Under Cover of Night By Constance Gillam

 

A courageous law officer fighting corruption. Can he hunt down an assassin on the reservation… or will he be permanently silenced?

Little River Reservation. Police Captain John Iron Hawk serves his people with pride. With a crucial election on the horizon, the strong and silent commander refuses to let criminals undermine his community’s leadership. But when his sister discovers his rival has been murdered, Iron Hawk is determined to catch the killer before he loses his job.

After his sibling quickly becomes the prime suspect, Iron Hawk is outraged when the FBI pulls him off the case. Working unofficially on the case, he uncovers conspiracies that reach far beyond the homicide. Protecting his homeland from ruthless enemies could cost this police chief his life.

Can Iron Hawk expose the deadly secrets before he’s buried in an unmarked grave?

Under Cover of Night is the third book in the thrilling Lakota romantic suspense series. If you like rich portrayals of Native American society, daring heroes, and edge-of-your-seat tension, then you’ll love Constance Gillam’s evocative tale. 

Pick up your copy today...                                                                                                                                   Under Cover of Night (Lakota Series): Gillam, Constance: 9780985728885: Amazon.com: Books

Constance Gillam grew up in the Midwest among ice and snow. She now lives in the sunny South and loves it. As a child, she was a precocious reader and would sneak into the adult fiction section of the library. At age eleven she read Gone with the Wind and never looked back.

Romance is her love, and she fills her books with mystery and suspense, conflict and emotion.

My Thoughts...

Ready for a mystery that takes you on a wild ride. You are going to be turning pages as fast as you can to find out where all this tension leads. This is a series but I have not read the books before this one and I was not lost. So you can read it as a stand alone. I gave this book 4 stars. The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own. 

Amish Friends Healthy Options Cookbook GIVEAWAY!

Everyone wants to feel healthy, right? Food can be one of our best medicines, and many Amish are known for seeking ways for health to begin in the kitchen. Brand new, from New York Times bestselling author of Amish fiction, Wanda E. Brunstetter, is a helpful cookbook from Amish and Mennonite cooks who offer healthy recipe options. Over 200 recipes are divided into traditional categories from main dishes and sides to desserts and snacks with labels for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, etc. Also included are health tips and remedies. Encased in a lay-flat binding and presented in full color, home cooks of all ages will be eager to add this cookbook to their collections.

Pick up your copy here...

Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Amish Friends Healthy Options Cookbook: Health Begins in the Kitchen with over 200 Recipes, Tips, and Remedies from the Amish: Brunstetter, Wanda E.: 9781643529257: Amazon.com: Books

Wanda Brunstetter is an award-winning romance novelist who has led millions of readers to lose their heart in the Amish life. She is the author of almost 90 books with more than 10 million copies sold. Many of her books have landed on the top bestseller lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, CBA, ECPA, and CBD. Wanda is considered one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre, and her work has been covered by national publications, including Time Magazine and USA Today.

Wanda's fascination with the Amish culture developed when she met her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church, and whose family has a Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. Meeting her new Mennonite sister-in-laws caused Wanda to yearn for the simpler life. In their travels, she and her husband have become close friends with many Amish people across America. Wanda's desire to explore their culture increased when she discovered that her great-great grandparents were part of the Anabaptist faith.

All of Wanda's novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Many of her books are well-read and trusted by the Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.

Wanda's primary attraction to the Amish is their desire to live a devout Christian life that strives to honor God, work hard, and maintain close family ties. Whenever she visits her Amish friends, Wanda finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties, which is in stark contrast to the chaos and busyness that plagues so many modern "Englishers." Time and time again, Wanda loses her heart in the Amish life, and she hopes her readers will, too. For more information, visit: www.WandaBrunstetter.com

My thoughts...

It's so nice to get a recipe book that many can use. This one has gluten-free, sugar free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, and low carb. So this is a cookbook everyone can enjoy.

Some of the recipes have colored photos as well which makes it nice so that you know what it should look like when you get it cooked.

