The Guest House by Robin Morgan-Bentley deserves a spot on your To-Read list. This book is full of suspense, twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night, or the early morning hours.
I love nothing better than an engrossing book that makes me want to forget everything else!
Jamie and Victoria are off for a last quick vacation before the arrival of their first baby. The remote country guesthouse Victoria chose seems like the perfect retreat—miles away from the distractions of work and their regular life. And the older couple that run the establishment, Barry and Fiona, are more than accommodating.
But when Jamie and Victoria awake on their first morning, they find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. And their cell phones and car keys have disappeared.
Even though it’s a few weeks before the baby’s due date, Victoria feels the contractions starting. The baby is coming… and there’s no way out.
I’m not the only one who found this novel to be super entertaining- it’s getting four and five stars over on Goodreads!
Out on September 13
All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon caught my attention right away, a murder mystery weekend in the Catskills? Yes, please! I always enjoy those locked room-type mysteries and think this will be a big winner for those who enjoy cozy mysteries!
The weekend getaway at a gorgeous hotel should have been perfect. But Becca is smarting from her husband Blake’s betrayal and knows that the trip is just an expensive apology attempt. Still, the drinks are strong, and the weekend has an elaborate 1920s murder mystery theme. She decides to get into the spirit and enjoy their stay.
Before long, the game is afoot: Famed speakeasy songstress Ida Crooner is found “murdered,” and it’s up to the guests to sniff out the culprit. Playing the role of Miss Debbie Taunte, an ingenue with a dark past, Becca dives into the world of pun-heavy clues, hammy acting, and secret passages, hoping to take her mind off her marital troubles.
Then, the morning after they arrive, the actress playing Ida’s maid fails to reappear for her role. Everyone assumes she flaked out on the job, but when snooping for clues as “Debbie,” Becca finds evidence that the young woman may not have left of her own free will.
Out on September 6.
The Most Likely Club by Elyssa Friedland was a fun read and a break from my heavy suspense and thriller books. I really enjoyed the author’s novel, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel so I was super eager to get my hands on her new book.
This one was a light read, it was entertaining and fun but didn’t grab me like Last Summer at the Golden Hotel did. I loved the references to the ’90s and the long-lasting friendships between the women. These women had such big goals and as they near forty and that reunion, they are reconsidering their lives and choices- very relatable!
In 1997, grunge is king, Titanic is a blockbuster (and Blockbuster still exists), and Thursday nights are for Friends. In Bellport, Connecticut, four best friends and high school seniors are ready to light the world on fire. Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdhury, Tara Taylor, and Suki Hammer are going places. Their yearbook superlatives confirm it: Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400.
Fast forward twenty-five years and nothing has gone according to plan as the women regroup at their dreaded high school reunion. When a forgotten classmate emerges at the reunion with a surprising announcement, the friends dig out the yearbook and rethink their younger selves. Is it too late to make their dreams come true? Fueled by nostalgia and one too many drinks, they form a pact to push through their middle-aged angst to bring their teenage aspirations to fruition, dubbing themselves the “Most Likely Girls.”
Coming to you on September 6.
My Name is Ona Judge by Suzette D. Harrison was such a great historical fiction book. As I have mentioned many times, I love the genre but get so burnt out on World War II which tends to be the setting of so many historical fiction books. I want more from the Civil War era and before! When I saw this book, I knew I needed to read it and I’m glad I did.
New Hampshire, 1796. “My name is Ona Judge,and I escaped from the household of the President of the United States. I was the favored maid of George and Martha Washington, but they deemed me a slave and thought me property, and I hear ten dollars is offered as reward for my capture. Now I must write the truth that I have lived, and tell my story…”
Chincoteague, Virginia, present day. Rain soaks Tessa Scott as she runs from her car to the old, vine-covered property she has been called to survey. She’s too busy to accept a new job, but doing this favor for the grandmother of her childhood sweetheart delays a painful decision she must make about a future with her controlling boyfriend.
