Category: Blog Tour

black literature · Blog Tour · book review · books · diversity · mystery · reading

Chloe by Connie Briscoe{ Colored Pages Book Tour}

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Blurb:

A mansion haunted by the ghost of a cool, charismatic first wife. A second bride from a small Southern town who may be in over her head. A brooding billionaire who grows icier the more his new wife questions him about the past.

In Connie Briscoe’s propulsive and entertaining novel, the elements of one of the most famous Gothic novels of all time is reimagined in surprising, yet still suspenseful, ways.

Angel is a private chef for the Harrison’s, one of the most powerful Black families on Martha’s Vineyard. Impossibly supercilious Jillian Harrison often spends the entire summer on the island, while her husband Irvin and their twenty-nine-year-old daughter Norma commute from Washington, DC, on weekends. They always join Jillian for the month of August, when the family throws a lavish garden party on the expansive lawn that is attended by nearly one hundred guests. This year’s guests include Everette Bruce, an influential Black billionaire, still in mourning for his first wife, Chloe, who committed suicide.

To the imperious Jillian’s surprise, Bruce ignores her and instead becomes enchanted with Angel. Eager to get away from the controlling Mrs. Harrison, Angel accepts Everett’s invitation to become the private chef at Riverwild, his massive mansion along the Potomac River. Her meals and company provide comfort Everett, and soon he and Angel begin a whirlwind romance that culminates in marriage.

Though Angel is confident and strong, over time, she begins to feel the enigmatic Chloe’s ghost. The house’s staff, the head housekeeper Ida—a menacingly rigid thorn in Angel’s side—and even Everett, cannot seem to let the dead woman go, nor explain why the wealthy, stunning woman would kill herself. The more questions Angel asks, the more melancholic Everett becomes, revealing a far less charming side of himself. Just how well does Angel know Everett? Did she marry in haste?

Review:

Since there are not very many stories set on Martha’s Vineyard that feature prominent Black characters, I jumped at the opportunity to read Chloe. There is nothing better than reading about rich people’s problems.

We follow the story through Angel’s perspective. She is a talented chef who is hired yearly by the Harrison’s. While Angel is sweet and competent, her employer, Jillian Harrison treats her as if she is less than capable of handling herself. Mr. Harrison and their daughter Norma are as close to decent as Angel gets while working in their household.

While Jillian is on a very important mission of setting her daughter up with the widowed Everette Bruce, things are go in a different direction for him once he sets his sight on Angel. While they try to remain discreet, word gets back to Jillian about their comings and goings. She of course reacts as any other well to do mother who is looking out for the future of her child. While all of this is going on, Norma displays zero interest in Everette.

As summer romances go, the situation between Angel and Everette is near perfect but the reality of their social differences looms above them. To everyone’s surprise, Everette asks Angel to marry him just before she leaves to head back home to her regular life. She says yes but then things start to change.

Although Everette is a much nicer person than Jillian, you see that he is not above using his status to get what he wants. Angel is like a fish out of water once they arrive at their beautiful estate that Everette purchased with his first wife, Chloe.

Chloe passed away by suicide or at least that is what the police decided after a quick investigation. Whenever Angel asks about Chloe, Everette takes on what seems to be a different personality. Is it grief showing through or is he hiding something.

This is a very short and to the point story. Soon Angel discovers that everything that glitters isn’t gold. Once she learns the truth about what has gone on at the Riverwild Estate, her new home, she is burdened with the choice of what she should do.

Does money and wealth give one a free pass to do whatever to whomever, or should there always be consequences? How far is one willing to go to protect their assets?

Check out Chloe to find out.

Rating:

3 stars

Availability:

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on March 18th

Thank you, Colored Pages Book Tour and Amistad Books for having me along on this tour.

Blog Tour · book review · books · Family · Historical fiction · love · secrets

The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis {Suzy’s Approved Book Tour}

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Blurb:

Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

Decades later, while coping with her own tragic loss, aspiring gallery owner Rory Grant leases Soline’s old property and discovers a box containing letters and a vintage wedding dress, never worn. When Rory returns the mementos, an unlikely friendship develops, and eerie parallels in Rory’s and Soline’s lives begin to surface. It’s clear that they were destined to meet—and that Rory may hold the key to righting a forty-year wrong and opening the door to shared healing and, perhaps, a little magic.

