The Nantucket Inn: a new business, a new life and a second chance to start again

The Nantucket Inn by Pamela Kelley is the first book in the Nantucket Beach Plum Cove series. After the death of her husband, Lisa Hodges discovers their financial security wasn’t there. She needs to make a decision fast. She decides to turn her house into a bed and breakfast. The lives of her three daughters are coming to life changing decisions as well. Kate, the oldest, has a wonderful career in Boston and is engaged to a photographer. Until a series of events sends her back home to Nantucket. Kristen, Kate’s twin sister, is a local artist and finds herself frustrated with her boyfriend who keeps making promises and doubts he’ll make good on them. Abby, the youngest, is happily married to her high school sweetheart. But after another failed IVF attempt, she questions if they are truly happy. 

The Nantucket Inn was a fast-paced, engaging story. The women are likable and relatable. I cheered for them as they stood up for what they wanted and weren't afraid to say enough’s enough. Lisa actually has four children. There is a son, Chase, who doesn’t have much of a role in this story. However, I’m sure he’ll show up with a story of his own in the series. There was a little opposition to Lisa’s bed and breakfast. Violet, a neighbor and fellow bed and breakfast owner, and I have a feeling she’ll be trouble for Lisa in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I recommend The Nantucket Inn. It is a great read for a lazy afternoon. 

The Nantucket Inn is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

Borrowed Time: even picture perfect can hide darker secrets

Borrowed Time is the fourth book in the Hart’s Ridge series by Kay Bratt. This story asks the question “do you ever really know the person you’re in love with?” It’s about to be answered for Deputy Taylor Gray as she investigates the disappearance of her close friend, Sissy. The more she investigates Sissy’s life, the more she discovers that appearances can be deceiving and the most picture-perfect relationships can be hiding deeper and darker secrets. No one knows this more than Taylor’s sister, Anna. She is living the seemingly all-American dream with a successful husband, a nice house and two thriving children. But there is more behind the scenes. Her perfect life is spiraling out of control as she discovers the secrets that have been hiding behind the perfect façade. Will Taylor discover the truth behind Sissy’s disappearance? Will Anna be able to pull her life together again?

The Hart’s Ridge series keeps getting better and better. Borrowed Time touches very deep subjects with suicidal ideation and domestic violence. Readers: bring tissues. By the end of the book, I was in tears. I love Taylor and her sisters as well as their mother, Cate, as great women who have rebuilt their lives. In this story, we see more of the uppity Anna and her story. While the investigation into Sissy’s disappearance was the main story, I was hooked on Anna’s story and cheered for her as she found a way to fight back. I loved seeing Anna and Cate rebuild their relationship. I also loved the interactions between the sisters. Despite their differences in personality and life choices, they have each other’s backs. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Borrowed Time and I am looking forward to the rest of the series. 

Borrowed Time is available in paperback and eBook

If You Must Know: two sisters and a turning point in their lives

If You Must Know by Jamie Beck is the first book in the Potomac Point series. Sisters Amanda and Erin are as different as two sisters could be. The only thing they have in common is the childhood bedroom they shared. Amanda is known for following the rules, being the picture perfect daughter, wife and now mother to be. Erin follows her heart, flies by the seat of her pants and loves living the bohemian lifestyle with her yoga classes and Etsy business of organic soaps and bath products. Suddenly, their lives are turned upside down and they are forced to confront the uncomfortable truths about themselves and their family. Can these sisters find a way to build trust and lean on each other in trying times? Especially when there’s one secret still lingering between them.  

Jamie Beck writes wonderful stories of family, drama and coming together when they need each other. If You Must Know is a story of betrayal and sisters. Between the two sisters, I enjoyed Erin more. I cheered for her when she went after what she wanted. I didn’t care for Amanda as she tried to weigh the family’s reputation in front of her own needs. Although, as the oldest, I understood her strive for perfection. However, by the end of the story, Amanda finds out that sometimes one’s needs must come before family. As someone with sisters, the tension and interactions between Amanda and Erin was real and relatable. I thoroughly enjoyed If You Must Know and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. If you enjoy family drama, I recommend If You Must Know. 

If You Must Know is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

Birdie: family secrets and an unsolved mystery

Birdie by Kate Frantz is a story of family secrets and an unsolved mystery. When her mother dies, Birdie North discovers a mysterious stack of letters from her grandmother. A grandmother she’s never met and didn’t know her mother was in communication with. Curious about the family her mother left behind in Scotland, Birdie decides to travel to her mother’s birthplace and uncover the truth of these letters. When she meets Theo Hambry, an English stranger, who has a letter of his own from her mother! They reluctantly work together to discover the mystery of these letters. Little do they know that they are linked more than they know and they are about to uncover another mystery with a dangerous individual who will do anything to keep them silent. 

