Audiobook Review: Everybody Is a Liar by Liv Constantine

 

Everybody Is a Liar by Liv Constantine

Publication Date: November 12th 2024 by Penguin Random House Audio

Audio Book Length: 3hrs 23min

Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Barrie Krenik, Shayr Guthrie, Jennifer Jill Araya, 

Dallas Seeker, Danny Campbell

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

A mystery writer, Julia, with a cheating spouse and a therapist, Liza, tasked to help the troubled couple repair their marriage. Told from Julia and Liza’s perspective, I was riveted from start to finish! 

I had my suspicions about what was going on, but kept hoping for one thing and it didn't happen. While I liked the way justice was served, I was hoping for a different outcome.

Barrie Kreinik and Saskia Maarleveld are narrators I've enjoyed in the past, but the others are new-to-me and all were wonderful. The full cast of characters definitely enhanced the story.

4 Stars

Book Description:

The New York Times bestselling author of The Next Mrs. Parrish delivers another spellbinding story of betrayal and deceit in this audiobook original, Everybody Is a Liar.

When Julie Buckley, a successful mystery writer, suspects her husband of cheating, she turns to her best friend, Darby, for advice. When Darby suggests couples therapy, Julie and Oliver find themselves discussing Oliver’s betrayal with their new therapist, Liza. Liza is competent and reassuring, and her advice and Oliver’s openness to change seem to be helping the couple rebuild their relationship.

But when murder strikes in this small Connecticut town, Liza begins to worry there is a connection between Oliver and another one of her patients and the confidences they have shared with her become the key to solving the murder. As Liza digs deeper, she comes to believe that everybody is a liar.

Sunday Post #273

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

Another busy week! We traveled down to Southern California on Thursday to meet up with friends in town from Cincinnati and to visit our son, DIL and the two youngest grandkids. The kids are super cute! It was a short trip. We were happy to visit with everyone, but happy to be home. 

It's been pouring rain at home. We've had almost eight inches of rain this week and there's more to come. It should clear out by Tuesday, though. I'm happy I got some photos while out running before the rain, because I'm sure a bunch of the leaves came off with this storm.

part of my running route

We'll be meeting up with family and friends this week. About ten of us all together. We're set to go wine tasting and then dinner Friday and then everyone's coming to our house for dinner on Saturday. I look forward to the visit! 

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

Everybody is a Liar by Liv Constantine-4 Stars

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews-4 Stars

The Mirror by Nora Roberts-4 Stars

Received:

Thank you to Boldwood Books, Forever and MIRA!

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Review: The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

 

The Lily of Ludgate Hill (Belles of London #4)  by Mimi Matthews

Publication Date: November 19th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Libro.fm | Audible | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Stella Hobhouse has been through two London seasons, but unsuccessful in her mission to find a suitable husband. She’s been singled out as an oddity because of her prematurely gray hair, her passion for riding her spirited horse in an all-out gallop. Also, for speaking her mind when her holier-than-thou brother would like her to be a quiet, obedient woman. Such a jerk!

 

When artist Edward “Teddy” Hayes lays eyes on Stella he’s mesmerized by her beauty and unusual hair, and he’s determined to paint her. Since a suffering from a fever that partially paralyzed him, Teddy’s bold in his pursuits, especially when it comes to his art.

 

Teddy and Stella meet again at a house party and circumstances thrust them together and they end up forming a friendship and more. There’s a spark of attraction right from the beginning, but it’s a slow, natural progression of friendship to love. Both Teddy and Stella do conform to society’s expectations in physicality and in manner and so they were wonderfully suited!

 

The Muse of Maiden Lane was a lovely conclusion to The Belles of London series! I adored Ms. Matthews’ inclusion of characters that were not what people would think of as perfect. Teddy’s struggles from being in a wheeled chair were portrayed in a realistic way, that felt true to his character. Teddy and Stella’s romance was so very touching, and I loved that we got to “see” all the past Belles happy with their men. I also loved the strong female friendship between these women so devoted and supportive of each other!