The section on home remedies is great, I found so many that I want to try when the time comes and see if they work for me.

This cookbook would make a great hostess gift.

I gave it 4 stars and I plan to use it many times in my kitchen.

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

Into The Quiet By Beth Greenburg

 

Book 2 of the Cupid’s Fall series draws the tormented God of Love into the unbearable quiet of a neglected marriage, a fractured friendship, and a mother’s treacherous silence.

Cupid’s punishment is far from over, and the stakes are higher than ever. When Aphrodite inflames her son’s heart for Ruthie – a sweet, vulnerable, married Worthy – Cupid’s divine duty sets him on a crash course with the matrimonial laws of mortals. And his problems don’t end there.

Seeking relief from his crushing loneliness, Cupid unwittingly damages his relationship with Pan, his best friend and lifeline. Meanwhile, high above the mortal realm, Aphrodite bargains away her own son’s freedom in a brazen scheme to impress her fiery lover.

Caught in a web of secrets and suspicion, Cupid must ignore his own shattered heart and unite Ruthie with her Right Love before it’s too late for all of them.

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: Into the Quiet (The Cupid's Fall Series) (9781735944739): Greenberg, Beth C.: Books

Beth is a former CPA who took a sharp turn into creative writing during a midlife awakening. First experimenting with fanfiction, Beth discovered two things she loves about writing: twisting a tried-and-true story and interacting with her readers. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, she and her husband live in a quiet suburb outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they are occasionally visited by their daughter and grand-dog, Slim. FIRST QUIVER is her debut novel and book one of the Cupid's Fall series.

BOOK GROUPS: For Discussion Guide, author appearances, or to FEATURE YOUR BOOK GROUP on my site, visit www.bethcgreenberg.com/book-groups/

NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of mythology needed, but if you'd like a free, full-color downloadable guide to the gods of Cupid's Fall, follow this link: https://bethcgreenberg.com/mythology-guide/

My Thoughts...

I read The First Quiver which was the first book of the series The Cupid's Fall they can be read as stand alone but you are going to want to read them both.

The characters are so easy to love and connect with. Greenburg has really made these books fun reads.

I gave Into the Quiet 4 stars and I recommend it.

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

Sweet Dreams By Leigh Duncan

 

Sarah Bowen is trapped in Orange Blossom...and she’s desperate to escape. While Sarah works in her family’s pie shop, she dreams of becoming a famous chef and opening her own restaurant. But one disaster after another has delayed her plans, leaving her trapped in a small town filled with nosy matrons who frown as they look over her shoulder. One bite of Sarah’s orange meringue pie convinces confirmed bachelor Craig Star he’s found more than the winning entry in this year’s prestigious Patty-Cake cook-off. While Craig peppers Sarah with kisses as they prep for the winner-take-all contest that will give them both the success they seek, their love simmers. But when Sarah discovers that taking first place will put her family’s pie shop out of business and destroy her small home town, will she sacrifice her heart and her dreams to save Orange Blossom?

Pick up your copy here...

Sweet Dreams (The Orange Blossom Series Book 2): Duncan, Leigh: 9781944258122: Amazon.com: Books

Leigh Duncan is the award-winning author of more than two dozen novels, novellas and short stories. Her first full-length book, The Officer’s Girl, was released by Harlequin American Romance in 2010. Leigh went on to write seven more books for Harlequin, including the highly acclaimed Glades County Cowboys series, before she began writing the more complex, heart-warming and emotional stories that have resonated with her readers. One of the lead authors for Hallmark Publishing, an Amazon best-selling author and a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, Leigh lives on Central Florida's East Coast where she writes women’s fiction and sweet, contemporary romance with a dash of Southern sass.

Leigh loves to stay in touch with readers through social media. Find her at https://facebook.com/LeighDuncanBooks, or visit her website at https://leighduncan.com.

My Thoughts...

