Book arrivals: (linked to Mailbox Monday)
Empty mailbox
Last week on Bookfan:
- Review: Becoming Mrs. Lewis
- Favorite Books of 2018
Reading plan for this week:
Month: December 2018
2018 Favorite Books
My favorite books read in 2018
(Books listed in the order read)
The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
The Family Gathering by Robyn Carr
The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
The Lido by Libby Page
Heaven Adjacent by Catherine Ryan Hyde
The Story of Arthur Truluv; Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg
Heart Land by Kimberly Stuart
Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins
Mistletoe Miracles by Jodi Thomas
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
I have a feeling the book I’m reading now will end up on this list so check back in a few days for a possible add-on!
So life got in the way the past few days and I haven’t read one page. I’m hoping the book I referred to will end up on my 2019 favorites list 🙂
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
Published: October 2018 – Thomas Nelson
Free book provided by Thomas Nelson
Description:
From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.
In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had. (publisher)
My take: Becoming Mrs. Lewis is about Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis – how they met, became friends (kindred spirits, really) and eventually married. It’s a fascinating story that pulled me in and left me a bit emotional as I turned the last page. Theirs was a cerebral relationship that grew passionate in time. Davidman and Lewis had much in common, not the least being a spiritual conversion – the reason for Davidman’s first letter to Lewis, which he answered, much to her surprise. When she travels to England on the advice of her physician Davidman finally meets Lewis in person. The rest, as they say, is history. Patti Callahan’s novel is well-researched (as detailed in her author’s note at the end of the book). I’m a fan of historical fiction and love when an author motivates me to read more about the subject. That was the case with Becoming Mrs. Lewis. I’ve added titles by Davidman and Lewis to my TBR list. Recommended to fans of the genre and Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.
Sunday Post
Book arrivals: (linked to Mailbox Monday)
- Murder Once Removed by S.C. Perkins (from Minotaur Books)
- Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser (from St. Martin’s Press)
Last week on Bookfan:
Reading plan for this week:
Probably not much reading with the busy and fun holiday week.
I wish all who celebrate Christmas a wonderful holiday.
The Valentine’s Curse by Jodi Thomas
The Valentine’s Curse by Jodi Thomas
Published: Dec. 18, 2018 – Kensington
Book provided by the publisher and NetGalley
Description: New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas takes you back to the Old West, where two strangers find love in the least likely place, with the least likely person, just in the nick of time . . .
As a Yankee in Texas two years after the Civil War, cowboy Broderick Monroe is given the jobs no one else wants to do—including keeping company with the cursed Widow Allen at the annual Valentine’s Day dance thrown by his boss’s wife.
After losing two husbands to the war, Valerie Allen has become a local pariah. Rumor has it that if a man touches her, he’ll be dead by morning. But Brody believes in curses about as much as he believes in love.
One secret embrace in the moonlight leads Valerie to think she has found a kindred spirit, but fate—and the curse—aren’t done with her yet . . . (publisher)
My take: This novella was originally part of the anthology Be My Texas Valentine (published in 2012). It’s a story of two people who’ve been dealt some hard blows by life. When they meet at a Valentine’s dance they know they aren’t meant to be. He agreed to sit next to her when asked by his boss’s wife and she is too proper to disagree. But that doesn’t mean she must speak to him. She’s known around the county as a cursed widow. He’s known as a Yankee and only tolerated because of his strong work ethic. As always happens in a Jodi Thomas story, unexpected circumstances will change the course of lives and this reader loved finding out how. Told in the author’s warm and charming style this is a novella her fans and those of historical western romance will want to read. I’m glad I finally discovered it!
Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser
Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser
Pub. date: Feb. 5, 2019 – St. Martin’s Press
Review galley from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
Description:
Molly and Liza have always been enviably close. Even after Molly married Daniel, the couple considered Liza an honorary family member. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit—in the friendship and the marriage.
When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat after the kids are in bed. But then Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child.
What Liza sees next will change everything.
Only one thing is certain: Molly needs her. Liza drives all night to be at Molly’s side—but when she arrives, the reception is icy, leaving Liza baffled and hurt. She knows there’s no denying what she saw.
Or is there?
In disbelief that their friendship could really be over, Liza is unaware she’s about to have a near miss of her own.
And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either.
But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this.
Forget You Know Me is a “twisty, emotionally complex, powder keg of a tale” (bestselling author Emily Carpenter) about the wounds of people who’ve grown apart. Best friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain.