I was intrigued by the premise of Birdie. The story was interesting and the mystery was engaging. However, it moved much too slow. I didn’t care for Birdie. She acted childish at times and flew off the handle way too often. Early in the story, Birdie gets sympathy from a nurse who cared for her mother. When this individual expresses how much she was going to miss her mother, Birdie bristles as if she is the only one who gets to miss her mother. She does have growth by the end of the story. The one character I enjoyed was Theo, a young man, who struggles with his father’s disappearance and finds solace in his faith. Overall, I enjoyed Birdie. The mystery was engaging with quite a few twists. 

Birdie is available in paperback and eBook

The Soulmate: a suspense thriller of marriage, betrayal and secrets

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth is a suspense thriller of marriage, betrayal and secrets. There’s a cliff known as the Drop which has become a popular suicide spot. There’s a cottage that sits on that cliff. It’s the home of Gabe and Pippa Gerard. As people come to the cliff with the intent to end their lives, Gabe comes to the rescue to talk them back. Until one night, he doesn’t. Questions begin to swirl in Pippa’s head as to what happened, what did she see and is there more to Gabe’s story than he’s telling. But would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate, lie? As the investigation into the victim’s death begins, Pippa begins to see cracks in their perfect façade and Gabe begins to act more and more erratically. What will Pippa do when she discovers that Gabe is hiding deeper and darker secrets? 

Sally Hepworth has a reputation for suspense thrillers. So when I got the opportunity to read her newest book, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this story. With short, quick 87 chapters, the story was choppy and disjointed. Switching between Pippa and the victim, and past and present, the story didn’t give enough time to truly get invested. I didn’t like Pippa or Gabe or their perfect façade. At one point, Pippa discovers Gabe’s indiscretion and she accepts it? Really? Just like that? “Ok, I forgive you.” Some women may eventually get there but for Pippa, it was almost instantaneously. I also didn’t enjoy how long it took to identify who was who in the story. I had to guess who was a daughter, a sister, etc. Overall, I did not enjoy The Soulmate. However, I will give Ms. Hepworth’s previous works a chance. 

The Soulmate is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

When the Apricots Bloom: three women faced with impossible choices in order to survive

When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson is a story of three women faced with impossible choices to survive. It’s 2002 in Baghdad when Huda gets a visit from the mukhabarat, the secret police. They “ask” that she befriend the wife of the Australian deputy ambassador. As a secretary at the Australian embassy, it would be easy to do; however, Huda has no desire to become an informant but fears for her son’s safety if she refuses. Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador, has secrets of her own as she has a reason to be in Baghdad other than being a dependent spouse. Little does she know that her secret puts her in grave danger. Meanwhile, Huda’s estranged childhood friend, Rania, led a privileged life as the daughter of a sheikh but now she battles to keep a roof over her daughter’s head as well as ensure their safety. Soon, the lives of the three women will intersect, their secrets come forward and they must decide what they will sacrifice to protect their families.  

With the gorgeous cover and a poetic title, I looked forward to this story. Set in the final days of Saddam’s regime, When the Apricots Bloom is a story of trust, friendship, and motherhood. Drawing from her experience as a foreign correspondent, author Gina Wilkinson strives to take readers on a haunting story of Iraq and the choices many families faced under the deadly regime. While it is described as suspenseful, and I could see where it should have been, I didn’t feel the suspense. I cared for these women and wanted to see them survive but I had an issue with Ally’s naivety that she could simply walk around Baghdad asking questions as she did. Overall, the story was good but I didn’t close the book with any satisfaction. While it is hard to recommend this book, I may have been the wrong reader for When the Apricots Bloom. If you are intrigued by the premise, I encourage you to check out When the Apricots Bloom. Hopefully your experience will be different from mine. 

When the Apricots Bloom is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

Undertaking Irene: a disappointing mystery

Undertaking Irene is the first book in the Jane Delaney Mystery series by Pamela Burford. Janet Delaney runs Death Diva, a business in which she is hired to do what her clients don’t want to do, don’t want to be seen doing or can’t bring themselves to do it. She is hired by an old friend, Irene, to steal a gaudy mermaid brooch from a corpse at the woman’s funeral. According to Irene, the brooch is rightfully hers and the deceased refused to give it back. Unfortunately, someone else was hired to do the same thing before she was able to get a hand on it. As she returns to tell Irene that she was unable to retrieve the brooch, Jane discovers Irene has died. Convinced Irene was murdered, Jane is determined to find out who the killer is and bring them to justice. 

Undertaking Irene is my second book by Pamela Burford and unfortunately, it felt horribly flat. It seems to want to be a comedic mystery but I was so bored. I didn’t care for Jane, the mystery or the outcome. There were supposed to be lots of laughs but I didn’t laugh once. If anything, many of the jokes and comedic moments were just cringey and eye rolling. I understand Jane is driven by a sense of loyalty to Irene and concocts some outlandish theories about her death. However, Jane was unlikeable. I definitely didn’t care for the other thief. Unfortunately, I will not be continuing this series. Some reviewers compared Undertaking Irene to the works of Janet Evanovich. I have never read Ms. Evanovich’s books, so I can’t say if this comparison is true. If you enjoy Janet Evanovich’s books, you may enjoy Undertaking Irene.  

Undertaking Irene is available in paperback and eBook