Review:

If you’re looking for historical fiction but don’t want to concentrate on a war, this is a good book to pick up. Now, World War 2 does play a part in the story but it is not the main background for the story.

You have Soline whose story is told both in “present” day 1985 and also in the past in the 1940s during the World War and Rory’s story is told in 1985. The two timelines merge fairly quickly as there is a connection between Rory and Soline that neither of them realize.

This story focuses on love, loss of love, and growth. Both of these women have experienced events in their lives that contribute to how they live their everyday lives. Their coming into each other’s lives helps them heal and discover life again.

Rating:

3.5

Availability:

Available now in paperback, ebook, and audio.

A special thank you to Suzy’s Approved Book Tours for having me along for this book. Also, a special thank you to Barbara Davis and Lake Union Publishing for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
addiction · Blog Tour · book review · books · contemporary fiction · diversity · Family · love · reading · secrets · Women's fiction

Judge’s Girls {Suzy ‘s Approved Book Tours}

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Blurb:

Beloved Georgia judge Joseph Donaldson was known for his unshakable fairness, his hard-won fortune–and a scandalous second marriage to his much-younger white secretary. Now he’s left a will with a stunning provision. In order to collect their inheritance, his lawyer daughter Maya, her stepmother Jeanie, and Jeanie’s teen daughter, Ryder, must live together at the family lake house. Maya and Jeanie don’t exactly get along, but they reluctantly agree to try an uneasy peace for as long as it takes…

But fragile ex-beauty queen Jeanie doesn’t know who she is beyond being a judge’s wife–and drinking away her insecurities has her in a dangerous downward spiral. Fed up with her mother’s humiliating behavior, Ryder tries to become popular at school in all the wrong ways. And when Maya attempts to help, she puts her successful career and her shaky love life at risk. Now with trouble they didn’t see coming–and secrets they can no longer hide–these women must somehow find the courage to admit their mistakes, see each other for who they really are–and slowly, perhaps even joyfully, discover everything they
could be. 

Review:

A story about grief and how three women who loved the same man in different aspects deal with his unexpected death.

Maya, who is Judge’s daughter from his first marriage has now lost both parents and the grief of her father’s passing is devastating. But because of the morals and ethics her father instilled in her, she pushes forward and her grieving is limited. This is a situation that a lot of people find themselves in and don’t really know how to handle their grief and because of that, their grief bleeds into other parts of their lives.

Jeanie who is Judge’s second wife has let grief completely overtake her to the point of self destructive behavior. I could almost relate to the pain that she was going thru even though at times I felt she was playing the victim a bit too much at times.

Ryder who is Jeanie’s daughter and Judge’s stepdaughter is caught between her own grief and hiding her mother’s destructive behavior from Maya.

Each woman must learn how to grieve and how to get along. Maya and Jeanie must learn how to do this without depending on Ryder to be their buffer. She has her own issues as a teenager to deal with on top of losing the man she knew as her father.

This was a good story to show that people deal with grief differently and that families can still come together. Having lost both of my parents this was a story that I could definitely relate to.

Rating:

3 Golden Girls

A special thank you to Suzy’s Approved Book Tours for having me on this tour and to Kensington Books for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

addiction · Blog Tour · book review · books · contemporary fiction · Family · love · secrets · Women's fiction

Rules For Moving by Nancy Star {Suzy’s Approved Book Tours}

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Blurb:

To the outside world, beloved advice columnist Lane Meckler has all the answers. What no one knows is that she also has a secret: her life is a disaster, and it’s just gotten worse. Her husband, whom she was planning to leave, has died in a freak accident. Her six-year-old son, Henry, has stopped speaking to everyone but her. Lane’s solution? Move. Growing up, that was what her family did best.

But when she and Henry pack up and leave, Lane realizes that their next home is no better, and she finally begins to ask herself some hard questions. What made her family move so often? Why has she always felt like an outsider? How can she get Henry to speak?

