The Lost Letters of Aisling: historical drama of love, courage, and confronting one's past

The Lost Letters of Aisling by Cynthia Ellingsen is a historical drama of love, courage and confronting one’s past. After a near fatal illness, she only requested one thing from her granddaughter, to take her home. To Ireland, to the country she fled after World War II. Despite being close, Rainey knows very little of her grandmother’s past, she knew she could not tell her grandmother no. When they arrive at Aisling, Rainey discovers a trunk filled with letters. The letters take her to 1945 Dublin as the Germans surrender, there are celebrations in the street. Fourteen year old Evie meets her best friend, Harding McGovern. Harding is fiery and the two become as close as sisters. When rumors fly that Harding is involved in black market trade, while dangerous, would be able to fund her dream to immigrate to America. While uncertain of the truth, Evie is determined to stand by her friend at all costs. 

I love historical fiction with a good dual time point of view. The Lost Letters of Aisling promised to be a story of family, friendship, love and the freedom that comes from letting go of the secrets that we hide. From the opening chapter, I was excited until one piece of information took me out of the story entirely. During the celebration, the author writes that the crowd began to sing “God Save the Queen.” However, in 1945, King George VI was King of Great Britain, so “God Save the King” would have been performed. From that point on, I didn’t trust any of the author’s historical details, and there weren’t many, and the characters used phrases that wouldn’t have been common. There were also a few loose ends left at the end of the story which gave an unsatisfying ending. Overall, I did not enjoy this story. I do not recommend The Lost Letters of Aisling. 

The Lost Letters of Aisling is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Last Caretaker: a mystery suspense thriller which doesn't live up to its premise

The Last Caretaker by Jessica Strawser is a mystery suspense as one woman tries to move forward with her life. Katie needed a fresh start and her best friend, Bess, offered her a new start. The job is as a residential caretaker at a nature preserve. She wasn’t exactly a nature person but she is willing to try. From the moment she arrived, something was off. The farmhouse looks like the last caretaker simply disappeared and her belongings were left behind. When a frantic, terrified woman arrives late at night, Kate realizes that the caretaker job is much more than she realized. Unsure who to trust or where to turn, Katie begins to dig deeper into what the last caretaker left behind and she must decide how much she is willing to risk in order to do the right thing. 

I was intrigued by the premise and I looked forward to a spine tingly mystery. However, from the beginning, I was bored. Even after the woman arrives late at night and the mystery opens up, I was bored. There was no intrigue. It was so slow for a thriller suspense. The storytelling didn’t flow smoothly and I found my attention drifting. The writing style was choppy and some sentences were confusing and did not make sense. There was no suspense, no thrilling tension and the final twist fell flat. The characters weren’t people I wanted to root for or see to the end. I understand what the author was trying to do and cover an important topic; however, I feel it didn’t work well. I did not enjoy this story at all. I do not recommend The Last Caretaker. 

The Last Caretaker is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Love on the Rocks: a second chance romance with faith, struggles and a happily ever after

Love on the Rocks is the second book in the Crane’s Cove by Kerry Evelyn. Kat Daniels regrets the day she chose barrel racing over her fiance, Easton Crane. A year later, she returns to Crane’s Cove with a secret. Easton Crane has loved Kat for as long as he can remember. When she shows up a year after their broken engagement, he is confused and conflicted. Especially when he sacrificed six years of his life to care for her after her traumatic brain injury. He is full of questions: what brought her back to town? Is she going to stay? What is she hiding? When a hurricane hits the cove, the life of Kat’s beloved horse, Easton and Kat must work together to save her. Can they also battle the storm of old memories? Can the wounds heal? Can their second chance at love be even stronger than before? 

Love on the Rocks is a clean, sweet Christian based romance with a small town community. It has been a while since I read the first book; however, the story in this book was easy to follow without a lot of information from the first book. From the beginning, Kat was closed off and hiding a secret that she tried to drink away. When the storm threatened her beloved horse, my heart dropped. I was even angry at Kat for her animosity toward Easton. However, as Kat’s hard facade began to crack, my heart broke for her. I loved the struggles with faith the characters experience in this story. Many authors who write faith based stories don’t really dive into struggles; however, Ms Evelyn does this beautifully. It felt real and relatable. Overall, I enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I highly, highly recommend Love on the Rocks. 

Love on the Rocks is available in paperback and eBook

The Purple Thistles: three women return to their hometown after the death of a loved one and have their lives changed forever

The Purple Thistles by Carolyn Brown is a story of three women who recent an inheritance which brings them back to their Texas small town. Kate, Elizabeth and Gloria come from three very different backgrounds and were never friendly in high school. Kate was a part of their town’s elite until she was disowned and shunned by her parents. Elizabeth fled her religiously strict family and returned with a secret. Gloria grew up in poverty with an alcoholic mother and struggles with her own demons. Their only common thread is the love and care from Ula, a beloved nanny and mother figure to them all. When Ula passes away, each woman inherits a portion of Ula’s estate. As they work through their painful pasts, heartbreak and their newfound friendship, Kate, Elizabeth and Gloria see the possibilities of bright futures and unexpected romances.  

