Nothing Less Than Magic by Stacy Finz

 Just one year ago, Chelsea Knight was living the life she’d always wanted. Marriage to the perfect guy, a thriving career, and a gorgeous condo overlooking San Francisco Bay. Then out of nowhere, her husband, Austin, left her. Ironic, because Chelsea fixes marriages for a living. In fact, she’s famous for her techniques. Naturally, she’s been using her expertise to win back her ex—and when he invites her for drinks, she’s sure her work has finally paid off. Until he announces he’s engaged.

Devastated, Chelsea seeks refuge in the beloved small-town lake cabin she and Austin now take turns using. When she arrives, the streets are dazzlingly decked out for Halloween, the autumn leaves are exceptionally vibrant, and the locals are especially warm and welcoming. It’s downright magical—and so is Knox Hart, a talented jack-of-all-trades who’s fixing her roof. Chelsea is instantly drawn to him—and to the simplicity of country life. Slowly, she becomes immersed in the townspeople’s problems and finds a sense of belonging—leading her to reevaluate her own path . . .

But something about the idyllic hamlet—and Knox—seems too good to be true. A trick more than a treat. And when she ultimately learns the truth, her heart is shattered. Miraculously, Austin is there to mend it. It’s everything she’d hoped for. Or is it? On the cusp of making all her dreams come true, Chelsea must find the strength to make an impossible choice . . .

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Amazon.com: Nothing Less than Magic: 9781496747624: Finz, Stacy: Books

Stacy Finz is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. After more than twenty years covering notorious serial killers, naked-tractor-driving farmers, fanatical foodies, aging rock stars and weird Western towns as a newspaper reporter, she figured she finally had enough material to launch a career writing fiction. She is the author of the Nugget Romance series (Kensington/Lyrical Press), the Garner Brothers Series (Kensington/Zebra) and the upcoming Dry Creek Ranch series. She lives in Northern California with her husband. Visit her website www.stacyfinz.com. And sign up for her newsletter to learn about giveaways, contests, events and book releases at https://www.stacyfinz.com/newsletter/

Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn

 Ever since they met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica 20 years ago, Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It's the trip of a lifetime--but life sure isn't what they thought it would be back when they were young.

Along with their suitcases, each woman brings along emotional baggage that weighs heavily on them. Yet the people they meet and the places they experience have the power to change their hearts--but only if they surrender to the lessons God wants to teach them in this unexpected land of emerald tea fields, graceful giraffes, and rambunctious elephants.

Pack your bags and get ready for adventure as Robin Jones Gunn invites you on a safari of the heart in this vulnerable exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.

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Amazon.com: Tea with Elephants: (Contemporary Women's Fiction Book Set in Kenya with Female Friendship, Sisterhood, and International Travel): 9780800744823: Robin Jones Gunn: Books

ROBIN JONES GUNN is the best-selling author of over 100 books, including the timeless Christy Miller series for teens. The characters continue in Christy & Todd: The College Years, The Married Years, The Baby Years and Haven Maker series.

Her multi-award-winning Christian fiction includes the Glenbrooke and Sisterchicks series. Four of her novels have been made into Hallmark Christmas movies. The Father Christmas movies broke records for the network by becoming the most watched and highest rated movies in 2016 and 2017.

Robin's popular non-fiction includes, "Victim of Grace" along with "Before You Meet Your Future Husband" and "Praying for Your Future Husband" both co-authored with Tricia Goyer.

Robin is a frequent speaker at international and local events. She and her husband have two grown children and live in California.

I have not read a book by Gunn in a hot minute. So I was excited to get to review this one.

Two friends making memories. This book really warms my heart. This would be a great buddy read book with your best friend. I can't wait to read more from Gunn.

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Disclaimer by Renee Knight

 Imagine if the next thriller you read was all about you.

When a mysterious novel appears at documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft’s bedside, she is curious. She has no idea who might have sent her The Perfect Stranger—or how it ended up on her nightstand. At first, she is intrigued by the suspenseful story that unfolds. And then she realizes this isn’t fiction. The Perfect Stranger re-creates in vivid, unmistakable detail the day Catherine became hostage to a dark secret, a secret that only one other person knew—and that person is dead.

Now that the past Catherine so desperately wants to forget is catching up with her, her world is falling apart. Plunged into a living nightmare, her only hope is to confront what really happened on that awful day . . . even if the shocking truth might destroy her.

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Disclaimer: A Novel: Knight, Renée: 9780062362261: Amazon.com: Books

Renée Knight worked for the BBC directing arts documentaries before turning to writing. She has had TV and film scripts commissioned by the BBC, Channel Four, and Capital Films. In April 2013, she graduated from the Faber Academy "Writing a Novel" course, whose alumni include S. J. Watson. She lives in London with her husband and two children.

This book had me shaking my head it blew me away. Who wants to read a thriller that is about them. You have to read this if you love thrillers.

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Meet the Wild Things series by John & Hayley Rocco

 Did you know pangolins are the only mammals with scales? Not even the teeth of a lion can break through their tough armor.

And did you know pangolins have a super-sticky tongue as long as their entire body? (The better to eat 20,000 bugs a day with!)

Chock-full of amazing, kid-friendly facts and inviting artwork from the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of Blackout, the Meet the Wild Things series introduces young readers to endangered animals from around the globe, told from the points of view of the animals themselves.