I loved The Orange Blossom series. The Characters  are so loveable and so real, you don't want to stop reading. I will tell you this after reading the first two you are left wanting to read more. They are fast reads and so well done.

I hated to see this come to an end. I want to go back to Orange Blossom Florida again. I hope we can read more from this series at some point.

I gave this book 4 stars and I recommend it.

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

All The Good : Doing Life After the Diploma

 

This uniquely illustrated, full-color gift book encourages graduates everywhere to do good in the world as they prepare for their next adventure. Based on a much-loved quote, All the Good shares thoughtful stories and quotes from a broad range of people who made a difference, inspiring grads to pursue their own greatness by doing good.

All the Good will give graduates a fresh perspective on how to live a life of purpose and how to add Do Good into their plans and goals for the future. Each chapter focuses on a different line from the quote that begins Do all the good you can. The bright and modern design takes this inspirational quote to a new generation of graduates, sharing stories, quotes, and examples of people who did good work in their respective circumstances. Each section of the book focuses on a line from this timeless quote:

• Do all the good you can
• By all the means you can
• In all the ways you can
• In all the places you can
• At all the times you can
• To all the people you can
• As long as ever you can

With anecdotes ranging from unknown heroes to famous figures like Stephen Hawking and Bryan Stevenson of Just Mercy, the book also includes other quotes on doing good from Desmond Tutu, John Steinbeck, Dolly Parton, and many of the other names these grads have studied in school.

Grads who might be familiar with John Wesley s famous Do all the good you can quote will gain a new and fresh take on what it could mean for this next phase of their lives. This timely gift book will also feature lined space for grads to write down their ambitions and dreams about what they can contribute to the world as they contemplate what it means to do good once their diplomas are in hand. 

Pick up your copy here...

All the Good: Doing Life After the Diploma: Dexterity Books Editorial: 9781947297289: Amazon.com: Books

My Thoughts...

This was a really great book for the graduate in your life. It's very inspiring.

You can pair this gift book with a card and money and give that special graduate a gift to remember.

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

The Dark Hour By K. J. Young

 

Mark Norman can’t catch a break—until he’s hired as a live-in home health aide for two elderly siblings who live at Alden Manor, a run-down mansion mired in the past. His charges, former stage magicians Roy and Alma Walgrave, give off an eerie vibe, but they are also wealthy and careless with their money. Seizing the opportunity, Mark soon makes himself indispensable to the old folks, losing himself in fantasies of inheriting the Walgrave fortune upon their deaths. When another employee, a young woman named Lisa, shares her dark premonitions and insists that evil lurks in the house, Mark thinks she’s paranoid and unstable.

Until he begins to notice odd, unsettling things himself.

When nightmares begin to plague him and the house gradually reveals a web of lies and twisted secrets, he can no longer deny the possibility that Alden Manor is pervaded by some sinister force. He’s terrified of losing his mind—or worse, his life. But he’s so close to landing a big financial windfall that walking away is not an option.

In the past, Mark has always known when to cut loose and get out. But if he can just stick this out a bit longer . . . 

Pick up your copy here...

The Dark Hour: Young, K.J.: 9780986416439: Amazon.com: Books

K.J. Young, also known as Karen McQuestion, has written more than twenty novels. 

 
Her publishing story has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR. She's also appeared on ABC's World News Now and America This Morning.

She hopes you enjoy The Dark Hour.

My Thoughts...

This was a chilling thriller, a little creepy  and very thrilling. I love a good thriller. It was very well executed and and I was impressed with the suspense and great descriptions.

This is not a book for those who sleep with a night light.

I would not read it at bed time If you are not into creepy thrillers.

4 stars and I can't wait for K.J.'s next book.

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

Butterfly Kisses By Leigh Duncan

 

Justine Gale just got incredible news. The struggling single mom has inherited the flourishing citrus grove where she spent idyllic summers and formed lifelong friendships. Once on the fast track to success, Justine has recently learned her five-year-old daughter faces a lifetime of expensive medical treatments. Treatments, she can't afford. The decision to sell the land her family has owned for generations seems like the simple and smart way for Justine to provide for her daughter's future. But when she returns to Orange Blossom, she quickly realizes her plans could hurt every resident of the small town that depends on Castle Grove to survive. Justine's dilemma is only complicated by Nate Rhodes, her first love and now Orange Blossom's mayor, who stakes his own claim to the land she has inherited. He'll do whatever it takes to stop her, even if it means losing the woman he loves...one more time.

Pick up your copy here...

Butterfly Kisses (The Orange Blossom Series Book 1): Duncan, Leigh: 9781944258092: Amazon.com: Books

Leigh Duncan is the award-winning author of more than two dozen novels, novellas and short stories. Her first full-length book, The Officer’s Girl, was released by Harlequin American Romance in 2010. Leigh went on to write seven more books for Harlequin, including the highly acclaimed Glades County Cowboys series, before she began writing the more complex, heart-warming and emotional stories that have resonated with her readers. One of the lead authors for Hallmark Publishing, an Amazon best-selling author and a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, Leigh lives on Central Florida's East Coast where she writes women’s fiction and sweet, contemporary romance with a dash of Southern sass.

Leigh loves to stay in touch with readers through social media. Find her at https://facebook.com/LeighDuncanBooks, or visit her website at https://leighduncan.com.

My Thoughts...

Book one in The Orange Blossom Series was such a treat. I enjoyed it even though I cried.

Duncan has such a heart for family dramas and making you wish you were friends with the characters.

I gave this book 4 stars and I can not wait to read the second book in this series.

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

Ember of Night By Molly Lee

 

I am a weed.

Unloved by my abusive, alcoholic dad. Unwanted by my classmates. Unnoticed by everyone else.

But I’d suffer anything to give my kid sister a better life―the minute I turn eighteen, I’m getting us the hell out of here. And some hot stranger telling me I am the key to stopping a war between Heaven and Hell isn’t going to change that.

Let the world crumble and burn, for all I care.

Draven is relentless, though. And very much a liar. Every time his sexy lips are moving, I can see it―in the dip of his head, the grit of his jaw―even if my heart begs me to ignore the signs.

So what does he want?

I need to figure it out fast, because now everyone is gunning for me. And damn if I don’t want to show them what happens when you let weeds thrive in the cracks of the pavement…

We can grow powerful enough to shatter the whole foundation.

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: Ember of Night (9781649370310): Lee, Molly E.: Books

Molly E. Lee is an author best known for her romance novels, Ask Me Anything, the Grad Night series, and the Love on the Edge series. She is a 1001 Dark Nights Discovery Author for 2017. Molly writes Adult and Young Adult contemporary featuring strong female heroines who are unafraid to challenge their male counterparts, yet still vulnerable enough to have love sneak up on them. In addition to being a military spouse and mother of two + one stubborn English Bulldog & one giant Irish Wolfhound, Molly loves exploring the outdoors around her mountain home, and digging for treasures in antique stores.

My Thoughts...

This is not a genre that I normally read. But I am so glad that I took the jump and read it. I really enjoyed it. Very well written. I feel like it was not long enough but it might have been that the writing was so good I was sucked right in.

I gave this book 4 stars and I recommend grabbing it. You can thank me later.

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

It Had To Be You By Georgia Clark

 

For the past twenty years, Liv and Eliot Goldenhorn have run In Love in New York, Brooklyn’s beloved wedding-planning business. When Eliot dies unexpectedly, he even more unexpectedly leaves half of the business to his younger, blonder girlfriend, Savannah. Liv and Savannah are not a match made in heaven, to say the least. But what starts as a personal and professional nightmare transforms into something even savvy, cynical Liv Goldenhorn couldn’t begin to imagine.

It Had to Be You cleverly unites Liv, Savannah, and couples as diverse and unique as New York City itself, in a joyous Love-Actually-style braided narrative. The result is a smart, modern love story that truly speaks to our times. Second chances, secret romance, and steamy soul mates are front and center in this sexy, tender, and utterly charming rom-com.