One moment will change things for them all. (publisher)
My take: When longtime friends Molly and Liza finally find time in their busy lives to connect via video chat something happens that will have far-reaching consequences. Molly is married and mother of two small children. Her husband Daniel has grown weary of her attempts to find a cure for her chronic pain. Feeling unsupported Molly is pulled in other directions – one being a new neighbor (a recent widower) and his toddler. She has secrets she keeps from her husband that could prove to be her undoing. I grew a bit anxious just learning about Molly’s secrets. But Daniel has secrets of his own.
Molly is going through a huge life change forced by a catastrophic event. It will force her to question so many things she once thought unshakable. Will she have the courage to move forward?
Forget You Know Me is about messy relationships made messier by life and the inability to work things out or know when its time to call it a day. I liked it and have to add that the final chapters really upped my satisfaction with the resolution. As one would hope, right? Recommended to fans of novels about messy emotional and moral entanglements that just might result in second chances.
Sunday Post
Book arrivals: (linked to Mailbox Monday)
- In Dog We Trust by Beth Kendrick (Berkley Books)
- The View From Alameda Island by Robyn Carr (MIRA; NetGalley)
Last week on Bookfan:
- Review: Christmas on the Island
Reading plan for this week:
The book I intended to read last week didn’t happen. Instead my mom came to stay with us for most of the week because the plumbing pipes in her 75+ year old home decided to virtually disintegrate and needed to be replaced. She couldn’t stay there while the work was being done so she came to visit. We had a nice time and are hoping that’s the last of house issues she’ll have for a long time.
I think an audiobook is the way to go this week so I just need to decide which one.
Christmas On The Island by Jenny Colgan
Christmas On The Island by Jenny Colgan
Published: October 2018 – William Morrow Paperbacks
Thanks for the free/gifted book, @WmMorrowBooks @LibraryThing
Description:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Café by the Sea—whose novels are “an evocative, sweet treat” (JOJO MOYES)—comes this heartwarming holiday novel set on a charming Scottish island
On the remote Scottish island of Mure, the Christmas season is stark, windy, and icy—yet incredibly festive and beautiful…
It’s a time for getting cozy in front of whisky barrel wood fires, and enjoying a dram and a treacle pudding with the people you love—unless, of course, you’ve accidentally gotten pregnant by your ex-boss, and don’t know how to tell him. In the season for peace and good cheer, will Flora find the nerve to reveal the truth to her nearest and dearest? Will her erstwhile co-parent Joel think she’s the bearer of glad tidings—or is this Christmas going to be as bleak as the Highlands in midwinter?
Meanwhile Saif, a doctor and refugee from war-torn Syria is trying to enjoy his first western Christmas with his sons on this remote island where he’s been granted asylum. His wife, however, is still missing, and her absence hangs over what should be a joyful celebration. Can the family possibly find comfort and joy without her?
Travel to the beautiful northern edge of the world and join the welcoming community of Mure for a Highland Christmas you’ll never forget! (publisher)
My take: I loved catching up with Flora and her family and friends on the (imaginary) island of Mure. This is the third in a series about the lovely inhabitants of Mure. If you haven’t read the first two books you really should before dipping into this book. You’ll want to learn all about the people – get the context of their relationships. I have loved each book and the third just as much. It boils down to connections between people and how we all need them and must continue to try to do better – in every way. I really hope this isn’t the last I’ll read of the people of Mure. There are some ends that weren’t completely tied up – and I need some reassurance!
Giveaway winner
Congratulations to
Nan Z.
winner of
- Winner selected by random.org
- Book provided by the publisher
Sunday Post
Book arrivals: (linked to Mailbox Monday)
- Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan (a surprise from Thomas Nelson)
- Girl Most Likely by Max Allan Collins (from Thomas & Mercer; NetGalley; Little Bird Publicity)
- The Chef’s Secret by Crystal King (from Touchstone)
Last week on Bookfan:
- Excerpt/US Giveaway: Murder at the Mill
- Review: The Christmas Wishing Tree
- Cover reveal: Book 3 in the Peachtree Bluff series
Reading plan for this week:
Cover Reveal: Book 3 in the Peachtree Bluff series
I’m pleased to be part of cover reveal day for THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF PARADISE, book 3 in Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Peachtree Bluff series. If you haven’t read the first two books you’ll want to – before May 2019. You can read my take on the books by clicking the covers:
The Book 3 cover reveal!
