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Showing posts from March, 2020

DARLING ROSE GOLD book review

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DARLING ROSE GOLD by Stephanie Wrobel Book Description: Sharp Objects  meets  My Lovely Wife  in this tightly drawn debut that peels back the layers of the most complicated of mother-daughter relationships... For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold. Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go and begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. Patty insists all she wants is to reconcile their differences. She says she's forgiven Rose Gold for turning her in and testifying against her. But Rose Gold knows her mother. Patty W

THE BLUE CLOAK book review

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the Blue Cloak  by Shannon McNear Book Description: Based on real events beginning in 1797 — Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror as the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity,” the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims. How many will die before peace can return to the frontier? MY BOOK REVIEW: 5 Stars: 5/5 Star Rating          The horrors inflicted by the Harpes are unimaginable, and yet they are based on true facts, while the account is fictionalized.  I was appalled even while compelled to continue reading.  I simply could not fathom what drew Sally to Wiley Harpe to begin with, and yet I understood the sheer terror that held her there.  And still, there is

DEAD END book review

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Dead End  (Kaely Quinn Profiler #3) by Nancy Mehl Book Description: When a body is discovered in a field in Iowa, the police uncover fourteen additional corpses ranging from 20 years old to recent. The remains point to a serial killer with an MO the authorities have seen before--Ed Oliphant, a man who has been in prison for over 20 years . . . and is Special Agent Kaely Quinn's father. After several failed interview attempts to discover if Ed has been training someone to be a copycat killer, the police turn to Kaely in St. Louis. Kaely promised herself she would never step foot in her hometown or set eyes on her father again. She's always refused to confront her past, but if she wants to prevent any more deaths, she must come face-to-face with the man she's hated for years. As more bodies are discovered, Kaely races against time and her own personal turmoil to uncover the killer. Will this most personal case yet cost Kaely her identity and perhaps even her life? MY

NOT AGAIN book review

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NOT AGAIN  by Maria T. Henriksen Christina De Rosa holds a potentially deadly secret that threatens to get out. As an innocent young teenager, Christina survives a terrifying sexual assault that destroys her self-worth and trust. In her daily struggle, Christina searches for ways to keep her torment at bay, so she can function as a "normal" teenager. Meanwhile, Christina's spiritual journey leads her down a path causing conflict within, as she's riddled with guilt and shame. A chance encounter with her longtime, hot crush, Avery Evans, sparks a fire in Christina that she can't extinguish. As the sweet, loving, knight in shining armor he readily portrays, Avery offers the safety and security that Christina craves. In her quest for internal peace, Christina must make a decision. Will she give her heart, body and soul to the super popular, Avery Evans? Will Christina's nightmares become all-consuming or will her discoveries lead her to a renewed way of life

THE CROW'S CALL book review

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The Crow's Call (Amish Greenhouse Mystery #1) by Wanda Brunstetter Mysterious Events Plague a Greenhouse in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country When Vernon King, his son, and son-in-law are involved in a terrible accident, three women are left to cope with their deaths, as they become the sole providers of the family they have left. The women’s only income must come from the family greenhouse, but someone seems to be trying to force them out of business. Amy King has just lost her father and brother, and her mother needs her to help run the family’s greenhouse. It doesn’t seem fair to ask her to leave a job she loves, when there is still a sister and brother to help. But Sylvia is also grieving for her husband while left to raise three children, and Henry, just out of school, is saddled with all the jobs his father and older brother used to do. As Amy assumes her new role, she also asks Jared Riehl to put their courtship on hold. When things become even more stressful at the gre

HITLER'S HOUSEWIVES book review

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HITLER'S HOUSEWIVES: German Women on the Home Front by Tim Heath The meteoric rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party cowed the masses into a sense of false utopia. During Hitler's 1932 election campaign over half those who voted for Hitler were women. Germany's women had witnessed the anarchy of the post-First World War years, and the chaos brought about by the rival political gangs brawling on their streets. When Hitler came to power there was at last a ray of hope that this man of the people would restore not only political stability to Germany but prosperity to its people. As reforms were set in place, Hitler encouraged women to step aside from their jobs and allow men to take their place. As the guardian of the home, the women of Hitler's Germany were pinned as the very foundation for a future thousand-year Reich. Not every female in Nazi Germany readily embraced the principle of living in a society where two distinct worlds existed, however with the outbrea

LOVING JENNA book review

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Loving Jenna (Wells Landing #8) by Amy Lillard Book Description: In this new series set in the beloved Oklahoma Amish community of Wells Landing, three generations of women challenge themselves and each other to make a fresh start in faith, family—and love. Jenna Burkhart is tired of being “special” and hearing about what she can't do. Even though she suffered a head injury in a childhood swimming accident, she wants a life of her own just like any Amish woman. But now that she, her mamm, and her mammi have moved to Wells Landing, she's having a hard time fitting in. . . . Until she meets Buddy Miller, a boy just like her, who gives her the confidence to reach for the impossible . . . Like Jenna, Buddy is used to being the boy no one expects much from, the one people see as “different.” Still, being around Jenna’s lively, kind-hearted ways makes him strive ever-harder to become the self-sufficient Amish man she deserves. But in the face of family disapproval and the

VEILED IN SMOKE book review

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Veiled in Smoke (The Windy City Saga #1) by Jocelyn Green Book Description: Meg and Sylvie Townsend manage the family bookshop and care for their father, Stephen, a veteran still suffering in mind and spirit from his time as a POW during the Civil War. But when the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago's business district, they lose much more than just their store. The sisters become separated from their father, and after Meg burns her hands in an attempt to save a family heirloom, they make a harrowing escape from the flames with the help of Chicago Tribune reporter Nate Pierce. Once the smoke clears away, they reunite with Stephen, only to learn soon after that their family friend not only died during the fire--he was murdered. Even more shocking, Stephen is charged with the crime and committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum. Though homeless, injured, and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life, but prove her father's innocence befo