On a journey to help her son find his voice, Lane discovers that somewhere along the way she lost her own. If she wants to help him, she’ll need to find the courage to face the past and to speak the truth she’s been hiding from for years.

Review:

What I liked about this story and most of the stories that I have read from Lake Union Press is how close to reality they are. They take events that can happen in everyday life and bring them to the page in a way that the reader understands. In this story we have a Lane who is somewhat of a control freak. But not in the usual way of the phrase. She is a control freak of her emotions and you find out why throughout the story. Our childhoods have such an adverse affect on how we take on adulthood and this story was a great representation of that.

Between a childhood tragedy and the sudden loss of her husband, Lane is somewhat forced to face things from her childhood and in her life. During this time, her son Henry is dealing with his own conflicts which seem terribly heavy for a six year old boy. To be so young and have experienced trauma at such a young age, Henry is very receptive of the world around him. His silence allows him to see things that most adults miss or do not understand.

Both Henry and his mother have to find their voices as they take on life after tragedy. They both have to step back, forget the rules and then move forward. On their move forward, relationships are built, secrets are learned, old lives are brought back together, and new lives are brought together.

Sometimes we have to break the rules in order to find freedom in life from conflict.

Rating:

2 girls( 3.5 Stars)

Availability:

Available now in paperback, ebook and audiobook

A special thank you to Suzy’s Approved Book Tours and Lake Union Press for my free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

black literature · Blog Tour · book review · books · diversity · Family · Racism · reading · secrets · YA

This Is My America By Kim Johnson {Blog Tour Review}

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Blurb:

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the present?

Fans of Nic Stone and Jason Reynolds won’t want to miss this provocative and gripping debut.

Review:

This book is going on my top ten list for this year, no questions asked. I wish I would have gotten copies for my two boys so that we could have read this together as a family. In fact, I will still buy them each their own copy so they can read it and we can discuss as a family.

The Beaumont family has already been displaced from New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina and now they must deal with the horrid racism in Texas. No matter how hard Jamal has worked to become a star athlete and not be the poster child for the “child of a convict” campaign, all his hard work is thrown out the moment he is considered a suspect in a crime. His sister Tracy is already doing everything that she can to try to bring their father home from a death row sentence. He received this sentence for a crime he did not commit. Time is running down for him and now she has to prove that her brother is innocent.

Mrs. Johnson is able to convey this subject matter in a way that young adults can ingest without difficulty and a way that adults can ingest and also know how to convey to their own children. Even thru the heavy subject matter, Tracy is still portrayed as a regular teenager dealing with feelings of love and lust, your normal teenage stubbornness, and her friendships as well.

The way the story is written and progresses keeps you engaged. You don’t want to put the book down because you fear you may miss out on what will happen next. There are plenty of twists throughout the story that keep out on your toes.

One of my favorite moments in the story is when Tracy is holding one of her workshops and they are discussing how a black person should act when encountering the police. I loved this scene and it broke my heart at the same time because this scene is one black parents know all too well. I want to thank Mrs. Johnson for writing this story. I want to thank her for showing that the fight against racism isn’t just about police brutality. It is something that is fought at every aspect of life. It is even a battle against the people who don’t even realize or want to realize that they are racist. This is the book that needs to be added to school curriculums.

Rating:

5 Stars

Availibility:

Available now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook

I want to say a special thank you to Underlined for my free copy in exchange for an honest review and for having me along on this tour.

abuse · Blog Tour · book review · books · child abduction · crime · mystery · psychological thriller · reading

Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly {Suzy Approved Book Tour Book Birthday}

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Blurb:

Claire Rawlings, mother of two and medical resident, will not let the troubling signs of an allergic reaction prevent her from making it in for rounds. But when Claire’s symptoms overpower her while she’s driving into work, her two children in tow, she must pull over. Moments later she wakes up on the floor of a gas station bathroom-her car, and her precious girls have vanished.

The police have no leads and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.

Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day.