I can’t wait to read The Southern Side of Paradise
From internationally bestselling author and “rising star of Southern fiction” (Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author) Kristy Woodson Harvey comes the third novel in her Peachtree Bluff series, in which a secret threatens the tight-knit bond between a trio of sisters and their mother.
With the man of her dreams back in her life and all three of her daughters happy, Ansley Murphy should be content. But she can’t help but feel like it’s all a little too good to be true.
Meanwhile, youngest daughter and actress Emerson, who is recently engaged and has just landed the role of a lifetime, seemingly has the world by the tail. Only, something she can’t quite put her finger on is worrying her—and it has nothing to do with her recent health scare.
When two new women arrive in Peachtree Bluff—one who has the potential to wreck Ansley’s happiness and one who could tear Emerson’s world apart—everything is put in perspective. And after secrets that were never meant to be told come to light, the powerful bond between the Murphy sisters and their mother comes crumbling down, testing their devotion to each other and forcing them to evaluate the meaning of family.
With Kristy Woodson Harvey’s signature charm, wit, and heart, The Southern Side of Paradise is another masterful Peachtree Bluff novel that proves she is a “Southern writer with staying power” (Booklist).
“One of the hottest new Southern writers.” —Parade.com
“Writers come and writers go, but Kristy Woodson Harvey is here to stay. The warmth, wit, and wisdom of this novel pave her way into the exclusive sisterhood of southern writers.” —The Huffington Post
“The south is known for breeding brilliant storytellers and Kristy Woodson Harvey has proven herself to be one of the south’s most heartfelt female driven authors of our generation.”—Jaime Pressly, star of CBS’s Mom
Giveaway winner
Congratulations to
Patty M.
winner of
- Winner selected by random.org
- Book provided by the publisher
The Christmas Wishing Tree by Emily March
The Christmas Wishing Tree by Emily March
September 2018 – St. Martin’s Press
Giveaway win from the publisher
Description:
Sometimes life’s most magical journeys bring you back to where it all began…From New York Times bestselling author Emily March comes The Christmas Wishing Tree, an enchanting account of the magic and miracle of Christmas.
A man who loves adventure and the open sea, Devin Murphy returns for a short Christmas trip to his small hometown of Eternity Springs. Immersed in the joy and magic of the holiday season all around him, he doesn’t hesitate to play along when a young boy phones Santa to ask for a very special wish. Devin never guesses that a wrong number has the potential to make everything in his life so right.
Jenna Stockton adopted Reilly when he needed a mother and she intends to keep him safe. A small town across the country called Eternity Springs seems like a good place to hide from their past without any complications —until sexy Santa himself discovers her secrets. When Devin proposes a daring plan to face down the danger together and defeat it once and for all, she is tempted. Maybe Devin really is capable of making wishes come true? Perhaps in a Christmas wish they’ll both find the miracle they’ve been looking for all along… (publisher)
My take: I’ve been meaning to try the Eternity Springs series for a long time so after winning a giveaway of The Christmas Wishing Tree from Nise’s blog I decided to jump in there (it’s #15 in the series!). I didn’t feel lost so it can stand alone. It’s a sweet story about a little boy who wants a dad for Christmas. Eventually he and his mom end up in Eternity Springs and discover a Christmas season unlike any they’ve ever experienced. There’s some drama, some romance, and a great community of people that make me want to go back to book one and read the entire series. Recommended to fans of small town romance with a Christmas theme.
Murder at the Mill by MB Shaw: Excerpt and US Giveaway
Description:
Iris Grey rents a quaint cottage in a picture-perfect Hampshire village, looking to escape from her crumbling marriage. She is drawn to the neighboring Wetherby family, and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dominic Wetherby, a celebrated crime writer.
At the Wetherby’s Christmas Eve party, the mulled wine is in full flow – but so are tensions and rivalries among the guests. On Christmas Day, the youngest member of the Wetherby family, Lorcan, finds a body in the water. A tragic accident? Or a deadly crime?
Prologue
Christmas Day 2017
The sound of the water was deafening. This stretch of the River Itchen was narrow, little more than a stream in places, but it was deep, and the current was fast, causing the ancient waterwheel to churn and splash and creak with unexpected ferocity, like a battlefield’s roar. Somewhere in the distance, church bells were pealing, fighting theirway through the din. Five o’clock. As good a time to die as any.
