When Paris Whispers by Marianne Bohr

 

Twenty-two-year-old Catrine arrives in Paris, the city she's dreamed of since childhood, and it speaks back-but not in ways she expected. Drifting through the streets of 1981 Paris, the voices of French writers she once read in solitude whisper back, intimate and insistent. Rather than reassure her, they unsettle her, exposing cracks in the person she believed herself to be.

When a brief romance ends in abrupt eviction, Catrine is left broke and unmoored, suspended between a city that won't release her and a past she refuses to reclaim. An unlikely friendship with a widowed Sorbonne professor leads to an impulsive road trip to Normandy and everything begins to unravel. What follows is not the Paris she expected, but something more unsettling-and more honest.

Is the City of Light rescuing her, haunting her, or revealing something she's been too afraid to see?

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When Paris Whispers: Bohr, Marianne C: 9781960226341: Amazon.com: Books

Marianne C. Bohr is a published author and award-winning essayist with a lifelong weakness for faraway places. A former travel blogger for The Huffington Post, she married her high school sweetheart-now her She wrote her first book, Gap Year Girl: A Baby Boomer Adventure Across 21 Countries, over the course of the yearlong sabbatical she and her husband took to explore Europe. It was published by She Writes Press in 2015. Kirkus Reviews said, “Bohr shines… providing glimpses of herself as a whole person, not simply a traveler. Gap Year Girl is an excellent choice…a travelogue filled with historic places, but its personal stories provide its highlights.” Marianne’s illustrated article on her gap year, The Year of Living Spontaneously, ran in Bethesda Magazine in 2013.

The author’s second book, The Twenty: One Woman’s Trek Across Corsica on the GR20, tells the story of hiking across the mountainous French island with her husband to celebrate their sixtieth birthdays.

Husband hike the 124-mile GR20, Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath. They find themselves confronted with universal themes: coming to terms with aging, surmounting physical limitations, and being kind to oneself along the way. The Twenty was published by She Writes Press in June 2023.

The 10:12 by Anna Maloney

 Claire Fitzroy was on the way home to London when her train from Manchester was hijacked by a group of armed men. In one terrifying moment she faced the starkest of choices: to passively stand back or act and fight back—knowing that with either choice, she could die.

With nothing to lose, the middle-aged art lecturer gathered and led a squad of passengers who, against all odds, overcame the hijackers and saved hundreds of lives. But what at first looks like heroism may play out very differently in the courts of law and public opinion. Especially when you have the blood of two men on your hands.

Opinions are heated and divided. Was she a selfless and quick-thinking hero? Or an attention-seeking vigilante and unrepentant murderer? Until now Claire has remained silent. Now, she’s finally speaking out about what happened that morning on the 10:12.

But is it the whole story?

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Amazon.com: The 10:12: A Novel: 9780063487888: Maloney, Anna: Books

The 10:12 is Anna's first novel, for which she won the CWA Emerging Author Dagger. She also writes for TV, film and radio and won a BAFTA award for the TV drama Falling Apart. Previously she worked as a lecturer, in factual TV, journalism and PR - as well as being a qualified playleader and sometime usherette. Anna lives in south east London, near where she grew up, and also spent some years in Australia.

I Know The Ants by Lang Leav

 Mei’s life isn’t what she thought it would be. She's still entangled in a love triangle with Jacques and Kath that began when they were teens; her parents are drowning in debt; and she’s stuck pulling off identity fraud jobs for her cruel auntie and her auntie’s nauseating son, who won’t leave Mei alone.

But Mei’s world begins to truly unravel when she hears her childhood best friend Soey’s voice for the first time in years, being interviewed on the radio about her new memoir, chronicling the childhood attack that left Soey with brain damage and killed her younger sister. When Mei reconnects with Soey, the leader of their childhood friend group known as the Daisy Chain, their encounter kicks off a series of events that culminate in another shocking death, putting Mei squarely in the public eye. As past and present collide, Mei starts spiraling after Soey implores her to find out who killed Daiyu—a search that leads Mei to uncover what happened that dark day in the woods behind their school, all those years ago.

