Month: September 2019

Sunday Post

Mary Book arrivals, Mailbox Monday, Sunday Post

Book arrivals:  (linked to Mailbox Monday)

   

Last week on Bookfan:

Reading plan for this week:

I haven’t read more than a few pages in this book. It’s not the book, it’s me. I’ve laughed more than once and look forward to finding a chunk of time to sit and read this week. Speaking of this week, I just checked my blog calendar and there are no posts scheduled. Not sure how that happened but I’ll be back next Sunday with new posts. Have a great week!

 

Christmas in Winter Valley by Jodi Thomas (plus a note from the author)

Mary Christmas, Contemporary Romance, HQN, Jodi Thomas, NetGalley
Readers often ask me where my characters come from.  Most simply just walk in my brain and introduce themselves.  I learn their stories and secrets kind of like the readers do, a bit at a time.  But in CHRISTMAS IN WINTER VALLEY, it was different for one character, TYE FRANKLIN.

I met a man who owned a wonderful bookstore in Terrell, Texas.  There was something about him that made me ask, “Did you ever rodeo?”

He moved forward in his chair, spread his legs apart and answered.  The love of rodeo was still there after twenty years.  His body and mind was setting a horse even though we were in a restaurant as he told me of the thrills and heartaches.  The adrenaline, the fun, the pain.
 
My character Tye came alive in my mind and I loved his story in CHRISTMAS IN WINTER VALLEY.
Jodi Thomas

Christmas in Winter Valley by Jodi Thomas

Published:  September 24, 2019 – HQN

Book courtesy of HQN and NetGalley

Description:  Cooper Holloway would take nature over people any day—especially visiting relatives. That’s why he’s headed for a rustic cabin in remote Winter Valley, where he’ll care for a herd of wild mustangs. But Cooper’s plans are quickly thwarted by the arrival of two unexpected guests: one, a stranger in desperate need of his help, and the other, a very attractive young veterinarian.

Elliott is busy trying to keep Maverick Ranch running smoothly with Cooper gone, which is no easy task with family visiting. And when a long-lost love suddenly reappears in his life, Elliott knows he’ll have more than just books to balance this season.

With a big, chaotic family Christmas around the corner and love blooming in surprising ways, the Holloway men will have to make big choices about the future—just in time for the holidays.(publisher)

My take:  It’s two weeks before Christmas and all across the Maverick Ranch creatures and cowboys are stirring. The Holloway brothers (introduced to readers in book 7 of the Ransom Canyon series) are busy running the family ranch, seeing to horses, and visiting in-laws out of town. They don’t have time for orphans, accidents, injuries and ex girlfriends but they’ll be forced to deal with all and then some. My favorite part of the book involved young Tatum and the ranchers who show him what family is all about. And I loved Tye and his growing relationship with the ranch cook. Christmas in Winter Valley is a charming and romantic book perfect to curl up with this Christmas season. Fans of Jodi Thomas will not be disappointed.

Be sure to go to http://www.jodithomas.com and sign up for Jodi’s e-mail newsletter for all the latest news about booksignings and new releases!

Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

Mary Christmas, Contemporary Fiction, HQN, Little Bird Publicity, NetGalley, RaeAnne Thayne

Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne

Expected publication:  September 24, 2019 – HQN

Book courtesy of HQN, NetGalley and Little Bird Publicity

Description:  Hearts are lighter and wishes burn a little brighter at Christmas…

Elizabeth Hamilton has been lost. Trapped in a tangle of postpartum depression and grief after the death of her beloved parents, she couldn’t quite see the way back to her husband and their two beautiful kids…until a car accident stole away her memories and changed her life. And when she finally remembered the sound of little Cassie’s laugh, the baby powder smell of Bridger and the feel of her husband’s hand in hers, Elizabeth worried that they’d moved on without her. That she’d missed too much. That perhaps she wasn’t the right mother for her kids or wife for Luke, no matter how much she loved them.