Tying on the stone was easy, despite the darkness and the noise and the cold that numbed one’s fingers. Everything had been easy, in fact. All that fear, the stomach-souring anticipation of the act, had been for nothing in the end. Everything had gone exactly according to plan. So far, anyway. There was a symmetry to that, at least, the satisfaction of a job well done. One could even call it a pleasure of sorts.
Across the bitterly cold water, the lights of Mill House glowed warm and inviting. Through the sash windows of the Wetherbys’ grand draw- ing room, a Christmas tree twinkled. Gaudy and colourful, rising out of a shiny sea of discarded wrapping paper, torn from joyously opened gifts, it had clearly been decorated by children, as all Christmas trees should be.Few things in life were sadder than an ‘adult’ Christmas tree, tastefully decked out in themed colours. Where was the magic in that?
Not that it mattered anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.
The water was as cold as stone, cold enough to make one flinch. But only momentarily. It was time to let go. The river opened up eagerly to receive its Christmas gift, pulling it down into the familiar black depths with the cloying, greedy embrace of a lover.
Feet first. Then legs. Torso. Head.
Gone.
On the opposite bank of the river, a torchlight danced.
Lorcan Wetherby, youngest son of the celebrated author Dom Wetherby and his wife, Ariadne, had ventured outside to play with his Christmas presents: a Scooby-Doo flashlight and a motorised toy boat, his pride and joy. Lorcan could still feel the excitement of the afternoon, when his oldest brother Marcus had pulled the big parcel wrapped in holly-sprigged paper out from under the tree. Handing out Christmas presents one by one under the tree after lunch was a family tradition, prolonging both the agony and the ecstasy for generations of Wetherby children.
‘ “To Lorcan”,’ Marcus read aloud. ‘ “Merry Christmas and all our love, Mummy and Daddy.’”
Lorcan had torn at the paper like a puppy, emitting a squeal of pure delight when he saw it. Exactly like the one on TV.
‘Remoke control!’ He beamed at his mother. ‘It’s remoke control!’ Ariadne beamed back. She adored her son. ‘That’s right, darling.’ Waiting for his father to put the batteries in and set the boat up had been torture. But after inhaling two slices of Ariadne’s homemade Christmas cake so quickly Marcus could have sworn he saw marzipan chunks coming out of his little brother’s nose, the boat was finally ready and Lorcan had raced down the sloping lawn to the banks of the Itchen to play with it.
Dark had long since fallen. Recently Lorcan had felt afraid of the dark, and particularly of ‘ghosts’, which he saw constantly, hovering around every tree or lichen-covered wall. His father, Dom, blamed it on Scooby-Doo, a new obsession. His mother wasn’t so sure.
‘I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss it. Maybe he’s really seeing something.’
‘Like what?’ Dom Wetherby frowned. ‘Things that go “bump” in the night?’
Ariadne smiled patiently. For a writer, Dominic could be terribly unimaginative at times. ‘This house is over four hundred years old, darling,’ she reminded him. ‘There may well be ghosts here. Children like Lorcan often see things other people don’t, or can’t. Maybe he’s just more attuned to the supernatural than we are.’
Attuned or not, Lorcan wasn’t afraid tonight. He had seen a ghost as it happened, less than an hour ago, moving through the woods, white and tall and looming. But the ghost hadn’t seen him. He was too busy with whatever he had in his hands. Besides, Lorcan had his Scooby-Doo torch, it was Christmas, and he was at home at the Mill with Mummy and Daddy. He was safe. Cocooned. It was like Mummy said: ‘Ghosts are only people, Lorcan. Ordinary people. It’s just that you’re seeing them in an extraordinary way.’ Lorcan wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but it made him feel better.
Ghosts were people.
People, in Lorcan’s experience, were nice.
He played with his boat till his hands were so cold they hurt. The church bells rang. He counted them. One, two, three, four, five . . . six. Time to go in.
Crossing at the bridge safely, where his father had shown him, he reached down gingerly to pull his boat out of the reeds. Behind him, he could hear the waterwheel turning, the familiar sound of rushing water that was the soundtrack to his life. Lorcan Wetherby loved the river. He loved it like a person. He loved the waterwheel and the Mill. He loved his home. His family.