4 Stars

Book Description:

A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love.

Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her.

Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience.

After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….

Photo credit: Vickie Hahn 2021

 About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats. Learn more online at www.mimimatthews.com. 

Review: The Mirror by Nora Roberts

 

The Mirror (The Lost Bride Trilogy #2) by Nora Roberts

Publication Date: November 18th 2024 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 448

Audio Book Length: 13hrs 48min

Narrator: Brittany Pressley 

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Two hundred years ago a curse was set into motion when Hester Dobbs, a bitter, greedy witch, murdered Astrid Granville the day she wed Collin Poole at the Poole Mansion. After, Hester jumped off the cliffs to her death as she laid a curse on any future Poole bride. Since then, every Poole bride who aspired to wed and live in the manor died tragically on the day of her wedding. Hester stole the ring of every bride since, giving her more power to keep the curse going.

 

The Mirror picks up where The Inheritance (my review) left off, with Sonya MacTavish, the Poole heir, entering The Mirror and reliving the events of the past, witnessing Hester take her revenge on another bride. Hester still haunts the Poole mansion, and Sonya must find a way to break the curse.

 

The Mirror is the second book in The Lost Bride Trilogy, a series that needs to be read in order. Sonya and her best friend, Cleo, settle into the mansion, making it their own, while enjoying life with Trey and Owen, eating, drinking, painting, working, and getting to know the community. Sounded idyllic and lovely! Not much in the way of plot movement, but it the story was engrossing. Hester continues to haunt and cause trouble, but Sonya is determined to stake her claim on the house and not let her win.

 

I’m hoping Sonya figures out a plan to defeat the evil witch and I’m eager to see how it all shakes out in the final book!

4 Stars

Book Description:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts continues the hauntingly spectacular Lost Bride Trilogy with book two, The Mirror.

When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets.

Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past—and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.

Sunday Post #272

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

It's been a busy week with cats! Smokey has been settling in, super friendly and less afraid. Peanut and Smokey have little meet-and-greets through a small crack in the door as we supervise. It's going well. We caught Starla, the mom cat (now named Marmalade) and her 3 kittens, took them to the animal rescue. Starla is being spayed and given her shots on Tuesday and I'm picking her up directly from there to come home. Marmalade and her kittens are on the list to be adopted out. The kittens have a better chance at getting placed. If they can't place Marmalade, we'll get her back after she's been spayed and vaccinated.

We've had a few rainy days and it's been cold at night! It dipped down to 27F degrees. We've pulled dead flowers and vegetables from the garden. I do have some fall/winter produce coming. Little gem lettuce, Swiss Chard radish, arugula, cauliflower and broccoli. 

I've been out on a lot of runs/walks around the neighborhood and the fall colors continue to amaze me!

Burning Bush 

Scarlet firethorn

Great Blue Heron in middle background (hard to see) and a buck.

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

Cursed (Alex Verus #2) by Benedict Jacka: 4 Stars

The Forgotten One (The Heirs #2) by Catherine Bybee: 4.5 Stars

The Taken Ones (Steinbeck and Reed #1) by Jess Lourey: 4 Stars

Received:

Thank you to G,P. Putnam's Sons and Dial Press! 

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Review: The Forgotten One by Catherine Bybee

 

The Forgotten One (The Heirs #2)  by Catherine Bybee

Publication Date: November 12th 2024 by Montlake

Pages: 378

Source: Publicist

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Max Smith finds out that he’s the illegitimate son of billionaire Alex Stone, who’s died and left him part heir to his empire. This comes as a shock since he was told his parents were dead and he was shuffled from one foster home to another. He’s also gained two half-siblings. There’s already some strife within the family’s corporation, and so they want to control how the news is released to the board, and the public. This is where reporter Sarah McNeilly comes in.

