Promises at Indigo Bay by Ellyn Oaksmith

 

Description

Things are finally working out for Stella Gallagher. Underwhelmed by all the uninspiring men in her small town who she’s known since grade school, she was beginning to give up on love altogether… until mysterious Italian Paolo Gentillo moved to Chelan. He’s smart, kind, gorgeous and, most importantly, completely obsessed with her: Stella has finally found her match.

So why did Paolo have to ruin everything by proposing? It’s way too soon. Stella tries to act thrilled, but there are things she hasn’t told Paolo—she doesn’t know how he’s going to feel about her when he finds out about her past. She wants to be with him, but now he’s offering her a priceless family heirloom engagement ring and his formidable mother’s coming all the way from Italy to meet her. And stay at her house. For a whole week.

Suddenly it’s all going wrong for Stella: Paolo’s mother hates her, her best friend Carmen is totally wrapped up in her own problems and ignoring her, and she’s struggling under the weight of her secret. All she and Paolo do is fight, and she’s never felt so alone. Forget the wedding—Stella is about to lose everything…

A heart-warming story about learning to trust in yourself and the people you love, Promises at Indigo Bay will show you that it’s never too late to try for your happy ending. For fans of Robyn Carr, Carolyn Brown and Debbie Macomber.

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It’s my first book by the author but I feel like I need to go back and read the first in the series because there are many things i need to know and I have questions that need answers.

A story full of romantic elements, with two driven characters that will do anything and everything for the love ones. 

It’s a story about life and how many times we forgive others, but not ourselves.

Overall, is an emotional ride that many readers of the genre will enjoy, where not everything is as simple as black or white or even blue as the sky.

The Vatican Conspiracy by Peter Hogenkamp

Description

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…” Marco Venetti has heard the words thousands of times before. But this is a cry for help, not absolution—and soon Marco finds himself racing against time to foil a conspiracy aimed at the heart of the Vatican…

It is an ordinary day in Marco Venetti’s quiet coastal parish—but the woman who’s come to confess is not ordinary. Marco has always been drawn to beautiful Elena, and she brings news that will shatter his peace.

Elena’s sister and daughter have been kidnapped, to force her to bring a gang of ruthless men into the country—if she doesn’t, her family will be brutally killed. But if she obeys, many more innocents will die… In her desperation she turns to Marco, knowing his time in the military has given him the skills she needs. Determined to protect her, Marco draws on the violent past he has tried to forget.

A terrifying battle on a rocky island offshore leaves no survivors. But after the last man is dead, Marco finds a note on one of the men’s bodies, a map that reveals their ultimate goal: a deadly terrorist attack on the Vatican City itself.

Marco and Elena find themselves racing to reach the Vatican City, and stop the deadly threat against the pope. But Marco quickly realises that his mission isn’t over. Accompanied by a CIA assassin, Marco must prevent a deadly weapon falling into the wrong hands or see a truly apocalyptic outcome. Once more he must confront his own darker nature, and decide whether a man of God can justify going to war…

For fans of Joel C. Rosenberg, Tom Clancy and Steven Konkoly, The Vatican Conspiracy is a non-stop explosive thriller of betrayal, revenge and world-shaking conspiracy.

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Talk about a real gripping thriller. 

The Vatican conspiracy was a nonstop read for me. From the first page I just couldn’t put it down. 

I mean, spies and intricate suspenseful moments where a priest is our main hero and a heroine that keeps him on his toes, it’s more than I have expected from this story.

Full of intrigue, fast-paced moments and twists that won’t stop, kept me on the edge throughout the book with each page turned and I honestly can’t wait for the next books in the series because the author has set the bar high with this new must read series.

 

Little Bones by N V Peacock

 

Description

I have three names: I was born Leigh-Ann. I became Cherrie. When I was a child, they called me Little Bones…

My father was Mr Bones – the notorious serial killer of 25 years ago.
As a child I witnessed his crimes.
Everything is different now. I have a new identity. I’m a mother. I am finally free.
Until that podcast. I should never have listened.
They’re linking a recent disappearance to the crimes of the past.
They know who I am. They’re calling me Little Bones again.
They say I’m a villain but I’m not. I’m a victim.
You believe me, don’t you?

3.5 stars

True crime story, darker than I usually read but interesting and enjoyable overall.

From the first chapter, I was intrigued to see what happens with a murderer child, now a young woman who has her own life, a new name, a child and a boyfriend. When a child disappears, someone is connecting the murders with her past and everything changes for her. 

It’s a bit creepy even, suspenseful and intriguing all the same.

One Winter’s Night by Kilroy Dunbar

 

Description

A gorgeously uplifting, romantic read that will warm your heart – take a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, where magic happens…

It’s autumn in beautiful Stratford-Upon-Avon and Kelsey Anderson is enjoying her new life in her adopted town. Her Shakespearean tour guide days behind her, she’s now opened her own photography studio and loved up with boyfriend Jonathan – even if a long-distance relationship is sometimes lonely. 

When best friend Mirren Imrie moves down from Scotland, Kelsey is delighted to have her friend at her side – and as the nights turn colder, Mirren throws herself into dating, until she finds herself growing closer to sexy journalist, Adrian Armadale. But when Mirren uncovers a long-buried scandal while working at the local newspaper, her big scoop might throw Kelsey’s – and Jonathan’s – life upside down. Will she choose her career over her friends’ happiness? 

