Cover (Purple). 

Here is the first 10 books on my TBR which features my favourite color blue:

1. Not by Sight

2. The Love Letter

3. Always Look Twice

4. Breach of Trust

5. Dark Motives

6. Formula of Deception

7. A Distant Shore

8. Closer Than She Knows

9. To the Moon and Back

10. Dead Reckoning

Review: The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery

The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

My rating: 💛💛💛💛

What a great find for a new-to-me author who writes beautiful heartwarming dual time stories.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was engaging and delivered each voice in such a strong way that I connected to each of the three generational ladies, and felt their pain, dreams shattering, challenges and hope.

Clarence was one of my favourite male leads to date. His unconditional love and softness towards the three ladies in his life was beautiful to see unfold.

This was a story filled with loss and lost years, due to secrets being kept and assumptions made.
How different the lives of these ladies would have been if they just communicated.

I also appreciated Glory-Ann and Clarence’s love story – where love is not always instant and passionate but can also catch you of your feet quietly and slowly and can develop into something strong and powerful.

If you enjoy stories rich with depth, emotion, and character growth, you should try Amanda Cox’s stories.

*I listened to the audiobook on Scribd.*


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About the book:

Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.

About the author:

Amanda Cox is a blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization,

but her first love is communicating through story. She holds a bachelor's degree in Bible and theology and a master's degree in professional counseling. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers.

Review: A Novel Proposal

A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter

My rating: 💛💛💛💛

Readers who enjoy cute romantic contemporary romance stories should pick up this story.

This romance story was different. The main female character is trying her hand at a romance novel, so each chapter started out with a quote from romance writing 101 to indicate how a romance story should develop.

Then the reader gets to see the same development between the two main characters. I enjoyed this, because even though you sort of know what development will happen, you didn’t know what it would be.

I also enjoyed seeing the growth both characters went through and the insecurities and hurt which kept them back.

I am not usually a fan of romance, but this was a favourite.

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


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About the book:

From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a sweet and sizzling story of a romance writer surprised by her own happily ever after.

When novelist Sadie Goodwin is forced to stop writing westerns and charged with penning a contemporary romance novel to rescue her lackluster sales, there’s only one tiny problem: She’s never been in love.

Desperate to salvage her career, Sadie begins devouring romance novels. Knowing she must devote herself to this confounding genre, she accepts an invitation to hole up at her friend’s beach duplex for the summer. Where better to witness love in bloom than on the beautiful North Carolina shore?

However, once ensconced in the charming ocean-front home with her sweet maltipoo Rio, she finds many ways to procrastinate. First there’s the beach, right outside her backdoor, with all its interesting visitors (research). Then there’s the free library she decides to build and set up by the back deck (She has to do something with all those romance novels). To say nothing of Sam Ford, the grumpy neighbor on the other side of the duplex . . . who she can’t seem to stop annoying.

A social butterfly by nature, Sadie soon gets to know all the beach regulars—sunbathers, walkers, and surfers alike. The free books draw a crowd right up to the house for nice little book chats, which further irritates her reclusive neighbor, to break up her “writing.” But things take an unexpected turn when Sadie opens a recently-placed novel to find a secret compartment—and tucked inside is a beautiful engagement ring. To whom does the ring belong? Sadie is convinced she needs to find the owner and save the man’s proposal from certain doom.

She draws a reluctant Sam into the project, and slowly their connection begins to develop. Are these weird fluttery feelings the first stirrings of love? Has Sadie managed to stumble upon the very subject about which she must write—and wouldn’t Sam make the perfect alpha hero?

Will Sadie find the ring’s rightful owner? And will she manage to pen a career-saving romance novel by summer’s end?

About the author:

Denise Hunter is the award-winning author of more than 40 novels, three of which have been adapted into Hallmark movies.

Denise writes heartwarming, small-town romances, peopled with layered characters who have real-life issues. Her readers enjoy the vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final pages of her books.