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Showing posts from April, 2024

An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright, Book Review

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Book Summary: Complications arise when Marietta’s secret love letters are accidentally found by the wrong man. 1828, the London countryside For years, Marietta Stone has harbored a secret infatuation for the handsome Frederick Finch and has poured out her deepest feelings in a series of passionate love letters that she keeps in a locked drawer. But when Marietta’s private letters are accidentally delivered to Frederick’s house, she must retrieve them immediately before they fall into the wrong hands. If the letters were read by anyone else, the resulting scandal could jeopardize her reputation.  Gerard Hartwell has no time for infatuations, courtship, or even love. He must find a wife with a substantial inheritance if he wishes to save his late father’s bankrupt estate. When he accidentally discovers Marietta’s love letters at his cousin Frederick’s estate, he strikes a bargain with her. If she helps him court her older sister, Anne, he will return the letters and help Marietta win Fre

The Lady with the Dark Hair by Erin Bartels, Book Review

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Book Summary: Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once-solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella's greatest work--a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair . In 1879, Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells artists' pigments. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella's sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playing in order to hide her identity have far-reaching implications she never

Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson, Book Review

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Book Summary: Ginny Masters manages a popular boutique hotel in Seattle and manages it with aplomb. But the daily challenges and irritations of a fast-paced job and a demanding boss are starting to get to her. Jacqueline Potter manages her grandfather's fishing lodge in Idaho because it was the only job she could find after graduating with her hospitality degree. She's grateful for the work but longs for a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan life she's just not going to find in this backwoods town. The solution to both their problems seems obvious. Just for the summer, they'll swap jobs and lifestyles. But they never anticipated swapping love interests . . . In this fabulous new twist on an age-old fable, award-winning and bestselling author Melody Carlson introduces you to two career-focused women who are about to discover that there's more to finding happiness than just switching up the scenery. My Review: This is a story with a really fun premise! I like the idea

Hidden Yellow Stars by Rebecca Connolly, Book Review

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Book Summary: Based on the true story of two World War II heroines who risked everything to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium. Belgium, 1942 Young schoolteacher Andrée Geulen secretly defies the Nazis in Belgium, who are forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Andrée is not Jewish, but she feels a maternal connection to her students, who are living in constant fear, and decides to take action. No child should have to suffer under such persecution. But what can one woman do against an entire army? Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who works with the Committee for the Defense of Jews in Belgium, a clandestine resistance group tasked with hiding children from the Gestapo. She wants to recruit Andrée because her Aryan appearance can provide crucial security measures for their efforts. Andrée agrees to join and begins work immediately by adopting a code name: Claude Fournier. Together, Andrée and Ida, and their undercover operatives, work around the clo

A Match Gone Awry (Georgians in Paris) by Arlem Hawks, Book Review

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Book Summary: She needs a match. He's here to help. Desperate to leave Paris, Gabrielle d’Amilly has set her sights on an English diplomat who can whisk her away to a happier life. But when an attempt to catch his eye goes wrong, she enlists the British navy lieutenant Harvey Barlow to help in her scheme. Under the guise of visiting a friend, Lieutenant Barlow arrives in Paris with the task of checking France’s relations with the discontented colonies. Playing at matchmaking won't hurt his mission, especially for a good cause. But when his intentions to be helpful turn to feelings of love, he finds himself distracted from his duties. In his quest to advance in the navy, he cannot give Gabrielle the happy life she's after. With war threatening, Harvey and Gabrielle are forced to decide to hold to their previous goals or strive for an imperfectly perfect match. ♥ A Match Gone Awry is a clean & wholesome Georgian romance. ♥ My Review: This delightful Georgian era story wil

Never Fall Again (Gossamer Falls #1) by Lynn H. Blackburn, Book Review

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  Book Summary: Landry Hutton has spent three years rebuilding her life behind the secure gates of The Haven, an exclusive resort on the outskirts of Gossamer Falls, North Carolina. As the artist-in-residence, and with her pottery prized by The Haven's guests, Landry is finally ready to settle in permanently. She wants to give her daughter, Eliza, a safe home to grow up in and hires former Marine Callum Shaw to handle the construction. Cal grew up in Gossamer Falls and always knew he would someday join his family's business. He longs for a family of his own but has almost given up on that ever happening. Landry is funny, gifted, and everything Cal could ever want in a partner, but he vows to keep his distance. Landry has a daughter and a past. Cal has been down that road before and barely survived when the woman he loved left, taking her two sons with her. He can't bear to lose like that again. Before construction on the house can begin, Landry's pottery is destroyed in

Second Guess (Griffin Force #6) by Julie Coulter Bellon, Book Review

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  Book Summary: He let his guard down for a second. And now it’s going to cost him. The most wanted terrorist in the world has finally been captured and Elliot Burke is escorting him to an undisclosed location---until their plane is hijacked. Elliot's mission quickly becomes staying alive until Griffin Force can find him.  Landing in Syria, he's faced with a new threat---someone who wants to take over the terrorist organization Elliot has spent years trying to dismantle. In the middle of the most dangerous operation of his life, he meets a mysterious woman named Eden who seems familiar to him somehow. He instinctively trusts her, but soon realizes he shouldn't have. She has her own agenda, one that doesn't include him.  The situation turns deadly, however, and Eden and Elliot must work together to stop a devastating escalation to the war on terror---one that could tip the balance of power in the wrong direction. An unexpected flare of attraction burns bright between the