Pick up your copy here...

It Had to Be You: A Novel: Clark, Georgia: 9781982133191: Amazon.com: Books

Georgia Clark is the author of rom-com IT HAD TO BE YOU, as well as THE BUCKET LIST and THE REGULARS (all Simon & Schuster), plus two YA novels, SHE'S WITH THE BAND and PARCHED. She's passionate about good jokes and queer stuff.

Georgia moved from Sydney to New York in 2009 just for fun. Here, she is the host and creator of Generation Women, a monthly, multigenerational storytelling night. She lives in Brooklyn with her hot wife and a fridge full of cheese.

She's most active on Instagram (@georgialouclark).

My Thoughts...

I am loving rom-coms so much and this one did not disappoint at all. All  the rom-com lovers are going to devour this. You just might cry too.

I really needed this book right now. I hope that you will grab a copy and I am sure you will enjoy it.

4 stars and I recommend it.

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

The Plot By Jean Hanff Korelitz

 Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written―let alone published―anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that―a story that absolutely needs to be told.

In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says.

As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom? 

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: The Plot (9781250790767): Korelitz, Jean Hanff: Books

Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of the novels YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted for HBO as "The Undoing" by David E. Kelley, and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film starring Tina Fey), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS. A new novel, THE PLOT, will be published on May 11th 2021. Her company BOOKTHEWRITER hosts "Pop-Up Book Groups" in NYC, where small groups of readers can discuss new books with their authors. www.bookthewriter.com

My Thoughts...

The writing was good and well The Plot was good too. It was slow out the gate but as soon as she came on the scene I knew where this was going. This was my first book by Korelitz and it was very addictive to say the least. Her writing style is very unique. 

This is a book to grab and read straight to the end.  You won't be able to put it down, I was hoping I was wrong and did not have it figured out from the beginning. But I still enjoyed it.

I gave The Plot 4 stars and I recommend it.

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

Promises to Keep By Nan Rossiter

 In this heartwarming sequel to Promises of the Heart in the Savannah Skies series, USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter returns to Tybee Island off the Georgia coast to focus on beloved characters Maeve and Gage as their relationship is tested by secrets they are keeping from each other.

Thirty-four-year-old Maeve Lindstrom loves her job at Willow Pond Senior Care. Her older sister Macey thinks Maeve is the only human being on earth who can make working in a nursing home sound like fun. Maeve enjoys being around the sundowners, as she calls them, helping them navigate their senior years—brightening a time that can be, all too often, a lonely, sad stage of life.

Thirty-three-year-old Gage Tennyson—who brings his mischievous yellow Lab, Gus, to whatever restoration job he is working on with Macey’s husband, Ben—loves Maeve with all his heart. He’s a handsome country boy and a true southern gentleman. But as he and Maeve grow closer, they both sense that they haven’t been completely forthcoming about their pasts.

When Maeve realizes Gage might be planning to propose, she knows she must finally be honest with everyone she holds dear. She can no longer live with the secret she’s been dragging around like an anchor, and she knows the only way she will be free to build a lifetime relationship with Gage is to risk everything—including his (and her family’s) love and respect. Before she finds the courage, however, her past comes careening into her life in a shocking and unexpected way.

Pick up your copy here...

Promises to Keep: A Novel (Savannah Skies, 2): Rossiter, Nan: 9780062917751: Amazon.com: Books

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter loves to weave together stories about the complicated relationships to which all readers can relate -- motherhood, sisterhood, friendship, marriage and romance. She draws from her own experiences to create authentic situations that mirror the trials and triumphs of life. Compassionate, real, and funny, her books take readers on emotional journeys that often include heartbreak and joy, but also include threads of faith, a furry friend or two, and an uplifting ending. Nan's books have been highly acclaimed by reviewers from Publisher's Weekly to Booklist. Her novel, SUMMER DANCE, was the 2018 winner of the Nancy Pearl Award.