But when Tessa finds a tattered journal carefully hidden inside the house’s ancient fireplace, the tragic story of how Ona was ripped from her mother’s arms to live and work in the palatial Mount Vernon, and the heart-shattering betrayal that led her to risk her life and run, has Tessa spellbound. Could discovering this forgotten scandal at the heart of her nation’s history force her to confront her own story? As she races to reach the final page, will anything prepare her for the desperate moment when Ona’s captors find her again? Will it inspire Tessa to take ownership of her own life and set herself free?
My favorite chapters were the ones about Ona, I just loved learning about her. Don’t miss this book when it comes out in September!
September 6.
These books will be out in 2023 but I had to tell you about them now.
I devoured these novels and am beyond excited for my fellow book lovers to get them!
Add to your Goodreads list or pre-order on Amazon.
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Craft hooked me right from the beginning. I fell in love with the author’s writing style. There is s certain style that I love and its hard to put into words what it is exactly, maybe witty combined with smart writing and a mildly unlikeable character? Very few books have this but this one does. I immediately connected with the main character and her plight to be financially stable and successful while avoiding her mother’s dark influence thanks to a dysfunctional childhood.
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.
When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully-loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she’s ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads, with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be. Like mother, like daughter?
DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK! It comes out February 14, 2023
In The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz, a young aspiring novelist named Alex gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she’s invited to a retreat run by her idol. Roza is a mysterious novelist who lives on a creepy, dark estate in the middle of nowhere. It should be the trip of a lifetime but for Alex, this retreat is complicated by her former best friend and a cast of characters who may or may not be what they seem along with uncomfortable games and a strict schedule set by Roza.
There were parts to this book that I didn’t love, but other parts had me reading as fast as humanly possible. All in all, I was determined to finish it quickly so I could see how everything played out. The author does a great job of keeping the tension tight from start to finish and there is a very spooky, dark element to the story that sets this book apart from other mysteries.
Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.
But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.
This is out on February 23, 2023
Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt was such a great book, I’m excited for it to come out into the world! From the first chapter, I knew I was going to love it. There is a “Mean Girls” element to this, combined with suspense that kept me glued to the pages and devouring the entire book in record time. Its twisty and engrossing, a must-read!
After the sudden death of her husband, Kate Turner is looking for a fresh start for herself and her teenage daughter, Alex. They relocate to the beach side town of Shoreham, Florida, where all is not as sunny as it seems.
Although Kate makes fast friends with a trio of fellow moms, their daughters take an instant dislike to Alex, who attempts to document their bullying in her video diary. Kate brushes off Alex’s concerns—until she receives a series of chilling warnings about the clique of moms from other parents and neighbors. As it becomes harder for her to ignore the malicious undercurrent she senses among her new friends, Kate grows increasingly unsure of who to believe—and who to trust.
As small-town gossip weaves a harrowing web of jealousy, deceit, and betrayal, Kate and Alex discover that whether you’re in or out, the status quo can turn on you deadly fast.
Out on March 1, 2023
I am such a fan of Leah Konen’s ability to craft a story where you are on the edge of your seat, the suspense eating away at you as you get further into the chapters. In You Should Have Told Me, new mom Janie is struggling with her infant daughter and is in awe of how easy everything comes to her partner Max. He’s just an incredible guy and Janie feels so fortunate to be with him. And then.. one night he doesn’t come home. Janie panics and runs through all the scary scenarios we think of when we are worried. What she never considered is that he is purposely staying away. But why?
And when the police come to the door looking for him, Janie wonders if she ever really knew Max at all.
Janie needs a break: her baby won’t sleep, she’s struggling with motherhood, and a secret from her past threatens to tear her new family apart. So when Max offers to do their baby’s feedings that night so she can finally get some sleep, she jumps at the chance. But when Janie wakes up at three a.m., her daughter is screaming alone in her bassinet … Max has vanished.
Alone with a newborn and desperate for answers, Janie searches for Max, but the more she learns about the man she loves, the more she wonders how well she knew him at all. When a woman is murdered and Max becomes the prime suspect, Janie must face her partner’s secrets—and her own—if she ever wants her daughter to see her father again.
Out on January 23