And when Jonathan returns from America and discovers the secrets Mirren has uncovered about his family, it throws his relationship with Kelsey onto shaky ground. Can they find their way back to love, before it becomes the winter of their discontent? 

A romantic, funny and feelgood read that will make you smile from ear to ear. Fans of Milly Johnson, Heidi Swain and Holly Martin will fall in love with this cosy winter read!

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3.5 stars

Winter nights in the Shakespear’s home where two love stories are perfectly told in a great few hours of reading.

It was my first book by the author and I enjoyed the characters and the overall love story, even if it’s the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. It’s exactly as you would expect, not much angst or drama, just the perfect balance between the adult life struggles about carrier, family and friends to lovers ultimately.

It’s a light and beautiful novel that many romantics will enjoy.

Honeysuckle season by Mary Ellen Taylor

 

Description

From bestselling author Mary Ellen Taylor comes a story about profound loss, hard truths, and an overgrown greenhouse full of old secrets.

Adrift in the wake of her father’s death, a failed marriage, and multiple miscarriages, Libby McKenzie feels truly alone. Though her new life as a wedding photographer provides a semblance of purpose, it’s also a distraction from her profound pain.

When asked to photograph a wedding at the historic Woodmont estate, Libby meets the owner, Elaine Grant. Hoping to open Woodmont to the public, Elaine has employed young widower Colton Reese to help restore the grounds and asks Libby to photograph the process. Libby is immediately drawn to the old greenhouse shrouded in honeysuckle vines.

As Libby forms relationships and explores the overgrown—yet hauntingly beautiful—Woodmont estate, she finds the emotional courage to sort through her father’s office. There she discovers a letter that changes everything she knows about her parents, herself, and the estate. Beneath the vines of the old greenhouse lie generations of secrets, and it’s up to Libby to tend to the fruits born of long-buried seeds.

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Honeysuckle season is a beautiful woman fiction story about life and how some difficulties make you stronger to strive forward and find a better future. 

The past and present chapters and storylines were a bit confusing at the beginning, but after a while everything made more sense and the way the author has interwoven them it just made up for a wonderful addictive novel.

Libby has gone through so much in her life and deserves a better future. When she gets a new job in her new way of starting a new life, she also finds out more about her inheritance that will help her build the future strong and caring woman inside her come out and live at its wholeness.

The angels by Alex Kane

 

Description

It takes a good woman to take down a bad man

Amber. As the top performer at Angel Silk gentleman’s club, she’s seen it all, been forced to do things she never wanted to do. She’s tired of this life… but can she escape it? 

Lizzy. To the women at Angel Silk, she’s the strong queen bee, mother to the girls. But she’s hiding her own dark secrets - and if they come to light, her life could be destroyed. 

Jade. The newest dancer at Angel Silk, she’s innocent, beautiful… and trapped. She’s in over her head – but does she have the strength to break free? 

Three women, all under the control of feared gangster, Marcus. To take back their lives, they need to come together. But will he let them go – or will finding freedom mean paying the ultimate price? 

A completely addictive, gripping and gritty gangland thriller that will have you hooked. If you like Martina Cole, Kimberly Chambers or Jacqui Rose, you will love this nail-biting read.

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Talk about taking risky chances. 

Once again , Alex Kane has taken me on a ride with another gripping thriller where the heroines are not your usual female characters and the underground life of London comes up and front in this story.

if you like a suspenseful novel with an unusual setting, this book is for you.

To coach a killer by Victoria Laurie

Description

Soaking up a luxurious new chapter alongside her saucy bestie, Cat Cooper plans on emerging as the premier life coach in East Hampton by summertime. All she has to do is survive an offseason replete with desolate beaches, slow business, and murder . . . 

 

As the Hamptons drags through early spring, Cat’s shot at becoming the toast of the town in time for Memorial Day is dwindling—and fast. The only client she can find has been housebound for decades and claims to be the victim of a devasting curse. Then there’s the matter of Detective Shepherd’s intense jealousy over Maks Grinkov, the handsome bad boy who approaches Cat with an unusual offer she can’t stop thinking about. Havoc finally breaks loose when a string of murders rocks the coastal community, landing Maks on the hook as the culprit . . . 

 

While the body count rises, Cat goes from life coaching to sleuthing for the truth about Maks’s less-than-wholesome background. But after digging deeper, she questions if Detective Shepherd had an unwitting hand in a related homicide case after tangling with the wrong people. With a storm approaching shore and no one to trust, Cat and her sharp-tongued best friend, Gilley, must solve a client’s curse and a series of violent deaths before a killer sends them all sailing to their doom . . .

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I will start with saying that this book was so good and unexpected in so many ways. 

It's great written and the characters are so well fleshed that i want to be her friend in real life. As for the villain in the story, the author managed to trick me into liking him a lot, without even knowing because his way of doing things and the psychological level games he played are really great and challenging on all levels that made it hard not to fall for it.

What i didn't like? The cover! I just can't stand the cartoonish ones and more so because i know that many readers like me will judge a book by its cover and it's a shame it this story goes not chosen because of that small but decisive element.

All my opinions are my own. Arc provided by the publisher through Netgalley