But now, seven years later, Luke finds her in a nearby town and brings Elizabeth back home to the family she loves, just in time for Christmas. And being reunited with Luke and her children is better than anything Elizabeth could have imagined. As they all trim the tree and bake cookies, making new holiday memories, Elizabeth and Luke are drawn ever closer. Can the hurt of the past seven years be healed over the course of one Christmas season and bring the Hamiltons the gift of a new beginning?  (publisher)

My take:  If, like me, readers of the Haven Point series have been wondering about Luke and Elizabeth Hamilton – this is their book!  Her disappearance several years earlier sparked many wild theories among locals, none that placed Luke in a positive light. When Elizabeth comes back to Haven Point she reveals what happened. RaeAnne Thayne gives readers a plausible, emotional story. This novel touches on depression (clinical and postpartum) and my heart went out to Elizabeth and the family she left behind. Coming Home for Christmas is a story of forgiveness and courage – and love. Perfect themes for the season. Recommended to fans of the series, RaeAnne Thayne, and a good Christmas story.

About the author:

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author RaeAnne Thayne loves words. Her love affair started as soon as she learned to read, when she used to devour anything she could get her hands on:  cereal boxes, encyclopedias, the phone book, you name it! She loves the way words sound, the way they look on the page, and the amazing way they can be jumbled together in so many combinations to tell a story.

Her love of reading and writing those words led her to a fifteen-year career in journalism as a newspaper reporter and editor.

Through it all, she dreamed of writing the kind of stories she loved best. She sold her first book in 1995 and since then she’s published more than 60 titles. Her books have won many honors, including three RITA Award nominations from the Romance Writers of America and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews.

RaeAnne finds inspiration in the rugged northern Utah mountains, where she lives with her hero of a husband and their children. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website a http://www.raeannethayne.com

 

Cover reveal: Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Mary cover reveal, Gallery Books, Kristy Woodson Harvey

I’m a fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s books so it is my pleasure to take part in the cover reveal for her novel that is due to be published in April 2020. I can’t wait to read it! Please scroll down for preorder links.

From “the next major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand) and the bestselling author of the Peachtree Bluff series comes an odd couple tale of friendship that asks just how much our past choices define our happiness. 

Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a busted Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.

With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn, but when the one that got away comes back, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.

In her warmest, wittiest, and wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.

Preorder links:  Kristy is donating 100% of proceeds from preorders Sept 13-Sept 20 to the Red Cross for hurricane relief.

 

Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston

Mary Historical Fiction, NetGalley, Paula Brackston, St. Martin's Press, Time Travel, Women's Fiction

Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston

Expected publication:  October 22, 2019 – St. Martin’s Press

Review galley courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

Description:

New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston’s The Little Shop of Found Things was called “a page-turner that will no doubt leave readers eager for future series installments” (Publishers Weekly). Now, Brackston returns to the Found Things series with its sequel, Secrets of the Chocolate House.

After her adventures in the seventeenth century, Xanthe does her best to settle back into the rhythm of life in Marlborough. She tells herself she must forget about Samuel and leave him in the past where he belongs. With the help of her new friends, she does her best to move on, focusing instead on the success of her and Flora’s antique shop.

But there are still things waiting to be found, still injustices needing to be put right, still voices whispering to Xanthe from long ago about secrets wanting to be shared.

While looking for new stock for the shop, Xanthe hears the song of a copper chocolate pot. Soon after, she has an upsetting vision of Samuel in great danger, compelling her to make another journey to the past.

This time she’ll meet her most dangerous adversary. This time her ability to travel to the past will be tested. This time she will discover her true destiny. Will that destiny allow her to return home? And will she be able to save Samuel when his own fate seems to be sealed? (publisher)

My take:  Xanthe and her mother are new proprietors of an antiques shop and they must find enough stock to be ready for holiday shoppers to make a success of their business. Xanthe is well-suited to this job because interesting objects ‘speak’ to her. In the first book of the series it was a chatelain from the 1600s that took Xanthe on the adventure of a lifetime. Now, in the second book, Xanthe isn’t sure she wants another adventure but when she touches a recently acquired chocolate pot she envisions the man she met the first time she travelled. She realizes she may not have a choice whether or not to return to him. At the same time her ex-boyfriend turns up and instantly reminds her of why he’s an ex. Xanthe is faced with decisions and choices in the current day as well as a few centuries earlier. It all added up to an enjoyable time travel that left me looking forward to the next book in the Found Things series.

 

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Mary Atria Books, Historical Fiction, NetGalley, William Kent Krueger

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Published:  September 3, 2019 – Atria Books

Book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

Description:  1932, Minnesota—the Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O’Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.

Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an en­thralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.  (publisher)

My take:  This Tender Land is the story of four “Vagabond children” (orphans) on a journey during the summer of 1932. They leave dire circumstances at a boarding school for Indian youths in Minnesota with the goal of finding a better home with their aunt in St. Louis. Along the way they face harrowing events but somehow manage to keep going. They meet interesting characters, learn life lessons, and learn to rely on their developing instincts. It’s a coming of age story that had me cheering Odie, Albert, Mose and Emmy as they searched for home. I appreciated the epilogue as well as the author’s note that rounds out the novel and answered questions I’d had while reading.

 

US Giveaway: Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati

Mary Berkley, Giveaway, Historical Fiction, Sara Donati

Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati

Berkley Hardcover; September 10, 2019

Description:

From the international bestselling author of The Gilded Hour comes Sara Donati’s enthralling epic about two trailblazing female doctors in nineteenth-century New York
 
Obstetrician Dr. Sophie Savard returns home to the achingly familiar rhythms of Manhattan in the early spring of 1884 to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. With the help of Dr. Anna Savard, her dearest friend, cousin, and fellow physician she plans to continue her work aiding the disadvantaged women society would rather forget.
 
As Sophie sets out to construct a new life for herself, Anna’s husband, Detective-Sergeant Jack Mezzanotte calls on them both to consult on two new cases: the wife of a prominent banker has disappeared into thin air, and the corpse of a young woman is found with baffling wounds that suggest a killer is on the loose.  In New York it seems that the advancement of women has brought out the worst in some men. Unable to ignore the plight of New York’s less fortunate, these intrepid cousins draw on all resources to protect their patients. (publisher)

US Giveaway

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The Passengers by John Marrs

Mary Berkley, John Marrs, SciFi/Fantasy, Thriller

The Passengers by John Marrs

Published:  August 2019 – Berkley

Finished copy courtesy of Berkley

Description: You’re riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, “You are going to die.”
 
Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.
 
From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, “Which of these people should we save?…And who should we kill first?”  (publisher)

My take:  So, if you skipped reading the description above go back and read it now.

I like testing new products and was an early user of Amazon’s Echo device but if given the chance to be an early adopter of a self-driving car I would take a pass. And this novel is why!

However, I enjoyed The Passengers for the near-futuristic thriller it is. It grabbed me from page one and had me reading (and listening) to the entire novel in one day. Because of that I think it would be a good possibility for a book-to-screen adaptation. I found myself wondering who would play the various characters. The pacing is good and the plot is dotted with twists up until the very end.

The Passengers was out of my normal reading comfort zone and I was glad I took a chance on it. A fun read!

 

Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle

Mary Christmas, Contemporary Romance, Nancy Naigle, NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin

Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle

Expected publication date:  Oct. 15, 2019 – St. Martin’s Griffin

Book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

Description:  Growing up, Liz Westmoreland dreamed of taking over her grandparents inn located in the small mountain town of Angels Creek only for it to be sold before she ever got the chance. While browsing the internet, she stumbles upon a listing for what looks to be the picturesque inn and it’s set to go to auction. Liz places a bid, and by a miracle, wins the auction. But when she gets there she finds the property in significant disrepair.

When Matt Hardy narrowly lost the inn and property that butted his land, he just hoped it wasn’t another city slicker coming to make matters worse after the previous owners gutted the place for an art gallery. But the minute he recognized the sweet, freckle-faced girl from his childhood and heard her plans to reopen the inn, he jumps at the chance to help his childhood crush restore a place where he made so many fond memories.

While working on repairs, Liz and Matt discover her grandmother’s collection of angels in one of the cabins. When the angels start mysteriously showing up all over the inn, she begins to look at them as reassurance—that restoring the inn is what she’s meant to do. But when an accident leaves Liz feeling like she made a mistake, will Matt—and the residents of Angels Creek—be able to show Liz that she’s found a home? And possibly true love as well? (publisher)

My take:  Christmas Angels is the story of Liz Westmoreland and Matt Hardy, two people looking for a chance to realize their dreams. When fate brings them together in Angels Creek they’ll find out if dreams really do come true. Liz loved the area when her grandparents lived there and ran an inn. She would love to do the same and, at the same time, help to revitalize the community. Matt has the same intentions and will use his contractor and construction skills to make things happen. The two will have to dodge occasional bumps in the road but they also have a lot of fun getting to know each other along the way. This is a Christmas story with the theme of sharing one’s gifts being the best gift of all. Perfect for fans of Hallmark movies and all things Christmas.