 

Sarah and Max form a connection right away even though she was sent to dig up dirt on him. It’s quickly apparent that Sarah is a principled journalist. Sarah also helps Max find information on his mother, a difficult journey for Max.

 

I was thrilled that Max and his siblings found each other! Max needed someone in his corner, never having had a stable family in the past. Max and Sarah had instant chemistry, but their relationship felt like it progressed naturally and believably. No ridiculous, contrived third act breakup!

 

The Forgotten One was an engrossing romance, but also a feel-good story with Max initially leading a lonely, monotonous existence and having all that change into a life full of love, prosperity and family! It put a warm glow in my heart.

 

The author’s note touched on her own personal experiences with foster care. It was emotional and made the story even more moving!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee spins a dazzling tale of long-lost relatives, overnight riches, and unexpected romance in the dramatic second book of The Heirs series.

Sarah McNeilly is a rare find in the tabloid industry. She won’t ignite gossip. She finds the truth. And for once, that’s what her boss wants. With her job on the line, Sarah’s latest assignment is to identify the elusive “Maximillian Smith,” unearth his connection to the billionaire Stone family, and dig up some dirt.

Yesterday Max was an ordinary working man, concerned with little more than the price of gas. Now he suddenly has a family, jaw-dropping wealth, and an avid (if clumsy) reporter on his trail. With the press threatening to destroy his new life, he needs to release his real story strategically, and Sarah is the key—not to mention an adorable yet invaluable resource for finding his mother.

As Max and Sarah team up to peel back the ugly layers of Max’s past, they stumble heart-first into their fiery attraction. But when their research threatens their newly built trust, it’s their future that is on the line.

Read book one in The Heirs series, All Our Tomorrows, available now on #kindleunlimited.

 

Author Bio:

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written over forty-five books that have collectively sold more than eleven million copies. Her titles have been translated into more than twenty languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned the popular Not Quite, Weekday Brides, Most Likely To, and First Wives series. 

Connect with Catherine Bybee:

Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Tik Tok | X

Audiobook Review: First Do No Harm by Joe Kenda

 

First Do No Harm (Detectives Kenda & Wilson #2) by Joe Kenda

Publication Date: September 17th 2024 by Blackstone Publishing

Pages: 272

Audio Book Length: 7hrs 

Narrator: Bradford Hastings & Joe Kenda

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Librofm |  Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

When there are several odd heroine overdoses, all cut with the new drug, fentanyl, Kenda and his partner Wilson are tasked with finding the dealer before anyone else dies. During their investigation, Dr. Moreland, an anesthesiologist who happens to work at the same hospital as Kenda’s wife, captures their attention as rumors about his drug use and odd behavior circulate.  

 

Dr. Moreland was a piece of work, and I couldn’t help but hope he was caught either by Kenda and Wison or the Mexican drug cartel!

 

Do No Harm is the second book in the Detectives Kenda & Wilson series penned by the real-life Detective Joe Kenda. While the stories are fictional, they’re inspired by past cases Kenda worked on, set in the 1970s, at the beginning of his career. It was an interesting mystery that kept and held my attention as the events played out. Kenda’s storytelling felt like a true crime narrative with a natural progression of events that snowballed into an action-packed conclusion!

I listened to the audio version performed by Bradford Hastings with an introduction and conclusion by Joe Kenda, which was a nice addition and gave some background to this case. Bradford Hastings did a wonderful job portraying Det. Kenda, with a pleasing masculine voice, easy going and good with the bits of ironic humor interspersed.

4 Stars

Book Description:

Former homicide detective and star of Investigation Discovery, Joe Kenda follows his authentic and fascinating debut novel with First Do No Harm, another addictive tale of crime and punishment as only he can tell it.

A string of overdoses in Colorado Springs has Detectives Joe Kenda and Lee Wilson on the lookout for a bad batch of heroin that has been cut with a drug they’ve never seen before.

