Tag: #fiction

Review: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

Goodreads Blurb

Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne—a socialite and philanthropist—and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive . . . if she didn’t have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life—the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Be careful what you wish for!! The grass is not always greener on the other side.

It is a story of a desperate woman yearning to be rich at whatever cause, a psycho abuser and a woman trapped with the most evil man. Who will have the upper hand?

Amber Patterson is desperate to marry a man with status and money. She makes friends with Daphne Parrish yearning to replace her in her marriage with Jackson Parrish. You will go down a rabbit hole with these characters and will be shocked at the real truth behind closed doors.

At the beginning of the story, I wasn’t very interested in this book. When the story moved to Daphne’s take on how her life with Jackson was far from perfect, I got hooked on the story. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen to Jackson and Amber. They both belonged together. I was so happy at the turn of events. Revenge was perfection in this story. They both got what they deserved. This story gave you a front row seat at how abusers take control in every aspect of a woman’s life. They use verbal and sexual abuse and fear to take full control. This story, though fiction, told the story of many women who are in similar relationships.

Author Biography

Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Lynne and Valerie are New York Times and international bestselling authors with over two million copies sold worldwide. Their books have been translated into 29 languages, are available in 34 countries, and are in development for both television and film. Their books have been praised by The Washington Post, USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Their debut novel, THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection. Visit Liv at http://www.livconstantine.com

Review: A Moment to Dance by Jennifer Faye

Goodreads Blurb

When trouble strikes…Whistle Stop pulls together

For Ella Morgan, moving to Whistle Stop is a chance to start over, put her horrific past behind her. But now she’s living in a mountain cabin–in dire need of renovation–that her grandmother left her, along with a sizable tax bill. Her job teaching school isn’t going to cover it. She needs cash, and soon.

Volunteer firefighter Tony Granger has returned to Whistle Stop to run the family ranch and be guardian to his orphaned nephew, Johnny. But being a single parent isn’t coming easy, and he’s worried sick he won’t succeed with his plan to adopt the boy, especially if Johnny’s grades don’t improve. He needs a break, and fast.

When Ella finds out Tony doesn’t have a partner for the Dancing With the Firefighters’ benefit–which is offering a large cash prize–and he hits upon hiring her as Johnny’s tutor, it looks like their problems might be solved. But taking dance lessons to win the competition sets alight a burning attraction between them. Can they let go and learn to trust again, or will the scars of their pasts still haunt them?

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This is a five-star book. Jennifer did an awesome job of creating her characters. The characters were very well thought out. Loved the plot of Ella being a teacher and having to be scarred her whole life because of an incident from her past and Tony being a firefighter and losing someone very close to him. It was ironic that she fell in love with a firefighter while she had fought through her family home fire so many years before. Each character has a dark past and is struggling to live in the present. With love and determination, they were able to help each other with their struggles and move on as one. Also enjoyed Johnny, who caused so many worries for Ella and Tony. It was an added bonus.

I loved how the book evolved around a dance competition. I love to dance, which made this book very enjoyable to read. I loved each moment Ella and Tony had on the dance floor. The heated passion bouncing off them like fireworks dancing in the moonlight. I had my happy moments in this book, but there were also moments of sadness, adrenaline rush, determination, and heartbreak. Please pick this book up and read this unforgettable book.

Author Biography

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. With more than a million books sold, she is internationally published with books translated into more than a dozen languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards. Now living her dream, she resides with her very patient husband and two spoiled cats. When she’s not plotting out her next romance, you can find her curled up with a mug of tea and a book.

Review: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Goodreads Blurb

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of a wide expanse of sea. But Louisa, soon to be eighteen years old and an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise. She is determined to find out the story behind these three enigmatic figures.

More than two decades before, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up every morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that, after a chance encounter in an alleyway, will unexpectedly be placed into Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to discover how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more anxious she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa’s complicated life is proof that happy endings are sometimes possible, but they don’t always take the form we expect them to.

Fredrik Backman’s signature charm, humor, and attention to the poignant details of everyday life are on full display in this funny, moving novel. His most heartfelt and personal tale yet, My Friends is a stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of art and friendship.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Art speaks to me through different voices, experiences, and beauty.

I’m captivated by the story of each art piece, which incapsulates my heart yearning to unravel the nature of the artist.

When my eyes see a painting, I transport my whole being to be part of the story.

I yearn to navigate the crevices of each brush stroke to feel the painting and share it with the universe.

The world will see the brush strokes of color paint its way through the mind of an artist the way he sees the world.

“If that artist is one of us, really one of us, you have to do whatever you can to help.”

Fredrik Backman stole my heart with his storytelling. It’s the first book I read by him, and I yearn for more. Art connects each one of us differently, and each artist paints a picture that either captivates them or torments them. This story is one where an artist paints his love for the bond of friendship. His friends meant the world to him. The painting of his friends laughing because one of them farted is the painting each person should hang on their wall. Each character is flawed and struggling to survive in their household. “Tomorrow” was never promised for each character. “Tomorrow” was their goodbye each evening. It was a way to hope they had another day to be together.

I was devastated after I finished page fifty-five. My heart was broken connecting to a character I knew so little about, but I fell in love with him. How can a character captivate you in this way? I learned very little of this character before you are taken back to when the painting idea first came up and what happened after it was painted.  Each character was different in their own way, but they each belonged to each other. They protected their clan like life depended on it. The painter was a young boy that was weak and probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did as an artist if he didn’t have a cheerleader that believed in him, while he didn’t see his amazing skills. This story goes to show how much love, support, and believing in someone can transform a life of possibility, even with so much uncertainty around you. I highly recommend you read this book that will give you all the emotions you didn’t know you can feel while reading one book. I hope you get lost with these friends and see art in a new way.

Author Biography

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, his first work of non-fiction, will be released in the US in May 2019. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @backmansk.

Out Now! The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

I can’t wait to dive into this serial killers mind. I have read two of Alex’s previous books, and they were frightening 🫣 and thrilling 😱. I highly recommend you pick up his books.

Book synopsis

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child―narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

Author Biography

ALEX NORTH is the internationally bestselling author of The Angel Maker, The Whisper Man and The Shadows. He lives in Leeds, England, with his wife and son, and is a British crime writer who has previously published under another name.

Review: Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh

Goodreads Blurb

Four years after their bitter divorce, Claire and Aaron Litvak get a phone call no parent is prepared for: Their twenty-two-year-old daughter Lindsey, teaching English in China during a college gap year, has been critically injured in a hit-and-run accident. At a Shanghai hospital they wait at her bedside, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

The accident unearths a deeper fissure in the family: the shocking event that ended the Litvaks’ marriage and turned Lindsey against them. Estranged from her parents, she has confided only in her younger sister, Grace, adopted as an infant from China. As Claire and Aaron struggle to get their bearings in bustling, cosmopolitan Shanghai, the newly prosperous “miracle city,” they face troubling questions about Lindsey’s life there, in which nothing is as it seems.

My Review: Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Life can change in the blink of an eye. You mindlessly go through life like you are in survival mode. Lindsey Litvak was searching for her place in this world, and unfortunately, life put her through terrible challenges; she was alone in finding where she fit in society. While struggling to survive in China, a different country from where she grew up, a careless driver hit her with his car, changing the course of her life forever. That one second of a life amid death will unravel a broken family secret. Readers will have a front-row seat to the life Lindsey had led up to this horrifying unknown moment, fighting between life and death.

Having a support system and a family to guide you when you grow up plays a role in your future. Claire and Aaron Litvak had Lindsey and adopted Grace from China. Lindsey’s childhood wasn’t too bad until she fell in love with a married man; this was the beginning of her downfall. What gave Lindsey comfort was the close bond she had with her sister.

I wasn’t thrilled about this story. In part, it could be that I don’t enjoy reading about broken families and because the police officers investigating this incident did nothing to find out who the culprit was. They had many opportunities to find the suspect, and they dragged their feet. I had hoped that Grace would have located people from Lindsey’s past in China. She did run into one, but that character kept the secret of knowing Lindsey to herself. It’s a sad, dark story without a happy ending. It was a story about a female trying to figure out life and walking straight into harm’s way. Some topics this book addresses include the bonds between sisters, finding love with the wrong men, being an escort while living through terrifying experiences, dealing with the dynamics of parental divorce, and coping with death.

Author Biography

Jennifer Haigh is an American novelist and short story writer. Her new novel MERCY STREET takes on the contentious issue of abortion rights, following the daily life of Claudia Birch, a counselor at an embattled women’s clinic in Boston.


Her last novel, HEAT AND LIGHT, looks at a Pennsylvania town divided by the controversy over fracking, and was named a Best Book of 2016 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and NPR. Earlier books include the novel FAITH, about a beloved Boston priest accused of a molesting a child in his parish, and THE CONDITION, the story of a woman diagnosed in childhood with Turner’s Syndrome.

Haigh’s critically acclaimed debut novel MRS. KIMBLE won the PEN/Hemingway Award for first fiction. Her second novel, the New York Times bestseller BAKER TOWERS, won the PEN/L. L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author. Her short story collection NEWS FROM HEAVEN won of the Massachusetts Book Award and the PEN New England Award in Fiction. A Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, she writes frequently for The New York Times Book Review. Her fiction has been published in eighteen languages.

