Review: Confessions of a Queen B by Crista McHugh

Goodreads Blurb

Alexis Wyndham is the other type of Queen B—the Queen Bitch.

After years of being the subject of ridicule, she revels in her ability to make the in-crowd cower via the exposés on her blog, The Eastline Spy. Now that she’s carved out her place in the high school hierarchy, she uses her position to help the unpopular kids walking the hallways.

Saving a freshman from bullies? Check.
Swapping insults with the head cheerleader? Check.
Falling for the star quarterback? So not a part of her plan.

But when Brett offers to help her solve the mystery of who’s posting X-rated videos from the girls’ locker room, she’ll have to swallow her pride and learn to see past the high school stereotypes she’s never questioned—until now.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Many people were bragging over this book, and, unfortunately, it didn’t live up to its standards. Alexis pretty much annoyed me with her bitchyness. She was just as bad as the popular girl named Summer. Standards and popularity over friends and love.

Author Biography

Crista McHugh is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING author of fantasy and romance with heroines who are smart, sexy, and anything but ordinary.

She also writes fantasy with less kissing and a lot more action as C. A. McHugh.

She currently lives in the Tesla-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician on the weekends.

Review: Arthur’s Thanksgiving by Marc Brown

Goodreads Blurb

Celebrate Thanksgiving with Arthur! When Arthur is picked to direct his school’s Thanksgiving play, all his friends beg him for the lead role. But not everyone can be the star, and someone has to be the turkey! Can Arthur find the perfect lead, the perfect turkey, and save the day?

My Review: Rated 5 out 5 stars

It’s such a perfect book to read to the kids during Thanksgiving. The illustrations are just perfect. Loved the turnout at the end of the book.

Author Biography

Marc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children’s books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.

He lives on Martha’s Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur’s Tooth.

Review: His Texas Christmas Bride by Nancy Robards Thompson

Goodreads Blurb

TWINS UNDER HIS TREE

Join Becca Flannigan and Nick Ciotti as they promise to love, honor and cherish each other in front of their family and friends…and her baby bump! The blushing bride-to-be is carrying double duty—twins—from one passionate night with a mysterious bad boy. When Becca lands in the hospital, who should treat her but Nick? He’s the new doc in town, but his bedside manner is all too familiar…

Becca and Nick begin to bond, but can Dr. Delicious leave his painful past behind him to create a family of his own? Add in Becca’s worries about her own future, and you’ve got one apprehensive engagement! With a little Christmas magic for the bride and groom, this may be the happiest-ever-after in Celebration!

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This was an outstanding romance novel. There were so many emotions I surpassed as I kept on reading. Two characters who have dis-functional families but with love and encouragement were able to fix and forgive their past. This was an emotional roller coaster from the very beginning filled with many surprises. I closely relate to Becca since my own parents are strict and at times felt like I had no say. I was in tears when I found out about the accident that Nick couldn’t forgive himself for and haunted him for so many years. It is truly an exceptional book written from the heart for all to share. You don’t want to miss this holiday book.

Author Biography

Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold more than 50 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing mysteries, romance, and women’s fiction full-time.

Review: Falling For Mr. December by Kate Hardy

Goodreads Blurb

The best Christmas present ever!

Photographer Sammy Thompson has learned the hard way to protect herself. After surviving cancer, she’s not about to risk her emotions on just anyone! But meeting buttoned-up barrister Nick Kennedy at a charity calendar shoot, and feeling the sparks between them, makes Sammy wonder what she’s been missing out on…

Sammy’s never dreamed of forever, but as she gets to know the man behind the pinstripes, dare she hope Nick will make it a Christmas to remember with the most magical gift of all—his heart?

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very touching story. I loved that the characters’ occupation was different from most stories I have read. Sammy and Nick were meant for each other the moment they met. Love a man who would do anything for their family even when it’s pushing their comfort zone. Both families had something in common without Nick knowing. Nick is a character that is loving, caring, smart, and spontaneous. I was so happy on how he set up a dinner that Sammy would never forget. Sammy was independent, strong, and pushed her limits. Two characters who both got hurt by loved ones get a second chance at love. Great book to help families with ways of helping there love one with cancer and the possibility that everyone can help by donating their hair for a great cause. Related with this story because my grandma had cancer and saw her deteriorating right before my eyes. Wish I was able to do more.