Revered for her lyrical imagery, emotional acumen, and thoughtful voice, Lang Leav uses her gifts to brilliant effect, exploring unsolved mysteries, cycles of trauma and abuse, and the answers to a timeless question: how do you honor someone's memory without losing sight of yourself?

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Amazon.com: I Know the Ants: A Novel: 9780063382039: Leav, Lang: Books

Novelist and poet, Lang Leav is an international bestselling author and winner of a Qantas

Spirit of Youth Award, Churchill Fellowship and Goodreads Choice Award. Often credited

with popularizing poetry among a new generation of young readers, Lang’s poetry books,

and hit novel, Sad Girls continue to top best seller charts around the world.

Lang has been featured on CNN, SBS Australia, Intelligence Squared UK, Radio New Zealand

and in various publications, including Vogue, Newsweek, the Straits Times, the Guardian,

and the New York Times. She currently resides in New Zealand with her partner and fellow

author, Michael Faudet.

Failure Point by Rebecca Hodge

 When a child’s life is on the line, failure isn’t an option.

Jordan Winthrop, an experienced security agent, has built her career on precision and control. But when a high-profile protection assignment leaves a public figure dead, her confidence plummets and her career skitters onto life support. Her last chance at redemption is almost insulting: babysit a single mother suspected of stealing corporate secrets. Her boss is adamant—observe, report, stay invisible.

Then the woman’s eleven-year-old daughter is kidnapped at gunpoint, and orders become irrelevant. A child’s life is at stake, and Jordan can’t stay on the sidelines.

Off the grid and out of options, she allies with the desperate mother in a race to track kidnappers whose motives reach into a multimillion-dollar corporate conspiracy.

But has she identified the real enemy? At the failure point, even trust shatters.

FAILURE POINT is a gripping story of emotionally rich suspense by award-winning author Rebecca Hodge. Dive in for a story you’ll long remember.

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Failure Point - Kindle edition by Hodge, Rebecca. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Rebecca Hodge is the award-winning author of WILDLAND, OVER THE FALLS, and ISLAND ENDGAME, books of page-turning suspense that have plenty of heart. When her characters find themselves in impossible situations, they take the initiative instead of watching from the sidelines. In doing so, they discover unexpected inner strength, resilience, and courage.

Following a scientific career as a veterinarian and clinical research scientist, Rebecca discovered how much fun it is to create fictional worlds of her own. She lives in North Carolina, where you’ll find her sipping tea on the screened-in porch with a dog at her feet and a computer on her lap. Visit her online at rebeccahodgefiction.

The Christmas yes List by Melissa Ferguson

 Have you preordered you copy of the Christmas Yes List by Melissa Ferguson yet?

What are you waiting for?

All she wants for Christmas is a rejection.

Chloe Hollis is done being a people-pleaser. After one too many bad decisions--including a job that asked her to cross a line she couldn't--she's determined to change. Her plan? Collect ten nos before Christmas by asking strangers for the most ridiculous favors she can think of.

It should be easy.

But then? Then she meets James.

Instead of shutting her down, the charming out-of-towner keeps saying yes--to Christmas karaoke, to small-town holiday traditions, to every spontaneous, hilarious, totally chaotic idea she throws his way. And the more he says yes, the harder it becomes for Chloe to stick to her plan . . . or protect her heart.

Because James has a reason for saying yes to everything, too--and it might cost them both more than they bargained for.

As their opposite missions collide in a swirl of festive mishaps, unexpected courage, and undeniable chemistry, Chloe starts to wonder if the biggest risk isn't rejection after all . . . but saying yes to something real.

#uplitread #thechristmasyeslist #fiction #holidayromance #feelgoodromance

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The Christmas Yes List: A Heartwarming Holiday Novel: Ferguson, Melissa: 9781400356713: Amazon.com: Books

Melissa Ferguson is the bestselling author of titles including Meet Me in the Margins, Famous for a Living, and How to Plot a Payback. She lives in Tennessee with her family in their growing farmhouse lifestyle and writes heartwarming romantic comedies.

