Wife After Wife

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  Divorced. Murdered. Died. Divorced. Departed. Survived.

A modern take on the life and marriages of Henry VIII, if he were a 21st century womanizing media mogul rather than the king of England.

Master of the universe Harry Rose is head of the Rose Corporation, number eighteen on the Forbes rich list, and recently married to wife number six. But in 2018, his perfect world is about to come crashing to the ground. His business is in the spotlight--and not in a good way--and his love life is under scrutiny. Because behind a glittering curtain of lavish parties, gorgeous homes, and a media empire is a tale worthy of any tabloid. 

And Harry has a lot to account for.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: Crazy good. Harry is for sure a lady's man and puts women under his spell.  Rich, powerful, sexy, Harry is wanted by many women.  The women that he marry's are all different as well and maybe not what most would expect.  I really enjoyed all the characters in the book, including Harry's family and friends.  I was hooked by page 2 and couldn't get through it fast enough.  In fact, while driving I had to listen to the text-to-speak feature on my kindle.   If you ever used that feature - it isn't the best (by any means) voice, but I couldn't wait to finish Wife After Wife.  

The crazy ending made it all worth while and I would love to see sequel, maybe on one of Harry's siblings or Charles' story?  Of course we get glimpses of their lives in Wife After Wife, but I think there are still some stories about the other characters that would make some great books. Wife After Wife would make a great movie too! 

Would I Read Other Books by the Author:  Wife After Wife is Olivia Hayfield's first adult novel and I sure hope she writes more because I loved it.

Olivia Hayfield is the pseudonym of British author Sue Copsey. Sue is usually in her office editing other people's books, while Olivia is often in her writing hut at the bottom of the garden. After several years in London Zoo's press office, Sue became an editor at Dorling Kindersley. She later moved to New Zealand, where she continues to work in publishing. Sue has written several children's books, including The Ghosts of Tarawera, which was a Storylines Children's Literature Trust Notable Book. Wife After Wife is her first adult novel. She is married with two children.

Amazon 

Wife After Wife

How Quickly She Disappears

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  It's been twenty years since Elisabeth’s twin sister, Jacqueline, disappeared without a trace. Now thirty-year-old Elisabeth is living far from home in a small Alaskan town. She's in a loveless marriage and has a precocious young daughter she loves more than anything but who reminds her too much of her long-missing sister.

But then Alfred, a dangerous stranger with a plan of his own, arrives in town and commits an inexplicable act of violence. And he offers a startling revelation: He knows exactly what happened to Elisabeth's sister, but he'll reveal this truth only if she fulfills his three requests.

Increasingly isolated from her neighbors and imprisoned by the bitter cold and her own obsession, Elisabeth can almost hear her sister's voice saying, Come and find me. And so she will, even if it means putting herself—and her family—in danger.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  As the back cover of How Quickly She Disappears describes it as "The Dry meets The Silence of the Lambs", I would have to agree with The Silence of the Lambs part.  I have never read The Dry, so I really can't comment on that part of the descriptions. How Quickly She Disappears had my by chapter 3 or 4 and once I was hooked, I couldn't stop reading it.  

I would have to say Alfred was down right creepy to me and Elisabeth was caught in web of wanting to know what he knew about her sister's disappearance and being rid of him due to Mack's death.  The plot thickened more when Elizabeth's daughter was pulled into the web.

Lots of unexpected, lots of creepy unknowns, and lots of good reading!  The ending left me wanting more and ended in a perfect spot for a sequel (please)!

Would I Read Other Books by the Author:  This was Raymond Fleischmann's first book and what a great one!  I would love to read his next novel (even if he went to OSU - sorry but i am a Michigan girl)!

Raymond Fleischmann received his MFA from Ohio State University, and he’s earned scholarships and fellowships from Richard Hugo House, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and others. He lives in Indiana with his wife and three daughters. How Quickly She Disappears is his first novel.

Amazon 

How Quickly She Disappears

Summer Reading Update

As I sit wrapped in a blanket, looking at the freezing rain outside, I was thinking of this past summer and the wonderful weather!  I realized I never updated my summer reading list.  