Nan is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and began her writing career in the world of children's books. Along with her many contemporary fiction novels, she is the author/illustrator of several books for children, including RUGBY & ROSIE, winner of Nebraska's Golden Sower Award, and THE FO'C'SLE: Henry Beston's Outermost House. 



Nan lives on a quiet country road in Connecticut with her husband and a solemn black Lab named Finn who diligently watches her every move and can be roused from a slumber in a distant room by the sound of a banana being peeled or a cookie crumb hitting the floor. Nan and her husband are the parents of two handsome sons who have struck out on life journeys of their own.

For more information, visit
nanrossiter.com/
facebook.com/NanRossiter/
instagram.com/nanrossiter/
twitter.com/NanRossiter
bookbub.com/profile/nan-rossiter

My Thoughts...

What a wonderful sequel to Promises of the Heart. Rossiter has a way of making me read with a box of Kleenex  by my side. 

Love, Family, and forgiveness all in this one very well put together read.  

You are going to want to read this one over and over. And share it with your best friends.

I gave this book 4 stars.

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

The Clover Girls by Viola Shipman

 Elizabeth, Veronica, Rachel and Emily met at Camp Birchwood as girls in 1985, where over four summers they were the Clover Girls—inseparable for those magical few weeks of freedom—until the last summer that pulled them apart. Now approaching middle age, the women are facing challenges they never imagined as teens, struggles with their marriages, their children, their careers, and wondering who it is they see when they look in the mirror.

Then Liz, V and Rachel each receive a letter from Emily with devastating news. She implores the girls who were once her best friends to reunite at Camp Birchwood one last time, to spend a week together revisiting the dreams they’d put aside and repair the relationships they’d allowed to sour. But the women are not the same idealistic, confident girls who once ruled Camp Birchwood, and perhaps some friendships aren’t meant to last forever…

Pick up your copy here...

The Clover Girls: A Novel: Shipman, Viola: 9781525896002: Amazon.com: Books

Do you have a BFF? Do you know more about each other than anyone else in the world? My new novel, The Clover Girls, (May 18) is for you! It's the perfect summer read, and the perfect book to share with your best friend.

The Clover Girls is about four very different girls who become best friends at summer camp in the 1980s until life, death, adulthood and childhood betrayals draw them apart.

The novel is an ode to friends and dreams, how each changes our lives and why we too often and easily let those fade. It’s about how our friends love, support and complete us.

More than anything, The Clover Girls is about forgiveness -- not only others but also ourselves -- and about how our friends guide us through life's ups and downs, and help us rediscover who we were and who we still can be. A lot of love stories have been written, but I wanted to write a love story about friendship.

The Clover Girls was inspired by the deaths of dear friends, including a childhood friend as well as my father-in-law, whose losses caused me to reevaluate my own life and realize how fragile life is.

My friends ARE my life. Aren't yours? Whether your best friend is a childhood pal, a college roommate, a co-worker, a neighbor, your mom, your dad, your sister or brother, your grandma, or your cousin, The Clover Girls is about the unbreakable bond friends share.

I have a plaque given to me by a friend that sums up our besties:

A Friend Is Someone Who Knows You Are Not Perfect But Treats You As If You Are

If you loved Firefly Lane or Sweet Magnolias, The Clover Girls will speak to your heart.

And if you are a child of the ‘80s, the book will speak to your soul (Remember jelly bracelets, friendship pins, Madonna, Michael, Wham! and John Hughes movies? Remember Again!). I guarantee you won't let anyone ‘bogart’ your copy of this book.

My novels are inspired by my grandma (Viola Shipman, my pen name, which is a tribute to her and our elders) and her heirlooms, life, love and lessons. She sacrificed for me and my family to have a better life, and inspired my love of books and writing. My grandma also taught me the simplest things in life mean the most -- friends, family, our health -- and we're being reminded of that more than ever right now. That's what this novel - and all my novels – focus on. More than anything, this novel offers hope, which we need more than ever these days.