Meanwhile, at Springs General Hospital, Dr. Blair Moreland—the notoriously unpleasant head anesthesiologist—has found a way to feed his deepening addiction to the very same powerful new Fentanyl.

But when Dr. Moreland starts supplying the dangerous painkiller to dealer Lula Lopez—planning to manufacture the drug himself—he angers a Mexican crime syndicate and sets into motion a cycle of death and violence that threatens to engulf the entire city.

Detectives Kenda and Wilson must track down the source of this killer heroin before anyone else can overdose—and stop Moreland before he can escape the long arm of the law.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Destination in the Titles

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic. 

 

This week's theme is Destination Titles: Titles with names of places in them. Can be fictional or a real place. I'm listing books I've read and enjoyed:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

Lake Silence (The World of the Others #1) by Anne Bishop

The original series with Meg and Simon will always be my favorite, but I was happy to get more with this spinoff!

The Talk of Coyote Canyon (Coyote Canyon #1) by Brenda Novak

Compelling and addictive! You think you're just going to read few chapters and you've read the entire book in one sitting!

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie

I've read this several times over the years and for a change listened to the audio back in 2020, narrated by Hugh Frasier "Hastings" in the film adaptations with David Suchet. Love the new covers!

The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belle's of London #2) by Mimi Matthews

Julia's parents were an utter nightmare! So happy she found Jasper and he, along with her friends, helped her stand up to them! The romance was beautiful, swoony and passionate!

The View from Alameda Island by Robyn Carr

Alameda Island is not that far from me and sounds like a charming place. I need to visit after reading this story. Robyn Carr wrote some crazy ex's in this one, but they get foiled at every turn! Thank goodness Lauren and Beau's romance was steady, calm and lovely!

Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) by Melina Marchetta

Wow, can't believe I read this series back in 2011! It was a moving, epic and emotional fantasy series! The writing is clever, moving, with levity to balance out some of the dark! Melina Marchetta is such a talented writer Australian writer!

Agony Hill (Franklin Warren #1) by Sarah Stewart Taylor

An engrossing mystery from the first page! The characters, time period, and setting of Vermont were vividly portrayed! I'm looking forward to the next one!

The Hope of Azure Springs by Rachel Fordham

A historical Western. A mix of romance and suspense. I loved every minute! 

Moonlight over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

This was the first book I read by Morgan and I've been hooked by her romance/women's fiction ever since! I grab up every new release!

Sunday Post #271

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

It's been a week! Gotta say I was in a state of shock on Wednesday. I didn't expect that outcome. I've had a lot of things to distract in the meantime. Cat hijinks!

We have four feral cats that we've been feeding.  Well, there's been another grown cat showing up and suddenly there were 3 babies! Like 4-6 week old babies! Didn't even know this cat was pregnant! So we made a trip to our local rescue and picked up a catching cage. Our goal is to get all neutered/spayed, and hopefully some adopted out. If they aren't we've told the rescue we'll take them back and continue to feed and give shelter. They can get into our garage and we have warming pads for them.

Kitten in our woodpile. Their favorite hiding spot.

There are two, Smokey and Starla, the kittens that started coming around when they were about 2 months that we want to keep here. We just caught Smokey a couple of days ago, him being the friendliest of the bunch, and we're trying to acclimate him in the house, and Peanut. He's confined to the guest bedroom for now. It's a whole process we've read up on. He's a sweet kitty!  Peanut knows there's a cat somewhere in the house and he's been a little, understandably, unsettled. I'm giving him more attention to compensate.

Our fall in the area has been so brilliant this year!

Puzzle: Winter Stores. Done while listening to an audiobook.

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

The House at Watchhill by Karen Marie Moning: 4 Stars

First Do No Harm by Joe Kenda: 4 Stars

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson: 4 Stars

The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose: 3 Stars

It's been a weird reading week for me. I've started and stopped a few of books I wasn't feeling. One book is probably going to be a DNF.

Received:

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Random House Audio!

Instagram:

This is one I've had to set aside...

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