The Purple Thistles is a bittersweet story of three women who find friendship and a community through their grief and strength to stand up to their families and their pasts. From the very beginning, my heart broke for these women as they came back to town with broken dreams and painful memories. However, through their shared memories of Ula, they find strength with each other and their newfound community and even have second chances at love. There were moments of great laughs and loving moments. I cheered for these women as they each confronted those who would try to keep them down. I also loved the symbolism with the thistle. Overall, I loved this story and was a bit sad to see it end but enjoyed the happily ever after Kate, Elizabeth and Gloria are now living. I highly recommend The Purple Thistles. 

The Purple Thistles will be available on December 1, 2026 

in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Broken Lies: a Hollywood movie star and a personal trainer romance

Broken Lies is the first book in the Second Chance Chicago series by Gina Azzi. Eli Roth is a Hollywood heartthrob who could have any woman he wanted. He wants Zoe Clark. She captivated him from the moment he laid eyes on her with her wicked curves, wise cracking mouth and bold confidence. Even when she rejected him, he was amused and set out to hire her as his personal trainer on set in the Seychelles. As she focuses on her job to keep him in shape for his role, the spark between them turns into a wildfire blaze. He even begins to see a future with her that he never thought he deserved. However, Zoe harbors a secret and finds lies with pretty words. Eli falls for it all. 

Broken Lies is a fairly short book which ends on a cliffhanger and Twisted Truths, the second book, is the continuation of Eli and Zoe’s story. I was irritated at Zoe as she alluded to her secret and she refused to talk to her loved ones about it and in turn, readers are also left in the dark as well. While I could guess and assume what her secret was, I disliked the constant alluding to her secret. Eli and Zoe’s romance was okay and it is a bit irritating that I would have to read book 2 in order to see their happily ever after. Overall, I was bored and did not enjoy this story. I will not be continuing the series. I do not recommend Broken Lies. 

Broken Lies is available in paperback and eBook. 

The Girl at the Party: a thriller mystery of a young girl's death and someone wants to keep it unsolved

The Girl at the Party by Danielle Stewart is a thriller mystery of one girl’s death. Stephanie left the end of the year party and walked home alone. Some say she was crying while others heard an argument between Stephanie and someone else. However, no one would see her alive again. Four years later, Stephanie’s friends are still haunted by the events of that night. She was the perfect one, who stayed out of trouble and looked out for her friends. Where were her friends looking out for her? Laura is truly stuck as she cannot move past Stephanie’s death especially since her case went cold. All she wanted was to forget that horrible night. Until one day when another friend, Chris Mills comes to her with a proposal: help him investigate Stephanie’s death and discover the truth. Together, they start their investigation and it becomes clear that someone does not want them to discover the truth. Warnings and break ins meant to scare them off. Is Stephanie’s killer closer than they think? 

The Girl at the Party starts off interesting as readers see the final moments of Stephanie’s life However, as Laura and Chris start their investigation, the story slows and gets bogged down. The book is described as a slow burn mystery; unfortunately, it is so slow that almost nothing happens until the mad run to the ending. I didn’t care for the long winded paragraphs about the patriarchy, women being forced to be caretakers and ableism. While those topics are interesting and important to discuss, there is a better way to blend them into the story without being a lecture. The mystery of Stephanie’s death certainly became secondary and the personal lives of the other characters were the main focus. Even with Chris and Laura’s statements that Stephanie had been forgotten and they seem to forget why they are investigating in the first place. And the reveal about the details of Stephanie’s death was so disappointing. I did not enjoy this story. I do not recommend The Girl at the Party. 

The Girl at the Party is available in available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Ashes of You: a slow burn romance with mystery and suspense

Ashes of You is the fifth and final book in the Lost and Found series by Catherine Cowles. Five years ago, Halston “Hallie” Astor was kidnapped, held captive and tortured. When she managed to escape, one man, a stranger with striking blue eyes, found her and brought her to safety. As she recovered and rebuilt her life, this man’s blue eyes remained in her memory and brought her peace whenever she recalled them. Now, she is determined to get a fresh start and comes to Cedar Ridge to interview for a nanny job for a single father with three sons. What she doesn’t expect is that the father would be the man with the striking blue eyes. Lawson Hartley is the eldest of the Hartley children who is trying his best to raise his three sons. There is an attraction that they both try to fight and stay professional. When a threat from their past comes back, will he be able to save her this time? 

It was hard to say goodbye to the Hartley siblings and their lives in Cedar Creek; however, Ashes of You is a wonderful end to this amazing series. I immediately loved Hallie and Lawson together. Despite their age gap, and I usually don’t like age gap romances, they were seemingly meant for each other. Their romance was a slow burn and exciting. The reveal of who was behind Halle’s original abduction and the current threat was a complete shock. He was not even on my radar at all! Also, over the course of the previous four books, readers see the growing tensions between Lawson and his eldest son, Luke, and I knew we would see their conflict come to a head. That moment was filled with shocking revelations and so many tears. Oh the tears! It was a great healing moment for father and son. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I highly, highly recommend Ashes of You and the rest of the Lost and Found series. 

Ashes of You is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook