Review: I Am You: A Book About Ubuntu by Refiloe Moahloli

Goodreads Blurb

We may be different, but our hearts beat the same.

In southern Africa, there is a belief called ubuntu—the idea that we are all connected. No matter where we’re from or who we are, a person is a person through their connections to other people. With simple, lyrical text and charming artwork, this lively picture book first published in South Africa is the perfect introduction to the concept of ubuntu for young kids. A celebration of friendship and kindness, the book shows children the many ways that we are all one.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It is a powerful book about self-love and love for everyone, regardless of how someone looks or where they come from. The positive message is one children will take with them every day. The illustrations were superb. They were beautiful and went perfectly with the text. The colors and illustrations were so vibrant and happy. It’s a happy book that will connect all who read it. Our differences are what make us unique and amazing. Let’s empower love and acceptance for humankind; let’s welcome everyone to feel loved.

Author Biography

Refiloe Moahloli grew up in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. As aunt to many nieces and nephews who consider her to be ‘one of them’ due to her modest height, life with them inspires a number of stories floating in her head at any given time. Refiloe plays hockey, is a keen Instagrammer ‘refiloemoahloli’ and a full-time couch coach of South Africa’s cricket teams.

Upcoming Book Event: Shelby Van Pelt

Shelby Van Pelt discusses & signs REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES

Tue, Apr 29th, 2025, 6:00 – 8:00 PM EDTBarnes & Noble, Paramus, NJ
Register: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/bnparamus/shelby-van-pelt-discusses-signs-remarkably-bright-creatures?fbclid=PAY2xjawIqDXFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpnna9wq8r2k2dm2Zs-tSYddBygNVfcxs7iiNbwMvN_vqYSfIg10Cc0rrdA_aem_lOWSdR2lcy9GvzbfWRrQFg

Event Details

Please join us in welcoming author Shelby Van Pelt as she celebrates the release of Remarkably Bright Creatures in paperback! She will be in conversation with Lynda Cohen Loigman.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors – until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

-You must purchase a paperback copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures at our location to attend the event.

If you have any questions, please call the store at 201-445-4589

Review: Thick as Thieves by Tonya Kappes

Goodreads Blurb

In Thick as Thieves, the latest laugh-out-loud installment in the Kenni Lowry Mysteries, Tonya Kappes delivers the perfect blend of southern charm, small-town drama, and a jaw-dropping mystery.

Sheriff Kenni Lowry should be blissfully planning her wedding, but Cottonwood, Kentucky has other plans. When Judge Horace Blackwell is found murdered in his chambers, Kenni is thrown into a case packed with family feuds, a mysterious inheritance, and secrets buried—literally—beneath the town.

With her ghostly Poppa offering his usual (and sometimes unwelcome) advice, her trusty hound Duke, and her fiancé Finn by her side, Kenni is racing to solve the case before the killer strikes again. As the trail winds through high-stakes poker games, long-forgotten tunnels, and scandalous secrets, Kenni realizes the culprit may be closer to home than she ever imagined.

Can Kenni crack the case and keep her wedding plans on track, or will the murderer make sure she never makes it to “I do”?

Perfect for fans of southern cozies with sharp humor, clever twists, and just the right amount of romance, Thick as Thieves will keep you guessing (and laughing) until the last page.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A sheriff in a wedding dress solving a murder makes for an interesting murder mystery. This cozy murder mystery will leave you guessing who the suspect is until the very end. Judge Horace is murdered in his chambers, sending Kenni Lowry, the sheriff, into a wild goose chase to find the murderer.

Kenni is in the process of planning her wedding with Finn, and her mother wants her to have a proper southern wedding. I had many laughs throughout the encounters with Kenni and her mom.

I enjoyed having Poppa (the ghost of Kenni’s grandfather) stopping by to help Kenni figure out the murder. He is a wonderful addition to the storyline. He is funny and provides guidance when Kenni most needs it.

Tonya’s murder mystery was well planned with multiple suspects. Each one has a motive to want Judge Horace dead. She mixed in Kenni’s wedding plans with her sheriff’s responsibilities, making the story entertaining. You will be shocked to find out who the real killer is.

Author Biography

Tonya Kappes has written more than 180 southern cozy mysteries, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today . Best known for stories charged with southern charm, emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband in northern Kentucky. Now that her four boys have flown out of the nest, Tonya writes full-time in her camper!

You can find her all over social media and at Tonyakappes.com .

Review: Find You In Paris by Alix Nichols

Goodreads Blurb

True spite. Fake marriage. Real romance.

If there’s one man that fledgling art photographer Diane Petit really, really, actively hates, it’s fragrance mogul Sebastian Darcy who stole her father’s company—and wrecked the man’s health in the process.
But the arrogant SOB had better brace himself because Diane has vowed revenge.
And revenge she will have.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. It had my two favorite things, Paris and Darcy. It can’t get better than that. Loved that Darcy’s family owned a perfume business, which caused drama between him and Diane. I loved the chemistry between both characters. Darcy was rich and stuck up, and Diane was out for vengeance. If you love Pride and Prejudice, check out this adaptation of Darcy being French and his the scheme he decides to do with Diane.

Author Biography

Alix Nichols is a caffeine addict, a fan of Mr. Darcy and an award-winning author on Book Riot’s list of 100 must-read international romances.
She pens sexy romantic comedies and romantic fantasy. Her books have been described as “pure pleasure” (Kirkus Reviews) that “keep fans of romance hanging off the edge of your seat” (RT Book Reviews).
At the age of six, she released her first book. It featured highly creative spelling on a dozen pages stitched together and bound in velvet paper. Decades later, she still writes. Her spelling has improved (somewhat), and her books have topped bestseller charts around the world.
She lives in France with her family and their almost-human dog.

Review: Everything You Want Me To Be by Mindy Mejia

Goodreads Blurb

No one knows who she really is…

Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. But Hattie wants something more, something bigger, and ultimately something that turns out to be exceedingly dangerous. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips right through the fabric of her small-town community.

It soon comes to light that Hattie was engaged in a highly compromising and potentially explosive secret online relationship. The question is: Did anyone else know? And to what lengths might they have gone to end it? Hattie’s boyfriend seems distraught over her death, but had he fallen so deeply in love with her that she had become an obsession? Or did Hattie’s impulsive, daredevil nature simply put her in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading her to a violent death at the hands of a stranger?

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront…and she inches closer and closer to death.

Evocative and razor-sharp, Everything You Want Me to Be challenges you to test the lines between innocence and culpability, identity and deception. Does love lead to self-discovery—or destruction?

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I am shocked after finishing this book. Hattie and Peter had a forbidden love that ended terribly. In my mind, I kept on figuring out who the suspects were. In the end, I didn’t expect what truly happened. I loved that the author broke the story into three perspectives. Made the story strike you like lightning while being chased by a roller coaster. I couldn’t stop feeding into the story. Each page brought me closer to the lust, anger, frustration, hopes, dreams, mystery, murder and freedom. It was a very tough story to read because of the characters’ relationship and the terrible murder. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this amazing story. Bravo Mindy, thanks for the thrill.

Author Biography

My name is Mindy Mejia and I’m a writer. I write because, ever since I was six years old, my favorite game has been pretend. My life doesn’t have symmetry, theme, symbolism, or meditated beauty and I gravitate toward these things like a houseplant to the sun. I love the perfect words; I love how ‘fierce’ and ‘confounded’ and ‘swagger’ look on the page and how my chest expands when I read them. I write because I believe in the reality of my fantasies, the truth in my fabrications. I’ve always had stories sneaking around my head, thrillers like LEAVE NO TRACE and EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE, and sometimes I inhabit those stories more than my own life. (Best not to mention that last part to my husband, kids, or boss.)

Review: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads Blurb

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Please let’s have a moment of silence…

I am crushed after reading this book that made my emotions spiral. My heart broke till the very end. Every moment that Lily went through with her parents and then with Riley had me breaking into pieces. I am speechless to see, feel, and hear reality. It’s a very tough situation when the person you truly love hurts you and then says sorry to then hurt you once again. I truly wish that no one had to go through these acts of violence, but people are not perfect. I give a huge applause and thank you to Colleen for writing a book that many people can relate to. It was a very hard subject to write and even harder to write it for the world to see. It gives us strength to either remove ourselves from these relationships or help others who need help. Please read this amazing book and share with all your friends, and don’t forget the Kleenex.

Author Biography

International and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller, women’s fiction and paranormal romance.

Review: A Book of Moons by Donna and Greg Brown

Goodreads Blurb

Donna and Greg Brown’s A Book of Moons is a collection of poems about the twelve full moons, according to names given to them by the Algonquin tribes. These moons watch the cycle of the seasons as they progress from lonely winter through the thaw of spring, into summer’s warmth, then to autumn’s harvest and back to cold, frosty winter. Exposing children to poetry helps strengthen vocabulary, language and rhythm in children. Each poem in A Book of Moons is accompanied with a beautiful illustration by Bradley Wilson. Working together, the poems and the illustrations will bring an increased appreciation of the moon, earth, and language.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Won this book from GoodReads. I loved how they had poems throughout the book describing the moon for the particular month. They used names that the Native Americans’ Algonquins tribes used for their full moons. The illustrations were perfect for each description of the moon. Great books for kids.

Upcoming Book Tour: The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one’s duty in this rich story of an honorable man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

It is the year 1613, and King James is sending his messenger Andrew Logan into Scotland with secret orders to arrest Sir David Moray, close friend and advisor of the late Prince Henry. Secrets are second nature to Andrew, who must hide his Second Sight to stay alive. Joined by a court scrivener and the scrivener’s spirited daughter Phoebe, Andrew slowly untangles the true purpose of his mission―to frame Sir David for Prince Henry’s murder. But Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man.

Phoebe Westaway dislikes Andrew, and their history makes it hard for her to trust him. But as their journey draws them deeper into the dark web of court intrigue, Phoebe begins to suspect that she might have more need of the King’s Messenger and his unusual gifts than she could ever have foreseen.

Link to Pre-order https://woobox.com/kgjk5u?utm_source=Sourcebooks+-+I&utm_campaign=eab235cef0-LM_6-27-23_HowtobeRemembered_AuthorTakeover_COPY_0&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a1b92f367b-eab235cef0-496557833&mc_cid=eab235cef0&mc_eid=6b086577c6

Review: A Christmas Bride by Hope Ramsay

Goodreads Blurb

A charming small-town Christmas romance filled with family, love, and hope from the USA Today bestselling author of the Last Chance series.

Tis the season in Shenandoah Falls and the first time Willow Peterson has been home in years. But she’s determined to fulfill the wishes of her recently deceased best friend and restore Eagle Hill Manor to its former glory-all in time to host the perfect holiday wedding. She just has to get the owner of the historic inn to hire her. Unfortunately, that means dealing with Scrooge himself…

After the death of his wife, David Lyndon has a bah-humbug approach to Christmas. But as December counts down and the wedding planning is in full swing, it’s harder and harder to stay immune to the charms of Willow, especially when he sees how much joy she brings his eight-year-old daughter. After a simple kiss under the mistletoe turns into something more, David is hoping he can turn the magic of the holiday season into the love of a lifetime.

My Review: Rated 5 out if 5 stars

What a lovely story. I loved the chemistry between David and Willow. They were able to open their hearts to happiness even though the circumstances were difficult. It is hard to move on when a spouse passes away, especially at a young age. Hope really created characters that were strong in nature and had dreams that clashed with one another’s life. I loved that Christmas is a time to be with family and friends, especially during a Christmas wedding. I myself wish to have a Christmas wedding someday. Thanks for writing a book that we all could relate one way or another, and love always conquers.

Author Biography

Hope Ramsay is a USA Today bestselling author of heartwarming contemporary romances, set below the Mason-Dixon Line. Her children are grown, but she has a beloved fur baby, Daisy the Cockapoo who keeps her entertained. Hope lives in the medium-sized town of Fredericksburg, Virginia and when she’s not writing or walking the dog, she spends her time knitting and noodling around on her collection of guitars.

Review: Little Deaths by Emma Flint

Goodreads Blurb

Inspired by a true story, Little Deaths, like celebrated novels by Sarah Waters and Megan Abbott, is compelling literary crime fiction that explores the capacity for good and evil in us all.
It’s the summer of 1965, and the streets of Queens, New York shimmer in a heatwave. One July morning, Ruth Malone, a cocktail waitress, wakes to find a bedroom window wide open and her two young children missing. After a desperate search, the police make a horrifying discovery.
Separated from her husband, Ruth has been raising her children alone. Noting her perfectly made-up face and provocative clothing, the empty liquor bottles and love letters that litter her apartment, detectives leap to convenient conclusions fueled by neighborhood gossip and speculation. Covering the story as his first big assignment, tabloid reporter Pete Wonicke at first can’t help but do the same. But the longer he spends watching Ruth, the more he learns about the dark ways of cops and reporters, and the underbelly of the city he now calls home. As he fixates on Ruth, Pete soon begins to doubt everything he thought he knew.
Ruth Malone is enthralling, challenging, and secretive—is she really capable of murder? Haunting, intoxicating, and heart-poundingly suspenseful, Little Death is a gripping novel about love, morality, and obsession, exploring the capacity for good and evil within us all.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

A novel that will break everyone’s heart. Imagine checking up one morning thinking your two children are sleeping to only find that they are both missing. My heart broke in two finding out what happened to each child. Any parent would be freaking out and devastated that their children won’t be with them anymore. It was a tragic story that will challenge and confuse you of what exactly happened that July day. I was very disappointed with the outcome of this book. The person you least expect guilty was guilty as charge. This is a thriller with mystery. Your whole perspective in love and life will forever be changed.

Author Biography

Emma Flint grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England. She studied English and History at the University of St Andrews and is a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing Program in London. Since childhood, Flint has read reports of real-life crimes, and over the years has developed an encyclopedic knowledge of murder cases and notorious historical figures, as well as a fascination with unconventional women – past, present, and fictional. Flint lives and works in London.