Review:

This book took me on quite the ride. I will admit that I had some pre conceived notions on how I thought the story was going to go and they were shot down very early in the story. I always go into thrillers with reservations but this one was more of a mystery than a thriller and I appreciated that. I will just highlight on a few points of the story because there is so much that can be easlity given away that needs to remain hidden to get the complete feel of the story and how the plot plays out.

Claire was a character who was allowed to have the flaws of a real person. She was not the picture perfect woman or character. She was allowed to feel emotions like a person would in real life. Her marriage was depicted in a realistic manner considering the situation that she and her husband were going thru.

I loved how a paranoramal scene was woven into the story. This wasn’t a mystery that played out by the book. The spiritual aspect made it that much more endearing. Especially when it showed up in multiple perspectives.

My only complaint was how the story ended. It was not a bad ending, it just wasn’t what I had in mind or wanted for the characters but I can forgive the author because she still wrote a good story. Every ending isn’t going to be for me. I will still read more of her work in the future.

 

Rating:

3.75 Stars

Availability:

Available now in paperback, ebook, and audiobook

 

Thank you to Suzy’s Approved Book Tours for having me along on this book tour and to Sourcebooks for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

addiction · Blog Tour · book review · books · Family · Historical fiction · love · reading · secrets · World War 2

Don’t Put the Boats Away by Ames Sheldon {Suzy’s Approved Book Tour}

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Blurb:

In the aftermath of World War II, the members of the Sutton family are reeling from the death of their “golden boy,” Eddie. Over the next twenty-five years, they all struggle with loss, grief, and mourning. Daughter Harriet and son Nat attempt to fill the void Eddie left behind: Harriet becomes a chemist despite an inhospitable culture for career women in the 1940s and ’50s, hoping to move into the family business in New Jersey, while Nat aims to be a jazz musician. Both fight with their autocratic father, George, over their professional ambitions as they come of age. Their mother, Eleanor, who has PTSD as a result of driving an ambulance during the Great War, wrestles with guilt over never telling Eddie about the horrors of war before he enlisted. As the members of the family attempt to rebuild their lives, they pay high prices, including divorce and alcoholism―but in the end, they all make peace with their losses, each in his or her own way.

Review:

Reading historical fiction is my thing. There was no question as to if I wanted to participate in this book tour.

This story is told from the perspectives of Harriet and Nat who are the siblings of Eddie who has been killed in World War 2. Both Harriet and Nat work their best to gain approval from their father. They each try to live in ways to appease him in order to fill the void that the loss of Eddie has left behind. This is difficult for them because they each have their own dreams they want to follow. During this story they both cave into their father’s expectations even at the risk of them being unhappy. Harriet is able to realize her unhappiness before long but it takes Nat a bit longer and because of that, he ends up in a situation that is not the best for him.

What I liked about this book is that it addresses the subjects of grief, PTSD, alcoholism, and depression. Each character has to face their own inner battles as well as the battles that their family members face. They face these battles with each other or at least they make attempts to do so.

Another interesting aspect of this story is that not only did World War 2 affect this family, so did World War 1. Both wars leave behind scars that the family has to work thru over time. The wars not only leave behind scars and secrets, they also leave behind determination and will.

Rating:

4 Stars

Availability:

Available now in paperback and ebook.

 

A special thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours for having me along on this book tour and to She Writes Press for my free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Blog Tour · books · Historical fiction

Josephine: Singer Soldier Dancer Spy by Eildh McGinness {Spotlight for Historical Fiction Virtual BookTours}

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Blurb:

Fiction based on Fact this novel follows the work carried out by Josephine Baker during World War 2 for the French resistance.

Born into poverty in a racially segregated America, Josephine flees to France. She embraces the hedonistic lifestyle available in Paris of the Roaring Twenties.
With Hitler’s rise to power in Germany she is forced to face her true self. Determined to protect the Liberty Equality and Fraternity she has found in France, she becomes an ‘honorable correspondent’ for the French Intelligence Service. So, beginning a journey which will take her from the Red Cross Shelters in Paris to the cruel deserts of North Africa. Whilst she will find love and enduring friendship she must also face dangers which will threaten not only her life but all she holds dear…
Can she find the courage to fight for what she believes in….no matter what the cost…?