You can find her on her socials at @ourfriendlyfarmhouse.

Eagle Pass by Kristi Copeland

 Family is everything. Even when not connected by blood.

For third-generation rancher Joe Cunningham, the treacherous Rio Grande is more than just a river, it’s a source of frustration and financial loss. As migrants use his land to enter the United States illegally, they destroy his property and put his livestock—and livelihood—at risk.

Migrant crossings increase, forcing Joe to take matters into his own hands. Instead of following protocol, he delivers trespassers directly to Border Patrol. That is, until a young boy, abandoned by the very people Joe has been fighting against, puts his values to the test.

Exhausted and alone, Luis clings to his teddy bear and Joe's loyal dog as his only sources of comfort. But to Joe, the boy represents something more—a glimpse of the son he lost years ago. The more time he and Luis spend together, Joe not only realizes that he's been missing out on the joys of fatherhood but also questions everything he thought he knew about illegal immigration.

As the Cartels close in and Border Patrol hinders his efforts, Joe must rely on the strength and determination of his tight-knit community to keep Luis safe. With his own men falling victim to the ruthless Cartels, Joe knows that time is running out.

Desperate to retrieve their lost merchandise, the Cartels force Joe to make a life-threatening decision: Hand over the boy and give up the newfound purpose in his life, or risk everything to protect him.

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Amazon.com: Eagle Pass: 9798996319619: COPELAND, KRISTI: Books

All my life, writing, sharing experiences through story-telling, and intensive research has interested me. All of these loves are combined to give my readers an experience through the written word. I reside in a small town in northeast Texas and originate from a small town in Michigan. Both MI and TX are prominent in my writing.

Everywhere I look, I see someone begging me to write about them. Music, every day life, and even my husband’s dreams inspire ideas about new books! Like so many of my favorite novels have done for me, I sincerely hope to connect with you through my writing. My simple communication style brings words off the page to a vision in your mind.

Join me as I create scenarios that could happen to anyone…and probably have. Maybe me, maybe you.

Word Salad by Susan Coll

 Matilda loves logic and order, and now her structured world is falling apart—in a bookstore.

Former economics major Matilda is moving back to her hometown of Washington D.C. to care for her ailing mother, and she’s desperate for money. She takes a job at her neighborhood bookstore and tries, in vain, to make sense of illogical business of books. To make things worse, she’s forced to team up with a new hire—the enigmatic, flaky, larger-than-life, Sage—who shows up on her first day of work with zero administrative skills and her tiny, puffy, incessantly urinating dog that resembles an underfed rat.

Something in the chaos begins to remind Matilda of her long-neglected creative side, and she starts to rediscover the person she once was before so much got in the way. But things get even more unmanageable when Matilda and Sage are tasked with putting together an event for the reclusive and controversial Dr. Jordan Rutabaga, a windbag of a public intellectual with a cult following that includes a number of people who would like to literally and figuratively see him dead. Rutabaga has a long list of alleged misdeeds, from plagiarism to failure to pay child support to stiffing the nanny.

As the event date approaches, Matilda and Sage discover that Sage and Rutabaga have their own not uncomplicated past, adding yet another person to list of people who do not wish him well. Add in a lawsuit and an impending snowstorm along with the potentially sinister presence of Rutabaga himself, and Matilda is about to come undone.

Bestselling author Susan Coll’s gastric, bookish, laugh-out-loud comedy of manners reminds us that sometimes things have to completely fall apart for them to perfectly come together.

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Word Salad: A Novel: Coll, Susan: 9781400346684: Amazon.com: Books

Susan Coll is the author of seven novels including REAL LIFE & OTHER FICTIONS AND BOOKISH PEOPLE. Her novel, Acceptance, a satire of the college admissions process, was made into a 2009 television movie starring Joan Cusack and Mae Whitman. Her other books include The Stager, Beach Week, Rockville Pike, and karlmarx dot com. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR dot org, atlantic dot com, and The Millions. She works at Politics & Prose Bookstore and was the president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation for five years.