I read a lot of different genre of books and enjoyed them all!

1. In the Swim of Things by Traci Banister 

2. Summer on Mirror Lake by JoAnn Ross

3. The Summer Guests by Mary Alice Monroe

4. The Summer of Sunshine & Margot by Susan Mallery  

5. A Thread So Fine by Susan Welch

6. Life and Other Inconveniences  by Kristin Higgins

7. Donna Has Left the Building by Susan Jane Gilman

8. One More Lie by Amy Lloyd 

9. Chasing Kate by Christina George (will post once author has a release date)

10. A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum

11. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman 

Summer Reading Update

Donna Has Left The Building

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  From the beloved, New York Times-bestselling author of Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress comes a hilarious, timely, and big-hearted new novel about rebuilding life in the face of disaster.

Forty-five-year-old Donna Koczynski is an ex-punk rocker, a recovering alcoholic, and the mother of two teenagers whose suburban existence detonates when she comes home early from a sales conference in Las Vegas to the surprise of a lifetime. As her world implodes, she sets off on an epic road trip to reclaim everything she believes she's sacrificed since her wild youth: Great friendship, passionate love, and her art. But as she careens across the U.S. from Detroit to New York to Memphis to Nashville, nothing turns out as she imagines. Ultimately, she finds herself resurrected on the other side of the globe, on a remote island embroiled in a crisis far bigger than her own.

Irresistibly funny, whip-smart, and surprisingly moving, DONNA HAS LEFT THE BUILDING spins an unforgettable tale about what it means to be brave -- and to truly love -- in a tumultuous world.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  Donna Has Left The Building is a great book about self-discovery during what I would call a mid-life crisis.  I was a little stunned by what Donna does to her husband, only because I don't recall reading a book with such a strong character.  However, he did have it coming! I really enjoyed going on the journey with Donna  and had some laughs along the way.

Would I Read Other Books by the Author:  I would love to read other books Susan Jane Gilman.  I love the titles of her books.  Her next book I would like to read is Kiss My Tiara.

Susan Jane Gilman, a native New York writer known for combining sharp wit with lyrical pathos, is the bestselling author of three nonfiction books: "Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven," "Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress" and "Kiss My Tiara," plus the novel, "The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street." Her second novel, "Donna Has Left the Building," arrives June 4, 2019, from Grand Central Publishing, and can be pre-ordered now. 

Gilman has written for the New York Times, the L.A. Times, Real Simple, and Ms. magazine among others, been a contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered," and won literary awards for her journalism and short fiction. She was also the recipient of a "Golden Earphones" Award for her Audiobook recording of "The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street."

She once told an interviewer: "I never set out to write books that made people laugh. My main love has always been literary fiction. However, even with my darkest work, people always tell me that parts of it are funny. This used to annoy me because I aspired to be an American Dostoevsky with Breasts.

Yet when I was living in Washington DC, I took a writers’ workshop at the Bethesda Writers’ Center. The first story I submitted was a heartbreaking tale of a man’s addiction, which impressed the class. The second was an absurd story about mistaken identity full of Jews, Rastafarians, lesbians, and dental hygienists. To my great irritation, the class liked this one infinitely more. After class, a man pulled me aside. 'I have to tell you,' he said. 'My wife has been battling breast cancer. I read her your story last night, and it was the first time in two years she really laughed. You’ve got a gift. Please don’t ignore it. Not everyone can make a sick woman laugh in her hospital bed.' That’s when I finally saw the merit in my own, lurking smart-ass and stopped fighting it."

Although she currently resides primarily in Switzerland, her heart and her feet are never far from her homeland.

Amazon 

Donna Has Left The Building

A Bend in the Stars

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  A bestselling, riveting literary delight for fans of All the Light We Cannot See andThe Nightingale: an historical novel that is at once an epic love story and a heart-pounding journey across WWI-era Russia, following an ambitious young doctor and her scientist brother in a race against Einstein to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.

In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the Czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision. Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan. But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much?

Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both. As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance. 