Author Biography

Kate Hardy is the award-winning author of more than 100 books for Harlequin Mills & Boon and the Georgina Drake cozy crime series for Storm. Her novel ‘Breakfast at Giovanni’s’ won the RNA Romance Prize in 2008, ‘Bound by a Baby’ won the RNA RoNA Rose in 2014 and ‘A Will, A Wish, A Wedding’ won the RNA Liberta Books Shorter Fiction award in 2021. She’s been shortlisted six more times for the award, as well as for two Romantic Times awards.

She lives in Norwich in the east of England with her husband, two grown-up children, springer spaniels Archie and Dexter, and too many books to count. She’s a bit of a nerd who loves cinema, live music, the theatre, ballet, history and cooking, and adores anything Italian. She loves doing research, particularly if it’s hands-on and means experimenting with cooking. Reviewers say that her books are full of warmth, heart and charm – and also that you’ll learn something new and interesting from them!

Kate also writes bestselling local history books under the name of Pamela Brooks

Upcoming Event: Meet Kate McKinnon

Meet Actress and Comedian Kate McKinnon Sunday, Sept. 28th Noon!

About this event
Each person attending the event must purchase their own book/ticket. We use a number system based off how early you preordered your book. You may call the store a few days after purchase to find out your ticket number. It is not first come first serve. You can order your book through this link or call the store 201-784-2665 and purchase it over the phone with a credit card or stop by the store if you are local.

You can pre-purchase your book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-actress-and-comedian-kate-mckinnon-sunday-sept-28th-noon-tickets-1510991870359?aff=oddtdtcreator

Upcoming Book Event: Actor Oliver Robins

Oliver Robins /Dustin Warburton – Ticket/Book – Best known in role in Poltergeist & Poltergeist II – Sun, Oct 19th 12pm- Each person Needs a Book.

Description

American Actor, Writer, and Director best known for his role as Robbie Freeling in Poltergeist & Poltergeist II, Oliver Robins, signing his new book: Sunset Scares.



Dustin Warburton is an award-winning writer whose work has been featured on The Tonight Show, Oprah, and in Time and Peoplemagazines. His collaborative approach has earned praise from industry veterans including Paul Reubens, Barbara Eden, and Tom Holland.

Event Location: Bookends
211 E Ridgewood Ave Ridgewood, NJ

Pre-purchase book here: https://www.book-ends.org/product/oliver-robins-ticket-book-best-known-in-role-as-robbie-freeling-in-poltergeist-poltergeist-ii-sun-oct-19th-12pm-each-person-needs-a-book-/WG75CZX446LRVMYHB3GJ7QWN?cs=true&cst=custom

I met Lisa Gardner at Paramus Barnes & Noble

I had a great evening meeting suspense author Lisa Gardner. She talked about how her career as an author began and a little glimpse of her research for her new book, Kiss Her Goodbye. Check out her new book.

Goodreads Blurb


A young mother haunted by war, determined to make a fresh start. But sometimes, the sins of the past aren’t so easy to escape.

Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband seems unconcerned. Sabera’s closest friend, however, is convinced Sabera would never willingly leave her three‑year old daughter. At her insistence, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search through the broiling streets of Tucson. Just in time for a video of the young mother to surface—showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder.

Frankie quickly realizes there’s much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. The father Isaad is a brilliant mathematician, Sabera a gifted linguist, and their little girl Zahra—she has an uncanny ability to remember anything she sees. Which given everything that has happened during the girl’s short life, may be a terrible curse. When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra’s life, Frankie realizes she must quickly crack the code of this family’s horrific past.

Someone is coming for the Ahmadis. And violence is clearly an option. When everything is on the line, how far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Frankie is about to find out.

Author Line Up for the Morristown Book Festival

Morristown Book Festival has announced their author line up for the festival. October 10th, they will have their keynote speaker Rick Atkinson, and the one day festival will be on October 11th.