The boat was stuck. The spiky part at the bottom – the ‘keel’, Marcus had called it – had become entangled in something, some part of the cold, watery underworld of the Itchen. Lorcan tugged harder, but still it wouldn’t budge. Carefully setting down the remote-control handset next to him on the bridge to get a better grip, he tried again, with both hands this time, plunging his arms into the frigid water right up to the elbows. Leaning back, he pulled as hard as he could, his muscles burning with exertion as he yanked and twisted the precious boat, willing it to break free.
Beneath the surface, something snapped.
A small movement at first, then a bigger one, then in one great rush up came the boat, rising out of the water like the kraken. It was still heavy, still caught up in something, but Lorcan had hold of it now, the whole, beautiful vessel safe in his two strong hands. He sat back tri- umphant and exhausted. After a few deep breaths, he began to try to unwind the slimy strands still coiled round the boat’s bottom.
And then he saw it.
It wasn’t reeds that had wrapped themselves, vise-like, round the keel. It was hair.
Human hair.
Lorcan stared down in horror into the face of the corpse, its skin stretched tight and ghoulish from being pulled by the scalp. White, sightless eyes stared back at him.
Not even the sound of the river could drown out Lorcan’s screams.
About the author:
M.B Shaw is the pen-name of New York Times bestselling writer Tilly Bagshawe. A teenage single mother at 17, Tilly won a place at Cambridge University and took her baby daughter with her. She went on to enjoy a successful career before becoming a writer. As a journalist, Tilly contributed regularly to the Sunday Times, Daily Mail, and Evening Standard, before turning her hand to novels.
Tilly’s first book, ADORED, was a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic, becoming an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. She now divides her time between the UK and America, writing her own books and the new series of Sidney Sheldon novels.
Buy Links:
Advanced Praise for MURDER AT THE MILL and M.B. Shaw
“A rich, mystery debut… Tilly Bagshawe… makes a smooth transition to the world of puzzlers.”
—Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
“The principled, smart, and courageous Iris is bound to garner enthusiastic fans.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A most enjoyable and energetic cozy.”
—Booklist
“Complicated relationships create a strong backdrop for a complex mystery, and one hopes, the foundation for more books to come.”
—Library Journal
“Murder at the Mill by M. B. Shaw is a great sweeping adventure.
Ideal for holiday reading.”
—M. C. Beaton, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“M.B. Shaw has penned a wonderfully layered mystery with a multifaceted amateur sleuth, artist Iris Grey. Ms. Shaw’s English village setting made me feel like I was right there, and kept me reading until late into the night. I can’t wait to see where Iris Grey’s next artistic commission takes us.”
—Paige Shelton, New York Times bestselling author
“Be sure to start reading M.B. Shaw’s evocatively written mystery early in the day, or else you’ll be up late into the night—it’s that unputdownable.”
—Ellen Crosby, author of The Vineyard Victims
“A festering box of secrets, providing a Christmas cocktail of family lies and deliciously conceived murder.”
—Mandy Morton, author of The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency series
“A snowy Christmas in a country village, intriguing characters and a twisty-turny plot…I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Fabulous!”
—Jill Mansell, International Bestselling Author
“A contemporary-set cosy crime novel that harks back to The Golden Age of detective fiction. Author Tilly Bagshawe writing under a pseudonym, introduces us to society portraitist Iris Grey whose Christmas country retreat is anything but when a body is found floating by the mill on Christmas Day, instead of tucking into turkey and all the trimmings, Iris finds herself caught up in all manner of sleuthing and intrigue.”
—Red Magazine
“A nice little slice of festive who dunnit – just right for cosy winter afternoons”
—Katherine Woodfine, author of The Sinclair’s Mysteries
US Giveaway
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Sunday Post
Book arrivals: (linked to Mailbox Monday)
- The Valentine’s Curse by Jodi Thomas (Zebra/Kensington; NetGalley)
- The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper (I bought the Audible daily deal on Tuesday)
- Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares (I bought this to add to my Christmas picture book collection)
Last week on Bookfan:
- Spotlight/US Giveaway: Christmas at the Cat Cafe
- Review: The Frame-Up
Reading plan for this week:
I mentioned last week that I was caught up with review books and would be reading books from my personal library for the next month. Well, I was in the mood for some historical fiction and a book that publishes in Feb. 2019 practically jumped into my hands. So I’m reading another review book 🙂 I’ve been at my Mom’s this weekend and received an email from my library that the new Elin Hilderbrand audio was auto-loaned to me so I’ll start listening on the 3+ hour drive home today.
Bookfan 