Availability:

Available now in ebook and paperback

 

A special thank you to Historical Fiction Virutal Book Tours and the author for my gifted copy.

adventure · Blog Tour · book review · crime · mystery · reading

White Knight by John H. Cunningham {Suzy’s Approved Book Tour Review}

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Blurb:

Buck Reilly’s vacation in the Virgin Islands goes downhill fast when he witnesses a helicopter crash over the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Buck races to the rescue, but the lone survivor—a beautiful woman—has amnesia. When Buck learns the woman is Giselle Huibert, the First Lady of France, who fled her husband while at the G8 Summit on St. Thomas for reasons she cannot remember, Buck has no choice but to try and help her. However, Giselle refuses to let him call the police—even when it becomes clear that men intending to kill them are hot on their trail. 

When Giselle remembers the horrifying assault she witnessed her husband and his head of security commit, and the events that led to her helicopter crashing, she and Buck are forced to flee throughout the Virgin Islands, with no one to trust but a group of unlikely heroes. 

Fueled by their mutual passion, revenge against her husband, and their quest for the truth, Buck and Giselle turn the tables on their pursuers, but the final showdown rocks them to their core and challenges everything they believed to be true. 

Review:

When I was first given the option of reading and reviewing this story, I was a bit hesitant because I thought it was part of a series. The author does have a series with this main character but this particular book is more of a standalone. Once I started reading it, I knew I’d be okay because of the background information the author feeds in throughout the story.

I liked Buck’s character even if he was a bit naive when it came to Giselle at times. I could see why he was so smitten with her. Beautiful, smart, determined Giselle.

The situation that Buck finds himself in with Giselle is the perfect “when vacations go wrong” scenario. Helicopter crashes, running for your life, hiding in plain sight. The prime set up for an action packed adventure. And throw in a dash of mystery.

The way the story is written makes you visualize it as an action movie. The plot doesn’t require a lot of thought and concentration so it’s easy to either breeze thru or either pick up where you left off if you have to put it down.

Having read and enjoyed this story, I will say that I’ll probably check out the main series that features Buck Reilly.

Rating:

3 Stars

Availability:

Available now in ebook

A special thank you to Suzy’s Approved Book Tours for having me along on this blog tour and for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour · book review · contemporary fiction · love · reading · romance · secrets · Women's fiction

This Is Not How It Ends by Rochelle Weinstein {Suzy’s Approved Book Tour Review}

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Blurb:

When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in the Florida Keys with plans to marry. But just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte feels Philip slipping away.

Second-guessing their love is something Charlotte never imagined, but with Philip’s excessive absences, she finds herself yearning for more. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but the supportive single dad is there for her in ways she never knew she desired. Soon Charlotte finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs.

As a hurricane passes through Islamorada, stunning revelations challenge Charlotte’s loyalties and upend her life. Forced to reexamine the choices she’s made, and has yet to make, Charlotte embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love, and sacrifice—knowing that forgiveness is a gift, and the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.

This Is Not How It Ends is a tender, moving story of heartbreak and healing that asks the question: Which takes more courage—holding on or letting go? 

Review:

What an intense story. I found myself rooting for Charlotte and Philip but at the same time I wanted more for Charlotte and I felt that Philip wasn’t giving it to her.

When the story started I felt a connection to Charlotte. I could relate to the whirlwind, intense beginning of the relationship she had with Philip.

Once Charlotte and Philip settle into what is their “normal” routine, Charlotte finds herself wanting more but not really knowing what it is or how to get it.

Then Ben enters the story and things get complicated. Extremely complicated. Lines are drawn, lines are crossed. Feelings intensify for all parties involved.

As the story progresses, Charlotte, Philip, and Ben become this entangled mass and you as the reader think you know what is going to happen, but you are not quite right.

This novel makes you happy, angry, and sad all at the same time or at least back to back. Never a moment when you don’t feel something about the characters or the storyline.

I enjoyed having my emotions pulled all over the place.

Rating:

4 Stars

Availability:

Available January 1, 2020 in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

A special thank you to Suzy’s Approved Book Tours for having me along on this tour and thank you to Lake Union Publishing for my free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.