Grounded in real history -- and inspired by the solar eclipse of 1914 -- A Bend in the Stars offers a heartstopping account of modern science's greatest race amidst the chaos of World War I, and a love story as epic as the railways crossing Russia.

One (or more) Sentence Summary:  Both my husband and I read this book (he usually doesn't read anything I read!).  We both enjoyed it.  Science is not my not cup of tea and I found the physics woven into the story very interesting.  Enjoyed the characters (the good ones, not the evil ones) and the love triangle. Great read! Amazing first book by Rachel and I can't wait to read from her in the future.

Rachel Barenbaum is a graduate of Grub Street's Novel Incubator program. In a former life she was a hedge fund manager and a spin instructor, before moving to the New Hampshire woods to write. She has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and an AB in Literature and Philosophy from Harvard College. A Bend in the Stars is her first novel. 

www.rachelbarenbaum.com

Amazon 

A Bend in the Stars

One More Lie

~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

Synopsis (from Amazon):  Charlotte wants to start fresh. She wants to forget her past, forget prison and, most of all, forget Sean. But old habits die hard. Despite the ankle monitor she must wear as part of her parole agreement and frequent visits to her therapist, she soon finds herself sliding back toward the type of behavior that sent her to prison in the first place. The further down that path she goes, however, the closer she gets to the crime that put her in prison all those years ago. And that’s the one memory she can’t face. Until, one day, Sean tracks her down. 

Amy Lloyd, the internationally bestselling and award-winning author of The Innocent Wife, returns with a chilling portrait of a woman trying to be good, even when she isn’t sure she wants to be.

One (or more) Sentence Summary: WOW-crazy good!  Filled with twists you will never see coming.  I couldn't put it down.

Would I Read Other Books by the Author: Yes, I would love to read other books by Amy Lloyd.  I must check out The Innocent Wife.  I can only hope it is as crazy good as One More Lie.

Amy Lloyd studied English and Creative Writing at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She won the Daily Mail First Novel competition for The Innocent Wife in 2016. She lives in Cardiff, Wales, with her partner and two cats.

Amazon 

One More Lie

The After Wife on Sale NOW (by my favorite author)

I am so excited to let you all know that until Sunday, January 19, 2020, The After Wife by Melanie Summer (and my favorite author) is on sale for $0.99 ($0.00 on KindleUnlimited)!  

Buy it now at Amazon!

Synopsis (from Amazon):  From bestselling author Melanie Summers, comes a heartfelt and uplifting tale of love, loss, and letting go...

After losing her husband, writer Abigail Carson has all but given up on life. Having spent the last year cocooned in her Manhattan apartment, Abigail is suddenly forced to find a new home where she can stretch her dwindling savings. Intent on isolation, she moves to a tiny village in Nova Scotia where she’ll have no one to interrupt her solitude. 

Little does Abigail realize that small-town life offers far less privacy than the big city. With neighbors knocking on the door bearing homemade treats and invitations, Abby soon finds herself immersed in the lives of the people of South Haven. She forms an unlikely friendship with Liam Wright, the handyman renovating her dilapidated cottage, and his daughter, seven-year-old Olive.

As the dark cloud engulfing Abigail lifts, she starts to think she may have found love again. But just as Abigail is ready to leap, she discovers Liam carries with him a shocking secret that will ultimately cause everything to unravel. Abigail must decide if she will turn away from his pain or open her heart in the most hopeless of circumstances.

Insightful, heartwarming, and filled with hope, The After Wife reminds us of the importance of human connection and the inseparable nature of love and survival.

WO TIME BRONZE MEDAL WINNER OF THE READERS' FAVORITE CHICK LIT AWARD FOR THE ROYAL TREATMENT (2017) AND WHISKED AWAY (2019).

Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published eleven novels and three novellas. She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.

In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally - then she'll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for ‘K’ Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn’t require makeup and/or nylons).

Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three sporty nerd children, their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog, Lucy, and a small furry dictator named Nelson. When she's not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken ‘from above’. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something—more like just staying until they turn the lights off.

She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International. Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.

Website: www.mjsummersbooks.com

The After Wife on Sale NOW (by my favorite author)