Currently Reading: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Goodreads Blurb

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an artist herself, knows otherwise and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their difficult home lives by spending their days laughing and telling stories out on a pier. There’s Joar, who never backs down from a fight; quiet and bookish Ted who is mourning his father; Ali, the daughter of a man who never stays in one place for long; and finally, there’s the artist, a boy who hoards sleeping pills and shuns attention, but who possesses an extraordinary gift that might be his ticket to a better life. These four lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be put into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. As she struggles to decide what to do with this bequest, she embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn the story of how the painting came to be. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit, but happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this fresh testament to the transformative power of friendship and art.

Author Biography

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, his first work of non-fiction, will be released in the US in May 2019. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @backmansk.

My review will be coming soon.

Review: Bayou Shadow Hunter by Debbie Herbert

Goodreads Blurb

Bent on revenge, Native American Shadow Hunter Tombi Silver could turn to only one woman, the “witch” Annie Matthews, for help. Her ability to hear auras had allowed her to discover Tombi’s friend mystically trapped by forces that could destroy them all. The accompanying message of a traitor in their midst meant Tombi could trust no one. Dare he bring Annie along on his quest to fight shadow spirits? Putting his faith in someone outside his tribe, especially one who pulled at his tightly controlled desires, could prove just as dangerous as his mission…

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Let our shadow hunters guide us to safety from what is evil and let the sun shine bright. I loved how the book took place on the Bayou. Gave it a little creepiness since it’s dark and swampy. I also loved the plot of this story. This was the first book I have read that brought Native American beliefs with a little magic. Made this book very interesting. Annie, who to most is considered a witch with abilities to hear others thinking and sounds from afar, was the savor of Tombi and his shadow hunters. If you love paranormal romance, you won’t want to miss this invigorating story of heart pumping, revenge seeking with a little spice of magic, and Native American beliefs and traditions. The romance between Annie and Tombi will have everyone making them their favorite characters. They both are strong-willed and protective. Loved the little dramas that Annie had with Tallullah, who is Tombi’s twin sister. Made the book very entertaining. Love and family can overcome all that is evil. Cheer’s to the Shadow Hunter’s.

Author Biography

Debbie Herbert, a USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling writer, pens Psychological Suspense, romantic suspense and paranormal romance novels. She’s always been fascinated by magic, romance and Gothic stories.

Married and living in Alabama, she roots for the Crimson Tide football team. When not working on her upcoming books, Debbie enjoys recumbent bicycling and jet skiing with her husband.

2017 RITA® Finalist for Paranormal Romance in the national contest sponsored by the Romance Writers of America® Debbie has a degree in English (Berry College, GA) and a master’s in Library Studies (University of Alabama).

Review: The Family Plan by Cathy McDavid

Goodreads Blurb

Is love enough to keep them together?

Jolyn Sutherland goes home to Blue Ridge, Arizona, to rebuild her life after a career-ending fall from a horse. But the onetime star lands smack in the middle of a brewing domestic storm that could sabotage her blossoming relationship with Chase Raintree, her first love.

Jolyn’s homecoming is a complication the vet and devoted single father doesn’t need. Especially with her family questioning whether Chase is the biological father of his eight-year-old daughter, Mandy. Chase won’t let anyone take his child away from him, even if it means losing his second chance with Jolyn…

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I loved this book. I was hooked on it from the very beginning. Love the romance between Jolyn and Chase. The couple who was meant to be together but never got a chance to be together until so many years later. It was a heartwarming story that brought families together after so many disagreements. Loved that Jolyn’s career is in construction. I was very proud of Jolyn since she was injured after a horse race, and even though she had pain, she still pushed on with her everyday tasks. Courage and determination shaped Jolyn as the hero of this book. If you love a book with some Western romance, please read this amazing book.

Author Biography

New York Times bestselling author Cathy McDavid has written over 55 titles, many for Harlequin. She spends her days penning stories about handsome cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give them a run for their money.

Virtual Author Event Hosted by the Mahwah Library: Lisa Jewell

Tuesday, June 10th at 2:00 PM EDT

You’re invited to an exclusive preview event with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell as she introduces readers to her forthcoming title Don’t Let Him In (Out June 24, 2025!). Along with an introduction to her newest bone-chilling, psychological thriller, Jewell will chat about her life as a writer and her critically-acclaimed body of work.

In Don’t Let Him In, three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

Nick Radcliffe is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. He’s just what Nina Swann needed in her life after her husband’s unexpected death. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Things don’t make sense and patience is wearing thin…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation. But Martha can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right, despite her husband calling her mad and insisting they know everything there is to know about one another.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

Register now for the thrill of a lifetime!

About the Author: Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including None of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over ten million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on X @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.

RSVP link: https://libraryc.org/mahwahlibrary/76872/register

Author Event: Anita Kopacz the Author of The Wind on Her Tongue

Anita Kopacz visited the college I work at to speak with the students about her books, writing skills, and how to release stress. She was a motivational speaker who was down to earth and shared personal situations that could help others with similar circumstances. She has published two books that are part of a series.

Here is her Goodreads profile to read further on her books https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4155019.Anita_Kopacz