My Thoughts...

I love all things Friendship and I really love books about friendship, the good the bad and the ugly. Shipman has given us a book to treasure and it makes the perfect gift to give all your friends.

I will never look at a yard of clover the same way ever again.

I loved the '80's get ready to be transported back to the good ole days with this one.

I have read all of Shipman's novels and I will be honest this is the best one by far. 

I gave this book 4.5 stars and I HIGHLY recommend it.

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

Her Beautiful Mind By Janet Ake

 

t's been nine years since fifteen-year old math prodigy Ariella Dobbs left her home in the mountains of Georgia to attend MIT. Nine years of changing how she talked, how she dressed, and how she acted―nine years of becoming someone else.

It's been six years since she met Hudson Calder, the handsome, sophisticated son of a prominent East Coast family and an MBA student at Harvard who is interested in establishing a computer security business based on her PhD thesis on Chaos Theory.

It's been four years since she fell in love, but only one week since her carefully planned future with Hudson crumbled around her and she fled New York City.

Desperate to escape a devastating personal and professional betrayal, she returns to Georgia to seek a new beginning in the place she left so many years ago. A spur-of-the-moment decision to hike the Appalachian Trail brings new experiences, new friends, and a renewed appreciation for the woods-wise girl she once was. When a freak, late-season blizzard traps Ariella, her new hiking family, and a severely injured hiker in a small trail shelter, she'll need all her backwoods knowledge to ensure their survival.

Set against the backdrop of the scenic Appalachian Trail and filled with authentic descriptions and fascinating lore of the famous footpath, Ariella's story is a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance told through the lens of her unique and beautiful mind. 

Pick Up Your Copy Here...

Her Beautiful Mind: Ake, Janet: 9781098338886: Amazon.com: Books

Janet Ake has always loved words and the stories they create. That’s why reading and books are two of her favorite things. It’s no wonder she grew up to be a librarian. Retired now, she has the time to pursue her other favorites like hiking, snorkeling, and writing. Seeing her name on the cover of a published book has been a life-long dream that has now come true with the publication of her first novel, Her Beautiful Mind. She has more stories just waiting to be told.

My Thoughts...

We are all looking to find our self and be a better person. It was so nice getting to read her beautiful Mind and see that unfold Before my very eyes on the pages.

The writing was so well done that I felt as if I was right there with Ariella.

I hope that you grab a copy of this and feel all the feels too.

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

The Remnants of Summer By Dawn Newton GIVEAWAY!

 

Iris is sinking. As the summer of 1974 begins, she must grapple with the events that have lain dormant since the previous summer when her brother, Scott, drowned in their neighborhood lake. On her watch.

While Iris flounders with the weight of her guilt and grief, she seeks redemption from her family and yearns, in particular, to repair a strained relationship with her sister, Liz. But new developments threaten her efforts, forcing her to navigate the turbulence of the present summer while reckoning with the emotional trauma of the past.

Set in a working-class neighborhood, The Remnants of Summer is a story of how collective grief and personal guilt threaten the individuals who make up a family. As Iris sifts through the images of the past, she wrestles with waves of guilt and responsibility, acceptance and forgiveness. Surrounded by the gentle rhythms of a Michigan summer, she endeavors to rise up and become visible once again. 

Pick up your copy here..

Amazon.com: The Remnants of Summer (9781627203395): Newton, Dawn: Books

DAWN NEWTON is the author of Winded: A Memoir in Four Stages, which details her journey with stage IV lung cancer. She was trained as a fiction writer and received scholarships to attend Michigan State University and Johns Hopkins University. Dawn has taught composition and creative writing at several colleges and in K-12 classrooms in Virginia and Michigan. Her essays, poems, and short stories have been published in various literary magazines. She has three grown children - Rachel, Connor, and Nathaniel - and lives with her husband, Tim Dalton, and their dog, Clover, in East Lansing, Michigan.