I’m excited to meet Lisa Scott online and her daughter Franschesca. I see some awesome thriller authors I haven’t met yet.

Here is the link to dive right in to see who will be in attendance: https://morristownbooks.org/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMRRidjbGNrAxFGG2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeLVb8YHImYTu-mI2vGrMdLOERBRDxhXHklvUSKfy5eUw2Lix9IKoIqjhYuc4_aem_iFquZ4USDFk8w4T0OTcEwg

You can pre-purchase tickets for the keynote speaker. The festival is free to attend.

Review: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Goodreads Blurb

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This is an unforgettable story about a woman’s courage as she fights to give voice to the silenced. Imagine having to abandon your family, not for a crime, but because of your heritage and the innocent poems that others twisted out of context. Fighting your way to freedom while holding on to the hope that your words and those of the families whose children were taken away get a chance to share their story. Margaret, a Chinese American poet and mother to Bird Gardner, watches her world shatter in an instant. She always followed all of society’s rules, yet her identity marks her as a target. Through heartbreak and hope, Margaret and her son unite, and she is determined to reclaim the truth. Their bravery lights a path through the darkness of prejudice and the pain endured by the Asian community. This story will pull at your heartstrings and open your eyes to the racism and oppression the Asian community and others have gone through in the United States. I loved that the librarians played a role in helping collect information about all the children who were taken and that Asian folktales helped Bird in his travels to locate his mother.

Author Biography

Celeste Ng is the author of three novels, Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts.


Her first novel, Everything I Never Told You (2014), was a New York Times bestseller, a
New York Times Notable Book of 2014, Amazon’s #1 Best Book of 2014, and named a best book of the year by over a dozen publications. Everything I Never Told You was also the winner of the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the ALA’s Alex Award. It has been translated into over thirty languages and is being adapted for the screen.


Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere (2017) was a #1 New York Times bestseller, a #1 Indie Next bestseller, and Amazon’s Best Fiction Book of 2017. It was named a best book of the year by over 25 publications, the winner of the Ohioana Award and the Goodreads Readers Choice Award 2017 in Fiction, and spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.
Little Fires Everywhere has been published abroad in more than 30 languages and has been adapted as a limited series on Hulu, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

Her third novel, Our Missing Hearts, will be published on October 4, 2022.

Celeste grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan (now the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan). Her fiction and essays have appeared in the
New York Times, The Guardian, and many other publications, and she is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors.

Review: Merry Mary by Ashley Farley

Goodreads Blurb

A young woman longing for a child happens upon a Christmas miracle. Investigative journalist Scottie Darden is photographing the homeless for her Lost Souls Series when she makes a discovery that changes her life forever. Under a makeshift tent in subzero temperatures in a downtown city park, she discovers a woman’s dead body and her infant child. Without her cell phone to call for help, Scottie makes the split-second decision to take the baby home. Her intent is to provide the baby with food and shelter until her family is located. But as her fondness for the baby grows, she finds herself facing a life on the run. Or worse—prison time for abduction. Curl up with Merry Mary this holiday season. A heartwarming story of the powerful connection between a caring soul and an innocent child in need.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Won this book from GoodReads. I couldn’t put the book down until I finished. It was such a touching story. I was so worried for what could happen to Scottie when the cops found out she had the baby. I loved how her family was there to help her make the right decision. This is a story that will touch your heart and make you teary-eyed. It a story with a conflict of protecting a baby and doing what she felt was right for the baby to come to realization that the baby did have grandparents and they were kind people. When life puts you in a difficult situation, you will find the right solution. Great book that touched my heart dearly.

Author Biography

Ashley Farley writes heartfelt stories about women navigating life’s challenges. Her characters—mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives—face real-life struggles with resilience and grace. Best known for her Sweeney Sisters series, Ashley’s books have touched the hearts of readers far and wide.

A wife and mother of two young adults, for more than two decades, Ashley has split her time between Richmond and the Northern Neck of Virginia. Yet, a piece of her heart will always belong to the South Carolina Lowcountry, where she draws inspiration from the moss-draped oaks, coastal cuisine, and the warm, welcoming spirit of its people.