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Hello, I'm a Pangolin (Meet the Wild Things, Book 2): Rocco, Hayley, Rocco, John: 9780593618158: Amazon.com: Books

Did you know sloths only poop once a week?

Or that they can fall up to 100 feet without getting hurt?

They have hundreds of bugs living on them, including a species of moths that only lives on sloths!

And they move so slowly that algae grows on their fur, which—far from being gross—can actually help sloths by camouflaging them from predators. 

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Hello, I'm a Sloth (Meet the Wild Things, Book 1): Rocco, Hayley, Rocco, John: 9780593618127: Amazon.com: Books

Meet the quokka. Most of them live on a tiny island off of Western Australia. Like their relatives kangaroos and wallabies, they hop to get around and carry their babies in pouches.

People say they are the happiest animal in the world. That's because they're very friendly, and their faces look like they are built for smiling--perfect for taking selfies with!

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Hello, I'm a Quokka (Meet the Wild Things, Book 3): Rocco, Hayley, Rocco, John: 9780593618189: Amazon.com: Books

Hayley Rocco is the author of Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough and How to Send a Hug, both in collaboration with her husband, John Rocco. Before dedicating herself to writing for children full-time, Hayley worked as a publicist at several major publishers. An ambassador for Wild Tomorrow, a nonprofit focused on conservation and rewilding South Africa, Hayley travels the world armed with a pen, a journal, and her camera, discovering stories of wild things and wild places. Visit Hayley at hayleyrocco.com and follow her on Instagram @hayleyroccobooks.

John Rocco is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Blackout, the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, and How We Got to the Moon, which received a Sibert Honor and was longlisted for the National Book Award. John, also an ambassador for Wild Tomorrow, ventures with Hayley into the wild in search of stories they can bring back and share with readers everywhere. John and Hayley live in Rhode Island in an old house tucked in the woods near the sea. Visit John at roccoart.com and follow him on Instagram @roccoart.

Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell

 

Autopsies can reveal the secrets of the dead.
 
And this victim is sending Scarpetta a message...
 
Summoned to an abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once had an intense love affair with.

The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.    

As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil...

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Amazon.com: Identity Unknown (Kay Scarpetta): 9781538770382: Cornwell, Patricia: Books

In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.

Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston and Los Angeles. 

You don't want to miss this latest Scarpetta book. To me it seems they just get better and better. 

Play Nice by Jason Schreier

 

For video game fans, the name Blizzard Entertainment was once synonymous with perfection. The renowned company behind classics like Diablo and World of Warcraft was known to celebrate the joy of gaming over all else. What was once two UCLA students' simple mission — to make games they wanted to play — launched an empire with thousands of employees, millions of fans, and billions of dollars.  

But when Blizzard cancelled a buzzy project in 2013, it gave Bobby Kotick, the infamous CEO of corporate parent Activision, the excuse he needed to start cracking down on Blizzard's proud autonomy. Activision began invading Blizzard from the inside. Glitchy products, PR disasters, mass layoffs, and a staggering lawsuit marred the company's reputation and led to its ultimate reckoning.

Based on firsthand interviews with more than 300 current and former employees, Play Nice chronicles the creativity, frustration, beauty, and betrayal across the epic 33-year saga of Blizzard Entertainment, showing us what it really means to "bleed Blizzard blue." Full of colorful personalities and dramatic twists, this is the story of what happens when the ruthless pursuit of profit meets artistic idealism. 

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Amazon.com: Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment: 9781538725429: Schreier, Jason: Books

Jason Schreier is the New York Times bestselling author of Press Reset and Blood, Sweat, and Pixels and a reporter at Bloomberg News, where he covers the video game industry. He lives in Westchester, New York with his wife and two children.

The Blooming of Delphinium by Holly Varni

 

Making the perfect match is like arranging the perfect bouquet--and no one is better at it than Delphinium Hayes. Except when it comes to making a match for herself.

As far as hidden talents go, she is blessed with one of the more unique ones. With the slightest passing whiff, she knows someone's most admirable or weediest characteristic. This peculiar perception never fails to give her an advantage in understanding people--except for one man, whose scent doesn't seem to match his demeanor.

Prim and proper Elliot Sturgis, director of Moonberry Lake's Gardens Assisted Living and Senior Care Facility, carries the scent of violets--meaning love and loyalty--yet is strict and unwavering in his determination to stop a group of his wily residents from sneaking over to Delphinium's shop to play cards in the flower cooler. But the more glimpses Delphinium gets of the soft side beyond Elliot's harsh exterior, the more she understands his scent--and her intrigue deepens as sparks fly.

The crowd in her cooler isn't Delphinium's only problem. Behind on the mortgage payments and on the verge of losing her shop to foreclosure, Delphinium isn't sure where to turn for help. But God has a funny way of putting the right people in the place at the right time . . .

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The Blooming of Delphinium: (Contemporary Small Town Opposites Attract Romance about a Flower Shop and Matchmaker): Holly Varni: 9780800744984: Amazon.com: Books

Holly Varni is the author of On Moonberry Lake. A native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, she was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast, where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at HollyVarni.com.

My thoughts...

I want to start by saying I read book one in this series Moonberry Lake, and it was good but book 2 was a riot I laughed so much the senior citizens were way to funny. This is a book you read and have a good time reading. So, if you are ready to laugh out loud grab this one.

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.