Fiction

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

This book is crazy, and I really liked it. When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge, and sets about to kill every member of his family. She reasons that once they are all gone, she will inherit the money and have her revenge too. The book is told in first person as Grace writes her story as she sits in prison for the one murder she actually didn’t commit. The ending was twisty and fitting for the story.

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August 14, 2023 0

A Hollywood Ending by Melanie Summers

This is a cute contemporary romance involving a famous actress and the bodyguard hired to protect her. Courtney is married to an A-list actor who publicly dumps her for a younger woman. She flees her movie premiere and finds herself in the woods at her bodyguard, Damien’s, cabin. The paparazzi are trying to find her, so her management team suggests she hide out there until they can plan a way to deal with them.

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August 13, 2023 0

Give the Devil His Duke (Drop Dead Dukes #1) by Anna Bradley

This regency era romance involves Giles, Duke of Basingstoke, and Lady Francesca, daughter of the parents that Giles’ father ruined 10 years earlier. The ton believe she’s in London for the season, but really she’s there to beg her horrible uncle for money for her and her mother. They’ve been living in the country in a cold, drafty cottage and are barely surviving.

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August 13, 2023 0

Love at First Site by Phoebe MacLeod

This is a cute, funny, contemporary romcom set in England about a project manager named Ella whose life is derailed when her longtime boyfriend and colleague Lee jumps ship to work for her company’s competitor, causing her to lose her job. Deciding that her boyfriend is a selfish narcissist that she has made excuses for for far too long, she takes a job in southern England working as a project manager on a building site – something she’s never done before. As she slowly starts to get her feet underneath her, and gains the respect of her colleagues, the rug is once again pulled out from underneath her.

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August 3, 2023 0

The Book of Alys by Alan Gold

This was an interesting historical fiction set during the reign of King Henry II. It focuses on a young French princess, Alys, who arrived in King Henry’s court at the age of 8 years old betrothed to Henry’s son, Prince Richard. Alys suffered constant cruelty from Richard and was ignored by Henry and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alys made it through Eleanor and Henry’s son’s rebellion unscathed, becoming Henry’s mistress shortly thereafter.

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July 26, 2023 0

Killer Deals by Chris Quarembo

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a quick and easy read, with short chapters that suck you in and make you want to keep reading late into the night. The author does a great job of weaving seemingly disconnected storylines into one central story that has a satisfying ending.

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July 25, 2023 0

Pieces and Parts (A Storyhill Musicians Novel) by Annmarie Boyle

This is a sweet, funny, warm and fluffy contemporary romance about a single dad and traveling musician and the woman he hires to teach and care for his 8 year old son that wants to go on tour with him. This is book four of a series but can be read as a stand alone. I haven’t read any of the previous books but found enough background in the story to not feel lost. That said, I enjoyed this book so much I’ll be going back and reading the first three.

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July 23, 2023 0

Wounds of Ash: Book One of the Vendi Chronicles by K.L. Hester

This is a wonderful first book in a new YA fantasy series. The kingdoms of Myral and Gralanth are separated by a range of mountains. The Myral people have magic. It’s capital is Ringard and it’s ruled by a High Enforcer, who is a member of a group of fierce warriors called Ringada. Gralanth people do not have magic, and both sides are wary of each other.

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July 17, 2023 0

Unfortunately Yours (A Vine Mess #2) by Tessa Bailey

I really enjoyed this funny, flirty contemporary romance set in Napa Valley. Natalie loses her finance job in NYC and her fiance. She returns home to the family vineyard to lick her wounds. There she drowns her sorrows in cabernet and makes plans to start a new business. She is smart, capable, and knows her own mind. I liked her ability to own her mistakes, but not let them define her.

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July 9, 2023 0